Crystals of Time

My second HOG ever played. It was all right, but not nearly as good as Nightmares of the Deep: The Curse Heart.

wizardry 6 and 7 (dos way better than gold).

Dishonored +DLCs :D

Blackwell Epiphany. This series is finally ending after all those years and damn, it was one hell of a ride. I don't care for Sierra comeback, Dave Gilbert as done an awesome job at replacing them (both as developer and publisher)

Contrast

Beautiful little game. IMO it deserves a lot better than all the mixed reviews that add up to a low Metacritic score of 62. Even though I was (fondly) reminded of a few other games I've played (from Psychonauts, Alice or Papo & Yo to Limbo to The City of Lost Children or even Bioshock Infinite), I still found the sum of it quite original. The platforming might not be that spectacular, but it's solid and fun, and not any more frustrating than your average platformer. The puzzles are nice enough, the story is interesting, the graphics are pretty, the atmosphere is great, the soundtrack is awesome, the voiceovers are professional and, in the case of Didi, even outstanding in the English version, as the actor seems to be an actual girl, not a grown up woman mimicking a child, and it really makes the character come alive. My only regret is that it's over already and that it might have had potential to be even more memorable than it is now, but the story was concluded well within the 3-5 hours, and what more can you ask of a game than being pleasant enough that it leaves you wanting for more? I definitely prefer that to those titles that overstay their welcome and get dull long before they're over.

I definitely enjoyed Contrast but I can understand the (mixed) reviews it's getting, I found the controls to be finicky and imprecise at best and a total mess at worst, which (for me) made the platforming mostly not very fun and some of the mechanics weren't fleshed out very well. However I agree with your other points, the voice acting, story, graphics and all that jazz are great and I would love to see a sequel (or even just some kind of expansion pack).

completed only one game during my six week summer vacation: Dragon Age: Awakenings for the second time.

Well, I read about that before playing but it sounded a lot worse than I actually experienced the game to be. Did I think the controls were super precise and did everything always run smooth for me? No. Was the level of frustration higher than any other platformer I've played? No, surprisingly it was lower for me, on the whole, possibly because the game is so short, sweet and comparatively easy. Psychonauts has tons of potential for frustration and it's still beloved by all despite that (including me). And I perceived Contrast as some kind of indie game, despite having a publisher; it doesn't cost as much as an AAA game and they didn't even create their own engine but used the Unreal one, so a few rough edges were to be expected. I get why the game didn't receive top scores from everyone, but I have no clue what standards those who only gave a rating of 60 or lower were holding it up to.

EDIT: I should probably add that I played with an Xbox controller. It's possible that mouse and keyboard controls are a lot worse.

Yeah I played it with a mouse and keyboard, a lot of platforming games are supposedly much better with a controller and I suppose Contrast might be one of those games to be fair. I would try it myself but I do not yet own a PC controller.

Controls aside, I did enjoy the puzzles and the uniqueness of the mechanics (and it's overall style) so yeah, I'd agree that it does deserve better than a score of 60 or less, I think a score of about 75 would be fair.

Just beaten Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY for the first time. I had this game for probably two years now and I didn't played it until now. Should have done sooner. Great game!

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post152

Unrest

I don't think it was anything remarkable. I thought it was boring to play, I didn't care about the plot(s) very much, and the artistic direction was a miss because it made the game look like a children's game. It was also very short, and I didn't like how the game constantly shifted between the protagonists. I also think one sub-plot in particular was quickly added in at the last minute as a desperate attempt to try and expand the little hours the game could provide (the forced marriage between two teenagers who had a grudge toward each other) and I think it was even left completely unfinished. They agree to marry, but what happened next? The game doesn't tell you. Charging 15 bucks for this is outrageous: I wouldn't be surprised if it became $1 bundle fodder in a short while. It's just too amateurish in every front to stand any real value.

I completed Overlord (with Raising Hell).

Aren't you tired by high fantasy? Since the release of "The Fellowship of the Ring" in cinemas we have seen almost nothing besides Tolkien-like standard elves, dwarves and magic... I love J.R.R.T. , but enogh is enough. You'll be glad to know that Overlord goes definitely in another way!
You are a defeated Evil Overlord, confined in his own tower dungeon after the Seven heroes destroyed your domination; the leader of your minions is still alive and kicking, though, and he decided it is time for Evil to come back in its full glory. Your quest? Rebuild your tower and submit the whole world... again! Easy.
The plot is not simple as it might seem, and it reverses lots and lots of fantasy clichès: during your travels, you'll see the "dark side" of every fantasy race, and the detrimental effects a lack of organized force of Evil can have on the society.
Always found Halfling annying? Burn the Shire and exterminate the inhabitants. You think humans are a valid work force? Enslave them. Pointy-ears are snobby a salways? Exctintion is the way. Add to that random massacres of cute animals to harvest their life force and the defacements of natural beauty, and the fun is assured!
Where the game really shines, though, is in the use of minions: an army of little Gremlin-like creatures ready to sacrifice themselves for the master with a smile! They come in four different versions, each one having specific uses both in battle than outside, helping the Overlord in navigating the worls step by step with the unlokcing of new abilities.
Come on, who wouldn't want to have an horde of mad little monsters screaming "destroy! Pillage! Kill!" while breaking, murdering and stealing everything on sight in a choir of high-pitched wicked laughter?
Sometimes the controls are a bit clunky, but the overall result is excellent and well worth a try!
Overlord is one of the funniest games I ever played, and I warmly recommend it to whoever wants to spend several hours in hilarious evilness!

Edit: the graphic stye is very similar to Fable, and it is obvious that the game mocks bigger titles like Warcraft. Personally, in my opinion Overlord has the same charisma of the first Shrek, if I need to make a comparison.

Just finished Chester. It's a pretty bad "retro platformer". Why are most indie "retro platformers" so awful? I'm coming to the conclusion that only Nintendo makes good platformers nowadays. I'm a big fan of 2D and 3D platformers, but it's extremely hard to find one not produced by Nintendo that's worth it.

Dear Esther

The original 1st person walking simulator! Explore barren hebridean beaches while pompous purple prose narrations will make your ears bleed.

Pretentiousness: 10/10 (Somnambulist? What the fuck does that even mean?)
Actual gameplay: 1/10 (Ahh, sleepwalker, gotcha! Why didn‘t you say so in the first place?!)
Visuals: 6/10 (Most of the locations look like an episode of Baywatch, but set in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe. The cave looks absolutely stunningly beautiful, though)
Fun: 1/10
Music: 6/10 (A mixed bag, but the tune that ends the game is genuinely great)
Replayability: 4/10 (Surprisingly lots of it for a game that has no actual gameplay due to fairly randomized texts)
Hours of gameplay: 1
Base price: €7,99 (Credit where credit's due: Apparently thechineseroom does not partake in Steam's regional ripoff and doesn't equate the $9,99 US-base price to €9,99)
Minutes of gameplay per Euro: 7,5

Overall: 3/10