Games You Have Beaten Recently?

[Gloves | 11,777]

Just now, Reed Rothchild said:

People hate on Bioshock Infinite, even though it got a gushing reception.  Like, that's a big thing now.   I think it's sweet.

Infinite was great, who the hell is hating on it? Shit's dope, yo.

[Webhead123 | 675]

38 minutes ago, DarkTone said:

I saw the DLC and got tempted. Should I play the other one first.... or at all?

I would play Minerva's Den first and then move on to Infinite, if that's what you're asking. I like Infinite quite a bit but I admit that it's a mixed bag. I think it has some of the grandest ambitions of the trilogy and I love many of the concepts that they play with in the game. The gameplay itself isn't bad but it isn't much to write home about either. Here's my nickel tour of the trilogy:

Bioshock - Best atmosphere and most memorable plot twists; clunky and frustrating gameplay.
Bioshock 2 - Best gameplay and most immersive story; setting and atmosphere feel a bit "been there, done that"
Infinite - Most ambitious story and fascinating setting; muddled and slightly nonsensical plot and mediocre gameplay.

Each game has its highs and lows. As a total package, Bioshock 2 is still the best, IMHO.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Webhead123

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

I played through Getting Over It. I thought this game was a QWOP meme. It's a masterpiece and definitely among my favorite modern platformers.

I don't remember the last time a modern game took me from absolute helplessness, basically being unable to play the game to more or less mastery of novel genre without hand holding. It's like playing a bullet hell shooter for the first time where it seems impossible compared to your previous experience with video games, but after a few hours, going through the early levels is no big deal. Loved it.

Edited June 21, 2023 by DefaultGen

[DarkTone | 984]

13 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

I would play Minerva's Den first and then move on to Infinite, if that's what you're asking. I like Infinite quite a bit but I admit that it's a mixed bag. I think it has some of the grandest ambitions of the trilogy and I love many of the concepts that they play with in the game. The gameplay itself isn't bad but it isn't much to write home about either. Here's my nickel tour of the trilogy:

Bioshock - Best atmosphere and most memorable plot twists; clunky and frustrating gameplay.
Bioshock 2 - Best gameplay and most immersive story; setting and atmosphere feel a bit "been there, done that"
Infinite - Most ambitious story and fascinating setting; muddled and slightly nonsensical plot and mediocre gameplay.

Each game has its highs and lows. As a total package, Bioshock 2 is still the best, IMHO.

I actually meant the other DLC haha. Played and beaten infinite twice, and will play again in the future. I've heard NOTHING about bioshock 2 as a game, but I enjoyed it. Couldn't put it down and that hasn't happened to me in years. And that includes playing hollow knight! 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Finished up Planet of Lana for the Series X. An absolutely wonderful experience and, as far as I'm concerned, the pinnacle of this type of game. It is artistic and beautiful and checks every box I want for a modern 2D adventure-puzzle-lite platformer. My favorite game of 2023.

[Webhead123 | 675]

4 hours ago, DarkTone said:

I actually meant the other DLC haha.

That's what I was wondering.

The other DLC, The Protector Trials, can be safely ignored unless you just want more Bioshock 2 gameplay. It's basically just a set of "Protect the Little Sister" challenges that don't add anything to the story and are honestly pretty forgettable.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Webhead123

[The Count | 527]

I beat The Berenstain Bears Camping Adventure for Game Gear. Surprisingly good platformer with four levels, a neat scoring system, secrets, bonus levels and boss fights. That said, there is  no real story, the music isn't great, basic mechanics and not overly varied. Overall worth a play through, should take about an hour or so. 7.5/10.

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

Beat a few more games recently.

Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge:

Mega Man III: 

The Jungle Book (Game Boy): 

Donkey Kong Land III: 

Kirby's Dream Land (Extra Game): 

Kirby's Adventure (Extra Game): 

Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break: 

Edited June 22, 2023 by MegaMan52

[DarkTone | 984]

4 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

That's what I was wondering.

The other DLC, The Protector Trials, can be safely ignored unless you just want more Bioshock 2 gameplay. It's basically just a set of "Protect the Little Sister" challenges that don't add anything to the story and are honestly pretty forgettable.

Oh wow. Thanks for the heads up. 

[Webhead123 | 675]

6 hours ago, The Count said:

...Berenstain Bears...

[The Count | 527]

40 minutes ago, Webhead123 said:

I know, I know, I agree.

https://news.yahoo.com/figured-reason-berenstain-bears-confusion-201755957.html

[wongojack | 214]

15 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

Finished up Planet of Lana for the Series X. An absolutely wonderful experience and, as far as I'm concerned, the pinnacle of this type of game. It is artistic and beautiful and checks every box I want for a modern 2D adventure-puzzle-lite platformer. My favorite game of 2023.

Added to "play later" - Thanks!

[Aguy | 772]

I just finished LoZ: Age of Calamity. I beat BotW for the first time the other week and figured it might be a little too much to jump directly into TotK, so I thought I'd give this a go. I've never been able to get into the Dynasty Warrior series, but I really enjoyed both this and Dragon Quest Heroes II. And despite knowing the story of BotW, I was still surprised by the ending of AoC.

[Webhead123 | 675]

Went ahead and blasted through Alien Splatter Redux at lunch today. I think I paid less than a dollar for it and at that price, I think it's worth a buy. It's very, VERY short and quite easy but it's a nice throwback to run-and-guns the likes of Contra. There are a few homages, like the wind from Ninja Gaiden 2 and the final stage is clearly a rip off of the final stage from Contra. There's only one part that's of any notable difficulty and it's when Stage 6 pulls out the Mega Man insta-death beams. It's just a bit of a road block that forces you to play the stage several times while you try to memorize the pattern before you can move on.

So yeah, neat little time-waster with charming-if-unimpressive graphics and music that's pretty basic but still fun.

6.5/10

[Webhead123 | 675]

While on a roll, I decided to tackle Biolab Wars. Funny that I do this one right after Alien Splatter Redux because it does everything Redux tries to do but better. Better pixel art. More level variety and overall better design. More upgrades. More fun boss fights. Multiple characters. That's not to put down Redux...it's just that they are VERY similar games and Biolab feels much more lovingly-crafted. I'm pretty sure I paid less than a dollar for it as well and it was very much worthwhile. Like Redux, it's an almostly laughably easy game but it wins you over with its wacky charm.

7.5/10

[T-Pac | 7,544]

The Legend of Zelda [NES].

I've had a copy of Zelda sitting in my collection, unplayed, for about a decade now. And I finally decided it was time to arm myself with a walkthrough and finish this severely overdue entry in my backlog.

From my Game Log:

Spoiler

As a cryptic, nonlinear, exploration-based, action RPG - The Legend of Zelda is everything I hate in a video game, yet it’s an undeniable staple of the NES library (and the larger classic gaming canon). So I finally decided to play it - but in the least painful way possible: using a comprehensive online guide to save me the trouble of figuring out where to go or what to do on my own.

And even though I still found the exploration obtuse and the mechanics cumbersome to the very end, the appeal of this game was obvious. At the core of Zelda is a spirit of discovery - and while using a walkthrough turns that discovery into somewhat of a “paint-by-numbers” affair, I still found gratification (and even a degree of wonder) every time I burned a shrub to find a hidden stairway, or played the magic flute to reveal an underwater dungeon, or encountered a new monster in a locked chamber. If I were more inclined to action RPG gameplay, I could see myself relishing in the exploration, drawing maps and deciphering clues just like kids in the late-80s did when Zelda was new to the market. The visuals are a clear asset to the experience as well - from the dungeon layouts, to the enemy designs, to the overworld in general. The 8-bit sprites in this game are iconic, and maintain a perfect balance between practical communication and abstract ambiguity.

In short - I hate The Legend of Zelda as a game, but I love The Legend of Zelda as an aesthetic. It’s true that my experience with this title was lesser for having relied so heavily on a guide, but I wouldn’t have ever seen it through to the end otherwise. And I’m glad I did.

[T-Pac]

[Webhead123 | 675]

Finished my first playthrough of the System Shock remake. I'm not being at all hyperbolic when I say that it was one of the best experiences I've had in several years. Not a game for everyone for sure, as it retains the old-school mentality of requiring the player to do a lot of the legwork and being unapologetically tough but boy is it a treat to immerse yourself and fight for survival aboard a space station that wants nothing more than to murder you.

I'm going to step away from it for just a bit to tackle some other games but plan to start up another playthrough, this time experimenting with a few tweaks to the difficulty sliders to see where I think the sweet spot is for me.

9/10

[fcgamer | 4,723]

Had a gaming session last night, haven't really played anything for about four or five months so I went nuts.

Received Skate Cat in the mail so played through that on both normal and hard modes, then followed it up by completing Castlevania III, Talespin, and Rockman 2. 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

Just beat Tears of the Kingdom. To me, it's perfect. I loved every damn second of it. I'm only at 80% completion so I've got a lot more to do. But it's simply wonderful. I love The Legend of Zelda and I love Nintendo!

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

Cruelty Squad. I got all the endings but I'm not even close to done playing. 10/10, cannot recommend it enough.

It has the rewarding exploration of Deus Ex, the speed of Quake, and the sniping dumbass AI from across a big map of Delta Force, but it's also unlike any game as a full package. Levels are like 1 minute long flying through at full speed but the game gives you tons of reasons to come back to them repeatedly (difficulty settings, unlockables, secrets). It is unbelievably great considering the developer is a professional artist and this is his first game he made while following an FPS tutorial (???).

I'm apparently very late to the party because I never heard of this game. I randomly picked this up because I thought the aesthetic was cool and it's exactly my kind of video game.

[T-Pac | 7,544]

Final Soldier [PC Engine]

 

[DarkTone | 984]

Just finished kid Dracula. Without a manual I got lost, and the bosses can burn in hell. 

[rdrunner | 422]

Just finished World of Light on Smash Bros Ultimate.  Took me just over 30 hours to get 100% (I'm slow.  Everyone online says they did it in 20, but I assume it's faster if you did some Spirit Board stuff first).

As someone who hasn't played a Smash game since Melee, I enjoyed playing as a whole bunch of "new" fighters.  My favorites out of the post-Melee bunch are Wario, Pac-Man, and R.O.B.

The game was quite the ride at first, but it got boring in the second half once the difficulty leveled off.  They really should have added tougher fights later in the game.  I lost WAY less often once I got a few fully-leveled "Legend" spirits.

Not a huge fan of the spirit system, as I prefer to just fight straight up.  The idea that I can adjust a battle's difficulty by which spirits I choose took a while to sink in.  I still think it's a bit too complicated, especially for younger players (would my 7-year-old get it?).

I really didn't like being almost "forced" to change spirits for practically every fight.  They should have had the auto-pick spirit button allow you to pick your strongest primary instead of something challenging (or at least let you customize it).  I spent more time on the map screen than I did in actual fights!

Without getting into spoilers, I loved the endgame a lot.  I just wish the mind-blowing fight just before the final battle was replayable.  From what I can tell, the only way to see it again is to play through the whole game again.

The final battle was truly epic.  Hype was definitely well-deserved!!!

Ending was meh.  Didn't expect much, but it looked phoned in.  Pity, since the opening movie showed lot of promise.

Great game, for a long modern.

8/10

[T-Pac | 7,544]

I save-scummed through Violent Soldier [PC Engine].

It was still brutal, but worth the pain haha.

[T-Pac]

 

[Aguy | 772]

I played through Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor on Xbox again. Great mix of Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham, plus the Uruk nemesis system seems tailormade for me.