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

cyrax wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

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

Defend yourself, sir!

I have the word "sucker" written across my forehead, and I was determined to beat it without dropping any additional money on it. It's an incredibly brainless experience broken up into 2 minute sessions.

Ahh, well at least you stopped at buying the app. You do have some dignity!

cyrax wrote:

Ahh, well at least you stopped at buying the app. You do have some dignity!

Some being the operative word, although with "energy" based games I never ever pay for the "energy" out of principle. I get that it's very analogous to feeding an arcade machine, but those were $0.25-$0.50 per play and usually had a lot more gameplay/challenge going on.

It's very nostalgia laden which is probably why I kept playing, although Theatrythm is a much better tribute to the franchise. Like I said in the iOS/JRPG thread, I'm easily amused and it's fun to just swipe and watch 20 characters rush the enemies en masse. However, that's all you do... swipe until dead (in less than 2 minutes) and then do something else with the rest of your day *shrug*

EDIT: It's also worth noting how insidious the app is. You can only unlock the last 8 party slots by tweeting or facebook sharing, and there's an achievement for getting a full party. Despite how cynical the game is, it doesn't stoop to running ads or reminding you every session to give them money.

Man, how do you all have time to finish all these games!

I basically have Little King's Story started. Nothing beaten.

I got a little sidetracked with the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo. (But honestly, just a few hours! Maybe 6.)

Added to the pile is LEGO City Undercover which will arrive in March.

February was productive. No clue about how March will be. On one hand I do have more time for gaming, but I'm feeling really in "the zone" when it comes to making videos. Also, I started replaying Catherine and would like to finish that. I'll start Deus Ex at some point, but this is also Indie Month for me. Time to start on some indies.

...does Crimson Shroud count as Indie? Because I started that this morning and it has me tingling. You get to roll dice!

Oh, I also added 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, so my progress went a bit backwards more than planned.

KEY:
* == Game I started
Bold == Game I'm actively working on
Strike == Game I've completed

Games in my collection I would like to finish/watch the credits roll:

- Lost Odyssey
- Ico/Shadow of the Colossus
- Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword
- Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening
- Dragon Age 2
- Donkey Kong Country Returns
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Epic Mickey
- Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
- DeBlob 2
- Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
- Dead Rising 2
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Pokemon Conquest
- Xenoblade Chronicles*
- Dragon's Dogma*
- Guilty Party
- The Last Story
- Borderlands 2
- Dead Island
- The Sly Cooper Collection
- Assassin's Creed 3
- Fatal Frame II
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star
- Far Cry 3
- Resident Evil 6
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
- Crimson Shroud

Status: 5 of 29 (17%)

Other:

- L.A. Noire DLC

Status: 0 of 1 (0%)

On-going (Games I doubt I'll ever truly "finish")

- Little Big Planet
- NHL 13

Status: 0 of 2 (0%)

gamerparent wrote:

Man, how do you all have time to finish all these games!

It's all about waiting til a new month to finish off that game that only has a few hours left to go to the end! Or losing sleep. That's how I got through Dark Souls in less than 2 months with 101 hrs in it.

What I want to know is why is everyone posting end of month reports with 3 full days to go. Assuming a full day in GWJ terms mean evening after work or weekend / holiday day. Although, I've heard some actually load up games in the morning / on lunch breaks.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

What I want to know is why is everyone posting end of month reports with 3 full days to go. Assuming a full day in GWJ terms mean evening after work or weekend / holiday day. Although, I've heard some actually load up games in the morning / on lunch breaks.

Because I won't beat or buy anything between now and the end of the month and like this thread.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
gamerparent wrote:

Man, how do you all have time to finish all these games!

It's all about waiting til a new month to finish off that game that only has a few hours left to go to the end! Or losing sleep. That's how I got through Dark Souls in less than 2 months with 101 hrs in it.

What I want to know is why is everyone posting end of month reports with 3 full days to go. Assuming a full day in GWJ terms mean evening after work or weekend / holiday day. Although, I've heard some actually load up games in the morning / on lunch breaks.

The only game I anticipate beating, if I can beat it in time, is a replay which I don't count towards the pile.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

What I want to know is why is everyone posting end of month reports with 3 full days to go. Assuming a full day in GWJ terms mean evening after work or weekend / holiday day. Although, I've heard some actually load up games in the morning / on lunch breaks.

Because the last three days of the month are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I might have an hour of game time tomorrow night, if I'm lucky...

Anyway:
Finished:
Puzzle Agent
Fairway Solitaire

Still on the Pile, but progress made:
Skyrim

I didn't game much on the PC this month -- I haven't felt much like retreating to the basement, so there's been more iOS/laptop gaming going on. And on the weekends when I had more time, I was kind to my son and his Kerbal Space Program addiction, and did not kick him off the PC.

Added:
I added Pixel People and Clash of Clans for iOS, which I expect to be entertaining for a while and then drop before I "finish" them. They both promise to get grindy, and Clash of Clans also involves dealing with other people smashing your base all the time.

Next up:
March doesn't look much different than February. So I'm going to set my sights on Botanicula and the DLC for Swords and Soldiers, and see what SPAZ thinks of the MacBook (I'm not optimistic.)

I just want to say that I really like the format people have adopted for monthly updates. Here's what I beat, here's what I bought, here's what I'm playing now, and here's what the month ahead looks like. No long lists to scan through, but lots of information about how people are doing with their piles, what they're interested in, and what they're excited about in the near future. It's great!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I just want to say that I really like the format people have adopted for monthly updates. Here's what I beat, here's what I bought, here's what I'm playing now, and here's what the month ahead looks like. No long lists to scan through, but lots of information about how people are doing with their piles, what they're interested in, and what they're excited about in the near future. It's great!

I refuse to conform!

*shakey fist*

I'm glad you picked up on my subtle implication that everyone was being cool except you, ccesarano.

Humbug. I'll behave in the future...

Not likely to finish anything in the next 3 days, except maybe Joe Danger 2, but I might pick up a couple of things from the Xbox Live Ultimate Sale (or whatever it's called) going on right now, so I'll wait to post an update.

However, I did want to post that I made some updates to the spreadsheet.

- There is now an Average estimated remaining hours column on the stats tab
- The Pile tab has new columns Activity (Added or Removed) and Activity Date
- There is a new tab that uses the new columns to generate the delta post.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

What I want to know is why is everyone posting end of month reports with 3 full days to go. Assuming a full day in GWJ terms mean evening after work or weekend / holiday day. Although, I've heard some actually load up games in the morning / on lunch breaks.

It's because I'm a pessimist...

Only knocked Machinarium off the pile this month. I ended up putting about 20 hours into Tropico 3, 13 hours into 10,000,000 and 16 hours in Dungeons of Dredmor before Minecraft sucked me back in. Even though the end results weren't huge, I feel good about the progress made against the pile.

I didn't buy anything.

March will be a pretty slow month for pile completion since Simcity lands on the 5th.

Dragon Age II is taking longer than I remember, but man, I really enjoy this game.

Doing a full content playthrough, I've done the DLC and started Act 3 tonight. Falling into the "just one more quest" trap, too

here is what I bought:

Here is what I beat:

Here is what I played:
League of Legends

That is sort of like success right?

Kamakazi010654 wrote:

here is what I bought:

Here is what I beat:

Here is what I played:
League of Legends

That is sort of like success right?

Not adding is a definite plus, something I should attempt more often than I do.

shoptroll wrote:

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)

Much respect to you for these 100% completions. I wish I could do that, but I just don't have the patience, and I'm not necessarily willing to sacrifice spending my limited time to experience a different game in favor of going to 100% on a known quantity. I'll do it if I'm still in love with the gameplay though.

Well done.

Well, I'm gonna go post my Wind Waker impressions and thoughts over here. Basically, good Zelda game so far, despite the sailing.

I caved. I bought Bit Trip Runner 2... I couldn't help it! Going to play it tonight. And Little King's Story is getting interesting now, the world just opened up. So onward, ho!

Bought Grid and Dirt 2, and weighing the $20 points pre-order bonus for Tomb Raider on 360.

You know what doesn't need boss fights? bit.trip Runner. Just sayin'.

gamerparent wrote:

I caved. I bought Bit Trip Runner 2... I couldn't help it! Going to play it tonight. And Little King's Story is getting interesting now, the world just opened up. So onward, ho!

Where exactly are you at in LKS? I loved that game, despite missing a progression point for like 5 hrs.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
gamerparent wrote:

I caved. I bought Bit Trip Runner 2... I couldn't help it! Going to play it tonight. And Little King's Story is getting interesting now, the world just opened up. So onward, ho!

Where exactly are you at in LKS? I loved that game, despite missing a progression point for like 5 hrs.

Tell me more about LKS. I know we are trying to reduce pile, but I'm not going to do that at the expense of missing a good game. I've seen it reduced to about 30% of SRP. Is it a unique experience to the Wii, or can I find similar on other platforms (that I might already have, so can get my fix there)?

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Where exactly are you at in LKS? I loved that game, despite missing a progression point for like 5 hrs.

I have played for between 6-7 hours. I am exactly at the point where my advisor has discovered that there are 6 more kingdoms in the world to conquer. He's set on world domination... he's kind of scary.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

Tell me more about LKS. I know we are trying to reduce pile, but I'm not going to do that at the expense of missing a good game. I've seen it reduced to about 30% of SRP. Is it a unique experience to the Wii, or can I find similar on other platforms (that I might already have, so can get my fix there)?

Since I'm a horrible enabler, I will tell you more about it. At first blush it looks like a kids game. The art style is cutesy, Animal Crossing like, with cut scenes rendered in a sort of chalk drawing 2.5D way. It's charming. The gameplay focuses around you, the Little Boy king, whose job it is to build up your kingdom, and to expand and conquer neighbouring lands by defeating all the creatures in those areas. There is no diplomacy, just conquest (so far, at least). The main game mechanic is reminiscent of Pikmin, where you summon your loyal subjects to follow behind you wherever you go. You can then "shoot" your people at the enemies you want to attack, or at objects you want them to harvest/chop down/build. It sounds simple, but there is some strategy. Control scheme is Wiimote and Nunchuk, but there is no motion control or aiming at the screen.

Expansion of your kingdom also involves building, which is paid for by the items that you collect while in the world, either through combat or harvesting. As you expand your lands, you are able to build more varied building types, which in turn allow you to create different unit types. So far, I have farmers, soldiers, builders, archers, and loggers. More types are in development, for example, as soon as I have enough funds to build a shopping mall, I will be able to create merchants.

From it's simple beginnings, the game really does start to open up at the point I'm at, and I'm quite enjoying it. It's worth picking up on the cheap. It's very highly rated on metacritic, somewhere in the 80's?

There's a remake that was made for the Vita, but it didn't seem to review as highly.

This month, progress was greatly hindered by houseguests, and... Guild Wars 2. I did manage to knock off a few off the pile: Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 - The Siege of Spinner Cay, Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3 - Lair of the Leviathan, Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, Eufloria, To the Moon, 10000000 and Infinity Blade.
I did acquire a few games this month, a couple of Kickstarters, so those won't be on the pile just yet. I do have Heart of the Swarm coming up next month, so I'm think about tackling bigger games such as XCOM: Enemy Unknown before that gets here. We'll see.

The overall progress is as follows (thanks again, Garden Ninja!!):
Remaining games: 70 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (61 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 20 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 15 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 13 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 22
Est. remaining hours: 1357 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (1193 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 92 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 162 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 23 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 197 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 80
Yeah, looks like I'm not out of the woods just yet!

Yeah, the Little King's Story on the Vita got "mature'd up" for whatever reason there. It's a long game and I have no idea how they really changed it there, but can't imagine sitting down to try and play it on a handheld. It sold insanely few copies in its first month (11,000 was the number tossed around). If you have any love of the Pikmin or Overlord games, you should pick this up to try it out. Sure there are some issues that some will go on about. Particularly how some find the pathfinding to be impossible to tolerate, yet I spent 50hrs with it to the exclusion of almost all other games at the time and loved it. The charm and overall gameplay were just great. Wish we could have seen more from this franchise than a awkward remake.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Yeah, the Little King's Story on the Vita got "mature'd up" for whatever reason there. It's a long game and I have no idea how they really changed it there, but can't imagine sitting down to try and play it on a handheld. It sold insanely few copies in its first month (11,000 was the number tossed around). If you have any love of the Pikmin or Overlord games, you should pick this up to try it out. Sure there are some issues that some will go on about. Particularly how some find the pathfinding to be impossible to tolerate, yet I spent 50hrs with it to the exclusion of almost all other games at the time and loved it. The charm and overall gameplay were just great. Wish we could have seen more from this franchise than a awkward remake.

Yeah... I'm one of those people. I'm wasn't willing to tolerate pathfinding that was crappy a decade ago, and I had no interest in waiting several more hours for the ability to make it tolerable. I'd rather replay Pikmin or Overlord.

Anyway, I don't have an interest in the Resident Evil games from today's Xbox sale, so time for the monthly update.

Finished

  • Bastion (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Dungeons of Dredmor (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) - This was a "put time into it and decide" game. I rolled a random set of skills and ended up with one that let me summon zombies from the corpses of my enemies. That was a lot of fun. Eventually I died, which killed my enthusiasm, but I'm keeping it installed for the rare occasion that I feel like playing a rogue like.

Dropped

  • A Virus Named TOM (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - It had been getting harder and more frustrating, but seeing the second stage of the final world just killed any motivation.
  • Hotline Miami (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - I really enjoyed up until the second boss fight. The first boss fight sucked too, but it felt less unfair. The second one however, is multistage boss fight and obscenely hard, which is kind of crap in a game where everything kills you in one hit.
  • Scribblenauts (DS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - I've put a couple of hours into it. The implementation isn't as exciting as I'd made it out to be in my head. The controls are terrible, and the puzzle solutions are sometimes really picky. I may play a level here and there still.

Added

  • Assassin's Creed III (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - Traded with another Goodjer
  • Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - picked up for $3 on the Xbox sale
  • Dragon Age II (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - We picked this up last year, so it should have been on my pile already actually.
  • El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - picked up for $3 on the Xbox sale
  • Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - bundled with the second xbox we bought for the bedroom
  • Forza Motorsport 4 (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - bundled with the xbox. I prefer arcade racers, so there is a chance this will be dropped, but monkeyboy mentioned playing on easy makes it more arcade like, so I'm going to give it a few hours at least.
  • To the Moon (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - a random gift from a Goodjer when it was on sale last week.
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - Picked up used last weekend because I wanted a tactics game but wasn't sure I was going to grab Fire Emblem just yet. So far I'm really digging it. I've already put 3.5 hours in this week, which is pretty good for a handheld lately.
  • Two Worlds II (360) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - same as DA2

Stats
Remaining games: 42 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (26 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 8 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 5 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 20 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = -7
Est. remaining hours: 771.45 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (500 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 35 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 57 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 121.6 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 367 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = -153.4