Games You've Beat in 2014

[danielpholt]

Strider

 

I've somewhat recovered after spending the last hour of that game in a constant state of rage. Truth be told its a pretty enjoyable little thing. The boss fights are still a little hit or miss, and I had a few control niggles; but all in all I enjoyed it.

[Little Pirate]

Child of Light.

 

Not that bad of a game, but I felt it was a little over-hyped. The art was absolutely gorgeous, the turn based style was fun. The story itself is something of a fairy tale, and the rhymes might be a hit or miss with some people. I enjoyed it. The downside is I found it to be unchallenging, short, and it won't have any replay value. I managed to unlock all the trophies, find all the treasures, and complete all the quests in one playthrough on hard mode and I didn't feel like it was a major accomplishment. Another downfall is the lack of character development. They pretty much just go, 'Hey, here's this new ally, and here's a very short intro to them. Neat, right? Okay enough of that, go back to exploring and progressing the storyline.'  The main focus seems to be on Aurora alone, considering she's the protagonist I can understand that. But otherwise, the other characters didn't really leave that much of an impression on me where I felt they should have.

Like with Gen. They introduce her by explaining giant ate her parents and pretty much her entire clan. She gets over pretty quick and they don't really go any further than that. Oengus was my favorite of the characters, honestly.  And the ending... Man, the ending just left so many things unfullfiled.

I would say it's a game that'd be nice to have, but maybe wait until it goes on sale if you haven't bought it yet.

[toxicitizen]

Dragon's Crown.

 

Finished my first playthrough on normal. It seems there's a story context for NG+ for the next two difficulties but you're just redoing the second half of the game all over again so I'm counting it as beaten. 

 

So yeah, it's a really great brawler-RPG hybrid. This was my second Vanillaware game and they've yet to disappoint. I'm not sure which one I loved the most. I'm a big fan of Japanese period settings like Muramasa had and that game also had a vaguely metroidvania structure, which I'm all about. Then you've got Dragon's Crown which is kinda grindy and repetitive. You're essentially replaying the same 9 levels over and over again (although they all have a second route that opens up halfway through). But man, that gameplay is pure fun. It just never gets boring or tedious. I don't think I'll be putting this one down anytime soon.

 

Also, as expected, the art direction is absolutely gorgeous. It's the usual Vanillaware visuals but they also really nailed the old-school fantasy setting. If you've ever looked at a D&D monsters manual, you'll recognize a bunch of really cool ones. There's a beholder and even fucking owlbears! 

 

I really need to play their other games now. I remember hearing rumors about both Odin Sphere and Muramasa getting HD remakes a few years ago and Muramasa turned out to be true so I really hope Odin Sphere Rebirth will be a thing in the near future. My Vita needs it.

Edited June 7, 2014 by FLD

[Strangelove]

Odin Sphere is available as a PS2 Classic on the US PSN. It actually runs better than it did on the PS2.
It's also a lot better than Muramasa in pretty much every way, and I say it as a Muramasa fan.

[toxicitizen]

I wasn't aware the PS2 Classics version ran better, thanks for the heads up. From what I heard, the slowdown on PS2 was pretty bad. I'd still prefer a Rebirth kinda remake for Vita but if it runs better then maybe I'll check it out anyway. Fuck, now I kinda regret not getting it when it was five bucks a few weeks ago...

[Strangelove]

Muramasa Rebirth Nekomata DLC(catgirl). I'd say its better than the main game. A lot of fun.

[deanb]

I beat Series 7 of Doctor Who Legacy, if that counts for much.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I played and finished Attack of the Friday Monsters last week - I really enjoyed it even though I would struggle to call it a game as such: you basically run around chatting to people and playing the occasional card game version of rock paper scissors. It just had a really nice atmosphere, and was really calming to play. If anyone ever gives it a go use B to move, as it it keeps your direction when the perspective changes as you move screens - no running in and straight back out of a scene. I could have kicked myself as I didn't realise this until i 'd nearly finished the game

 

I also just now finished Bioshock Infinite. It's the first bioshock game I've played, and I can't exactly say I see what all the fuss is about. I didn't find the story particularly engaging nor emotionally affecting.  maybe I'd have got more out of it if I'd played the previous two? Who knows but it hasn't inspired me rush out and play them.

[deanb]

 

I beat Watch_Dogs last night at around 12:30am. The last mission/act was pretty long.

 

Pretty good, it certainly sped up in missions towards the end. And in case anyone is wondering: Yeah there's going to be a Watch_Dogs 2 (in fact one of the few games I've seen with a mid/post-credit scene).

 

 

Kinda felt a bit bummed most of the game spanned around getting Nicky back, and the massive amount of set backs involved in it leading to most of the games missions. A shame it never overly explored DeadSec or Blume much, but given the credit scenes and your minor convo with DeadSec near the end I imagine they will be a core focus of the next game.

 

 

Probably my main beef with the game would be that the performance stunk at times, especially the driving. It'd really have a proper good old stutter and I'd feel like I'm back in HL2 loading again. On a technical side I kind of understand it given it's made for consoles with unified memory, but I hope it won't be a hallmark for console games ported to PC this gen cos that'd suck. Hopefully Watch_Dogs is the first and only game with the problem. Second beef is that the game really made it hard to go non-lethal but thankfully didn't really reward or punish either way except for the crime events and while you drove around.

Triple Kill!

 

Also while the moral system was a bit lacking, the relationship system was just downright uncomfortable.

 

 

 

The hacking worked quite well, felt a bit like an open-world DXHR to a degree, and I think as a concept it could be taken a bit further and refined, and given the leap between AC1 and AC2 and Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 3 I am super hopeful for Watch_Dogs 2 in that regard. I quite liked some of the characters. Jordi and T-Bone been the best.

 

However I would say, given they need to be compared, that Sleeping Dogs does beat out Watch_Dogs overall. I really like the rainy time in Sleeping Dogs, and the fight system was pretty good (compared to just "{B} Takedown" in Watch_Dogs).

[toxicitizen]

Hotline Miami.

 

Man, the game plays much better with a controller than I expected (or in my case, on Vita). I kinda want to say it was better than mouse and keyboard. Just seemed like I was sucking less. Anyway, I already beat it when it first came out on PC but I never bothered going for the true ending. I did now and... well, there really isn't much to it. Game is as fun as ever, though. Really tempted to go for the platinum now since it looks pretty doable and I'm already almost 75% there.

 

edit: Platinum achieved! Getting an A+ rank on every mission was much easier than I anticipated. Now to wait for the sequel...

Edited June 16, 2014 by FLD

[danielpholt]

Hotline Miami.

 

Man, the game plays much better with a controller than I expected (or in my case, on Vita). I kinda want to say it was better than mouse and keyboard. Just seemed like I was sucking less. Anyway, I already beat it when it first came out on PC but I never bothered going for the true ending. I did now and... well, there really isn't much to it. Game is as fun as ever, though. Really tempted to go for the platinum now since it looks pretty doable and I'm already almost 75% there.

 

edit: Platinum achieved! Getting an A+ rank on every mission was much easier than I anticipated. Now to wait for the sequel...

 

 

I just couldn't get used to controlling my dude without the mouse when I tried the Vita version. I was finding myself in trouble a few floors into the game, and it put me off. Can't wait for Hotline II however, but that'll definitely be a PC pick-up.

 

Wind Waker HD.

 

I can finally cross this off of my list of shame. Game was pretty fun (I'm not a massive Zelda guy), although they did that annoying thing they seem to do in all Zelda games where they throw boring content in at the end in order to make the game longer. I wish we saw more games in this style. Could you imagine them doing something like this with a mainstream Mario game? I'd be all over that.

[toxicitizen]

I just couldn't get used to controlling my dude without the mouse when I tried the Vita version. I was finding myself in trouble a few floors into the game, and it put me off. Can't wait for Hotline II however, but that'll definitely be a PC pick-up.

I guess it took some getting used to but I found the control scheme translated to a controller pretty naturally. Controls almost like a twin-stick shooter at times. It gets easier once you're able to use to lock-on reliably in the middle of the action, though. I enjoyed the experience so much I'm actually considering getting Hotline 2 on Vita first.

Edited June 18, 2014 by FLD

[TheMightyEthan]

 

Watch Dogs (PS4 version).  I really enjoyed it.  It's true that it just amounted to a competent open world game with a neat gimmick, but the gimmick was neat and it worked.  Excited for a sequel.

[Strangelove]

How come no one told me Resistance 3 was fucking rad? The campaign is ridiculously good.

I bought the game over a year ago when Best Buy was having a sale and I barely played it this week. It's an awesome game. Reminded me a lot of Half Life 2, at least the parts I played.

[toxicitizen]

Lone Survivor: Director's Cut.

 

Well, this one was long overdue. I've owned this game on Steam for years (from one of the early HIB, I believe) and, although I'd been meaning to play it, I somehow never got around to it. Ended up double-dipping and playing it on Vita instead.

 

Anyway, really neat, short little horror game. End screen said I clocked in a little under three hours but it was probably closer to 5 with all the dying and reloading. Plays a lot like a 2D version of the old Resident Evil trilogy but with a more Silent Hill-esque approach to the horror. Not really scary but the creepy atmosphere is well done. I thought I had the story figured out pretty early on but after that ending I'm not quite sure what the fuck was going on anymore. Definitely going to give this one a few more runs to see if the other endings shed a bit more light onto things. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all deliberately vague and up to interpretation, though.

[Strangelove]

Saints Row The Third. A lot shorter than I thought it was going to be, but never a dull moment.

[Mister Jack]

I finally got around to finishing Assassin's Creed IV, but I was reminded why I put it down for so long.  Fuck tailing missions.  Seriously, Ubisoft, KNOCK IT OFF.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, the tailing missions are the only ones I can think of from those games that I don't like.  Watch Dogs had them but they weren't nearly as bad (mostly because you could hack in to cameras to track them without having to physically follow them), so I'm hoping Ubi has finally learned their lesson, at least somewhat.

[toxicitizen]

Strider.

 

Meh. Not bad but definitely not great. I am so fucking glad I didn't play real money for it. I've never wanted to hate a non-bad game so much. It just has so many annoyances...

 

The one thing it does right is movement. Running and jumping around like a badass ninja feels super good. Problem is, for a long time the game never really does anything interesting. You're just running from one place to the next, slashing away at the same enemies again and again. By the time it starts mixing things up a bit, it just feels like too little too late. You're already well past caring. For most of my playthrough, I could never play it for more than 2 hours or so at a time. And even then it felt like much longer.

 

It's also pretty retarded with its checkpoints. Say you spent a few long mins exploring a very large room, slowly climbing your way across the ceiling to find a bunch of hidden collectibles or whatever. Then you end up dying 2-3 rooms later, and there's wasn't a health regen station? Have fun redoing all that shit, loser!

 

Then there's the boss fights. They're not particularly difficult, just kinda boring. Most of them end up feeling like a chore. And there's a SHIT TON of them. Seriously, it's a 5 hours game and there's like 12 of them.

 

So, yeah. Not bad but definitely not great. If you're curious, pay no more than 5$.

Edited June 20, 2014 by FLD

[TCP]

Super Mario World via Wii U's VC. I never beat this growing up, for reasons unknown?! 

Anyways, I SMB3 will always be the best Mario, but this is a close second. It's crazy how much better this game looks than the New Super Mario games.

[Mal]

Dynasty Warriors 8

 

Might as well out this on here even though I never really consider the game beat until I unlock most of the stuff...

 

Besides that... it scratches that itch left by DW4. DW5 failed to completely scratch it and DW6 was just plain heresy. I ignored DW7 due to DW6 but after seeing DW8 on Steam, I decided it was time and oh man, was it time. I bought it about 48 hours ago and I logged about 20 hours (So much damn free time). While I know some if not most of the improvements was done with DW6/7, I love...

 

1) Calling the mounts. It makes it pretty simple to move quickly through the battlefield.

2) The levels can be quite big.

3) Holy balls, the screen is filled with enemies. I think part of this is due to being on PC.

4) Weapon swaps. This is the best of both worlds that was done horribly wrong in DW6.

 

If you skipped DW6/7. I think this is a good point to jump back in.

 

Now for the mighty question... Do I see myself getting DW9? Hard to say but it'll depends on what they do with it. For DW8, it is nice to see characters to be more fleshed out instead of having same faces with tons of people (Still happens). Doing more of this for DW9 might get me to get it. I just don't know right now on what they can add or improve on.

Edited June 22, 2014 by MaliciousH

[Little Pirate]

Stick of Truth.  Played through as a thief.  Gotta say this game kept me laughing through the whole plot.

[toxicitizen]

Shovel Knight.

 

Man, I really need to get a fucking tattoo that says in big bold letters "Hey asshole! You hate platformers with a burning passion! STOP BUYING THEM!" because I keep forgetting and doing it anyway. The last couple levels of this game pissed me off so goddamned much, it's not even funny. Okay, maybe it's a little funny...

 

And yet, it's a testament to how truly great this game is that I still fucking loved every second of it despite that. And it's not like I'm looking at it purely through nostalgia goggles, either. I mean, the NES vibe they went for does have a certain charm to it but I don't have particularly fond memories of the NES era. Whenever I revisit one of those games through emulation or the actual NES I have hooked up in my room, I always end up going "well, this is shit" and turning it off within minutes. Except for Punch-Out. That game is still fucking great. But I digress.

 

That being said, the NES style is pulled off rather flawlessly. Not just through the visuals, music and Mega Man-like progression but also through the gameplay. It's kind of refreshing how simple and pure the core mechanics are. It doesn't bog itself down with unnecessary bullshit. And that simplicity somehow translates into pure fun.

 

Also, I think another big part of it is that it doesn't restrict itself to the limitations of that era. I probably would've hated it if it didn't have mid-level checkpoints and a save system. As much as I want to love the Mega Man series, whenever I tried it I'd just end up giving up after failing a boss because I didn't feel like replaying the entire level. There's a limit to how retro I like games to be and Shovel Knight doesn't go too far in that regard.

 

So yeah, really neat little game. I'm really glad I took a chance on it. Well worth the 15 bucks.

 

Oh and I guess I replayed Dust: An Elysian Tail and Metal Gear Rising. Does Rising still count if it was my second time playing it this year? Whatever, I don't care.

[Strangelove]

Star Wars: KoToR. Great game, though I kind of stopped caring about the story once the twist occured. Everything afterwards went by the book.

[Mister Jack]

Skyward Sword.  It suffers from some padding in the second half but it was still pretty solid.  I actually got invested in the story for this one, and it was cool to finally learn the answers to a lot of those nagging mysteries that have hung over the series like why there are so many different Links and Zeldas.