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Ack wrote:

Xeogred wrote:I thought Crysis was even harder, but Far Cry was a lot better overall. The mutants were so lame though.

Oh God yes, on all accounts. In Crysis there was a segment that I remember at night where you had to escape a horde of troops, snipers on a bridge, and a helicopter wandering overhead. I literally spent six hours crawling from tree to tree and through tall grass with the stealth camo activated, waiting at each point for it to recharge enough to inch through the next section without getting slaughtered. Several times that helicopter decided to go Act of God mode on me and shoot me anyway, despite my precautions. After that, FarCry felt like a cakewalk, crappy mutants aside.

I found Crysis to be WAY easier than FarCry, at least stealth works in Crysis. Again, try Crysis 2, the maps may be smaller but man the game is so much better than FarCry and Crysis.

Xeogred wrote:I specifically remember those weird bridge levels were scary, haha.

I played through Crash Bandicoot yesterday. Beat it in 3 hours or so, although I only got 1 of 2 keys and 1 of like 26 hidden gems. Perhaps that's why you remember it being so long?

The bridge levels were my favourite I reckon.

Games in italics have been beaten in previous years.
Games that have an underlined x followed by a number shows the number of times I have beaten them this year. (example: x3)

Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
Demon's Souls (PS3) x3
Dead Space: Ignition (PSN)
Dead Space 2 (PS3)
Costume Quest (PSN)
Blueberry Garden (PC Download)
Donkey Kong (NES)
Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)
Golf (NES)
Mega Man 2 (NES)
Mega Man 4 (NES)
Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Wii)
Mega Man 6 (NES)
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (PS3)
Tomb Raider Underworld (PS3)
The Conduit (Wii)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
Red Steel (Wii)
Puzzle Agent (PC Download)
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (GCN)
Portal (PC Download)
Hamsterball (PSN) x2
Blue Toad Murder Files: Episode 1 (PSN)
Portal 2 (PS3)
The Path (PC Download)
Tag (PC Download)
Narbacular Drop (PC Download)
Sin and Punishment (Virtual Console)
Bubble Bobble (NES)
Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3)
Uno (PSN)
Penumbra: Overture (PC Download)
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (PS3)
Mirror's Edge (iOS)
Darkest of Days (PC)

*New*The Labyrinth (iOS)
The one type of game that got a mass revival because of iOS devices was the marble in a maze game. This is another one of those. Its good old classic fun, as long as you don't think about it too much. This one is different from the rest in that the walls of the maze are not neccesarilly smooth, so if you roll too fast down a wall a convex area may send you flying into a hole. Made the game just a tad hard then the others, but nothing crazy.

Not really much else to say. You play one marble in a maze game then you have played them all.

*New*Assassins Creed 2 - Sequence 12: The Battle of Forlì DLC (PSN)
I count all Single player add-ons as a seperate game in and of itself. Both Sequence 12 and 13 were on sale a while back so I picked them up. I knew what I was getting into with these, it was cut content that was then sold, I feel bad for supporting this practice but I really wanted the complete package.

Unfortunately, Sequence 12 should have remained cut content. Its plot elements were lackluster, there was no variety in its missions and it was shorter then many other sequences. Thankfully Sequence 13 has been much better so far. Its exactly what I wanted, but I shelved it while my sister uses my PS3 to play Darksiders.

*New*Eversion (PC Download)
Eversion was originally released as a freeware indie game (still avaible here: http://zarat.us/tra/offline-games/eversion.html). It is now also avaible on Steam. I can't say much about the game without ruining it. But I recommend playing at least the free version, its short and if you like it you can buy the steam edition.

Enchancements to the steam version include higher resoultion, redrawn sprites, leaderboards, achievments, and support for custom levels in time attack. And a special 3rd ending.

Just play it. You have nothing to lose.

*New*Jolly Rover (PC Download)
Now then, I am not an adventure gamer at all. I don't think I have ever beaten an adventure game without a guide of some kind before. I just get frustrated if I try to finish it on my own because they always have some area where its very vague as to what combination of items will get you through, and I don't like guess work.

I originally just booted this up to get a summer sale ticket, but I ended up enjoying the plot enough to play through. The characters (being talking dogs) were endearing and the graphics had a simple yet pleasent appearence. Resoution wasn't that great though.

For what its worth I probably wouldn't have touched it ever if not for the summer sale, and in the end I enjoyed my time with it. So if you happen to have it from an indie bundle, like I do, or want an new adventure game, I'd say its worth a look at the very least.

*New*Puzzle Agent 2 (PC Download)
Puzzle Agent was a suprise sleeper hit for me last year. I don't often like puzzle games (for the same reasons as I mentioned above with Jolly Rover, just applied a little different) and I particularly hated Professer Layton, so I didn't think I would like Puzzle Agent, but the puzzles were simple enough and the art style and story were fantastic. It all came together as this well crafted and humerous game, with a strong Twin Peaks vibe going on as well.

So when I found out during the Summer Sale that Puzzle Agent 2 had launched only a week before I had to pick it up. I knew it would be more of the same, but I had to see how the story would end and if the mysterys would be solved. It did not dissappoint. Though it was very bittersweet, because with the mystery solved there was no allure anymore. I enjoyed finding out what was going on, but I enjoyed not knowing just as much.

Anyways, I could go on and tell you all the little things I loved about the game, but I fear that would be a waste of everyones time, as we would be here for years. Puzzle Agent 1 and 2 are both great games though, probably somewhere in my top 20. I will for sure be playing these again.

*New*Mass Effect (PC)
Back when I had a shit PC I pirated this game and played through it on the very lowest settings I could and it still ran like ass with glitches coming out the wa-zoo. I end up reformating my computer and forgeting about this though so I lost my save.

But despite having not great gameplay be even worse due to my shit PC, I had fallen in love with the universe Bioware crafted, so I wanted to carry a character and the decisions I made over to Mass Effect 2. So I ended up replaying the game and stick to most of the key decisions I made the first time through this time. Really I only thing I messed up was Shepards background, which I apparently had as a colonist the first time but made Earthborn this time.

But enough about that, lets talk the game itself;

Graphics:
Extremely poor. Corners were cut on models everywhere, texture work was low-res and muddy, art direction often felt uninspired. There were a few areas that looked great (Virmire and Noveria) but for the most part its a shitty looking game.

Gameplay:
Also pretty shitty as a whole. The RPG elements are very well done, and managing them was enjoyable but the gunplay was terrible. It was basically point, shoot until dead, move on to next target. There was no strategy or tactics involved. It didn't help that most of the side missions were just cut and past jobs on a different planet. There was no variety in the encounters.

Story:
This is were the game shines in my eyes, and this is why I like it. The villian comes across as a real tangible threat, but there is still enough mystery and tension that it does not come off as cliche. As well, the relationships you build with your crew mates as you play through the game are really intersting, often hinting at real world issues such as racism and sexuality. You come to care for some of the characters and if your choices lead one of them to harm it can be hard to make that choice.

Its a good game because of the way the story is crafted. But its not a great game.

*New*Mass Effect 2 (PC Download)
Going into this I had heard they had stripped down the RPG elements and made it a 3rd person shooter. This had me concerned as the shooting in the first game was pretty shitty. What I heard was correct. What I wasn't told was that the gunplay was much improved and that while the RPG and Invertory/Upgrade elements were not so much stripped down as they were streamlined to there essence.

So lets get too it like I did Mass Effect;

Graphics:
Wild improvements across the board. Things actually look like they took the time to model them correctly. Textures are not nearly as muddy. Art direction is unique and looks good in almost all instances. Nothing to complain about here. Sure there are better looking games, but this is no slouch like the first game.

Gameplay:
The RPG elements were very much streamlined. There is not nearly as much to upgrade on the RPG powers front, but to compinsate for that the leveling system takes longer and rewards less upgrade points, so the sense of progression is about the same as the first game. As well, the inventory (which was combursome in the first game) was done away with entirely. In its place many items were instead put into the RPG system, with the remainder either being a permant upgrade from a shop or the ships lab, or simply a weapon to select from the ships Armoury.
As mentioned already, the gunplay works much better then in the first game. Each enemy type is unique and acts according to its weapons and armour. This forces you to actually use your different weapons and powers to counteract each type. Additionally your squad mates have a much more diverse range of abilities and taking the right squad mates with you for a mission is actually benifical.
Finally, there is no cut and paste job in this game. Each area that an encounter is in is 100% unique, with different types of cover and even different variables effecting the battle, such as toxic gas clouds or being forced to fight from the shade unless you want your shield to drain. This means that no matter what weapons you prefer you will sometimes have to adapt other stragies to get by. It was much better overall.

Story:
This is were Mass Effect has the advantage, though its not by much. Mass Effects over arching story is much better then Mass Effect 2, with a clear villian, a formidable threat to the galaxy. In fact Mass Effect 2 doesn't really start getting a good overall story until the half way mark, and even though it ends on a really high note, that note is not as high as Mass Effects.
I do feel though that Mass Effect 2 has better character development. Each characters individual side mission really did a better job at looking into who they were as a person and were they are headed in life. Dialogue in the game as a whole also had more strong undertons then the first, allowing me to relate with other real life issues such as infidelity, poverty, racism, war, the nature of good and evil, etc.
So I would say that Mass Effect was more consistent story wise, but Mass Effect 2 had more interesting characters and dialogue.

Overall, I'd put both games an about equal footing. If the 3rd game can combine the best of both games it will be fantastic.

Total: 43

Up next?
Last time I updated I said I was going to try and beat Sonic 2 for the first time. Well I think I may have come to the conclusion that I actually don't like classic sonic games, as I have tried to beat many and have only actually beaten a couple of the Game Gear ones. I will still try to push through though. Otherwise I think I might install Stubbs the Zombie on my PC, and start up PixelJunk Shooter 2 on my PS3.

2010 Games

1. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
2. Super Mario World (SNES)
3. Super Mario RPG (SNES)
4. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
5. Street Fighter (PS2)
6. Street Fighter II:
[a] Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES)
[b] Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (MD)
[c] Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (PSP)
[d] Super Street Fighter II: New Challengers (SNES)
[e] Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival (GBA)
[f] Hyper Street Fighter II (PS2)
[g] Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service (DC)
7. Street Fighter Alpha 2:
{a} Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES)
{b} Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (PS2)
8. Soul Calibur II (Gamecube)
9. Soul Calibur IV (PS3)
10. Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
11. 1941 (PS2)
12. Metal Slug 7 (NDS)
13. Earthbound(SNES)
14. Street Fighter IV:
[a] Street Fighter IV (PS3)
[b] Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
15. Pokemon White (NDS)
16. Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
17. SNK vs Capcom: SvC:Chaos (PS2)
18. Capcom vs SNK 2 (PS2)
19. Neo-Geo Battle Coliseum (PS2)
20. Capcom Fighting Jam (PS2)
21. Street Fighter Alpha (PS2)
22. Mother 3 (GBA)
23. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
24. Super Puzzle Fighter II (GBA)
25. Street Fighter III:
[a] Street Fighter III: New Generation (DC)
[b] Street Fighter III: Second Impact (DC)
[c] Street Fighter III: Third Strike (DC)
26. Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
27. Sonic Adventure (DC)
28. Super Mario Land (GB)
29. Pokemon Blue (GB)
30. Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
31. Capcom vs SNK (DC)
32. Super Mario Land 2 (GB)
33. King of Fighters '99: Dream Match (DC)
34. House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)
35. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
36. Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service (DC)
37. Pokemon FireRed (GBA)
38. Pokemon Sapphire (GBA)
39. Soul Calibur (DC)
40. Project Justice: Rival Schools (DC)
41. King of Fighters 2000 (DC)
42. King of Fighters 2002 (DC) -Newest-

Ugh, my point remains. Fuck Rugal, so bad. Never in my gaming life have I had a boss
that thumps me so profoundly, and yet, I kinda like him for it. Especially, say, when
I tried to get the jump on him, and he waits until the last millisecond to do his up-
ward kick, and I was left with the feeling that this is a sentient being getting thrills
out of fucking with me. Can't help but love it slightly, can you?

castle of illusion - sega
disney's aladdin - sega
the lion king - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega
mickey mania: the timeless adventure of mickey mouse - sega cd
disney's the jungle book - sega
dungeon explorer - sega cd
phelios - sega
doom - 32x
kolibri - 32x
mega turrican - sega
bc racers - sega cd
bloodlines x2 - sega
3 ninjas - sega cd
die hard arcade - saturn
final fight cd - sega cd
quackshot - sega
hyperstone heist - sega
streets of rage 2 - sega
twin gadgets x2- sega
gex - saturn
mario 3 - snes via mario all stars
mario - snes via mario all stars
double dragon - sega
sonic cd - sega cd
robo aleste - sega cd
snatcher - sega cd
mercs - sega
sonic - sega

out of all the games i've conquered this year, sonic by far gave me the most trouble. all said and done it took me probably a dozen tries - if not more - to fully get through the game successfully. the lack of continues, cheap deaths, and the fact it is hard not to try to beat the levels as fast as possible probably accounts for my struggles with it. when i actually slowed down and went out of my way for coins i was able to have success with it.

and fuck the water level. seriously, a water level in a sonic game? in the words of the most loved and hated video game reviewer: "what were they thinking?" i absolutely hated the water level with all my heart. in the water level RIGHT before the final showdown with robotnick there is a platform that pushes you into a spiked ceiling, and unless you know it's coming you are fucked because when traversing in water you move like molasses on a cold december day. i had no free men left and i fell for that beginners trap, causing me a game over and a wasted hour.

minus the water level, i did enjoy the game. and if you want to see how a real man plays sonic you should watch the speed run on speeddemosarchives.com. it took me about an hour to run through the game with only 1 death. the speed run is 15 minutes.

as it stands, the original is by far my favorite.

1. Mercs (PS2)
2. Darkstalkers 3 (PS1)
3. House Of The Dead Overkill (Wii)
4. Mega Man 3 (PS2)
5. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (PS2)
6. Halo 2600 (Atari 2600)
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES)
8. Castlevania Chronicles (PS1)
9. Shadow Of The Colossus (PS2)
10. Capcom Vs. SNK Pro (PS1)
11. Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark Of The Millennium (PS2)
12. Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
13. Mobile Light Force (PS1)
14. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (PS3)
15. Galaga Arrangement (PSP)
16. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (PS3)
17. Mr. Driller (PS1)
18. Dead Or Alive (PS1)
19. Mamoru-kun (PS3)
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Reshelled (PSN)
21. Ridge Racer (PS1)
22. Mega Man X4 (PS1)
23. Rapid Angels (PSN)

alright so one of the new PS1 imports that was brought over to PSN this month. Rapid Angels is an interesting sidescrolling beatemup. It's 2D and looks great. Fans of Guardian Heroes and Gunstar Heroes will notice some influence. It's got some great animated sprites and some interesting level design. It's a bit on the easy side, though it's long enough to make that ok. Also, you have one light, and you're lifebar does not always refill between levels, so there's a bit of challenge there. For $6 I'd recommend it as a fun old school style game you probably missed. It's literally (seriously, LITERALLY) over 100 degrees in MA right now, so I'm stuck in my bedroom near the AC, so it was nice to just download this to my PSP and have something new to play through for a couple hours.

1/3: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
1/10: Assassin's Creed II (PS3)
3/10: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
3/12: Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (PS2)
7/11: Um Jammer Lammy (PS1)
7/12: NFL Blitz (PS1)
7/22: Final Fantasy XII (PS2)

This game was pretty good. I know that some people really hated it, but I enjoyed the sheer expansiveness of it; I finished it at around the 119-hour mark. The storyline was fairly good, although all the sidequests and exploration that I did between story segments made it difficult to keep track of plot developments. Still, I'd give it a score of 9/10.

The First 50: January-June
Adventure - Atari 2600
Gunhed - PCE
Limbo - 360
Crimzon Clover - PC
Army of Darkness Defense- iPhone
Psycho Soldier - PSP
Shank - PS3
Jamestown - PC *new*
MUSHA - Genesis *new*

2011 TOTAL: 59

2010 Games Beaten

Jamestown is a fun shmup that has some great sprite work, a killer soundtrack, and lots of interesting unlocakbles that open up multiple approaches to playing the game. The difficulty level on most levels seems fairly low for the genre (though I haven't unlocked the hardest one yet), but this helps makes it a very accessible and enjoyable shmup...it is probably the best PC shmup I have played in a long time which isn't called Crimzon Clover (which is legions better, for the record).

MUSHA was another Summer Challenge game, which I posted about in that thread. The game lives up to the hype and was the perfect excuse to bust out the Genesis arcade stick.

dsheinem wrote:MUSHA - Genesis *new* [/b]

have you played robo aleste? just curious what you think is better.

Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting on the XBLA

Horrible port of a game I find cheap and overly difficult. The clunky controls don't help either.