Games Beaten 2014

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Fast, I didn't realize the NGPC bug had bitten you. Good stuff.

[Ack]

Fast, I didn't realize the NGPC bug had bitten you. Good stuff.

It was because I kept talking about Pocket Tennis Color.

[fastbilly1]

Fast, I didn't realize the NGPC bug had bitten you. Good stuff.

It was because I kept talking about Pocket Tennis Color.

Its true. I have a softspot for arcade style tennis games. With no real reason why. I am terrible at the sport and have never had much to do with it. But random matches of Virtua Tennis and Mario Tennis got me hooked. I played through a good bit of Pocket Tennis but I am saving the bulk of my play until I get two NGPCs so I can play with my wife. Card Fighters on the other hand, well I am going to be playing with artscow over the next few weeks.

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Wonder Boy in Monster World + Nights...into Dreams(360)

Both beaten for the summer games challenge. More thoughts in that thread but needless to say both are great games, though not without some flaws. Both played on Xbox 360 via Live ports for convenience sake.

Leave Home(360)

Leave Home is a unique lo-fi horizontal shooter from Hermitgames. It's built for extremely short play sessions with the gameplay altering itself depending on playstyle. So, getting a good score by shooting stuff down puts more enemies and obstacles onscreen. I'm putting it up mostly to give it some attention but also because I did indeed beat my high-score and unlocked some goodies. For 69p you can't go wrong. Also check out Qrth-Phyl for the same guy, which is like 3D Snake but isn't really.

Ocean Drive Challenge(360)

Another XBLIG game, ODC is basically an OutRun homage down to the pre-race music selector, sunny european locations and the simple Low/High gear shift. It doesn't have branching paths for whatever reason and it looks really cheap, but there is a charm here. The people who put this together obviously get what makes OutRun such a classic as the focus is on driving and not racing. The game is rough but has its heart in the right place.

Rogue Warrior(360)

I played this dreadful game as an experiment to find a game that meets the "so bad it's good" criteria sometimes applied to shlock-y B-Movies. However, it turns out that, Mickey Rourke's hilariously foulmouthed voiceover aside, Rogue Warrior is just a bad game.

Despite the awful reviews though, I can't agree that the game is an absolute wreck. It has both first and third person shooting mechanics which function adequately. There's nothing special to them but they work. The game also has context sensitive takedown moves that also work. Similarly the weapons are dull and generic but provide decent feedback. The experience is very workmanlike. It's almost like an alpha build than a full release, waiting for more enemy types and environments to be dropped in later.

From what I know the game had a troubled development cycle. Zombie Studios started it and when the publisher (Bethesda) were unhappy with the results it was handed over to Rebellion to finish. This is painfully evident in game.

If I were to guess, I'd say Rogue Warrior started off as a Splinter Cell clone before it had FPS mechanics retrofitted to woo the Call of Duty crowd. A lot of the enemies have routines and places where they stop to turn their back to the player, much like a stealth game. Your starting weapon is always a silenced pistol (that bizarrely comes with infinite ammo). You have infrared goggles at all times and are sort of encouraged to shoot out lights for their use. It's just that all these elements completely unnecessary when you can just run up to a guard head on and use the takedown move with no consequences. They won't hear you coming or alert anyone nearby. Half the time they won't even shoot.

So it's a odd mismatch of genre tropes cobbled together with a brazenly pro-American plot about shooting communists (VERY) loosely based on real life Navy SEAL Dick Marcinko. Prime material for a shlockfest in the vein of Invasion U.S.A I thought. Not really as it transpired. The game is needlessly aggressive in tone and comes off as more unpleasant than campy. There is one unintentionally amusing line about Ronald Regan giving his regards after you throw a Spetznaz solider off a bridge but otherwise the dialogue is delivered in such a fashion that I imagine Mickey Rourke got drunk, swore a lot and the only takes they could use were the ones that were almost understandable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6J31UxgbM

It looks like an early original Xbox title, has mechanics lifted wholesale from better games and it's level design never really builds up to anything approaching a challenge. In the end the game is just painfully mediocre which is a worse crime than being entertaining through sheer awfulness. At least it's short.

It does end with the worst/best end credits song ever though so the experiment wasn't a total failure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsusJVa ... ion_269438

Yakuza(PS2)

Snagged a reasonably priced copy of Yakuza 2 recently so I gave the first game another go to reacquaint myself with Kazuma Kiryu and his fists of fury.

People sometimes say Yakuza is like a spiritual successor to Shenmue or a japanese GTA. I see it more as Streets of Rage: RPG. You do have a small section of a japanese city to explore, but the static camera inhibits inspection and most of the shops lining the streets are just background. Instead you spend much more time kicking the shit out of people who start fights with you for infractions as simple as dressing like a Yakuza, which despite the title, you actually aren't.

Yakuza is weird in that none of its aspects are especially strong but it all seems to just hang together.

Combat is the worst offender. I have no idea why the designers decided against a proper lock-on system for combat when it is so obviously needed. For one it leads to far too many of your attacks completely missing an opponent which leaves you open to a smackdown. It also makes it much harder than it should be to pick out more dangerous enemies from a group especially guys with guns. This is a late release PS2 game but the fighting can seem like it's from the early PS1 era. It can be infuriating to have your combo interrupted by one punch to the back of the head to then get dogpiled into an early death or start up a grapple to be shot into hitstun and then dogpiled. Super annoying.

That said, while scrappy the combat does have a visceral quality to it as you smash peoples faces into lamposts or beat them over the head with a iron pipe. It's brutal and messy and I guess that's how Sega wanted it regardless of flaws. Kazuma isn't some slick fighting genius like Ryo Hazuki or Ryu Hyabusa. He fights dirty but looks in control, remaining a stoic badass from start to finish. It's refreshing in a way.

As I said the city streets are mostly for show, but unlike GTA there are masses of people walking by creating an atmosphere of a real living place. This is where Yakuza excels really in creating a sense of time and place, and probably why it draws comparisons with Shenmue.

It's a shame the plot isn't really all that. The characters themselves are well drawn out for the most part, but the actual story meanders, becoming too overcrowded and convoluted. It needed to stick to a simple story of finding a missing girl and getting some much earned payback. As it is you spend most of your time repeatedly saving an idiotic child all the while also creepily exposing her to brothels, gambling parlours and vicious gang wars. Send her back to the orphanage, Kazuma, you tit!

In the end though it's a very good game but falls short of being a great one, getting by as a vicarious power fantasy with great atmosphere. I hope to see some of the flaws fixed for Yakuza 2 though.

[Violent By Design]

1. Sonic Triple Trouble - GG (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)
10. BioShock Infinite - PS3 (9/10)
11. Octodad - PC (5/10)
12. South Park: The Stick of Truth - PC (6/10)

[Jagosaurus]

BEAT:
- Urban Chaos (PS2: FPS)
- Locks Quest (DS: RTS)
- Super Mario World (SNES: Platformer)
- Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS: Strategy RPG)
-Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D (3DS: Third Person Shooter)
- Tom Clany's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS: Grid Based Military Tactics/ SRPG)

OTHERS - Games I've spent substantial time with but haven't "beat" due to the nature of these:
- NFL Blitz 2000 (Dreamcast, Arcade Sports)
- NFL Blitz 2003 (PS2, Arcade Sports)


.... Shadow Wars is great fun. I'm calling it now this will be a 3DS hidden gem. I imagine most do not know it's a grid based tactics game & not a typical third person shooter. It'll sneak by most & be appreciated later.

[CFFJR]

1. Mortal Kombat II - 32X
2. Cosmic Carnage - 32X
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade - XBLA
4. X-men Arcade - XBLA
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist - Genesis
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time - SNES
7. Metroid: Other M - Wii
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns - Wii
9. Metroid Fusion - GBA
10.Star Trek - Xbox 360
11.Fable Anniversary - Xbox 360
12.Ranma 1/2: Chougi Ranbuhen - SFC
13.Sailor Moon R - SFC

An enjoyable, if slow, beat em up that I played through with the girlfriend, who's a huge Sailor Moon fan. I figured she'd like this one and I was right. The game seems to throw the same number of enemies at you in either 1 or 2 player mode. Naturally, the 2 player game is noticeably easier.

Still, neither of the two snes Sailor beat em ups compare to the Genesis version. A shame that one is single player only, for who knows what reason.

[Ack]

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)
14. Super Turrican 2 (SNES)(Run and Gun)
15. Brain Lord (SNES)(RPG)
16. Live A Live (SNES)(RPG)
17. Treasure Adventure Game (PC)(Platformer)
18. Realms of the Haunting (PC)(FPS)
19. Pocket Tennis Color (NGPC)(Sports)
20. Unreal Gold (PC)(FPS)
21. Puzzle Bobble Mini (NGPC)(Puzzle)

Over the weekend I took a trip to a friend's lake house, and between canoe trips, fishing, and lots of beer, I finished getting all of the trophies in Pocket Tennis Color and then made my way through all 100 levels of Puzzle Bobble Mini(AKA Bust-A-Move Pocket). It's not a big feat, as the levels are generally short and easy, though with the different arrangements that you have to delete slowly getting harder. I started having trouble in the final stretch, particularly around puzzle 92, though it still didn't take much more than a few hours to proceed.

I like the Bust-A-Move games, and this one is good, though it suffers from difficulty discerning between colors, and with bad lighting, it's hard to tell the difference between certain bubbles. Other modes include a continuous mode where you play until you lose and a VS-CPU mode where you compete against AI opponents, though these feel secondary to the main game. If you like puzzle games and have an NGPC(and can find this game for pretty cheap), it's worth picking up, though it doesn't offer nearly the amount of gameplay of titles like the Puzzle Link series.

[alienjesus]

1. Kirby's Epic Yarn Wii
2. To The Moon Christmas Special PC
3. Super Mario 3D World Wii U
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Wii U
5. Chiki Chiki Boys Mega Drive
6. World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Mega Drive
7. Metal Gear PSVita
8. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake PSVita
9. Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy 3DS
10. Akai Katana 360
11. Metal Gear Solid GBC
12. Atelier Totori Plus: The Adventurer of Arland PSN
13. Tearaway PSN
14. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA ƒ PSN
15. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd PSP
16. Final Fantasy VII PS1
17. Dead or Alive 5 Plus PSVita
18. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 3DS
19. NES Remix 2 Wii U eShop
20. Starfox Assault GC
21. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 3DS *NEW*
22. Cybernator SNES *NEW*

2 new ones for the list.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Professor Layton vs Phoenxi Wright takes two of my favourite series from the DS and 3DS and melds them together. And it works suprisingly well.

The game takes the court room scenes from the Ace Attorney games and the adventuring and puzzles solving from the Layton franchise and alternates them in a pleasing way. There are flaws present in both sections though - The layton puzzles seem much easier than usual, and a lot of them can't actually be gotten wrong - you just keep trying til you get it with no downsides - it almost seems like it's aimed at beginners to the series.

On the other hand, the Wright sections can be a bit tough, and not always for the right reasons - often it's clear what the solution is, but not what is the right way to present it. This is especially apparent in the first 'real' case of the game, which is by far the games weakest point. I was very worried about the quality of the game at this point.

Luckily, it picks up pace nicely and by the end of the game, I was addicted and having a great time. The story is compelling, and is a nice balance between the more down to earth Ace Attorney series plots and the absolutely insane Layton series plots. It veers slightly more towards the Layton side, but it doesn't come across as ridiculous as most of those.

The new courtroom mechanics involving cross examining multiple witnesses at once work well and are a lot of fun. They also seem to give the courtroom sections a much brisker pace, which is probably necessary for the game to have a good number of courtroom sessions whilst still keeping the plot moving.

The graphics look nice, but par for the course if you've played AA5 or either of the DS Layton games. The music is awesome, but again, this is par for the course for the recent entries in this series.

Overall, it's probably weaker than both of the series it spawned from, but it's still a great experience. I'd absolutely recommend it to a fan of either franchise, and it;s worth giving it a go if you've played neither series before too - it should whet your appetite nicely.

Cybernator

Cybernator was a game I was intending to play as part of the summer games challenge, but Dave convinced me that I had games more worthy of a slot (he was probably right, although I still think Cybernator was a fine choice) and I decided to try and beat it now before I got underway on my summer games.

The game has a story, but honestly, I barely followed it. It's really not a big deal for this game. 'Let's get shooting things' is the story I went with.

The game is pretty nice graphically. Everything is well drawn, if a little generic looking, and there are some impressive effects - the game loves BBBIIIIGGGG explosions with ridiculously inflated pixels. I love them too. There's also often a lot on screen with zero slowdown or lag which is impressive - your machine gun bullets will ricochet off walls while multiple enemies bounce around shooting at you, and your spent bullet cases fly out everywhere and everything runs smooth as silk. Impressive.

Music in the game is pleasant, but not particularly memorable to me. It fits the missions well, but now I've done playing I can't really remember much of it, despite playing about 4 times this weekend.

As for gameplay control, it feels pretty nice. Y shoots, B jumps and A makes your mech duck into a crouch. Whilsts crouching you can dash back and forth at speed. After a jump (which feels suitably heavy considering you're piloting a 30 foot mech), B activates your jetpack which lets you hover a little higher, or slows your descent. R pulls out your shield to block, which is pretty crucial to progress, but can;t be used in midair or whilst dashing, so knowing when to take it slow is important. Lastly, L locks your shooting angle in place, which is very useful, as you can shoot in 32 (I think) different directions in this game. This is awesome for lining up shots at harder to hit enemies. Being able to shoot in only 8 directions would make this game a lot harder.

There is also a nice weapon variety to pick up as you go along - you start with your vulcan cannon (a machine gun with bullets that reflect off walls) and punch (I didnt use this one), before acquiring missiles (powerful homing missiles, but limited in amount per level) and a laser (the best weapon in normal play which pierces through enemies hitting multiple times). There's also a secret weapon which I didn't use that you can unlock too. You can switch between these weapons at any time, and also power them up from 1 to 3 making them more powerful.

The mission variety is quite nice, and whilst the game is short at 7 stages, it's just the right length to not overstay it's welcome. The game switches it up a lot - in stage 1 you stroll through a complex in the basic gameply style, but in stage 2 you start with a rocket pack strapped to you shooting forward through an asteroid belt before floating around in space in zero gravity for the rest of the mission. Other missions have you freefalling to a planet, fighting a boss whislt rocketing into the air, and dashing forwards whilst fighting enemies chasing after you. It's good stuff.

The game isn't the greatest game on the system, but it's damn good fun, and people should pick it up and give it a go. My PAL copy was very cheap, although I hear it's pricier in America. Pick it up on SNES or Wii VC and give it a go though, you won;t regret it.

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Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed(360)

I had already played a decent amount of this game since launch but only just "beat" it, unlocking the final three characters I was missing: Robotnik, Reala and AGES. Very glad I put in the effort; AGES is an amazing addition and a love letter to old Sega alternating as it does between Daytona car, Afterburner plane and a Dreamcast controller for a boat.

I think this game is almost flawless is most respects. It is certainly the most exciting kart racer to play, constantly challenging and revels in its love for all things Sega. There is not a bad track in the game and I'd say ten out of the seventeen are among the best ever put in a Kart racer. They're all so vibrant with so much going on. This is a game that executes its concept flawlessly; driving on land, sea and air all have their own demands but none take precedence over the other and coherently flows into one another. The music and graphics are exceptional as well showing real love for the franchises they help to recreate. It'll make your yearn for a next-gen Burning Rangers game that's for sure.

There are some design choices that I question, though these are more down to my personal preferences than anything actually wrong with the game.

A problem I have with this (and Mario Kart Wii) is that the mere increase of the racers on the track from 8 to 10 seems to have made these games exponentially more chaotic. I think in Mario Kart's case this was deliberate, but here the racing engine is so much better and the barrage of weaponry just interrupts the flow. Added to that, you always start in last which makes things a bit more difficult than it needs to be.

One offensive option in particular, the titular All-Star mode, is essentially this games power star but can be given out to someone as high as second or third all but guaranteeing a win. I think this was done to even online play, but in practice is just annoying and can be infuriating when you lose on the last bend after a tightly fought race. Again, I drew comparisons with Mario Kart Wii and its overuse of Blue Shells to settle races. It's not skillful or clever, it's just annoying and harms the actual racing component of a Kart racing game.

Some other minor complaints would be that the game is a bit buggy. I also feel that, though there are some great additions like Joe Musashi, Gillius, Vyse and AGES to the character select, there are some really lazy clone characters like Pudding, MiMi and Gum who could have easily been replaced. My own suggestions would be Asha, Alys, Ryo Hazuki and Blaze Fielding. Then you get your ladies along with some franchise diversity.

Overall I'd say this was the best Kart racer of the last two generations. I definitely prefer the less chaotic aspects of Super/Mario Kart 64 and Crash Team Racing, but SART is such a exhilarating experience I can overlook some of the irritation is causes me. You can play as a Dreamcast controller on a Burning Rangers themed race track for fuck sake! That has to count for something.