95. Super Punch Patrol - Switch (70mins)

Stylised scrolling beat 'em up from the creator of the Gunman Clive games (and also the under-appreciated Mechstermination Force).  It revisits the Gunman Clive sketch aesthetic but applies it to a Streets of Rage/Final Fight clone rather a scrolling shooter.  Basic stuff, more than a little annoying in places, but serviceable enough.  It launched at £4.49, so it's well in budget territory.  As usual with this sort of thing it'd be worth a crack in two player.  Normal difficulty is far too tricky though, even genre vets will run out of credits before the end and I'm not convinced practice would make perfect with some of the enemy types.  Easier settings just up the available lives/credits rather than making the brawling any less irritating (it's also quite satisfying, but maybe that's just me; I can't get enough of the genre this year).  Bang average but not without merit, lovely visuals for a start.  [5]

13. Telling Lies (Switch) - 22/9 - 4hrs
I love piecing a story together, bit by bit. This had a good story and interesting characters, but I didn’t enjoy the task of going through the files as much this time round. I liked Her Story better.
[7]

I got over 2/3 of the clips during the playthrough and having read up on the story, it doesn't seem like I missed much of importance.  Not bothered about seeing the further 2 'endings'.

96. Graceful Explosion Machine - Switch (4hrs)

Top notch Fantasy Zone wrap around screen style shooter.  Tapping L1 changes your craft's direction, R1 dashes (during which you can safely pass through enemies but not bullets), and within a handful of stages you'll have learned how to use all four weapons.  The main cannon overheats with overuse and the other three weapons need some juice in the special gauge to fire.  Laser beam is relatively weak but focused with a long range, the spinning hammer is great for fending off enemies that stray too close (plus crucially destroys incoming fire) and the powerful missiles give it an almost Bangai-O feel at times.  Enemies drop yellow crystals which recharge your special bar but disappear very quickly, so there's a clear risk/reward system to the shooting as you attack/flee and dash through crowds to grab crystals.  It's masterful really, one of those games where you feel in complete control of success or failure at all times, even when you're down to a slither of life.  There's not a whole lot to it but it's nigh on perfect at what it offers.  I paid £5 but I'd recommend this at full price, it's vastly superior to Black Bird and contains a challenge mode for those not content with reaching the credits.  Plus the scoring system is quite in depth and online leaderboards are included.  It's also one of those shmups that feels tricky as your progress - although the lives system does make it a tad easy - but revisiting earlier stages with extra nous will see you decimate the waves for A and S ranks.  As it should be. [8]

Must have played that Explosion machine demo four or five times. I think I decided to wait for a sale. Maybe I’ve bought it now. Can’t remember. It’s good though.

I like the look of Mantis Burn, real shame no one seems to be all that into it though.  Always had a soft spot for top down racing stuff (Probably goes back to Rock N Roll Racing) and wouldn't mind a good one on Switch.  Hopefully Circuit Superstars comes good, though the lack of buzz for it is getting a little concerning

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-06-11-circuit-superstars-is-a-wonderfully-dinky-motorsport-game-from-square-enix

25. Yoshi’s Crafted World (Switch)

Kirby has a similar vibe, have you tried that? Not games I'd enjoy solo but co-op made both worthwhile.

98. Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge - Special Edition - Xbox One (4hrs)

The remaster was the first time I got to play Monkey Island 2 properly.  I used the hint system liberally on release (and again this weekend), so I definitely don't know it inside out like the first game.  It's tough to judge the puzzles in these things this way, because if you haven't sat there and smashed your head against a brick wall for hours many solutions can appear incredibly obtuse.  Spoilers ahead mateys: I'm not sure I would've known to look for books on voodoo or shipwrecks in the filing cabinet without hints, I almost certainly wouldn't have thought to pick up the dog unless I'd exhausted every other possible combination of everything everywhere, and the goddamn monkey wrench bit [sizeable yeesh meme].  Plus probably a few more.  I don't remember such Discworldy bits in the first game, but perhaps that's because I was far more tenacious as a kid.  Anyway, this is clearly a brilliant sequel on the whole.  The excellent island trifecta in act two really opens things up compared to the first game (which probably assisted with the feeling of being slightly overwhelmed), and it's easy to see why this is considered on par with or superior to the original.  It lacks a section as outright brilliant as the insult swordfighting, but the script is probably sharper on the whole.  "Natty dreads", lol.  The remaster sticks with the 'orrible style of the first SE, but it just about suits this one; it's less of an affront to the eyes for sure, and as usual the voicework is fun.  Special mention for the ending too, quality stuff.  

A slightly mean [8] overall then, I expect it'd be higher if I'd played this at the time but I jumped from the first game on my mate's Amiga (sleepovers until it was done) to the underrated third game on my sister's Mac.      

44: Hades (Switch) 10/10

The cool kids are right - this is really, really good.  

It is a diablo 3 style rougelike and it is very polished and very moreish.  Try playing just 1 game.  Go on!

This is not much of a review because

a) I'm not done with it yet.  I've 'won' twice, but it turns out there's still millions of things to do.

b) I played it like an idiot - with the sound on mute, ignoring the story, and with youtube blaring in the background.

It turns out the story and audio have been very well received.  You should check out the thread here.  Everyone loves that stuff.

So I'll start the game from scratch and play it like an adult, after I've taken a break.  Why am I taking a break?  So I can get to 52 games for the year!  Games like Transformers War For Cybertron or some shit.

45: Transformers War For Cybertron (PC) 6/10

This is a brief little 3rd person shooter from a decade ago.  It's really average stuff.  I don't know how many times you walk into a large room and have to hold off 5 waves of enemies.  

It's Transformers, so it has a gimmick where you get to drive around a bit.  In practice this mostly just means there'll occasionally be a long corridor you'll have to drive down, in between the large rooms with the waves of enemies.  It's a short game but the levels just drag on.

The exception is when you get to play as the flying robots.  The levels completely change - you have dogfights, blow shit up, transform and have a regular shoot out.  They're really good stuff.

On PC it looks quite good for its age - everyone's a robot and they're supposed to look angular.  The levels look pretty dull and samey though. It sounds pretty good, and the story suits it - it's all very silly and their plans barely make sense but there's always something happening.

Not great but could've been a lot worse.  It's fine.  Whatever.

As an aside I am shocked no one has made a giant AAA Ubi style open world game about the transformers.  Like I'm sure it would turn out to be a nightmare of DLC robots and paint jobs but I reckon there's potential for something great for the fans there.

Wariospeedwagon wrote:

So I'll start the game from scratch and play it like an adult, after I've taken a break.  Why am I taking a break?  So I can get to 52 games for the year!  Games like Transformers War For Cybertron or some shit.

I enjoy this thread, but that is the negative of it.

Yeah I have the same issue with rogue-likes. At some point I’m going to commit to forcing myself into a solid 10 hours or so with Hades.
It’s the ‘fuck you back to the start’ of it that I can’t quite get past. Even though you’re making progress it’s not the type I want. Once they get their hooks into you, they’re probably great.

46. Wave Race 64 (N64) - 2hrs  

Still one of my favourite ever racing games, has such a unique and satisfying feel, even the sequel didn't quite get it right.

Still play it every so often even 23 years after it's release, pure comfort gaming. I love it.

10/10  

My list

RE Roguelikes, I THINK I prefer just a standard story/arcade mode.  With that said, games like Hades and Slay the Spire have sucked my in like few others recently.  There's something to the format that keeps me wanting more, to the point I have to uninstall the game to avoid temptation.  

LOL I used to love the Two Crude Dudes box art on the Mega Drive!  Never actually played it, but it's a classic in my mind.

Stone cold 10 for me, it's impact on me is to strong to shake off.

Interesting to see a modern take on it though, a 7 is respectable and probably fair in that regard.

The fact you think it could be well received with a lick of paint and improved camera is spot on and speaks volumes to how well it's aged at its core imo.