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BoneSnapDeez wrote:I'm generally a big proponent of playing the oldest/most original version of any given game, but in this case you're better off skipping the Famicom Disk System and going right to the SNES (or Wii).

Thanks for the advice. I've been wanting to try SMB2TLW for a while now and was torn on what version. Not torn anymore.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:He's slow, sluggish, jumps like his shoes are made of concrete, smells, thinks PS2 games are retro, isn't bothered by the fact that every Seinfeld rerun has about a minute hacked out of it, has a small wiener, etc. Mario sucks.

Post of the year

Yeah it's comparable to Valis and Final Fantasy II. The original game is so flawed it's best to just jump ahead to remakes.

The SNES Lost Levels still retains the bizarre level design, of course, but the fact that unlimited lives are granted makes things bearable. It's worth playing just to see how bizarre the whole thing is.

I beat Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels on the Super Mario All-Stars Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge, and now I'm a millionaire with three supermodel wives and a close personal friendship with a sub-Saharan African dictator.

Make the right choice. Go Super Mario All-Stars.

SNESdrunk wrote:

BoneSnapDeez wrote:He's slow, sluggish, jumps like his shoes are made of concrete, smells, thinks PS2 games are retro, isn't bothered by the fact that every Seinfeld rerun has about a minute hacked out of it, has a small wiener, etc. Mario sucks.

Post of the year

Can we just put this one the homepage in some form? Pure poetry in motion.

Ack wrote:I beat Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels on the Super Mario All-Stars Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge, and now I'm a millionaire with three supermodel wives and a close personal friendship with a sub-Saharan African dictator.

Make the right choice. Go Super Mario All-Stars.

I beat the Wii VC release, but DAMN, it was hard.

ElkinFencer10 wrote:John, I don't think we can be friends anymore. Jk, but seriously, how do you hate Black Ops III? The acting was amazing, and they had a stellar voice cast with legit actors.

The actors were great and the story around the whole DNI system was definitely a lot more creative then the previous games and had a lot of potential. However I just didn't really feel a connection with any of the characters and about the only relationship they spent time developing in game was between the protagonist and Kane and even that felt flat to me. The way they wrapped up Kane story line felt really cheap to me as well . Hendricks and the lead are fighting the majority of the game so their whole friendship just feels like a sham and you hardly get any time with Taylor and his team before you start hunting them down. Really if they had you spend more time with Taylor's team then maybe I would have genuinely grew attached to the characters but as it stands I just didn't really care for any of them. I think the only scene that really drew any emotion out of me was the end of the first mission with the Grunts. That scene was disturbing yet great at the same time.

First 25

26. Virtua Fighter Remix (SATURN)
27. Manos The Hands of Fate (iOS)
28. Virtua Fighter 2 (PS3)
29. Fighting Vipers (PS3)
30. Ikari Warriors (PS3)
31. Virtua Cop (SATURN)
32. Virtua Cop 2 (SATURN)

Virtua Cop 2 is better than Virtua Cop in almost every way, and after playing Virtua Cop 2, it is even more apparent that the rail-shooting conventions employed throughout the House of the Dead series (and, indeed, all modern rail shooters) originated in the Virtua Cop series. Virtua Cop 2 plays very similarly to Virtua Cop, but the it features more varied and exciting environments, more varied enemies, more set-pieces, and branching pathways. (I explored all of them, BTW.) Power ups are more scarce, however, and the game has a few issues that, IMO, make Virtua Cop a better experience. First and foremost, the game whips around the rails very quickly at times, which makes targeting some enemies very difficult. (This wouldn't be such a big deal with a light gun, but I was playing with a controller...) Second, the game's bosses very easy, and the final boss is an absolute push-over. Finally, the game feels a bit more "generic" than Virtua Cop, which I think has a more distinct personality. (That is, Virtua Cop 2 feels like a very early version of modern rail shooters, and Virtua Cop feels like its own thing.) Accordingly, I think I slightly prefer the original, but I cannot deny that both games in the Virtua Cop series are a lot of fun. I would love to see modern HD versions of them for home consoles, and I hope I encounter one or the other again in an arcade someday.

Not gonna add it to the list, but I beat Contra twice yesterday. I had two excellent runs going. Got to the Energy Zone, and botched a jump and died when I fell into a flame jet. But that second run was even more brutal. I got all the way to the end of the Hangar, random scrub soldier shoots, I duck, but not well enough, because I slipped to the diagonal. So I popped up, and died. If I'd gotten past that, it would have been smooth sailing to a no-death run. Ugh.

Games Beaten in 2012 = 32
Games Beaten in 2013 = 34
Games Beaten in 2014 = 30

1/22 Emily Is Away (PC)
1/29 Dishonored Definitive Edition (XB1)
1/31 Rise of the Tomb Raider - Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch (XB1)
2/2 Dishonored - The Knife of Dunwall (XB1)
2/8 Dishonored - The Brigmore Witches (XB1)
2/16 MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT (PC)
3/7 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PSV)
3/10 The Witness (PS4)
3/22 Far Cry 3 (PC)
3/22 Far Cry 3 - Monkey Business (PC)

Games Beaten = 7
DLC = 4

5/22 Prune (WP)
Prune is a great mobile\touch game that has you growing and pruning trees. Wait don't go! It's really not boring, I swear!

I love the style and art direction here, the music is relaxing and the visuals are striking. You start by growing a tree, which will naturally head towards the light. As it grows, if you swipe over a branch it will prune it and allow the tree to grow more. Your goal is to get the tree to the light, so that it will flower and bloom. Once it has gotten the number of blooms for the level, you'll proceed to the next level. As you progress, you'll get hazards to growth or other obstacles you have to avoid. Highly recommended to those mobile players we have (@prfsnl_gmr, etc.)