Games Beaten 2016

[dsheinem]

Awakening wasn't DLC. It was an expansion. So I think it's unfair to compare it to the others.

I know - and wish that they still were doing expansions. *sigh*

In any case, I look forward to giving these a spin soon.

[Sarge]

Inquisition is already so long and packed with content (some of it filler) that the lack of an "expansion" really doesn't bother me. I didn't finish all the DLC or quests, and I still had 80 hours in the game.

[noiseredux]

y'know I started Awakening but never finished it, which is kind of weird cuz I loved Origins so much. I must have gotten sidetracked by a new release or something.

[MrPopo]

Awakening also has a dangling plot hook at the end. So that's three major plot hooks available for future games.

[dsheinem]

Awakening also has a dangling plot hook at the end. So that's three major plot hooks available for future games.

I do wonder how Gaider's exit will impact future DA writing...

[Fragems]

Haven't updated in a while so 3 to add.

1. 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (DS)
2. The Order 1886 (PS4)
3. The Division (PS4)
4. Until Dawn (PS4)
5. The Crew Wild Run Edition (PS4)
6. Mad Max (PS4)
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)
8. Black Ops III (PS4)
9. The Last of Us Remastered + Left Behind DLC (PS4)
10. Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (XB1)
11. Rise of the Tomb Raider (XB1)
12. Gone Home (PS4)
13. Life is Strange (XB1)
14. Doom (2016) (PS4)

Gone Home

Great game they had it free for PS+ around a month ago so I finally picked it up. Great story and just about the perfect length. Given that the game takes place in a single house they did a really good job with the layout and pathing and it never got dull. There are also a boat load of collectibles which slowly explain the multiple stories of the characters within the house. For a game where you are alone it has some pretty interesting and well developed characters. Overall well worth checking out and it's on sale pretty regularly.

Life Is Strange

Life is Strange is an amazingly good adventure game. I went in expecting something on par with Murdered Soul Suspect which I found interesting, but somewhat clunky however this is leagues above that. There is a lot going on in this game and with the time travel element your free to experiment as much as you like with your choices which is a nice change from being locked into a decision. About the only thing I didn't care for in the game were the graphics they felt a little outdated for this gen and I wasn't a fan of the blurry artistic style they used. If you are into adventure games this is definitely well worth picking up and can be found on sale pretty regularly I snagged my Limited Edition with art book and soundtrack for a little over $15 at gamestop.

Doom

They did an amazing job with this game. They did a perfect job of modernizing the game play without loosing the feeling of speed and power from the originals. The maps are extremely well done flowing perfectly with plenty of secret locations to explore if you are into that. The enemies are also spectacular and the game loves throwing mountains of them at you to turn to into red paste. The leveling system is also one of the best I've seen in an FPS with plenty of upgrades for you to earn through killing demons, exploring the environment, and completing challenges. Really if you are into shooters and liked the original doom this is a must have game hit up amazon or gamestop now it's only $20 and well worth it.

Can't wait to try out the user created snapmap content either I've heard great things about some of those creations.

[PartridgeSenpai]

y'know I started Awakening but never finished it, which is kind of weird cuz I loved Origins so much. I must have gotten sidetracked by a new release or something.

I thought Awakening paled in comparison to Origins, so I totally understand why someone would drop it. The writing is awful, and nowhere near the level of quality of Origins. I felt more fulfilled by the hour or two that Witch Hunt takes up, because those characters are actually written well, than I did with all of Awakening. Awakening is also far too easy compared to Origins, so the combat wasn't really fun anymore :/

[MrPopo]

Awakening raised the level cap but the class balance was based around the existing level cap. And that's before you include the busted third specializations.

[alienjesus]

1. Ys Book II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter PSN Vita
2. 3D Streets of Rage 2 3DS eShop
3. 3D Gunstar Heroes 3DS eShop
4. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 3DS eShop
5. 3D OutRun 3DS eShop
6. Mugen Senshi Valis II: The Fantasm Soldier PCE CD
7. Mugen Senshi Valis III: The Fantasm Soldier PCE CD
8. Bomberman PCE CD
9. Rocket Knight Adventures Mega Drive
10. Trax Game Boy
11. Panic Bomber Virtual Boy
12. Arcana Heart 3: Love MAX!!!!! Vita
13. Super Monkey Ball Gamecube
14. Lost Kingdoms Gamecube
15. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Gamecube
16. 1080° Avalanche Gamecube
17. Bubble Ghost Game Boy
18. Catrap Game Boy
19. 3D Thunder Blade 3DS eShop
20. 3D AfterBurner II 3DS eShop
21. 3D Fantasy Zone II W: The Tears of Opa-Opa 3DS eShop
22. Ikaruga Gamecube
23. Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal Vita
24. New Adventure Island PCE
25. WarioWare Twisted! GBA
26. Dragon Warrior NES
27. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D 3DS eShop
28. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors DS
29. Gargoyle's Quest Game Boy
30. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee PS1
31. Puyo Puyo CD PCE CD
32. Retro City Rampage DX 3DS eShop
33. Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition 3DS eShop
34. Super Puyo Puyo Tsuu Remix SFC
35. Super Aleste SNES
36. Sega Rally Championship Saturn
37. Knuckles' Chaotix 32X
38. Mystic Quest Game Boy
39. Nano Assault EX 3DS eShop
40. BOXBOY! 3DS eShop
41. Gunman Clive 3DS eShop
42. Persona 4 Golden Vita *NEW*
43. IA/VT Colorful Vita *NEW*
44. Persona 4: Dancing All Night Vita *NEW*
45. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards N64 *NEW*
46. Quartet Master System *NEW*
47. Die Hard Arcade Saturn *NEW*
48. Metal Slug: 1st Mission NGPC *NEW*
49. Child of Eden PS3 *NEW*
50. Rayman 2: The Great Escape Dreamcast *NEW*

I've finally hit 50 for the year, so I'll shrink the list above with a spoiler next time I post.


Child of Eden

Child of Eden is a rhythm based rail shooter for PS3 and 360, by the guy who did Rez if I understand correctly. It was designed to be played with motion controls, but it works just fine with a control pad too, which is good as that's how I played it (I don't have a Playstation Move).

In the game you use two types of shot - a lock on shot with the x button which lets you select up to 8 attacks before unleashing a homing shot on them, and a rapid fire shot with the square button which is used to take out the rare purple enemies (who resist your lock-on shot) as well as to defend yourself from incoming shots by shooting them down. There'salso a screen clearing bomb. In practice, this is pretty similar to Panzer Dragoon, only without the angle changing of that game. Instead though, the game awards bonus points for unleashing your shots in rhythm with the music.


The game sets out to invoke a sense of synaesthesia, with all of the actions you take providing visual and audio feedback - the game is full of bright colours and pumping music, and they interact in a really impressive way. In addition, the control vibrate in time with the rhythm of the song, providing even more synaesthetic feedback - and also giving you feedback on when to unleash your shots for the best points. The visual and tactile element works really really well, and really makes you get into a trance like state while playing where you just end up intently focused on the game. It makes me wonder how well the Kinect version would play, as I feel the force feedback is the most crucial part of the package in terms of tying it together.

The game has a kinda nonsense plot about you saving the internet or something, only the internet is a pretty lady, and she sings sometimes, anmd pops up in the visuals. It's an odd presentation, but it alkways felt like progress was being made when you saw her face come into focus - something that was emphasised by the fact that the music, which was typically audio only to now would start to feature snippets of distorted audio which would gradually form themselves into a proper, belted-out song as you finished off the bosses of the stages. Really fun and gratifying.


Musically, the game features very electronic, club style tracks. They're not really my thing, but they work really well for the game and I got into them. The visuals features lots of geometric shapes and symbolic iconography (gears, lotus flowers, butterflys, ocean life) in a very surreal structure. All of the enemies generally felt like something either biological or mechanic though - they would swim, or fly, or writhe to the music.And the color of the game was spectacular - absolutely gorgeous bursts of colours that really made me wish I had an OLED TV or something to play it on. Apparently, the game even supports 3D TVs, although I clearly had no way to try that feature out.

The game isn't perfect - it's major issue is it's short length - it's only 5 levels long, and playing through all 5 will only take about an hour or so. The game tries to compensate by drawing out the experience, which is more annoying to be honest - you get awarded star rankings for finishing levels, and must accumulate a certain number of stars to unlock the next level. This isn't really skill based as stars are cumulative - the next level typically just requires you to play previous levels a couple of times to get enough stars. It's not crazy drawn out, but it just feels redundant. The game also gives you a super hard level for beating it, as well as a hard mode, so I don't feel it needed artificially drawn out. The game is also challenging at times - I died a few times, and dying means restarting the whole song.

Child of Eden is a fantastic experience. It plays well, looks and sounds stunning and I really got into it. Even better, it goes for pennies now too - my copy cost me £3. At that kind of price, you'd be absolutely stupid not to own it.



Rayman 2: The Great Escape

Rayman 2 is a 3d platforming game for the Dreamcast, and game R of my extensively drawn out alphabet marathon.

I've had Rayman 2 for a long time - I got the game with my Dreamcast when I first bought the system about 8 years back. A year or two later, I played Rayman for Together Retro, and hated it. So I wasn't keen to play this one.

I needn't have worried though, because Rayman 2 is much more up my alley. Rayman's world has been taken over by robot pirates, so you run, jump, hover and fight through 18 stages to save the day, collecting lums along the way. There are 1000 of them to collect (although this hilariously drops to 999 when an enemy eats one during the game), and you need to get a certain amount to progress at certain points.

The levels are linear, and just require you to get to the end, unlike the mission based structure of many comparable 3D platformers. It's a refreshing change for the genre, and it's complemented by the multiple game mechanics introduced as you progress - a level where you waterski, a level where you ride a rotating chair on a rail, levels where you fly, or ride a rocket propelled barrel, or literally just ride a rocket, which has little legs and neighs like a horse. It's a lot of fun.


The graphiocs are nice aesthetically, and some of the music is great too. The Dreamcast version is supposedly the best version in this regard - it's had a big visual and audio overhaul from the N64 game. It does however struggle with the consoles limited controller - camera control is assigned to X and Y rather than the c buttons or rioght analogue stick, which even after putting in 12 hours in a single sitting (I spent a whole day beating this game), never really felt natural.

Rayman 2 isn't perfect - the camera can be a source of frustration for sure. Ironically, it's normally fine on the platforming section where you have free control - the issue is on the auto-scrolling sections, which is ironic as this is the only time the develop should know exactly where you're going, so the camera should be perfect. The difficulty level varies a lot too, and some of the toughest levels are early on - the jetskiing level is the 3rd stage and also one of the hardest in the game.


Rayman 2's wierdest trait is how it basically abandons everything that made the first Rayman popular - not that I mind as I didn't liek that game anyway, but it might aswell just be any character for all the similarities it has to Rayman 1. The world is often bleak and dark instead of bright and colourful. Lots of the characters are new. The gameplay is very different, and most of raymans notable powers from the first game don't return. Rayman doesn't even throw his fist anymore, which seems really bizarre to me, as that's one of his most notable traits. Instead he shoots energy balls from his hand. I don't see why, if they gave him a projectil weapon, he couldn't throw his fists as before? Combat can also be pretty tedious overall, as many enemies take multiple hits to take out, and have a few seconds of invulnerability between hits. It gets tedious fast, but luckily combat is not a focus.

Rayman 2 is not up there with the upper echelons of early 3D platformers, such as Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. However, it is a pretty solid game overall, and is definitely one of the best of the rest. Constant small issues stop it from being definitive, but it's a fun, action packed romp that kept my attention long enough for me to beat it in one day. I'd recommend it.

[prfsnl_gmr]

First 25

1. Ultimate NES Remix (3DS)
2. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS)
3. World of Goo (iOS)
4. A Dark Room (iOS)
5. Shovel Knight (WII U)
6. The Room (iOS)
7. Mega Man 10 (PS3)
8. The Room Two (iOS)
9. Braid (PS3)
10. Kung Fu Fight! (WII U)
11. Kung Fu Rabbit (WII U)
12. Escape Goat (360)
13. Canabalt (iOS)
14. Leo's Fortune (iOS)
15. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
16. Grim Fandango Remastered (iOS)
17. Dust: An Elysian Tale (360)
18. Shantae (GBC)
19. 3D Space Harrier (3DS)
20. 3D After Burner II (3DS)
21. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS)
22. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB)
23. Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut (WII U)
24. Final Fantasy Adventure (GB)
25. Furdemption (iOS)

26. Virtua Fighter Remix (SATURN)
27. Manos The Hands of Fate (iOS)
28. Virtua Fighter 2 (PS3)
29. Fighting Vipers (PS3)
30. Ikari Warriors (PS3)
31. Virtua Cop (SATURN)
32. Virtua Cop 2 (SATURN)
33. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director's Cut (iOS)
34. Virtua Racing (PS2)
35. Daytona USA (DC)
36. Sega Rally Championship (SATURN)
37. RayForce (iOS)
38. Hundreds (iOS)
39. Don't Look Back (iOS)
40. Finding Teddy (iOS)
41. Shantae & The Pirate's Curse (WII U)
42. Dragon Warrior II (GBC)
43. Guardian Heroes (360)
44. Ninja Smasher! (3DS)
45. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS)
46. 2 Fast 4 Gnomz (3DS)
47. Aeternoblade (3DS)

Aeternoblade is a solid exploration-oriented action platformer with a fun time-travel mechanic. I really enjoyed it, but it has a host of issues that make it difficult to recommend. (I have written about it in other threads, and many of its negative reviews make valid points.) I purchased it for $5, and I put nearly 31(!) hours into it to achieve 100% completion. (Going for 100% completion is the way to play this game, BTW. You miss all of the interesting sections and the most ambitious parts of the game's story if you just run through it.) Also, the game can be very challenging at times, and it absolutely refuses to hold your hand once you get past the first stage. I appreciate that, and I appreciate the nuances of the game's character enhancement and puzzle design. That said, not everyone will, and I understand why some people really dislike this game.

In sum, Aeternoblade suited me, but it might not (and, in fact, it probably won't) suit you. If any of you decide to play through it, however, I will be interested in discussing it with you.