List items
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Beat 12/30/2010
Great game that takes a big step up from the original. Beat over about 3 days, game mechanics didn't get old. Nothing quite like hatching the perfect plan for a job and executing it! I'm curious to see where the story goes from here.
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Beat 1/2/2010
Black Ops has a solid story told in an unconventional way. The narrative got confusing at points because you occasionally switch characters without much notice. There were some interesting levels but the gameplay formula in these COD games is feeling tired at this point. Definitely going to get into some of the multiplayer going forward.
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Beat 3/19/11
Vanquish started out strong. The controls felt great, especially the boost slide. I ended up using the three weapons you start with throughout most of the game. The only time I switched away from the shotgun was to use a sniper rifle or rocket launcher where necessary. Unfortunately, the combat isn't all that varied throughout the game and becomes formulaic. The story didn't really hit any of the right chords either - the cut scenes looked amazing but I never felt interested in narrative.
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Beat 6/13/11
After a drought of not beating any games I finally got back on the wagon with AC:Brotherhood. It was a good idea to leave some time between this and ACII. There were enough changes made to the gameplay formula to keep it fresh but the two games are very similar. I think what made this one stand out was chained executions and the guild of Assassins you can recruit. These two new features just added to what made ACII great. I am cautiously optimistic about AC:Revelations. I hope they don't sacrifice quality of the franchise just so they can put out games in back to back years.
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Beat 6/19/11
I heard good stuff about this game early in the year. I picked it up on Steam for $10 during a sale and for that price this game was a steal. I enjoyed the visual style throughout the game, with great character and monster designs which showed the contrasts between the agents of Heaven and Hell. The combo-based combat system which relied on counters and dodges felt solid throughout the length of the game. I won't lie, I got stuck a few times on the game's puzzles but always felt after I solved them like they were well thought out by the designers.
One of the main gripes I have with the game is its interface on PC. It was clear from the beginning that the game was designed to be played on a console with a gamepad. Some of the controls also felt clunky, especially aiming and locking onto targets. Luckily aiming wasn't really necessary for most of the games combat.
Recently, Darksiders 2 was shown off at E3 2011 and it was revealed that the horsemen Death will be the main character. I'll definitely be picking that game up if it is the same caliber as the original!
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Beat 6/26/11
I finally got around to playing this game which has been in my collection since Christmas 2010. I had seen some videos of the game prior to playing so I knew some of the game revolved around quick time events, but beyond that I didn't know what to expect. Calling it a game may be something of a misnomer, I felt the whole way through that it was an interactive story. That isn't a knock against it because I found myself enjoying it. I was very curious to see how the story would play out. It was clear while I was playing the game that the story could have gone down different paths. I'm not sure if I should play through select chapters again or just read online to find out what happens. Knowing that my actions would have story repercussions made me feel like every scene was tense. Complaints that I have about the game would be that the character acting felt pretty stilted at parts. The conversations or interactions just didn't seem believable. I could forgive that. What I can't forgive is the terrible walking controls. Even toward the later parts of the game I was walking in the wrong direction when I didn't mean to. When I have some time, I may go back to find out to see how the story could have played out differently. Overall, satisfying experience!
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Beat 7/9/11
Picked up Torchlight during a Steam Sale. I heard many comparisons made to the beloved Diablo franchise so I decided to give it a go. I rolled a caster type and played him as a summoner. The game is really good at keeping you hooked with loot drops. The common/rare/unique loot system is in place here. I played through on the normal difficulty and it became apparent that the game was a bit too easy on that level. I died a total of about 5 times, with 3 of those being during the final boss. Playing a summoner, most of my combat was a bit passive as my pets went to town. I'd be curious to play the game again as the warrior class where I'd be a bit more involved in the combat. There is more content left in the game and I may potentially do a second playthrough considering its short length.
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Beat 8/1/2011
The first game I picked up during the Summer of Arcade promotion. I'm not a huge fan of tower defense, but gameplay videos revealed this game had a lot more going for it than that. I've played the game one time through, though I plan to go back and try to gold every level. Luckily, I've play through nearly all of the levels with co-op partners. In Co-op, the game really shines. I wish it was a bit longer and there were a few more weapons/items to unlock but a really solid game all around.
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Beat 8/7/2011
I've been meaning to play DoW II for a long time now. It's an interesting perspective on the RTS genre. Its much smaller scale, focusing on unit placement and abilities rather than macro and base building. I'll be the first to admit that I'm bad at RTS games so focusing on the micro aspect of RTS alone was more my speed. The game started off really strong and I played through nearly every side mission for about 16-17 hours of the game. Towards the end of my play time though I felt the mission structure was getting a bit tired so I decided to skip the side missions and end the campaign. I'll wait a bit before considering digging into the expansions for this game.
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Beat 8/12/2011
Ah, Bastion! I've followed coverage of this game since it was first featured on Giant Bomb. The fact that Greg K was part of the small team that brought this game to life made it even more special since I used to follow his reviews before he left GS. The artwork has this hand drawn feel that really brings the world and the characters to life. Sound design and music are outstanding as well. The music really complements the world and adds to its character. One melancholy song that played towards the end of the game in the final scene just fit perfectly. I won't lie, the game play was no walk in the park. I had about ~2-3 idols turned on for most of my play through and I struggled. The combat difficulty never felt unfair, though. Finally mastering techniques and timings felt really rewarding by the end of the game. I'll definitely be playing through this again with a New Game Plus!
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Beat 9/4/2011
Before recently beating New Vegas, I had started the game previously only to stop playing after I was ~8-10 hours in. I picked the game up only to later read about its faults and bugs which ultimately turned me off during my first playthrough. After some time had passed I decided to give New Vegas another shot. I spec'd an Unarmed character and jumped back into the Fallout Universe. I would estimate that the game crashed or screwed me well over a dozen if not two dozen times. It was so ridiculously broken that I won't consider purchasing Bethesda/Obsidian games until I read reviews stating that they are technically competent. With all of that out of the way, I did enjoy this game. It was fun playing a character that used unarmed weapons. The story itself wasn't really that interesting but the game is set in an interesting universe which pulled me in. I really hope they take a lot of time with the next game to make the gameplay feel fresh and sort out all of the bugs before they ship.
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Beat ~11/19/2011
I started playing the Battlefield franchise when I was a freshman in college ('05-'06) when Battlefield 2 was released. I have fond memories of playing with friends in my dorm room. I also thoroughly enjoyed BF 2142, BF 1943, and BF Bad Company 2 (my first foray into the console BF games). With the impending release of BF3, I had it in my mind to upgrade my machine in order to play this game on a PC because that is how I believed it is meant to be played. However, after crunching the numbers and realizing that it would cost about $500 to upgrade my PC to a point that it would be able to handle a proper modern game, I balked and purchased the console version. Playing the conquest maps on console with only 12v12 is not a particularly good experience. However, the rush mode here which is a carry over from BF Bad Company 2 makes the multiplayer more viable. Is the multiplayer in this game great? Absolutely. I've played nearly 40 hours up to this point and it is a blast. The BF franchise features classes and elements that promote teamplay and cooperation more than its modern counterparts. I'm learning now that the progression based unlock system that has become so popular these days in multiplayer shooters is a serious double edged sword. The unlocks drive my playtime up to a point, turning me into an addict for a short period of time even if I don't use or enjoy the elements I'm unlocking. Once I've unlocked those items though, my interest in playing a particularly class fades because I feel like I'm just wasting my time. That's curious given the fact that I loved playing FPS games before unlocks were popular. There was no progression built into UT2k4, an old favorite. Yet, I played countless hours anyway. I'm starting to wonder if the modern unlockable systems in FPS games hurt them more in the long term than help them.
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Beat 12/3/2011
I'm not sure how I missed this game when it came out in 2009. I think it has to do with the stigma that comes with most licensed games. The release of Arkham City in 2011 stirred up discussion about the preceding game and the impression I got was that City built upon the foundation set in the first game. This game was a lot of fun. Enjoyable story, genuinely amusing dialogue, and excellent combat system. I think the combat system is really what puts Batman:AA over the top for me. Instead of being a lazily constructed brawler, Rocksteady put together a system for chaining combos that is challenging and very engaging. I'm considering another playthrough to get all of the Riddler trophies but with the amount of games still on this list I'm not so sure it will happen.
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Beat 1/8/2012
When I first heard on GB that SR3 was a game that "you should play," I wasn't so sure. I wasn't impressed by what I saw of the first two games and didn't really expect anything interesting in this sequel. I'm glad I was wrong. This game is flat out a lot of fun to play. Where other games hold back the "good" bits that sort of break the game, Saints Row gives you lots of fun tools to work with from the get go. The combat isn't going to win it any awards but the variety of missions, humor, absurdity and access to interesting vehicles, clothing, and sick, sick dredlocks really push Saints Row over the edge. I see myself going back at some point to finish gaining control over the city and finishing up some final missions.
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Beat 2/7/2012
After a long hiatus, I finally got around to beating From Dust. This game first caught my eye as it reminded me of playing Black and White at my cousin's house while I was still rocking a Compaq Presario at home. This game was more of a puzzle game however where you wind up playing a god figure who manipulates the earth. I found the game fairly enjoyable but became frustrated by poor unit pathing and mediocre controls. The game felt like it wanted to be played with a mouse for more accurate placement of soil/water/lava. Overall the game was enjoyable bogged down by a few key problems.
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Beat 2/12/2012
This is the first game in the popular Elder Scrolls series that I've gotten around to playing. I somehow missed out on Oblivion (partially because I picked up a 360 after it had been released) back when it was released. Everything that I had read about the game before it launched all pointed to a game that would be really interesting, beautiful and engaging. After beating Skyrim (~37 hours playtime), I can say that its a great game. The sidequests turned out to be more enjoyable than the main questline. Its like going down a rabbit hole at some points because with each conversation you enter into a ~3 hour quest could be moments away. I purposefully skipped doing ALL of the side missions and faction questlines on my first playthrough as I knew I would want to play through the game again with a more non-traditional character. This playthrough I ended up focusins on a one-handed/shield warrior Nord named Olaf. Next time I play I may try going more of a rogue playstyle for a bit more of a challenge and a different perspective on approaching enemies and situations. One interesting thing I realized while playing Skyrim was how you really can tell that it was made by the fallout team. They made a lot of improvements over Fallout 3 but the inventory system is still pretty bad. Looking forward to my second playthrough once I clean out a bit of my backlog!
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Beat 2/16/2012
Limbo has been on my list of games to play for quite awhile now. When I finally got around to downloading it earlier this week I had forgot what this game was all about. The game didn't take long to set the tone and let me know what it was all about. I walked forward for a few seconds and accidentally fell into a pit of spikes. It was awesome. I wasn't expecting gore in a game that is mostly shades of black and grey to look so good. Limbo is a brief, very enjoyable puzzle/platforming game which mainly focuses on the puzzle aspect (think Braid over Super Meat Boy). Its short enough that I will definitely play through it again to try and get the achievement for beating it in one sitting with under 5 deaths. Now that I better know the obstacles I'm facing, I think it will be a fun challenge.
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Beat 2/26/2012
The developers of Alan Wake got one very important thing right with Alan Wake: atmosphere. The Twin Peaks-esque setting and ambiance set the tone for the game well . I watched the first season of Twin Peaks under two years ago and some of the scenes, especially the diner, seemed like the were pulled right from the TV series. This is A-OK by me as Twin Peaks was bizarre and awesome. The story of Alan Wake was solid and at the end of each chapter I was curious to see what would happen next. The combat in the game starts out introducing you to the core mechanic of using light to break the "shields" of the dark enemies which can then be harmed by conventional weapons. Unfortunately, this formula plays out pretty much the same way throughout the game without much variety in enemy types to keep things interesting. My playtime was about 12-13 hours which I thought was just long enough that I felt satisfied all the way through despite my reservations about the combat. I'm looking forward to seeing what the developer does with AW2 which was recently mentioned in rumors.
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Beat 3/6/2012
Japanese ass Japanese game. Emphasis on ass because you'll be getting a lot of shots of the titular character from behind. I heard about Bayonetta back when and became interested because it sounded so strange. The game was definitely a change of pace from the other games I've been playing. The meat of the game is the combat which features a combo system with a variety of combinations of kicks/punches and an emphasis on dodging attacks. The combat was tight except for the camera which you don't have much control over. Apparently I'm not very good at this game because at the end I had a collection of primarily Stone Statues. The story of the game was pretty incomprehensible really. I don't know if something got lost in translation or if it is just a cultural divide but I couldn't wrap my head around it. The cutscenes looked insane and entertaining in any event. I enjoyed Bayonetta but the game could have really benefited from a more cohesive storyline and improved interface.
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Beat 7/14/2012
If I recall correctly, I had only purchased one Rayman game before when I was a child. I had it for the PC and I remember at the time not thinking much of it. Flash forward to present day and I have to say that Origins is a charming, challenging platformer. I truly have no idea what the story is behind this game but it looks fantastic while you're playing. The game is quite challenging, and there were several times in trying to collect the "Tricky Treasure" gems that I felt like rage quitting. This game is memorable though and even though I didn't enjoy Rayman when I was younger it makes me feel nostalgic for games from that time.
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Beat SP 9/23/2012
Admittedly, I've waited far too long to play Portal 2. This game had been on my radar after enjoying the original Portal. Why I waited so long I really couldn't say. Portal 2 really built upon the mechanics and humor of the first game. I was somewhat concerned that it would be difficult to make another Portal game that was full length (8ish hours) without having it feel tired. Of course, Valve didn't let me down. I really appreciated the game's humor and the puzzles of the game never got boring. Since I picked it up on PC, I need to find someone to play through the co-op levels with me!
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Beat 10/29/2012
On the eve of hurricane Sandy, I finished up Arkham City in a total playtime of 13 hours. After thoroughly digging Arkham Asylum, which I beat just under a year ago, I knew I would have to play this sequel. Even though all that time had passed, however, this still feels pretty damn close to what the original game did. The combat is still really enjoyable and is easily the strongest thing this game has going for it. I have to wonder why they chose to go with an "open" world however. Batman's traversal mechanic was pretty decent but it seemed unnecessary for this type of game. I know games often get knocked for being too linear but I never thought the original game suffered because of it. I enjoyed the game (especially considering that I got it for <$10 on a steam sale) but it didn't differentiate itself enough from the original Batman enough for it to be really memorable.
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Purchased / In Progress
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