Summer Games Challenge 2016

[ElkinFencer10]

One time I was playing a 360 game in the living room though, and apparently I was yelling at it so loud I woke my wife up. "If you hate that game so much stop yelling at it and go to bed!"

Nope.

It's cute when non-gamers think that we'll do rational things when it comes to video games.

[Exhuminator]

This conversation happens a few times a month at our house:

Wife: "You look really tired."

Me: "I feel like shit."

Wife: "You stayed up late again beating a game didn't you?"

Me: "Yeah, but I beat it."

Wife: "Was it worth feeling like shit all day for?"

Me: "Sure. I beat the piss outta that game."

Wife: "You're retarded. Just go to bed."

Me: "Nope."

[Stark]

^

This is a lot like my convo with my wife last night:

She came home, I was fighting a boss in Dark Souls III and I beat him.

Wife: "Well I didn't think that would go well"

Me: "...thanks"

Wife: "Fight him a bunch of times?"

Me: "No, this was my first time, wow you don't believe in my skills very much do you?"

Wife: "Well I've seen you play, so .. no"

[alienjesus]

1. Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu To Hikari No Ken (Famicom)
2. Final Fantasy III (SNES)
3. Super Aleste (SNES)
4. Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)
5. Mystic Quest (Game Boy)
6. Shinobi (Master System)
7. Sega Rally Championship (Saturn)
8. Shenmue (Dreamcast)
9. Samurai Shodown (3DO)
10. Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (3DO)
Strikethrough = completed
Red = In progress

So, I finished up game number 1 on the list. Super Aleste is pretty awesome.

Years back, for this very same challenge, I beat Blazing Lazers on Turbografx 16. That was a great game that shares a lot in common with Super Aleste. If I was pressed to say which I prefer, I'd probably give the edge to Blazing Lazers, but only just. I thing blazing lazers has better level designs and a fast feeling pace which I enjoyed. That said, this one is better balanced to not rely on the shield power up (which doesn't exist here) and offers a more interesting set of bosses (thanks to Mode 7 shenanigans) and weapons.

I seem to understand the US version of the game, Space Megaforce, is rare. That's a shame, because this is an awesome little game and I highly recommend it. For the record, the PAL copy cost me £5, which was about $9 at the time. I played it at 60hz speed on my Retron5. If you have one of those, it's probably worth an import!



Anyhow, after finishing up Super Aleste, I dived into another game from my list - Sega Rally Championship. It took a few runs to get the hang of the controls, and for a while I thought the 2nd car was easier to steer - turns out I just had improved, and going back to the 1st car greatly improved my times.

I'm playing on Easy because I'm truly terrible at these driving games and I figure it'd be better to work my way up. So far, my best time is 3:37 (the best default time on the leaderboard is about 3:25), and my best placing is 2nd.

Ironically, I think the main area I need to improve in order to secure 1st place and unlock the secret final track (and hopefully credits) is the first and easiest course - The Desert Stage. On my best runs I went from 15th to 11th on the 1st course, up to 5th on the second course, and into 2nd and 3rd on the final. If I can push the 1st course just a little faster to beat the red car I can see just ahead of me at the finish line, I'll be able to gain one extra place and hopefully claim 1st overall.

Anyone here suck less at these driving games and managed to beat this thing on Normal?

[prfsnl_gmr]

Anyone here suck less at these driving games and managed to beat this thing on Normal?

I just added this game to my list - the "Summer of Sega Arcade" - so, I will let you know!

[Xeogred]

Wives laying down truth bombs.

I didn't realize Exhum's Shadow Tower updates are being posted here?

[ElkinFencer10]

This conversation happens a few times a month at our house:

Wife: "You look really tired."

Me: "I feel like shit."

Wife: "You stayed up late again beating a game didn't you?"

Me: "Yeah, but I beat it."

Wife: "Was it worth feeling like shit all day for?"

Me: "Sure. I beat the piss outta that game."

Wife: "You're retarded. Just go to bed."

Me: "Nope."

That's basically half of my conversations with my students.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I just beat Virtua Fighter 2 (with Sarah...sorry, Lau). It is a really great fighting game, and I am glad that I spent so much time learning it. Moreover, the computer is actually really tough in this game - it definitely isn't Tekken - and since I have now beaten the game, I feel like I could hold my own against a lot of human opponents.

Fighting Vipers is up next, and from what I've played so far, it looks to be a completely different experience.

[noiseredux]

Fighting Vipers is wayyyy easier. But I personally enjoy it far more.

[travis_stywall]

I stumbled upon the 2016 Summer Games Challenge on my Twitter account and I just had to participate. Like my friend Gaiages via Twitter, I am also going to do write-ups about my experiences with each one of the games that I complete on my blog. Anyway, here's the list of games I plan on completing over the Summer break.

+ Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS3)
+ Super Metroid (SNES)
+ Mother 3 (GBA)
+ Tomba! (PS1)
+ Psychonauts (PS2)
+ Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
+ Resident Evil 2 (PS1)
+ Vagrant Story (PS1)
+ Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
+ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS)

Bold = Currently Playing