Your 2015 Gaming Diary

[nekunando]

Are you just copying my gaming habits?

 

We've definitely been following a similar pattern in recent weeks.. but it's certainly not planned

 

Keep up the good work

[RedShell]

Beat Splatoon's single player last night. Very short but incredibly sweet game.

And the final boss battle is just something else! Completely off the charts bonkers.

Witness the awesomeness of the final moments:

 

This is easily one of the coolest games I've ever played, and it's just amazing to see Nintendo enter the shooter genre with so much confidence.

An absolute classic.

 

Beat:

in January:____________

Resogun (PS4) 100%

Shovel Knight (Wii U)

Alien: Isolation (PS4)

Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS) started in 2014

LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4)

Duck Tales: Remastered (PS3+)

Dark Souls II (PS3) started in 2014

The Swapper (PS4+)

in February:____________

InFAMOUS First Light (PS4+)

Apotheon (PS4+)

Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS) started in 2014

Yakuza 4 (PS3+)

in March:____________

Rogue Legacy (PS4+)

OlliOlli 2 (PS4+)

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)

3D Out Run (3DS) 100%

Papo & Yo (PS3+)

Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4+)

Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise (Wii) replay

Mighty Switch Force! 2 (3DS)

in April:____________

BOXBOY! (3DS)

Catherine (PS3)

New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) started in 2014

Woah Dave! (PS4+)

Driveclub (PS4) 100%

Never Alone (PS4+) 100%

Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) replay/DLC pack 2 100%

in May:____________

Race the Sun (PS4+)

Hohokum (PS4+)

The Unfinished Swan (PS4+)

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4+) replay/100%

Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush (Wii U)

Splatoon (Wii U)

 

Unfinished:

-

 

 

[Happenstance]

Just finished The Witcher 3's main quest. Amazing game, gonna be interesting to see if anything can top it for my GOTY.

 

The open world was excellent, each area felt sufficiently different. Skellige was one of my favourites, just something about the thick woods you ride through when you first get there.

 

Impressive side quests as well. Most open world fantasy games the side quests tend to drag but I was always interested to see what would happen in the world and the characters, never skipping any chance to read more of the dialogue. I may have started to veer more towards the main quest again about halfway through but I plan to go back and do as much as I can in the world.

 

I think I mentioned it in the actual thread as well but it just made me happy to realise I have spending hours at a time on a game like this still in me. I have trouble with games keeping my interest at times so getting so engrosed in this world was great.

 

Looking forward to the compendium arriving this week so I can carrying on with the Witcher's world. Plus its pretty likely I'll go back and play 2 soon.

 

The Order 1886

Mortal Kombat X

The Witcher 3

 

[S.C.G]

***May***

 

Another slow month owing to me spending more time reviewing and organising games than actually playing them.

 

However I am in the midst of properly going through all of my games, putting all the cardboard boxed titles in box protectors in addition to rearranging everything, when I'm done it will make life easier. : peace:

 

**Completed**

 

None.

 

*Progress*

 

The Witcher 3 - I started it at least...

 

Splatoon - Still trying to work out if I like being a squid now or a kid now...

 

Ultimately even though I've only played both games for a few hours, I've had fun so that's all that matters, more in the way of progress next month perhaps.

[Hero-of-Time]

Splatoon (Wii U)

 

I was meant to add this to the list the other day. Played through and 100% finished the Story and Amiibo levels.

 

The story was pretty short but very satisfying, especially the boss fights. The Amiibo stages, while just a retread of the story stages, offer a much greater challenge and I probably enjoyed more than the actual story ones. I especially enjoyed the timed challenges, as you have unlimited Kraken ability which made for some stupidly fast runs.

 

That's game number 40 done and dusted.

 

1. Valiant Hearts (PS4)

2. Donkey Kong 94 (3DS VC)

3. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (3DS VC)

4. Donkey Kong Land (3DS VC)

5. Links Awakening (3DS VC)

6. Oracle of Seasons (3DS VC)

7. Oracle of Ages (3DS VC)

8. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)

9. Final Fantasy VIII (PS Vita)

10. Luigi’s Mansion 2 (3DS)

11. The Order (PS4)

12. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)

13. Child of Light (PS Vita)

14. Final Fantasy Type 0 (PS4)

15. Far Cry 4 (PS4)

16. Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (Wii U)

17. Mighty Switch Force HD (Wii U)

18. Mighty Switch Force 2 (Wii U)

19. Mario 64 (Wii U VC)

20. Donkey Kong 64 (Wii U VC)

21. Lego Batman 3 (PS4)

22. Kuru Kuru Kurin (Wii U VC)

23. Monster Bag (PS Vita)

24. Never Alone (PS4)

25. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii)

26. Metal Gear Solid (PS Vita)

27. Jak II (PS3)

28. Kirby’s Nightmare in Dreamland (Wii U VC)

29. Megaman Battle Network (Wii U VC)

30. Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (Wii U VC)

31. Zelda: Majora’s Mask (3DS)

32. Kirby’s Pinball Land (3DS VC)

33. Kirby & The Rainbow Paintbrush (Wii U)

34. The Unfinished Swan (PS4)

35. Murasaki Baby (Vita)

36. Sin & Punishment 2 (Wii)

37. Lara Croft & The Temple of Osiris (PS4)

38. Kirby Super Star (Wii U VC)

39. Kirby’s Adventure Wii (Wii)

40. Splatoon (Wii U)

 

 

 

I'm still making my way through FFX ( PS4/Vita ). I've pretty much playing it exclusively on the Vita at this point. It's been great doing a spot of grinding while I sit and wait in lobbies or between matches on Splatoon.

 

I'm away down my brothers this coming weekend so FFX will be getting played quite a bit on the train and while i'm there.

[RedShell]

Just beat Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Amazing looking/sounding game, but even with the additions and changes in this version I still really struggle with the MG gameplay.

Had fun with it though, and the ending made me laugh quite a bit too, seriously, how OTT was that!?

Looks like there were quite a few extra missions that got unlocked after the Hideo Kojima roll so will probably check those out at some point, see if I can improve a bit.

 

Beat:

in January:____________

Resogun (PS4) 100%

Shovel Knight (Wii U)

Alien: Isolation (PS4)

Kirby Triple Deluxe (3DS) started in 2014

LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4)

Duck Tales: Remastered (PS3+)

Dark Souls II (PS3) started in 2014

The Swapper (PS4+)

in February:____________

InFAMOUS First Light (PS4+)

Apotheon (PS4+)

Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS) started in 2014

Yakuza 4 (PS3+)

in March:____________

Rogue Legacy (PS4+)

OlliOlli 2 (PS4+)

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)

3D Out Run (3DS) 100%

Papo & Yo (PS3+)

Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4+)

Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise (Wii) replay

Mighty Switch Force! 2 (3DS)

in April:____________

BOXBOY! (3DS)

Catherine (PS3)

New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) started in 2014

Woah Dave! (PS4+)

Driveclub (PS4) 100%

Never Alone (PS4+) 100%

Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) replay/DLC pack 2 100%

in May:____________

Race the Sun (PS4+)

Hohokum (PS4+)

The Unfinished Swan (PS4+)

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4+) replay/100%

Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush (Wii U)

Splatoon (Wii U)

in June:____________

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4+)

 

Unfinished:

-

 

 

Edited June 4, 2015 by RedShell

[Eenuh]

I've played a bit more recently (with a break in between when I went to Belgium).

 

After finishing Fez, I decided to try and get all the cubes in the game. Managed to do it, but man was it hard at times! But yay, 100% on this game! Just too bad you don't get a platinum trophy for it, darnit. :P

 

I played Guacamelee after Fez, decided to try it out after people had mentioned it on here. Really enjoyed the game, the art style is nice and fresh and the game has lots of great humour! I loved spotting game and film cameos, and internet memes! The game is great, though some of the platforming is very difficult (or maybe it is because I am not great at platforming games heh)! I would never be able to 100% this one like @RedShell did. :P

 

I started The Unfinished Swan yesterday and finished it today. Short game, but very very sweet. I really liked the storybook style and the art throughout the entire game (both the storybook art and the actual in-game art) is just lovely. The controls could be a bit annoying at times with it being a first person game, but it never bothered me too much. The visuals just made me enjoy it too much. Really glad to have played it.

 

Now to figure out what to play next!

 

Games played/finished in 2015

Bayonetta

Hyrule Warriors

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U

Valiant Hearts

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Velocity 2X

Rogue Legacy

Cities:Skylines

Bayonetta 2

Never Alone

Fez

Guacamelee

The Unfinished Swan

[Hero-of-Time]

I started The Unfinished Swan yesterday and finished it today. Short game, but very very sweet. I really liked the storybook style and the art throughout the entire game (both the storybook art and the actual in-game art) is just lovely. The controls could be a bit annoying at times with it being a first person game, but it never bothered me too much. The visuals just made me enjoy it too much. Really glad to have played it.

 

Glad you enjoyed it!

 

It really is a unique game. I think it's perfectly paced and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Definitely one of my gaming highlights so far this year.

 

Got a bit bored with Splatoon last night so started playing Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ( PS4 ). I've only played the first couple of level but i'm really enjoying what i've seen so far. It's more of the same but seeing as New Order was freaking amazing, this is a very welcome addition.

[Dcubed]

So I lied and didn't play through Half Minute Hero again, but rather I ended up playing through

 

 

and

instead!

 

Impressions of DKCTF: Here and Shantae & TPC: Here

 

Mario Golf Advance Tour

Golden Sun

Super Mario World

Layton VS Ace Attorney

Kirby Triple Deluxe

Kirby's Adventure Wii (100/200%)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (120 stars)

Tengami

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

Yoshi's Island DS

DK King of Swing

Gunman Clive 2

Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PC)

Strider (2014 - PC)

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze

Shantae & The Pirate's Curse

 

 

So I'm kinda itching to play through Kirby & The Rainbow Curse next! That'll probably be next alongside Splatoon's single player mode...

 

otherwise... I'm currently playing though: Alien Isolation, Bravely Default, Super Mario 64, Monster Hunter 4U (counts as "complete" when I see the credits I suppose :p ), Boxboy, Prof Layton & The Azran Legacy...

Edited June 5, 2015 by Dcubed

[Eenuh]

I'm on a rolllll. Just finished another game haha. Decided to try Super Exploding Zoo as it was just sitting there on the home screen. I tried looking stuff up about it online but couldn't find much, so decided to just go for it without knowing anything about it.

 

It is a weird game, basically you control animals. Animals that explode. And you have to defend an egg from being eaten by aliens... by making your animals explode into the aliens. :P

 

 

It's a puzzle game (though very action based I guess) with 80 levels to go through. Some can be really easy, some will take a bit longer to figure out (especially where your animals are limited and the aliens keep spawning if you don't deal with them the right way). And the animals have different abilities so you can't just charge them all into the aliens, you might need some to open hatches or create bridges.

 

It's created by Honeyslug, who also did Hohokum. Completely different type of game though. I wouldn't expect too much, but I had fun playing it, love myself an addictive puzzle game.

 

Games played/finished in 2015

Bayonetta

Hyrule Warriors

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition

Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U

Valiant Hearts

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Velocity 2X

Rogue Legacy

Cities:Skylines

Bayonetta 2

Never Alone

Fez

Guacamelee

The Unfinished Swan

Super Exploding Zoo

Edited June 7, 2015 by Eenuh

[Jonnas]

So, after a spell of time during which I barely played anything, I finished two SNES games, both of which were bothering me for the longest time:

 

Kirby's Dream Course

 

 

Controlling that Parasol is a bitch

 

After watching the Game Grumps play it, I decided to take Kirby for a golf ride once again, and finish the single-player mode. With flying gold medals.

 

Originally, I had coasted through the game without caring much about being good, meaning I couldn't beat the 8th course. Now that I was actually aiming for gold medals all the way through, I got good at this surprisingly deep game.

 

And then I find out that there are 8 extra courses! Geez Louise.

 

For now, it's beaten, but I might take on those extra courses soon, if I find myself craving for some Kirby Golf.

 

 

Speaking of games I retook because of the Grumps:

 

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

 

 

No screenshot needed

 

Here's one I hated the first time I played it. Link is sluggish (especially with stairs), the first sword has the range of a toothpick, you can only carry one item at a time, the pink hair looks really tacky, and worst of all, the game expects you to have items that ought to be optional. The first time around, I quit at Turtle Rock's entrance.

 

I decided to give it another chance, this time with the mentality of "explore first, don't rush through the main game". I definitely saw the game's strengths this time around: The difficulty curve in the game is excellent, the (almost) optional items are unexpected and fun to use, the dungeons and bosses aren't necessarily designed around a single item, and the game does give you free reign to explore the Dark World.

 

All of that said, it still feels dated, and I feel that every 2D Zelda that came afterward is better. And my main peeve with the game still applies: there is absolutely no need for Turtle Rock or Misery Mire to require you to have the medallions. And then there's the issue of the Ice Rod being optional for the entire game, and suddenly: a boss that requires it.

 

Still, not a bad Zelda. I did complete it (and only used a guide for like, 5 Heart Pieces ).

 

Played/Beat/Completed:

-Binding of Isaac + Wrath of the Lamb (Last played: 11th January)

-Hitman Contracts (2nd February)

-Sonic CD (19th February)

-Puzzle Agent (17th February)

-Teslagrad (8th March)

-Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut (14th March)

-The Whispered World (11th April)

-Rogue Legacy (6th May)

-Kirby's Dream Course (4th June)

-Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (7th June)

 

Currently Playing:

-Dragon Quest III

On Hold/Hiatus:

-Final Fantasy X

-Septerra Core

 

Dropped:

-Enemy Mind (25th March)

 

[Hero-of-Time]

I cracked on and finished Metroid: Other M (Wii) tonight.

 

 

Fantastic game and still my favourite of the series. I did forget just how long the cutscenes were at the end of the game, with one of them being about 15 mins long! Felt like I was playing a MGS game.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Hero-of-Time

[Happenstance]

Been playing You Must Build a Boat on iPad this weekend. Its another match three game from the guys who made 10000000 and still has that nice sense of progression with you upgrading your abilities, adding to your boat and collecting monsters. Just completed it this morning but I expect I'll just carry on just like I did with 10000000 on the higher difficulty now its being offered to me.

 

 

 

The Order 1886

Mortal Kombat X

The Witcher 3

You Must Build a Boat

 

[dazzybee]

I cracked on and finished Metroid: Other M (Wii) tonight.

 

 

Fantastic game and still my favourite of the series. I did forget just how long the cutscenes were at the end of the game, with one of them being about 15 mins long! Felt like I was playing a MGS game.

 

You prefer Other M than Metroid Prime...?!?!

 

Your love for Transformers is making more sense

[Jimbob]

Played and finished the first 3 episodes of Game of Thrones by Telltale Games over the weekend, overall very impressed. Think of it as a "create your own Game of Thrones" episode, because that's basically what it is with a lot of control. Can't really say too much, but what i've done is in the thread.

 

Doing episode 4 tonight, then waiting for the last 2 to arrive.

[Hero-of-Time]

You prefer Other M than Metroid Prime...?!?!

 

Yup. Always have. It's far more linear and fast paced, which is how I like my Metroid games. It's also why I love Fusion as well.

[Ganepark32]

Toren (PS4)

I’ll set this one up straight off of the bat: this isn’t a game I’d recommend unless you’re very much willing to forgive the game and its issues and even then, the enjoyability factor will unlikely be there for many.

 

My attention was brought to this when I saw a trailer for it on the Playstation Youtube page. From that, I could tell it wasn’t going to be this incredible experience but thought that from the look of it, and being the first title from a small dev studio in Brazil, that it looked interesting so I gave it a shot.

 

The game clearly hoped to take the Ico template and make that the basis for what is going on here. Sadly, it does quite work as it all feels a bit janky and messy at times, with a story that is more or less incomprehensible and hard to follow beyond knowing that you are a character called Moonchild and it seems to be about the circle of life. Sure, there are elements that do remind of Ico but their neither well integrated nor well thought out enough to really get their hook in and make perseverance with the game a top priority.

 

There’s some platforming and puzzles thrown in for you, with a very tiny smattering of combat though the one or two instances where you can engage the small enemies in this can be dodged completely and it’s only really used for the main boss. The platforming is very basic, reminiscent of the PS1/N64 era of 3D platformers in its most basic sense, but it’s hampered by a floaty jumping mechanic and latency in the character moving when you press the thumbstick. Puzzles fare a bit better; they’re simplistic but there are some nice touches such as having to thaw a tree with fire to keep it growing but also having to watch you don’t freeze either.

 

Several glitches also hindered progress. At one point near the start, I had to restart the game 4 times as the character kept glitching through the floor and only fixed it when I tried to walk up some stairs and came back out.

 

It all just feels like a game that’s half baked, which is somewhat acceptable for a dev studio’s first title. But a clearer vision or some more guidance for experienced developers might have helped lift this to be more than it was. It could so easily have been Swordtales’ equivalent of Never Alone but sadly doesn’t match that. Hopefully they’ll learn and progress from this as the ambition is there clearly, just some refinement is needed to capitalise on that.

 

Broken Age (PS4)

I’d been looking forward to playing this for ages and was happy when it was announced for the PS4 as it looked good and I’ve always enjoyed playing point and click style games. But I came away after finishing this in two minds. The first episode I thought was really well done. I know some reviews and people commented on the lack of puzzles in it but I feel they got the right balance in terms of putting you in a situation and making it relatively straight forward to figure things out. Even the more obtuse puzzles in the first episode were easily solved after a little thought was put in.

 

The second episode, however, is where I felt the game was let down. They threw far too many puzzles at you and, for the most part, gave very little indication as to how to resolve them. In some instances, I ended up wandering around, trying to give items to people or use them for things to no avail for an hour without progress and in the end, much to my annoyance, I ended up looking up a guide just to get things moving along. It’s such a shame as I feel like the first episode was more composed, more balanced but the second was just too much. They’d perhaps have been better splitting it into 2 episodes to give 3 in total rather than what they did. That’s how I feel anyway.

 

So yeah, really enjoyed the first part, not so much the second. Overall, a decent game though and I thought the art style was superb but the controls on the PS4 were a bit fiddly (it would definitely be better played with a mouse and keyboard I feel).

 

Also finished up the latest episode of Life is Strange but I'll put my thoughts in the thread for that one.

[Hero-of-Time]

I decided to go back to Metroid: Other M: tonight. I wasn't going to bother to 100% it, as I done it back when it was first released, but I was enjoying playing it so much that I slammed it back on, after the FIFA session with the N-E lads.

 

I've just cleared sector 1,2 and the Bioweapons Lab areas of items. There are a couple left in the main area and a few left to collect in area 3.

 

I love how the items appear on your map after finishing the game. It makes trying to find the items much more fun. Although you have the dot in your map, you still have to try and figure out how to get to where they are.

 

I really do love this game.

[Ike]

Other M gets a lot of hate, mostly for the story, but gameplay wise it was mostly pretty solid.

[Hero-of-Time]

Metroid: Other M all done!

 

[Hero-of-Time]

I've been hankering to play another 2D platformer so I decided to fire up Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii/Wii U the other day. I've only finished the first 2 worlds but it's already been a blast playing it again.

 

What strikes me straight away is just how flat the soundtrack is when compared to the sequel. So far there haven't been any memorable new tracks, apart from those that are remixes of tunes from the original games.

 

I forgot just what a pain in the butt it is having to use waggle to slam, blow and roll. It's such a stupid decision and one that I hated when I originally played it.

 

I do enjoy the challenge this game offers though. In recent years, Nintendo platformers have been very easy and the challenge doesn't happen until your get to the very late post game stuff. With this game, the challenge is there from the start and you really have to give it your all if you want to collect the jigsaw pieces and KONG letters.

 

Highlights so far have been playing Sunset Shore ( absolutely gorgeous to look at ), Tidal Terror ( timing your runs and hiding from the waves is so much fun ) and Peaceful Pier. Although I did enjoy Peaceful Pier, i'm pretty sure I started to hate the rocket levels as the game went on, when I played through this in 2010.

 

I'm just leaving the K stages until I get to the end of the game. I'm nabbing all the KONG letters and puzzle pieces but I want to leave the extra stages until I get a better feel for the game. I remember them being stupidly hard, but very rewarding.

[nekunando]

I forgot just what a pain in the butt it is having to use waggle to slam, blow and roll. It's such a stupid decision and one that I hated when I originally played it..

 

To be honest, I actually think it works very well with the Wii Remote & Nunchuk. In fact, I got so used to it that I can't play Tropical Freeze with traditional controls

 

Spookily, I was feeling like playing Returns recently to hunt down the remaining puzzle pieces and finish Mirror Mode. Given that Woolly World is out soon, though, I don't feel like it's the right time!

[Hero-of-Time]

Spookily, I was feeling like playing Returns recently to hunt down the remaining puzzle pieces and finish Mirror Mode. Given that Woolly World is out soon, though, I don't feel like it's the right time!

 

Stop copying me!!!

[nekunando]

Stop copying me!!!

 

Stop playing good games

[Hero-of-Time]

I took a break from DKCR and started playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii yesterday. I actually started playing this after I finished one of the Kirby games ( just done the first world ) but it felt really slow and sluggish in comparison so I put it to one side.

 

I decided to fire it up again before the Direct yesterday and continued playing it after the Direct and today. It helped me to forget the horror that was Nintendo @ E3 2015. Anyway, I finished it tonight.

 

 

 

I had a major blonde moment while playing it.

 

I noticed that my hat went missing after finishing a stage. I figured some thieving gypsy of an enemy had nicked it, just like that cheeky monkey on SM64. After a few stages it reappeared. Later on it then disappeared again. It then dawned on me that you lose it once you hit 99 lives and revert back to normal when you lose a life. Idiot!

 

The game seemed a lot easier than I remember, especially the final world. This may be because I've been playing DKCR which has tightened up my platforming skills....or something like that.