OK, I finally finished a game this year.
1.Assassin's Creed II (PS3) 03/04/18
2. Army of Two: The 40th Day (PS3) 03/08/18
3. Prototype (PS3) 03/25/18
4. Terminator Salvation (PS3) 04/08/18
OK, I finally finished a game this year.
1.Assassin's Creed II (PS3) 03/04/18
2. Army of Two: The 40th Day (PS3) 03/08/18
3. Prototype (PS3) 03/25/18
4. Terminator Salvation (PS3) 04/08/18
Last edited by AceAerosmith; 04-08-2018 at 07:42 AM.
“The world has, forever and always, been brimming with shit-heads.” - Dana Gould
Sure, I can start.
One that's been on my list to play for a looooong time that I just beat last night was Metroid II: Return of Samus(original gameboy version). I had wanted this game ever since I was a kid. I even remember trying to collect kool-aid points to get it but it's one I never acquired. At first I started playing it along side the AM2R remake (which I snagged a while back before it got pulled). I would try to catch up in that game to where I got to in the GB version to more or less do a side by side comparison and so I would have a map. That got old fast though and I don't think I went more than the first couple of Metroids. It's an awesome remake though so I'm sure I'll play through it at some point(If it's even finished. I don't remember if it ever was). I have not played the 3DS version for comparison though.
"Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...
1. Final Fantasy Legend II (GB) 1/28
The first month of the year is almost over, but I managed to squeeze in my first game beaten for the year. Man, I did not expect to be playing this for a whole month. It's surprisingly lengthy for an RPG of this era, especially on Game Boy. I was a bit annoyed with the final segment. The dungeon called "Final Dungeon" is pretty misleading. All the endless staircases and the maze at the bottom is every bit as much of a "dungeon" as any other. It's even more of a pain with how it's impossible to run from almost every battle, the mid-bosses are annoying with how the number of enemies is random, and the constant screen shaking was driving me nuts. The final boss also felt like nothing special. But a few quibbles with that last part aside, it was a solid, fun RPG. I think I like the story and setting of the first game better, though FFL2 is at a disadvantage there since it's basically rehashing the concept of the first game. But everything else about the sequel is expanded and more polished. It'll be interesting to play the third since I hear it's more like another Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (which I actually really like) than a SaGa, but I'll save that for a later point in time.
I've been on a GB/GBC kick lately. Since my last post I've beaten Super Mario Land 1 and 2; and while I haven't beaten part II yet which is included on the Gameboy Color cart, I did just beat DejaVu. It's another one that has been on my list for a while but never gotten around to playing it. It reminded me a lot of the non-courtroom parts of the Ace Attorney games. It was just hard enough that I'd get stuck from time to time trying to figure out what to do next, but never too hard that I felt the need to look up any of the solutions. Just play it a little more until the solution clicks.
I also beat Lego Batman playing it with my kid but I'm not sure how you decide if you've actually finished it or not since there is so much you can go back and do in those games.
"Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Did a good few more things this go around, managed to uncover where all the high-end spells were, did a few more of the side stuff. The final boss was still one of the crazier things I've dealt with, with a surprise difficulty spike right before the end.
Congrats to Aussie for a victory over FF Legends 2. That was my first RPG way back in the day, and I still can't claim to have beaten it without cheating (Arsenal is EVIL). That will be definitely be on my radar to see if I actually learned anything over 20-odd years of RPG obsession. But I think first, Lavos beckons.
RPGs: Proof that one you start done the dork path, forever will it dominate your wallet's destiny.
1. Final Fantasy Legend II (GB) 1/28
2. Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) 2/7
Man, this winter has been brutal, and I can't wait for it to be over. Even though I don't have kids, work from home, and got a flu shot, I've somehow gotten sick twice now in the span of just over a month, this second time with the flu. I hadn't even fully gotten over the lingering cough from the previous cold (and I may have had an ear infection or something after the cold because I was really dizzy for a good week there). And all this has really screwed up all my gaming plans. Harvest Moon 64 still sits untouched since December. If more time had passed between these illnesses, I would've been happy to start up Final Fantasy Legend III, but I only just finished the previous FFL after starting that when the cold hit me. So instead, I started up DKC3, since it was already in the case and would offer a change of pace from just finishing an RPG. The first day the flu hit me, I was too knocked out to do anything, but I was doing better enough yesterday to start playing, and I got the credits roll this afternoon. I think I have 5-some hours on the clock, though I left it idle plenty. The funny thing is that I bought this port primarily because of the new Dave Wise soundtrack, but in the end, I think I still prefer the original soundtrack, though neither is anything remarkable. The new area Pacifica didn't seem as well designed as the original stages either. Though it kind of threw me for a loop how they put the old sea urchin boss in there and then added a new weird boss where the sea urchin was. Anyway, I'm gonna keep playing and work toward collecting everything.
I finally beat Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for Xbox, 100% completion. Man did it get old after 4-5 times through. The new levels, characters, cheat codes, kept me going though.
1. Bayonetta (WiiU) - 03.03
I finished the story, anyway. I'm not near good enough at this type of game to unlock everything 100%. I don't quite know what to make of the over-the-top sexualization. I've got to believe that it is deliberately satirizing itself and being playful, but I definitely wouldn't let my kids watch me play. Hell, I'd probably blush and have to stop if my wife was watching! As much as I'd like to, I can't quite get past the objectification and teenage-boy fantasy aspect.
as is the case with most games wherein one plays as a female character (outside of Metroid.) Sex sells. Developers' livelihoods depend on it. They could make a statement and make a game where one plays a female character that is fully clothed and people who dislike objectification of women would be buying it, but would that make up for the millions of teenage boys and young men who don't want to buy a game where the woman isn't half-naked? Probably not. It'd probably be a poor seller and could put the company's stock in jeopardy.
I could be wrong and there could be millions of people who are clamoring for a video game with a self-respecting female character but just knowing the kind of people who are driving the electronic entertainment industry, I can't see it being a hot seller.
I remember back in the day the magazines talking about how many people were writing asking for nude codes for Tomb Raider. I'm sure the number of those letters far outnumbered the number of letters that complained about too much skin (again, could be wrong. just a wild guess though)
Tomb Raider is an interesting example to bring up, because in the last couple installments it has backed off quite a bit from the hyper sexualization prevalent in the earlier games. I feel like Bayonetta is different from those early Tomb Raider games, and I think it may come down to the self-satirizing. It is a dangerous thing to do, but if I imagine myself as a woman playing these games, I could see laughing at the silliness of Bayonetta and having a good time, but being more indignant with (earlier) Lara Croft... "they expect us to believe she could do that while wearing that?!?" Maybe that's just wishful thinking from my male brain.
1. Metroid II: Return of Samus
2. Super Mario Land 1
3. Super Mario Land 2
4. Lego Batman (Wii)
5. DejaVu I & II (gbc)
Finally beat DejaVu part II. It was pretty smooth sailing until the very end. I wasn't figuring out exactly what they wanted me to do and I stopped playing it for a while. I think I like it better than the first one though. At least story wise. I think I'm off the Game Boy kick now and not sure where I'll pick up next.
So many games...so little time.
"Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
3. Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
Symphony is just as fun as ever, with the only real gripes being little story in the second castle compared to the first, and a dearth of soundtrack variety for the same (it would not have killed them to re-use Wandering Ghosts and The Tragic Prince). Rogue Galaxy is still a decent RPG romp, with some awesome characters and nifty combat mechanics, but the story could have been handled better. I also remembered the hard way that this game has a habit of knocking you on your butt if your stop paying attention.
RPGs: Proof that one you start done the dork path, forever will it dominate your wallet's destiny.
Unexpected double post, I can't be the only guy beating anything right now...
1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
3. Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
4. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2)
Curse was a very welcome surprise, since Lament of Innocence (AKA Belmont Blond Moment) left a pretty bad taste in my mouth and I had heard that Curse and Lament were all too similar. While the case for that can be made, I hold the opinion that Curse is the game Lament was the prototype for. A lot of the basic mechanics and concepts for Curse were in Lament, but the addition of multiple weapon categories (plus different types within each category), a meaningful experience/level system taking advantage of the monster harvesting, a meaningful equipment and crafting progression (coupled with material drops), wonky--but fun--stealing make for a much better experience (especially for an incorrigible RPG nut like me). Throw in the dumb-on-paper but actually pretty awesome Innocent Devil companion system (huzzah, gothic grimdark Pokmon) and you've got a wonderful little 15-20 hour romp.
RPGs: Proof that one you start done the dork path, forever will it dominate your wallet's destiny.
Could it be a matter of games that have hyper sexualized women tend stand out and get noticed more? By their nature I imagine they would after all. I've been gaming my whole life and not very many of the games I play with female protagonists are over-sexualized (I don't think so anyway), not that I would mind at all if they were (as I rather appreciate that sort of thing, honestly).
I mean, I don't go looking for either types of characters since my taste is fairly broad, but I tend to encounter more Heather Masons, Jill Valentines and Chun Lis, than Bayonettas, B2s, and Ivys. I suppose YMMV, depending on the games you play, but I don't think that a more conservatively dressed/mannered female character would translate to poor sales. Games like Horizon: Zero Dawn and (modern) Tomb Raider games sell pretty well, I think.
I'm not naive in that I don't realize that sex sells, but when you're dealing in fantasy themes especially, style is a pretty big draw, and celebrating extremes like power and sexuality plays well into these sorts of games. It's not unlike the hulking, over-the-top masculine characters in gritty war games.
Granted, you also get boulder punching, He-man'esque Chris Redfields, and flirty, China Dress in the field wearing Ada Wongs in series' that barely benefit from over-the-top (normal) characters, but in general I think there's a very healthy variety of female and male characters in gaming that don't fall into either extreme categories and still sell decently.
I think the only game I ended this year was Nier: Automata, and my goodness, what an AMAZING game. This was a once or twice in a console generation sort of experience for me. I can't say enough good things about this title. I loved the last Nier, like a LOT, but I only played though it once (so far). I've played through Nier Automata like 5 times now.
I also ended Zelda: Breath of the Wild recently, but I think it was before the New Year. I honestly don't remember now, but I think it was more than a couple month ago, so I doubt it was this year.
My gaming took a considerable drop off after celerystalker left, as most of the games I played last year were Game Completion Challenge picks. I plan on getting back in soon though. I've got my gameroom a lot more organized now and am getting more play focused (rather than just collect/acquire focused).
Since I loved Nier and Nier Automata so much, I've decided to go back into the series and finally play the Drakengard games to see where it all started and how the series has evolved. I'm almost finished with the first Drakengard game and what a terrible, boring, uninteresting, horrible controlling experience it is. I REALLY hope 2 and 3 are better, because this game is absolute shit.
1. Assassin's Creed II (PS3) 03/04/18
2. Army of Two: The 40th Day (PS3) 03/08/18
3. Prototype (PS3) 03/25/18
4. Terminator Salvation (PS3) 04/08/18
5. Heavenly Sword (PS3) 05/03/18
6. Sleeping Dogs (PS3) 05/11/18
Last edited by AceAerosmith; 05-13-2018 at 09:39 AM.
“The world has, forever and always, been brimming with shit-heads.” - Dana Gould
I liked it. I thought using the Six-Axis controller to control the flight of arrows/cannonballs was fun. It did make it challenging. It looked good considering it was an early title. I wouldn't take the time to play it again but there were levels worth playing again - mostly the cannonball levels.
“The world has, forever and always, been brimming with shit-heads.” - Dana Gould
1. Assassin's Creed II (PS3) 03/04/18
2. Army of Two: The 40th Day (PS3) 03/08/18
3. Prototype (PS3) 03/25/18
4. Terminator Salvation (PS3) 04/08/18
5. Heavenly Sword (PS3) 05/03/18
6. Sleeping Dogs (PS3) 05/11/18
7. Prototype 2 (PS3) 05/14/18
8. Resistance 2 (PS3) 05/23/18
Last edited by AceAerosmith; 05-23-2018 at 08:07 AM.
“The world has, forever and always, been brimming with shit-heads.” - Dana Gould
1. Final Fantasy Legend II (GB) 1/28
2. Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) 2/7
3. Harvest Moon 64 (N64) 6/14
It took me practically a full year in real life to clear the 2 and 1/4 in-game years to get to the evaluation and credits roll, but I finally finished off Harvest Moon 64. That probably makes it sound like I didn't like the game much, but it was just life getting in the way that had me dropping it for months at a time. I actually enjoyed it a lot and am already looking forward to replaying it someday to pursue a different bachelorette and do everything much better (I didn't even get a baby born before the ending). Unlike in the SNES Harvest Moon, I could keep playing this file, but I've already long ago missed the chance to get a "perfect" file, so I'm just calling it quits here.
I've also just now realized I've really fallen behind where I'd like to be in terms of how many games I complete this year. Hopefully I can pick up the pace and finish off some others that are close to the end and some shorter ones.