What Games Have You Completed? (2024 Edition!)

Penn · 03-09-2024 12:06PM

Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?

Absolutely. It can feel like a slow start if you'd recently played Portal 1 as it essentially resets you back to the beginning with simple enough puzzles, but as the game evolves and throws new mechanics at you it's absolutely wonderful, so genius in its design, and just really enjoyable with the characters and story.

I'd say since it's now been a few months since you played the first, you'll just power through the early stages until the new mechanics start kicking in. But either way if you enjoyed Portal 1 you should definitely play 2.

CastorTroy · 03-09-2024 12:41PM

I replayed both Portals last year and enjoyed them again.

Gamer Bhoy 89 · 04-09-2024 04:02AM

GAME || Outlast

PLATFORM || PC

Hadn't beaten this one since 2014. The game was terrifying throughout the first half, but after a certain point, I get what I can only describe as "The Resident Evil Effect", where the game just stops feeling scary no matter how many surprises it throws my way. It is a good horror game, nevertheless - just not as scary as I remembered.

Mr.Fantastic · 04-09-2024 06:19AM

Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
Tekken 8-PS5
Spiderman 2 -PS5
Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
Sea of Stars -Switch
Pentiment- Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
Tunic- Xbox Series X
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
Diablo 4 -PS5
Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
The Operator - Steam Deck
Dragons Dogma 2 -PS5

Dragons Dogma 2

Had a lot of fun with this , loved the mechanics and the fighting the story was what some what lacking got the true ending aswell so its all wrapped up. Some of the vocations were cool found the quests a bit subpar.

Not too sure what I will sink my teeth into next might start system shock remake ! also have unicorn overlord and I want to play Yakuza like a dragon and also Persona 3 reload. I love JRPGs but they are such timesinks.

dulpit · 06-09-2024 12:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122577479#Comment_122577479

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?

Luna84 · 08-09-2024 09:46PM

Starfield [Xbox]
Somerville [Xbox]
Planet of Lana [Xbox]
Cocoon [Xbox]
Quantum Break [Xbox]
The Gunk [Xbox]
Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
Fe [Xbox]
Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
Open Roads [Xbox]
Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]

Ben 10: Power Trip

I know what the hell was I playing this game for. Well I was on Gamepass seen the game and said I will play it as I knew it was going to be a platformer as I love platformer games. Tbh I actually enjoyed my time with the game. You find more aliens the more you play with unique abilities. Overall it was decent but not difficult at all. I had to farm the combat arena(most difficult part of the game that is optional) to get enough coins to get the last few upgrades needed to get 1000 GS. So I got 1000/1000 Gamerscore in the end.

Retr0gamer · 15-09-2024 01:46AM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)

Armored Core

Kind of reminded myself how much I loved Armored Core 6 and started watching videos on the series which made me jump into the very first game released in 1997 for the PS1. Armored Core has you acting as a mercenary piloting a mech for faceless corporations at war with each other. The world above has been polluted and become uninhabitable and as a result humanity now lives underground.

Armored Core is a reminder that even before the Souls games From Software were cooking when it came to world building. The Dystopian setting is sold brilliantly to the player through the missions and gameplay. While a lot of missions have you committing corporate sabotage between two warring corporations, the game will sometimes throw in some less savoury missions to remind you just how **** the world is. Early on in the game you are given the choice to remove squatters (with extreme predjudice) or deal with workers striking for better pay by negotiating with them with energy weapons and bullets. In both cases you are told the corporations can't involve themselves or the police but can send a mercenary and wipe their hands clean of it. But it's also you that is a pawn of the corporations. Missions offer monetary rewards but you have to cover the cost of your own repairs and ammunition, even if you fail a mission. Sometimes you'll even some out in the red after failing a mission and can end up in massive debt. You also feel very detached to the war between these corporations, like they are keeping you out of it and only calling on you when needed.

Armored Core is a pretty simple game compared to AC6. You can tune your mech, buy new parts and take on offered missions. The mech customisation is excellent and your build really needs to be considered before entering a mission. There is some nonlinearity to the mission structure. Doing certain missions will lock others out and you can end up on a story path helping one of the two corporations. If you fail a non story mission it is gone for good, although a quick reload of your save will sort that.

The first thing you will notice when you jump into the first mission is how awful the controls are. There's no dual analogue and instead looking up and down is handled by the shoulder buttons. I'd like to use the excuse that the game predated the dualshock but it didn't predate the dual analogue PS pad. It's a very weird control scheme which you do get used to but I never felt I fully mastered it when I beat the game. The control scheme however had a lot of japanese fans that appreciated that it felt like you were clumsily controlling a clunky mech. As a result the series would not adopt a dual analogue control scheme until AC Nexus which was released deep in the PS2 life cycle.

Control issues aside I really enjoyed Armored Core. There's excellent variety in the missions. AC builds map a massive difference and you really have to consider stuff like maps and radar before entering a mission. The story isn't anything to write home about but it was interesting to see that even back in 1997, From was doing some excellent world building and environmental storytelling. I also got a kick out of the techno soundtrack that just brought me right back to the PS1 era.

Retr0gamer · 17-09-2024 12:08AM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)

Marathon 2: Durandal

Macintosh users weren't best served with games in the 90's compared to PC. Stuff like Doom and Quake arrived remarkably late and only the big games made their way to the Mac, if at all. Bungie's Marathon was their answer to Doom. I found the original game fun with a good plot but had some very lame opening levels. The stage geometry really let the game down with quite small boxy levels but the designers did the best with what they had a made some interesting levels. The Marathon engine is interesting as while the geometry isn't as complex as Doom it can do room over rooms despite being a 2D engine.

Marathon 2 Durandal arrived about a year after the first game. The engine still has that boxy look to the geometry but it has been improved with larger levels and extra features like bodies of water. These act like the water in Duke 3D were it's a different sector of the level so you can't shoot into them. Bungie have also gotten to grips with the idiosyncrasies of their engine and levels are now far more complex with judicious use of the room over room feature to make some interesting mazes and add verticality to the stages.

Marathon 2 has improved on the original in everyway. The levels are more satisfying to explore and you rarely feel lost because areas look so similar. There's still issues with the objective design. They just aren't communicated well to the player so sometimes you will have completed a stage but don't realise you have to access the terminal at the beginning of the stage to exit. There's new enemies that add a lot to the combat. There's only one new weapon, a shotgun that can be dual wielded and while ammo is rare it's immensely satisfying. Marathons weapons are quite complex for a game of its vintage. There's dual wielding, most weapons have dual fire modes and they even reload automatically if a clip is empty (there's no manual reload). I didn't see these features in a PC FPS until the likes of Dark Forces and Duke 3D. There's also AI helpers in the game that bungie has a lot of fun with and were something uncommon in games of the time.

The story is often cited as being one of the highlights of the marathon games but with hindsight it's kind of only good for the time. It's well written but it's not that hard to understand although the ambiguous writing makes it seem more complex than it really is. Just like Halo it's a pretty bog standard sci-fi tale and the early 90's tech makes the story you read feel disconnected from the actual gameplay. I fell like contemporary games like X-Wing, System Shock and Ultima Underworld did a much better job in terms of connecting narrative to the gameplay.

One thing I didn't like was the complete lack of a soundtrack. The great music from the first game is replaced with ambient sounds and at first I thought it was an issue with the version of the game I was playing.

While Marathon 2 is a fun game it kind of pales in comparison to contemporaries on PC at the time. When it released in 1995 it was a revelation for game starved fans on Mac. It did receive a PC port about a year late but it got hammered in reviews are is seemed very basic compared to the likes of Duke 3D and Quake that had released before it.

If you want to give the Marathon games a try the trilogy was released on steam for free very recently. Marathon 2 also received an improved Xbox 360 port that is backwards compatible. I'm looking forward to the third game Marathon Infinity which apparently goes wild with the stage design and story.

Luna84 · 17-09-2024 10:57PM

Starfield [Xbox]
Somerville [Xbox]
Planet of Lana [Xbox]
Cocoon [Xbox]
Quantum Break [Xbox]
The Gunk [Xbox]
Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
Fe [Xbox]
Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
Open Roads [Xbox]
Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]
Crackdown 3 [Xbox]

Crackdown 3

Great game with explosions and varied enemies. Mind you the climbing can be nerve wrecking I was sweating out my palms and bare feet as if it was me who was doing the climbing. I still have to get a upgrade to the highest level and drive the cars around to bring that level up to 5 as I never used a car once in the game but I'm still on the fence if I will actually do both those things as I may move onto another game.

Gamer Bhoy 89 · 19-09-2024 03:26AM

GAME || The Last of Us: Part II

PLATFORM || PlayStation 5

Hadn't beaten the game since 2020. Still one of the best stories I've ever played through. 4 years worth of smoke has cleared and my opinion of the gameplay is now this; it can be a bit repetitive and dull after a few hours. Still fun - great mechanics - just got tired of it: I was mostly playing it to see the story. I guess that was Druckmann's intent.

It was my GOTY for 2020. I still maintain that feeling.

Even though I knew what was gonna happen I still found myself hand-over-mouth at certain moments. The game still grabbed me.

Once again I'm gonna jump into a smaller game after beating a big one.

P.S. not to be this kind of dude, but if anyone wants to catch my streams - I stream pretty much anything I play if I'm at the computer to do it.

Link is embedded below

http://www.twitch.tv/DaveGBGaming

It's up to yourselves. Figured I'd shamelessly plug it anyway. I streamed all of my playthrough of TLOU2, as well as Part 1, Outlast, Undertale and Inside.

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Mr.Fantastic · 19-09-2024 03:41AM

Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
Tekken 8-PS5
Spiderman 2 -PS5
Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
Sea of Stars -Switch
Pentiment- Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
Tunic- Xbox Series X
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
Diablo 4 -PS5
Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
The Operator - Steam Deck
System Shock remake- PS5

System Shock remake

A fantastic remake if a bit difficult, makes you think can definitely see influence of this on Bioshock, was a cool game the cyberspace bits were a bit poo though.

On to Space marine 2 next I think.

Mr.Saturn · 20-09-2024 10:01AM

Games Beaten 2024

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)
The House of the Dead Remake (Switch)
Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)
Dragon Quest V (DS)
Paratopic (Switch)
Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)
Metal Slug XX (PS4)
Binding of Isaac: Repentance (Switch)
King of Fighters XIV (PS4)
Binding of Isaac: Eternal Edition (Steam)
We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie (Switch)
Bravely Default 2 (Switch)
Pokemon Crystal Legacy (GBC)
Pokemon Yellow Legacy (GB)
Pokemon Green (GB)
Dragon Quest IV (DS)
Disney Illusion Island (Switch)
Pokemon White Version 2 (DS)
Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3)
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (Switch)
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (360)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS)
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise (Switch)
X-Men vs Street Fighter (Switch)

I'm having a really good year. Shout out to Deadly Premonition 2 being an unexpected GOTY contender after I originally started it out of a sense of completion having loved the first. It seems a lot of its biggest sins have been patched out since release and it really is a joy to spend 20 or so more hours with one of gaming's greatest protagonist, especially in the closing hour of the game.

dulpit · 20-09-2024 10:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122588623#Comment_122588623

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?
Unpacking (Xbox) - I needed a game to check off a bunch of achievements for rewards so grabbed this. Oddly satrisfying game. It's simple in structure, just unpack your belongings in a series of houses as your unseen character gets older. It's just point and click. But through the stuff being unpacked and the locations/etc it tells a rather satisfying story. Got the 1,000 achievement points here.

At a loss now as to what to play. Any suggestions peeps?

Mr.Fantastic · 25-09-2024 11:54PM

Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
Tekken 8-PS5
Spiderman 2 -PS5
Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
Sea of Stars -Switch
Pentiment- Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
Tunic- Xbox Series X
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
Diablo 4 -PS5
Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
The Operator - Steam Deck
System Shock remake- PS5
Space Marine 2 -PS5

Space Marine 2

Brought me back to my teenage years playing gears of war, really enjoyed this wrapped it up over 12 hours not a very complex game, enjoyment hinges on its combat but I had a good time. Will go back and do operations co-op I think.

Unsure of what to start next I really should finish TOTK but after 30 hours in it its not really drawing me to finish it and it looks terrible on an oled I found.

Have Persona 3 reload, like a dragon and like a dragon infinite wealth, tales of arise and the remanent 2. Note the three Rpgs why do I do this to myself haha.

Retr0gamer · 26-09-2024 12:02AM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose

I really enjoyed this short piece of DLC. It takes place years after Village with a teenage Rose who is being constantly bullied for her weirdness due to her relation with the mycete from the recent games. When offered the chance to be rid of her powers she accepts which kicks off the DLC.

Shadows of Rose is effectively split into two halves. The first plays like the early stages of RE8 with you exploring an environment with little resources. Rose has some new powers to help her and they are used well in the combat encounters and puzzles. The second half play more like the horror focused sections of RE8 and introduces one of the creepiest enemies in the series.

Its a great addition to the main game that adds its own twists and ideas. Decent price as well for 4 hours of great gameplay.

Luna84 · 26-09-2024 01:51PM

Starfield [Xbox]
Somerville [Xbox]
Planet of Lana [Xbox]
Cocoon [Xbox]
Quantum Break [Xbox]
The Gunk [Xbox]
Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
Fe [Xbox]
Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
Open Roads [Xbox]
Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]
Crackdown 3 [Xbox]
SpongeBob's: Truth or Square [Xbox]

Truth or Square

Great game and not too long. You actually have to go back to each level except the boss levels if you want to collect everything as some stuff is not available the first time round. I managed to get the 1000 GS. Camera is a bit annoying especially for a Xbox 360 era game as you do not have full control at times but apart from that it was a decent game.

Gamer Bhoy 89 · 26-09-2024 03:41PM

GAME || Flashback 2

PLATFORM || PlayStation 5

Runs like sh*t

Looks like sh*t

Sounds like sh*t

Plays like sh*t

But the plot/story wasn't too bad lol I did roll my eyes at it jumping on the "Multiverse" bandwagon. For those who have played and are fans of the original Flashback. It's not really a sequel. It's more of a midquel/parallel storyline, while sort of retconning certain events. Nevertheless I did have some semblance of fun with this.

Since I managed to get the Platinum trophy for merely playing through the game naturally (minus getting two different outcomes for two different situations, which were easy to get with a simple reload of the most recent checkpoint), I doubt I'll feel the need to come back to this.

I waited two years for this game to release, finally bought it, and waited a further year to actually play it due to it being riddled with game-breaking bugs and horrible controls. Since then, they did patch it significantly, but not enough. It runs like absolute garbage - frame-drops on a game that looks like this should never happen, especially on a current-generation system. The controls were ridiculously awkward. The visuals themselves were straight out of a 360 Live Arcade game, not that that's outright a bad thing but for a game released in 2023, it's horrible-lookin'.

Weird sound glitches and terrible voice acting mixed with everything I mentioned above made this a massive disappointment for me - someone who classes the original Flashback as my favourite game of all time. I should've known it would never live up to the OG, but I didn't think it'd be this rubbish.

Oh well. I finished it, got my plat. It shall remain on the shelf never to be played again.

Retr0gamer · 30-09-2024 11:42AM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose
Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour

Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour

Not sure how I let Resident Evil 7 just pass me by as I'm really enjoying it. I didn't even play this demo which I decided to beat before I started the main game.

This is quite a fun little diversion, basically recreating one of the VHS tape moments from early in the main game but with some additions. It's a great showcase of the RE Engine which still looks excellent 7 years later. It's a short enough teaser but with a decent amount of content that's worth playing.

The first playthrough is basically the same as in the main game. The second time through you can use your knowledge of the area to create a much meatier alternative timeline. The only issue I had with this was the AI on one of the molded enemies that appears. It's quite difficult not to take a hit from them and it's a requirement for some of the endings. The AI is also kind of broken and the enemy got stuck in place a few times for me.

The last playthrough of the game is kind of like PT with some very esoteric puzzles to solve. Honestly, you won't solve these on your own and it's best to look them up. Playing it late means you've already missed out on the community endeavor to solve the mystery. Your reward is a antique coin you can bring over into the main game proper. Be warned, some of the triggers for the puzzles to register a not well explained, even in the walkthrough videos.

This works quite well as a teaser to the main game and has quite a bit of content for a free demo, a lot of which is unique and not in the main game. Well worth a quick playthrough.

Gamer Bhoy 89 · 03-10-2024 02:45AM

GAME || Axiom Verge

PLATFORM || PS5

What can I say about this that I haven't said for the likes of Metroid, Castlevania and any other Metroidvania?

While I do adore the genre, they rarely - if ever - innovate. Maybe a gimmick or theme here and there, but when it's all boiled down; they're all the same.

It didn't stop me from enjoying this one, though. It was very much a Super Metroid clone more than any other of the genre if I could narrow it further.

If you're a fan of the metroidvania style, this is a no-brainer. I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. I'll definitely be jumping onto Axiom Verge 2 when I get the chance.

dulpit · 03-10-2024 04:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635824#Comment_122635824

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?
Unpacking (Xbox) - I needed a game to check off a bunch of achievements for rewards so grabbed this. Oddly satrisfying game. It's simple in structure, just unpack your belongings in a series of houses as your unseen character gets older. It's just point and click. But through the stuff being unpacked and the locations/etc it tells a rather satisfying story. Got the 1,000 achievement points here.
Peglin (PC) - Not sure if you can consider this game as completed. It's a Peggle type game with deck building elements. It's not even a complete game, it's early access in Steam. I don't know if I enjoyed it, but I played a bunch of it over the last little bit.

Still stuck for a proper game to get stuck into if anyone has any suggestions? PC or Xbox..

Retr0gamer · 03-10-2024 04:27PM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose (PC)
Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour (PC)
Resident Evil 7 (PC)

Resident Evil 7

Kind of annoyed I slept on this game as I thought it was fantastic. Capcom really needed to shake things up to save the Resident Evil series after the disaster of critical and player response to the absolutely woeful Resident Evil 6 and they managed to reinvigorate the series by giving us a new experience that also managed to feel like it belonged to the resident evil franchise. The move to first person seemed like sacrilege but they really made it work.

If there's one bad thing I can say about the game it's that the quality drops as the game goes on and ends on a pretty pedestrian final area and a damp squib of a final boss. However I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. The opening few hours are definitely the strongest with a really well designed area to work your way through and two of the gloriously scrappy and insane boss battles I've ever experienced.

The game never quite loves up to this section of the game but what is here is constantly entertaining with some real stand out moments. I particularly liked the interactive VHS tapes.

One thing that stood out about the game was the constant tension and uneasiness. The game retains the series signature cheesiness but it's also the creepiest Resident Evil with a lot of great scares that always feel earned. The game has gone for a grindhouse horror feel reminiscent of the likes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and it's expertly executed.

It might have been a good thing I played Resident Evil 8 before this as it's so good I probably would have been disappointed by 8.

Luna84 · 03-10-2024 04:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122680582#Comment_122680582

Shattered Space DLC is decent. I played a bit of it so far. More Starfield which is a good thing.

da gamer · 06-10-2024 10:42PM

Final fantasy 16 - PS5

Guardians of the galaxy telltale - PS4

Dead Space - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 1 - PS5

Tomb raider 2 - PS5

Days gone - PS4

Robocop - PS5

Chasm the rift - PS5

Still wakes the deep - Xbox series S

Call of duty mw3 - Xbox series S

da gamer · 06-10-2024 10:43PM

Final fantasy 16 - PS5

Guardians of the galaxy telltale - PS4

Dead Space - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 1 - PS5

Tomb raider 2 - PS5

Days gone - PS4

Robocop - PS5

Chasm the rift - PS5

Still wakes the deep - Xbox series S

Call of duty mw3 - Xbox series S

Final fantasy 7 rebirth - PS5

dulpit · 10-10-2024 10:34AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122680582#Comment_122680582

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?
Unpacking (Xbox) - I needed a game to check off a bunch of achievements for rewards so grabbed this. Oddly satrisfying game. It's simple in structure, just unpack your belongings in a series of houses as your unseen character gets older. It's just point and click. But through the stuff being unpacked and the locations/etc it tells a rather satisfying story. Got the 1,000 achievement points here.
Peglin (PC) - Not sure if you can consider this game as completed. It's a Peggle type game with deck building elements. It's not even a complete game, it's early access in Steam. I don't know if I enjoyed it, but I played a bunch of it over the last little bit.
Stray (PC) - I've been playing this game for ages, but always in short little spurts. Finally finished it the other night. The mechanics of playing as a cat are handled really well and it largely performed really well on my steam deck. The story is mad but entertaining, and it doesn't hold hands too much in getting you through the levels. Would I want to play again or play a sequel? Probably not. But I enjoyed this while I played it.

Really stuck now for something good to play. I'm at a loss.

Retr0gamer · 10-10-2024 02:21PM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose (PC)
Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour (PC)
Resident Evil 7 (PC)
Michigan: Report from Hell (PS2)

Michigan: Report from Hell

Michigan is the kind of game that makes the PS2 possibly the all time best games console. The library is full of weird and quirky experiments. Michigan is like no other game you will ever play. It's also kind of awful.

Michigan Report from Hells development and release were kind of weird. It's a very early game from Grasshopper and is based on an idea from Suda 51, although he had no other real input into the game other than the initial idea. Michigan never got a US release, probably due to the low quality of the the game, but around this time there were some European publishers getting licenses on the cheap and releasing them on Europe. It was mostly dreck but you got the odd gem like Earth Defense Force. One such publisher was 505 game street who had previously specialized in localizing games for the Italian market. I've never seen Michigan for sale in any shop in the UK or Ireland and I had to get my own copy from Spain which seemed to have a decent number of copies released in that territory. I wouldn't have even known the game existed of not for some minor coverage by Consolevania.

Michigan is set in Chicago (Michigan in the title refers to lake Michigan) where a strange fog has settled over the city and monsters have started appearing. It's a fairly unsubtle take on Stephen King's The Mist. You play as a cameraman for a news team, consisting of a sound engineer and reporter, sent out to document the strange goings on.

As a camera man you can't really interact with anything. At best you can give things a little nudge, a mechanic that is rarely used and you'll probably get stuck at some point because it's required and you forgot you can even do it. At best you can point stuff out in the environment and have the your reporter interact with it. Your other task is to film the action going on. You are graded on your footage on 3 criteria, suspense, immoral and erotica. It's a bit like dead rising but implemented really badly here. It's near impossible to get anything other than suspense points and you only get them from finding objects in a scene and pointing the camera at characters when they speak. It's also not like this matters with the only change to the game being how your character looks in the final cutscene.

And that leads into another issue with the game. It tries to sell itself as a non linear experience and on a first playthrough you might think it is. You can lose your reporter to the monster and if you do you the game won't end and you will be brought to a new level with a new reporter. It seems like a nonlinear progression but all it does is skip forward a few stages. You are basically missing out on content. While each reporter has a different personality the voice acting is so bad that it doesn't make much of a difference and the main plot points will play out the same.

Which brings us to the plot which is no great shakes. It starts off interesting due to the premise and you just documenting the madness but eventually it runs into the issue of explaining the mystery to the player which is always the least interesting part of any plot. I'd have rather is stayed ambiguous instead of a conspiracy plot that never pays off and ends with one of the lamest twists ever.

Unfortunately the unique premise can't save this game. When you take away that premise you are left with something akin to a barely interactive movie with a story where the mystery and humour falls completely flat.

da gamer · 13-10-2024 05:19PM

Final fantasy 16 - PS5

Guardians of the galaxy telltale - PS4

Dead Space - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 1 - PS5

Tomb raider 2 - PS5

Days gone - PS4

Robocop - PS5

Chasm the rift - PS5

Still wakes the deep - Xbox series S

Call of duty mw3 - Xbox series S

Final fantasy 7 rebirth - PS5

The Medium - PS5

Retr0gamer · 14-10-2024 02:24PM

Megaman V (GB)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)
The Starship Damrey (3DS)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
System Shock (2023) (PC)
Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
Princess Maker Refine (PC)
Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
Contra 4 (DS)
Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
Poinie's Poin (PS2)
Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
Haunted Castle (Arcade)
Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
Armored Core (PS1)
Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose (PC)
Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour (PC)
Resident Evil 7 (PC)
Michigan: Report from Hell (PS2)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Spirit tracks is the second DS Zelda. In this version of Hyrule, Link is a train engineer. The regions of of Hyrule are all connected by Spirit Tracks, ancient magical train tracks, but in recent times they have been slowly vanishing and now barely exist. As a result the regions are now cut off from each other. It's up to Link with help from Zelda to find out the mystery of the spirit tracks and help reconnect the world again.

Just like it's predecessor, Spirit Tracks is entirely controlled with the touch stylus (and the microphone). The touch controls are mostly excellent although the odd time they let you down is annoying. The game sets out to correct the mistakes of Phantom Hourglass and mostly succeeds but unfortunately makes a few mistakes of its own. Firstly the difficulty has been raised to where it's no longer a total cake walk. Dungeon puzzles and complexity has also seen a boost. There's still a central dungeon you have to keep revisiting but unlike Phantom Hourglass, you don't have a time limit or have to clear the dungeon from the start each time.

The dungeon exploration, towns and mini games all work great. The games biggest issue unfortunately is it's unique selling point, the trains. Initially driving the train is fun, you even get a whistle to toot, but it becomes old fast. There's just not enough to do on each journey and you get attacked by the same enemies in the same places. You end up trying to avoid travel by train as much as possible but the game will push you towards taking part. Even more annoying is that all the fun bonus content is locked behind train based mimigames which are all fetch quests. Take goods or people from one stop to another except follow more arbitrary rules while doing so.

It's a shame that one part of the game can bring the rest of it down. There's a lot to like here. The localisation is excellent and the game features a very proactive and feisty Zelda who is with you for the majority of the game. When Spirit Tracks is good then it's really great but when it's not you are being frustrated ferrying goods to a town under a time limit.

Mr.Fantastic · 14-10-2024 10:58PM

Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
Tekken 8-PS5
Spiderman 2 -PS5
Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
Sea of Stars -Switch
Pentiment- Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
Tunic- Xbox Series X
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
Diablo 4 -PS5
Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
The Operator - Steam Deck
System Shock remake- PS5
Space Marine 2 -PS5
Advance wars 1 reboot camp- Switch

Advance wars 1 reboot camp

Really fresh visuals on this and loved reliving this, it reminded of me being 10 with my GBA purple.

Currently tucking into the second one included in this double pack, also chipping my way at yakuza like a dragon. On chapter 5 so far and really enjoying it love the change to turn base combat.

Penn · 15-10-2024 10:42PM

Lost track of what games I've completed through the year, so skipping a few

Dark Souls Remastered (PS5)

A bit of a shaky start, because I was coming fresh off replays of Bloodborne and DS3 (second playthroughs of each), so this was a real struggle early-on because doing everything just felt so slow; moving, healing, attacking... But eventually got used to it because in fairness, all the enemies move slower compared to BB and DS3 too. Which also makes parrying far easier in this game than almost every other Souls game.

I also knew the game would be a step backwards in terms of general features, quality of life advancements etc. Wasn't prepared for how incredibly cumbersome a lot of the systems are. Even upgrading weapons, there are a bunch of different upgrade materials to bring weapons to one level, then different materials to upgrade them in a different type (which requires different coals to unlock which often only different blacksmiths can use), but also some special types of weapons use completely different upgrade materials.... Christ.... I'm beyond glad I got a Black Knight Sword early and just used it for the entire playthrough, though even I felt it was probably too OP at times (I'd heard about an OP sword you could get from a dragon tail early in the game but didn't want to do it). As confusing as it can be in other games, I still barely understand it after about 35 hours of playing.

Most of the general FromSoftware gems are in the game; terrific variety of enemies, levels and some great boss fights. The real star of the show is the level design though; the interconnectivity of the different areas and how they link back to each other and to Firelink Shrine is a masterclass of design, even compared to many other FromSoftware games. That said, it's pretty much a requirement given the lack of fast travel until late in the game, which even then is limited.

In some ways though, Dark Souls 1 can, with all due respect, go f*ck itself. Some of the late game areas were just horrendous; New Londo Ruins, the Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants in particular are awful. Tomb of the Giants, even when you get a lantern you can still barely see 2ft in front of you and you have to sacrifice your shield with those giant f*cking skeleton dogs… that whole area was infuriating. I've read Lost Izalith is pretty despised, but to be honest it was the last of the main areas I did and at that stage I was just belting through as quick as I could as I wanted to finish the game.

A big issue I had with the game in general is just so many tight, congested spaces, which frustrate both due to trying to fight enemies without hitting the wall every time, but also the level design means gaps in walls, overhangs of architecture etc can cause the camera to be very erratic and borderline headache-inducing.

I'm certainly glad I played it. There's still an incredible joy these games can give in the exploration, secrets, level design, bosses and general gameplay, and that core gameplay is still as addictive as ever. Also fun to be able to finally see the links to DS3, even if I'm seeing them in the wrong order. But yeah, it'll be bottom of the ranking list.

What Games Have You Completed? (2024 Edition!)

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