Sunday 7 December 2014

Completed Games November 2014

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence - DS

Like the Sonic games Resident Evil is another classic game that I have never gotten round to playing and whilst over time it has lost pretty much all of it's scares (especially on a handheld) it is still a top quality game to be played.

Saturday 6 December 2014

November 2014 Purchases

I've heard good things about Excite Truck so when I saw it in a charity shop I thought that I would pick it up as even it's not that good the charity still gets the cash.


Sunday 2 November 2014

Saturday 1 November 2014

October 2014 Purchases

Only picked up The Darkness II for the 360 this month. I've had the first for a few months now so thought that I would pick up the sequel as well.



Sunday 5 October 2014

Saturday 4 October 2014

September 2014 Purchases

Just the one game this month which was Power Drift for the Spectrum and which was a freebie from a friend.

Monday 8 September 2014

Forgotten Ball

A member of the Retro Gamer forum (retrojc) has been working for a while now on a video game called Forgotten Ball.

The game has been coming along nicely but retrojc now needs your backing to be able to get the game across the finish line, therefore he has launched a Kickstarter campaign to try and raise £1,800 to be able to cross that line and release the game.


Backing can be from as little as £1 (to be a supporter and credited on website) up to £60 which includes digital copies of the game and the chance to design an area. There was also a £200 package but this has gone which tells you about how people are backing the game.

At time of writing the campaign is up to £1,575 with just 29 hours to go so come on people, dig into those pockets and pledge as little as £1 or £3 to help retrojc reach that goal.

The kickstarter campaign can be found here.
The Retro Gamer thread can be found here.






Sunday 7 September 2014

Completed Games August 2014

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - DS

A fantastic end to the original Sonic trilogy, absolutely brilliant games. I'm kind of glad that I waited so long to play them as I felt that I appreciated them more now then if I had played them when I was younger.

Saturday 6 September 2014

August 2014 Purchases

A good haul this month in my opinion.

The four GBA and the DS game were from a friend and three of the games (the two Castlevanias and FF) I've been after for a while now. Krazy Racers I've heard good things about and Sigma Star looks like it could be interesting.

Hulk was a charity shop buy and it's always nice to see Cube games in the wild so I figured why not.

All in all a good month of purchases.

Sunday 3 August 2014

Completed Games July 2014

Colour Cross - DS
Sonic the Hedgehog - DS
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - DS

Three games completed this month and all of them fantastic to play.

Colour Cross is a mini game type cartridge with it being a variation on Picross (not going to try and explain here I'm afraid) whilst Sonic one and two are absolutely classic games. A good month of games all around.

Saturday 2 August 2014

July 2014 Purchases

A nice little bunch of pick-ups this month with Remember Me being in a HMV sale. I've heard mixed things about it but thought why not. Aliens: CM was a freebie from the RG forum whilst Drawn to Life and the rest of the games were purchased/freebies from another member of the forum.

The Samus picture was from Pai-thagoras whilst the mug was from NERG 2014 to add to my gaming mug collection.



Sunday 6 July 2014

Completed Games June 2014

Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templars - DS

Just the one game this month (yes another DS game but it is the console/handheld of choice at the moment) and what a fantastic game it was.

It's only the second point and click game that I've ever properly sat and played and it's the first that I've ever completed and I'm glad that I did. The puzzles are fun and interesting and though I thought that a couple were a little difficult they were all pretty much solvable without resorting to any kind of help. The storyline regarding the Templars was good though the romance storyline between the two main characters was rather shoddily handled and there was one what the hell moment near the end involving a different character.

Overall though Broken Sword is an enjoyable and interesting game to play.

Saturday 5 July 2014

June 2014 Purchases

I went to my first car boot sale in over a year and only took a £10 budget which I resolved to stay within. I did manage to stay within the limit and picked up some bargains along the way as evidenced in the picture. The most pleasing in my opinion was the Sonic collection which was also the most expensive whilst the Wii nunchuk had never been used according to the seller.

The watch was from a charity shop and unfortunately doesn't work which I'm hoping to remedy at some point. I also picked up Picrossand Touchmaster 3 for the DS on the cheap as I like those kind of games for the little handheld.


Sunday 8 June 2014

Completed Games May 2014

Luminous Arc 2 - DS
Aliens: Infestation - DS

Another two games completed this month and quite a contrast in quality between the two.

Luminous Arc 2 is a great game and one worthy of your time. Yes, it's not perfect and a lot of the plot could be resolved by characters just talking to each other instead of being cryptic but there was one 'twist' that I did not see coming. The characters are fun and interesting and it can be hard to decide who to leave out of a fight, especially when needing/wanting to level up. One slight downside, though this is pretty much every RPG type game these days, is the grinding but that can be done in the form of missions which give you level points as well as rewards and though you may repeat some new ones do open up.

Overall Luminous Arc 2 comes recommended.

Aliens: Infestation on the other hand is just bad. There are fifteen playable marines over the course of the game and though they all look different not a single one plays differently which is an absolute shame and always rather pointless. It means that weapons are all the same, strength and abilities are the same. Instead of giving each marine a skill to use in the game you just pick one and do the mission to find something and then blow up/kill something. As for the killing, well there are a lot of aliens to kill due to the constant re-spawning in exactly the same places which kills off any possible tension.

Such a shame.

Saturday 7 June 2014

May 2014 purchases

Two DS games this month in the form of Zoo Keeper and Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars.

I've heard good things about Zoo Keeper so when I saw it for cheap I decided to finally pick it up which was also the case for Broken Sword. Broken Sword is only my second ever point and click game and I high high hopes for it.

Sunday 4 May 2014

Saturday 3 May 2014

April 2014 Purchases

No games again this month but I did receive/pick-up some more gaming related materials.

The Zelda keyring was a gift from a GOY fan and friend and the Mario toys were from McDonalds.

 

Sunday 6 April 2014

Completed Games March 2014

Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
42 All-time Classics (DS)


Two games completed this month with both being fairly mediocre games.

Wario I actually completed after taking a very long break as it's quite a frustrating game and when I got to the last level and realised that I had missed a power-up I just could not be bothered to go back to find it and so moved onto something else. After a lengthy period I returned to the game, found the power-up and finished off the last level.

I shall not be returning to it again.

42 All-time Classics is one of those DS games that is basically a cartridge full of board/card/variety games and is fun enough in short bursts and it did have some fun and interesting games/challenges but overall it's probably only really worth playing if you enjoy these type of games or are involved in a long journey.

Saturday 5 April 2014

March 2014 Purchases

No games this month but I did buy one piece of gaming related merchandise from a friend.


Tuesday 4 March 2014

Arkham Knight

Today the third and final Batman game to be developed by Rocksteady was announced and what an announcement it was.



Featuring the return of Scarecrow (as the big bad), Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn, Arkham Knight will be bigger than Arkham City and will this time round allow you to drive the Batmobile.

Yes, you read that right, drive the Batmobile.

I for one am excited about this as Arkham Asylum is a fantastic game and with City being up there as well this is already shaping up to be a worthy ending to the trilogy.

Sunday 2 March 2014

Completed Games February 2014

Nothing.

I really need to stop playing RPG's.

Saturday 1 March 2014

February 2014 Purchases

Nothing for the second month in a row.

Bit of a barren run at the moment.

Sunday 2 February 2014

Completed Games January 2014

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS

A game that I've completed every Christmas since the O/H gave it to me as a gift a couple of years ago and one that I still enjoy playing.

LSW incorporates all of the current six Star Wars films and includes a lot of characters from guards and droids to Jedi masters and Sith lords and it's fun to see all of these well known characters brought to life in Lego form.

LSW was my first Lego game and I loved playing it straight away with it's comedy cut scenes and varied levels as well as the vast amount of collectables and mini-games. There are a lot of things to enjoy and yes, whilst the main game is very easy in that you cannot die some of the collectable are tough to find and get and this is where for me the Lego games really excel.

Saturday 1 February 2014

January 2014 Purchases

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Quiet start to the year.

Monday 6 January 2014

Round up of 2013 completed games.

The full list of games that I completed in 2013 is as follows:

Batman: Arkham City - 360
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - 360
Mirror's Edge - 360
Stranglehold - 360
The Conduit 2 - Wii
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - GameCube
Darksiders - 360
The Hardy Boys Treasure on the Tracks - DS
Warioware: Touched - DS
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - DS
Tomb Raider - 360
TMNT -Arcade
Big Bang Mini - DS
Prey - 360
From Russia With Love - GameCube
Sunset Riders - Arcade
Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen - DS

A drop from the last couple of years with just 17 games completed though all of them have never been completed before. A lot more 360 games completed this year though and even a couple of classic arcade machines which was very pleasing.

Overall it was disappointing to complete so few games and I didn't think that the line-up was as strong as last year but there were still some gems in there.

Sunday 5 January 2014

Completed Games December 2013

Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen - DS

Unlike Dragon Quest IX where I've taken a break from constantly losing to the final boss I did manage to complete Chapters of the Chosen and an enjoyable game it was.

There are five chapters and a prologue with the prologue and final chapter being for the hero and the other four being for characters who will eventually join the hero for the final battle. It's an interesting concept as you really get to know and enjoy the characters before they all meet.

The game is shorter and easier than DQIX but that is not off putting in the slightest and whilst there are hardly any side quests in this one it's still a fun and enjoyable game.

Top ten games I completed in 2013 (Pt 2)

Welcome to part two of the top ten games that I completed in 2013.

Let's move straight onto number five.


5. Big Bang Mini - (DS)

I picked up BBM on the recommendation of a friend who knew that I liked to play the more obscure games that are out there and I'm pleased that I did as it's a simple but fantastically enjoyable game.

The premise is that using the stylus you shoot fireworks from the bottom screen to the top one to hit and destroy enemies. That's it but like a lot of simple games it can be very addictive and fun. The levels are split across real life cities such as Hong Kong and New York (though designed slightly differently as per the graphics) and each city consists of nine levels and then a boss. Each city also includes different abilities that are used to kill the enemies.

There are around one hundred levels in the game (split across four modes) and levels can be completed quite quickly depending on how well you do (you need to collect stars to be able to proceed to the next level) which means that the games doesn't outstay it's welcome. Not that it could as once you get into the game it's rather addictive and fun


4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - (DS)

Despite being the first game in the series AA is actually the second one that I've finished (the first being Justice for All). Just as I enjoyed JFA I also massively enjoyed AA.

The funny thing is that due to playing this one second it almost feels like a prequel due to characters being introduced that you are already familiar with and storylines starting that continue on through the games. Aside from that the actual game is just superb as one would expect from the Phoenix Wright series.

The graphics are vibrant and bright and the characters are interesting and likeable which is good when you spend so long with them. For me this is one of the key things about the series, the characters, as the more time that you spend with them the more you become absorbed in the world that they live in, especially as you spend a lot of time investigating it as well as time spent in the courtroom. The main purpose of the game is to successfully defend your client(s) and you do this by picking apart testimonies by objecting via using things that you have picked up from what people have said or by using objects that you have found at crime scenes. This all adds up to being a very enjoyable and enthralling games and series.


3. Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen - (DS)

COTC is the second DQ game that I've played and the first that I've completed. The other one that I've played is nine and I have to say that I enjoyed this one that little bit more.

One of the main reasons being the difficulty between the two games, whilst I did enjoy nine at times it (especially with grinding) it felt like a slog to get through but with this one it didn't feel like that at all. This was especially evident when you could fight an enemy that awarded you around 10,000 XP points if you managed to defeat it. This as well as the shortened time span that it took to complete made COTC a far more enjoyable game.

The things that made me really enjoy this game were the likes of the simplicity of the game compared to a lot of other RPG type games, the characters introduced though out the chapters, that fact that there were two optional side quests that were not that difficult to complete. It makes me sound like I don't enjoy RPG's but that is far from the truth as they are possibly my favourite genre but it was just nice to be able pick the game up and play through it without worrying about spells and whether I'm leveled up enough and what not and that is why COTC is number three on the list.


2. Tomb Raider - (360)

The second Tomb Raider game to appear in a top ten list since I began doing them and it's no wonder why when they keep releasing games as good as this. I'll be honest and say that it took me a couple of hours to really get into the new Tomb Raider and it was only the persuasion of someone I know that kept me going through that beginning section as I really wasn't getting on with it. As you can see from it's place in the list once I did...

I've only completed once previous Tomb Raider game so it didn't bother me either way when it was announced that the franchise was being re-booted/relaunched/re-something, which also meant that I didn't really have anything to compare this new version to. Due to that it meant that I could just (hopefully) enjoy the game on it's own merit. At first this didn't happen as I found it to be incredibly boring for the first couple of hours and as mentioned nearly gave up on it. I'm glad that I didn't though as despite it's flaws by the time I had finished it I didn't want it to end.

Yes, to me it does have it's flaws but only minor ones such as decisions within cut scenes and the final 'fight' being rather disappointing but overall I found the new Tomb Raider game to be very absorbing with lots to do and see and I'm definitely glad that I persevered through those first couple of hours as if I hadn't, well, it would be a different game in the number two position.


1. Mirror's Edge - (360)

The number one game for me this time round is the rather excellent, and some would say underrated, Mirror's Edge a game that I bought on a whim due to it being ridiculously cheap. As you can see from it's place at the top spot I'm very glad that I did.

Mirror's Edge is billed a s being a 'first person action-adventure' game but it's a lot more than that, it's a game that once you get going really immerses you in it's world. Once you get up and running (no pun intended) you will not want to put the game down, even during a couple of frustrating bits near the end when a level or two has a lot of climbing to get through. That is the thing though, even when things can and do get a little frustrating you still want to clear that jump or reach that bar or get past that enemy and it's kind of games that make you want to play games and enjoy them.

Graphics wise the game is bright and colourful with nicely done animated cut scenes which advance the plot, though the plot sadly is one of the weak points in the game though it does have an interesting sub-text. The basic premise of the plot is that you take on the role of Faith a runner/courier and a person who rebels against the totalitarian government and who must try and prove her police officer sister's innocence in a murder. It's not the best plot in the world but it does the trick I suppose. One other criticism is that the game is too short which is a massive shame but all good things have to end. The important thing though is the game play and Mirror's Edge has absolutely fantastic game play which is why it takes the number one spot.

So there we have it, another year done. A bit more of a mix of format this year and some absolutely cracking games in the list.

Saturday 4 January 2014

Top ten games I completed in 2013 (Pt 1)

It's that time of year again where I count down the top ten games that I completed in the previous year.

Here is part one with numbers ten to five.


10. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - (360)

Another year and another Marvel game just scraping in at number ten on the list. I enjoyed the X-Men Legends games so knew that I would like this but for some reason I didn't enjoy it as much. I don't know whether it was the repetition of the game play setting in or niggly little changes like not being able to store energy capsules but something just didn't quite click like it did with the Legends games.

Overall though it is a good game with a good roster of characters ranging from street level of Daredevil and Luke Cage to big hitters like Captain America and Iron Man alongside X-Men Storm and Colossus and off course Deadpool.

Like I say, it's a game worth playing as the line-up is good (including the bad guys). The plot is decent enough with it allowing for you to travel to places such as the SHIELD Helicarrier and Mephisto's Realm and it can be fun building up your team(s) but if you've played the Legends games then you should enjoy it.


9. Darksiders - (360)

At first I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy Darksiders or not as I thought that the game play may become repetitive but due to it's inclusion on this list it's safe to say that I did. Though to be honest there was a chance that it would have made the list purely due to having possibly the first underwater section that I've ever liked in a video game.

In Darksiders you control one of the four horsemen War who has been charged with bringing about the apocalypse early. You must then proceed to prove his innocence by killing your way through angels and demons whilst solving puzzles and powering up (due to War losing his powers) weapons and abilities.

The game play is hack and slash but due to the puzzles that are included throughout the game it doesn't become repetitive, this is also helped by the variation of areas and enemies that you face as you progress, especially with some of the bosses that you face. Overall Darksiders is a game that is definitely worth playing through at least once.


8. The Conduit 2 - (Wii)

I really enjoyed the first Conduit game so it was a pleasant surprise to see that a sequel was released and as the norm with sequels this game is a little bit bigger than the first one. The game is a first person shooter and that's pretty much all you need to know regarding the actual game play but for the actual game it's a bit more in depth. There are improvements over the first game such as upping the number of alien types by nearly double and increasing the amount of alien and human weapons whilst which weapon you and/or the enemy is using results in the enemy acting differently. The game takes you round different places such as Siberia, China and the UK as well as alien places.

If you haven't played either of the games I'll just give a quick rundown of the plot as the second one continues on from the first. In the game you play as Agent Michael Ford who awakens just after an alien invasion and with the help of an alien being must try and stop an invasion of Earth. That's the plot in a nutshell as there are a few twists and turns throughout the two games that would take a bit more typing to explain.

If you own a Wii and haven't played either of the games then I would definitely recommend them as whilst the graphics are obviously not as good as if they were on the 360/PS3 the game play is fun and the weapons and enemies are interesting.

7. TMNT - (Arcade)

The first arcade game to appear on the list since I began doing them and one that I've been looking to complete for years.

One good thing about playing arcade machines at events is the free play as to be honest I don't think that I would ever complete this without it. It also helped having three friends to complete it with because as you can imagine for an arcade from the late 80's it was designed to eat up every kids pocket money.

Taking control of my favourite turtle (Donatello) we progressed through the side-scrolling levels defeating the attacks of the Foot Soldiers and big bosses like Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman and of course the big bad of Shredder (a fight which is insane due to multiple Shredders). It felt good after all these years to finally complete a beloved game from my childhood and to not have to put a lot of money into it.


6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - (GameCube)

 I've seen The Sands of Time raved about for a few years now but for some reason I've never fancied playing it until now. Was it worth the wait? Yes, yes it was.

I will admit though that it did take me a couple of hours to become fully immersed in the game but when I finally did I could see why it is held in such high esteem as the game play is superb and smooth and the story really draws you in.

I imagine that by now, unlike myself, most people would have completed this on one of the formats that it was released on so I'm not going to waffle on about it. All I will say is that this game definitely deserves the plaudits that it receives and it definitely worth playing. Oh, the reason that it only makes it to number six on the list though is because there were five more games that captured my imagination more than this one unfortunately.

Tune in tomorrow for part two covering those five games.

December 2013 Purchases



Three buys and a present in December. 

Resident Evil 5 and Tom Clancy: Vegas were picked up in the Game sale and after picking up Resident Evil 6 in November 5 completes my main series collection. Again, I know it gets slated, especially against the fantastic number 4 but I still would like to play it. I own the Tom Clancy games for the Cube and thought I would give this a shot for the price that I paid.

Shadows of the Damned is a game that I've been after for a while and I nearly bought it just days before I did. Luckily I waited as I ended up buying it for half the price that I nearly paid.

Finally, Bloody Roar is one of the games on my Cube list and my friend Megamixer kindly sent it to me over the Christmas period as a present, thanks for that.