2013 - 12 month pile thread. Hello New Year, good bye pile!

mrtomaytohead wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

And as swiftly as it was placed on, Aliens: Colonial Marines is knocked off the pile.

Care to elaborate if you beat it or dropped it? The only words I've heard associated with that game are train wreck.

Shipwreck from CAG was concerned about beating it with one Redbox cycle so he wouldn't have to pay more than $2 to complete it. Despite some glitches, he was successful.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

Shipwreck from CAG was concerned about beating it with one Redbox cycle so he wouldn't have to pay more than $2 to complete it. Despite some glitches, he was successful.

That sounds like a nice data point for Cliff Bleszinki's recent blog post about why horror games don't sell at retail. Or, why EA is adamant about multiplayer being necessary for sales.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

And as swiftly as it was placed on, Aliens: Colonial Marines is knocked off the pile.

Care to elaborate if you beat it or dropped it? The only words I've heard associated with that game are train wreck.

The game isn't as much of a wreck as everyone makes it out to be, and I had a level of fun with it, but it plays like a budget shooter and, even if you are a big Aliens fan, can easily be skipped. For the campaign at least. LostLobster seems to dig the multiplayer, so I'll probably jump into that after the weekend.

Oh, and to answer the question: beat it.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

Garden, does the link key change for each revision? Just wondering from the standpoint of updating the OP as the changes happen.

Link should stay the same. I've just been reposting it so people could find it again.

So I played through Journey tonight. Enjoyed the first 60% of the game, felt punished / confused by the rest, and still have no scarfin' idea what the point was.

Glad I got it on sale, wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else, even though it's apparently popular for some reason (that I can't figure out).

trueheart78 wrote:

So I played through Journey tonight. Enjoyed the first 60% of the game, felt punished / confused by the rest, and still have no scarfin' idea what the point was.

Glad I got it on sale, wouldn't really recommend it to anyone else, even though it's apparently popular for some reason (that I can't figure out).

Listen to the spoiler talk on the Conference Call mayhaps? They get into it a bit, and it reflects what I've read and heard elsewhere. I haven't played the game myself yet, though.

Did you ever get to play with someone else?

Nope. Wasn't online at the time, don't want to have to read / listen up on a game to enjoy it after-the-fact.

Felt very overhyped by the time it was done.

Eh, just recommending in the "can't understand why it was so hyped" thing. See what others saw in it.

ccesarano wrote:

Eh, just recommending in the "can't understand why it was so hyped" thing. See what others saw in it.

Come again?

cyrax wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Eh, just recommending in the "can't understand why it was so hyped" thing. See what others saw in it.

Come again?

Lemme try again.

Just recommending the podcast since Trueheart said he can't see what others like so much, and that the conference call spoiler section might give him some insight into that.

ccesarano wrote:
cyrax wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Eh, just recommending in the "can't understand why it was so hyped" thing. See what others saw in it.

Come again?

Lemme try again.

Just recommending the podcast since Trueheart said he can't see what others like so much, and that the conference call spoiler section might give him some insight into that.

Understood, and I appreciate the advice. I remember the GiantBomb crew loving it as well, and it even won some awards. I even kinda get what they were trying to do with the game, but for me, it felt very lacking by the time the credits rolled. I'll simply leave it at that, and move on.

I'm in the middle of my Dragon Age 2 replay, just wrapped on the Mark of the Assassin DLC and approaching Act 3 of the main game. Still amazed at how much I enjoy this game, especially the characters.

I have had some serious gaming ADD lately. Since the start of the month, I've put time into:

  • Tales of the Abyss
  • The Last Story
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
  • Crashmo
  • The Etrian Odyssey IV demo
  • Art Style: Orbient
  • bit.trip Saga
  • Muramasa: The Demon Blade
  • Xenoblade Chronicles

And I found myself thinking last night that I really needed to fire back up Rune Factory Frontier for a little while with maybe a side of Punch-Out!!. I can't tell if I'm just not satisfied with what I'm playing or if I'm just having trouble settling into any one thing.

360 Halo 4 Multiplayer
360 Dishonored
360 XCOM
360 Walking Dead 1 2 3 4 5
SNES Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
PS3 Borderlands 2 1/4 DLC done.
360 Spelunky
360 Dragon Age Origins Awakening
360 Mass Effect 3
PS3 Dead Space 2
PS3 Dark Souls
360 Fallout New Vegas
360 Alan Wake
360 Skyrim
PS3 Dead Island

I finished Dark Souls including the DLC last night. I have also moved on from Spelunky and Halo 4. I will probably go back to those occasionally, but I'm satisfied and they're off the pile.

Next up I'll be burning through Dishonored. I'm looking to play through it twice. First time, I'll be role-playing a bit like Kartos. Killing everything that's tangentially in my way. 2nd time I'm aiming for a 0 kill game. I may start playing Link to the Past one night a week because I've been craving it.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

I may start playing Link to the Past one night a week because I've been craving it.

Just a mention of the name is enough to make me want to go play it right now. But I just loaded up Wind Waker for the first time the other night, and think that and Majora's Mask need my attention first so I can tell everyone how much better ALttP is.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

But I just loaded up Wind Waker for the first time the other night, and think that and Majora's Mask need my attention first so I can tell everyone how much better ALttP is. :P

I'm in the same boat, but I've got some other things I want to clear out of the pile before I get around to MM this year. I'm one of those nutters who liked LttP more than OoT. Although, I suspect I might still prefer Link's Awakening over LttP but I haven't touched either in years.

I don't think that I could go back to a N64 game at this point. The graphics would be a big distraction for me. I'm okay with 2D faults, but 3D faults drive me nuts.

Replaying Majora's Mask recently, the only 3D thing that took some getting used to was not having a second analog stick for camera control. I blame this more on playing the game with the Wii's classic controller than anything, because there's a stick right there so I kept trying to use it. I doubt I'd have any trouble if I pulled out my N64 and hooked it up.

shoptroll wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:

But I just loaded up Wind Waker for the first time the other night, and think that and Majora's Mask need my attention first so I can tell everyone how much better ALttP is. :P

I'm in the same boat, but I've got some other things I want to clear out of the pile before I get around to MM this year. I'm one of those nutters who liked LttP more than OoT. Although, I suspect I might still prefer Link's Awakening over LttP but I haven't touched either in years.

Since I'm not a big handheld fan, and I got stuck in a dungeon for a year until I glitched through, I wasn't a big fan of Link's Awakening, but ALttp is my fav. I've only played LA and PH on handhelds.

What stood out to me the most in the first 15 minutes of ALttP was how well tuned the swordplay was. Where and when you swing really matter as you always swing left handed and swipe across your body. This of course can be varied by doing a small thrust while charging or holding for a spin attack, or the spin attack itself, but it's just amazing how much the swing of the sword mattered for that game, and how much I had forgotten about that after almost 10 years.

With a little help from The Internet, I managed to beat Paper Mario: Sticker Star tonight. So that means three games down, one that was a new purchase. Good progress! I'm trying to work out what I want to play next. I actually thought replaying Catherine every February might make for an interesting tradition. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

A friend of mine is actually curious what I'd think of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, so that also might be next in line.

I've been real good about new game purchases, but I ALMOST impulse bought a new laptop by justifying it with the argument that I'd play more pile games. I don't think that's how this is supposed to work.

I wised up when I realized I have a fairly new gaming pc I built. The problem is that I don't really like sitting alone in the basement gaming (did that in my earlier years), so laptop + couch has been my current fix. I'm getting a 45' HDMI to the living room to solve the problem, much cheaper.

clever id wrote:

I've been real good about new game purchases, but I ALMOST impulse bought a new laptop by justifying it with the argument that I'd play more pile games. I don't think that's how this is supposed to work.

I wised up when I realized I have a fairly new gaming pc I built. The problem is that I don't really like sitting alone in the basement gaming (did that in my earlier years), so laptop + couch has been my current fix. I'm getting a 45' HDMI to the living room to solve the problem, much cheaper.

Heehee.

I have to admit, I've been tempted to get a laptop more capable if handling games too. I have to be honest with myself though, I'd probably end up playing more of the same old games rather than hitting anything new.

Helps postpone the purchase, but I know it'll happen eventually. :p

Help me goodjers! I'm about to get into The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and I have a bit of a concern. You see, my absolute least favorite part of Phantom Hourglass was the sailing around bits. I would go so far to say that had the rest of the game not been so strong it would have caused me to quit, which is a very rare occurrence for me.

What I am contemplating doing is trying to find a guide that tells me exactly how to get where when out on the seas. Is there a guide so focused out there on the interwebz? Would it be worth it to do such a thing? Any other helpful hints for someone that is not looking forward to the sailing but wants to play this missed Zelda game?

Are you looking for the locations of stuff in the ocean? This guide seems to cover that.

Well, as long as that also makes it so I know exactly where to go when the game tells me to go to the next place, then yes. It was my understanding that there was a bit of wandering that occured in Wind Waker at some point.

I don't recall any wandering in Wind Waker. It was always pretty clear where to go at what time. Also, while I realize that you're dreading the sailing thanks to Phantom Hourglass, don't get too worked up about it. I really enjoyed the sailing Wind Waker but hated it in Phantom Hourglass. Wind Waker's sailing is a lot more active and engaging than setting a route and tapping fish as they pop up.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I don't recall any wandering in Wind Waker. It was always pretty clear where to go at what time. Also, while I realize that you're dreading the sailing thanks to Phantom Hourglass, don't get too worked up about it. I really enjoyed the sailing Wind Waker but hated it in Phantom Hourglass. Wind Waker's sailing is a lot more active and engaging than setting a route and tapping fish as they pop up.

I hope I can share your positive thoughts once I get into it. My expectations are set low, though. Just to protect myself.

Despite having spirit tracks in the house, I have yet to even think of loading it up.

Yes, there are three days left in the month. No, I'm not likely to finish anything else in that time. Time for a February update!

February:

  • Crashmo (3DS eShop) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)
  • Paper Mario (Wii Virtual Console) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)
  • bit.trip Saga (3DS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)
  • Art Style: Rotozoa (WiiWare) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Crashmo (3DS eShop) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)

Not a whole lot of progress this month. I purchased and beat Crashmo (which was amazing, by the way) but haven't spent a whole lot of time with bit.trip Saga and haven't so much as launched Paper Mario. Art Style: Rotozoa was an unexpected completion; I thought I'd put a little bit of time into it, and it turns out that "a little bit of time" is all you need to beat it.

This coming month, I hope to finish up Strange Journey and The Last Story. At the very least, I want to put significant time into The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles. I have a couple purchases planned of shorter games. My idea is to have a small collection of shorter games on hand to help break-up the playtime of all those epic-length JRPGs on the pile.

Onward!

2013 Progress:

  • 16 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) [color=gray](9 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))[/color]
  • 4 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)
  • 7 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • 0 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/completed.gif)
  • 1 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/bulletremoved.gif)

End of the month already?

Here's the delta for February...

Started:
BioShock (PC)

Beaten:
Final Fantasy: All The Bravest (iOS) - If you can call it a game.
Middle Manager of Justice (iOS) - I think this is "Beaten" since they patched in the final set of plot missions

100%/Completed:
Bone: Out from Boneville (PC)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
The Cave (PC)
Jetpack Joyride (iOS) (Yes, I finally got that ridiculously expensive jetpack)

Added to the Pile:
Brütal Legend (PC)

Not a bad month. Heavy on the 100%, low on purchases, and a few iOS titles thrown in for the heck of it. BioShock is taking longer than I anticipated although it's probably because I'm taking my sweet time with it. HowLongToBeat say 12-15 hours, I'm thinking 20-25 unless the levels start shortening up dramatically. Hoping I can finish it up before Heart of the Swarm in a couple weeks, which probably means I'll be finishing up Wings of Liberty until BioShock:Infinite releases.

shoptroll wrote:

Beaten: Final Fantasy: All The Bravest (iOS) - If you can call it a game.

Defend yourself, sir!

shoptroll wrote:

End of the month already? :(

Yuuuuup And this month was definitely not a good a month in terms of progress for me.

Playing:

  • Vanquish (PS3)
  • Dark Souls (PS3)
  • Bayonetta (360)
  • Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

Finished:

  • Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)

Added:

  • ZombiU (WiiU Deluxe Edition Bundle)

I spent a good portion of the month getting through Ni No Kuni, and so now my main focus is spending time on the shorter, ~10 hour action games to cleanse the palette a bit. The addition of the WiiU has just gone and added another source of pile games with ZombiU being an automatic add from the bundle, then Monster Hunter coming out mid March.

..It's going to be a rough next couple of months I think