Games Beaten 2015

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2015

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 3DS
A Bird Story - PC
Quake - PC
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PS4
Quake: Scourge of Armagon - PC
Quake: Dissolution of Eternity - PC
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - NDS
Painkiller - PC
Gungrave: Overdose - PS2
Adventure -Atari 2600 (PS2)
Auto Racing - Intellivision (PS2) [1979]
Boxing - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1980]
The Count - TI99/4A (emulated) [1981]
Dragonstomper - Atari 2600/Starpath Supercharger (emulated) [1982]
Enduro - Atari 2600 (PS2) [1983]
Diablo III - PS4
Front Line - Atari 2600 (emulated) [1984]
Gertie Goose - The Lost Eggs - C64 (emulated) [1985]
Ocean Commander - Wii
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - PS2
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PS4
Mortal Kombat: Deception - PS2
The Order: 1886 - PS4
The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo - PC
Grab Them By The Eyes - PC
Growl - PS2/Arcade
Hydlide - NES [1986]
Ikari Warriors - NES [1987]
Jonah Barrington's Squash - C64 (emulated) [1988]
Steel Diver - 3DS
Super Mario 3D World - - Wii U
Quake II - PC *new*

Total: 32

Previously: 2014 | The First 400 Games

Like with Quake earlier this year, I don't think I'd played Quake II through since the 1990s. That was a mistake: the game holds up remarkably well and is a blast to play. There's a beauty to the level design here that just does not exist in the modern single-player FPS scene. It is probably id's magnum opus, and it is truly a shame that they don't make them like this anymore.

Don't get me wrong: I love a lot of modern FPS games that have tremendous single player campaigns (Bioshock, Killzone series, etc.)...but the emphasis on story, continuous worlds, and more natural building architecture really minimizes the kind of "nook and cranny" exploration that makes id's games so great. I also enjoyed the hell out of the dark humor across the various processing plants and torture chambers...

Quake II is, on the whole, perhaps more uneven than Quake. That said, its best levels are better than Quake's and its gameplay trumps the former in every context except for boss fights. I still give it the slight edge over Quake 1, but both are worth playing for anyone who somehow never has or who, like me, hasn't for a very long time.

[GSZX1337]

1) Cannon Spike - Dreamcast

2) I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - PC


I saw a Let's Play of this game years ago and thought it looked great. Naturally, when I saw that it was available on Steam, I snatched it up like... some snatchy thing. Not so naturally, I haven't actually installed or played it until earlier this year. Part of it is my perpetual procrastination sure, but the game's "clique" was another factor. My actual gameplay experience with classic Point & Click Adventures is limited to only Beneath a Steel Sky, but I've seen some gameplay footage and heard from around the 'net that these games aren't newb friendly. I had to consult a guide for Beneath a Steel Sky more than a few times, so I very much expected to get stuck and frustrated a lot. Thankfully, that wasn't the case as I've only had to consult a guide in a few choice spots.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the game itself. Holy shit, talk about a bloated interface. Walk, Look, Talk, Use, Give, Push, Take, and ...Swallow? I can only think of a couple of times the Swallow command was useful, and both of them produced negative consequences. The interface could've used some more streamlining. The graphics are typical 2D DOS sprites and backgrounds. They didn't wow me, but they did look nice and tickle my nostalgia bone. The music was rather nice, and I was happy to see that my Steam copy came with the soundtrack as it went well with the short story.

The gameplay is what made me really love this game. Unlike most other P&Cs, the game is set up in a series of five vignettes with each having several options for completion. Thankfully, they are also short, so having to restart isn't such a big deal. I still kept a large amount of saves, though. The spirit barometer not only dictates which ending you get it, it lends the game replay value. This setup makes the game feel unique and leads to less frustration. I found the game's puzzles logical and quite light on pixel-hunting and other nonsense.

All in all, I think I made a good first choice to kick off my year of RTS, RPG, and Point & Click Adventure games.

[Hobie-wan]

Holy shit, talk about a bloated interface. Walk, Look, Talk, Use, Give, Push, Take, and ...Swallow?

Haha, don't go back and play Maniac Mansion then.

[Ack]

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)

Well, I sat down to try this out for a bit as it came in the mail yesterday, and I ended up going through and beating it. Spike McFang is a short game. There is no timer, but I spent probably about as much time in this as I did with Brain Lord, Lagoon, or Ys III on the SNES, which is to say that it is definitely one of the shortest RPG offerings on the console. But it's bright, colorful, easy to pick up and play, and not much of a challenge.

There are only four pieces of equipment(one of which you start the game with) and then there is the magic system, which is basically an item inventory where you use a card to cast whatever spell you need. You can hold a maximum of 10 of any kind of card, but in truth I really only used one of the two types of healing cards with any regularity, as the game doesn't automatically increase your current hit points when you level. Apparently this and an increased enemy defense are the two things which make the US version harder than the Japanese version.

To beat the game, you need to master the jump timing, the rhythm necessary for your spin attack so you don't go nuts and make yourself dizzy, and the timing on the hats for shooting them out. But these aren't tough skills to pick up, and the first area of the game is purely to teach you how to play, so you'll be fine. Everything is quite simple, from the basic plot(three rules, one turns evil, the kids of the three rulers must save the kingdom), to the level system(level 16 is max), to the combat system. And leveling increases your damage a fair bit, so a simple level can erase any issues you had.

On a side note, this was made by the same company that made Obitus. What happened? Same overall genre, but radically different approach.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nice review Ack. I will get to Spike soon.

And I hate to be "that guy" but I'm quite certain that Obitus and Spike merely share (SNES) publishers, not developers. Obitus is a Psygnosis WRPG that was also on PC, Amiga, Atari ST.

[MrPopo]

1. Painkiller - PC
2. Front Mission 4 - PS2
3. Wasteland 2 - PC
4. Arcanum - PC
5. X-COM Terror from the Deep - PC
6. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16
7. Unreal - PC
8. Shadowrun - SNES
9. Warcraft III - PC
10. Dungeon Keeper - PC
11. Final Fantasy X-2 HD - PS3
12. Descent - PC
13. Quake Mission Pack 2 - Dissolution of Eternity
14. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2 - Ground Zero

So my general thought is that the balance on this game is rather poor. It starts off by tossing a lot of advanced enemies at you while you are still in scrounging for weapons and ammo mode. Once you finish the first unit life gets better, but at the same time you run into TURRETS.

FUCK THOSE TURRETS.

The turrets are a nasty combination of small, beefy (three rockets or two railgun shots), damaging, and crazy accurate. The turrets have the most advanced AI of anything in the game as they will properly lead you. They also like to hide on ceilings and walls where you're not looking, up to and including hiding behind a false panel until you run past them to a trigger point and they shoot you in the back. Did I mention half of them are rocket turrets?

These guys were what drained the majority of my health over the course of the game. The Medic Commander wasn't nearly as bad, and he spawns in an army. The Medic Commander doesn't appear often and he goes down to one BFG shot (which tears through everything he's spawned).

The game has two bosses, one at the end of unit 3 and then a final boss. Both bosses spawn minions, but since you're tossing around BFG shots it doesn't really matter.

Also, the game is nearly over when you finish the first boss. The first three units consist of 3, 4, and 4 levels. The fourth unit is 2 levels and the last unit is just the boss fight.

[dsheinem]

1. Painkiller - PC
2. Front Mission 4 - PS2
3. Wasteland 2 - PC
4. Arcanum - PC
5. X-COM Terror from the Deep - PC
6. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16
7. Unreal - PC
8. Shadowrun - SNES
9. Warcraft III - PC
10. Dungeon Keeper - PC
11. Final Fantasy X-2 HD - PS3
12. Descent - PC
13. Quake Mission Pack 2 - Dissolution of Eternity
14. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2 - Ground Zero

And my other game for this month's TR is complete. Once again, my thoughts are in the TR thread.

Did you post thoughts previously (last year?) about The Reckoning? I am playing that one now...

[MrPopo]

I did. I finished The Reckoning and Scourge of Armagon during the holidays last year since I needed to burn some vacation time that wasn't going to roll over and took a week off. I think I put my thoughts in the FPS thread since I didn't feel right starting "I beat this" posts in games beaten in December.

[Fragems]

1. Injustice Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition(PS4)
2. Infamous First Light(PS4)
3. Drakengard 3(PS3) *Endings 1-4. Ending 5 I watched online due to BS boss.
4. Infamous Second Son(PS4)
5. Thomas Was Alone(PS4)
6. Uncharted Drake's Fortune(PS3) *
7. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves(PS3) *
8. Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception(PS3) *
9. Deadpool(PS3)
10. Red Dead Redemption(360)
11. Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare(360)
12. The Walking Dead Survival Instinct(360)
13. Fuse(360)
14. The Bureau Xcom Declassified(360)
15. Asura's Wrath(360)
16. Beneath a Steel Sky(PC)

Beneath a Steel Sky

Overall a pretty decent little action game from 1994. Found the humor to be pretty good, but there was a boat load of back tracking and the game wasn't very clear on what you were supposed to be doing at times. Some of the required items also didn't stand out to well in the environment to well and were easily overlooked. It's currently free over on GoG so if you are into older point and click adventures it's worth giving a go.

Also ran surprisingly well only had 1 crash in the entire 5 or so hours I spent on it.

[Ack]

Nice review Ack. I will get to Spike soon.

And I hate to be "that guy" but I'm quite certain that Obitus and Spike merely share (SNES) publishers, not developers. Obitus is a Psygnosis WRPG that was also on PC, Amiga, Atari ST.

No worries, I looked it up later and saw BPS had been the ones to handle the Obitus SNES release. I'm not sure who did what on Spike McFang though, but BPS did develop it in some capacity.