Anything that is gaming related that doesn't fit well anywhere else
User avatar
laurenhiya21
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 1115
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:20 pm
Location: Wash-a-ton

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by laurenhiya21 Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:40 pm

1/16: Diablo III (PC)
1/19: Picross E (3DS DL)
1/23: Baroque (Wii)

Total: 3 games

Man I really need to learn to not put off doing this till the last minute. :| I'm a bit sick right now so forgive me if a few things are a little off or if I skim over some things.

Diablo III
I honestly had no intention of playing this for a long while (just didn't seem that interesting to me), but my boyfriend wanted me to try it out so he got the game for me. While I did have fun playing with him and his friends, outside of that I find it's only ok.

The story is really forgettable and short, and after that you're kind of expected to just continue going through the dungeons getting better and better loot. I was fine with that for a little while, but once I got pretty good gear, a majority of the new stuff you get will be not as good. Since there isn't really any other goals outside of that I find I get really bored with that very quickly. Don't get me wrong, I feel like it's pretty well made but it's just not the kind of game I can really enjoy for long periods at a time.

Picross E
Before playing Picross E, I was playing a lot of the new Pokemon Picross. The problem with Pokemon Picross is that it's free to play and it gives out it's paid currency suuuuuper slowly. I like to do multiple puzzles in one sitting, but no way I could do that with Pokemon Picross (unless I paid $30 I think it was?).

But then I found Picross E. Much cheaper than $30, plenty of puzzles, nice difficulty ramp up, and has a few things to help you out just in case a certain puzzle is being a pain (like blue numbers that let you know which rows you can work on). Obviously it doesn't have Pokemon in it, but I don't care. I just wanted to scratch my Picross itch and this did that very well.

Baroque
Baroque is one of those games where I played a long while ago, didn't beat it, and has been sitting on the shelf for years and years, left unbeaten. Well not my shelf since my sister owns the copy I played originally, but whatever same idea. But it feels really great to finally beat this after at least five or six years (according to my old save file). What's even better is that it's better than I remember it being, or perhaps I've just learned how to appreciate this sort of game a little more. :lol:

I'll start off with my only negative: the story. It's not really a big negative, since I didn't really go into it expecting a great narrative but I kind of wish I could understand it a bit more. It starts off with the main character being sent off by the Archangel to the Neuro Tower to purify the "deranged" Absolute God at the bottom floor. Throughout the game you sort of learn why we wants you do that, why other DON'T want you do that, and the main character's past but a lot of it is told in this very cryptic way. Perhaps I missed some cutscenes that would of cleared a few things up for me, or perhaps I'm just really bad at deciphering these sorts of things. Either way, I came out of it thinking "What??". I did have to end of using a guide because of this, but I think that helped me enjoy it more so I could focus more on the game and less on being confused.

Everything else I either liked or it didn't detract from the game that much. Like the voice acting is only alright, but the characters were so weird and/or interesting that I didn't care about that. Another thing is that the dungeons tend to look a bit bland, but I didn't care since I was often busy enjoying the gameplay. It's very similar to a normal rogue-like (procedurally-generated floors, lots of different items to pick up, your level and items are cleared after you exit) but the biggest difference is that it's all real-time instead of turn-based. Now that kind of works against it a little bit, since I generally ended up button mashing my way through enemies but this does make it pretty tense at times. This was especially true near the end of the final dungeon run-through, where there would be a ton of enemies that are essentially running around with rocket launchers.

So all in all, while this might be a little bit too odd for many people to enjoy, I'm really glad Exhuminator gave me a copy so I could give it another chance :)

Also that's two RPGs down, ten more to go! Next up is Etrian Odyssey IV, which I hope I can get back into. I'm already pretty far into it, but I stopped playing a while ago since I got really stuck :|
Image
User avatar
fastbilly1
Site Admin
 
Posts: 13775
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:08 pm

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by fastbilly1 Mon Jan 25, 2016 4:50 pm

1 - Portal DS
A fan made "port" of Portal featuring about a dozen levels, many fan made ones, and an integrated level editor. It is a technical marvel. It retains the challenge of the PC game, though without the story or comedy (think of it like the coop missions from Portal 2). Some parts are super aggravating - aiming, change portal, and jump, are all touch screen based, but the entire package just left me in awe that it exists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlXYyjhOYQU
User avatar
Exhuminator
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 11573
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:24 am

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Exhuminator Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:04 pm

@laurenhiya21

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found Diablo 3 to be a bit boring. Also big time congrats on finishing Baroque. You are the real deal. 8)

1. Mega Man ZX Advent|DS|2007|platformer|8h|7/10
2. King's Field III: Pilot Style|PS1|1996|dungeon crawler|1h|8/10
3. Sleeping Dogs|360|2012|action-adventure|20h 45m|8/10
4. Sleepings Dogs: NiNP DLC|360|2012|action adventure|1h 22m|5/10
5. Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS|GB|1992|shmup|33m|8/10
6. Vattle Giuce|GB|1991|shmup|45m|5/10
7. MechWarrior 2 (Clan Wolf)|PS1|1997|mech sim|2h 35m|7/10

My quest to finish all GB shmups worth finishing continues with...

Image
8. Gradius: The Interstellar Assault|GB|1992|shmup|27m|8/10

ImageImage
Above average graphics, nice controls, decent OST. Rather short game, but the difficulty level will make it take a while regardless. The most interesting thing here are the really impressive level transitions. There are some fairly tough bosses as well. If you are a Gradius fan this is worth owning.

Image
9. Solar Striker|GB|1990|shmup|23m|7/10

ImageImage
Here's a shmup I owned in 1990 and completely forgot about. Going back to revisit it was quite a nostalgia trip. It's a very simple shmup in every aspect, but it's also completely solid. The difficulty is well balanced and never infuriating. I love the power up and life up sound effects. I'm tempted to call this one a classic, but it's probably just nostalgia talking. Levels are dirt simple bland and the bosses are underwhelming. All the same for being such an early entry on the Game Boy, Solar Striker got a lot more right than wrong.
Last edited by Exhuminator on Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
User avatar
BoneSnapDeez
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 20116
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by BoneSnapDeez Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:07 pm

How are you pwning these so quickly? Shmups are hard!
User avatar
Sarge
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 7276
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 12:08 pm

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Sarge Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:09 pm

I recently beat Solar Striker. Well, if "beat" includes save states, but whatevs. Anyway, your description is spot on. It's a remarkably solid game, especially considering the hardware and when it came out... but it also doesn't stand out that much. I'd say the game is workmanlike.
User avatar
Exhuminator
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 11573
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:24 am

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by Exhuminator Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:10 pm

@Bone

Because I've been playing these GB shmups off and on for years.* Some on hardware, some via emulation. I've got a lot of practice with most of them. Just decided to finally finish a bunch off. However, give me a shmup I'm not familiar with, and watch me crash and burn. A lot. Over and over.

*GB shmups left in my box are...

R-Type 1 & 2
Aerostar
StarHawk
Nemesis

If anybody knows any other really good GB shmups I'm listening, especially imports.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
User avatar
MrPopo
Moderator
 
Posts: 23908
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by MrPopo Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:15 pm

Baroque certainly lives up to its name. I'm still not sure what the story was about.
Image
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
User avatar
laurenhiya21
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 1115
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:20 pm
Location: Wash-a-ton

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by laurenhiya21 Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:49 pm

@Exhuminator Thanks! 8)

MrPopo wrote:Baroque certainly lives up to its name. I'm still not sure what the story was about.
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that :lol: I wasn't sure if that was just me since whoever wrote the wiki page seems to understand a lot more of it than I do lol
Image
User avatar
MrPopo
Moderator
 
Posts: 23908
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by MrPopo Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:54 pm

laurenhiya21 wrote:@Exhuminator Thanks! 8)

MrPopo wrote:Baroque certainly lives up to its name. I'm still not sure what the story was about.
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that :lol: I wasn't sure if that was just me since whoever wrote the wiki page seems to understand a lot more of it than I do lol

I'm pretty sure that was a multi person effort on the level of figuring out the history of the late middle dynasty of Egypt.
Image
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
User avatar
prfsnl_gmr
Next-Gen
 
Posts: 12199
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

Re: Games Beaten 2016

by prfsnl_gmr Mon Jan 25, 2016 6:13 pm

Exhuminator wrote:R-Type 1 & 2


The GB port (i.e., R-Typ DX) is really well-done, and it is a great entry point for the "real" R-Type games.
Return to General Gaming

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests