Review The Last Game You Beat

[Axm]

I agree. The things you mentioned just made the game feel like a chore sometimes.

[OL]

The sequel remedies almost everything. I'd recommend a break between the first and second (just to avoid burning out on the whole concept), but the main problems I had with the first game were pretty much all addressed in the sequel.

[Kenny]

That's good to know.

I kept playing cause I really did enjoy it. I loved the powers and was set out to do the side missions until it became apparent I was getting fucked in every which way direction. So i'll set GTA5 aside when it comes in.

Heard it's shorter though.

[Thief]

Well I've beaten Pokémon X and I'm ultimately not that impressed with it. The look (graphics and new 3D gameplay) of the game is great and it's fun enough... but blargh it feels so bland.

Clearly I can't articulate myself very well at the moment.

[Crimson Ryan]

Batman Arkham Origins.

Well, that was dull. I'm also not in an articulate mood..

[Luvly KM]

Planescape Torment // Black isle Studios // 1999

7/10

"A very well written game, spooling with creativity marred by rather dour combat gameplay"

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Many gamers regard this as one of the best games ever made and to be fair I can understand why: the setting, ambience, writing and original soundtrack all hit the mark but it is the crude representation of the D&D ruleset which hinders this game from being truly special.

Even the companions, whilst initially very interesting devolve into typical fantasy blather as the game progresses. It really is quite bizarre! Each character is given a great premise or high concept but then nothing ever comes of it, they are characters by way of the back of a very creative cereal box, scissored into the game with charm but little substance.

But don't let that dissuade you as this is one of the most creative games ever made, we see street performing mimes doing their stuck-in-the-box routine -- except here, they are actually stuck in an invisible box set by a facetiously bored mage. Or a stolen head that you find in a box who wishes to be taken back to his body! You can really tell the developers had a good time in envisioning this world. And it is a world, so vivid in its conception that you could perhaps even envision it as an actual extension of our own. It's multi-verse setting encouraging the imagination that Earth could be but one faint strand of its entourage.


Overall, this is a game which regularly touches upon greatness but it is it's baseline game play and mechanics which have either aged rather badly, or indeed weren't very great to begin with...

Tis a shame, but in a game successfully meditating upon themes of identity, memories and mortality, I can proffer that this is a game worth playing before we ourselves face our mortality... Tooth, arm and nail.

[Jokatech19]

Man, remember Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and 3. Wow. I was talking about games the other day when it was brought up, so I purchased another copy, and it's even better than I remember. I think I'll review it after this playthrough.

[OL]

Assassin's Creed IV is excellence. It feels like they took all the feedback people had given for AC3 and sculpted a game based around that. The story is a helluva lot more solid this time around (despite an inconsistency or two that I spotted) and a helluva lot less-grating thanks to a far more likable protagonist than Connor (though Edward still ain't as great as Ezio), and the gameplay has all the smoothness and flexibility of AC3, but with much better AI and a far more seamless world.
I spent a total of 54 hours on it, sailing the seas, defeating the most powerful ships, trying to find every single treasure and collectible I could... there's a shit-ton of gameplay here. And though most of that gameplay is in the form of story-free exploration, it's still impressive as hell for a game made in a single year.
Even the modern-day stuff outside of the pirate meat and potatoes is great. You basically run around hacking peoples' computers and uncovering old data about Abstergo, finding out what happened after AC3, all that. Considering that I once had a major beef against the modern-day aspects of the series, I was shocked to find that I loved this stuff. Much of the data you find is very extensive; audio recordings that last for several minutes, text files that are like an entire chapter of a book and easily take ten minutes to read... it's all very extensive, and makes you look forward to the next bit you'll find. I love this framework for the game, and kind of hope there's more of the same in the next. There's even a really great twist near the end. Even though there are some major loose-ends (which I can excuse, since it's an ongoing series), the modern-day segments really make up for the lackluster finale to Desmond's story in AC3. In fact, they actually made me appreciate Desmond a bit more as a character. Fancy that.
Can't wait to see where the series goes next. The data files provided some really interesting bits of info explaining why certain places and time periods would work well, while others are probably a no-go. The series feels like it's back on a stable path again, so I'm excited.
GTAV wore out its welcome awfully quick, so ACIV is my GOTY so far. Arkham Origins is up there too. Both are top-notch, even if "innovation" is nowhere in their vocabularies.

[Henry Spencer]

Die Hard Arcade (Saturn)

Remember playing this as a kid in a couple of arcades. To revisit the game all of these years later was definitely amusing. The game holds up surprisingly well. Most Dreamcast fans will recognise this is actually Dynamite Cop 1. I found the brawler gameplay fun, since you can pull off combos rather like in one of Namco's fighting games - the combo system has more depth to it than I thought it did at first. You can pull off some neat moves in this game. The QTEs are present here and are implemented basically the same as in Dynamite Cop; McClane is chasing somebody and punching/kicking anybody who stands in his way. The range of weapons are also funny; everything from a fire axe to a rocket launcher is at your disposal to beat down/blow away your enemies. Overall a good Friday night game. There's co-op too! Recommended for beat 'em up fans (Saturn has a great selection of arcade titles anyway).

Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn)

First time beating this game. Played it before, never to the end though. That last boss was really the most satisfying final boss in the series. So damn impressive. And the music is really phenomenal. Most of the music will send shivers down your spine. Think it might be my favourite in the sound department. I appreciate Orta's more ethnic style, but I like the more minimalistic style employed here. The game just has that unique feel to it that the series is renowned for, but I feel this game even surpasses the original in most ways; better music, better episodes, better boss battles, better dragon. Highly recommended (and it's worth owning a Saturn just for this series, alone).

phpBB [video]

Galerians (PSX)









Played through this game to completion, finally. Had this game in my backlog, for years now. I always got stuck in the lab (first stage) never knowing where to go. Now that I have a Vita, I could use that as my GameFAQs guidebook, which I did and this game is such a hidden gem. I ultimately decided on this for my Halloween game and it delivered those fine old school Resident Evil feels except this time with (completely insane) psychic kids replacing zombies/Tyrants/other grotesque creatures. The game was creepy (and had a rather sombre/sad story) and felt like a lost survival horror game that didn't get the respect it deserved. Sadly forgotten over time, but it's always there for those of us who want that old school horror game (complete with tank controls!) Highly recommended.

[OL]

^^Love Galerians. Keep meaning to play through the sequel. People say bad things about it, but the opening parts I've played weren't bad at all.

[Axm]

Beyond Two Souls.

This game is EXTRAORDINARY. I really didn't like how it began but it gradually picked up then went into overdrive with some of the best storytelling I've seen in a game since Telltale's The Walking Dead. There was one thing that I thought made the climax stumble a little, but overall I was like HOLY SHIT. Everything that happened in the game was given a clear answer in the end and the bit before the credits was AWESOME AS HELL. I loved how everything was justified and the motivations for the characters made sense in the end.

This is Cage's best effort since Omikron, I'm truly that impressed. If there had been more story choices and some polishing here and there (not to mention fix the non-linear structure in the beginning), this would've easily cracked my top ten. I'm still in awe over how much I didn't care about the title before and ended up loving the experience (now totally buying it). It really does make a difference when you cast A-list talent in these things, Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe notwithstanding the rest of the supporting cast was great.

Damn. I'm definitely anticipating QuanticDream's next title more.

[Axm]

I agree, it didnt start out particularly enthralling but it picks up quickly and the character development is really special. Its a game ill for sure be going back to because its such a great overall experience. Not the best GAME but an amazing interactive experience.
Dafoe knocked it out of the park. And the facial mocap really shows off his experience in actual acting and real emotion. A technological and artistic milestone in gaming. Its a shame games like The Last of Us came out this year, otherwise id almost call it or Ni No Kuni my GOTY. But the Last of Us was just too perfect for me.

[Kenny]

I'd still call it a game because it's still interactive entertainment, but nothing like COD or Tekken as far as replayability.

As far as the best game this year, Tekken Revolution for me. I just can't stop playing it. They somehow managed to make Tekken hyper-addicting.

[Riku Rose]

I enjoyed Beyond: Two Souls but had a few problems with it. Stuff like the homeless chapter I thought where amazing but others just seemed annoying and pointless. It was a very mixed game and one I didn't quite enjoy as much as Heavy Rain but it's a totally different type of game.

There was a few points where what I said or did didn't match up with the rest of the scene like I had picked the wrong thing. I never got that with Heavy Rain or The Walking Dead which is why I never really cared when people would moan that your choices didn't matter much as my experiance 'felt' unique to me.

Should I ever play it again I'll just go to the chapter select screen and play them in order rather then the order the game chooses. I really can't see why they decided to put the scenes in a random order.

The whole dessert chapter just wasn't needed.
The thing about Willem Dafoe's wife and daughter was thrown in really late as if they had forgot about it. Had they mentioned it earlier you may understand why he was like a surregate father to Jodie.
The ending where it's like a Terminator type world just came out of left field and I didn't think it fit with the rest of the game.

The main thing to take away from this game is that Willem Dafoe is terrible at buying presents.

[Axm]

I enjoyed Beyond: Two Souls but had a few problems with it. Stuff like the homeless chapter I thought where amazing but others just seemed annoying and pointless. It was a very mixed game and one I didn't quite enjoy as much as Heavy Rain but it's a totally different type of game.

There was a few points where what I said or did didn't match up with the rest of the scene like I had picked the wrong thing. I never got that with Heavy Rain or The Walking Dead which is why I never really cared when people would moan that your choices didn't matter much as my experiance 'felt' unique to me.

Should I ever play it again I'll just go to the chapter select screen and play them in order rather then the order the game chooses. I really can't see why they decided to put the scenes in a random order.

The whole dessert chapter just wasn't needed.
The thing about Willem Dafoe's wife and daughter was thrown in really late as if they had forgot about it. Had they mentioned it earlier you may understand why he was like a surregate father to Jodie.
The ending where it's like a Terminator type world just came out of left field and I didn't think it fit with the rest of the game.

The main thing to take away from this game is that Willem Dafoe is terrible at buying presents.

I agree, id really like to have the option to just play al the chapters in order.

Damn you didnt like the dessert chapter? That was one of my faves next to the homless one. I saw it as a nice change of pace kinda like Guilin. But ya they did kinda throw in Dafoe's family late in the game, making a linear chapter progression something that would have remedied that.