The game's story Still holds up for the most part. Choices don't mean much in the end, but it has a lot of strong story moments.
95. Deus Ex Go
A pretty solid entry in the Go series, and thankfully this game doesn't require doing swipes for movement. If I have an issue with the game, is that it doesn't tell you directly that you can perform additional actions with the blue power icons.
69) Mega Man X6 - Playing through this on Rookie Hunter Mode is so much less egregious than I expected. There are absolutely some terribly designed levels in here, but when the difficulty and punishment is mitigated it drastically improves them game from say a 4/10 to maybe a 6/10 with some 7 tendencies. The core gameplay feels good, but it is absolutely marred by ugly and bad levels. Some nice backstory for Mavericks, which I appreciate, but I don't care for the Nightmare system nor the Reploid saving mechanic.
70) Mega Man X7 - So much worse than I remember it being. I had a more critical eye this time than the last time I played it and found little to no enjoyment. It is a disaster of epic proportions and I would absolutely consider it the nadir of the franchise. No question. There are almost no redeeming elements whatsoever from the heinous voice work to the godawful 2D and 3D gameplay. It's just front to back awful and I can't see anyone really enjoying this game. Among the worst I've played.
Didn't enjoy it as much of the first, but I feel like the constant chaos and misery is overdone. Doesn't help that the villains aren't all that good. Though to be fair, I thought it was...passable? I don't really feel much positive about it, as it is more of a 'thing to experience' than to enjoy or be immersed by.
After loving the first Splatoon I was a little let down with this one. I need to get the Octo Expansion since I hear that is better than the base game. I felt the game was incredibly easy until the last section where there was some challenging and also some annoying levels. The game felt way shorter than the first Splatoon as well. The final boss was a complete let down based on the amazing finale of the first Splatoon. Still, I had a blast and multiplayer is still fun to jump into. I hope they make a proper Splatoon 3 and really focus on an epic campaign.
#47: Into The Breach (9-3-2018) | 8/10 | Switch | ~ 8 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 8 | I really like this game and is one I can see myself coming back to for a very long time Gameplay - 9.2 | Its thoughtful, frantic and very fun gameplay is incredible. Every aspect is well crafted Sound - 7 | Not a lot going on in this department, similar to story not why you pickup this game Story/Online - 7 | You don't play this game for a story, its a tactile puzzle! If you want story, look on Asking Price- 9.33 | The gameplay loop is addicting with multiple mechs to mix and match for runs
After a reasonably productive summer I'm back at school and teaching again, so my game time has been cut considerably.
I'm very close to beating the original Dragon Quest / Warrior (maybe an hour or two of grinding before I can take down the big lad?), and have my eye on a few games I'd like to start. Actually feel a bit sad that it's unlikely I'll hit a hundred though after a barnstorming start to the year!
Watch Dogs is mostly a cookie cutter Ubisoft approach to open world design which still manages to throw some interesting ideas into the mix. Structurally is indistinguishable from Assassin's Creed or Far Cry, but mechanically is where WD grabbed me. The whole hacking system leads to some very interesting side missions and mini games, strongly based on environmental puzzles. Usually not very demanding, though a couple of the ctOs stations gave me trouble sorting them out. Hacking also leads to interesting strategizing when tackling missions, with different approaches to them always in the cards. The general flow in my play would be to assess enemy positions through cameras, devise a gameplan to take everyone out efficiently and then execute it with the help of the environment and hacking opportunities. I found it to be a very satisfying experience overall. There's also something to be said about the use of hacking when driving. There's an inherent pleasure in escaping an extremely aggressive police AI by destroying a couple of police cars with a water pipe explosion, then hacking a chasing helicopter into hitting a building and jumping over an opening bridge to lose that last pursuing car. It was moments like these that kept me engaged and ultimately made me very much enjoy my time with the game. It was everything else around it that kept me from loving it. Aiden Pearce is an irredeemable asshole. The other characters never really grow from the clichés they seem to be at first. The story is banal and the dialogue uninspired. The music is mostly forgettable and limited after i removed the more annoying tracks from the playlist. The driving is very loose. And most side content is extremely repetitive. I pretty much ignored the fixer missions after doing a couple of each type and realizing there were 40 of them. Nah game i'm good. The investigations were alright though, and lead to some of the most interesting tidbits of this world, though WD never really ventures any insight into the things it presents the player. An overall interesting game that makes me actually excited for the second game, seeing as it is generally held as the superior one.
64. 12 Labors of Hercules / 3h completed 08.09.18
Another short Time Management title. It was the only game i had time (heh) to play on my holidays a couple of weeks back but didn't quite finish it off until now. Enjoyable time waster but there really isn't much more to it. The art is not completely hideous, only forgettable. The gameplay is as basic as anything in the genre, though later entries in the series do bring some novelties, like hidden collectibles and more varied interactions. This first game is just very shallow.
65. Battlefield Hardline / 9h completed 09.09.18
Hardline is hands down one of the dumbest games i've played. It's quite incredible how inane and completely bereft of self-awareness it is. I chuckled three times through the entirety of the campaign. Once due to a hilarious combo of a glitch and the perfect line to go with it and twice in response to genuinely good, witty comebacks. The rest of my time with this story was spent shaking my head at the cliché ridden, low-rent Michael Bay CSI episode i was playing through. Everything that was ever put into a bad movie about corrupt cops you can probably find it here. And all this before even going into the whole police brutality aspect of the story, which is completely sidestepped, as expected. A big meh to all of it.
Slightly better than the narrative side is the gameplay. This game controls precisely but is let down by terrible AI and uninteresting level and encounter designs. I went through 90% of the game with a G7 pistol and an MPX submachine gun, both ridiculously overpowered over everything else. There are some high points though. Especially in those brief moments where the game lets go of the player's hand. Exploring the Florida swamps was fun but very short lived. Figuring out how to apprehend some suspects instead of going guns blazing provides something that could be interesting, but again, the level design is so poor that it's anything but challenging.
I could go on but it would just be writing variations on 'it's the definition of a mediocre game'.
66. Rise of the Tomb Raider / 28h30 completed 17.09.18
A step down from the tight design of the 2013 reboot, Rise feels like a game looking for an identity. For its gameplay as much as for its main character. This is an experience that falters in most of what it tries to add to the formula. The larger areas get tedious while there is overall much less variety in environments, the combat feels richer but looser than in its predecessor, and both the story and characters are worse in this as well.
Lara is even a bigger disappointment this time around. I sincerely have no idea what Crystal Dynamics is thinking regarding Lara's character. She's a walking contradiction in every aspect. What she says has nothing to do with what she does, which has nothing to do with what the game is apparently trying to say, which in turn contradicts everything the player does while controlling Lara. It's a mess. CD wants us to believe that Lara is a good person but in reality she's a selfish and self centered psychopath. The characterization tries to tell us that Lara is an independent young woman while the plot and the dialogue and the terrible voice acting say that she's just a whiny naive girl overcome with daddy issues. Jonah is supposed to be her best friend but she doesn't care one whit about his opinions. He's also taken in and out of the story in service of Lara's 'heroics' with no care whatsoever.
Despite all this, i still enjoyed most of my time with RotTR, due to the excellent traversal, occasionally pleasurable level design and those sweet optional tombs. They're a bit more involved here and have some of my favorite vistas in the game. It's also a really beautiful game.
67. RotTR - Blood Ties / 2h40 completed 17.09.18
A short DLC based entirely on Lara's mansion and her family lore. Very enjoyable as there's no combat, only exploration and heaps of atmosphere. I felt the writing was better here than in the main game, though Camilla Luddington still sounds like English is her fourth language. Lara Croft sure reads documents like she's never got past third grade in these games.
68. RotTR - Baba Yaga / 2h40 completed 17.09.18
Another short DLC, Baba Yaga has an extremely strong opening. The first 30 minutes are among the best in the entire game. Unfortunately, it quickly loses steam, as the mistery is immediately solved and the plot twist is telegraphed from miles away. What's left after those first developments is an admittedly cool boss fight and some extra collectibles. That's literally it. Not exactly mind blowing, Baba Yaga was mostly worth it due to the opening and the twisted visuals it employs to disturb the player.
69. Hercules II: The Cretan Bull / 4h40 completed 19.09.18
Another one of these. A slight improvement on the first game, with hidden puzzle pieces to find that you can then complete to unlock a few bonus levels. Which are pretty much just more of the same as the main levels. There are a few gimmicks added to the maps but they don't really add much tbh. The boss levels i could do without. So maybe not so much of an improvement after all :/
70. Gears of War 3 / 11h10 completed 20.09.18
Yep. Baird is definitely the best character in this world. For the first time in the series i actually do really like some of the writing, in particular most of Baird's dialogue. It's actually funny, weirdly endearing and even witty at times, which i was not expecting in Gears. The problem is that everything else in this game seems written by 12 year olds for 12 year olds. And then it has Cole Train, which is probably the reason why the word cringe had to be invented. I did have a good laugh at the big Dom dramatic scene though, so that's something to remember.
When it comes to gameplay, Gears 3 felt very uneven, but with a positive overall ratio. It has amazing moments, some of the best in the series. It's intense and quite imaginative when it works. But it also has Cole dunking a football, and human Lambent, which are annoying little shits that like running at you in close quarters and exploding. Hate both. The gunplay feels better than ever but the new guns didn't really do much for me. I barely used them in the end.
I found this to be a pretty good wrap-up of the series, all things said. I might skip Judgment entirely as it doesn't feel like i'll be missing much, and go straight to 4, which actually looks dope and somewhat of a return to the tone of the first game, which is still my favorite i think.
71. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare / 9h40 completed 23.09.18
Infinity Ward has crafted one of the best shooter campaigns i've played in quite a while. The way it keeps jumping between different gameplay styles while being coherent in its approach is remarkable, as are the the writing and world the game delivers. Although the dialogue sometimes veers into military drone talk as usual in CoD, the small, more personal details make all the difference, as every time our MC Reyes and his wingman Salter interact. It's credible and very engaging character work. The antagonist feels disappointing in contrast. He's got his interesting lines, but ends up being pretty one note overall. The world these characters inhabit feels a tad underdeveloped as well, though the visuals make it a sight to behold. IW is a gorgeous game at times. Another thing i really liked is how the game is structured around a Solar System map from where you choose what mission to tackle next. Around half the game being completely optional is kind of a bold move nowadays in the AAA space as well, usually being something only seen in open world games.
All this wrapping is fantastic and makes the game truly shine, but it would matter little in a CoD game without the wonderful gameplay underneath it. From the quality trademark gunplay to the very interesting skills available, from wallrunning while dropping hordes or robots to the space combat, in and out of a ship. It's all good stuff.
I hadn't really enjoyed a Call of Duty campaign quite as much since the original Modern Warfare. Though not a watershed moment like that game was, i feel it's up there in terms of sheer quality and i really hope Infinity Ward does not abandon their single player efforts next time around.
72. Metro 2033 Redux / 12h20 - completed 04.10.18
Redux really brings the quality from under the grime of last gen's version. After playing the original a few years back, this was a much better experience. Smoother and more streamlined, it feels almost like a whole new game. The fundamentals are still there though, and those are what made Metro 2033 a great game to begin with. It's one of the most creepy and atmospheric shooters i've played. Its sense of place and the world it depicts feel fully realized and the characters are credibly weary. The story is truly not all that interesting but the dialogue and worlbuilding give it some weight.
The gunplay feels much better than i remember, though the game does feel overly easy in Spartan mode. I think Survival might be a better option for literally anyone who's used to play shooters. The enemy AI is not brilliant either. The level design, though mostly linear, has some interesting diversions, mainly from an environmental storytelling perspective. There's a lot of little vignettes told Bethesda style hidden away, and i love the game for it.
73. The Division / 32h10 - completed 11.10.18
The Division has hands down the best representation of a city that i've witnessed. It's obviously not a 'living' city, but when it comes to scale, world design, the sheer amount of details and just 'stuff' lying around, it's truly magnificent what Massive pulled here. Plenty of times i just had to stop and marvel. It's not any old game that does this to me. On top of that, The Division layered a very competent game that sports some of the best feeling shooting i experienced in quite some time. The weapons feel just right, despite the RPG trappings.
There are some interesting missions but it does get somewhat repetitive the further you go. And as a mostly solo player, there is a wall that starts curtailing progression. Especially if you venture into the Dark Zone, which seems to be an almost exclusively coop/competitive area of the game.
The story is hum-ho and the implications of what you're doing gameplay wise has been discussed to death. It's a very reprehensible game in that regard. The characters are hit and miss and mostly feel like procedural tv stand-ins.
Playing this definitely made me more interested in the next game, which means that its gamepass inclusion has done its job.
74. Bioshock / 16h30 - completed 12.10.18
Bioshock is the game that keeps on giving. I always get new gameplay and meaning out of each subsequent playthrough. A true masterpiece, it climbed its way to be my favorite FPS throughout the years. To Valve's loss. Every single thing in this game has its well defined place. The narrative and characters are only half the story. The rest of it is told through Rapture, its trappings and every half-living thing in it.
All the mechanics, systems and economy reinforce Andrew Ryan's utopia gone wrong. Their failings only reflect the failings of his selfish and self-absorbed ideology. The failings of Rapture are the failings of Randian thinking and also, in a way, the failings of capitalism. The market has spoken, and in doing so, it deemed Andrew Ryan disposable and Rapture unsustainable.
The game within Bioshock can be exhilarating at times, but it suffers from a lack of challenge and varied enemies and situations. There's a rich buffet of options but no need to ever use them. The variety i got out of gun and bee play was out of my own volition. Exploration is very rewarding though. There is always something worthwhile finding, from a cool upgrade to a helpful locked door code, to a heartbreaking story of dreams gone wrong.
I believe Bioshock will be truly timeless.
75. Professor Layton and Pandora's Box / 14h20 - completed 20.10.18
Not as strong as the first one, Pandora's Box is still a very enjoyable adventure. The town of Folsense and its inhabitants maintain the charm of the series, and the narrative, though predictable, kept my interest all the way through. If i had to pick the best thing about Level-5 as a whole, the answer would be immediate: their music. And the Layton series is maybe the best example of this, for me at least. I love the music in this series to death.
The puzzling suffers near the end, as a lot of puzzle types start repeating in a short amount of time. I don't think the larger amount of puzzles does the sequel any favors, as the first game felt tighter, more cohesive. I strived to finish every single thing in the first game, but here i was sated before exhausting all 153 puzzles available.
76. Dishonored / 28h40 - completed 25.10.18
Arkane might be the only developer of which i truly love every game i've played. From Arx Fatalis to Dark Messiah to Prey. Everything they touch is gold as far as i'm concerned. Dishonored is no exception. No other developer that i'm aware of has such tight and expansive level design, with so much care put into how it informs everything else, from the joys of exploration, to worldbuilding and encounter design. Every space is worth playing with and losing myself in. Traversal is really fantastic here.
The story and characters are not the highpoints of this tale, but rather Dunwall itself. A rotten industrial wasteland, besieged by human greed and cruelty, under the watchful eye of The Outsider. The world of Dishonored is fantastic, if not wholly original, with its steampunk trappings and the Thief nods. There is a consistency though to how everything in this world works and fits together that really sells its credibility. The art style is another high point for me, though i'm sure many would disagree on this.
77. The Knife of Dunwall / 9h - completed 26.10 18
Michael Madsen is superb as Daud here, giving our DLC main character a depth of which Corvo had none, being a silent protagonist. The story of Daud, told though both DLC chapters is more interesting than the one told through the main story imo. Maybe less fleshed out, understandably, but also less cliché. The first couple of missions here are also a masterclass in Dishonored design, though the last mission was a disappointment.
78. The Witches of Brigmore / 7h40 - completed 27.10.18
The second part of Daud's story stumbles a bit at the start line due to repetition, but it grows stronger as it goes, ending on a fantastic note. Some of my favorite characters in this universe can be found here.
As a whole, Dishonored is veritably one of my dearest game worlds. And this is before going into 2 and DotO, of which i've heard wonderful things.
79. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings / 39h30 - completed 30.10.18
Having only read the first book, i don't know how much of the writing is taken directly from them, but truth is i find these games to be amongst the best written in gaming. A sense of dignity and dirty realism permeates every inch of it, lending verisimilitude to this world and these characters.
The second game is a clear upgrade on pretty much everything from the first one. Everything is more streamlined, easier to understand and manage, the characters are better written and developed, the story more interesting and the godawful combat was completely revamped into something actually enjoyable, if simple. Even the menus are prettier, even if they are still cumbersome at times.
The Witcher 2's tale is one of politics and power, and how men and women play at it. Great characters, a story that is relentless in how it keeps raising the stakes for everyone involved and sharp dialogue elevate it from your run of the mill fantasy RPG to something truly special.
80. Battlefront II (2017) / 8h30 - completed 16.11.18
A short and forgettable campaign. I liked the main character well enough but the story is just so cliché and uninteresting that i really didn't care about what happened at any moment. The gunplay is pretty good as expected but the campaign is so utterly bland in its design that it barely matters. I know the SP was mostly developed by Motive and not DICE but it just feels like any other DICE campaign tbh, a collection of multiplayer maps being passed off as single player levels. Meh.
Two things (barely) kept me from slumber playing this: Lando's short level was entertaining, mostly due to the banter; and the ship battles were pretty good, although easy and simplistic.
Tried Arcade for about half an hour but i just felt that i was done with the game at that point and shooting mindless drones over and over wasn't really gonna change that.
Audiovisually this game is as close to a perfect recreation of Star Wars as you can get. Shame about all the rest.
81. Life is Strange ep.1 - Chrysalis / 3h20 - completed 29.11.18
A random youtube autoplay of Spanish Sahara immediately transported me back to Arcadia Bay. I missed it. Chrysalis is a strong first episode, it wastes no time presenting us with its rich cast of characters and getting things moving along. It gives us what clearly seem very cliché one note characters and then quickly proceeds to subvert expectations. It's something that Dontnod keeps doing through most of the series.
82. Life is Strange ep.2 - Out of Time / 3h - completed 30.11.18
This is the episode that kicks everything into place and that first punches you breathless. We finally get to know Chloe and start making the connections that are the life of this small town. We get to play around some more with our powers and also get acquainted with their limitations. It's also the episode where the soundtrack starts to truly shine. There's a sense of dread throughout most of it that really pays off in the final act. Might be my favorite episode from what i remember.
83. Life is Strange ep.3 - Chaos Theory / 3h10 - completed 01.12.18
Chaos Theory starts off slow, focusing on the renewal of Max and Chloe's relationship. It's also here we start to get to know Rachel Amber and what she meant to so many people on Arcadia Bay. Between doomsday visions and the monsters among us, Max gets a first glimpse of what happens when you play with time. The final sequence is equal parts extremely cute and downright heartbreaking. Goddamnit Dontnod :(
84. Life is Strange ep.4 - Dark Room / 4h20 - completed 02.12.18
This is where Life is Strange delivers very strong payoffs for most of the threads we had been slowly unraveling. A truly fantastic episode that hits you over and over with emotional highs and lows. Despite being the longest episode, there is barely any filler or wasted moment. The revelation at the end is not wholly unexpected but i still feel like Dontnod played their cards right as to not make it too obvious.
85. Life is Strange ep. 5 - Polarized / 3h10 - completed 03.12.18
And Dontnod stumbles near the end of the line. Not enough to mess up the whole thing, but the last episode is a bit of a stinker. It has great moments in it, especially in the first half, but the latter half's writing decidedly drops off a cliff. There is some truly bad writing here. Like, bad daytime tv bad. And throwing half-assed stealth sections in a game that has no need for them has always been a bad idea. Everything until the nightmare sequence works well enough but little after it does.
As for the last choice Max gets to make:
I chose bae last time around. My Max just couldn't let go, she wasn't mature enough. This time around, this new Max heeded Chloe's wishes and saved everyone! I liked this ending much more. It just felt right.
86. The Darkness / 14h20 - completed 10.12
I really started on the wrong foot with this. The gunplay felt wrong, the movement was all over the place and consequently the game was getting on my nerves. The gunplay was an easy fix after all, turned the auto aim all the way down and actually was able to shoot things instead of sadly trying to aim some wild dots swinging all over the place. The movement, i couldn't do anything about. I had the same problem with the Riddick games, so i assume last gen Starbreeze's model is just not for me. Feels like i'm walking on butter all the time, with no precision, always bumping into walls while getting stuck on the tiniest of level geometry.
Glad i dealt with it though, because underneath it The Darkness is a pretty good game. And an unexpected one to be honest. Behind all the edge there's also a lot of heart. And an interesting story, some likeable characters and a few surprises. Not being familiar with the material, i was surprised with where the plot goes at times. The worldbuilding is fantastic here.
Kirk Acevedo does a great job with the protagonist, giving him humanity amidst all the nonsense, and Mike Patton can bring his insane quality to anything really.
87. Picross e5 / 12h30 - completed 12.12
I have no idea what more can i say about yet another one of these great little picross games, other than it's pretty much unchanged from the last two. Jupiter Corporation found its formula and perfected it. Every new iteration merely brings more content and a tiny tweak here and there. Which is fine by me in this case.
88. 12 Labors of Hercules III: Girl Power / 6h20 - completed 13.12
Another one of these silly games. Been watching some Age of Empires III streams of all things, and this fills in the gaps. It's mostly unchanged from the last title on the gameplay department but this time we play as Megara, Hercules' wife. Everything plays literally in the same way though. Two very welcome changes stand out though. The last level in each area is no longer just a gimmick and there's an extra bonus level if you finish every other level, including bonus ones, with a perfect score.
89. Destiny / 60h40 - completed 16.12.18
Nearly 4 years after playing it for the first time, the journey has ended. I had beat the campaign and did pretty much everything available in the base game back in the day but never played past that. I got the Collection this year and went through it all since the beginning. And the base game really pales in comparison with both The Taken King and Rise of Iron. TTK in particular is a fantastic expansion that really brings a lot of quality to the game.
Destiny has some of the most satisfying gunplay ever put in a game, and that's the main reason why i put so much time into it, as most of the content is still very rote and repetitious. Playing this in 2018 means that a lot of good stuff is really inaccessible as well. Raids are mostly out, unless it's the most recent one. Strikes are very hit and miss, since the playlist is a joke. I literally got the same one six times in a row. I just gave up on it and did them individually, mostly by myself since it's also rare to find people doing them. Online PvE focused games like this would benefit from some AI companion bots for when the masses leave. But then again bots don't buy DLC so heh.
Aesthetically i like this a lot more than i ever liked Halo. There are some similarities but it's much less garish and silly. The gun porn is off the charts here. Loved the music also. Very good stuff. On the downside, the writing is just all-around terrible. It's bad even by videogame standards. At least they dubbed Dinklage out, which was a wise choice. No more sleepy Ghost thingy.
Happy to be done with this so i can get on that sweet Forsaken thing i've been hearing about.
The latest introduction to the series is Nega Hercules, which is a right little asshole that prevents workers from getting to where they need to go. I could do without him. Otherwise, it's much of the same, now with some more levels.
The dollar store mobile artstyle is growing on me :/
64. Yakuza Kiwami 2 - PS4 - 9/5 - 39 Hours:
Story along with the characters were amazing. Hostess mini game along with the quest line where enjoyable. Kiryu is such a great character and hoping Yakuza 3 remastered makes its way to the West.
65. Marvel's Spider-Man - PS4 - 9/11 - 25 Hours: The combat, traversal, and story were all amazing. Some of the side content was dull or repetitive though. The end of Act 1 and 3 were so well done and place this game in my top 3 for GotY contender.
66. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country - Switch - 9/18 - 31 hours: Really loved the expansion. I enjoyed all the characters and story. Even though you already know what's going to happen the road there was worth it.
Game 39 – Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact (PC) – 3 hours, 59 minutes – 5/5
Went through a big mess to get this working on Windows 10/my laptop but it was truly worth it. This is the peak of the original Tomb Raider series for me. Great variety in locations/aesthetics, a decent level of challenge, and everything that makes these games great.
Highland Fling is one of the greatest TR levels.
Game 40 – Batman: The Enemy Within (PS4) – 8 hours, 45 minutes~ - 3/5
This was a Telltale game so if you've played any of their titles before you know what you're getting in that regard. What I didn't expect however was to see the most interesting iteration of the Joker as a character in any media. At least a big improvement from the other Batman games I've seen him in. Choices as always felt ultimately inconsequential but this one at least had a more compelling journey overall and at least gave some more variety (the last episode seems to shift heavily in particular depending on a prior choice). Definitely worth a go over some other Telltale titles like the Game of Thrones or Minecraft ones at least.
This is my sixteenth playthrough of this game over the years and different platforms. It's still an absolute joy and possibly my favorite game of all time (if it isn't this it's Silent Hill 2). I played as Jill this run so I can see myself returning to do Chris not too far from now.
More RE series replaying since it's September and officially spooky season for me. Played as Chris to compliment playing REmake as Jill. It's been ages since I did a fresh playthrough with no bonus weapons so I forgot how difficult this could be even on the standard difficulty. Some of the enemies spawn in areas that are extremely difficult to navigate without killing them leading to further problems later on. Struggled pretty heavily with the Yawn boss fight in the second phase but I'm not sure if that was because I ran around the first one or not.
Still love the aesthetics of the mansion and even the soundtrack (I played the notorious Director's Cut) has a few standout tracks. Looking forward to playing the other games and getting to the ones I've never played (Survivor, Dead Aim, maybe Gaiden?) soon.
A very productive August - even if that includes a number of shorter games - takes me nicely over the 52 game target! Here's my update for the month:
52. Black Mesa (Steam) - 4 August 2018
All available levels complete (up to and including Lambda Core); all achievements unlocked. A very well-done retelling of the original Half Life, Black Mesa is more than just a simple HD reskinning - changes are made to level layouts and setpiece scenarios, while still capturing the feeling of the original game convincingly. While a major improvement over the original Half Life, graphically Black Mesa is somewhat primitive nowadays - but this doesn't detract much from what is overall a great experience.
At the time of writing, the final area from Half Life - the alien environment of Xen - is missing from Black Mesa, but even without this the game feels a complete experience. I look forward to revisiting it once the Xen chapters finally arrive, which are promised not to be too far away now.
53. The Blackwell Legacy (Steam) - 4 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. My thoughts on the Blackwell series of games, for which this is the first, generally apply across the series as a whole, so I'll capture them here. Each game in this series of point-and-click adventures is fairly short - completion is typically possible in 2-3 hours - but this means that they lend themselves to being seen as individual chapters of a wider story. The games follow Rosangela Blackwell, a spirit medium (or in Blackwell Unbound, her aunt) and her spirit guide, Joey, as they investigate various supernatural mysteries. Each scenario presents an intriguing story that maintains interest throughout, and beyond that, there's an ongoing plot between the games that's especially fascinating to see play out. In contrast to many point-and-click adventures, the primary puzzle-solving tool comes from dialog rather than item manipulation, a mechanic that works very well and suits the detective/investigator role that Rosangela typically takes.
Beyond actually playing the games, it's interesting to see how the game mechanics develop from game to game, as well as gradual improvements in graphical style. These is highlighted further by the inclusion of a commentary mode, a feature now common to games from Wadjet Eye, which brings with it some interesting (and occasionally, amusing) insights to the design and development process - I'd definitely recommend a playthrough in this mode to anyone with an interest in game design
54. Blackwell Unbound (Steam) - 6 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. See The Blackwell Legacy, above.
55. Star Wars: Battlefront II (PS4) - 11 August 2018
All campaign and solo arcade trophies earned; campaign completed (including Resurrection DLC) with all collectibles; all arcade scenarios completed at first tier; not playing multiplayer. There's some great Star Wars fan service here which serves to elevate the game somewhat above others in the FPS genre, even if the plot is somewhat predictable and doesn't make full use of the potential that the focus on the Empire-allied protagonist offers, eventually reaching a clear-cut 'good vs evil' scenario. Standing back from the Star Wars setting, the core gameplay is decent if not outstanding; it's nice to see some added variety beyond the standard FPS stages with flight-based dogfighting sequences which generally work well. Added to the campaign, the inclusion of additional single-player content in the game's 'arcade' mode is welcome, with a number of standalone scenarios focused on a range of established Star Wars heroes - from Luke and Leia to Darth Maul.
56. FRAMED (Switch) - 11 August 2018
Complete playthrough. This puzzle game has a fairly simple yet unusual core mechanic, with each stage presenting a short comic-style series of 'frames' and the aim being to rearrange these to allow the protagonist to reach the end successfully. As a simple example, this might involve moving a panel with a ladder earlier in the series, to allow the avoidance of an obstacle appearing later. The scenarios get gradually more complex as the game progresses, including for example eventually allowing certain frames to be reused and dynamically manipulated as the series plays out.
There's a basic plot linking each scenario together, focusing on allowing the protagonist to escape from pursuing police. Tthis along with a fast-paced soundtrack and superb sense of style - imbued by, among other things, the presentation of characters in silhouette - make the overall experience very compelling. While the individual scenarios fit well to being played in short spurts, it's very easy to find yourself drawn into 'just one more' puzzle! Overall, I had a great time with this game and would recommend it to anyone with any liking at all for puzzle games.
57. Blackwell Convergence (Steam) - 13 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. See The Blackwell Legacy, above.
58. Blackwell Deception (Steam) - 14 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. See The Blackwell Legacy, above.
59. Gorogoa (Switch ) - 15 August 2018
Complete playthrough. A beautiful, exceptionally well-designed puzzle game, and very well-suited to the Switch. Many of the puzzles here are very satisfying to solve, frequently needing a little lateral thinking, but never to such length to make the solutions overly obscure.
60. Blackwell Epiphany (Steam) - 16 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. See The Blackwell Legacy, above.
61. The Norwood Suite (Steam) - 17 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. A surrealist 'walking simulator', with a few very light puzzles and 'fetch quests', The Norwood Suite was an entertaining experience for its 2-3 hour duration. Music is a central theme of the game, so it's fitting that the soundtrack here is a standout feature, and while there's not much long-term replay value here, the ending sequence is unexpected and intriguing enough to invite a second playthrough.
62. Off-Peak (Steam) - 17 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. After playing through The Norwood Suite, I thought I'd give this earlier game from the same developers a try (it's free, so why not!). It's very much following a similar theme as that later release, but more simplistic, with a surreal atmosphere to the large train station in which it's set - the various exhibits and merchants all at once being mundanely everyday and yet feeling somehow alien. Whilst Off-Peak's direct challenge to the player is to collect all the parts of a train ticket to to allow them to leave the station, the game also leads you to think more about what might lie behind the setting - nothing about this is ever directly answered, but it leaves an impression that keeps this in the mind for some time after its short half-hour play duration.
63. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4) - 20 August 2018
100% in-game completion, on "Do or die!" (hard) difficulty; all collectibles obtained except for a few 'readables'; all trophies obtained except those for higher difficulties, one missable and one glitched. Excellent level design, satisfying combat (especially with its stealth mechanics) and a ridiculous yet entertaining plot - all the ingredients for another great game in the Wolfenstein series, which I very much enjoyed. There's also an impressive amount of background lore throughout the game (from various collectibles, etc.) that helps to flesh out the setting, which is surprising - in a good way! It's just a shame that the Mein Leiben trophy is so unreachable, as I'd otherwise have liked to go after the platinum trophy here.
64. SOMA (Steam) - 25 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. Horror games aren't something that I enjoy, so I played through SOMA in 'safe mode', but the sense of tension that it managers to evoke is impressive even then. There's a fascinating sci-fi plot underlying the game, perhaps the game's strongest asset, and the exploration of which keeps the game compelling throughout, even if I found the ending to be a little predictable - but to say much more on that would be to go into spoilers. Suffice to say that there's an impressive amount of detail in the world - scattered notes, computer recordings and of course, the actual environment - that makes everything almost believable as a direction that future society could eventually find itself going towards. The actual gameplay is also strong, with well-designed puzzles and good pacing to encounters, rounding out a very impressive package overall.
65. Gemini Rue (Steam) - 26 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. After enjoying the Blackwell series, I wanted to explore some of developer Wadjet Eye Games' other work, bringing me to Gemini Rue, one of their earlier games. It was great to find the game to be just as enjoyable as I'd hoped! While perhaps not ideally suited to inclusion in a point-and-click adventure, the inclusion of a few other game mechanics such as gunfights make for some interesting diversity. The core puzzle-solving is great, typically being believable and fairly logical, and I really enjoyed the story - without going into specific spoilers, the key revelation towards the end of the game wasn't something that I saw coming, making it all the more captivating in keeping me invested right until the end.
66. Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (Steam) - 30 August 2018
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. Historical fiction tends not to be a genre that particularly appeals to be, which makes my great enjoyment of this game, based around the seemingly mundane topic of building a cathedral, all the more impressive. Primarily being a 'point-and-click' adventure game, the game's story is a core part of the game, and it's excellent throughout. This will of course be largely coming from the book on which the game is based (which I've not read), but it's pulled off excellently here, with a cast of believable characters who you really come to empathise with. In terms of puzzles, they're typically fairly rudimentary, but they do the job, with solutions that make sense - something that all too many games in the genre don't manage!
This was a nice and simple Adventure game. Visually it is among the best from Wadjet Eye's use of AGS, and is an overall well written and entertaining game, despite any shortcomings from being a PnC style game.
I got the bad ending unfortunately but I'll look up how to get the good ending(s) later.
#50 Mafia II 6PS3 - Sep 7th - 11 hours
While the shooting and driving are much better than the first game and feel pretty good, the games missions don't take full advantage of them. The story was much worse than the first game and pretty disappointing. The 40/50s atmosphere is great but this one feels like wasted potential.
I feel like this game's main plot could've been shorter and better paced but I enjoyed my time with it for the most part, although I didn't enjoy the combat like previous entries :/
100. VVVVVV
Well this game wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I give props for its creation and gameplay design.
46. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion - 3DS
Completed 9/5/18
Score - 6/10
Really mixed bag. The art and style of this game is a throwback to the classic NES/SNES Disney games and I love it. The other stuff not so much. The game is really really short but still feels really tedious at times. A weird quest system that usually revolves around just talking to other characters in the castle. It feels like a game half finished. I really would have loved to see what more they wanted to do with this game. I was really impressed with the graphics and level design. The biggest issue is that main gimmick of drawing things with the stylus are usually the same thing every time. So you draw a B block multiple times. Strange game but I am glad I saw it through to the end.
47. The Room Two - iPad
Completed 9/7/18
Score - 8/10
Just like the first game, a fun little puzzler. You could definitely see an increased budget for this one and it pays off. I liked how the game was longer and felt bigger than the previous one. I will probably pick up the third game soon. Fun game to play on a plane ride!
71) Mega Man X8 - Pretty disappointing that this is yes, certainly better than the two prior games but doesn't really hold a candle to the first 5 Mega Man X games to me. Lots of good things about it, but the gimmick stages and rare metals (and R&D lab in general) mark a low point in the series. I still desperately want an X9, but not like the final three games in the X franchise. Thanks, Capcom.
Pretty Solid Action RPG. I did feel it was a little longer than it should nearing the end but aside from its Vita-ness holding the game back, it was a fun ride.
Another short Time Management title. It was the only game i had time (heh) to play on my holidays a couple of weeks back but didn't quite finish it off until now. Enjoyable time waster but there really isn't much more to it. The art is not completely hideous, only forgettable. The gameplay is as basic as anything in the genre, though later entries in the series do bring some novelties, like hidden collectibles and more varied interactions. This first game is just very shallow.
65. Battlefield Hardline / 9h completed 09.09.18
Hardline is hands down one of the dumbest games i've played. It's quite incredible how inane and completely bereft of self-awareness it is. I chuckled three times through the entirety of the campaign. Once due to a hilarious combo of a glitch and the perfect line to go with it and twice in response to genuinely good, witty comebacks. The rest of my time with this story was spent shaking my head at the cliché ridden, low-rent Michael Bay CSI episode i was playing through. Everything that was ever put into a bad movie about corrupt cops you can probably find it here. And all this before even going into the whole police brutality aspect of the story, which is completely sidestepped, as expected. A big meh to all of it.
Slightly better than the narrative side is the gameplay. This game controls precisely but is let down by terrible AI and uninteresting level and encounter designs. I went through 90% of the game with a G7 pistol and an MPX submachine gun, both ridiculously overpowered over everything else. There are some high points though. Especially in those brief moments where the game lets go of the player's hand. Exploring the Florida swamps was fun but very short lived. Figuring out how to apprehend some suspects instead of going guns blazing provides something that could be interesting, but again, the level design is so poor that it's anything but challenging.
I could go on but it would just be writing variations on 'it's the definition of a mediocre game'.
I LOVE this game, everything about it is pretty much perfect and the issues I do have with it (ok side missions, sneaking sections with other characters) didnt take away from the experience and it didnt stop me getting the platinum shortly after release.
Spider-Man takes everything good about Sunset Overdrive and everything cool about the Batman Arkham series and delivers a fun, unique adventure featuring the web head, his friends and some of his most famous villains.
Its a must play and a must own. A contender for GOTY for sure.
I look forward to the DLC Spidey.
95/100
Game 30/52: Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4)
A short but enjoyable ride.
Lost Legacy brings back Chloe (yay!) and Nadine (...oh) and together they go on quick journey for great train sequences, a helicopter ride and great scenery.
I have 2 main issues with the game.
Nadine continues to be a pain to have in the uncharted games, I never liked her in Uncharted 4 and I only slightly started to feel differently right at the end of the game.
Secondly even though the side story has some fun moments it feels just like that, a side story. No real tense moments wondering if Chloe was going to die or if Nadine and ____ were going to bite a bullet instead it felt like more Uncharted 4 (not a bad thing, 4 is my favourite) but with less character and love.
I feel like im staying too much in the negative but that's because the rest is a good game, and I spent plenty of time in photo mode just looking at this beautiful game.
70/100
Game 31/52: Half-Life
Old.
These two next entries will probably give me some backlash if anyone bothered to read these (I write em mainly for myself tbh)
Half Life and its sequel which I will talk about next are held in such high regard that I just felt I had to go back and experience them.
Now I never played them near release so this is me as a fresh mind going into it in 2018. This game feels, looks and plays old but it does have a charm that pushes it past something mediocre for me.
I don't know if I would recommend this game to someone new like me but im glad I have it under my belt now and don't feel left out when people talk about Half Life
60/100
Game 32/52: Half-Life 2
A slightly better life.
So, Half Life 2...iv heard so much about you and iv heard for years how people would die for a sequel to you.
My experience like the one with the first game was someone new, just coming off the original. The boost in visuals was great but for 2018 can look a little rough, what blew me away the most is how many characters I know from playing Garry's Mod. I always knew that game took things from HL2 but seeing them animated and voiced was just strange and neat to me.
The gameplay improved, and so did the puzzles but it still feels outdated. This one would have been interesting to play at the time of release but like the original im just glad I know what people are talking about regarding Half Life 2.
This one would have been interesting to play at the time of release but like the original im just glad I know what people are talking about regarding Half Life 2.
Done but not yet dusted
#51 Ace Combat Zero 7- PS2 - Sep 12th - 4 hours
Pretty standard stuff, I don't think it was quite as good as the other PS2 AC games, it feels like just an expansion and some missions feel identical to ones before, but more AC is still good fun
#52 Maximo vs Army of Zin 8- PS2 - Sep 12th - 7 hours
Even better than the first game, combat is improved and a lot of fun, level design is better, and the game is less punishing in general than 1. Platforming is better too but still a little iffy but overall a great game which deserves a sequel
Puh, I haven't updated in a long-ass time, but I'm about to hit 52, so I'll now catch up gradually:
22) Castlevania(NES Classic, ~4-5 hours)
Great to finally play the first game of this series I really like, but never actually played that many games of.
23) New Super Mario Bros. 2(3DS, 9 hours)
As somewhat of a defender of the New series (at least on Wii and Wii U) I thought this game was disappointing. At least I can now claim to have played all 4 games, as well as Luigi U.
24) Castlevania II: Simon's Quest(NES Classic, unknown time)
I honestly couldn't imagine playing this without a guide, but with a guide it's a decent experience. Really strange game.
25) Donkey Kong Jr.(NES Classic, 20 minutes, maybe?)
Obviously incredible short, but the couple stages that are there are fun.
26) Super Castlevania IV(SNES Classic, unknown time)
A big step up, but as a result a little easy at times. I wish Castlevania 3 was included in the NES Classic.
27) Epistory - Typing Chronicles(Steam, 8 hours and 30 minutes)
Very charming typing game.
28) Contra III: The Alien Wars(SNES Classic, unknown time)
A blast to play, but tough as nails.
29) Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter(Steam, 13 hours)
Loved Serious Sam as a kid and I've been meaning to go back to it for a while now. Just as fun as I remember!
30) Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon(Steam, 13 hours)
Absolutely loved this game. Got all endings and achievements. It's tied with Rondo of Blood as my favourite Castlevania (or Castlevania-like) game.
31) Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter(Steam, 17 hours)
Probably the most fun I've had with a Serious Sam game. Also played the Legend of the Beast DLC.
32) Yandere School(Steam, 1 hour and 30 minutes)
Okay, I won't claim this game is good. But I got it in a bundle and it's kinda funny I guess. I dunno. It's short so I finished it.
33) Serious Sam Double D XXL(Steam, 3 hours and 30 minutes)
Surprisingly decent. The weapon stacking mechanic is stupid yet satisfying.
34) Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth(Steam, 17 hours)
Didn't really like this one as much as I was hoping. It has some neat ideas, but by the end I was glad to be done with it. Quite buggy too, even with the fan-made patch.
35) Hook(Steam, 1 hour)
Neat little puzzle game.
36) Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.6 Tsumihoroboshi(Steam, 13 hours and 30 minutes)
Higurashi is the gift that keeps on giving. Now if only the wait between episodes wouldn't be so bad.
37) Snake Pass(Steam, 6 hours and 30 minutes)
Once I got a grasp of the controls it became a very satisfying experience.
38) One Night Stand(Steam, 2 hours)
Better than I expected going in. The art style reminds me of Hotel Dusk, which is a good thing to be reminded of.
39) Clustertruck(Steam, 11 hours)
By the end I was rather frustrated by it. Feels really random at times.
40) Mighty Gunvolt(Steam, 2 hours and 30 minutes)
Very short game (the 2 and a half hour include multiple playthroughs, as well as level which were originally DLC I believe), but enjoyable for what it is.
41) Serious Sam 2(Steam, 14 hours and 30 minutes)
Wasn't really feeling this one as much as the previous ones sadly, not exactly sure why. Maybe fatique of the series was setting in at this point. I'm taking a bit of a break before playing 3.
42) klocki(Steam, 1 hour and 30 minutes)
Made by the same person who made Hook and it shows.
43) WarioWare Gold(3DS, 16 hours and 30 minutes)
Great game. As a best of, it is fantastic. Here's hoping for an all new WarioWare on Switch!
44) Octopath Traveler(Switch, 85 hours)
The way the game is structured and the lack of an overarching story hurts the game some, but the battle system is top notch.
46) Pharaoh Rebirth+(Steam, 8 hours)
I became aware of this game thanks to Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicty by the same developer. Glad I did, as it is quite good.
47) Day of the Tentacle Remastered(Steam, 5 hours)
This game holds up remarkably well. The Remaster is well done too!
48) Return of the Tentacle - Prologue(itch.io, 2 hours)
Really impressive. The game itself, the graphics, even the voices, everything about this is really impressive. Sadly it's way too short.
49) Pixel Puzzles 2: RADical ROACH(Steam, 8 hours and 30 minutes)
It's okay, one of the better Pixel Puzzles games I've played.
50)Sanrio characters Picross(3DS, 19 hours and 30 minutes)
This feels like a step back compared to the last Picross e games, still good though.
Currently playing:
Dragon Quest XI
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Detective Pikachu
Picross S2
I'm not sure where to begin with this one. Spider-Man is a great game, but it's also a heavily flawed one.
I guess I'll start with the good. Traversal is fantastic. The web-swinging only got more and more fun the longer I played, and by the end of the game when you're elegantly weaving your way through the city - it just feels awesome. I never wanted to fast-travel. Even when the next story mission was at the other end of the map, I would always take my time getting there, fighting crimes along the way. It was an important thing for Insomniac to get right, and they absolutely nailed it.
Combat is enjoyable, too. The comparisons to the Arkham combat aren't entirely inaccurate, but there definitely is a bit more depth here. You have a wider variety of moves at your disposal, and the enemies are no slouch, either. I was getting wrecked at the start, and even by the end-game it was hard for me to consistently rack up 50+ combo's, which only makes it more rewarding when you do.
The story was surprisingly decent too, with some unexpectedly dark moments and great development for a few key characters. This is more or less where my praise ends, though. These three elements (traversal, combat and story) all being good means that the core of the game is very solid. It feels fun to play, and you're invested in where things are going. What's not to like?
Well...where things start to fall apart is in the side content. To be frank, it's mostly shit. The vast majority is just context for more combat, and it becomes incredibly repetitive by the mid-point of the game imo. The research stations are super formulaic and generally uninteresting from a gameplay POV. I wasn't impressed by any of the side missions, outside of maybe the Tombstone one. The Black Cat 'missions' were an absolute joke. The game frames it as if you're somehow tracking her down, but the gameplay associated with this is scanning the screen for a toy cat to take a picture of. Yes, really. Instead of having something cool like the Deadshot missions in Arkham City where it feels like you're actually finding clues that lead you to the next one, the gameplay is totally divorced from what you're doing. There's tons of missed opportunities like this. Honestly, almost all of the content outside of the main story really feels like generic open world checklist filler.
Returning to combat for a sec...while I enjoyed the mechanics for fighting literal waves of enemies, stealth is much more of a mixed bag. I enjoyed it on a certain character's challenge maps, but in most combat situations it's far too forgiving to be particularly engaging. The enemy A.I is terrible. It's so easy to avoid detection that it just feels dull, and the way the enemies won't notice a comrade dangling from a web in their line of sight was really immersion-breaking. Thankfully there's limited sections where stealth is a necessity, but I really hope this is polished more for the sequel.
Quick-time events during boss battles are another thing I didn't love. I think they work fine for the super cinematic sequences, but a few of the boss fights almost felt like they played themselves because of how rudimentary the gameplay becomes at points, where you're more or less just tapping triangle at key points to win.
I could go on and on (and probably will in the spoiler thread), but the tl;dr is that the game is very good, but let down by some super generic open-world side content. The next game should be able to build on this strong foundation to deliver something really special.
An extraordinarily beautiful open world that truly feels like a real place...Warhorse Studios have set the bar very high with their interpretation of 15th century Bohemia. The splendour of all the forests, towns and hamlets is even more highlighted by the vibrant graphics and day and night system that significantly contribute towards the immersion factor.
Next to that the game also features surprisingly good writing and all of the main characters are very well written and have their own side-quests which spin off from the main story. The game at times feels like a blend of the more sandbox like approach of The Elder Scrolls games and the more narrative focused The Witcher 3. Kingdom Come aims to combine the best of both worlds and more often than not succeeds in this enormous undertaking. The combat is impactful and satisfying and there is a lot of choice and consequence present in the various main and side quests.
Negative points? There are still some bugs left, some parts are not executed that well (thinking about infiltrating the camp, the monastery) and the combat lock can be very annoying in fights against multiple enemies.
But overall Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a massive success, especially considering this is Warhorse's first try at creating a gigantic historically inspired open world RPG. Count me in for the sequel.
Game #41 - Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4) - 01/07/18
I haven't played Assassin's Creed in a long time because it ran its extremely tired formula into the planet's core but hearing Origins had changed up the formula got me interested. First impressions, I absolutely loved the setting. The effort the devs went through to realise Ptolemaic Egypt is extremely impressive and that's only emphasised by Discovery Tour, which has to be one of the coolest things Ubisoft's ever done. I loved the relationship between Bayek and Aya, it felt mature in a way most videogame relationships aren't (especially the "pick a waifu/husbando" type stuff in a lot of RPGs) and made both characters much more likeable as a result. And I also somewhat enjoyed the new combat (which is a huge improvement over the old one but still very shallow) and climbing systems.
Where it fails is the same old shallow and boring side quests and activities duplicated and spread all over the map. I started the game trying to do everything but halfway through I got really burnt out and just rushed through to the end. Ubisoft really needs to focus more on quality side content than quantity. Additionally, I found a lot of the characters in the game, aside from the main characters and famous names, to be really forgettable.
So yeah, as much as I liked a lot of the things Origins does, it could've been so much better. I'm interested to see how they build on this new foundation with Odyssey, though I don't think I'll buy it at launch because I've already had enough Assassin's Creed for 2018. 3/5
Game #42 - Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage (PS4) - 05/07/18
Aaaaand I'm done. It took me just under a full year but I've finally finished the entire Kingdom Hearts series. Going into it I wasn't looking forward to the return of the old command menu, as I thought the move list in BBS and DDD was a significant improvement, 0.2's second shortcut menu helps soothe that wound. Graphically, a couple of characters look a little weird with the huge graphical leap from the previous games, particularly Yen Sid and his creepy eyes, but otherwise, it looks incredible. And the addition of customisable outfits is pretty cool. Finally, the story surprisingly does a decent job filling in the gaps between Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 1. A very cool KH3 prologue, it makes me really excited to play the proper game. 3/5
Game #43 - Hitman (PS4) - 11/07/18
It's taken me a long time to finally get to Hitman 2016, especially since I was looking forward to it long before it came out, but it was well worth the wait. All the things that made Hitman great (sans the linear rubbish in Hitman 2 and Absolution) are there: Fantastic level design, scenario design and gameplay mechanics that allow you to do a lot of cool and hilarious stuff in its sandboxes. There's a couple of misses, particularly Colarado which is a boring setting that's far too restrictive and has too many targets, but the good by far and away outweighs the bad. Sapienza and Hokkaido are two of the best levels in the entire series and I spent hours just messing around in them. Great game, really looking forward to Hitman 2. 4/5
Game #44 - Bridge Constructor Portal (PS4) - 18/07/18
I don't usually play these kind of games but I bought Bridge Constructor Portal on a whim because it was Portal and it was on sale. I had a lot of fun with it at first because constructing bridges with Portal's mechanics is pretty cool. But the further I got into the game, the more the solutions seemed to rely on getting the right behaviour from the physics engine and that really killed it for me. Often times I'd come up with a good solution but one of the forklifts would roll in a way none of the others did and suddenly I have to spend 5-15 minutes tweaking it to get things just right. It's disappointing because otherwise I had a lot of fun solving all the puzzles. 3/5
Game #45 - Resident Evil Code Veronica X (PS4) - 21/07/18
I never liked Code Veronica back when I first played it on PS2, it bored teenage Resident Evil superfan me to the point where I struggled to finish one playthrough, let alone 10+ times like I did with RE1-3. But after so much time and with Resident Evil on my mind, I wanted to give it another try and see if I can figure out why exactly I didn't like it. First impressions were actually a lot more positive than I thought they'd be; I really like Claire and the prison seemed pretty interesting. But then, as it opened up, dragged on and I was forced to run back and forth over and over, my opinion dropped pretty quickly. My main issues are with the locations, level design and objective design. The locations are honestly just boring. Compared to RE1's mansion, RE2's police department and RE3's numerous locations, Rockfort Island and Antarctica are completely uninteresting and don't really have anything going for them. Even when they try and play on nostalgia, it doesn't really work. The level design is very spread out and the objective design is all over the place, forcing you to backtrack so much it feels like a chore and has been designed that way largely to help pad the game out. Add to that a story that kinda sucks and terrible voice performances and I really can't say I enjoyed it. This is all pretty negative, but I wouldn't say it's a terrible game, just below average. 2/5
Game #46 - DriveClub Bikes (PS4) - 30/07/18
It's taken me a few years to get to DriveClub Bikes because the amount of content in the base game and all its DLC packs was extremely daunting to look at but I finally pulled it out of my backlog. The first thing I noticed was how great the motorbikes feel and handle. It doesn't feel like the bikes were just added to a car racing game, it feels like it's a whole new game. The new skill event type, which largely focuses on wheelies and stoppies, is maybe the funnest event type in the game. And then on top of that you've got all the great DriveClub features, like the tournaments, race objectives, time trials, face-offs and so on. I'd forgotten how fun and addictive a lot of that stuff can be. Great game. 4/5
Game #47 - Tales of Symphonia (PS3) - 26/08/18
Having finished the Kingdom Hearts series last month, I figured I might move onto trying to finish some of the Tales games in my backlog and picked Tales of Symphonia because it seemed really well regarded when it came out on the Gamecube. First impressions weren't particularly positive, starting with the battle system. If you give me a 3D environment, let me run around it freely, don't railroad me on a 2D plane based on what enemy I'm locked onto. And then getting into the story, the first chapter of it is basically a bad anime version of Final Fantasy X, with a quest that takes you through one boring dungeon after another until you "finish" it. It's only at that point that things start getting interesting, with the story picking up, more interesting and complex dungeon designs being brought in, a bunch of new and interesting characters joining the team and exploration opening up a lot more. It still has issues, like how seemingly every time you progress the plot, someone gets kidnapped and the ridiculous amount of false endings it has, but it's still entertaining. I wouldn't call it a great JRPG, especially compared to a lot of the JRPG's that came out around that time, but it's a fun game. 3/5
Game #48 - Old Man's Journey (PS4) - 26/08/18
After spending a month playing Tales of Symphonia and with Yakuza Kiwami 2 coming up, I needed a breather in between them and Old Man's Journey was welcome relief. It starts out with the title character, an old man (weirdly enough), recieving a letter for reasons you have no idea of and then starting off on a journey where you as the player grab parts of the terrain and lift or lower them in order to create for a path. As it progresses, you recieve flashbacks that provide you enough information about his backstory to figure out what happened and where he's going. The gameplay mechanic doesn't have a ton of depth and their attempts to create puzzles with it are sometimes pretty clumsy but it's short enough that it never outlives its welcome and I really enjoyed it. 4/5
Game #49 - Gorogoa (PS4) - 28/08/18
I heard a lot about Gorogoa when it came out late last year, so once I noticed it was part of the PS Store's winter sale, I made sure to buy it. Gameplay is fairly simple, you have up to four images on screen that you move around and combine with each other to solve whatever puzzles you've come across. It's a really unique and cool mechanic that's used in a number of different ways throughout the game and never gets old. Additionally, the art style is absolutely beautiful and I'm pretty sure it's all hand drawn. Great game. 4/5
Game #50 - DuckTales Remastered (PS3) - 28/08/18
I had an extra day before Yakuza Kiwami 2 would arrive, so I had a quick look through my backlog for something to pass the time, eventually stumbling upon DuckTales Remastered. It looked like I'd only played one level before dropping it back when it came out in 2013 and when I started it back up, I could understand why. It simply isn't very engaging, with floaty jumping and noticeable input lag taking a lot of the fun out of it. What it does have, however, is a beautiful art style and most of the the original DuckTales voice cast, making it really unique and cool to play. So yeah, I'm glad I played it but I wish it was more fun. 3/5
Game #51 - Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) - 10/09/18
Yakuza 2 has long been my favourite game in the Yakuza series, as it was the game where they really delivered on the promise of the first game. The story was fantstic, the combat was dramatically improved, the side quests were really out there and great and it featured an amazing villain, still easily the best in the series. So when they announced the remake, I was extremely excited. It didn't let me down. Kiwami 2 is a fantastic remake, taking Yakuza 6's new Dragon Engine and significantly improving it with a ton of content that Yakuza 6 noticeably lacked and I even thought it was more responsive, though I may've just imagined that. They also added two major mini-games, one of which is an improved version of the cabaret game seen in Yakuza 0 and the other an improved version of the clan creator game seen in Yakuza 6. The Cabaret game is fantastic, even better than the original, but clan creator is still a bit of a grind, sadly. Finally, beneath all that, there's still Yakuza 2's fantastic story, memorable side quests and amazing villain. Great remake of an amazing game. 5/5
Game #52 - Zone of the Enders (PS3) - 13/09/18
The recent ZoE2 remaster reminded me that I still had last gen's HD Collection in my backlog, so I decided ZoE was the next game to play. It's a fun game, I like the way it's structured and the story feels Kojima-esque even though he was only a producer on it, but it has some significant downsides. For one, it's extremely short. These days you can play it as a prologue to ZoE2 but I can't imagine buying it back when it first came out (though I suppose MGS2 would've been the big draw). Additionally, the cutscenes have aged horribly and the voice overs are horrific, which really hurts the story. It's an enjoyable game but that's about it. 3/5
#48: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (9/13/2018) | 8/10 | Vita | ~ 40 Hours | Recommend: Y
# Overall - 8 | An old RPG that has more QoL features than turn based games today Gameplay -8.4 | Turn based mechanics with many features that make fights about strategy versus stats Sound - 7 | Good tracks, but not very many, VA minimal. Story/Online - 8 | A simple, realistic RPG story that has a wild ending, made me jump into #2 right away Asking Price- 8.67 | Tons of content, tons of characters. Almost every NPC has dialogue. Great game
1) Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus - Amazing game, probably my favorite video game story in at least 5 years.
2) The Evil Within 2 - Great RE4 style game, one of the few games recently that I actually wish were a bit longer.
3) Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Loved the original but I wasn't super excited for this because I'm usually not into prequels and losing the rewind mechanic seemed bad. The story between Chloe and Rachel was so good that it almost made me wish the original didn't exist.
4) Mega Man 3 - Picked up the 2nd Mega Man Collection and realized that I still hadn't gone through and beaten all of the games from the first collection. Mega Man 3 is still awesome.
5) Mega Man 4 - Not as good as MM3 but still holds up pretty well.
6) Mega Man 5 - Way easier than the previous couple of Mega Man games. Barely had to use any E tanks at all.
7) Mega Man 6 - I can't believe it took until Mega Man 6 for them to let you fill your secondary weapons back up without switching to them. Such a huge quality of life update.
8) The Turing Test - Cool little puzzle game, story was kinda cliche but I had a good time with it overall.
9) SUPERHOT - Another cool short game, fun enough that I want to go back and engage in the post game content.
10) Doki Doki Literature Club - Not as mind blowing as I was lead to believe...took too long to get to the tripod stuff and then it didn't last long enough once it did.
11) Everybody's Golf - Beat the single player mode over ~50 hours. Fun game but single player tournaments were very repetitive and didn't have a large variety of courses.
12) God of War 4 - Incredible game, reminds me of the Tomb Raider reboot as far as upgrade in game quality. I have the urge to go through and 100% it which is something that rarely happens for me at this point.
13) Cuphead - Amazing co-op, most fun I've had playing with friends in years.
14) Spider-Man - Great game but combat felt a little too punishing for me. Great storytelling but prefer the Arkham gameplay.
Currently playing: Horizon: Zero Dawn, Tales of Hearts R, Talos Principle, Steins Gate, Hitman Complete 1st season, Uncharted: Lost Legacy, Danganronpa V3, Tomb Raider
Didn't enjoy the game as much as I was hoping on this replay. The optional tombs could've been part of the main game or at least their simple puzzle-y elements, and made the playthrough more enjoyable IMO.
13. Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders (PS4) Finished at 9/15/2018 ~8 hours
The story is quite interesting, but the controls are not and this is mostly holding back the game. Some of the observations of people are very confusing but at least the game has a hint system.
First AC title since Black Flag for me and I loved it. Such a beautiful game, the visuals, the world, the people. It is very immersive atmosphere. I took way too many screenshots to capture that beauty. One thing I didn't like quite, was the combat. Actually, it was never spectacular in any AC title, and it didn't really change despite reworking the combat. Mainly, I disliked the half accurate lock on. The story was also really interesting.
#31
Divinity: Original Sin
PC
Completed: June 17, 2018
Playtime: 105h 34m
Mostly enjoyed playing this one, but can't say I loved it to death. Combat was excellent and easily the best part, honestly might even be the best turn-based combat system I've had chance to play. Also liked the loot and equipment system (except perhaps constant need to repair stuff), character advancement system and various class skills which were useful and fun. On the other hand, the storytelling didn't really do much for me - there's lots of characters, quests and tons of dialog, but none of it all really clicked with me beyond "oh, this is kind of interesting. I guess.". Despite this being the Enhanced Edition of the game a few years after original release, I still experienced some annoying technical glitches - from music and/or ambient sounds disappearing until reloading a save, to scripted cutscenes/dialog not triggering when they should.
#32
Steins;Gate 0
PC
Completed: June 26, 2018
Playtime: 33h
Not as great as the original, but it has its moments. I liked most of the new characters, the new "edgy" Okabe and the overall oppressive atmosphere of the story
where you don't know what'll happen the next moment as you've no idea when the next "shift" will occur and what exactly will it change. It makes sense since this time Okabe isn't the one triggering those changes, however it can also make some things very confusing - I had to go look up explanations online to grasp the craziness that was going on in Kagari subplot. Speaking of Kagari, I don't like how they made her Kurisu's look-a-like for no reason whatsoever besides this being another thing for Okabe to feel conflicted about. Feels kind of cheap. The true ending path was a bit disappointing for me in that I expected way more crazy stuff to happen, like explaining those weird dreams/not dreams Okabe had in the first game. Honestly, the true path felt too short/rushed, which brings me to
other things I didn't much care for: way too much time wasted on pointless conversations which don't serve much purpose for the story beyond fan-service or questionable comical relief. Still, despite these drawbacks I was honestly happy to come back to SG universe and have a chance to meet some of my favorite characters again.
#33
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
PC
Completed: July 08, 2018
Playtime: 8h 55m
I remember not liking the beginning of this standalone expansion very much - too much sneaking through too many cramped and bland-looking corridors. The rest was better, although perhaps not quite on par with the excellent first game. Not a big fan of
burning nazi zombies, surely they could have come up with something more original than that for the occult plot.
Technical issue complaint time: most prerendered cutscene videos did not play for me (to be exact, only sound played, while the screen was black; in some cases, the game crashed afterwards) and I had to go watch them on youtube.
#34
The House in Fata Morgana: A Requiem for Innocence
PC
Completed: July 15, 2018
Playtime: 12h 56m
A good, if not great, follow-up to the original, giving more context on Jacopo's feelings and motivations in the already familiar story. It's well written, but didn't impress me nearly as much as the first game, mostly because I found most events in the story very predictable. Pretty much the only surprise revelation came in the hidden bonus fragment after finishing the game and all side stories.
I really didn't expect Morgana to forgive Jacopo and give him another chance after all he did.
#35
Muv-Luv
PC
Completed: August 09, 2018
Playtime: 64h 15m
Playtime includes both Extra and Unlimited parts. I was told this was a horrible but arbitrary prelude to Alternative, which must be "endured" through to get to the good parts. Honestly? It was pretty good. Yeah, first part's essentially a classic anime vn dating sim, but I've played far worse than this in the genre. Unlimited is where the sci-fi fun really begins, and since I love sci-fi it was even better for me.
Waifu wars winners: Ayamine best girl, Meiya close second.
#36
No Man's Sky
PC
Completed/paused on: August 12, 2018
Playtime: 44h 44m
Hopped on the NEXT update hype train and decided to start a new game considering the overwhelming amount of changes since the last time I played (which was at launch). I like most of the gameplay changes and tweaks, and the graphical upgrade is amazing. Didn't like the changes to creature spawn system - critters popping in and out of existence right next to you is just silly, especially noticeable when popping in and out of water. With an update this big, bugs and glitches are to be expected but there's a truly staggering amount of those at the moment, so I'll be shelving the game again for now. Hopefully, by this time next year it'll be a much smoother ride. It's not the kind of game that really has an end (at least not the way I play it), so I'll consider this completed for the purpose of this year's challenge.
#37
Muv-Luv Alternative
PC
Completed: August 18, 2018
Playtime: 54h 49m
I really enjoyed reading this (in fact, I paused every other game I played at the moment and only played Alternative until I finished the story), but have my fair share of criticisms. I like how much thought was put into the worldbuilding aspects of the sci-fi world: all the information on the BETA, the hives, the mechs, tactics used against them, etc. - it's really impressive. The story pulls no punches, I'll give it that. I may or may not have shed a manly tear a few times. It's really great if you're already attached to the characters after playing through Extra and Unlimited. However, that's a big if - I feel like whether or not someone will enjoy reading the whole Muv-Luv saga is very much dependent on their ability/willingness to empathize with feelings and suffering of cutesy 2D anime girl sprites on screen. I guess this is true for any visual novel, but somehow this feels especially true for this series because of its overall length (100+h of your life is a steep entry fee for something you may or may not like), and because it's so very much anime to its core. Including some very cringy stuff the genre is infamous for.
Like that Sumika tentacle rape thing. Totally necessary for story reasons, I'm sure. More stuff I didn't like: Takeru's internal struggle monologues grow old at some point, but they never stop. "I was such an idiot. But, but! After this moment I'm really going to do better because reasons!". Apparently no you won't, Takeru, you'll do the same thing - beating yourself up and apologizing to everyone - again and again every time you're put on the spot and have a difficult decision to make, or reminded of the last time you had to make one.
My main complaint, however, is with the linearity of the story. I personally don't enjoy kinetic/linear visual novels as much, I like the idea of choosing my own ending and facing the consequences of my choices. And in this case, I didn't care for how the choices from the previous game were arbitrarily relegated to the status of mere annoying flashbacks for the main character.
#38
ACE Academy
PC
Completed: September 02, 2018
Playtime: 30h 35m
A funny slice-of-life dating sim VN, noteworthy for being well-written, having great artwork and full english voice-acting (!). No sex or hentai to be found here, just romance. Not bad at all for a first game ever from this developer. I ended up finishing all routes, and liking pretty much all characters.
Waifu wars winners: Mayu best girl, Yuuna close second. But I really liked Kaori and Valerie as well.
#39
Crystalline
PC
Completed: September 06, 2018
Playtime: 24h 37m
Another VN from PixelFade, makers of ACE Academy. This one is more of a fantasy adventure romance story, but still can be praised for same things: well-written, excellent art, fantastic english VO. I liked it, but since I'm not a big fan of fantasy settings it didn't quite become my favorite. Also didn't like how, while it technically has multiple endings, most of them feel more like early game-overs which just cut the rest of the content off.
#40
What Remains of Edith Finch
PC
Completed: September 09, 2018
Playtime: 2h 59m
Very pretty and short adventure/walking sim telling a thrilling and very sad story. Maybe a bit too short - there's barely enough time to get somewhat attached to the main character, and not enough to provide any answers to the lingering mystery of the house.
#41
Stellaris
PC
Completed: September 11, 2018
Playtime: 182h 53m
This sci-fi 4X game is addicting as hell, it sucked me in so much that I ended up doing two playthroughs in a row. In one, I led a federation of fungoid pacifists to galactic dominion mostly by way of diplomacy and peaceful expansion via acquiring protectorates. Only fought defensive wars, except one special case where I had to destroy a huge powerful empire of bloodthirsty AIs bent on wiping out all organic life in the galaxy. In the other, I led an empire of reptilian slavers on a quest of conquering and enslaving the entire galaxy. At least that was the plan until
I unlocked the L-Cluster early on and unwittingly unleashed nanite terror upon the unsuspecting galaxy. Numerous 25k nanite fleet stacks poured out of the gates and started annihilating everything in their path, while I and every other empire only had like 5-6k fleets. Almost thought I lost that game right then and there, but somehow managed to just barely defeat their first invaders into my space while frantically spearheading all military-related research as much as possible. By the time I finally got around to the relative safety of having 15-20K fleets guarding heavily fortified stations in key strategic positions, the rest of the galaxy was torn apart (like 5-6 out of over 15 AI empires were still left in the game).
...And then one of the end game crisis activated, awakening my neighbouring Marauder empire into bloodthirsy expansionists with numerous 28K fleets which attacked me from another direction where I had no defenses whatsoever.
In the end I lost, but damn it was a fun game.
#42
Torment: Tides of Numenera
PC
Completed: September 15, 2018
Playtime: 53h 36m
I was a big fan of original Planescape Torment, but somehow kept putting off playing this one for a while now because reasons. I'm glad I finally did, because this game is awesome and pretty much most of what I could wish for in a P:T spiritual successor. The writing is the most important thing in this instance for me, and here it's superb. The variety of ways you can roleplay your character, approach situations and complete quests never disappointed me. Despite some clunkyness, turn-based combat is not that bad if you dedicate effort to properly learn the gameplay systems involved. Overall, however, combat is just not that important here as most dangerous situations can be resolved by other - and usually more interesting for storytelling purposes - means. As it should be. In this playthrough, I chose to play as a mostly evil/self-centered narcissistic Nano character with great thirst for knowledge and anything to gather more power (a mix of silver and blue tides, in gameplay terms). My party members used for most of the game: Callistege, Erritis and Matkina. I may come back to do a 'good' playthrough with other characters (very curious about Rhin) at some point. Main complaints: too frequent lack of voice-acting/budget for important lines and cutscenes, and numerous bugs including a couple broken quests and occasional game freezes in combat.
Dropped/unfinished games:
Driveclub
PS4
Playtime: 9h 54m
By no means a bad driving game, just not what I was looking for at the time, plus the constant connection drop notifications were frustrating the hell out of me. Like, I'm not even remotely interested in your online aspects, game, so there's really no need to stick a big red flashing warning on the center of my screen for a whole minute every time your fragile servers go down again.
Maniac Mansion Deluxe
PC
Playtime: 3h 41m
I had to drop it after at certain point I couldn't find a way to progress with the chosen trio of starting characters even after consulting a walkthrough, didn't want to start over from the beginning.
Currently playing:
Persona 5 (PS4)
Metal Gear Solid III: Snake Eater (PS3)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Undertale (PC)
X-COM II: War of the Chosen (PC)
Divinity: Original Sin II (PC)
Amazing. Story was fantastic, especially the third act and final boss fight. Very sombre but masterful ending. Enjoyed all the boss fights. Hated the boring forced insta-fail stealth missions they included and the side content was checklist boring stuff, so that's why its 4 rather than 5 stars. All the same, probably my GOTY.
48. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - PS3
Completed 9/14/18
Score - 8/10
Took me awhile to get to this one and I am glad to have finally played it. I loved the original trilogy and I feel like this fits right in. I felt like I was playing a saturday morning cartoon and it was great. I was really impressed with the graphics and the cartoon cutscenes, they still look really nice. I did have some issues with the story, like the twist in chapter 4 and totally missed opportunity with Sly's dad. Still, really fun game and I hope this series gets another chance someday soon. It deserves it!
69. Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan - 4 hours
I really enjoyed the first game in Grim Legends series, and while the sequel is a good HOG, I can't say it was something special. It's just... Okay, it was worth to finish it once, but that's it. I really don't know what else to say about it, if you like this genre then play it, but I won't recommend it as entry point into HOGs or Artifex Mundi games in particular.
72) Octopath Traveler - This game does so much right! I love the aesthetic, the open approach to how you complete the main stories, and the flexibility that the jobs feature allows. The music is some of the best I've heard in a game in ages and the combat remains satisfying all the way through my 60 hour playthrough. At the same time, the lack of interaction with characters and the grinding that's required near the end game is problematic and could have been circumvented. It's a flawed game but will still likely remain one of my favorite experiences of the year and I'm really happy it was such a huge commercial success.
You're a little hovering robot in distress and need to escape a mechanical maze full of puzzles. Everything is very floaty and there's a good amount of physics involved. The game plays great, not too much precision or dexterity is required. The extended edition addition was a bit strange: a separate mini story, maybe a third of the base game, but with more emotional impact. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and quirky bots bumbling through it all.
26. Dead Cells (Steam, 2018/08/22, 110 hours)
One of the most polished rogue-lite metroidvania games I have ever played: the combat, the progression, the animation, the spritework, the layers of visual effects, the soundtrack, everything seems iteratively refined to perfection. The world design a wild blend of bleak fantasy with very punchy colors. The action fast, frantic and full of visual awe: bodies exploding, sick splatters on the walls, ill particles all over the place. Clearing hostiles was rarely this satisfying. The game's currency is the player's time, especially if you go in blind. I've messed up many runs, not quite sure what went wrong and why. There's a lot to take in, trial and error galore. You eventually get it or give up. The few major bosses can be the hardest or the easiest fights ever, depending if you managed to play your cards right. First victory after 32 hours, late update after 110 hours: still not sick of Dead Cells, it's serious deserted island material, final update for now: 4 cell run (highest difficulty) completed after 123 hours.
27. High Hell (Steam, 2018/08/26, 2.7 hours)
It's like Jet Set Radio's visuals got fused into a first person shooter remake of Hotline Miami. High Hell got great style, presentation, music and sense of humor. The gameplay is the most basic FPS deal. The movement is a bit joyless, but the player can compensate with some attitude, e.g. kicking coke stashes, bunny hopping into places you shouldn't be, etc. The story works with few words and goes full circle with a nice little punch line. The game is brief and feels more like an arcade romp.
28. Table Top Racing (PS4, 2018/09/14, three DS4 charges)
I launched this PSN goodie while Yakuza 6 was installing and ended up getting 3 stars in all racing events. TTR is a mix of Micro Machines and 3rd person arcade racing with super deformed iconic car clones. They really nailed the racing, fun, not too technical but also not too casual. There are plenty of events and championships, but a few more tracks would have been nice. I enjoyed the drifting events a lot: good challenge, applied skills a must.
18. Marvel's Spider-Man
PS4 Pro | Time Played: 40 Hours | 9/10
Insomniac Games nailed this one, by perfecting web-slinging and bringing their twists on the famous superhero. Each element of the game is detailed and put audiences in full control of Marvel's mascot, enticing fans into the world of Spider-Man. Story beats hit all the right notes, with so much effort going into the highly directed cutscenes. The weighty controls allow for a fantastic simulation of Spider life. Side content is plentiful and offers players extra doses of fun after completing the 20-hour campaign.
66. Rise of the Tomb Raider / 28h30 completed 17.09.18
A step down from the tight design of the 2013 reboot, Rise feels like a game looking for an identity. For its gameplay as much as for its main character. This is an experience that falters in most of what it tries to add to the formula. The larger areas get tedious while there is overall much less variety in environments, the combat feels richer but looser than in its predecessor, and both the story and characters are worse in this as well.
Lara is even a bigger disappointment this time around. I sincerely have no idea what Crystal Dynamics is thinking regarding Lara's character. She's a walking contradiction in every aspect. What she says has nothing to do with what she does, which has nothing to do with what the game is apparently trying to say, which in turn contradicts everything the player does while controlling Lara. It's a mess. CD wants us to believe that Lara is a good person but in reality she's a selfish and self centered psychopath. The characterization tries to tell us that Lara is an independent young woman while the plot and the dialogue and the terrible voice acting say that she's just a whiny naive girl overcome with daddy issues. Jonah is supposed to be her best friend but she doesn't care one whit about his opinions. He's also taken in and out of the story in service of Lara's 'heroics' with no care whatsoever.
Despite all this, i still enjoyed most of my time with RotTR, due to the excellent traversal, occasionally pleasurable level design and those sweet optional tombs. They're a bit more involved here and have some of my favorite vistas in the game. It's also a really beautiful game.
67. RotTR - Blood Ties / 2h40 completed 17.09.18
A short DLC based entirely on Lara's mansion and her family lore. Very enjoyable as there's no combat, only exploration and heaps of atmosphere. I felt the writing was better here than in the main game, though Camilla Luddington still sounds like English is her fourth language. Lara Croft sure reads documents like she's never got past third grade in these games.
68. RotTR - Baba Yaga / 2h40 completed 17.09.18
Another short DLC, Baba Yaga has an extremely strong opening. The first 30 minutes are among the best in the entire game. Unfortunately, it quickly loses steam, as the mistery is immediately solved and the plot twist is telegraphed from miles away. What's left after those first developments is an admittedly cool boss fight and some extra collectibles. That's literally it. Not exactly mind blowing, Baba Yaga was mostly worth it due to the opening and the twisted visuals it employs to disturb the player.
19. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
PS4 Pro | Time Played: 18 Hours | 8.5/10
Another solid instalment in the trilogy, while it might have the worse plot and odd pace - something about the attention to detail makes up for it. Focusing more on puzzles than generic action, which cultured the previous titles. Allowing for audiences to experience actual tomb raiding, something that has been missing from the franchise. In the end, Eidos Montreal tied up their nicely, celebrating everything people love about Lara Croft's adventures.
After ragequitting at the final boss six years ago I finally return to enact my revenge.
Strange Journey is a masterpiece. It's deep as hell and combat never devolves into just spamming your best moves; you have to fight for your survival every step of the way. It creates a palpable sense of tension throughout the entire experience, where you're rewarded for smart, conservative play and proper team building.
So this game I was interested in but since I thought the original was at most good/great I cant say I was that excited.
The game like the first is good, the characters are better and more fleshed out and the combat continues to be fun BUT at a certain point it becomes super repetitive.
Its worth a pic up if you enjoyed the first one and/or it sees a big discount on price. Thankfully I rented it instead of buying.
kinda negative but I still think its good and the time that I did spend was positive. Siege battles are dope.
75/100
Game 34/52: Super Mario Bros.
Wahoo!
Just like Half-Life these next two are from the perspective of playing them in 2018 NOT when they were first released.
I had played it many times but never actually completed it and since the Switch version via Nintendo Online had save states I decided to have a quick run of it. Completed and done with, I dont really see myself coming back any time soon.
(maybe if I ever get to play it with a nes controller)
its solid.
70/100
Game 35/52: Super Mario Bros. 3
More Mario
Its more mario and builds on the world presented in Super Mario Bros.
Its good and better than the original, I find it uglier tho.
World is better
75/100
Game 36/52: Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Become the Tomb Raider
This game is awesome.
I dont 100% games that often but this game had me do it, the characters are better the tombs are WAY better and the story is much better than in the two previous entries of this trilogy.
Ending the trilogy at a high point, just hope its not too long until we see her again. Eidos should be the one to continue the series for sure.
Play it. its great.
85/100
didnt have much to add this update in terms of what I thought about the games since 2 of em are old as my grandpas balls and its like 3am. More soon (hopefully)
♪ I'm Mr. King Dice, I'm the gamest in the land
I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right hand man ♪
WOW everything about this game is superb. The visuals mimic old cartoons perfectly and the music enhances that feeling while giving the game a killer soundtrack.
Cuphead was originally going to be more of a boss rush game but later got delayed to add platforming levels (think megaman before hitting the boss at the end), these for the most part are fun but dont feel as well done as the boss battles.
the boss battles...oh the boss battles. So many boss battles but yet not enough! This game has such great bosses and characters it leaves you wanting more by the time you are done. Wont mention some as they are all pretty damn cool and unique.
(oh and DLC is coming which brings a new playable character and...you guessed it, NEW BOSSES!! WHOOO)
Everything about this game is great, its not perfect but man...just go play it. Support devs like this.
90/100
Game 39/52: Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
RoboCop,RoboMama and RoboJesus
So I started this game way back when it released but never finished it even tho I was at the end. I really liked it but I didnt really want it to end and then new games came and I let go of it.
Now I have come back, ready to end it and I gotta say for full price I dont know if I would have been happy with its length (I dont get these type of games at full price) but thankfully E3 deals are a thing so I got it cheap.
The game is fun, characters are great too altho I do prefer some over others for sure.
Its a good game and something you can hammer out over a weekend by yourself or with others as you discuss choices.
85/100
welp thats it for this update. back to playing games. (getting to 52 by years end may be tighter than I had hoped!)
♪ I'm Mr. King Dice, I'm the gamest in the land
I never play nice, I'm the Devil's right hand man ♪
WOW everything about this game is superb. The visuals mimic old cartoons perfectly and the music enhances that feeling while giving the game a killer soundtrack.
Cuphead was originally going to be more of a boss rush game but later got delayed to add platforming levels (think megaman before hitting the boss at the end), these for the most part are fun but dont feel as well done as the boss battles.
the boss battles...oh the boss battles. So many boss battles but yet not enough! This game has such great bosses and characters it leaves you wanting more by the time you are done. Wont mention some as they are all pretty damn cool and unique.
(oh and DLC is coming which brings a new playable character and...you guessed it, NEW BOSSES!! WHOOO)
Everything about this game is great, its not perfect but man...just go play it. Support devs like this. 90/100
Game 39/52: Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
RoboCop,RoboMama and RoboJesus
So I started this game way back when it released but never finished it even tho I was at the end. I really liked it but I didnt really want it to end and then new games came and I let go of it.
Now I have come back, ready to end it and I gotta say for full price I dont know if I would have been happy with its length (I dont get these type of games at full price) but thankfully E3 deals are a thing so I got it cheap.
The game is fun, characters are great too altho I do prefer some over others for sure.
Its a good game and something you can hammer out over a weekend by yourself or with others as you discuss choices. 85/100
One of my favorite DS games and adventure games overall. This isn't my favorite in the series but this does have the most memorable cast overall. Looking forward to playing the other games (including the ones I haven't got to) in the future.
Game 44 – The Long Reach (PS4) – 1 hour, 19 minutes – 1.5/5
Usually a sucker for these 2D horror-adventure games but this one wasn't doing it for me. The environments weren't particularly interesting and the puzzles left a bit to be desired. Also had a few technical issues/glitches at a few points involving enemies and puzzle items. If the story was really compelling it might have made up for things but it wasn't unfortunately.
If you're looking for a 2D horror game go with Lone Survivor or Claire instead.
Game 45 – Silent Hill Origins (PS2) – 3 hours, 2 minutes – 1/5
The 1/5 is for this particular port of the game. The PSP version is probably more of a 2 or 2.5 on a good day. Lot's of technical issues/glitches to be found which made an already uninspiring game a real drag. Not sure why they thought removing the brigtness slider coming from the PSP version was a good idea since everything (especially in the Sanitarium) was too dark. It's too bad most of these post-4 SH games are trapped on single consoles. Would give anything to have this, Downpour, and even Book of Memories on Steam for future proofing.
A pretty solid first person horror game. The more things focus on combat the less appealing things became but it never becomes too big of an issue. I've yet to play Condemned 2 so I'd like to someday get around to it. Too bad it isn't available on PC and a remaster isn't likely.
15. Spiderman (PS4) Finished at 9/21/2018 Time: ~30 hours
Awesome game, swinging around the city and beating goons never gets old and feels so good. I really liked the story. The stealth sections were mostly mediocre, but some were really good (you know which). Can't wait for the DLC.
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