Games Beaten 2017
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noiseredux
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
I loved New Order but didn't really care much for Old Blood. I guess that's bumped my interest down on this a bit, but I'll def play it at some point.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
Same. The final boss in Old Blood alone was one of the dumbest and most frustrating things I've seen in forever.noiseredux wrote:I loved New Order but didn't really care much for Old Blood. I guess that's bumped my interest down on this a bit, but I'll def play it at some point.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
I am hoping to get to it before the year is out myself. I am guessing there will be some holiday deals where this one can be grabbed for about $30...noiseredux wrote:I loved New Order but didn't really care much for Old Blood. I guess that's bumped my interest down on this a bit, but I'll def play it at some point.
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noiseredux
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
I definitely try to do the same thing as you - try to play all the games that I feel could be GOTY candidates before the year is up. But, damn this has been a good year for games. I feel like the list of stuff that I was interested in is so long there's no way (financially, sans-time-machine-wise) I could pull that off. Haha.dsheinem wrote:I am hoping to get to it before the year is out myself. I am guessing there will be some holiday deals where this one can be grabbed for about $30...noiseredux wrote:I loved New Order but didn't really care much for Old Blood. I guess that's bumped my interest down on this a bit, but I'll def play it at some point.
Re: Games Beaten 2017
I feel like I've done reasonably well on that score (playing potential GOTY candidates). It is a tough competition this year, for sure.noiseredux wrote:I definitely try to do the same thing as you - try to play all the games that I feel could be GOTY candidates before the year is up. But, damn this has been a good year for games. I feel like the list of stuff that I was interested in is so long there's no way (financially, sans-time-machine-wise) I could pull that off. Haha.dsheinem wrote:I am hoping to get to it before the year is out myself. I am guessing there will be some holiday deals where this one can be grabbed for about $30...noiseredux wrote:I loved New Order but didn't really care much for Old Blood. I guess that's bumped my interest down on this a bit, but I'll def play it at some point.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
The Old Blood was a lot of fun, but I agree that it wasn't as good as The New Order.
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Exhuminator
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
100. Panzer Dragoon Mini | Game Gear | 1996 | 3/10
I'm not sure what made SEGA think creating a Panzer Dragoon game aimed at kids for Game Gear was a good idea. Considering the disparity between the Game Gear and the Saturn, it was a daunting idea to say the least. The closest equivalent SEGA could come up with was a Panzer Dragoon flavored Space Harrier clone. Not a very good clone, sadly. The game design here is as simple as possible. You pick one dragoon out of three, and then fly through five stages, fighting a mid-boss and a final boss per stage. Your interactivity is limited to dodging shots, aiming shots, and using a weak lock-on system. When you destroy enemies, they do not drop health pick-ups or power-ups of any sort. There's not even a scoring system, so killing enemies comes across as fairly pointless. When you finish a stage you get a password, but you probably won't need it. I beat this game on my first try, without dying even once.
You see, this is a "Kid's Gear" release, meaning it's simple and easy... on purpose. And maybe for a five year old, Panzer Dragoon Mini would be a feasible choice. Except the lame music and lackluster graphics probably wouldn't hold their attention long. Chances are, any kid who plays Panzer Dragoon Mini, will put the game down out of perturbed boredom. SEGA licensed seven Panzer Dragoon games*, but Mini is the only one that never left Japan. Yeah, there's a reason for that. Playing Mini leaves one with the same dispassionate and disgruntled expression as the cover art's blue dragoon. Not even the rider wanted to stick around.
*If you include the Tiger LCD stuff.
And there it is, once again I've beaten 100 games in a year.
I can stop whenever I want.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
To Exhuminator - Still want to add Panzer Dragoon Mini to my collection even if it's overpriced and shitty. Need that Panzer Dragoon collection completeness!
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 121
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
February (12 Games Beaten)
March (6 Games Beaten)
April (9 Games Beaten)
May (14 Games Beaten)
June (10 Games Beaten)
July (20 Games Beaten)
August (9 Games Beaten)
September (14 Games Beaten)
October (7 Games Beaten)
November (10 Games Beaten)
121. Sonic Forces - Switch - November 10
Sonic Forces is Sega's latest attempt to make Sonic modern but not cringey like Sonic '06, not 3edgy5me like Shadow the Hedgehog, and not an almost literally unplayable broken mess like Sonic Boom. Did they succeed? Well, almost. Kind of. It really depends on who you ask.
First and foremost, it's important to note that I'm pretty casual Sonic fan. I like the series and have many of the games, but I've not beaten many of them, and I don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE it like a lot of Sonic fans do. They're fun games, but I'm not as gung-ho about Sonic as I am with Fire Emblem, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or Fallout, so I'm going to have a more tempered view of the games than most. With that said, I really enjoyed Sonic Forces. Overall, it's definitely on the easy side of things, but there were still some parts that game me some serious trouble, especially the final boss.
You spend the game's 30 stages (plus a few bonus stages you can unlock) playing as either Sonic, early Sega alternate dimension Sonic, or your custom made OC (which is why I've spent the past few months referring to the game as Bad OC Simulator 2017). To my disappointment, though, there aren't a lot of options for making your OC truly horrendous outside of clothing choices (although a t shirt, golden plate helmet, and Crocs IS pretty horrible). Your avatar never speaks, and you don't get to name him/her; you're always "buddy" or "rookie." The stages are all almost purely linear, but there are some branching paths with different collectibles that give a little bit of replayability. The game's only real replay value comes in trying to better your score on a stage, though, and compete with friends that way. It's something, but personally, I feel no urge to keep playing now that I've finished the story.
The Switch version runs smoothly and looks pretty good. Granted, it's not the most visually demanding game, but the fiery and ruined environments still look good on Switch both docked and handheld, and the frame rate didn't give me any real noticeable hiccups. The music is bit...dated....though that may be intentional as it reminds me a LOT of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. The voice acting is fine, although some characters' voices are definitely better than others. What made me REALLY happy is that they didn't completely disregard the established character for Knuckles like they did in Sonic Boom. Knuckles is NOT an idiot, and Sega finally remembered that, it seems.
Sonic Forces really isn't a bad game. It's not an amazing game, and it's not the game that most Sonic fans were hoping it would be, but I really enjoyed it, and I think that's probably indicative of how it's likely to be perceived in general - casual fans or newcomers will likely enjoy it while hardcore and long time fans will probably be left pretty disappointed. Wait for this one to get cheaper - $20 or less, I'd say - but then give it a play. It's a good time even if not one you'll likely want to revisit.
Games Beaten in 2017 So Far - 121
* denotes a replay
January (10 Games Beaten)
Sonic Forces is Sega's latest attempt to make Sonic modern but not cringey like Sonic '06, not 3edgy5me like Shadow the Hedgehog, and not an almost literally unplayable broken mess like Sonic Boom. Did they succeed? Well, almost. Kind of. It really depends on who you ask.
First and foremost, it's important to note that I'm pretty casual Sonic fan. I like the series and have many of the games, but I've not beaten many of them, and I don't ABSOLUTELY LOVE it like a lot of Sonic fans do. They're fun games, but I'm not as gung-ho about Sonic as I am with Fire Emblem, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or Fallout, so I'm going to have a more tempered view of the games than most. With that said, I really enjoyed Sonic Forces. Overall, it's definitely on the easy side of things, but there were still some parts that game me some serious trouble, especially the final boss.
You spend the game's 30 stages (plus a few bonus stages you can unlock) playing as either Sonic, early Sega alternate dimension Sonic, or your custom made OC (which is why I've spent the past few months referring to the game as Bad OC Simulator 2017). To my disappointment, though, there aren't a lot of options for making your OC truly horrendous outside of clothing choices (although a t shirt, golden plate helmet, and Crocs IS pretty horrible). Your avatar never speaks, and you don't get to name him/her; you're always "buddy" or "rookie." The stages are all almost purely linear, but there are some branching paths with different collectibles that give a little bit of replayability. The game's only real replay value comes in trying to better your score on a stage, though, and compete with friends that way. It's something, but personally, I feel no urge to keep playing now that I've finished the story.
The Switch version runs smoothly and looks pretty good. Granted, it's not the most visually demanding game, but the fiery and ruined environments still look good on Switch both docked and handheld, and the frame rate didn't give me any real noticeable hiccups. The music is bit...dated....though that may be intentional as it reminds me a LOT of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. The voice acting is fine, although some characters' voices are definitely better than others. What made me REALLY happy is that they didn't completely disregard the established character for Knuckles like they did in Sonic Boom. Knuckles is NOT an idiot, and Sega finally remembered that, it seems.
Sonic Forces really isn't a bad game. It's not an amazing game, and it's not the game that most Sonic fans were hoping it would be, but I really enjoyed it, and I think that's probably indicative of how it's likely to be perceived in general - casual fans or newcomers will likely enjoy it while hardcore and long time fans will probably be left pretty disappointed. Wait for this one to get cheaper - $20 or less, I'd say - but then give it a play. It's a good time even if not one you'll likely want to revisit.
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noiseredux
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
@Exhum: Still, Panzer Dragoon Mini is kind of a adorable right? Like, that it exists? I do think it's kind of fascinating that in the Saturn era Sega was trying to do portable versions on GG. There was a Virtua Fighter as well. I'm trying to think of what else. It's interesting anyway.
With all the various Genesis compilations Sega has put out over the years, I wish they'd do more to re-release SMS and GG stuff to modern platforms.
@Elkin: You're review sounds like every review I've read... "it's good, not great, not all that memorable or different from other similar Sonic games, but Sonic fans will probably like it." And yet I look at those screenshots and I'm like "ugh it looks so good" haha. Given the lack of re-playability I've been trying to hold off for an under $20 price point, though.
With all the various Genesis compilations Sega has put out over the years, I wish they'd do more to re-release SMS and GG stuff to modern platforms.
@Elkin: You're review sounds like every review I've read... "it's good, not great, not all that memorable or different from other similar Sonic games, but Sonic fans will probably like it." And yet I look at those screenshots and I'm like "ugh it looks so good" haha. Given the lack of re-playability I've been trying to hold off for an under $20 price point, though.
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ElkinFencer10
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Re: Games Beaten 2017
lol, there's a reason for that; it's taken Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash's title of "Most Okay Game I've Ever Played." It just LOOKS so much better than it really is.noiseredux wrote:@Elkin: You're review sounds like every review I've read... "it's good, not great, not all that memorable or different from other similar Sonic games, but Sonic fans will probably like it." And yet I look at those screenshots and I'm like "ugh it looks so good" haha. Given the lack of re-playability I've been trying to hold off for an under $20 price point, though.
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