Games Beaten 2016
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2016
I've got Bullet Ballet, but I haven't played it yet. I may fire that up this weekend.
Patron Saint of Bitch Mode
Re: Games Beaten 2016
I think there's an online mode if you want to give multiplayer a try. Let me know.ElkinFencer10 wrote:I've got Bullet Ballet, but I haven't played it yet. I may fire that up this weekend.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
159) Rise of the Tomb Raider - Lara's Nightmare (PS4) (DLC)
160) Titanfall 2 (PS4)
161) Soul Blade (PSX)
162) Axiom Verge (PC)
So, I promised to talk a bit about Axiom Verge. And so I shall! I waited and waited and waited for a DRM-free copy to drop on GOG, and it's apparently something that will never happen. But with GameTrust and IndieBox teaming up, they released a physical, DRM-free copy for the low, low price of $20. And it comes with a Steam key, so if it gets updated any more, I can stay on top of it.
Really, the game has been praised to the high heavens. Some reviews are so effusive that you'd think it was even better than its obvious inspiration, Metroid. But looking at Metacritic, the PS4 version is only sitting at 84, and it's definitely better than that. Let's dive in, shall we?
First of all, I don't want to hit much in the way of the story. What's here is pretty minimalisitic, and very intriguing, but in the end it doesn't feel like there's much of a resolution to anything. It's left ambiguous, probably intentionally. I don't know if there might be a sequel coming down the pike or not, but the story is certainly rife for exploring more. And finishing the game either under the 4-hour mark or getting 80%+ on items and map coverage leaves you with a scene that's decidedly cliffhanger-ish. I intentionally avoided almost all information about the game until I finished it the first time. The only thing I looked up was how many weapons there were. If you don't want to read about all the powerups and weapons, avert your eyes now!
Yeah, there are a bunch of those. You have a ridiculous array of death-dealing instruments. And the more you explore, the more you're going to find. The default weapon is very much base Metroid. You can get a triple shot, reflecting shot, the Kilver which is a short-range shotgun-style weapon, standard stuff like that, but there's some oddball weapons, too. The Voranj sends lightning blasts out in a huge pattern, but is weak. The lightning gun is crazy overpowered, locking on to an enemy and continuously hitting until they're dead. There's a weapon that feels distinctly like a multi-directional Diskarmor from Rygar. One particularly devious bit of puzzling will see you snag a Flamethrower, and that thing is really powerful in certain areas. There are 23 weapons in total, although three of them are super-secret weapons that you can only find in glitched secret worlds, and there is only one of them generated per save file. I ended up with the Heat Seeker, a really powerful homing shot that is actually even more powerful than the lightning gun.
There are also many powerups for your weapons, and for traversal methods. You can snag range, size, and power upgrades for your weapons, although sometimes they don't apply to certain ones. You'll also find the standard health upgrades. Then there are the cool ways to get around. Sure, you get some standard stuff like the high jump, and you get a drill that takes the place of bombs. But eventually, you'll get some more interesting stuff like a lab coat that lets you "glitch" through walls. This will upgrade a few times through the game. You also have a glitch gun that can affect the environment and enemies. It's certainly an interesting conceit, because a few puzzles rely on glitching enemies to achieve your goals, and it also lends to a sort of "is this really happening" vibe.
Small gaps are also fun. We all know about Samus' ability to roll up for small passages. Well, Trace can't do that. Instead, he gets a remote drone that he can use to navigate the passages. Eventually, you'll get the ability to throw that further, which also pairs with one of the last abilities, being able to warp to where the drone is. Wild stuff, that. There's also a shout-out to Bionic Commando with a biological-looking grappling hook, and the physics behave almost just like the NES game. Cool stuff!
I like a lot of the look of the game, but some of it bothers me as well. The game clearly shoots for a sort of biological horror / H.R. Giger-style look, and it largely succeeds. My only real gripe is that while the game is tile-based, it looks too tile-based. A lot of platformers attempt to hide this a little better, including Metroid, and this one doesn't do that quite as well. It's still solid, though, because the alien vibe is always there, the creatures are monstrous and well-designed, and everything just feels... wrong, but in the way that the designer intended. That couples with the soundtrack, a thumping, pulsing, heavy-bass score that goes really well with the sort of biological/mechanical motif.
With all those weapons, you'd think combat was great, and eventually it gets there, but enemies feel very bullet-spongey early on, especially if you haven't explored well and gotten a few weapon powerups. This gets better, but the game overall feels a bit more combat-focused than a Super Metroid, where atmosphere is king and most enemies are felled pretty rapidly. This game feels much more like if Super Metroid had held quite a bit closer to the original game than it did.
I mentioned the secret glitched worlds earlier, and those are pretty slick, too. You'll always find two powerups in them. You'll know you're close to one when the screen starts to get a strong CRT scanline effect with some distortion. Apparently the location of these is randomized from game to game, and the layouts are as well. No drill-wall secrets, though, so just get your stuff and get out!
Overall, I really, really enjoyed my time with the game. I know a game has its hooks in when the first thing I want to do when I get home is play the game, so this totally succeeds on that front. If you've got a strong hankering for a Metroid game, and you've blown through AM2R, this is a worthy competitor. Play it. You may love it more than I did. 9/10 territory at minimum.
159) Rise of the Tomb Raider - Lara's Nightmare (PS4) (DLC)
160) Titanfall 2 (PS4)
161) Soul Blade (PSX)
162) Axiom Verge (PC)
So, I promised to talk a bit about Axiom Verge. And so I shall! I waited and waited and waited for a DRM-free copy to drop on GOG, and it's apparently something that will never happen. But with GameTrust and IndieBox teaming up, they released a physical, DRM-free copy for the low, low price of $20. And it comes with a Steam key, so if it gets updated any more, I can stay on top of it.
Really, the game has been praised to the high heavens. Some reviews are so effusive that you'd think it was even better than its obvious inspiration, Metroid. But looking at Metacritic, the PS4 version is only sitting at 84, and it's definitely better than that. Let's dive in, shall we?
First of all, I don't want to hit much in the way of the story. What's here is pretty minimalisitic, and very intriguing, but in the end it doesn't feel like there's much of a resolution to anything. It's left ambiguous, probably intentionally. I don't know if there might be a sequel coming down the pike or not, but the story is certainly rife for exploring more. And finishing the game either under the 4-hour mark or getting 80%+ on items and map coverage leaves you with a scene that's decidedly cliffhanger-ish. I intentionally avoided almost all information about the game until I finished it the first time. The only thing I looked up was how many weapons there were. If you don't want to read about all the powerups and weapons, avert your eyes now!
Yeah, there are a bunch of those. You have a ridiculous array of death-dealing instruments. And the more you explore, the more you're going to find. The default weapon is very much base Metroid. You can get a triple shot, reflecting shot, the Kilver which is a short-range shotgun-style weapon, standard stuff like that, but there's some oddball weapons, too. The Voranj sends lightning blasts out in a huge pattern, but is weak. The lightning gun is crazy overpowered, locking on to an enemy and continuously hitting until they're dead. There's a weapon that feels distinctly like a multi-directional Diskarmor from Rygar. One particularly devious bit of puzzling will see you snag a Flamethrower, and that thing is really powerful in certain areas. There are 23 weapons in total, although three of them are super-secret weapons that you can only find in glitched secret worlds, and there is only one of them generated per save file. I ended up with the Heat Seeker, a really powerful homing shot that is actually even more powerful than the lightning gun.
There are also many powerups for your weapons, and for traversal methods. You can snag range, size, and power upgrades for your weapons, although sometimes they don't apply to certain ones. You'll also find the standard health upgrades. Then there are the cool ways to get around. Sure, you get some standard stuff like the high jump, and you get a drill that takes the place of bombs. But eventually, you'll get some more interesting stuff like a lab coat that lets you "glitch" through walls. This will upgrade a few times through the game. You also have a glitch gun that can affect the environment and enemies. It's certainly an interesting conceit, because a few puzzles rely on glitching enemies to achieve your goals, and it also lends to a sort of "is this really happening" vibe.
Small gaps are also fun. We all know about Samus' ability to roll up for small passages. Well, Trace can't do that. Instead, he gets a remote drone that he can use to navigate the passages. Eventually, you'll get the ability to throw that further, which also pairs with one of the last abilities, being able to warp to where the drone is. Wild stuff, that. There's also a shout-out to Bionic Commando with a biological-looking grappling hook, and the physics behave almost just like the NES game. Cool stuff!
I like a lot of the look of the game, but some of it bothers me as well. The game clearly shoots for a sort of biological horror / H.R. Giger-style look, and it largely succeeds. My only real gripe is that while the game is tile-based, it looks too tile-based. A lot of platformers attempt to hide this a little better, including Metroid, and this one doesn't do that quite as well. It's still solid, though, because the alien vibe is always there, the creatures are monstrous and well-designed, and everything just feels... wrong, but in the way that the designer intended. That couples with the soundtrack, a thumping, pulsing, heavy-bass score that goes really well with the sort of biological/mechanical motif.
With all those weapons, you'd think combat was great, and eventually it gets there, but enemies feel very bullet-spongey early on, especially if you haven't explored well and gotten a few weapon powerups. This gets better, but the game overall feels a bit more combat-focused than a Super Metroid, where atmosphere is king and most enemies are felled pretty rapidly. This game feels much more like if Super Metroid had held quite a bit closer to the original game than it did.
I mentioned the secret glitched worlds earlier, and those are pretty slick, too. You'll always find two powerups in them. You'll know you're close to one when the screen starts to get a strong CRT scanline effect with some distortion. Apparently the location of these is randomized from game to game, and the layouts are as well. No drill-wall secrets, though, so just get your stuff and get out!
Overall, I really, really enjoyed my time with the game. I know a game has its hooks in when the first thing I want to do when I get home is play the game, so this totally succeeds on that front. If you've got a strong hankering for a Metroid game, and you've blown through AM2R, this is a worthy competitor. Play it. You may love it more than I did. 9/10 territory at minimum.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
great write up, Sarge
If we ever do make the front page of this site something for reviews of newer retro-inspired games, these are the kinds of things that would be a great addition to the site.
If we ever do make the front page of this site something for reviews of newer retro-inspired games, these are the kinds of things that would be a great addition to the site.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
It definitely limits itself on the palette, although I don't think it sticks entirely to NES/MSX2 effects. I know there are some really smooth color gradients that wouldn't work on those systems.
(Very subtle gradation on this pic.)
The backgrounds are sometimes a bit too busy, though. It's never game-breaking, but if I ever get around to making my own game, remind me to mute the backgrounds a bit so the action is a bit easier to parse.
(Very subtle gradation on this pic.)
The backgrounds are sometimes a bit too busy, though. It's never game-breaking, but if I ever get around to making my own game, remind me to mute the backgrounds a bit so the action is a bit easier to parse.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Good use of the gifs. Some of the most endearing stuff in Axiom Verge requires moving pictures to see.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
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prfsnl_gmr
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- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Awesome write up, Sarge. I really am looking forward to Axiom Verge. I will be taking another break from DQVII soon, and I considered starting it. I settled on Rex Rocket, instead, however.
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Yesssss. Rex Rocket is excellent.
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BoneSnapDeez
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- Posts: 20148
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: Games Beaten 2016
First 50:
51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System)
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)
58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
59. Code of Princess (3DS)
60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System)
63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC)
64. Shan Gui (Steam)
65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
66. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (ColecoVision)
67. Gateway to Apshai (ColecoVision)
68. MURI (Steam)
69. Pink Hour (Steam)
70. Pink Heaven (Steam)
71. Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (Steam)
72. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Steam)
73. Haunted House (Atari 2600)
74. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
75. Alien (Atari 2600)
76. Xenophobe (Xbox - Midway Arcade Treasures 2)
77. Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600)
78. Ghost Manor / Spike's Peak (Atari 2600)
79. Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 Onikakushi (Steam)
80. Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin (Famicom Disk System)
81. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES)
82. Beneath the Cherry Trees (Steam)
83. Voices from the Sea (Steam)
84. Mushihimesama (Steam)
85. Sonic CD (Steam)
86. Shovel Knight (Wii U)
87. Super Mario World (SNES)
88. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
89. Operation C (Game Boy)
90. Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
91. Metroid (NES)
92. Breath of Fire (SNES)
93. Elisa: The Innkeeper - Prequel (Steam)
94. Cally's Caves 3 (Steam)
95. eden* (Steam)
96. Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
97. The King of Dragons (PlayStation 2 - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2)
98. Knights of the Round (PlayStation 2 - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2)
Knights of the Round was released very shortly after The King of Dragons and feels like a pseudo-sequel of sorts. Here the story is not original, but based on the King Arthur legends of old with Arthur (balanced), Lancelot (fast and weak), and Percival (tank) as the three playable characters. It has the same sort of graphical style and combo-less slashing gameplay. You can block, which I rarely did as it's so difficult to pull off, and there's a life-draining special attack.
Despite the similarities, this game is much harder than King. Enemies appear in droves and will swarm mercilessly. The bosses are also a lot faster and zip all over the play field. And it's much harder to dodge their attacks by simply changing "planes."
Unfortunately, this game is kind of dull. It's very reminiscent of Final Fight. While in that game you walk right and beat an endless supply of street thugs, here you walk right and beat and endless supply of malicious knights. I miss the variety and fantastic creatures that occupied The King of Dragons. "Realism" is the kiss of death here.
Onward to the D&D games!
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)
58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
59. Code of Princess (3DS)
60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System)
63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC)
64. Shan Gui (Steam)
65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
66. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (ColecoVision)
67. Gateway to Apshai (ColecoVision)
68. MURI (Steam)
69. Pink Hour (Steam)
70. Pink Heaven (Steam)
71. Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (Steam)
72. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Steam)
73. Haunted House (Atari 2600)
74. Gremlins (Atari 2600)
75. Alien (Atari 2600)
76. Xenophobe (Xbox - Midway Arcade Treasures 2)
77. Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600)
78. Ghost Manor / Spike's Peak (Atari 2600)
79. Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 Onikakushi (Steam)
80. Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin (Famicom Disk System)
81. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES)
82. Beneath the Cherry Trees (Steam)
83. Voices from the Sea (Steam)
84. Mushihimesama (Steam)
85. Sonic CD (Steam)
86. Shovel Knight (Wii U)
87. Super Mario World (SNES)
88. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
89. Operation C (Game Boy)
90. Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
91. Metroid (NES)
92. Breath of Fire (SNES)
93. Elisa: The Innkeeper - Prequel (Steam)
94. Cally's Caves 3 (Steam)
95. eden* (Steam)
96. Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
97. The King of Dragons (PlayStation 2 - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2)
98. Knights of the Round (PlayStation 2 - Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2)
Knights of the Round was released very shortly after The King of Dragons and feels like a pseudo-sequel of sorts. Here the story is not original, but based on the King Arthur legends of old with Arthur (balanced), Lancelot (fast and weak), and Percival (tank) as the three playable characters. It has the same sort of graphical style and combo-less slashing gameplay. You can block, which I rarely did as it's so difficult to pull off, and there's a life-draining special attack.
Despite the similarities, this game is much harder than King. Enemies appear in droves and will swarm mercilessly. The bosses are also a lot faster and zip all over the play field. And it's much harder to dodge their attacks by simply changing "planes."
Unfortunately, this game is kind of dull. It's very reminiscent of Final Fight. While in that game you walk right and beat an endless supply of street thugs, here you walk right and beat and endless supply of malicious knights. I miss the variety and fantastic creatures that occupied The King of Dragons. "Realism" is the kiss of death here.
Onward to the D&D games!
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prfsnl_gmr
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- Posts: 12410
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Games Beaten 2016
Those are so, so much better than either King of Dragons or Knights of the Round. They are even a little reminiscent of Guardian Heroes...(They aren't nearly as great as that game, but some of what makes Guardian Heroes so great is carried over to them.)BoneSnapDeez wrote:Onward to the D&D games!
Also...You've beaten Cadash, right?