What Games Have You Completed? (2024 Edition!)

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)

Steambot chronicles

Steambot chronicles is a game featuring mechs that run on petroleum and not steam but don't let that put you off. Steambot has you waking up on a beach with amnesia and then explore the world on your janky mecha while travelling with a globetrotting band. Finding out you past is the main push of the story but the story is kind of lack. The main focus is just enjoying and taking in a wildly ambitious open world and a rare example of a true sandbox game.

And when I say wildly ambitious I mean overly ambitious. The game has a tonne of systems all interacting. There's two modes of transport, on foot and in your mech with their own unique control schemes. There's tonnes of side hustles such as pool, fossil collecting, a stock market and towns/railroads to rebuild. You can even busk by playing songs with each instrument you use having its own controls for the rhythm action game. The developer Item aren't the biggest developer and as a result the frame rate can really chug although the engine feels solid enough and the cel shading has a distinct style.

Steambot chronicles is a game greater than the sum of its parts. It presents a fantastic world to explore and get lost in. There's some great moments in the story, particularly some shadow of the Colossus esque boss battles but there's some real lows like a protracted fetch quest towards the end.

The series was meant to continue. It did have an arena fighting game on PSP that no one remembers but a sequel was also in the works on PS3 before Irem closed down. Granzella was formed by former employers and has taken over many of irems IPs and the team lead is the lead developer of Steambot. While he has expressed interest in bringing the series back he has also said that it's a massive undertaking and unlikely any time soon. Shame.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]

Crackdown 2

Good game but it there was a few tricky parts in the game but you get through them eventually. Mind you the large freaks were annoying as they would knock you over and you cannot get up for a fair few seconds and sometimes you would be getting up and they knock you again all while you had no control over the playing character. Then human enemies with full auto grenade or rocket launchers would do the same as in you lose control of character and he is on the ground with explosions all around while you lose health. And for a game where you climb, sometimes he doesn't do what you want while climbing a building and not grab a ledges.

But besides all that I enjoyed the game.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122478393#Comment_122478393

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.

Currently playing: I have COD MW2 on the go, and installed Stray on my steamdeck over the weekend, so those 2 for now.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)

Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies

Ace Combat 4 came out at the tail end of 2001 which was a crazy year for incredible PS2 releases. As a result in kind of flew under the radar, excuse the pun, but managed to build a cult following with people that did play it.

AC4 is the second game set in the serie's "strangereal" setting, an alternative earth. The world was devastated by a massive asteroids shower and to deal with it governments collaborated to build massive weapons to shoot these meteors out of the sky. Unfortunately after this event it was noted just how good these weapons were for war. Subsequent games center around these massive weapons are their effect on geopolitics. In AC4 you pilot a jet for an alliance of states trying to take back the continent of Usea from the invading Eurasian forces. Unfortunately Usea is dominated by the massive anti asteroids rail gun array called Stonehenge.

AC4 took the already excellent gameplay of the series and brought it up to date for the then next gen PS2. It's a remarkable technical achievement for such an early PS2 game and other than some low resolution ground textures when you get close it still holds up well. The game was a real tech show piece at launch. Ground textures are derived from satellite imagery and the horizon fog is far in the distance. There's some gorgeous effects that convey weather and clouds quite realistically and a gorgeous specular effect on water.

As a game it's a bit of a step back from the previous entry. AC3 was a two disc behemoth of a game with anime cutscenes and branching paths, but only in Japan. In the west the game had all the story removed, missions number was halved and it had the same linear structure as previous games. While the 18 missions present are all great they lack some of the variety in the previous games and the game is quite short, weighing in at 3-4 hours. However there are some standout missions especially when you come under fire from Stonehenge mid mission. The battle for Stonehenge and the penultimate mission of the siege of Fabranti, the capital and it's finale dog fight with the enemy squadron were absolutely spectacular. Both locations are revisited by Ace Combat 7.

What caught me off guard with this game is the story. As you play the game will cut to the story of a young boy that lost his parents due to the war and is now loving under occupation of the enemy. It's actually quite moving and deals with some heavy themes while highlighting the absurdity of war. Did not expect it to be so good. I also like the environmental storytelling with locations showing the devastation of the meteor shower. Last thing to mention is the excellent soundtrack, Namco usually deliver here but they were absolutely on fire during the PS2 era.

AC4 is a short but very sweet slice of aerial combat. It plays better than most modern games thanks to a smooth 60 fps update and is quite handsome for a PS2 game.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122497971#Comment_122497971

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).

Currently playing: I'm about to start MW3 to complete the trilogy. I also have Stray on my Steam deck too.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122507802#Comment_122507802

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.

Currently playing: There's a Mafia game and Crash Bandicoot available on gamepass, so I've downloaded them. I also have Stray on my Steam deck too. I do have ~€20 credit in CEX due to me for COD:MW & MW2 - any suggestions on a non-gamepass game to pick up for my Xbox?

Luna84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519889#Comment_122519889

What is the Mafia game?

Luna84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519956#Comment_122519956

Nevermind I looked it up it's the remaster of the first game.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME #21 || The Last of Us Part I

PLATFORM || PlayStation 5

Swore off buying this remake since it released because I just did not agree it should've been released at full price. That being said, my best pal bought me a PSN gift card with £35 on it so I used it to get half off this.

It looks stunning, very fitting of a PS5 game — still don't think it was needed but might as well play the best version if I was to replay it again. I don't feel too bad having bought it since, like I said, it was half price out of my pocket.

Not much I can say since I've beaten this game numerous times so I'll just say if you haven't played it and you have a PS3/4/5 — get this. The story alone is worth it, even if the gameplay is rather repetitive. Still good fun though regardless.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
14. Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Very good game. There are 26 dungeons but there is a social aspect to it as well which slows the game down but you get used to that. You get two magic powers in each each area which you use to solve basic puzzles. It even reminded me of Mario Galaxy in some dungeons as you can walk upside down on a small globe. Like the small planets that was in Mario Galaxy.

Over all I enjoyed my time with this game.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5

Diablo 4

Bit late to the game on this one. Started it over a year ago and then got distracted I think it was by ff16 , finally blitzed the last three acts. Was enjoyable but endgame is where this is really meant to shine and I wasn't that invested in the loot mechanic and stuff, I find it a bit repetitive.

Nearly finished dragons dogma 2 and might play the Alan wake 2 DLC then.

Also halfway through Dave the diver on steamdeck, I started it on my journey back from Ireland to oz and stuck 9 hours into it.

CastorTroy

Just got my third platinum with Ghost of Tsushima.

Not a trophy hunter but since had got all but 5 by the time I finished, I decided I may as well finish since were simple ones left.

Now on to the DLC.

da gamer

Final fantasy 16 - PS5

Guardians of the galaxy telltale - PS4

Dead Space - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 1 - PS5

Tomb raider 2 - PS5

Days gone - PS4

Robocop - PS5

Chasm the rift - PS5

Still wakes the deep - Xbox series S

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

The first game for me is the best platformers on the PS1 that is far above contenders like crash and Spyro. It had a simple two button set up but the way it used those abilities and your interaction with enemies meant it had a surprising amount of depth. It used the 2.5D view in interesting ways and also had a surprisingly moving and dark story.

Klonoa 2 was one of the earliest PS2 games and while it got unfairly ignored due to it launching close to the MGS2 demo trojan horse of Zone of the Enders, critical recognized it for being a fantastic platformer with some astounding visuals. After playing it even though it's a early launch window title for the PS2, it's probably the best platformers on the system. I'd go so far as to call it a Nintendo level platformer, it's just that good.

Not much has changed from the first game here. It's still the same 2.5D two button gameplay from the first game and since that was so perfect there was no need to change it. New enemies types have been added which are fun additions and really add to the puzzle elements of some of the gameplay. The use of the 3rd dimension is increased here with a lot more background interaction.

Level design is absolutely top tier. There's some wonderful set pieces with many levels having their own gimmicks to change things up. The absolute highlight is a strange stage that uses mirror effects to create some brilliant gameplay and puzzle moments. It's pretty impressive it's running on a PS2. Boss battles are excellent and make great use of Klonoa's new abilities. There are new hoverboard sections added to this game. These are far from gimmicky throw away stages, they play great and add new challenge elements.

Despite being a very early PS2 game, Namco were really on the ball early when it came to technical prowess on the system. Klonoa is bright and colorful with some lovely cel shaded characters. There's some really incredible technical effects here. I've mentioned the mirrors already but at release people were blown away by the water effects. They look quaint now but the game gives the water a normal mapped look that shouldn't be possible on the PS2. They did this by having a movie file as the water texture and it's very effective, particularly on the first stage which has an ocean storm raging around the stage. In fact this effect couldn't be reproduced on the recent HD collection which uses a plan flat texture instead.

Got to give a shout out to the incredible sound design and music in the game. Namco could do no wrong here during this era.

There's few negatives here. The cutscenes can drag a little and the story never quite gets as dark or as good as the original. But overall, like the original, this is one of the all time great platformers and shouldn't be missed.

ShaneU

1. Hogwarts Legacy
2. Assassin's Creed Mirage
3. A Little to the Left
4. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
5. Botany Manor
6. Star Wars Jedi Survivor
7. Chants of Sennaar
8. The Case of the Golden Idol - Fantastic murder mystery game, I really enjoyed this. The plot is bonkers. I played it on my phone (apparently these things have decent games on them) it's free with netflix.
9. Dungeons of Hinterberg - It's Persona set in the Austrian Alps. Unlike Persona, there's no time pressure on you to do the dungeons, it encourages you to do feck all actually, wasting days staring at the sea or whatever to improve your stats.
10. Super Mario 3D World - Finally got around to beating this. I preferred Wonder over this, probably because I'm more of a dog person, we want dog Mario!
11. Bowser's Fury - I was a surprised how short this was, there's 100 shines to collect but it forces you to fight Bowser at 50 which I found odd. I would very much like a full open world Mario game similar to this.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5
13. Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5

Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs

Wrapped this up over two nights very short episodes but they were enjoyable. Dunno if they add that much to the story but makes me excited for control 2!

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)

Poinie's Poin

Where to start with this one. This is one strange game.

This was an early PS2 3D platformer and yet it doesn't feel like one. On terms of looks, levels are tiny, there's a lot of untextured polygons and bright pastel colours. The game looks more like a PS1 platformer, like ape escape or Spyro, than a PS2 games. The PS1 similarities don't stop there with a camera that can't be controlled by the right stick. It can only be snapped behind the player with the L1 button. And it gets constantly caught in the scenery. It really does feel like a mid tier PS1 3D platformer.

As for the game, there's some interesting ideas here but they feel wasted. The levels are filled with 'Poins' of three different colours. The colours represent three emotions, blue is sad, red is angry and yellow is happy. You can pick up the poins and throw them to act as platforms. You can also combine two points. Combining the same colour negates both while combining different colours creates a poin of the colour that wasn't used in the fusion.

Enemies in the game are dealt with by hitting them with the same emotion they suffer from this negating their emotions and turning them into a NPC. There's also some light puzzle elements where you can change a characters emotion to overcome obstacles. Unfortunately there's very little of this and what is there is unintuitive as the effects of the emotions aren't telegraphed to the player well. There's some boss battles that can be fun and make use of these mechanics but some can become frustrating when the Poin you need keeps interacting with random enemies or other points and you miss an opening.

The game has some other bizarre elements. It's quite a weird game but it does feel like it's trying to hard to be weird rather than being genuine. The tone is also strange. It feels like it's trying to be a kids game but at the same time the language is both vulgar and horny. I have learned that the age prompt at the start of the game will cut all this out of you enter an age under 18.

The most head scratching this about this game is that it was only ever released in Japan but there's a full English localisation here with voice acting. And it's not the half assed localisation you expect from this time period but a really good one that's really well acted. There's some grammatical errors and Engrish in some of the text but everything else is really well done. I can't help but feel Sony intended this for a Western release but upon learning it wasn't all that great and the fact that they had the excellent Jak and Daxter ready for release that they rightfully past up on this one.

Oh, your companion also sounds like Eric Cartman.

Poinie's Poin is a weird game that I can't say is worth playing. It's often frustrating and doesn't feel great to control. The awkward camera doesn't help. I probably would have dropped this one of it didn't take just shy of 4 hours to beat.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5
13. Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
14. The Operator - Steam Deck

The Operator

Playing this felt almost like work the simulator but you play as a operator for field agents in an Acronym organization, it had a lot of X files vibes. I really enjoyed it and it had hackery elements which made me laugh working in IT myself.

Kimbot

Finished High on Life last night, it was a good laugh.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122519889#Comment_122519889

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)

Haunted Castle: Revisited

How do you make a great game out of one of the most reviled games in a series? Well M2 managed to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

This was included with the recent compilation of DS Castlevania games as a nice bonus. Haunted Castle was an arcade Castlevania game released after the NES and MSX games and is notorious for being a bit crap and full and bullshit game design. M2 took the framework of this game and loosely based revisited around it. The end result is a pretty great throwback to pre SotN Castlevanias.

The game keeps to the standard Castlevania template. Whip enemies and candles and take on the boss at the end of the stage. The game keeps the stage themes from the original game but pretty much changes everything. The level and enemy design is excellent. The pixel art is gorgeous, just make sure to turn on the smoothing and scanlines option. The soundtrack is excellent, especially the rendition of Bloody Tears. Boss fights have been completely redesigned and are all fantastic. If there's a small complaint it's that the game is a short 5 stages and quite easy to get through but then again this is a nice extra to a fabulous compilation of 3 of the best games ever made.

I went back to the original Haunted Castle after playing this and yes, it is a stinker. I might try and beat it since this version has an easy mode and doesn't limit your credits.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122561466#Comment_122561466

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
15. Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.

Currently playing: I decided to go through a bunch of the Battlefield games on gamepass. Currently playing Battlefield Hardline which is a cop game set in Miami. I don't think I'm enjoying it, but I'm invested enough now that I think I'll have to finish it out.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)

Haunted Castle

Well this served as a stark contrast to the excellent remake. When people talk about unfair quarter munch arcade design I feel it's just salty people giving out because a game was hard and didn't stroke their ego and let them win. There are exceptions though, and Haunted Castle contains all those exceptions.

This game was developed and just after the original NES/MSX Castlevania games. You would think that with the much better hardware available that they could make a better game but Haunted Castle is significantly worse. Despite being on better hardware the game is kind of ugly with a very dirty look that is way less cohesive than the NES game. The soundtrack at least is great.

Then we get to the game design which is kind of horrible. Enemies are placed to create the most player frustration. Bosses feel poorly designed, the golem at the end of stage 4 is particularly egregious as I still don't know what signifies when he is vulnerable and he seems impossible to kill with the melee weapon. Even at that the game feels unbalanced with dodgy hit boxes and the stopwatch and cross being very over powered.

If I was to say anything nice about the game there's some weird visual touches in the third stage but it's just a frustrating game to play.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
14. Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
15. Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]

Another Crab's Treasure

This was a very good game. An awful lot of platforming which I enjoyed. Bosses are very difficult though but it is a souls like game but you can make the game easier on yourself as there are a tonne of assists you can turn on and you can even equip a massive hand gun to one shot kill bosses if you get frustrated with one.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122570782#Comment_122570782

Sounds like fun. Gamepass or no?

Luna84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122571762#Comment_122571762

It was a fun game. Yes, it's on Gamepass.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122571796#Comment_122571796

Adding to my list, thanks!

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)
33. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)

Radiant Silvergun

Been playing this game on and off for years but I've finally managed to see the end. It's quite simply one of the best games of all time.

Radiant Silvergun is a vertical 2D shmup created for the arcade ST-V hardware and then ported to the saturn with some new modes and bosses. It was created by Treasure, the same company behind all time classics like Gradius V, Ikaruga, Gunstar Heroes and Sin and Punishment.

Radiant Sivergun is a striking looking game. The game uses a fusion of 2D and 3D elements while also using the infinite plane effects of the saturn VDP chips. The 2D and 3D elements blend seamlessly. The Saturn gets a bad rep for failing to match the visuals of the Playstation 1 and in most cases rightfully so. However Radiant Silvergun looks as good as, if not better than the best PS1 games. There's absolutely no way the Playstation could run Radiant Silvergun and keep a near consistent 60 FPS.

The mechanics of Radiant Silvergun are where I could say it might fall short. The game is a little too complicated for it's own good. Unlike other shooters you have access seven weapons from the off all with separate buttons. They all have uses but the short range sword is important as it can absorb pink bullets, and absorbing 10 can unleash a screen clearing blast that also gives a few seconds of invincibility. My tip is to play this game with three buttons. You can use a combination of button presses to access all weapons with 3 buttons and it is far more intuitive than 7 separate buttons. There's also a chaining mechanic where every enemy comes in one of three colours and continually chaining the same colour enemies will result in massive score increases. And score isn't just to brag. Score will also level up your weapons and make them stronger.

It doesn't take long for the mechanics to make sense and chaining can be left to the experts. Treasure would refine the mechanics for Ikaruga where it works much better with just two colours.

What I love about Radiant Silvergun are the bosses, and there are an insane amount in this game. There's 5 stages but each is very long and a run of the game can take about an hour if you can reach the end. All the bosses are incredibly inventive. There's also a mechanic where you can destroy parts of the boss before going for the kill to gain big score bonuses. They're all great fun to fight, with some interesting bullet patterns, and no matter how good I can get you can't relax against them as they are always dangerous.

The soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto is a real stand out. Instead of an electronica based soundtrack, Sakimoto bucks convention and delivers a fantastic orchestrated soundtrack that sounds similar to his work on Final Fantasy Tactics. It adds and air of gravitas to the proceedings and I love how there's a light motif carried through the entire game.

Playing this game made me realise how much I miss Treasure and their quirky games and love of a good boss fight. I also really miss this type of old school shoot'em up with really interesting bullet patterns as most modern shooters have become bullet hell. Radiant Silvergun used to be an expensive Saturn import but it's easy to get hold of. It's available now on most platforms although I would say if you want to play this game I'd suggest the Saturn version which is perfectly emulated now. The reason is if you want to see the end of the game in the Saturn/Story mode which has all the new bosses added, you will receive a credit every hour you play the game. The other version only give you one miserable life every hour and you have no credits. It's a bit of an ask when 1 credit on the saturn can give you 10 lives.

Be Attitude for Gains.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122562142#Comment_122562142

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
   
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
   
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
   
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
   
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
   
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
   
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
   
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
   
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
    
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
    
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
    
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
    
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
    
15. Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
16. Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
17. Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.

Luna84

I started playing Portal 2

I thought it was good when I played it but that was many, many years ago so I could be forgetting what it was like. That was back on the 360 long ago.

Penn

Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?

Absolutely. It can feel like a slow start if you'd recently played Portal 1 as it essentially resets you back to the beginning with simple enough puzzles, but as the game evolves and throws new mechanics at you it's absolutely wonderful, so genius in its design, and just really enjoyable with the characters and story.

I'd say since it's now been a few months since you played the first, you'll just power through the early stages until the new mechanics start kicking in. But either way if you enjoyed Portal 1 you should definitely play 2.

CastorTroy

I replayed both Portals last year and enjoyed them again.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME || Outlast

PLATFORM || PC

Hadn't beaten this one since 2014. The game was terrifying throughout the first half, but after a certain point, I get what I can only describe as "The Resident Evil Effect", where the game just stops feeling scary no matter how many surprises it throws my way. It is a good horror game, nevertheless - just not as scary as I remembered.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5
13. Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
14. The Operator - Steam Deck
15. Dragons Dogma 2 -PS5

Dragons Dogma 2

Had a lot of fun with this , loved the mechanics and the fighting the story was what some what lacking got the true ending aswell so its all wrapped up. Some of the vocations were cool found the quests a bit subpar.

Not too sure what I will sink my teeth into next might start system shock remake ! also have unicorn overlord and I want to play Yakuza like a dragon and also Persona 3 reload. I love JRPGs but they are such timesinks.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122577479#Comment_122577479

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
   
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
   
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
   
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
   
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
   
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
   
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
   
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
   
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
   
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
    
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
    
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
    
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
    
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
    
15. Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
    
16. Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
    
17. Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
18. Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
14. Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
15. Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
16. Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]

Ben 10: Power Trip

I know what the hell was I playing this game for. Well I was on Gamepass seen the game and said I will play it as I knew it was going to be a platformer as I love platformer games. Tbh I actually enjoyed my time with the game. You find more aliens the more you play with unique abilities. Overall it was decent but not difficult at all. I had to farm the combat arena(most difficult part of the game that is optional) to get enough coins to get the last few upgrades needed to get 1000 GS. So I got 1000/1000 Gamerscore in the end.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)
33. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
34. Armored Core (PS1)

Armored Core

Kind of reminded myself how much I loved Armored Core 6 and started watching videos on the series which made me jump into the very first game released in 1997 for the PS1. Armored Core has you acting as a mercenary piloting a mech for faceless corporations at war with each other. The world above has been polluted and become uninhabitable and as a result humanity now lives underground.

Armored Core is a reminder that even before the Souls games From Software were cooking when it came to world building. The Dystopian setting is sold brilliantly to the player through the missions and gameplay. While a lot of missions have you committing corporate sabotage between two warring corporations, the game will sometimes throw in some less savoury missions to remind you just how **** the world is. Early on in the game you are given the choice to remove squatters (with extreme predjudice) or deal with workers striking for better pay by negotiating with them with energy weapons and bullets. In both cases you are told the corporations can't involve themselves or the police but can send a mercenary and wipe their hands clean of it. But it's also you that is a pawn of the corporations. Missions offer monetary rewards but you have to cover the cost of your own repairs and ammunition, even if you fail a mission. Sometimes you'll even some out in the red after failing a mission and can end up in massive debt. You also feel very detached to the war between these corporations, like they are keeping you out of it and only calling on you when needed.

Armored Core is a pretty simple game compared to AC6. You can tune your mech, buy new parts and take on offered missions. The mech customisation is excellent and your build really needs to be considered before entering a mission. There is some nonlinearity to the mission structure. Doing certain missions will lock others out and you can end up on a story path helping one of the two corporations. If you fail a non story mission it is gone for good, although a quick reload of your save will sort that.

The first thing you will notice when you jump into the first mission is how awful the controls are. There's no dual analogue and instead looking up and down is handled by the shoulder buttons. I'd like to use the excuse that the game predated the dualshock but it didn't predate the dual analogue PS pad. It's a very weird control scheme which you do get used to but I never felt I fully mastered it when I beat the game. The control scheme however had a lot of japanese fans that appreciated that it felt like you were clumsily controlling a clunky mech. As a result the series would not adopt a dual analogue control scheme until AC Nexus which was released deep in the PS2 life cycle.

Control issues aside I really enjoyed Armored Core. There's excellent variety in the missions. AC builds map a massive difference and you really have to consider stuff like maps and radar before entering a mission. The story isn't anything to write home about but it was interesting to see that even back in 1997, From was doing some excellent world building and environmental storytelling. I also got a kick out of the techno soundtrack that just brought me right back to the PS1 era.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)
33. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
34. Armored Core (PS1)
35. Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)

Marathon 2: Durandal

Macintosh users weren't best served with games in the 90's compared to PC. Stuff like Doom and Quake arrived remarkably late and only the big games made their way to the Mac, if at all. Bungie's Marathon was their answer to Doom. I found the original game fun with a good plot but had some very lame opening levels. The stage geometry really let the game down with quite small boxy levels but the designers did the best with what they had a made some interesting levels. The Marathon engine is interesting as while the geometry isn't as complex as Doom it can do room over rooms despite being a 2D engine.

Marathon 2 Durandal arrived about a year after the first game. The engine still has that boxy look to the geometry but it has been improved with larger levels and extra features like bodies of water. These act like the water in Duke 3D were it's a different sector of the level so you can't shoot into them. Bungie have also gotten to grips with the idiosyncrasies of their engine and levels are now far more complex with judicious use of the room over room feature to make some interesting mazes and add verticality to the stages.

Marathon 2 has improved on the original in everyway. The levels are more satisfying to explore and you rarely feel lost because areas look so similar. There's still issues with the objective design. They just aren't communicated well to the player so sometimes you will have completed a stage but don't realise you have to access the terminal at the beginning of the stage to exit. There's new enemies that add a lot to the combat. There's only one new weapon, a shotgun that can be dual wielded and while ammo is rare it's immensely satisfying. Marathons weapons are quite complex for a game of its vintage. There's dual wielding, most weapons have dual fire modes and they even reload automatically if a clip is empty (there's no manual reload). I didn't see these features in a PC FPS until the likes of Dark Forces and Duke 3D. There's also AI helpers in the game that bungie has a lot of fun with and were something uncommon in games of the time.

The story is often cited as being one of the highlights of the marathon games but with hindsight it's kind of only good for the time. It's well written but it's not that hard to understand although the ambiguous writing makes it seem more complex than it really is. Just like Halo it's a pretty bog standard sci-fi tale and the early 90's tech makes the story you read feel disconnected from the actual gameplay. I fell like contemporary games like X-Wing, System Shock and Ultima Underworld did a much better job in terms of connecting narrative to the gameplay.

One thing I didn't like was the complete lack of a soundtrack. The great music from the first game is replaced with ambient sounds and at first I thought it was an issue with the version of the game I was playing.

While Marathon 2 is a fun game it kind of pales in comparison to contemporaries on PC at the time. When it released in 1995 it was a revelation for game starved fans on Mac. It did receive a PC port about a year late but it got hammered in reviews are is seemed very basic compared to the likes of Duke 3D and Quake that had released before it.

If you want to give the Marathon games a try the trilogy was released on steam for free very recently. Marathon 2 also received an improved Xbox 360 port that is backwards compatible. I'm looking forward to the third game Marathon Infinity which apparently goes wild with the stage design and story.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
14. Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
15. Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
16. Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]
17. Crackdown 3 [Xbox]

Crackdown 3

Great game with explosions and varied enemies. Mind you the climbing can be nerve wrecking I was sweating out my palms and bare feet as if it was me who was doing the climbing. I still have to get a upgrade to the highest level and drive the cars around to bring that level up to 5 as I never used a car once in the game but I'm still on the fence if I will actually do both those things as I may move onto another game.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME || The Last of Us: Part II

PLATFORM || PlayStation 5

Hadn't beaten the game since 2020. Still one of the best stories I've ever played through. 4 years worth of smoke has cleared and my opinion of the gameplay is now this; it can be a bit repetitive and dull after a few hours. Still fun - great mechanics - just got tired of it: I was mostly playing it to see the story. I guess that was Druckmann's intent.

It was my GOTY for 2020. I still maintain that feeling.

Even though I knew what was gonna happen I still found myself hand-over-mouth at certain moments. The game still grabbed me.

Once again I'm gonna jump into a smaller game after beating a big one.

P.S. not to be this kind of dude, but if anyone wants to catch my streams - I stream pretty much anything I play if I'm at the computer to do it.

Link is embedded below

http://www.twitch.tv/DaveGBGaming

It's up to yourselves. Figured I'd shamelessly plug it anyway. I streamed all of my playthrough of TLOU2, as well as Part 1, Outlast, Undertale and Inside.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5
13. Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
14. The Operator - Steam Deck
15. System Shock remake- PS5

System Shock remake

A fantastic remake if a bit difficult, makes you think can definitely see influence of this on Bioshock, was a cool game the cyberspace bits were a bit poo though.

On to Space marine 2 next I think.

Mr.Saturn

Games Beaten 2024

1. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)
2. The House of the Dead Remake (Switch)
3. Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)
4. Dragon Quest V (DS)
5. Paratopic (Switch)
6. Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)
7. Metal Slug XX (PS4)
8. Binding of Isaac: Repentance (Switch)
9. King of Fighters XIV (PS4)
10. Binding of Isaac: Eternal Edition (Steam)
11. We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie (Switch)
12. Bravely Default 2 (Switch)
13. Pokemon Crystal Legacy (GBC)
14. Pokemon Yellow Legacy (GB)
15. Pokemon Green (GB)
16. Dragon Quest IV (DS)
17. Disney Illusion Island (Switch)
18. Pokemon White Version 2 (DS)
19. Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3)
20. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (Switch)
21. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (360)
22. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS)
23. Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise (Switch)
24. X-Men vs Street Fighter (Switch)

I'm having a really good year. Shout out to Deadly Premonition 2 being an unexpected GOTY contender after I originally started it out of a sense of completion having loved the first. It seems a lot of its biggest sins have been patched out since release and it really is a joy to spend 20 or so more hours with one of gaming's greatest protagonist, especially in the closing hour of the game.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122588623#Comment_122588623

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
   
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
   
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
   
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
   
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
   
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
   
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
   
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
   
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
    
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
    
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
    
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
    
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
    
15. Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
    
16. Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
    
17. Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
    
18. Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?
19. Unpacking (Xbox) - I needed a game to check off a bunch of achievements for rewards so grabbed this. Oddly satrisfying game. It's simple in structure, just unpack your belongings in a series of houses as your unseen character gets older. It's just point and click. But through the stuff being unpacked and the locations/etc it tells a rather satisfying story. Got the 1,000 achievement points here.

At a loss now as to what to play. Any suggestions peeps?

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5
4. Spiderman 2 -PS5
5. Killer Frequency- Steam Deck
6. Sea of Stars -Switch
7. Pentiment- Steam Deck
8. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - PS5
9. Tunic- Xbox Series X
10. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening - 3ds XL
12. Diablo 4 -PS5
13. Alan Wake 2 DLC Night Springs - PS5
14. The Operator - Steam Deck
15. System Shock remake- PS5
16. Space Marine 2 -PS5

Space Marine 2

Brought me back to my teenage years playing gears of war, really enjoyed this wrapped it up over 12 hours not a very complex game, enjoyment hinges on its combat but I had a good time. Will go back and do operations co-op I think.

Unsure of what to start next I really should finish TOTK but after 30 hours in it its not really drawing me to finish it and it looks terrible on an oled I found.

Have Persona 3 reload, like a dragon and like a dragon infinite wealth, tales of arise and the remanent 2. Note the three Rpgs why do I do this to myself haha.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)
33. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
34. Armored Core (PS1)
35. Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
36. Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose

Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose

I really enjoyed this short piece of DLC. It takes place years after Village with a teenage Rose who is being constantly bullied for her weirdness due to her relation with the mycete from the recent games. When offered the chance to be rid of her powers she accepts which kicks off the DLC.

Shadows of Rose is effectively split into two halves. The first plays like the early stages of RE8 with you exploring an environment with little resources. Rose has some new powers to help her and they are used well in the combat encounters and puzzles. The second half play more like the horror focused sections of RE8 and introduces one of the creepiest enemies in the series.

Its a great addition to the main game that adds its own twists and ideas. Decent price as well for 4 hours of great gameplay.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]
4. Cocoon [Xbox]
5. Quantum Break [Xbox]
6. The Gunk [Xbox]
7. Grounded: Fully Yoked [Xbox]
8. Fe [Xbox]
9. Figment: Journey into the Mind [Xbox]
10. Open Roads [Xbox]
11. Still Wakes The Deep [Xbox]
12. SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated [Xbox]
13. Crackdown 2 [Xbox]
14. Dungeons of Hinterberg [Xbox]
15. Another Crab's Treasure [Xbox]
16. Ben 10: Power Trip [Xbox]
17. Crackdown 3 [Xbox]
18. SpongeBob's: Truth or Square [Xbox]

Truth or Square

Great game and not too long. You actually have to go back to each level except the boss levels if you want to collect everything as some stuff is not available the first time round. I managed to get the 1000 GS. Camera is a bit annoying especially for a Xbox 360 era game as you do not have full control at times but apart from that it was a decent game.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME || Flashback 2

PLATFORM || PlayStation 5

Runs like sh*t

Looks like sh*t

Sounds like sh*t

Plays like sh*t

But the plot/story wasn't too bad lol I did roll my eyes at it jumping on the "Multiverse" bandwagon. For those who have played and are fans of the original Flashback. It's not really a sequel. It's more of a midquel/parallel storyline, while sort of retconning certain events. Nevertheless I did have some semblance of fun with this.

Since I managed to get the Platinum trophy for merely playing through the game naturally (minus getting two different outcomes for two different situations, which were easy to get with a simple reload of the most recent checkpoint), I doubt I'll feel the need to come back to this.

I waited two years for this game to release, finally bought it, and waited a further year to actually play it due to it being riddled with game-breaking bugs and horrible controls. Since then, they did patch it significantly, but not enough. It runs like absolute garbage - frame-drops on a game that looks like this should never happen, especially on a current-generation system. The controls were ridiculously awkward. The visuals themselves were straight out of a 360 Live Arcade game, not that that's outright a bad thing but for a game released in 2023, it's horrible-lookin'.

Weird sound glitches and terrible voice acting mixed with everything I mentioned above made this a massive disappointment for me - someone who classes the original Flashback as my favourite game of all time. I should've known it would never live up to the OG, but I didn't think it'd be this rubbish.

Oh well. I finished it, got my plat. It shall remain on the shelf never to be played again.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023) (PC)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine (PC)
11. Metal Slug 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
12. Metroid Prime Remaster (Switch)
13. Valkyria Chronicles 3 (PSP)
14. Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (PC)
15. Elite Beat Agents (DS)
16. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
17. Yeah! You Want "Those Games," Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let's See You Clear Them! (PC)
18. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PC)
19. Tomb Raider 3 (PC)
20. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PC)
21. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS)
22. Contra 4 (DS)
23. Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Colour)
24. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC)
25. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC)
26. Sega Rally Championship (PS2)
27. Steambot Chronicles (PS2)
28. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2)
29. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2)
30. Poinie's Poin (PS2)
31. Haunted Castle: Revisited (PC)
32. Haunted Castle (Arcade)
33. Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
34. Armored Core (PS1)
35. Marathon 2: Durandal (PC)
36. Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose
37. Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour

Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour

Not sure how I let Resident Evil 7 just pass me by as I'm really enjoying it. I didn't even play this demo which I decided to beat before I started the main game.

This is quite a fun little diversion, basically recreating one of the VHS tape moments from early in the main game but with some additions. It's a great showcase of the RE Engine which still looks excellent 7 years later. It's a short enough teaser but with a decent amount of content that's worth playing.

The first playthrough is basically the same as in the main game. The second time through you can use your knowledge of the area to create a much meatier alternative timeline. The only issue I had with this was the AI on one of the molded enemies that appears. It's quite difficult not to take a hit from them and it's a requirement for some of the endings. The AI is also kind of broken and the enemy got stuck in place a few times for me.

The last playthrough of the game is kind of like PT with some very esoteric puzzles to solve. Honestly, you won't solve these on your own and it's best to look them up. Playing it late means you've already missed out on the community endeavor to solve the mystery. Your reward is a antique coin you can bring over into the main game proper. Be warned, some of the triggers for the puzzles to register a not well explained, even in the walkthrough videos.

This works quite well as a teaser to the main game and has quite a bit of content for a free demo, a lot of which is unique and not in the main game. Well worth a quick playthrough.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME || Axiom Verge

PLATFORM || PS5

What can I say about this that I haven't said for the likes of Metroid, Castlevania and any other Metroidvania?

While I do adore the genre, they rarely - if ever - innovate. Maybe a gimmick or theme here and there, but when it's all boiled down; they're all the same.

It didn't stop me from enjoying this one, though. It was very much a Super Metroid clone more than any other of the genre if I could narrow it further.

If you're a fan of the metroidvania style, this is a no-brainer. I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. I'll definitely be jumping onto Axiom Verge 2 when I get the chance.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635824#Comment_122635824

1. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox) - finished it and the undead nightmare mode. Hadn't played it since it originally came out years ago, it's excellent still. Even if the graphics are ropey and the controls could do with improving.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox) - possibly my favourite game of all time. Such a good game, spent a good chunk of time avoiding the story just to explore and go achievement grinding.
3. Escape Academy (Xbox) - found this on gamepass, it was very satisfying when you solved the puzzle on own. Made me consider going to an escape room actually (haven't yet though).
   
4. Harold Halibut (Xbox) - I don't know why I started this. I don't know why I finished it. The gameplay is boring, the story is odd and it's so slow.
   
5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox) - I think I played a bit of this on Stadia of all things years ago. I don't really like Star Wars movies, but some of the Star Wars games are excellent. This was great fun.
   
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox) - I played this immediately after fallen order. I was very pleased that they didn't do they annoying thing loads of sequels do by removing a bunch of the powers you had from earlier games. Cal's character in this has all of the things learned from the first game, I appreciated this. I also much preferred the sequel to the original.
   
7. Super Mario Brothers 3 (SNES) - Not sure of the exact order from here on as these were on steam deck so I don't have dates, they slot in amongst the various xbox games. Finally finished mario brothers 3. I think it's my favourite Mario game.
   
8. Super Mario World (SNES) - Also finished this, but was a right slog at the end. Put me off playing another Mario game for a bit.
   
9. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2) - I played a bunch of the Tony Hawk's games, but this is the only 1 I actually went to the bother of finishing. I didn't realise how much of my musical taste came from Tony Hawk's games, such a pity the quality tailed off with this series.
   
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Xbox) - Finished this in a much quicker time than expected. I know that COD games are all about the multi-player but the campaign was frustratingly short. Good game though, but I'd be annoyed if I paid full price for the campaign alone (I don't have the time or interest to devote to online gaming). Game only cost me a tenner though, so not all bad.
    
11. Gris (Xbox) - Just finished this, was happy it ended when it did. A beautiful looking (and sounding) game with a decent amount of puzzle in it. But it was just starting to get tedious when it ended, so kudos to the designers for not dragging it out.
    
12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) - it's a COD game, you know what you're getting. The story is more or less a direct continuation from MW1, but I feel there is probably a larger mythology around the game that I don't know. They introduced some new level types in this game, some were fun (directing people using cctv system) but others were tedious (they have stealth levels where you need to collect items to build weapons or booby traps and stuff). Not a bad game, but if you are paying full price the single player alone it's not worth it (I paid €20 in CEX so not bad).
    
13. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox) - finished the trilogy. Worst of the 3 games. Shorter campaign, clunky mechanics in part. Story a bit all over the shop too. I assume (I didn't play) that they focus all of their efforts into multi player modes and stuff. Pity.
    
14. Battlefield 1 (Xbox) - I tried playing the Mafia game, mechanics were too annoying so deleted it. Played a bit of Crash Bandicoot, also got annoyed so deleted it. Decided to keep rolling with the FPS vibe, so played Battlefield 1. I played it years ago, but it's a fab game. The WW1 setting is quite different, and I enjoyed the use of slower, bolt action guns rather than modern automatic rifles. The campaign isn't actually 1 campaign, but it's a series of shorter stories. Some of these are better than others (there's a story involving flight which isn't as good) but all in all it was very enjoyable.
    
15. Maquette (Xbox) - A really interesting puzzle game. The mechanic used has a model of the arena or area you are in in the middle which you can manipulate, so it lets you take small things from the area, put them into the model and they become big and vice versa. It's done quite well. Apart from one or two puzzles, most are satisfying without being annoyingly difficult to the point where you need online help (there was 1 specific puzzle I had to go online for, but it turned out that the puzzle was glitching and I had to restart the level). There's a story around the game about a couple looking back at their relationship which is fine, I guess. It doesn't add or detract from the game. But if you like puzzle games it's worth a shout.
    
16. Portal (PC) - I was looking at my Steam Deck the other day and realised I had finished this earlier this year. A classic puzzle game. I started playing Portal 2 afterwards but never got into it. Should I go back to it?
    
17. Battlefield Hardline (Xbox) - This is a battlefield game, but it's set in Miami and you're a cop. So you can play a chunk of the game like an actual cop and arrest people and stuff, but it's a Battlefield game so you can also go in guns blazing and shoot everybody. It's not a great game. The story is fine, but I got bored of it. And the gameplay is clunky.
    
18. Battlefield V (Xbox) - A continuation of the vibes from Battlefield 1, but set in WW2. They do the same thing as Battlefield 1 where it's mini stories rather than 1 campaign and it's waaayy too short a single player game. Gameplay is decent. I was going to look at the newest Battlefield game (2042) but realised it's multiplayer only, so that's a pass from me. Are there any decent FPS games that have a long and satisfying campaign?
    
19. Unpacking (Xbox) - I needed a game to check off a bunch of achievements for rewards so grabbed this. Oddly satrisfying game. It's simple in structure, just unpack your belongings in a series of houses as your unseen character gets older. It's just point and click. But through the stuff being unpacked and the locations/etc it tells a rather satisfying story. Got the 1,000 achievement points here.
    
20. Peglin (PC) - Not sure if you can consider this game as completed. It's a Peggle type game with deck building elements. It's not even a complete game, it's early access in Steam. I don't know if I enjoyed it, but I played a bunch of it over the last little bit.

Still stuck for a proper game to get stuck into if anyone has any suggestions? PC or Xbox..