Games Beaten 2017
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
It's as good as any modern Tales game. Dunno if that's saying much.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
75) The Mafat Conspiracy (NES) (5.0) (9/1) (~1.5 hours)
76) Snake's Revenge (NES) (8.0) (9/4) (~4 hours)
77) Ys: Memories of Celceta (VITA) (7.5) (9/4) (~25 hours?)
78) Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble (NES) (5.0) (9/7) (~2 hours)
79) 1943: The Battle for Midway (NES) (7.0) (9/9) (~2.5 hours)
80) Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (ARC/360) (5.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
81) Arkista's Ring (NES) (6.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
82) Bad Dudes (NES) (4.0) (9/9) (~45 minutes)
83) G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (NES) (7.0) (9/10) (~2 hours)
84) Target: Renegade (NES) (2.0) (9/10) (~1 hour)
85) Gyruss (NES) (8.5) (9/11) (~1 hour)
86) Renegade (NES) (3.5) (9/12) (~30 minutes)
87) Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) (9.0) (9/18) (11h35m) (16h total time)
88) Rambo (NES) (4.5) (9/19) (~3 hours)
89) Return of Double Dragon (SFC) (8.0) (9/20) (~1 hour)
90) Wizards & Warriors (NES) (6.5) (9/21) (~1.5 hours)
91) Wizards & Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES) (6.5) (9/23) (~4 hours)
92) Wolverine (NES) (3.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
93) The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper (NES) (6.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
94) Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (NES) (6.5) (9/24) (~2 hours)
95) The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy (NES) (6.0) (~1 hour)
So, to take a break from all the wizards, warriors, and whatnot, I played through The Jetsons on NES. It was one of the rare-ish titles from Taito, but not so rare that it was out-of-sight expensive. Well, not so much anymore, it's apparently into the triple digits now.
(I found a copy several years back in the local pawn shop for pretty cheap.)
If I had to describe the game, I'd say it's a Rescue Rangers clone, but without as much technical know-how involved. The game feels like it moves at half the normal frame rate, and controls aren't always as responsive as one would like. You get power-ups you can use along the way, fueled by "power pills". These are pretty neat, sometimes being very useful. The annoying bit, though, is that every time you use one, it then resets your selection to nothing. This can really get you if you're depending on, say, the magnetic boots in a fight and you forget to swap every time.
There are times where the game is spiteful as well. It doesn't feel particularly well-balanced, and is a lot tougher than you'd expect from a licensed cartoon game. It's not a terrible game, but it doesn't do much to bring itself above average.
As for our buddy Fabio, well, he stars as Kuros in Ironsword. It was pretty much what I remembered, actually; a little more ambitious than the first game, but balanced terribly. It has some of the same cheapness involved, but this time the game sees fit to limit your continues. You can use passwords, which I suppose can serve the same as save states. That's probably the best way to slide through; you can either save-scum the mess out of it, or write down passwords for your best runs through the game and on acquisition of major items. The former just shortens that curve a bit.
The presentation is pretty much how I remembered it, too. The game has a lot more nice little touches in the graphics. It clocks in as the most cohesive and compelling entry visually (despite some very strange enemies at times), and the soundtrack is decent enough as well. The first game is better in that regard, though.
Really, it strikes me that after a good bit of deliberation, I think all three W&W games are about the same level of quality, but for completely different reasons. They're above average jaunts that can be fun for an afternoon, but not something that will ever be mistaken as one of the absolute classics.
EDIT: Flintstones is just a'ight. Kinda like The Jetsons. The programming feels a little better here, though. Annoying music most of the time, very repetitive stuff. The ledge-climbing mechanic is neat once you get it down; it reminds me a bit of Aladdin on SNES. That game is waaaay better than this, though.
Also, compared to its sequel, the game is ridiculously cheap.
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
75) The Mafat Conspiracy (NES) (5.0) (9/1) (~1.5 hours)
76) Snake's Revenge (NES) (8.0) (9/4) (~4 hours)
77) Ys: Memories of Celceta (VITA) (7.5) (9/4) (~25 hours?)
78) Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble (NES) (5.0) (9/7) (~2 hours)
79) 1943: The Battle for Midway (NES) (7.0) (9/9) (~2.5 hours)
80) Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (ARC/360) (5.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
81) Arkista's Ring (NES) (6.0) (9/9) (~1 hour)
82) Bad Dudes (NES) (4.0) (9/9) (~45 minutes)
83) G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor (NES) (7.0) (9/10) (~2 hours)
84) Target: Renegade (NES) (2.0) (9/10) (~1 hour)
85) Gyruss (NES) (8.5) (9/11) (~1 hour)
86) Renegade (NES) (3.5) (9/12) (~30 minutes)
87) Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS) (9.0) (9/18) (11h35m) (16h total time)
88) Rambo (NES) (4.5) (9/19) (~3 hours)
89) Return of Double Dragon (SFC) (8.0) (9/20) (~1 hour)
90) Wizards & Warriors (NES) (6.5) (9/21) (~1.5 hours)
91) Wizards & Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (NES) (6.5) (9/23) (~4 hours)
92) Wolverine (NES) (3.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
93) The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper (NES) (6.0) (9/23) (~1 hour)
94) Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (NES) (6.5) (9/24) (~2 hours)
95) The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy (NES) (6.0) (~1 hour)
So, to take a break from all the wizards, warriors, and whatnot, I played through The Jetsons on NES. It was one of the rare-ish titles from Taito, but not so rare that it was out-of-sight expensive. Well, not so much anymore, it's apparently into the triple digits now.
(I found a copy several years back in the local pawn shop for pretty cheap.)If I had to describe the game, I'd say it's a Rescue Rangers clone, but without as much technical know-how involved. The game feels like it moves at half the normal frame rate, and controls aren't always as responsive as one would like. You get power-ups you can use along the way, fueled by "power pills". These are pretty neat, sometimes being very useful. The annoying bit, though, is that every time you use one, it then resets your selection to nothing. This can really get you if you're depending on, say, the magnetic boots in a fight and you forget to swap every time.
There are times where the game is spiteful as well. It doesn't feel particularly well-balanced, and is a lot tougher than you'd expect from a licensed cartoon game. It's not a terrible game, but it doesn't do much to bring itself above average.
As for our buddy Fabio, well, he stars as Kuros in Ironsword. It was pretty much what I remembered, actually; a little more ambitious than the first game, but balanced terribly. It has some of the same cheapness involved, but this time the game sees fit to limit your continues. You can use passwords, which I suppose can serve the same as save states. That's probably the best way to slide through; you can either save-scum the mess out of it, or write down passwords for your best runs through the game and on acquisition of major items. The former just shortens that curve a bit.
The presentation is pretty much how I remembered it, too. The game has a lot more nice little touches in the graphics. It clocks in as the most cohesive and compelling entry visually (despite some very strange enemies at times), and the soundtrack is decent enough as well. The first game is better in that regard, though.
Really, it strikes me that after a good bit of deliberation, I think all three W&W games are about the same level of quality, but for completely different reasons. They're above average jaunts that can be fun for an afternoon, but not something that will ever be mistaken as one of the absolute classics.
EDIT: Flintstones is just a'ight. Kinda like The Jetsons. The programming feels a little better here, though. Annoying music most of the time, very repetitive stuff. The ledge-climbing mechanic is neat once you get it down; it reminds me a bit of Aladdin on SNES. That game is waaaay better than this, though.
Also, compared to its sequel, the game is ridiculously cheap.
Last edited by Sarge on Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Markies
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
ElkinFencer10 wrote:Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 100
Congratulations on beating 100 Games in 2017!
You and several other people make this my favorite thread on the forums. I love to read your reviews and look forward to each one!
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ElkinFencer10
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- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Markies wrote:Congratulations on beating 100 Games in 2017!
You and several other people make this my favorite thread on the forums. I love to read your reviews and look forward to each one!
Aww, thanks! That means a lot.
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 101
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (9 Games Beaten)
September (11 Games Beaten)
101. Dying: Reborn VR - PlayStation VR - September 24
Dying: Reborn VR was the other game that I downloaded bundled with Weeping Doll, and at first, I was pretty into it. I quickly discovered, however, that UploadVR was spot-on when they gave their review the header "Should Have Stayed Dead." This is a brilliant example of what's wrong with VR - too short, too basic, and too expensive. Thanks god I got mine in that bundle on sale.
So here's the first issue with Dying: Reborn VR - it's not a full game. Oh, they charge the $10 price tag of a full game, but it's not one. Dying: Reborn on Vita and PS4 is a six chapter game; what you get in Dying: Reborn VR is abridged versions of the first three chapters. You get no conclusion or even the full versions of the first three levels. It's little more than a glorified and premium-priced demo. The story isn't even good, either, so I finished the "game" with zero desire to know how the full story ends.
Thankfully, when compared to Weeping Doll, the visuals are improved in Dying: Reborn VR, and the issue of audio cut out was absent. Unfortunately the sound effects were worse, the music was horrible and way too loud, and the voice acting is legitimately among the worst I've ever heard in a game. Not only that but it seems to have been done all in one take as the voice actors would say things completely different from the subtitles on screen and even stumble over their lines a bit. I actually HOPE it was done in one take because if that's the product of rehearsals, re-recordings, and editing, then I can only assume that they literally grabbed some random guy off the street and said "Here, you're voicing this character that no one will ever care about. You've got five minutes to rehearse."
Dying: Reborn VR managed to be an even worse game than Weeping Doll. It looks much better, and the atmosphere is certainly creepy, but the game just FEELS like a rip-off given that you're paying for what is, in reality, less than half of a game. That's a real shame, too, because the puzzles are actually pretty good. They're not masterful works of a genius or anything, but they make you think and are relatively enjoyable to solve. It sucks that those puzzles are completely undermined by a bullshit business model and no way to get the rest of the story short of buying the non-VR "full" game separately. Don't even bother with this no matter how much you love VR; if you want a mediocre "thriller" game with pretty good puzzles, just buy the normal Dying: Rebirth.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
I beat South Park: Stick of Truth the other day. As a lapsed South Park fan (I haven't seen any new episodes for years) it made me really nostalgic and happy to play through. it made me want to rewatch the show.
Probably the best adaptation of a non-video game franchise I can think of, if the combat eventually felt kind of shallow
Probably the best adaptation of a non-video game franchise I can think of, if the combat eventually felt kind of shallow
Re: Games Beaten 2017
1. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (PCE-CD)
2. Mega Bomberman (GEN)
3. Lost in Shadow (Wii)
4. Kirby's Dream Land (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
5. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
6. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (via Wii Dream Collection) (SNES)
7. Saturn Bomberman (SAT)
8. Rent a Hero (GEN)
9. Tricolore Crise (DC)
10. Super Mario: Yoshi Island (SFC)
11. Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchou no Daibouken (Joukan) (SAT)
12. Mickey to Donald: Magical Adventure 3 (SFC)
13. Kishin Douji Zenki: Battle Raiden (SFC)
14. Super Donkey Kong (SFC)
15. Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (SFC)
16. Anearth Fantasy Stories: First Volume (SAT)
17. Panzer Dragoon (SAT)
18. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (SAT)
19. Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)
20. Cross Tantei Monogatari (SAT)
21. Dragon Quest V (PS2)
22. Ryu ga Gotoku (PS2)
23. Dragon Slayer: Eiyuu Densetsu II (GEN)
24. Rokudenashi Blues: Taiketsu! Tokyo Shitennou (SFC)
25. Ranma 1/2: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen (SFC)
26. Contra Spirits (SFC)
27. Dennou Senki: Virtual On (SAT)
28. Dead or Alive (SAT)
29. Fighting Vipers (SAT)
30. Last Bronx (SAT)
31. Steeldom (SAT)
32. Street Fighter Zero (SAT)
33. NinPen Manmaru (SAT)
34. Street Fighter Zero 2 (SAT)
35. Street Fighter Zero 2' (SAT)
36. Virtua Fighter Remix (SAT)
37. Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (PC)
38. Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (PC)
39. Final Fantasy XI: Rhapsodies of Vana'diel (PC)
40. Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin (PC)
41. ToeJam & Earl (GEN)
42. Magical Taruru~to-kun (GEN)
43. Metal Slug X (PS1)
44. Phantasy Star III: Toki no Keishousha (GEN)
45. Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni (GEN)
*I will not be making much of an attempt to avoid series spoilers.*
I beat the final boss of Phantasy Star IV a few times. The game is--good. It's not particularly great, though. In terms of combat, and gameplay, it's really only a touch above average. I appreciate that the dungeons aren't the awful messes they were in PSII and PSIII, but there's still not much of note there, and a number of the dungeons in the latter part of the game are really annoying. The combat is pretty standard stuff, with some rudimentary quality of life adjustments, and a little more panache with the inclusion of special abilities. The thing I really can't get past is how curt the story is in its pacing. It really doesn't feel like it gives enough space to breathe in, and appreciate what's happening within the story. A lot of otherwise poignant moments in the game feel somewhat botched due to the sort of erratic storyboard presentation of it all. It's unfortunate that the story feels a little hampered by what I would call poor delivery, but I don't know that it would be an all time classic, even with better delivery. There's just too much "fluff." For instance, there's really no reason for the Sky Castle, and a rematch with Rashiek--and I'm not just saying that because I absolutely hated the Sky Castle in this game, although that didn't help. I also found it borderline comical how many times I fought the final boss in this game, and how every time, the main characters thought the game was over--. Come on, now. On story alone, I actually think PSII obliterates this game.
I will say that, where PSIV can throw its weight around a bit is in presentation--aside from the OST, which I found to be only a bit better than average, for the console, outside of the three remixes of songs from other games (two of which are godly). The game looks nice. I would also say that I appreciate the game most as an ending to the original Phantasy Star series. I enjoyed parts of Ryucross, and a variety of other sub-story segments for their contributions to the overarching series narrative. For all the crap I've given the story, I do mostly like the characters in the game, too, though. Rudy isn't my favorite protag ever, but he has his moments. The game in general has it's moments, but I thought it was pretty inconsistent.
This is a bit of a tough one for me, because it really didn't live up to what I had heard of the game. It's still good, and I mostly kind of enjoyed it, but I've played too many considerably better JRPGs on the Mega Drive--Surging Aura, Rent A Hero, Legend of Heroes I/II--and there are a bunch of ARPGs on the console that I just find to be better games, too. If we start talking about the Sega CD, forget it; Phantasy Star IV just gets buried. Back in the day, this game really didn't have any competition in the West, though, other than the earlier Phantasy Star games, and lolTraysia. I'm not surprised that it's so well regarded, under those circumstances.
Anyway, I've probably stomped on enough feelings, at this point. I'm certainly not trying to say that PSIV is anything other than a good game. Only that, maybe there's a reason Sega of Japan didn't want to put a number on it--.
Surging Aura is my pick for best Mega Drive JRPG, though. That game is lit.
2. Mega Bomberman (GEN)
3. Lost in Shadow (Wii)
4. Kirby's Dream Land (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
5. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (via Wii Dream Collection) (GB)
6. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (via Wii Dream Collection) (SNES)
7. Saturn Bomberman (SAT)
8. Rent a Hero (GEN)
9. Tricolore Crise (DC)
10. Super Mario: Yoshi Island (SFC)
11. Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchou no Daibouken (Joukan) (SAT)
12. Mickey to Donald: Magical Adventure 3 (SFC)
13. Kishin Douji Zenki: Battle Raiden (SFC)
14. Super Donkey Kong (SFC)
15. Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (SFC)
16. Anearth Fantasy Stories: First Volume (SAT)
17. Panzer Dragoon (SAT)
18. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei (SAT)
19. Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)
20. Cross Tantei Monogatari (SAT)
21. Dragon Quest V (PS2)
22. Ryu ga Gotoku (PS2)
23. Dragon Slayer: Eiyuu Densetsu II (GEN)
24. Rokudenashi Blues: Taiketsu! Tokyo Shitennou (SFC)
25. Ranma 1/2: Bakuretsu Rantou Hen (SFC)
26. Contra Spirits (SFC)
27. Dennou Senki: Virtual On (SAT)
28. Dead or Alive (SAT)
29. Fighting Vipers (SAT)
30. Last Bronx (SAT)
31. Steeldom (SAT)
32. Street Fighter Zero (SAT)
33. NinPen Manmaru (SAT)
34. Street Fighter Zero 2 (SAT)
35. Street Fighter Zero 2' (SAT)
36. Virtua Fighter Remix (SAT)
37. Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (PC)
38. Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (PC)
39. Final Fantasy XI: Rhapsodies of Vana'diel (PC)
40. Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin (PC)
41. ToeJam & Earl (GEN)
42. Magical Taruru~to-kun (GEN)
43. Metal Slug X (PS1)
44. Phantasy Star III: Toki no Keishousha (GEN)
45. Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni (GEN)
*I will not be making much of an attempt to avoid series spoilers.*
I beat the final boss of Phantasy Star IV a few times. The game is--good. It's not particularly great, though. In terms of combat, and gameplay, it's really only a touch above average. I appreciate that the dungeons aren't the awful messes they were in PSII and PSIII, but there's still not much of note there, and a number of the dungeons in the latter part of the game are really annoying. The combat is pretty standard stuff, with some rudimentary quality of life adjustments, and a little more panache with the inclusion of special abilities. The thing I really can't get past is how curt the story is in its pacing. It really doesn't feel like it gives enough space to breathe in, and appreciate what's happening within the story. A lot of otherwise poignant moments in the game feel somewhat botched due to the sort of erratic storyboard presentation of it all. It's unfortunate that the story feels a little hampered by what I would call poor delivery, but I don't know that it would be an all time classic, even with better delivery. There's just too much "fluff." For instance, there's really no reason for the Sky Castle, and a rematch with Rashiek--and I'm not just saying that because I absolutely hated the Sky Castle in this game, although that didn't help. I also found it borderline comical how many times I fought the final boss in this game, and how every time, the main characters thought the game was over--. Come on, now. On story alone, I actually think PSII obliterates this game.
I will say that, where PSIV can throw its weight around a bit is in presentation--aside from the OST, which I found to be only a bit better than average, for the console, outside of the three remixes of songs from other games (two of which are godly). The game looks nice. I would also say that I appreciate the game most as an ending to the original Phantasy Star series. I enjoyed parts of Ryucross, and a variety of other sub-story segments for their contributions to the overarching series narrative. For all the crap I've given the story, I do mostly like the characters in the game, too, though. Rudy isn't my favorite protag ever, but he has his moments. The game in general has it's moments, but I thought it was pretty inconsistent.
This is a bit of a tough one for me, because it really didn't live up to what I had heard of the game. It's still good, and I mostly kind of enjoyed it, but I've played too many considerably better JRPGs on the Mega Drive--Surging Aura, Rent A Hero, Legend of Heroes I/II--and there are a bunch of ARPGs on the console that I just find to be better games, too. If we start talking about the Sega CD, forget it; Phantasy Star IV just gets buried. Back in the day, this game really didn't have any competition in the West, though, other than the earlier Phantasy Star games, and lolTraysia. I'm not surprised that it's so well regarded, under those circumstances.
Anyway, I've probably stomped on enough feelings, at this point. I'm certainly not trying to say that PSIV is anything other than a good game. Only that, maybe there's a reason Sega of Japan didn't want to put a number on it--.
Surging Aura is my pick for best Mega Drive JRPG, though. That game is lit.
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ElkinFencer10
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- Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:34 pm
- Location: Henderson, North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 102
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (9 Games Beaten)
September (12 Games Beaten)
102. Shadow Warrior 2 - PlayStation 4 - September 28
Shadow Warrior 2 is the sequel to the 2013 Shadow Warrior which was a reboot of a 1997 game. I played the first Shadow Warrior reboot a few years ago, but when I saw that Special Reserve Games was doing a physical print of Shadow Warrior 2 (with the original Shadow Run included, too), I had to jump on that. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in the slightest once I finally got around to playing the game.
The basic plot of Shadow Warrior 2 without spoiling much is that you're an extremely skilled (and extremely crude) mercenary/assassin who has someone else's soul stuck in your body with you and who has to prevent an immortal goddess from opening the gates to some void and destroying the world. It takes a lot of Chinese mythology as its inspiration and strings the most gloriously ridiculous story and dialogue out of it.
At the end of the day, Shadow Warrior 2 is a first person shooter, but it's not a first person shooter like most others. The best way I can think of to describe it is Red Steel 2's gameplay with Duke Nukem's humor and Doom 2016's feel. You're using a triple barrel shotgun to blast demons in the face then finish them off with a sword all while making dick jokes. It definitely doesn't take itself seriously but still has rock solid gameplay and pretty dang good controls, and the dialogue and humor are absolutely the best parts of the game. Granted, you have to have a fairly immature sense of humor, but given that my sense of humor never developed past middle school, I loved every second of the game. There's some pretty decent character development over the course of the game as well, but that's honestly the weakest aspect of the writing.
The game's visuals, while not AAA level, are very good. The guns especially have had a lot of care and detail put into their models, and the enemy designs look great. While it's not exactly precise based on where you attack each time, enemies will have chunks blown or cut out of them if, say, you've shot them with a shotgun or cut them with a sword. You'll occasionally have ninja using one arm to attack you because you've cut off the other arm. When you blast an enemy point blank with a shotgun (especially if it's a triple barrel shotgun that fires all three barrels at once), their bodies explode in a cloud of red mist and viscera. Extremely reminiscent of Doom and exceptionally satisfying.
Shadow Warrior 2 isn't going to appeal to everyone. It's MUCH more goofy than serious, and it's almost as over-the-top with crude humor as Shadows of the Damned, but if you're into sex jokes and ridiculous weapons, it's a FANTASTIC game. There are side missions to complete and a ton of weapons to collect and try, so it's not lacking in content. I had an absolute ball with it, and whether you picked up the Special Reserve Games release or have it digitally, it is definitely worth a playthrough.
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (9 Games Beaten)
September (12 Games Beaten)
102. Shadow Warrior 2 - PlayStation 4 - September 28
Shadow Warrior 2 is the sequel to the 2013 Shadow Warrior which was a reboot of a 1997 game. I played the first Shadow Warrior reboot a few years ago, but when I saw that Special Reserve Games was doing a physical print of Shadow Warrior 2 (with the original Shadow Run included, too), I had to jump on that. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in the slightest once I finally got around to playing the game.
The basic plot of Shadow Warrior 2 without spoiling much is that you're an extremely skilled (and extremely crude) mercenary/assassin who has someone else's soul stuck in your body with you and who has to prevent an immortal goddess from opening the gates to some void and destroying the world. It takes a lot of Chinese mythology as its inspiration and strings the most gloriously ridiculous story and dialogue out of it.
At the end of the day, Shadow Warrior 2 is a first person shooter, but it's not a first person shooter like most others. The best way I can think of to describe it is Red Steel 2's gameplay with Duke Nukem's humor and Doom 2016's feel. You're using a triple barrel shotgun to blast demons in the face then finish them off with a sword all while making dick jokes. It definitely doesn't take itself seriously but still has rock solid gameplay and pretty dang good controls, and the dialogue and humor are absolutely the best parts of the game. Granted, you have to have a fairly immature sense of humor, but given that my sense of humor never developed past middle school, I loved every second of the game. There's some pretty decent character development over the course of the game as well, but that's honestly the weakest aspect of the writing.
The game's visuals, while not AAA level, are very good. The guns especially have had a lot of care and detail put into their models, and the enemy designs look great. While it's not exactly precise based on where you attack each time, enemies will have chunks blown or cut out of them if, say, you've shot them with a shotgun or cut them with a sword. You'll occasionally have ninja using one arm to attack you because you've cut off the other arm. When you blast an enemy point blank with a shotgun (especially if it's a triple barrel shotgun that fires all three barrels at once), their bodies explode in a cloud of red mist and viscera. Extremely reminiscent of Doom and exceptionally satisfying.
Shadow Warrior 2 isn't going to appeal to everyone. It's MUCH more goofy than serious, and it's almost as over-the-top with crude humor as Shadows of the Damned, but if you're into sex jokes and ridiculous weapons, it's a FANTASTIC game. There are side missions to complete and a ton of weapons to collect and try, so it's not lacking in content. I had an absolute ball with it, and whether you picked up the Special Reserve Games release or have it digitally, it is definitely worth a playthrough.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
I didn't like the first reboot, but this one still looks kind of different and might work for me. Hard to tell though.
I think the pacing and level design in the reboot was bad.
I think the pacing and level design in the reboot was bad.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
1. Pokémon Moon - 3DS
2. Tony Hawk's Underground - GCN
3. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising - PC
4. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Retribution - PC
5. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - PSP
6. X-Wing: Imperial Pursuit - PC
7. Star Wars Republic Commando - PC
8. X-Wing: B-Wing - PC
9. Blazing Lazers - TG-16
10. Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3
11. Shining Force CD: Shining Force Gaiden - Sega CD
12. MUSHA - Genesis
13. Sonic CD - Sega CD
14. Final Fantasy Legend III - GB
15. Tales of Zestiria - PS3
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
17. Horizon Zero Dawn - PS4
18. Tales of Berseria - PS4
19. Battlefield 1 - PC
20. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - PC
21. Mass Effect Andromeda - PC
22. Starflight 2 - PC
23. Armored Hunter Gunhound EX - PC
24. Space Megaforce - SNES
25. Persona 5 - PS4
26. Torment: Tides of Numenera - PC
27. Cosmic Star Heroine - PC
28. Prey - PC
29. Strafe - PC
30. Mystic Origins - NES
31. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - 3DS
32. Ultra Street Fighter II - Switch
33. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - PC
34. Ultima IV - PC
35. Environmental Station Alpha - PC
36. Dust: An Elysian Tail - PC
37. Hollow Knight - PC
38. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - PC
39. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - PC
40. Call of Duty - PC
41. Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 - 3DS
42. Sonic Mania - Switch
43. Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Switch
44. XCOM2: War of the Chosen - PC
45. Metroid: Samus Returns - 3DS
46. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider - PC
Spoilers, the game ends with you removing the Outsider from the position of giving powers to protagonists of stealth assassination games. Death of the Outsider is a stand alone expansion set after Dishonored 2 and starring Billie Lurk, from the Knife of Dunwall. It's a 5 mission game that puts a final bow on the current Dishonored storyline, though it does leave open the possibility for other interesting things to happen in that world.
Since you once again have a new protagonist, you get new powers. However, unlike the main Dishonored games you don't have a skill system. All your passives come from Bonecharms and you get three active skills. The first is your movement ability; what makes this one interesting is that you first place down a marker, then you can teleport to it later if you are within range and have line of sight. And I do mean line of sight in the vision sense; if there's a fence in the way but you can see the marker you can teleport to it. The fence will block you from putting down the marker, though. Additionally, if there is a person in the same spot as a marker you will explode them from the inside, which does major damage to you. Your second power synergizes with the first; you freeze time and can temporarily scout out the area as a ghost. While doing so you can mark a certain number of targets; this might be items or enemies. Anything marked will show up in game through walls, and enemies will also show their cone of vision and patrol path. While in this mode you also get to see Bonecharms really well, so it replaces the heart. But the final part is probably the most important; you can place down a marker that you can teleport to. Since your teleport range is longer than the range to place a marker on its own, this can be used to set up longer jumps or multiple jumps (place one marker with scouting, one on its own). It really opens up the stealth traversal. The final ability lets you disguise yourself as someone you have knocked out; this runs down your magic meter when you walk, but not when standing still. The disguise is perfect; people will think you are the target, including voice. Her final ability is that she can talk to rats to get clues; sometimes these just build the world, other times they refer to actual secrets.
The game's missions are set up along a short story; find Daud and get the mission, find a way to kill the Outsider, get the way to kill the Outsider, find a way to get to the Outsider, and finally do the deed. I found the maps to be a bit smaller than Dishonored 2's. The black market returns, and a feature added is that the black market will have side missions available that will reward you on the next mission; this will be cash for a while but the final set will reward you with Bonecharms. In my playthrough I didn't end up doing most of them because I was going for high stealth and no kills, and half of them require you to murder. However, through some reading I discovered that this game doesn't emphasize chaos nearly as much as the previous games did; it's really only a choice for the end of the game and will affect the ending. But if you want to go on a murder spree in the other missions it won't do anything like create blood fly nests. In hindsight I probably could have done all those bounties if I was willing to get my hands dirty.
In the end I found things to be a bit too focused and limited to be as enjoyable as the previous games. While you still can approach your given tasks from a few directions, it doesn't really come as close as the hoops you'd have to jump through to do a low chaos run of previous games. Also, there aren't any segments where you're not in hostile territory exploring; everything is a combat area, and I think that takes away from things a bit. While it's worth playing I think it's the weakest of the entries in the franchise.
2. Tony Hawk's Underground - GCN
3. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising - PC
4. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II: Retribution - PC
5. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - PSP
6. X-Wing: Imperial Pursuit - PC
7. Star Wars Republic Commando - PC
8. X-Wing: B-Wing - PC
9. Blazing Lazers - TG-16
10. Tales of Xillia 2 - PS3
11. Shining Force CD: Shining Force Gaiden - Sega CD
12. MUSHA - Genesis
13. Sonic CD - Sega CD
14. Final Fantasy Legend III - GB
15. Tales of Zestiria - PS3
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
17. Horizon Zero Dawn - PS4
18. Tales of Berseria - PS4
19. Battlefield 1 - PC
20. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - PC
21. Mass Effect Andromeda - PC
22. Starflight 2 - PC
23. Armored Hunter Gunhound EX - PC
24. Space Megaforce - SNES
25. Persona 5 - PS4
26. Torment: Tides of Numenera - PC
27. Cosmic Star Heroine - PC
28. Prey - PC
29. Strafe - PC
30. Mystic Origins - NES
31. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - 3DS
32. Ultra Street Fighter II - Switch
33. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - PC
34. Ultima IV - PC
35. Environmental Station Alpha - PC
36. Dust: An Elysian Tail - PC
37. Hollow Knight - PC
38. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter - PC
39. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - PC
40. Call of Duty - PC
41. Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 - 3DS
42. Sonic Mania - Switch
43. Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Switch
44. XCOM2: War of the Chosen - PC
45. Metroid: Samus Returns - 3DS
46. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider - PC
Spoilers, the game ends with you removing the Outsider from the position of giving powers to protagonists of stealth assassination games. Death of the Outsider is a stand alone expansion set after Dishonored 2 and starring Billie Lurk, from the Knife of Dunwall. It's a 5 mission game that puts a final bow on the current Dishonored storyline, though it does leave open the possibility for other interesting things to happen in that world.
Since you once again have a new protagonist, you get new powers. However, unlike the main Dishonored games you don't have a skill system. All your passives come from Bonecharms and you get three active skills. The first is your movement ability; what makes this one interesting is that you first place down a marker, then you can teleport to it later if you are within range and have line of sight. And I do mean line of sight in the vision sense; if there's a fence in the way but you can see the marker you can teleport to it. The fence will block you from putting down the marker, though. Additionally, if there is a person in the same spot as a marker you will explode them from the inside, which does major damage to you. Your second power synergizes with the first; you freeze time and can temporarily scout out the area as a ghost. While doing so you can mark a certain number of targets; this might be items or enemies. Anything marked will show up in game through walls, and enemies will also show their cone of vision and patrol path. While in this mode you also get to see Bonecharms really well, so it replaces the heart. But the final part is probably the most important; you can place down a marker that you can teleport to. Since your teleport range is longer than the range to place a marker on its own, this can be used to set up longer jumps or multiple jumps (place one marker with scouting, one on its own). It really opens up the stealth traversal. The final ability lets you disguise yourself as someone you have knocked out; this runs down your magic meter when you walk, but not when standing still. The disguise is perfect; people will think you are the target, including voice. Her final ability is that she can talk to rats to get clues; sometimes these just build the world, other times they refer to actual secrets.
The game's missions are set up along a short story; find Daud and get the mission, find a way to kill the Outsider, get the way to kill the Outsider, find a way to get to the Outsider, and finally do the deed. I found the maps to be a bit smaller than Dishonored 2's. The black market returns, and a feature added is that the black market will have side missions available that will reward you on the next mission; this will be cash for a while but the final set will reward you with Bonecharms. In my playthrough I didn't end up doing most of them because I was going for high stealth and no kills, and half of them require you to murder. However, through some reading I discovered that this game doesn't emphasize chaos nearly as much as the previous games did; it's really only a choice for the end of the game and will affect the ending. But if you want to go on a murder spree in the other missions it won't do anything like create blood fly nests. In hindsight I probably could have done all those bounties if I was willing to get my hands dirty.
In the end I found things to be a bit too focused and limited to be as enjoyable as the previous games. While you still can approach your given tasks from a few directions, it doesn't really come as close as the hoops you'd have to jump through to do a low chaos run of previous games. Also, there aren't any segments where you're not in hostile territory exploring; everything is a combat area, and I think that takes away from things a bit. While it's worth playing I think it's the weakest of the entries in the franchise.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
Xeogred wrote:I didn't like the first reboot, but this one still looks kind of different and might work for me. Hard to tell though.
I think the pacing and level design in the reboot was bad.
The levels are much less linear in this one.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.