Games Beaten : 2011

[SwooshBear]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Ps3)
Soul Caliber 3 (Ps2)
Super Mario world 2: (Snes)
Warioware, Inc (Gba)
Half life 2 ep. 1 (Ps3)
Half life 2 ep. 2 (Ps3)
Super Mario Land 2 (Gb)
Resident Evil 5 (Ps3)
Radiant (iPod)
Space Invaders Extreme 2 (Ds)
Ginger's Hidden Adventure (Fresh steps mini game) (PC) 
Dark Nebula Episode 2 (iPod)
Angry Birds (iPod)

Total: 13

Finally beat all the levels. This game doesn't deserve all the hype it gets. It's fun and all, but it's just and average smash the towers game. I don't plan on getting the sequel since the first one has so many levels to replay, etc. Next up: no idea. Maybe pokemon? We'll see.

[alienjesus]

Donkey Kong Jr. e-Reader
Riviera: The Promised Land GBA
Super Mario Bros. 2 Wii
King of Fighters R2 NGPC
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn DS
Metal Slug 2nd Mission NGPC
Pocket Tennis Colour NGPC
Metroid GC
Super Mario Bros. 3 Wii
Probotector 2 Game Boy
A Boy and his Blob Wii
Pokemon White DS
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa VC
Kirby's Dream Land 3 VC
Bomberman '93 VC
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels VC
Wonder Boy in Monster Land VC
Pilotwings Resort 3DS
Deja Vu Casebook 1: A Nightmare Comes True GBC
Total: 19

Pilotwings Resort is a fun but short game. I found the 3D effect to be really impressive and it's kept me coming back to play more. I do wish there were more vehicles though, the variety is a bit slim. There especially needed to be more Squirrel Suit levels, because the one there was brilliant fun.

Deja Vu is this months Together Retro title, and I wasnt overly impressed. It was fun but dated, and it felt a bit dry - it was neither funny nor was it's story especially interesting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it well enough, but it just doesn't compare to others in the genre I enjoy. I wrote a little more about it in the Together Retro thread.

[dsheinem]

Metal Torrent- DSiWare
Kirby Super Star Ultra - NDS
DoDonPachi - PS1
Cruis'n USA - N64
Cruis'n World - N64
DonPachi - PS1
Cut the Rope - iPhone
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift - iPhone
Mass Effect - 360
Galaga Remix - Wii
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom - Wii
Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 - 360
DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou - PS2
DoDonPachi Resurrection - iPhone
Triggerheart Exelcia - Dreamcast
Heavy Barrel - Wii/Arcade
Tetris (Rev A and Rev B) - Game Boy
Street Fighter IV - iPhone
Killzone - PS2
Dead Space 2 - PS3
Marvel vs Capcom 3- PS3
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess - PSP
Killzone 3- PS3
Lost Planet 2 - PS3
Star Wars: Dark Forces - PC
Nemesis - Game Boy
Space Invaders Extreme 2 -NDS
Kirby's Dream Land - Game Boy
Mass Effect 2 - 360
Mass Effect 2: Shadow Broker - 360
Mass Effect 2: Kasumi - Stolen Memory - 360
Kirby's Dream Land 2- Game Boy *new*
Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire- PCE-CD *new*
Soul Calibur - Dreamcast *new*

Total: 34

Dream Land 2 is about 10X the game of the already excellent original, and is easily one of my all time favorite platformers for the Game Boy or any other platform. It has enough charm and clever mechanics to keep it seeming fresh every time, with enough unlockables and alternate routes to make you keep coming back for more. Platforming perfection.

Sapphire is hard. I kept getting ROYALLY trounced on the default settings on this one so had to dial it back to easy. Even that proved to be a challenge, but I persevered and beat it (though not in any way that I can be proud of). Still, it was well worth playing through on the easier setting - the game is absolutely stunning and I wanted to see all it had to offer. It is arguably in the top 3 or 4 best shmups of the generation and by far the most graphically impressive. (For the record, I played a bootleg version, not a $300 original)

I played through SC4 last year as my first real experience with the series, and found that it was insanely easy on the default settings throughout, allowing me to 1CC easily. I found that this was pretty much the same thing, although I can better appreciate what the game accomplished for its time. The gameplay is really nothing special, and I don't understand the high praise that the series gets as a fighting game. It is fun, but beating it is a button-mashers paradise.

[CFFJR]

1. Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360)
2. Power Stone 2 (DC)
3. Dynamite Cop (DC)
4. Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate (Xbox)
5. Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox)
6. Ranma 1/2: Chounai Gekitou-hen (Neighborhood Combat) (SFC)
7. Ranma 1/2: Hard Battle (SNES)
8. Ranma 1/2: Chougi Ranbuhen (Super Battle) (SFC)
9. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 (Xbox 360)
10.Resident Evil (GC)
11.Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
12.Mass Effect 2: Kasumi - Stolen Memory (Xbox 360)
13.Mass Effect 2: Overlord (Xbox 360)
14.Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker (Xbox 360)
15.Mass Effect 2: Arrival (Xbox 360)
16.Yakuza (PS2)
17.Streets of Rage 2 (GEN)
18.Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Long Version)(GENHack)

Today I discovered the magic of emulation with PSP. I'm in love. Finally, I have a reason to actually play my PSP! I wish SNES games ran a bit better (don't know what's up with it), but Genesis games run like a dream.

To celebrate, I beat the hell out of Streets of Rage 2, because I had a craving.

Then I tried out the fan hack Sonic 2 long version. I liked the extra zones, even if one was a copy with new a background.

[Dakinggamer87]

Enslaved

Loved that game.

Yep very awesome game!! The Beyond Good and Evil of the current gen

[Ack]

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (PC)(FPS)
X-Men: Mutant Academy (PS1)(Fighting)
Street Fighter Alpha (PS2)(Fighting)
Extermination (PS2)(Survival Horror)
Spyro the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS1)(Platformer)
Myst III: Exile (PC)(Graphic Adventure)
Shaq Fu (GEN)(Fighting)
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
God of War (PS2)(Action Adventure)
The Simpsons Game (PS2)(Platformer)
The King of Fighters '99 (PS1)(Fighting)
EOE: Eve of Extinction (PS2)(Beat 'Em Up)
Final Fight (Arcade)(Beat 'Em Up)
Gundam Battle Assault (PS1)(Fighting)
Dark Rift (N64)(Fighting)
Deadly Arts (N64)(Fighting)

TOTAL: 17

Ok, so I finally beat Deadly Arts, or as it is known in Japan and Europe, G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream (Generation of Arts, Speed and Power). I really don't know why they changed the name.

Anyway, there's a certain amount of pain expected from the mainstream when one mentions the words "Nintendo 64" and "fighting game" in the same sentence. I focused heavily on what I disliked about Dark Rift when I beat that several days ago, and Deadly Arts will also receive its fair share of criticism. Frankly, it's awful. But I'd like to praise it a bit before I decide to lay into it for doing a few things that I appreciate.

First, the game was criticized for its dull anime-esque characters, small stages, and limited music. At the time of release, I suppose the game wasn't cutting edge, but I feel it's a bit unfair to blast it on these fields. Yes, the characters are generic...just like they are in just about every other fighting game I play. And it was interesting to see 3D characters centered around anime character designs in a game that didn't have Dragon Ball somewhere in the title. The stages weren't enormous, but they weren't bad looking either, and I enjoyed the amount of destruction I could cause to them. The music was pretty mellow, but I felt this helped overcome the frustrations I experienced with the title. When I got to a particularly cheap section, I really started paying attention to how soothing the music was (coupled with a stage design that I actually found quite thrilling, a shallow river near a gentle waterfall under the shade of autumn trees...it was really quite lovely, regardless of how blocky it all looked).

Deadly Arts is also blessed with a plethora of game modes. There's the traditional arcade and multiplayer, as well as a tag battle mode, team battle mode, training, and even a well designed Create-A-Fighter system, in which players design their character and then begin training them to learn a full roster of moves. After the first round to learn basic punches and kicks, the game lets the player choose who they want, and upon winning a faux match in the game, the player then gets to select a move from that character's move list, so if there's something you want, it's a simple as winning a single round to get it. While some of the options aren't particularly broad when compared to the create-a-wrestler modes available in the AKI wrestling games on the same console, it was still well before such modes started appearing in games like Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur, so I think it's worth applauding.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much where my praise ends. The controls felt poor and rigid, the combat itself was stilted, and there are several minor notes which greatly bothered me. First, I never figured out mobility, despite trying everything I could think of. Sidestepping in this game is beyond me. The controls are a cheap imitation of Virtua Fighter's Punch Kick Guard, but they don't mesh nearly as well. The move roster feels considerably limited, and while I did find some pre-set combos that proved successful, I seemed unable to string them together in any effective form like I have done in VF. Perhaps with time I would find some, but I don't want to dedicate myself to it because of how poor the combat feels.

Speaking of which, we'll talk about that now. From what I can tell, Deadly Arts was designed to focus on counters. At least, that's what I gather from watching the AI fight itself. Because of the lack of ability to string together moves effectively, fights seem to move in short bursts of countering moves and then separating. If you break this chain by applying continuous pressure, the AI seems to collapse in on itself. I found by continuously performing one combination of moves, I could win almost any fight (for the record, it was crouch-punch, crouch-punch, punch, punch, punch). The AI just didn't seem to know how to react. But when it did get that single hit in that it needed to disrupt my attack string and pull itself away from me, often times it would retaliate with what appeared to be the wrath of God, countering everything I threw at it as I fought in vain to get in. The AI varied in quality from fight to fight, but this was always what it resorted to. I also noticed multiple problems with hit detection, where I'd continuously kick an opponent only to have my foot pass harmlessly through their character model to no avail.

I mentioned a few niggling concerns too, and I'll get to them here. First, the story was completely removed from the American release, so there's no reason for any of these characters to be fighting, and there's no information on who any of them are supposed to be. It wouldn't bother me so much, except they left in the talking animations during victory sequences despite having removed the voiceovers. This bugs me to no end. Second, if the match ends in a time out, the game totals up points and determines who wins the match. I've lost matches where I had considerably more health than the other character because I had somehow accumulated a penalty on my score, but the cause of the penalty was never determined. As far as I could tell it was arbitrarily set in place, which just furthered my annoyance. And then there's the final boss fight...

The final boss isn't so bad, but he can transform whenever he likes into one of two godlike characters, and that is the form he keeps for the rest of the match. One of those monsters can take a character at full health and put them down to a sliver of life with one combo, adding to my frustration. I beat him, but it involved a considerable amount of cursing on my end.

Anyway, I've finished the game and been able to check off another early 3D fighter. Deadly Arts had some interesting ideas, but Konami really dropped the ball with this one. I just don't understand what happened. Maybe I'll go play another N64 fighter next, like the Xena: Warrior Princess game. At least there I get to play as Bruce Campbell.

[geozeldadude]

Kirby's Dream Land 2- Game Boy *new*
Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire- PCE-CD *new*
Soul Calibur - Dreamcast *new*

Dream Land 2 is about 10X the game of the already excellent original, and is easily one of my all time favorite platformers for the Game Boy or any other platform. It has enough charm and clever mechanics to keep it seeming fresh every time, with enough unlockables and alternate routes to make you keep coming back for more. Platforming perfection.
I played through SC4 last year as my first real experience with the series, and found that it was insanely easy on the default settings throughout, allowing me to 1CC easily. I found that this was pretty much the same thing, although I can better appreciate what the game accomplished for its time. The gameplay is really nothing special, and I don't understand the high praise that the series gets as a fighting game. It is fun, but beating it is a button-mashers paradise.

i disagree with you on KDL2, if just for the fact there are so many "try and die" moments. also, getting 100% is tedious. much preferred kirby's adventure or even the original GB release, but i know i'm in a minority there.

re: SC, the other thing that i found kind of boring about the game (which i played recently), is that the characters are very similar, with only a few exceptions, e.g. voldo, cervantes. maybe if i played it a lot more i would feel otherwise, but it didn't feel like there was much variety as in other fighters to me.

[CFFJR]

Soul Calibur is definitely very masher friendly, but like most fighters, once you learn how to really play it (which admittedly isn't that difficult) no mashing player will have a prayer against you.

Hey dsheinem, did you decide if you're going to get Arrival?

[dsheinem]

Kirby's Dream Land 2- Game Boy *new*
Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire- PCE-CD *new*
Soul Calibur - Dreamcast *new*

i disagree with you on KDL2, if just for the fact there are so many "try and die" moment. also, getting 100% is tedious. much preferred kirby's adventure or even the original GB release, but i know i'm in a minority there.

Yeah, there were 2-3 of those try and die levels where you had to choose a direction and hope you picked right, but to me that's just another example of variable gameplay across the game. I didn't bother to get 100% this time, but I did years ago when the game was new (without the help of a guide ), so I know how tedious some of those tasks can be. I beat King DeDeDe and that was enough for me. If the original GB game were maybe 2-3 times as long and included the ability to copy powers, it would certainly give this one a run for its money.

Soul Calibur is definitely very masher friendly, but like most fighters, once you learn how to really play it (which admittedly isn't that difficult) no mashing player will have a prayer against you.

Hey dsheinem, did you decide if you're going to get Arrival?

I can see that...but I was judging it on the AI of the computer, not another player. I tend to evaluate fighters as a single player game first, and only if I really like it do I start to play others. I just can't see playing any game in the SC series for very long.

I will probably wait on the Arrival for a price drop. Plenty of other things to keep me busy for now

[CatchFiveBats]

1) Ducktales 2 (NES)
2) Yakuza 2 (PS2)
3) Yakuza 3 (PS3)
4) Yakuza 4 (PS3)
5) Deja Vu Deja Vu Casebook 1: A Nightmare Comes True (GBC)

Just "finished" Deja Vu as part of the Together Retro game of the month, although I can't say I got anywhere close to beating it by my own means. I was definitely reminded why I don't typically play those kind of adventure games, as much as I think I'd like to. More thoughts in the thread over on the Together Retro forum.


And a quick review of Yakuza 4, since I didn't put that in my first post...
Overall, the game was a blast. Lots of exact carry-over from Yakuza 3 in the environment and gameplay, but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. Loved the characters and, as expected of Yakuza games, the side content was beyond plentiful. As someone who loves the gameworld and feel of the Yakuza series, I wasn't let down.

The story, on the other hand, was kind of disappointing in comparison to previous Yakuza games. It had real potential, but having to piece together a complete story, from 4 different perspectives, with so many characters involved didn't work so fantastically. It could have, but each individual character's story moved so quickly that it became hard to remember who was tied to who in what way and what role they played in the grand scheme of things, etc. The character bios made it possible to follow the story (they updated as things moved along, so you could get up to speed on happenings thus far if needed), but even with those I still have kind of a bad, muddy aftertaste when I think about the main story.

Still, the main characters were interesting and well-developed enough that when the pieces all fell together and the main four characters joined up for the final stretch of the game, I couldn't help but kind of get goosebumps. Maybe I'm just easily pulled in as a fan of the series, but I had no problem enjoying the ending even though I was kind of let down by how convoluted the main story felt. It was just really cool seeing the main characters all come together and finish things off.

Plain and simple, even if you can't get into the main story I feel that the bonus content still makes this an extremely enjoyable game. I look forward to coming back in a few months and finishing out the rest of the sidequests in adventure mode.