Author Topic: 52 Games Challenge 2022  (Read 32091 times)

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #315 on: November 08, 2022, 03:02:21 pm »
27. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) 11/5/22

few minor complaints about the complexity of the combat system, but overall enjoyed this one.

kashell

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #316 on: November 09, 2022, 10:16:39 am »
We had a pub crawl in Indianapolis, IN and the first bar was a "barcade". I was able to replay some classics despite the expected jank from the alcohol soaked buttons/joysticks.

58. Street Fighter II - Ken

I'm glad everything was on on free play. This game's difficulty was either cranked up to the max, I'm just that bad at fighting games, or a combination of the two.

59. Bad Dudes

Time has not been kind to this game. The highlight was the "I'm bad!" shout at the end of a level.

60. Shinobi

This game, however, has aged quite well. It was difficult but fun. It's actually the first time I ever played this, despite seeing it all over various restaurants or hotels when I was a kid.

Which gaming bar did you go to? I live near Indy and I pass by one called 16-Bit on my way home from work. I’ve been meaning to check it out (that Q*Bert arcade machine in the doorway beckons) but I haven’t had the time yet.

That's the one!

telly

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #317 on: November 09, 2022, 10:39:28 am »
This is shaping up to be my lowest year yet in terms of games finished. :'( Just very busy with a new job, and some family illness, and a wedding!
Currently Playing:
DOOM (PS4)

My music collection | My Backloggery

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #318 on: November 09, 2022, 09:15:33 pm »
57. Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast)

I played Gauntlet legends a fair bit back in the 90s in the arcade, and in was certainly a game I desired to own growing up on home console. While I may have rented it back in the day once, I don't remember playing any of the home console ports of it all that much. I finally got around to playing it on the Dreamcast, probably a good 15+ years since I've last played it period, and well, it's not that great. Back in the 90s when beat em' ups and arcade hack and slashes were more of the rage I can totally understand why I thought this game was pretty fun in the arcade. However sitting at home and continuously hitting the same button over and over again gets pretty boring rather fast. It doesn't help that some of the level design and boss battles are the definition of cheap and annoying, no doubt to extract more quarters out of arcade goers. Visually the game still looks pretty good with its vibrant colors and fun fantasy aesthetic. The audio is decent too. But outside of that this is a game best played in the arcade and not so much at home. Although I feel like this game would maybe be more fun with two or more players, but it still doesn't change how repetitive and poorly designed this game is at its core. (11/9/22) [27/50]

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #319 on: November 10, 2022, 01:57:27 am »
11 - Chernobylite (PC 2021) - BEAT - As an old STALKER fan, not many games have ever actually been able to kinda fill that gap left by that series.  STALKER 2 will eventually (Delayed for obvious reasons), but there's been good games like the Metro series, a couple games that tried to be STALKER-like, but didn't really pan out, and then we have Chernobylite which I think handles things in a different way, but nails alot of the atmosphere of that.  I think it sorta drags abit with the story, combat is kinda basic, and it lacks variety in the weapons and enemies, but atmosphere is great, the story itself is fine, the light base building and team dynamic is interesting, and the overall package made for a solid enough time.  Nothing amazing, but if you are into STALKER or Metro, this one is probably worth at least checking out.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #320 on: November 11, 2022, 12:16:28 am »
58. Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS5)

I hesitated to get this game for a while despite liking the first one quite a bit. My main hangup was that it just looked too similar to the first game and, well, I was right. It does streamline and improve certain gameplay aspects, especially distributing power to your park, however the task of managing dinosaurs is a lot more cumbersome, but also the dinos are a lot more agreeable for the most part. Also, I know quite a few new species were added, but at the same time it never felt substantial enough from the original game. There are some other decent modes that this game introduces, but overall it just feels like an expansion for the first game more than a dedicated title. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit. A lot of the voice cast from the movies reprise their roles in this game, while some do not, and there really isn't anything special about the OST. I'd say if you're a fan of park sims and dinos give it a try, although I'd recommend getting it for pretty cheap if you can. (11/10/22) [35/50]

dhaabi

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #321 on: November 11, 2022, 03:30:03 pm »
12. Touhou Gouyoku Ibun: Sunken Fossil World || Nintendo Switch || 10.30.22

For whatever reason, a friend of mine has wanted me to play Touhou spin-off fighting games on multiple occasions despite knowing nothing about the series or having any interest in it. So, I have now played two of these games which now includes Touhou Gouyoku Ibun: Sunken Fossil World.

In the game, there are 6 playable characters each with their own fighting path, motives and actions, and plot. However, as should be assumed, I know nothing about any plot or lore surrounding the Touhou franchise, so I wholly ignored this aspect to the game. To be as brief as possible regarding the game's plot, oil has begun spewing out of the ground onto the world's surface, with playable characters each acting differently in response to it.

When skimming through some of the game's wiki pages, I'm seeing how it is being officially described as a "horizontal side-scrolling bullet hell platformer action game consisting entirely of boss fights." Of course, that is one very specific way to describe the game, but the gameplay can broadly be pinned down as a gimmick 2D fighting game. Lifting elements from the main Touhou franchise, Sunken Fossil World incorporates the series' chief bullet-hell gameplay mechanics and shields. Surviving fights is completely dependent on mastering dodging capabilities, with this game's gimmick being to collect oil which can unleash special attacks one gauge is full. Apart from these elements, the game plays straightforward as anything else from the fighting genre. Although, another thing to note is that each fight has numerous stages to it, as enemies will be temporarily subdued only to quickly resume battle with increasingly complex and threatening movesets.

Sometime last year, I played through Touhou Hyouibana: Antinomy of Common Flowers which is a predecessor to Sunken Fossil World. Aside from the latter's gimmick and player life system operates, gameplay is largely similar between the two. The oil-collecting gimmick of Sunken Fossil World felt like an afterthought, and I did not utilize it at all in most of my time playing aside from a few instances. I tried using it early in my playthrough, but it felt difficult to utilize alongside the game's hyperactive gameplay. Throughout my experience, it felt as if the game's difficulty noticeably lessened as I reached the game's climax which I can't really attribute to my getting used to the controls.

For some reason, I found myself actually playing through and completing each of the 6 playable character's paths. Toward the end, it felt as if I was reaching some understanding with how the game controls, but it is difficult to say since each of the 6 characters control very differently, with one or two being much more difficult to control than one would presume. With several difficulty options, I initially played through Normal mode for my first player path, but I switched to Easy afterward. Unless you are someone greatly enjoying this game who is wanting to master it, there is certainly enough of a challenge offered with the easiest difficulty setting that will still offer fans a fulfilling experience.

There is not that much depth to the game, but there is a lot of challenge. On two separate occasions, the game crashed. One crash was actually during the sixth and final boss fight during its last segment; I actually didn't complete this path completely because of it, since it was late at night and I was ready to move on. Whether I would have actually completed the path, I don't think I would have gained any greater fulfillment from it.

From an outsider's perspective to Touhou and as someone with little fighting game experience, I still felt as if Sunken Fossil World offers a mediocre experience. Unless you are a fan of the franchise, I can't think of any reason to recommend it to someone.

dhaabi

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #322 on: November 11, 2022, 03:43:10 pm »
This is shaping up to be my lowest year yet in terms of games finished. :'(

Going into this year, my goal was to play longer games instead of shorter games. I've definitely maintained that approach with having put in dozens of hours into some games I've played—with two going over 100—but I've been able to complete fewer games than I was still expecting. My focuses have been elsewhere, though, as I've found myself not playing games as often as last year.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #323 on: November 11, 2022, 10:35:17 pm »
Attempted two games tonight, actually finished one.


Parappa the Rapper (PS1) - ABANDONED

This is one of those games that I've spent my entire collecting life hearing about how amazing it is. And while I'm not a fan of rap or hip hop, I am a fan of funny, quirky Japanese rhythm games like Project Diva, DDR, and Gitaroo Man. I will also add that this is not my first time trying to get into Parappa; I've probably tried getting into this game at least 4 times over the past 10-years since I first added the game to my collection. However tonight I went into playing Parappa with a determination that I was going to get this game and also get past the first level for the first time. Unfortunately I didn't accomplish either after trying for over an hour. I definitely understand the basic premise of how this game works, however the game does such a poor job at conveying to you whether you're not following the beat that sometimes when I thought I nailed the beat inputs perfectly it said I missed them, while other times I was sure I missed, but to my surprise the game said I got them. I tried and tried to get the hang of Parappa the Rapper, but once again I couldn't do it. I feel like this game is not supposed to be this difficult, but after watching youtube videos and lets plays I just couldn't figure out how to play this game successfully. I've decided that this game is just not for me and will likely sell it at this point. Too bad since it seems like a lot of people really like it and if I could actually figure the game out I'd love to see why for myself. (11/11/22)

59. Rampage World Tour (PS1)

After Parappa I couldn't think of what else I wanted to play, but felt like playing something. I saw my copy of Rampage World Tour and thought, "eh, what the hell." I used to LOVE this game as a kid! I would get so excited when I'd see it in arcades and when I heard it was getting a console port I quickly traded in a ton of my N64 games to my local Software Esc for probably a fraction of what they were worth, and preordered this game. I bought it the day it came out and for the first third of it i was in heaven. However even as a kid who didn't know any better and was far more tolerant of bad games, I still got bored with it before even completing half the levels and by the end of the game I was beyond ready for it to be over. This is still my sentiment, however instead of getting through 30 or so levels and reaching my breaking point with this game, I felt tat way at around 10 levels. For the record Rampage World Tour is not a terrible game, it's actually fairly fun and pretty cathartic just destroying famous cities, eating people, smashing building and military vehicles, and doing it all as a giant 3-story tall Kaiju monster. However this game is about as repetitive as it gets and aside from special landmarks in certain cities and slightly different backgrounds, this is the same game through and through for every single level. The gameplay is fairly good for what this game is despite being pretty simplistic, which is hardly a fault since it's by design. However, this game has probably one of the laziest soundtracks and audio I've ever come across in a semi-modern game. Nearly every level has the same tock music in it, the same sound effects play constantly, and it essentially just becomes white noise you put up with. While I appreciate all the good times I had with this game in the arcade as a kid, I can't say this game is still enjoyable for me to play beyond 10-minutes tops. (11/11/22) [27/50]

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #324 on: November 11, 2022, 10:39:38 pm »
This is shaping up to be my lowest year yet in terms of games finished. :'( Just very busy with a new job, and some family illness, and a wedding!


I anticipate this might be me next year. I have a few things going on that I'm already aware of, but also I'm honestly just feeling a bit burned out on video games in general. I play them because it's just sort of what I do in my free time most of the time, but I've found myself wanting to get more into other hobbies and interest too recently. This could very well change by the beginning of next year, but I'm willing to give myself a break if needed and recharge my gamer batteries a little. If that means beating less than 52-games next year then so be it. I've certainly made up for it in many of the previous years I've been doing this.

dhaabi

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #325 on: November 12, 2022, 11:03:14 am »
Parappa the Rapper (PS1) - ABANDONED
I've decided that this game is just not for me and will likely sell it at this point.

PaRappa the Rapper has not aged well but still maintains its charm, which is why I think fans still enjoy the game for what it is. I noticed you also have Um Jammer Lammy as part of your collection too—before writing off the series completely, you may want to try that game too at some point. I find it to be the best of the three games in the series in terms of how gameplay functions, and you may appreciate its shift to rock music rather than hip-hop.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #326 on: November 12, 2022, 12:25:08 pm »
Parappa the Rapper (PS1) - ABANDONED
I've decided that this game is just not for me and will likely sell it at this point.

PaRappa the Rapper has not aged well but still maintains its charm, which is why I think fans still enjoy the game for what it is. I noticed you also have Um Jammer Lammy as part of your collection too—before writing off the series completely, you may want to try that game too at some point. I find it to be the best of the three games in the series in terms of how gameplay functions, and you may appreciate its shift to rock music rather than hip-hop.


I still am holding on to Parappa 2 and Um Jammer Lammy until I have a chance to sit down and try them out. Considering I love games like Gitaroo Man I figured Parappa would be right up my ally, but more than my dislike of hip hop, it's really the gameplay I just can't seem to figure out. Like, I get what I'm supposed to do and how I need to do it, but I just can't seem to get consistent results while playing. But yes, definitely plan on trying the other two games out before adding those to the trade box too.

dhaabi

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #327 on: November 13, 2022, 02:01:34 pm »
13. Silent Hill || PlayStation || 11.05.22

As someone who has been interested in survival horror games for a long time but has nearly zero experience in actually playing them, I really wanted to gather some experience within the genre finally. While I didn't start with what many consider to be the first example of the genre (Resident Evil), I chose to start with the Silent Hill as I am less familiar with the series overall. Around ten years ago, I actually attempted a playthrough and nearly reached the end, but I was having difficulty at the time and left it.

Playing as father Harry Mason, you awake from a car crash while you were on your way to the titular town Silent Hill but unfortunately cannot find your young daughter Cheryl who was with you. Knowing very little of the area, you desperately search to reconnect with Cheryl, but the town's environment quickly beings to feel disconcerting as as you seem to be the only person throughout the entire town as a heavy fog covers all over. Soon, you realize that there is more to Silent Hill than just being abandoned, as monsters of all kind creep out from the fog and attack you. While searching, it becomes clear to the player that Harry has entered some sort of limbo, as Silent Hill appears to be closed off from the rest of the world with its roads broken off which prohibit you from leaving. At times, this limbo becomes even more threatening as the town shifts into an "other world" of sorts which distorts the environment for Harry's worse. More or less, this is the premise of the story, but as the plot progresses, the player realizes that Harry is not the main character and is unfortunately only a part of it, as the game's events revolve around a mysterious woman named Alessa who has connections to the town's cult and her relationship with Cheryl.

Throughout my playthrough, I wasn't able to fully connect all of the plot details concerning the cult together which did lead to some minor ambiguity. While exploring, Harry meets a handful of Silent Hill's strange residents, but they provide few concrete story details. While exploring, there is some optional content to find that will flesh out the story while also providing the game's true best ending as well. However, this is not necessarily a bad aspect, as the script seemed to have been written like this which allows players to form their own head canon. After reading a little about what others think and after watching the film adaptation, the story elements regarding the script and the relationship between Cheryl and Alessa became clearer.

I am not sure how the later entries may effect my opinion of how the story unfolds, but, I am of the opinion now that both the limbo and other world representations of Silent Hill and the dangers within it are physical manifestations of Alessa's ongoing psychological and physical pain and trauma she has experience for decades. On the verge of death, Alessa's inability at times to maintain control of her powers results in the environment shifting from one to the other. After reading some others' insights regarding the monsters encountered and the environments explored, they all relate to Alessa's experiences she endured as a child while being surrounded by the cult.

With all that said, the game itself translates this story into rewarding gameplay. As Harry is transported from limbo the other world while searching, the added sense of exploration was an appreciated aspect, as there are essentially two areas to navigate through for most locales. Some may be of the opinion that this design choice creates an unneeded sense of backtracking, but I believe otherwise. The sense of dread in having to uncover the game's puzzles with the heightened danger surround you with limited supplies provides the perfect horror atmosphere. While the player generally becomes acquainted with an area in its limbo form, they must have to adapt to the changes the other world environment brings. In this other world, a terrifying setting forms as the town takes on a rusted industrial shape with horror set pieces placed throughout alongside extremely low lighting, broken floors, sectioned off pathways, and higher numbers of enemies with added difficulty pursuing you in near total darkness.. Coupled with the fact that the majority of doors are either jammed or locked—and that many environments look identical—players will surely encounter some level of well-designed stress while playing.

As a game developed still within the early days of 3D gaming, there are some aspects to Silent Hill that have aged poorly. The most clear example of this idea lies within the game's tank control system. It is certainly something that modern players can adapt to and still enjoy their time playing, but Harry will frequently stop running as he nears corners or if the player slightly adjusts their path trajectory. While the tank controls were not implemented by choice but instead by necessity due to development, how it functions works well in providing player stress. Because game environments have the issue of looking the same, I found myself repeatedly using the in-game to double-check exactly where I needed to be going. However, the map system itself is designed well as Harry will routinely update it with markings and notes as he learns information. For the most part, combat works well, although one aspect of it that provided more stress than I was wanting is the aiming system. If an enemy is downed and paralyzed but not dead and another is beside it, Harry almost always aimed for the former to complete the kill. It is only a minor gripe, but taking care of the immediate threat would have been more ideal to me. On that note, I almost fully relied on ranged combat with guns. Near the end of my playthrough, I was really close to having nothing left, so finding a good balance between melee and ranged weapons is needed for new players.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed my time playing Silent Hill and am glad to have another game within the genre completed. Opting for a Normal difficulty playthrough, there was enough challenge. While I was more-or-less playing the game for the first time, there were some aspects of the game I missed, so I was only able to finish with a Bad+ ending which isn't ideal but left me generally satisfied. It seems as if the game really warrants more than one playthrough, as newcomers will almost certainly miss details someway or another. With all that said, I greatly enjoyed the experience and am hoping to continue the series relatively soon since I own all of the main entries.

telly

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #328 on: November 13, 2022, 03:55:25 pm »
Going into this year, my goal was to play longer games instead of shorter games. I've definitely maintained that approach with having put in dozens of hours into some games I've played—with two going over 100—but I've been able to complete fewer games than I was still expecting. My focuses have been elsewhere, though, as I've found myself not playing games as often as last year.

Yeah, that applies to me too. Biggest example is Persona 5, which took me over 130 hours to beat. Depending on if I had spent that same time among some shorter games my total number could have been a lot higher. For me this yearly challenge is not so much about how many games I can beat but just a way to keep track of what I've finished and what my thoughts are.

I anticipate this might be me next year. I have a few things going on that I'm already aware of, but also I'm honestly just feeling a bit burned out on video games in general. I play them because it's just sort of what I do in my free time most of the time, but I've found myself wanting to get more into other hobbies and interest too recently. This could very well change by the beginning of next year, but I'm willing to give myself a break if needed and recharge my gamer batteries a little. If that means beating less than 52-games next year then so be it. I've certainly made up for it in many of the previous years I've been doing this.

I've been exploring a lot of different hobbies as well. Movies for one thing, which my wife is a big fan of, but also some different hobbies on my end too. Scrapbooking, vinyl, and the Pokémon TCG are three that come to mind and have vied for both my time and hobby budget. Also trying to save up money for a house so obviously that takes priority.  :P
Currently Playing:
DOOM (PS4)

My music collection | My Backloggery

undertakerprime

PRO Supporter

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2022
« Reply #329 on: November 14, 2022, 08:43:23 am »
I was doing ok with my list and had a shot at finishing 52 games this year, until I bought Skyrim Anniversary Edition…
Now my list is FUBAR.
Skyrim is all I’ve played over the last few weeks, and I’m not going to hurry up and finish the main quest just to add it (that takes the fun out of it). Oh well, I honestly didn’t think my list would get as long as it already is.