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Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:00 pm**

Stark wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:So who's gonna start the Games Beaten 2014 thread tomorrow?

Hmmm, I should try and plan to beat a game at 12:01a so I can start the thread.

Bonus points it's an atari 2600 game that loops.

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:01 pm**

AppleQueso wrote:
Stark wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:So who's gonna start the Games Beaten 2014 thread tomorrow?

Hmmm, I should try and plan to beat a game at 12:01a so I can start the thread.

Bonus points if it's an atari 2600 game that loops.

CHALLENGE ... ACCEPTED!

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:03 pm**

I'll have it up right around midnight.

I may or may not have a post for Noise that I've been saving for the New Year

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:04 pm**

Sload Soap wrote:Gone Home

Not sure about this one. On the one hand, yes it is nice to see a story being told in this medium that is more grounded in reality. On the other, I don't think there is much of a story really, or at least not one with any real dramatic consequences. It's all a bit teenaged. Dear Esther did this sort of thing better I think.

I also find that even though it's a period piece, terrrible grunge/garage music and all, it seems like a game born out of this years hot topic, gender issues, which is pretty cool, intentional or not.

My main problem with the game though is that Sam's family don't seem like the sort of people who would have much of a problem with her revelation; they are comfortably middle-class, they are educated and in typically liberal leaning professions. She is also old enough to make up her own mind. And since all this is conveyed to you through the bare bones game play I found the climax to be forced, underwhelming and melodramatic.

I liked the game and ranked it among my favorites for the year - but I totally agree with your critique :lol:

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:50 pm**

Sload Soap wrote:Gone Home

Not sure about this one. On the one hand, yes it is nice to see a story being told in this medium that is more grounded in reality. On the other, I don't think there is much of a story really, or at least not one with any real dramatic consequences. It's all a bit teenaged. Dear Esther did this sort of thing better I think.

I also find that even though it's a period piece, terrrible grunge/garage music and all, it seems like a game born out of this years hot topic, gender issues, which is pretty cool, intentional or not.

My main problem with the game though is that Sam's family don't seem like the sort of people who would have much of a problem with her revelation; they are comfortably middle-class, they are educated and in typically liberal leaning professions. She is also old enough to make up her own mind. And since all this is conveyed to you through the bare bones game play I found the climax to be forced, underwhelming and melodramatic.

Being fair, there are multiple stories told, Sam's is just by far the most prominent as the others are seen entirely in stuff you find, versus narrated. As I mentioned in the GoTY thread, I still didn't think any of them were really that compelling - especially not for a game (or whatever it qualifies as) where story is such a key component.

I kind of assume that Sam's family not taking things in stride was just an extension of her story being completely cliched.

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 3:38 pm**

Well, seeing as Ds has already done his, and I highly doubt I'll be beating any more games today as I'm busy with cleaning and errands, I figure I'll go ahead and conduct my own analysis.

GAMES BEATEN 2013 - FINAL LIST:

TOTAL: 100

Statistics:

By System:
SNES: 54
PC: 31
Arcade: 6
NGPC: 4
PS3: 3
PS2: 1
MVS: 1

By Genre:

FPS: 14
Platformer: 14
Beat 'Em Up: 13
RPG: 10
Fighting: 8
Run and Gun: 8
Action/Adventure: 7
Puzzle: 5
SHMUP: 4
Point and Click: 3
Horror: 2
Edutainment: 2
Simulation: 2
Light Gun: 2
TPS: 1
Rail Shooter: 1
Racing: 1
Pinball: 1
Boardgame: 1
Game Show: 1

So there we have it. I focused heavily on my SNES collection this year, so over half of all the games I beat were for it. After that, I played a lot of PC games and a few arcade/MVS titles. My NGPC count is only that low because I got the handheld so late in the year, and I expect I'll be spending more time with it. I have also realized just how little time I spent with what was the current gen at the start of 2013, though I'm not that upset by it. As far as age is concerned, I skewed heavily retro, though the PC games form a mix of recent indie titles or updated/digital versions of older titles, so modern gaming still took place.

The genre breakdown is where things get interesting. There were several big ones that I hit repeatedly, and I'm really surprised that I beat so many platformers, but then there was a large mixture of styles that I sampled. I knew I would have high numbers for FPS and Beat 'Em Ups(which I wrongly believed I had beaten more of than any other genre), but the higher RPG count also throws me off. I didn't realized I had played through that many! It would have been higher, but I largely held off playing them around the middle of the year, finishing only 1 in the last six months. After that, the genres become a large hodgepodge, and some of them likely could have been mixed in together, but I kept them apart for my purposes. I didn't play much horror this year, but then by focusing on the SNES so much, I'm not surprised.

Total Beaten Since 2010: 220

Highlights of the Year: Arcana, Hotline Miami, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium, The 7th Saga, Battle Circuit
Worst of the Year: Pit-Fighter

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 4:45 pm**

isiolia wrote:Being fair, there are multiple stories told, Sam's is just by far the most prominent as the others are seen entirely in stuff you find, versus narrated. As I mentioned in the GoTY thread, I still didn't think any of them were really that compelling - especially not for a game (or whatever it qualifies as) where story is such a key component.

I kind of assume that Sam's family not taking things in stride was just an extension of her story being completely cliched.

That's true and I found the side-stories to be more interesting and subtle than the main plot (and also far more dramatically engaging). I also get the feeling Gone Home may have started out as a more horror themed game and changed later on. Anyway, Brothers and Papers, Please are much better examples of how to weave gameplay and story together to form a coherent work, but Gone Home is still worth a play. And that'll be me for the year.

Posted: **Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:55 pm**

Final 2013 update!

1. Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead - PC (January 2)
2. America's Army - Arcade (January 12) - 1cc!
3. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Gamecube (January 26)
4. Dragon Spirit - NES (February 7) - 1cc!
5. Final Fantasy - (by way of DoS) - GBA (March 15)
6. Wing Commander - PC (March 21)
7. Medal of Honor European Assault - Gamecube (March 30)
8. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow - Gamecube (April 6)
9. Half-Life - PC (April 25)
10. Fantastic Dizzy - Genesis (May 16)
11. Fatal Fury Special - NeoGeo (in MAME) (June 10)
12. Gun - Gamecube (June 15)
13. Road Rash Jailbreak - GBA (July 3)
14. Road Rash - Genesis (July 10)
15. Road Rash 2 - Genesis (July 18)
16. Road Rash 3 - Genesis (July 29)
17. TMNT Turtles In Time - Arcade (August 10)
18. TMNT The Hyperstone Heist - Genesis (August 22)
19. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Gamecube (August 24)
20. Ninja Warriors Again - SFC (August 26)
21. 8 Eyes - NES (September 13)
22. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonstrike - NES (September 19)
23. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown - Gamecube (September 21)
24. Adventures In The Magic Kingdom - NES (September 22)
25. Zork I - PC (September 23)
26. Silent Hill 2 - PC (October 26)
27. Zombies Ate My Neighbors - SNES (October 30)
28. Adventures of Dino-Riki - NES (November 12)
29. Parappa The Rapper - PS1 (November 25)
30. Adventures of Lolo 2 - NES (November 26)
31. *NEW* Lemmings - SNES (December 31)

Another game I thought I could never beat. When I rented this, I always only went through the Fun levels. Big mistake! I truly was missing out on a lot of what this game had to offer. Not only did I clear all 120 levels, I also cleared the 5 SNES-exclusive Sunsoft difficulty levels. These were about as tough as Mayhem, but required razor sharp timing and execution in issuing commands.

Looking over 2013 here, FPS and TR selections ruled the list once again. The entire suite of Splinter Cell titles on the Gamecube was also completed in the course of a year. I also kicked off a personal journey to explore the best and maybe underappreciated games on the NES in an unofficial "Exed vs. NES" series which I will continue in 2014 as I go through Adventures of Lolo 3.

Posted: **Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:13 am**

Well, I guess I'll do a 2013 recap too.

1. Halo Reach (Jan)
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Jan)
3. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Jan)
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Feb)
5. Far Cry 3 (Feb)
6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Jul)
7. Just Cause 2 (Aug)
8. Max Payne 3 (Aug)
9. Spec Ops: The Line (Nov)

Yikes, that's really bad. Only 9 games total, every single one was a PC game except for Halo, and none were retro games.

I think I'll name which game was may favorite, and least favorite. Hmm, it's kinda hard... I have such good taste... ehh, Far Cry 3 was my favorite. The story wasn't deep at all like HR or Spec Ops, the gameplay didn't extent into eternity like Oblivion's, it didn't have a fantastic soundtrack like Halo, but it had a little of everything I love and it was the perfect length. Objectively I suppose it's not the best game on the list but it's the one I remember most fondly.

Now, for least favorite... MW3. MW3 was basically a foreshadowing of what Ghosts would be. A sign that without the COD4/MW2 crew, IW doesn't know how to make a really good game. Nothing about MW3 was broken or glitchy, but it made absolutely no advancements for the series. Plus that story was just plain wack.

Posted: **Wed Jan 01, 2014 7:25 pm**

58. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies DLC: Turnabout Reclaimed 3DS eShop *NEW*

OK, end of year update, a little late.

First of all one last game to add. I debated whether to add it as it's DLC, but it's paid and it's longer in itself than some of the games I have on my list, so why not? The new case was fairly substantial in length, very enjoyable and funny, a bit of the wall and overall really enjoyable, if a little easy. Worth the price of entry for sure.

And now for the round up:

Games beaten grouped by console:

And everyone's favourite: Stats!

Games beaten by console:
Wii U - 2
Wii U eShop - 2
Wii U VC - 2
Wii - 1
WiiWare - 1
Wii VC - 2
N64 - 3
3DS - 5
3DS eShop - 13
DS - 3
GBA - 1
GBC - 3
Game Boy - 1
Mega Drive - 1
Master System - 1
PS1 - 3
PSP - 8
PSN - 1
PS1 Classics - 1
Xbox 360 - 2
PC - 2

The unloved (0 new games beaten): Gamecube, SNES, NES, 3DS VC, DSiWare, Virtual Boy, Pokemon Mini, Dreamcast, Saturn, PS2, Xbox, Turbografx, 3DO, Neo Geo Pocket Color.

My most popular platforms in 2013
3DS eShop: 13
PSP: 8
3DS: 5

Surprises in these stats:
1. I only beat 5 new 3DS games this year, despite the console probably being my most played in terms of time.
2. I beat 8 PSP games. I thought it'd be quite high, but this still surprises me.
3. I completely ignored all of the gen 6 consoles this year.
4. The Wii was barely played this year after being my most played the year before.

Less surprising is that all of my most played consoles were portable

Console/Handheld/PC game breakdown + Physical/Digital breakdown.
Console physical games beaten: 13
Console digital games beaten: 7
Handheld physical games beaten: 21
Handheld digital games beaten: 15
PC physical games beaten: 0
PC digital games beaten: 2

A much bigger proportion of digital games than I'd have expected, but it makes sense as I was unemployed for much of the year, so cheap digital games was where most of my new purchases fell.

By genre:
Platformer: 11
RPG: 9
Adventure: 6
Strategy: 6
Racing: 5
Shmup: 4
Rhythm: 2
Fighting: 2
Metroidvania: 2
Action Adventure: 2
Sports: 1
Run n' Gun: 1
Stealth: 1
Flight Combat: 1
Marble rolling: 1
Other: 5 (NES Remix, Little Inferno, Pokémon Dream Radar, Streetpass Garden, Patchwork Heroes)

The genre breakdown here is interesting. It doesnt surprise me to see RPG or platformer so high up, but strategy is a little unexpected. Most of them are from the first half of the year though. A few more shmups than expected to, but far less action adventure than normal. Racing is the biggest surprise, and is mostly down to my N64 collection - all 3 N64 games beaten this year were of that genre.

Well, I think that's all for this round up. Here's a link to my top 10 beaten games of the year: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=45214&p=838148#p838148

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