Games Beaten 2015

by **Blu** Mon Sep 07, 2015 9:57 am

1. Super Smash Brothers - N64 (January 3)
2. Shovel Knight - Wii U (January 6)
3. NES Remix - Wii U (January 14)
4. NES Remix 2 - Wii U (January 14)
5. Streets of Rage - Genesis (January 16)
6. F-Zero - SNES (January 21)
7. Super Mario 3D World - Wii U (January 28)
8. Hyrule Warriors - Wii U (February 5)
9. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D - 3DS (February 23)
10. Double Dragon Neon - PC (March 1)
11. Mario Kart 8 - Wii U (March 3)
12. Hotline Miami - PS3 (March 14)
13. Pokemon White - Nintendo DS (March 17)
14. Pokemon Soul Silver - Nintendo DS (April 2)
15. Pokemon White 2 - Nintendo DS (April 14)
16. Pokemon X - Nintendo 3DS (April 30)
17. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Xbox One (May 3)
18. Pokemon Shuffle - Nintendo 3DS (May 12)
19. Hearthstone: Blackrock Mountain - PC / iPhone (May 17)
20. Splatoon - Wii U (June 7)
21. Fallout Shelter - iOS (June 21)
22. Phantasy Star Online Episode II - GameCube (August 24)
22. Resident Evil 4 - Wii (August 31)
23. Earthbound - Wii U Virtual Console (September 7)

I have fond memories of watching a childhood friend play this one. It was a game I knew existed at least as a kid, but didn't quite see the appeal of RPG's at the time. I knew I wanted to play this one a ways back, and was the first Virtual Console game I picked up after its release was announced.

I don't think words could do this game a service. I found it to be absolutely endearing, memorable, emotional and gripping. The script is absolutely brilliant. I love all the satirical elements and tongue-in-cheek humor that this game has. For that reason, I usually explored everything and talked to all the characters I'd meet.

I loved the way the sanctuaries were integrated into the game and how they reflect inwardly back to Ness narrowing to a very cool plot point. Lumine Hall is particularly wonderful. The music is incredible. Waking up after a hotel stay is therapeutic and relaxing, as is the music after visiting a sanctuary. The Threed Inn music, so creepy! It's got a great battle system. I love the way health drops so that there's a way to intervene and save a party member from death. Sometimes those 1/128 drops were a bit of a nuisance, but I at least got Poo fully outfitted with his gear.

I can see why this game is so revered. It is genre-defining for me and one of the best RPG's I've ever played. I loved Mr. Itoi's vision for the game, and saw how that this team really poured their hearts into their work. Oh and that last boss fight was a great triumph for me and unlike anything I had experienced. Truly amazing.

by **ExedExes** Mon Sep 07, 2015 12:05 pm

1. Call of Duty United Offensive Expansion Pack - PC (January 16)
2. Dead To Rights - Gamecube (January 24)
3. River City Ransom EX - GBA (February 21)
4. Call of Duty 2 - PC (February 28) (link missing due to this game's post being wiped during the great RB server move)
5. Quake - PC (March 31)
6. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - PC (April 5)
7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - PC (April 18)
8. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - PC (May 19)
9. Super Puzzle Fighter II - GBA (May 23)
10. Saints Row The Third - PC (June 24)
11. Konami Krazy Racers - GBA (June 27)
12. Medal of Honor: Airborne - PC (August 13)
13. *NEW* Duke Nukem Advance - GBA (September 6)

FPS on portable systems. Can they be done? The answer is a resounding yes.

For a portable like the Game Boy Advance, it can sometimes be a mess, or it can be something real good. A fine example of FPS done right on the GBA can be found with Duke Nukem Advance. Torus Games of Australia with their Southpaw Engine not only created this game with it, but they also used it on the GBA port of Doom II.

This engine creates a very Doom like 90s FPS experience. Exploding barrels, key cards, vertical autoaim, arena style boss battles, and even switches and security cameras. There is also an overhead level map that can be zoomed and rotated. Many of the enemies, locations, and weapons were taken from Duke Nukem 3D. All the classic Duke action was also found here, right down to his famous one-liners.

If you want to see how an FPS can be done on the GBA, this is it.

by **BoneSnapDeez** Mon Sep 07, 2015 2:45 pm

EarthBound is so sweet and endearing. I adore it.

One of the most bizarre and terrifying final boss battles too.

by **MrPopo** Mon Sep 07, 2015 3:27 pm

Blu wrote:Sometimes those 1/128 drops were a bit of a nuisance, but I at least got Poo fully outfitted with his gear.

You bastard. I've beaten Earthbound several times but I still haven't gotten the Sword of Kings.

by **Ack** Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:11 pm

1. Renegade Ops (PC)(Multidirectional Shooter)
2. Borderlands 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
3. Gunpoint (PC)(Puzzle Platformer)
4. Robotrek (SNES)(RPG)
5. The Tick (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
6. Alien vs Predator (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
7. X-Kaliber 2097 (SNES)(Action Platformer)
8. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
9. Shadowrun (SNES)(RPG)
10. Quake II (PC)(FPS)
11. The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (SNES)(RPG)
12. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PC)(Action)
13. A Story About My Uncle (PC)(Platformer)
14. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)(FPS)
15. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (PC)(FPS)
16. Catacomb (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
17. Catacomb Abyss (PC)(FPS)
18. Catacomb Armageddon (PC)(FPS)
19. Catacomb Apocalypse (PC)(FPS)
20. The Catacomb (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
21. Catacomb 3-D (PC)(FPS)
22. EarthBound (SNES)(RPG)
23. Quake II: Ground Zero (PC)(FPS)
24. Quake II: The Reckoning (PC)(FPS)
25. Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (PC)(RPG)
26. The 7th Guest (PC)(Puzzle)
27. Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (PC)(RPG)
28. Loom (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
29. Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES)(Action Platformer)
30. System Shock 2 (PC)(Survival Horror FPS)
31. Final Fantasy V (SNES)(RPG)
32. Descent (PC)(FPS)
33. Mortal Kombat 2 (SNES)(Fighting)
34. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
35. Alien Shooter (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
36. Alien Shooter: Fight for Life (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
37. Alien Shooter: The Experiment (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
38. F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (PC)(FPS)
39. F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC)(FPS)
40. Among the Sleep (PC)(Survival Horror)
41. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (PC)(FPS/RPG)
42. Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
43. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (SNES via Super Mario All-Stars/Super Mario World)(Platformer)
44. Star Wars Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast (PC)(FPS)
45. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage (PC)(FPS/RPG)
46. Risen (PC)(RPG)
47. Shadowgrounds (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)

Shadowgrounds is a top-down shooter from Frozenbyte, a Finnish developer better known for the Trine series. In their debut game, you play as an engineer on Ganymede who has to face off against an alien invasion that has overrun the planet and slaughtered most of the researchers, civilians, and military personnel there. The aliens are invading because humanity found the ultimate energy source and weaponized it and then apparently didn't listen to any of the aliens' warnings about it(which pretty much consisted of crashing at Roswell, New Mexico, and then showing up to kill everyone instead). Good job, aliens. How'd that work out for you? Oh yeah, genocide on your entire species. Nice.

To kill them all, you pick up 10 different weapons which all feature three different potential upgrades. The first two upgrades differ per weapon and have a variety of effects to improve the base characteristics, ranging from increased magazine sizes to double damage, to removing the need to reload entirely. Heck, the electrogun gets the ability to suck in static from the air, meaning it regenerates ammunition. But the third upgrade gets interesting; those add a secondary fire ability to each weapon. The pistol gets a stun dart, the shotgun goes full auto and empties all of its shells in a split-second, the minigun turns into a sentry robot, and the laser carbine fires a pinpoint ray until you either let go of the trigger or it runs out of ammo. Most of Shadowgrounds is fairly traditional fare, but these secondary modes can completely change a weapon's usefulness and serve to make things interesting.

Beyond that, it's exactly what you expect: shoot aliens and dodge their fire. But Shadowgrounds does differ from the Alien Shooter series a bit, so don't go thinking they're the same game. Shadowgrounds uses a much more zoomed-in camera that always fixes on your character's forward-facing view, as opposed to the preset AS camera that hangs far overhead. There is also a radar, but it only tracks enemy motion, so if something is lying in wait(and a few things do adopt that tactic), then you won't see it until it is too late. There is also some decent variety of enemy types with a few nasty surprises, like one serpentine alien that is invisible unless your flashlight is on, while a spider-type one with poisonous fangs absolutely hates your flashlight and will charge if ever the beam falls on it.

If there is anything that irks me about the game it is the level length and the lack of checkpoints or the ability to save. Currently the game saves at the end of each level, so the player can pick up on the next level if they need to. Unfortunately the levels can be surprisingly long if the player takes the time to explore. I found myself having to plan around the game or risk losing up to an hour's worth of progress, which likely would have made me set this one aside. Thankfully I never encountered the glitches that the Alien Shooter games suffer from.

I liked Shadowgrounds. It was a serviceable ride. Not ground breaking, but it gets the job done. That was all that I wanted out of it.

by **ExedExes** Mon Sep 07, 2015 5:45 pm

Markies wrote:I beat Sega Rally Championship 2 on the Sega Dreamcast this afternoon!

Not much to talk about here, but the game is a really fun Rally game. The controls are great, the graphics are really good for an early Dreamcast game and it is just a blast to play. Really fun and I want to keep playing it to see if I can complete it.

Arcade mode or 10 Year Championship? Either way it's certainly something to say. The unlockable cars are great.

by **Markies** Mon Sep 07, 2015 6:06 pm

ExedExes wrote:
Markies wrote:I beat Sega Rally Championship 2 on the Sega Dreamcast this afternoon!

Not much to talk about here, but the game is a really fun Rally game. The controls are great, the graphics are really good for an early Dreamcast game and it is just a blast to play. Really fun and I want to keep playing it to see if I can complete it.

Arcade mode or 10 Year Championship? Either way it's certainly something to say. The unlockable cars are great.

Arcade Mode at first, but I am currently playing through the 10 Year Championship.

I will hopefully be able to beat the 10 Year Championship, but getting first in every year to unlock all of the cars is rather difficult.

by **Sarge** Mon Sep 07, 2015 6:28 pm

Life of Pixel is done. Very simple, but fun stuff. Loved all the different systems on display in there.

by **ExedExes** Mon Sep 07, 2015 11:20 pm

Markies wrote:Arcade Mode at first, but I am currently playing through the 10 Year Championship.

I will hopefully be able to beat the 10 Year Championship, but getting first in every year to unlock all of the cars is rather difficult.

I agree. But the cars in later years are worth it, especially the FIAT Abarth Rally and the Lancia Rally 037 that will easily beat Arcade mode with plenty of time to spare. Heck even in the first couple of years you pick up the better Subaru Impreza 555 and new Mitsubishi Lancers (Evo III & IV)

by **MrPopo** Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:44 am

First 50:

51. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne - PC
52. Starflight - PC
53. Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
54. Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 - PC
55. Super Star Wars - SNES
56. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - PC
57. Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel - PC
58. The Catacomb - PC
59. Azure Striker Gunvolt - 3DS
60. Mighty Gunvolt - 3DS
61. Catacomb Abyss - PC
62. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - PC

I'll start things off by saying that the original was better. I think Monkey Island 2 suffers from being a sequel because it's clear the developers felt the need to outdo themselves. And in adventure game land outdo means to go deeper into the moon logic for your puzzles. There's one that involves a terrible pun that's utterly obvious after the fact but you'd never think of it ahead of time. There are a lot of actions you need to take to win that the average player is never going to think of doing and would probably only stumble upon in desperation by random trying to use items on things in the environment. And there's several times where you need to interact with stuff that you aren't even aware is there or reachable.

Fortunately, the game keeps the LucasArts humor and lack of walking dead scenarios, so while you might be beating your head against a brick wall for a while you know that you will be able to progress once you suffer the necessary brain damage to think in the twisted ways the devs did.

Oh, and the final area of the game is all kinds of awful. It starts with you being in a pitch black room needing to use a small area on the screen to get the lights on. Even if you know it's there it'll take a while to pixel hunt without any references. Then you need to collect a variety of objects across several screens while LeChuck random shows up and warps you somewhere else. It's quite obnoxious even though the actual acts you need to do are fairly obvious.

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