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dsheinem
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by dsheinem Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:46 pm

Ack wrote:Ooh, big comparison to put it with Far Cry 2. I'm gonna have to look into this some time.


The comparisons are largely about the "feel" of traversal and combat more than anything else. The game feels weighty (e.g. you can't crawl and jump everywhere, fall damage is set to a low height, etc.), the weapons sometimes jam if they aren't cleaned, you constantly need to keep an eye on ammo in most sections, the driving feels "boxy," etc. There's also some ongoing maintenance with your mask/health (though not as much as in the prior Metro games). It isn't quite like FC2 - but it is like a nice blend of FC2 and the past Metro games. Have you played those?
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MrPopo
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by MrPopo Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:00 am

When you say second to last section, you mean the Lord of the Flies part, right? Because if so, I take umbrage. The last section was definitely the best part of the game.
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dsheinem
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by dsheinem Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:58 am

MrPopo wrote:When you say second to last section, you mean the Lord of the Flies part, right? Because if so, I take umbrage. The last section was definitely the best part of the game.


You will have to take a portion of umbridge, then. :lol: I thought the last section was boring/easy compared to the section before and, narratively, far less interesting. I was able to clear the last section pretty much by just running through it. The best fight of the game is in that penultimate section.

The trippy stuff and the ape fight were both boring compared to the mountains and bear fight of the previous area. The “frozen tundra” idea was explored as a setting much better in the early area, I thought.
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MrPopo
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by MrPopo Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:22 pm

Man, it's like I don't even KNOW you!
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by BoneSnapDeez Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:10 pm

1. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Famicom)
2. Dragon Scroll: Yomigaerishi Maryuu (Famicom)
3. Ninja-kun: Majou no Bouken (Famicom)
4. Hello Kitty World (Famicom)
5. Galaxian (Famicom)
6. Esper Dream 2: Aratanaru Tatakai (Famicom)
7. Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom)
8. Jajamaru no Daibouken (Famicom)
9. Front Line (Famicom)
10. Field Combat (Famicom)
11. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (Famicom)
12. Mississippi Satsujin Jiken: Murder on the Mississippi (Famicom)
13. Space Harrier (Famicom)
14. Geimos (Famicom)
15. Attack Animal Gakuen (Famicom)
16. Sky Destroyer (Famicom)
17. Ripple Island (Famicom)
18. Oishinbo: Kyukyoku no Menu 3bon Syoubu (Famicom)
19. Bird Week (Famicom)
20. Baltron (Famicom)
21. Yie Ar Kung-Fu (Famicom)
22. Challenger (Famicom)
23. Ikki (Famicom)
24. Dough Boy (Famicom)
25. Atlantis no Nazo (Famicom)
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When did SunSoft begin releasing their good 8-bit games? Apparently not in the spring of 1986, which is when Atlantis no Nazo dropped on the Famicom. It was the developer's fourth release on Nintendo's hardware, but their first one developed specifically for the system. Atlantis is a side-scrolling 2D platformer, and, in an act of extreme hubris, was marketed as the game that would knock Super Mario Bros. off its throne. Rest assured, the mustachioed plumber had little to fear, as Atlantis no Nazo manifests itself not as a marvelous romp through a Mushroom Kingdom but as a treacherous dive into Hell itself.

Structurally, Atlantis no Nazo is a non-linear (more like nonsensical) platformer. Don't get too excited. This isn't a true "Metroidvania." Rather than featuring a giant world ripe for exploration, Atlantis is constructed of a series of 100 or so bite-sized horizontal stages. Many stages house multiple exits, with one being apparent and the other well-hidden. The game lulls you into thinking that it can be played straight through, but that's a filthy lie. Players will eventually hit a wall (literally and figuratively), be sent backwards, or, worse yet, reach the dreaded stage 42. This is a "troll" stage, featuring nothing but a bottomless pit, obliterating all the player's lives and restarting the Atlantis experience from scratch. To give the game a modicum of credit, there are variety of ways to reach the ending. I've stumbled upon three notable ones -- a scenic route that is relatively tough but showcases most of the game and takes about 70 minutes to complete, an "easier" route that takes about 15 minutes and has the player pick up the best stat-boosting items, and a "speedrun" route that can theoretically be cleared in about three minutes but requires near-perfect play. The ending sports some glorious Engrish and seems to feature a random Ikki reference. I admit it, I laughed.
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The "hero" of the game is an Indiana Clone explorer type of dude. His name is Wynn, and he's born to lose. He's got seven lives to start, and is toast in a single hit. The setting, as indicated by the title, is the mythical land of Atlantis. Apparently it houses some sort of magical crystal. Controlling Wynn is a nightmare. He jumps in big floaty arcs. Wynn's trajectory can be manipulated while in midair (like Mario) but he's still undeniably hard to steer. It doesn't help that most stages include elements that seem shoehorned in just to impede proper jumping: obnoxiously low ceilings, rows of miniscule platforms. Wynn doesn't even fall properly. If you find yourself standing at the edge of a high ledge and just barely tap the d-pad to step off, the swooping "jump arc" is nevertheless activated, likely plunging Wynn to his doom. Combat is, somehow, even worse. Wynn wields sticks of dynamite. Similar to the dreaded torches of Ghosts 'n Goblins, these travel in an arc (sensing a theme yet?), and explode a couple of seconds after hitting the ground. Only one dynamite stick can exist on the screen at one time, and they will harm Wynn if he's within their blast radius. Enemies have a tendency to materialize out of thin air, and it's generally most feasible to simply try to outrun them. The game is just dead set on putting the player in a bad mood. Those seven lives seem generous at first, but can be easily drained within a matter of minutes.

There are a handful of items to collect along the way. Some are comically useless, like the one that gives you extra points for pushing the up button. Others are downright bizarre, like the microphone item -- it's meant to be taking literally, while equipped speaking into the Famicom's controller 2 microphone will damage on-screen enemies. There's even an item that makes Wynn impervious to all enemy attacks, though most deaths are caused by pitfalls anyway. Finding those (mandatory) hidden exits is virtually impossible without some sort of outside assistance. Some are discovered while taking a leap of faith into a chasm. Others are unveiled by the "burn every bush" method -- just drop dynamite throughout each stage until a door appears. At least that's how it would work in theory. On top of everything else Atlantis throws at the player, you're give a very strict amount of allotted time to complete each stage.
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The soundtrack here was composed by Naoki Kodaka, who is better known for scoring Journey to Silius and Blaster Master. There's only five total minutes of music, all of it excellent. Energetic, driving, and cheerful -- the soundtrack is the game's most redeeming quality. Visuals are mixed. The sprites have a simplistic cut-out look, but mostly look decent, plus there's a surprisingly varied enemy selection. Right away Wynn faces some bats(?) who crap on his head (foreshadowing?). These give way to mermen, mummies, wurms, and all sorts of other ghouls. Stage backgrounds are pretty ugly, however. They tend to repeat, which kills any sense of true progress. There's lots of ugly gray brick patterns, plus some wholly unnecessary "bright" levels. Some take it a step further with seizure-inducing flashes.

Let's see here. Ludicrously convoluted navigation, lack of direction or clues, capriciously spawning fiends, janky combat, an exploration motif. Sound familiar? Yes, Atlantis no Nazo makes quite the companion for the Micronics-developed Super Pitfall. In fact, Atlantis was slated to be released on the NES as Super Pitfall II, but such a cartridge never materialized. Probably for the best; Pitfall Harry has been through enough.
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prfsnl_gmr
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by prfsnl_gmr Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:05 pm

:lol:

I think you’re personally rediscovering why so many Famicom games were never localized for NA audiences.
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Gunstar Green
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Gunstar Green Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:25 pm

Ah, Atlantis no Nazo, another legendary Famicom kusoge.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by BoneSnapDeez Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:19 pm

And I haven't even written about the Famicom games that I found to be too terrible and/or difficult to finish. It goes so much deeper...
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by ElkinFencer10 Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:59 pm

Games Beaten in 2019 So Far - 16
* denotes a replay

January (12 Games Beaten)
1. Army Men 3D - PlayStation - January 1*
2. Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished - NES - January 4
3. Mega Man - NES - January 6
4. Mega Man 2 - NES - January 6
5. Mega Man 3 - NES - January 6
6. Mega Man 4 - NES - January 7
7. Dr. Discord's Conquest - NES - January 7
8. Mega Man 5 - NES - January 26
9. Just Cause 3 - PlayStation 4 - January 26
10. Mega Man 6 - NES - January 27
11. Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight - Vita - January 27
12. Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space - PlayStation 2 - January 27


February (2 Games Beaten)
13. Earth Defense Force 5 - PlayStation 4 - February 2
14. Fallout 76 - PlayStation 4 - February 3


March (2 Games Beaten)
15. Octopath Traveler - Switch - March 2
16. Resident Evil 0 - PlayStation 4 - March 9


16. Resident Evil 0 - PlayStation 4 - March 9

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I first played Resident Evil 0 back on Gamecube, and it was actually one of my early Resident Evil experiences after the PlayStation original and Resident Evil 4 (which I played on Wii). Zero's release at the end of 2002 was the perfect accompaniment for the remake of Resident Evil that had come out in the beginning of 2002 as it takes place immediately before the first game not far from the infamous Umbrella mansion. It was originally a Gamecube exclusive before being ported to Wii and then remastered in HD for Microsoft's and Sony's 2000s HD systems, and while it does somewhat show its age as a 17 year old game, it still holds up as a pretty good game in 2019.

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In Resident Evil Zero, a team of elite cops from Raccoon City - a sister squad to the STARS members that starred in the first game - is sent to investigate a series of cannibalistic murders in the forested mountains near Raccoon City. They quickly discover a crashed military police vehicle and two dead MPs who were apparently transporting a dangerous murderer named Billy Cohen. You start off playing as Rebecca, a rookie STARS medic, and are investigating a mysteriously stalled train while also searching for Cohen. Upon realizing that there's some cataclysmic outbreak going on, Rebecca realizes that the only hope for survival is to cooperate with Billy.

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The game overall feels a lot like the original Resident Evil; most of it takes place in a mansion with zombies where you have to solve ridiculous puzzles that would never exist in the real world in order to proceed. It's really good overall, but there are a few stylistic choices that really kill it for me to some extent. The biggest issue is the inventory. Inventory space is extremely limited which, in and of itself, isn't a problem. The problem is that there's no item storage like in the original game, and some of the items take two spaces. The hookshot especially is a problem because it takes two slots, and you need it at various points through the game right up near the end, but it never tells you when you're done needing it. Like, I get it, scary horror spoopy games use limited inventory to make it spoopier, but this is just annoying.

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Having gone from playing on Gamecube to playing PlayStation 4, the visuals were quite impressive given that it was just a simple upscale. The controls can feel a little archaic especially where the tank controls are concerned, but the game is much more playable in a modern context than 1, 2, 3, or Code Veronica are (although I still love those games). Resident Evil 0 does leave a bit to be desired in the details, but it's still. an extremely playable game. Whether you play it on the Gamecube, the Wii, or the PS4 or Xbox One, it's a fantastic experience.
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Ack
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Re: Games Beaten 2019

by Ack Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:28 am

1. Dusk (PC)(FPS)
2. Project: Snowblind (PC)(FPS)
3. Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition (PC)(FPS)
4. Ziggurat (PC)(FPS)
5. Wolfenstein 3D: Ultimate Challenge (PC)(FPS)
6. Destiny 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)
7. Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris (PC)(FPS/RPG)
8. Destiny 2: Warmind (PC)(FPS/RPG)

9. Destiny 2: Forsaken (PC)(FPS/RPG)
10. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (PC)(Rail Shooter)

11. Castle Werewolf (PC)(FPS)
12. Project Warlock (PC)(FPS)

Yet another FPS for me this year.

Popo has already beaten this, and he did a great job of breaking it down. Project Warlock combines a lot of the feel of mid-90s twitch FPS design with a gorgeous 2D sprite retro-aesthetic, an RPG-esque system that allows you to improve personal stats along the lines of max health, ammo capacity, and melee damage, and a variety of weapons that can be "upgraded" into different styles based on what you like. These variations may do things like up the power and ammo consumption, add burning effects, add area damage, or make other significant modifications that completely change how you will use it. I have my favorites, but someone else playing through might well disagree with me and go a totally different route, and that's perfectly fine.

There are three difficulties on tap for Project Warlock. The first two aren't terribly different; one gives you infinite lives while the other uses a one-up feature where you have to restart the game if you run out. Odds are that you won't run out though, so don't worry so much. I beat the game with 30+ lives when I played through it on this difficulty. The last is Hardcore, where you get no lives, so dying means you restart the entire game. Oh, and enemies do double damage and move twice as fast, which is hilarious when you face off against some of the running enemies. I took on a killer yeti at one point who could practically fly, and that had me howling with how goofy he looked rapidly charging me before I hit him in the face with my ax.

Unfortunately, there are some huge issues with the game on the back end. I don't mean in the latter half of the game, I mean it was developed in the Unity Engine with some questionable design choices. I'm not able to modify my Options right now, because my anti-virus blocks it. Why? That's because Project Warlock modifies Windows registry data when you adjust things in the game. Yeah, no, that's a hard pass, and it's the only reason why I wouldn't recommend this title to others.

Look, I'm enjoying it. I've run through it on the two lower difficulties and am now working my way through on a Hardcore pass. I like the game enough to keep going, though once I finish, it's coming off my computer and staying off. But what you do get in the game is a hell of a lot of fun, and I'm happy to talk builds with anyone else who has the game.
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