Conquered Games 2009

I started 2009, disappointed with 2008, thinking that I should complete MORE GAMES THIS YEAR. I put a target that I should complete atleast 1 game every month. It was going fine till the first three months, but afterwards. It felt like I was not playing games at all. I just played game whenever I got the time, Marathon'ed whenever I got holidays and tweeted about them when I completed them. 
 
By the end of the Year, I had this feeling that I didn't play ANYTHING at all. I decided It was time for me to update my list (which I was actively updating till the THIRD entry :P ) and by the time I finished the list (i.e right now) I now feel quite satisfied with what I did :D Not only did I achieve my target of 1 game a month. But actually had many memorable events this year. 
 
Rhythm Tengoku being the period when I would just sit with my DS and play play. I thought such a moment would never come back after I drained all the Juice out of Ouendan 2 a few years ago. I was so into the game that I even made videos of it and more than 200k people have seen it! 
 
Other than that, The BIGGEST thing that happened this year was #IGGBASH, where 6 friends from all different states of India Gathered at the Center of India (Nagpur) were our friend Gagan hosted a 3 day party for us. We all just sat and played lie crazy for 3 days, played on ALLLLL platforms of this gen and 4 players on everything possible. It was just too good and unforgettable. Thanks a lot to Gagan for hosting and others for being there :)
 
Now lets have a look at all the games that I played this Year and what I thought of them. 2, 6, 7, 10 feel like the odds one out, however, didnt feel any were waste of my time. I've written and linked to appropriate stuff in the First line of every game!
 
Enjoy :D

List items

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  1. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

  Completed Date : Jan 15th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/1119001393">#ReCoGa Tweet</a> <br><br>

  First game I completed this year, best possible ending! Totally pumped for next game! <br><br>

  The game had great graphics sound, and BGM. Heliogrubs are so cute :D<br><br>

  Full Paisa Wasool!<br><br>

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  2. Killzone 2

  Completion Date : Feb 23rd | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/1241726144">#ReCoGa Tweet</a> <br><br>

  The game was pretty good, couldn't attach myself to the game. Characters didnt feel well developed. <br><br>

  Best part was the "Run and shotgun heads for a nice splat" and great cover mechanics. <br><br>

  Most disappointing MP "classes". beat one boss in under 37 secs :D

• 

  3. Heavenly Sword

  Completion Date: March 7-8th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/1293855567"> #ReCoGa Tweet </a> <br><br>

  Another midnight marathon.

  The game was just too good! The characters, the graphics.. animation, voice acting, dialogue.. B.G.M. everything was top notch. One of the most immersive games in recent times. <br><br>

  The part with the shooting and using SixAxis to control the projectile was fun too! However, the most irritating and disappointing thing was the actual combat.. everything felt very weak, and hit detection was bad.. the end boss fight was unnecessarily complicated because of the half-baked combat. <br><br>

  It would have been best if it was released as a live rendered PS3 movie with you only doing the shooting part of the game... something like "linger in the shadows" :P <br><br>

  Nevertheless..a must play for anyone who has the chance! great story and very unorthodox climax, a fresh change!

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  4. Devil May Cry 4

  Completion date : May 8th | Completion time : 16 Hours 46 Minutes 11 Seconds | <a href=" http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/1730882910

  ">#ReCoGa Tweet </a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/5mnYN4">#DMC Tweetlog </a>

  <br><br>

  It seems doing a marathon became a trend this year. The last session of this game was a 9h Marathon! The game was quite disappointing in the first few hours. However it picked up pace afterwards and made me forget what all I nagged out in the beginning. <br><br>

  It made reflect on something... reminded me how "Hardcore" I used to be with these games back in the day and almost lost my touch. Made me feel more awesomer than ever when I was able to have those moments where I did crazy combos. <br><br>

  "I still have it in me" <br><br>

  I'm Just 21 dammit, stop feeling old!

• 

  5. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast

  Completion Date : July 17th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/2691916013">#ReCoGa Tweet</a> <br><br>

  Strictly speaking its not a "game" but still, it has linear progression and end hence I "conquered" it. I totally loved doing the commentary. You usually find commentary in supplementary videos or podcasts and stuff like that. But a whole playable level describing how the company does their stuff is way more better.<br><br>

  Its like, they're embracing the video game format for all kinds of things, instead of using non-interactive movies. You really feel like being in a guided tour. <br><br>

  The only other game I remember having something like this was the first sly cooper, where you could unlock developer commentary for EVERY level. Although it didnt have event specific triggers like Lost Coast has.. it was just an audio file playing (specific to that level) it was cool anyways :)

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  6. Gears of War 2

  Completion Date : July 26th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/2853402817">#ReCoGa Tweet</a><br><br>

  I liked the way the game progressed and the Level very pretty interesting. The mission with killing huge sea monsters and going inside a huge worm, pretty memorable. Its loaded with explosive action one after the other.<br><br>

  The whole "searching for my wife" angle dont know why they chose to put it in. It didnt contribute much to the game till the end. It feels like they just put it in for shedding the stereotype that Gears has been attached with. Well, it didnt help much anyways. <br><br>

  The Audio was quite lacking, other than the Theme music rest were ~~. The enemy grunting noises were as bad as PSone Games! There was no sense of distance in the sound. Even if someone far far away grunts, the sound comes out like they are right beside you. Quite sad. Anyways, the controls, the gameplay. everything was HIGH QUALITY and dont forget the HEADSHOTs, yummmm.

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  7. Call of Duty: World at War

  Completion Date : July 30th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/2916017490"> #ReCoGa Tweet </a> <br><br>

  Its not Nazis its the JAPANESE that we kill in the game. Good thing was that , the character models were not the only different thing. The levels actually felt fresh compared to all the previous WWII shooters. Other than that, the best thing was the soundtrack. It wasnt your generic Orchestra nonsense, it had some really nice BGM. Ofcourse, guitars and stuff, they are not authentic to the time period the game is set in, But it does what a BGM should do, empower your feelings and immerse you better. <br><br>

  The whole surround sound effects and bullet sounds everything were crisp and good. Felt nice using the Kar98k and Mosin Nagat again :D

• 

  8. Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal

  Completion Date : September 6th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/3797824110">#ReCoGa Tweet</a> <br><br>

  This E3 was finally the E3 where we got to see SOME news about Monkey Island, along with a remake of Ye Olde MI.We got news that a new Episodic Series by TellTalegames is in the Works. Which was great news!<br><br>

  At first I was like "Look at the character design it looks so bleh" But after I got the game and saw everything in action, I actually started liking how they looked. They were "cute" and the facial animation detail was quite... detailed. Not bad at all. <br><br>

  The game itself, is funny, the puzzles are interesting and the first episode was of satisfactory length for an Episodic game. The level design is far far better than Sam and Max (season 1) I first feared it would be something like that, but its no, its different and nice.<br><br>

  The graphics itself were quite good, very pleasing visuals and colours. Only sad thing was that its Widescreen only :( You get a letterbox view on 4:3 monitors. Overall the game is great and it immerses you pretty nicely into the world with its ambient noise and all other things that make MI great.

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  9. LittleBigPlanet

  Completion Date : September 7th | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/3804715583">#ReCoGa Tweet</a><br><br>

  One of those games that I was so hyped up for and wanted to play very much. One of those games that I ended up not enjoying as much as I thought I would.<br><br>

  The game did everything right, expect for its BUGGY multiplayer component. I have no idea why, but not even a single time I was able to connect and play with my friends properly. I spent more time trying to find a solution to that problem than playing the game. Sadly, nothing helped. I can't even play the game with random strangers, any kind of co-op was almost useless. So just downloaded custom levels and played them. <br><br>

  However, after sometime I just stopped caring about the multiplayer and played the single player. The SP, is surprisingly well done. One would think that a game that focusses on the MP aspects of the game would just have a throw-away SP. But its not the case in LBP. <br><br>

  Really like how the levels progressed and every level was very different and interesting. It was not just going around and jumping. everything felt very fun and the background music was really good. It made the game even more memorable. <br><br>

  Played it 4 Player Local co-op during <a href="http://j.mp/56Bfd2">#IGGBASH</a> with friends, and it really was SUPER FUN. too bad we could never do it online :(

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  10. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

  Completion date : September <br><br>

  The controls on the PSP were not at ALL good for the game. It pained the fingers after few hours of gameplay. The Cutscenes had really good quality graphics. The levels also looked nice. But everything that was NOT a part of the main game was of very poor quality. <br><br>

  The levels with the Hoverboarding races, destruction derby with Clank. All these levels were poorly designed and simply put "BAD" <br><br>

  Totally spoiled the whole fun and the LAST BOSS, its totally insane, you have to just keep throwing bullets for 10 minutes. Its totally worthless. I was quite disappointed with the Game, possible the worst game I played this year. Only good thing was that it had Quark In it. <br><br>

  They tried a whole Dark arc with doing experiments on Ratchet and making him feel all angry and stuff. End result, total #fail

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  11. Halo 3: ODST

  Completion Date : October 3rd | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/4579791862">#ReCoGa Tweet</a> <br><br>

  The best thing about the game was that I played it all in co-op and in One day :P Me and @scorpio_gamer played it at gagan's house during <a href="http://bit.ly/56Bfd2">#IGGBASH</a>. <br><br>

  The game was quite moody, but it just didnt feel all that great to me. The character animations in the cutscenes were oh so stiff but moving their heads like crazy. It kind reminded me of Shrek. Oh and there's a kissing scene, totally cementing the fact that its a "Hollywood blockbuster experience" (Take it however you want) <br><br>

  Not much to say about it.. other than, its Halo3 and it has alllll the good stuff that it had. As a product it feels really good, with all the extra features and community oriented stuff it has.<br><br>

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  12. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

  Completion Date : October 23rd | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/5076729462">#ReCoGa Tweet</a><br><br>

  I bought the game when it launched and it was sealed ever since. I was waiting for that "right moment" when I would sit and play the game at my own pace and enjoy it to the fullest. Finally with all the Hype Surround Uncharted2, I knew that I HAD to complete the game now.<br><br>

  The game was quite something, Very interesting from start to finish, didn't feel like putting the controller down, at all. Its very hard to see games have such a good balance of story and gameplay. The levels were quite enchanting and the best part of the game were the Characters, they were done just too well. <br><br>

  Ofcourse, the stupidest thing about the game, the fact that the enemies take bazillions of bullets to die.. oh that also reminds me, I TOTALLY disliked the moment when the game did "FarCry" I NEVER expected that it would have such a twist. I didnt like it at all. The whole horror type levels too. Almost ruined the game for me. But the ending and everything kinda made sense and felt like it'd been only possible if they had the stupid MumboJumbo angle to it. <br><br>

  Oh and they don't kiss!

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  13. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

  Completion Date : November 28th | <a href="'http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/6144123991"> #ReCoGa Tweet</a> | <a href="http://bit.ly/8FYt6h">#uncharted2 Tweetlog </a> <br><br>

  Well, right after the previous one was over, it was time to play Uncharted2. No wonder everyone was praising the game. It really outidid whatever was done in the first game. There was not much of connection between the two. It even introduced new characters who fit very well into the game. <br><br>

  Everything about the game was great, i guess everyone has heard everything already :P The co-op and Multiplayer component is also surprisingly fun. Didnt expect it'd be good. The Opening sequence of the game itself had a huge impact, the way he walks, and climbs during that part got me so immersed that I didnt even feel like titlting the Analogue sticks all the way through. The way he would give remarks "Oh not again!!", "A HELICOPTER??" were quite effective in getting me into the mood, because well, it was EXACTLY what I was thinking.<br><br>

  Only thing that bothered me was the EYEs, they all looked very watery and the borders all looked like Jagged edges. Sometimes it makes me think that maybe it was just me had that experience. Maybe it was the Sharpness of my TV.<br><br>

  Oh and *boning* confirmed.

• 

  14. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

  Completion Date : December 11th | Completion Time : 18 Hours | <a href="http://twitter.com/Reetesh/statuses/6544547519"> #ReCoga Tweet </a> | <a href="http://j.mp/7472Cc"> #RnC Tweetlog </a> <br><br>

  The END of RnC Future Trilogy. The second game was the first game I beat this year! And the end with Nefarious being reveal just added to the Hype. Had LOTs of Expectations for the game, and happy to say that... I wasn't disappointed :D<br><br>

  The graphics, its just supreme level of awesomeness for style such as this. Everything looks so polished and awesome, nothing feels bad. The character animations, even during gameplay. The hit reaction of the enemies. Everything feels very lively and great. <br><br>

  After 7 years of doing it, theres no denying that insomniac has mastered the art. <br><br>

  I always try to think how the next R&C game can be made fun and what new things might be introduced to keep the experience fresh. It almost feels impossible, but the way R&C Crack in time totally changed the approach to space travel, adding side missions and satellites, it was just too good. <br><br>

  The BGM however, was quite lacking, it was NOTHING like the old ones, no techno, tribal or such stuff. it was all Orchestra nonsense, I still wonder WHY they chose this over the really good style they had been using for all these years. The radio channels however, balanced the absense, somewhat. The Music choice for the radio channels was quite Mature, with genre like classical rock, jazz, and Maestro music. The songs per channel were quite limited but still, they were quite good and you would never get bored of hearing them again. The ADs and Talk shows, done in classic R&C style were too good, the whole experience reminded me of Vice City in many ways. <br><br>

  The story characters dialogues and everything were nicely done, The Clank puzzles (the LAST secret three) almost blasted my brain. Quite fun they were though... also FLOOR OF THE YEAR! The game had. <br><br>

  BTW, did I mention I completed the 18h only one Playthrough and had ALL Trophies and Unlocked all Levels. Ofcourse I didnt have TWO trophies :P They were "Beat the game in hard mode" and "Challenge mode" :P The first game where I unlocked Incomniac Moon. The secrets were quite easily detectable, I discovered 95% of all collectibles without the map-o-matic!<br><br>

  Totally awesome.

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  15. Rhythm Heaven

  Completion Date : ??? | Completion Time : 50 Hours | <a href="http://j.mp/4uvpq8"> Youtube Playlist</a> <br><br>

  I totally forgot that I played the game THIS year, haha. basically THIS should be my Game of the year! I spent more time playing this than anything else, and enjoyed the game the most too! Was a big fan of the first one and loved this one too. I actually had the japanese Version and played and completed it way before the American version came out. <br><br>

  Ofcourse, just finishing all the levels is not "Completion" I tried my best to achieve Gold/Perfect in all. As I went on playing, I realised that I could actually record videos of my perfect runs and host them for viewing pleasure. As the gameplay Soundtrack is just too good to here in combination. <br><br>

  I converted that thought to action and What happened next was just too awesome to believe. I put in funky made up names by myself and hosted them at Youtube. I now have mor than 200K views for all my <a href="http://j.mp/4uvpq8">Rhythm Tengoku Vids</a>. (along with my <a href="http://bit.ly/71kOLK">Ouendan 2 vids </a>) <br><br>

  To get the essence, here Check the Video out.

  <object width="384" height="313"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_gz_0LOmoio&hl=en_GB&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_gz_0LOmoio&hl=en_GB&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="384" height="313" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> <br><br>

  Oh and I'm Holding Camera in one hand and playing with the other as I record it! 8)

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  16. Indie

  Completion Date : ??? | Completion Time : ??? | ??? <br><br>

  Played Many indie games this year, most them can be played infinitely, some of them were infinitely small. Games like Canabalt, Passage and all other artsy farsty stuff. <br><br>

  The best thing is that, you get to see two unique things in Indie games one thing is.. they use standard gameplay in very unique ways and the other thing is , they try totally different things with the whole story telling aspect of games. Things like these are called "risky" and because of their nature, you find most of such stuff in the Indie game scene. <br><br>

  Lets hope all this translates to some kind of shift in Game design to most mainstream games too. <br><br>