Nightmares From the Deep 2: The Siren's Call

HOG. The batch from Artifex Mundi are pretty decent. I've also noticed them responding on a few threads where users had issues which is very rare from this genre of game.

A bit frustrated with the alternate HOG options. Play match game instead? Seems like an odd choice for someone looking to play a HOG. Only thing I can think of is its a forced second play-through for achievements.

Posting an updated list


Include me

Last year was a bit lousy. On to 2015

01 | 21.01.2015 Murasaki Baby (Vita)
02 | 24.01.2015 Far Cry 3
03 | 10.02.2015 Grim Fandango Remastered
04 | 15.02.2015 Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
05 | 23.02.2015 The Night of the Rabbit
06 | 02.03.2015 Costume Quest 2
07 | 08.03.2015 Castle of Illusion
08 | 14.03.2015 Journey of a Roach
09 | 19.03.2015 Still Life 2 - horrible :/ inventory, puzzles, dumb protagonist. I liked the first one, but this is horrible
10 | 29.03.2015 The Samaritan Paradox
11 | 30.04.2015 Broken Age Act 2
12 | 09.05.2015 Rayman Origins (Vita) - finished all levels (including Land of the Dead)
13 | 17.05.2015 Bulletstorm
14 | 30.05.2015 Jurassic Park: The Game - meh
15 | 07.06.2015 Professor Layton and The Pandora's Box (3DS) - finished all puzzles in Story Mode
16 | 21.06.2015 Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
17 | 29.06.2015 Hitman GO (iOS)
18 | 18.07.2015 Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Vita)
19 | 09.08.2015 The Room Two (iOS)
20 | 09.08.2015 Botanicula
21 | 18.08.2015 The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (3DS)
22 | 27.08.2015 Teddy Floppy Ear - Kayaking (my first game with my kid finished :) I wonder if he'll choose one the Humongous games next or another Teddy Floppy Ear game :))

This year is actually already better than the last :) In counting of finished games.

To someone who only feels like playing through the story once and is generally not a great fan of stealth games, would you recommend going for high chaos and watching the low chaos ending on YouTube instead (assuming it's mostly the ending that is affected by your choice of playstyle)? With regard to the story, I'd probably feel better if I avoid killing guards, but I fear it might make the gameplay less enjoyable ...

The endings weren't "THAT" different IMHO. If you don't enjoy stealth gameplay, I wouldn't subject yourself to it. I found both to be fun, but I love stealth games. I started with low chaos and then replayed on high. The game flew by on high chaos as you become quite powerful with the kill options.

The game touted lots of differences based on gameplay options... I didn't see that many. Most were more easter egg type stuff. A few extra guards here and there and a mild change in dialogue there... Its not quite Deus Ex in terms of actions having consequences.

Yes, I'd say that playing the game with high chaos is just like playing an action-FPS with superpowers. I didn't feel too bad about killing guards since they are fairly evil but you don't have to kill civilians if you don't want to. Most enemies are guards so you will have to kill some of them for high chaos and for having fun and using gadgets. If you don't like stealth then stay away from low chaos. There are fewer enemies on low chaos and then a different ending and that's mostly it. But if you don't want to kill guards then I would stay away from the game.

Thanks to both of you for the helpful replies! Gameplay-wise I don't have a problem with killing guards, I just thought it wouldn't suit the protagonist to try and right a wrong by becoming a reckless killer of people who might not be directly involved but possibly victims of deceit themselves. At least early in the game there is no proof that the average guard is evil and not just a family man earning his bread with work he might consider honorable from his perspective. So far, I've played through two levels and the stealth gameplay is okay, but a little slow and restricting, and I just think it might be more fun to just go along with whatever happens without constantly worrying about chaos. (And it seems I already killed a guard by accident anyway, because when I stunned him, he must have dropped into a pool of water and drowned ... whoops. :D )

Hahaha... will do!

Dark Arcana: The Carnival (GA gift)

My first HOG, and so I played it on easy and used a few hints, so it only took 4-5 hours. Didn't skip any puzzles or item finds, however. Puzzles were creative, but not exceptionally hard.

There is quite a bit of backtracking, sometimes the need to do so is obvious and a few times it was a bit of a WTF am I doing now? Still, enjoyed it enough to buy an 8 pack HOG bundle for $2. Will try those on harder difficulty.

Not sure there's any replay value. Story/music both fine - graphics and voice are generally decent outside of a few moments. Just started New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia and the graphics and interface are both better.

So far the most pleasant experiences of the year were The Blackwell Epiphany, The Witcher 1/2, Star Wars: Republic Commando and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Story/atmosphere really make or break a game for me, as does gameplay. And these are really good on those counts. Also, I was pleasantly surprised with Soul Gambler, Flight of the Amazon Queen, Gray Matter and Magrunner: Dark Pulse.

As for the ugly, I was disappointed with Far Cry 2, Darkstar One and Stacking. Interesting concepts, but badly realized. FC2 and DO are repetitive and bland (and too bloody long), and Stacking just became a chore after a while. Pitty. And of course, I got to remember the frustration of playing Personal Nightmare. At least this time I got to finish the game, but seriously, it should be forbidden to sell this thing without a walkthrough.

My complete list is here.

Luxor Evolved

I'm surprised. I expected a very casual game, but even on normal difficulty it was quite hard and fast-paced. The boss fights were my favourite levels, but the "Survive!" levels were also pretty good. Overall I liked the visuals and the soundtrack and it was a good game to play during a boring nightshift.

Complete list of finished games in 2015

Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Another good entry in the series, but doesn't quite reach Dragonfall's level. It's mostly because of the writing: conversations are often long-winded, even dull, and the story is not always particularly interesting. The matters about "dreams" and the Walled City just didn't feel very enticing. The story was also more straightforward this time around. I also didn't really like the Matrix renovation, and the game's got plenty of bugs.

But, it's still a good game. The Shadowrun formula Harebrained has created is great, and they would need to try hard to disappoint. Even if the main story was a bit lackluster, there were still a great number of interesting side missions, and I still like the combat a great deal. The teammates are once again well written characters (except Racter - didn't enjoy his conversations at all) and it's fun to see their development. Also, Hong Kong as a setting got me really excited.

So, in conclusion, Shadowrun fans shouldn't pass this up either, but newcomers are better off starting with Dragonfall, no doubt.

I finished this month Witcher 3 and Risen 3. Can you believe it? No? Well, it happened.

Braid
Well... I really liked the story and cute graphics. And most puzzles were really great and also quite difficult, I liked the challenge. Only sometimes I got a bit annoyed (especially in world 6) because some puzzles required such a precise timing and if being just a tick late you had to rewind and do it again and again and again. So a pit patience is required :D
Only thing about the game that really annoyed me, is that in the end I realised that there are secret stars... and yeah.. to get them all you had to not complete things before... and this can not be undone... Not fun.

A Bird Story

Not really a game but an interactive short story, which is fine.

Touching little story (don't worry its a happy one and not some brutal ass Bambi thing). Excellent music and good illustration of childhood imagination.

Would recommend.