Time Flies When You're Playing in the Pile

Sorry Heimdal, need to update the list again
Zeno Clash is finished (I'm not going to bother with the challenge stuff).

That's one strange-ass game. Short, but very interesting. Has a strange dream-like quality to it and it almost feels like some sort of ancient folk tale, with all the crazy people in the forest and stuff. More punchin' things than in most folk tales though I'd wager

ok - time for something a bit meatier....lets have another stab at ARCANUM : Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura.

Mother 3 is down! Wow. Just. Wow. Makes me wonder how it would have played and felt if it had actually been released for the N64's DD (anyone remember that thing?).

I'll make a point of posting my impressions of the ending in the appropriate thread in the days to come. Let's see, that makes Jericho my only task left for the month. Wow, I seem to be making headway, finally!

So uh put me down for Uncharted 2... and then cross it out.

Bought it yesterday, beat it today. Fun times.

Stele wrote:

So uh put me down for Uncharted 2... and then cross it out.

Bought it yesterday, beat it today. Fun times.

That almost seems to defeat the spirit of the pile, doesn't it? That game was never on your pile in the first place!

Long weekend + being sick = pile progress.

Kirby's Adventure (NES)
With great 8-bit graphics and animation, good sound, varied and highly inventive gameplay and levels, and mostly tight controls, it is quite impressive that Kirby's Adventure was doable on the NES. Kirby can inhale almost all of his enemies and steal their powers, which often allow you to play in an all new way. Numerous secrets and fun mini-games always keep things fresh. Aside from occasional slowdown which makes controlling the action a bit trying, there is little that can be criticized. It's a shame that this one came out after the SNES was released and was subsequently skipped by many players, as it is really one of the best NES games out there.

Dead Space: Ignition is done, although I still have some achievements to collect.

If you're not a fan of the Dead Space franchise, there's absolutely nothing to see here. It's a collection of hacking-themed minigames strung together by a remarkably ugly motion comic starring lumpy-headed people with flipper hands.

Each of the three games uses distinct mechanics: one is a racing game, one is a sort of tower defense game where the play controls the creeps, and one is a puzzle game using light beams. They each have their moments of fun, but none of them is particularly engaging. The racing game has some frustrating rubber-banding AI and dodgy controls; the tower defense game would be a fun challenge except that every level is solved mostly by button-mashing; and the puzzle game is never more than fairly simplistic.

The plot is a bit of a mess. Even as a fan of the series, I couldn't quite follow who was doing what and why they were doing it. It's nice to get a glimpse of the Citadel Sprawl prior to the events of the second game, but the shift from everything being okay to everything going to hell feels abrupt and less elegantly told than similar scenarios in Dead Space: Extraction and the first movie, Dead Space: Downfall.

If you got this as a pre-order bonus for Dead Space 2, give it a whirl for the extra items and a bit more lore. If you didn't get this as a pre-order bonus, don't buy it; look it up on Wikipedia if you're that interested in the story, and move along.

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

nivek wrote:

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

Get a backloggery account (if you haven't already) and use the Fortune Cookie feature. That's helped before when I had no idea what to play next.

Garden Ninja wrote:
nivek wrote:

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

Get a backloggery account (if you haven't already) and use the Fortune Cookie feature. That's helped before when I had no idea what to play next.

I second that, I've gotten through five games since signing up for an account - it's great for helping with the motivation.

stevenmack wrote:
Garden Ninja wrote:
nivek wrote:

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

Get a backloggery account (if you haven't already) and use the Fortune Cookie feature. That's helped before when I had no idea what to play next.

I second that, I've gotten through five games since signing up for an account - it's great for helping with the motivation.

I just wish i could upload a spreadsheet or something instead of having to manually type everything. Bulk upload for the win!

Until then, I just peruse the collection and think, "That one!"

Put me down for inFamous with cyrax. I actually started it the other day, took the quick break for Uncharted 2, but now am back to making progress with it. Having fun so far, and we're not even halfway through the month, I think I might finish another game!

OK, I'm conflicted.

I have seen the credits roll in Crackdown, but that's because Bonus Eruptus and I hooked up to play the entire campaign from my 'virgin' game so we could get the "play all chapters in multiplayer" achievement.

Here's the conflicted part. He did all the work with his super pumped stage 4 Agent, while I stayed safely in the Keep, battling the Flu from the safety of the couch under some blankies.

The proposal.
Credit Bonus Eruptus with completing the game.
Return to the game later in the year to 'do it all again myself'.
Make up for the 'completed but not played' guilt by committing to another 2007 game.

With that in mind, I'll return to my other 2007 nugget for the month, and Give The Orange Box the once over.
I'll commit to Half Life 2, Plus Half Life 2 Episode One and Half Life 2 Episode Two.
If you're going to admit to the shame of 'watching' someone else complete a game, you may as well add to that shame by also admitting you've never played through 'one of the classics' as well.

Hemidal wrote:
stevenmack wrote:
Garden Ninja wrote:
nivek wrote:

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

Get a backloggery account (if you haven't already) and use the Fortune Cookie feature. That's helped before when I had no idea what to play next.

I second that, I've gotten through five games since signing up for an account - it's great for helping with the motivation.

I just wish i could upload a spreadsheet or something instead of having to manually type everything. Bulk upload for the win!

Until then, I just peruse the collection and think, "That one!"

+1 for the bulk uploads. I've got the whole collection in a spreadsheet and I do not relish data entry.

I added Tomb Raider Anniversary, did the fortune cookie and it gave me... Tomb Raider Anniversary! It's a sign!

nivek wrote:
Hemidal wrote:
stevenmack wrote:
Garden Ninja wrote:
nivek wrote:

Please put me down for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on the 360. My pile is so tall, I can't even decide what to play anymore and usually just sit down to watch Office reruns instead. Maybe this will help. Accountability, that's what I need!

Get a backloggery account (if you haven't already) and use the Fortune Cookie feature. That's helped before when I had no idea what to play next.

I second that, I've gotten through five games since signing up for an account - it's great for helping with the motivation.

I just wish i could upload a spreadsheet or something instead of having to manually type everything. Bulk upload for the win!

Until then, I just peruse the collection and think, "That one!"

+1 for the bulk uploads. I've got the whole collection in a spreadsheet and I do not relish data entry.

I added Tomb Raider Anniversary, did the fortune cookie and it gave me... Tomb Raider Anniversary! It's a sign!

Actually, entering them manually has been an awesome experience for me. I'm only about a third the way through doing it, but I haven't visited the deals thread, OR eBay since I started in on it. Taking that 'ease' factor out of adding in titles has really made me aware of just how many games I've accumulated over the last 25+ years, what gems I've forgotten I had, and how better I can be dirrecting my limited gaming time.

Admittedly, it's not for everyone (It can give you a source of anxiety if you're not careful), but I'm finding it to be a very useful tool to stem the impulse buy.

Example, I have a $49 gift voucher for a local game retailer sitting in my wallet. It's been there for the last 3 weeks. Old pile adding me would have spent it the day it arrived. Now I'm finding myself wondering if it has an expiry date.

Episode 2 is in the can. I thought both episodes were way better then HL2. Maybe it's because I'm an older gamer and I don't have that much time, or maybe it's just because Valve learned their lesson on HL2, but the pace, and desire to keep going was much stronger in the episodes.

Anyway, two games, one month, felling pretty awesome... Granted, they were like 4 hours a piece, but so what?

Going to take a day or so and think about what's next.

Whew....after flip knows how many years. Arcanum is BEATEN.

Mixed feelings about that game - I LOVE the idea of the world (steampunk vs magic) but it's very poorly implemented. There's some great quests and stuff to do up front but as the main story progresses it goes more and more down the "generic Big Bad wants to come back and destroy the world" story and most of the tech/magic rivalry vanishes - relegated to sidequests (a LOT of which I just ignored, because It was becoming a remarkable slog to get through - I ended up barelling through the main plot and ignoring side stuff).

Also the game is REALLY inbalanced playing a tech character vs a mage character. The first....dozen or so tries at this game I went with a tech guy but always hit a brick wall with the difficulty. Decided to play a mage this time around....burned my way through practically everything with the level 1 necromancy spell and an inventory full of fatigue potions. A shame, since the tech based characters are FAR more interesting to play.

Also, being a mage I had access to the teleportation spell which is INVALUABLE. There is a stupid amount of empty space in that game and being able to instantly jump from one location to the next is essential. Without it I'd have given up already I think. Especially given the awkward way the screen scrolls.

So, yeah. Some excellent ideas and really good quests up front but really falls into monotony by the end. Though as I say, I skipped a lot (and I mean a LOT) of sidequests. Otherwise I'd have been there all year.

Anyway. Finished with it for now, another tick in the box...and just in time for some shiny new stuff to be released

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is done. I started out really enjoying it, but about 75% of the way through, I was ready for it to be over. It just struck me as very repetitive.

I'm making good progress on Half-Life 2. It's not really my kind of game, but I can see why people like it so much. It's been a bit of a slog, but they do work to try and keep it fresh. I should have it done by the end of the month.

Poppinfresh wrote:

I'm making good progress on Half-Life 2. It's not really my kind of game, but I can see why people like it so much. It's been a bit of a slog, but they do work to try and keep it fresh. I should have it done by the end of the month.

I totally agree on HL2. What everyone said about the Episodes was 100% correct. The pacing and length of encounters/levels is much improved.

I really liked Half-Life 2 and thought it was extremely well-paced but thought Episode 1, in particular, was a drag. However, I enjoyed the long vehicular sections in the main game which seem to be the parts that drag things down for everyone else.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I really liked Half-Life 2 and thought it was extremely well-paced but thought Episode 1, in particular, was a drag. However, I enjoyed the long vehicular sections in the main game which seem to be the parts that drag things down for everyone else.

I didn't really mind the vehicle stuff the second time through, though I admit it's where I quit the first time through. I think my main complaint is that, while they have a lot of good ideas, they tend to overstay their welcome. I recognize that's personal taste, to an extent, and I probably wouldn't mind at all if I was younger and had more free time, but now I'm old and grouchy, and wish everything was just tightened up a bit.

I've finished Kane & Lynch 2 and a near complete play-through of the infamous path in Infamous (300~/350 shards). My problems with K&L2 were with the Hard difficulty, but I think most of those would still persist otherwise. Infamous was an absolute joy and my favorite game I've played this year.

edit: And, finished Bad Company 2's Campaign. Battlefield absolutely has the game "feel" down, and backs it up with amazing presentation. Mostly enjoyable SP.

Put me down for BioShock 2. There's a chance I could have it complete this month, but it'll have do with how much I enjoy it. A slow first half has been mentioned, so that doesn't exactly bowed well for a timely completion.

I've just finished Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. Best game of the series so far. I'll probably go back to work towards 100%, but I'm moving on for now.

Might as well put me down for F.E.A.R. I wasn't planning on playing any pile games this month but I got the urge to start playing it with F.E.A.R. 3 coming out. As with most of my pile games, I'm just playing on easy so I'm kind of burning through it. I think I'm already halfway through and I've only played for 3 hours or so.

Also, the PS3 release was in 2007 (I'm playing on PC but whatever) so it kind of fits with the theme.

For the first time in a couple months - I did it! The Darkness is down, I just need to go back and clean up some achievements. Not a bad game, but not one I will play again.

I finally finished up The Witcher this past weekend. Overall it's one of the best RPGs I've ever played, right up there with Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate 2. I ended the game with Raven's Armor, G'valchir, and the Moon Blade for import into Assassins of Kings. Hopefully that will make for a little easier start this time.

I'm on the 1st part of act 2 of Tomb Raider Anniversary and I am enjoying it. The puzzle solving and acrobatics are very satisfying.

I wish there was a system that said, "You know, you've been aimlessly wandering around this level now for a good hour with no real progress. Would you like a hint?" I like the exploration aspect and the fact that there isn't much hand-holding, but sometimes I need a little help getting to the solution, and I'd like to be able to initiate an in-game hint if I need one.

The combat is miserable. Every time a creature approaches, I cringe. Thankfully there hasn't been that much of it so far - I'm playing on easy difficulty. Please, if you're not going to make shooting things interesting, just leave it out.

Nine more days until July, I think I can manage finishing by then.

Puzzle Quest 2 asks you to fight far more things, bash down more doors, and detect and disarm more traps than the match-three mechanic can really support. I appreciate that there's some variety in your goals in each mini-game, but it still boils down to playing fantasy-themed Bejeweled for hours and hours and hours. I'm still plugging away at it, but it's hard to play for long stretches. It doesn't help that there's not much variety to the assassin class: accumulate mana, activate stealth, chain strikes for double damage, repeat.

OK, adding another one to the list - going to see if I can't finally work my way through Dungeon Siege.

Nobody ever told me how insanely difficult Bioshock is. Geez Louise! It makes my unannounced takedown - Super C (NES) - seem very easy in comparison.

Full disclosure time: the reason Bioshock is so difficult to me is that it's one of a select number of games that makes my video driver have conniptions. It's a not uncommon problem that's been around at least since the advent of Vista, and for which the only fix with any high success ratio involves reformating and reinstalling Windows. Ghostbusters was another game that did this to my PC, but unlike Ghostbusters, which would only freeze for a few seconds and then let me continue playing for a random amount of time (an hour, a minute, or five seconds), Bioshock crashes to desktop and requires a Ctrl-Alt-Del shutdown every time. Often just seconds after having loaded my latest save....and boy do I save frequently.

My guess is that I'm about 25% through (a little way into Neptune's Bounty), but the chances that I'll finish it in July are very slim.

Super C
I recently had a bit of time to kill, so I decided to watch an NES game let's play and chose this title. The video inspired me to give it another shot - the first in at least a decade. The fact is, Super C is still a joy to play all these years later and still challenging, albeit easier than I remember it being. Certainly, there are some gotcha spots, but overall I had far less trouble with it than I remembered having in the past - no doubt helped by sticking to the spread gun for the entire game. Surprisingly, many of the bosses were complete pushovers, especially the last boss, once you figure out where to stand. Truly, the stages were typically much more challenging, but mostly tight controls left even them manageable in almost all spots.

In short, this one is worth revisiting. Now to give Contra 4 on the DS another go. You should hear my cursing in the distance by the time you read this.

Focusing hard on finishing Borderlands and ...(*shame*)....Twilight Princess.