Games Beaten 2016

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 11:37 pm

First 50:

51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System)
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)
58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
59. Code of Princess (3DS)
60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System)
63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC)
64. Shan Gui (Steam)
65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
66. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (ColecoVision)

Generally speaking, I love second gen platformers. But this one's pretty terrible.

Right off the bat - the controls. As you may know, the ColecoVision controller has fourteen action buttons. Wanna know how to make a smurf jump? Up on the control disc. Oh, but it gets worse. To jump up and right to clear obstacles you must hold the disc straight up and then on the descent gently tap right. Sort of. I can't even explain it, or manage to get the jumps to behave in a consistent fashion. Sometimes I go really high, sometimes I stay low to the ground.

The game itself? Jump over shit. Like lethal patches of grass, for example. Keep trudgin' along until the girl smurf is saved.

I will admit that the graphics are pretty sharp, as is the walking animation. And it's always nice to see multiple music tracks in a game this old. But when the final turd drops what you're left with is a broken down mess of a game that pales in comparison to the likes of Donkey Kong, Kangaroo, Mountain King, and dozens of others. Pretty shocking, given the exemplary quality of the other Smurfs games. Avoid.

Post by **Exhuminator** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 9:32 am

103. Jet Impulse|DS|2007|flight sim|4h 45m|8/10

Developed by Gevo Entertainment, and published by Nintendo in Japan in 2007, Jet Impulse is a shameless Ace Combat rip off. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Namco must have been overwhelmed with a sensation of admiration. Because despite being a rip off of Ace Combat, Jet Impulse manages to be a really, really good rip off. This is definitely I Can't Believe It's Not Ace Combat! for DS.

The gameplay is relatively simple to describe. You choose a plane, listen to a briefing, fly the mission, accomplish your goals (destroying enemies mainly), and reap the reward points. Reward points can be used to unlock new planes for further missions. Occasionally you watch cutscenes that advance the plot. It's not a complicated cycle, but it's enjoyable, as mission variety is pretty decent, and the nuts and bolts fit well. By that, I mean the controls are super tight, the graphics are decent with an excellent frame rate, and difficulty balance is fair yet challenging. And Jet Impulse even manages to use the bottom touch screen in non-obnoxious ways, always a plus for an early DS title.

However, Jet Impulse is still a Japanese game, that is currently only available in Japanese. From a game-playing perspective this is not a big hindrance for someone who can't read Japanese. However, Jet Impulse has a very complex plot, told by many, many cutscenes. Some cutscenes are shown via actual anime, some are talking heads with dialogue boxes, and plenty of cutscenes are rendered in-game via polygons. Also it seemed that every single line of dialogue was voice acted, impressive given the platform. If you are unable to understand Japanese, you definitely miss out on a huge portion of the game design... Jet Impulse's obviously intricate and in-depth plot. Oh well, you can still blow plenty of stuff up even if you don't know why you're doing it.

See the little DS Air logo down and to the left?

The sad thing is, English speakers almost got the chance to have Jet Impulse in their own language. Nintendo was originally planning to localize Jet Impulse under the name "DS-Air", and made this information available to game journalists at the time. However, Nintendo must have decided that the massive cost of localizing a game like this with all its cutscenes and voice acting, wouldn't have been offset by the admittedly niche demographic who appreciate arcade flight sims... and on a handheld no less. That fact coupled with Nintendo trying to push the DS as a more casual-friendly device, and not a platform for hardcore games like Jet Impulse, makes understanding why Jet Impulse was ultimately not localized very clear.

I am a big fan of Ace Combat, and thus Jet Impulse was immediate comfort food for me. It plays well, runs well, and is very ambitious given its platform. So of course I wish Nintendo had actually localized this game. At the same time, to be honest, most gamers don't care for flight sims in general... so it's understandable. However, if you do enjoy arcade flight sims, and you own a DS, I strongly recommend importing Jet Impulse. If you really want to understand the plot, you can always read a synopsis online. But it's hardly important if all you want to do is blaze across the blue skies, while firing a fountain of missiles in a mach speed death machine.

Post by **marurun** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 6:09 pm

BoneSnapDeez wrote:Right off the bat - the controls. As you may know, the ColecoVision controller has fourteen action buttons. Wanna know how to make a smurf jump? Up on the control disc. Oh, but it gets worse. To jump up and right to clear obstacles you must hold the disc straight up and then on the descent gently tap right. Sort of. I can't even explain it, or manage to get the jumps to behave in a consistent fashion. Sometimes I go really high, sometimes I stay low to the ground.

It's been a while since I played it, but I managed to get the jumping down pretty reliably. This one's going to be dependent upon the condition of your controller, but I think if you just hit "up" twice the second jump will make you jump forward automatically...

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 12:14 am

First 50:

51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System)
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)
58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
59. Code of Princess (3DS)
60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System)
63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC)
64. Shan Gui (Steam)
65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
66. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (ColecoVision)
67. Gateway to Apshai (ColecoVision)

Gateway to Apshai is the final entry in Epyx's seminal Dunjonquest RPG series (unless you count the Temple of Apshai Trilogy, which was a bundle of remakes) and the only entry to appear on a console. Second gen console RPGs are a rare breed, and there's something undeniably fascinating about them.

While most Dunjonquest games are abstruse and difficult CRPGs, Gateway is a stripped-down hack and slash loot-collectin' dungeon-crawlin' ARPG. The concept here is simple - traverse through eight levels (you could call them floors I suppose), each one more difficult than the last, whilst dodging death and achieving a worthy high score. There is no ending to be seen here - level eight loops indefinitely.

Perhaps the most difficult thing about this game was figuring out how to play it. The game feels designed with a joystick + keyboard control scheme in mind (it was also released on the C64 and Atari 8-bit computers); here the keyboard has effectively been replaced with the ColecoVision number pad. Now, either side fire button performs an action. What action is performed is dependent on what "mode" (chosen by a numerical key) is currently active. For example, to attack the number 1 has to be pressed sometime before the fire button. Need to open a locked door? Press 4 to switch to keys, then fire. 1 will have to be pressed again to switch back to fight mode should enemies lay other side of the freshly-opened door. There are additional buttons used to search for traps, use an item, drop an item, the status screen, the equipment screen, and so on.

The level structure is also a bit baffling. There are eight, as mentioned, but at the beginning of each level one can also choose any "dungeon" from 1-99. Changing this number shifts around the rooms of each level. It's essentially window dressing as the actual content (enemies, items, traps, and so on) remains the same. Of course this didn't stop the developers from advertising the game as one containing "792 dungeons."

Levels don't contain exits. You can explore all you want but never find one. How does one progress to the next level? There are two ways to do this. One is to let the clock run out. The other is to press the 0 button. Yes, you can advance ahead any time. Does this mean that one can press 0 multiple times to effectively "beat" the game? Yes, if you wanna be a douche about it.

Experience points are awarded at the end of each level. They are based on who the hell knows. Points, I would assume? I will say that if you chose to jump ahead without proper exploration and loot-gathering awarded XP will be zero which will make enemies in the next stage extraordinarily hard to kill.

Ah yes, the combat. The game's downfall, really. Most everything else is fun: the loot collecting, the weaponry, the wandering... But combat sucks. It's extremely difficult to slay enemies without taking massive damage yourself, and everything just boils down to a button-mashing frenzy. On many occasions I found it best to simply outrun foes, or lure them into a spot where the dumb AI causes them to get trapped in a corner. In addition to the shaky combat controls, HP is not displayed on screen but rather in the status menu. This means that during the course of any given skirmish it's impossible to tell if an enemy if beating you senseless with each blow (run!!!) or only taking away 1 HP at a time (stay and fight). It's a huge oversight that really mucks up the entire experience.

Despite this glaring flaw, I'd recommend the game. If only for historic purposes. As one of the earliest action-RPGs it's pretty fascinating. Only game in the series that's really accessible too, as the rest where released on floppies/tapes on obscure systems like the VIC-20 and TRS-80. All three versions of Gateway to Apshai are cartridges, and typically run about $20.

Post by **Flake** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 12:18 pm

3/19: Sonic Generations (3DS)
3/22: Sonic Colors (Wii)
4/10: Sonic Adventure DX (GCN)
4/17: Knuckles in Sonic 2 (SG/WiiVC)
6/15: Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP/PSTV)
8/4: Metal Slug (Arcade/PS4)
8/5: Metal Slug 2 (Arcade/PS4)
8/5: Metal Slug X (Arcade/PS4)
8/5: Metal Slug 3 (Arcade/PS4)
8/22: Megaman X (SNES/GCN)
8/29: Megaman X2 (SNES/GCN)
9/3: Megaman X3 (SNES/GCN)
9/3: Megaman X4 (PSX/GCN)
9/4: Megaman X5 (PSX/GCN)
9/5: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PSN/PS3)
9/6: Street Fighter V (PS4)
9/10: Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PSX)
9/17: Dragonball Xenoverse (PS4)

Feel like I am making a lot more progress in gaming during the back half of the year. Based on a recommendation by noiseredux, I picked up the PSX release of Super Puzzle Fighter from the local brick and mortar store. Got a decent price - only $14.

This game does a lot of what I wished the HD Remix on PSN did. There is a neat mode where you unlock dozens of items and costume colors. There is a lot more variety in win quotes, as well. Oddly, I preferred the graphics on the PSX release. In retrospect, the HD remix changed a lot of things for no reason and it made the games art assets feel like they were mismatched.

I also played through Dragonball Xenoverse again. It's such fun game as long as you do not bother with online competitive modes - players that were awesome to cooperate with become cheating jerks the moment you are fighting against each other. The sequel comes out late next month and I am pretty psyched for it.

Post by **isiolia** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 6:22 pm

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)

Played a little shy of 98 hours, taking down all the bosses in the main game and all three DLCs. Raised the level of a couple areas for boss drops, but otherwise just did NG. Made liberal use of NPC Phantoms if they were particularly useful for a boss.

Thoughts:

HLTB · Post by **Xeogred** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 6:33 pm

Nice stuff. Yeah, DS2 has consistently been my favorite experience with the online elements for sure compared to the others.

HLTB · Post by **Xeogred** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 11:49 am

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)

* replay

Haven't updated in a bit, but RE1 is the best.

PS3 version, imported for a physical copy. Comes with full audio/text English, reversible English cover art. Basically, full English.

Chris. 83 Creatures Dispatched. 358 Ammo Used. 30 Ink Ribbons Used. 24 Health Items Used. 9h 46m 14s
Jill. 93 Creatures Dispatched. 300 Ammo Used. 26 Ink Ribbons Used. 17 Health Items Used. 6h 07m 24s

This is the first time I think I've completed a Chris run, though maybe I did it back on the PSX at one point. So, I was tricked into playing "easy" with him though. It gives you some weird ambiguous difficulty options and I naturally assume the middle one is normal, but it's easy and the last option is normal. So I guess hard mode isn't unlocked from the start. After beating it, you get an additional option on the main menu that's "Once again..." that just flat out lists: very easy, easy, normal, and hard. I enjoyed my run with Chris so much this time around that I ran through it with Jill right after and beat both in just a few sessions.

Funny enough I never died with Chris and it's not that it was on easy mode, but I somehow got by some of the instant death traps like the boulders and whatnot. But it probably does help that he can take more damage than Jill. With Jill and that run, I died like 4 times to the boulders, and the Tyrant one shot me at one point. Sheesh!

It was cool that some new costumes were unlocked from the start. BSAA Jill and RE5/Roid Chris.

I still like Jill's campaign a bit more, for Barry, and her bigger inventory size. But despite having the lockpick... there is something about the progression early on that was different, and in a strange way I felt like with Chris I systematically traversed the mansion more efficiently. Maybe I picked the perfect doors a the the perfect time with the "small keys" (instead of Jill's infinite lockpick for those doors), but yeah. I'm sure the events are arranged a little differently. It was also nice having Rebecca around to "treat his wounds"... you know what that means.

I used to think the trophy list for this version was insane, and I still do in many ways. Beat it under 3 hours, beat it without saving, beat it only using the knife, etc to name a few. But it finally hit me replaying it again, that this game is seriously pretty much Metroidvania in design and that's why it's basically perfect. I imagine you can do some of these tasking trophy runs on very easy, so maybe they actually aren't that bad. But really, by this point I can probably map out the entire game. Still not always sure on the FOUR main keys and which doors they unlock, but I think it would be really fun to scientifically break this game apart and learn how to speedrun it. I can see how it lends itself well to that possibility. I found a cool channel and some videos of one guy doing crazy detailed runs if anyone is curious:

Chris - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0q1HeYSsPc
Jill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCliDdObo_k

You also unlock Real Survival mode after beating normal, which sounds interesting. Item boxes are not linked and you can only aim manually (isn't this how the PSX version was?). I think next time around I'll check this mode out or Hard. I once managed RE4 on Perfect, hehe. Always up for a Capcom challenge.

Overall, maybe my top favorite RE... maybe not. It's always a close one between this and RE4. But yeah, REmake HD Remaster is straight up perfection to me. It's a shame that Capcom has stated they will be remaking RE2, but giving it an actual full retooling unlike RE1 which mostly got a remaster with some newly added parts, but the gameplay itself is still mostly unchanged. I have many issues with Zero, but I'm a huge fan of the classic RE gameplay and I'd just love to see RE2 untouched, but with a face lift and maybe some new sections (it is rather short in retrospect). Guess it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

As for the technicalities, REmake HD Remaster here probably looks even better than the PS4 versions of RE4-RE6. It really is a shame this style of games with beautiful backdrops died off. Until Dawn did fixed camera angles again extremely well though. I keep hoping we'll see a resurgence with this type of game someday. Tank controls be damned, I love them. Bring it.

REmake HD Remaster. Get it. 11/10.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:49 pm

Games Beaten in 2016 So Far - 95

January (20 Games Beaten)

February (8 Games Beaten)

March (8 Games Beaten)

April (13 Games Beaten)

May (6 Games Beaten)

June (13 Games Beaten)

July (7 Games Beaten)

August (15 Games Beaten)

September (5 Games Beaten)

95. Attack of the Friday Monsters! - 3DS - September 17

This is a 3DS download game that came highly recommended from a number of different people and sources, so I had high hopes going into this one. It's definitely one of the most unique 3DS eShop games, and it's got a lot of charm in a fun, child-like adventure sort of way. The game is part TCG and part third person adventure. The gameplay consists of controlling a little kid as he goes around his new town meeting people and figuring out what's going on with the monsters that appear in town every Friday. Along the way, you collect cards that you use to play Monster Cards with the other kids in town (it's basically rock-paper-scissors fleshed out into a full game).

Without giving too much of the story away, you play as the son of the town's new dry cleaners in a town whose main draw is the television studio where monster TV shows are filmed, and every Friday afternoon, monsters appear right outside the town. The different quests are called "episodes," and some will be finished almost as soon as they begin while others may last from the very beginning of the game until the very end (which will probably take you roughly 3 hours).

It's a very unusual game, and it really does give you feeling of being 9 years old again with the wacky adventures that kids that age conjure up for themselves. Despite the fact that I have a lot of admiration for the game and think it's an excellent addition to the 3DS digital library, I didn't care much for it. The Monster Card games were entertaining, but the overall game and story left me feeling very "meh." I think the biggest reason for that is that I have a hard time getting into stories that don't have meaningful character development, and while the game is well made, the characters are - with only a couple of exceptions - very flat. That's not necessarily a bad thing. You don't HAVE to have fleshed out character development to have a good game. For me, however, it's a bit of a turn off, and I think that's why I didn't enjoy the game as much as most people do.

If you've got a 3DS, I'd absolutely recommend giving it a download. It's not all that expensive, and it is a very chill, relaxing experience. Just don't go into it expecting a deep story or complex character development.

Post by **Markies** » Sun Sep 18, 2016 4:47 pm

1. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GCN)
2. Max Payne (XBOX)
3. Eternal Poison (PS2)
4. Dragon Warrior III (NES)
5. Arkanoid: Doh It Again(SNES)
6. Super Mario Brothers 2 (NES)
7. Phantasy Star Online (DC)
8. Power Stone (DC)
9. Bare Knuckle 3 (GEN)
10. Thousand Arms (PS1)
11. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GCN)
12. Mega Man 5 (NES)
13. Ninja Gaiden (NES)
14. Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (XBOX)
15. Mega Man 6 (NES)
16. Metal Saga (PS2)
17. Mafia (XBOX)
18. Parasite Eve (PS1)
19. Shining Force (GEN)
20. San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing (N64)
21. Bushido Blade 2 (PS1)
22. Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2)
23. ActRaiser (SNES)
24. Resident Evil 4 (GCN)

I beat Resident Evil 4 on the Nintendo Gamecube this afternoon!

I have only barely touched the Resident Evil series. I'm not a big fan of gore or horror, so the series never interested me. Also, when I did try and play it, I never got past the clunky controls and cheap deaths. It wasn't until Resident Evil 4 came out with revamped controls that I started taking interest. I was willing to give the game a shot and see if I could actually play one from the series.

The beginning took some getting used to. Immediately, you are thrown into the fire pit and I died several times. However, I kept at it and eventually, I was able to get past the difficult part. And that became the story of the game. I would get to a hard part, die a few times and then eventually overcome the obstacle.

The game is utterly flawless. There were only a few small areas where I was frustrated with the controls. At every single moment, I felt like I was in complete control. I never felt like I was too under powered or even over powered. The progression is simply phenomenal as the enemies never felt too difficult. Only one boss really felt cheap in the entire game.

Also, the story is rather intriguing. You never notice that large chunks of the game are one large escort mission. It is implemented so well that it goes off without a hitch. Plus, Ashley is never a pain and never gets in your way. It is done so well that you do not even notice it.

This was my first Resident Evil game and it is utterly fantastic. As having no attachment towards the series, the game is very enjoyable to play. In fact, it felt like a gateway game to the series. I'm now curious to try other entries and see if they are like this.

racketboy.com

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