Been lax again in updating. Haven't really been beating that many games this year and have been playing more online multi-player orientated stuff like GTAV, Overwatch and STO.
Anyway, here's what I have actually beaten recently.
Chip and Dale: Recuse Rangers (NES)
Enjoyable enough Capcom platformer which I think is a little overhyped. It's pretty easy, there isn't a lot of variety in the levels or enemy design and every boss battle is beaten the same way. I played it on my own so I guess it works better as a two-player affair? I like how it plays with scale, ordinary objects appearing massive to Chip unt Dale but otherwise it was just okay. Ducktales kind of kicks its arse really in every department, aside from multi-player.
Super Mario Land (GB)
Obligatory yearly playthrough of SML. Still love it despite how un-Mario it is. Superb soundtrack, great level design, perfect length. One of few games where my nostalgia clouds my judgement; I cannot divorce the game's obvious short comings from my memories of beating this game on countless long car journeys as a child. I played it so much my dad can hum the end theme from memory.
Doom (Xbox One)
I've mentioned before how much I've enjoyed the recent spate of high quality single player orientated FPS games with stuff like Wolfenstein: TNO, Shadow Warrior and Hard Reset being stand outs. Then Doom comes along and raises the bar another notch. I'd enjoyed the beta of the multi-player and was hoping the campaign was at least decent. I wasn't expecting it to be such a savage and delicious blend of the old and new. Killing stuff has a decidedly old-skool flavour, like TNO, where every bullet counts, swapping guns on the fly is a must and cover counts for nothing. But then it combines this with a great sense of verticallity and greater control over player movement. Doomguy was always fast but now he's nimble, able to vault ledges and jump large distances to ensure the player has a fighting chance against the hordes of hell.
The story is pretty well played as well, insofar as Doomguy himself (through actions rather than words) doesn't really give a bobbins about why the demons have returned, rather he knows they must all die. And die as violently and gorily as possible.
Really brilliant reboot. I'm not a Doom 3 hater, I actually quite enjoy it and understand it's place in history. Like Quake 4 it was caught at a crossroads of FPS design. Doom 4 however manages to feel like a true sequel to the original Dooms and be its own thing. Some modern-y game design mumbo-jumbo does kind of creep in; there are a lot of upgrades and doodads to collect, some more useful than the others. And it has a tendency towards the end to just keep throwing more monsters at you in increasingly smaller spaces. But it's big dumb fun. I also quite like the multi-player mode, even if it is a bit Quake 3-lite. Shame no one else plays it.
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine (360)
Slightly disappointed by this one. I wasn't expecting greatness but I was hoping that it might provide some dumb laughs. I was also hoping that it's emphasis on melee combat would set it apart from the Gears of the world and it kind of does, but then it starts to invite comparisons to games with better melee combat.
That was kind of the issue I had really all along: it made me think I should be playing something better. There is nothing Space Marine does particularly badly, the melee and ranged combat is solid and there are a variety of fun weapons and moves to use. It's just a bit bland. It doesn't help that the environments are uninspired, kind of a crime considering the rich visual lexicon of the franchise, and the story cliche to a tee. Even the late emergence of the always amusing Chaos Space Marines couldn't really save it.
There isn't any invention or zip. You look at how gun play is handled in a game like Vanquish or how melee is done in Metal Gear Rising and you realise Space Marine is a bit of a lunkhead next to them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360)
Finally completed the Modern Warfare trilogy. Always been a bit a guilty pleasure for me. I love how utterly stupid and bombastic these games are. The first couple of levels set in a war torn New York are fabulous in their use of scale and pyrotechnics. It's a real rollercoaster ride, even if that does mean sacrificing player agency a lot of the time. Things kind of mellow out after that, there is a pointless sojourn to Africa that mixes up the visuals but breaks the pacing and the end battle is little more than an elongated cut scene, but it's still a lot of fun. The Red Dawn style plot of Russia simultaneously invading the whole world is hilariously overblown and its attempts at pathos are so hamfisted they end up being funny. All glitz and glamour, little depth but still a blast while it lasts. Can't ask for more.
Call of Duty: World at War (PS3)
I had higher hopes for this than MW3 but ended up disappointed. Something about the game feels very stop-gap. The visuals are a bit muddy, the gameplay is last-gen and generally I found the whole thing a slog. I much preferred the Russian campaign elements than the America ones, the latter of which tended to focus more on ambushes and irritating enemies rushing you for an instant death. Perhaps it was that I played it so soon after MW3 but WAW lacked any sense of the grandiosity I associate with the series, barring the final fight in the Reichstag. The massive tank battle was cool though.
Mega Man 4 (Xbox One)
Wasn't a huge fan of this either. I found some of the bosses irritating, the hit detection to be spotty and I have never been a fan of the elongated Wily sections of the Mega Man's which MM4 takes to extreme levels. There is some good stuff in here, the music and graphics are as ever absolutely spot on. I enjoyed much of the game preceding the Wily castle in fairness, with the exception of Pharoh Man, he can suck it. And it introduces the charge shot ( I think?) that has become a staple of the series so there is touch of innovation while it iterates.
Like all the NES Mega Man games, they are a sharp step up in quality from a lot of stuff that was around at the time. I just found this entry lacking. Unlike...
Mega Man 2 (Xbox One)
...which is a stone cold classic. Top-tier level design, music, tight gameplay, Wily levels that don't suck or go on forever. Brilliant. One of the very best 8-Bit games ever and in a select handful of games from that era that could be released tomorrow and be as playable and fresh as they were on release.
Deadpool (Xbox One)
Another one I had high(ish) hopes for that was kind of a let down. Made by High Moon studios, they of the wonderful 360/PS2 Cybertron games, Deadpool is another third person melee-shooter action game with an upgrade system and boss battles and a bunch of other stuff you've seen a hundred times before.
What is supposed to set Deadpool apart then is the titular character himself, in all his zany glory. Except, aside from a few chuckles here and there, the script kind of lets him down. Don't get me wrong, the tone is completely different from the usual game in this genre, going for a much more irreverent and flippant approach, while Deadpool being Deadpool a whole tower block of fourth walls get broken down. There are jokes about the player needing upgrade systems to feel special, Deadpool himself will point out that his special metre is full and chastise you for not using it, etc. There's even one genuinely inspired part where Deadpool walks off during a cutscene, expecting you the player to follow him with the camera. For the Marvel geeks there's some fun pokes at the comics and their characters. Then there's a load of low brow stuff about boobs and poop, so it covers all its bases.
All that however can't really stop it being a second-tier action brawler. The graphics, despite the added power of the Xbox One, are cookie cutter. The combat is pretty good actually and mixing melee with guns mid-combo can be quite satisfying. There is an issue that the game provides Deadpool with three melee type weapons, four guns and four thrown type weapons, all with their own upgrade trees and unlocks but no situation ever really tests you enough to go beyond the standard swords and pistols combo. Indeed in a way it provides too much choice in too little time as unlocking even one of the upgrade trees for a single melee and gun in the short playtime of the game will probably leave you without the moolah to even buy additional weapons and skills. But on the whole the combat is where the game shines and there are some nicely challenging battles towards the end of the game.
If you liked the recent Deadpool film you'll probably get a kick out of it. If you're a comic fan like me, you'll also get a kick. But if you want a solid action brawler, maybe best to look elsewhere.
