Games Beaten 2016

Post by **MrPopo** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:38 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
70. Might & Magic 5 - Darkside of Xeen - PC
71. Might & Magic 4&5 - World of Xeen - PC
72. Rise of the Triad - PC
73. Batman Arkham Knight - PC
74. Rise of the Triad (2013) - PC
75. Dishonored 2 - PC
76. TIS-100 - PC
77. Tyranny - PC
78. StarCraft II - Nova Covert Ops - PC
79. Raiden Fighters 2 - Xbox 360
80. Pokémon Omega Ruby - 3DS
81. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - PC
82. 7th Dragon III Code VFD - 3DS
83. World of Final Fantasy - PS4
84. Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - TG-CD
85. Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter - TG-CD

Ys II is a very direct sequel to Ys I; the ending cutscene of Ys I deposits you in the first town of Ys II, and several characters from Ys I will show up before the end. Ys II ends up being better paced overall; rather than one large dungeon making up the latter half of the game you have a larger number of smaller areas. Additionally, I felt like the story was better presented and integrated with the gameplay. It feels like you have better reasons for doing what you do compared to the first game, where you picked up a lot of stuff incidentally that were crucial to the end plot.

The biggest addition in Ys II is the magic system. You get this fairly early on and it ends up replacing a lot of the bump combat, as your primary spell is a fire spell that is more energy efficient than the Metal Blades from Mega Man 2. Later on in the game you can get upgrades for it that cause it to home in; this ends up comboing really well because it tends to put enemies into a damage loop and the difficulty drastically goes down at that point. There is one weird behavior, though; enemies are knocked back based on their facing, so shooting at retreating enemies will pull them towards you (and the knockback is pretty severe). I died more times than I care to admit that way.

The other change that's a corollary of the above is that all but the last two bosses are immune to your physical attacks and must be attacked with the fire magic. I felt this made for more fun boss fights; you had more opportunities to force the player into cycles of dodging attacks then counter attacking with your magic. In Ys I the hitboxes of the player and enemy meant that you frequently were just committed to hoping you did damage faster; it wasn't even as good as the sword combat in a 2D Zelda game. The final two bosses force bump combat on you and it makes them less interesting. The penultimate boss ends up being an exercise of patience as you wait for him to teleport on top of you for safe damage, while the final boss is pretty much down to being leveled up enough (unless you're really good at dodging the meteors, at which point it's playing more like a shmup boss fight where you focus on dodging and get in damage when its convenient).

I definitely liked this better than Ys I; it's clear from this entry that Falcom was willing to iterate on the formula and try and make things more playable.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 10:40 am

Games Beaten in 2016 So Far - 124

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 (8 Games Beaten)

October (10 Games Beaten)

November (6 Games Beaten)

December (10 Games Beaten)

124. Sweet Fuse: At Your Side - PlayStation Portable - December 22

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side was the first game that I ordered online for my PSP months and months ago when I first got the system, but it wasn't until this week that I actually got around to playing through it. I ordered it based on Exhuminator's recommendation in a discussion about visual novels. I know the genre is really hit or miss in terms of whether or not people like it - you usually either love them or find them dreadfully boring - but I fall into the former category; I'm a HUGE visual novel fan.

I'm quite familiar with visual novels, but this was my first otome game (which, for those who don't know, involves a female protagonist surrounded by male supporting characters, typically involving a romantic interest). I'm a HUGE fan of harem anime (probably because I'm a sad, lonely little man), so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the reverse of that, but I gotta admit, I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't think it'd be my cup of tea, but while I still much prefer my good ol' harem story, I really enjoyed this one.

The premise of the story is that your uncle is the designer of a new video themed amusement park that's opening, and as his niece, you get to go to the park's grand opening. Then the Ferris wheel explodes, and a terrorist in a pig costume (I'll call him Oinksama bin Laden because I think that's a better name than his actual name) takes your uncle and the investors in the park hostage and says that he'll kill them and blow up the entire park if seven people fail to complete seven deadly challenges in seven day. Being an idiot high school girl worried about her uncle's wellbeing, you volunteer. Six other sorry saps are then drafted into Oinksama bin Laden's twisted game.

That brings me to my first gripe with the game. With visual novels, I have higher expectations for story and plot than I do for other genres of games, so I was more than a little disappointed when I finished the game with absolutely no clue who Oinksama bin Laden is, why he took hostages, or why he wanted to blow up the park. There are different endings based on which character you chose to romance (I picked the awkward reclusive gamer because I identified most with him), so I don't know if you get a "true" ending from seeing all six of the character endings, but the ending I got left a lot of unanswered questions that I feel even with a "true" ending should have at least been hinted at.

In addition to the unanswered questions, I also felt that my particular route's ending was too abrupt. It's the virtual novel romance story equivalent to some serious blue balls. I'm not going to spoil that route's ending, but it was a major let down. I mean, it made sense and fit the characters, but still, I was disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of that route's path-exclusive scenes and dialogue, however, so overall, I think the awkward loner gamer route evens out as a good pick. I'm also not sure if there are different endings for each route based on how high your affection level is and if I missed any opportunities to raise that, so I could have gotten the "bad" ending for that route. Not entirely sure.

All in all, Sweet Fuse: At Your Side is a good visual novel, and it's definitely the kind of niche PSP exclusive that deserves a spot in one's collection. The myriad of endings give it a ton of replay value, but unfortunately for me, I just didn't find the game's overall narrative interesting enough to warrant subsequent playthroughs. That's not to say that I found the story bad or wanting or anything. It's just not my cup of tea personally. For one whose VN style of choice is otome, it's probably a fabulous game, and I suspect that I'd have been much more into it if it were a harem game. It's a good game, but it's spot on my personal "Favorite Visual Novels" list isn't too high.

Post by **marurun** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 10:46 am

MrPopo wrote:There is one weird behavior, though; enemies are knocked back based on their facing, so shooting at retreating enemies will pull them towards you (and the knockback is pretty severe). I died more times than I care to admit that way.

A similar issue has turned up in at least two other Hudson-programmed games: Neutopia 1 and 2. In Neutopia the fire wand has knock-back, but that knock-back is based on your facing when the knock-back occurs. So if you shoot the fire wand at an enemy and then turn your back on them they are rocketed into you. This is especially problematic when the wand is powered up and can do multiple hits. You can accidentally drag an enemy from all the way across the screen at very high speed right into your unprotected back.

Hudson needs to figure knock-back out, quite badly.

Post by **MrPopo** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:59 am

Thanks for the heads up; Neutopia and its sequel are on my list to eventually beat. Though since it's based on your facing that should make it easier to use; I just have to remember to kill things dead before turning my back on them.

Post by **TSTR** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 1:08 pm

MrPopo wrote:I just have to remember to kill things dead before turning my back on them.

good life advice imo

Post by **Exhuminator** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:22 pm

131. Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor | Android | 7/10

Here's a pretty fun spider simulator about exploring an old mansion while making webs and catching bugs. You can make your spider crawl, jump, and create webs just with finger swipes, as you uncover clues about the mansion's past. As innovative as the controls are, they are equally aggravating both in imprecision and sporadic unresponsiveness. The game is broken up into stages (different rooms), where you must catch a certain amount of bugs to clear each one. Spider's pleasing graphics and unique design go a long way to make up for its highly repetitive gameplay and interactivity foibles.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ider&hl=en

Post by **Sarge** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 6:49 pm

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:
159) Rise of the Tomb Raider - Lara's Nightmare (PS4) (DLC)
160) Titanfall 2 (PS4)
161) Soul Blade (PSX)
162) Axiom Verge (PC)
163) Owlboy (PC)
164) Nitro Ball (ARC)
165) Desert Breaker (ARC)
166) Dead Connection (ARC)
167) Crystal of Kings (ARC)
168) Crime Fighters (ARC)
169) Vendetta (ARC)
170) Super Contra (ARC)
171) Contra (ARC)
172) Sunset Riders (ARC)
173) Rastan Saga (ARC)
174) Growl (ARC)
175) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ARC)
176) Red Clash (ARC)
177) Dreaming Sarah (PC)
178) Crimson Clover WORLD IGNITION (PC)

A trippy, short platformer that's more adventure game than anything. It's... well, it was pretty meh. The platforming was unsatisfying, and I've seen weird done other places better. So... 4/10. Could be a worse way to spend two hours, though.

I realized I didn't say much about Growl. Not much to say, honestly. It's a average brawler by Konami with a stupid premise that gets even weirder at the end. Basically, poachers are killing animals, they'll help you out some along the way, and the last boss is... a giant centipede that's been controlling the poachers? Weeeeeeird. Also gets a 4/10 from me.

Oh, right. I also didn't mention Rastan, which is one of my absolute favorites in the arcade. The skating rink in a nearby town had it, and it always creeped me out. Part of it is the music, but an even bigger part is that your life meter literally has a beating heart, and when you're about to die, it does a "thump, thump" faster and faster. Yeesh. It's got some excellent platforming, I love the feel of swinging weapons, and it's also one of those cheap games that disallows continuing on the last level. Boo. I got through by jacking up the number of lives and using Final Burn Alpha for save states just to make absolutely sure I made it, 'cause I went through three times! Make sure to use up all your lives against the level 5 boss so you can go in with a full complement for level 6. 9/10.

It should also be noted that Volgarr the Viking uses quite a bit of inspiration from Rastan, along with some Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts.

EDIT: There are people that have probably cleared Crimson Clover WORLD IGNITION on a single continue.

I will never be one of them.

Good grief.

I mean, yeah, it looks great, the action is nuts, but it crosses the line for what I find in a shmup. Not that I'm necessarily a shmup connoisseur, but I really don't like for them to be too bomb-dependent, and this one feels like the key is managing normal shots versus building up for bombs just to stay alive. I'm not sure I can even adequately rate it. I suspect hardcore shmuppers will say it's 9/10 territory at least, but I'm left throwing it further down the chute at around 7/10. I see the appeal, but it ain't for me.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:40 am

Games Beaten in 2016 So Far - 125

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 (8 Games Beaten)

October (10 Games Beaten)

November (6 Games Beaten)

December (11 Games Beaten)

125. Bugs vs. Tanks! - 3DS - December 23

Bugs vs. Tanks! is a game that I picked up on the 3DS eShop months ago - maybe even a year ago - when all of Level 5's stuff was on sale. I'm a huge fan of Liberation Maiden, and all of their games were on sale for like $1, so I figured what the hell, I'll give them all a download. I might even play them some day! Well, at least for this game, "some day" came during my sleepless night last night, and I gotta admit, as much as I love sleeping and wish I could have done some of that last night, there are way worse ways to spend a sleepless night.

Bugs vs. Tanks! puts you in the shoes of a German tank commander during World War II (that's right, you actually get to play as the Nazis in this game, although you don't do any really Nazi things). You and the rest of your tank battalion find yourselves shrunk to microscopic size and in a fight for your lives with all manner of typically harmless bugs. Of course, you assume that this is some sort of dastardly Allied superweapon - because why wouldn't you immediately blame your enemies in war? - but then you discover an Allied tank battalion that's also been shrunk, and they assume that it's the result of the some dastardly Axis weapon.

The game is comprised of 40 levels that take roughly five minutes to complete. The first 30 levels are your main story missions; the last 10 are essentially epilogue missions. Those last 10 missions still continue the story from the first 30, but they're very much "extra" in terms of narrative. The narrative isn't really the strong point of the game, though - it's the bug killing. Who hasn't at some point wanted to shoot a giant ant in the face with a German Tiger tank? Or is that just me? Is that weird?

The gameplay works like your standard third person tank shooter. You move and turn your tank with the circle pad, and you rotate your cannon with the Y and B buttons. Holding the L button will zoom out the minimap displayed on the bottom screen. Doing so sacrifices the ability to see enemies on the map, but it does roughly triple the amount of the map that you can see - very useful for finding the off-to-the-side places that often hold hidden upgrade tanks scattered throughout the game. As for firing your tank, there are two modes - Manual and Automatic. If you select Manual, the R button will fire your cannon. If you select Automatic, the AI will automatically fire the tank cannon as soon as you turn it to face an enemy, and holding the R button will prevent him from firing. You also have a machine gun on the front of the tank that will constantly fire at enemies in front of you automatically. The machine doesn't do any actual damage, but it can stun your enemies, giving you the opportunity to fire off another shell or two before the bugs get close enough to attack you. It plays a lot like a cross between Earth Defense Force and Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and absolutely everything about that is a good thing.

There is a co-op mode (I assume only local wireless, not wifi, but I'm not sure), but I wasn't able to test this out. From what I can tell, though, it's much like EDF's co-op mode - you just play through missions with two to four allies, though it seems like the co-op missions in this game are mission that are made specifically for co-op rather than just playing through the campaign with friends. One other feature of note - they're a function that gives you a bonus if you have save data from another Level 5 game on your SD card or system storage (I had a Liberation Maiden playthorugh save on my SD card), you unlock a beautifully gaudy solid gold tank that is much stronger than the first few tanks you unlock, giving you an advantage early on while you learn the feel for the game. It's certainly not a must, but if you like tacky things like me and enjoy being just a little bit overpowered in the beginning, it's worth noting, especially if you've got Liberation Maiden or Crimson Shard on your 3DS (I think there might be one or two other games that are also compatible, but I don't remember for sure).

Bugs vs. Tanks isn't a masterpiece for the ages that pushes the boundaries of gaming norms, but it is a really fun way to waste three or four hours. I'm not sure I can say that it's worth the normal $8 price tag, but if you find it on sale for $5 or less, absolutely download this game. Its simplicity is part of its strength; it's easy to pick up, easy to learn, and loads of fun, especially with the various paint jobs that you can unlock. You can unlock polka dots, hearts, tie-dye, and about a gazillion different camo patterns and colors along with your standard solid color paint jobs (I, of course, played the whole game with the tie-dye). If you're looking for a good time killer for short bursts on the go, look no further than Bugs vs. Tanks!

Post by **Exhuminator** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 11:01 am

Elkin there is an interesting correlation in the last two games you've beaten that you may not be aware of; Keiji Inafune (most famous for his work on the Mega Man series). He designed Bugs VS Tanks, and he makes an appearance in Sweet Fuse as Saki Infaune's kidnapped uncle.

And yes, Saki Inafune is a real person (Keiji's IRL niece) whom Aksys chose to base Sweet Fuse's protagonist on.

Also, in your Sweet Fuse review, you lamented not finding out more about Hogstein. You don't have to play through all the paths to figure it out. You just have to play through the secret character's path. When you start up your second playthrough, a new scene will happen at the very beginning of the game introducing a guy you've never met before. He will ask you about your pig keychain and if you make the correct response, the love bomb icon will pop up. That should put you on his path and you can find out the rest of the important information about Hogstein.

Post by **ElkinFencer10** » Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:12 pm

Exhuminator wrote:Also, in your Sweet Fuse review, you lamented not finding out more about Hogstein. You don't have to play through all the paths to figure it out. You just have to play through the secret character's path. When you start up your second playthrough, a new scene will happen at the very beginning of the game introducing a guy you've never met before. He will ask you about your pig keychain and if you make the correct response, the love bomb icon will pop up. That should put you on his path and you can find out the rest of the important information about Hogstein.

Ohh, I didn't know there was a secret character. I assumed there might be, but since I finished it up literally a couple hours before getting on the Interstate to head to my mom's house, I didn't bother checking. I'll probably run through the game again with that character just to answer some of my lingering questions once I get home. Thanks for the heads up!

racketboy.com

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