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52 Games Challenge 2024!!!!!

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bikingjahuty:
6. The Bouncer (PS2)

Vivigamer mentioned this game in another thread and I suddenly became inspired to replay this game after last playing it 23-years ago when it first came out. I rented this game back in 2001 at Blockbuster after getting hyped for the game on account I was a big FF and Square fan at the time. I don't remember beating the game when I rented it despite its very short length, but I figured maybe I got busy or something else came up. Now I remember the reason I didn't beat it was because this game is pretty bad for the most part.


There are some redeeming qualities in the Bouncer, mostly the ultra late 90s/early 2000s Squaresoft style the main characters are designed in, and also that ultra cozy early 2000s, 6th gen console vibes that give me the warm fuzzies whenever I play a game that has that. The OST is pretty good for the most part too. I also thought it was a cool idea having the three characters be selectable during each playable part of the game, which changes dialogue and how certain parts of the game play out. And finally, it's shallow RPG skill leveling system is a fairly cool system to include in a beat em' up, especially around this time when there wasn't anything else like it. My praise really does stop there as this is one of the most boring, clunky, and poorly designed beat em' ups I've ever played. The combat just feels sloppy and slow, while constantly getting kicked out to the main menu and having to reload my save file every time I die got really annoying, real fast. I also really hated how stop and go the game is where you play for a minute or two, watch a 2 to 5 minute cutscene, play for another few minutes, rinse and repeat. Did I mention there are loading screens and manuals saves between all these? I got to a particularly frustrating part where you have to escort a girl out of the bad guy's headquarters where I kept dying. I wasn't really having any fun before that so I finally just said screw it and gave up out of annoyance and boredom. Even the two hours it takes to do a single playthrough of this game was asking too much from me. This time, I plan on leaving The Bouncer in my past. (12/28/24) - ABANDONED

bikingjahuty:
With 3 days to spare, I finally reached the coveted 52 games mark! I have no idea if I'll be able to complete anymore games this year, but even if I don't that's okay. I decided I'm aiming for 100 games beat next year which means I'll have plenty of time to play more next year. But anyhow, I ended up picking a quick one after abandoning The Bouncer.


52. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Dreamcast)

I am not at all familiar with the Jojo series, however what drew me to one of its fighting games was a) it was made by Capcom during the mid to late 90s prime, and b) it's on the Dreamcast. I got this game for Christmas years ago when I was heavily into Dreamcast collecting and aside from dabbling in it for about 15 minutes when I first received it, I've never actually played through it. After doing just that tonight, I have to say this game has a lot going for it, but also lacks in the one place fighting games live or die by, it's gameplay. The presentation looks great; the sprites and backgrounds are very stylized and are animated wonderfully like most 2D Capcom fighting games of this time. I definitely got Street Fighter Alpha or Darkstalkers vibes from the visuals in this game. The same can be said about the audio which also felt spot for a late 90s Capcom fighting game. The presentation alone carried my interest the most since the gameplay is pretty...meh. There are some decent qualities to the gameplay including how smooth and fluid the controls are as well as the somewhat cool ability to summon a persona like creature (can't remember the name the game uses) that fights alongside your character and also acts as the element of each character that performs their special moves. However, there seems to be little in the way of balancing between characters and the difficulty is all over the place depending on who you're fighting. Some characters actually feel completely useless to play as, which is never a good sign for a fighting game. While not completely terrible, it is this games biggest flaw and probably why this game has been lost to obscurity despite the Jojo series having a surge in popularity in recent years. Even among old school fighting game fans, this one is never brought up. So yeah, your mileage will vary depending on how much of a Jojo fan you are, how much you love 90s Capcom fighting games, and probably how much you enjoy the Dreamcast's library of arcade ports. (12/28/24) [32/50]

marvelvscapcom2:

--- Quote from: bikingjahuty on December 29, 2024, 12:32:33 am ---With 3 days to spare, I finally reached the coveted 52 games mark! I have no idea if I'll be able to complete anymore games this year, but even if I don't that's okay. I decided I'm aiming for 100 games beat next year which means I'll have plenty of time to play more next year. But anyhow, I ended up picking a quick one after abandoning The Bouncer.


[L(12/28/24) [32/50]

--- End quote ---

Yayy Congrats on 52!  And happy new year to all if I dont beat any new games or see this thread.

 I feel the same way that im trying to save beaten games for glorious 2025. I feel with 2025 being a more ambitious year for my backlog too. I feel stupid that ive been on this forum for a while and always seen this challenge. And kinda just missed it. But now I been wanting to review more, catelog more and beat more games. This is the place to be :)   


Whats funny is the other day I was questioning if 100 is even possible. An average of 1 game about every 3.5 days for an entire year. Certainly not by me lol. I look forward to seeing you pull it off. You got this.  Happy gaming everyone. 


My intent in 2025 is to hit 52 games. And 1750 trophies. 

dhaabi:
51. Milo and the Christmas Gift || PC || 12.29.24



Unexpectedly, I decided to play Milo and the Christmas Gift after realizing it's a free project published by Second Maze, a side venture from the Rusty Lake team. I knew very little before beginning my playthrough aside from what type of game it is, so my expectations were low, though I did take note of its positive review scores.

To first provide context, Milo and the Christmas Gift is a spin-off story to the creator's previous game Milo and the Magpies, though it's not required to play beforehand. In brief, Christmas Gift is a short point-and-click adventure puzzle experience about a newly-acquired pet rabbit named Toby who's gone missing. With passing curiosity, the other family pet, the titular car Milo, follows Toby while interacting with the environment in subtle ways. However, the player doesn't really control either of the two animals but instead serves as the force behind all actions, whether they be the animals' or the environment's.

Early on, puzzles did not feel explained and seemed obtuse. There are only so many environment set pieces to interact with at any given time, so that I was quickly stumped left me feeling slightly irritated. Though it wasn't mentioned, I thought for some time that maybe different items needed to be interacted with simultaneously or even one after another like some sort of chain reaction. However, this wasn't the case. Instead, the game's first puzzle doesn't even across as a puzzle at all. This issue was at its worst during this time and did get better as the game progressed, though there were still small segments which felt underdeveloped regarding puzzle translation.

This also extends to what all may be interacted with on a general level too. While some items come across as key interactables, others certainly do not. Only after scouring the page with the cursor moving at all times across all corners can all interactables be discovered, because several aren't obvious. And even when an interaction is obvious, there were several instances that eluded me as to how players would think on their own that this is the action to take. More often than not, I found myself brute forcing to find the solution through acts of sporadic clicking.

Meanwhile, all of the game's visuals are beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and it's evident through all their details. Particularly, background environments are visually appealing. At the same time, some playful animations are present through animal movement—movement that's mostly evident through the interactions between Milo and Toby. In truth, the game's visuals are the game's most commendable strengths.

In the end, Milo and the Christmas Gift is generally okay and inoffensive given that it's free to experience. Still, there is a lot of room for improvement regarding puzzle design and event sequences which was disappointing to discover, given the game's focus on point-and-click gameplay.

tripredacus:
21. Katamari Damacy Reroll (Steam)

Easily beat this in just a couple of hours. Interesting that most of my memories of this game must have been with one of the sequels. I haven't played this in a long time since I had lent out my PS2 copy over a decade ago and I did not get it back. I'm pretty sure I rebought it since then (besides this PC version) but hadn't replayed it. I am not even sure the original save is still on my memory card.

Only two nitpicks about the game. First, the game defaults to 1024x768 resolution when it launches and you do not get any option to change the resolution or anything else until you get past the tutorial level and onto the planet interface. So in the first level it plays in windowed and is small but I guess it depends on what resolution you are using.

The second is less about the game specifically and more about the controller. By default it wants you to use the keyboard, that I didn't try. I do use the Xbox 360 wired controller normally. In my previous experience I've only played the Katamari games on PS2 and PS3 and the thumbsticks are in a different position on those controllers. The only real issue is the speed burst option which did not work for me. It could be because of my controller, as I know that there is some drift in one of the thumbsticks that shows up in another game. I do have another controller I can try. Basically what happens is that the action gets cancelled. Having the speed boost function is really important and it may be required to 100% the game.

Since achivements are present, it gives more perspective to what you can do in the game that I did not fully realise with the PS2 versions. In the PS2 version I know it has a list of all the things you can roll up and that you can somehow try to get everything. I remember spending a bit of time trying to get the missing items but back then there wasn't any sort of reference list to how to get them. That is changed now since it is on Steam. So it seems the only way to 100% the game is not only to find all of the items, but also to complete the constellations. Of that, the hardest is always going to be the cow and bear levels, where the game ends if you roll up one of those animals or an object marked as one of those. The cow one is insidious because there is a small cow statue or toy that is right in front of you, where you can end the level in 3 seconds but really what you are supposed to do is try to avoid those items as long as possible.

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