Games You've Beat in 2015

[Mal]

Then there is that super secret hard level. Sadist level of difficulty.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Finally have something to add: The Witcher 3. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and thanks to TN for gifting it to me for last year's Secret Santa. My only real complaint is that the open world worked against the narrative (one reason why it took me so long . . . I just stopped playing it), and that it was prone to crashing. Oh, and sailing around Skellige is lovely and all, but it gets old fast when you're trying to collect all the question marks. I ended up leaving about half of them in Skellige. I'd say it does everything better than The Witcher 2, with the exception of the narrative execution. Great game, and it wrapped up a lot of loose ends—loose ends that started back in the books, so I think that's a pretty hefty accomplishment. Going back to the open world: it was stunning and alive in so many ways—from the atmosphere of a thunderstorm to all the lives therein. I never really felt as if I was running around an empty world. Ending spoilers below.

 

 

Wife ruined the romance options for me. I'd romanced Triss, and she wanted me to do Yennefer's quest. Kept going on about it. Then when I finally did she made a big deal when the option to tell Yen I still had feelings for her came up (she hates Triss). So that genuinely pissed me off last night. I went with regicide, killing Radovid and Dijkstra and supporting Roche. Although it said I failed the quest somehow afterward. I don't know what that was about. Ciri became a witcher. The choice was partially selfish, partially because I don't think her personality really suits being cooped up as an empress.

 

 

Looking to finish Divinity: Original Sin next, but that's co-op. As far as single-player games so, I'm not really sure what'll come next.

Edited August 18, 2015 by TheMightyEthan
fixed spoiler

[toxicitizen]

The Fall.

 

I only had a couple days to kill before both Volume and Type-0 HD came out, so I decided to play something I knew was pretty short. The Fall somehow flew completely past my radar. It came out in May 2014 but I only found out about it at the very end of the year when Giant Bomb awarded it best story during their GOTY stuff. That got me instantly intrigued and I finally grabbed it during the last Steam summer sale.

 

It's a side-scrolling adventure game (think point-and-click but without any pointing and clicking) with basic gun combat. I won't go into plot details because I don't want to spoil anything but suffice to say it's a pretty novel premise, it has some great writing and voice acting and by the end of it I was thoroughly hooked. I definitely recommend this one. It's an episodic game, though, so this is only the first part and it ends on a cliffhanger. I have no idea when the follow-up is due but I'm really looking forward to it now. 

[Thursday Next]

Beat EBGTTR. Really enjoyed it. Reminded me of home. 

[deanb]

Yeah I've seen a few screenshots and it looks like it really nailed rural England.

[Thursday Next]

The characters as well. The local busybody, the farmer, the pastor, the affairs that everyone knows about. It's perfect.

[deanb]

Completed Limbo. Kinda got annoying at parts where you know exactly what needs to be done, but the whole "being able to do it" is in the way. Pretty short game, but it's a nice break from Celestial Weapon hunting in FFX (as my twitter followers will know I'm loving that part of the game

[TheMightyEthan]

I just finished Shadow of Mordor: Lord of the Hunt. It was a nice little addition to the main game, though ultimately not very meaty. Still, it got me back to Mordor so that was nice.

[MetalCaveman]

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. That was fucking awesome! \m/ \m/

 

Except for that mission near the end where it turned into CoD Zombies: Neon Edition, that was kind of annoying, thankfully, it was a short mission and the reward is awesome. \m/ \m/

 

[toxicitizen]

Volume.

 

Pretty decent little stealth game. It turned out to be shorter than I'd heard (a little under 8h) but overall I'm pretty happy with what I got. Most levels are rather short but there's a hundred of them as well as a level editor so it's not like the game lacks content. The story is alright (it's kind of a vague retelling of Robin Hood) but, unlike Thomas Was Alone, it's really not the focus of the game. Most of it is delivered silently through in-game text and only the more important lines are voiced. The quality of the voice acting is also kind of all over the place. The AI voiced by Danny Wallace sounds nice and clean but the audio quality and delivery of the main character isn't quite as good. He's voiced by some youtuber I've never even heard of and I have a feeling the guy had to record his lines with his own equipment and just sent the files to Mike Bithell. Same goes for Jim Sterling's cameo. It was a little jarring to have the audio quality be so uneven but it's not like there's that much voiced dialogue anyway.

 

The mechanics are clearly what was prioritized and it shows. I can't really compare it to stuff like Thief, Splinter Cell or Metal Gear in terms of quality (even though the MGS VR missions are clearly the main inspiration here) but the controls are tight and the game is incredibly satisfying to play for what it is. It's not the most challenging game ever but some levels do require decent timing and planning. Also, the game keeps introducing new elements regularly enough over the course of the 100 core levels that you're never doing exactly the same thing for very long. 

 

My only major complaint is a stealth purist one. I tend to play all stealth games the same way: no alarms and no kills. In other words, I ghost. If I screw up, I reload. But about halfway through Volume, I got stuck at the beginning of a level for like 15 mins unable to figure out how to get past the guards. Turns out I was supposed to let one of them see me so he'd sound the alarm, which would cause the other guards to come running, clearing the path for me. That's so antithetical to how I play stealth games that I couldn't help but be bothered by it. I'd been going out of my way to play well and avoid getting spotted only for the game to force me to "screw up".

 

That's what kept Volume from being a truly great stealth game for me. It lacks and almost actively discourages going for that extra challenge for players that want it. All you get is a par time for each level, and I ended up beating them on my first try most of the time.

 

---------

 

I also finally got around to finishing the story DLC for The Evil Within. I still have the third one to play but it's this weird first-person challenge room kinda deal or whatever. I'll probably play it at some point but I'm not particularly interested in it.

 

Anyway, the first two were pretty good. It's more TEW, so that's always nice. This is this game's equivalent to the Ada Wong campaigns from the Resident Evil series. You play as the mysterious character who might or might not be a bad guy (or, uh, girl) and it provides additional info about the plot and events of the main game. Also, while the main game encouraged stealth a lot, the DLC focuses almost exclusively on it. You're literally unarmed most of the time. The stealth was my favorite aspect of the main game, so needless to say I was pretty happy to see the DLC go in that direction.

 

Overall, I enjoyed it enough to be happy I got the season pass but it didn't quite grab me as much as the main game did. It took me like a month of playing on and off to make my way through both episodes. I probably would've enjoyed them more if I had played them back to back with the main game.

[Thursday Next]

My only major complaint is a stealth purist one. I tend to play all stealth games the same way: no alarms and no kills. In other words, I ghost. If I screw up, I reload. But about halfway through Volume, I got stuck at the beginning of a level for like 15 mins unable to figure out how to get past the guards. Turns out I was supposed to let one of them see me so he'd sound the alarm, which would cause the other guards to come running, clearing the path for me. That's so antithetical to how I play stealth games that I couldn't help but be bothered by it. I'd been going out of my way to play well and avoid getting spotted only for the game to force me to "screw up".

 

That's what kept Volume from being a truly great stealth game for me. It lacks and almost actively discourages going for that extra challenge for players that want it. All you get is a par time for each level, and I ended up beating them on my first try most of the time.

 

I really liked that level. It was a neat way to introduce something new to stealth games. As well as the bugle and other distractions using yourself as a distraction and taking advantage of the bots patrol routes was (I thought) kind of neat. It was more subterfuge than stealth, but it fits with the Robin Hood theme. He wasn't always a ghost, he would quite often pop up to thumb his nose at authority.

[toxicitizen]

Yeah, like I said, I was probably being a stealth purist on that one. It was just so unexpected because it seems so contrary to what stealth games are usually like (or should be, if you ask me).

 

But that's an interesting point that it fits with the Robin Hood theme. Hadn't thought of that.

Edited August 25, 2015 by FLD

[Thursday Next]

I was really working backwards to get there. I mostly liked it because it uses the enemies strengths (spotting, investigating and alarms) as a weakness and I've not seen it done before.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I beat Gone Home. I enjoyed it. The Chris Remo soundtrack was really good throughout. Looking through Wikipedia I did learn most of the story but one thing I missed was her parents finding out about her sister and her friend. Overall it was interesting to piece it all together and start to feel for what your in-game sibling was going through. Not only was the setting nostalgic but hearing about what her sister was doing is nostalgic of youth. With that in mind I'm now a lot more interested in Tacoma.

 

Also one thing I was thinking about later: The whole game sort of tricks you into thinking it's going to be a horror game with its ambiance and mood before it lightens up as you learn about your sister and figure out what the "ghost" actually is. I thought that was a nice approach.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Faiblesse Des Sens

[CorgiShinobi]

I've actually finally got around to playing Ground Zeroes. Only at 7% completion so far, so I'll give it a few more runs.

 

I was doing extremely well until I accidentally shot a guy in the head with my live ammo and his buddy freaked out from the headshot. After that I went for broke and near the end I even tried controlling the tank. Not a good idea let me tell ya.

 

Also, didn't know how to call in the helicopter and had left Chico soaking in the rain. Everything was fine, but I found it disturbingly hilarious Big Boss, or just "Snake," would rescue him and leave him at the shore.

[CorgiShinobi]

Another one before MGSV hits this Tuesday.

 

Until Dawn

 

Rented it at Redbox and spent last night and parts of today to get through the story. It definitely has the length and draw of a full fledged narrative, so don't be surprised if you find yourself not wanting to put it down yet to find out what happens next. Part of that is because the plot is multi-layered and also because you'll control someone or a pair at certain segments where your choices will matter later on. The controls can be a bit wonky as far as trying to move your character, but everything else works as intended. Let me tell you, I wasn't a fan of the "Don't Move" segments. Not that they were bad, but they happen very rarely for 90% of the game. When you need to hold your controller still, you might be in an awkward position at that moment where it's still detecting some movement.

 

I was overall satisfied with my choices and outcome. Well, truth be told I wish two specific people had survived at the end. Not really a spoiler, but if you plan on playing the game and think you're doing excellent because most of your group is around, the final choices can be a big deciding factor. As one of the characters puts it, "Things on this mountain tend to happen quickly."

 

For a semi-spoiler:

 

It was so obvious who the Psycho antagonist was!

 

[danielpholt]

Lara Croft Go

 

It's basically the same game as Hitman Go, only there's less emphasis on murdering things and more on just getting through the level. They introduce a few tension building mechanics too, which is nice as I found Hitman Go a little too tedious at times. LC GO looks fantastic as well, arguably my favourite looking game on iPad. 

[deanb]

FFX: HD

 

Ditched the whole "lets get everything unlocked" route and instead decided to plough through the final stretch. Made a bunch of saves near the "point of no return" though, so I'll pop back later if I'm feeling bored. Kinda figured I've a month n half to go through FFX-2 n AC:Unity before FO4 comes out.

[Baconrath]

I burned through the story mode for Injustice and discovered I'm poo poo at the simplest QTEs.

[TheMightyEthan]

MGSV: Ground Zeroes.  Definitely has convinced me to give TPP a shot, though I'm gonna wait until after The Taken King (and a price drop) before getting it.

[toxicitizen]

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

 

Finally finished the game, true ending and everything. I already ranted about it enough in the MGS thread so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here. Suffice to say that, as a massive MGS fan, to describe the game's story as insanely disappointing would be a massive understatement. I honestly thought it was fucking garbage. The Phantom Pain is easily the worst Metal Gear in that regard. It's not even funny. Well... I guess it's a little funny.

 

Less funny is how misleading the trailers were. A bunch of footage from the trailers is just straight up not in the game and some was even incredibly misleading. Seriously, rewatch the trailers and try to imagine the amazing MGSV story they seem to be hinting at. Whatever you came up with is better than what's in the game. I guarantee it.

 

Anyway, I think it says a lot about just how much Kojima truly knocked it out of the park gameplay-wise that despite all of that I still consider the game to be completely deserving of those review scores. It's definitely a solid 9/10, there's no way around it, it just plays wonderfully. My completion is at 50% right now and I intend to keep playing and trying to finish up everything.

 

That being said, a few more thoughts/complaints:

 

Recasting Snake with Kiefer was a dumb idea. It did not work. What makes it even more mind-boggingly retarded is that he's a borderline silent protagonist. People keep saying that he won't shut up in the tapes but that's just a straight up lie. It's mostly Miller and Ocelot, Snake barely ever talks in them.

 

Speaking of which, the tapes were a dumb idea. They kinda worked to provide the exposition in Ground Zeroes but here they are a massive pain in the ass. You literally have to set hours aside to listen to those fucking things and some of them contain crucial plot details. It's just not a pleasant way to experience the story. People complained that it was dumb in MGS2 how people would use the codec when they were literally standing right next to each other. But I find it equally stupid for someone to be talking to you on the radio and have them go "Yo, I got this totally super important info for you. Not gonna tell you what it is, though. I recorded it on a tape. You know about tapes? They're pretty dope! You should listen to that tape I made. Taaaaaaaaaape."

 

Going open-world was a dumb idea. Most of it is empty so you're just constantly going back to the same camps/outposts over and over again. I also thought the Afghanistan map was rather unpleasant to navigate. And when you complete some side-ops, the new ones won't unlock until you go back to the chopper command center thingie (basically a glorified menu). There's also no fucking fast-travelling! Once you're in the chopper, you're going back to the command center. You can't just give it another landing zone that you want to go to. So you're constantly wasting money because each sortie charges you for whatever weapons and gear you take with you. It just completely kills the flow and defeats the purpose of having an open-world in the first place. A linear world structure with more open areas (like some parts of MGS3 and 4) would've been far better. The main missions that took place in isolated sections of the world that were designed exactly like that were by far the best moments out of the entire game.

 

Finally, being less focused on story seemed like a dumb good idea in theory considering the complaints leveled at MGS4. But the game goes in the extreme opposite direction where there's barely any plot at all. So it ends up also being dumb.

Edited September 8, 2015 by FLD

[Mr. GOH!]

I am 99.99% certain the reason Snake doesn't talk much is because Kiefer Sutherland is expensive, so they couldn't record as much as they could with Hayter. 

[toxicitizen]

I realize that but that doesn't make it any less stupid. He was horribly miscast and it directly affected the game, negatively as far as I'm concerned. Not sure what Kojima was thinking. Well, I can kinda guess...

[MetalCaveman]

I actually like how empty the world is, it's a nice change of pace from the maps filled with a million useless markers/locations/things that the AC games have. There is a fast-travel option (kinda) it's really dumb though, you have to equip the cardboard box and get on the orange platforms that are on some outposts.

[toxicitizen]

Ha, I knew that was a thing in Mother Base but I completely missed it in the open-world. I thought about hiding on trucks in a box because that's always been a thing but at some point I realized I wasn't using the boxes anyway, so I removed them from my loadout and just didn't try it. The chopper would've seemed like a much more natural way to fast travel, though...