Games Beaten 2014

[BoneSnapDeez]

Good to know. Been meaning to check out those ports for some time. The 7800 is a boss system, really underrated.

[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. Symphony - PC (May 24)
11. Serious Sam: The First Encounter - PC (May 30)
12. The Lost Vikings - GBA (May 31)
13. Star Wars Rebel Squadron II: Rogue Leader - Gamecube (June 21)
14. Sonic CD - Android/Mobile (June 24)
15. Psychonauts - PC (June 30)
16. Kabuki Quantum Fighter - NES (July 8 )
17. Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions - Gamecube (August 2)
18. *NEW* Far Cry - PC (September 8 )

Finally finished Far Cry. When it came out, I'm sure it broke a lot of ground in the FPS genre. Also some of the best graphics I've seen in an FPS. Even a seasoned FPS pro is going to need to do a lot of restarting in many of the levels because of a very intelligent enemy AI, which isn't perfect, but 10 years ago was something never seen before.

[prfsnl_gmr]

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

Karateka has a proper ending if I recall correctly. Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Kung Fu Master also have "endings" of sorts, and I suspect that the 7800 version of Double Dragon also has an ending.

[ExedExes]

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

You can also technically complete Choplifter on the 7800 by saving all 64 hostages. No ending screen, but a large "Congratulations!" message.

[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)
34. The Walking Dead (PC)(Point and Click)
35. The Walking Dead: 400 Days (PC)(Point and Click)
36. Borderlands: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot (PC)(FPS/RPG)
37. Cubetractor (PC)(Puzzle)

Cubetractor is a lot of things. It's pretty in its retro style. It's got some lovely music(though a volume dial would have been greatly appreciated). It has simple controls that are easy to figure out but difficult to master. And it has a simple premise: you play a robot who pulls cubes, and when certain types of cubes connect, they build towers. It's got elements of tower defense and bullet hell thrown in to keep things interesting. And it all gets wrapped up in a cutesy story that, while not epic, is still serviceable. And now that I have beaten it, I can report that the game is also frustratingly difficult to really get down pat.

It's simple, really. You pull cubes and use them to destroy enemy towers and blockades through 12 "examinations"(read: levels), and you can pull different combinations of cubes together to create different kinds of towers. That's it. Each level has a rating of 1-4 stars, depending on whether you acquire enough batteries from fallen enemies, how fast you beat the level, and whether you do it without getting hit, either by enemies or by pulling a cube into yourself. There are also tutorials and side missions, all of which are worth a single star, totaling up to 88 stars in all. And getting through most of this with a few stars is pretty simple. It's when you begin trying to get the 3rd and 4th star in an exam that you begin wanting to stab yourself in the eye with a pencil.

The truth is, there are some levels that I simply do not understand how I'm supposed to beat them in the time limit given for master rank(as in 11 out of the 12 examinations), and even the gold rank is pushing things in some. I apparently have to be both lightning fast in execution and completely flawless, as well as either brilliantly lucky or willing to subject myself to endless monotony as I screw up again and again...and again. Even with all this practice, I'm still not entirely sure some of these levels are possible. And there are some sidequests, particularly toward the end, which seem based almost entirely on dumb luck(and having watched a couple of other people play these sidequests online, I'm apparently not the only person who thinks this). Without these imposed challenges and few problematic side missions, I'd find Cubetractor a wonderful title with some interesting levels. With them, I find it disheartening and maddening to play as I begin attempting a more advanced look at it. It feels like there is some secret, some basic concept in the game that I am failing to wrap my mind around, and as a result I'm doomed to never be able to really get how to do things. The premise seems wrong now. Which is unfortunate, as otherwise it's actually a lot of fun. Even China agrees with me about it being a lot of fun. They voted it the best indie game of 2012.

[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)
45. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
46. Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
47. Resident Evil Zero (Wii)

* = replay

Super Mario Galaxy 2

This game was fantastic and I'd probably put it above the first, though it's been so long I can't remember much. But I do remember the first game being fairly traditional with a big hub world, big levels, and a lot to explore and collect. With Galaxy 2 on the other hand, I think you can easily see the direction they were going and ended up with in 3D World. Galaxy 2 seems more to the point, simpler, and for the better. It's all about the crazy levels with cool unique concepts per level. Nothing gets repeated or stale and yet the levels just keep piling up but are oh so sweet and short, just right. So yeah, this is my kind of platformer. To the point, awesome levels and simple goals. It was a blast.

9/10

Tatsunoko vs Capcom

Beat arcade with a few characters... beaten I guess? Fun for the novelty, and the music rocks. Casshan and Tekkaman are my team!

7/10

Resident Evil Zero

I finally just finished the game with the Wii version, after all these years it was the only one of the classic formula that I had never fully finished and after diving in again... I think I realized why. Item management is 60% of the game. I clocked in 9 hours and seriously, the majority of that felt like backtracking and running around maneuvering the items.

I really enjoyed the two characters thing in this one and think it was great, but them dropping the item boxes in place of letting you drop items in any room... sure that sounds great on paper, until you suddenly remember you need the Grenade Launcher at point F when you're all the way back at point A, and there is an item limit per room.

The difficulty curve is insane too. I played on Normal and would say it's probably one of the hardest RE experiences I've ever had and I usually love a challenge in these games, but this was tedious. Although I like the two characters thing, you really do end up having to babysit them sometimes and just go solo. Run through hallways solo, or try going with both and risk them getting attacked. On Normal alone, a single attack is deadly, especially on Rebecca. There was almost no ammo whatsoever either. But on Easy, you are drowning in ammo. They kind of goofed here and needed a better in between.

The story was also awful and the music, just didn't seem to be on par with the rest of the series (outside of the awesome save room theme). I noticed something interesting, that this game came out mere months after REmake, so they both launched in 2002. It almost makes me wonder if Zero is just a product of left over assets from REmake (since it did have some new extra stuff) and they figured they'd cut out a chunk, throw together an awful last minute story and give us some new lame mechanics to change things up... then give us Zero. Eh, who knows.

Glad I finally polished it off for good this time, but it's one I probably don't see myself caring to revisit.

Visually, breathtaking though. Damn I miss pre rendered backdrops and I really wish Code Veronica had them.

6/10

[prfsnl_gmr]

First 25

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)
37. Jak & Daxter (PS2/PS3)

I finished up the HD port of Jak & Daxter last night. I thought it was a very fun platform game, and my children loved it. (Every night, my three-year old would ask me to play "Jackson Daxta".) The game is colorful; the game looks great in HD; and the platforming is perfectly challenging. The camera, however, often serves as a stark reminder that the game was released in 2001. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this game to fans of 3D platformers, and I consider it one of the best 3D platformers on the PS2. (It is right up there with Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Psychonauts.) I also recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun game to play with his or her children. (It is too bad that Naughty Dog took the sequels in a darker, more mature direction. My children are clamoring for me to play Jak II, but given its "T" rating, I will be moving on to DukTales: Remastered instead.)

In light of my experience with Jak & Daxter, I am now tempted to play the Naughty Dog's Crash Banidcoot games. Have they held up well? Should I start with the first or jump into a later entry in the series?

.....

*Super Mario Galaxy 2 is awesome*

I agree completely. The Super Mario Galaxy games are the best 3D platformers as far as I am concerned, and while I like Super Mario Galaxy slightly more, I still love Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the reasons listed in your analysis.

[Xeogred]

I may just have to revisit the first again. I'm craving more, but wasn't feeling the urge to go back to some of the levels in Galaxy 2. The bird flying and Monkey Ball balancing stages were going to be the end of me haha...

[ZeroAX]

I may just have to revisit the first again. I'm craving more, but wasn't feeling the urge to go back to some of the levels in Galaxy 2. The bird flying and Monkey Ball balancing stages were going to be the end of me haha...

ah really? I found the Monkey Ball stages really fun, and I never even enjoyed monkey ball (well, I only played the Wii game to be fair)

[Xeogred]

I may just have to revisit the first again. I'm craving more, but wasn't feeling the urge to go back to some of the levels in Galaxy 2. The bird flying and Monkey Ball balancing stages were going to be the end of me haha...

But I've had the Jak HD collection sitting around myself, maybe I'll give that one a shot now.

In light of my experience with Jak & Daxter, I am now tempted to play the Naughty Dog's Crash Banidcoot games. Have they held up well? Should I start with the first or jump into a later entry in the series?

I'm a big fan of the first game but for whatever reason, never really ventured further into the series. I only briefly played the sequels but can't remember anything.

Crash' design is definitely a bit different and because of it, I'd actually say it's helped it age well. I think a comparison to Super Mario 3D World wouldn't be too far off. There are a lot of stages with fixed camera angles, behind or in front of you, and it's still got a great deal of some side scrolling stages too. It's very simplistic if you're into that, so it's mostly just getting through the levels.

It's incredibly different from say Spyro, etc.

I may just have to revisit the first again. I'm craving more, but wasn't feeling the urge to go back to some of the levels in Galaxy 2. The bird flying and Monkey Ball balancing stages were going to be the end of me haha...

ah really? I found the Monkey Ball stages really fun, and I never even enjoyed monkey ball (well, I only played the Wii game to be fair)

Well that's funny, because I am a huge fan of the Monkey Ball games and anything like it (I remember the 360 had some early DL marble game that was very similar). I just didn't care for them in Galaxy 2 because of the motion controls. Otherwise, I love games like that stuff.