Games Beaten 2014

[Exhuminator]

I finished 999 for DS tonight, for the second time. Two times is enough for me. My thoughts...

999 is an interesting story, told in a highly inconvenient manner, via a badly designed game. The only way to uncover all of said interesting story, is to replay this game six different times. A slow text speed, no way to instantly skip previously read dialogue, and having to redo puzzles you've already beaten over and over makes replays not much fun. The graphics are competent at best, the puzzles are totally simplistic, but the OST is at least above average. Honestly the fact that 999 is so highly lauded says more about the general lack of good writing in video games than anything else. 6/10

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2014
Primal Rage - 32X
Golden Axe - Genesis
To the Moon: Holiday Special - PC
Need for Speed: Rivals - PS4
Halo: Spartan Assault - Xbox One
Kolibri - 32X
Motocross Championship - 32X
Shank 2 - PS3
Colassatron: Massive World Threat - iOS
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - PS3
Snafu - Intellivision - Intellivision
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom - Wii
Street Fighter vs. Tekken - Vita
Wolf Fang - PS1/Vita
Mirror's Edge - iOS
Infamous: Festival of Blood - PS3
The Last of Us: Left Behind - PS3
Flappy Bird - iOS
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - PS4
Titanfall - Xbox One
Infamous: Second Son - PS4
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - PC
Killzone: Mercenaries - Vita
Shock Troopers - Arcade (PS2)
Borderlands - PC/PS3
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) - Vita
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale - PS3
Muramasa Rebirth - Vita
Spyro The Dragon - PS1/Vita
Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - PC
Gears of War: Judgment - 360
Raiden III - Arcade (PS2)
Strider - Arcade (PS2)
Mario Kart Wii - Wii *new*

Total: 34

Games Beaten: 2013 2012 2011 2010

Refreshing my skills before MK8 hits tomorrow. Played through all the tracks, won all races on a circuit, and hit the credits and what not, so I'm counting it. I may play to unlock a few more things just for an additional refresher. Fun times!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I love the fact that you have a WiiU now. I think it will end up being the 7800/32X of its generation, and you might even end up with a complete set of WiiU games at some point.

[dsheinem]

I love the fact that you have a WiiU now. I think it will end up being the 7800/32X of its generation, and you might even end up with a complete set of WiiU games at some point.

Well it hit a point where for the right price I could get the right library of titles that interested me, so I finally bit. Now, hopefully, it isn't clearanced out everywhere in January

[prfsnl_gmr]

Ten to fifteen years from now, I expect you to argue that the WiiU - like the 32X before it - has one of the highest "quality titles/libary size" ratios.

[alienjesus]

[quote="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
22. Cybernator SNES
23. Gravity Rush PSVita
24. Perfect Dark N64
25. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood PSP
26. Wave Race 64 N64
27. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Extend PSP
28. Mischief Makers N64
29. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night PSP *NEW*
30. Snowboard Kids N64 *NEW*
31. Mario Kart 8 Wii U *NEW*

3 more for the list. Mario Kart 8 broke the N64/PSP pattern I had going there XD.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania was the third game I beat for my summer game challenge. I made a post of my thoughts below. Basic summary: It's pretty damn good.
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... &start=748

Snowboard Kids:

Snowboard Kids was the last unbeaten N64 game I owned after beating the other 3 recently. I don't have a memory pak to save, so I sat down with it on Saturday to beat it in one sitting.

I've heard a few people say they think this game is the best racer for N64, ahead of Mario Kart, Diddy Kong, Wave Race, F-Zero. I'll just come out and say it - the people who say this are terrible terrible people and should not be trusted.

Snowboard Kids is a fundamentally broken and not much fun racer. The controls feel unresponsive - they aim for a cartoony arcdey feel, but are actually much more stiff than the 'realistic' 1080 snowboarding. The weapon selection is awful - it all homes in, it's all overpowered (especially the fucking parachute, what a asshole weapon) and it's all too prevalent.

The main issue is the way the lap system is set up though. Every lap ends with a chairlift, which seperates everyone a bit, yet the computer will always end up right on your tail as is the way with these things. Due to the way this game plays out, only the last half of the last lap feels of any significance at all. You'll never get away from the computer due to weapons slowing you down, and winning is all down to a dice roll - will you stay in first over the last 5th of the track without being hit with a weapon. Not likely, because almost every weapon homes in, most of the ones that dont automatically hit you, and theres always a weapon shop right about there. It's like playing Mario Kart only the last item box is guaranteed to contain a red shell or a lightning bolt. It's fucking awful, everything comes down to that last roll of the dice.

The game is also pretty ugly, utterly charmless and full of forgettable music. I don't get wht people see in it at all.

Mario Kart 8

This game actually comes out tomorrow, and I've only had it one evening, so it's probably a bit early to give more but my first impressions of this game. I'll do my best though.

The game looks and sounds great. It's vibrant, colourful and utterly charming. The music is catchy and jazzy and I like it a lot. I aprreciate that a lot of it is recorded live too.

The gameplay is smooth and controls well. It seems to find a balance between the heavy steering in the likes of Double Dash and the tight turns of Wii and 64. It takes a little bit of time to get used to it, but it feels good.

The track design is pretty awesome. The first cup feels really generic and I was a little concerned, but the tracks in the flower and especially the star cup are real winners. The retro tracks are hit and miss - some absolute classics like tick tock clock & melody motorway, some awful ones like Grumble Volcano and more than a few totally forgettable ones - Cheep Cheep Beach DS, DK Jungle 3DS and Dry Dry Desert GC? Who wanted those back? The gravity thing doesnt seem like a huge deal. It's kinda hard to notice sometimes when you're upside down. It doesnt do it as well as F-Zero, but it adds enough play mechanics to be fun.

The best bit of the new game is ho items have been massively dialled back. Lots of the most overpowered or annoying weapons are gone (goodbye thundercloud, pow block, mega mushroom), the better weapons are rarer, and the new weapons don't feel overly powerful. There's also a lot less item blocks on the track too, and the time taken to recover after being hit seems lower, even for big slow characters like Bowser.

So far, it seems like the anti-MK Wii. That's exactly what I wanted. I've liked what I've seen.

Next up: Double Dragon, Shantae, maybe Lolo 2 or Battle of Olympus?

[Sload Soap]

So far, it seems like the anti-MK Wii.

Oh, thank god.

This must be a first as well: someone beating a game before it's officially released.

[isiolia]

1.) Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)
2.) Remember Me (PC)
3.) Mirror's Edge (PC)
4.) Jumping Flash! (PS1)
5.) Run Saber (SNES)
6.) Heavenly Sword (PS3)
7.) X-Blades (360)
8.) Blades of Time (360)
9.) Trapt (PS2)
10.) Hunted: The Demon's Forge (360)
11.) Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
12.) Venetica (PC)
13.) Metal Gear (MSX)
14.) Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX)
15.) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD Edition (PS3)
16.) Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP)
17.) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Edition (PS3)
18.) Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube)
19.) Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD Edition (PS3)
20.) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
21.) Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3)
22.) Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (360)
23.) Halo 2 (XBox)
24.) Halo 3 (360)
25.) Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS3)
26.) Halo Reach (360)
27.) Halo 4 (360)
28.) Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (PC)
29.) South Park: The Stick of Truth (PS3)
30.) Deception IV: Blood Ties (PS3)
31.) New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)
32.) The Lost Vikings (Genesis/PC)
33.) Metroid Prime (Wii)

Thoughts:

In some ways, this game exceeded my expectations. The degree that it captured the feel of the 2D games and translated it to 3D was superb. The atmosphere and sense of exploration that it managed to evoke every so often was great. The hints kept things moving, scanning worked to add more lore/flavor to it all… on the whole, I felt like it lived up to its reputation.

That being said, there were a couple negatives that really stood out. First is the lack of quick travel. Sure, the overworld serves as a way to get between different areas somewhat quickly, but not that quickly. With no XP system, and with plenty of goals already, it just doesn’t need the padding. To a point, it’s par for the course for the genre, but still, other games work it in.

More consistently frustrating were the controls. I played the version on Prime Trilogy, so there’s no choice but to use the Wiimote/Nunchuk combo. Far as I know , the original Gamecube controls aren’t entirely a typical FPS setup either, but this felt more like using third-person aiming. I got competent enough with it, but I’d take standard gamepad FPS controls over it any day. Eventually I wound up swapping to Free Aim Off as well, after running into a stalactite that wouldn’t register being hit with it on.

A case for motion controls it isn’t.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I understand your criticisms of the Wii version's controls completely. I spent some with with it recently, and the controls definitely felt a bit off. (The game was clearly designed with the GameCube controller in mind.)

That said, the motion controls in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are superb, and I can't imagine the game without them. If you can slog through Metroid Prime 2, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the final game in the Metroid Prime Trilogy.

[isiolia]

Looking online, it sounds like 3 was designed around them more, with the Gamecube games being designed more around lock on. It still felt slow to rotate at times, since usually FPS games keep the reticle centered - though that'd likely make the game screen too twitchy with the Wiimote control.

I think I'm going to wind up playing through the other two before too long though.