52 Games in 52 Weeks

Nathan Plays Games

This has nothing to do with my challenge, but I wanted to help spread the word on one of my favourite YouTube accounts! NathanPlaysGames! It features a 15 year old with downs syndrome playing all kinds of games with his brother. Hysterical. Nathan is funny, spontaneous, and give fantastic commentary! Enjoy. :) 

Quick word on Phoenix Wright and Amnesia!

I just wanted to get a few thoughts out on these games before moving on to my next game (which is Turok: Dinosaur Hunter). I have been slacking on updates, and that’s not cool. I will try to keep a better eye on this place and put a lot more thought into it. For now, a quick word on the two most recently completed games!

First of all, Phoenix Wright was the best game I have played in this challenge so far. The writing was clever, and the cases were compelling and complicated. I never knew being an attorney could be so exciting!

Second of all, Amnesia is a scary game, there is no doubt. Unfortunately with the way people were talking about it, I expected the scares and frights to be a lot more intense. I suppose the hype was just too high. Still, it’s a fun game with some decent puzzles and really great atmosphere. By the way, I only jumped in fear once! ;) 

Game 8 Completed! Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Well, I now have two reports I have to write up. I promise I will get to them very soon! :) When I do, I will update the whole website and try to ensure that I keep everything up to date more often. :) 

Game 7 Completed! Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

I will have a full report on this game by tomorrow, I just wanted to say that I’m not dead. The challenge is still going. :)

Game Not Finished: Marc Ekco’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

I never really thought I would be saying this, but I have not finished this game - and I hopefully never will. I still plan to beat 52 games in 52 weeks. This game will just not be one of them.

Never mind the fact that the game itself is broken and poorly designed, but the whole idea of running around town and spraying graffiti simply does not interest me. Perhaps if the game didn’t take itself so damn seriously, then the game might have a bit more going for it. As it stands, the game lacks any kind of personality. The main character himself may display some kind of personality, true - but as far as I played, I only saw him being kind of an arrogant asshole. He was completely unlikable.

The games asks you to wander around the city of New Radius to make your mark as an up and coming graffiti artist. Along the way you meet other gangs who already have a presence in the city. To challenge them, you have to “bomb” their graffiti tags with your own. In doing so, you have to climb poles and buildings to reach certain tags that you must spray over. This basic parkour system of getting around isn’t very well done. It can be quite awkward trying to reach certain areas. To make matters worse, falling can do quite a bit of damage. If you die, going back to an older checkpoint would force you do do the tedious work of tagging already hit up areas. Lame.

When I got to the part where I had to beat up dogs, I decided I hated this game too much to keep playing. It’s a nonsense game with subject matter I do not have any interest in whatsoever. Instead, I have decided to tackle Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney!

Game 6 Completed: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest

• Game Start Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
• Game Complete Date: Thursday, July 13th, 2011
• Game System: NES
• Game Difficulty Setting: N/A
• Approx Playtime Thus Far: 5:30 Hours

This was a stinker. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but still by no means a good game. You might have heard the issues with this game before. Let me tell you, that just about every bad thing you have heard about this game is true.

The game is non-linear, and allows for exploration. The problem is, there is little to no direction. The only way you can tell where you supposed to go, is if you ask people in the towns. Sometimes, these townsfolk can give you a useful hint. Unfortunately, the translation is poor, so the hint isn’t all to clear. In addition, some of the townsfolk are assholes and will straight up LIE to you. This can completely throw you off. It should be noted that I played a fan-translated version with better hints, and small gameplay tweaks to make the game more playable.

Some aspects of the game are alright. The jumping mechanic is a little stiff, and when you use the whip it’s on a delay, but overall the controls were okay. I’m not expecting precision controls on such old games. The grinding aspect of the game was aggravating though, because combat, while okay to control, was boring as sin. Very little challenge in most parts.

Also, I died in a town. By falling into a pit of water. Right after I left a building. That’s bullshit. Anyway, I’m done with it now, and I’ve moved onto the next game. Mark Ekco’s Getting Up. Never heard of it? I don’t blame you! Hopefully I will have that game completed soon. :)

Game 5 Completed: Snatcher

• Game Start Date: Friday, July 8th, 2011
• Game Complete Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
• Game System: Sega CD
• Game Difficulty Setting: N/A
• Approx Playtime Thus Far: 7 Hours

I must confess, I’ve never really played a game from the Metal Gear Solid series, made famous by creator Hideo Kojima. The style of game play never interested me, and the way people discussed the storyline gave me the impression that the whole series, especially the story, was a convoluted mess. So when the game Snatcher was recommended to me by a friend for this project, I was skeptical. It’s a Hideo Kojima adventure game originally developed in the late 80s, and it wasn’t exactly on the top of my “to play” list. In the spirit of the project, however, I took the game on.

To my surprise, Snatcher was an absolute blast. Out of all the games I have played so far, it definitely held up the best. The plot is similar in many ways to Battlestar Galactica and Blade Runner, which are both very enjoyable, by the way. In this game, there are Snatchers - they look and act just like humans, but are actually sentient robots that haver an agenda of their own. Of course, they’re evil as shit and you gotta stop them.

What really keeps this game from going out of style is the story and the great characters. Everyone has a personality of their own, and most of them are pretty likable - especially the main character, Gillian. His relationship with his partner, “Metal Gear,”  holds great chemistry.

The game has some humorous moments that break the fourth wall, in what I’m told is typical Hideo Kojima style. Expect a few references to other game series’ if you play as well. Tons of neat little surprises. I rarely dabble in adventure games of this type - the ones that are similar to an interactive comic of book. Yet this game certainly has me interested in others.

I don’t want to discuss much more and give away the plot. If you are interested, I suggest you try it out for yourself! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. :) My next game is, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. Seriously. Let’s do this shit.

Week 5! Game 4 Completed: System Shock 2

• Game Start Date: Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
• Game Complete Date: Friday, July 8th, 2011
• Game System: PC
• Game Difficulty Setting: Easy/Normal
• Approx Playtime Thus Far: 10 Hours

Although my completion time recorded in the game is penned in at just over 10 hours, it actually is at least 5 hours longer if you count the amount of times I had to reload saves. I ended up dying quite a bit, and at one point had lost about 45 minutes of playtime. I had to go back to a earlier save due to me discarding an important story item and not knowing where I left it. Yes, I am that dumb.

After enjoying Bioshock, and to a much lesser extend, Bioshock 2, playing through System Shock 2 felt like a bizarre trip back in time. Going through this series backwards is interesting, but its a trip I do not recommend. I mean, System Shock 2 had a lot of the things that made Bioshock great - hacking turrets and security systems, avoiding and destroying security cameras, researching, using PSI powers (Plasmids in Bioshock), and so on. Of course while all these features were there, it felt as though the were implemented much better in Bioshock. So much better that going back to System Shock 2 made the game feel… a little stale.

The stand out feature of System Shock 2 that Bioshock didn’t have was the inventory. Collecting items and sorting through them carried great importance in System Shock 2. The way the player manages the items properly is essential in efficient progress through the game. As mentioned earlier, I was terrible at managing items. I didn’t pay attention at one point and ended up throwing away a story item I needed to progress the in the game. This isn’t a flaw in the game - this was me just plain old not paying attention.

System Shock 2 was well known for its, for lack of a better term, atmosphere. This is where the game suffers the most. System Shock 2 did not age well at all in this category. Never once was there any feeling of fear - some odd moments were the game was a little creepy, but that’s it. One of its greatest strengths were the game was released works to very little effect in this gaming age, which is unfortunate.

A couple stand out moments in the game sit with me. In particular, one moment with Shodan, the antagonist of the game, really sat with me. It was probably the only time in the game that things felt unsettling and creepy. Shodan makes her presence very well known at this point. It was an excellent way to cement her as the big bad boss.

On the other hand, one of the worst parts of the game sticks out like a sore thumb - the ending sequence of the game. The majority of the game is spend hacking security systems and evading turrets. It plays on those strengths often because it produces an enjoyable experience. However, during the last hour or so of the game, most of that is thrown out the window, and the player is left with only weapons and PSI usage. I didn’t like the ending sequence at all.

It certainly would have had a larger impact on me in 1999. As it stands now though, the game is just… okay. I can see why it was so critically acclaimed at the time, but in this age, it can be best used as an example to show how far we have come.

My next game is Snatcher for the Sega CD!

Game 4 Completed: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

• Game Start Date: Saturday, June 18th 2011.
• Game Complete Date: Sunday, July 3rd, 2011
• Game System: Wii
• Game Difficulty Setting: N/A
• Approx Playtime Thus Far: 25 Hours

Done!

Interesting to play to finally play this game to the end. You know, I enjoyed some parts of it, but I don’t think it holds up as well as the majority of people seem to think - given the high scores on its re-release for the 3DS. The dungeons were obviously fantastic, for the most part - but a lot of the time spent in between those dungeons… that’s the problem I had. I found myself being bored.

I think that everyone should play the game though. If games are important to you, and you haven’t played Ocarina of Time, you need to see why people loved it so much - and why people still love it. Despite the lack of nostalgia for me while playing, I understood why people have such strong feelings towards the game. In a lot of ways, it was the first of its time. The game had a lot of brilliant ideas at the time, such as the lock-on targeting that made playing in 3D possible.

So, even though I don’t think the game holds up that well in some regards, playing the game is important - it’s a history lesson in adventure gaming.

Next game? System Shock 2! :)

Week 4, Game 3: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

• Game Start Date: Saturday, June 18th 2011.
• Game Complete Date: Not Yet Completed.
• Game System: Wii
• Game Difficulty Setting: N/A
• Approx Playtime Thus Far: 17 Hours

This is obviously taking me a much longer time to finish than I had originally anticipated. This is the start of week 4, and I’m only on game 3. Not only that, I still have quite a ways to go. How did this happen?

This main reason I’m so far behind is because I’m not enjoying this game as much as I’d hoped I would. The expectations I had for this game had been so unbelievably high for so long, that I don’t think they possibly could have been met especially since the game is about 14 years old. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good game - I’m just not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

Another reason that I’m falling behind is the simple fact that I suck at this game. I die all the time. I find myself getting mixed up in dungeons, and lost in Hyrule all the time. It’s a challenging game for me. I think the way games are being made today certainly have spoiled me. Your hand is generally held pretty tightly through most modern adventure games. In this game, however, you have to talk and explore as much as possible to figure out where to go next. Hints are given, but its up to the player yo really make the most of them.

The bright spot is the dungeons. Although I do have difficultly with them from time to time, they hold up the best in the game. Creative puzzles and interesting layouts make for a compelling experience overtime. As soon as i leave a dungeon in Ocarina I find myself wanting to be in the next one as soon as possible.

I just finished the Water Temple, so I have a couple temples left before the end. Hopefully I will be done by this coming Monday and I will be able to move on to the next game.

By the way, how terrifying is the Great Fairy? Yeesh.