Games Beaten 2014

[Blu]

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - 3DS (January 2014)
2. Pokemon Red - Game Boy (February 2014)
3. Pokemon Silver - Game Boy Color (March 2014)
4. Final Fantasy VIII - PSX (June 2014)
5. Marvel vs. Capcom - DC (June 2014)
6. Samba de Amigo - DC (June 2014)
7. Super Mario World - SNES (July 2014)
8. Advance Wars - GBA (August 2014)

This is a game that I had never beaten, when I was younger I'd gotten to the last two stages and couldn't beat Sturm. I was thinking the same thing on the last stage, between his CO power and the balancing of three sides you control, things were pretty hectic. Talk about a tug of war! Anywho, this game is so well designed, I think I might go back and play the second one sometime soon. I find the game very enjoyable and quick to play a level or two then quit. Glad I finally finished this one after 10+ years.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2014
January-June
Spider - iOS
Metal Torrent - NDS
Injustice: Gods Among Us - PC
Thief Gold - PC
Shovel Knight - 3DS
Wolfenstein: The New Order - PC
Spoiler Alert - PC
Battle Arena Toshinden - Game Boy
Dungeons and Dragons - Shadow of Mystara - PC
Diablo III - PC
Dungeons and Dragons - Tower of Doom - PC
Expendabros - PC
Doom III: The Lost Mission - PC
Borderlands 2: Headhunter 1: T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest - PC
Kangaroo - Atari 2600
Escape Goat - PC *new*
Borderlands 2: Headhunter 2: The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler - PC *new*
Borderlands 2: Headhunter 3: How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day - PC *new*

Total: 68

Games Beaten: 2013 2012 2011 2010

Escape Goat is cool, except the last level, which is a PITA.

I'm a bit torn on whether to count these B2 DLC episodes as they are each only a couple of hours long, but I suppose I counted the earlier ones last year so I may as well keep with that tradition They are more B2 fun, thus far with holiday themes

I've been playing a lot of PC stuff...

[TSTR]

^Well, you just got a new rig, so it makes sense.

And yeah, that last Escape Goat level can eat me. Way too much reliance on platform timing instead of puzzle-solving.

[noiseredux]

And yeah, that last Escape Goat level can eat me. Way too much reliance on platform timing instead of puzzle-solving.

yeah but when you finally beat that last level you feel like such a boss.

[TSTR]

And yeah, that last Escape Goat level can eat me. Way too much reliance on platform timing instead of puzzle-solving.

yeah but when you finally beat that last level you feel like such a boss.

idk, I only felt like middle management myself.

[dsheinem]

And yeah, that last Escape Goat level can eat me. Way too much reliance on platform timing instead of puzzle-solving.

yeah but when you finally beat that last level you feel like such a boss.

idk, I only felt like middle management myself.

I always feel like a boss so it was hard for me to tell the difference.

[Luke]

Beat Turtles in Time yesterday. Really need to get a four player game going.

[Fragems]

Games Beaten 2014:

1. GTA V(360)
2. Brothers(PSN)
3. Infamous(PS3)*
4. Infamous 2(PS3)
5. Remember Me(PS3 PS+ Freebie)
6. Shadow of the Colossus(PS3 HD Collection)*
7. Watch Dogs(PC)
8. Aliens Colonial Marines(360)
9. Titanfall(PC)
10. Battlefield 4(PC)(Hard)*
11. Adventure(Atari 2600)

Battlefield 4

BF4 was a replay so I could get familiar with the controls again. Was the first time I played on hard mode though. Overall I noticed a lot more bugs this time around and hard wasn't as challenging as it should have been. Character was still a bullet sponge and health regenerated way to fast.


Adventure

First time I have played through all three game modes. Game mode 1 is a cake walk, 2 is fun but can be a pain in the ass(looking at you Bat), and Stage 3 while just a repeat of 2 is a nightmare thanks to the random spawns.

Made a long play that took 33 minutes thanks to the the trolling bat, getting glitched in to walls, and unfortunate mishaps with dragons .

[BoneSnapDeez]

Adventure

First time I have played through all three game modes. Game mode 1 is a cake walk, 2 is fun but can be a pain in the ass(looking at you Bat), and Stage 3 while just a repeat of 2 is a nightmare thanks to the random spawns.

Made a long play that took 33 minutes thanks to the the trolling bat, getting glitched in to walls, and unfortunate mishaps with dragons .

Nice work!

Now it's time for Adventure Plus and Adventure II!

[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)
22. John Romero's Daikatana (PC)(FPS)
23. Scratches: Director's Cut (PC)(Point and Click)
24. Evoland (PC)(RPG)
25. Dead Pixels (PC)(Run and Gun)
26. Dungeon Defenders (PC)(RPG)
27. Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned (PC)(FPS/RPG)
28. Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (PC)(FPS/RPG)
29. Borderlands: Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution (PC)(FPS/RPG)
30. The Simpsons (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
31. Borderlands (PC)(FPS/RPG)
32. Portal (PC)(FPS)
33. Math Blaster (SNES)(Edutainment)

Occasionally I like to play through an educational video game just to see what they are like, and besides, they're cheap, and it provides a good window to going back to collecting for the SNES. So I picked up a couple of edutainment games recently and sat down to test them. In the process I beat Math Blaster, since it's a relatively short game.

The game offers two difficulties, an arrangement of types of problems(addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of various difficulties), and a system of three gameplay segments, each broken up into three parts. In the first part, you shoot trash in space, in the second you must gather water droplets to adjust a number which will allow you to pass through a series of force fields, and in the third you must use math problems to fly into the correct chute of a spaceship to prevent the villain from escaping before a massive lunar eclipse occurs in the distance. Each of these segments offers differing gameplay, with some bonus games mixed into certain parts. It varies the gameplay enough to keep things interesting and prevent the game from growing stale. Well...relatively stale. It's unlikely you'll be going back to this one too often. But there are several nice touches that I found myself enjoying. In the first section, the screen appears like the controls of a spaceship, which I like. It reminds me a fair bit of Wing Commander. And in the final area, I found the lunar eclipse serving as a timer to be inventive, and it gives the game a feeling of apocalyptic weight. It's strange, but instead of simply losing, I kept thinking the planet was doomed if I didn't add just right.

I do have some complaints however, particularly with the first section. The actual play screen of the ship is relatively small, and the objects I'm supposed to shoot float about randomly and have a good chance of drifting off the screen where I can't get them, artificially increasing the difficulty while I steadily take damage and wait for it to return. It is moments like this where I shake my head and wait to let the game let me actually play it, and it is probably the most frustrating section solely because this behavior can result in steadily draining health while I wait. You may have a great and easy run, and then one object that you need starts bouncing around in the corner where you can't get to it. Hit detection seems a little shoddy in places too, particularly when you have a clump of objects. After that, my only real complaint about the second section is that the game doesn't explain what the player is supposed to do(it took me a bit to figure out I had to gather water droplets to get numbers between the ones being shown on the side of each force field to continue) and the jetpack is a bit sensitive and occasionally makes you plow into a force field you cannot yet pass, knocking you down and causing you to take damage. This jetpack complaint continues to the third section, but it's a minor gripe, and I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed the game more than I thought I would.

So is Math Blaster on the SNES worth playing? Well...no, not really. If you want the truly defining experience, then you should buy it for a PC. If you want a console port but want the best looking version, the Genesis port fares better. But the SNES port has an advantage over the Genesis port in that it provides far more control configurations...which isn't that great, considering the game uses the d-pad and two buttons. Still, it's an edutainment game, so it's not likely that many people will be seeking this one out.

Oh, and the other SNES game I picked up? Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, which is proof in itself that the edutainment genre doesn't totally suck.