Games completed 2017

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Flabyo
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Games completed 2017

Post by Flabyo »

Here we go again, new year, new completion lists!

Jan 1st - Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)

Came close to finishing this last night, but got frustrated with the fire fighting mission after failing it several times.

So naturally I did it first time this morning. Then finished up the story after that.

Good game. I do enjoy games where the most important mechanic is traversal. I'll be moving onto the attack on titan XBO game soon and I hope it handles traversal as well as Gravity Rush does.
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Jusifer »

this year I'll participate too, it'll be interesting to see how many i play through at the end of the year.

jan 1st - rise of the tomb rider (pc)

i really likes this one but on the pc it had a lot of problems for me. every now and then the game would crash unexpectedly. it kept crashing right at the end of the game and i was afraid I couldn't finish it but turning direct x 12 off helped for some reason. I'm happy i didn't deside to play the first reboot again before this as i think it would have lessened the experience a lot since they are very similar in gameplay and having paleyd the first one back when it came out I wasn't so fed up with the gameplay. i got the sense that the ending was pretty rushed as the quality of some of the cutsenes was noticeably lower which i understand is pretty common for games as the last parts are left to the end of the development and there isn't much time to hone them. it does leave a bad taste in the end but overall the game was worth getting and a nice addition to the story.
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dezm0nd
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by dezm0nd »

Thanks for starting this thread, Glen! Was meant to do it myself but been proper busy innit.

I doubt i'll have much on this list this year other than games finished for the podcasts i'm on alongside various others along the way.... Oh, and some Nintendo Switch stuff, no doubt! ;)
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Stanshall
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Stanshall »

Jan - Mario Kart 8

I don't know why I didn't play this sooner. It came with the Wii U I got at the end of the summer but other than a the odd quick bash, I just assumed I didn't need any more Mario Kart in my life. I haven't been particularly gripped by Mario Kart 7, either, but I assume it's also a very good game. Aside from the original, I've put most hours into Mario Kart DS, and I would have said that it's the best I've played. Having finished all the cups with 3 stars today in quite a mad day of MK mayhem when my wife was in bed ill, I can safely say this is better in every way. Mechanically, there are a number of subtleties and tiny boosts to aim for which makes every course much more detailed and rich with opportunity, but it doesn't seem as exploitable as MK DS. In terms of polish and pizazz, it's the best on the system. The Airport course, Wario Mountain, the DLC, the Zelda Overworld theme via Mariachi, the music course glockenspiel, everything about it is glorious.
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games completed 2017

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02/01 - Hyper Light Drifter (PC)

The changes they made post launch and the addition of an easy mode made all the difference. Great game.
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Alex79
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Re: Games completed 2017

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ThirdMan wrote: 02/01 Monument Valley (Android)

This was a real treat. Rez is obviously a huge influence but this isn't simply a mobile knock-off. It strikes a completely different tone and the levels themselves have an aesthetic maturity and overall composition that goes beyond Phil Fish's work. There's an ambiguous, Journey-esque story (if you like that kinda thing) but it's all about the clever design and soothing sound effects. It's currently on sale on the Play Store for €0.79 which is an absolute steal. There's two expansions, Forgotten Shores and Ida's Dream, but I'm going to save those for later.

Psst, you mean Fez ;)
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dezm0nd
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by dezm0nd »

Jan 2 - Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition (Xbox One)

For the show.. in April!
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by ColinAlonso »

Jan 2 - Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (PS4)

I'm very conflicted about this game. There are brilliant story moments and great visuals, both in the recreation of the southern English countryside and moments of spectacle, but on the other hand there are moments when I'm lost, plodding slowly around and some of the story parts particularly early on didn't interest me.

It should make for an interesting podcast though. :)
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Alex79
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Alex79 »

First of the year for me!

JAN - Little Big Planet Vita (PS Vita)

Well this was a surprise. I'm no fan of the LBP series, in fact I'd go so far as to say I actively dislike it, but I really enjoyed this one! The gravity didn't seem nearly as floaty as in previous games, and it employed fantastic usage of the Vita's two touch screen as well as the gyroscope. Whereas most games feel like touch is tacked on, this felt really good and useful within the game. A very pleasant surprise. And it looked gorgeous too, on that screen.


JAN - Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (PS4)

Will post thoughts in the podcast thread, but it was a beautiful experience. Incredible stuff.
Todinho

Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Todinho »

Frog Fractions-Yeah I dont get it.
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Scrustle
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Re: Games completed 2017

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05/01 - Forza Horizon 3: Blizzard Mountain

Kind of mixed on this one. On the one hand, it's yet another impressively substantive addition to the game, like the previous similar expansions, that makes for a drastically different change of scenery and driving style. It does look gorgeous too. The way the light from the low sun bounces off the frozen lake, or how your headlights cut through snowstorms at night. It's the most extreme in a trend that has been going on with these Horizon games and their expansions ever since the start. It again goes for an off-road focus, but even more so than anything the series has done before, and provides even more extreme weather conditions too. The problem is that I've never really liked off-roading in racing games like this. I don't like the inconsistent, very low levels of grip. Just not a fun experience for me. Always found it frustrating that I can never find grip when I need it, and my car is always being thrown off in a direction I don't want it too. Since this expansion is all snow and ice, that problem is the worst it's ever been. The weather conditions too, although it looks graphically impressive, in practice, is often simply an annoyance when I'm trying to race through a midnight blizzard or something. Don't like not being able to see where I'm going. There's also the changes to the way races work, in that they give you secondary skill objectives to go for. It's fine in theory, but I found it to be an increasing annoyance when actually playing. Often the objectives are just a hassle, especially while dealing with the low grip and sometimes having to rely on the AI to do certain things. At a certain point they just got to be too much of a pain that I ignored them.

I don't hate it though. More Forza I suppose. I like to play most everything they put out, and it's far from pushing me away. And I know most of my problems are basically just because I'm terrible at driving in those conditions, not necessarily because it's badly made. Took a lot of nice screenshots too.
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Indiana747
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Indiana747 »

(Jan) Quantum Break - XB1.
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seansthomas
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by seansthomas »

5th January - Arkham Origins (Wii U)


I wanted something to play inbetween my colourful, cartoony platformer backlog so picked this up for £6 knowing it was aptly set at Christmas. Would be interested to see a C&R on this one as it's critically seen as poor and often forgotten about, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It lacks the polish of Asylum and City (FYI I've not play Knight) and you can tell it was a holding project from the character model clipping, recycled environmental elements and lack of attention to detail in the surroundings compared to its predecessors BUT there is lots to love. I'd go as far as saying I largely preferred it to City, but it doesn't quite beat Asylum.

First up, this is my favourite sort of Batman tale. Basically it is Year One / Long Halloween / Batman Begins in tone. And the story arc you go on hearing about a guy called The Joker, meeting him and then finally sectioning the lunatic is really well done. It's the best portrayal of him I've seen in a videogame, and runs The Dark Knight and Animated Series close. There are some great moments where he revels in you not killing him and tries to force you to do so, plus seeing Batman earning his stripes and figuring out his relationship to Alfred is great.

There's a sense to this game being a prequel throughout, be it the rawer bad guys, the half finished Batmobile in the Batcave, the focus on rudimentary gadgets botched together prior to City and the relentless combat, which I really enjoyed. By the end, I was pulling off 60+ hit combos, stringing enemies up from crude ropes and pinning people to walls with glue grenades. The more linear nature meant less varied ways to tackle areas at times (and some of the level design lacked City's variety) but I loved rolling my sleeves up and focussing on brawling. Plus Asylum and City - Mr Freeze and Scarecrow aside - featured totally useless boss battles. There are 3 or 4 here that are all memorable and challenging; Bane, Deathstroke and Firefly in particular are great confrontations.

There also isn't loads of useless crap to do. Asylum encouraged revisiting areas through clever design but, to me, City just populated a small area with a wealth of fetch quests I had no interest in. Origins' map is bigger and has less to do within it, but feels purposeful. There are still gangs pointlessly hanging around waiting for a beating but now there are corrupt SWAT teams too and the occasional stand off between the two. It lacks the OTT aesthetic nature of City but conversely feels more credible.

There are several great set pieces too, from the epic bridge bomb defusing sequences to scaling a skyscraper to thwart Joker. The detective mode weaved into these sequences is weirdly far better and equally far worse; I love the ability to assess a crime scene and analyse lapsed time for clues, but I do miss the wit of scanning rooms for visual clues seen in past titles.

But overall, despite me playing it on a system stripped of its DLC and polish, I still really liked Origins. Can't help feeling it was given an unfairly lazy reception based on not being an official Rocksteady release...
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gallo_pinto
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by gallo_pinto »

seansthomas wrote:5th January - Arkham Origins (Wii U)

First up, this is my favourite sort of Batman tale. Basically it is Year One / Long Halloween / Batman Begins in tone. And the story arc you go on hearing about a guy called The Joker, meeting him and then finally sectioning the lunatic is really well done. It's the best portrayal of him I've seen in a videogame, and runs The Dark Knight and Animated Series close. There are some great moments where he revels in you not killing him and tries to force you to do so, plus seeing Batman earning his stripes and figuring out his relationship to Alfred is great.
You just sold me on this. I'm going to keep an eye out for a cheap copy or flash sale. I'm not a huge Batman fan, but it's always been the early years stuff that I like the most. Sounds pretty cool!
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seansthomas
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by seansthomas »

gallo_pinto wrote: You just sold me on this. I'm going to keep an eye out for a cheap copy or flash sale. I'm not a huge Batman fan, but it's always been the early years stuff that I like the most. Sounds pretty cool!
I got it for £6 in GAME and they often charge more than CEX and online. I know two other people who loved the Joker's story arc so I'm not alone!
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Alex79
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Alex79 »

Said it many times before, but it's by far my favorite of the last-gen three. Story-wise, mechanically, all of it. I still don't understand why it's seen as the weaker one.
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seansthomas
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by seansthomas »

Alex79uk wrote:Said it many times before, but it's by far my favorite of the last-gen three. Story-wise, mechanically, all of it. I still don't understand why it's seen as the weaker one.
Indeed. I bought it after reading one of your comments about it. Thanks!
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chase210
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by chase210 »

7th January - Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare.

It was good, definitely the best of recent COD campaigns that comes to mind. The space ship combat was good, the ground to ground combat was good, but could have been better and done with more fun neat stuff like the hacking device. Story was boring and pants, but thats just par for the course with call of duty these days. I enjoyed my time with it.
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Flabyo
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Flabyo »

Flabyo wrote:Jan 1st - Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4)
Jan 8th - Shantae: Half-genie hero (XBO)

I've been going on about how good this is in other threads already. It's good. Really good.

And I surprised myself by getting the full 100% completion, something I rarely do on games with hidden stuff. (And I didn't need a walk through, which suggests it's a lot more fair than these things usually are)
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Michiel K
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Re: Games completed 2017

Post by Michiel K »

Jan 7th - Contra (The XBLA port of the arcade game, which has an unchangeable limit of 3 credits)

In my last run I had to continue once to see the end credits roll, but I used more than 6 lives, as I was racking up extends due to my score. With more practice, a 1 credit clear seems attainable, but I have to move on to the harder Super Contra now.
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