ElkinFencer10 wrote:It's not a game beaten, but since I know a few people here seem to enjoy my reviews, and I'm not sure who checks the Game Reviews subforum, I figured I'd mention here that I just wrote a review on Overwatch in case anyone wants to give it a peek.
ElkinFencer10 wrote:It's not a game beaten, but since I know a few people here seem to enjoy my reviews, and I'm not sure who checks the Game Reviews subforum, I figured I'd mention here that I just wrote a review on Overwatch in case anyone wants to give it a peek.
1. Tenchi Sōzō (Super Famicom) 2. Eternal Senia (Steam) 3. Tombs & Treasure (NES) 4. Magic Knight Rayearth (Super Famicom) 5. Zelda no Densetsu: The Hyrule Fantasy (Famicom Disk System) 6. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES) 7. Seiken Psycho Caliber: Majū no Mori Densetsu (Famicom Disk System) 8. Deep Dungeon: Madō Senki (Famicom Disk System) 9. Deep Dungeon II: Yūshi no Monshō (Famicom Disk System) 10. Suishō no Dragon (Famicom Disk System) 11. Dandy: Zeuon no Fukkatsu (Famicom Disk System) 12. Lagoon (SNES) 13. Contra (NES) 14. Super C (NES) 15. Wonder Boy (Sega Master System) 16. OutRun (Sega Master System) 17. OutRun (Genesis) 18. Ninja Gaiden (NES) 19. Written in the Sky (Steam) 20. Wendy: Every Witch Way (Game Boy Color) 21. Mario Bros. (NES) 22. Popeye (NES) 23. Super Mario Bros. (NES) 24. Super Mario Bros. 2 (Famicom Disk System) 25. Phantasy Star II Eusis's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 26. Phantasy Star II Nei's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 27. Phantasy Star II Rudger's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 28. Phantasy Star II Anne's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 29. Phantasy Star II Huey's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 30. Phantasy Star II Kinds's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 31. Phantasy Star II Amia's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 32. Phantasy Star II Shilka's Text Adventure (Steam - Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics) 33. Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (Famicom Disk System) 34. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) 35. Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance) 36. Gunman Clive (Nintendo eShop) 37. Zaxxon (Xbox 360 - Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection) 38. Zaxxon (Atari 2600) 39. Zaxxon (Intellivision) 40. Zaxxon (ColecoVision) 41. Cosmic Avenger (ColecoVision) 42. Mr. Do! (ColecoVision) 43. Pepper II (ColecoVision) 44. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy) 45. Sakura Spirit (Steam) 46. Ys Eternal (PC) 47. Moon Patrol (Game Boy Color - Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol & Spy Hunter) 48. Ember Kaboom (Steam) 49. Hoshi no Kābī: Yume no Izumi no Monogatari (Famicom) 50. Guardian Heroes (Saturn)
51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System) 52. Castlevania (NES) 53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance) 54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade) 55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS) 56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS) 57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS) 58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare) 59. Code of Princess (3DS) 60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) 61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy) 62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System) 63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC) 64. Shan Gui (Steam) 65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst
Finished completely solo.
I started a write-up awhile ago about this. It turned out to be HUGE. Think I'll turn it into a blog entry - for now here's the CliffsNotes version.
Blue Burst is the "definite" version of PSO, as it contains episodes I, II, and IV (part three is its own self-contained side-story on GameCube). The game's only available on PC, and while the official Sega servers have been defunct for ages you can still play online via private servers. Yes, even for single-player mode you must log in. Bit of a buzzkill, but not devastating.
Now PSO, as I've mentioned while talking about the Dreamcast original in the past, is an absolutely brilliant game. It's a quest-based hack and slash ARPG with optional multiplayer. Controls are flawless, with a combo-based attack system and the ability to button remap on the fly. Graphics are beautiful, as is the accompanying ambient soundtrack. What this all adds up to is a highly-addictive "just one more hour.... oh shit it's 3 AM" experience.
Before diving into this I was only familiar with the DC original (Episode I), having finished both "versions" in years prior. I find that Episode I is the strongest by far, with the most diversity among enemies, environments, and quests. Episode II has some exquisite dungeon designs, but Sega got really lazy with the enemy line-up. The first two dungeons contain rehashed Episode I baddies - even the bosses are repeats. And Episode IV, which is only available on Blue Burst, is the weakest by far, containing a meager two dungeons and only one boss. Worst of all is the fact that IV can only be played on multiplayer mode, meaning that those attempting a solo run have to face huge dungeons and a deluge of enemies meant to be taken on by 2-4 players.
Now, every private server has modified the game a bit. The one I was playing on grants the player 3-5 times the experience found in the original game. This essentially eliminated (most) level-grinding and caused the game to move along at a much brisker pace. I estimated I would need 120 hours to finish this beast (based on the fact that the DC game took me 40) but I was done in "only" 72.
I honestly have no idea if I could/should recommend this. It's probably best for those seeking a multiplayer experience; if you wanna play solo the GC version (Episodes I & II) is perhaps the smartest idea. Then again, the additional experience granted here is quite a perk. Any way you look at, no matter the variation or port you can't go wrong with Episode I. It's shockingly good.
Shan Gui
Shan Gui is a short Chinese visual novel. It chronicles the adventures of a female university student who meets a whimsical young girl while talking a stroll through a park.
The game makes several references to ancient Chinese mythology, complete with hyperlinks to the Wikipedia articles which was a nice (and rather amusing and unexpected) touch. The visuals - both of the backgrounds and characters - are absolutely beautiful. The dialogue is alright; there are some translation issues and many stilted lines that end up sounding odd/hilarious. The presence of Chinese voice-acting is pretty damn cool.
The game may not be anything to write home about, but it is a pleasant and relaxing experience. Certainly worth the two dollar asking price.
Space Fury
Space Fury is an old Sega vector arcade game, later ported to ColecoVision. (I'm just now reading that the arcade version is an unlockable on the PSP Sega Genesis Collection. I'll have to check that out.)
The game looks like Asteroids at first glance, and the controls take some time to get used to. Rotating and pushing on the joystick does not move the ship, but instead rotates it 360 degrees. Forward motion is accomplished by pushing the left button to thrust; the right button fires the ship's cannon.
Antagonists are geometric shapes which eventually coalesce to make larger super shapes. There's a power-up system available - after the first three levels an improved canon can be chosen. However, whatever is chosen prior to level four is what the ship is equipped with for the remainder of play. And while there are only four distinct levels, the game will loop indefinitely, typical of arcade titles from this era.
Oh, and there's a diabolical alien who taunts you upon booting up the game and congratulates you for being a "worthy opponent" upon Game Over.
I liked this one a lot. It's pretty relaxing and takes awhile to get challenging. The ship fires fast, hard, and frequently and the wrap-around screen makes it easy to avoid many enemy attacks. I found that most of my deaths were caused by mistimed thrusts.
Another solid CV game. I may stick with console for the time being.
Pretty impressive you beat Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst solo. You must truly love that game. Now you only have to beat Universe 1 & 2, Portable 1 & 2, Zero, and Nova to be totally thorough.
I kid, I kid, but seriously I do hope you play through C.A.R.D. Revolution, so I can at least read one informed review of the game.
The other piece of story DLC for The Witcher 3. Blood & Wine takes about 20 hours because it gives you an entire new area to play in. The expansion is set in the Duchy of Toussaint, a land to the south that is a vassal of Nilfgaard and modeled after southern France. You'll notice when you first enter the area that things don't look like utter shit like the other zones in the game. Not everything is sunshine and roses, however.
The zone itself is about as big as Skellige, with lots of sidequests and witcher contracts to do. In fact, I was 15 hours into the DLC before I even touched the main quest. And I certainly didn't make a major point of exploring all the question marks on my map, so who knows what else I might have missed.
This DLC is 100% intended to be done after the main story of Witcher 3. I don't even know if the intro quest will even pop if you haven't beaten the game already. The game introduces another tier to all the crafted armor sets and set bonuses. All the witcher gear has set bonuses for using three and six pieces of the gear, and in the course of the story I found another armor set with a three piece bonus. Additionally, you unlock a new place to spend your skill points in. By the time you're of the level of this DLC you'll find you have more skill points than skills you can equip. By doing a quest you'll unlock additional mutations. You can only equip one at a time, but they all have powerful and unique effects. Additionally, depending on how many of the additional mutations you have unlocked you can equip up to four more regular skills, though these slots lack the mutagen bonuses on them. The game also introduces a new Gwent faction; the Skellige deck. It actually got me to switch away from my Northern Realms deck thanks to a few of its powerful combos.
The main story quest is a murder mystery, but there is more going on than what is initially presented to you. Without spoiling anything, higher vampires feature heavily, which makes for some interesting exploration of more of the nature of the world of the Witcher. There's also a really neat part close to the end of the main storyline. And a Dark Souls reference.
Finally, shortly after beginning the main quest you'll gain access to your own piece of property. When fully upgraded you'll have access to stat bonuses, regenerating herbs, and a variety of display stands for the variety of neat weapons and armor that aren't as good as what you're currently using. And you might get a visit from a friend at the end of the main story.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Exhuminator wrote:Pretty impressive you beat Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst solo. You must truly love that game. Now you only have to beat Universe 1 & 2, Portable 1 & 2, Zero, and Nova to be totally thorough.
I kid, I kid, but seriously I do hope you play through C.A.R.D. Revolution, so I can at least read one informed review of the game.
Woah! So CARD is actually a card game! And on Gamecube nonetheless! Must playyyy :I
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me