Mega Man 2. As good as the first game is, this is case of a sequel that literally does everything better. The graphics were stunningly good in their time, using some trickery to create even more enemies that filled the screen, there are more powers to use, the difficulty seems a little better balanced, the controls are tighter, and it's got a password function so you don't have to worry about beating it in one sitting. There's a good reason that fans of the series like to single it out as a major highlight.

Bioshock Infinite - Steam
2nd time playing. I forgot how beautiful this game was. Story is incredible. I actually care more about Booker + Elizabeth than I did about Subjects Delta and Sigma. Jack I never really grew to care much about. I wish there were visible upgrades to weapons and a weapon wheel. Other than that a great game. 9/10

Bioshock Infinite - Burial at Sea - Steam
Finally played this. Holy hell. Did not expect the DLC to be stealth based and let me play as Elizabeth. Story is incredible and it is the perfect (in my opinion) ending to the Bioshock trilogy. 10/10

List of games finished in 2017

Mega Man 2 and 3 are the peak of the series for me with 2 slightly ahead.
They've never reached that sweet spot again later.

<span class="bold">Guild of Dungeoneereing</span> (Android)

This one isn't available for Linux, so I settled for the Android version which I got with the latest Humble Mobile Bundle. And maybe it was for the best as it almost seems designed for touchscreen devices, plus it came with both the Icecream Headaches and Pirates Cove DLCs.

So what is it? It's a sort of card game disguised as a turn-based roguelite dungeon crawler. You play as the founder of the titular Guild of Dungeoneering and your only goal is to become more famous and legendary than those loathsome bastards from the Ivy League. In order to achieve that, you won't hesitate to send hordes of poor dungeoneers to an almost certain death, if that means a small chance they survive and bring you back some loot and trophies. By expanding your guild with new rooms you'll be able to attract new classes of dungeoneers, as well as get better equipment and buffs for them.

The meat of this game are of course the dungeon runs, that begin with a 'lucky' dungeoneer at the entrance of a dungeon. They all start at level 1 and with their basic equipment, i.e. a bunch of cards for battling the foul monsters that lie ahead. You cannot directly control the dungeoneers, though. Instead, at the beginning of each turn you get to build the dungeon's layout in order to 'shepherd' them towards the mission's goal. Every time you beat a monster of your level or higher you'll gain a level (+1 HP) and will be able to equip your hero with a new piece of gear, which will give you new cards to improve your dungeoneer's deck and chances of survival. The more pieces of equipment of a similar type you wear, the better cards of that type you'll get.

Combat is pretty simple: the monster draws a card with a certain effect (physical/magical damage, physical/magical protection, +/- some HP, etc.) and you get to choose between 3 of your cards to try to counter it as best as you can. Of course there's a certain element of luck in the outcome of a battle, but it can be drastically minimized by carefully choosing both the class of dungeoneer and the equipment that are better suited to (i.e. have the best cards for) the monsters from the dungeon in question.

The art style is rather simple but clean and effective, and above all quite charming: all the dungeoneers look extremely dorky, particularly when they wear silly equipment. However, the absolute star of the show is the soundtrack. Right from the start you're greeted with a humorously epic song in the menu screen, and after every dungeon run a bard praises your extraordinary deeds... or mocks your gruesome death. I definitely would have bought this game's OST here on GOG if it weren't for the stupid policy of having to own the base game. Oh, well...

So yeah, here's a fun game which is a little more tactical than it may seem at first glance, but don't go into it looking for deep and complex mechanics. Instead, and since each dungeon run can last up to a few minutes, it makes for a perfect time-waster. If anything it can get repetitive after some time, especially if you don't experiment with different classes that much, so it's probably better to play it in short bursts. Other than that, totally recomended!


My list of finished games in 2017

Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Xbox 360)

This might be my favorite Resident Evil yet. The gameplay is smoother than the other classic RE-games, and it has some really nice areas. The story is also a lot darker than the other RE-games I've played. It's definitely a lot more action-heavy than the other classic games, ammo, herbs and ink ribbons are handed out like candy. You can probably afford to kill every zombie, but I did often run past them, classic RE-style. It's still survival horror, just not as tense. The knife is also a beast in this game. You can take out entire packs of zombies by slashing the knife on them a couple of times, and it even kills hunters pretty effortlessly.

Despite the abundance of resources, it can still be very hard sometimes. The new enemy, the "Bandersnatcher" can be a pain to deal with, and I got stunlocked to death a few times by it. Bossfights can also be difficult just because of the laughable range of the grenade launcher (more of a grenade shotgun, I guess). As for puzzles, they are still very clever. Not too easy, and not too hard. You really have to think, but they are still logical. Still, I admit I looked at a walkthrough once or twice :P

The story is very much worth experiencing. It has a lot of mystery to it, and you gradually uncover it by finding files and journals. Still, it has that good old RE-cheese to it, especially through voiceacting. I laughed during scenes that Capcom (probably) intended to be serious. I'd say the soundtrack is the best of the series as well. The save room theme is excellent, and the ambient music while exploring fits perfectly.

<span class="bold">Cube Escape: The Cave</span> (Android)

The latest instalment of the Cube Escape series of games was recently released, and I jumped on it as soon as I saw it.

Anyone who, like me, has played the previous <span class="bold">Cube Escape</span> episodes will know what to expect from this one: a horror-themed, well crafted room escape game with some creepy visuals. The puzzles are quite logical, but only in a mechanical sense: they are as bizarre and unrealistic as ever, and the overall story is extremely trippy just for the sake of it. Interestingly enough, these games seem to have improved in design and mechanical coherence at the same rate that their 'creepy factor' has been toned down. Sure, there's still a pervasive sense of uneasiness in The Cave, but the number of jumpscares and menacing ghostly figures is almost non-existant.

Of course, at the end of this episode you'll be none the wiser neither about what exactly happened in it, nor what the next episode could have in store for you. But then again, I'm not playing these games for their story.


My list of finished games in 2017

I know it's, like, April now but if you're still listening RayRay

Include me

Cheers!

Last Year (2016)

Current Play List
2D Action - Overhead/Isometric: Monaco
2D Action - Side: Deadlight: Director's Cut
3D Action Adventure: Prince of Persia - Sands of Time
Adventure: Yesterday
Fighting: Real Boxing
FPS: darkSector
FPSRPG: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Open World: Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut
Puzzle: Hanono Puzzle
Racing: Grand Prix Legends - Sportscars Legends of 1967 Mod (Novice)
RPG - 3D: Venetica
RPG - Isometric: IceWind Dale
RPG - Japanese: Eternal Senia
RPG - Turn Based: Geneforge
RPG - Other: The Eye of the Beholder
Sports: Speedball 2 HD
Strategy - Grand Strat: Zeus (Citybuilder)
Strategy - RTS: Age of Empires
Strategy - TBS: XCOM
Vehicle Combat: Steel Storm: Burning Retribution

Completed this year
2017-03-18 The Room (Android)
2017-03-19 The Room - Epilogue (Android)
2017-04-03 Dead Reefs
2017-07-25 Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard
2017-08-05 The ^Even More^ Incredible Machine (Original Levels)
2017-08-06 Beyond Oasis (Genesis Classics)
2017-08-08 Real Boxing
2017-09-06 Bad Mojo Redux
2017-12-19 Command & Conquer: Red Alert (base game)
2017-12-19 Mark of the Ninja: Special Edition (base game, normal)

Next Year (2018)

Right, now my main post for the year is up, the reviews:

The Room

The Room, as you may recall is the one that's like a point and click adventure game only you control a disembodied hand that is tasked with solving incredibly elaborate Steam-Punk puzzle boxes that can be fully manipulated in 3D

The plot is found in 7 found notes throughout the game and concerns a scientist or, I guess 'natural philosopher' who is researching a 5th classical element that he calls 'Null' - these notes and the setting weirdly reminded me of 'Realms of the Haunting' even though there are very different types of games

You soon receive a spyglass with a 'Null' element lens that makes shimmering areas of the box reveal secrets, which adds another mechanic to the game (in a 'use the spyglass, dummy' whenever you get stuck, kind of way)

All in all is a short but very sweet treat for adventure and puzzle fans alike

The following day i finished the extra 'Epilogue' chapter which was more of the same but provided a bit more for the admittance price, which was less that £1 on the Google Play store.

Yes, I played this on Android, there is a version on Steam but as the game makes innovative use of duel-touch displays and motion detectors I would say that the android version was the definitive one, these mechanics only show up a couple of times though so it's by no means a deal breaker and the Steam version is probably still very good and well worth a couple of hours of your time.

It appears to have also spawned 2 sequels which I will have to get to, one day...

Dead Reefs

This is a 'DRM Free' only game I forgot i owned from a humble Bundle from a couple of years back and, yeah, it's janky

I would imagine that it's not on Steam because they can't get it to pass QA - it was basically incompatible with the ATI card in my desktop so i had to bust out the work laptop with its Intel chip-set to get it to work properly with all the menus and graphics present and glitch free

It also gets stick for being a 3D game with no mouse look controls but, hey, it's not an action game and I still found it more navigable that certain Myst-like 'flick book' era adventures *cough* Shivers *cough* although, saying that you are also at the mercy of a woeful camera system and the inventory controls also take some getting used to

Voice acting is variable and set-piece puzzles are painful sometimes - a lot of the time they had good ideas for puzzles but then tried to make them too tough and oblique for their own good to the point were they stopped making sense or involved terrible, headache inducing, indecipherable cursive

But, saying all that, it did retain a certain charm and l'm a sucker for a good murder mystery, supernatural or not (the plot is a supernatural murder mystery, by the way) - janky as you like but i didn't hate it, need a walkthrough to hand for some of the dumber puzzles though

Full List (i.e. the post above this one!)

There's no deadline for being including in the first post (and it's still early in the year), so you're fine.

I've got my eye set on this game for a long time, and would've already bought it for my tablet if it was available as a DRM-free, standalone APK download. :\

Oxenfree - GOG
Didn't know really what to expect except that it was a point and click adventure game. It's a good game with a slightly annoying mechanic of tuning radios. Story is creative and well fleshed out without going off the rails like Kathy Rain did at the end. Ending is open to interpretation and the game actually has multiple endings, which I thought was neat. May replay this later in the future. 9/10

List of games finished in 2017

Finished Fallout 1.5 Resurrection "Deja Vu - The Game"
Liked for being hard, did not liked for grind (if you wanted to buff up Repair and Science, which you should do).

Final location with boss that can be done the same way like FO1 (your option sux because this and that, get depressed and set autodestruction by himself), base with advanced tech and armor to pick up (and big hole in the middle with radiation around) on the south from first village, where you set dynamite to blow boulders and drop the rope.... ring a bell?

Combat Shotgun with removed automatic fire have hidden critical chance increased for sure, can't explain it otherwise why he kicked so many assess (to be precise - he ripped them out of the bodies).
Speaking about combat - it's way harder thanks to the sfall which fix things and make them working. Which means that even with Power Armor average raider with shotgun or Desert Eagle will punish you vastly. Playing this mod I wished to meet Deathclaws and not raiders with firearms.

Every city except the first village have opposite factions and you can kick their assess so others can dominate and you get different picture at the ending. Get old after Rat Hole (aka EdgyTown).

Now I want to play Awaken for FalloutTactics to compare these two mods.

So, I just finished Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty on PS3. I had bought it on PS3 because I assumed that my girlfriend would consider playing it (platform games being one of very few genres she has any interest in and she only plays on console) and I ended up playing through the entire thing before she even tried it.

Anyway, I had heard a number of negative things about New 'n' Tasty. A colleague actually sent ma link to a video that outlines all the differences and is quite critical of the remake. I decided to play through it myself before watching the entire thing and my opinion: the remake is generally fantastic. The PS3 port specifically is pretty bad but not so bad that I couldn't enjoy the game nonetheless. Many already hard sequences that required a lot of precision became brutally frustrating due to low framerates and once in a while the game would glitch out on me, mostly involving collisions. Also the game is just unable to end normally on PS3, closing it will always cause a soft reset of the console.

As for the gameplay and graphical changes: many changes are absolutely great (free aiming for grenades, ability to have many mudokons follow you at once, scrolling, no more tile-based movement), some I have no feelings about whatsoever (like the orange saturization of the early and final levels) and fankly the most frustrating things are leftovers from the original game (somewhat imprecise and clunky controls, mediocre checkpoint system). Particularly the controls could be a lot better but in my opinion they are still a major improvement over the original.

And the game itself: absolutely awesome. It has aged extremely well. The premise and the mechanics remain original to this day and I couldn't tell that it's a remake of a 90's game if I didn't just happen to know that. Abe's quest remains as captivating as it was back then, the black or just toilet humour still put a smile on my face and the challenges are as fun to solve as ever. The game simply remains better than the vast majority of cinematic and puzzle platformers I've played over the years and I really appreciate that I could enjoy the game with an updated presentation and many great tweaks, some of which are really impressive (I'm particularly blown away by the fact that they managed to make the chant mechanics work perfectly with free scrolling).

Free games on Steam are a guilty fascination. They're coffee-break-length gamelets, or tech demo experiments, or teaser tastes of longer games, or flawed first projects by budding devs. But, you know, sometimes I like those things.

So it goes with The NADI Project, which is more a statement of purpose than a completed game. Depending on the state of your computer, it holds an hour or two of unoptimized gameplay. I enjoyed it, except when it was driving me bats, but it mostly drove me bats, apart from when I was enjoying it.

NADI is a nice looking first game made, I gather, by a very small Italian team, or maybe one guy who has found the "I" in team and made it official. It's fairly richly set up, with ambitious graphics that render slowly on an older system like mine. Sometimes between segments the first-person camera seems to fall into oblivion, but really the game is just loading the next section, one uncooperative pixel at a time. Mouse movement is too wild to control some of the time, and completely unresponsive other times. The music is nice, when there is music, but much of the experience is silent, or silent-ish.

With that out of the way, NADI tells a brief but reasonable story, in spare fashion. You wake up on a small but narratively-fraught island after an odd preamble in a plane, and to get off the island you'll have to figure out some backstory, get the power on, find the comm codes, you know, like you do. There are some invisible walls, some pretty constructions, and generally enough solid stuff going on that I wanted to see what these folks could do with a real game - I hope they keep at it.