Games Beaten 2014

[ExedExes]

Motor Raid - After a bit of discussion about Zero Gunner over on the shmups board, I ended up going back to a few other games on the Nebula Model 2 emulator. This one's pretty cool; a Wipeout/F-Zero-esque racer which is pretty short (a single credit consists of 3 stages and takes under 5 minutes to beat) but quite addictive. I've beaten it with a C-Rank and an A-Rank, still got that S-Rank to aim for. The only awkward bit about the emulation is that turbo requires a double-tap of the accelerator, and it doesn't work if you have it mapped to a button, you need to assign it to an analogue stick. It's not perfect, but the game is still beatable.

Ah, Motor Raid. I've had the good fortune of playing it many times for real. Easy to 1cc and to S-Rank once you've played it enough times. I loved all the various weapons.

[Stark]

... I feel like it hit on so many personal aspects of my own life, which makes me unsure if others will appreciate this game in the same way, but for me personally, I am so glad that a game like this even exists.

I didn't have any of those life experiences and I still really enjoyed this game. I think it is the attention to detail that is present that makes it so fascinating. It's cool that it felt so personal for you, but I don't think it is necessary to think it's a fantastic game.

[Flake]

1/12: Kirby's Adventure (NES)
1/20: Injustice: Gods Among US (WiiU)
1/25: Super Mario 3D World (WiiU)
1/29: Metroid Fusion (GBA)
1/30: Metroid II: The Return of Samus (GB)
2/8: Metroid Zero Mission (GBA)
2/23: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (WiiU)
3/9: Megaman Zero (DS)
3/14: Megaman Battle Network (GBA)
3/19: Star Fox 64 3D (3DS)
3/23: Megaman 6 (NES)
4/9: Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 (DC)
5/12: Capcom vs SNK (DC)
5/17: Megaman: Wily's Revenge (GB)

Beat Capcom vs SNK last week as part of this round of the Dreamclub. It really is a fantastic game and I think it's a shame that CvS2 overshadows it. There are so many interesting ideas that got left out of the sequel that have never really showed up in another game. The Groove Point System is a really good idea and I think that the way the game lightly punishes you for sloppy game play has made me get much, much better at this game.

Last night I finished Megaman: Wily's Revenge finally. I've taken shots at this game over and over in the past few years and I've never finished it until now. The 3DS save state feature made the difference. I'll readily admit I abused the system but if I have to choose between having fun or dreading pick up a game I've spent money on, I'll opt for fun every time.

A few thoughts about Wily's Revenge: This game was not handled by Capcom's internal team and it really, really shows. The game is shallow and although the sprites are all familiar, the engine running the whole thing feels entirely alien to me. It's a very hard game but I don't think it was made hard deliberately. I feel like the game as laid out and the developers never bothered to stray from that plan, even when it became plainly apparent that the execution of that plan would preclude the player from having much fun at all.

It's a reminder of how low the bar was for early Gameboy games.

[jamtero]

So far:
Muv Luv Trilogy
South Park Stick of Truth
Brothers
Wolf Among US
Walking Dead Season 2 ep 1-3
Catherine
Vagrant Story
Policenauts
Hotline Miami

Muv Luv was freaking long and crazy. Still not sure it was worth the time investment but Alternative was a great experience. Everything else this year has been pretty badass.

[MrHealthy]

January
1. 1942 (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
2. Avengers (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
4. Legendary Wings (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
5. Resistance 2 (PS3)
6. Resistance 3 (PS3)

February
7. Hyper Dyne Side Arms (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
8. Section Z (PS3 - Capcom Arcade Cabinet)
9. Solar Hoops (360)
10. Saints Row The Third: Gangstas in Space DLC (PC - Steam)
11. Saints Row The Third: Genkibowl VII DLC (PC - Steam)
12. Saints Row The Third: The Trouble with Clones DLC (PC - Steam)
13. The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC (PS3)

March
14. flOw (PSVita)
15. The Walking Dead Survival Instinct (PS3)
16. Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island DLC (PS3)

April
17. Proteus (PS3)
18. Dragon Fantasy Book 1 (PSVita)
19. inFAMOUS 2 (PS3)

May
20. SOULCALIBUR Lost Swords (PS3)
21. Hotline Miami (PS3)
22. Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare (PS3)

[J T]

... I feel like it hit on so many personal aspects of my own life, which makes me unsure if others will appreciate this game in the same way, but for me personally, I am so glad that a game like this even exists.

I didn't have any of those life experiences and I still really enjoyed this game. I think it is the attention to detail that is present that makes it so fascinating. It's cool that it felt so personal for you, but I don't think it is necessary to think it's a fantastic game.

That is good to hear. I greatly enjoyed my time with Gone Home. I liked this for so many uniquely personal reasons though that it is hard to disentangle how much I thought this was a good game based on it's own merits vs how well it simply resonated with my past experiences and evoked nostalgia.

[J T]

I just finished Rayman: Fiesta Run for Android. I got a "Perfect" rating on every stage and collected all the "lums" and I did this without ever using a powerup.

The gameplay and graphics are excellent, as they were in the prior Android game, Rayman: Jungle Run. However, I was very pissed off by all the money making shit they added to this game. There are pop-up advertisements. There are attempts to get you to buy powerups or "lums" with real money at the beginning of every stage. There are constant attempts to link your game to facebook and Google+. Overall, the game feels like some free-to-play piece of shit, but it's not, you have to pay for it.

The game itself is platforming bliss though, especially the later stages, which are quite difficult, but when you pull them off, you feel amazing. Some of these stages were even better than anything in Rayman: Jungle Run, but because Fiesta Run inundates you with garbage advertisements and requests to post about their game on social media; I can't say Fiesta Run was anywhere near as good as its predecessor.

[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. Army Men Advance - GBA (April 16)
8. Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death - PC (April 27)
9. Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX - GBA (May 17)
10. *NEW* Symphony - PC (May 24)

You may have seen me gush about Symphony on a few threads here already, but I'll explain why it's so great again. I wanted this for a long time, but when GOG had it priced at 75% off, I knew it was time to get it.

This game is a shmup that generates unique levels using the music files found on your computer. Many audio formats are supported. After it analyzes the music, different types of enemies appear at certain times throughout the chosen song. Your goal is to liberate your music and its composers from 15 demons that appear at random throughout each audio file you play. Every time one of them appears, they challenge you to a boss battle, and defeating them brings back one piece of the "Symphony of Souls".

After clearing each music file, you get a special weapon which can be upgraded with the points you earn throughout the game. There are 6 difficulty levels for each file and there are also achievements and online leaderboards.

Being able to use any audio file you can create, rip, or download means that there is a limitless amount of levels one can play here. Best of all, after you complete the game, you can still play through as much as you want, but there will be no more boss battles unless you start a new game.

A very fresh concept that is executed perfectly, and the fact that it doesn't really "end" after the main game is complete and with all the weapon customization options you have, it will never really get boring either.

It is available on Steam, GOG, or at the official website.

[Flake]

1/12: Kirby's Adventure (NES)
1/20: Injustice: Gods Among US (WiiU)
1/25: Super Mario 3D World (WiiU)
1/29: Metroid Fusion (GBA)
1/30: Metroid II: The Return of Samus (GB)
2/8: Metroid Zero Mission (GBA)
2/23: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (WiiU)
3/9: Megaman Zero (DS)
3/14: Megaman Battle Network (GBA)
3/19: Star Fox 64 3D (3DS)
3/23: Megaman 6 (NES)
4/9: Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 (DC)
5/12: Capcom vs SNK (DC)
5/17: Megaman: Wily's Revenge (GB)
5/19: Megaman II (GB)
5/23: Megaman III (GB)
5/24: Megaman IV (GB)

Marathoning the gameboy Megaman games as part of Mega-May. The gameboy Megaman series experienced a really unusual curve in quality. The first game is really just not any fun at all. The second game was kinda fun but didn't really offer much new. The third game was a great Megaman game. Then you get the fourth which is just a great game in general. It was at this point that I feel the handheld series began to surpass the contemporary installments on the NES. I'd much rather re-play Megaman IV than Megaman 4 if I had to choose.

I'm currently playing through Megaman V. I'll have more to say after I beat it (again) but the theme of my mini-review will be that Megaman V is probably one of the series' greatest achievements.

[Xeogred]

Easily, Megaman V is amazing and the Wily stage was different than any other game. Loved it. I'd like an NES port haha.