by tonicbh
It's that time again...
Since 2008, I've been keeping a record of all the video games I've beaten over the year. Mainly because I like lists. But also because I can figure out what I played as the year passed. Most importantly, whether or not I agreed with the consensus, or felt I was the outlier who actually (dis)liked a certain game. But also because I like opinions as well as lists.
"Conquered" in this case means beat the game and saw the credits. This mostly applies to single player games. This doesn't apply to multiplayer games don't have a fixed campaign mode, like Warframe or Payday 2. Sometimes I beat a game more than once. Other times I beat it with a mod, or co-oped the game with friends. This list also includes any DLC, if available.
I tend to have a massive backlog of stuff dating several years old, so don't expect many 2015 games on this list.
Showing 1-10 of 35 items
(Beaten on PC. Beat the co-op campaign first on January 4, the main campaign on January 6, and the New Game+ campaign on January 8.) The Darkness II really caught my interest. I never played the original game, nor am I familiar with the comics. But I liked it because of its scoring system, where doing unique kills rewarded you more points, much akin to Bulletstorm's "Skillshots" system. While we may never get a Darkness III, I totally wouldn't mind playing a game in the same vein.
(beat Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage on January 5, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep on February 23, and Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt on March 7. I had already beaten the game and Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty back in 2014.) I already talked about Borderlands 2 on last year's list, and not much has changed. It's a diablo-like with unique classes and somewhat funny writing. Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep actually made me like the character just a bit more, even if that DLC was making fun of D&D-style games and other medieval stuff. I enjoyed this, in spite of the weapons not being interested. Alas, that's the downfall of Diablo-like action games that we've yet to solve. Me and a few friends have been slowly tackling the DLC and Headhunter stuff before we eventually move on to Pre-Sequel. I heard from said friends that Pre-Sequel fixes some of the issues this game has, and it makes me want it just a bit more.
(Beaten on PC, January 11, 2015.) I wrote about this on my blog. It's an awful budget military FPS made by a company notorious for awful budget military FPSes. Oh well, not everything's a winner. Budget first-person shooters are a dime a dozen sort of thing. Lots of garage developers making stuff like these games. None of them will dethrone the big heavy hitters, but they'll probably break even enough to make similar games on the cheap. These are the games nobody really talks about, and are fascinating as hell to me despite their quality.
(Beaten on PC, January 13, 2015. Beaten entirely in co-op.) I've never played a Gauntlet game 'til this one. While it's bare bones and somewhat lacking in content, it makes up in it's arcadey style. It's built for replay value, having your classes upgrade and get unique skills. The big downside is its content. There's three worlds, and once you go through them there's not much incentive. Replaying them on harder difficulties, or getting the chance to upgrade your dude by shooting food, killing enemies or using your powerups seem to be the way the game is set up, and if you're expecting something deeper, you'll want to look elsewhere. Though if you just want a quick pick up and play sort of game, this'll scratch that itch. Here's hoping they add more areas, and I don't mean more Coliseums. Like actual areas to mess around in. That'd get me back to playing it.
(Beaten on PC, January 23, 2015. Beaten entirely in co-op.) Now I know why people were praising this one when games like Underworld were underwhelming. A fun co-op game with challenging puzzles and fun gameplay. If you haven't played this, you really should. A lot of this game is designed for upgrading your dude, doing puzzles with your co-op partner to unlock relics or health upgrades. Even doing challenges can give you unlockable skins. The downside was Totec, your spear/shield co-op buddy. He's voiced by Jim Cummings, and it's probably one of the few times I'd say they made a poor casting decision. Totec's voice doesn't match the look of the character, basically. Though it's not a dealbreaker, just a bit off-putting. The fun part is the DLC. There's Challenge arenas if you're into that sort of thing, but there's also DLC to replace Totec and Lara with either Raziel and Kain from Legacy of Kain, or Kane & Lynch. Kane & Lynch is especially funny as hell, since the game is rated T, all their swearing is completely censored, which makes it funnier than it has any right to be.
(Beaten on Genesis, February 2, 2015. Played on the game's anniversary.) This is the best Sonic game. Combined with Sonic & Knuckles, you have the best Sonic game out there, and is the only right answer to "the best Sonic the Hedgehog game." (Sonic CD is also an acceptable answer, but *NOT* Sonic 2. If Sonic 2 is their favorite, they need to stop snorting the dust.) Playing this for old time's sake was quite fun, even if I was really bad at it. Sonic 3 has a final boss exclusive to the original game that kicked my ass and made me lose all my lives and continues, getting him on literally my last life. Killing him made that oh-so-satisfying. (Though, the boss doesn't appear if you play S3&K, unless you play as Knuckles.)
(Beaten on PC, February 15, 2015. Ended up getting the "Harvest" ending.) The last time I beat this game was five years ago, on PS3. Itching to play something "different," I tackled this one again. I can understand why people loved this game. Rapture has an amazing world and atmosphere attached to it, its 1950s aesthetic along with period-appropriate music made the world feel interesting and alive. Especially places like Arcadia. I will tackle the other BioShock games, but I heard less-than-positive things about both the 2nd game and Infinite, so my expectations will be set accordingly. Like everything new I play. :P
(Beaten on PC, February 28, 2015. Ultra Violence difficulty.) It's fucking Doom. What is there to really say about it? A game that popularized the FPS genre as we know it. Action packed, fun as hell. I remember playing Episode 1 more than the others (didn't get the full game legitimately until years later), so I'm still rusty on where everything is in the later episodes. I will say Thy Flesh Consumed, Episode 4, is a real pain in the ass. After having to struggle through the first level (Hell Beneath) with no medkits, and the pain that is Perfect Hatred, which gives you a breather 'til you get to Against Thee Wickedly, which I'm god damn amazed I even beat it without cheating. Though Unto the Cruel, the final level of the episode, is a great action-packed finisher. Basically, play Doom. Preferably as close to the original as possible. Either through DOSbox or a source port, like Chocolate Doom, prBoom+ or Doom Retro. ZDoom will also work but it's got a lot of bells and whistles to it and not really the most "ideal" Doom experience to me.
(Beaten on PC, March 3, 2015. Ultra Violence difficulty.) Naturally since I beat Doom, I had to tackle its sequel. Unlike Doom which I hold very near and dear, I don't hold Doom II with as much acclaim. They added enemies, which is great considering the somewhat sparse amount of enemies in Doom. Problem is most of the new enemies are annoying in some fashion. Chaingunners do massive hitscan damage and show up in massive groups on Ultra Violence difficulty, Archviles can undo your progress while making it hard to kill (unless you know the trick to dodging their attack), and don't get me started on Pain Elementals. It also doesn't help a fair share of the levels like The Citadel, Nirvana, and The Chasm are poorly designed and mostly unfun. The last few stages just feel like an absolute slog to play through. A shame, really. On the bright side, the new Super Shotgun feels oh-so-good despite it breaking game balance a little. I may sound like I'm saying "Don't play this," but you should play Doom II despite my complaints. It's more Doom, for those who want more action, this is for you.
(Beaten on PC, March 10, 2015.) March might as well become "Throwback FPS month" for me. Thought since I played Doom, might as well play the game that started it all. Wolfenstein is very maze-like, which gets confusing in the later episodes. At its core it's a simple shooter, with simple levels, limited amounts of enemies, and hunting for keys and secrets. Wolfenstein also does jump scares better than any survival horror game. I got spooked several times going through mazes, hearing the sound of Officers yelling "SPION!", enough to make you lose health and spam bullets everywhere. The last level on episode 6 is a real pain in the ass, especially if you start with a pistol. A dozen enemies await, and will pretty much wreck you if you're not prepared. But once you get past it, killing the final boss is so satisfying. Beating Hitler in episode 3 is also pretty damn satisfying. If you're used to other shooters, it might take a while to get used to. Play it with a source port like ECWolf, which gives you an automap that isn't in the base game. Makes a lot of the levels less frustrating to go through!