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dsheinem wrote:On a side note, this entry marks 500 games logged since I started keeping track of beaten titles back in 2010.

I'll alert Kotaku.

Ack wrote:I'm saddened to see it go, but happy at the time I spent, like visiting an old friend for an afternoon and then parting ways again, leaving me to reminisce about good times long since past.

Loom just has a way of invoking melancholy in general. I beat the EGA version of this game when I was 12 years old, and even way back then I keenly remember the feelings of happy/sad that permeated the experience. I was also disappointed that the game was so short. But it was utterly brilliant while it lasted. It's a masterpiece of the genre and remains unique to this day.

Exhuminator wrote:

Ack wrote:I'm saddened to see it go, but happy at the time I spent, like visiting an old friend for an afternoon and then parting ways again, leaving me to reminisce about good times long since past.

Loom just has a way of invoking melancholy in general. I beat the EGA version of this game when I was 12 years old, and even way back then I keenly remember the feelings of happy/sad that permeated the experience. I was also disappointed that the game was so short. But it was utterly brilliant while it lasted. It's a masterpiece of the genre and remains unique to this day.

People who say that games can't be art, or that if they are they fail as games, haven't played Loom. It is successful as art and as game. Also as great storytelling, which is an art to itself.

1/3: Super Mario Bros 2: Lost Levels (Luigi Run) (3DS VC/NES)
1/4: Super Mario Bros. (Wii / All-Stars)
1/15: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
1/20: Super Mario Kart 8 (WiiU)
1/28: Super Mario 3D World (WiiU)
2/15: Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon (3DS)
2/15: Super Mario Land (3DS VC/GB)
2/16: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (3DS VC/GB)
3/3: Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (3DS VC/GB)
3/13: Dragon Ball Xenoverse (PS4)
3/23: Metroid Prime (Wii)
4/18: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Wii)
5/3: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
5/10: Donkey Kong Country (WiiU VC/SNES)
5/16: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hyper Stone Heist (GEN)

My second non-Nintendo console game clear of the year! Could this be a trend? Howbie-Wan and I visited our mutual friend Redline09 yesterday in Austin. While waiting to leave to see a movie, Hobie and I quickly demolished this game. A few thoughts:

- I have been very wrong about this being the Genesis version of Turtles in Time, or even an adaptation. It felt more like a re-make of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game but with art assets from Turtles in Time. What a great example of the wackiness of 90's games that would never happen today.

- Waaay too easy on 2 player. Even the last fight was a cinch once Hobie explained to me that we could basically sandwich Shredder and take turns dodging his attacks or punching him in the back.

- Choosing between this or Turtles in Time, I'd choose Turtles in Time. This was a great game and the controls were perfect. I just felt, at the end, that there wasn't a lot of content and that it was way too short.

marurun wrote:People who say that games can't be art, or that if they are they fail as games

Anyone who thinks that is simply oblivious and out of their element.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:I'll alert Kotaku.

My hat. It's tipped in your direction with a sense of appreciation.

1. Super Smash Brothers - N64 (January 3)
2. Shovel Knight - Wii U (January 6)
3. NES Remix - Wii U (January 14)
4. NES Remix 2 - Wii U (January 14)
5. Streets of Rage - Genesis (January 16)
6. F-Zero - SNES (January 21)
7. Super Mario 3D World - Wii U (January 28)
8. Hyrule Warriors - Wii U (February 5)
9. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D - 3DS (February 23)
10. Double Dragon Neon - PC (March 1)
11. Mario Kart 8 - Wii U (March 3)
12. Hotline Miami - PS3 (March 14)
13. Pokemon White - Nintendo DS (March 17)
14. Pokemon Soul Silver - Nintendo DS (April 2)
15. Pokemon White 2 - Nintendo DS (April 14)
16. Pokemon X - Nintendo 3DS (April 30)
17. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Xbox One (May 3)
18. Pokemon Shuffle - Nintendo 3DS (May 12)
19. Hearthstone: Blackrock Mountain - PC / iPhone (May 17)

Pokemon Shuffle was great for the first 150 rounds. I'm calling the game beaten now, because once I passed those initial 150 stages, it seemed like the game started saying, "Hey buddy, it's time for you to throw done some cash for this game we gave you, okay?" Seriously, the only real troubles the game gave me early on was how to budget your coins, IE Gengar and Mewtwo Y really. Now it seems every other stage there's some tool you need to purchase using coins or jewels, and I think it's diminished my interest in playing any fruther.

Hearthstone Blackrock Mountain was something I wanted to jump into. I loved the first expansion, Naxxaramus, so I figured I'd see what the hubbub was all about. I beat the single player campaigns, which provided some great amusement and variety outside of the normal arena/constructed modes. Some really neat encounters and play mechanics made it really interesting and some new decks to construct based on the strategies each boss presented. If you like Magic the Gathering, I bet you'd love Hearthstone!

Blu wrote:Pokemon Shuffle was great for the first 150 rounds. I'm calling the game beaten now, because once I passed those initial 150 stages, it seemed like the game started saying, "Hey buddy, it's time for you to throw done some cash for this game we gave you, okay?" Seriously, the only real troubles the game gave me early on was how to budget your coins, IE Gengar and Mewtwo Y really. Now it seems every other stage there's some tool you need to purchase using coins or jewels, and I think it's diminished my interest in playing any fruther.

Yeah, a lot of the guys tend to make things easier with a complexity -1 or something. Protip, play against Meowth over and over again and get 100-500 coins a turn. He is in one of the earlier levels and there are coins in the stage, but they don't occur as often as the weekend meowth event. I would probably say I've beaten it as well, as I have every pokemon captured currently available. Phew!

Broken Age: Episode 1

So I've been playing Broken Age on PS4, where both episodes are combined into one game. I got past the episode 1 part of the game, and loved it. Episode 2 on the hand...

Let's just say that I've stopped playing and won't be finishing it (see games not beaten thread). Apparently, a lot of people complained about the puzzles being too easy in episode 1. Admittedly, they are fairly simple for genre vets. I guess they sought to remedy this by having some god awful ones in episode 2. Also, the story that shows so much promise in episode 1, just really amounts to nothing in episode 2.

So episode 1...

AWESOME!

Episode 2...

LAME

1. Beavis And Butt-Head In Virtual Stupidity (PC)
2. Renegade Ops (PC)
3. Arena Of Octos (Apple II)
4. Beauty And The Beast (Intellivision)
5. Chivalry (Apple II)
6. Donald Duck's Playground (C64)
7. Left 4 Dead (PC)
8. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)
9. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered (PC)
10. Forward To The Sky (PC)
11. Elevator Action (MSX)
12. Quake (PC)
13: Talisman: Digital Edition (PC)
14: Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round (PC)
15. Dragon Age Origins (PC)
16. Hearthstone (Android)
17. Toren (PC)

Pretty game. Interesting game. Flawed game.

My full review will be up on RFGeneration next week.