Games Beaten 2013

[BoneSnapDeez]

Gamerforlife that was beautiful. I haven't had interest in progressing much past the half way point in that one and you perfectly explained why. I don't buy that the 3DS is coming into its own as the only game I've really enjoyed on it enough to stick with a game are the Mario titles...

Both the 3DS and Vita have had a slow start. Really slow. I haven't been wowed by a game on either system yet - which is a shame because the DS and PSP were so damn awesome.

[Stark]

Gamerforlife that was beautiful. I haven't had interest in progressing much past the half way point in that one and you perfectly explained why. I don't buy that the 3DS is coming into its own as the only game I've really enjoyed on it enough to stick with a game are the Mario titles...

Both the 3DS and Vita have had a slow start. Really slow. I haven't been wowed by a game on either system yet - which is a shame because the DS and PSP were so damn awesome.

I don't know that this is true, them being slower than their predecessors that is. The Vita has only been out a year and a couple of months in the US. Can you take a look at this list, sort them by release date, and tell me something in the list that was released prior to January 2006 was just miles above what has been offered on the Vita thus far? I didn't see anything. A lot of the "exciting" things are ports or remakes of existing games, which is the same thing that people complain about with the Vita. The Vita is an amazing system and if it's allowed to stay alive by Sony, it will have the same lifespan and set of amazing games, IMO.

[Menegrothx]

Both the 3DS and Vita have had a slow start. Really slow. I haven't been wowed by a game on either system yet - which is a shame because the DS and PSP were so damn awesome.

It's not like PSP had that fast of a start either. Tbh even now if you asked from the average, non hardcore RPG fan, gamer if there are any must play PSP games, most people couldn't really come up with any. GTA Vice City/Liberty City Stories? God of War: Chains of Olympus? Patapon? Daxter? Midnight club 3? Final Fantasy Dissidia/Crisis Core? Tekken: Dark Resurrection? Mostly decent spinoff games to a lot more succesful console game franchises. Games that are satisfactory, but that's about it, while the games they are based on were a lot better and had a much larger impact on gaming.

Sure there's a lot of less well known, good JRPGs on the system (although many of them were originally on the PS1/some other platform), and some hidden gems in other genres, but most of the more prominent games on the system are nothing more but spin offs and stripped down versions of succesful console games. And during the early part of the system's life, quite many of it's games were just ports of PS1 games. Later on many PS2 games got ported on the system.

[SamuraiMegas]

Beat Hotline Miami over the weekend finally. I played the game in short spurts so it took a while.

[dsheinem]

Games Beaten 2013
Twisted Metal - PS1
Twisted Metal 2 - PS1
Twisted Metal III - PS1
Twisted Metal 4 - PS1
Screaming Mad George's Paranoiascape - PS1
N.O.V.A. - PSP
Jetpack Joyride - Vita
Devil May Cry (2013) - 360
BlazBlu: Continuum Shift Extend - Vita
Fighting Masters - Genesis
Kirby's Epic Yarn - Wii
Cruis'n - Wii
Foosball 2012 - Vita
Electronic Table Soccer! - Odyssey2
Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown -PS3
Asura's Wrath - PS3
Showdown in 2100 A.D. - Odyssey2
CoD of Duty - PC
Little Big Planet Karting - PS3
Gattling Gears - PS3
Monster Maulers - Arcade (MAME)
Angry Birds Rio - iOS
The Last Story - Wii
Retro/Grade - PS3
Sonic Fighters - 360
Spec Ops: The Line - PS3
God of War: Ascension - PS3
Bioshock Infinite - PS3
Half-Life: Source - PC
Guacamelee - Vita
Tekken 6 - PSP
Half-Life: Blue Shift - PC
Power Stone - PSP
Power Stone 2 - PSP
Torchlight - PC *new*

Total: 35

Games Beaten: 2012 2011 2010

I'd owned Torchlight for a looooong time without ever playing it (since December of 2009, according to Steam). I opened it for the first time a few days ago and played from start to finish (about 15 hours) at a pretty quick clip.

I was surprised just how brutally (even on the default difficulty) the game scaled over the last few levels (the Black Palace Floor stages). I played as a warrior class and had a fairly easy time through the first 30 levels and only died a handful of times (and mostly stupid avoidable deaths). By contrast, I got my ass handed to me in the last 3-4 stages of the game , but luckily had enough potions and money to supplement my lack of skills and/or proper items and plow through to the end. There's lots of bonus content to go back to if I want, but at this point I am inclined to play the sequel instead.

35 games at the 1/3 year mark puts me on pace for a personal best for the year. We shall see...

[prfsnl_gmr]

1. Okamiden (NDS)
2. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (Wii)
3. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection (Wii)
4. Cave Story 3D (3DS)
5. Theatrhytm Final Fantasy (3DS)
6. Rayman Origins (Wii)
7. Kim Possible: What's The Switch (PS2)
8. Super Street Fighter 4: 3d Edition (3DS)
9. Metal Slug Advance (GBA)
10. Caveman Ninja (ARC)
11. Wario Land II (GBC)

I rolled the credits on Wario Land II last night. It is a really fun puzzle/platformer with a unique concept. Similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn - which I suspect was influenced by the Wario Land series - Wario is completely invincible. Accordingly, while the enemies cannot "kill" him, they can take his money, which he needs to acquire treasure, map pieces, etc. They can also transform Wario in ways that are sometimes helpful and necessary for completing a level...but just as often prevent him from progressing. Finally - and much to my happy surprise - I discovered last night that "beating" the game is very different from "completing" it, and there are just as many "hidden" levels as there are regular ones.

In any event, I enjoyed the game very much, and I am looking forward to "completing" it and the other games in the Wario Land series.

[alienjesus]

11. Wario Land II (GBC)

I rolled the credits on Wario Land II last night. It is a really fun puzzle/platformer with a unique concept. Similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn - which I suspect was influenced by the Wario Land series - Wario is completely invincible. Accordingly, while the enemies cannot "kill" him, they can take his money, which he needs to acquire treasure, map pieces, etc. They can also transform Wario in ways that are sometimes helpful and necessary for completing a level...but just as often prevent him from progressing. Finally - and much to my happy surprise - I discovered last night that "beating" the game is very different from "completing" it, and there are just as many "hidden" levels as there are regular ones.

In any event, I enjoyed the game very much, and I am looking forward to "completing" it and the other games in the Wario Land series.

The Wario Land series has been so hit and miss for me. I couldn't stand Wario Land 2 - I thought it was one of the most boring, annoying and uninteresting games I've ever had the misfortune of playing. However, I found 4 to be decent, 3 to be good and the Virtual Boy and Wii games to be really good fun. I haven't played the original.

[prfsnl_gmr]

It is interesting that you had such a different reaction...I played most of it during a trip to Chicago, and I guess that it just suited the circumstances and my mood.

Interestingly, I spent some time with the Wii game and did not like it at all...I still have it in my collection. however, and I will certainly revisit it after I play through Wario Land 3 and 4.

Also, I was going to start with SML3: Wario Land and play all of the Wario Land games in order...but my copy of the game is no longer holding a save.

[alienjesus]

It is interesting that you had such a different reaction...I played most of it during a trip to Chicago, and I guess that it just suited the circumstances and my mood.

Interestingly, I spent some time with the Wii game and did not like it at all...I still have it in my collection. however, and I will certainly revisit it after I play through Wario Land 3 and 4.

Also, I was going to start with SML3: Wario Land and play all of the Wario Land games in order...but my copy of the game is no longer holding a save.

I actually didn't like the Wii game the first time I played it either, but I went back to it a year or two later and really loved it. I think I prefer the more traditional Wario Games like that and Virtual Boy, but then again, 3 is similar to 2 in a lot of ways and I really enjoyed that one.

My biggest issues with WL2 was the pace - it's yawn inducingly slow. And the invincibility mechanic seems to encourage enemies who screw you over and make you repeat sections instead, which is frustrating. WL3 does this a lot too, but for some reason it didnt feel as bad there. Wario Land 4 also does it, but has a health system aswell. On the plus side, that's a MUCH faster game.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I actually didn't like the Wii game the first time I played it either, but I went back to it a year or two later and really loved it. I think I prefer the more traditional Wario Games like that and Virtual Boy, but then again, 3 is similar to 2 in a lot of ways and I really enjoyed that one.

My biggest issues with WL2 was the pace - it's yawn inducingly slow. And the invincibility mechanic seems to encourage enemies who screw you over and make you repeat sections instead, which is frustrating. WL3 does this a lot too, but for some reason it didnt feel as bad there. Wario Land 4 also does it, but has a health system aswell. On the plus side, that's a MUCH faster game.

It is good to here that you had a similar experience with the Wii game. I really want to like it, but I just didn't care much for it the first time I played it. (Kind of like Odin Sphere (PS2)...I really, really want to like that game...) I am hopeful that revisiting it after I have some more experience with the other Wario games will allow me to enjoy it more.

Your criticism of the game's pace is valid. It moves slow, but I was able to whip through the game in only a few sittings. Also, there were some sections with zombie Wario where I wanted to throw my GBA across the room...but I stuck with it. Finally, if the game had "lives", I think that I still would have been required to repeat some of the more difficult sections (i.e., Wario would have died there and been forced back to the beginning of the level). In that sense, I thought that the invincibility mechanic ended up saving me time.

In any event, I am really looking forward to Wario Land 3 and Wario Land 4, and I have placed both games on my summer challenge list!