Author Topic: 52 Games Challenge 2019  (Read 45203 times)

wolfen

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #150 on: July 03, 2019, 08:51:59 pm »
12. Midde Earth: Shadow of Mordor(PS4)

This games nemesis system is such a fun mechanic to play with because even when you die it contributes some change to this overworld you play in. I also love that literally any orc you fight could become a captain/warchief. The gameplay also surprisingly did not get stale for me because it wasn't just button mashing and countering wasn't overpowered, you actually had to fight different orcs with different approches. The only real complaint I have is how empty the world can feel with only orcs and slaves running about.

I also ran into a seriously bad bug that I only realized was a bug about 10 hours into playing. So you're supposed to jump from this tower at the games start and get a cutscene fight to explain the games mechanics. For whatever reason I didn't activate this cutscene when I jumped off and after playing for 10 hours none of the orcs that were killing me would show up as captains and by this point I had unlocked a lot of abilities and collected all of the collectables in the first area. It's an understatement to say I was pissed but thankfully after I restarted it didn't take too long to get back where was, as I knew the game pretty well at that point.

Besides that problem I really loved this game and I can't wait to see what's different in Shadow of War.

Time: 33 hours
« Last Edit: July 08, 2019, 02:06:03 am by wolfen »



Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #151 on: July 04, 2019, 09:12:35 pm »
15 - Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch 2019) - BEAT - Took me awhile to beat this one as I was only playing it when portable, which is uncommon for me, but finally beat it.  Compared to the first one, I think it improves on most areas, particularly in the story department which is nice.  I kinda like the contained world of the first game more compared to the separated areas of this game, but it's still generally the same experience.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #152 on: July 06, 2019, 12:50:03 am »
I completed the Community Center in Stardew Valley and played all of the story mode levels for Super Mario Maker 2.

SV is the perfect way to veg out and just play some games, but I kind of wish that SMM2 provided a bit more of a challenge - a fair challenge mind you, not the player made kaizo crap.


Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #153 on: July 07, 2019, 12:23:36 am »
27 - Godzilla Unleashed (PS2 2007) - BEAT - Been quite awhile since I've played something retro on the original hardware, usually playing it on some port or collection, but decided to start picking up Godzilla games for my Godzilla collection and now that I have this on PS2, and no new Godzilla games exist, I figured I'd give this one a run through. 

It's your basic arena brawler, plays well enough, though it has some serious slow down in fights.  Also they apparently cut like 6 monsters from the PS2 version, with the Wii version in general sounding like the better version perhaps.  I was kinda excited to hear about new monsters they added just for this game, but the PS2 version just has Obsidius, a rather bland magma/rock monster and the other new monster is Krystalak, another bland crystal based monster.  Neither really fit the common Godzilla style.

Overall, it's maybe a 6 out of 10 in general feel.  It has a very competent amount of monsters and the gameplay is totally fine, but the slow down gets pretty bad, the camera is confusing,and the lock on is mostly proximity based making it hard to fight in groups sometimes.  Alright game, but as I think it usually is for Godzilla games, it's mostly a game for Godzilla fans.  Really curious to check out the Wii version of the game as it has 6 more monsters and new gameplay mechanics.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #154 on: July 10, 2019, 05:13:49 am »
Just Beat:
14. Spyro The Dragon - Reignited (PS4)
Had a blast playing through this, though I must say it is a lot shorter than I remember, I beat the game 120% within 6 hours! Still, it was a blast and Toys for Bob did a brilliant job in bringing Spyro back. the visual designs is so vibrant and really pops out.

15. Devil May Cry 1 HD (PS4)
Played through the original again and honestly, I still find it to be the most engaging one. I like the more gothic atmosphere and the story was more interesting than DMC3.

16. Devil May Cry 2 HD (PS4)
I heard the rumours, but I simply didn't remember how bad this game was... until I replayed it. The level design lacked focus, almost every boss encounter I faced I found a way to break it - One I stood on a higher platform and just shot at it from a distance. The tone and direction of this game was just so bland... which is one thing DMC should never be. A very vague and uninteresting story, even a new playable character couldn't breathe life into this after they already toned Dante down. I beat both campaigns under 2 and a half hours...there simply is nothing remarkable about this title at all

17. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (PS4):
A vast improvement over 2. The cinematic action style is back and there's a lot to like about this game, while Nero wasn't particularly interesting his character was serviceable. I do love the Devil Arm mechanic put into this, part of the problem with the score system in older games is that my chain would be broken from enemies in the distance  (Firing guns never seemed to maintain it), so having an ability to drag enemies back for a further beating was great. Sadly this game suffers from being bloated! You have to fight every boss encounter 3 times, for no good reason! especially the 3rd time which you have to progress through this stupid checkered board game and at the end of every area you'd have a boss encounter with no context. It just ruined the games momentum and I don't know why they did it as the games length would have been fine without it.

18. Devil May Cry V (PS4):
Immensely disappointing! Final Fantasy XIII got slammed for being linear, yet this game has the exact same corridor level design - it got to the point where I could tell when every encounter was going to happen due to the widening of the path ahead. Previous DMC's would have you navigate a big area similar to Resident Evil where you would progress and find keys to unlock other areas of the mansion - not this game, it was mainly just passing through cityscapes. The game also has a serious problem with it's loading times. the worst being the loading times before and after entering the shop, sure it's wonderfully animated but it really breaks up the pace and would honestly just put me off starting up the next mission. The story wasn't remarkable either, I was excited to see a new character within the series... but I did not like the direction they went with his story. Like DMC2 really there just wasn't anything remarkable about this title at all.

Playing:
Judgment (PS4)
Crash Team Racing (PS4)

Plan to play:
Wolfenstein (PS3)
Ni No Kuni (PS3)
Vampyr (PS4)
Lost Planet (Xbox 360)
Final Fantasy VII (PC if I can get a solid build)

Beaten List:
18. Devil May Cry V (PS4), 17. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (PS4), 16. Devil May Cry 2 HD (PS4), 15. Devil May Cry 1 HD (PS4), 14. Spyro The Dragon - Reignited (PS4), 13. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4), 12. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4), 11. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PS4), 10. Final Fantasy V (GBA), 9. Firewatch (PS4), 8. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (PS4), 7. The Simpsons Game (PS3), 6. Devil May Cry 3 HD (PS4), 5. Kingdom Hearts III (PS4), 4. Resident Evil 2 REMAKE (PS4), 3. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (PS4) 2. Resident Evil REMAKE (PS4) 1. Kingdom Hearts RE:Coded (PS4)
« Last Edit: July 10, 2019, 05:22:44 am by vivigamer »

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #155 on: July 11, 2019, 07:36:43 am »
I beat the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot which was pretty good.  Great story, ok gameplay - a couple of AI fights are super cheap.  Not a bad time to spend a few hours.

Then I started Mortal Kombat X which is flipping fantastic.  Everything good about MK2011 is made even better.  The biggest flaw is that I'm playing on XB1 and the controller is not great for this game.


telly

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #156 on: July 11, 2019, 10:17:22 pm »
Game 11 - Shenmue (PS4) – 19 Hours

So… walking into this I already knew that this would be a very difficult game to play for two reasons. Similarly to games like FF7 and OoT, this game has a legacy, and is beloved by so many and put up on such a pedestal that it makes it very difficult to experience. Second, I never know whether to consider ambitious games like this within the standard at the time or compared to what’s standard today. I tried my hardest to take the game in the context of when it was released, but I do believe there are  elements of this game that didn’t age well, and I would argue there are parts that were never that good to begin with. I think it’s fair to say that because of those two factors I came out of this game feeling a little disappointed with the overall experience, but we’ll get into it.

Let’s start with the parts that have held up, and surprisingly I found that this game has fantastic visual presentation. Even 20 years after the fact, this game looks amazing, and the amount of detail and polish in the exterior and interior environments is still impressive (there are a few rough spots but nothing major). The ambitious level of interactability you have with your immediate surroundings is very entertaining and the lack of a clear direction or structure to the story feels very refreshing. In many ways you have complete agency over how you decide to spend each day in the game, and it allows you to take things as slow or as fast as you would like. The background sound design is excellent too and helps build a cohesive and very absorbing atmosphere. I felt a strong desire to keep playing because I wanted to see what happens next

I also like Ryo as a character, but he’s entertaining probably for the wrong reasons. I just find it hilarious that he oscillates between dopey clueless and emotionless to a no-shit taking badass at the drop of a hat. It’s especially great when he’s interrogating people. I did not enjoy his interactions with Nozomi though, he’s just so dull and emotionless in general that it totally ruins all those romantic moments, and that felt perfectly exemplified by the motorcycle scene towards the end of the game.

While the sound direction was very strong, the voice acting is downright horrendous. I would say it’s about 15% good, 40% bearable, 35% bad, and 10% awful. The writing is also awful. Ryo asking about XYZ thing then pretending like it’s not important afterward were my favorites. If period games like Metal Gear Solid can produce well scripted and acted cutscenes, this game really shouldn’t have that much trouble either, especially with the budget they had.

One piece of the game that disappointed me was the music. Not that it’s bad… it’s just not at all what I thought it would be. While there are some great tracks, most of the music is made up of these very brief incidentals that while effective in building the atmosphere of the game, don’t really do much for me at all as a standalone soundtrack. I also had a very hard time finding a suitable audio level for the game. The default settings have the voices way to soft, and the music and sound effects way too loud. Even after all my finagling, there are sounds that are still too loud, like the gatcha sound effect, or walking into the Tomato Convenience store. I’m guessing this was an issue when the game was brought over to HD though.

Another portion of the game that especially disappointed me was the story. I really thought the narrative would be much stronger, but upon actually finishing the game it felt pretty superficial and poorly executed. For one, I found the way you progress in the game to be extremely frustrating. I didn’t mind that you had to wait around for things to happen at all, like the infamous tattoo parlor scene. What annoyed me was that the first 6-7 hours consist of you walking around and asking people about 10 different questions one after another. First it’s the black car, then it’s about Chinese people, then it’s about sailors, then it’s about Nagai Industries, then it’s about Charlie, then it’s about a tattoo parlor, then it’s about Warehouse 8, then the harbor, and so on. And then your housekeeper actually drops the real lead out of nowhere on you. It's just not good story progression. Then in the latter half of the game, the only thing you can do is work in the harbor for 5 days moving crates over and over and it gets incredibly tedious really quickly. The other issues I had with the story was that it’s just not very interesting. There were some good moments, like finding the Phoenix mirror and Master Chen for the first time but most of it’s just so.. mundane. The gravity and scope of this game just felt quaint and almost a little childish to me. I don’t know why, it just didn’t resonate with me.

So all in all, I feel like this game spent way too much time and money on the visual horsepower of the game and let almost everything else sag and slip through the cracks. I don’t think the potential in the amazing 3D word that was built for this game was realized at all and that’s a shame. I imagine it's because a game like this had never been made before and it was tough to know how to bring the storytelling and gameplay to match your newfound capabilities. To me, it’s almost like foreshadowing to how modern developers nowadays spend way too much resources on cutting edge graphics and lighting techniques instead of spending those resources on producing an entertaining experience (alright, cynicism moment over  ;))
« Last Edit: April 13, 2020, 09:49:34 pm by telly »
Currently Playing:
DOOM (PS4)

My music collection | My Backloggery

wolfen

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #157 on: July 14, 2019, 12:24:25 pm »
13. Horizon Chase Turbo(PS4)

Just so simple but tons of fun, I did not expect to love this game so much. It's a great callback to the classic racing games just with updated mechanics, graphics and newer cars. If you like racing games you'll love this, so if you've got the time it's free on PS+ this month.

Time: 20 hours



Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #158 on: July 14, 2019, 09:09:08 pm »
From here on I'm mostly going to be playing some of the more expensive/rare games in my collection. Really want to see if these games hold up as being awesome or they're just overprices, overrated trophies. I'll definitely play other games here and there, but if anyone has been following the games I've beat expect to see some big titles for the remainder of the year and probably next year too.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #159 on: July 25, 2019, 10:37:21 pm »
been busy and havent had a chance to post an update in a bit, but i've been still playing the game!

32. Final Fantasy VII (Switch) 6/26 - Beat
33. Castlevania 2 (Switch) 6/30 - Beat
34. Castlevania 3 (Switch) 7/20 - Beat
35. Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) 7/24 - Beat

telly

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #160 on: July 27, 2019, 12:04:23 am »
Game 12 - Ys Origin (PS4) - 9 Hours

First Ys game ever done. All in all I'd say the game's pretty good! Not perfect, but an enjoyable experience.

+ The gameplay is definitely the best aspect. It's fast, addicting and fun. There aren't a lot of RPG elements in the game, it's more about your timing, reflexes, and knowing which magic skill to use. Overall, it plays really well. The music is also really good, with some great ambient and intense music that sets the mood perfectly. I played as Yunica, and I really liked her character, she has some nice development over the course of the game. Even though the game is pretty short, the story presented is well told and the writing is really solid.

- I had a few nitpicks. Other than the main character, the other characters are pretty boring and same-y. The HUD is miniscule and really hard to see. It's so difficult to see how much life you have left, how much money you have, and the bonuses that you pick up from slaying monsters. Lastly, I wish the game didn't only take place in the tower. The areas start to feel really copy-pasted after a while, it would have been nice to battle monsters outside or something.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2019, 06:19:31 pm by telly »
Currently Playing:
DOOM (PS4)

My music collection | My Backloggery

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #161 on: July 29, 2019, 09:24:50 pm »
36. Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Switch) 7/29 - Beat

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #162 on: July 29, 2019, 11:30:17 pm »
28 - Darksiders 3 (PC 2018) - BEAT - I really love this series.  The over-the-top heavy metal aesthetic, the action, the story, it's all just a fun time and I think Darksiders 3 pushes very close to being the best of the three.  I only feel like it stumbles due to some aspects of its new general setup.  A cool thing about the series is hows its changed based on the gaming landscape of the time.  Darksiders 1 adopts God of War and Zelda, mixing them well.  Borderlands and open world games were becoming more popular, so Darksiders 2 enlarged its world and introduced a loot system.  Darksiders is purely just Dark Souls.  Gone are the "Zelda Temples" and big open world, in favor of something more scaled down like the first Darksiders, but interconnecting the areas more.

Where it falters is kinda the Dark Souls setup, in that you die real fast, even from scrubs, so there's a lot of dying and running back.  In Dark Souls this work out more, because that game is just constantly intense, needing to be way more careful about everything you do, but Darksiders 3 is still at its core a big hack and slash experience.   So it's hard, but not hard, and constantly getting killed from attacks you don't dodge right just feels more annoying.  Fury is basically a glass cannon and I think I would've rather enjoyed things abit more had I not been constantly running back, even if the runs aren't terrible.  This also isn't about wanting an EASIER game, I specifically wanted a nice challenge, but just handled more like the games were before.

That said, Fury is the best of the three so far.  War and Death's personality for the most part are just "Don't mess with us, we are tough".  Death could get a snarky, but Fury revels in it.  She's about finding the next fight, disgusted with humanity, she mocks and belittles those she comes across, she makes mistakes and really grows as a character.  It's great and she's easily my favorite.

Definitely can't wait to play Darksiders Genesis and see how Strife compares.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2019, 11:31:56 pm by kamikazekeeg »

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #163 on: August 02, 2019, 02:30:46 am »
29 - DayZ (PC 2018) - ENDLESS - Finally bit the bullet and decided to pick the game up.  Dayz, a game in development for so long, that it missed the survival game boom it helped to create.  Numerous other survival games have come and gone in that time, though funny enough, it's the only one still standing.  Sure there's a few stragglers out there still in early access or wallowing about near death, but DayZ, despite the development time and problems, including entire shifts in the gaming landscape, can have like 3 to 10k viewers on Twitch depending on who is playing and there's more than enough servers to play on.  I had been watching the game on Twitch for awhile now from a few different people, and when things go right, it can be very intense.  Sure, it's not the best game ever, but the experience it offers is really only something possible in this game.

Compared to the mod, which I last played like 5 to 7 years ago, it's a big step up.  While it doesn't feel like it has all the content it needs or should have and it can still have plenty of glitchyness, it's still absolutely a more functional game now than it use to be.  I was actually expecting the game to still have a lot of that ARMA jank and clunkyness, they did clean up most of that.  There are still a lot of things that aren't easy at a glance to figure out, such as reloading stuff quickly and a number of other things that will take time to learn, but it's pretty straightforward for the most part once the basics are figured out, though I had a lot of help figuring out stuff beforehand just watching people play the game.

It's not the best game, but it's still an incredibly unique game that offers up a pretty free form experience.

Re: 52 Games Challenge 2019
« Reply #164 on: August 03, 2019, 10:18:47 am »
Part 5


40. Horizon Chase Turbo (Switch): I haven't played a ton of modern, retro-inspired games, but I was immediately attracted to this one because I got a heavy Outrun/Cruis'n USA vibe from it. While it shares more in common with the former, it's still a different type of game in that you race around circuits rather than going on some journey like you are in Outrun towards your eventual goal. I dramatically prefer the gameplay in Outrun despite the various regions you race in Horizon being unique and different than the last. I also appreciated the weather effects as well in this game. But again another area of Outrun I preferred was that you just raced, that's it. In Horizon you can literally run out of fuel and have to refill mid race by collecting fuel icons that float on various places on the track. While this wasn't a big deal most of the game, I ran out of fuel during several races, forcing me to restart, which was more than a little annoying. There are also other icons that float on the track such as additional nitros and also bonus point icons which you'll need to collect all of them to get a perfect score on each stage. The soundtrack is pretty good! It's a lot of synthwave and retrowave, however the limited number of songs and the fact that the sound fx are nothing special mean this game's overall sound is little more than above average in the end. Funny enough, playing this game made me realize that I often just wish I was playing an actual retro game rather than a modern game that is trying to imitate that retro experience. Horizon Chase Turbo is a pretty good game overall, but if given the choice to play this or Outrun, I'd definitely go with the latter. (8/2/19) [33/50]

41. Super Buster Bros (PS1): I've mentioned a retro gaming facebook page I belonged to before in my R-Type review. Anyways this group holds a monthly gaming tournament where a game is chosen and people in the group compete for the high score over the course of the month. This month was none other than Super Buster Bros, a game I've played a little, but never spent any significant amount of time playing. I found out why I never sunk any real time into this game while going for a high score. The game is fairly simplistic; you have a gun that shoots what looks like a dagger on the end of a rope (think the Hook Shot from Zelda) and you are tasked with destroying balls that bounce all over the stage. You also are given other obstacles and foes to deal with that increase the difficulty of this game. While this might sounds really fun, I found the game pretty boring and lost interest super fast despite playing long enough to have the current high score for this month so far (565,600 points in case you were curious). I just couldn't get into the game and I found the gameplay to be fairly primitive and overly simplistic, almost like a game you would have played on Atari back in the early 80s. However, the graphics are fun and cheerful and the music is upbeat, albeit not that memorable, but still decent. This isn't a game I could really see myself wanting to play again. (8/4/19) [27/50]

42 and 43. Metal Slug (PS2) and Metal Slug 2 (PS2): I have very foggy memories of playing one of the Metal Slug games, maybe several of them at various arcades growing up, but beyond being aware of it I was never really into this franchise when I was younger. I feel like now i have a greater appreciation of it, but still my limited of experience with it inspired me to take a look at it again and see what my current opinion of these games are. While there are quite a few of these games I decided to play the first one as well as its sequel as it was likely one of these two games, possibly both of them, that a played when I was younger. The first Metal Slug is a pretty fun, entertaining game. It's graphics and overall presentation are definitely the highlight of the game with very cool, war-like settings with a splash of anime, sci-fi and steampunk. The character animations are excellent as well and there weren't many 2D games in the arcade or otherwise that looked as good as this game in 1996. The sound in the first game is decent although it does little than to keep the game entertaining as you play it, and there weren't any particular tracks or other audio that caught my ear while playing. The gameplay is fairly simplistic as you're a lone soldier against a literal army of enemy soldiers, tanks, and other war machines as you make your way through the games different levels. There is always a lot going on on the screen which keeps things fun and interesting in a genre that can get fairly repetitive after a while, which Metal Slug certainly suffers from, but not to a fault like with other run and gun games. As for Metal Slug 2 it looks better and in some ways plays better in that you are given more vehicles, enemies, and level diversity, as well as something that might resemble a plot in how each level and various other themes seem to progress through the game, which definitely dulls the monotony described above, but not to a significant degree. Still, Metal Slug 2 is definitely an improvement on its sequel and the one I'd be more likely to go back and play if I ever do replay either of these games. (9/7/19) Metal Slug [33/50], Metal Slug 2 [35/50]

44. Deathsmiles (360): I feel like it's been a while since I reviewed a good shmup, and Deathsmiles is certainly a good one. While I have played much better shooters in my day, this game does not disappoint. Probably its two biggest draws are it's creative, colorful levels, characters, and enemies, as well as the gameplay which is among the most balanced I've played. The scoring system is also pretty fun too, which is why I initially started playing this game, as well as it being very Halloween themed with its various monster enemies and bosses. Unfortunately like most Cave games its OST was nothing special or memorable for the most part. While this game was pretty fun and enjoyable there was just something missing from it that really sucked me in the same way games like Radiant Silvergun, or even other Cave games like Mushihimesama Futari and Dodonpachi do. I guess it just felt very run of the mill modern-shmup to me, although saying that is denying it some well deserved credit for being a pretty fun game, and certainly one with checking out. (10/6/19) [36/60]

45. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1): See page 13 for full review (10/12/19) [47/50]

46. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2): I have a lot of fond memories of this game back around the time it came out in 2001. My best friend at the time and I were having a sleepover on a Friday night and we went to a local Blockbuster to try and find something to rent for the night. Unable to find anything that at least interested me, my friend suggest we rent Grand Theft Auto III which is a game I didn't even realize was out at the time. My only exposure to the series prior to this was one of the earlier top down titles that I'd briefly played and wasn't a big fan of, so to say my optimism and expectations of GTA3 were low would be an understatement. But unable to find anything else we felt like renting I reluctantly went along with my friend and we rented it for the night. And oh what a night that was! I don't think I've ever been so surprised by a game as I was with GTA3 that first night my friend and I played it. We were both absolutely addicted to this game and if memory serves me right we literally didn't sleep all night. Neither of us had ever played a game like it before, and what was supposed to be a one night sleepover turned into the whole weekend of us working jobs for the mob, running over innocent pedestrians, and stealing cars. For its time GTA3 was revolutionary and unlike anything anyone had played. However, a long time has passed since then and we've got multiple sequels to GTA3, each progressively better than the last. Because of this GTA3 has become somewhat of a relic of its time, which it's still a fun game, but unless you really want to scratch that early 2000s itch, GTA3 has been outdone in every possible way by all of its sequels. Regardless the gameplay is pretty good aside from some floaty car mechanics and clunky on-foot controlled. The shooting controls which rely on a lock on mechanic are also a but spotty, but mostly work. However, all of these mechanics work well together to allow you to fulfill all your wildest crime fantasies, with limitations of a game released in 2001 of course. There are various other problematic features in this game like having to go all the way back to where you receive a mission if you fail, which given how big the open world is can be very annoying and time consuming. There are also a few missions which are fairly tedious and cheap that I didn't like, but luckily there were only a handful of these. Aside from the gameplay, the music is decent, but what really steals the show in the audio department is the voice acting which utilizes some famous actors lending their voice to several characters. The graphics are nothing special, however the scope of Liberty City and the amount of detail and variety in a game from this era definitely require recognition as it was unmatched for its time. While GTA3 was a remarkable game back in the early 2000s, it's still a great game that really helped lay the foundation for future open world Rockstar games, as well as many copy cats, and even other games belonging to other genres. The importance of this game cannot be understated, however it has certainly been outdone repeatedly over the years. If you really want to see where it all began, or you have a lot of nostalgia for this game like me, it's definitely worth playing. (11/5/19) [38/50]

47. Alien vs. Predator (Arcade): This was never a game I played or even saw in the arcades growing up. I'm very familiar with other famous arcade beatem' ups of the 90s like The Simpsons and Die Hard Arcade, but I never knew about this one until well after all the arcades had sold off or scrapped this classic. I believe I found out there was a 2D AvP game in the mid 2000s when I was researching how to get Mugen working on my computer, which ended up being very surprising and awesome news. But anyhow, I've played this game several times via MAME and tonight I decided to play it with a more critical eye for the sake of this review. AvP is an excellent Beatem' Up, however it suffers from the same issues that plague virtually all other beat'em up; the fact that it's a beat'em up. I do enjoy this genre for the most part, but I'm also the first to admit its repetitiveness, not just in gameplay, but in enemy variety, bosses, and power ups. AvP is no different, however where it certainly stands above many other games of the genre is the outstanding presentation via its beautiful, detailed sprite graphics and its source material as well. Unlike a lot of beat'em ups AvP actually has a story, albeit a fairly generic one, but when combined with the Aliens and Predator lore it just works. It also helps motivate you to continue through the slog of killing hoards of enemies, which luckily are of a decent variety as you'll go against a variety of aliens, humans, machines, and even zombies. There are some cool bosses too, however the game literally recycles every single one, including the final boss, but because it's the alien queen it's somewhat excusable. The OST is unfortunately nothing to admire, nor is the limited voice acting of grunts and incoherent mumbling from the human and predator characters. I tried not to make this review sound negative, because it certainly was not a negative experience playing through AvP, but there are many things this game suffer from due to its genre and a variety of other factors that drag this title down.Otherwise though it's an excellent example of one of the better beat'em ups from the 90s. (11/5/19) [35/50]

48. The Simpsons (Arcade): Unlike AvP I actually do remember seeing this one in several arcades I visited growing up and played it a handful of times. Despite being a big fan of the show during the 90s, I don't remember ever being enamored with this game like many others Simpsons and arcade fans. Replaying it now gives me a glimpse into why that might be. It's a beat'em up, but unlike a lot of beat'em ups, this one is very, very basic gameplaywise; you have an attack button and a jump button, with the ability to do a jump attack if you'd like. That's it. Sure, Marge has a vacuum and bart has his skateboard, but it's all essentially the same. You can pick up various items to use, but this does very little to make the overall gameplay more appealing. The difficulty of the game doesn't lend itself well to these basic controls either, as it is punishingly difficult at times, to the point of downright cheapness. Despite the gameplay being a low point for this game, The Simpsons theme and setting makes this game appealing, especially for fans of the show. Konami got very creative with the levels, some of the enemies, and various other aspects to make this game feel very authentic with the source material. While the graphics do fit the look of the show well, there is a general lack of variety in most of the enemies which is a common sin of beat'em ups, and The Simpsons is no different. Still, the creativity in a lot of the levels makes up for this slightly. And then finally their in the OST which is pretty good as it uses a combination of original tracks and tracks from the show. Breaking all this down, this game is more interactive fan service for an early 90s Simpsons fan, more than a captivating arcade game. Still, it manages to have its moments despite being fairly perfunctory for the most part. (11/6/19) [31/50]

49. Sonic Mania Plus (Switch): I played through Sonic Mania once before on the PS4 back when it first came out and was digital only. When they announced it would be getting an enhanced physical release I knew I had to have this game, again. Ironically my preferred platform for Sonic games ever since Sega's demise on the console market has been on Nintendo consoles. So buying Sonic Mania Plus on the Switch was a no brainer. But anyhow, what do I think of Sonic Mania Plus; it's outstanding! As it one of the best 2D platformers I've ever played. What is most remarkable about Sonic Mania is that it feels like it very well could have been the successor to Sonic and Knuckles back in the late 90s; the game looks like it could have been made for the Saturn, and one can fantasize about an alternative universe where we got Sonic Mania instead of Sonic 3D Blast or Sonic Jam. The gameplay of Sonic Mania takes everything that made Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles on the Genesis and makes it even better somehow. The controls absolutely feel very polished and arguably better than its 2D predecessors, however there is something to be desired in regards to the stage design of certain stages. I absolutely applaud Christian Whitehead and the team that made this game in creating new and original levels, however many of the newest levels are the weakest in terms of level design. Half the stages are remixed versions of old Sonic levels from previous games which feel right at home in this game, and the design is noticeably better on most of these stages. Sonic Mania is a gorgeous game with so much attention to detail, and amazing sprite based 2D graphics. It's one of those games that makes me wish more devs actually made their retro throwbacks in this style and give it the care and attention to detail that Sonic Mania displays. I'd go as far as to say it might be the best looking newer 2D games I've played in the last 15-years. Audio is absolutely incredible as well; I still think Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles have the best Sonic OSTs of the entire franchise, but this one isn't far off. The game uses a combination of new tracks and remixed older tracks which all sound excellent and compliment this game in nearly every way. As I said, this game feels like it should have been released on the Saturn in 1997; it literally feels that authentic and true to Sonic's original 2D glory days. On a personal level I was very surprised to see that I actually like this game a hair more than Sonic 3 which is not only my main Sonic game from my childhood, but absolutely one of the most sentimental games for me, period. The improvements in gameplay, the incredible graphics, and absolutely awesome soundtrack literally give this game the edge over my fondness for Sonic 3 and all that games objective merits, Sonic Mania is just that good! (11/9/19) [41/50]
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