Android:
+Ys Chronicles II

Unlike the original, the translation is solid, with only one hint being faulty and pointing to the wrong village.

Adol continues his adventure right away from the last Chronicles game. It wasn't a smooth continuing experience however, as he was knocked out without his equipment or even his earned skills. You get to obtain your equipment and level up, although more fairly, and the gameplay allows for a fair and rising scale of difficulty rather than the rocky difficulty spikes of the first. He also gains the ability to use magic staffs left over in various places in the game, two of which are required to advance in the game.

The music is as lively and powerful as the last game's, with the best track, in my opinion, belonging to the final dungeon, which is a lot different than the last game's final dungeon and of most games in general.

Unlike the last game, the controls were more in my favor after turning on 360 degree movement and with the experience of the last game. Plus most of the fights you'll encounter are more friendlier to Adol's running speed (which is still insane for a human) than the last's.

I enjoyed what I saw of this game and the last, and would love to see more, whether on Android or on PC. This marks the last game I finish in this summer vacation.

My other completed games

You're welcome. :)

I haven't gotten it yet, but I probably will as I've spent very little in the current GOG sale (and anyway, it's only $2).

The Witness

This game was such an amazing experience. For me, it is easily in the “best puzzle games” ever category along with all-time greats like the Portal games. I will keep the specifics minimal because you are best off to avoid any possible spoilers about this game.

The main thing to talk about of course is the puzzles and they are presented in incredibly unique ways with minimal instructions. This game takes to heart the “learn by doing” model and each area usually starts you off with some easy ones and you have to use logic and trial and error to figure out what every little thing on the panels mean and how to manipulate them to find the correct solution. Often puzzles also use the environment in incredibly clever ways. Speaking of the environment, this game without-a-doubt has the most unique form of collectibles I’ve ever seen. I won’t say any more because its best experienced yourself but guaranteed to impress you when you discover some of these collectibles.

The graphics have such a unique and beautiful look. You will find yourself often stopping and just staring at the scenery randomly (and I typically never do that). The island is very well built in that it packs a ton of content into a small area so its very easy to travel all over the island quickly. The sound design is subtle but effective. I would go so far to say its fairly minimal but doesn’t detract from the experience.

A few last comments: Although this game is extremely challenging its very fair. I’m far from a puzzle expert and usually resort to hints several times when playing point-and-click adventures but I completed every puzzle I attempted to solve including the dreaded secret “final challenge area” without a hint. You are heavily encouraged to leave a puzzle and come back if you can’t figure it out. Sometimes you need to learn something elsewhere on the island before you have a chance at a particular puzzle that is stumping you.

If you enjoy puzzle games and figuring things out yourself, you will appreciate this game and I highly recommend. Otherwise – I’d probably recommended finding another game. For me this was an all time classic and it completely consumed me for a couple of weeks. I give this a 9.5/10.

My full list

Well, my next game didn't take long...

Gunstar Heroes

I enjoyed Alien Soldier so thought I'd have a go at Treasures other fast paced shoot em up. It's a side scroller where your screen constantly fills with enemies and bullets, you mostly just run through holding the fire button and spinning around a lot. It was nice to learn that the really frustrating 5 stage boss fight from Alien Soldier, seems to have first appeared in this game, at stage 2 (Both games used the same music for that boss fight as well). It's very short, it took me under 3 hours. The boss fights are really good, however they seem to be either really easy, or really difficult, for me anyway. Anyway it's a great game, you can get it for PlayStation, Xbox, Wii for download as well as Steam (I think). I thought Alien Soldier was the better game, but this was still very good. Hopefully I can find the sequel.

<span class="bold">To the Moon</span>

To the Moon is the second game made in RPG Maker that I have finished so far, the first one being Always Sometimes Monsters.
The game is pretty linear with a few mini-games that come along from time to time and a focus on story. I won't say anything related to the story, since this is how I started and enjoyed discovering every little bit on my own. Also, the soundtrack is amazing on its own.

Complete list of games finished in 2016.

Jet Set Radio

"That kid's defacing public property, bring in the Tanks and Attack Copters!"

Finished Yesterday. A quite good point'n click. A few puzzles were a bit complicated and there were some pixel hunting but it was overall good.

Full list here.

<span class="bold">The Secret Order 3: Ancient Times</span> (Android)

I should probably stop playing HOPA games as each one seems worse than the last to me. But they are such a good and relaxed entertainment during my commute, or before falling asleep in bed, that I'm afraid I'll keep installing a new one on my phone the moment I finish the previous one. There's only 3 remaining from that Artifex Mundi bundle now, so I think I'll be able to complete them all in just a few days and then I'll be free. :P

This one is obviously a sequel to Part 2 and it has roughly the same to offer: beautiful graphics, competent enough 3D cutscenes (although in this occasion they seemed like they were rendered at a much lower quality), as well as a somewhat silly story about powerful artifacts, time travel, and (of course) secret orders. There's a little place for innovation though in the form of two tools with unlimited uses: a baby griffin that can pick up things from places where the main character can't reach, and a golem's heart that can animate statues. But other from that, same old, same old.

The main problem of playing these kind of games in short bursts is that it can become quite difficult to remember what was going on when you last left them. Fortunately they all include a more or less detailed log of the events to keep you on track, but still you may not remember in which screen (and where in said screen) was located that particular puzzle, the missing pieces of which you have just found. So, unless you set the map hints on, you risk ending up wandering aimlessly through all the locations in the game searching for that damn elusive puzzle.

In contrast with the previous episode, the extra playable chapter is not embedded in the main story this time around. Instead, it acts as a regular epilogue, but one that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the game. On the plus side the locations and assets were not recycled, but on the minus side many puzzles and plot situations made even less sense than usual.

Final verdict: only recommended to die-hard fans of Artifex Mundi's games and/or the HOPA genre. Or to weirdos like me who don't really enjoy them but can't put them down. :P


My list of finished games in 2016

Imo, Jet Set Radio Future (a sort of remake-reboot-sequel) is much, much better than the first. A lot more crazy acrobatic fun in much bigger maps without all the annoyances the first had, like the lame graffiti writing and the extremely tough cops.

Yeah, unfortunately It's only available on the xbox's, unlike the first which is available on multiple systems.

Wasteland 2 DC

My first and only kickstarted project. Lot of promises yada yada and...I was not impressed. I dropped classic version after 5-7h, DC dropped after 5h, both after their initial releases. On paper most things sounds good but gameplay was boring skillcheck fest, combat was midly interesing and game looks...no, wait, it doesn't look. WL2 is embodiment of ugly. And at the same time it's suck power of my PC like desert survivor dropped into well.
Still waiting for WL3.


Lara Croft and Temple of Osiris
Despite lower scores than previous title (Guardian of Light) I went in and it was nice entertainment. This time you don't progress to next maps. You get one central hub and numerous side tombs to beat. They feel shorter now. But I don't see how it's designed for co-op, this time 4 characers instead of 2 in GoL. I just did not feel it. Not like I had any friend to play, or else...

Shadow Warrior 2013

Good points:
+ it looks nice
+ the default running speed isn't so slow as to drive one insane
+ shooting handles well for the most part, but a single weapon is unsatisfactory in its effects

Bad points:
+ terrible, utterly linear level design, complete with invisible walls and arbitrary restrictions on where you can jump / go
+ borrows the idiotic Painkiller (Serious Sam?) mechanic of not being able to move on until you've killed all the enemies
+ said enemies spawn in waves out of nowhere (technically, through magical portals...nice fiction to cover up this shit)
+ the three preceeding points mean one cannot speedrun the game, or at least just run through the many boring fights
+ gimmicky bosses
+ gimmicky regular enemies
+ poor enemy variety
+ how many minigun sections repeating the exact same "challenge" do we need
+ wonky melee
+ upgrades
+ stamina system
+ dedicated sprint key that's less useful than using the same key for dashing
+ steers you into a collectathon style of play
+ every fucking corner is a secret
+ lame "buddy flick" thing between Lo Wang and Hoji
+ hey, let the evil bosscunt escape sans an arm, it would have been so much extra work to put a sword through his back
+ Flying Wild Hog has the balls to call this crap "old school"

The Secret Monster Society - Chapter One

Meh. I got this point-and-click adventure in a bundle, and it's not that bad, but it's nothing really exciting either. The graphics, animations and voiceovers are nice enough for such a small indie game, and the setting could be somewhat interesting, but you'll never really find out in this installment. It's over after 90 minutes at max and during these 90 minutes there isn't much story to speak of.

It's mostly standard fare adventure puzzles of the easiest sort, but it also repeats classic P&C annoyances like moon logic puzzles (the road is blocked by a boulder, you can't just walk around it; a garden gate is locked, you can't just jump over it), changing of areas and ways you can interact with items without giving you a clue about it, a labyrinth, and the backtracking is made worse by a comparatively slow walking speed (at least outdoors), with no way to speed it up. Clicking on an area's exit will make the character walk there automatically, but it won't skip or speed up the walking animation. Apart from that, I found two minor bugs (missing voiceovers for one situation, mouse cursor becoming invisible on a mini-game board).

Judging by the graphics, setting and easy difficulty, I assume it's meant to be for kids, but don't expect it to be particularly nice or harmless for that reason. You still have to do the same dumb stuff you do in many of these P&C adventures just to solve the puzzles.

Anyway, that's already way more than needs to be said about this game. It's a nice enough amateur effort, but I wouldn't really recommend the average player to waste time or money on it, at least not until you get more than an introductory chapter.

<span class="bold">Eversion</span>

I wonder how many people have been deceived by this game. I'm pretty sure quite a few must have bought it thinking it's aimed at children, judging by the bright colors and cute characters in most of its screenshots. I imagine them playing the first level together, enjoying the simple Mario-style platforming gameplay. Everything goes dandy until they notice something strange: when Zee Tee (the asterisk-shaped main character) stands in a particular place, the music goes slightly out of tune and the color palette gets shifted a bit. This is when they remember there's a second action button apart from the one used for jumping, they press it... and BAM! It's no longer a game for children.

I may have exaggerated a bit in the previous paragraph, as I'm sure many 7-8 year olds might be perfectly capable of playing Eversion without having nightmares the following night, but nonetheless it's got an undeniable creepy factor to it. This game's main gimmick is its 'layered reality', so to speak. The initial bright and cheerful world is only the first of several parallel realities, and Zee Tee can only travel between them at those 'eversion' points I've described above. In general terms, the deeper it goes, the creepier and more dangerous is the parallel reality: innocent-looking creatures become nastier and faster, harmless bushes grow thorns that insta-kill you, etc.

Most levels can be completed very quickly, and without the need of 'everting' too much -- unless it is strictly necessary in order to progress, that is: some objects are impassable in one reality, only to disappear or become insubstantial in the next one. If you opt for the speedrun, the game can totally be finished in less than one hour. But of course, that's not all the game has to offer, and you'll get a bad ending. The thing is that every level has a gem counter and, of course, the only way to reach the good ending is to collect them all. Here lies the true challenge of this game: some gems are really tricky to obtain and require the player to move quite a bit between realities, but also to think in advance which reality to go to as well as what to do in the present reality before leaving it. Clever game indeed.

Even when going for a 100% completion, this is still quite a short game. It took me somewhere between 2 and 3 hours, so it's ideal for a rainy afternoon, or as filler between two more time-demanding games.


PS: It's worth mentioning that what I played is the commercial, enhanced edition of the original freeware version, which you can get (Windows only). If you like it, you can get the newer version [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/33680/]on Steam or DRM-free on Humble, or vote on this wishlist if you'd rather have it here on GOG.


My list of finished games in 2016