Games Completed 2018

[ratsoalbion]

06 Jan: Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PAL PS1 on PS3)
09 Feb: Final Fantasy II (GBA)
16 Feb: Resident Evil 2 (NTSC PS1 on PS3)
26 Feb: Yoshi's Woolly World (WU)
09 Mar: BioShock Infinite (PC)
10 Mar: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One (PC)

[MajorGamer]

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Neon Chrome (PC)
Jan 2 - Dispersio (PC)
Jan 9 - Numbus (PC)
Jan 11 - Hero Siege (PC)
Jan 14 - Castle of no Escape 2 (PC)
Jan 20 - Toy Odyssey (PC)
Jan 23 - 20XX (PC)
Jan 25 - Battle Chef Brigade (Switch)
Jan 29 - Kamiko (Switch)
Feb 1 - Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)
Feb 3 - KByte (PC)
Feb 7 - Cat Quest (Switch)
Feb 11 - DYE (PC)

Mar 7 - The End is Nigh (Switch)

There's a reason why this one isn't talked about while Super Meat Boy still is. Nothing stands out too much in terms of level design for being good or bad but there is one thing that was done that makes it considerably worse than it is. The colors used. Your own character, walls, floors, spikes, enemies. They are all the exact same black which makes things hard to easily identify at a glance. Grabbing onto the side of a ledge with a spike on top of it is a common occurrence only made difficult because you can't see exactly where the spike ends and the wall begins so you end up hugging the wall too soon and face plant the spike or too late as you get sent into whatever doom is below you. This is something I expect to see in those random Steam games that look like it was made in a day, not by someone with the caliber of Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy behind them.

The collectibles also went backwards from Super Meat Boy. Being able to start any level you wish is pretty basic and yet you can't do that here. You can only start from the beginning of each world so if you missed some collectible towards the end of a world you need to replay it until then. Those collectibles also become vital in the final few worlds of the game so you need a good chunk of them.

Warpzones (now cartridges) are back and bring with them the often complained mechanic of limited lives. Except the cartridges are longer. To get everything out of them, some must be done in under 10 deaths (they are 10 screens long). There is one that is 100 screens long that must be done in under 10 deaths and others still that require 0 deaths. Seeing those was the point I put the game down since that just isn't happening.

[ratsoalbion]

06 Jan: Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PAL PS1 on PS3)
09 Feb: Final Fantasy II (GBA)
16 Feb: Resident Evil 2 (NTSC PS1 on PS3)
26 Feb: Yoshi's Woolly World (WU)
09 Mar: BioShock Infinite (PC)
10 Mar: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One (PC)
12 Mar: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two (PC)

[Dante Fireseed]

4th January - X-Com 2 (PC)
6th January - Last Day of June (PC)
22nd January - What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)
4th February - Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
10th February - Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4)
16th February - Rime (PS4)
3rd March - Watch_Dogs 2 (PC)
8th March - Layers of Fear (PC)
10th March - Superhot (PS4)

[duskvstweak]

I just finished Tomb Raider (2013). It really is a great game. A bit too brutal for my own personal tastes, especially the way it beats up on Lara in and our of cut scenes. The game itself, the quick time events, the combat, it's all aces, though. Gonna have to listen to the podcast now, but I'm wondering if anyone else felt the Resident Evil 4 influence that's all over the game?

[KSubzero1000]

I'm wondering if anyone else felt the Resident Evil 4 influence that's all over the game?

Not at all, actually. I'd be interested to know what exactly made you say that.

[duskvstweak]

I'm wondering if anyone else felt the Resident Evil 4 influence that's all over the game?

Not at all, actually. I'd be interested to know what exactly made you say that.

It's mainly in the aesthetics, I think. The design of Mathias, the cult in the desolate area, those shanty towns. Near the end, with those giant stone warriors, I kept experiencing a weird Déjà vu of Leon with a shotgun. None of this is exact, of course, I just think there might be a nice line from RE 4 to Tomb Raider 2013. And again, mainly in design, I think.

[KSubzero1000]

It's mainly in the aesthetics, I think. The design of Mathias, the cult in the desolate area, those shanty towns. Near the end, with those giant stone warriors, I kept experiencing a weird Déjà vu of Leon with a shotgun. None of this is exact, of course, I just think there might be a nice line from RE 4 to Tomb Raider 2013. And again, mainly in design, I think.

Ah, I see. Interesting point!

I couldn't see many similarities in terms of mechanics, game structure, story or characters, but the aesthetics do bear some resemblance now that you mention it.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I do agree that the splashes of gore in Tomb Raider feel unnecessary. As a horror movie gore-hound, it feels strange to say that, but I don't know... just doesn't jive with me in Tomb Raider for some reason. Can't explain it.

[Flabyo]

7th Jan - Mafia 3 (XBO)
29th Jan - Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (XBO)
31st Jan - The Room: Old Sins (iOS)
20th Feb - Celeste (XBO)

12th Mar - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (PS4)

Wow.

Not the easiest of playthroughs for me. Deserves to win awards for the audio alone, if you’ve yet to play this you absolutely need to be playing it with headphones on.

I don’t really know how to frame it. I need to spend a little time unpacking it I think.

[DomsBeard]

I do agree that the splashes of gore in Tomb Raider feel unnecessary. As a horror movie gore-hound, it feels strange to say that, but I don't know... just doesn't jive with me in Tomb Raider for some reason. Can't explain it.

Pretty sure they toned it down in the sequel as far as I remember?. Agree it was OTT

[Dante Fireseed]

4th January - X-Com 2 (PC)
6th January - Last Day of June (PC)
22nd January - What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)
4th February - Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
10th February - Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4)
16th February - Rime (PS4)
3rd March - Watch_Dogs 2 (PC)
8th March - Layers of Fear (PC)
10th March - Superhot (PS4)
12th March - Gran Turismo Sport (PS4) (All golds on driving school and mission challenges)

Still my favourite racing series after falling in love with the original in 1998, really enjoyed most of the new tracks and flying round Nurburgring is still terrifying!

[Combine Hunter]

Spoiler: show

10/02 - Final Fantasy II (PS Vita)
04/30 - Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U)
10/03 - Celeste (Switch)
10/03 - Monster Hunter World (PS4)

13/03 - Bioshock: Infinite - Burial at Sea Episode 2

[AndrewBrown]

02/01: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES Classic]
04/01: Oxenfree [Switch]
13/01: Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition [Switch]
14/01: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Switch]
15/01: Super Mario World [SNES Classic]
20/01: BioShock Infinite [360]
23/01: The Fall [PSN]
26/01: Celeste [Switch]
31/01: Super One More Jump [Switch]
05/02: Night in the Woods [Switch]
08/02: Dandara [Switch]
14/02: Dragon Quest Builders [Switch]
20/02: Bayonetta [Switch]
21/02: Puzzle Puppers [Switch]
23/02: Fe [Switch]
24/02: Old Man's Journey [Switch]
26/02: Portal Knights [Switch]
28/02: Bayonetta 2 [Switch]
07/03: Subsurface Circular [Switch]

14/03: Coffin Dodgers [Switch]

Budget kart racers are a dime a dozen and most of them are generic and do little to individualize to themselves. This is the main reason Coffin Dodgers caught my eye, as it casts a group of elderly people in a retirement community in a race for their lives against Death. This macabre sense of humor is entertaining for a single playthrough, but it reveals itself to be simply a paintjob on another generic kart racer. Even though one of the racers is Death and he culls more and more of your competitors as you progress through the different tournaments, this seems incidental to the premise, as each race unfolds like every other tournament points-based kart racer out there.

There's a sense of ambition to Coffin Dodgers that feels, sadly, unfulfilled. Racers can engage in melee combat with each other, charging the attack to knock an opposing racer out entirely for several seconds. There are also, of course, the standard range of Kart racer weapons. Neither of these affect the racing much as the AI isn't very aggressive and is easily outstripped and outmatched by a souped up scooter. Fighting back with these systems never feels necessary.

More interestingly, the entire world is actually a fully constructed retirement community which may be explored as a sandbox. Imagine the island from Diddy Kong Racing, but with more detail and complexity to it but paradoxically less to actually find and do in it. Each of the 13 race tracks is formed from the sandbox by blocking roads and creating artificial turns using dumpsters and other assorted junk. Each track can be activated from the sandbox, but when the race is completed the player is dumped back out into the main menu and must choose to re-enter the sandbox. There doesn't seem to be any point to exploring the sandbox except to admire the developer's creation; it's a far more efficient use of time just to enter the races directly from the menu.

I was entertained by Coffin Dodgers' macabre premise and unsurprised by its simplicity, but I am slightly deflated to see hints of a more ambitious videogame which simply isn't really here. I unlocked the hidden ending which hints at a sequel, and I hope to see more of these ideas developed further.

[Beck]

Spoiler: show

Jan - Tekken 7
Feb - Bloodborne
Feb - Fallout Shelter
Feb - Bioshock Remastered
March - Monster Hunter World

March - Bastion - I've got a lot of time for this game. I think this is my 4th playthrough and I still really enjoy it.

[Simonsloth]

Spoiler: show

January 2018:
Bleed
Crackdown
Rez Infinite
Resident evil directors cut
Bioshock
Resident evil 2
Bioshock 2
Resident evil 3:Nemesis

Feb 2018:
Bioshock infinite
Def Jam: fight for Ny
Zone of The Enders
Resident Evil:code Veronica
Resident evil zero
Hyper light drifter
Braid
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Resident evil 4

March 2nd: resident evil 5
March 14th: resident evil 6

Thoughts on podcast thread soon. So many mixed feelings about number 6

[AndrewBrown]

02/01: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES Classic]
04/01: Oxenfree [Switch]
13/01: Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition [Switch]
14/01: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Switch]
15/01: Super Mario World [SNES Classic]
20/01: BioShock Infinite [360]
23/01: The Fall [PSN]
26/01: Celeste [Switch]
31/01: Super One More Jump [Switch]
05/02: Night in the Woods [Switch]
08/02: Dandara [Switch]
14/02: Dragon Quest Builders [Switch]
20/02: Bayonetta [Switch]
21/02: Puzzle Puppers [Switch]
23/02: Fe [Switch]
24/02: Old Man's Journey [Switch]
26/02: Portal Knights [Switch]
28/02: Bayonetta 2 [Switch]
07/03: Subsurface Circular [Switch]
14/03: Coffin Dodgers [Switch]

15/03: OPUS: The Day We Found Earth [Switch]

In some unidentified but far-flung future, the human race has endangered itself with extensive genetic modification and to stabilize the species they need a genetic sample from the lost homeworld: Earth. OPUS casts the player as a childlike robot on a deep space observatory searching for the planet. The game is essentially a pixel hunt writ large; using a set of four clues, they locate possible locations of Earth in space. When they locate the potential planet, a bite-sized portion of the plot plays itself as the robot finds out what happened to its lost crew and comes closer to locating Earth. As the plot progresses deeper into five sets of planets to be located, new layers are added to this scheme, such as a glitching interface and a filter that sees through certain galactic interferences. Players can also locate "curiosities" which are found in the same way as potential Earths, but they must first discover these "curiosities" in the interior of the rocket; essentially a pixel-hunt inside a pixel-hunt. The plot is brief, devoid of pathos, and solves none of the problems it states at its outset. The entire game may be fairly reduced to poking at pixels until you find the one which progresses the plot forward. Some people seemed to really like this. I don't count myself among them.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Life is Strange: Before the Storm - PS4.
(Jan) Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition - PS4.
(Jan) Watch Dogs II(platinum) - PS4.
(Feb) Marlow Briggs - Xbox 360.
(Feb) Shadow of the Colossus - PS4.
(Mar) Assassin's Creed Syndicate - PS4.

[James]

Spoiler: show

3rd Jan - Hidden Folks (Android)
13th Jan - Bleed 2 (PC)
13th Jan - Bleed (Xbox One)
14th Jan - The Sexy Brutale (Xbox One)
16th Jan - Scanner Sombre (PC)
17th Jan - Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PS4)
21st Jan - Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (Xbox One)
24th Feb - Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (RetroPie - PSX)

13th Mar - BioShock Infinite (Xbox One)
13th Mar - BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Part 1 (Xbox One)

I started replaying the whole BioShock series, but stepped away from the original to clear Infinite again before the podcast recording for Issue 310. I played on 1999 Mode, nabbed the scavenger achievement to boot, and definitely enjoyed the extra challenge. Preparing a build I was happy with was very satisfying. Thoughts on everything else will be held back for the podcast.

[MajorGamer]

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Neon Chrome (PC)
Jan 2 - Dispersio (PC)
Jan 9 - Numbus (PC)
Jan 11 - Hero Siege (PC)
Jan 14 - Castle of no Escape 2 (PC)
Jan 20 - Toy Odyssey (PC)
Jan 23 - 20XX (PC)
Jan 25 - Battle Chef Brigade (Switch)
Jan 29 - Kamiko (Switch)
Feb 1 - Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)
Feb 3 - KByte (PC)
Feb 7 - Cat Quest (Switch)
Feb 11 - DYE (PC)
Mar 7 - The End is Nigh (Switch)

Mar 10 - Shadow Warrior 2 (PC)

Oof. The previous entry was a pretty good FPS made unique by making the melee be awesome. Feels really good and is often the best weapon you can use in the moment. What could go wrong with a sequel? Well, it feels like this one was designed by committee, for lack of better term, instead of what they wanted to do.

Procedural generation popular? Toss it in even though they only made a few large chunks instead of many small chunks. Crafting is everywhere? Put it in even though it only gives you a completely randomly of an increased quality gem that is ridiculously expensive when it is almost guaranteed to be trash. People complained about the crafting being crap? Put in more crafting that actually gives power boosts but make it so ridiculously expensive to do you are forced to grind to get anything out of it beyond 1-2 upgrades. Random loot is cool? Shove it in but shower the player with so much loot it takes a good 5 minutes after each mission to look through it all and eventually set them to vendor making the original Diablo 3 loot rain look like a light sprinkling.

Coop is the new thing? Add it in but have zero interactions between the players even to the point you walk through each other. People loved the melee of the first one? Okay, keep that the same but make the guns garbage so your swords are even better! Plot twists will make the game talked about? Put in many betrayals but you have so little interaction with the NPCs that there is no impact. People liked Lo Wang's character? Miss the point and turn him from the smart ass of the first game to a jackass in the second. Cliffhangers are great? Put it in with a story that makes so little sense that you end up not caring what happens.

Things didn't go so well. It is like they took an amalgamation of what is popular in games and shoved it in without really understanding what makes those elements great. There are even more things but I think this gets the point across.