Games Beaten 2015

[Ack]

1. Renegade Ops (PC)(Multidirectional Shooter)
2. Borderlands 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
3. Gunpoint (PC)(Puzzle Platformer)
4. Robotrek (SNES)(RPG)
5. The Tick (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
6. Alien vs Predator (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
7. X-Kaliber 2097 (SNES)(Action Platformer)
8. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
9. Shadowrun (SNES)(RPG)
10. Quake II (PC)(FPS)
11. The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (SNES)(RPG)

Well, I sat down to try this out for a bit as it came in the mail yesterday, and I ended up going through and beating it. Spike McFang is a short game. There is no timer, but I spent probably about as much time in this as I did with Brain Lord, Lagoon, or Ys III on the SNES, which is to say that it is definitely one of the shortest RPG offerings on the console. But it's bright, colorful, easy to pick up and play, and not much of a challenge.

There are only four pieces of equipment(one of which you start the game with) and then there is the magic system, which is basically an item inventory where you use a card to cast whatever spell you need. You can hold a maximum of 10 of any kind of card, but in truth I really only used one of the two types of healing cards with any regularity, as the game doesn't automatically increase your current hit points when you level. Apparently this and an increased enemy defense are the two things which make the US version harder than the Japanese version.

To beat the game, you need to master the jump timing, the rhythm necessary for your spin attack so you don't go nuts and make yourself dizzy, and the timing on the hats for shooting them out. But these aren't tough skills to pick up, and the first area of the game is purely to teach you how to play, so you'll be fine. Everything is quite simple, from the basic plot(three rules, one turns evil, the kids of the three rulers must save the kingdom), to the level system(level 16 is max), to the combat system. And leveling increases your damage a fair bit, so a simple level can erase any issues you had.

On a side note, this was made by the same company that made Obitus. What happened? Same overall genre, but radically different approach.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nice review Ack. I will get to Spike soon.

And I hate to be "that guy" but I'm quite certain that Obitus and Spike merely share (SNES) publishers, not developers. Obitus is a Psygnosis WRPG that was also on PC, Amiga, Atari ST.

[MrPopo]

1. Painkiller - PC
2. Front Mission 4 - PS2
3. Wasteland 2 - PC
4. Arcanum - PC
5. X-COM Terror from the Deep - PC
6. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16
7. Unreal - PC
8. Shadowrun - SNES
9. Warcraft III - PC
10. Dungeon Keeper - PC
11. Final Fantasy X-2 HD - PS3
12. Descent - PC
13. Quake Mission Pack 2 - Dissolution of Eternity
14. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2 - Ground Zero

So my general thought is that the balance on this game is rather poor. It starts off by tossing a lot of advanced enemies at you while you are still in scrounging for weapons and ammo mode. Once you finish the first unit life gets better, but at the same time you run into TURRETS.

FUCK THOSE TURRETS.

The turrets are a nasty combination of small, beefy (three rockets or two railgun shots), damaging, and crazy accurate. The turrets have the most advanced AI of anything in the game as they will properly lead you. They also like to hide on ceilings and walls where you're not looking, up to and including hiding behind a false panel until you run past them to a trigger point and they shoot you in the back. Did I mention half of them are rocket turrets?

These guys were what drained the majority of my health over the course of the game. The Medic Commander wasn't nearly as bad, and he spawns in an army. The Medic Commander doesn't appear often and he goes down to one BFG shot (which tears through everything he's spawned).

The game has two bosses, one at the end of unit 3 and then a final boss. Both bosses spawn minions, but since you're tossing around BFG shots it doesn't really matter.

Also, the game is nearly over when you finish the first boss. The first three units consist of 3, 4, and 4 levels. The fourth unit is 2 levels and the last unit is just the boss fight.

[dsheinem]

1. Painkiller - PC
2. Front Mission 4 - PS2
3. Wasteland 2 - PC
4. Arcanum - PC
5. X-COM Terror from the Deep - PC
6. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16
7. Unreal - PC
8. Shadowrun - SNES
9. Warcraft III - PC
10. Dungeon Keeper - PC
11. Final Fantasy X-2 HD - PS3
12. Descent - PC
13. Quake Mission Pack 2 - Dissolution of Eternity
14. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2 - Ground Zero

And my other game for this month's TR is complete. Once again, my thoughts are in the TR thread.

Did you post thoughts previously (last year?) about The Reckoning? I am playing that one now...

[MrPopo]

I did. I finished The Reckoning and Scourge of Armagon during the holidays last year since I needed to burn some vacation time that wasn't going to roll over and took a week off. I think I put my thoughts in the FPS thread since I didn't feel right starting "I beat this" posts in games beaten in December.

[Fragems]

1. Injustice Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition(PS4)
2. Infamous First Light(PS4)
3. Drakengard 3(PS3) *Endings 1-4. Ending 5 I watched online due to BS boss.
4. Infamous Second Son(PS4)
5. Thomas Was Alone(PS4)
6. Uncharted Drake's Fortune(PS3) *
7. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves(PS3) *
8. Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception(PS3) *
9. Deadpool(PS3)
10. Red Dead Redemption(360)
11. Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare(360)
12. The Walking Dead Survival Instinct(360)
13. Fuse(360)
14. The Bureau Xcom Declassified(360)
15. Asura's Wrath(360)
16. Beneath a Steel Sky(PC)

Beneath a Steel Sky

Overall a pretty decent little action game from 1994. Found the humor to be pretty good, but there was a boat load of back tracking and the game wasn't very clear on what you were supposed to be doing at times. Some of the required items also didn't stand out to well in the environment to well and were easily overlooked. It's currently free over on GoG so if you are into older point and click adventures it's worth giving a go.

Also ran surprisingly well only had 1 crash in the entire 5 or so hours I spent on it.

[Ack]

Nice review Ack. I will get to Spike soon.

And I hate to be "that guy" but I'm quite certain that Obitus and Spike merely share (SNES) publishers, not developers. Obitus is a Psygnosis WRPG that was also on PC, Amiga, Atari ST.

No worries, I looked it up later and saw BPS had been the ones to handle the Obitus SNES release. I'm not sure who did what on Spike McFang though, but BPS did develop it in some capacity.

[Fragems]

1. Injustice Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition(PS4)
2. Infamous First Light(PS4)
3. Drakengard 3(PS3) *Endings 1-4. Ending 5 I watched online due to BS boss.
4. Infamous Second Son(PS4)
5. Thomas Was Alone(PS4)
6. Uncharted Drake's Fortune(PS3) *
7. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves(PS3) *
8. Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception(PS3) *
9. Deadpool(PS3)
10. Red Dead Redemption(360)
11. Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare(360)
12. The Walking Dead Survival Instinct(360)
13. Fuse(360)
14. The Bureau Xcom Declassified(360)
15. Asura's Wrath(360)
16. Beneath a Steel Sky(PC)
17. Soul Gambler(PC)

Soul Gambler

Really short but interesting interactive novel. Probably one of the only ones in my library must have slipped in with an indie bundle . Anyways the visuals were pretty nicely drawn for the most part and the story while only clocking in at 1 hour was entertaining. Found the whole stat system as kind of pointless though it did add a little bit to the story by opening/closing branches on me a few times but for the most part you can easily breeze through the game making logical choices without having to expend any of your "soul" on wishes/answers. One thing that did bug me though was I noticed a couple of misspelling and grammar issues in the dialogue which I would have expected to have been noticed and fixed a year after the game especially since there have been patches .

[GSZX1337]

Holy shit, talk about a bloated interface. Walk, Look, Talk, Use, Give, Push, Take, and ...Swallow?

Haha, don't go back and play Maniac Mansion then.

I plan on trying that one out as well. At least this one has the excuse of coming out of the 8-bit era.

[prfsnl_gmr]

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)

Kirby Triple Deluxe is a fun - but very easy - platformer that makes great use of the 3DS's 3D capabilities. Moreover, the game has excellent boss battles, and using Kirby's new ability to inhale giant objects is a lot of fun. The game also features multiple modes, the best of which is DeDeDe's Drum Dash, a rhythm-based platformer starring King DeDeDe and set to some of the Kirby series' best music. There are also a lot of hidden objects to collect, and completing the story mode allows you to play back through the game with King DeDeDe (and a new final boss).

Accordingly, I recommend this game if you are seeking a charming, relaxing, but nonetheless visually exciting, platformer. Despite the main game's relatively short length, the game's stupendous extra features will keep you entertained for a long time.