Games Beaten 2014

[SirGawain]

Only other negative I can think of is that the soundtrack kinda sucks, but to remedy that I just muted the music and played some Exodus and classic Metallica.

You can never go wrong with classic Metallica

[SirGawain]

1) Metroid Fusion (GBA)
2) Assassin's Creed Revelations (PS3)
3) Assassin's Creed III (PS3)
4) Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
5) Conkur's Bad Fur Day (N64)
6) Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1)
7) Nightmare Creatures II (PS1)

[Flake]

1) Metroid Fusion (GBA)
2) Assassin's Creed Revelations (PS3)
3) Assassin's Creed III (PS3)
4) Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
5) Conkur's Bad Fur Day (N64)
6) Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1)
7) Nightmare Creatures II (PS1)

Any thoughts on Nightmare Creatures?

[SirGawain]

1) Metroid Fusion (GBA)
2) Assassin's Creed Revelations (PS3)
3) Assassin's Creed III (PS3)
4) Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
5) Conkur's Bad Fur Day (N64)
6) Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1)
7) Nightmare Creatures II (PS1)

Any thoughts on Nightmare Creatures?

I enjoyed it. This was actually my third playthrough. It is a fun little adventure game, even if it does feel a bit short. I thoroughly loved the soundtrack, which was all by Rob Zombie, so it fit the tone and feel of the game. The graphics are nothing to write home about, but not unplayable. The screen does feel a bit dark at times, but it kinda added to the whole experience. The fatality moves are definitely where it earns the M rating. Overall, it is kinda like a mixture of Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, with Devil May Cry combos thrown in. I would recommend it if PS1 graphics are acceptable, but I have heard that the Dreamcast version is a bit cleaner and more fluid.

[graffix_13]

1) Metroid Fusion (GBA)
2) Assassin's Creed Revelations (PS3)
3) Assassin's Creed III (PS3)
4) Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
5) Conkur's Bad Fur Day (N64)
6) Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1)
7) Nightmare Creatures II (PS1)

What were your thoughts on Soul Reaver? I LOVED that game back in '99, but I recently downloaded it to my Vita and I just couldn't get into it like I did back in the day. I don't know what it was. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of the R2/L2 mapping on the back touch pad (due to hardware limitations though, so I'm not faulting the Vita).

So wanted to see what others thought and if this game 'still holds up'?

[SirGawain]

What were your thoughts on Soul Reaver? I LOVED that game back in '99, but I recently downloaded it to my Vita and I just couldn't get into it like I did back in the day. I don't know what it was. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of the R2/L2 mapping on the back touch pad (due to hardware limitations though, so I'm not faulting the Vita).

So wanted to see what others thought and if this game 'still holds up'?

I liked it just as much as before. I think it might be the wonky control mapping on the Vita. Not faulting the Vita, it just utilized the R2/L2 a little differently, which goes back to the original hardware vs. downloads/emulation argument.

[ExedExes]

1. Metal Gear - NES (February 27)
2. Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault - PC (March 4)
3. Thunderbirds - NES (March 9)
4. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 - Gamecube (March 22)
5. Army Men: Sarge's War -Gamecube (March 22)
6. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas - PC (April 5)
7. *NEW* Army Men Advance - GBA (April 16)

One of the original launch titles for the GBA in 2001, I enjoy the Army Men series quite a bit because it brings big time action in a smaller size. I was honestly not impressed with the first couple of levels, but then I saw how varied each of the 12 missions are and the different characters and weapons you could have. There isn't any in-game music except for the title screen and final boss battle, and the sounds really aren't all that impressive, but the game sure gets better as you go on. There's also even a few simple puzzles and surprises throughout the game. Plus, you get to even drive a few vehicles along the way. I'd recommend it despite some of its rough edges, being an early GBA release.

[Violent By Design]

1. Sonic Triple Trouble - Gamegear - (5/10)
2. Hearthstone - PC - (8/10)
3. Portal 2 - PC - (10/10)
4. Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition - PS3 (10/10)
5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - PS3 (10/10)
6. Tomb Raider - PS3 (9/10)
7. God of War - PS3 (7/10)
8. To The Moon - PC (8/10)


I don't think I played a game that had the advance level of story telling of To The Moon, which is why people often say "video games don't have good stories". There is a topic about this in the Gaming Cultures section where I touch upon this, but To The Moon is a very necessary step in the right direction in giving video game stories with actual depth.

To The Moon actually deserves literal analysis, you can argue the significance of a lot of items, relationships and characters - something that most games lack totally.

To The Moon does get a little sappy and soap operaish, but there is still plenty of interesting writing and concepts to over write it and save the game from being melodrama.

The actual gameplay is very bad, not just because there is little gameplay, but the actual controls are terrible. I found my character often not going where I wanted him or her to go, and the depth perception is messed up so my character would often stop at a wall that I didn't realize was there. It's still a minor inconvenience but it makes exploring less fun (and exploring is what you're doing most of the time when there isn't a cut scene).

The actual "game" part is a little puzzle minigame that you need to solve in order to advance to the next stage (or memory in this games case). The puzzles are pretty easy, though one of the early ones I messed up on because I didn't understand the rules and had to restart (not a big deal since the game autosaves). The puzzles quite frankly, should have been omitted. I feel like they were just put in because the director thought the game wasn't "gamey" enough and was scared of criticism. The game is supposed to be an interactive movie, and they should have stuck with that all the way.


One big missed opportunity I thought they missed and something that totally should have replaced the somewhat lame puzzles, was an actual detective type of game. Through out the game you're trying to learn why this man wants to "go to the moon", so it is kinda like a detective story. You even collect notes (clues) through out the entire game, but you're not actually asked to piece together your findings, it's a blown opportunity, and it makes a lot of the game mechanics seem pointless.

My thoughts on the plot (some analysis)

I loved the dynamic of River having some form of autism. Other than it making a lot of the scenes more sweet and holsome due to her innocence, but because of the dark element that is connected to it. At first I was afraid that perhaps she was given autism for the sake of having it. But I really loved that Johnny just wanted to date her in order just to be different. I thought this added a lot of depth to Johnny's character, and made their relationship very interesting and unique.

I think the story did a good job on playing on Johnny's insecurities (even him calling himself Johnny instead of John). The entire notion that Johnny just wanted to be different, and River wanted to be like everyone else was a good clash of ideologies. I kinda think the story messes up a bit when it introduces Joey to the story, and the original tie of River/Johnny gets lost in translation.

I actually think Joey living in the end (or living in his memory) gave the story less emotional impact. Johnny ended up getting everything, when all he should have got was a trip to the moon. Love needs sacrifice for it to be truly engaging, and there should have been a choice between Joey or River (which is why the turn of Eva trying to delete Riven was a great but ultimately misguided event in the story, and one that could have gave the story an actual antagonist).

Instead, Riven is basically thrown into a gamble, and she luckily wants to be an astronaut in Johnny's memory too, which kinda underlines her importance - because going to the moon isn't a literal thing, it is figurative, going to the moon means Johnny just wanted to be with Riven. I thought them actually going to the moon was very unnecessary (not to mention a few scenes too long).

So yeah, with that being said, I thought Joey was handled rather poorly, but there are other strengths in the story that make up for it.

Overall, the game is definitely something most people should check out. There is a good chance it will touch you emotionally, but it is also short and very easy, so there is not much to lose. It's also necessary to play the game because more video game writers need to make more complex stories like this one for gaming to take the next leap into entertainment.

It's a solid game, and it's very memorable for how short it is, I give it a 8/10.

[Violent By Design]

1. Sonic Triple Trouble - Gamegear - (5/10)
2. Hearthstone - PC - (8/10)
3. Portal 2 - PC - (10/10)
4. Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition - PS3 (10/10)
5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - PS3 (10/10)
6. Tomb Raider - PS3 (9/10)
7. God of War - PS3 (7/10)
8. To The Moon - PC (8/10)
9. Kirby's Dreamland - GB (6/10)

So after beating To The Moon I decided to pop in something short. I've only played Kirby Superstar somewhat extensively, and didn't think too highly of the Kirby games. But I figure I go back and dig through the others since they're pretty short.

Kirby's Dreamland establishes what the series greatest strength is, its aesthetics and presentation. The graphics are really damn good. A cliche praise of a gameboy game is to say it looks like an NES game, when a lot of the times it clearly looks worse, Kirby's Dreamland though really does look like one, and it handles like one too. The way the sprites move are very fluent, though there is some slow down in the gameplay if too many things are moving at the same time.

Though the physics were good, the controls were sometimes a little off. It is awkward to press up to fly, and to press a button to jump. Also, the hit box with the sucking maneuver is slightly off, so sometimes you think you'll suck someone but they're standing just outside the range even though the animation is touching them.


The difficulty is easy, most of the villains are easily disposed of because Kirby just has too many powerful tools. There are a few challenging fights, like the Eye cloud, but it's challenging because Kirby's ability to jump isn't that great.

The levels are pretty fillerish, but the boss fights are nice. I really like the level where you fly and have a dog fight, and the final fight against Dedede is good too.

A solid platformer, good controls, nice aesthetics, short and sweet.

I give it a 6/10.

[Flake]

9. Kirby's Dreamland - GB (6/10)

So after beating To The Moon I decided to pop in something short. I've only played Kirby Superstar somewhat extensively, and didn't think too highly of the Kirby games.

Kirby's Dreamland should only be judged relative to the other Gameboy titles that came out around that time - the series changed so very much after the original that it is plainly unfair to hold it to the same standard.

Some stand-out titles in the Kirby series that you definitely want to visit: Kirby Dreamland II, Kirby's Adventure, and Kirby's Return to Dreamland.