Games Beaten 2015

[bmoc]

6. Project X Zone (3DS)

Project X Zone

PxZ is a rather easy take on a strategy RPG, filled with crossover characters from Sega, Namco, and Capcom. The "strategy" elements themselves are mostly absent, replaced by a simple process of move, attack, heal, rinse, repeat. This leads battle to border on tedium at times (especially late-game), only relieved by the interjection of lighthearted conversation between the wide array of characters and the admittedly flashy, well animated attack sequences.

And those attack sequences are actually the most fun part of the game. In a nod to fighting game mechanincs, battles take place through a simple, yet engaging timing/execution sequence where you rack up huge numbers of hits by properly timing attacks with the game's assist system. We're talking well over 100 hits most every time. If that doesn't grab you, then not much else probably will.

Which leads me to my biggest complaint: the game is way too long. I spent 63 hours of playtime over 41 chapters. I wish it was more like half that. The story gets dragged on through repetitive text sequences that all pretty much go like this:

Good Guy: What are you doing here?
Bad Guy: Hahahaha, you'll find out later.

Eventually you do find out. Much later. Payoff wasn't really worth it, though.

I agree 100% with your assessment of Project X Zone. I couldn't get into the battle system and the occasional amusing quip between characters wasn't enough to keep me interested.

[MrPopo]

I'm still only about halfway through Project X Zone because it is definitely way too long.

[TSTR]

It definitely takes some determination to push through. I remember being at like Chapter 20 and looking up the total number.

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Cut the Rope (3DS)
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
3. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (XBOX)
4. Jewel Link Chronicles: Mountains of Madness (NDS)
5. Super Mario 3D World (WIIU)
6. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
7. Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS)
8. Gunman Clive (3DS)
9. Child of Light (WIIU)
10. Gunman Clive 2 (3DS)
11. Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition (WIIU)
12. Shifting World (3DS)

Shifting World in a puzzle/platformer for the Nintendo 3DS, and I both loved it and hated it.

The game is often infuriating. The jump controls are unresponsive, and the horrible controls, coupled with the game's poor design, results in both unpredictable deaths and a tremendous amount of frustration. The game's map is horribly designed, full of icons obscuring many of its salient features, and almost completely useless. The game makes poor use of the 3DS's 3D effect; the soundtrack (which should have been ska given the games stark black-and-white checker pattern aesthetic) never varies; and the last few levels are littered with bugs. (One allowed my character to jump entirely out of the map near the end of an exceptionally difficult level and another resulted in instant, unpredictable, and unavoidable death.) The game also lacks any sort of checkpoint system; so, all of these unpredictable and unavoidable deaths forced me to replay long segments of the game. Finally, the game's 60 levels do not provide nearly enough content to justify its $30 price. (Thankfully, I purchased my copy for $5.)

Nonetheless, I ended up enjoying the game despite its long list of flaws. First, the game is exceptionally difficult, and completing each level felt like a genuine accomplishment. Second, the game's mechanics are fascinating. Your character "shifts" o navigate each of the game's levels, and whenever he does so, he flips the levels map 180 degrees, turns negative spave into positive space, and turns positive space into negative space. (Accordingly, to climb a ledge, your character "shifts" the ledge into negative space and rotates the map 180 degrees, falls to the "top" of the ledge, and then "shifts" the ledge back to positive space rotated 180 degrees.) The game also contains portals that "shift" negative space to positive space and vice-versa without rotating the map. It contains buttons that rotate the map 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Finally, your character eventually learns to flatten the world into two dimensions to create platforms, destroy positive space, and close portals. Any one of these mechanics would have been enough for a one puzzle-platforming game, but combining them resulted in one of the most challenging and fascinating puzzle-platformers on any system.

In sum, the game is both wonderfully designed and technically inept. Ironing out a few technical issues and allowing me to zoom in on the map and pan around each level would have improved the game tremendously, and in light of the game's multiple technical issues, I really cannot recommend it to anyone. If, however, you are looking for a true difficult puzzle-platforming challenge - and if you find a copy of the game for a good price - you may want to give Shifting World a shot.

6. *NEW* The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC) (April 5)

Escape from Butcher Bay is an excellent game. It is one of my very favorite games on the Xbox, and I am glad that you enjoyed it as much as I did.

[Markies]

I beat Top Gear Rally for the Nintendo 64!

I recently picked this game up for about $5, so my expectations were rather low along with hearing very little about the game. However, I was rather pleasantly surprised. The racing is fun and exciting and never got too boring. The music was unique and not too bad to listen to. I really like the different cars and courses as they both varied and different from one another. The graphics are good, but some edges can be clearly seen. Handling could be better and it was annoying for your car to do weird things when not hitting the side of a wall especially if you hit the side of a mountain. Also, the races were a bit too long, but nothing too irritating. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and would be a good pick for any hardcore driving fan.

[marurun]

I'm really on the fence about the three Gameboy games. I've watched some gameplay on Youtube and they don't seem very interesting, but maybe I just didn't see enough.

The 3 original GB games, the 3 GBA games, or the 3 DS games?

I can only speak to the GBA games, but I'd be happy to fill you in if you're interested.

[MrPopo]

I'm really on the fence about the three Gameboy games. I've watched some gameplay on Youtube and they don't seem very interesting, but maybe I just didn't see enough.

The 3 original GB games, the 3 GBA games, or the 3 DS games?

I can only speak to the GBA games, but I'd be happy to fill you in if you're interested.

The original GB games. I own and have beaten all the GBA and DS games.

[Exhuminator]

1. Devil's Attorney (Android | 2012 | strategy) (7/10)
2. Resident Evil 5 (360 | 2009 | action adventure) (8/10)
3. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (360 | 2010 | kart racer) (8/10)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (PS2 | 2005 | JRPG) (9/10)
5. Gears of War (360 | 2006 | cover shooter) (6/10)
6. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita | 2012 | action adventure) (7/10)
7. Orcs & Elves (DS | 2007 | dungeon crawler) (7/10)
8. From The Abyss (DS | 2008 | action-RPG) (5/10)
9. Army of Two (360 | 2008 | cover shooter) (7/10)
10. Psychic World (Master System | 1991 | platformer) (4/10)
11. Endless Ocean: Blue World (Wii | 2010 | adventure / simulation) (9/10)
12. Journey to Silius (NES | 1990 | platformer) (6/10)
13. Sword Master (NES | 1992 | platformer) (3/10)
14. Project: Snowblind (PC | 2005 | FPS) (7/10)
15. Yakyuuken Part II - Gal's Dungeon (Famicom | 1989 | maze / puzzle) (5/10)
16. Bishoujo Sexy Derby (Famicom | 1988 | horse racing) (2/10)
17. SiN Episodes: Emergence (PC | 2006 | FPS) (5/10)
18. Seirei Gari (AKA Ghost Hunter) (NES | 1989 | puzzle / adventure) (4/10)
19. The Guardian Legend (NES | 1989 | action-RPG / shmup) (9/10)
20. Prey (PC | 2006 | FPS) (7/10)
21. Ys IV: Mask of the Sun (SFC | 1993 | action-RPG) (4/10)
22. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GameCube | 2001 | combat flight sim) (3/10)
23. Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand (SFC | 1995 | action-RPG) (7/10)
24. Bonk's Adventure (TurboGrafx-16 | 1990 | platformer) (6/10)
25. Lost Kingdoms (GameCube | 2002 | CCG-action-RPG) (8/10)
26. Bonk's Revenge (TurboGrafx-16 | 1991 | platformer) (6/10)
27. Blazing Lazers (TurboGrafx-16 | 1989 | shmup) (7/10)
28. Heatseeker (PS2 | 2007 | arcade flight combat sim) (7/10)

Random dictators around the world are causing trouble. It's up to you as a hot shot jet fighter pilot to straighten them out!

Well the PS2 was hardly hurting for arcade flight combat sims when Heatseeker arrived late in the system's life. Critics at the time weren't too kind to this latecomer, mostly citing its unambitious graphics as the primary weakness. While its true Heatseeker's graphics are nothing to get excited about, its core gameplay certainly is. If you're looking for white knuckle turn and burn jet fighting action, Heatseeker will provide that without doubt. It doesn't take long before the player realizes Heatseeker is a far more demanding game than any Ace Combat on PS2 ever was. Thankfully smooth controls, copious checkpoints, nice plane variety, commandable wingmen, manual stealth cloaking, and quick time missile evades make things go a bit easier.

Don't get me wrong though, Heatseeker has its weak points. Loading is a bit slow, especially starting a new mission. The graphics mostly only get the job done, with little flair beyond the jets and explosions. Music in this game is absolutely forgettable, as is most the radio chatter. The plot might as well not even exist. Mission variety is barely there as well, with far too many escort and defense missions at sea for this player's taste. It's also annoying to play in normal difficulty (Pilot Mode) only to be constantly unlocking new planes for easy difficulty (Rookie Mode) instead! And it would have been really nice to have more control over the weapon loadout insofar as cherry picking exactly what you want.

Despite all that however, Heatseeker is still a complete blast to play. Somewhere along the line while visually busting the sound barrier, blowing up enemy planes, bombing enemy destroyers, and leveling nuclear reactors you will be amazed at the chaos and your own ability to keep up with it all. The action is even further amped up by random close up missile kill or evade shots. And it's not uncommon for a mission to end with over 70 kills. So while Heatseeker may forget the aesthetics and story a bit too often, it never forgets the core gameplay. In seeking out the fun factor, Heatseeker keeps the lock-on and fox twos right on target every time.

[MrPopo]

1. Painkiller - PC
2. Front Mission 4 - PS2
3. Wasteland 2 - PC
4. Arcanum - PC
5. X-COM Terror from the Deep - PC
6. Military Madness - TurboGrafx-16
7. Unreal - PC
8. Shadowrun - SNES
9. Warcraft III - PC
10. Dungeon Keeper - PC
11. Final Fantasy X-2 HD - PS3
12. Descent - PC
13. Quake Mission Pack 2 - Dissolution of Eternity - PC
14. Quake 2 Mission Pack 2 - Ground Zero - PC
15. Sokobond - PC
16. Hybrid Heaven - N64
17. Sonic the Hedgehog - Genesis
18. Castlevania - NES
19. Super Castlevania IV - SNES
20. Castlevania III - NES
21. Castlevania II - NES
22. Castlevania Rondo of Blood - Turbo CD
23. Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders - PC

I beat the original three episodes of Heretic last year, but this year I buckled down and beat the bonus two episodes that came with the retail release (and free download for people who spent money on the shareware version). They continue building on what was done in the first three episodes, but both start off incredibly difficult due to the Doom-era mechanic of starting an episode with only your default weapon and a pittance of ammo. The very first stage of episode 4 is an exercise in ammo conservation and not trying to kill everything (did I mention there's a Maulotaur in the large courtyard just to fuck with you?) The difficulty drops drastically once you get to the second stage of each episode because you aren't scrimping and saving just to get by. There's some pretty neat levels across the two episodes, though episode five introduces a few doors that can only be opened by shooting them, which you don't have any indication is a thing. And in the second to last level there's even a door that you need to shoot with a specific weapon (or at least not the crossbow). That part was frustrating, but fortunately it only shows up among the last few levels and sparingly. But I did have to look up a playthrough on Youtube to figure it out.

[Ack]

I'm really on the fence about the three Gameboy games. I've watched some gameplay on Youtube and they don't seem very interesting, but maybe I just didn't see enough.

The 3 original GB games, the 3 GBA games, or the 3 DS games?

I can only speak to the GBA games, but I'd be happy to fill you in if you're interested.

The original GB games. I own and have beaten all the GBA and DS games.

What about the PS2 games? Have you gotten through all of the Modernvanias?