Games Beaten 2016

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:42 am

First 50

51. Armillo (WII U)
52. Human Resource Machine (iOS)
53. Alone in the Dark (iOS)
54. The Room 3 (iOS)

The Room 3 is a pretty great, thoroughly creepy first-person adventure game in the Myst tradition. It is much larger game than The Room and The Room 2; the settings are more varied; and the experience is much less linear. (There are four endings, and you unlock the good endings by following a path of optional puzzles.) I enjoyed it thoroughly, and it was a great game for the Halloween season. That said, I somewhat missed the single, extremely intricate puzzle boxes that defined the first game, and I felt that The Room 3, by moving toward more environmental puzzles, lost some of series' personality. Nonetheless, I highly recommend it along with both of its outstanding predecessors.

Post by **Ack** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:03 am

1. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
2. Puzzle Link (NGPC)(Puzzle)
3. Illusion of Gaia (SNES)(RPG)
4. Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War (PC)(Strategy)
5. Shadowrun: Dragonfall (PC)(RPG)
6. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (PC)(RPG)
7. Drakkhen (SNES)(RPG)
8. Flight of the Amazon Queen (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
9. Shadowgrounds: Survivor (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
10. Lufia & The Fortress of Doom (SNES)(RPG)
11. BioShock (PC)(FPS)
12. Jeopardy! Sports Edition (SNES)(Game Show Sim)
13. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (PC)(FPS)
14. Thief Gold (PC)(Stealth)
15. Call of Duty 2 (PC)(FPS)
16. Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (PC)(RPG)
17. Alone in the Dark (PC)(Survival Horror)
18. Silent Hill (PS1)(Survival Horror)
19. Sanitarium (PC)(Point-and-Click Adventure/Horror)
20. Gauntlet: Slayer Edition(PC)(Hack and Slash)
21. Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES)(Fighting)
22. Ultima II (PC)(RPG)
23. System Shock (PC)(Action RPG)
24. DOOM (PC)(FPS)
25. Soul Blazer (SNES)(RPG)
26. Slave Zero (PC)(Action)
27. Broforce (PC)(Run and Gun)
28. Gothic (PC)(RPG)
29. Eye of the Beholder (PC)(RPG)
30. Outlaws + A Handful of Missions (PC)(FPS)
31. Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi (PC)(Survival Horror)
32. Crusaders of Might and Magic (PC)(RPG)

I enjoyed Might and Magic 3 immensely when I played it earlier this year, so I figured I might check out some of the alternate titles. Crusaders of Might and Magic is an action RPG which operates as a side story to the other mainline games. It also has two different versions, one for the PlayStation and one for the PC. The PC version was slapped together in only 7 months to try and launch at the same time as the PS1 title, and many things such as plot and gameplay were changed as a result. Unfortunately the PC version is also the one I played, and it shows its lean and grueling production process in many bad ways. Please note that just because I disliked the PC release(and I will go into why I did shortly), does not mean that the PS1 version isn't worth checking out. I don't know, I haven't played it.

So, Crusaders, what did it get wrong? Well...a lot. We'll start with the technical issues I encountered, ranging from small stuff like minor graphical issues, to bigger stuff such as problems with falling down slopes, items and enemies clipping through the ground or walls, or weapons clipping through bodies because attack animations were handled poorly. Much of the game is spent in a fog which makes things a bit easier to process but severely hinders sight distance and understanding where you are. Heck, at one point I moved from one location to another, and the game suddenly flung me high into the air where I then fell to my death for no reason at all. Factor in that all of the voice acting is handled by people who have no idea what they're doing, including one poor woman who must have been sitting on the other side of the room from the mic she was using, and the whole thing is a mess.

Then there are the gameplay problems, including wide open boring areas that you are forced to run through repeatedly, including using the same dungeons two, three, or even four times to artificially pad out the game. The combat system is poorly implemented, causing the player to occasionally attack out to the side for no reason or lose track of the enemy. And you can forget fighting on slopes. You could rely on magic, though there isn't much point it seems. I think I used two spells, one of which was simply to light the darkened areas. The entire story revolves around fetch quests, and the lead is a smarmy asshole who complains and helps to reinforce the tedium. Also many enemies have auto-targeting spells that stun you, and if you end up against a group, you get stunlocked. Even worse, they do this during platforming segments.

What does this mean? It means Crusaders of Might and Magic for the PC was a rush job that is best avoided. It is possible it could have been a decent game if it had been given the years that the PlayStation dev team had, but alas that was not the case. Heck, the PC dev team couldn't even use the same engine; this one is a modified FPS engine apparently. As a result, it's pretty terrible. There are much better games that bear the Might and Magic moniker out there. You'd be best to stick with them.

Post by **Sarge** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:05 pm

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

134) JAWS (NES)
135) Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus
136) Double Dragon II: The Revenge (PCE CD)
137) Splatterhouse (TG-16)
138) Super Dodge Ball (PCE)
139) Demon's Crest (SNES)
140) Splatterhouse 2 (GEN)

Huh, looks like I got in some Halloween gaming after all.

Splatterhouse is a rather gory arcade game that was ported to TG-16. For whatever reason, I thought the series originated on Genesis, but it's the second and third games that appear there. Clearly, the shock value was its only real claim to fame, because it's a very simple game overall. It's not much of a step up above something like Kung Fu / Spartan X. 6/10.

Super Dodge Ball on PC Engine is clearly based on the arcade version as opposed to the absolutely fantastic NES version. In fact, I don't think any of the other games in the series feel like the NES version, and as such, they all suffer for it. It's really not all that fun. 4/10.

Demon's Crest is an absolute classic. I play through it every so often, making sure to get all the hidden items so I can fight the super-duper hidden final boss. For some reason, I really had trouble this time around with it. I think I was trying to switch my usual strategy too much, and it was getting me killed. I eventually went with my "hover in his face while he's stationary and blast away, making sure to switch between Fang and Armor during periods of offense and defense. Actually slid through with a leftover Ginseng and near full health that last time. That being said, I saw someone pull off a no-hit run on YouTube, which is absolutely, completely ridiculous. 10/10.

Aaaaaand finally, Splatterhouse 2. It's... a'ight, I guess. I think it feels even more sluggish than the first game. 5/10.

Post by **alienjesus** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:07 pm

Sarge wrote:Aaaaaand finally, Splatterhouse 2. It's... a'ight, I guess. I think it feels even more sluggish than the first game. 5/10.

Not just me who wasn't a fan then. I couldn't even be bothered to finish it,

HLTB · Post by **Xeogred** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:06 pm

1. Sly 2 Band of Thieves HD (PS3)
2. Black (Xbox)
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
4. Super Mario Bros Advance 4: SMB3 E-Reader Levels (WiiUVC)
5. Galerians (PSX)
6. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (WiiU)
7. TRAG / Hard Edge: Mission of Mercy (PSX)
8. Soul Blade (PSX)
9. Castlevania Circle of the Moon* (WiiUVC)
10. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess* HD (WiiU)
11. Mega Man 9* (PSN)
12. Mega Man 10* (PSN)
13. Dark Souls 3 (NG++) [PLATINUM] (PS4)
14. Mega Man 1* (PS4, MMLC)
15. Mega Man 2* (PS4, MMLC)
16. Mega Man 3* (PS4, MMLC)
17. Mega Man 4* (PS4, MMLC)
18. Mega Man 5* (PS4, MMLC)
19. Mega Man 6* (PS4, MMLC)
20. Doom [PLATINUM] (PS4)
21. Quake (PC)
22. Quake 2* (PC)
23. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)
24. Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon (PC)
25. Quake 2 Mission Pack 1: The Reckoning (PC)
26. Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity (PC)
27. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2: Ground Zero (PC)
28. Quake: Dimensions of the Past (PC)
29. Bayonetta 2 (WiiU)
30. Wolfenstein The Old Blood (PC)
31. Dishonored DLC The Knife of Dunwall (PC)
32. Dishonored DLC The Brigmore Witches (PC)
33. Metro Last Light Redux (PC)
34. Doom 3 BFG Edition* (PC)
35. Metro 2033 Redux (PC)
36. Doom 3 Resurrection of Evil* BFG (PC)
37. Doom 3 The Lost Mission* BFG (PC)
38. Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge (PS3)
39. Ultimate Doom* (PC)
40. Devil's Third (WiiU)
41. SOMA (PC)
42. Doom 2* (PC)
43. Gone Home (PC)
44. Metroid Other M (Wii)
45. Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut* (PC)
46. AM2R: Return of Samus (PC)
47. Call of Duty: Ghosts (PS4)
48. Metroid Zero Mission* (WiiUVC)
49. Alan Wake's American Nightmare (PC)
50. Odallus: The Dark Call (PC)
51. Deus Ex Mankind Divided (PC)
52. Resident Evil HD* [Chris & Jill] (PS3)
53. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS4)
54. Resident Evil Code Veronica X* HD (PS3)
55. Resident Evil 5* [PLATINUM] (PS4)
56. Resident Evil Zero* HD (PS4)
57. Resident Evil 4 HD* (PS4)

* replay

Alright, think I'm officially done with my RE marathon for a bit. Phew... :lol:

Blasted through 80% of Zero in one day. Then RE4 in two days. It's like I get possessed sometimes. The bigger chunks here was doing REmake twice back to back with both characters, since I don't think I had ever beaten it before with Chris and that was a blast. Then I replayed a lot of levels again in Revelations 2 to get the good ending and some other stuff. Then I got possessed and was having a blast with RE5 so I wanted to get the platinum since it was kind of funky and fun. The in game records time showed 23 hours, but it was probably more around 30 or so with menus and other things. Still not bad at all though, literally unlocked like everything and beat professional, so it's cool to have that polished. I think RE4 has become one of those games I've overplayed a bit too much, it was one of the last games I had as a kid back when it was new and just replayed it over and over when you had all the time in the world back then and not a care. Since then I've gone back to replay it often off and on and phew, feels like a grind sometimes. I think you really have to be in the mood for its colorless tint, the castle portion is like a game itself, and I've always been iffy on the island at the end (love the hospital/torture areas with the regeneration guys though). In ways, I like how RE5 is a bit more colorful and the levels are more varied. But on the flipside I dig how RE4 isn't level select based and feels more like an adventure. Hard to say which I like more... both have their strengths and weaknesses. People really should give RE5 another shot and when you play it back to back with RE4, a lot stands out. It definitely refined a lot of elements about that combat system and is way more important to the overall plot of the series with Wesker and Chris.

So yeah, I said it yesterday somewhere but it's hard for me to pick my favorite Resident Evil, but it boils down to RE1/REmake, RE2, RE4, and RE5. I find myself leaning towards REmake thesedays. It's perfection and you just can't beat the mansion and classic style, but I really do love the chunky arcade like combat to RE4-RE5 a lot (Dead Space was a nice evolution of it).

Post by **Exhuminator** » Tue Oct 25, 2016 8:19 am

The Last Crown: Midnight Horror (PC) 6/10

The Last Crown: Midnight Horror is a mini-adventure, acting as a continuation of the original The Lost Crown. Midnight Horror sees the player return to the town of Saxton, as the supernatural sleuth Nigel Danvers. This time it's Halloween night, and Nigel stops by the local pub (the Bear) to enjoy the festivities. Nigel plans to enjoy getting smashed on rum and trying to win the Halloween triathlon. However, it isn't long before he becomes aware of something legitimately spooky going on, and makes it his mission to discover the Bear's dark past.

Midnight Horror continues many of the same strengths of the original Lost Crown. Great graphics, good writing, decent voice acting, strong atmosphere, and legitimate creep factor. However, the same problems return as well, such as unintuitive plot advancement, scripting glitches, and sometimes asinine puzzles. Apparently Jonathan Boakes was aware this would be a problem this time around, as he includes a free walkthrough with the game itself. Thankfully now you can skip previously heard dialogue, and quickly warp to the next screen. So there's at least some improvement to the old formula.

The Last Crown: Midnight Horror is only recommended to fans of The Lost Crown. Playing this game without having played The Lost Crown first would be unfulfilling. That's because Midnight Horror is a fluff piece to tide existing fans over until Blackenrock releases (the true sequel to the original Lost Crown). That said, Midnight Horror is a decent choice for series fans as a Halloween adventure. It's spooky and silly in equal measure, a proper fit for the holiday. It's also brief enough to be finished in a single sitting. And if the ghosts don't scare you, perhaps the farting cat will.

Post by **MrPopo** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 1:52 am

First 50:

51. Ori and the Blind Forest - Xbox One
52. AM2R - PC
53. Total Annihilation - PC
54. I Am Setsuna - PS4
55. Planetary Annihilation Titans - PC
56. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - PC
57. Dark Reign - Rise of the Shadowhand - PC
58. Dragon Age Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon - PC
59. Dragon Age Inquisition - The Descent - PC
60. Dragon Age Inquisition - Trespasser - PC
61. The Witcher 3 - Hearts of Stone - PC
62. The Witcher 3 - Blood & Wine - PC
63. ReCore - Xbox One
64. Final Fantasy Tactics - PS1
65. Resident Evil 6 - PC
66. Knuckles Chaotix - 32X
67. Assault Suit Leynos - PS4
68. Might & Magic 2 - Gate to Another World - PC
69. Might & Magic 4 - Clouds of Xeen - PC

And my journey into Might & Magic continues. Honestly I probably would have knocked this out immediately after 3 if I hadn't been planning on doing 2 first (as the first five games form a continuous story) and I wasn't sure I wanted to take on 2 yet. Turns out I should have done 2 right away, as it smoothes out so much compared to 1. But no matter, how I've finished 4 and have started 5.

So the Xeen games are the S3&K of the Might & Magic series. While each can be played solo they were intended to combine into one large game. The combined game includes some post-game content once you've finished the main quests of both games; from what I've seen it sounds like it's substantial enough to be worth an entry of its own in a games beaten list like a good story DLC. But we'll get to that when I get there.

Clouds of Xeen actually has the strongest story of the M&M games I've played so far. Whereas the first three games gave you a story of "go forth and explore" and then you would pick up on little things here and there until you found your main quest, in Clouds of Xeen you start off with knowledge that some specific bad shit has gone down, and that is the thread you will keep pulling on through the game. That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of side content to distract you along the way.

Compared to Isles of Terra Clouds of Xeen is fairly low powered. You can only train up to level 20 (and can gain an additional two free levels from certain discoveries) and the regular towns don't even teach all the magic spells (there is a hidden town that teaches everything at the end of a dungeon). I never found a piece of Obsidian equipment and only a handful of gem equipment. It's clear they knew Darkside of Xeen was coming and they didn't want you to be too overpowered for that. I've done the first town of Darkside and I'm one shotting everything, but the experience rewards are also appropriate for my level (maybe just a touch light). It'll be interesting to see how things feel as I start exploring.

Clouds of Xeen has a better world map, in my opinion. Isles of Terra was very segregated by the aforementioned isles, which made exploration a bit more clumsy. There's also a better progression of difficulty across the map (including the dungeons), so there were less scenarios where I felt like I was stumbling across enemies way out of my league. Speaking of dungeons, there's actually three kinds. There's caves, dungeons, and towers. Caves can be freely entered, are underground, and have a natural texture to them. Only one of these is required to beat the main quest; the rest are optional. Dungeons and towers both require keys to enter. Dungeons are underground, like caves, but they tend to have wall textures indicating they are purposely constructed. You end up having to do most of these to beat the main quest, though there are a few that are locked until you do the combined content. Finally, towers go up instead of down and they fit in a small circular area, like you would expect. It also seems that a couple of the towers extend into a cloud area; you need to use levitate to walk on clouds or you fall and take lots of damage (though it is survivable at high levels). Make sure you retreat to safe ground at night so you don't get screwed when morning hits and levitate wears off. These cloud areas have more hints and also some nice treasures in them. These three kinds of dungeons make exploration feel a bit more varied.

If you liked Isles of Terra then you'll enjoy Clouds of Xeen; it takes what Isles did and makes it even better.

Post by **Ack** » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:52 am

Awesome! I suppose then that I will need to get back on the mainline Might and Magics train.

Post by **isiolia** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:11 am

1. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One)
2. DOAX3 Fortune Edition (PS4)
3. Uncharted 4 (PS4)
4. DOOM (2016) (PC)
5. Halo 5 (Xbox One)
6. Dark Souls (PC)
7. Call of Duty (PC)
8. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PC)
9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4)
10. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
11. Bloodborne (PS4)
12. SOMA (PC)
13. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4)
14. Dark Souls III (PS4)
15. Lords of the Fallen (PC)
16. Demon's Souls (PS3)
17. Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (PC)
18. Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel (PC)

Similar to playing the Artrorias of the Abyss, I didn't only play the DLC. Instead, I opted to buy the Deluxe Edition of Dark Souls III for PC when it was on sale...which still cost more than simply buying the season pass for PS4, and of course meant that I'd need to replay the game on that platform, but hey, 60fps...

Also similar, I managed to hit up stuff I'd missed the first playthrough, yet still finish in substantially less time - save file is at about 25.5 hours, and I'd say 3-3.5 of that is from the DLC. (obviously, not impressive at all in the greater scheme, but it was a big improvement for me :lol:

)

Anyway, I came into the DLC with high hopes since it's again a Painted World, just the Painted World of Ariandel instead of Ariamis. For those that may not be familiar, the Painted World of Ariamis is an optional, sort-of-hidden area in Dark Souls. A common bit of trivia regarding it is that it was the prototype/proof of concept for the game as a whole, which the developers liked so much that they wanted to include. Similarly, the boss was originally meant to be the main NPC, but things went a different direction.
Appropriately, in terms of lore, it's a refuge for things that have no place in the larger world. As an area, it's (understandably) a microcosm of Dark Souls, and a real highlight of that game (even if it does have a basement filled with bonewheel skeletons :evil:

).

The prospect of another area like that was enticing. Ashes of Ariendel does echo it fairly well, providing a decent variety of environments despite not being especially vast. The initial area that you arrive in can be a bit brutal, but I'd say it lets up once you've fought your way in to the next bonfire or so as enemies get more spaced out. It's pretty nonlinear, paced well, and filled with good lore. So, it's ultimately fairly comparable I'd say.

The potential problem is that, as great a Dark Souls III area as the Painted Word of Ariandel is, it's probably the smallest DLC for a Dark Souls game yet. To be fair, the DLC does also roll in a new PVP arena as well, but I haven't really gotten involved with that side of the series. There are all of two bosses - one is "optional", though it does drop the item you need for the new PVP. The other is the story boss, and... it's reeeeal good. Great lore, great fight, probably will wind up listed in the top ten best for Soulsborne games kind of good.

I enjoyed it, but I also just enjoyed replaying DSIII in general and this was the icing on top (with another DLC to come). Had I paid $15 just for the PVE part of the DLC...I could see being a little let down.

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:36 am

First 50

51. Armillo (WII U)
52. Human Resource Machine (iOS)
53. Alone in the Dark (iOS)
54. The Room 3 (iOS)
55. Monument Valley (iOS)

Monument Valley is a staggeringly beautiful puzzle game. In it, you guide princess Ida through mysterious, M.C. Escher-inspired landscapes:

Only the final level is challenging, and you can breeze through the main game and the Forgotten Shores DLC in a few hours. Nonetheless, it is a sublime experience that I highly recommend to anyone remotely interested in either graphic design or video games.

racketboy.com

Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016

Re: Games Beaten 2016