A Winner Is You! (2012) [Archive]

goldenband

01-01-2012, 11:48 PM

I beat 50 games in 2011, counting SMS ESWAT twice (one for each version of the ROM) and not counting Star Odyssey (where my save game got corrupted after I reached the final boss, but before I defeated him). I'd hoped to make 52, but so it goes.

Since the old thread is locked, here's an Academy Award-style look back at my 2011 in review, if y'all will forgive my self-indulgence:

- Most demanding victory: Tie between Marble Madness (Mega Drive/JPN) and Pitfall (Intellivision).

- Least demanding victory: Wonder Dog for Sega CD, or maybe Star Wars Chess for the same system. Both games were pathetically easy to beat; I didn't even use the password system in Wonder Dog.

- Longest: Shining in the Darkness took nearly 40 hours to complete.

- Shortest: I beat Toys: Let The Toy Wars Begin for SNES within an hour, since I already knew the Genesis version by heart.

- Best game: Has to be Marble Madness. Flawless port.

- Worst game: Shadow: War of Succession for 3DO. Utter garbage with no redeeming qualities.

- Most frustrating: I was an unpleasant person to be around when I was trying to beat Sol-Feace on Mania, banging my head for hours against the wall of the Level 6 boss. Ironically, after a long break from the game, victory came within an hour of picking it back up.

- Most repetitive: Did I really need to play every level of Motocross Championship (32X) with every bike, on every difficulty? Really?

- Most satisfying: Pitfall, Sol-Feace, and Marble Madness come close, but when I first started playing Championship Tennis for Intellivision, I could hardly imagine ever winning a set. Winning in straight sets on the highest difficulty level felt like tossing the ring into Mt. Doom. I mean, without changing my mind and getting my finger bitten off by Estelle Getty, that is.

And here are my near-misses and "someone else would've counted this"-es of 2011, with an eye towards finishing at least some of these off in 2012:

- Beat Granada up to Hard (need to beat it on Mania)
- Beat Zoom on the first loop (should really beat the second loop too, and I hope that's the last one because this game isn't really any fun)
- Beat Shaq-Fu on Normal (need to beat Expert)
- Beat Streets of Rage on Normal in co-op mode
- Beat Star Wars: Rebel Assault for Sega CD on Normal (need to beat Hard, but it looks pretty grim)
- Beat Metal Head 32X on Normal (need to beat Hard)
- Beat USCF Chess for Intellivision on all difficulties but the highest (game kept crashing on the top difficulty)
- Beat Quest for the Key of Night Shade for TRS-80 Model I on difficulty #1 (I think anything higher is just about impossible)
- Beat Street Fighter II: Turbo for SNES on 7-star difficulty

QuickSciFi

01-02-2012, 09:02 AM

1. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/g07108ivh02.jpg?t=1325511818

I started this one on the 1st of January so that it would be my first game of the year, but went to a friend's birthday party (which was awesome). I really wanted to beat this one on the first, but the 2nd is not too far-off, I guess. :;). 'Started with a great game, and a Genesis one at that. 'Can't wait to see how many games I beat this year. If there's a gaming-related resolution I should go by, it should be to at least beat more games than last year. Here we go 2012. Oh joy!:D

This game was very satisfying. Even though it's less-known than others of the sort, you could definitely taste the Konami in it. I wonder if McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure is just as good (Treasure--the video game dev company--franchise-game parallel here). It could do with slightly better controls, I noticed. For instance, that multiple wall jump people talk about is BS. It's like no one wants to share the secret or something. There's no way it's as simple as "pressing against the wall and continue pressing the jump button". You slide right down or jump too far-off the wall that you need to start again. Oh well, at least it's "optional". You really only need the "single" wall jump to get through the game anyways. This was a surprisingly good game overall. I remember giving it a try a few months back when I first purchased it and was amazed how good it was. It goes to show I may still have more good games on the Genesis to discover. Sega Genesis ftw!

P.S.> About that final boss: Don't run too fast with Elvira. You will smack against a wall/step and you're dead. You must stop running as soon as Buster is going too fast and try jumping back and forth to evade her. You still gain ground by doing thus, so it's good.

MrMatthews

01-02-2012, 12:46 PM

Just completed my first game of the year! (I think I'll try numbering my conquests for 2012)

1. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap: Terrific little game unexpectedly delivered free by Nintendo as part of of their apologetic 3DS Ambassador program. I completed the game in about 18 hours, which is rather brief considering that it took me about twice that time to get through Ocarina of Time. All in all, a very clever, fun game developed by Capcom, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to any Zelda fan who hasn't already played through it.

The Jackal

01-02-2012, 12:53 PM

@Quickscifi: Funny, I've been rewatching the series since yesterday. The MD game is a great little platformer, too. You might want to hunt down Tiny Toons: Acme All-Stars as well, good, fun sports game, little hard to find though.

profholt82

01-02-2012, 01:34 PM

Devil N

01-02-2012, 01:58 PM

I'm glad I decided at the start of 2011 that I wouldn't be counting my finished games anymore, because last year's final tally would probably have left me completely depressed. I've played plenty of games, but finished? If I had to take a guess, I think the number remains stuck in the single digits. Anyway, I don't mind too much. Other things in my life require attention too and if that means lessening on the games, then so be it.

MrMatthews

01-02-2012, 02:51 PM

It has a fun factor that no other Zelda game really meets IMO.

I think that's the "Capcom Factor." Best sprite animation of any Zelda game, or any Nintendo game, for that matter. Keiji "Mega Man" Inafune produced this game, I think he really needs to go work for Nintendo now.

But anyway...

2. Mega Man 6. This game is totally unappreciated. I think it's one of the best games of the original NES series, just after 2 & 3.

gamevet

01-04-2012, 12:17 AM

First game completed and on the first day of the year!

#1.

Definitely my game of the year for 2011. Aside from the frame rate dropping to single digits and the occasional glitches - all examples of Bethesda's inability to code worth a shit - this game was simply amazing. 175 hours to get the platinum trophy, and I can't wait for DLC!

I was wondering how long it took you to complete that. I noticed your Platinum trophy while checking out your progress tonight. :notworthy:

I'm only about 59% complete with 110 hours played. I just completed the main story tonight though.

AD2101

01-04-2012, 05:06 PM

I think I'll try keeping track of my conquests here this year, so here goes nothing.
1. TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist First haul and also first beaten game of the year. I'm normally pretty bad at beat 'em ups, so I was pleasantly surprised I ran out of credits only once before beating this game. I had a lot of fun with it, and it will hopefully be the first of many Genesis games I beat this year (Looking at you Zombies Ate My Neighbors)!

M4R14NO94

01-05-2012, 01:49 AM

Starting out 2012 with...

Operation Wolf (PC, from Taito Legends): Finished the first loop

Plus, I unlocked the Explorer's Club and Chopper Commandos patches on Activision Anthology (PC)

QuickSciFi

01-06-2012, 09:13 PM

2. Wario Land: Shake it! - Nintendo Wii
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/250px-WarioLandShakeIt.jpg?t=1325900356

The graphics were amazing. It's such a shame Nintendo had to mess the gameplay up with their gimmickry (and it WAS a gimmick). I could understand the use of motion controls if the gameplay would improve, but the addition of motion controls here felt forced and unnecessary. I'd compare the use of gimmickry on this one to Dawn of Sorrow on the DS. It was minimalistic, but an unnecessary pain in the ass in some areas. The game could've done without it altogether. Unlike games like Phantom Hourglass on the DS, which actually improved the hardcore element of the gameplay with its respective technology, Wario Land: Shake it! could've actually fared better with the use of action buttons ONLY. Luckily, as mentioned, the use of motion controls was minimalistic, so the game could be enjoyed as any side-scrolling platformer and, even, one of the few games I could personally enjoy on the Wii.

Besides the obvious, one bone I have to pick with this one is the requisite to downright "purchase" the stages in order to proceed. It was very unrewarding being forced to replay lesser stages just to crank-up the wallet and purchase that next area map. It's not exactly the first game that implements something like this, but it is the first game I play which does this in such an unsatisfying manner. I do feel a bit biased now, though; as my friend recently shed some new light on the Wario games I could never really pin point: Wario is a hard guy to like. He's a bully, as he says, and I agree with him. He's not your average anti-hero, he's just a despicable fattened Mario, and that's the way Nintendo likes it. Once more, the graphics were amazing, and having had to swallow my pride and take the motion gimmick with the hardcore element, I'd go as far as saying that this game was fun as well.

Melf

01-06-2012, 09:14 PM

I was wondering how long it took you to complete that. I noticed your Platinum trophy while checking out your progress tonight. :notworthy:

I'm only about 59% complete with 110 hours played. I just completed the main story tonight though.

I've been playing it so long and enjoying it so much, that I'm tempted to keep playing so I can finish up all the side quests I have left. This game is just so darn awesome.

#2.

4349

I finally got this running on my modded Xbox and passed with a friend. It's really repetitive and nothing is really impressive. I think Sega made a wise decision to make the Genesis version different, and that game is much better than this is.

MrMatthews

01-07-2012, 09:06 AM

Besides the obvious, one bone I have to pick with this one is the requisite to downright "purchase" the stages in order to proceed. It was very unrewarding being forced to replay lesser stages just to crank-up the wallet and purchase that next area map. It's not exactly the first game that implements something like this, but it is the first game I play which does this in such an unsatisfying manner. I do feel a bit biased now, though; as my friend recently shed some new light on the Wario games I could never really pin point: Wario is a hard guy to like. He's a bully, as he says, and I agree with him. He's not your average anti-hero, he's just a despicable fattened Mario, and that's the way Nintendo likes it. Once more, the graphics were amazing, and having had to swallow my pride and take the motion gimmick with the hardcore element, I'd go as far as saying that this game was fun as well.

I attempted to complete the game a while back, and once I beat the Shake King and realized I still had a dozen or so stages to "purchase," I just said fuck it and started playing something else. Did you 100% it?

QuickSciFi

01-07-2012, 09:29 AM

I attempted to complete the game a while back, and once I beat the Shake King and realized I still had a dozen or so stages to "purchase," I just said fuck it and started playing something else. Did you 100% it?

The Shake King was the final boss. To 100% this game is to acquire every treasure, bonus stage and item in each level. I didn't bother to do so. If you beat the Shake King, then you've beaten the game. I think I ended it at just over the 70th percentile.

MrMatthews

01-07-2012, 05:19 PM

The Shake King was the final boss. To 100% this game is to acquire every treasure, bonus stage and item in each level. I didn't bother to do so. If you beat the Shake King, then you've beaten the game. I think I ended it at just over the 70th percentile.

True, but if I remember correctly, you still have the option to keep playing and unlock the other levels. I chose to remove the disc at this poin since I didn't feel like farming coins from the other levels to open up the new ones.

Bastardcat

01-07-2012, 05:50 PM

I just beat Metorid: Other M, only to find out that there is more game after the ending! Considering I bought it for $9.99 brand new, I am really getting my money's worth! I love getting nice surprises like that!

QuickSciFi

01-08-2012, 02:58 AM

True, but if I remember correctly, you still have the option to keep playing and unlock the other levels. I chose to remove the disc at this poin since I didn't feel like farming coins from the other levels to open up the new ones.

You mean the bonus rounds from each Area (the purple ones)? Yeah, I didn't bother after the Shake King. I'm sure the devs wanted to add re-playability value with all the extras, but I normally just want to beat games like these (i.e- Sonic Colors, A Boy and His Blob, etc.). There are just too many games in my arsenal to get hung-up on just the one, if you know what I mean ;). For instance, it still kills me that I haven't been able to "beat" Kirby Super Star Ultra on the DS because one of the levels is every Boss back to back a la Golden Axe. I feel this should've been left-out as a bonus stage. Aaarrrrg!!!

MrMatthews

01-09-2012, 02:30 PM

3. Mega Man 2: I've beaten the hell out of this game in the past, but I recently got a CIB copy off ebay and I wanted to put it through its paces. Completed it on both normal and difficult settings with minimal casualties. It's honestly not the crown jewel of the Mega Man series that I remembered, but still a fantastic game.

16-bit

01-11-2012, 03:47 PM

I beat a lot of games last year, but I didn't record or number all of them in the last thread. So I think I'll start this year.

There's a few games that I'd love to replay this year on like Super Mario RPG, Yoshi's Island, Earthbound and Psychonauts. Why am I even saying that here? I'm getting ahead of myself.

This year I have completed, thus far:

1: Mother 3
http://www.gamasutra.com/db_area/images/feature/3891/mother3_campfire.png

I actually started this one as soon as the English translation patch came out, but I really hate playing 2d games with keyboards. After getting the GBA emulator on the PSP working, I decided that I'd finally get around to completing it.

I haven't played a ton of JRPGs that have been released this last decade, but I'd go as far as to say this is probably one of best, if not the best. The battle system hasn't changed at all since Mother 2, but the developer added a really cool rhythm component to it, which probably would have worked a little better if I was playing it on real hardware.

In terms of the game's story, it's definitely the weirdest game I've ever played, but also one of the most depressing. One section of the game in particular seems to illustrate this better than perhaps better than any other is when Lucas and company wind up on an island completely so weak, that they will die if they don't eat magic mushrooms. Kind of funny sounding, but the trips that Lucas has would probably be extremely traumatizing. During this part of the game a hallucination that looks like Lucas' missing brother Claus said things to him like "Everyone's waiting to throw rocks at you, spit on you and make your life hell", and a hallucination of his father blaming himself for the death of his wife, who was killed at the very beginning of the game when Lucas was a small child.

The game's story isn't perfect in the way it's told though, there's a part near the end where there's quite a bit of exposition that reveals more of a connection with the previous two Mother games' world which I think probably could have been told better.

Play this game. It's easy to get into, and it won't eat away at your time like the next game that I beat this year.

2: Mass Effect 2
(can't find a small enough screenshot)

I don't even know where to start with this one. My friend gifted this to me on steam as a Christmas present, let me tell you, I'm glad college didn't start right after New Years day, because this game is a time sucker.
Well, despite that, it's an unforgettable experience that will be different for each person that plays it. There's tons of dialogue options, and multiple paths that you can get the story to play out in. The third person shooter elements of the game aren't bad at all as well.

I'll definitely be getting Mass Effect 3 when it comes out this year, despite how much I dislike EA at this time.
Give it a try, it's available for most consoles, and the PC right now.

goldenband

01-11-2012, 08:35 PM

1. The Faery Tale Adventure (Genesis)

Not altogether easy to figure out what to say about Faery Tale Adventure. First of all, it has what may be the best password system I've ever seen in a RPG -- as painless as it's possible for such a thing to be. It basically acts exactly like a game with battery-backed save, except you of course need to write down the password before powering down. Kudos for that.

Graphics and music are serviceable, but no more, so enough about those. The game is put together in a highly unusual way, with a world map that seems dozens of times larger than any other RPG I've played -- but most of that is essentially empty space. Journeying between locations takes five minutes or more. Even the dungeons have huge tracts of land, entire wings, devoted to...absolutely nothing. And the NPCs are pretty few and far between, and say very little.

In some ways I really like that, since it subverts the "a purpose to every room and a treasure chest 'round every corner" trope common to RPGs, and makes playing the game actually feel a bit like walking in the wilderness. It reminds me of Lord of the Rings Vol. 1 for SNES, though that game is more overtly structured.

The manual includes a map of the entire game world, which is obviously crucial, though it can be a little demoralizing to realize that walking for two minutes translates to about a centimeter's worth of map. The manual also has a weird, almost adversarial attitude towards the game, at one point advising you to use the equivalent of save-state cheating to game the treasure chests! The people who ported the game seem to have been ambivalent about it, and even before you get to the walkthrough at the end (which covers the whole damn game), there are broad hints in the item descriptions and so forth. That said, there are notable omissions (like, say, not telling you how to sleep) and at least one outright error, each, on the map and in the walkthrough.

As it turns out, the difficulty curve is reverse-exponential -- you start out weak as a kitten, but after you reach a certain threshold of strength (Bravery), there's essentially no reason whatsoever to ever get killed. I kept expecting to be challenged, but even the final enemy was a pushover. Probably the hardest part of the game -- after surviving the beginning, that is -- is making it through the game's two major dungeons, where the mapping items (Bird Totems) don't operate. Similarly, the puzzles and fetching-quests mostly get easier as the game goes on, as long as you follow the principles of visiting every named location on the map, and carrying enough Bird Totems to know where you are.

The anticlimactic ending (albeit with one nifty mini-puzzle that I solved by accident) has kind of left a sour taste in my mouth after a game I otherwise enjoyed. Still, I think it's a fine game, and certainly a distinctive one. When the CRPG Addict (http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/) said he was giving up on the DOS version of the game because it felt boring and empty, I think someone invoked the cliché that "it's all about the journey, man".

And actually, Faery Tale Adventure really is an RPG about traveling. And that mostly works for me. 8/10.

goldenband

01-12-2012, 01:44 PM

2. Abobo's Big Adventure (Flash/Online)

This love letter to the NES is totally fun, pretty amusing, and well-designed to boot. I played through it start to finish in one sitting last night, though I haven't unlocked all the achievements. It's pretty easy, and occasionally a bit obvious -- we didn't need the moveable blocks to flash in Zelda, right? -- but the subtle touches make up for that.

goldenband

01-12-2012, 09:10 PM

3. WarpSpeed (Genesis)

After beating all the individual scenarios on Expert a few days ago, I completed the full Campaign mode today in one sitting, finishing with the best ship, weapons, and shields, three of every medal, and no continues used. I'd played through the game on Novice at the end of last year, and Expert wasn't really much harder -- only one of the scenarios gave me any trouble.

By any objective measure WarpSpeed is lousy, with extremely repetitive gameplay, hilariously inappropriate music, graphics that are no better than mediocre, and a bizarro combat system that features the slowest projectiles I've ever seen (though the control scheme itself works surprisingly well).

I'm sure it compares poorly to its peers like Wing Commander, though I haven't played those games enough to pass judgment. Heck, the gameplay compares poorly to Atari 2600 games like Starmaster and Star Voyager: there's no sense of urgency and the laggy projectiles force you to constantly lead your shots, so there's almost no sense of satisfaction at having nailed an opponent.

And yet...there's something about it I like. Despite the frustrating combat system, I find the game strangely relaxing. Maybe it's the silly, almost bossa-nova-like music; maybe it's the game's low expectations; maybe it's just me. But when I need to zone out, WarpSpeed seems to work surprisingly well. Perhaps I parse it as a minimal RPG with shooting elements, rather than a space shooter with minimal RPG elements.

Either way, I've gotten almost 24 hours' worth of gameplay out of this thing, and that's more than I can say for a lot of others. So, um...3/10? 4/10? One of those, anyway.

jerry coeurl

01-13-2012, 01:14 AM

I do feel a bit biased now, though; as my friend recently shed some new light on the Wario games I could never really pin point: Wario is a hard guy to like. He's a bully, as he says, and I agree with him. He's not your average anti-hero, he's just a despicable fattened Mario, and that's the way Nintendo likes it.

How is Wario a hard guy to like? He's my favorite Nintendo character hands down! The fact that he's a greedy son of a bitch who only cares about hoarding more treasure is what makes him appealing! He's a great alternative to most of Nintendo's squeaky-clean characters, and beyond that he's starred in some fantastic 2D platformers, not to mention the insanely addictive Wario Ware titles (Twisted is my favorite). Wario is great.

16-bit

01-14-2012, 02:28 AM

While I beat some of these games last year, these games are part of my classic series Megaman marathon that I've decided to do.

http://media.strategywiki.org/images/a/a2/Mega_Man_NES_title_screen.png
3 Megaman
A pretty good start for a great serries, but overall I think this is the weakest game in the classic series.
Great concepts, but there's some moments in the game that are fairly frustrating, and not because they're hard, just designed badly. (Flames you have to freeze in Wily's stage come to mind)

http://vgmdaily.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/mega-man-2-title-screen.jpg
4 Megaman 2
A huge improvement over the first game, but I don't find it to be the best game in the Megaman serries for some of the same reasons why I think the first game is the weakest. There's a boss in Wily's castle where if you run out of a power, you have to purposefully get a game over, losing all the E tanks you had and then try again. The last boss of Wily's castle in this game is really cool though, and the tunnel right before hand seems to take place outside of the game (if that makes any sense at all, it probably doesn't)
A very good entry to the series, a huge improvement over the first game, I just find it a tad overrated.

http://www.retrofatcat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/megaman3_1-300x225.jpg
5 Megaman 3
I think this is the best out of the original three games, being able to slide is really cool, and makes the fight with the Yellow devil pretty enjoyable actually. The robot master's in the game are pretty cool, you get to play revamped versions of four of their stages and fight the 8 masters from 2, and you get a save point afterwards. No straight breakthroughs of an eight stage castle here.

http://www.freewebs.com/megamancodes/MegaMan%204%20Title%20Screen.gif
6 Megaman 4
I was playing all these games on the Anniversary collection on the Nintendo GameCube with a SNES controller. I think this game got a bad port because there's something really off about the sound in this version that doesn't really seem to affect other games in the collection, something that I think probably affected my enjoyment of this game. It has a really cool introduction scene, and it's got some pretty cool stages. I don't like it as much as three though, playing through the revamped stages and fighting previous robot masters was a lot cooler than an eight stage wily castle you have to start at the beginning of if you decide you want to sleep.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Mega_Man_5_NES_ScreenShot1.jpg
7 Megaman 5
A lot of people seem to not really like 5 and 6, but I've found 5 to be rather enjoyable. There's some pretty nice parallax scrolling in a lot of the stages and more animation in the backgrounds which make it pretty nice graphically, and some of the most memorable stages in all the games on the NES (Gravity Man and Wave Man). Definitely a worthy addition to the series.

Devil N

01-14-2012, 02:31 AM

Finished Rayman Origins yesterday, including the bonus level and optional boss. Good god, what an excellent game. It's been a long time since I've had such pure unadulterated fun with a (modern) game. Highly recommended to anyone who likes platforming and pretty 2D graphics (which is probably everyone around here).

The Coop

01-15-2012, 02:01 AM

#1 Portal 2 (PC) - Won this for free during Steam's Christmas contest by trading in seven coal. Fun game as one would expect, but this one got a little drawn out in spots. Not gratuitously so, but a few levels could have been trimmed out.

#2 Duke Nukem Forever (PC) - It's not a bad as some reviews make it out to be. It's not as good as DN3D to be sure, but some fun can be had if you can find it cheap.

#3 D-Force (SNES) - I've owned this game for quite a few years, and never sat down to really try and beat it because it's so bad. But now it can collect dust, having been turned into another notch on my SNES victory belt.

16-bit

01-15-2012, 03:09 PM

8: Megaman 6
http://tcrf.net/images/a/a0/Megaman6-title.png
The last of the NES Megaman games, although people were probably getting a little sick of seeing them at this point, Megaman 6 is a fantastic game. It's got the best set of robot masters, my favorite rush powers in the series, and the soundtrack is one of my favorites in the series. It doesn't seem to have the graphics as good as the 5, it doesn't seem to have as much animation, and the intro cutscene as well as the ending aren't nearly as colorful. I'm a little biased though with this game, simply just because it was the first NES game I remember playing, but this is another title that doesn't deserve all the hate it gets. It's great.

9: Megaman 7
http://www.themmnetwork.com/wiki/images/9/92/Title-megaman7.png
This was the first game I played in the marathon (I'm just putting it here because I feel like putting the games in chronological order).
It's another game that people seem to hate on a lot ( I was guilty at one point too I think too IIRC), but I think it perfectly recreates the classic series on the SNES. It has one of the best soundtracks in all the classic series (I like it better than 2s'), there's lots of really cool stuff to collect after you've got all the robot master's powers, and the Wily bosses are some of my favorites as well.
This game is awesome, if I had it on the SNES it would be one of my favorite games on the system. I think I also might like this game better than the first X game, I'll have to replay it though to find out.

I'm not going to play Mega Man 8 on the anniversary collection, why would I when I can play the superior Japanese Sega Saturn version?

goldenband

01-15-2012, 05:53 PM

4. Chiki Chiki Boys (Sega Genesis)

Just beat this on Hard and got the best ending, after numerous attempts over the weekend. I wrote a bit about the game (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?6122-Chiki-Chiki-Boys&p=440917&viewfull=1#post440917) in its review comments thread.

The Coop

01-17-2012, 12:20 AM

#4 S.T.G. Gunner (SNES) - Holy shit this is a horrifically monotonous, way too long shmup. Boring stages, unimaginative enemies patterns, unimpressive graphics, annoying music that plays in short loops... this thing was chore to play through, but I did it just to say I beat the thing after owning for years.

The Coop

01-19-2012, 03:28 AM

#5 Firepower 2000 (SNES) - Not a bad shmup, though stage 3 is damn cheap.

#6 BlaZeon (SNES) - Dull, with some nice music and graphics. And get this... no ending. At all. It just goes right back to the beginning and that's it. Boring, tedious, painfully slow, and with long stretches that feature not a single enemy on the screen. Not to mention iffy hit detection, making you redo stages from the beginning when you die, and a final stage that takes over ten minutes to get through.

segaddict

01-19-2012, 04:13 PM

I beat Sonic CD today for the first time. Never really played it much until now. I found it to be a bit too easy. The last boss is a joke. The cut scenes are cool and special stages nice. Some of the stages felt a bit too much like a maze. The soundtrack was decent, but doesn't compare to the Genesis games IMO. Overall I enjoyed it, I just wish it was a little longer and more challenging. I know a lot of people call it the best in the series, but I just don't see it. I enjoyed Sonic 1, 2 and Knuckles way more.

Melf

01-19-2012, 08:52 PM

#3.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/attachment.php?attachmentid=64296&d=1327024265&thumb=1 (http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/attachment.php?attachmentid=64296&d=1327024265)

Campaign lasted like, 5 hours? Totally forgettable. Multi-player was filled with assholes who expected everyone who played to be fucking Rambo, and the modes sucked. The best part of this release was that it included Frontline for free.

MrMatthews

01-19-2012, 09:37 PM

4. Gradius: Interstellar Assault (GameBoy). Fun game, I suppose, although I'm not much of a shooter fan. Died a bunch of times, but the infinite continues allowed me to bulldoze through the game in about an hour.

goldenband

01-19-2012, 10:43 PM

5. Metal Head (32X)

A few hours after beating this one on Normal for the first time, I beat it on Hard, with no continues used, 2028 points scored, and five medals at the end. It looks like there was room for a sixth medal (in position #3 of what would be six), but I don't actually know what the medals mean to begin with! I'd gotten two medals on Normal, FWIW.

Since there are no continues on Hard, I guess I 1cc'ed it by default.

The game's biggest flaw: "dash" mode should've been the default, with C used to walk slowly. That one change probably would've improved Metal Head's collective reviews by 5-10%, because it's actually a decent enough game that moves at a good pace once "dash" is on. The talking-head campiness is no worse, and a good deal funnier, than your average anime (and it's easy enough to switch into that mode if you want it).

Important techniques: bob and weave while strafing, trust your onboard computer ("OUCH"), and use your radar to shoot enemies while they're still far enough away to dodge their shots. Once you learn to focus on achieving mission objectives instead of blowing everything up, the game starts to hum along harmoniously. Kudos for making use of the MODE button -- the overhead view is critical, and helps to keep you from getting disoriented. If anything the game is a bit on the easy side, but better too easy than too frustrating.

So, basically I agree with The Coop (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?459-Metal-Head&p=151388&viewfull=1#post151388), and definitely disagree with the site review. 6/10.

segaddict

01-20-2012, 06:02 PM

100%'ed Tekken Hybrid/Tekken Tag Tournament HD for PS3. It was an easy platinum trophy. Even more so if you're good at fighting games. It was short, but fun.

The Coop

01-20-2012, 11:45 PM

#7 Silver Surfer (NES) - Everyone says how hard this game is, but I beat it without much trouble.

M4R14NO94

01-21-2012, 10:02 PM

Max Payne Advance (GBA)

Beat it about an hour ago.

Started it since my brother also started playing the PC version.

It's a pretty good adaptation of it.

Thunderblaze16

01-28-2012, 09:49 AM

Mario Galaxy, All I can say is that the ending was decent.

MrMatthews

01-30-2012, 03:56 PM

5. Mario's Picross 2 (GameBoy): Couldn't figure out what all the solutions were supposed to be, since the titles were all in Japanese, but I had a pretty good time solving them all.

The Jackal

01-31-2012, 06:52 PM

Beat Metal Gear Solid (PS1) - and it's still as epic as when I first done so back on it's release. Now, that I'm older, I noticed some nitpicks such as the contant backtracking used to cheaply extent the game and some annoying bits here and there (e.g. having to knock Liquid off the top of REX whilst you've got a strict time limit and he does triple damage); but damn, it's still a magical experience. Now, I'm gonna replay the game to get the Bandanna... :)

M4R14NO94

02-01-2012, 09:19 PM

Bust-a-Move (Game Gear)

Cleared all 100 levels.

MrMatthews

02-02-2012, 06:58 PM

6. Nemesis (GameBoy): Man, I suck at shooters. This was supposed to be ridiculously easy, but I died dozens of times on the second level and turned the game off. Later in the day I returned to it, bumped up the number of lives to 50, and one-lifed it all the way to the fourth level, which I bulldozed through with my army of extra lives and managed to pass through the last level without dying once.

Outside of Kirby's Dream Land, I never was able to beat a GameBoy game straight out of the box when I was younger. Maybe my skills have improved, after all.

16-bit

02-02-2012, 07:40 PM

10: Sonic Generations PC
Out of all the 3D sonic games to have come out over the past 12 or so years, this is the best. It controls well, the graphics are very colorful ( a very nice change to the wonderful shades of brown and grey that I've become accustomed to this gen), the soundtrack is fantastic, and playing as modern Sonic AND classic Sonic is a whole lot of fun. One of the best platformers of the the current generation and games to come out last year.

Thank you Sega for still caring enough to release games for the PC.

M4R14NO94

02-03-2012, 01:42 AM

I unlocked plenty of stuff on Activision Anthology: Remix Edition (PC)

The "Activision Special Report" commercial (unlocked by getting 25000 points on Pitfall II), the Starmaster patches (all I did was just stay on the refueling spot on all 4 games until it gave me the patch :)), the Dragster patch/certificate (which I actually got because of a glitch. I restarted the game at one point and then it gave me the unlocked message), the Stampede patch and the Starmaster commercial. And a few of the game modes.

goldenband

02-04-2012, 01:02 AM

6. Granada (Sega Genesis)

I'd finished this one on other difficulty levels over the past year or two, but today I finally sat down and took on Mania. It took me 4-5 attempts, but on my last try of the night, I beat it fairly handily. Mania/6 Lives, 2 of 3 continues used. Perhaps I "should" beat it with the default number of lives (3), but since Mania's not the default setting, that's kind of moot.

I was expecting to be frustrated by trying to find my way through the game's often-labyrinthine stages with a relentlessly ticking clock, but I decided to consult the level maps at VGMaps (http://vgmaps.com/Atlas/Genesis/#G) first, and that helped tremendously. After the third playthrough or so I pretty much had the layouts in my head and didn't much need the maps anymore -- which makes sense, since they were 50% in my head anyway, but that last step of understanding the interconnectedness of the whole is something I struggle with, since I'm not a visual thinker. I also took a few tips from the Shmups forum strategy thread (http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=28239), though I think the only things that were 100% new to me were the hidden weapon in Stage 2, the optimal strategy for the Stage 1 boss, and the ability to bypass the gates in Stage 9.

Unlike so many other games I beat, I'd actually be interested in playing Granada again just for pleasure, and/or to try to improve. Sure, holding down the strafe button cramped my wrist after a while, and the fact that the clock doesn't reset after you lose a man is kind of stupid. And it's got the patented Wolf Team sprite breakup/flicker issues, now and then. But otherwise, one of the best games I've played on the Genesis, easily, and any caviling about its allegedly minimal graphics (or whatever) would be silly -- the game is tough, fair, and fun, even on Mania! 9/10.

goldenband

02-05-2012, 05:17 PM

7. Blockade Runner (Intellivision)

This obscure title was one of two produced for the Intellivision by a Canadian company called Interphase, which from what I understand was essentially a one-man operation. That last bit is relevant, because both of their releases -- the other one is Sewer Sam -- are tricky, offbeat titles that are seriously hampered by a steep learning curve, unorthodox gameplay mechanics, and a poorly-designed manual that spends more time hyping itself ("Five unique reasons why Blockade Runner is out of this world!") than explaining how to play the game: maybe having a couple non-programmer types on board would've helped with that.

Ever since it arrived with my Intellivision in 2009, I've wanted to figure out how to play Blockade Runner. Every so often, I'd pick it up for 15-20 minutes, and end up putting it right back down. But today I finally "got it" and, thanks to the prompt of a high score competition over at Atariage, I finished the game on my fifth attempt of the day.

Like Sewer Sam, once I figured out what the game was really about, it turned out to be pretty straightforward and reasonably fun -- but the learning curve is a lot steeper with Blockade Runner. It's akin to games like Starmaster for VCS, or the minefield/asteroid sequences in WarpSpeed, but has a couple twists all its own, including a scoring system that constantly penalizes you and allows for negative points -- it's pretty easy to end up with a score of minus-20k your first time out.

Outside of the pleasure of the accomplishment itself, is Blockade Runner fun? Dunno, but I kind of like it nonetheless. Not too many games from that era can be "beaten" so it's a nice change of pace. And it's one of the oldest console games I've ever seen that allows you to configure your controls.

goldenband

02-05-2012, 11:20 PM

8. Fist of the North Star (Game Boy)

I picked this fighting game up yesterday for a dollar. To its credit, it has a few interesting ideas like RPG-style leveling up, as well as a password system, responsive controls, and decent music.

Unfortunately, none of this matters, since the AI is so pathetically braindead that I was able to beat the game in less than half an hour without losing a match. It's not as offensive as Shadow: War of Succession for the 3DO, but the core problem is the same: if you endlessly spam fireballs, the computer has no answer for it.

Maybe it'd have some redeeming qualities in two-player mode, or if you picked a character with no projectiles for the challenge of it. Otherwise, it's a joke.

Kollision

02-10-2012, 07:15 AM

let's start

# 1 - Border Wars (XBLIG)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NblhRBS1qB0/TwKGLlLH6wI/AAAAAAAABxs/qebfCpe0voo/s320/borderWars_Box.jpg
A net idea gone sour due mainly to poor programming. 9 out of 10 times the game crashes and sends you back to the dashboard.

# 2 - Space Harrier (32X)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LExWTwPreOg/TwPQ6BOUfpI/AAAAAAAABzk/xvR60_qutLc/s320/spaceHarrier_Box.jpg
Leftover from the S16 contest. In every way this is the arcade game at home, never mind those 30 fps lost in the conversion. Fast and fun.

# 3 - Scavenger 4 (FM Towns)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzmhquClRTw/TwzRkZRYmGI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/iq1Q6oZ1wg8/s320/scavenger4_Box.jpg
The equivalent to Sega CD's Novastorm. It seems that every version has its own unique features though, and this one is pretty fun.

# 4 - P-47 - The Freedom Fighter (PC Engine)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7UGe-X8j0s0/TyNW2EFQ6ZI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/IMJuJ4uJxr4/s320/p47_Box.jpg
Obscure and kinda primitive but still enjoyable WW2 horizontal shooter. Fire Mustang's poor cousin, let's say.

# 5 - Under Defeat (Dreamcast)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-blZWSQkZBrE/TyyhWK5LXBI/AAAAAAAAB3I/Cd_bdhoM3_c/s320/underDefeat_Box.jpg
Outstanding title, beautiful to the very last bit of design and gameplay, and just as tough. Really looking forward to the upcoming ports on the 360 and PS3.

Melf

02-10-2012, 03:31 PM

#5.

http://www.co-optimus.com/images/upload/image/2012/SimpsonsPSN.jpg

It didn't drag on as long as I remembered, but it was still repetitive as hell. I'd be willing to play it with other people, as single-player doesn't really do much. Still, can't complain when it's free!

M4R14NO94

02-10-2012, 06:07 PM

Dragon's Lair (DS)

I fucking did it! WOO!

Played it on Home mode, Easy difficulty, with 5 lives and the move guide on.

goldenband

02-10-2012, 09:33 PM

9. Toys: Let The Toy Wars Begin! (SNES)

I beat this just last year, but beat it again today for NintendoAge's "Can NA Beat Every SNES Game In A Year" project. As movie tie-in games go, it's better than many, but it's a pity that its more promising aspects aren't more fully fleshed out. 5/10.

goldenband

02-12-2012, 12:14 PM

10. Art of Fighting (SNES)

Also re-beat this on Friday, for the same reason as Toys.

Bloodreign

02-12-2012, 07:08 PM

I could never beat a Sonic game that wasn't CD in my whole life, well today I pulled out the Genesis, popped in Sonic 3 and Knuckles, then proceeded to rack up continues. Had no emeralds at all (I suck at the stages), but within 3 continues I managed to beat this game. Sure it's not a 1 credit clear, nor the emeralds gotten, but this was a monkey on my back for years, now it's off.

M4R14NO94

02-13-2012, 09:50 PM

Rampage (Master System)

Beat it a few days ago as Lizzie, and used 3 continues.

Best port of the game by far (compilation rereleases aside)

M4R14NO94

02-17-2012, 08:01 PM

The Simpsons (Arcade)

Beat it today with my little bro on MAME for the Wii.

M4R14NO94

02-18-2012, 11:06 PM

OutRun (DOS)

Got to Goal C in, no joke, my very first try.

RoboCop 2 (Arcade)

Finished it with about 3 credits. It's the shit.

Lemmings (Genesis)

Finished the Fun levels.

goldenband

02-19-2012, 09:21 PM

11. B.O.B. (Genesis)

Beat this tonight. Some thoughts here (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?5169-B-O-B&p=453497&viewfull=1#post453497).

MrMatthews

02-20-2012, 11:24 AM

7. Picross DS: Whew! According to the 3DS activity log, this one took me nearly a month to beat, with a total play time of 58 hours spread out over 83 play sessions. And that finally brings my Picross marathon to a close.

goldenband

02-22-2012, 11:41 PM

12. Dark Castle (Genesis)

Right around midnight last night, I beat this on Easy for the first time. Medium followed around noon today, and then Hard at 11:30, so I guess I did the whole thing inside of 24 hours. Hard is brutally unforgiving because of the very short respawn times, but there's really only one spot of extreme difficulty -- the rest requires accuracy, but isn't otherwise that bad.

I'd probably give this a 2/10. As a product, it's essentially a complete failure: it never should have been ported to the Genesis to begin with, and they messed up many things in the process. The game is inexcusably short, terribly outdated, and -- especially at first -- incredibly frustrating.

But the thing is, the original source material was pretty good for its time, and that shines through somewhat. Once you get the hang of the game's horrible jumping algorithm, and learn a few other tricks, it opens up a little bit and the frustration factor drops dramatically. Honestly I had a lot of fun beating it, though obviously the game's reputation contributed to that -- when you know you're taking down one of the most reviled and (allegedly) ball-bustingly difficult games in the Genesis library, it's kind of a rush.

I think this Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj1EU1me03Q) was made by a Sega-16 member IIRC, and it was incredibly helpful in learning where to jump from in the final stage. But the player misses a few things that make the game far more manageable: for one, you can shoot the Dark Knight's mugs and stop him from attacking (which is probably a bug). More importantly, the Shield item is an absolute must to deal with the Gargoyle. I learned all this from the Dark Castle wiki (http://darkcastle.wikia.com/wiki/Shield), which was a big help.

Anyway, 2/10. But not 1/10, because no game I actually enjoyed gets a 1/10 from me.

Parker619

02-24-2012, 10:50 AM

Havent been active on the forums for a while, but i thought i would add what i have already beaten in 2012

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360

Ive realised i have TOO much time on my hands...

MrMatthews

02-27-2012, 05:16 PM

Beat a couple games over the weekend.

8. God of War III: I've beaten this one once before, but I surrendered to the urge to burn through it during a break from...

9. Resident Evil - Revelations: Far better than Resident Evil 5, that's for sure.

cheaterdragon1

02-27-2012, 09:11 PM

I think this Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj1EU1me03Q) was made by a Sega-16 member IIRC, and it was incredibly helpful in learning where to jump from in the final stage. But the player misses a few things that make the game far more manageable: for one, you can shoot the Dark Knight's mugs and stop him from attacking (which is probably a bug). More importantly, the Shield item is an absolute must to deal with the Gargoyle. I learned all this from the Dark Castle wiki (http://darkcastle.wikia.com/wiki/Shield), which was a big help.

Anyway, 2/10. But not 1/10, because no game I actually enjoyed gets a 1/10 from me.

Holy hell, I actually helped someone! Yeah congrats on beating it. That last stage was an absolute bitch to learn and it took me quite a long time to get a winning run. It was quite lucky that I was able to do it in one run that time. As for your score 2/10, your being to nice to this game.

M4R14NO94

02-28-2012, 12:29 AM

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Xbox 360)

Got the Gold license. YES!

goldenband

02-28-2012, 06:26 PM

Holy hell, I actually helped someone! Yeah congrats on beating it. That last stage was an absolute bitch to learn and it took me quite a long time to get a winning run. It was quite lucky that I was able to do it in one run that time. As for your score 2/10, your being to nice to this game.

Thank you very much for the video and the congrats! I think you'll find that if you get the shield, the game gets much, much less frustrating -- I can run through Easy with basically no difficulty now, because I have a countermeasure against the gargoyle. Without that, it'd be 1/10 for sure, since it'd be basically unplayable.

Zoltor

03-02-2012, 07:48 PM

Let's see, I'm at the end of Radiant Historia(I'm a completionest, so haven't actually finished the run yet)

I went through Etrian Odyssey 3 again(such a awesome/addictive game)

I completely beat/completed Shiren the Wanderer for the wii(including the end game content)

I just did a Shining Force EXA run

Lunar 1

Lunar 2

I am about to beat Chrono Trigger(I'm in the Black Omen right now)

I recently beat Ogre Battle as well(although sadly it was a very sloppy playthrough, so I'll probally do a proper playthrough in a few months).

Gauntlet Dark Legacy(beat it with the warrior, I'm probally gonna beat it using the Minotour next).

Oh yea, almost forgot, I beat Breath of Fire 1, and 2 as well.

That's about it this year so far.

Woops, forgot 3 games, I beat suikoden 4, Suikoden Tactics(I'm on new game + with Suikoden Tactics atm, but took a break to play other games), and Legend of Dragoon.

NeoZeedeater

03-03-2012, 01:10 PM

I beat Pokemon Snap on N64. It was pretty cool trying to improve the quality of the snapshots and searching for new creatures. HAL did a good job with the game.

16-bit

03-03-2012, 10:18 PM

11. Xexyz NES
This game's allright I suppose.

It's an action game with shmup stages. It's got some nice graphics in some parts, but for the most part it's standard NES fair, the music isn't too bad either. As far as the actual gameplay goes it's pretty good, the controls are nice, but ultimately the problem here lies within the level design. In a lot of the shmup stages you're given the option to go through two doors, if you go through the wrong one (and there's no way of telling which one's right) then you have to start the section all over again. I can also remember one stage where I had to buy something, but there was no way you could get back without running into an enemy, getting knocked back, and dying in a pit.

The concept of the game, and the bosses are pretty cool. But I feel like this game falls short a little bit.

Definitely worth picking up if you can find it for cheap.

gamevet

03-04-2012, 06:36 PM

I've spent a lot of time with Skyrim (around 200 hours), so I haven't had a lot of time to play other games.

I took a little break from Skyrim and finally got around to playing Crysis: Warhead. I really liked this game, much more than the first, and it was quite a fun ride along the way. It's my first game completed this year, and until I've completed Skyrim 100% (I have 89% of the trophies), it may be awhile before I finish anything else.

Insector_X_Perts

03-06-2012, 05:29 PM

I have beaten both WWF WrestleFest and the original arcade version of Punch-Out !!, a few times each since purchasing them for my basement-based arcade.

I've made it past each of the regular opponents/won the Championship in Punch-Out!!, and am currently working on the next circuit{which features 4 out of the last circuit's 6 boxers, and changes both the colors of your opponents'/your gloves/trunks, as well as the turnbuckle/corner post color}.

WrestleFest has two modes, Royal Rumble battle royal, and Tag Team Championship.

I've won the Royal Rumble with various wrestlers{but only by pinning them all, as I haven't figured out how to throw them over the top rope yet}, and have won the Tag Team belts with both Demolition{Smash & Crush} and the combination of Mr. Perfect and the Big Boss Man.

QuickSciFi

03-06-2012, 05:42 PM

I'm just interested in how you selected your user name. That's mighty niche if you asked me. Did you beat both games at least?

Insector_X_Perts

03-07-2012, 12:27 PM

Glad you asked, QuickSCiFi!

Most of the usernames/email handles that I use online feature this combination type of wordplay, like the "Before and After" categories on either Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune.

"Insector _X-Perts" not only flows together well, but represents my dual love of the 1970s-1990s arcade/console gaming scenes.

I've actually never played either game, but was/am intrigued by the many differences between Insector X's arcade original and Genesis port.

I'm a huge fan of the Eternal Champions games, and find it odd that X-Perts was such a departure from what worked so well.

That being said, I fully intend to purchase X-Perts in the future{for the EC connection, and to see how poor it is, if nothing else}.

Cornholio857

03-07-2012, 12:35 PM

That being said, I fully intend to purchase X-Perts in the future{for the EC connection, and to see how poor it is, if nothing else}.

It never fails to disappoint. ;)

Zoltor

03-08-2012, 01:18 AM

Just played through FFT(the real FFT game) again, got all the Genji equipment, Ultima, and the Zodiac Summon.

Now I loaded a save before the final maps, and started on my mission to make Cloud into a useable char(whom ever was incharge of his design, is a moron for having him join as a lv 1 char). I got Short Charge(by way of crystal ofcourse), a ton of good item commands, and his first 3 limits, but sadly he's still only lv 6(It's gonna take forever for him to catchup).

Tsk tsk such a awesom char, that is obtained right before the end of the game, and starts as a lv 1, wtf were they thinking.

jerry coeurl

03-08-2012, 01:44 AM

M4R14NO94

03-08-2012, 05:19 PM

Before I add the latest ones I beat, here's one I forgot to post:

(post lazily copypasta'd from another forum I'm in)

NARC (2005) (PS2)

Finally beat that one, since we left our savefile for years.

What a terrible game. It's awful. Not only that, the ending is just bad. I'd honestly say that the original NARC's ending is much better than this one, and everybody knows that one's ending was a screen telling you it was a simulation all along!

Plus one scene before the final boss fights completely rips off Reservoir Dogs' ending (also a possible Actor Allusion since Michael Madsen voices one of the characters, which gets shot during that scene... and for no reason comes back alive for the finale)

And the final fight itself is against Mr. Big on some giant vehicle that looks a whole lot like one of the bosses from Revolution X. And the final cinematic is just Marcus shooting Big right in his head and leaving. Credits roll. The game is over. How anticlimatic.

But hey, it's over! And as some sort of celebration I played the original as it was included as a bonus (taken straight from Midway Arcade Treasures 2) and ended up losing at the Mr. Big boss fight.

And now, here's the actual post!

Sonic CD (PC, 2011)

Got the bad ending, plenty of Achievements, unlocked every extra and finished every level on Time Attack.

Plenty of arcade games on MAME (Gals Panic 3, RoboCop, Puzzle Game Rong Rong and Die Hard Arcade)

goldenband

03-08-2012, 09:28 PM

I played the original as it was included as a bonus (taken straight from Midway Arcade Treasures 2) and ended up losing at the Mr. Big boss fight.

Oh, man, I remember that boss fight -- I played the GameCube version via MAT2. Totally annoying and cheap, but eventually my girlfriend and I got through it, thanks to unlimited credits. It's basically the game's last-ditch way to extract an extra $5-10 from the player.

Zoltor

03-08-2012, 11:08 PM

A friend of mine raised Cloud's PA so high using the "level down as one class and level up as another" trick, that he would actually dole out 999 damage to multiple enemies with just his Geomancer skills.

Lol yikes, that's crazy.

M4R14NO94

03-09-2012, 03:57 PM

Road Avenger (Sega CD)

Finally played it and beat it in almost an hour. Played on Normal and continued 2 times.

It is fucking amazing, but I'm sure you all know that by know.

Best FMV game evar.

Oh, man, I remember that boss fight -- I played the GameCube version via MAT2. Totally annoying and cheap, but eventually my girlfriend and I got through it, thanks to unlimited credits. It's basically the game's last-ditch way to extract an extra $5-10 from the player.

I think me and my bro could get through it only once, I can't remember whether it was on MAME or MAT2/2005 NARC, though.

And honestly, what did you expect from a Eugene Jarvis game? Dude loves makin' them hard.

QuickSciFi

03-10-2012, 03:47 AM

3. Defenders of Oasis - Sega Game Gear

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/defendoas-logo.jpg

What an impressive game for an 8-bit handheld. I was so taken aback by the awesomeness of the music (and even the canned voices), I couldn't believe this was coming from an 8-bit handheld machine. The game could've fared perfectly well on the Genesis, perhaps even against some of the system's own RPGs. What a beautiful game. There were times I kept thinking I was playing a more recent, DS game, because the resolution was so brightly lit, with just the perfect colors to make that Game Gear screen light up nicely. It almost felt at times like I had an HD little iPod touch screen in my hands. I will never forget the awesomeness of that boat ride early in the game. All throughout, it was a hardcore RPG unlike I could've ever imagined. The production value for this title was certainly something to base other 8-bit handheld RPGs upon. Even the saving feature was outstanding. This was the very first RPG I've ever played that saves in this manner, and it does so perfectly. I couldn't believe I could just turn off my game at any time and I'd be returning to the exact same spot where I left it. Just beautiful. This is most definitely a 10/10 title. Grade A+++!!!!. I love my Game Gear. :D

goldenband

03-11-2012, 07:14 PM

13. Trampoline Terror! (Genesis)

Beat this on Easy/5 Lives last night, and Normal/5 Lives today. Comments here (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?380-Trampoline-Terror!&p=461685&viewfull=1#post461685). Since there's no penalty for continuing and I had 2-3 continues left at the end, I feel no compulsion to beat it again on Normal/3 Lives (I guess there's no Hard mode).

MrMatthews

03-12-2012, 02:40 AM

10. TMNT 2: Back From the Sewers (GameBoy): I used to beat this game all the time when I had it originally, but I never liked it as much as the first GameBoy turtles game and now I remember why. I never liked the character design, even though the graphics are pretty great, and there are some incredibly cheap hits to be had in the game's last stage. It's almost impossible not to lose some turtles during the Technidrome level, although when you eventually get to Krang he's a cakewalk. Very"meh" game with some great music.

ItellYaHuat

03-12-2012, 02:50 AM

- Completed Sonic CD (steam) with all achievments and best ending back in January.
- Finished both GDI and NOD missions in the Tiberian Sun expansion pack, Firestorm a few days ago.
- Completed Sonic Riders (PC version) 100% in February.

Planning on giving SADX a go since I never bothered to beat the SA games before (probably because I kept beating S3&K for the thousandth time). Installed it on my computer today so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

MrMatthews

03-12-2012, 02:32 PM

Plowed through a couple more games this morning.

11. Tail 'Gator (GameBoy): Solid but not terribly remarkable platformer similar to Mighty Bomb Jack on the NES.

12. Batman The Video Game (GameBoy): Fairly easy until the final auto-scrolling level. The game's fussy controls combined with the over-sensitive GBA SP d-pad had me close to pulling out my hair a few times. Thank god for unlimited continues.

QuickSciFi

03-12-2012, 02:45 PM

MrMatthews is on a role! Good times. :)

MrMatthews

03-12-2012, 07:39 PM

Sure am.

Mega Man 10 (Wii): Downloaded this last year sometime and finally got around to beating it. Personally, I don't really consider these MM9 or 10 to be part of the "core" series (ie: 1 thru 6), but I think they are still pretty awesome. Mega Man 10 has some of the best Wily music of any of the previous 8 games, though.

Tanegashima

03-12-2012, 11:54 PM

I beat Comix Zone back in November

I'm still so proud of myself...then I let myself down by beating it and realizing how god damned short that game really is...

It's only taken me 17 years to beat it! God...has it really been that long since I got that game? My god...I'm not even that old but it makes me feel old saying that.

The Jackal

03-14-2012, 04:47 PM

I beat the XBL version of Sonic Adventure; my god what terrible port. Huge borders that shrink the screen to a little box in the middle, sluggish controls (at least for me), and long loading screens, I mean really, I've played, own and completed the Dreamcast & Gamecube versions of this game and they're nowhere near this slow; it's like the 360's being pushed to it's limit, no joke. Okish game, shit port.

MrMatthews

03-16-2012, 12:24 AM

14. Aliens Infestation (Nintendo DS): Very good game from Wayforward, although not really the epic, be-all DS swan song I was hoping for. For as long as this game has been in development (I saw the first trailer years ago), the final product seems rushed and not nearly as well-rounded as it could have been. Still, fans of Metroid-styled games could do a lot worse, and it's definitely the best Aliens game I've played. Savor it while it lasts, though.

MrMatthews

03-16-2012, 11:30 PM

15. Ducktales (GameBoy): This game was not nearly as hard as I remembered. I remember struggling with this one a lot when I was younger, only managing to beat it once. Picked it up tonight for the first time in 20 years and played right through it. I guess in my old age I've developed the mad skills to pay the bills.

Melf

03-17-2012, 03:48 PM

QuickSciFi

03-17-2012, 08:00 PM

4. Vay - Sega CD
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/Vay.jpg?t=1332027865

It was a neat RPG. Unlike many reviewers out there, I actually found it very well balanced. I'm a hardcore grinder, and I can tell you that this isn't a tough game in which to level-up; which you are able to do so flawlessly most of the time (It is not very difficult to find a good spot to, either, level-up or make money). Like with any RPG, grinding is always necessary. It was a long game, and grinding-happy at times, so I'm very satisfied. The only bad thing about it was the minimalistic aspect of the cut-scenes (I couldn't tell half the time who was whom when they showed anime versions of each character. They all looked the same to me, tall and skinny blond girls, the lot of them). The actual core of the story is actually carried in the writing for NPCs and other such dialogs amongst the main characters. The writing did seem aimed more at 12 year olds at time, but that is not the same as saying the writing was childish. It was actually very well written. Which has always been my favorite aspect in RPGs. One could say the graphics are sub-par if compared to, say, Phantasy Star IV (the whole game actually feels like a rushed, budget version of Phantasy Star IV; which goes to show just how much more awesome PSIV could have been on the Sega CD). It sure does have its funny moments (which reminds me, my tolerance for comedy in RPGs is fast-dwindling ;)). Overall, a very enjoyable game.

Melf

03-18-2012, 12:27 PM

You're a better man than I am. I only got to the last dungeon and couldn't take the absurd encounter rate anymore.

#8.

4641 (http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/attachment.php?attachmentid=65043&d=1332087813)

I just wanted to try it out, but there's a walkthrough, and the game isn't all that long. I ended up beating it in one sitting. To be fair, I basically did only what was necessary to finish, and there were a lot of conversations and animations that I didn't see. Overall, the game is great for Lum fans and boasts some of the best animation work on the Sega CD. I'll have a review up on Sega-16 in the next couple of weeks.

goldenband

03-18-2012, 04:16 PM

14. Beach-Head (Atari 8-bit)

Played via emulation on the Dreamcast. I'd beaten difficulty level 1 a few weeks back, and sat down today and ran through levels 2-4 in about an hour.

Fun game! I would've loved it as a kid -- too bad I didn't have anything like it for the CoCo when I was growing up. It'd have been a great choice for a 1980s math class, since calculating the artillery distance on the fly gives you a huge advantage if you can do the mental math quickly.

I guess I'd give it about 7/10, since it's a well-balanced game with nice variety that's just a bit too short.

QuickSciFi

03-19-2012, 10:46 AM

You're a better man than I am. I only got to the last dungeon and couldn't take the absurd encounter rate anymore.

That final dungeon on Draktyr (I think that's how the flying island is called) is the easiest part of the game. You start with the notion that you have to be careful, but there are multiple rooms that have a life pod tile thing that will instantly recover all your characters' HP and MP by stepping on them. You can move through that area with confidence (you can even safely choose to 'run', even if you get hit a couple of times; since there are a ton of 'life pods'). Then as you reach the final boss room, the enemies are all gone. You get a bunch of chests to open with extra goodies. Just use Sandor and Thyxall him with your magic characters. The final boss is one of the easiest bosses.

MrMatthews

03-19-2012, 02:03 PM

16. Sakura Samurai (Nintendo 3DS): This was a download from the eShop, and it was probably the best $7 I've spent on the system so far. The game is, in essence, a very, very tiny action/RPG. If you stuck purely to progressing through the game and didn't fart around like I did, you could probably blow through it in about two hours. That would be a disservice to yourself and the game, though.

The combat is highly reminiscent of Punch-Out!!, in that you face-off with enemies, waiting for their tells that indicate what kind of attack they are going to use, then dodging out of the way and counter-attacking with your sword. It's a simple combat system, but very satisfying. Your character automatically upgrades his life-bar as your progress through the game, and you have the option to upgrade your sword multiple times. In towns you can play a number of mini-games for cash or prizes, and several bonus challenges are unlocked outside of the game as you work your way through the main campaign.

The art design is absolutely beautiful and the music is charming. Controls are spot-on and gameplay is simple enough to be intuitive while still nuanced enough to remain engaging all the way through the end.

I can't recommend this game enough to anyone with a 3DS. It's not a long game by any means, but it's very replayable and well-worth the asking price.

InternalPrimate

03-19-2012, 02:20 PM

#6.

http://www.genkivideogames.com/images/t45033shots.jpg

Alisia Dragoon is an awesome, awesome game. The ending was a bit poor, but overall this is an excellent action title with excellent visuals and gameplay. Game Arts at its finest.

#7.

4636

I downloaded this ages ago on the Wii VC and decided to go through it again in anticipation of the upcoming MW collection. I haven't played the MS one in years, so I don't know how better or worse it is, but I enjoyed the hell out of this one. Lots of secrets and bonuses that make you think, bosses that are cool and have challenging patterns, and a really awesome world in general make me sad that Sega left it off the set we're getting next month. This game has really aged quite well.

Love both games! It's sad that these types of games don't come out anymore.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj216/iprimate858/FinalboxartME2.jpg

I FINALLY finished Mass Effect 2. I finished all the loyalty missions (except for Legion's) several months ago, but wanted to fully explore everything else the game had to offer before taking on the Collectors. Of course, me being me, I began other games in the meantime, and let Mass Effect 2 sit to the side.

I loved Mass Effect 2. I didn't make it through the final dungeon unscathed, and I lost one very important member of my team. It stung seeing this character that I had grown so accustomed to die because of my actions. I contemplated loading up my previous save, but though "isn't this the whole point of the Mass Effect series?" Sure, I lost a good character, but my journey is unique because of that.

After finishing the game, I immediately booted up Mass Effect 3. Already impressed by how much better it looks than Mass Effect 2 (which was a gorgeous game itself). Looking forward to sinking my teeth not only into the single player, but the multiplayer as well.

In the meantime, I'll be finishing Resident Evil Revelations soon :)

M4R14NO94

03-19-2012, 04:56 PM

Virtual Cameraman Vol. 3 (3DO)

Got to stage 3. I'm not sure if it counts as actually winning the game but I'm pretty sure that's it, plus I already did the same with both Vol. 1 way back when and Virtua Photo Studio, so what the hell!

MrMatthews

03-21-2012, 08:57 PM

16b. Sakura Samurai (Nintendo 3DS): Beat this game again, this time on "expert" mode. I would love to see this game fleshed out as a full retail release. I'd pay $40 for it in a heartbeat.

goldenband

03-23-2012, 06:19 PM

15. Legend of Wukong (Genesis)

Beat this today. I'm still mulling over what I think of the game, but I'd put it in the 6/10 range, and might crack 7/10 if I'm feeling generous (or sink to 5/10 if I were feeling stingy).

It has a lot of objective faults, most of which boil down to a lack of variety. But OTOH the game isn't annoying or cumbersome, and among RPGs that counts for a lot: I've played games that eventually start feeling like a total pain in the ass, and for the most part, this wasn't one of them. I like the chapter-based structure, too.

(Disappointing ending, though.)

QuickSciFi

03-23-2012, 06:26 PM

^I recommend Defenders of Oasis on the Game Gear.

goldenband

03-23-2012, 07:29 PM

Thanks for the recommendation -- I noticed your high praise, and put it on my mental list of Game Gear games to check out. I don't bust my GG out very often, but if I get an EverDrive for the system that may change!

Melf

03-24-2012, 01:21 PM

#9.

4691

A digital "choose your own adventure game" with some instances of touch controls, you play as Shane during the lapse between when Rick got shot and he and Lori leave Atlanta. I liked the game a lot, but it's literally about 7 minutes long (it's free though, and requires Adobe Air to run). At least you can got back a few times and play it with different choices. I would have gladly paid for it had it been longer.

M4R14NO94

03-24-2012, 02:49 PM

Lumines (PC)

Finished Classic Mode. I already did that back when I got the game a few weeks ago, but some fatal error erased all of that progress.

Zoltor

03-25-2012, 04:00 AM

I just beat my first playthrough of Devil Survivor 2(yikes the last boss was a pain).

The Jackal

03-25-2012, 07:42 AM

Darksiders (360)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Darksiders_Cover.jpg

Gotta thank Knuckle Duster for suggesting this to me, would of missed out on a fantastic title otherwise. The game itself borrows heavily from other games; combat is just like that in Legacy of Kain Defiance (I might put up a Youtube video to compare the two, they're pretty identical), dungeons (chests, map and 'compass' to be found, boss to be defeated with weapon you aquired in that dungeon, heath upgrade given after boss's death) and as well as item upgrades (hookshot and boomerang) are set up just like in Ocarina of Time (you even get your own horse!), the game utilizes a free-form map system just like the one in Soul Reaver (lots of backtracking, hardly no loading, utilizing upgrades to open up new areas in areas you've previously beaten, etc), the character you play as looks like he was heavily inspired by Hellboy (enlarged hand, giant pistol), etc.

Whilst this might seem lazy and look like the developers are just stealing the ideas of more successful games, you'll look past that when you actually play the game - all of those "borrowed" elements blend beautifully with it's own; good voice acting, excellent story, challenging bosses, upgradable combos and stats, and so much more.

The sequel's coming out in the next few months, so there's no excuse not to grab this whilst you wait for it; trust me, you'll enjoy this. Alot.

MrMatthews

03-25-2012, 11:15 AM

The Jackal

03-25-2012, 11:35 AM

Jackal:

I played through Darksiders a while back and found it to be a very enjoyable game. Like you, though, I honestly don't think there's a single element in this game that isn't blatantly ripped off from another popular series, including a rather shameless Portal "homage" towards the end.

Oh yes, I forgot about that. That was obviously put in at the last minute, you only used it in the one dungeon and nowhere else, whilst the other items/weapons like the hookshot/chain and boomerang/spiked Frisbee are used frequently after you get them.

Fun fact: that's Mark Hamill as the demon who's supervising you throughout the story.
Yeah, I had a look at the game's IMdb page after playing the game for the first time and finding the VA work surprisingly good; was alittle shocked to find out it was Luke Skywalker who did the voice, really had no idea. Oh yes, and he did the voice to the Joker as well in the DC animated cartoons. Talented guy.

MrMatthews

03-25-2012, 11:54 AM

Oh yes, I forgot about that. That was obviously put in at the last minute, you only used it in the one dungeon and nowhere else, whilst the other items/weapons like the hookshot/chain and boomerang/spiked Frisbee are used frequently after you get them.

The "Portal" section was the only part where the pacing of the game really stumbled. That final dungeon dragged on for far too long, IMO. Oh, and I thought it took WAY too long to upgrade your weapons.

jerry coeurl

03-25-2012, 03:52 PM

Welp, I beat Metal Gear Solid for the first time ever last night. Got the good ending. Really fantastic game, and I think it still holds up quite well.

I got MGS2 & 3 just waiting for me on my shelf, but I got a bunch of homework to do today, unfortunately. :(

M4R14NO94

03-25-2012, 04:10 PM

Yeah, I had a look at the game's IMdb page after playing the game for the first time and finding the VA work surprisingly good; was alittle shocked to find out it was Luke Skywalker who did the voice, really had no idea. Oh yes, and he did the voice to the Joker as well in the DC animated cartoons. Talented guy.

And Goro Majima on the original Yakuza.

The Jackal

03-25-2012, 04:11 PM

The "Portal" section was the only part where the pacing of the game really stumbled. That final dungeon dragged on for far too long, IMO. Oh, and I thought it took WAY too long to upgrade your weapons.

Yeah, I agree with you on the length of that dungeon; having to beat 3 of the same mini-bosses and then having to back-track constantly using the portals did get jarring.

As for levelling up weapons, I left that to the last min of the game in perpetration for the final boss battle; made him quite easy to beat to be honest.

Welp, I beat Metal Gear Solid for the first time ever last night. Got the good ending. Really fantastic game, and I think it still holds up quite well..

The best part of the game is the ending reward; adds alot of extra replay value into an already awesome game.

Replay the game with the cleared file; trust me, you'll love it. ;)

The Jackal

03-25-2012, 04:11 PM

And Goro Majima on the original Yakuza.

I've not play any Yakuza games; are they any good?

MrMatthews

03-25-2012, 04:23 PM

As for levelling up weapons, I left that to the last min of the game in perpetration for the final boss battle; made him quite easy to beat to be honest.

I thought the final boss was an unimaginitive cakewalk compared to the other bosses.

That's my last criticism of the game. I actually did like it. Honest.

M4R14NO94

03-25-2012, 09:14 PM

I've not play any Yakuza games; are they any good?

I've only played the first two since I don't have a PS3, but they're very good games. Definitely some of Sega's best recent work.

goldenband

03-27-2012, 06:20 PM

16. Jewel Master (Genesis)

Beat Easy yesterday, and Normal and Hard today. Terrific game, and I've written more about it in the review thread (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?2542-Jewel-Master&p=468147#post468147).

MrMatthews

03-27-2012, 10:13 PM

I have also beaten this game this year. Many times in fact. Great game, I prefer it over the NES version even. The pogo stick gives it a really unique feel. And of course the oldschool Capcom production values were top notch. I'd go as far as saying it's a gaming masterpiece (both NES/GB versions).

(LOL ... Bomb Jack)

I would say that the NES version is superior, if for no other reason than the GameBoy's more cramped screen make pogo-ing under a spiked ceiling a bit more tricky. Other than that, they're pretty much equally great.

M4R14NO94

03-27-2012, 10:45 PM

Strikers 1945 (Arcade)

Finished the first loop, with the basic ending (as in no perverted stuff; yes there's fanservice on a freakin' World War II shmup) continuing about 14 or 15 times using the P-38 Lightning (aka the one that looks like the one out of Capcom's 19XX series)

goldenband

03-28-2012, 12:16 AM

17. The Ren & Stimpy Show Presents: Stimpy's Invention (Genesis)

Beat Easy last night in 2-player mode, and then Normal and Hard today in 1-player. More comments here (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?1737-Ren-amp-Stimpy-Show-Stimpy-s-Invention&p=468320&viewfull=1#post468320); suffice it to say that I'm not a fan.

MrMatthews

03-28-2012, 02:24 AM

17. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii): Beat it with 120 stars. Last time I played through it was in 2008, at which time I actually beat it with 241 stars. Fantastic game from beginning to end with a truly epic soundtrack, although some of those purple coin challenges at the end are quite infuriating.

M4R14NO94

03-28-2012, 03:28 PM

Virtual Cameraman Vol. 4 (3DO)

Yes, once again I "finished" (again, I'm not sure what happens when you beat any of the sequences on stage 3) a Virtual Cameraman game. This was actually easier than the rest (Vol. 1, I'm looking at you...)

I might get the other volumes/parts, but I dunno.

MrMatthews

03-29-2012, 11:00 PM

18. Klonoa (Wii): I bought this game about two years ago on InternalPrimate's recommendation and finally took it out of the wrapper yesterday and popped it in. It won't rank up there with my all-time favorite platformers, but it was quite a good game. The game's main "hook" wasn't used as cleverly as it could have been, although from the looks of it, the bonus levels unlocked after completing the main quest addressed that issue.

M4R14NO94

03-30-2012, 05:48 PM

Sengoku Blade (Arcade)

Beat the first loop as Koyori (yeah :D) and used about 9 or 10 continues.

Lumines (PC)

Finished Advanced Mode. NICE PLAY!

M4R14NO94

03-31-2012, 10:47 PM

Sly Spy (arcade)

Finished it using 6 or 7 credits.

markene2

04-01-2012, 04:31 PM

Yakuza: Dead Souls [PS3]
Fallout New Vegas [PC]

I can recomend Yakuza 1 - 5 (Aka dead souls).

MrMatthews

04-02-2012, 08:08 PM

19. Super Monkey Ball 3D (3DS): At first I thought this game was laughably easy compared to the other versions I've played. And it is, without a doubt.

But then I tried to go back and fulfill some of the game's ambiguous goals (which are unmentioned in the manual). I got annoyed pretty quickly when trying to get through each stage as quickly as possible while collecting every single banana, all on the assumption that it would mark the achievement somehow on the level select screen (those seemingly randomly-appearing badges must mean something, after all), and the slightest touch on any obstacle on the board would rocket me off the other side into oblivion.

I'm all for rising to the occasion and honing my skills for a concrete (if not tangible goal), but I see no point in struggling to maintain control of my character and repeating each stage over and over again in the hopes that I'll stumble across some sort of unstated victory.

Fuck that. I finished all ten stages, so I beat it.

Zoltor

04-03-2012, 02:03 AM

I beat Devil Survivor 2 three more times, but messed up on my last run, so I need to beat it one more time to get the two rewards I'm missing.

MrMatthews

04-03-2012, 10:06 PM

20. Donkey Kong Land (GameBoy): Came full circle with this one. This was the last game I bought for my original GameBoy collection before I pawned the whole thing for $75. This was also one of the only games I had that I never finished, because Donkey Kong Land is practically unplayable on the original GameBoy.

On the GBA SP, however, it becomes marginally more tolerable. At first I hated this game all over again because of the slippery controls and loosey-goosey hit detection. However, I was blazing through it, so I continued playing. And then, about halfway through it, I started liking it. The level design and music are actually pretty solid. I ended up getting 100% on the game. And what does the stalwart gamer get for meticulously scouring each level and finding all the secrets?

Nothing.

QuickSciFi

04-03-2012, 10:52 PM

^How does it fare on the Super Game Boy (SNES')?

MrMatthews

04-03-2012, 11:14 PM

I don't know, but I remember wishing I had an SNES back in the day so I could actually play the game.

goldenband

04-04-2012, 02:34 PM

18. Sküljagger (SNES)

At last! I've had unfinished business with this game for close to two decades, and finally beat it today. I played it a fair amount when I was a teenager, but somehow never finished it; yesterday I picked it back up in earnest for the first time since then.

I remembered getting intensely frustrated by the game, but as I played through the first five levels, I couldn't really see why: it wasn't that hard, the boss fights were doable, and it had a nice password system that meant you didn't have to do it all in one sitting. What was the problem?

...Well, the problem is that the password system stops at level five, so -- in an uncanny echo of Sol-Feace for Sega CD! -- you have to play straight through Stages 5-7 (with one continue). It's an artificial way to extend the game, and lays bare some of the game's faults: leaps of faith, cheap hits from off-plane enemies (you can only attack sideways), and the lack of a much-needed system for looking up/down/to the side. And occasionally the game commits a really egregious misdeed, like respawning your character with an enemy bearing down on him from inches away.

Still, I can't help but like Sküljagger. It plays reasonably well, has a decent soundtrack with dub/reggae influence, and the basic theme is just so goofy -- a pirate game with bubble gum weaponry? -- that it's hard to bear a grudge against it. It's full of hidden areas ("Fantasy Zones") that can replenish your supplies when things get tight, and whenever I felt myself starting to really loathe Sküljagger, I found that there was usually either a Fantasy Zone or, in one case, a 1-up loop to help ease the pain. To reach these, though, you'll need a copy of the game's thick manual, which is almost entirely devoted to a lengthy backstory (70+ pages!) whose main purpose is to hide the access codes for the secret areas. And the manual is a must to get some extra help for the final battle, which would otherwise be ridiculously unfair.

Anyway, I'd give Sküljagger somewhere around 6.5/10, though that may be tinged with nostalgia since I grew up with the game. Even so, I had fun defeating it at last.

goldenband

04-04-2012, 02:37 PM

Donkey Kong Land is practically unplayable on the original GameBoy.

I'm going to have to bust your chops a little bit on this one: my girlfriend says when she was in middle school, she got 100% on DKL playing on an original brick GB. :D

I should add, though, that she found it frustrating and miserable and torturous! I haven't played it myself, so I can't say one way or the other.

MrMatthews

04-04-2012, 06:06 PM

Well, I did say "practically" unplayable, not "completely" unplayable. Just sounds like your gf had more patience for the excessive screen blur than I did.

goldenband

04-05-2012, 10:42 PM

19. Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (SNES)

Another bit of unfinished business from my teenage years. I actually beat it in emulation about ten years ago, but that was with savestates -- this is the first time I've beaten it on real hardware.

I really like this game. While tough as nails, it's actually not quite as difficult as its reputation, with one exception: the Juggernaut stage is brutal! Other than endlessly wailing away at him, the trick is to make sure the weights fall on his head; if they just get in his way, they don't seem to do enough damage.

I did take advantage of the extra-lives trick in Gambit's stage. I don't know whether that's an intentional secret, or just a glitch -- I'm guessing it's the latter -- but since it's not a cheat code, can be discovered in the course of normal play, and doesn't make the gameplay itself any easier, I think it's fair game. Frankly, the game really should've had unlimited continues or a password system anyway.

And if it did have one, and if the Juggernaut stage were a bit less ridiculous, it'd arguably be one of the best action-platformers ever made for SNES. Interpret the extra-lives glitch as a corrective measure, and factor in the amazing soundtrack and strong gameplay, and I think Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge gets at least 8/10, maybe 9/10. Maybe I'll give the Genesis version a whirl sometime soon, though it'll be hard getting used to the alternate soundtrack.

M4R14NO94

04-07-2012, 08:43 PM

Strikers 1945 (Arcade)

Finished both loops. All you get after the second loop is a THE END screen.

I also aced some of the games on TouchMaster 2 and TouchMaster 3 (DS)

MrMatthews

04-09-2012, 03:55 AM

21. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii): Stayed up too late completing this one. Officially I like the first one more, but #2 is the better game.

The Jackal

04-12-2012, 08:33 AM

Zone of the Enders 2 (PS2)

I just couldn't hold out for the HD Collection to play this beaut again, so I dug up my old PS2 copy. 2 nights playing it on Hard, loved every second of it.

The game suffers from a piss poor translation, the animé scenes are kinda dreadful and the structuring of the game's levels is somewhat up in the air, but all of that can go to hell with just how well fluid the actual fighting is; the simplicity of the controls and the intensity of the action, pure gaming heaven for me. Tonight, I'm going through the original ZOE and I'm looking forward to it. :nod:

goldenband

04-13-2012, 08:20 PM

20. Rastan Saga II (Genesis)

Beat this today, by basically brute-forcing my way through the last couple bosses. It's not utterly devoid of merit, but is still a pretty poor effort indeed. 4/10.

Milkymagic

04-16-2012, 02:05 AM

I love the Yakuza games for the record, and I've actually played through all three PS3 entries recently, I'd say Yakuza 4 was my favorite of the three. Also, Yakuza 3 being censored in the states was some BS in my opinion. I freaking loved Majima in Dead Souls though, he really stole that game.

Also, I just noticed a mention of Virtual Cameraman in this thread, I still have part 4 for 3DO and managed to beat every level with a good score and nab the secret level at the end! :D (I wonder if anyone's played Yakyuken Special at all?)

Played up a lot of Saturn shmups a few months back, and I remember Sengoku Blade being one of them, that was a fun title. I'd say Hyper Duel and Kingdom Grandprix were two diamonds in the rough I discovered when I played through a few of them, but Radiant Silvergun is still my favorite at the moment, with Darius Gaiden being number 2.

Right now I'm working through Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii, and will likely pick up The Last Story as well, just because the Wii is such an underdog right now and I love me some underdog systems...with great games released near the end of their lifespan (sound familiar?). Hopefully Pandora's Tower gets released this year for the Wii as well.

Parker619

04-16-2012, 04:30 PM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360

EDIT:

34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD - Completed this as well earlier, very short game and for me was a bit of a mess, but I was laughing all the way through :D

M4R14NO94

04-16-2012, 08:27 PM

Fighter's History Dynamite (Virtual Console)

Beat it last night as Karnov (OF COURSE!) and used up 3 of the 4 credits it gives you. That's what I kinda hate about the Neo-Geo Virtual Console releases, how they're based off the home/AES versions, and thus have limited credits. Thank God for the memory card (on some of them, though)

Also, I just noticed a mention of Virtual Cameraman in this thread, I still have part 4 for 3DO and managed to beat every level with a good score and nab the secret level at the end! :D (I wonder if anyone's played Yakyuken Special at all?)

That may have been me :)

Also, that's what happens if you beat any of the photoshoots on stage 3? I should get on them (Vols. 1, 3 and 4) pronto and see how they are! It'll be frustrating as hell, but who cares?

And I've played Yakyuken Special; it was one of the first of those I played, although it was the Saturn port. I too finished that one.

MrMatthews

04-17-2012, 12:43 AM

22. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii): My save file had been holding steady at 8-1 for about a year now, but the latest episode of Game Sack inspired me to fire it up again and see through the ending of the game. Now, I didn't beat the crap out of the game, and doubt I will. But I did beat the last guy, so that counts.

NeoZeedeater

04-17-2012, 02:15 PM

Mass Effect 3
I kept trying to avoid internet spoilers about the hated ending. I wasn't as invested in the story as some people so it didn't end up bothering me that much. I loved the game and was pleased that it was the most challenging in the trilogy on the harder settings. Seeing a futuristic Vancouver in it was sweet, too.

muchomojo

04-19-2012, 09:44 AM

New SMB Wii. Not a very hard game, but quite enjoyable. Now I just have to go collect all the star coins.

Kollision

04-19-2012, 10:22 AM

updates!

# 6 - Fire Shark (Mega Drive)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6pBQ2193z0U/TzMgiWlZ4vI/AAAAAAAAB34/pqlnMy6CMCE/s320/fireShark_Box.jpg
Quintessential WW2 shooter that's a bit too long, but still fun and less punishing than other Toaplan ports on the console (Twin Cobra, Truxton).

# 7 - Dezaemon / E.D.I.T (NES)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k5OmbpvQFEk/TzxfpFncb4I/AAAAAAAAB40/n9_suH6m5iU/s320/dezaemon_Box.jpg
The sample game in this make-your-own-shmup title is a joke. The package as a whole is useless and only kept for collecting purposes.

# 8 - Dezaemon / Daioh Gale (SNES)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmTDB-kg2wQ/Tzwx9sUQXoI/AAAAAAAAB4c/q6L8IsP1nVg/s320/dezaemon_Box.jpg
Second in the series, with a better sample game. Still quite easy, too bad all development devices are in Japanese.

# 9 - Attack Animal Gakuen (NES)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GlFLPcXyg0w/T0lSxbOXp1I/AAAAAAAAB5w/E6SNUJ6wHws/s320/attackAnimalSchool_Box.jpg
Space Harrier ripoff that's surprisingly fun and engaging. Also well executed for NES standards.

# 10 - Gatchaman The Shooting (PS1)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rr3dmPJEbJk/T07jA4rr23I/AAAAAAAAB6U/cVsAs4TnYMY/s320/gatchamanTheShooting_Box.jpg
Based off an anime I've never seen, as a game this is a one-shot experience. It's a piece of cake, also short and repetitive.

# 11 - Hypership Out of Control (XBLIG)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IasrrmsQByc/T1us7pYqooI/AAAAAAAAB9c/CpswsZJi4eA/s320/hypershipOutOfControl_Box.jpg
Fun racing-type shooter where the ship is without brakes and the scrolling speed is always accelerating. 8-bit flavor all around and decent music.

# 12 - Muchi Muchi Pork! (Xbox 360)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtpSJMN8D1E/T20rsT4FsHI/AAAAAAAAB-M/OWDsdP3Yc_E/s320/muchiMuchiPorkPinkSweets_Box.jpg
Vicious and addictive game with chubby pork-girls to choose from. Full of detail and color, great music and punishing rank. How not to love Cave?

# 13 - Phalanx (SNES)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_NPPu2dA7Y/T4S8TsFQ0GI/AAAAAAAACAc/JPVSumswNmE/s320/phalanx_Box.jpg
A few nice ideas in the gameplay and really varied throughout but a bit too long. The huge spaceship stage is pretty cool.

# 14 - Sonic Wings 2 (Neo Geo)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-98T_RgnBx8I/T4mZMwEjcMI/AAAAAAAACCU/EmAlWwgIVR4/s320/sonicWings2_Box.jpg
Harder than the first one, which was a surprise. The humor is great, probably one of the best titles with nonsensical characters ever.

# 15 - CD Denjin / Super Air Zonk (PC Engine CD)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQC5FtpcZDc/T4yt4Sn-oiI/AAAAAAAACCs/OqesBPxyVgM/s320/cdDenjin_Box.jpg
Contrary to what most people say, this isn't such a letdown when compared to Air Zonk. Sure, parallax in spades is absent, but it's got better and more fluid gameplay.

M4R14NO94

04-19-2012, 07:25 PM

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Arcade)

Beat it a few days ago and used about 5 or 6 continues.

muchomojo

04-20-2012, 02:43 AM

I beat ICO today. I got this game a couple months ago and finaly decided to put some time into it. If The Last Guardian ever comes out I'll probably have to buy a PS3 for that game alone.

Parker619

04-20-2012, 03:44 PM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360
34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD

35 : TIME CRISIS 2 - PS2 - Beat this today using 2 credits. never completed it in arcades, despite playing it loads! , Now to do time crisis 1 and 3

Melf

04-20-2012, 09:45 PM

#10.

4893

Fuck the haters; this game is great. The cryptic stuff was a problem... 20 years ago, but today it's a breeze to figure out where to go. The last boss sucked, but the game was great overall. I'd LOVE for the series to revisit this style. Hell, remake this one in HD 2D graphics and I'll bite.

Now to find the other NES Castlevania games! I want to beat them all on real hardware too.

Parker619

04-21-2012, 06:44 AM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360
34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD
35 : TIME CRISIS 2 - PS2
36 : DJ Hero - 360

EDIT:

37: Time Crisis - PS1 - Just beat this now and was a bit of a pain because my G-Con wasn't calibrating properly, but still managed to beat it :D Just number 3 to go now!

MrMatthews

04-22-2012, 06:58 PM

I'd LOVE for the series to revisit this style.

Well, depending on how you mean, the last two games on the DS (Portrait of Ruin & Order of Ecclesia) did a fair job of doing just that.

...

23. Bonk's Adventure (GameBoy): Can't say I cared for this all too much. The graphics were very nice, but it was an incredibly short, rather boring, and unnecessarily irritating game. My biggest gripes were the slippery controls, the awkward duck Bonk does when just before jumping that throws off your timing, and the wonky hit-detection for yourself and for your enemies (it's a crapshoot whether you're going to take damage yourself when head-butting your enemies). Oh, and the music sucked. And after spending half an hour bulldozing through the game, all I get is a simple "Bye Bye" at the end. No credits.

Zoltor

04-22-2012, 09:42 PM

OMG yes, I finally beat the lv 120 upgrade quest in Atlantica Online(anyone whom hasn't played Atlantica Online has no idea how insanely hard this questline is, the bosses are so brokenly OPed It's not funny, and you don't have access to the best treasure hunting spots in the game, so you can't fund anything better then +5 nix gear.

segaddict

04-23-2012, 07:49 PM

Now to find the other NES Castlevania games! I want to beat them all on real hardware too.

Good luck! You will need it!

Melf

04-23-2012, 08:24 PM

Well, depending on how you mean, the last two games on the DS (Portrait of Ruin & Order of Ecclesia) did a fair job of doing just that.

Are they "Metroidvanias" like the others, or do they play like SQ? I'd love to see another Castlevania in the style of SQ.I'm a bit worn out on the Metroid-style games.

#11.

4906

I liked the cut scenes, but the game overall was slow and clunky and repetitive as hell. The character's names were pretty lame as well. "Cutie?" A bad guy named "Thorndog"? LOL.

MrMatthews

04-23-2012, 09:59 PM

Are they "Metroidvanias" like the others, or do they play like SQ?

The first half of Order of Ecclesia is pretty much level-based. Then it's back to the standard "Metroidvania" style, albeit with a smaller castle. Portrait of Ruin comes the closest to Castlevania II, as you start out in the "hub" castle, wonder around gaining abilities, and then teleport to other areas via portraits in the castle, not unlike Mario 64. Dawn of Sorrow tries as hard as possible to match Symphony of the Night note for note.

Try out Portrait. It's also a sequel of sorts to Bloodlines.

Parker619

04-24-2012, 04:09 PM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360
34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD
35 : TIME CRISIS 2 - PS2
36 : DJ Hero - 360
37: Time Crisis - PS1

38: Tom and Jerry The Movie - SMS - Fun little game and really short, sometimes the controls felt a bit clunky but i still enjoyed the game

Kollision

04-24-2012, 04:25 PM

#11.

4906

I liked the cut scenes, but the game overall was slow and clunky and repetitive as hell. The character's names were pretty lame as well. "Cutie?" A bad guy named "Thorndog"? LOL.

This is a great game!

NeoZeedeater

04-24-2012, 05:50 PM

NES Astyanax is a strangely polarizing game for opinions. I bought it back in the day based on a high review score from a magazine and didn't really like it. The arcade game that it's loosely based on is much better.

I beat Syndicate (2012). It was a solid Riddick-ish FPS but not as memorable as the old action/strategy games in the series.

I finished up Botanicula as well. It wasn't as challenging or fleshed out as Machinarium but it was still a charming 3-4 hour adventure. If you're sick of modern games of either the big budget for the masses or the "trying hard to be old school but ending up as an ugly imitation of classics" variety, it's a good pick.

segaddict

04-24-2012, 06:46 PM

Today I beat...

Final Fight 3 (SNES) - Great beat em up. Probably my favorite out of the original 3, though I haven't played 2 in a long time. I just wish it was longer and had a more diverse soundtrack. It's pretty much the same 2 or 3 themes through the whole game. It could have been more challenging also. It only took me about 2 hours to beat it, but it is kind of refreshing as most beat em ups I seem to really struggle with. The last boss was a bit of a joke. Overall a very good game.. real solid graphics.. great character selection.. and even though the music is repetitive, it is catchy.

Parker619

04-25-2012, 08:04 PM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360
34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD
35 : TIME CRISIS 2 - PS2
36 : DJ Hero - 360
37: Time Crisis - PS1
38: Tom and Jerry The Movie - SMS

39: Crisis Zone - PS2 - I thought this was a really great game, even though again it was a short one, i finished the 2 seperate scenarios and even did some of the "bonus" games, But fun game and another LightGun game completed :D

The Jackal

04-25-2012, 08:30 PM

Skyrim; College of Winterhold questline

I'm not really into playing these types of games as a wizard-type character; throwing spells around and drinking potions ain't my thang, so completing this questline was kinda daunting when I first started it THREE HOURS AGO.

Yep, I went from total noob to head of the College after just three quests; the questline was super short. Skyrim's a fantastic game, but man did they get lazy with the length of some of the faction's quests; the Companions was equally short as was the Main Questline. The Dark Brotherhood missions were long though, and there are a ton of side quests, so I'm not complaining much; just nitpicking. ;)

Zoltor

04-26-2012, 05:45 PM

OMG, in Atlantica Online, not only did I pull a mount from the Mussan event, I pulled a rare version of the mount(that's right, I got a mount worth 16-18b gold, and it didn't even cost me a dime of r/l money to get.

All these years of playing, and lady luck finally swayed in my favor(I still can't believes I pulled a rare out of a 1 try only event, It's unheard of. Yep that's right, in this event you only get one box, that's it).

I was so excited I didn't even realize I pulled the rare version lol, everyone was like congrats(I thought it was wierd I wasn't getting spammed with offers to buy it from me), then a guild member PMed me, and said wow, you pulled the rare. I was like, I don't think so, I think I pulled the normal version, then I hurry to my inventory, and sure enough, I actually pulled the rare :)

M4R14NO94

04-27-2012, 08:47 PM

WWF Wrestlemania Arcade (32X)

Finished the Intercontinental Championship on Easy difficulty as Shawn Michaels and continued 3 times.

Even with the lower framerate it's IMO the best port of the game.

Parker619

04-28-2012, 02:26 PM

1. Driver: San Francisco - 360
2. Sonic Generations - 360
3.Sonic 1 - XBLA
4.Sonic 2 - XBLA
5.Sonic 3 - XBLA
6.Sonic and Knuckles - XBLA
7. WWE all stars - 360
8. Altered Beast - XBLA
9. Phantasy Star II - XBLA
10. Clive Barkers Jericho - 360
11. Shinobi - XBLA
12. Sonic and Sega Racing - 360
13. Band Hero - 360
14. Condemned 2 Bloodshot - 360
15. Guitar hero aerosmith - 360
16. Medal of Honor - 360
17. Modern Warfare 3 - 360
18. Tekken 6 - 360
19. Scene it? Lights camera action - 360
20. Dj hero 2 - 360
21. Need for speed the run - 360
22. Terminator Salvation - 360
23. Smackdown Vs raw 2010 - 360
24. Guitar hero II - 360
25. SBK X - 360
26. Xmen Origins Wolverine - 360
27. WWE 12 - 360
28. Guitar hero warriors of rock - 360
29. Saw - 360
30 AC/DC Rockband - 360
31 Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse - MD
32. UFC undisputed 3 - 360,
33. Guitar hero Van halen - 360
34. REN AND STIMPY, STIMPY'S INVENTION - MD
35 : TIME CRISIS 2 - PS2
36 : DJ Hero - 360
37: Time Crisis - PS1
38: Tom and Jerry The Movie - SMS
39: Crisis Zone - PS2
40: Wonderboy - SMS

EDIT:

41: Golden Axe warrior - SMS - Wow i completed this one really fast,, (around 6 hours) But because I have played through this game so much I wasn't really trying to find anything special (secret passageways etc) I just went straight through the labryinths, and got the essential and needed spells to carry on, and then i kicked death adders ass once again to save firewood.. Now its time to move onto silent hill 4

NeoZeedeater

04-29-2012, 12:37 PM

Dear Esther (PC)
This only borderline counts as a game. It's more of an interactive story. It's not great but worth a playthrough for the atmosphere, especially the glowing cave level. I didn't really understand the story but it was the most "poetic" game I have played since The Moonlit Tower.

goldenband

04-30-2012, 04:44 PM

21. Casper (Game Boy)

I started playing this yesterday, beat Easy on my second attempt, and beat Med(ium) and Hard today.

Shovelware, albeit mildly entertaining shovelware. That said, I paid a buck for it, and got about two hours of gameplay out of it, so the economics aren't too bad! Still, it's little more than a collection of shallow minigames, and the cleverest part (constructing the Rube Goldberg machines) has zero replay value. 3/10.

M4R14NO94

05-05-2012, 06:12 PM

Beat several games on Data East Arcade Classics (Wii) and got some goals on other games on there.

TailsAlone

05-06-2012, 04:30 PM

I finished Clive Barker's Undying for the PC (2001). It was a highly entertaining and creepy FPS with a dark engaging storyline. Didn't sell, unfortunately, so no sequels or remakes were ever produced...well, maybe in today's gaming scene that's a good thing. In any case, I highly recommend it.

goldenband

05-06-2012, 05:08 PM

22. Pilotwings 64 (Nintendo 64)

I'd been wondering what the victory condition of this game would turn out to be, but as soon as I got the last badge I needed -- a bronze badge in Hanggliding at the Pilot level -- the credits rolled. So it appears I've beaten the game, using the same character (Hawk) for all events.

But unlike most games I beat, I'm not done with this one! I haven't yet unlocked the third bonus event (Jumble Hopper), but I have gold badges in all of the other mandatory events, so turning that bronze Hanggliding badge into gold will do the trick. And since I've gotten perfect scores in all events in Beginner class and Class A (as well as Skydiving), I'd like to do the same for Class B and Pilot class (and Cannonball).

I hadn't used my N64 much at all over the past year, though I'd been buying cheap games for it here and there. But A Black Falcon's thread (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?20779-Because-the-Nintendo-64-is-great-Short-reviews-of-all-N64-games-I-own-(in-progress)) inspired me to fire mine up, and of all the games I tried, Pilotwings 64 was by far the most engaging. It's not often that I look forward to playing a game more after beating it, which goes to show how much fun this one is. I really liked the original SNES game, but this sequel is even better, and has that addictive, just-one-more-time quality which makes it exactly the wrong choice for anyone looking to get work done. All my complaints about the game are insignificant, e.g. the fact that you still have to take two more shots in Cannonball after getting a bullseye with your first shot, or the annoying camera behavior in the underground rocketbelt stage (but that goes away once you stop messing up).

Some people have said Pilotwings 64 is too short, but I think it's meant to be played not as a race for the end credits, but as a quest for perfection, one event at a time. And when you play it that way, it's great fun, and one hell of an impressive launch title besides. 10/10.

MrMatthews

05-16-2012, 12:18 AM

24. Chibi-Robo! (GameCube): This game was alright. The graphics and music were terrible, but the concept was clever and I was pretty engaged throughout. Trying to wrap up all the "side quests" after the credits ro'led has proven to be a bit frustrating, so what the hell... I beat it.

Honestly, I enjoyed Park Patrol much more.

The Coop

05-16-2012, 12:46 AM

#8 Titan Quest (PC)- Fun Diablo-like clone, set in Greek mythology. It gets pretty drawn out at times, but overall, not a bad game.

#9 Breath of Death VII (PC)- Fun little 7-10 hour RPG. It plays like many other 8/16-bit RPGs back in the '90s, but it's an enjoyable little indie game.

#10 King's Bounty: Armored Princess Crossworlds (PC)- Found out that the Crossworlds expansion got a US release in physical form last year (with no DRM whatsoever), so I picked it up for $2. Played through all three campaigns, and had fun. Can't wait for "Warriors of the North" later this year.

goldenband

05-16-2012, 02:11 PM

23. Kolibri (Sega 32X)

Beat Easy last month, Normal over the weekend, and Hard last night.

Despite the attractive graphics, pastoral music, and inventive theme, I kinda hate this game. I'll post more extensive comments over in the review thread (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?6630-Kolibri) at some point. 4/10.

M4R14NO94

05-17-2012, 05:49 PM

Gottlieb Pinball Classics (Wii)

Did goals for many of the tables and unlocked some stuff while doing so. Mostly free play, although I also unlocked Payout Mode.

I did the goals on Black Hole (survive re-entry; unlocked Free Play for Goin' Nuts), Goin' Nuts (regain multiball; unlocked Free Play for either Big Shot or Victory, I can't remember), Play-Boy (get 2000 or more points; unlocked Free Play for Tee'd Off), Big Shot (get all balls from either side and the eight ball too; unlocked Free Play for Black Hole), Genie (get 75000 or more as the bonus in one ball; unlocked Free Play for Strikes 'n Spares) and Ace High (get 4 or more credits; unlocked Payout Mode, which is basically a gambling version of Play-Boy)

M4R14NO94

05-17-2012, 11:45 PM

Gottlieb Pinball Classics (Wii)

Did the goals on Victory (finish the race; unlocked Free Play for Play-Boy) and Strikes 'n Spares (bowl a 300 game; unlocked Free Play for Central Park)

I think this is turning into one of my favorite games on the system. Can't wait to get the Xbox 360 version of Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection.

MrMatthews

05-17-2012, 11:58 PM

25. Castlevania IV (SNES): Yep.

AD2101

05-21-2012, 02:57 AM

Gunstar Super Heroes (GBA)

Hopefully this will be the first of many conquests this summer, as it's the first time in a while I've actually been able to sit down and really dedicate more than the occasional hour to gaming.

M4R14NO94

05-21-2012, 04:47 PM

Michael Jackson: The Experience (DS)

Finished all of the songs on Easy (hey, I suck at it) and unlocked plenty of stuff on Collection (including Bubbles the Monkey and the Moonman)

goldenband

05-21-2012, 11:17 PM

24. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Genesis)

Beat Beginner on Saturday, Average on Sunday, and Expert today. I set it to 5 lives and 6 credits, so I should theoretically take a shot with 4 lives and 3 credits, but I'm not sure I feel inclined to bother.

(EDIT: Well, I beat it on 5 Lives/4 Credits on 2012-05-25, so that's one step closer.)

Fun enough game on the easier difficulty settings, but Expert makes the mistake of having enemies take multiple hits, and that totally wrecks the flow of the gameplay -- they should've taken a different tack. 6/10, but I haven't tried the co-op mode yet.

BTW this is the 400th entry on my beaten games list (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?3381-Post-your-beaten-games-list&p=331149&viewfull=1#post331149)!

goldenband

05-23-2012, 11:09 PM

25. Osomatsu-Kun: Hachamecha Gekijou (Genesis)

This was the fourth game released for the Mega Drive in Japan, making it "almost" a launch title. It's a quirky game with some amusing character & stage design, but I got all of 35 minutes of gameplay out of it before reaching the end. No amount of strenuously Japanese humor can compensate for having so little to offer. 3/10.

goldenband

05-25-2012, 10:46 PM

26. Double Dragon (SMS)

I know this port has some ardent defenders, but I think it's lousy. Yeah, it's more faithful to the arcade and supports co-op play, but the AI is brain-dead, the controls erratic (especially on the dreadful SMS pads), the music anemic, and the challenge almost exclusively derived from cheap shots.

Otherwise it's a cakewalk, and took me less than 90 minutes to beat. Plus the presentation is quite poor, with a cheapo look that features garish colors and tons of flicker -- though Willy was so easy, even flickering bullets didn't stop me.

Rag on the NES version all you want for making you earn the special moves, but at least there's a reason to use them -- the SMS port's core strategy amounts to "Punch while pressing diagonally". In principle, you can practically no-hit the entire game that way. Or you can take the pacifist route: just stand on top of a lone enemy, and watch it flail away at empty space while the two of you flicker in peaceful harmony. 3/10.

The Jackal

05-26-2012, 09:12 AM

Sonic 4 Episode II

Beat the actual game about 4 days ago, but just beat the final Special Stage, so the game is 100% complete (not as hard as most people make out).

Good game, much better than the previous Episode. Would like to see a Knuckles-starring Ep 3.

mcurkman

05-26-2012, 12:08 PM

Just finished Megaman X.

So far this year, I've played through Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure.

The Coop

05-27-2012, 04:21 AM

#11 Painkiller: Recurring Evil (PC)- The Painkiller series has been on a fast downhill slide since "Overdose," and this entry shows that slide's not stopping yet. It was $2.49, and while it wasn't as drawn out and buggy as "Redemtion," it wasn't exactly a feather in the cap of the franchise.

MrMatthews

05-28-2012, 07:57 PM

26. Star Fox 64 3D (3DS): Got all three endings and visited every planet.

mcurkman

05-29-2012, 09:55 PM

Done with Megaman X2.

Good game - my only complaint is in the level design. Feels cheap and really takeds away from the fun factor of the game.

muchomojo

05-31-2012, 10:01 AM

Darkwatch for PS2. I'm not a huge FPS fan but I really liked the vampire/old west themes. Anyone know if there was a sequel?

NeoZeedeater

06-04-2012, 08:17 PM

Darkwatch 2 was cancelled.

I beat -
Shadows of the Damned - One of Grasshopper Manufacture's better games but still not spectacular. It reminded me of Resident Evil 5, i.e. survival controls but a game that's pretty much all action and not actually scary. It has far more interesting environments than RE5, though.

Gears of War 3 - I finally finished up my two-player co-op game from months ago. I'm kind of glad I wasn't the one that bought it. It's more of the same from the first two but less memorable.

QuickSciFi

06-07-2012, 12:16 PM

5. Tom Mason's Dinosaurs for Hire - Sega Genesis

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/th_dinosaursforhire.jpg?t=1339085684

With the exception of the final boss, this game was extremely fun. This game just became one of my favorite Run N Guns.
P.S.> From what I've seen online, people get the misconception that this game throws random enemy moves at you. This couldn't be further from the truth; all enemies, and especially final bosses, have the same exact, predictable moves.

MrMatthews

06-07-2012, 01:18 PM

27. Pilotwings Resort (3DS): I pretty much beat it. I got three stars in all classes including the unlockable diamond class and found all the collectibles in Free Flight mode, and saw the credits. I bought this game with the system at launch, and only now got around to playing it. All in all, this was more addictive and fun than I expected, and not nearly as difficult as I had heard. The guys who wrote the reviews must have sucked at this game!

That being said, I don't believe I will be trying for "perfect" scores on any of the upper classes, which is why I only "pretty much" beat the game.

M4R14NO94

06-07-2012, 02:40 PM

Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja (Wii, from Data East Arcade Classics)

Beat it again last night with my little brother.

TheSonicRetard

06-07-2012, 02:59 PM

Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja (Wii, from Data East Arcade Classics)

Beat it again last night with my little brother.

This was literally the first Amiga game I got. The Amiga port is alright, not great but not shameful at the same time. Close enough that you don't feel like it's a different game or that you're missing out on what's in the other versions, but far enough away from the superior home console ports that you can see the obvious improvements between those versions and the Amiga version at first glance.

goldenband

06-08-2012, 12:53 AM

27. Ardy Lightfoot (SNES)

This 16-bit platformer is nothing groundbreaking, and certainly has its share of flaws: the play control is occasionally suspect, the final boss fight a bit too tedious, and the replay value minimal. But it also has the key virtue of being almost unfailingly pleasant to play, which is a claim many of its contemporaries can't make (or stake). And even when it's frustrating, it's usually the good kind of frustration.

Just don't expect more than about 3-4 hours of gameplay from it. But if you enjoy those 3-4 hours, as I did, then no harm no foul. 7/10.

MrMatthews

06-11-2012, 01:12 AM

28. Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3): Wow, this is Sony's big franchise this generation? I don't see what the big deal is. I'm glad I decided to play through this one before I bought into the hype and purchased the next two games.

goldenband

06-13-2012, 04:08 PM

28. B.O.B. (SNES)

Well, if I gave the Genesis version 6/10 bordering on 7/10 (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?5169-B-O-B&p=453497&viewfull=1#post453497), then the SNES version should get at least 8/10, because it's clearly superior in presentation and play control (especially jumping and item selection). And having better play control allows for slightly higher difficulty, especially in the boss fights -- which works out well since I remember breezing through the bosses in the Genesis version, whereas the SNES boss fights require real care and tactical awareness.

(They also sorta-require you to bring items from previous stages, since without big guns and invincibility items, the last few bosses become extremely difficult. To beat the final boss, I basically had to 1LC the preceding stages and carefully manage my inventory.)

There's something to be said for playing through the two versions in the order I did -- assuming you like B.O.B.'s style of gameplay, that is. I certainly wouldn't want to have gone the other way, since it'd be hard to appreciate the Genesis version after playing the SNES. About the only major flaw in the latter is a buggy music engine that, bizarrely, will often slow the music down when you're scrolling the screen. Otherwise, I think the SNES version deserves full-fledged "hidden gem" status.

M4R14NO94

06-13-2012, 06:21 PM

I think that the reason the SNES version of B.O.B. is superior is because of the separate punch button, and that is an essential technique to eliminate most enemies (and oddly enough some of them take more hits when you shoot them), and having to pause and select the punch a lot of the time on the Genesis version gets annoying real quick.

The Genesis version has some sweet music, though, so I'll give it that.

The Coop

06-13-2012, 06:27 PM

#12 Hellgate: London (PC)- Made by some of the people who made the Diablo franchise, and it shows. It's almost identical in gameplay, with a different setting of course. Even some of the enemies look very familiar. However, it's such a copy/paste job level design-wise. You see the same sections again and again in different locations. It's also gets pretty drawn out at times. Still, it cost me a dollar, so I got my money's worth. It's not a bad game, but it sure wasn't Diablo-level material.

goldenband

06-13-2012, 06:36 PM

I think that the reason the SNES version of B.O.B. is superior is because of the separate punch button

I don't know if I'd say that it's the reason, but I definitely agree (and meant to mention) that having the punch available at all times is a big plus. And yes, B.O.B. hits surprisingly hard! His punch definitely does more damage than his default gun.

OTOH for whatever reason, I didn't find myself needing it in the Genesis version, partly because I suspect the overall difficulty is lower -- I don't remember running out of weapons nearly as often as I did on the SNES.

mcurkman

06-13-2012, 11:38 PM

Just finished up Megaman X3.

Crap was that game annoying.

Melf

06-13-2012, 11:44 PM

#12.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/info_img/Contra_NES_ScreenShot1.jpg

This game is still soooooooooo good! It beats the pants off the arcade version. Konami code FTW!

#13.

http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/sites/default/files/nintendo-nes-life-force-salamander.jpg

What a neat little shooter! Great soundtrack and graphics, along with the vertical levels, make up for the "Space Cow" Gradius gameplay. My only complaint is that it's too short.

#14.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRF9T4lS8oK1Iwew39XwFOB9H_mwwmo3 WbvtDMx3D55oS2qUMWuqw

After around 90 hours and about 72% of the trophies, I'm giving this one a rest. I beat the main game and am in game+, and while I really LOVED this title, it's a great example of why Japanese developers are so far behind in design. The typical cryptic quest bullshit that's standard in JRPGs is here (don't take the quest being offered to you RIGHT NOW because that could lock out a quest offered by someone you haven't met yet much further down the line!). This wouldn't piss me off if it didn't have a trophy hinging on doing all the side quests handed out by NPCs. It's impossible to do them all perfectly unless you have a guide or FAQ with you step by step.

Some of the boss trophies are like this too. I missed the dragon one because I had to kill them after I killed the main boss but before I actually finished the game itself. Who the fuck would have known that there's a dragon waiting in a tower when you went there at least 3 times during the main game and he wasn't there? Oh, that's because he only shows up AFTER you kill the final boss and BEFORE you end the game. Finish the main story and you have to play through the entire game again on game+ to get him.

Many of the side quests are also incredibly vague. For instance, there's one where you have to find evidence to acquit or convict a businessman, and the only people flagged for speaking to are not the ones you need to find. There's another quest where you have to find a lost guy, and the people with whom you need to speak are scattered around the city and don't show up on maps. SOME OF THEM ARE INDOORS! It's always fun to scour every room of every building in the city to find that one dipshit who can move the quest forward.

Aside from that, my only other gripes are how small the world is overall and how much back-tracking there is. There's no fast travel (unlike just about every WRPG today), and the closest you can get are crystals that cost $200,000 each and have to be placed at the locations manually. Then, you need a $30,000 ferrystone to go there and another one to get back. Even worse, these crystals are only available for sale near the very end of the game!

I may sound harsh, but none of this is enough to make the game unenjoyable. I loved exploring, and combat was enthralling, especially the larger creatures like metal gollums an the Beholder. The vocation system is great, and there's a ton of customization. This has major potential to be a great franchise, but the suckiness of Japanese game developers is very apparent here. Bethesda has nothing to fear from them at all.

MrMatthews

06-16-2012, 04:42 PM

Two games:

29. Bionic Commando (PS3): This game has a pretty bad reputation, and honestly I can understand why (to a certain extent). The controls are finicky, the level design is sometimes confusing and unfair, and often times the number of enemies you have to fight at once borders on infuriating. To top it all off, the story is complete garbage, and main character Nathan Spencer fails both in terms of character design and vocal performance.

But damn, this game is fun.

The "bionic arm" mechanic is handled very well, and after a brief learning curve, interacting with the environments overcomes all of the game's negative points. Swinging deftly through the often beautifully-rendered landscapes is incredibly satisfying, and it makes the combat addictive and thrilling. The arm allows you to fling cars and crates into enemy ranks, spilling them over like bowling pins. Or you can latch onto an enemy and either zip into him with a crushing body slam, or you can pick him up and smash him into one of his cohorts. Or you can simply toss him up in the air and shoot him to death before he hits the ground.

It may not be the "best" game I've played all year, but it was certainly one of the ones I've enjoyed the most.

30. Profession Layton and the Last Specter (DS): In terms of story, this one wasn't as good as The Unwound Future, but in terms of gameplay it was as charming and addictive as ever.

QuickSciFi

06-16-2012, 04:59 PM

^I've been meaning to get into the Professor Layton series myself. I can see your gameplay bug has bitten you again. I haven't beaten more than 5 games this year. It's just sad.

MrMatthews

06-16-2012, 06:49 PM

I can see your gameplay bug has bitten you again. I haven't beaten more than 5 games this year. It's just sad.

Playing games is still fine. It's collecting them that I've been having a problem with.

QuickSciFi

06-17-2012, 01:26 AM

^I think we're on the same boat atm. I haven't bought anything in months. I remember specifically how it all happened with me. I went to a bunch of Play N Trades and spent just over $100 in about 35 games. When I got home, I noticed I had about 700 games I had never played through before. A manner of self-disgust rushed-in and I opted to not buy anything else until I had beaten at least one half to two thirds of my collection. That was more than six months ago. I gotta tell you, though, I've been appreciating gaming a lot more ever since. The only reason I haven't beaten that many games this year is because I've been really busy and just haven't had that much time to commit to gaming.

P.S.> Another reason why I felt "saturated" might have been that, with the purchase of a bunch of RPGs I had been meaning to get for a while for the Dreamcast and the Genesis, I've felt completely satisfied with my collection. And the fact that I've only beaten a portion of those doesn't exactly alleviate my "self-disgust", I might add.

MrMatthews

06-17-2012, 01:54 AM

Castlevania: Legends was my turning point, as near as I can tell.

QuickSciFi

06-17-2012, 01:39 PM

I just beat Space Harrier II again. I won't count it towards this years' beaten list, but it shows I still got it bitches. :D

mcurkman

06-18-2012, 12:16 AM

Finished with Sonic Megamix.

Pretty good game, for what it is.

MrMatthews

06-23-2012, 12:12 AM

31. Bioshock (PS3): Wow, this version kinda sucks compared to [how I remember] the 360 version. It crashed on me two or three times, forcing me each time to restart and lose 30 to 45 minutes of progress before I wised up and starting spamming save points every couple steps. The frame rate was all over the place, voice clips cut in and out and froze, occasionally I would "teleport" into a new position, and once I saved a little sister only to have her immediately reappear crying in front of the Big Daddy I had just brought down.

Bioshock is a great game. It makes me sad to see it in such form.

goldenband

06-27-2012, 02:25 AM

29. Video Chess (Atari 2600)

I finally defeated Video Chess on the toughest setting, Level 7, with the Black pieces. (I've beaten it on all the other difficulty levels.)

I won in only 22 moves, but it took over 37 hours of gameplay to get there, and that's with Stella running at around 3x normal speed. However, I spent well under an hour at the board, and probably took no more than 15-20 minutes to play my moves; otherwise, I had Stella in the background, or simply let it run unattended while I did other things. At normal speed, the game would have taken over 100 hours, which is completely insane.

I used savestates to suspend the game when necessary, but never to cheat. BTW Video Chess is notorious for cheating on higher levels thanks to a programming bug, but mercifully it didn't cheat at all in our game.

If anyone's curious, the game can be replayed here (http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/198604-video-chess-the-first-chess-video-game/page__st__50#entry2548946) (with additional comments as well). As for giving Video Chess a grade, that seems superfluous to me.

The Jackal

06-27-2012, 03:57 PM

Skyrim: Dawnguard (360)

Beat the Vampire faction questline, pretty good, shame about the somewhat anti-climatic "ending" though. Will start on the other faction tomorrow.

goldenband

06-30-2012, 01:43 PM

30. USCF Chess (Intellivision)

Significantly faster and stronger than Atari's offering, this program plays a pretty decent game of chess. I'd beaten most of the difficulty levels on real hardware a while back, but when I took on the highest difficulty, Level 6 -- which takes hours and hours, though not as long as the Atari -- I ran into a game-breaking bug. And in fact, the bug was reproducible in emulation, so that put me off for a while.

But today I tried again, and finally beat Level 6 with the White pieces, and then again with Black. For whatever reason, my opening choices didn't put the game onto a bug-triggering track. I was using emulation with a 20x speedup, so the games went along fairly briskly -- 80 minutes realtime for the first one, 140 for the second game. My win with White was fairly routine, but the Intellivision had me on the ropes in the second game, and probably had a near-winning position before it lost the thread. Still, it took 81 moves to earn the victory.

This is another case where giving a grade seems silly, but then again it's a pretty admirable effort, so 8/10. (One point off for the game-breaking bug, and one point off for being fairly deterministic.)

goldenband

06-30-2012, 10:05 PM

31. Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (Game Boy)

When you're stuck on a motionless train, and the power and AC go out for an hour, then Mega Man will keep you good company. (At least, he kept me good company, in four sessions over two train rides.) Unfortunately I don't have a headphone adapter for the GBA SP so I've scarcely heard a note of the music, but one must balance one's own sanity with that of one's neighbors.

Given that the original NES game is still my favorite in the series, this entry is right up my alley. Heavy on memorization, yes, but it's the kind of memorization I (mostly) don't mind. 8/10.

mcurkman

07-03-2012, 06:57 PM

I FINALLY played through Sonic 1 on the Genesis.

See my signature.

goldenband

07-04-2012, 01:37 PM

32. Ren & Stimpy: Space Cadet Adventures (Game Boy)

Slow, frustrating, full of cheap shots and low-margin platforming, and it basically expects you to memorize large swathes of the game. Plus it ends each level with a timed section that sends you back to the very beginning of the stage if you don't complete it on your first try. And it doesn't have much to do with the show.

Yet for some reason, I enjoyed Ren & Stimpy: Space Cadet Adventures -- I even found it mildly addictive. I guess it's my weakness for methodical platformers; I was strangely reminded of Shadow of the Beast for some reason. Or maybe it's just that, if a game consistently gives me a health powerup just in time, I'll absolve most of its sins. 6/10.

The Coop

07-04-2012, 02:22 PM

#13 Serious Sam 3: BFE (PC)- No, not Bum Fuck Egypt (though you are in the latter part of that phrase for the entire game), but rather, Before First Encounter. Yes, part three is a prequel to the previous games, using a further tweaked version of the engine that debuted with the two HD remakes of TFE and TSE. The game didn't have that huge sense of scale that the first two entries had, though it did have some huge battles that stomped all over Serious Sam 2. Some cool music, a fun final boss, and so forth made it enjoyable, but it didn't feel as sprawling or big is scope as it should have. There was a lot more cussing in this game for some odd reason. I guess once Sam went back it time, he forgot how to swear or something.

#14 Max Payne 2 (PC)- I finally sat down and played this one. Not a bad game at all, and a worthy followup to the first game. Interesting plot, the same nice film noir cinemas, and finally, Max doesn't have a character model that looks constipated all the time. It was also an interesting twist to let you play through some missions from both Max's perspective, and Lona's, even if it did create a kind of "been there, done that"-vibe as you went through the same basic level a second time. Even so, a solid game.

#15 Zombie Driver (PC)- A game that went on sale on Steam for cheap the other day, so I grabbed it. Simple, short, but enjoyable enough. It's not a complicated game, or one with much variety to its missions (save survivors, and survive), but was a fun little diversion for a couple of days.

goldenband

07-05-2012, 04:13 PM

33. Skate or Die: Bad 'N' Rad (Game Boy)

My penchant for memorization-dependent franchise platformers on the Game Boy with (implicit) colons in their name continues unabated! But this one's false advertising, because it's neither bad nor rad, falling instead into the "pretty good" category.

Or maybe "very good": and were it not for a few control quirks and the unfortunate lack of a much-needed password system, it might even make "excellent". But I dunno about "rad". 7/10.

MrMatthews

07-05-2012, 04:59 PM

goldenband

07-05-2012, 05:06 PM

Dr. Wily's Revenge was totally solid. In my opinion, only IV and V surpass it (III was cheap and frustrating and II was just awful).

Hmmm, I was planning on taking on the GB games in order (though I don't own the others yet), but you're one of several people to say that MMII GB was a disaster. I guess if I see an opportunity to buy II/III or IV/V, and can only afford one of 'em, I won't be a slave to chronology in my choice. :D

goldenband

07-08-2012, 02:21 PM

34. Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break (Game Boy)

Another franchise platformer avec colon bites the dust! But unlike the last few, this one's quite an easy game, and I suspect it's targeted at kids in the 6-12 age range.

Even so, it's got a few tricky spots, and I didn't quite beat it on my first try. I burned through most of my lives/credits trying to figure out the Elmyra chase (it wasn't obvious to me that tapping the B button increased your speed), and though I made it to the final boss (Montana Max), both my extra lives and my batteries were depleted, and I wasn't able to figure out his pattern in time. (The lives ran out first, thankfully.)

But the second attempt, no problem, and I think I could probably 1LC this game. Montana Max actually offers to let you buy him out at the end of the game if you have 500 jewels, which you pretty much need to 1LC in order to reach that amount. I might even try it if there were an alternate ending -- bribing your way out of a conflict is a great idea that hasn't been used enough in platformers -- but apparently he just takes your money and fights you anyway.

As for the quality, I'd give it 7/10 or so, which I'd bump up to 9/10 if you evaluate it as a game for kids. The fact that it's slow, short, and easy becomes irrelevant then, and otherwise I have no complaints.

BTW this cutscene from the final level almost made me do a spit-take:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2zqqvig.png

I assume, though, that Steve Jobs wasn't holding a snowglobe when he died.

Contra-God

07-08-2012, 10:44 PM

Contra again. Tried to film it because I was in my groove but my camera hates me. lol However I did make it to level 5 and 97200 points before dieing for the first time. Oh and that's all button smashing no turbo controllers here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mXy3k3PDMo&feature=youtu.be

Got level 3 to upload after that I stopped trying to start it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3AiypLwDmY&feature=plcp

MrMatthews

07-09-2012, 04:40 PM

32. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DS): Essentially an enhanced port of the NES original with prettier backgrounds and the 3D effect. They must have done something with the difficulty as well, since I sat down and played through the entire game in one sitting. Or maybe I'm just awesome.

goldenband

07-10-2012, 04:06 PM

35. Heiankyo Alien (Game Boy)

It took only two attempts, and 40 minutes of gameplay between them, to beat the 12 levels of "NEW" mode in this cute Lode Runner-esque title. Actually, I shouldn't say "Lode Runner-esque" since the original game (of which this is an updated port) actually predates Lode Runner, so Lode Runner is arguably "Heiankyo Alien-esque". But either way the gameplay is the same -- dig a hole, trap an enemy, fill the hole, repeat -- though here there's no treasure to claim.

I like the feel of the gameplay quite a bit, more than most other "trap-'em-ups" I've played. But they could have done a lot more with this concept, and 40 minutes ain't much. Then again there's always "OLD" mode, which looks it, and apparently doesn't have an ending (but loops after 20 levels).

So, I don't know...6/10?

Kollision

07-10-2012, 04:46 PM

more updates

# 16 - Twinkle Star Sprites (Saturn)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oFsvgE23iKw/T49RNT_S9OI/AAAAAAAACDE/52_o984NYig/s320/twinkleStarSprites_Box.jpg
Beat both the Arcade and Saturn modes with Nanja Monja and Meirin, respectively. Fun game to play with a friend, but a bit frustrating to play solo.

# 17 - Heavy Unit (PC Engine)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wXOLXjrLUx0/T5nvHfer6II/AAAAAAAACEE/cjiC9Jfp3nw/s320/heavyUnit_Box.jpg
Better than the Mega Drive in terms of gameplay alone, but pales graphical and aurally. There are suicide bullets in the second loop.

# 18 - Donpachi (PS1)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Kr4Nuav25U/T7OK2_oscBI/AAAAAAAACII/rpZRUzwbkd4/s320/donpachi_Box.jpg
Finally got me a TATE setup to play this on the PS1. Awesome feel after so many years, a good introduction to Cave as well.

# 19 - Over Horizon (NES)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nM5dZ5VOqZo/T7gS_chIHzI/AAAAAAAACI4/uwlAtGU8txY/s320/overHorizon_Box.jpg
A very charming bi-directional horizontal shooter that resembles Zero Wing and Gradius. Suggested by forum member Starmist.

# 20 - Section Z (PS2)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5ST1PjJHOxQ/T7ry0zWkL5I/AAAAAAAACJU/m-EH79ceeqk/s320/capcomClassicsCollection1_Box.jpg
Great old shmup from Capcom, with a nice progression and awesome premise. Looped it until section S.

# 21 - MechFish (XBLIG)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3QOQMBKWeo/T8OqlUOP6tI/AAAAAAAACKk/_K1dDYPHqEo/s320/mechFish_Box.jpg
Kinda unique horizontal shooter with methodical gameplay and some tense moments in between. A bit repetitive but worth one's time if you crave a different challenge.

# 22 - Magic Carpet 1001 / La Alfombra Magica / Aladdin III (NES)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lt2PGZZdZ0M/T9Z8O9K3xFI/AAAAAAAACLw/Ys0Qs2tomS0/s320/alfombraMagica_Box.jpg
Unlicensed crap that does nothing terribly wrong besides being too short and having no scoring system at all.

# 23 - Prehistoric Isle 2 (Neo Geo)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jf0XkeZvtC0/T-ICwha4s1I/AAAAAAAACOM/li49LZejonA/s320/prehistoricIsle2_Box.jpg
Played on a conversion cart. Vibrant colors, mild difficulty and awesome music, but above all a LOT easier than the first game.

# 24 - Varth - Operation Thunderstorm (PS2)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aWsHzA80djE/T-L7C96UlVI/AAAAAAAACOc/P45f0DLJKf8/s320/capcomClassicsCollection2_Box.jpg
Very long WW2 themed game that's very close in spirits to 1943. It's also quite punishing, I'm very proud of this accomplishment.

# 25 - Space Harrier II (Mega Drive)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rblgM_7hNIM/T-2L4AJitAI/AAAAAAAACP4/bqq3wtAcQbs/s320/spaceHarrier2_Box.jpg
A lot easier and lighter than the first one, but still fun regardless. Beat it on hard after being drawn to it by forum member Quickscifi.

# 26 - Dragon Spirit (PC Engine)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XT5plVLsg4A/T_YwMyVwkCI/AAAAAAAACRE/2KvzUPFGsbM/s320/dragonSpirit_Box.jpg
Decent conversion from the arcade game, but it lacks two stages and has an unfair final boss (tougher than the original IMO). Dragon Saber is next!

The Jackal

07-11-2012, 06:11 PM

Played through the entirety of Sonic 2 as Sonic, beat the final level of Zero Tolerance and also completed the second Episode of Doom 1.

M4R14NO94

07-12-2012, 10:10 PM

goldenband

07-13-2012, 12:39 AM

36. The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Juggernauts (Game Boy)

Back to the platforms, the franchises, and the colons. (But only a small amount of memorization.)

I had very low expectations, but this send-up of American Gladiators isn't half-bad. The core of the game is figuring out how you're supposed to play each event; once you understand the gameplay dynamics, most events are actually pretty easy.

It does, however, take a few tries to figure most of them out, and I was annoyed when I thought the game was falling prey to the "you have to endlessly replay earlier stages just to get a single crack at this later stage" syndrome. But it turns out to not be much of an issue here.

That said, I don't have the manual, so I did look at a walkthrough (which I don't normally like to do) to help me understand what was going on at certain points -- partly scoring issues, partly control issues, and also a map of the last level which wasn't 100% making sense to me (and the map was full of errors so it didn't help THAT much). I actually think that made the game more fun than it otherwise might have been; still, if I'd been patient I would've figured most of it out soon enough.

Otherwise, the graphics and sound are average, but the controls are pretty solid and the game has a touch of humor. So, call it 6/10.

The Jackal

07-14-2012, 01:01 PM

Universal Soldier (Mega Drive)

So in perpetration for Gunlord, I decided to play some Universal Soldier, which most of you should know, is really a palette modified Turrican II. Played through the game from level 1 and finished it in one sitting on the Hard difficulty setting.

http://oi48.tinypic.com/9atwnn.jpg
http://oi49.tinypic.com/33ubo7r.jpg
http://oi50.tinypic.com/xbzifr.jpg

goldenband

07-16-2012, 06:15 PM

37. Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (PlayStation)

Tons of classic arcade games were "remade" in the late 1990s for PlayStation and other consoles, and alas, most have gotten panned by critics. But Frogger 2 is actually good fun, and meets the challenge of preserving the basic feel of the original while adding new gameplay elements. At first I was concerned that the new elements would be overcomplicated and collect-a-thonish, but actually it all works very well and isn't intrusive at all; while the unlockable content isn't much of anything, the process of unlocking it is actually fun. And the Super Retro mode is a nice touch, and spending an hour or so to clear it was entertaining.

Other than a few minor issues with the camera (the zoom level is occasionally too close), and humorous CGI cutscenes that don't quite make the grade, the biggest letdown is the forced loading time when restarting a stage. In general the loading times are OK, but I can't really forgive a game that takes the same 15-20 seconds to reload when you're restarting the same stage you were already on. Or maybe I'm just a grump who can't reconcile himself to the limitations of optical disc-based systems, who knows.

Anyway, I'd give it 6/10, pushing 7/10. Either way, given that I paid 83 cents for it at a yard sale (six PSX games for $5), I got more than my money's worth. I have the first PlayStation Frogger game, so maybe I'll take that one on soon, though I've read that it's vastly inferior to its sequel.

Bloodreign

07-17-2012, 08:19 AM

Rampage World Tour (PS1)

Finally did it, on Day 128. It did get kinda tedious, but I did it.

After destroying each and every one of the ScumLabs headquarters the ScumLabs CEO for no reason turns into some giant monster that looks right out of Smash TV and starts going around the levels. Then you go to the MOOOOON and destroy the shit out of some buildings there. After that the female doctor that appears between levels appears in a spaceship and captures George, Lizzie and Ralph and probably takes them back to ScumLabs. And that's it.

But then you get a little FMV of the developers running around a street with the Rampage trio destroying some stuff and eating a few of them. For no reason. And it's good.

Damn it, I almost decided to get this version as well as PS1 War Gods, but instead went for Gauntlet Dark Legacy for PS2 (those 2 PS1 games are amazingly still dirt cheap too). I have RWT on MAT 2, but it doesn't have that little extra you mentioned at the end.

Did defeat a game recently, and boy did it make me pay dearly as it got frustrating the last few levels. The New Zealand Story on Taito Memories (Japan) PS2. Was breezing nicely with the level warps, but the game gets amazingly hard in the final stage. Basically it's an ice stage with 1 block jumps, with enemies and spikes abound. Definitely felt good beating it legitimately for the first time. Never tried beating my MD copy as the continues are limited in it, and I credit fed my ass off tryng to finish the arcade version on the compilation.

The Coop

07-19-2012, 03:47 AM

#16 Legend of Grimrock (PC)- A modern take on the dungeon crawlers of old. Inspired by the likes of Eye of the Beholder and its kin, it's oldschool gameplay with present day graphics and music. It's about 20 hours of gameplay, with some nasty little puzzles, and an interesting final boss. I had fun with this one, even though I'm not very good as this genre.

jerry coeurl

07-19-2012, 03:59 AM

I have the first PlayStation Frogger game, so maybe I'll take that one on soon, though I've read that it's vastly inferior to its sequel.

It sucks, man. I had it when it was new, and it was a big disappointment. I also had the Q*Bert remake which I recall being terrible as well.

MrMatthews

07-19-2012, 10:24 AM

Now, Pong, on the other hand... I loved that game (still do, although the graphics are a little muddy by today's standards :?).

As I recall, there was a surge of uber-retro remakes during that era, and not many of them got it right.

M4R14NO94

07-19-2012, 08:18 PM

The only one I played was Activision's Asteroids remake for the PS1 once at a friend's house years ago. I don't remember much of it but I think I enjoyed it.

ON TOPIC:

Earthworm Jim 2 (Virtual Console)

Finished it today, and had to continue a few times (mostly on See Jim Run, Run Jim Run)

The Coop

07-19-2012, 08:58 PM

#17 Legendary (PC)- It got some bad reviews to be sure, but after finding it dirt cheap, I decided to give it a try. The premise sounded interesting, and running around fighting off werewolves, griffons and minotaurs sparked some curiosity. The end verdict? It's not as bad as the reviews made it seem, but it's no leader of the pack either. The graphics are good, the music is so-so, and the game is very linear. The controls are good, it does tell a descent tale, and some of the set pieces are pretty cool. But you're rarely overwhlemed by enemies, the hacking thing feel like a waste of time after the first few areas, and while some enemy designs are good (griffons, minotuars), others could have used work (werewolves, those little imp things). So yeah, it's a mixed bag. It'll never win any awards, but for what it is, I've played far worse FPS games.

mcurkman

07-20-2012, 02:21 AM

I finished two games today, Portal and VVVVVV.

veni vidi vici

goldenband

07-20-2012, 09:20 PM

38. The Adventures of Kid Kleets (SNES)

I started working on this oddball soccer-themed platformer early last month, and came back and finished it today. It's kind of an acquired taste, thanks to the tricky control scheme and unusual gameplay dynamic: since your ball is your weapon, you have to fetch it after you kick it at an enemy, or else suffer a momentary delay while you make a new one out of thin air. I adapted to that easily enough, but had a harder time getting used to the headache-inducing camera, which whips around just a bit too violently whenever you turn.

I've read that the 3DO and Jaguar versions, known as Soccer Kid, have 25 levels vs. this game's 15 levels (in sets of 3 spread out over five countries, plus an extra boss fight if you get all the Cup pieces). If that's true, I'm glad this version's cut down, because the game was on the verge of wearing out its welcome anyway. Maybe that's partly my fault, since I beat it three times in one day: first I finished beating Practice, then I beat Normal and got the bad ending, and then (sigh) played through once more and got the good ending. And the game has passwords, so there was no obligation to even do one playthrough in a single sitting. But I'm stubborn like that.

(EDIT: But maybe they're counting the bonus levels and boss fights as separate levels, so that 5 x 5 = 25? If so, that's silly.)

I guess I'd give it 5/10. I'm tempted to give it a weak 6/10, but the main character's design -- as shown on the splash screen before each level -- is so off-putting that it deserves a penalty; he looks like some sort of disturbing, misbegotten hybrid of Fred Flintstone and Bobby Generic.

It sucks, man. I had it when it was new, and it was a big disappointment. I also had the Q*Bert remake which I recall being terrible as well.

Yeah, I played Frogger PSX for a little while the other day and wasn't too impressed with what I saw. The first set of levels (in original-Frogger style) wasn't too bad, though the enemy patterns were deliberately cheap, Frogger's movement was slow and unforgiving, and the lack of warning with the disappearing turtles was vexing. But at least it was playable and seemed in the spirit of the original.

As soon as the "new" levels started...well, I just shut the game off. Ugh.

The Coop

07-20-2012, 11:17 PM

#18 Sonic 4 Episode 1 (PC)- Bought this a while ago, but finally got around to playing it once I got Episode 2. Not a bad game. The physics are wonky in some ways, but it's still a pretty good Sonic game. Got all seven Chaos emeralds, and had a hell of a time figuring out what to do for that last boss' final moments, but I managed to completely beat it with 74 extra lives left over.

muchomojo

07-21-2012, 03:27 PM

I beat Beyond Good and Evil the other day. I really wish I would have got around to this sooner. It was a really fun game.

goldenband

07-21-2012, 04:58 PM

39. Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (Game Boy)

Dull, repetitive, and mostly quite easy -- which wasn't really a surprise, since I'd played and beaten the NES version way back when, though there are a couple of levels late in the game that get tricky. Still, it's a not-unpleasant Puzzle Game Lite™ experience that's useful for winding down after a busy day, and the tunes are tuneful enough. But with passwords for each level, why bother having a life counter or "GAME OVER" at all? 5/10.

goldenband

07-22-2012, 10:28 PM

40. Star Blade (3DO)

Wait...that's it? I put the game in to test it, and 17 minutes later I've beaten it?

That was Arcade mode, so I tried "3DO mode" (which uses textured polygons instead of single-colored ones) to make sure I wasn't missing anything...and 17 minutes later, I'd beaten that too.

Sure, the game plays OK enough while it lasts, though the 3DO controllers are poorly suited for omnidirectional targeting. And it looks decent, and sounds OK (though the absence of music is ultimately detrimental to the atmosphere, which is surprising since I'm frequently a big fan of having minimal-to-no music in movies and games).

But...17 minutes? Really? Yes, I know it's a port, and I could get more value from the game by learning to 1cc it, but that challenge is still no substitute for content.

I'd give StarBlade 3/10 normally, but I'll offer up a bonus point because, despite significant physical damage to the game disc, it ran more-or-less smoothly all the way to the end (and when it didn't, simply pausing the game did the trick). So a generous 4/10, but no more than that.

goldenband

07-25-2012, 12:13 AM

41. Zoom! (Genesis)

I first played Zoom in March of last year and, like most people who've played it, I was able to beat it on my first try. However, I noticed that the second loop had more enemies, so I figured that to call the game properly beaten, I ought to play through both loops. I finally got around to that today, and had no trouble 1cc'ing the whole thing. For the record, the ending after the second loop seemed identical to the one I'd already gotten, and the third loop appears to be the same as the first (based on the first board, anyway), so there's no need to go any further AFAIK.

And you wouldn't want to anyway: I called Zoom "vaguely relaxing" (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?2410-Zoom!&p=416856&viewfull=1#post416856) last year, but now I think it's kinda lousy. It's monotonous, simplistic, annoying ("Come on, boy!"), and worst of all, it's just not very much fun. 3/10, at least as a one-player game for adults.

goldenband

07-25-2012, 07:05 PM

42. Asterix and the Great Rescue (Genesis)

Unjustly maligned in the site's review (http://www.sega-16.com/2010/03/asterix-and-the-great-rescue/), this is a very good, even excellent puzzle-platformer whose few shortcomings are merely bumps in the road in an otherwise high-quality title. I started it yesterday, and beat all three difficulties today. I'll post more extensive thoughts in the review thread (http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?10468-Asterix-and-the-Great-Rescue), but I'd give it a strong 7/10.

goldenband

07-29-2012, 08:00 PM

43. Galaxy Force II (Genesis)

I've been playing Galaxy Force II over the weekend, and despite its poor reputation and obvious flaws have actually enjoyed it quite a bit -- enough to beat it five times in two days, as I started with the easiest settings and worked my way up to Hard difficulty with a Weak shield and a Normal energy timer.

The energy timer defaults to Normal but can be set to Hard, and normally I don't like to declare a game beaten until I've taken it down on the highest difficulty settings. So maybe I'll revisit this in the future...but the margins are already so narrow with the timer on Normal that the game's technical shortcomings (sprite breakup/flicker, poor depth perception) would potentially become a major issue. And I've spent too much time banging my head against the wall of certain games lately as it is.

Overall I'd give Galaxy Force 6/10. It's certainly not a great game, and I'm sure it's a lousy port, but I still had fun with it.

goldenband

07-29-2012, 11:44 PM

44. Dragon Power (NES)

This game haunted my childhood -- despite numerous attempts I never managed to get past Level 8 (of 10), thanks in part to the cruel one-shot health bonus and continue system that basically means you get one shot at Levels 7-10. I think I beat it years ago with savestates (though I don't have it in my notes?), but that would've afforded little satisfaction.

This week, though, I've been playing it as part of NintendoAge's campaign to beat every licensed US-released NES game within a calendar year (something we should do here with the Genesis, BTW). And after numerous frustrating attempts -- including one accidental suicide on Level 9 when things were otherwise going well -- I finally beat the game fair and square tonight. So satisfying!

How to grade it? Several things about the game are horrendous -- the horrible translation and butchered localization, the decrementing health system, the dependence on random item drops that enable the game to completely screw you over, and the quirky hit detection. Yet I can't help but retain a certain fondness for it, because there's a real kernel of fun at the heart of all its missteps.

Or maybe I'm just in the throes of an abusive relationship, looking to justify past pain in light of present triumph? Maybe. But even so, 5/10.

goldenband

08-01-2012, 12:44 PM

45. Chase H.Q. (Game Boy)

The GameFAQs reader review (http://www.gamefaqs.com/gameboy/196902-chase-hq/reviews/review-65326) is actually spot-on (though the game takes more like ~30 min. to beat), but if anything it's a little too generous. This is an awful, joyless, phoned-in excuse for a game with basically no redeeming value. It manages to be both excessively easy (I beat it on my second attempt after getting interrupted during the first) and excessively frustrating, with walls of unavoidable cars plaguing the later levels.

And the lack of a fully customizable control scheme is the last straw -- it gives you two options, but both of them are stupid. 1/10.

MrMatthews

08-01-2012, 06:13 PM

COMBO BREAKER!!!!!!

Uh, let's see, something I've beaten lately...?

Technically I beat Kid Icarus Uprising long ago, but I'm not "done" with the game yet.

QuickSciFi

08-01-2012, 09:48 PM

6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - PS2

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/quickscifi/SandsofTime.jpg?t=1343872103

[EDIT]
This is a Grade A title and one of the best the 6th Generation had to offer. The reason I didn't write anything about it originally was that it met all of my expectations and it was as good as others have advertised. There really is nothing new I can say about this game. It's a must.

NeoZeedeater

08-01-2012, 10:56 PM

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
I had finished Shadow of Chernobyl but got stuck somewhere in the middle of Clear Sky and ditched it. Pripyat's probably my favourite of the three. It's very similar but tweaked in pretty much every aspect. It may lack the flash, budget, and decent voice acting of similar current gen games from North America but it also feels like a refreshingly non-mainstream throwback to PC games of over a decade ago. It's not afraid to make the player have to constantly think about item conservation and other simulation elements.

M4R14NO94

08-05-2012, 05:43 PM

Rampage 2: Universal Tour (PS1)

All I can say is thank god it's over. I seriously didn't want to deal with those fucking bomber planes and super strict time limits anymore. Seriously, in basically every later stage there's ALWAYS one or two bomber planes that take a nice chunk of your lifebar, and unless you don't get up to a building and punch them quickly, you are going to DIE. And also in nearly every later stage you will ALWAYS hear those goddamn alarms, and, unless you can find a clock, you will lose a huge chunk of your lifebar or even lose a life.

And the ending wasn't even worth it. It's just one of the new monsters crashing into a news broadcasting station the aliens have on their planet and eating the broadcaster while he was there. Roll credits. Then title screen. That's it. No neat little bonus like World Tour. That's it. I guess I'm done with Rampage for a while, because I seriously don't wanna try Rampage Through Time since it's probably the same shit as Universal Tour.