2020 52 Games in 1 Year Challenge!!
-
47: Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath (Story Mode) (PC) - 6/10
Even as someone who enjoys these Netherrealm story modes, I don't think this is great stuff. My problems are
a) I lost track of what's going on. Mortal Kombat stories are exceptional fan service. I want to see punch ups and arguments and jokes between different characters and these games do just that! But there have been so many teams ups and double crosses and goings back in time. You need to watch a YouTube before you play. I didn't remember why Jax was dressed as a superhero or that Kitana was emperor. Let alone even who the newer characters were! Most of the time I was just trying to figure out who was doing what.
b) It's shorter than their normal stories and feels very rushed. Sets up normally then just ramps up and it's over before you know it. And it feels very inconsequential for a game about changing the past where nearly everyone gets bashed to death.
c) Night Wolf, Sheeva and Fujin are 3 of the main characters, and they're a bit dull. Very serious people. Sheeva looks cool but I didn't care for them. I had to look up Fujin's name because I forgot.
BUT! You also get lots Sindel and Shang Tsung and they rule. I had a great time whenever either of them were on screen. And you get your usual 80's action movie tier stuff in the cut scenes.
I like that this is a fighting game expansion with pure single player stuff. Happy for more of this kind of thing!
Anyway it was okay and an easy play.
PS in the upcoming DLC pack one of the new characters is John Rambo, to go alongside Terminator and Robocop. They know their audience and will be taking a little more of my money.When you got movies like Tom Cruise in them, you can't lose -
The DLC is 40% off on Xbox at the moment, which puts it at just over £20, but I'm reluctant to swallow that as the base game only cost me £12 new. I'll pass for now I think, but I did really enjoy that main campaign.
-
Moot_Geeza wrote:101. Touhou Luna Nights - Xbox One (3-4hrs) Saw this pop up on Game Pass recently and earmarked it for a go. Character movement and attacks felt good, so I pushed on past the 'maybe I'll come back to that later' zone and three hours later I was still going. It's a really solid Metroidvania clearly indebted to Symphony of the Night, but coming from someone who played both for the first time this year I can opine without rosetints: it's actually a smidge better than SotN for a non-hundo playthrough. Yep, one of the greats is actually comparable to a no-mark indie release buried in the deluge. That's not a dig at Castlevania - it's still a good game by modern standards and would've undoubtedly been fantastic at the time - but the indie scene these days is just chef's kiss divine. Indies, I fucking love 'em. Straight off the bat this introduces an interesting mechanic - Grazing - which grants a minor health/magic recharge for narrowly avoiding contact with an enemy. As save stations (telephone boxes here) can be quite spaced out, the ability to regain or farm health with an element of risk works very well. You can slow time, you can freeze time, and you'll acquire a few secondary weapons if you keep an eye out for hidden rooms. Standard attacks and sub-weapons drain magic, freezing time drains your clock, and attacks during frozen time feed on the clock rather than the magic bar. It's all pretty simple once you get going, and it's all well implemented. It's not an envelope pushing Metroidvania (this wouldn't be out of place as a late Saturn game), but it's well crafted, very playable and mercifully devoid of the I'M STUCK moments I tend to hate it map based/ability gated games. Having multiple sub-weapons and tonics selected by the bumpers was fiddly as you can only access one item at a time, but it's possible I missed a quick select wheel. Some of the music was a bit weedy too, despite the name of the tracks appearing at the bottom of the screen to suggest it's noteworthy. Plus it's a bit short, I can't see more than 7-8hrs on offer for anyone looking to mop up every last thing. Overall if you think you could enjoy a blue-haired girl witches anime style homage to Symphony of the Night without getting the weeboohoos at the cheek of it all I think you'd find a quality 2D action title here. One more thing: it looks superb too. [8]
Looks like this is from the Touhou stable of shmups, which is very popular amongst their audience - those have the grazing mechanic too, and there's a large fanbase for the music (which has been ported to various rhythm games).
I know @Tiger was a big fan of the Touhou shooters, maybe this would pique his interest.
I've a disc with a bunch of them on somewhere if you ever fancied trying them:
-
Nice, seems like a decent system for a shmup, was surprised it worked in a platformer. Thanks for the offer but I can't handle intesnse shooters, anything vaguely bullet hellish just makes me think UNPOSSIBLE.
-
48. Shadow Dancer (MD) - 1hr 45mins
So turns out this has much more in common gameplay wise with the original Shinobi than Revenge and III.
Simple stuff really, but it plays so well little else matters. Only real minor negatives are the length, graphics and sound.
When something is this fun it's always frustrating when there's so little of it. Another 3 levels or so with a password system would have been much welcomed.
The graphics and sound aren't bad, but this came out in 1990, one year after Revenge which is far superior in these departments. It has a bit of a budget feel to it unfortunately, the Mega Drive was more capable than what's on show.
There's a decent enough variety of enemies and the bosses are good for the most part, the difficulty curve feels spot on to, it's a tough game but very rewarding.
8/10
My listオレノナハ エラー ダ -
Moot_Geeza wrote:Yep, look at him there with all his cunt pals. Took me multiple save states last night.
I've never beaten that level. -
I only did it a handful of times as a kid. It had a level select code and I could do all the stages individually, but I can't remember getting all the way through it without cheating. As Jon mentioned elsewhere it was very much one of those games where you might as well restart if you lose a life as the upgrades to health and weapons male it a smidge easier.
-
Moot_Geeza wrote:The DLC is 40% off on Xbox at the moment, which puts it at just over £20, but I'm reluctant to swallow that as the base game only cost me £12 new. I'll pass for now I think, but I did really enjoy that main campaign.
Yeah that's fair enough. They seem to drop price pretty quickly so I'm sure you won't be waiting too long.
ALSO
This looks like perfect 52 games fodder.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-10-14-segas-60th-birthday-celebrations-include-a-free-yakuza-x-streets-of-rage-mash-up-on-pc#comments
I'm sure it will be very slight but looking forward to bashing through it tomorrow night!When you got movies like Tom Cruise in them, you can't lose -
Nice, hopefully 2021 will be the year of Shonobi 4.
-
106. Shadow Dancer - Megadrive (40mins)
Smashed through this with save states. It's quite simplistic, and the one hit kills yet infinite bumping-into-things doesn't system still strikes me as odd. I borrowed this a couple of times and remember it being tough but doable. There's nothing remarkable to anything on offer really, but it's a solid ninja platformer and easily one of the better MD games available in 1990. The magic is probably better implemented than in Shinobi and possibly Revenge, it's quite useful for certain points of each level and replenishes between stages. The dog sic is quite handy too, rather than just being a redundant gimmick. Overall good but not great - it would have dated fairly quickly but it's one of those games where the simplicity still manages to make it shine. Loses ninja side scroller kudos points for the music being genuinely poor. 81%.
-
107. Gravity Rider Zero - Switch (4hrs)
Surprisingly solid and fairly polished Trials lite with anti-grav shenanigans. It's no Trials and it's no FutureGrind, but I preferred it to Urban Trials Freestyle as a two wheels vs the obstacle course thing. This might be the sort of thing people play on mobiles - in fact it's possible it was a mobile game - but it's decent enough to dip in and out of for short handheld gaming bursts. It took me close to six months to chip away at the 33 (3 part) stages, chiefly because they're a bit samey over long sessions. Visual style is surprisingly good for a budget game. A few gaudy sections aside it's a neat looking flat shaded effort that performs far better than Bit.Trip.Runner3, which is far more well known and attempts a similar look. It's only a [6] if I've got my mean hat on, but it was only 99p and kept me occupied.
-
108. Bridge Strike - Switch (2hrs)
Satisfying River Raid clone that doesn't aim to do too much more than tidy up its inspiration. That's what I wanted when I took a punt based on screenshots (£2.20 in the current sale), so it didn't disappoint. It's deliberately basic and I enjoyed the 40 level campaign. The various mission types aren't particularly well balanced (the 'don't lose machine' stages were tough, whereas I don't think I failed a coin grab stage) but it's all good fun and practice will see you through. You've got to keep an eye on your fuel gauge but there are more than enough tankers dotted around the stages to refuel without too many narrow escapes, unless you accidentally blow them up. Fans of Spy Hunter or Action Fighter might fancy a look. Another budget win for me. [7]
-
49. Splatterhouse (PC Engine) - 1hr 30mins
Simple scrolling beat 'em up played on a single-plane, very much carries the DNA of Kung Fu Master.
It's superior to Bad Dudes VS Dragon Ninja and Two Crude imo, and as much as I'm a defender of Altered Beast, in 1990 I would have much rather had a PCE with this.
The atmosphere and comic gore do add to its charm, decent little game.
7/10
My listオレノナハ エラー ダ -
109. The Cyber Shinobi - Master System (40 mins)
Disastrous 8-bit sequel that appears to be a legit follow up - it's Sega developed and clearly says Shinobi 2 on the title screen. So unfortunately this doesn't seem to be a US Gold Strider 2 nerr-nerr doesn't count kind of thing as I can't see a loophole not to allow it as part of the series. Large oof.
It's not the worst 8-bit game I've played by a long shot, but it's definitely in the bottom half. Which means it's bad, and not in the 1990 way. It's been turned into a ropey scrolling beat 'em up rather than what was effectively a walk & gun game with the shuriken/projectile focus of the first. I would've played this as a kid but only because I'd only recently made the jump from LCD games at the time of release. It's awful on the whole, and certain sections require trial and error. The controls aren't particularly responsive so falling platforms can pose a problem even if you know they're coming. And just created a save state. 58% in 1990, squashed down to a 36% with 2020 hindsight. Poor music for the most part too.
At least this Joe Musashi isn't the OG Joe Musashi, it's his grandson. MS Shadow Dancer was rough but from memory it was a lot better than this. -
It's a proper Sega game. I suspect it was a rushed effort.
The music was by Keisuke Tsukahara, who did some great music in other games. -
48: Streets of Kamurocho (PC) 3/10
This is a Streets of Rage/Yakuza crossover freebie that Sega has put on Steam for their 60th anniversary. It's not very good even bearing in mind that it costs zero dollars. You can play as Kiryu or Goro. I picked Goro. He has the same moves and audio as Axel. It's just the first stage of SOR2 and you can replay it over and over with more enemies each time. I got pretty sick of it after 10 minutes but I think it goes indefinitely. I lasted about half an hour. It looks a bit like a rom hack and Goro's walk animation didn't look right. It's a cute freebie that made me smile more at the idea of it than actually playing it. I think it will mostly only be talked about in those Top 5 Crossover Games You Never Knew Existed YouTubes that are always in my recommendations.
All that said I'd love to see a proper Yakuza expansion for SOR4 it'd be a great fit.When you got movies like Tom Cruise in them, you can't lose -
49: Super Mario Galaxy (Switch) 10/10
Excellent stuff. I'd only played the Wii original a little bit so this was mostly all new to me and I reckon it's aged immaculately. Like with its new high res graphics and not much else it legit looks like it could come out today on Switch and wouldn't look out of place. And it plays well without the Remote, though the handheld touch control bits take a minute to get used to.
There's some awesome levels and challenges (I especially like any bits where you're underwater with a shell). It's famous for throwing around all sorts of ideas and mixing it up and that's fair enough. I can't remember any bad challenges and they were mostly of a very high standard.
Worth mentioning how good the camera is, especially playing it right after SM64. Mario is in some pretty weird situations here with pulling him this way and that and I only remember a handful of situations where I felt the camera let me down.
I only wish they'd changed it so you could navigate the menus with the d-pad. It should also have gotten rid of extra lives I reckon. I'm not sure they add anything other than the threat of mild inconvenience if you fail enough, and it doesn't remember how many lives you have when you load your game. They're my only complaints. Awesome game.When you got movies like Tom Cruise in them, you can't lose -
Awesome, glad to see someone discovering a classic via the All-Stars release.
Lives in 3D Mario's has always struck me as redundant, and a hang up of its roots on NES.
I've always thought a death tally upon completion would be more interesting, with a ranking depending on how many lives you went through.オレノナハ エラー ダ -
10. Ratchet & Clank - [8] - ?hrs
Bit of a boring Starr decided to come back to see if it’s worth getting the sequel. Turned into great fun once you unlock all the guns and start to power em up. Don’t think the sequel will be worth full price but will definitely get it in a sale. There’s definitely replayability if that’s your thing, but it enough for me to complete a game once. -
On a bit of a run of 2D side-scrollers at the moment:
29. Foregone [6]
Seems very inspired by Dead Cells in its appearance and the basics of combat. But it's not a Roguelike - more a linear loot-based adventure. It really does look nice and there's a good feel to the weapons. But it's lacking in variety and interesting level design. Doesn't do enough with some solid foundations.
30. Vigil: The Longest Night [8]
It's another 2D Souls-like, with nods to Salt & Sanctuary, Castlevania and Bloodborne. But it's a very good one. There's a big world to explore and very little in the way of direction, so you can get lost for hours unearthing new locations and secrets. It always feels like there's tons to discover and every weapon you find is distinctive enough to be an interesting option. The visuals and sound create an atmosphere of creeping dread, and the light RPG systems allow for a range of combat styles.
As someone who loves isolated exploration, it's about as up my street as a game could possible get. It's a shame the Switch version has some serious performance issues, including crashing numerous times during my play through. I hope they fix it.
31. Huntdown [8]
It's hard to find much fault with this, as it nails just about every aspect of what it tries to do. As an evolution of Robocop or games like Shinobi and Rolling Thunder, you couldn't ask for much more. Tons of visual detail in its pixel art, an excellent synth soundtrack, booming sound effects and well-timed quips from your character (Anna Conda easily the best choice). Loads of enemy types, weapons, variety of locations, and set pieces among the already well-constructed levels. Generous too, with a boss at the end of every stage that throws up a slightly different challenge. And it's packed with references to 80s' sci-fi and action films.
And yet there are annoyances. Some mild, like enemies that can start attacking from off screen or appear too suddenly, and your slightly slow movement and jumping speed. One more overt, as bosses constantly chat as you fight them - really irritating when you have to restart a few times and hear the same lines again and again. Also no need for some crass stereotypes (perhaps it's not smart to pay homage to everything from back then). Still, it's a proper love letter to a genre and a time and it really knows its stuff. -
I really fancy Foregone, will treat myself at the first proper discount I think. I'm fine with repetition in 2D if it plays well, not so sure about the loot aspect but we'll see.
Did you click with the melee attacks in Huntdown? It was one of the few elements that felt a bit duff to me, expected the baseball bats and so on to be a bit meatier but I decided to avoid them pretty early on. -
Yeah, I didn't use melee weapons much, except a super katana I found in one bit that sliced through anything. You need range too often to make it worthwhile. The basic kick was pretty useful though, obviously because you can follow it up with a shot.Moot_Geeza wrote:I really fancy Foregone, will treat myself at the first proper discount I think. I'm fine with repetition in 2D if it plays well, not so sure about the loot aspect but we'll see. Did you click with the melee attacks in Huntdown? It was one of the few elements that felt a bit duff to me, expected the baseball bats and so on to be a bit meatier but I decided to avoid them pretty early on. -
11. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - [9] - 7hrs 33mins
Clearing out a bunch of PS4 games I’ve had for ages. This was good fun and a much better mix of exploring and puzzles to gunplay. Those ND folks sure know how to make a game look pretty and the acting/dialogue are top notch as usual. More short form episodic 8 to 10 hours games like this would perfect. -
110. Boxboy + Boxgirl - Switch (6hrs)
This is a great series, I played at least one on 3DS (I should remember if I played two tbh, but :shrug:). Guide your character(s) to the goal with the use of a finite number of blocks - set per stage - which must be dropped on switches, placed to reach higher platforms, carried to shield you from lasers and so on. They're slow paced puzzlers that err on the gentle side of brain tickling, but the mixture of abilities coupled with well designed stages keep things ticking along nicely. This one has a separate two player quest, which I've been playing with Tilly on and off since launch. It's one for short bursts if you're playing with a youngster though, in my experience you get three stages of plain sailing before the trollface sets in and deliberately causing deaths/blocking pathways becomes irresistible. Nnnnggg.
We got through it in the end though, mainly thanks to a big push towards the end of the game. As mentioned the puzzles are very doable and the costume rewards helped. One of Nintendo's best new IPs for years - developed by HAL Laboratories too, so it has pedigree. It's also nice and cheap. 8 -
I've only played the first one, do need to try the others. Thought it was great too. -
111. Return of the Obra Dinn - Switch (12hrs 14 mins)
Mightily impressive interactive insurance investigation that requires the player to poke around a returning Mary Celeste ghost ship uncovering a series of snapshots in time and piecing together the identity and fate of each missing crew member/passenger. Given that the were 60 people on board and the game staunchly refuses to give you much of a leg up in the opening few hours, this is no small task. Grab a deerstalker, prepare to not rule out the improbable and don't expect a Watson to hold your hand while dishing out elementary school hints - you're on your own, and some of the sleuthing runs far deeper than I was expecting. You'll need to put a face to a name and commit to a particular full stop on each character's involvement in the events to unravel the mystery completely. Three correct answers rewards you with a glorious jingle and locks characters into their solutions, thus removing them from your metaphorical bag of jigsaw pieces. Memories can be viewed by clicking your handy pocket deathwatch at a corpse, which is a glorious conceit despite how silly it sounds on paper.
In terms of assistance your only ally is the book you board the vessel with, which is gradually fleshed out and revealed surprises as I progressed. If I had one tip above all others for new players it'd be this: learn the intricacies of the book.
It's a game best played with as little prior knowledge as possible so I'll stop there. Almost halfway up the rigging between [8] and [9]. Special mention for the soundtrack too, it's used sparingly and some of the motifs are outstanding.
Edit: It must be something special because I finished what was left of two bottles of rum I was saving for 'a special occasion' while playing, and don't regret it. -
12. Modern Warfare 2: Campaign Remastered - [6] - 8hrs ish
Pretty average game lifted by some nice graphics and some set pieces. Had no idea what was going on throughout and tbh didn’t care. That airport scene is nasty. Can imagine the incels and militia folks in American getting an hard on for that sort of thing. Some good set pieces especially the stuff when you are with your sniper buddy going through the snow or sandstorm. -
The guards and the cops. I’m a bad person.
-
8. Hades (PC) - 40 Hours
Not got the epilogue stuff but got to the credits and the completion of the 'main' story, so I am calling it done.
This sort of game is totally my jam, action roguelite. It has the usual Supergiant hallmarks: Great writing, unique graphical style and a killer soundtrack, but it turns them all up to 11.
Absolutely my GOTY and in contention for a top 10 all time game for me.
An unsurprising [10]
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Discussions2,715
- Games1,879
- Off topic836