52 Games Challenge 2021

[bikingjahuty]

46. Fighting Vipers 2 (Arcade)

This game has been on my radar A LONG time and I finally got around to trying the arcade version! Overall Fighting Vipers 2 is definitely on par with some of the more entertaining arcade fighting games of the late 90s, albeit certainly not one of the best. It's fighting system is very "arcady" for lack of a better term in that it's easy to pick up and is fairly fun to play, but lacks any real depth or strategy for the most part. It's barely more than a button masher, but still a good one at that. Graphically it's not incredible, but still looks pretty good for a arcade game from this era; I really enjoyed its 3D stages, destructible environment, and colorful over the top roster. Sound and OST are a mixed bag. Some of the tracks were pretty catchy while others were actually kind of annoying. Character say very little before or after matches so there is little to talk about there, but at least the sounds of things smashing and being destroyed is pretty satisfying. Overall, Fighting Vipers 2 is nothing that special, but it's still worth half an hour of so of mostly mindless fighting game fun if you ever come across a cabinet for it or the Dreamcast port. (11/7/21) [31/50]

[vivigamer]

33. No Straight Roads (PS4) 5/11/2021

I don't know how many here have played or even heard of this but I found it to be a brilliant Co-Op experience! The game is set around these two rock musicians who want to bring back a dying genre to a city which is powered by Electronic Dance Music. It has a very distinct art direct, great characters, progression systems, and funny dialogue - Great Music too thankfully! However, the game has a deep flaw... The combat mechanics are horrendous! A lot of the game is based on timing your attacks and parrying but t he parry system is unbearably broken to the point where it feels it just doesn't work most of the time. Me and my friend just ended up accepting we would have to die and continue and get worse grades to enjoy the game.

Despite this the games compelling story and charm was more than enough to make it a strong recommendation! I can't think of many co-op games that are in third person and allow you to navigate open world/city environments with your buddy. Co-op game are so fleeting these days so to experience one beyond the typical FPS/Racing/Beat 'Em Up genres was a delight!

It's combat is flawed but there is an enjoyable game here and I look forward to see the studios new game Ondeh Ondeh

[bikingjahuty]

47. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Genesis)

I've been waiting 24-years to play this game. While I was heavily entrenched in the 5th console generation by the time this game came out in 1997, I still had my Genesis and I still played it occasionally, mostly for Sonic 3. But I remember seeing this game at several stores during that time and I was already hugely into the movie and also the excellent Sega arcade lightgun shooter. I guess back then I thought it might be a Genesis version of the arcade version, but obviously now I know it would be nothing like that. Actually, I knew very little about this game going into it other than it was a but of a childhood bucket list game I'd never got around to playing or owning. But I finally did play The Lost World for Genesis, and, well, it's not that great. It's an over head action shooter game similar to Die Hard on the NES, but instead of shooting terrorists you're shooting dinosaurs and dinosaur poachers. In concept it sounds cool, but the graphics, audio, and gameplay really prevent it from being anything but pretty below average. To the game's credit you do have different mission objectives for each stage, however these range from kinda fun to incredibly mundane and tedious. The controls are pretty awkward too, especially the vehicle sections. Luckily these are few and far between, but still it's like driving a car on black ice while driving them. In some ways I wish I'd left this one in my past, but at the same time I'm glad I finally got around to playing it as a way of fulfilling yet another things I wish I could have done as a 10-year old in the 90s. (11/13/21) [23/50]

[bikingjahuty]

48. Jurassic Park (Arcade)

Going along with my early 90s Jurassic Park kick from the previous game I beat, I decided to play an arcade title from the series that I surprisingly never saw or played back in the day. In fact, I wasn't made aware of this games existence until a few years ago which surprising me since it looked cool and it also was made by the arcade legends of the 90s, Sega. After playing the JP arcade game, ummm, I'm pretty sure I know why I never heard this game get brought up or get mentioned on best arcade rail shooters of the 90s. Jurassic Park might be the most mindless poorly designed rail shooters I've ever played. I don't know if the machine I was playing on was set to hard or something, but I encountered so many situations where I have no idea how I was going to avoid getting hit by a dino attack. I don't recall ever encountering this in any other rail shooter I've ever played, especially at the rate you encounter it in JP. And even if this wasn't an issue, you pretty much just hold down the trigger and have rapid fire killing the hundreds of dinos that cross your path. Luckily Jurassic Park's presentation is certainly an improvement over its gameplay. The awesome dinosaur sprites look great, especially on some of the bigger dinosaurs like the Trex or Brachiosaurus who are made up of several smaller sprites to give them a more organic, natural motion when moving. All the dinos you'd expect in a JP arcade game are here too, including some nice additions that weren't in the movie. The audio is fairly good too with dinosaurs making various roars and screams as you shoot them, but also the high energy OST defenitely fits the action packed, rollercoaster like gameplay. Overall JP is not a terrible game, but its gameplay is so slopping and mindless that I definitely understand how an arcade game based on one of the biggest movie franchises of all time has slipped into such obscurity. Play it if you ever come across it, but don't expect some hidden gem. (11/14/21) [28/50]

[bikingjahuty]

49. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

I've been meaning to go back in play this absolute classic for years. In fact, the last time I played and beat it was on the Wii virtual console back in 2007 or 2008. Before that it was the game I got with my SNES for my 8th birthday in 1995 and I played it for countless hours until I was able to beat it. Yet, here I am having beat it again, this time in under 3-hours. It blows my mind how much better i am at games than I was as a kid, which makes sense, but this game took me literal months to beat when I was in elementary school. DKC is still an absolute classic and is filled with so much fun an charm, as well as excellent platforming gameplay. While there are some pretty irritating levels like ones where the lights go on and off, or some of the barrel blasting in a few of the snow levels, the game is still very enjoyable to play overall. Graphically, there are a lot of recycled areas, enemies, and various other assets that are reused a lot, but luckily each stage still somehow feels memorable and fun despite this. The audio of DKC is the stuff of legends and I find it hard to argue against this. That water music especially is like a massive hit of nostalgia for me injected directly into my veins. DKC2 is undoubtedly a better game than its predecessor, but the groundwork laid out by the original was so groundbreaking and innovative that its hard to argue the influence of Rare during the 90s with DKC being one of the prime examples of this. (11/15/21) [38/50]

[kamikazekeeg]

Halo Infinite Multiplayer (PC 2021) - ENDLESS - I think it's been about 15+ years since I've played a Halo multiplayer on PC, and probably a good decade since I've played Halo multiplayer at all back when Halo Reach was out.  I never got into Halo 4's as I didn't play that till much past it's release, no multiplayer, and then I never touched Halo 5, still haven't.  Halo is like comfort food to me, because even if I don't really play these arcade arena shooters anymore, more into generally realistic shooters, I can just hop into a Halo and feel good about it.

I am super lost though with like half the gear, items, and weapons though lol Years of not playing Halo, I keep grabbing guns I'm not familiar with and getting smoked.  I think the only not old gun I don't mind is the VK78, an automatic rifle with a slower fire rate.  I hope they plan to add more weapons to the game, especially classic ones, as there's good ones missing like the classic shotgun and magnum.  Also add classic maps.  I read something they don't want to pure remakes, which is unfortunate, but give me the spiritual successor to Blood Gulch and Sidewinder.

Seems like it is gonna be a great time though.

[dhaabi]

39. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan || PlayStation 4 || 11.17.21

As a planned eight-entry anthology series, The Dark Pictures is Supermassive Games' follow-up to their well-received title Until Dawn. Adopting familiar gameplay and tones as its predecessor, the collection offers more stories to be shared and decided upon by the player's involvement but in a shorter format while also allowing for a shared two-player experience. The anthology begins with Man of Medan, which, honestly, left me feeling more like I had played Man of Meh-dan.

As previously mentioned, each entry in The Dark Pictures allows for a solo or two-player experience, with my playthrough adopting for the former. Having just played Until Dawn within the past month, a lot of mechanics and details felt the same, which is something I enjoyed. However, the execution was not. As an interactive adventure title, its success is reliant upon the weight of player-input. Unfortunately, it felt that moments of critical decision made little difference to the unfolding story; additionally, these moments felt far and few between.

Critical to every adventure title, well-defined characters are key to a promising game. Again, Man of Medan struggled with this aspect too. At the end of the game, I understood who the characters were just as much as I had within the first hour of playing. While playing, there is almost zero character development. At the same time, there is almost zero character interaction between themselves. Even during free-roaming moments with characters in the vicinity, there is not even the option to speak to others. Just as Until Dawn, decisions determine characters' traits and relationships, yet this crucial element to the series felt the least developed. In the end, it felt as if my decisions had no effect on how characters interacted with others or, at the very least, responded to situations.

Relying upon quick-time events, this aspect generally did well. However, the lack of variety in them was a little disappointing. Unlike Until Dawn, which required more aim-and-respond type inputs, Man of Medan now offered only one or two of these moments. I personally enjoy the more action-oriented responses, so seeing this mechanic become largely diminished was disappointing. However, a new type of player response was added in the form of heartbeat control. While not a quick-time event, it does relay on timed button presses, and I did find this aspect to be successful. At times, the meter's tempo may change more than once, which turns a stressful moment even more so.

Lastly, and, quite frankly, I found the story to be underwhelming and, surprisingly, not scary. Perhaps this is in part to the characters, but, even on its own, the story did not feel as strong as what Until Dawn offered. With a weak cast and half-length story compared to its predecessor, Man of Medan suffers from needing more detail and world-building.

As each of the subsequent entries in the anthology follow a shorter narrative experience, I can only hope that these entries address these shortcomings. Until Dawn exceeded well with more of an expanded story and developed characters, so perhaps follow-up anthology entries can somehow find a means to lean more in to what made Until Dawn exceed so well.

[bikingjahuty]

50. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES)

After beating the first DKC I decided I wanted to immediately jump into its superior sequel right away to in a way compare the two games. Yes DKC2 is better in nearly every single way. The graphics are excellent and varied; the stages and enemies are better and there are more of them; and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the OST is way better too. The original DKC had a amazing OST so to say this one is better is saying a lot. But DKC2 has so many stages, secrets, unlockables, and gameplay variations that this game absolutely set the standard for what made a great platformer during the mid 90s. My only gripes with the game have to do with some half baked gameplay mostly when controlling the animal characters after transforming into them, as well as some questionable level design in some of the harder stages in the game. But these are relatively minor to what is probably my favorite platformer of the 16-bit era. (11/19/21) [43/50]

[Cartagia]

50. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES)

After beating the first DKC I decided I wanted to immediately jump into its superior sequel right away to in a way compare the two games. Yes DKC2 is better in nearly every single way. The graphics are excellent and varied; the stages and enemies are better and there are more of them; and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the OST is way better too. The original DKC had a amazing OST so to say this one is better is saying a lot. But DKC2 has so many stages, secrets, unlockables, and gameplay variations that this game absolutely set the standard for what made a great platformer during the mid 90s. My only gripes with the game have to do with some half baked gameplay mostly when controlling the animal characters after transforming into them, as well as some questionable level design in some of the harder stages in the game. But these are relatively minor to what is probably my favorite platformer of the 16-bit era. (11/19/21) [43/50]

I've played all three in the last year as well, and it never ceases to surprise me how many people think DKC is the better game.  DKC2 is superior in every aspect.  It's gotta be down to nostalgia, and the number of people that only played the first over the sequel.  DKC3 isn't bad, either, but it is too big, ambitious, and inconsistent.

[bikingjahuty]

50. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES)

After beating the first DKC I decided I wanted to immediately jump into its superior sequel right away to in a way compare the two games. Yes DKC2 is better in nearly every single way. The graphics are excellent and varied; the stages and enemies are better and there are more of them; and I can't believe I'm saying this, but the OST is way better too. The original DKC had a amazing OST so to say this one is better is saying a lot. But DKC2 has so many stages, secrets, unlockables, and gameplay variations that this game absolutely set the standard for what made a great platformer during the mid 90s. My only gripes with the game have to do with some half baked gameplay mostly when controlling the animal characters after transforming into them, as well as some questionable level design in some of the harder stages in the game. But these are relatively minor to what is probably my favorite platformer of the 16-bit era. (11/19/21) [43/50]

I've played all three in the last year as well, and it never ceases to surprise me how many people think DKC is the better game.  DKC2 is superior in every aspect.  It's gotta be down to nostalgia, and the number of people that only played the first over the sequel.  DKC3 isn't bad, either, but it is too big, ambitious, and inconsistent.

I honestly think it's a nostalgia thing. I owned both DKC and DKC2 growing up and for whatever strange reason I have slightly more nostalgia for the original. Obviously this doesn't say anything about how good the game is, only that my personal connection to it is slightly stronger. I feel like a lot of people confound the two and automatically believe the game is better just because their feelings for it are stronger.

[bikingjahuty]

51. Kirby's Dreamland 3 (SNES)

I bought my first NES from a garage sale in the late 90s and out of all the games I had for it I remember Kirby's Adventure being one of my absolute favorites. It definitely made me a huge Kirby fan from that point on so I've always been fairly enthusiastic for new Kirby releases since playing that first game. Sadly, I feel like for one reason or another Kirby games jus haven't resonated with me like they used to and unfortunately Kirby's Dreamland 3 on the SNES is one of those games. Presentation wise Kirby's Dreamland 3 is a pretty nice looking game; it has a really sentimental colored pencil art style which makes it feel like you're playing the game inside a kid's picture book. Combine this with a very lighthearted and fun OST and the game definitely pleases all the senses...well, at least until you start actually playing the game. Kirby's gameplay is fairly boring, poorly implemented, and just very clumsy. While I wasn't expected it be super fluid and fast paces, the gameplay just feels sluggish and unresponsive at times. Also, one of the main gameplay elements of the game which is to use your animal companions to help get through various levels was more of a gimmick and even a hinderance than a cool gameplay mechanic. Maybe worst of all is just how boring this game becomes the longer you play. Levels are fairly dull, enemies are extremely repetitive, and most things in this game just feel uninspired. As I said, the presentation definitely help make this game slightly more entertaining, but honestly they don't do enough to keep this game fun and engaging. (11/20/21) [26/50]

[bikingjahuty]

I imagine in a few weeks me or someone else will start the 2022 52-Games Challenge thread. I've decided that for next year I'm going to heavily focus on replaying games that aren't necessarily some of the best I've ever played, but ones that I remember enjoying but haven't played for years. Certainly games I haven't played in a decade or longer will take priority, but I would love to revisit more or less anything I've played since before we began this challenge. Recently I've kept on wanting to play games I remember having a great time with and I feel like it would be cool to run with this throughout most of next year. Sure, I will definitely be playing games I've never played before too, but it would be nice if at least half of what I ended up playing are games I just haven't had the chance to play for 10, 20, or even 30 years.

[dhaabi]

40. Carto || Nintendo Switch || 11.23.21

Having picked up Carto after watching a brief trailer and knowing nothing else, I wasn't really sure what to expect prior to playing aside from adventure-puzzle gameplay.

That being said, Carto tells the story of young titular character Carto as she travels the skies with her grandmother. As a family of cartographers, they have the ability to perform a sort of geomancy in constructing and deconstructing the world by way of map-making. The story begins as Carto accidentally creates a storm when using their map and is separated from her grandmother, while the map itself has been torn, divided, and scattered across the lands below.

Seeking to be reunited with her grandmother, Carto relies on finding the scattered map pieces while traversing the world and meeting new kinds of people. In the world presented, peoples are divided across varied regions and environments yet seem to all share ancestral origins. The first group of people Carto meets explains their people's customs, in that, upon coming-of-age, a person leaves their homeland and must find home elsewhere with another group of people. While each having their own specific cultures largely relating to their environment, each group is reliant upon their nearby terrain and wildlife while all practicing nomadic cultures.

From grasslands and forests to deserts and tundras, Carto connects the land back together as more pieces of the map is found. Throughout her journey, she inevitably solves the problems in the daily lives of those she meets. As far as the game's puzzle mechanics offer, tiles of land must be connected in certain ways or in certain proximity to other tiles. Upon doing so, the story can move froward, as characters then move to certain areas and even new tiles of land emerge. On that note, land tiles are unique and do not connect with every other tile. Environmental aspects such as rivers and paths must connect together seamlessly on each connecting side. When solving puzzles, tiles will be moved and rotated again and again. At times, how a tile is currently rotated is crucial to solving the problem at-hand. Toward the end of the game, as opposed to single tiles of land, a region's land segments are instead presented as tetrominos. There was a little more challenge in regards to some puzzles presented here, and it did come off as more annoying than not.

Overall, Carto is a casual yet endearing game. The adventure itself and people met are welcoming and warm. While there is only one large end goal, dozens of smaller goals must be met in order for young Carto to move forward as she and her grandmother inch closer to each other yet repeatedly remain out-of-reach due to the environment. As far as the game's puzzles, they do require thought but are not overly challenging. As someone who enjoys this blend of genres yet does not prefer too much of a challenge, I found Carto to offer the right level of difficulty. As a short experience of under 10 hours, Carto is recommendable for those looking for a fair amount of adventure-puzzle gameplay difficulty that offers a feel-good story.

[justin8301]

I've been really bad at updating my list this year. Next year I'm gonna take this a bit more seriously.

17. Until Dawn (PS4) 10/16
18. Resident Evil HD Remaster (Switch) 10/24
19. Gears of War Ultimate Edition (XBO) 11/13
20. Forza Horizon 5 (XSX) 11/19

[dhaabi]

41. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom || PlayStation 2 || 11.28.21

Like many others, I was certainly a fan of the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants during its prime throughout the early 2000s. At the time of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom's release, I owned the game and enjoyed my time with it but eventually removed it from my collection. Nearly 20 years later, I finally was able to re-visit the game once more.

As a game referencing source material from another medium, it excels in recreating a player-driven experience. Numerous references to the TV series are shown, with most shown in the form of the diverse levels to explore. Other times, there are small moments and jokes taken from the TV series. By far and large, the game's writing and tone do well at recreating what the series is known best for, with original dialogue sounding like something that easily could have been a part of the show itself. This principle is driven further by having much of the original voice cast to reprise their roles, with only two minor characters being played by new actors.

Upon starting, I quickly realized just why this title is highly regarded, as its gameplay holds up quite well by modern standards. As a typical 3D platforming collect-a-thon, Battle for Bikini Bottom features varied controls split between three playable characters, with SpongeBob's moveset being able to be expanded upon as the narrative continues. As a children's game, the gameplay is forgiving but not always straight-forward in difficulty. When health is fully depleted, the player-character respawns at the last checkpoint which always affects most enemies and breakables. While minor, the only issue that I encountered was becoming accustomed to the camera controls which are assigned to the right analog stick as opposed to the shoulder buttons which are generally used in modern titles. Apart from this aspect, the game controls well, and any errors are largely in part to player input.

With the narrative focusing on Bikini Bottom being overrun by uncontrollable robots designed by Plankton, the core gameplay is action-oriented to combat these forces. However, another gameplay style that is revisited over and over again is a form of snowboarding that references source material. These segments are generally okay and are fairly simple to get through for a casual experience. However, if one wishes to gather all collectables, a small challenge does present itself to the player. Nevertheless, these segments added a nice change of pace to the game's action-platforming.

Overall, Battle for Bikini Bottom is a highly recommended title for fans of the show and for fans of 3D platformers. The game has aged well, and it makes sense that a remake was developed in recent years. On that note, I am glad that I pursued playing the original game as it relies on the same art direction as the show itself. On the other hand, the remake features bright, high contrasted colors which look nothing like SpongeBob from this era.