Games Completed 2024

[oni-link]

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

I did enjoy Assassin's Creed Valhalla but feel like it's a step back from the two previous games in the series. I'm from the UK so personally while it was cool seeing so many familiar places, I found Greece and Egypt far more interesting and also visually varied.

In terms of gameplay, this is now a full action RPG where stealth is an afterthought. You can still sneak into an area and take everyone out from the shadows, but combat is so easy now that it's always quicker to just run in head first and kill everyone.

In the previous 2 games (and generally in the series as a whole) if you were being attacked by 5/6 people, it would be time to run. You would be able to plan quick assassinations under a smokescreen and then a fast escape. In Valhalla, you never need to be stealthy, but you also never need to run. Just stand your ground and kill everyone.

This kills the variety in terms of gameplay, as most missions are go to X and kill Y.

The world is beautiful once again, but the UK in the 850s doesn't have a great deal of biome variety. Every region is more or less greenery, gentle rivers, wooden huts and stone churches. If you go north, you get the same but with some snow. Even the DLC, which takes you to Ireland and France, looks more or less the same as England. The variety found in Odyssey and Origins, as well as the fact both those countries are a lot less flat than England, makes them much more visually compelling games.

I also really dislike the fantasy chapters in the Assassin's Creed games (so I skipped the 3rd DLC because it's all fantasy) You do need to complete two fantasy regions in the base game (If you want to see the final post release DLC quest ending anyway) and I find them really jarring. I love these games for the historical settings, so having them make a hard turn into fantasy feels like having a random level in a Call of Duty campaign introduce dragons.

The moment to movement gameplay is still fun, and touring famous locations is still really cool, but the game would be better if it was half as long. It took me about 90 hours to beat, and I think I'd have been just as happy if it was half as long as that.

Pokémon Snap (N64)

I first beat this in the late 90s, my mum rented it over a weekend, but I'd not played it since then, so decided to run through it again over the last few days. I played this on my Wii, hooked up to a CRT, and it's such a charming little game.

I've not really kept up with the modern Pokémon games, but did replay Yellow and Crystal over the last few years, and I have a lot of nostalgia and fondness for the early generations. Pokémon Snap does a really good job of putting you into the natural habitat of Pokémon. I remember as a kid thinking how amazing a mainline game would be set in this world, back when those were still only 8bit games, and even replaying it now it evokes that feeling.

It's a really relaxing little rail shooter, short and sweet, a really fun game to blow through in a few hours.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)

MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)

I really liked the GBA version of Mario Golf and it's easy to see how that game, and also Golf Story, grew from this Gameboy title. It plays a really good game of golf but the story mode is nowhere near as involved as those later games. I was a little surprised how quickly I finished it, but there are only four golf courses to play through (plus a secret fifth one which unlocks once you complete the story mode) and I clocked the game at around 3.5 hours.

Still, I'm really pleased this was added to the online service and I'll try the tennis game next. I'm absolutely positive we'll be getting the GBA versions of golf and tennis at some point this year, too.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.
(Mar) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5.

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

Jan 7: New Super Lucky’s Tale
Jan 7: Super Mario Land
Jan 9: Tetris Attack
Mar 2: Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Mar 17: Legend of the Mystical Ninja

I briefly played the Goemon games back on the N64 but was not too sure what to make of them, they were a bit full on with Japanese wackiness for me to understand what was going on. But now I want to give this series a proper go and I think the first Goemon title on the SNES was a good place to start.

Despite the rubbish names (Kid Ying and Dr Yang? Really?) and pizzas, this maintained a lot of the japanese flavour this series is renowned for with ancient dragons, sumo wrestlers and tanuki statues. It is a strange blend of light adventure gameplay ala Zelda with platforming heavy stages. You can buy health and armour in shops, play minigames and sometimes need to talk to certain people in order to progress. The platforming stages are good fun but can really test your skills later on. One thing I was not prepared for was how important money is. Not only do you need a lot to buy certain mandatory items such as a gate pass but it also serves as a weapon you can throw and each throw costs four coins. If you don’t, then be prepared to grind by beating up enemies in the villages. Not the worst thing but can definitely bring things to a halt if you are not careful.

Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a silly little adventure that does not take itself too seriously. I can imagine this being pretty fun in two player. Konami really knew what they were doing in the 16 bit days. Catchy soundtrack as well, lots of toe tappers in this one. Definitely excited to try later entries in this series and someday, eventually give the N64 games another try with a new perspective.

[oni-link]

Yakuza 5

This was a replay, as I'd originally played it for the first time in 2017. I think it's still up there with 0 as my favourite game in the series.

The fact a game about gangsters punching people in the face can add in a 10 hour long (!) section in the middle where you play as a teenage girl trying to be an idol where all the combat is now rhythm based and you have to try and win the Princess League, is just great.

It's such a massive game, 5 characters across 5 maps, each with it's own cast and own entire game modes. It can feel bloated at times, and the pacing can drag, but it's a great story that almost sticks the landing, but doesn't quite.

[Truk_Kurt]

Prince of Persia the Lost Crown
Took me 26 hours and loved every second. I lost interest in the story very early on but everything else about it I really loved. The platforming and combat mechanics just felt spot on and it just felt like a top notch metroidvania to me. Special shoutout to put to the boss battles too which I thought were mostly excellent and despite some of them taking me a while, I never got frustrated by them. Best game I’ve played this year and best metroidvania since Guacamelee 2 for me. 9/10

[oni-link]

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

This was my first ever Warhammer game. I picked up a cheap copy on PS3, and beat it over the space of a week.

I thought this was going to be a standard 7th gen cover based shooter, but it doesn't use cover at all. If anything, it almost plays like a proto-Doom 2016, in that:
- There is no cover system
- It's best to always be moving
- You can only regain health by performing brutal melee finishers on foes
- Portals from hell

If I'd had played this in 2011, maybe it would have felt like just another linear 3rd person shooter, but as those are pretty much a dead genre now, playing it in 2024 actually makes it feel pretty novel and kind of refreshing in a lot of ways.

The story has gone over my head as the world and lore of Warhammer is new to me, and the game doesn't exactly offer a good on-ramp for new players, but that's not really hampered my enjoyment too much.

I'm also surprised that it runs well for a PS3 game (by well I mean it seems to hold a locked 30fps, which for a late era PS3 game is pretty amazing) though I've read the 360 version is the better version as it runs in a higher res.

The Orcs all speak in an amazing English accent and will always yell SPAAACCE MAUREEN whenever they see you, which is never not funny.

The end boss is mostly a few waves of enemies then a QTE, but it's a really solid shooter with some really fun mechanics.

[Michiel K]

22 March: The Last Blade 2 (Dreamcast)

This has to rank as one of the most beautiful 2D, sprite based fighters ever created and I've had a copy of it since 2013. I recently watched the film Rurouni Kenshi: The Beginning on Netflix and was reminded heavily of this game, as it's set in the same time period and setting (1860s Japan when the country opened its borders to foreign traders and Imperialists and Shogunate loyalists were entangled in conflict) and it's not unthinkable that the character designs in the game were inspired by the manga that the film was adapted from.

Showing off the game to KSubzero1000 from this forum last weekend, I came to realise I never cleared an arcade ladder of any of the characters as the AI gets pretty damn mean after the second fight, so I pushed all the way through this time, with Shinsengumi officer Washizuka. The localisation is pure late 90s SNK, but at least I got the gist of what was going on in the cutscenes and since this game is such a treat in terms of visuals, complimentary audio and mechanics, I'm kind of looking forward to doing the same for more characters.

[GKBracken]

Games Beaten 2024

1. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)
2. The House of the Dead Remake (Switch)
3. Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)
4. Dragon Quest V (DS)
5. Paratopic (Switch)
6. Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)

Yeah, I think I'm going to have to accept Sonic isn't really my jam at some stage and just accept that Colours, 2 and Generations are outliers more than anything.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.
(Mar) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5.
(Mar) Control: Ultimate Edition - Series X.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)

MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)

I had no interest whatsoever in getting either of the Duke carts for Evercade but after seeing nothing but praise for them I decided to pick up the first cartridge which contains native Evercade remasters of the first two, side scrolling platform shoot 'em ups, and a PS1 port of Duke 3D.

I can honestly say playing through this first game has been so much fun. The games have none of that unfunny crass humour the later games are known for, and play brilliantly. You can see how much work has been put in to the game by pressing SELECT and viewing the game as it originally was. The scrolling has been smoothed out, wide-screen enabled and Duke just handles a lot better thanks to the higher frames per second.

This game was fun from start to finish. 30 levels spread across three chapters, a lot of running, jumping and shooting. Looking forward to playing the second game probably later this year.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.
(Mar) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5.
(Mar) Control: Ultimate Edition - Series X.
(Mar) DREDGE - Series X.

[Alex79]

JAN - Strider (Arcade on Evercade)
JAN - Strider (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - God Of War (PS5)
JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
FEB - Alwa's Awakening (Evercade)
FEB - Little Inferno (Android)
FEB - Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan (Gameboy on Switch)
FEB - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Mario Golf (Gameboy on Switch)
MAR - Duke Nukem Remastered (Evercade)

APR - Castlevania Legends (Gameboy on Switch)

This was a great surprise after the first Gameboy Castlevania game (not played the second one yet - this is the third). It has everything the classic Castlevania's has and plays really nicely. Totally recommend seeking this out on the Switch Online service if you like the series and haven't played it. It can be beaten in under two hours, but that's not to say there's zero challenge to it. Really nice little game!

[ratsoalbion]

That is, by some distance, the most positive appraisal of Castlevania Legends I have ever read.

[Alex79]

That is, by some distance, the most positive appraisal of Castlevania Legends I have ever read.

Ha, I did look up the Wikipedia entry for the game after finishing it and was quite surprised to see it'd had a generally negative appraisal at the time! A lot of comments compared it unfavorably to the second Gameboy game, so I'll have to give that one a try on the Konami collection.

[Truk_Kurt]

(Mar) DREDGE - Series X.

What did you think of Dredge?

[Truk_Kurt]

Princess Peach Showtime
If you want a nice looking chilled out Nintendo game. It delivers that. It is very easy but sometimes that hits the spot, as it did with me. The highlight are the bosses which add a tiny bit more challenge but overall I don’t think it will live long in my memory. Probably a 6 or 7/10

[oni-link]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

I had a good time with this, though it feels like a Kickstarter game, if that makes sense. It's a really solid "Greatest Hits" of the Castlevania series. I don't think i's quite at the level of the best Castlevania games (SoTN, AoS) but it's a really solid imitation.

The art style is all over the place, and quite a step down from the series that inspired it, but that's to be expected considering the budget and circumstances it was made under. The music is also not quite as good, though it's by no means bad.

I really enjoyed exploration and how extensive the shard upgrade system was. The story went mostly over my head, though I liked the tone it was going for, and it's always nice to hear Solid Snake pop up in a game.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Battlefield 3 - Series X.
(Jan) Hi-Fi Rush - Series X.
(Jan) Daymare 1998 - Series X.
(Jan) The Beast Inside - Series X.
(Feb) XIII - Series X.
(Feb) Close to the Sun - Series X.
(Feb) Atomic Heart - Series X.
(Feb) Return to Grace - Series X.
(Feb) MADiSON - PS5.
(Mar) TDPA: House of Ashes - PS5.
(Mar) RE Village: Shadows of Rose - PS5.
(Mar) Those Who Remain - Series X.
(Mar) Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun - Series X.
(Mar) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - PS5.
(Mar) Control: Ultimate Edition - Series X.
(Mar) DREDGE - Series X.
(Apr) Little Nightmares - Series X.