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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by ElkinFencer10 Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:10 pm

Games Beaten in 2021 - 99
* denotes a replay

January (12 Games Beaten)
1. God of War - PlayStation 3 - January 1
2. God of War II - PlayStation 3 - January 2
3. God of War: Chains of Olympus - PlayStation 3 - January 3
4. God of War: Ghost of Sparta - PlayStation 3 - January 4
5. God of War III - PlayStation 4 - January 6
6. God of War: Ascension - PlayStation 3 - January 9
7. God of War [2018] - PlayStation 4 - January 16
8. Epic Dumpster Bear 2: He Who Bears Wins - PlayStation 4 - January 16
9. God of War: Betrayal - Mobile - January 17
10. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - Switch - January 18
11. Muv-Luv photonflowers* - Steam - January 22
12. Muv-Luv photonmelodies♮ - Steam - January 27


February (5 Games Beaten)
13. Gun Gun Pixies - Switch - February 1
14. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS4 - February 8*
15. Pantsu Hunter: Back to the 90s - Vita - February 13
16. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4 - February 17*
17. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - Steam - February 23


March (3 Games Beaten)
18. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC - Steam - March 4
19. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd - Steam - March 7
20. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III - PS4 - March 21


April (7 Games Beaten)
21. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - PS4 - April 5
22. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 00 - Steam - April 7
23. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 01 - Steam - April 10
24. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 02 - Steam - April 11
25. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 03 - Steam - April 13
26. Neptunia Virtual Stars - PS4 - April 18
27. Before Your Eyes - Steam - April 18


May (9 Games Beaten)
28. New Pokemon Snap - Switch - May 2
29. Resident Evil 8: Village - PS5 - May 8
30. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Switch - May 15
31. Torment: Tides of Numenera - Xbox One - May 18
32. Pepsiman - PS1 - May 20
33. Super Blackjack Battle II Turbo: The Card Fighters - Switch - May 20
34. Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure - Switch - May 23
35. Planetscape: Torment - Steam - May 26
36. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - Switch - May 31


June (17 Games Beaten)
37. Hentai vs Evil - Switch - June 1
38. Troll and I - Switch - June 2
39. Zombie Army 4: Dead War - PlayStation 4 - June 5
40. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Switch - June 6
41. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16 - June 7
42. Puyo Puyo 2 - Game Gear - June 17
43. Yakuza 0 - Playstation 4 - June 19
44. Neptunia Shooter - Playstation 5 - June 20
45. Little Samson - NES - June 22
46. Tiger-Heli - NES - June 23
47. Blaster Master - NES - June 23
48. Gun-Nac - NES - June 24
49. Rollerblade Racer - NES - June 25
50. Marble Madness - NES - June 25
51. Metroid - NES - June 25
52. Mario Golf: Super Rush - Switch - June 26
53. Metroid: Zero Mission - GBA - June 28
54. Metroid II: Return of Samus - Game Boy - June 29


July (31 Games Beaten)
55. Super Metroid - SNES - July 1
56. Where's Waldo? - NES - July 1
57. Metroid Fusion - GBA - July 2
58. Neptunia ReVerse - PlayStation 5 - July 3
59. Tetris Effect: Connected - Series X - July 3
60. Battletoads - Xbox One - July 4
61. Chicken Police: Paint it Red! - Switch - July 5
62. The Falconeer - Series X - July 7
63. Astral Chain - Switch - July 10
64. Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus - NES - July 12
65. Skull and Crossbones - NES - July 12
66. Sky Kid - NES - July 12
67. Top Gun - NES - July 12
68. Top Gun: The Second Mission - NES - July 13
69. Mega Man 7 - SNES - July 13
70. Mega Man X - SNES - July 14
71. Mega Man X2 - SNES - July 15
72. Second Extinction - Series X - July 15
73. Mega Man X3 - SNES - July 16
74. Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge - Game Boy - July 19
75. Mega Man II - Game Boy - July 19
76. Mega Man III - Game Boy - July 19
77. Mega Man IV - Game Boy - July 20
78. Mega Man V - Game Boy - July 20
79. Mega Man Xtreme - GBC - July 21
80. Mega Man Xtreme 2 - GBC - July 21
81. Portal Runner - GBC - July 22
82. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind - SNES - July 22
83. Mega Man and Bass - SNES - July 23
84. Cotton Reboot! - Switch - July 27
85. Yakuza Kiwami 2 - PlayStation 4 - July 29


August (2 Games Beaten)
86. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 1 - Series X - August 7
87. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 - Series X - August 7


September (6 Games Beaten)
88. Maneater: Truth Quest - PS5 - September 5
89. Empire of Angels IV - Switch - September 5
90. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - PS4 - September 19
91. Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force - GOG - September 21
92. Star Trek: Elite Force II - GOG - September 25
93. Earth Defense Force: World Brothers - Switch - September 29


October (6 Games Beaten)
94. Blair Witch - Switch - October 1
95. The Medium - Xbox Series X - October 3
96. Maid of Sker - Xbox Series X - October 3
97. Metroid Dread - Switch - October 14
98. Parasite Eve - PS1 - October 20
99. Visage - Xbox One - October 23


99. Visage - Xbox One - October 23

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Seven years ago, a first-person horror teaser called PT dropped on PlayStation 4 and turned the horror world on its head. While the game it was supposed to tease was canceled and PT itself subsequently pulled from the PlayStation Store, it sparked a horror renaissance that saw a plethora of copy-cat games emerge and try to recreate that specific feeling of dread that PT evoked. Some of these were laughable attempts - the pathetic Apartment 666 on Steam - while others were absolute masterpieces like the god-tier Resident Evil 7. None quite emulated and even enhanced the experience and the terror quite as masterfully as SadSquare Studio's Visage, though.

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Visage follows a man named Dwayne Anderson. In the game's opening, you can see him shoot and kill his wife, son, and daughter before shooting himself. He then awakens, however, in a small and desolate room before exiting and finding himself back in his house. As he makes his way through the house, he starts to experience paranormal events that slowly chip away at his sanity. From there, the game is divided into four chapters. The first three chapters can be completed in any order and are initiated by interacting with a specific object that shows you the fate of the house's previous residents. The fourth chapter takes place through seven segments each of which are initiated by playing a VHS tape. These reveal elements of Dwayne's life, and going through each gives Dwayne a piece of a mask that triggers the ending cutscene. The game's story is deeply evocative, and the fact that it's told through glimpses into the lives of other people and other times gives players the feeling that they're not experiencing the story of a person so much as the story and history of the home itself.

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Visage is an absolute exemplar of horror done right. There are some minor nitpicks that I have with the game upon which I'll expand in a moment, but as far as the atmosphere, the tone, the story, and the overall sense of dread and terror, this game does everything right. It's probably the scariest game I've ever played and is the only game that's taken that title away from Outlast. On four separate occasions during my playthrough, I screamed like a girl and threw my controller, and that in itself proves that SadSquare knows exactly how to do jump scares. All too often, jump scares are overdone and used too frequently as a cheap substitute for making a game genuinely scary, but Visage uses them sparingly to enhance the experience rather than fake it. The jump scares in this game are infrequent enough that you never start to expect or predict them, and they're timed and placed so perfectly that they always get the desired effect. With all the horror games I've played in my life (and that's a pretty substantial number), I've never seen a game use jump scares this masterfully. It's also extremely difficult, and I don't mean difficulty staying alive; some of the puzzles are straight-up Myst levels of obscure and hard to figure out. I feel zero shame in admitting that I had to google what to do on more than one occasion. I, personally, don't consider this a bad thing at all as the feeling of helplessness and confusion adds to the tension of the game, but it's definitely worth noting that Visage will put your deduction and reasoning skills to the test.

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The only real issues I have with the game are extremely minor and are mostly proofreading issues. There are a number of places where the spacing is off in dialogue subtitles; a line will read something like "The doctors said therewas nothing they could dofor him." With only one or two exceptions, the sentence itself makes perfect sense and is just in need of another pass of proofreading. There were a couple of instances where either a translation was off, or the writer's brain just moved faster than their fingers and led to a nonsense sentence, but I only saw two or three instances of that in the entire game, and it was never in an important story piece. My only other criticism - and the only one that I think really matters - is that the game's physics can get a little wonky sometimes. There are a few instances where you have to carry a large object - a chair, a wooden plank, etc. - and walk through doors or narrow hallways. These objects can get stuck in the doorway or lodged into the wall of the walkway and just sort of stay behind. The game doesn't make you automatically drop them thankfully, but it can take some jiggling and finagling to get the object where it needs to be. Sometimes this even happens in very small tunnels and crawlspaces with objects like lighters (these are important since darkness lowers your sanity). It's not a major issue as it never caused me to die or become stuck or anything, but it definitely is an annoyance.

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Visage is one of the most impressive horror games I've ever played, and that's especially true when you consider that this is an indie studio's first game, and it got its funding from Kickstarter. As great as those series are, no big-budget horror game in the Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or Fatal Frame series has ever scared me the way Visage did. The timing and sparing use of the jump scares, the subtle touches with the atmosphere of the house, and the random occurrences of the paranormal events rather than pre-scripted events all combined to make a true horror masterpiece. I rarely give games with identifiable issues a perfect 5 out of 5, but between the issues' being pretty minor here and the absolute master class in video game horror that Visage represents, I couldn't not give this game a perfect score. This is, without a doubt, the finest example of video game horror that I've ever experienced.
Last edited by ElkinFencer10 on Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

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Markies
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by Markies Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:02 pm

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2021!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)
20. The Bouncer (PS2)
21. Phantasy Star Online Version 2 (SDC)
22. Final Fantasy III (NES)
23. Psychonauts (XBOX)
24. GrimGrimoire (PS2)
25. College Football's National Championship (GEN)
26. Chameleon Twist (N64)

27. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (NS)

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I beat The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild on the Nintendo Switch this afternoon.

For my birthday in January, I was gifted a Nintendo Switch and Breath of the Wild. I had every intention of buying it for the WiiU, but I was curious to see if I could get a Switch to work on my CRT. After many many months of preparation, I finally got it working and set up to play. First though, I have some caveats about my review. 1. The game was released in 2017. The latest game I own in my collection is in 2007, so I skipped 10 years of gaming. 2. The last Zelda game I played before this was Wind Waker. 3. I didn't even crack 13% of the game discovered.

To describe Breath of the Wild would be completely redundant because everybody has heard and or played the game by now. So, I don't feel like I need to explain the game, but I will go into what I liked and what I disliked about the game. My favorite part of the game would be the characters, especially the Guardians and Zelda. Each of the Guardians is very unique with totally different personalities. Also, this is the best Zelda out of any Zelda game. Period. She has a personality that is feisty and stubborn, but she is still sweet and has the weight of the Kingdom on her mind. I also loved the Guardian Beasts and the Dungeons as well. Taking down the Guardian Beasts was incredibly enjoyable. Besides the Water one, I loved how they were different and fun. The dungeons were also unique as I loved changing them in the Map Screen.

At first, I liked the openess of the game and then it became it boring and then it became annoying. At first, I was wowed by the expanse of the game. Then, I kept running into roadblocks, so I just kept moving the story along. Then, I just wanted to be left alone and finish the game. That feeling of exploration died really quickly. The Ganon fights were incredibly unbalanced. I either destroyed them or they were annoying with unhittable parts. But, probably my favorite part of any Zelda game would be the Music and there is hardly any of it in Breath of the Wild. I missed that deeply along with the slow progression.

Overall, I'm still really glad I played Breath of the Wild. I can't complain too much as I beat it in 15 days. I almost wish it wasn't Zelda game because I'm comparing it with the others as I think it is middle of the road and an almost better version of Majora's Mask. But, I think, it is game I will go back to one more time in my life.
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PretentiousHipster
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by PretentiousHipster Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:00 am

Yea, playing it now and I am worried that it'll overstay its welcome, but so far that hasn't happened.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by ElkinFencer10 Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:31 pm

Games Beaten in 2021 - 100
* denotes a replay

January (12 Games Beaten)
1. God of War - PlayStation 3 - January 1
2. God of War II - PlayStation 3 - January 2
3. God of War: Chains of Olympus - PlayStation 3 - January 3
4. God of War: Ghost of Sparta - PlayStation 3 - January 4
5. God of War III - PlayStation 4 - January 6
6. God of War: Ascension - PlayStation 3 - January 9
7. God of War [2018] - PlayStation 4 - January 16
8. Epic Dumpster Bear 2: He Who Bears Wins - PlayStation 4 - January 16
9. God of War: Betrayal - Mobile - January 17
10. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - Switch - January 18
11. Muv-Luv photonflowers* - Steam - January 22
12. Muv-Luv photonmelodies♮ - Steam - January 27


February (5 Games Beaten)
13. Gun Gun Pixies - Switch - February 1
14. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - PS4 - February 8*
15. Pantsu Hunter: Back to the 90s - Vita - February 13
16. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II - PS4 - February 17*
17. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - Steam - February 23


March (3 Games Beaten)
18. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC - Steam - March 4
19. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd - Steam - March 7
20. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III - PS4 - March 21


April (7 Games Beaten)
21. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - PS4 - April 5
22. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 00 - Steam - April 7
23. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 01 - Steam - April 10
24. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 02 - Steam - April 11
25. Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After 03 - Steam - April 13
26. Neptunia Virtual Stars - PS4 - April 18
27. Before Your Eyes - Steam - April 18


May (9 Games Beaten)
28. New Pokemon Snap - Switch - May 2
29. Resident Evil 8: Village - PS5 - May 8
30. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Switch - May 15
31. Torment: Tides of Numenera - Xbox One - May 18
32. Pepsiman - PS1 - May 20
33. Super Blackjack Battle II Turbo: The Card Fighters - Switch - May 20
34. Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure - Switch - May 23
35. Planetscape: Torment - Steam - May 26
36. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - Switch - May 31


June (17 Games Beaten)
37. Hentai vs Evil - Switch - June 1
38. Troll and I - Switch - June 2
39. Zombie Army 4: Dead War - PlayStation 4 - June 5
40. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Switch - June 6
41. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16 - June 7
42. Puyo Puyo 2 - Game Gear - June 17
43. Yakuza 0 - Playstation 4 - June 19
44. Neptunia Shooter - Playstation 5 - June 20
45. Little Samson - NES - June 22
46. Tiger-Heli - NES - June 23
47. Blaster Master - NES - June 23
48. Gun-Nac - NES - June 24
49. Rollerblade Racer - NES - June 25
50. Marble Madness - NES - June 25
51. Metroid - NES - June 25
52. Mario Golf: Super Rush - Switch - June 26
53. Metroid: Zero Mission - GBA - June 28
54. Metroid II: Return of Samus - Game Boy - June 29


July (31 Games Beaten)
55. Super Metroid - SNES - July 1
56. Where's Waldo? - NES - July 1
57. Metroid Fusion - GBA - July 2
58. Neptunia ReVerse - PlayStation 5 - July 3
59. Tetris Effect: Connected - Series X - July 3
60. Battletoads - Xbox One - July 4
61. Chicken Police: Paint it Red! - Switch - July 5
62. The Falconeer - Series X - July 7
63. Astral Chain - Switch - July 10
64. Dynowarz: Destruction of Spondylus - NES - July 12
65. Skull and Crossbones - NES - July 12
66. Sky Kid - NES - July 12
67. Top Gun - NES - July 12
68. Top Gun: The Second Mission - NES - July 13
69. Mega Man 7 - SNES - July 13
70. Mega Man X - SNES - July 14
71. Mega Man X2 - SNES - July 15
72. Second Extinction - Series X - July 15
73. Mega Man X3 - SNES - July 16
74. Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge - Game Boy - July 19
75. Mega Man II - Game Boy - July 19
76. Mega Man III - Game Boy - July 19
77. Mega Man IV - Game Boy - July 20
78. Mega Man V - Game Boy - July 20
79. Mega Man Xtreme - GBC - July 21
80. Mega Man Xtreme 2 - GBC - July 21
81. Portal Runner - GBC - July 22
82. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind - SNES - July 22
83. Mega Man and Bass - SNES - July 23
84. Cotton Reboot! - Switch - July 27
85. Yakuza Kiwami 2 - PlayStation 4 - July 29


August (2 Games Beaten)
86. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 1 - Series X - August 7
87. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 - Series X - August 7


September (6 Games Beaten)
88. Maneater: Truth Quest - PS5 - September 5
89. Empire of Angels IV - Switch - September 5
90. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - PS4 - September 19
91. Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force - GOG - September 21
92. Star Trek: Elite Force II - GOG - September 25
93. Earth Defense Force: World Brothers - Switch - September 29


October (7 Games Beaten)
94. Blair Witch - Switch - October 1
95. The Medium - Xbox Series X - October 3
96. Maid of Sker - Xbox Series X - October 3
97. Metroid Dread - Switch - October 14
98. Parasite Eve - PS1 - October 20
99. Visage - Xbox One - October 23
100. Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan - Xbox One - October 24


100. Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan - Xbox One - October 24

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Until Dawn is one of my favorite horror experiences specifically because of how it handled player agency and choice throughout the game. When I heard that the creators of Until Dawn were making a series of shorter horror games, then, I was super excited. I then promptly put off buying them for years until Man of Medan ended up on Game Pass. Now I'm probably to dive headfirst into the rest of the Dark Pictures Anthology series.

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Like Until Dawn, The Man in Medan follows a series of protagonists - five in this case - shifting perspective repeatedly throughout the game. The game isn't long, but there is a TON of replay value here as your choices can have major impacts on the way the game plays out. You can have everyone survive to the end, or you can have no one survive to the end, and from what I've read online, there are over a dozen different endings when you include variations of who survives. Some choices are pretty minor whereas others are major game-changing decisions, and it's often not clear into which category any given decision will fall until after you've made your choice. There's also no reloading a save to fix a screw up here as the game is constantly saving; once you make a decision, you have to live with the consequences of that decision no matter what those consequences may be. That right there is what makes this game so intriguing for me. There's no real way to cheese the system; if you want to see everything this game has to offer, you've got to just buckle down and play through it repeatedly. Fortunately, this is a pretty short game - probably five hours total - so it's not an especially massive time investment if you're just going for the major endings rather than the minor variations.

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The visual and auditory presentation is absolutely stunning here. This game doesn't even have a current gen optimization or upgrade, but it still looks breathtaking; my roommate walked in during one of The Curator's cut scenes, and he honestly thought it was a live action scene until I mentioned how good the graphics were and he realized it was CGI. The whole game looks absolutely incredible, and it's immediately apparent that Supermassive put all of their energy into making this as immersive a world as they could. The only thing that even slightly breaks my immersion is the somewhat awkward and clunky character movement, but the environments, character models, and story are all so well done that I hardly even noticed once I really got into the game. The basic premise of the game is that Alex, his younger brother Brad, his girlfriend Julia, and Julia's brother Conrad hire a woman named Fliss to take them to a specific spot in the Pacific Ocean to go diving where Alex is sure that there is a previously undiscovered plane wreckage from the WWII era. They eventually end up on the SS Ourang Medan (roughly translates to Man of Medan), a mysterious WWII era derelict freighter. Cue the spooky ghost stuff.

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Atmosphere is the name of the game here as far as horror goes, and just like Until Dawn, Supermassive knocks it out of the park. You get a glimpse of what happened on the Ourang Medan in the game's prologue, but nothing is really explained; I was able to piece together a few things, but I was still left with more questions than answers when the main story set in the present day picked up. As you make your way through the decrepit ship, everything about the environment serves to build tension. You'll hear creaks and groans as the old ship sways in the waves. You'll near rats squeaking and scurrying. You'll eventually start to see slight movement or vague figures in the corner of the screen, but as the game progresses, you become less and less sure of what's real and what's your characters' imaginations. Parts of the game are absolutely and truly scary, but the entirety is tense and foreboding. Even when the fear is in a lull, the general feeling of dread is not.

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Not everyone is going to dig the Man of Medan's gameplay style. It's not fast paced or supplemented by action like Resident Evil 8. It doesn't confront you with puzzles like Visage or Maid of Sker. It isn't making a grand point about society like Silent Hill or Outlast. It presents you with a story to participate in, and it lets you make of that story what you will through your choices and your own conclusions. There's something special in my opinion about the otherwise fairly pedestrian context the game's narrative as given since it's told as a frame story; you're sitting in The Curator's library as he tells you an unfinished story, and your choices determine how the conclusion plays out. If you're into choose your own adventure games or horror games in general, definitely make sure to check this one out, and if you enjoyed Until Dawn, this is an absolute must play. It's not a long game, but as is often the case with the games that impress me the most, it's not about the quantity of hours the game's playtime has but rather the quality of those hours, and the hours I spent on this game were top tier quality from start to finish.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.

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Markies
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by Markies Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:39 pm

Markies' Games Beat List Of 2021!
*Denotes Replay For Completion*

1. Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)
2. X-Men 2: Clone Wars (GEN)
3. Sonic Adventure 2 (SDC)
4. Mega Man 7 (SNES)
5. Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra (PS2)
6. Bust A Move 4 (PS1)
7. Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
8. Gunbird 2 (SDC)
***9. The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)***
10. Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBOX)
11. Growlanser: Heritage Of War (PS2)
12. Double Dragon (NES)
13. Star Ocean (SNES)
14. Pokemon Snap (N64)
15. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
16. Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN)
17. Stella Deus: The Gate Of Eternity (PS2)
18. Super R-Type (SNES)
19. Threads Of Fate (PS1)
20. The Bouncer (PS2)
21. Phantasy Star Online Version 2 (SDC)
22. Final Fantasy III (NES)
23. Psychonauts (XBOX)
24. GrimGrimoire (PS2)
25. College Football's National Championship (GEN)
26. Chameleon Twist (N64)
27. The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (NS)

28. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1)

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I beat Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back on the Sony Playstation 1 this evening!

Back in 2017, I played through the original Crash Bandicoot. Overall, I really did not enjoy the experience though there was some small enjoyment to be had. My largest gripe was with the awful save system. I had always heard that the sequel and the series later on got much better, so I was rather torn on whether to continue with it or not. Well, later on that year, I was walking around a local game store with some store credit when I found Crash Bandicoot 2. It was the only game that piqued my interest even a little and since it wasn't worth much, I decided to pick it up. Well, my hesitation won the best of me and I waited until 2021 to finally play through the game.

I can safely say that Crash Bandicoot 2 is much better than the original. First and foremost, they fixed the save system. There is a hub world now and there is a place that you can save after every single level. It's amazing and works like an actual video game. Besides the upgraded save system, the game feels and just runs rather smoothly. There are only 25 levels in the game, so it can be rather short. I would say the final 10 can be very annoying, but going through the first 15 was a real breeze and a joy to go through. It still has that trial and error game play that becomes more apparent and bothersome in the later levels, but at the beginning, it is much calmer and not as precise. Also, you have much better feel for Crash and where he is in the world. Running into the background always felt a little odd, but at least you know his depth and where you are in the world. Besides that, everything is pretty much the same, just with everything toned down and not as challenging. More importantly, you can ride a baby polar bear and he barks as well. Its adorable and amazing.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Crash Bandicoot 2 much more than the original. The final levels can get really annoying with temperamental enemies and odd platforming making it difficult to progress. But, you can preserve and still make it through. The beginning of the game is still a blast and a joy to play and its amazing to see an upgraded game improve so much on the original. Right now, I'm a little excited to continue the series, so I'm curious to see where it goes. If you enjoy platformers from that era, this is one of the better ones.
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Re: Games Beaten 2021

by MrPopo Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:09 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

First 50:
1. EYE: Divine Cybermancy - PC
2. Legend of Grimrock - PC
3. Legend of Grimrock 2 - PC
4. Shovel Knight - Wii U
5. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - PS4
6. Yoshi's Island - SNES
7. Vectorman 2 - Genesis
8. Super Mario Sunshine - GC
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest - GC
10. Bomberman '93 - TG-16
11. Cannon Fodder - PC
12. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - Saturn
13. Dragonborne - Game Boy
14. Rock n' Roll Racing - PC
15. The Lost Vikings - PC
16. Blackthorne - PC
17. Contra III: The Alien Wars - SNES
18. Bravely Default II - Switch
19. Axelay - SNES
20. Ryse: Son of Rome - XBOne
21. Killer Instinct (2013) - XBOne
22. Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition - PC
23. Thief: The Dark Project - PC
24. Killer Instinct - XBOne
25. Killer instinct 2 - XBOne
26. Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - PC
27. Thief 2: The Metal Age - PC
28. Wing Commander II - PC
29. Wing Commander III - PC
30. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - Switch
31. Shadow Man Remastered - PC
32. Wing Commander: Privateer - PC
33. Salt and Sanctuary - Switch
34. The Elder Scrolls: Arena - PC
35. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - PC
36. Resident Evil Village - PC
37. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Switch
38. Metaloid: Origin - Switch
39. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions - Switch
40. Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels - PC
41. Metro Exodus: Sam's Story - PC
42. Panzer Paladin - Switch
43. Returnal - PS5
44. Dark Void Zero - DSiWare
45. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Saturn
46. Magic Knight Rayearth - Saturn
47. Cathedral - Switch
48. Final Fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission - PS5
49. Eterium - PC
50. A Street Cat's Tale - Switch

51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch
59. Elderborn - PC
60. Hellbound - PC
61. Wargroove - Switch
62. Eye of the Beholder - PC
63. Quake: Dimension of the Past - PC
64. Quake: Dimension of the Machine - PC
65. Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - Switch
66. Anopek - PC
67. Baten Kaitos - Gamecube
68. No More Heroes 3 - Switch
69. Eye of the Beholder II - PC
70. Eye of the Beholder III - PC
71. Hedon II - PC
72. Deathloop - PC
73. Tales of Arise - PS5
74. Mechwarrior 5: Legend of the Kestrel Lancers - PC
75. Maneater: Truth Quest - PC
76. G String - PC
77. Thief (2014) - PC
78. Metroid Dread - Switch
79. Vomitoreum - PC
80. Severed Steel - PC
81. Syndicate - PC
82. Alan Wake - PC
83. Limitless Hunger - PC
84. Syndicate Wars - PC
85. They Always Run - PC
86. Control - PC

Control is a game by Remedy, of Max Payne and Alan Wake fame. I'd originally passed on it when it first came up, but after beating Alan Wake I found out it was in the same universe. Since I enjoyed Alan Wake's story I figured I'd pick it up, and boy am I glad I did. It riffs on a lot of the same base concepts that Alan Wake does, but couples it with solid combat and an environment that isn't just a series of linear paths from one setpiece to the next.

The premise of Control is that there is a federal agency, the Federal Bureau of Control, whose job it is to safely contain and study paranormal objects and events. Think Men in Black, but with reality altering stuff rather than aliens. You play as Jesse, a young woman who had an encounter with the Bureau as a girl who has been looking for them ever since, and she finally finds them. But just as she finds them shit hits the fan and a major outbreak of a mysterious force called the Hiss occurs inside the Bureau. And through circumstances she ends up becoming the new Director and needs to stop them.

The game really leans into the the premise of this agency. The world is littered with documents describing the various paranormal objects and events they've managed, with lots of redactions to give you just enough of a taste of the weird that is going on. And as your progress you slowly learn more about the nature of the world that is hidden from the general populace. There's also a bunch of fairly mundane but tinged with weird stuff in there, painting the picture of a bureaucracy that, while always aware of the danger, is so used to it that it is all taken in stride. The whole thing is wonderfully told.

On the gameplay side, you actually have a competent third person shooter in an exploration framework. You have infinite ammo, though only a limited amount at any one time. When you stop firing it will regenerate. Your pistol is a special artifact, and over the course of the game you can unlock various forms, like shotgun, SMG, and rocket launcher, to name a few. But the real start is your various paranormal powers. Early on you gain the ability to pick up and fling objects at enemies. This has a high degree of auto targeting and does huge damage (especially if you invest in its skill tree). Now, other games have had this kind of power, but one extremely nice quality of life feature is the game will conjure chunks of terrain for you if there isn't a regular movable object in your line of sight, so you always have something to throw. Later on you'll gain a dash, the ability to conjure a junk shield, and finally limited levitation to really open up the rest of the map. So while the very early game is somewhat mediocre (but miles better than Alan Wake's combat), it becomes very dynamic as the game moves on.

The game is set entirely within the very weird building the Bureau is housed in. The building sometimes will shift, and its interior does not follow normal laws of space and solid objects. This allows them freedom to create interesting interconnected environments that slowly open up as you gain powers and keycards. The overall feel is similar to System Shock 2, in a way, where you will keep revisiting areas over time. Fortunately, the game has a robust fast travel system to reduce tedium.

Remedy managed to nail a great fusion of story and gameplay that we haven't seen since their Max Payne days. The story walks that fine line of keeping a level of overall mystery to the world while keeping the primary storyline comprehensible (especially with late game revelations). And it keeps things set up for a universe with lots of other fun possibilities. I'm looking forward to diving into the DLC episodes.
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MrPopo
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Posts: 23916
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Games Beaten 2021

by MrPopo Sat Oct 30, 2021 12:31 am

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

First 50:
1. EYE: Divine Cybermancy - PC
2. Legend of Grimrock - PC
3. Legend of Grimrock 2 - PC
4. Shovel Knight - Wii U
5. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - PS4
6. Yoshi's Island - SNES
7. Vectorman 2 - Genesis
8. Super Mario Sunshine - GC
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest - GC
10. Bomberman '93 - TG-16
11. Cannon Fodder - PC
12. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - Saturn
13. Dragonborne - Game Boy
14. Rock n' Roll Racing - PC
15. The Lost Vikings - PC
16. Blackthorne - PC
17. Contra III: The Alien Wars - SNES
18. Bravely Default II - Switch
19. Axelay - SNES
20. Ryse: Son of Rome - XBOne
21. Killer Instinct (2013) - XBOne
22. Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition - PC
23. Thief: The Dark Project - PC
24. Killer Instinct - XBOne
25. Killer instinct 2 - XBOne
26. Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - PC
27. Thief 2: The Metal Age - PC
28. Wing Commander II - PC
29. Wing Commander III - PC
30. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - Switch
31. Shadow Man Remastered - PC
32. Wing Commander: Privateer - PC
33. Salt and Sanctuary - Switch
34. The Elder Scrolls: Arena - PC
35. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - PC
36. Resident Evil Village - PC
37. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Switch
38. Metaloid: Origin - Switch
39. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions - Switch
40. Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels - PC
41. Metro Exodus: Sam's Story - PC
42. Panzer Paladin - Switch
43. Returnal - PS5
44. Dark Void Zero - DSiWare
45. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Saturn
46. Magic Knight Rayearth - Saturn
47. Cathedral - Switch
48. Final Fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission - PS5
49. Eterium - PC
50. A Street Cat's Tale - Switch

51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch
59. Elderborn - PC
60. Hellbound - PC
61. Wargroove - Switch
62. Eye of the Beholder - PC
63. Quake: Dimension of the Past - PC
64. Quake: Dimension of the Machine - PC
65. Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - Switch
66. Anopek - PC
67. Baten Kaitos - Gamecube
68. No More Heroes 3 - Switch
69. Eye of the Beholder II - PC
70. Eye of the Beholder III - PC
71. Hedon II - PC
72. Deathloop - PC
73. Tales of Arise - PS5
74. Mechwarrior 5: Legend of the Kestrel Lancers - PC
75. Maneater: Truth Quest - PC
76. G String - PC
77. Thief (2014) - PC
78. Metroid Dread - Switch
79. Vomitoreum - PC
80. Severed Steel - PC
81. Syndicate - PC
82. Alan Wake - PC
83. Limitless Hunger - PC
84. Syndicate Wars - PC
85. They Always Run - PC
86. Control - PC
87. Control: The Foundation - PC

The Foundation is the first piece of DLC, set in the aftermath of the events of the main game. There is a new threat to the physical foundation of the building housing the Federal Bureau of Control, and in the process you'll learn more about the foundation of the Bureau as it exists today. The DLC provides one new area for you to explore, with a bit of choice available to how you go through it. You need to accomplish four tasks, and they are gated behind two new mobility options. One lets you create platforms out of certain spots on the wall, while the other lets you destroy crystals. The thing is, you only get to pick one at the start, and then after doing the two tasks it unlocks you gain access to the other power, and those tasks can be done in any order. So you're free to approach things the way you want, rather than the more deliberate leading by the nose of the main game. There is one new enemy type, a melee enemy that can teleport around and throw their pickaxes like a more annoying version of the enemies from Alan Wake. But there's one important difference; you actually have a decent set of combat skills. The DLC is about 3-4 hours depending on things and ends on a boss fight that frankly was mediocre; it combines the annoying hyper dodging of thrown stuff of the flying boss enemy fights with even larger enemy swarms and an overall more capable boss when it comes to dealing damage. You never really feel like what you're doing is super effect, just doing a lot of chip damage. Still, it should only take a few tries to get the rhythm and you're done. It's a decent piece of DLC that gives you more of what the base game did.
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MrPopo
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Posts: 23916
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: Games Beaten 2021

by MrPopo Sat Oct 30, 2021 7:22 pm

Previous Years: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

First 50:
1. EYE: Divine Cybermancy - PC
2. Legend of Grimrock - PC
3. Legend of Grimrock 2 - PC
4. Shovel Knight - Wii U
5. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - PS4
6. Yoshi's Island - SNES
7. Vectorman 2 - Genesis
8. Super Mario Sunshine - GC
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest - GC
10. Bomberman '93 - TG-16
11. Cannon Fodder - PC
12. Panzer Dragoon II Zwei - Saturn
13. Dragonborne - Game Boy
14. Rock n' Roll Racing - PC
15. The Lost Vikings - PC
16. Blackthorne - PC
17. Contra III: The Alien Wars - SNES
18. Bravely Default II - Switch
19. Axelay - SNES
20. Ryse: Son of Rome - XBOne
21. Killer Instinct (2013) - XBOne
22. Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition - PC
23. Thief: The Dark Project - PC
24. Killer Instinct - XBOne
25. Killer instinct 2 - XBOne
26. Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - PC
27. Thief 2: The Metal Age - PC
28. Wing Commander II - PC
29. Wing Commander III - PC
30. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV - Switch
31. Shadow Man Remastered - PC
32. Wing Commander: Privateer - PC
33. Salt and Sanctuary - Switch
34. The Elder Scrolls: Arena - PC
35. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - PC
36. Resident Evil Village - PC
37. SaGa Frontier Remastered - Switch
38. Metaloid: Origin - Switch
39. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions - Switch
40. Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels - PC
41. Metro Exodus: Sam's Story - PC
42. Panzer Paladin - Switch
43. Returnal - PS5
44. Dark Void Zero - DSiWare
45. Panzer Dragoon Saga - Saturn
46. Magic Knight Rayearth - Saturn
47. Cathedral - Switch
48. Final Fantasy VII Remake: INTERmission - PS5
49. Eterium - PC
50. A Street Cat's Tale - Switch

51. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
52. Banner of the Maid - Switch
53. CrossCode - Switch
54. Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency - PC
55. Ultima Underworld - PC
56. Betrayal at Krondor - PC
57. Assassin's Creed: Origins - PC
58. Axiom Verge 2 - Switch
59. Elderborn - PC
60. Hellbound - PC
61. Wargroove - Switch
62. Eye of the Beholder - PC
63. Quake: Dimension of the Past - PC
64. Quake: Dimension of the Machine - PC
65. Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown - Switch
66. Anopek - PC
67. Baten Kaitos - Gamecube
68. No More Heroes 3 - Switch
69. Eye of the Beholder II - PC
70. Eye of the Beholder III - PC
71. Hedon II - PC
72. Deathloop - PC
73. Tales of Arise - PS5
74. Mechwarrior 5: Legend of the Kestrel Lancers - PC
75. Maneater: Truth Quest - PC
76. G String - PC
77. Thief (2014) - PC
78. Metroid Dread - Switch
79. Vomitoreum - PC
80. Severed Steel - PC
81. Syndicate - PC
82. Alan Wake - PC
83. Limitless Hunger - PC
84. Syndicate Wars - PC
85. They Always Run - PC
86. Control - PC
87. Control: The Foundation - PC
88. Control: AWE - PC

AWE stands for Altered World Event; when something paranormal goes down and causes the Federal Bureau of Control to have to come in and clean up. AWE is the second DLC for Control and takes you deeper into the facility, into the Investigations section which had been cut off for some time. One of the things Investigations was keeping an eye on was the fallout from the events of Alan Wake, and this DLC examines them in more detail and ties the story of Control more closely with the story of Alan Wake. Overall, it's more of the same, with one new weapon, a sticky grenade launcher that fires remote detonated explosives. The light banishing darkness mechanic from Alan Wake returns, but here it's mostly just used to clear away obstructions, though the boss of the DLC who you encounter multiple times has an acute weakness to light, and all the encounters involve figuring out how to take advantage of that. It's clear, from this DLC, that Remedy is planning to keep going with this paranormal universe they've constructed, and I am on board.
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REPO Man
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Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:05 pm
Location: Outer Banks, NC

Re: Games Beaten 2021

by REPO Man Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:16 pm

It was really, really, really short, but In Somnio, a surreal PS1-style first-person adventure game apparently inspired by the developer's dreams. It was part of the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc 2020 compilation, which interestingly includes a demo for a game called Fatum Betula which I purchased ages ago for the Switch.
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TheSSNintendo
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Posts: 579
Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:27 pm

Re: Games Beaten 2021

by TheSSNintendo Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:21 pm

Cosmic Star Heroine on Steam.
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