The 2023 Backlog Challenge

[Brickman | 3,995]

First game down for the year. 007 World is not enough for the N64.

I’ve always wanted to try a Bond game that isn’t Goldeneye and I had heard this is a pretty decent one. 

It wasn’t too bad. Probably give it around a 7. The graphics and sound were amazing for the 64. Some of the levels were pretty uninspired and the last level can go die in fire.

But having said that I did enjoy my time with it and liked the different gadgets and weapons. It also had a more stealthy feel to it then Goldeneye which was a lot of fun.

And with that I have now earned my participation award  Huzzah!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

Uncharted 4

Spoiler

So, clearly a powerhouse of production value, storytelling, and cinematic thrill rides.

Gameplay?  It's good enough, but not what these are known for.  And my very hazy memories of 2 and 3 are telling me that the formula is pretty much untouched here.  Climb a ton of things, fall through a ton of things, shoot a ton of guys.  It's fine enough.  Those things are a vehicle to deliver the story and the thrills.  I can accept that.

It also makes me want to pull out my copy of Blood, Sweat and Pixels and reread the chapter on U4, because it laid out what a nightmare this was to develop.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

12 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Uncharted 4

 

Spoiler

 

So, clearly a powerhouse of production value, storytelling, and cinematic thrill rides.

Gameplay?  It's good enough, but not what these are known for.  And my very hazy memories of 2 and 3 are telling me that the formula is pretty much untouched here.  Climb a ton of things, fall through a ton of things, shoot a ton of guys.  It's fine enough.  Those things are a vehicle to deliver the story and the thrills.  I can accept that.

It also makes me want to pull out my copy of Blood, Sweat and Pixels and reread the chapter on U4, because it laid out what a nightmare this was to develop.

I loved that game. For me, Uncharted 4 is the pinnacle of the big budget, linear, action adventure games that Sony does so well. This is a Summer event popcorn flick that goes down easy and let's you completely shut your brain off for a few hours. Gameplay is standard fare, but you get those bombastic set pieces (the drive through town and over the bridge was my favorite in 4) that are ridiculously entertaining.

Uncharted games will never be among my all-time favorites, but I love the experience of playing through them. Still need to boot up Lost Legacy at some point.

[Gloves | 11,800]

I beat Shadow of Mordor, then immediately found another distraction - I realized I could hook my Wii U up to the crt in my bedroom and spent last night playing House of the Dead 2 and Mario Galaxy lol. 

[Brickman | 3,995]

12 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Uncharted 4

 

Spoiler

 

So, clearly a powerhouse of production value, storytelling, and cinematic thrill rides.

Gameplay?  It's good enough, but not what these are known for.  And my very hazy memories of 2 and 3 are telling me that the formula is pretty much untouched here.  Climb a ton of things, fall through a ton of things, shoot a ton of guys.  It's fine enough.  Those things are a vehicle to deliver the story and the thrills.  I can accept that.

It also makes me want to pull out my copy of Blood, Sweat and Pixels and reread the chapter on U4, because it laid out what a nightmare this was to develop.

Yeah pretty much my feelings too. I think the second will always be my favourite. Maybe I was just a bit over uncharted by the time 4 came out. It kind of felt like I was just going through the motions to see the story end.

Also I think that screenshot might be a spoiler 

[PekoponTAS | 171]

I'm taking a break from Tokyo Mirage sessions, as it's really getting on my nerves at this point.

Instead I decided to boot up Tank! Tank! Tank! for the first time, and I'm really liking it. For the first sixteen missions you can turn your brain off and have a good time blowing things up, but mission seventeen cranks up the difficulty and demands you pay attention. (Which I'm honestly really happy about)

Early on I was completing every mission with every tank in order to stockpile medals, and once I got a tank I was happy with I plowed forward as far as the game would let me. At this point I have to replay some stages to get more medals, which I'm perfectly fine with. I've heard people say the padding in this game is bad, but the missions are so short that it's not a big time sink, and you get to play the missions with different weapons each time which adds variety. It's way better than Steel Diver's padding, which to this day has prevented me from finishing it. (Maybe one day)

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Just got home from a weekend at my girlfriend's, and went back to Dungeon Magic.  Before I left I'd levelled up to 12, but I'm still not strong enough to be comfortable against the enemies in the next dungeon, so I started grinding again.  I just hit 13, and will likely make an attempt at level 14, as I'm now untouchable in the previous dungeon and can clean it out along with the two sky dungeons before having to rest.  That means I can now level up on fewer trips than I could before.  Always a plus.

 

[Floating Platforms | 721]

Last night I finished my first 2022 holdover: Bioshock

This is the type of game I don't know if I would have ever actually played if it weren't for the backlog thread. I'm not a big fan of games in the first perspective (as I actually feel that they're less immersive since I can't see my character) and I'm terrible at shooters (which this game is, but its not typically a super fast moving experience). I'm also not wild about creepy, scary games (this isn't as bad in that department as I was expecting.  I think the PS3 graphics helped temper it a bit, and also being able to hear the splicers before you saw them helped avoid most jump scare moments). It was going to be one of those classic games that I never tried myself despite owning a copy for a decade.  The backlog thread made me decide to dive in and I'm glad I did.

I played on survivor difficulty with the vita chambers off to earn the platinum on my first playthrough, which immediately felt like a mistake.  Even the first couple enemies were brutally hard for me. 2 or 3 at the same time felt impossible and I considered quitting very early on. But I read that getting past the first level was the hardest part and after the second, things would get easier and that is absolutely true. Sure, I still saved after every encounter or hack or key moment, but the game starts to open up with more resources and abilities that make the character stronger and versatile.

I loved the variety in combat in abilities. There are so many different ways you could approach this game and the various enemies. It was a ton of fun to play around with different weapon/plasmid combos to see what worked best for certain types or situations, and then also learning to pivot when ammo got lower than expected in your favorite weapon.

I appreciated that the story was well acted and also worked as a face-value experience, but also added plenty of additional context and lore through the optional audio logs you can find.  The levels were hit and miss in their designs, with some of it feeling a little same-y or plain forgettable. Of course Fort Frolic was a highlight.  The final boss battle was easier than expected in that I beat it on my first try, but I was on my last first aid kit. It was nice to have something that was different than what you had encountered so far at least.  Overall, I can easily see why this game has earned its prestige and accolades. I'm looking forward to diving into the sequel later this year sometime to see where things go from here.

[spacepup | 2,405]

Woo! I actually beat a game!  That means I did better in 8 days than I did the entire year 2022 hahahaha!

Anyway, I beat Control (played on PS5) last night:

 

Sorry for the bad pic, but the pic I was gonna share after the credits is perhaps spoiler-ish.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the game! Actually much more than I thought I would.  I've already beaten one of the big DLC sections after the main game, and will keep playing for a while to do some of the missions I didn't beat in the first playthrough.  

The game has a ton of content really, with lots of side missions that take you through very interesting story arcs.  There is a SUPER fun segment toward the end of the game that I don't wanna spoil, but it was a blast.  The way they put together the physics is really wacky in several parts of the game.  It's definitely a trippy adventure.

I thought the gameplay was pretty fun and well done.  You power up your character over to time to the point that she's a beast who can just run through areas and be a destructive monster.  But there is definitely plenty of challenge to some of the bosses and side missions.

All in all, I highly recommend it!  I also really enjoyed the AWE expansion which was more than a subtle tie-in to Alan Wake.  Got me excited for playing that too!

[PekoponTAS | 171]

Tank! Tank! Tank! complete!

This is the kind of game that keeps me so fascinated with the Wii U and 3DS. It seems that no matter what the game on both platforms, the popular opinion is the opposite of what it should be. For a game so universally blasted by critics and players, it sure was a hell of a fun game.

Tank! Tank! Tank! was exactly what I wanted it to be, which was a Game Boy game trapped in a Wii U's body. I'm not sure what people were expecting from a game with the title "Tank! Tank! Tank!", where the tag line on the back of the box is "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"

Personally I knew exactly what I was getting into, and absolutely loved it. It's not a complex game or very robust, but it delivers everything it promises to deliver, and does so wonderfully. It's a completely brain dead tank game where you blow stuff up, and you do it a lot. I don't even mind the slowdown, as the NES and Game Boy games I was hoping Tank! Tank! Tank! would be like all suffer from horrible slowdown. For what I was looking for out of the game, it just made it more authentic to those older games.

I might have gotten lucky by picking a really good tank, but the game wasn't that hard either. Some reviewers at the time complained about the controls, but I didn't have any issue with them. So long as you're good at driving backwards a lot, you have great mobility for a tank game. Some of the later stages came down to the wire with the timer, but there were only a few missions that I didn't clear on my first go. You have to be on top of things and keep track of what's going on, but it's not so hard that it's ever overwhelming. For a game that had every opportunity to push things WAY too far, it never once crossed that line.

I think fans of older tank games will love Tank! Tank! Tank!, and I imagine it's a riot to play in 2 player with younger kids. It lends itself extremely well to a father and son game where you can either goof around or take it seriously.

Overall I had nothing but fun with Tank! Tank! Tank!, and it's high on my recommendations list for Wii U. It has a lot of similarities to Steel Diver on the 3DS in terms of content, structure, and circumstances of release, but Tank! Tank! Tank! kicks the snot out of Steel Diver any day.

Edited January 9, 2023 by PekoponTAS

[Sumez | 2,968]

I made a big mistake and got Diablo 2 Resurrected on the Switch eShop sale that just ended.

I just wanted to test out how it felt playing the game with a controller with a single run through Den of Evil - but ended up playing through four acts. It's just impossible to put this game down and I have no idea why. I've played it like 50 times before, so it's doing nothing good for my backlog

At least as far as "remasters" go, this is pretty much the gold standard. It's mind boggling how good it is.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

"I think I'm almost done with Elden Ring"

"Oh wait, there's another zone.  And another zone.  Wait, how many more zones are there?"

"Well, maybe I'll take a break and go talk to the NPCs in Volcano manor.  Finally explore that fake wall.  I... oh... OH..."

[Gloves | 11,800]

30 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

"I think I'm almost done with Elden Ring"

"Oh wait, there's another zone.  And another zone.  Wait, how many more zones are there?"

"Well, maybe I'll take a break and go talk to the NPCs in Volcano manor.  Finally explore that fake wall.  I... oh... OH..."

"What do you MEAN there's a whole 'nother world?"

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Today's Dungeon Magic update: fuck the Spelldragons in the Underwater Palace.  The bastards have insane defense, and spells are kinda crap.  Used up literally a full stock of potions in the dungeon, in addition to all my food and water supplies, and I STILL only made it out with 5hp!  At least I had enough cash stockpiled to refill my supplies when I got back to town.  Also, the next dungeon was easy, so I've now acquired the Water Sword, meaning only Wind is left.  Getting close to the end game now, but I'll probably be grinding at least one more level before heading to the next dungeon, as I'm only level 14, albeit with all the best armors and the third best weapon in the game.

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

59 minutes ago, the_wizard_666 said:

Today's Dungeon Magic update: fuck the Spelldragons in the Underwater Palace.

No thank you. I have seen that one Rick & Morty episode enough times to know that is a bad idea.

Plus ever since I swapped Dragon Quest for Final Fantasy, I found that I am willing to take one for the team if the right Miqo'te is also willing. And I can get enough elixirs to keep us going.

Oh wait... You are talking about "fucking" them in a "They are annoying as shit on a hot day." kind of scenario. Yeah, I relate to that. And wish you the best when it comes to beating the game.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Getting closer now.  Just acquired the Wind Sword, unlocking the best offensive magic in the game by a mile, as well as picking up the best weapon and the final armour upgrade in the North Tower.  And I figured out how to execute the magic glitch, so I can cast the most powerful attack spells for a mere 2hp, making enemies with tougher defense ratings a snap!  Still a long way to go though...not sure if I'd be better served levelling up or just hoarding XP though, as it seems that levels will be giving me diminishing returns vs just getting experience points, but we'll see.  A guide I read suggested level 15 with around 7K experience to get top tier attack and defense ratings, so we'll see if that holds up or not.  I'm definitely at the point that spending experience to level up costs more stats than it raises though, so aside from the extra health there may not be much point in actually spending that experience at this point in the game.  Regardless, all that's left apparently is to get the legendary sword and then knock off the final boss, though the increased damage output the next batch of enemies has is extremely worrisome to me.

[PekoponTAS | 171]

Duck Tales Remastered complete!

Also to prove I didn't just immediately go to the extras, watch the credits and take a photo, here's a photo of the options screen after beating the game. You only get access to the 8-Bit Music and Quick Cutscene options after you've beaten the game.

Why even bother remaking something as timeless and perfect as NES Duck Tales? It's a game that's so well regarded because we all played it as little kids, and it was one of the first games a lot of us ever beat. It's a Disney game for babies, but it wasn't insulting either. It was just an all around incredible kids game.

Duck Tales Remastered isn't a terrible remake exactly, as it's perfectly playable and does a couple of neat things. However I would say it does a poor job of capturing anything that made the original so simplistic and charming.

I skipped every cutscene because I didn't enjoy hearing Alan Young struggle to do the Scrooge voice. It genuinely made me sad hearing how raspy and feeble he was, and I couldn't mentally get past it. The story segments are also way too frequent and not enjoyable to begin with.

The remixes were okay, but nothing special. I'm sure the composer was in a tough spot remixing such an iconic soundtrack, but I feel like it tries way too hard and over glorifies every track.

The boss fights were all overhauled and made way too complicated, and the rest of the game was just sort of okay. The whole project is the very definition of forgettable, and I wouldn't recommend Duck Tales Remastered to fans of the show, the NES game, or the Wii U.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

After hours of grinding going back to December, I finally beat the boss of the 5th area in Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold.  Such an asshole.

Here's the pattern for every major boss:

1. Grind levels and cash for gear upgrades.  This is not a fast process.
2. Master any necessary pre-fight "puzzle" mechanics.
3. Get ass kicked, probably via a one shot attack that I don't understand.
4. Grind a bit more.
5. Lose again, probably via an eventual one shot.
6. Read strategies online and follow them to a tee.
7. Success.

The bitch of it is, this is the final boss of the original version of the game.  But since I'm playing Untold, they added a 6th area with a (supposedly) nightmarish final final boss.  Really looking forward to that...

I love this series, but man is this one demanding.  I'll need a very long break before I consider doing another one.

 

I'm also a few hours into Deathloop.  Have one slab and a few other nice things "infused" into my arsenal.  And I've killed 2 of the visionaries at least once.  And Juliana, if that counts.  Not really sure.

[Gaia Gensouki | 1,075]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

After hours of grinding going back to December, I finally beat the boss of the 5th area in Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold.  Such an asshole.

Here's the pattern for every major boss:

1. Grind levels and cash for gear upgrades.  This is not a fast process.
2. Master any necessary pre-fight "puzzle" mechanics.
3. Get ass kicked, probably via a one shot attack that I don't understand.
4. Grind a bit more.
5. Lose again, probably via an eventual one shot.
6. Read strategies online and follow them to a tee.
7. Success.

The bitch of it is, this is the final boss of the original version of the game.  But since I'm playing Untold, they added a 6th area with a (supposedly) nightmarish final final boss.  Really looking forward to that...

I love this series, but man is this one demanding.  I'll need a very long break before I consider doing another one.

I had a similar experience with EOU 1. The sixth area was already very challenging, but the final boss was like the cherry on top. After maxing out all of my party I eventually managed to beat him on normal. However, in order to get the final achievement, you needed to beat him on hard which was so much more difficult. It was absolutely ridiculous. So I gave up and it kinda annoys me to this day that I've done everything else except for this one boss.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

5 minutes ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

I had a similar experience with EOU 1. The sixth area was already very challenging, but the final boss was like the cherry on top. After maxing out all of my party I eventually managed to beat him on normal. However, in order to get the final achievement, you needed to beat him on hard which was so much more difficult. It was absolutely ridiculous. So I gave up and it kinda annoys me to this day that I've done everything else except for this one boss.

Yeah, I did EOU so long ago I can't recall those sort of specifics, but all of the games present a steep challenge.

After this I'll have completed Untold, Untold 2, 4, Persona Q, and Persona Q2.  But I might need a 5 year break before considering 5 

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

I always end up way overshooting what I can accomplish for my backlog so I'll be keepin it light this time

This should be plenty to keep me busy:

NES
Tetris - Goal: 750k - In Progress
Rockin Katz - In Progress
Ninja Gaiden
Batman

SNES
Chrono Trigger
Sky Blazer
Tetris Attack

SNES (hacks)
Quickie World (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack) - In Progress
Fly Me to the Stars (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack)
Super Riff World (Super Mario World Kaizo Hack)

TG16
Super Star Soldier - In Progress
Blazing Lazers

GBC
Legend of the River King
Survival Kids

[Sumez | 2,968]

On 1/13/2023 at 6:54 AM, PekoponTAS said:

The remixes were okay, but nothing special.

I'm surprised about your take on DuckTales remasted, I didn't love it, but I thought it did a great job at recapturing the best parts of the original game, while adding a bit of its own. And I thought especially the music truly stood out.

It's not that much memorable of a game, but honestly neither is the original. I can't imagine not getting a kick out of playing it if you are a fan of the classic game.

My thoughts on it from last year's thread: 

 

[PekoponTAS | 171]

At the very least we agree that Wayforward is overrated. I liked Mighty Flip Champs, Mighty Milky Way, Contra 4, and A Boy and His Blob Wii, and that's all I've ever liked of theirs. (Though to be fair those games are all fantastic.)

There was a point in time when people respected them as an icon of indie development, but countless other companies have far surpassed them now. I've never liked the Shantae series, and think it only survives due to the main character. They're otherwise incredibly unremarkable games. (Though Half Genie Hero is the best of them from what I've played so far)

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

So, I guess there was another boss in EO2U, but luckily he was a pushover compared to the other one.  And to my surprise, the credits rolled afterwards.

So, do I consider it completed, with the 6th area being something of a postgame bonus?  Even if I know for a fact it holds some sort of true final boss or something.  I'm kinda leaning that way, as I need a break from this.  Maybe I'll come back to it later this year.

As it stands, I think I'm marking Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold as beaten

[Reed Rothchild | 9,550]

1 hour ago, PekoponTAS said:

At the very least we agree that Wayforward is overrated. I liked Mighty Flip Champs, Mighty Milky Way, Contra 4, and A Boy and His Blob Wii, and that's all I've ever liked of theirs. (Though to be fair those games are all fantastic.)

There was a point in time when people respected them as an icon of indie development, but countless other companies have far surpassed them now. I've never liked the Shantae series, and think it only survives due to the main character. They're otherwise incredibly unremarkable games. (Though Half Genie Hero is the best of them from what I've played so far)

Aliens Infestation?  I haven't actually played it.

Pirate's Curse was pretty good.