Games Beaten 2014

[Exhuminator]

you know Space Harrier is the December Together Retro game, right?

Sounds good. Any particular version?

[Flake]

If you do end up playing through 7 and 8, just know I consider MM8 to be the worst in the series by far.

Jump Jump Slide Slide

No sirs. You have somehow stated opinions that are demonstrably wrong. Also incorrect: Megaman 3 being in anyway shape or form the worst in the series.

Megaman 8 is fantastic, especially on the Sega Saturn where it was always meant to reside.

[prfsnl_gmr]

btw, you know Space Harrier is the December Together Retro game, right?

I know! I think I will warm up for it by trying to get through After Burner II (which, from what I have read, is just an upgraded version of After Burner). Hopefully, my experience with that game will translate to high scores in December.

[Ack]

If you do end up playing through 7 and 8, just know I consider MM8 to be the worst in the series by far.

Jump Jump Slide Slide

No sirs. You have somehow stated opinions that are demonstrably wrong. Also incorrect: Megaman 3 being in anyway shape or form the worst in the series.

Megaman 8 is fantastic, especially on the Sega Saturn where it was always meant to reside.

You mean with its hideous voice acting, horrendous story presentation, terrible level design, and Clown Man?

Because fuck Clown Man.

[Flake]

The voice acting is only terribly on the US version and that's because 90's era Capcom US hired homeless people with mental health issues to do their voice acting. Payment was made in sandwich form.

The level design is great! Most levels have multiple paths, you're actually encouraged to use robot master weapons to find new paths and reach items (first time since Megaman 3) and there's some variety. Laugh at jump jump slide slide all you want but I applauded Capcom then (and now) for created a Megaman level with increased tension due to speed instead of just a critical mass of enemies or disappearing platforms.

The story is probably the best the series ever had except for MM3. Wily's evil is explained (and maybe even redeemed a little) and we got some great growth in the support characters Protoman and Bass.

[Ack]

The voice acting is only terribly on the US version and that's because 90's era Capcom US hired homeless people with mental health issues to do their voice acting. Payment was made in sandwich form.

The level design is great! Most levels have multiple paths, you're actually encouraged to use robot master weapons to find new paths and reach items (first time since Megaman 3) and there's some variety. Laugh at jump jump slide slide all you want but I applauded Capcom then (and now) for created a Megaman level with increased tension due to speed instead of just a critical mass of enemies or disappearing platforms.

The story is probably the best the series ever had except for MM3. Wily's evil is explained (and maybe even redeemed a little) and we got some great growth in the support characters Protoman and Bass.

And yet none of this defends Clown Man.

[Flake]

And yet none of this defends Clown Man.

And yet Megaman 2 gets a pass despite Bubbleman? Megaman 10 has an electric sheep!

[Ack]

And yet none of this defends Clown Man.

And yet Megaman 2 gets a pass despite Bubbleman? Megaman 10 has an electric sheep!

Hey now, Bubbleman is an established and decorated Master Diver and physician. He spent a good decade at med school where he learned the dangers of nitrogen bubbles in the human bloodstream while also perfecting his swimming capabilities. He is what every scuba diver fears!

[MrPopo]

And yet none of this defends Clown Man.

And yet Megaman 2 gets a pass despite Bubbleman? Megaman 10 has an electric sheep!

It's because Mega Man dreams of electric sheep.

[Xeogred]

1. Dead Space 3* + Awakened (PS3)
2. Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD (WiiU)
3. Super Metroid* (WiiU)
4. Binary Domain (PS3)
5. New Super Mario Bros U (WiiU)
6. Silent Hill 4 The Room (PS2)
7. Deus Ex: HR* Director's Cut (WiiU)
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
9. Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze (WiiU)
10. Resident Evil 6 (PS3)
11. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (WiiU)
12. Dark Souls 2 (PS3)
13. Dark Souls (PS3)
14. Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut (PS3)
15. Killzone 3 (PS3)
16. Zone of the Enders 2 HD (PS3)
17. Metroid Fusion* (WiiU)
18. Final Fantasy X HD (PS3)
19. Shovel Knight (WiiU)
20. Mario Kart 8 (WiiU)
21. New Super Luigi U (WiiU)
22. Doom II Master Levels (PS3)
23. Doom II No Rest for the Living (PS3)
24. Final Doom: Plutonia (PS3)
25. Final Doom: TNT Evilution (PS3)
26. Super Mario World* (WiiU)
27. Super Mario Bros 3* (WiiU)
28. Super Mario Bros* (WiiU)
29. Doom II* (PS3)
30. Metroid* (WiiU)
31. Ultimate Doom* | Doom Classic Complete (PS3)
32. Zelda II: Adventure of Link (WiiU)
33. Kirby's Adventure* (WiiU)
34. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island* (WiiU)
35. Super Mario Bros 2* (WiiU)
36. Fatal Frame* (PS2)
37. Kirby Superstar* (WiiU)
38. Silent Hill Shattered Memories (YT)
39. Fatal Frame 2 (PS2)
40. Silent Hill Origins (PS2)
41. Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction (PS3)
42. Silent Hill Homecoming (PS3)
43. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (PS3)
44. Silent Hill Downpour (360)

* = replay

Due for a nice update here...

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty -

Clank isn't around, so that almost instantly killed it for me. Luckily it's really short. It was okay at first but then got really annoying. Moving on.

Silent Hill Homecoming -

I knew what I was getting into with the last few Silent Hill's, different devs, etc, but curiosity and the completionist got me. This one... starts out decent enough, but like the Hell's Descent level, it gradually descends into terribleness of all kinds.

Right off the bat, there is a bug in the console versions with the invert option. What it will do is invert your controls when you are aiming with a gun only... otherwise, the game is permanently fixed to normal styled controls with the camera. I play inverted, so this was a nuisance. But the controls in general were very frustrating, weird combinations, and yeah. I never really complain about something like that, but it bugged the crap out of me here because of the high emphasis on combat. Yes, this Silent Hill forces you to fight your enemies half the time, instead of just being able to run from them. Topped off with a broken godawful dodge mechanic... yeah, please don't put in dodge mechanics in survival horror.

The story and characters were really bad. It's basically Silent Hill The Movie Game, and I'm not a fan of the movie. Instead of general weirdness and mystery, these devs must have thought that Silent Hill was all about gore and violence. Supposedly this game didn't even get released in Japan, even the censored version didn't make it.

Graphically it's aged very poorly too. The entire game is basically a pure black/gray palette and so, I can't say anything about it was very memorable visually. The otherworld isn't bad, but something about it just isn't as cool as SH1, SH3, and Origins to me. And although it's still the main series composer, I think he was totally out of juice by this point. Nothing about it was memorable.

The ending was just awful, along with the final stretch. There is one scene in particular that looked like something out of Saw. A QTE moment that would fit in something like Dead Space. Yeah...it's that bad.

The good, is that the enemy design is top notch for the most part here. Though I thought the final boss sucked and made me laugh. I don't think that was the intention.

5/10

Silent Hill Downpour -

Last one... yet another different developer, for better or worse.

Overall, this game felt a bit rough around the edges and rushed. This is the first Silent Hill with a very open world approach to the city itself, and that could have been really cool. But it doesn't take long to get a little stale. It feels empty not in an imposing sense, but empty as in it's just simply incomplete. Tons of repeating rooms and textures, etc.

The story and characters however, I thought were top notch and felt very Silent Hill again, unlike Homecoming Murphy is probably one of the coolest protagonists in the series to me. Nothing but good things to say here. The new composer wasn't bad either.

The enemy designs, are absolutely terrible. This is what truly feels rushed and like a last minute focus. There are literally only 4 different enemy types, and 1 more if you include a wall mounted enemy (that wasn't nearly as cool or disturbing as the wall enemies in SH4). Every single enemy design in this one, is very humanoid and so it felt like you were just fighting zombies. Very boring for Silent Hill. But, the final boss was fantastic and probably one of the coolest in the series to me.

Now, the combat itself wasn't really bad, it's a bit more like the old ones. But it was frustrating as well sometimes and just boring because of the enemy designs and lack of types. The enemies can unload combos on you, knock you down on the ground, etc. What they did differently here, that I actually liked... is your weapons can break. You are now able to pickup a lot of different melee weapons around, utilizing some for breaking down stuff, or pulling down a ladder, etc, so that was cool. I only had two guns in this one too, unlike Origins / Homecoming that end up being loaded with them. I was thankful for that, as I feel these games are more about melee... even if technically sucks, haha.

There's a lot to do in the city once you get there, but I wasn't motivated because of the monotone pacing and the technical issues. On consoles, this game runs pretty bad, a lot of choppiness going on at parts almost to the point of freezing. The run needed to be a lot faster too, for something open world like this. He just runs way too slow. The inventory system is very chunk, since you can pickup items for sidequests... if you don't use them, they're just there cluttering your list.

I believe the games greatest fault, is that it has one of the best looking otherworlds to me... and it's mostly unused. 80% of your time in this otherworld is spent running from this vortex thing that's chasing you. So... you are quickly zooming by wasted potential. The graphics, art style, and atmosphere really come through in these moments, but they are far too brief. There were some really cool parts though, with traps, spikes, blades, etc, in the environment (while not being chased) that you had to get around, like the place was trying to kill you itself. I just wish those parts were longer.

The game just simply feels very rushed after awhile and it's unfortunate, because the story was top notch. With a bigger budget and more time, these guys probably could have truly knocked out a classic. Perhaps approach this entry as you would an indie title or something, maybe you can appreciate it more then. I don't know...

6/10

Now, I await Silent Hills...