A Winner Is You! (2012)

[NeoZeedeater]

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]

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]

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

[TailsAlone]

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]

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 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]

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]

#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]

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 at some point. 4/10.

[M4R14NO94]

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]

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]

25. Castlevania IV (SNES): Yep.

[AD2101]

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]

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]

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!

[goldenband]

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.