What Game(s) Are You Playing? Daily Check (2011)

[Emperor Megas]

I started NIER a few night ago, and about 2 hours I wish that I hadn't. Also, the wife and I are playing through the first Left4Dead on Expert, and HALO 3 on Legendary.

[Aussie2B]

My biggest complaint is that the manual is a poster. Would it have been too hard for a manual that was just a manual?

Actually, it's imitating a road map. I think it's pretty clever myself, but, yeah, not very practical.

Anyway, I'm still playing Otomedius Excellent on Xbox 360. I beat Normal with all seven of the initial girls. Now to tackle Expert, but I don't know if I'll do all of them on that difficulty or save it for another time. Plus I don't know if I'm going to get killed over and over in Expert or what (not like it matters, with unlimited continues and respawning right where you die). It's a fun game, but there are only so many times I can repeat the stages before I have my fill for awhile.

[starchildskiss78]

Actually, it's imitating a road map. I think it's pretty clever myself, but, yeah, not very practical.

Now that you mention it that makes sense. It was a creative idea for sure and I applaud them for something different. I should be happy there is a manual at all, huh?

Today:

RC Pro Am (NES)
Spy Vs Spy (NES)

I received these two gems in the mail today. I made more progress than I normally would in RC Pro Am, getting the second car and making it to 17th track before it told me "Game Over."

I have not played Spy Vs Spy since the late 80's when I had my Commodore 64. I laughed with glee as I jumped the black spy at the last moment because he killed me and was heading off to the plane. Not so fast!

[The 1 2 P]

Besides for Halo Reach, Halo: CE Anniversary and MW3, today I also tried out the Rage demo. I wasn't impressed and it looked like just another generic shooter to me. I'm not sure if I'll even pick it up once it goes on sale.

[starchildskiss78]

Last night:

I didn't get the chance to post this yesterday because I was exhausted! (Plus, one of our cats was trying to herd me to bed and would not shut up...keeping my girlfriend awake in the process!)

So....

NHL 06 (Xbox)
Kickle Cubicle (NES) - Incidentally...my 200th game!

I purchased NHL 06 because I wanted more games for the Xbox for one, and I had heard the game was more like the EA hockey games of the Genesis era. I think the graphics and gameplay are solid enough, but the mechanics take getting used to. I found myself trying the old techniques (e.g. wrapping around the goal when they are at the top of the screen and making a quick score) but was unable. I couldn't quite get the hang of checking other players and fighting when provoked by the other team. I will get the hang of it over time I am sure. I am glad I can turn off those godawful "EA Trax"...those do NOT belong in a hockey game!

Kickle Cubicle was a happy purchase for my 200th game. I pared down my collection to less than 100 from over 300 previously but it is slowly creeping back up. I enjoyed playing Kickle Cubicle when it originally came out over 20 years ago. I have been searching for a decent copy for years now. The only time I have seen it in the wild was at the flea market. The vendor would not budge from his price of $30 for the cartridge only. I found it on eBay for $11.99 (game and manual) plus $2.95 shipping. I know it was more than what it is "worth" but I consider $15 fine for a game I loved so much growing up. Firing up the NES last night cemented that love. Even my girlfriend enjoyed watching me play!

[Hawksmoor]

Giana Sisters (DS), SF3: Third Strike (PS3), Words With Friends, and Pixeljunk Sidescroller.

[Aussie2B]

Not a lot of gaming the last few days (and not even because of Thanksgiving; I've just been busy). All I did was tackle Expert mode in Otomedius Excellent for Xbox 360 with Gesshi. I didn't do so great since I lost a life near the end, and she's just impossible to recover with (her speed up is on the third slot). It was interesting to see that there's an additional stage on Expert, but if what I fought was the real final boss, then that was pretty lame. Maybe I messed up somehow and didn't get the true form, I don't know. Well, anyway, I think I'll play at least a little bit longer. I'd like to unlock some of the secret characters. I gotta admit getting the achievements is pretty addictive. Basically every time I play I get one or two, with a decent amount of points too. There are a couple that would take a ton of effort, but it's fun getting the easy ones. Of the small number of 360 games I've played before, I'm used to games where you very rarely get an achievement and usually get a miniscule amount of points for something that takes a massive amount of time and effort to boot. Overall, though, I'm definitely not obsessed with achievements. I only have around 1500 points in total.

[starchildskiss78]

Last night:

Ninja Gaiden II (NES)
Balloon Fight (NES)
NHL 06 (Xbox)

Ninja Gaiden is legitimately hard. I think the difficulty may rank past the original as I can normally breeze through the first three or four acts before having any problems. I barely made it to the second act before I started getting my butt kicked.

Balloon Fight is a game I haven't played since my girlfriend and I were playing it on Animal Crossing for the Gamecube. I think I did better than I last remembered. For a Joust clone it is a fun and unique concept.

I decided to try the Dynasty Mode on NHL 06. I let the computer simulate the games (probably a good idea considering how bad I am at scoring in this edition). I picked the Vancouver Canucks and was quite proud of myself when I made it to the conference finals like the owner wanted. After that my sights were set for the Stanley Cup. It took me to the 2011-2012 season (and threats of being fired) before my team could do it. I don't know if that is an accomplishment or not, but the Ottawa Senators won it TWICE in my bid for the Stanley Cup!

[starchildskiss78]

Today:

Ninja Gaiden II (NES)

I admit it....I'm a filthy rotten cheater. I used the Game Genie this time to make the game easier to play. The game is still legitimately hard even with the assistance of Galoob's little attachment.

[starchildskiss78]

Last Night:

Back to the Future (Wii)

I made it through Episode 2: Get Tannen last night. It is interesting how everything ties in together from the first episode. There were a couple spots I couldn't immediately figure out what I was doing. The hints come in handy for that, however. I am excited to see what happens in Episode 3: Citizen Brown.

[thegamezmaster]

PS3 Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3,and Wii Skyward Sword. Sweet!

[jdc]

NFS Shift #1 on the PS3..... as well as "timetrialing" Oblivion with a fresh character build, since Skyrim is being held captive under the tree. Obsessed yet again with PSO v2 on the Dreamcast. Playing Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep on the PSP.

[starchildskiss78]

Today:

Batter Up (Game Gear)

I love this game! My brother originally gave it to me with a Game Gear and a bunch of other games for Xmas '92. I remembered how fun it was to play this arcade style handheld baseball game. (I loved it so much that I made it my mission to get my hands on it again after getting my Game Gear a few years back. Alas, I had forgotten about the game and only recently tried again. I mistook World Series Baseball for it for some reason.)

I forgot how much the computer cheats! I was chuckling because the computer allowed me two runs off of what should have been a single while the fielders were walking around like morons. The runs were quickly answered, however. I finally managed another run in the 5th (and final) inning and all I needed was to strike out the computer. I managed two runs back to back which sealed my fate! Despite that issue I still think it is a wonderful game and one that will see a lot of love.

[Sunnyvale]

For the last couple weeks, it's been either Solomon's Key or Nobunaga's Ambition, depending on how involved I want to be with the game. Finally picked these 2 easy finds up (thanks, mikesides!) at a price I could live with, and I've been making up for lost time.

[DuckTalesNES]

Just finished Lunar: SSSC and am now playing Castlevania: SOTN

[GameNinja]

Pokemon White, in french, and rockin it!

[substantial_snake]

MSX Metal Gear through the HD collection here, blowing up shotguner with RC missiles was fun.

Also playing Battlefield 3, I can't wait for the Back to Karkland pack.

[Aussie2B]

I finally retired Otomedius Excellent for Xbox 360, after get all but three achievements (the three pain in the butt ones that would take a ton of work). It did get a little repetitive after awhile, but it was satisfying to beat Expert with every character and fully open up the gallery. Of course, there are two additional DLC characters that cost extra, but screw 'em (as much as I'd love to use a Belmont, sigh). This game is far from being as good as the games it pays homage to, but even so, not bad at all. It was worth the price just to play an old-school style shooter and see references to TwinBee, one of my favorite shmup franchises.

[Nophix]

Battlefield 3 campaign on 360 is my current "project". Jebus, that game is brutal! I died more before the big earthquake than I did in all of the SP campaign for MW and MW2 combined!

I also threw in Starfox 64 today while I was going through games and dusting. Love that game! Got Megaman 3 working on my phone, too.

[moocow111]

Started to play Gauntlet Legends on my 64 again. I've always loved this game and still own the original copy I got as a kid. Unfortunately, I don't own a controller pak right now so I'm stuck playing the same levels over.