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First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC
63. Strike Suit Zero - Director's Cut - PC

This is the enhanced edition of a game I Kickstarted. The main changes are they rearrange the first few missions to get you in the titular Strike Suit faster and overall smooth out the difficulty curve, along with some additional checkpoints. It definitely delivers on the improvements and it was worth playing through again.

Strike Suit Zero is a quite fun arcadey space sim. You get main guns and some secondary weapons, such as rockets or missiles. One thing the game does well is make you a small part of a large battle, rather than everything riding on you. The capital ships will play with each other, though you will need to destroy turrets to weigh the odds in your favor. There will be a lot of enemy fighters but you will only personally destroy a fraction of them. The main thing that really comes down to you is torpedo defense; certain ships will launch these in waves at your capital ships and they deal heavy damage. Not keeping on top of them is a good way to fail your mission.

The core gimmick of the game is the titular Strike Suit. This is a fighter you gain early on that has the ability to transform into a mecha mode. When you are in mecha mode you come to a dead stop and maneuver along all three axes to set up your shots. The two weapons you get in mecha mode are a main cannon which does limit damage but is hitscan and great for taking out torpedoes and a missile swarm that will be your main tool. The missile swarm is great for picking off fighters or taking out turrets on enemy capital ships; coupled with the extreme close-in maneuverability and you will quickly be able to pull the teeth of enemy frigates and cruisers. What keeps this power in check is the fact that you need energy to enter and stay in mecha mode. This energy is spent whenever you fire a weapon; simply moving doesn't cost any energy. This energy is gained whenever you get a kill as well as slowly growing over time when you are in fighter mode. Learning when to use mecha mode vs. fighter mode is one of the key skills in the game, as well as figuring out just how much of your weapons you need per target, thus prolonging your time in this mode.

It's a fun game overall. It doesn't overstay its welcome and has enough mission variety to keep you from getting bored. The penultimate mission is sufficiently epic and you never feel like you can rest in it, which is good considering it's suppose to be a massive showdown between two fleets. The last mission is unfortunately a bit of a drag, since it consists of flying down a corridor, then taking out some targets that don't fight back at the very end. It'd be fine except it takes 7ish minutes to do, which is just a little too long. But everything up to it is quite fun.

1. Resident Evil 4 (PS3) Digital
2. Resident Evil 6 (PS3) Disc Version
3. Dying Light (PS4) Disc Version
4. Red Dead Redemption (PS3) Disc Version (Replay)
5. Batman Arkham City (PS3) Disc Version
6. The Order (PS4) Disc Version
7. Valiant Hearts (PS4) Digital Version
8. DMC Definitive (PS4) Disc Version
9. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS4) Disc Version
10. God of War - Ghost of Sparta (PS3) PSP digital port
11. God of War - Chains of Olympus (PS3) PSP digital port
12. Max Payne 3 - (PC) Digital Version (Replay)
13. Witcher 3 - (PS4) Physical Version
14. Evil Within - (PC) Digital Version (Replay)
15. Freedom Planet - (PC) Digital Version
16. Super Mario World - (Snes) Physical Version (Replay)
17. Mega Man 7 - (Snes) Physical Version
18. Contra - (Nes) Physical Version (Replay)
19. Limbo - (PS4) Digital Version
20. Mad Max - (PS4) Physical Version


Well the game was nothing ground breaking and there was a fair amount repetition. With that said, the driving was fun and side missions were cool too. Needs some tweaks and a better reward for doing things than giving you 5 pcs of scrap. Gotta say this (without spoiling), DAMN the ending was out of control, never saw that coming.

First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC
63. Strike Suit Zero - Director's Cut - PC
64. Wolfenstein 3D Spear of Destiny - PC

The mission pack sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, Spear of Destiny doesn't really bring anything new to the table. That said, it has some really good level design, both structurally and texturally. If you want some more Nazi killing action then Spear of Destiny is for you.

The game consists of 21 stages (two of them are secret stages) that are spread over four acts, as it were. Each act is a particular theme that is capped off by a boss. These themes are reflected in the level design and the textures. The first is the catacombs (so lots of rocky walls and ivy), the second is the dungeons (blue brick walls and bars), the third is the castle (standard level textures and the levels tend to look like castles when mapped), and the fourth is the ramparts (which is like the castle, but with a blue sky to make it seem like you're outdoors). Your bosses are machine gun boss, machine gun and rocket boss, fast machine gun boss, and machine gun and double rocket boss that starts off with you pinned in. The fourth boss is definitely the hardest, both because it's so hard to get a decent start against him and because he lays out so much damage with his twin rocket launchers. Once you beat the fourth boss you retrieve the titular Spear of Destiny, but this warps you to the final challenge. You have to face off against the Angel of Death to see if you're worthy. This level consists of two unique enemies. The first are the wraiths, which only have a melee attack that drains your health in about two seconds and cannot be permanently killed; they respawn where they die a few seconds later. The second is the Angel of Death himself, which is a demonic looking creature that fires slow moving orbs. As a result, he's probably the easiest boss to fight due to the ability to just never take damage from him. Once you defeat him you prove yourself worthy and get to see the end sequence.

Like I said, nothing groundbreaking, but it's a good expansion pack to Wolfenstein 3D. There are two extra mission packs that have the exact same level structure against the exact same bosses (with new sprites) that weren't done by id, and I have no interest in playing them. At least the Catacomb Fantasy Trilogy tried to make all three of its games unique from Catacomb 3D and from each other.

First 50:

51. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC)(FPS)
52. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (PC)(FPS)

Over the weekend I polished off both of the two major Riddick FPS games. Both feature Richard Riddick as a playable character, so I got to see the world through Vin Diesel's eyes for a few hours as he escaped prison and then fought space pirates. Both games also have a lot of similarities in their approaches, featuring near-identical gameplay with an emphasis on stealth, collectibles strewn throughout their levels, and an RPG-inspired side quest system that is extremely limited in its execution, though there are some differences that stick out between the two.

First, Riddick loses his weapons a lot in Butcher Bay, and you spend half the game looking at guns you cannot use, unlike in Dark Athena which takes your guns away only once and then gives them back relatively quickly. Sure, most of the weapons are the same, but Dark Athena has more guns and wants you to use them. Second, Butcher Bay emphasizes the side quests far more than Dark Athena, which is relatively sparse and offers generally less interaction with NPCs you aren't actively trying to kill. Generally speaking, Dark Athena seems like a much more straightforward FPS than Butcher Bay and offers expanded weapons. As a result, I ended up preferring Dark Athena. That's not to say I found Butcher Bay bad, just that Dark Athena appealed more to my personal tastes. I still shanked a lot of people from behind in both when I could, but I also got a gun that shot remote explosives in DA.

Unfortunately the games are not without issue, and both occasionally suffered from animation glitches when I interacted with objects. For instance, Riddick would go through the moves to open a vent, and then suddenly restart the animation. Or he would get stuck on a ladder and climb but never go up. Occasionally enemies would die and toss their guns in the air, where they would get stuck. None of this was game breaking, but it proved a noticeable flaw from time to time.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the voicework is phenomenal. This doesn't surprise me, considering the cast for these games includes the likes of Ron Perlman, Michelle Forbes, and Lance Henriksen as well as the aforementioned Vin Diesel. Riddick spends much of his time waxing poetic on survival, but I was already a fan of the character and had no issues with it, even if his lines did occasionally sound silly. I would much rather play these games than watch the Chronicles of Riddick movie. Pitch Black though...well, I do like Pitch Black.

There is also a huge emphasis on melee combat, and generally speaking Riddick excels at it, so long as you don't try to overly rely on one trick. I made it through Butcher Bay by emphasizing counters and hardly blocking; this got me punished in Dark Athena a few times, particularly in the knife fight with Revas. The counters were still good for a few hits and many of the weaker enemies, but once up against the tougher combats, I had to relearn to block and began operating off my sense of sound. If I heard the opponent's attack connect, I would immediately launch an attack of my own during their recovery period. This worked out almost flawlessly, and I was soon able to do melee fights with my eyes closed.

I liked these games. Fans of FPS with heavy stealth elements, particularly games like Thief and Dishonored, will probably enjoy them too.

Ack wrote:I liked these games. Fans of FPS with heavy stealth elements, particularly games like Thief and Dishonored, will probably enjoy them too.

I haven't played Dark Athena, but I really liked Escape from Butcher Bay when I played through it on the Xbox a few years ago. The emphasis on stealth and interaction with NPCs made it fell more like an adventure game than a "standard" FPS, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much.

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)
20. Splatoon - Wii U (June 7)
21. Fallout Shelter - iOS (June 21)
22. Phantasy Star Online Episode II - GameCube (August 24)
22. Resident Evil 4 - Wii (August 31)
23. Earthbound - Wii U Virtual Console (September 7)
24. Legend of Zelda - Wii U Virtual Console (September 21)

Managed to sit down and fly through this one over the weekend. I never beat this one as a kid, and my Zelda Cart doesn't tend to be compliant and work when I want to play through it. So when I got the Zelda Series from Virtual Console with Club Nintendo Points, I wanted to go through and beat them. So I got the urge to do that this weekend. Some of the dungeons are quite tricky, when conflated with the Wii-U's D-Pad. There were some imprecise moments where I was cursing at Darknuts, Bubbles, Wizzrobes as I was murdered over and over due to me not controlling Link well.

Still an excellent game and it was very satisfying to finally play through the first Zelda game.

1. Cut the Rope (3DS)
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
3. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (XBOX)
4. Jewel Link Chronicles: Mountains of Madness (NDS)
5. Super Mario 3D World (WIIU)
6. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
7. Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)
8. Gunman Clive (3DS)
9. Child of Light (WIIU)
10. Gunman Clive 2 (3DS)
11. Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition (WIIU)
12. Shifting World (3DS)
13. VVVVVV (3DS)
14. Mega Man 9 (PS3)
15. Mighty Switch Force 2 (WIIU)
16. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PS3)
17. Castle Crashers (PS3)
18. Pushmo (3DS)
19. Steamworld Dig (3DS)
20. The Unfinished Swan (PS3)
21. Blaster Master (NES)
22. Samurai Shodown II (NEOGEO/PS2)
23. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (2600)
24. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS3)
25. Shining Force II (GEN)
26. Rayman Legends (WIIU)
27. Gorf (ARCADE)
28. Fairune (3DS)
29. Mighty Gunvolt (3DS)
30. Ikachan (3DS)
31. Block Boy! (3DS)
32. Legend of the Dark Witch (3DS)
33. R-Type Delta (PS1)
34. Half-Life (PS2)
35. Soul of Darkness (3DS)
36. Cubit the Hardcore Platforming Robot (3DS)
37. Alien on the Run (3DS)
38. Bit.Trip Presents...Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (WIIU)
39. Hazumi (3DS)
40. Aaru's Awakening (PS3)
41. Teslagrad (PS3)
42. Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess (PS3)
43. Year Walk (Wii U)

I beat three games this weekend! Two of them were excellent!

.....

Teslagrad is a challenging puzzle platformer with interesting obstacles and puzzles based around polarity. It starts out pretty easy, and the challenge increases gradually through the game (until it reaches a fever pitch with the last two bosses). It also rewards backtracking and exploration, and it builds both a world and basic plot line through subtle, understated storytelling. Finally, the game is beautifully animated, and the animation style reminded me of WayForward's outstanding A Boy and His Blob. It is only 3 - 4 hours long, but it packs quite a punch and never wears out its welcome. Accordingly, I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of puzzle platformers (or classic Metroid games).

.....

Monster (Probably) Stole My Princess is a PS Mini in which you play as The Duke - an obliviously arrogant vampire - who is trying to "rescue" a princess. The game has a lot of personality, but the gameplay is uninteresting. Basically, you defeat each of the game's monsters by jumping, double-jumping, and wall-jumping between different platforms. If you double-jump near the monster, you damage it, and if you damage it three times, you defeat it. You build combos and increase your score by never landing on the same platform twice. Beating the game is quite easy, but getting a high score on each level is quite chellenging. Unforuntely, I did not find the game so compelling that I need to revisit its levels more than a few times.

.....

Year Walk on the Wii U is a fabulous port of one of the very best iOS games. It is a very clever, first-person adventure game (similar to Myst) that is steeped in Swedish folkore. It is also exceptionally creepy, and I loved every minute of it. (I am going back to it tonight to unlock the rest of its secrets.) Moreover, the Wii U port make great use of the Wii U's tablet controller. My only complaint is the game's relatively short length; it took me a little less than two hours to beat it. It is really sticking with me, however, and I will be spending some more time with it tonight. (In other words, I spent $7 for a two hour game, but I certainly feel like I am getting my money's worth out of it.)

Steven Universe: Attack the Light (Android). After I beat the final boss I went back and got a 100% on all the levels.

1. Fatal Fury (GEN)
2. DuckTales Remastered (WiiU)
3. Final Fantasy IV (PSP)
4. Journey (PS3)
5. The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
6. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
7. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
8. King Oddball Ends the World (Android)
9. Street Fight II The World Warrior (SNES)
10. Secret of Mana (SNES)
11. McDonald's Treasureland Adventure (GEN)
12. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze (WiiU)
13. NES Remix II(WiiU)
14. Child of Light (WiiU)

15. Thomas was Alone (Android)

I've had this on my phone for months and would just do a level or two when I got the urge. I enjoyed it quite a bit early on in the game and was drawn to play it frequently at least for the first half. The second half of the game I found less compelling; strangely enough I think it was because of the characters!

Those characters are all just rectangles on the screen, but still I felt an attachment to many of them as the game gave them personality. Game-play was fine, simple platforming for the most part with relatively simple puzzles scattered throughout.

I found the ending a little too open - as though the creators made it as vague as possible for the sake of it being an "artsy" game. I got this game for free on the Amazon App Store so I can say I got more than my money's worth, as it is one of the better games I've played on a phone.

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)
18. The Great Giana Sisters (Amiga)
19. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PC)
20. Lego Jurassic Park (PC)
21. Borderlands The Pre-Sequel (PC)
22. Cities Skylines (PC)
23. Borderlands The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage (PC)
24. Her Story (PC)
25. Hearthstone: Curse Of Naxxramus (PC)
26. Half-Life 2 (PC)
27. 9:05 (PC)

an interesting and brief text adventure game. Recommended via RPS, and I'd recommend it forward.