Summer Game Challenge 2013 - Begin when ready!

[alienjesus]

It makes me incredibly happy to see people with Monster World games in their lists.

It makes me sad that I have beaten all of the Monster World games now, so I cant add any this year

[BogusMeatFactory]

My list is as follows.

Kirby's Adventure- NES
Super Metroid - SNES
Pikmin - Gamecube
Braid - PC
Wing Commander II - PC
Abe's Odysee - PS1
MDK - PS1
ICO - PS2
Myst IV Revelations - PC
Jurassic Park - Sega CD

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Hotel Dusk Room: Room 215 (DS)
2. Ecco the Dolphin (GBA port)
3. Wario Land 3 (GBC)
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC)
5. Shining Force II (GEN)
6. Nectaris: Military Madness (PS1)
7. Return Fire (PS1 port)
8. Guardian Heroes (SS)
9. Galactic Attack (SS)
10. Decathlete (SS)

One down, nine to go!

I finished Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC) last night. I loved the art direction, the varied environments, the characters, the script, and, at times, the battle system. First, the art direction is spectacular. It is consistent; the "paper" characters have aged very well, and the music is often a stirring variation of classic Mario themes. Moreover, the game contains some wonderfully imaginative settings; Boggly Woods and Twilight Town are particularly stunning. The characters - including many of the NPCs - are fleshed out well, and the writing is genuinely funny. Moreover, many of the situations in the game - such as solving mysteries aboard a speeding train - involve genuine "role playing" and do well to break the monotony inherent in many lenghty games. Finally, the combat, which relies heavily on reflexes and timing is often very engaging.

That said, there were many things about the game that I did not enjoy. First, the game - possible due to the disc's space constraints - does not contain a very large world, and the developers pad the game's length with unnecessary backtracking and fetch quests. Secondly, the combat, while engaging, nonetheless becomes repetitive and time-consuming. Moreover, the "spoils" of combat drop off drastically as Mario gains levels; so, backtracking results in many battles where Mario gains only meager experience. Finally, the game hands out coins and items very judiciously, and there never seem to be enough to keep your party supplied through difficult sections. This, plus the very limited space allowed to store items, means that too much of the game is spent on item management.

Overall, it is a very good game with significant issues that prevented me from enjoying it as much as its predecessor or the games in the brilliant Mario & Luigi series. I spent about 45 hours completing the main quest, but since I also completed the vast majority of the sidequests in the game, I expect that it could be completed in significantly less time. (I left myself the Pit of 100 Trials and a few additional requests at the trouble center for later.)

Next, I think I will try to finish up something relatively short, like one of the Saturn games, before embarking on one of the strategy games.

[dsheinem]

good on you!

I've yet to start, too wrapped up in other games

[BoneSnapDeez]

Never imagined a Mario game could be that long!

[noiseredux]

I'm not starting until the weekend. And still contemplating tweaking my list.

[alienjesus]

I finished Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC) last night.
That said, there were many things about the game that I did not enjoy. First, the game - possible due to the disc's space constraints - does not contain a very large world, and the developers pad the game's length with unnecessary backtracking and fetch quests. Secondly, the combat, while engaging, nonetheless becomes repetitive and time-consuming. Moreover, the "spoils" of combat drop off drastically as Mario gains levels; so, backtracking results in many battles where Mario gains only meager experience. Finally, the game hands out coins and items very judiciously, and there never seem to be enough to keep your party supplied through difficult sections. This, plus the very limited space allowed to store items, means that too much of the game is spent on item management.

Overall, it is a very good game with significant issues that prevented me from enjoying it as much as its predecessor

Whilst I can understand your issues with the game, I'm not sure what significant issues you had with this one that it's predecessor didn't suffer from. The N64 game has a smallish world, backtracking, lots of battling, even less item slots and could still be stingy on coins. I can understand liking the N64 one more, I'm just not sure those are reasons I would've thought of.

As for getting started on this, I just finished up Wild Arms today, so the next game on my list is my first Summer Challenge game - Metroid Prime 3.

[CFFJR]

And still contemplating tweaking my list.

Eh, I am too.

I'm gonna drop Technoclash.

I think I want a good jrpg to replace it.

[alienjesus]

I'm not starting until the weekend. And still contemplating tweaking my list.

Is Tomb Raider still on your list? I subbed it in placed of Shinobi on my list (my Game Gear is not in the best shape). I'm more excited to play that game than I expected to be

[noiseredux]

yeah Tomb Raider stays. The ones I'm considering possibly swapping are in bold:

Beats of Rage
Eternal Champions
Eye of the Beholder
Hexen
I Have No Mouth
Nights Into Dreams
Panzer Dragoon
Space Channel 5
Tomb Raider
Wipeout

I'm thinking of possibly swapping in some stuff on PSP in their place just so I have the option of some portable gaming throughout the Summer as well. I'll have to think about it though...