Games Beaten: 2010

[dsheinem]

Raiden IV 360
Shatter PS3
After Burner 32X
Dragon Age: Origins PS3
Red Faction: Guerrilla PS3
RayStorm PS1
RayCrisis: Series Termination PS1
Call of Duty: World at War 360
Contra NES
In the Hunt PS1
Philosoma PS1
F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point 360
God of War III PS3
Electronic Table Soccer! Odyssey2
Gigawing DC
Gigawing 2 DC
Shoot 1UP 360
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening PS3

1942: Joint Strike - PS3 *new*
The last couple of levels (and their bosses) are much harder than the rest of the game, making the package as a whole an uneven but worthwhile investment. I really enjoyed the aesthetic they used, and the game has a good deal of replay value.

Little Big Planet - PSP *new*
Very impressive! I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the PS3 game they were able to import and improve upon for the PSP version. While the difficulty has been dialed back considerably, the fun quotient (and the general creativity of the single-player levels) has been cranked up. A great little gem, and perfectly suited for the PSP.

TOTAL: 20

[jfe2]

Knight 'n' Grail -Commodore 64
Red Faction: Guerrilla - 360
Don't Look Back - PC
VVVVVV - PC
Cave Story - PC
Genetos - PC
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond - XBLA
Zupapa - MAME
Battletoads - MAME
19XX - MAME
Avenging Spirit - MAME
Shadow Complex - XBLA
Contra - XBLA
Bionic Commando: Rearmed - XBLA
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - GBA
Sonic Advance - GBA
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time - DS
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie - 360
Dragon Age: Origins - 360
Mass Effect 2 - 360
Sonic Advance 2 - GBA
Bioshock 2 - 360
Toy Soldiers - XBLA
1942: Joint Strike - XBLA
Contra ReBirth - WiiWare
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth - WiiWare
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 - GBA
Punchout!! (contender mode) - Wii
Gradius ReBirth - WiiWare
Excitebike: World Rally - WiiWare
Final Fight: Double Impact (Magic Sword and Final Fight) - XBLA *new*
Drill Dozer - GBA *new*
Star Parodier - WiiWare *new*

I actually played through both the Magic Sword and Final Fight portions of Final Fight: Double Impact today. Magic Sword was just as awesome as I remember, and I actually got all except for one of the achievements for it on one playthrough. It is a simple platformer, but its definitely addicting and fun to play.

I played through Final Fight as Guy, and actually beat the last level with sevin0sevin as he jumped in to help, but was a little annoyed to find that I didn't get the co-op achievement or the achievement for completing every level with Guy. I've read of other people having similar problems with apparent "achievement glitches", but its not a huge deal to me, just a minor annoyance. The game has a ton of replay value, so I'll more than likely beat the game over and over again anyway.

*Edit - I actually beat a few more games since Final Fight: Double Impact, and didn't want to post again right under my own post!

Drill Dozer was a great platformer that probably would have been a classic had it been released earlier in the GBA's lifespan. I really suggest that people try it out if they are itching for some good platforming action.

Star Parodier was VERY difficult, but I finally beat it tonight. I wrote a mini-review here if anyone wants to read it.

[jfe2]

Knight 'n' Grail -Commodore 64
Red Faction: Guerrilla - 360
Don't Look Back - PC
VVVVVV - PC
Cave Story - PC
Genetos - PC
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond - XBLA
Zupapa - MAME
Battletoads - MAME
19XX - MAME
Avenging Spirit - MAME
Shadow Complex - XBLA
Contra - XBLA
Bionic Commando: Rearmed - XBLA
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - GBA
Sonic Advance - GBA
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time - DS
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie - 360
Dragon Age: Origins - 360
Mass Effect 2 - 360
Sonic Advance 2 - GBA
Bioshock 2 - 360
Toy Soldiers - XBLA
1942: Joint Strike - XBLA
Contra ReBirth - WiiWare
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth - WiiWare
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 - GBA
Punchout!! - Wii
Gradius ReBirth - WiiWare
Excitebike: World Rally - WiiWare
Final Fight: Double Impact (Magic Sword and Final Fight) - XBLA *new*
Drill Dozer - GBA
Star Parodier - WiiWare
WarioWare: Twisted! - GBA *new*
Afterburner: Climax - XBLA *new*
Gunstar Super Heroes - GBA *new*
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - WiiWare *new*

Didn't want to post again right after my own post, but I'm on a roll! I know it looks like I'm destroying these games, but a lot of what I've beat recently are really short games. I tend to play one "big" game, one handheld game, and one "arcade" game (such as an XBLA or WiiWare game) at a time. I find that playing a variety of games at once keeps things fresh and interesting.

[Luke]

Afterburner: Climax

I'm hoping that's the name of a game.

Wow, just wow. Love Afterburner, but why would they add "climax" to it? Poor choice of words.

[jfe2]

Afterburner: Climax

I'm hoping that's the name of a game.

Wow, just wow. Love Afterburner, but why would they add "climax" to it? Poor choice of words.

Isn't that odd? Great game though, don't let the name fool you.

[Luke]

Afterburner: Climax

I'm hoping that's the name of a game.

Wow, just wow. Love Afterburner, but why would they add "climax" to it? Poor choice of words.

Isn't that odd? Great game though, don't let the name fool you.

My game playing time has been seriously limited lately. Looking forward to the weekend.

[Limewater]

I'm not going to go back and compile a list of the games I beat earlier this year. However, in the last couple of weeks I beat:

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

and

Simon the Sorcerer

I cheated a little on Simon the Sorcerer. I used someone else's maps rather than making my own. Also, a couple of times early in the game I had absolutely no direction and got bored wandering around the map at a snail's pace and checked a walkthrough to get an idea where I should be going. I cheated on where to use the metal detector, for instance.

[jfe2]

I'm not going to go back and compile a list of the games I beat earlier this year. However, in the last couple of weeks I beat:

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

and

Simon the Sorcerer

I cheated a little on Simon the Sorcerer. I used someone else's maps rather than making my own. Also, a couple of times early in the game I had absolutely no direction and got bored wandering around the map at a snail's pace and checked a walkthrough to get an idea where I should be going. I cheated on where to use the metal detector, for instance.

I don't think that's too bad. From what I've heard, Simon the Sorcerer isn't the easiest game in the world.

And am I crazy, or is Eternal Darkness the game where your character starts hallucinating if you get too scared?

Also, I updated my above post to indicate that I beat Castlevania: Rondo of Blood on the Wii Virtual Console tonight. I really only intended to try and beat Death, as he was kicking my ass when I attempted last night. Tonight, however, I not only walked right through Death, but then went on to beat the rest of the game with relative ease. The boss gauntlet was a bit tough, but not as bad as the fight against Death IMO.

[Ack]

Soul Calibur IV
Super Bomberman 2
Cybernator
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Devil Kings
Still Life
Dead Space
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
LEGO Batman

Yeah, I know, not too many games. I've been playing Front Mission 3 off and on, and dabbling in a few others, but mostly I've been reading this year.

[Limewater]

I don't think that's too bad. From what I've heard, Simon the Sorcerer isn't the easiest game in the world.

And am I crazy, or is Eternal Darkness the game where your character starts hallucinating if you get too scared?

Yeah, I don't feel too bad for my minimal cheating in Simon the Sorcerer. I'm a pretty experienced graphic adventure player, and Simon the Sorcerer did a lot of things that I really did not like. They included way too many filler screens, with absolutely nothing to do other than slowly trudge across them to get to the interesting places. Simon walks too slow. In several places, if you don't do the right thing, you get subjected to a very slow, tedious, and repetitive animation you have to wait through before you can do anything else. And, for at least one puzzle, as far as I can tell you just had to search everywhere in the map currently available to you, and that's, like, thirty screens. I just used the walkthrough because I didn't want to do such a repetitive task all over the place.

And yes, Eternal Darkness does include hallucinations and all sorts of fun stuff when you character's sanity meter gets too low. It was a decent game, but after it and Resident Evil 2, I just don't think I'm much of a survival horror fan.