1. Back to the Future: The Game - PC
2. Syndicate - PC
3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - PC
4. Resident Evil: Revelations - 3DS
5. The Walking Dead - PC
6. The Walking Dead: 400 Days - PC
7. Cyber-Lip - Neo Geo (Via Neo Geo X)
8. Metal Slug 4 - PS2
9. Aliens: Colonial Marines - Stasis Interrupted (DLC) - PC
Total for 2014: 9
Aliens: Colonial Marines - Stasis Interrupted (DLC)
I did not hate on A:CM like 99% of the internet, I thought it was an average shooter sure, but not the shit storm that followed it.
The story, which mainly revolved around what happened to Hicks between Aliens and Alien 3 is just so broken there is no point trying to follow it in a logical sense, I like that i had more to do with the films than A:CM did, but man it is broken. It does explain some of the holes in the A:CM storyline, but seems to replace them with new ones.
There were some good moment, like when you play for the first 15 minutes without a gun, it is nice to feel a bit helpless. Everything after that is pretty much a rehash of one of the worst received games on record, really no reason to play it unless you did not mind the base game and can get the DLC for $2 like me, even then.....really a waste of time.
Games Beaten 2014
Re: Games Beaten 2014
1. Blood II: The Nightmare Levels (PC)(FPS)
2. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
3. Clive Barker's Undying (PC)(FPS)
4. Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death (PC)(FPS)
5. Lagoon (SNES)(RPG)
6. Tin Star (SNES)(Light Gun)
7. Cacoma Knight in Bizyland (SNES)(Puzzle)
8. World Heroes (MVS)(Fighting)
9. Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun (SNES)(Edutainment)
10. Rival Turf! (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
11. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Genesis)(Fighting)
12. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighting)
13. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES)(RPG)
Well, I am most certainly glad to have finally finished this one. Ogre Battle is not kind to new players and can be brutally difficult, particularly at the beginning. But I persevered, and though the game wore on me over time, I have finally been able to put down my controller and mark it complete.
Let's start with the superficial praise: Ogre Battle has some beautiful sprites in battle and some excellent effects. The tarot cards and character portraits were all beautifully rendered. The music is thrilling and offers a pleasant mix of striking battle themes and soothing melodies between campaigns. There are some issues I encountered, such as the somewhat bland world maps with small(and not particularly attractive) units representing each squad. But the fight sequences themselves are thrilling and harrowing at the same time, as I both delight in my units' successes and cringe at their failures, their misses, and their deaths.
But this is all window dressing to the real meat of the game, a combination of strategic and tactical gameplay with some surprising overlaps that at first seem negligible. General strategy comes in deciding how units are composed, when and where they are deployed, and making decisions which effect their play style and specific use. They can be armed, but should they be equipping a powerful lightning sword or a weaker one of ice? Which units should be equipping armor instead? How should I be using my items to increase their effectiveness and ensure they turn into the classes I desire? Creating squads is an art form, requiring an understanding of character alignments, class roles, and efficient battlefield arrangements to deal with oncoming threats. More than once I rearranged a squad in the field to better suit an oncoming enemy. I didn't do this nearly as often with equipment, though I found the inventory system clunky and not easy to work with in the field. Remaking or deconstructing squads of units between campaigns was a delightful experience, as I worked to arrange groups that fit my needs for mobility as well as building powerful death squads to eliminate my enemies or righteous liberator squads to overtake cities and temples to fund my cause. Eventually I decided on a key group of 4 ruthless and mobile attack squads, one moving wall of undead to block for my main character's squad, 1 mobile liberator lead by the special character Canopus, and three city liberator squads(including my main character).
And then I threw them into battle. The perk of having dedicated combat squads is that there is no need to worry about their alignments, especially once you have attained the classes you desire. It's unfortunate that the alignment system is such a massive hurdle to navigate, as it's probably the hardest statistic to understand, and while it can be manipulated easily once it is understood, it is at its most vital at the beginning as characters begin their journeys into certain classes. Screw up and sink too far, and you've lost your chances for certain classes, such as the beast masters(I never got any of these) or mages. Don't rise high enough with the good classes, and you end up with knights who struggle to become paladins. Female characters have it worse, because their class options are much more limited, and they have only the witch class if they become too evil. While these problems where noted and treated in later entries in the series, they're a problematic hurdle, though one that can eventually be overcome with certain characters joining the ranks.
But tactics is something I was expected to be more hands off. There are two levels of tactical maneuvering in the campaigns: squad placement in the field(ie.: what terrain they are on and where they are in relation to the enemy) and tactical decisions made in the course of a fight. The tactical decisions made in the course of a fight is the most obvious, as the player can use tarots and reassign where the squad's fire should be focused, effectively letting you tell which unit should target which enemy. This doesn't always work and is most important for single target spells which can hit any target in the enemy's squad, but it can be the difference between life and death. Outside of a fight, positioning will decide the terrain of the fight and influence the fight accordingly. However, there is an added benefit, because the loser of a fight is knocked back a ways. Effective manipulation of tactical positioning can force a weakened enemy squad into a friendly one that can further wound or finish it off, push it onto a terrain that it cannot easily maneuver out of, or in certain stages even push the enemy off the edge of the world and send them plummeting to their deaths if there are no flying units contained within.
Over time, these decisions become natural for the player, but they are difficult to all handle concurrently ion the early stages of the map, as character growth and development far outweighs all other goals. Ogre Battle does not hold your hand. Ogre Battle will stress you out and drive you mad. And Ogre Battle is a long game if you are a player who feels the urge to do everything or worries they will miss something if they skip. But it is an excellent game that feels incredibly rewarding to see through to the end, even if it is a long, and at times arduous, journey.
2. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
3. Clive Barker's Undying (PC)(FPS)
4. Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death (PC)(FPS)
5. Lagoon (SNES)(RPG)
6. Tin Star (SNES)(Light Gun)
7. Cacoma Knight in Bizyland (SNES)(Puzzle)
8. World Heroes (MVS)(Fighting)
9. Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun (SNES)(Edutainment)
10. Rival Turf! (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
11. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Genesis)(Fighting)
12. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighting)
13. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES)(RPG)
Well, I am most certainly glad to have finally finished this one. Ogre Battle is not kind to new players and can be brutally difficult, particularly at the beginning. But I persevered, and though the game wore on me over time, I have finally been able to put down my controller and mark it complete.
Let's start with the superficial praise: Ogre Battle has some beautiful sprites in battle and some excellent effects. The tarot cards and character portraits were all beautifully rendered. The music is thrilling and offers a pleasant mix of striking battle themes and soothing melodies between campaigns. There are some issues I encountered, such as the somewhat bland world maps with small(and not particularly attractive) units representing each squad. But the fight sequences themselves are thrilling and harrowing at the same time, as I both delight in my units' successes and cringe at their failures, their misses, and their deaths.
But this is all window dressing to the real meat of the game, a combination of strategic and tactical gameplay with some surprising overlaps that at first seem negligible. General strategy comes in deciding how units are composed, when and where they are deployed, and making decisions which effect their play style and specific use. They can be armed, but should they be equipping a powerful lightning sword or a weaker one of ice? Which units should be equipping armor instead? How should I be using my items to increase their effectiveness and ensure they turn into the classes I desire? Creating squads is an art form, requiring an understanding of character alignments, class roles, and efficient battlefield arrangements to deal with oncoming threats. More than once I rearranged a squad in the field to better suit an oncoming enemy. I didn't do this nearly as often with equipment, though I found the inventory system clunky and not easy to work with in the field. Remaking or deconstructing squads of units between campaigns was a delightful experience, as I worked to arrange groups that fit my needs for mobility as well as building powerful death squads to eliminate my enemies or righteous liberator squads to overtake cities and temples to fund my cause. Eventually I decided on a key group of 4 ruthless and mobile attack squads, one moving wall of undead to block for my main character's squad, 1 mobile liberator lead by the special character Canopus, and three city liberator squads(including my main character).
And then I threw them into battle. The perk of having dedicated combat squads is that there is no need to worry about their alignments, especially once you have attained the classes you desire. It's unfortunate that the alignment system is such a massive hurdle to navigate, as it's probably the hardest statistic to understand, and while it can be manipulated easily once it is understood, it is at its most vital at the beginning as characters begin their journeys into certain classes. Screw up and sink too far, and you've lost your chances for certain classes, such as the beast masters(I never got any of these) or mages. Don't rise high enough with the good classes, and you end up with knights who struggle to become paladins. Female characters have it worse, because their class options are much more limited, and they have only the witch class if they become too evil. While these problems where noted and treated in later entries in the series, they're a problematic hurdle, though one that can eventually be overcome with certain characters joining the ranks.
But tactics is something I was expected to be more hands off. There are two levels of tactical maneuvering in the campaigns: squad placement in the field(ie.: what terrain they are on and where they are in relation to the enemy) and tactical decisions made in the course of a fight. The tactical decisions made in the course of a fight is the most obvious, as the player can use tarots and reassign where the squad's fire should be focused, effectively letting you tell which unit should target which enemy. This doesn't always work and is most important for single target spells which can hit any target in the enemy's squad, but it can be the difference between life and death. Outside of a fight, positioning will decide the terrain of the fight and influence the fight accordingly. However, there is an added benefit, because the loser of a fight is knocked back a ways. Effective manipulation of tactical positioning can force a weakened enemy squad into a friendly one that can further wound or finish it off, push it onto a terrain that it cannot easily maneuver out of, or in certain stages even push the enemy off the edge of the world and send them plummeting to their deaths if there are no flying units contained within.
Over time, these decisions become natural for the player, but they are difficult to all handle concurrently ion the early stages of the map, as character growth and development far outweighs all other goals. Ogre Battle does not hold your hand. Ogre Battle will stress you out and drive you mad. And Ogre Battle is a long game if you are a player who feels the urge to do everything or worries they will miss something if they skip. But it is an excellent game that feels incredibly rewarding to see through to the end, even if it is a long, and at times arduous, journey.
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Violent By Design
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 1627
- Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:23 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2014
How long did it take you to beat it?Ack wrote:1. Blood II: The Nightmare Levels (PC)(FPS)
2. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)
3. Clive Barker's Undying (PC)(FPS)
4. Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death (PC)(FPS)
5. Lagoon (SNES)(RPG)
6. Tin Star (SNES)(Light Gun)
7. Cacoma Knight in Bizyland (SNES)(Puzzle)
8. World Heroes (MVS)(Fighting)
9. Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun (SNES)(Edutainment)
10. Rival Turf! (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)
11. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Genesis)(Fighting)
12. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)(Fighting)
13. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES)(RPG)
Well, I am most certainly glad to have finally finished this one. Ogre Battle is not kind to new players and can be brutally difficult, particularly at the beginning. But I persevered, and though the game wore on me over time, I have finally been able to put down my controller and mark it complete.
Let's start with the superficial praise: Ogre Battle has some beautiful sprites in battle and some excellent effects. The tarot cards and character portraits were all beautifully rendered. The music is thrilling and offers a pleasant mix of striking battle themes and soothing melodies between campaigns. There are some issues I encountered, such as the somewhat bland world maps with small(and not particularly attractive) units representing each squad. But the fight sequences themselves are thrilling and harrowing at the same time, as I both delight in my units' successes and cringe at their failures, their misses, and their deaths.
But this is all window dressing to the real meat of the game, a combination of strategic and tactical gameplay with some surprising overlaps that at first seem negligible. General strategy comes in deciding how units are composed, when and where they are deployed, and making decisions which effect their play style and specific use. They can be armed, but should they be equipping a powerful lightning sword or a weaker one of ice? Which units should be equipping armor instead? How should I be using my items to increase their effectiveness and ensure they turn into the classes I desire? Creating squads is an art form, requiring an understanding of character alignments, class roles, and efficient battlefield arrangements to deal with oncoming threats. More than once I rearranged a squad in the field to better suit an oncoming enemy. I didn't do this nearly as often with equipment, though I found the inventory system clunky and not easy to work with in the field. Remaking or deconstructing squads of units between campaigns was a delightful experience, as I worked to arrange groups that fit my needs for mobility as well as building powerful death squads to eliminate my enemies or righteous liberator squads to overtake cities and temples to fund my cause. Eventually I decided on a key group of 4 ruthless and mobile attack squads, one moving wall of undead to block for my main character's squad, 1 mobile liberator lead by the special character Canopus, and three city liberator squads(including my main character).
And then I threw them into battle. The perk of having dedicated combat squads is that there is no need to worry about their alignments, especially once you have attained the classes you desire. It's unfortunate that the alignment system is such a massive hurdle to navigate, as it's probably the hardest statistic to understand, and while it can be manipulated easily once it is understood, it is at its most vital at the beginning as characters begin their journeys into certain classes. Screw up and sink too far, and you've lost your chances for certain classes, such as the beast masters(I never got any of these) or mages. Don't rise high enough with the good classes, and you end up with knights who struggle to become paladins. Female characters have it worse, because their class options are much more limited, and they have only the witch class if they become too evil. While these problems where noted and treated in later entries in the series, they're a problematic hurdle, though one that can eventually be overcome with certain characters joining the ranks.
But tactics is something I was expected to be more hands off. There are two levels of tactical maneuvering in the campaigns: squad placement in the field(ie.: what terrain they are on and where they are in relation to the enemy) and tactical decisions made in the course of a fight. The tactical decisions made in the course of a fight is the most obvious, as the player can use tarots and reassign where the squad's fire should be focused, effectively letting you tell which unit should target which enemy. This doesn't always work and is most important for single target spells which can hit any target in the enemy's squad, but it can be the difference between life and death. Outside of a fight, positioning will decide the terrain of the fight and influence the fight accordingly. However, there is an added benefit, because the loser of a fight is knocked back a ways. Effective manipulation of tactical positioning can force a weakened enemy squad into a friendly one that can further wound or finish it off, push it onto a terrain that it cannot easily maneuver out of, or in certain stages even push the enemy off the edge of the world and send them plummeting to their deaths if there are no flying units contained within.
Over time, these decisions become natural for the player, but they are difficult to all handle concurrently ion the early stages of the map, as character growth and development far outweighs all other goals. Ogre Battle does not hold your hand. Ogre Battle will stress you out and drive you mad. And Ogre Battle is a long game if you are a player who feels the urge to do everything or worries they will miss something if they skip. But it is an excellent game that feels incredibly rewarding to see through to the end, even if it is a long, and at times arduous, journey.
Re: Games Beaten 2014
Well, I played it over the course of a month, as I started on January 11, and finished it on February 11. Time wise, I probably spent around 50 hours, though I rushed through the final set of four battles. At that point I just pointed my two most powerful squads at the bosses and healed them as they needed it.
Re: Games Beaten 2014
My list got lost in all the fighter talk. I'll back track later.
But for now:
Metal Gear NES
Although a tad frustrating, I've always had a soft spot for this game. It was one of the first NES games I owned where I couldn't get past the first few screens for the first few days of owning it. But after weeks of play I was able to beat it. And then I kept beating it over and over. And even today it still has charm.
Anyone else have the Worlds of Power book for this game?
But for now:
Metal Gear NES
Although a tad frustrating, I've always had a soft spot for this game. It was one of the first NES games I owned where I couldn't get past the first few screens for the first few days of owning it. But after weeks of play I was able to beat it. And then I kept beating it over and over. And even today it still has charm.
Anyone else have the Worlds of Power book for this game?
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noiseredux
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 38148
- Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:09 pm
- Contact:
Re: Games Beaten 2014
no but I do kind of want it. But I want the Castlevania one wayyy more.Luke wrote: Anyone else have the Worlds of Power book for this game?
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fastbilly1
- Site Admin
- Posts: 13775
- Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:08 pm
Re: Games Beaten 2014
1. Legendary Axe - TG16/PCE - Platformer
2. JJ and Jeff - TG16/PCE - Platformer
Both of these are games that I have wanted to play for years. I tried playing them in the past and never got very far so I knuckled down the last two days and beat both.
Legendary Axe is an amazing arcade style platformer that is pretty much everything Rastan wanted to be. It plays very smoothly, the difficulty, spikes in small increments but never a vertical wall. And I only have one real complaint about it, level 5 aka the Pits of Madness. Any game that has a maze where every enemy respawns in each room you leave is unfair to me. That and those damn statues. Overall I would say that it is in my top five of PCengine games that I have beaten that is not a shooter.
JJ and Jeff/Kato and Ken on the other hand, is a prime example of what not to do in a platformer. Floaty controls, impossible to figure out puzzles without dying, dead ends that require you to just kick things at random to proceed, a couple super precision jump sections, mediocre boss fights that can all be won with pretty much the same tactic, and worst of all randomly placed (some invisible) teleporters that send you back to earlier stages, including one on the last stage within site of the end of the game that sends you back to the first stage. Despite the bathroom humor (one of the enemies is called a poopatross and drops piles of crap on you), this game is just difficult to be difficult. If the controls were tight, it would be a different story, but as it stands, treated it as a curiosity.
2. JJ and Jeff - TG16/PCE - Platformer
Both of these are games that I have wanted to play for years. I tried playing them in the past and never got very far so I knuckled down the last two days and beat both.
Legendary Axe is an amazing arcade style platformer that is pretty much everything Rastan wanted to be. It plays very smoothly, the difficulty, spikes in small increments but never a vertical wall. And I only have one real complaint about it, level 5 aka the Pits of Madness. Any game that has a maze where every enemy respawns in each room you leave is unfair to me. That and those damn statues. Overall I would say that it is in my top five of PCengine games that I have beaten that is not a shooter.
JJ and Jeff/Kato and Ken on the other hand, is a prime example of what not to do in a platformer. Floaty controls, impossible to figure out puzzles without dying, dead ends that require you to just kick things at random to proceed, a couple super precision jump sections, mediocre boss fights that can all be won with pretty much the same tactic, and worst of all randomly placed (some invisible) teleporters that send you back to earlier stages, including one on the last stage within site of the end of the game that sends you back to the first stage. Despite the bathroom humor (one of the enemies is called a poopatross and drops piles of crap on you), this game is just difficult to be difficult. If the controls were tight, it would be a different story, but as it stands, treated it as a curiosity.
Re: Games Beaten 2014
The Castlevania book starts off like reading some weird homoerotic thriller. It's bizarre.noiseredux wrote:
no but I do kind of want it. But I want the Castlevania one wayyy more.
Re: Games Beaten 2014
I feel like it would be bizzare if it didn't.Luke wrote:The Castlevania book starts off like reading some weird homoerotic thriller. It's bizarre.noiseredux wrote:
no but I do kind of want it. But I want the Castlevania one wayyy more.
Re: Games Beaten 2014
What's a Worlds of Power book? And if there is a Castlevania version I must have it.noiseredux wrote:no but I do kind of want it. But I want the Castlevania one wayyy more.Luke wrote: Anyone else have the Worlds of Power book for this game?
Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended...so the world might be mended.