Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
The third DLC for New Vegas, Old World Blues follows up on some plot points from Dead Money, and provides a nice playground to wander around in. Not to mention, there are a lot of perks to pick up thanks to SCIENCE! You start the DLC by following a transmission to a crashed satellite. Interacting with it knocks you out and transports you to an old research facility. Upon waking up, you discover your brain, spine, and heart were removed, but thanks to some electrodes implanted in your skull you still can function. Time to explore and find a way out, and maybe get your brain back in the process.
Dead Money was confined entirely to a couple of effective dungeons, while Honest Hearts was entirely wandering outside (and not much to see in that area). Old World Blues outdoes both by being a fully realized outside area with lots of small dungeons inside. It serves as a microcosm of the greater world of New Vegas. You'll also build out a nice base in the process of completing the DLC which you can quickly return to after the DLC is over. Facilities include free healing, a store that can repair all gear to 100% (for a price), and several mechanisms for refilling food and water (important for hardcore mode).
Old World Blues is definitely a step up from the previous two DLCs, and it was nice seeing the connections with Dead Money. The new gear you can get felt like mostly sidegrades, but the new perks are a very nice boost that makes things feel very worthwhile (something Honest Hearts didn't have).
Games Beaten 2024
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
Wrath is an indie FPS using the Quake engine (specifically, a modified Darkplaces source port) that is notable for its level sizes. It spent quite a long time in early access, and unfortunately it doesn't feel like that time was put to good use; it has a significant number of problems that make it a sub-par experience, many of them stemming from the amateur nature of the game design.
The game is divided into three acts of five stages plus a boss. You start in a hub level, which includes pickups to do some refilling after a stage, and you're free to do the stages in any order. Your goal in each stage is to get a rune and escape; once you collect all five runes you can unlock the portal to the boss level. The game features an adaptive difficulty; the later stages you pick will have more enemies. This does end up being the first strike against the game; leaving aside the difficulty in properly balancing that many difficulties (main difficulty + stage order combinations), this means that the weapon pacing needs to account for the fact that you can start in any of five stages and do any of the other four stages next. What I found was each act had a single stage that introduced a top tier weapon in an appropriate setpiece, so if you didn't choose that level early you were going to bereft of that weapon.
The arsenal is a fairly standard one, all of which have alt fires. The default melee weapon's alt fire is the most interesting one, as it is a dash forward that does shockingly heavy damage (as in, good enough to oneshot mid-tier enemies) and is used for traversal. You get a pistol, double shotty, chaingun, bio grenade launcher, plasma launcher, rail gun, and then two interesting weapons. The first is a gun that fires a continuous beam that will chain to another target (and you can use its alt fire to crystalize an enemy and then beams shot at that enemy will fan out more) and the second is a heavy damage mace (about the same as the alt fire of your basic melee) that absorbs the souls of every enemy it kills; upon gaining ten souls you can use its alt fire which is this game's BFG equivalent. For the most part the guns all handle well and are all useful in various situations. But I did have some annoyances. The shotty has absolutely no feedback on where the pellets are landing; it's incredibly hard to judge the spread and I found that it felt like it was both incredibly short ranged AND didn't do well in short range against fast targets. And even with that, it's still your primary workhorse. The other thing that really bugged me was certain weapons had shockingly low max ammo counts; specifically the chaingun and plasma gun. They both are incredibly useful and have a fair amount of pickups, but you drain them after a 2-3 major enemies. And the placement of enemies you really want to use them on means I spent a lot of time skipping pickups because I was full. There's a certain pacing to weapon ammo in good FPS's; ideally the player finds situations to use the weapon that still leaves them with backup ammo, and then they find more ammo before the next time they really need it. Here the max ammo is low enough that I was using alternates in situations where they would be best because I was unwilling to drain it.
The game also features a Heretic-style item system. You can only use a single item at a time, and you're capped at 9. The items are a mixed bag of usefulness; the "gain health on kill", "enemies attack each other", and "black hole bomb" were always useful. The rebreather was nice those handful of times you needed it. And the damage amp is always appreciated, but you don't get enough for you to be free with them outside bosses. The ones that disappointed me were the thunder ring (self-centered aoe just doesn't cut it when the only enemies you're that close to die fast to everything anyway), turrets (not enough pickups and you need to spam them to feel effective), and shot reflection (it's a bubble that's placed on the ground, so you're stuck in a small area and it doesn't reflect everything). But the one that really stuck out was the invincibility. See, the tradeoff on it is that it sets your health to 1 and armor to 0. That's an interesting downside, and you can plan around it by saving health in an arena for afterwards. But the problem is that after an item expires there is a multi-second cooldown before you can activate another one. Can you say "oops, it ran out at the wrong moment and you're dead?"
The enemy design is a mixture of stuff you'd see in Doom and Quake, but they all tend to have some component that makes them just a bit more annoying to fight. The prime one is that every single ranged enemy will both keep firing after you're out of view for a couple seconds AND they continuously track you during this time period, even though they lack sight on you. So you can't do a fast dart in and out of cover; you have to jump out, shoot, go back, and then wait. It hurts the pacing of fights. Several of the enemies explode on death or otherwise leave a temporary damage area on their corpse; this is most egregious with the imp analog, which if not overkilled will fire several rapid shots in a cone in the air before exploding. Given how common they are, they're a source of a lot of cheap damage. But the absolute worst is the big melee enemy. He's got a lot of health and can do a fast charge at you. But you've played FPS's before, you know how to sidestep that charge and punish, right? Wrong; his tracking is insane. He can do a full 90 degree curve on his charge, and if it hits you say goodbye to half your health.
Finally, we come to the level design. And this is where the game really drags on you. The level design is a case study in how important pacing is, because the game is terrible at it. Each level is the traversal length of three regular FPS levels. You fight multiple hundreds of enemies a stage, but it isn't like a big Serious Sam area where you blow through most of them in a couple of setpieces. They just keep going and going and going. I found I was checking the enemy count to see my progress, and it was usually after about a third and two thirds of the way through the stage. The actual moment-to-moment design is fine, it's just there seemed to be no one going "hey, how about we chop this up into two different levels?" And because of the "do any stage in any order", you end up seeing the entire (or almost entire) cast of an act in stage one and have no surprises the rest of the act. Which is another thing that adds to the slog.
The really disappointing thing about Wrath is there was clearly a lot of effort put in, and individual elements are fine on their own. But when all combined together it is less than the sum of its parts; it gets in its own way and pulls itself down. As I understand it, there was some troubled development and the original lead left midway through, but even still, there's a general lack of project management that leaves a bloated product.
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
Wrath is an indie FPS using the Quake engine (specifically, a modified Darkplaces source port) that is notable for its level sizes. It spent quite a long time in early access, and unfortunately it doesn't feel like that time was put to good use; it has a significant number of problems that make it a sub-par experience, many of them stemming from the amateur nature of the game design.
The game is divided into three acts of five stages plus a boss. You start in a hub level, which includes pickups to do some refilling after a stage, and you're free to do the stages in any order. Your goal in each stage is to get a rune and escape; once you collect all five runes you can unlock the portal to the boss level. The game features an adaptive difficulty; the later stages you pick will have more enemies. This does end up being the first strike against the game; leaving aside the difficulty in properly balancing that many difficulties (main difficulty + stage order combinations), this means that the weapon pacing needs to account for the fact that you can start in any of five stages and do any of the other four stages next. What I found was each act had a single stage that introduced a top tier weapon in an appropriate setpiece, so if you didn't choose that level early you were going to bereft of that weapon.
The arsenal is a fairly standard one, all of which have alt fires. The default melee weapon's alt fire is the most interesting one, as it is a dash forward that does shockingly heavy damage (as in, good enough to oneshot mid-tier enemies) and is used for traversal. You get a pistol, double shotty, chaingun, bio grenade launcher, plasma launcher, rail gun, and then two interesting weapons. The first is a gun that fires a continuous beam that will chain to another target (and you can use its alt fire to crystalize an enemy and then beams shot at that enemy will fan out more) and the second is a heavy damage mace (about the same as the alt fire of your basic melee) that absorbs the souls of every enemy it kills; upon gaining ten souls you can use its alt fire which is this game's BFG equivalent. For the most part the guns all handle well and are all useful in various situations. But I did have some annoyances. The shotty has absolutely no feedback on where the pellets are landing; it's incredibly hard to judge the spread and I found that it felt like it was both incredibly short ranged AND didn't do well in short range against fast targets. And even with that, it's still your primary workhorse. The other thing that really bugged me was certain weapons had shockingly low max ammo counts; specifically the chaingun and plasma gun. They both are incredibly useful and have a fair amount of pickups, but you drain them after a 2-3 major enemies. And the placement of enemies you really want to use them on means I spent a lot of time skipping pickups because I was full. There's a certain pacing to weapon ammo in good FPS's; ideally the player finds situations to use the weapon that still leaves them with backup ammo, and then they find more ammo before the next time they really need it. Here the max ammo is low enough that I was using alternates in situations where they would be best because I was unwilling to drain it.
The game also features a Heretic-style item system. You can only use a single item at a time, and you're capped at 9. The items are a mixed bag of usefulness; the "gain health on kill", "enemies attack each other", and "black hole bomb" were always useful. The rebreather was nice those handful of times you needed it. And the damage amp is always appreciated, but you don't get enough for you to be free with them outside bosses. The ones that disappointed me were the thunder ring (self-centered aoe just doesn't cut it when the only enemies you're that close to die fast to everything anyway), turrets (not enough pickups and you need to spam them to feel effective), and shot reflection (it's a bubble that's placed on the ground, so you're stuck in a small area and it doesn't reflect everything). But the one that really stuck out was the invincibility. See, the tradeoff on it is that it sets your health to 1 and armor to 0. That's an interesting downside, and you can plan around it by saving health in an arena for afterwards. But the problem is that after an item expires there is a multi-second cooldown before you can activate another one. Can you say "oops, it ran out at the wrong moment and you're dead?"
The enemy design is a mixture of stuff you'd see in Doom and Quake, but they all tend to have some component that makes them just a bit more annoying to fight. The prime one is that every single ranged enemy will both keep firing after you're out of view for a couple seconds AND they continuously track you during this time period, even though they lack sight on you. So you can't do a fast dart in and out of cover; you have to jump out, shoot, go back, and then wait. It hurts the pacing of fights. Several of the enemies explode on death or otherwise leave a temporary damage area on their corpse; this is most egregious with the imp analog, which if not overkilled will fire several rapid shots in a cone in the air before exploding. Given how common they are, they're a source of a lot of cheap damage. But the absolute worst is the big melee enemy. He's got a lot of health and can do a fast charge at you. But you've played FPS's before, you know how to sidestep that charge and punish, right? Wrong; his tracking is insane. He can do a full 90 degree curve on his charge, and if it hits you say goodbye to half your health.
Finally, we come to the level design. And this is where the game really drags on you. The level design is a case study in how important pacing is, because the game is terrible at it. Each level is the traversal length of three regular FPS levels. You fight multiple hundreds of enemies a stage, but it isn't like a big Serious Sam area where you blow through most of them in a couple of setpieces. They just keep going and going and going. I found I was checking the enemy count to see my progress, and it was usually after about a third and two thirds of the way through the stage. The actual moment-to-moment design is fine, it's just there seemed to be no one going "hey, how about we chop this up into two different levels?" And because of the "do any stage in any order", you end up seeing the entire (or almost entire) cast of an act in stage one and have no surprises the rest of the act. Which is another thing that adds to the slog.
The really disappointing thing about Wrath is there was clearly a lot of effort put in, and individual elements are fine on their own. But when all combined together it is less than the sum of its parts; it gets in its own way and pulls itself down. As I understand it, there was some troubled development and the original lead left midway through, but even still, there's a general lack of project management that leaves a bloated product.
- prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12222
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2024
1. Chico and The Magic Orchard DX (Switch)
2. Dusk ‘82 (Switch)
3. Dusk (Switch)
4. Rock Boshers DX (Switch)
5. Metal Slug 4 (Neo Geo)
6. Bleed 2 (Switch)
7. Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
8. Mighty Gunvolt Burst (3DS)
9. Love 3 (Switch)
10. Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (3DS)
11. Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch)
12. Mother 3 (GBA)
13. Princess Peach: Showtime! (Switch)
14. Avenging Spirit (Arcade)
The forum’s back; so, I need to catch up!
Mother 3 is a rock-solid JRPG and, despite a slow start, is easily the best game in the Mother series. It looks great, has catchy music, adds beat-based combat, and retains the series’ distinctive sense of humor and place. It has a few problematic elements (e.g., the Magypsies), but it’s still a shame Nintendo never localized it. The fan-translation is great, though, and it’s definitely worth playing for fans of the series.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a great game for young girls, and I am 100% not its target audience. (I wish it had come out 7-8 years ago. I think my daughter would have loved it.) That said, it’s still a fun game, combining many different genres into one complete package. There’s some beat’em up in there, some MGS-inspired stealth, some platforming, some adventure gaming, etc. In fact, there’s so much stuff, the game is almost a Wario Ware game. There’s also a lot to find an unlock, but unfortunately, the game is not very completionist friendly, requiring you to play back through long stages with unskippable cut scenes if you want to try to get everything. That complaint aside, the game is otherwise charming, with a great, new villain - Madame Grape - who feels like something out of a Sega game.
Avenging Spirit is a very bizarre arcade game. It’s an action platformer in which you play as a ghost who can inhabit different enemies and use their abilities to navigate the game’s levels. Each enemy you can possess plays very differently, and some are much harder to find than others. Depending on who you possess the game’s difficulty changes radically. Some enemies can access different parts of the levels more easily, and some of them can wreck the bosses while others really struggle. Additionally, there are three hidden keys you just find to get the “good” ending. Honesty, it feels a bit like an arcade port of a console game since so many of the mechanics (e.g., experimentation, exploration, secrets, etc.) work better at home than in the arcade. Strangely, however, it was only ported to the GameBoy (which is an awesome game, BTW). Still, it’s fun, and it’s frequently on sale in the eShop. So, if you’re looking for a pretty great port of a bizarre arcade game for much less than the cost of an Arcade Archives release, you should give it a shot!
2. Dusk ‘82 (Switch)
3. Dusk (Switch)
4. Rock Boshers DX (Switch)
5. Metal Slug 4 (Neo Geo)
6. Bleed 2 (Switch)
7. Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
8. Mighty Gunvolt Burst (3DS)
9. Love 3 (Switch)
10. Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (3DS)
11. Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch)
12. Mother 3 (GBA)
13. Princess Peach: Showtime! (Switch)
14. Avenging Spirit (Arcade)
The forum’s back; so, I need to catch up!
Mother 3 is a rock-solid JRPG and, despite a slow start, is easily the best game in the Mother series. It looks great, has catchy music, adds beat-based combat, and retains the series’ distinctive sense of humor and place. It has a few problematic elements (e.g., the Magypsies), but it’s still a shame Nintendo never localized it. The fan-translation is great, though, and it’s definitely worth playing for fans of the series.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a great game for young girls, and I am 100% not its target audience. (I wish it had come out 7-8 years ago. I think my daughter would have loved it.) That said, it’s still a fun game, combining many different genres into one complete package. There’s some beat’em up in there, some MGS-inspired stealth, some platforming, some adventure gaming, etc. In fact, there’s so much stuff, the game is almost a Wario Ware game. There’s also a lot to find an unlock, but unfortunately, the game is not very completionist friendly, requiring you to play back through long stages with unskippable cut scenes if you want to try to get everything. That complaint aside, the game is otherwise charming, with a great, new villain - Madame Grape - who feels like something out of a Sega game.
Avenging Spirit is a very bizarre arcade game. It’s an action platformer in which you play as a ghost who can inhabit different enemies and use their abilities to navigate the game’s levels. Each enemy you can possess plays very differently, and some are much harder to find than others. Depending on who you possess the game’s difficulty changes radically. Some enemies can access different parts of the levels more easily, and some of them can wreck the bosses while others really struggle. Additionally, there are three hidden keys you just find to get the “good” ending. Honesty, it feels a bit like an arcade port of a console game since so many of the mechanics (e.g., experimentation, exploration, secrets, etc.) work better at home than in the arcade. Strangely, however, it was only ported to the GameBoy (which is an awesome game, BTW). Still, it’s fun, and it’s frequently on sale in the eShop. So, if you’re looking for a pretty great port of a bizarre arcade game for much less than the cost of an Arcade Archives release, you should give it a shot!
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
19. Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road - PC
Lonesome Road is the final piece of DLC for New Vegas. It has the highest base level and zero restrictions on what you bring in (and no surprise locking you in). It's also the most linear, which is used in order for it to have the most meaningful story. It wraps up a background thread from the other DLCs and gives some more context on why Honest Hearts was a thing, and it is a conclusion to the main character's story, as this DLC is about your past (which you've forgotten thanks to being shot in the head at the start of the base game).
The location this time is The Divide; an area on the boarder between California and Nevada that was the site of a series of missile silos which then had a massive earthquake. The land is broken and the wind rips through, keeping things shrouded in a noxious dust that has stripped the flesh from the bones of the ghouls that make up most of the enemies. There's no mechanical component here like there was in Dead Money, but it serves to impart atmosphere.
As I mentioned, it is incredibly linear. You're basically on a single path with a spur now and then for some gear, as you plow through enemies and learn more about your past. You also learn a bit more about the past world and fill in some more details around the wider goings on between the major nations in New Vegas. While I won't spoil anything, there are some elements which dip into Chris Avellone's usual well, so if you've played his other stuff you'll be in familiar territory.
Lonesome Road is a nice wrap up to the DLC and the base game, as it answers various lingering questions you might have had. The focused narrative allows it to be stronger than the standard open world narratives because it doesn't need to adapt to hundreds of choices or lack thereof. Just a couple of dialog trees at the end for you to pick what kind of person you are.
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
19. Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road - PC
Lonesome Road is the final piece of DLC for New Vegas. It has the highest base level and zero restrictions on what you bring in (and no surprise locking you in). It's also the most linear, which is used in order for it to have the most meaningful story. It wraps up a background thread from the other DLCs and gives some more context on why Honest Hearts was a thing, and it is a conclusion to the main character's story, as this DLC is about your past (which you've forgotten thanks to being shot in the head at the start of the base game).
The location this time is The Divide; an area on the boarder between California and Nevada that was the site of a series of missile silos which then had a massive earthquake. The land is broken and the wind rips through, keeping things shrouded in a noxious dust that has stripped the flesh from the bones of the ghouls that make up most of the enemies. There's no mechanical component here like there was in Dead Money, but it serves to impart atmosphere.
As I mentioned, it is incredibly linear. You're basically on a single path with a spur now and then for some gear, as you plow through enemies and learn more about your past. You also learn a bit more about the past world and fill in some more details around the wider goings on between the major nations in New Vegas. While I won't spoil anything, there are some elements which dip into Chris Avellone's usual well, so if you've played his other stuff you'll be in familiar territory.
Lonesome Road is a nice wrap up to the DLC and the base game, as it answers various lingering questions you might have had. The focused narrative allows it to be stronger than the standard open world narratives because it doesn't need to adapt to hundreds of choices or lack thereof. Just a couple of dialog trees at the end for you to pick what kind of person you are.
Re: Games Beaten 2024
...so I wrapped up Broken Age over the weekend. I've always thought that click and point adventures were sort of interesting, so finally getting around to checking one out was sort of cool. Broken Age is generally pretty fun and has an interesting atmosphere, though I found some of the puzzles to be pretty obtuse. I think I'd give it a second go or even pick up a physical copy if I came across one.
- Markies
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1419
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:29 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Markies' Games Beat List Of 2024!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Jackal (NES)
***3. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)***
4. Skies Of Arcadia Legends (GCN)
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
6. Sunset Riders (GEN)
***7. Tactics Ogre (PS1)***
***8. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)***
9. Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
***10. Darkstalkers (PS1)***
***11. Splatoon (WiiU)***
12. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)
***13. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)***
14. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
I beat 3D Dot Game Heroes on the Sony Playstation 3 this evening!
As a child, I didn't have many friends. So, when my older brothers weren't using it, I would always play my NES. I remember many weekends in Grade School, having nothing to do for the weekend, I would start a new quest of the original Legend of Zelda and finish it before the weekend was over. It was my beautiful escapism and one that shaped me as a gamer today. Because of that, 3D Dot Game Heroes was one of the big games that tempted me to pick up a PS3. Even though it took me a while to pick one up, the game was high on my Wishlist. After a bit of searching, I picked one up at a local convention last year and I knew that I had to play it soon.
I absolutely love the story in 3D Dot Game Heroes. A king has watched his poor 2D become neglected, so he had to change the entire world into 3D. I never felt so moved in my life as all worlds should remain in 2D. Once I started playing the game, I realized that it mixes some of my favorite games of all time in Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest all into one wonderful game. The game is a beautiful love letter to all those amazing 8 Bit Games and just a great homage to the wonder years of gaming. After just a few short moments, I was instantly hooked into the game and I was back in my parents' basement playing these games again. The game never tries to be anything more than them and I appreciate that. It knows what it is and it never really tries to be anything more. But, once all the nostalgia wears off, the game is still really fun and enjoyable. You traverse an overworld, you go through dungeons, beat huge bosses, collect a heart container and then do it again. Its really quite simple and it all really works. The dialogue and characters are humorous and it is just an enjoyable experience.
Overall, I loved playing 3D Dot Game Heroes. The final dungeon is an absolute bear and almost felt like 2/3's of the game. Also, you are always strap for cash and there isn't really a great way to get money, so you have to be very tight. I would say those are just minor flaws in an overall great experience. The nostalgia and feelings I got from the game overwhelmed any negativity I might have had for it. If you loved those classic games, then this is obviously a no brainer and an easy recommendation. Even if you have never played them, this is a good introduction and just a solid adventure all around to enjoy!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Jackal (NES)
***3. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)***
4. Skies Of Arcadia Legends (GCN)
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
6. Sunset Riders (GEN)
***7. Tactics Ogre (PS1)***
***8. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)***
9. Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
***10. Darkstalkers (PS1)***
***11. Splatoon (WiiU)***
12. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)
***13. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)***
14. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
I beat 3D Dot Game Heroes on the Sony Playstation 3 this evening!
As a child, I didn't have many friends. So, when my older brothers weren't using it, I would always play my NES. I remember many weekends in Grade School, having nothing to do for the weekend, I would start a new quest of the original Legend of Zelda and finish it before the weekend was over. It was my beautiful escapism and one that shaped me as a gamer today. Because of that, 3D Dot Game Heroes was one of the big games that tempted me to pick up a PS3. Even though it took me a while to pick one up, the game was high on my Wishlist. After a bit of searching, I picked one up at a local convention last year and I knew that I had to play it soon.
I absolutely love the story in 3D Dot Game Heroes. A king has watched his poor 2D become neglected, so he had to change the entire world into 3D. I never felt so moved in my life as all worlds should remain in 2D. Once I started playing the game, I realized that it mixes some of my favorite games of all time in Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest all into one wonderful game. The game is a beautiful love letter to all those amazing 8 Bit Games and just a great homage to the wonder years of gaming. After just a few short moments, I was instantly hooked into the game and I was back in my parents' basement playing these games again. The game never tries to be anything more than them and I appreciate that. It knows what it is and it never really tries to be anything more. But, once all the nostalgia wears off, the game is still really fun and enjoyable. You traverse an overworld, you go through dungeons, beat huge bosses, collect a heart container and then do it again. Its really quite simple and it all really works. The dialogue and characters are humorous and it is just an enjoyable experience.
Overall, I loved playing 3D Dot Game Heroes. The final dungeon is an absolute bear and almost felt like 2/3's of the game. Also, you are always strap for cash and there isn't really a great way to get money, so you have to be very tight. I would say those are just minor flaws in an overall great experience. The nostalgia and feelings I got from the game overwhelmed any negativity I might have had for it. If you loved those classic games, then this is obviously a no brainer and an easy recommendation. Even if you have never played them, this is a good introduction and just a solid adventure all around to enjoy!
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
19. Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road - PC
20. Super Buff HD - PC
Super Buff HD is a bite sized indie FPS with a unique visual style. Everything is cell shaded and quite simple; it's almost like what you might be able to draw using MS Paint (and the credits claim MS Paint was one of the tools). Explosions and killed enemies render sound effect text, like "BLAM" and "JO MAMMA". I actually found these obscured things at times. Each level is in the 2-5 minute range to get through, with usually a couple of arenas making up everything. Now and then you'll fight a boss, which are basically regular enemies with a ton more health and are huge. You have four weapons; a basic rapid fire that alt fires as a shotgun, a melee weapon that alt fire throws and then returns, dealing damage in both directions, a rocket launcher that alt fires as more rockets, and paired stapleguns that alt fire as a hugeass staple that pierces enemies (and clears hordes like crazy). The game also has some movement stuff; you have a double jump and an air dash, most non-enemy objects can be bounced off of, enemies can be ridden like a skateboard, and there are rails that can be ridden like a skateboarder. You have a surprising lack of air control, though. And one final thing to point out is the lack of crosshair (you have full 3D aiming, no Doom-style vertical auto aim) and the lack of feedback on hitting stuff (enemies have no pain state, just death). The whole thing is over in just over an hour, which is good, because there really isn't anything more there. It's not a bad waste of a couple of bucks, but a couple of bucks is all it's worth.
1. Tormented Souls - Switch
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II - PC
3. Fantasy Empires - PC
4. Vagrant Story - PS1
5. Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor - PC
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Switch
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project - NES
8. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PS5
9. Tomb Raider Remastered - PC
10. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
11. Unicorn Overlord - Switch
12. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries: Solaris Showdown - PC
13. Princess Peach: Showtime - Switch
14. Fida Puti Samurai - PC
15. Fallout New Vegas: Dead Money - PC
16. Fallout New Vegas: Honest Hearts - PC
17. Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - PC
18. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin - PC
19. Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road - PC
20. Super Buff HD - PC
Super Buff HD is a bite sized indie FPS with a unique visual style. Everything is cell shaded and quite simple; it's almost like what you might be able to draw using MS Paint (and the credits claim MS Paint was one of the tools). Explosions and killed enemies render sound effect text, like "BLAM" and "JO MAMMA". I actually found these obscured things at times. Each level is in the 2-5 minute range to get through, with usually a couple of arenas making up everything. Now and then you'll fight a boss, which are basically regular enemies with a ton more health and are huge. You have four weapons; a basic rapid fire that alt fires as a shotgun, a melee weapon that alt fire throws and then returns, dealing damage in both directions, a rocket launcher that alt fires as more rockets, and paired stapleguns that alt fire as a hugeass staple that pierces enemies (and clears hordes like crazy). The game also has some movement stuff; you have a double jump and an air dash, most non-enemy objects can be bounced off of, enemies can be ridden like a skateboard, and there are rails that can be ridden like a skateboarder. You have a surprising lack of air control, though. And one final thing to point out is the lack of crosshair (you have full 3D aiming, no Doom-style vertical auto aim) and the lack of feedback on hitting stuff (enemies have no pain state, just death). The whole thing is over in just over an hour, which is good, because there really isn't anything more there. It's not a bad waste of a couple of bucks, but a couple of bucks is all it's worth.
- prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12222
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Great review! 3D Dot Game Heroes is a gem, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.Markies wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 9:29 pm Markies' Games Beat List Of 2024!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Jackal (NES)
***3. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)***
4. Skies Of Arcadia Legends (GCN)
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
6. Sunset Riders (GEN)
***7. Tactics Ogre (PS1)***
***8. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)***
9. Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
***10. Darkstalkers (PS1)***
***11. Splatoon (WiiU)***
12. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)
***13. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)***
14. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
I beat 3D Dot Game Heroes on the Sony Playstation 3 this evening!
As a child, I didn't have many friends. So, when my older brothers weren't using it, I would always play my NES. I remember many weekends in Grade School, having nothing to do for the weekend, I would start a new quest of the original Legend of Zelda and finish it before the weekend was over. It was my beautiful escapism and one that shaped me as a gamer today. Because of that, 3D Dot Game Heroes was one of the big games that tempted me to pick up a PS3. Even though it took me a while to pick one up, the game was high on my Wishlist. After a bit of searching, I picked one up at a local convention last year and I knew that I had to play it soon.
I absolutely love the story in 3D Dot Game Heroes. A king has watched his poor 2D become neglected, so he had to change the entire world into 3D. I never felt so moved in my life as all worlds should remain in 2D. Once I started playing the game, I realized that it mixes some of my favorite games of all time in Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest all into one wonderful game. The game is a beautiful love letter to all those amazing 8 Bit Games and just a great homage to the wonder years of gaming. After just a few short moments, I was instantly hooked into the game and I was back in my parents' basement playing these games again. The game never tries to be anything more than them and I appreciate that. It knows what it is and it never really tries to be anything more. But, once all the nostalgia wears off, the game is still really fun and enjoyable. You traverse an overworld, you go through dungeons, beat huge bosses, collect a heart container and then do it again. Its really quite simple and it all really works. The dialogue and characters are humorous and it is just an enjoyable experience.
Overall, I loved playing 3D Dot Game Heroes. The final dungeon is an absolute bear and almost felt like 2/3's of the game. Also, you are always strap for cash and there isn't really a great way to get money, so you have to be very tight. I would say those are just minor flaws in an overall great experience. The nostalgia and feelings I got from the game overwhelmed any negativity I might have had for it. If you loved those classic games, then this is obviously a no brainer and an easy recommendation. Even if you have never played them, this is a good introduction and just a solid adventure all around to enjoy!
- Markies
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1419
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:29 pm
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Thank You Kindly, prfsnl_gmr! It was a great game!
Markies' Games Beat List Of 2024!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Jackal (NES)
***3. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)***
4. Skies Of Arcadia Legends (GCN)
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
6. Sunset Riders (GEN)
***7. Tactics Ogre (PS1)***
***8. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)***
9. Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
***10. Darkstalkers (PS1)***
***11. Splatoon (WiiU)***
12. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)
***13. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)***
14. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
***15. Puzzle Kingdoms (Wii)***
I completed Puzzle Kingdoms on the Nintendo Wii this evening!
Puzzle Quest is one of my favorite Hidden Gems on the PS2. It combines RPG elements with a Bejeweled style gameplay. Since college, I have loved to play those little flash games and Bejeweled was always one of my favorites. So, to be able to play it on my TV with a story and a leveling system had me sold instantly. With little physical releases and the series mostly going digital or on handhelds, unfortunately, I could not continue on with the series. Thankfully, the game got a successor on the Nintendo Wii and it was one of the first games I wanted to pick up. I enjoyed my playthrough of the game, but I knew that I was missing just a little bit more. With my batteries refreshed, I decided to go back and finish off what I had missed.
The gameplay is relatively the same though they did make some changes. Instead of swapping jewels to make three in a row, it's more of a sliding puzzle where you push the gems to make three in a row or three in a cluster. It adds a bit more of a strategic element to the game that sets it apart from Puzzle Quest. Puzzle Quest had insanity as combo after combo would happen. That is still here a bit in Puzzle Kingdoms, but its a bit like chess as well as you are strategically moving the board around. You also have small mini games to spend your gold to unlock characters, troops, items and spells to beef up your army. By the end, I felt quite powerful and it was really fun to see the progression of my army throughout the game.
With that being said, the game becomes a bit tiresome. 20 Kingdoms is a ton especially when the gameplay doesn't change all that much. Near the end, it began to drag especially when the Mini-Games became much harder. It no longer became a game of figuring out the puzzle, but more like waiting around until the RNG let you win. These little games took over 30 minutes and I didn't feel like I had control in many of them. The game is mostly fair, unlike in Puzzle Quest, though by the end, it began to sway a bit more away from me.
Overall, I enjoyed going back and finishing up all that I missed in Puzzle Quest. It was much shorter than I imagined, so that was a plus. I never tire of Bejeweled and the light RPG elements were incredibly fun. It's not an amazing game, but for a fun little game that is very cheap. If you like Bejeweled style puzzle games, Puzzle Kingdoms is a more strategic version that is still fun to play.
Markies' Games Beat List Of 2024!
***Denotes Replay For Completion***
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
2. Jackal (NES)
***3. Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (SDC)***
4. Skies Of Arcadia Legends (GCN)
5. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
6. Sunset Riders (GEN)
***7. Tactics Ogre (PS1)***
***8. Forza Motorsport (XBOX)***
9. Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
***10. Darkstalkers (PS1)***
***11. Splatoon (WiiU)***
12. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (NSW)
***13. Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball (NES)***
14. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
***15. Puzzle Kingdoms (Wii)***
I completed Puzzle Kingdoms on the Nintendo Wii this evening!
Puzzle Quest is one of my favorite Hidden Gems on the PS2. It combines RPG elements with a Bejeweled style gameplay. Since college, I have loved to play those little flash games and Bejeweled was always one of my favorites. So, to be able to play it on my TV with a story and a leveling system had me sold instantly. With little physical releases and the series mostly going digital or on handhelds, unfortunately, I could not continue on with the series. Thankfully, the game got a successor on the Nintendo Wii and it was one of the first games I wanted to pick up. I enjoyed my playthrough of the game, but I knew that I was missing just a little bit more. With my batteries refreshed, I decided to go back and finish off what I had missed.
The gameplay is relatively the same though they did make some changes. Instead of swapping jewels to make three in a row, it's more of a sliding puzzle where you push the gems to make three in a row or three in a cluster. It adds a bit more of a strategic element to the game that sets it apart from Puzzle Quest. Puzzle Quest had insanity as combo after combo would happen. That is still here a bit in Puzzle Kingdoms, but its a bit like chess as well as you are strategically moving the board around. You also have small mini games to spend your gold to unlock characters, troops, items and spells to beef up your army. By the end, I felt quite powerful and it was really fun to see the progression of my army throughout the game.
With that being said, the game becomes a bit tiresome. 20 Kingdoms is a ton especially when the gameplay doesn't change all that much. Near the end, it began to drag especially when the Mini-Games became much harder. It no longer became a game of figuring out the puzzle, but more like waiting around until the RNG let you win. These little games took over 30 minutes and I didn't feel like I had control in many of them. The game is mostly fair, unlike in Puzzle Quest, though by the end, it began to sway a bit more away from me.
Overall, I enjoyed going back and finishing up all that I missed in Puzzle Quest. It was much shorter than I imagined, so that was a plus. I never tire of Bejeweled and the light RPG elements were incredibly fun. It's not an amazing game, but for a fun little game that is very cheap. If you like Bejeweled style puzzle games, Puzzle Kingdoms is a more strategic version that is still fun to play.
- PartridgeSenpai
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 2994
- Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 9:27 am
- Location: Northern Japan
Re: Games Beaten 2024
Partridge Senpai's 2024 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
* indicates a repeat
1. Terranigma (SFC)
2. Eastward (PC)
3. Pulse (PC)
4. Lost Ruins (PC)
5. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (PC)
6. Dropsy (PC)
7. Call of Juarez Gunslinger (PC)
8. Pokemon Ruby (GBA) *
9. Secret of Mana (SFC)
10. Fire Watch (PC)
11. Bokura (PC)
12. Romancing SaGa (SFC)
13. Trials of Mana (SFC)
14. Castlevania Legends (GB)
15. SaGa 2 (GB)
16. SaGa 3 (GB)
17. Celeste (PC)
18. Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (PC)
19. Celeste 64 (PC)
20. CB Chara Wars: Ushinawareta Gya~gu (SFC)
21. To The Moon (PC)
22. LOVE (PC)
23. Pikuniku (PC)
24. Night in the Woods (PC)
25. The Beginner's Guide (PC)
26. Suikoden (PS1)
27. Chocobo Dungeon 2 (PS1)
28. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Advance! Fire Adventure Team (Wii)
29. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Go! Storm Adventure Team (Wii)
30. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Aim! Light Adventure Team (Wii)
31. Line Attack Heroes (Wii)
32. The Quest for Camelot (GBC)
33. Tales of Destiny (PS1)
34. Metal Walker (GBC)
35. Frog Detective 1 (PC)
36. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (GBA) *
37. Frog Detective 2 (PC)
38. Frog Detective 3 (PC)
39. Super Robot Wars Alpha for Dreamcast (DC)
40. Brain Lord (SFC)
41. Lagoon (SFC)
42. Dark Hunter: Jou Ijigen Gakuen (PS1)
43. Ys: Books I & II (PCE)
44. Ys III: Wanderers From Ys (SFC)
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
* indicates a repeat
1. Terranigma (SFC)
2. Eastward (PC)
3. Pulse (PC)
4. Lost Ruins (PC)
5. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (PC)
6. Dropsy (PC)
7. Call of Juarez Gunslinger (PC)
8. Pokemon Ruby (GBA) *
9. Secret of Mana (SFC)
10. Fire Watch (PC)
11. Bokura (PC)
12. Romancing SaGa (SFC)
13. Trials of Mana (SFC)
14. Castlevania Legends (GB)
15. SaGa 2 (GB)
16. SaGa 3 (GB)
17. Celeste (PC)
18. Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (PC)
19. Celeste 64 (PC)
20. CB Chara Wars: Ushinawareta Gya~gu (SFC)
21. To The Moon (PC)
22. LOVE (PC)
23. Pikuniku (PC)
24. Night in the Woods (PC)
25. The Beginner's Guide (PC)
26. Suikoden (PS1)
27. Chocobo Dungeon 2 (PS1)
28. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Advance! Fire Adventure Team (Wii)
29. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Go! Storm Adventure Team (Wii)
30. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Aim! Light Adventure Team (Wii)
31. Line Attack Heroes (Wii)
32. The Quest for Camelot (GBC)
33. Tales of Destiny (PS1)
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me