Games Beaten 2014

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Hotline Miami (PS3)
2. Boulder Dash XL 3D (3DS)
3. Mirror's Edge (PS3)
4. Orcs & Elves (DS)
5. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
6. Justice League Heroes: The Flash (GBA)
7. Metal Gear (MSX/PS2)
8. Wario Land: Shake It! (WII)
9. LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition (PS3)
10. Drill Dozer (GBA)
11. LittleBigPlanet 2: Special Edition (PS3)
12. South Park: The Stick of Truth (PS3)
13. Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing (PS3)
14: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
15. Angry Birds: Star Wars (3DS)
16. Nervous Brickdown (DS)
17. Dragon's Lair (ARCADE/DS)
18. Flashback: The Quest for Identity (GEN)
19. Jumping Flash! 2 (PS1)
20. Virtual Boy Wario Land (VB)
21. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (PS3)
22. Nectaris: Military Madness (PS1)
23. Military Madness (TG16/PS1)
24. Thomas Was Alone (PS3)
25. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (SNES)
26. Alien Chaos 3D (3DS)
27. Return Fire (3DO/PS1)
28. Puppeteer (PS3)
29. Giana Sisters DS (DS)
30. Street of Rage 2 (GEN)
31. Halo 2 (XBOX)
32. OutRun (ARCADE/GBA)
33. Dig Dug (ARCADE/GBA)
34. Tron (ARCADE/GBA)
35. Spider Man (2600)
36. One-on-One Basketball (7800)

Tron is a fun arcade game. I made it to FORTRAN on a single credit, but the GBA port would not let me continue after that. (The game consists of four mini-games that loop. Each loop is named after a computer-programming language. FORTRAN is the fourth loop. It follows BASIC.) That was far enough for me anyway since the GBA's L-trigger and R-trigger don't work that well for "spinner" controls. I did develop some strategies for the game, however, and I look forward to the next time I get to play it on a cabinet.

Spider Man is a good 2600 game. The scoring is a bit too random for my taste, however. (Some of my most succesful runs up the building were some of my lowest scoring.) The controls aren't terribly intuitive either. It was probably mind-blowing in 1982, but I probably won't spend much more time with it.

One on One Basketball is more fun with two players., but the single-player mode is also pretty good. Once I figured out how to spin, the game got a lot better (and I got a lot better at the game...good enough to beat Larry Bird a few times at least).

[dsheinem]

Does Spider Man have an end or loop?

[Sload Soap]

Evoland (PC)

There was a part of me that hoped this PC indie RPG would be based around the worlds most popular fighting game championships. Alas, it's actually a short but fairly cute game that tells the story of the evolution of the RPG from the 8-bit days of Dragon Quest through to modern 3D joints taking in stops at Zelda, Final Fantasy and Diablo.

The game works like this: you start out as a Game Boy style sprite. There is no sound and no enemies. You open up a chest and voila! you now have sound. Open up another and you get enemies, music, colour graphics and so on until you are unlocking such esoteric things as pre-rendered backgrounds and boss fights. It's a cool system and it does do a fairly good job of impressing upon the player the small increments that have led to the RPGs we play today.

Evoland also takes the player on a trip through various different gameplay styles. Starting out as a rudimentary Zelda style game until you leave the first town, when it adopts the mannerisms of a SNES era Final Fantasy with Mode 7 world maps and random battles. Surprisingly, it isn't as jarring as you'd expect and when the game later introduces a Diablo styled dungeon and Ys-like boss battle you take it in your stride.

It's probably helped by a supremely simple control scheme which is just the arrow keys for movement, space bar for action and the tab button the inventory. All armour and magic is automatically equipped as well which streamlines things considerably.

It's a fun game then and quite engaging but it does have its problems. First up the combat is so simple there is no depth at all the any enemy encounters. Then there's no run button so moving everywhere takes an age.

My main problem though is that while the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, it never actually says anything about the games it is paying homage to. There are a lot of the usual "Arrow to the knee" style gaming in-jokes and the Pre-rendered FFVII like town (complete with airship) is adorable.

But when the game shifts from style to style I never get the feeling which the developer favours or when the lovely 2D sprites are replaced by low-grade 3D whether this is a comment on the mid-nineties obsession with 3D or if it's just the next logical step on the ladder. Like the controls, it's all surface level.

What I guess I'm saying is that by just presenting these concepts at face value you get a perfectly workable game, but the idea that the game is built upon could have been used to educate while also criticising the RPG genre through play. And that would have been something special.

So while I enjoyed the game, it's also a bit of a missed opportunity.

Gucamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition (360)

I'd been very jealous of Playstation owners for getting this game and was very happy when it finally came to the Microsoft consoles.

Combining two old-skool gaming styles I like very much, Metroid style exploration with beat-em up style combat, on top of a cool Luchador theme I was kind of destined to love Guacamelee...but I don't.

To be fair, it is a great game and it works perfectly in every department but I found it a pretty straight forward experience overall. It is very heavily influenced by Metroid (to the the point you gain power ups via "Choozo" statues) but like a lot of indie Metroidvania's it's too streamlined and linear an experience to ever replicate the feeling of exploring the Marble Gallery or getting lost in Norfair.

You always get a power up exactly when you need said power up and so Guacamelee plays closet to Metroid: Fusion in that respect. I know it probably sounds counter intuitive but I think if Gucamelee had confounded me or made me lose my way a few times I would have come to appreciate it more.

That's not to say I hate it, not at all. Like I said, the graphics, art style and combat are some of the best I've seen for an indie game in this genre.

The combat especially is terrific being that perfect blend of simple but also deep. The enemies scale nicely to the unlocks and by the end the game is really testing your skills without resorting to cheaply stacking the odds against you. The bosses are also pretty cool each offering a different challenge to the last.

There are some slightly cringe worthy pop culture references and the plot is paper thin but the world it is set in is wonderful. A kind of comic book like Mexican influenced aesthetic really makes the game stand out among its peers.

I also like how much platforming there is and how challenging it can get at times. I really like it in fact, coming close to almost Rayman Legends levels of good.

It's a great game all round and one I'll probably return to. It's just not the game I was hoping it would be. By being almost technically perfect Guacamelee has ironed out some of the creases that gave those classic Metroidvania's their truly timeless appeal.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Does Spider Man have an end or loop?

It plays a little song when you get to the top of the building. It then starts you back at the bottom of another building with the same basic design as the first. The building is a different color, however, and the Green Goblin's location and speed are different too. You also have slightly less time to reach the top. (So...to answer your question...it both has an ending and loops???)

On the easiest difficulty setting, I could reach the top of several building before losing all of my lives. On the highest difficulty settings, I was lucky to make it to the top of one building. (The main difference between the difficulty setting is how quickly your "time" meter ticks down.)

[dsheinem]

Does Spider Man have an end or loop?

It plays a little song when you get to the top of the building. It then starts you back at the bottom of another building with the same basic design as the first. The building is a different color, however, and the Green Goblin's location and speed are different too. You also have slightly less time to reach the top. (So...to answer your question...it both has an ending and loops???)

On the easiest difficulty setting, I could reach the top of several building before losing all of my lives. On the highest difficulty settings, I was lucky to make it to the top of one building. (The main difference between the difficulty setting is how quickly your "time" meter ticks down.)

I guess I am just curious how you decided it was "beaten" is all...

[darsparx]

Evoland (PC)

There was a part of me that hoped this PC indie RPG would be based around the worlds most popular fighting game championships. Alas, it's actually a short but fairly cute game that tells the story of the evolution of the RPG from the 8-bit days of Dragon Quest through to modern 3D joints taking in stops at Zelda, Final Fantasy and Diablo.

The game works like this: you start out as a Game Boy style sprite. There is no sound and no enemies. You open up a chest and voila! you now have sound. Open up another and you get enemies, music, colour graphics and so on until you are unlocking such esoteric things as pre-rendered backgrounds and boss fights. It's a cool system and it does do a fairly good job of impressing upon the player the small increments that have led to the RPGs we play today.

Evoland also takes the player on a trip through various different gameplay styles. Starting out as a rudimentary Zelda style game until you leave the first town, when it adopts the mannerisms of a SNES era Final Fantasy with Mode 7 world maps and random battles. Surprisingly, it isn't as jarring as you'd expect and when the game later introduces a Diablo styled dungeon and Ys-like boss battle you take it in your stride.

It's probably helped by a supremely simple control scheme which is just the arrow keys for movement, space bar for action and the tab button the inventory. All armour and magic is automatically equipped as well which streamlines things considerably.

It's a fun game then and quite engaging but it does have its problems. First up the combat is so simple there is no depth at all the any enemy encounters. Then there's no run button so moving everywhere takes an age.

My main problem though is that while the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, it never actually says anything about the games it is paying homage to. There are a lot of the usual "Arrow to the knee" style gaming in-jokes and the Pre-rendered FFVII like town (complete with airship) is adorable.

But when the game shifts from style to style I never get the feeling which the developer favours or when the lovely 2D sprites are replaced by low-grade 3D whether this is a comment on the mid-nineties obsession with 3D or if it's just the next logical step on the ladder. Like the controls, it's all surface level.

What I guess I'm saying is that by just presenting these concepts at face value you get a perfectly workable game, but the idea that the game is built upon could have been used to educate while also criticising the RPG genre through play. And that would have been something special.

So while I enjoyed the game, it's also a bit of a missed opportunity.

Yeah that game is great, it does have some moments when I wish they would've expanded a few things but it wasn't really meant to be a full on "game" and left with anything other than a nice history lesson imo

[prfsnl_gmr]

Does Spider Man have an end or loop?

It plays a little song when you get to the top of the building. It then starts you back at the bottom of another building with the same basic design as the first. The building is a different color, however, and the Green Goblin's location and speed are different too. You also have slightly less time to reach the top. (So...to answer your question...it both has an ending and loops???)

On the easiest difficulty setting, I could reach the top of several building before losing all of my lives. On the highest difficulty settings, I was lucky to make it to the top of one building. (The main difference between the difficulty setting is how quickly your "time" meter ticks down.)

I guess I am just curious how you decided it was "beaten" is all...

I settled on "getting to the top of the tower on all difficulty settings." I don't have the instructions for this game; so, I consulted GameFAQs to learn the mechanics. One of the two FAQs on that site for Spider Man states:

"So my definition of beating the game is to deactivate at least one super bomb (which basically means completing one level) and then last as long as you can after that."

I added a bit to that by making sure I could clear one level on each of the difficulty settings, but if you get through one level, you have seen everything the game has to offer (and you probably have a pretty good handle on the game's mechanics). Moreover, the higher difficulty settings are really difficult, and it took me a few hours of play to obtain the skills necessary to complete them. That was good enough for me to consider the game "beaten", but I am certain there are very good arguments in favor of the position that Spider Man - like many Atari 2600 games - cannot actually be "beaten".

[BoneSnapDeez]

Speaking of the 7800 and loopers and whatnot... Does Xevious (on any platform) have an ending? Does any Atari 7800 game have an ending?

[Sload Soap]

Evoland (PC)

There was a part of me that hoped this PC indie RPG would be based around the worlds most popular fighting game championships. Alas, it's actually a short but fairly cute game that tells the story of the evolution of the RPG from the 8-bit days of Dragon Quest through to modern 3D joints taking in stops at Zelda, Final Fantasy and Diablo.

The game works like this: you start out as a Game Boy style sprite. There is no sound and no enemies. You open up a chest and voila! you now have sound. Open up another and you get enemies, music, colour graphics and so on until you are unlocking such esoteric things as pre-rendered backgrounds and boss fights. It's a cool system and it does do a fairly good job of impressing upon the player the small increments that have led to the RPGs we play today.

Evoland also takes the player on a trip through various different gameplay styles. Starting out as a rudimentary Zelda style game until you leave the first town, when it adopts the mannerisms of a SNES era Final Fantasy with Mode 7 world maps and random battles. Surprisingly, it isn't as jarring as you'd expect and when the game later introduces a Diablo styled dungeon and Ys-like boss battle you take it in your stride.

It's probably helped by a supremely simple control scheme which is just the arrow keys for movement, space bar for action and the tab button the inventory. All armour and magic is automatically equipped as well which streamlines things considerably.

It's a fun game then and quite engaging but it does have its problems. First up the combat is so simple there is no depth at all the any enemy encounters. Then there's no run button so moving everywhere takes an age.

My main problem though is that while the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, it never actually says anything about the games it is paying homage to. There are a lot of the usual "Arrow to the knee" style gaming in-jokes and the Pre-rendered FFVII like town (complete with airship) is adorable.

But when the game shifts from style to style I never get the feeling which the developer favours or when the lovely 2D sprites are replaced by low-grade 3D whether this is a comment on the mid-nineties obsession with 3D or if it's just the next logical step on the ladder. Like the controls, it's all surface level.

What I guess I'm saying is that by just presenting these concepts at face value you get a perfectly workable game, but the idea that the game is built upon could have been used to educate while also criticising the RPG genre through play. And that would have been something special.

So while I enjoyed the game, it's also a bit of a missed opportunity.

Yeah that game is great, it does have some moments when I wish they would've expanded a few things but it wasn't really meant to be a full on "game" and left with anything other than a nice history lesson imo

I suppose. It's just for me it's like the difference between presenting an idea and actually discussing it. So, would you rather read a dry history textbook or an interesting critical essay?

[dsheinem]

Does any Atari 7800 game have an ending?

Sure, plenty of them do. Off the top of my head

Ikari Warriors
Commando
Double Dragon
Ninja Golf
Midnight Mutants


there are others too. I'd guess maybe 1/3-1/2 of the library, probably, are games with endings.