Last game you finished and your thoughts

EARTHBOUND

The only JRPG I've ever finished is now the only JRPG I've ever finished... twice.

I'm actually pleased I could give Nintendo some money to acknowledge this game exists.

Thoughts: Thanks to the suburban setting for the first half of the game, it manages to avoid all the stereotypical JRPG clichés. Full of stupid gags, characters that you actually care about (due to their understated and therefore believable nature - *cough*finalfantasy*cough* ), and graphical and audio trickery that you wouldn't think would fit in a SNES (if you ignore the somewhat rudimentary sprite work). The latter stages of the game, in more traditional RPG trope areas, are not quite so loveable, but they're still full of quirks.

Top 5 moments:

Spoiler:

10/10

I will finish this someday. The trouble is, it does feel very old now.  

Jimbob wrote:

The latter stages of the game, in more traditional RPG trope areas, are not quite so loveable, but they're still full of quirks.

That dinosaur area is a prime offender there. The light-heartedness of the previous four fifths of the game more than make up for it though.

Balladeer wrote:

Did you like Mega Picross?  I found it really rewarding when I got the hang of it!

Unfortunately I never got the hang of it but wanted desperately to finish it to play the DLC case of Dual Destinies. I was on the last Mega Picross for three days... I hated them.

 That's a real shame. I'd have come back to e3 after polishing off DD: no game gets between me and my anime law.

ResoGun, PS4

Well done the arcade mode which is the main part of the game but still loads more to do if I wanted to get more trophies for instance. Great title especially seeing it's free being a PSN+ member.

FIFA 14, PS4

Can you ever finish FIFA well I won the premier league, champions league and world cup. And found it really boring to be honest, I think I might be burned out playing football games ever year since about 94.

Call of Duty Ghost's, PS4

Just finished the campaign and I actually really enjoyed it , best COD SP in ages. MultiPlayer same as normal apart from maps are big for a COD even with 18 player's and aren't as enjoyed as smaller maps on the game. The bonus as I like to call them are okay but not a patch on zombies which I'm not really of start with.

Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES

Fact: I've had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about this game for years. At one time in my past the final world enraged me so much that I vowed to leave it in the past. Having got an actual working NES again, though, I felt somewhat compelled to finally put it to rest.

Put it to rest last week I did, and now that I can (just about) saunter through Dark Land (apart from bloody 8-1 on occasion), I feel a whole lot friendlier towards the game. I will go back and beat it 'properly' some day soon (in recent times, due to repetition, I've played by gathering the warp whistles from 3-1 and the first castle), and somehow this finally seems like it might be more of a pleasure than a chore.

The first episode of The Walking Dead: Season Two. I've not played something this bloody bleak in a long time. The improved action sequences are great - there's a real sense of peril as you frantically mash buttons which was missing from Season One. The new characters are all great too!

Stu_the_great wrote:

Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES

Fact: I've had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about this game for years. At one time in my past the final world enraged me so much that I vowed to leave it in the past. Having got an actual working NES again, though, I felt somewhat compelled to finally put it to rest.

Put it to rest last week I did, and now that I can (just about) saunter through Dark Land (apart from bloody 8-1 on occasion), I feel a whole lot friendlier towards the game. I will go back and beat it 'properly' some day soon (in recent times, due to repetition, I've played by gathering the warp whistles from 3-1 and the first castle), and somehow this finally seems like it might be more of a pleasure than a chore.

8-1 - for a long while during my childhood, I genuinenly thought you couldn't get over one of the jumps without a P-Wing. Oh, the Bullet Bill?!

Rayman Legends

I reached the credits, anyway (and the speed-running levels annoy me), so I consider this largely finished.  

Rayman is a (ray)man designed for speed-running.  When he's pelting through levels at high speed, especially when he's running up walls or running to music, he's a joy to control.  Pinging off walls, down chains, over enemies: he flows like water, even underwater.  Slow him down and he's much more unwieldy, especially when he's gliding.  

Whatever he's doing, the levels are well designed to make the most of it.  I can think of only a few of levels (ignoring some where I really could have done with more frequent checkpoints - looking at you, collapsing-into-the-sand tower) which I didn't like, and most of them were the duck levels in Fiesta de los Muertes.  Speaking of which, Murfy was a nice touch, but his levels were far and away the weakest.

I don't like the character design, I must admit, but the worlds themselves are pretty enough; and the music's wonderful.  That I'm even considering completing the remaining levels (speed-runny ones) to unlock the hidden world, given Rayman's presence, is testament to the game's overall quality.

Gloo gloo, gloo gloo gloo-oo.

8/10

Balladeer wrote:

Rayman Legends
I don't like the character design, I must admit, but the worlds themselves are pretty enough; and the music's wonderful.

I agree that Rayman himself is still devoid of personality. But I do like a lot of the other stuff - especially endearing are the barbarian sisters - not in a WO-MAN! WO-MAN! kind-a way, they're just sort-of fun.

I haven't finished Raymond Legends yet, as I have had to finish

DARKSIDERS II
This game started off as a 9, as it essentially used the best ideas from Zelda, Prince of Persia and any modern fighty-fight game. What's more, Death himself is a likeable character. His reaction to what is essentially a fetch-quest is essentially the same eye-roll you'd do; he's not a dickhead like e.g. Kratos. And he has a birdie and a horsey!
However, then a few cracks started showing; a few glitches cropped up (about a dozen times in my 40 hours the game froze; one time, with the saving icon on screen - and some of those times resulted in me having to unplug the WiiU from the socket). When my disc broke, I nearly resorted to watching Let's Plays, as it wasn't worth finishing off. But in the end, I bought a cheap second-hand disc, and I'm glad I stuck through to the end, as there are some mega-clever puzzles in the last couple of areas (although they basically stole the portal gun from Portal).

8/10 (like everything else!)

Jimbob wrote:

DARKSIDERS II
This game started off as a 9, as it essentially used the best ideas from Zelda, Prince of Persia and any modern fighty-fight game. What's more, Death himself is a likeable character. His reaction to what is essentially a fetch-quest is essentially the same eye-roll you'd do; he's not a dickhead like e.g. Kratos. And he has a birdie and a horsey!
However, then a few cracks started showing; a few glitches cropped up (about a dozen times in my 40 hours the game froze; one time, with the saving icon on screen - and some of those times resulted in me having to unplug the WiiU from the socket). When my disc broke, I nearly resorted to watching Let's Plays, as it wasn't worth finishing off. But in the end, I bought a cheap second-hand disc, and I'm glad I stuck through to the end, as there are some mega-clever puzzles in the last couple of areas (although they basically stole the portal gun from Portal).

That pretty much sums up my views of the first on 360. By far the best non-Zelda Zelda of last gen.

That's the credits just rolled in Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale.

As brief (four hours, plus 'bonus' chapters) and directive as it is, this was highly enjoyable and very charming. The production is fantastic - visually and aurally I don't think there's much that's better from the eShop. At £4.49 in the current sale, I'd recommend it. I've said it elsewhere, but I'm certain there's users here that would enjoy more than I did.

8/10

Wall of text incoming!

Sleeping Dogs - Went into this expecting a GTA clone, and was presently surprised. While yes, it is a GTA-style sandbox game, it downplays shooting your way to the end in stead of some kung-fu action. The fighting is impressive and fluid, and I wasn't bored with it as I'd likely have been if you were gunning your way through from the first mission. The setting feels fresh - Hong Kong isn't a place games have really explored, and Sleeping Dogs benefited from it. Bright neon lights, street racing, triads - it's a world away from New York street violence. The story is an undercover cop saga, although who really plays these types of games for the story? Great fun. Oh, and if you do buy it, make sure to pick up the Nightmare in North Point DLC, which has the streets removed of gangsters and replaced with ghouls and demons.

Batman Arkham Origins - I went into this one with low expectations, as nobody had really raved about it as they had with the previous two in the series. For the first couple of hours, those expectations weighed heavily on me, as I wasn't particularly enjoying myself. The lacklustre cast of villains did nothing to improve my initial mood. However, as I played on, I found myself enjoying the game. The combat, the way you traverse the city, even the gadgets are all very similar to Arkham City - but despite the rehashing, it's still enjoyable. Troy Baker did an admirable job of replacing Mark Hamill as a certain villainous clown, and once said clown appears on the scene a short way into the game, the story really ramps up. If this had been the sequel to Arkham Asylum I guarantee you it'd be spoken about in the same revered tones as Arkham City. Unfortunately, the repetition across sequels shows. Worth a shot though, it's still the same Arkham fun.

Bioshock Infinite - Bloody play this now. Seriously, if you haven't, and you've got a spare £20 and the means to play it, go and do it. Infinite presents the most brilliantly realised world I've seen in a videogame probably since the first Bioshock. Columbia is a bright, vibrant utopia in the skies, full of gorgeous sky blues and sun-burnt brick orange. Before everything inevitably goes tits up, you got a real sense of uneasy joy emanating from its inhabitants. This religious Eden begs to be explored, and it really feels rewarding exploring every nook and cranny, soaking up every bit of lore this game has to offer - and there's a fair bit in there for players who're up for a bit of exploration. The story is compelling, driving you forward as the initially fairly simple plotline becomes more complex as you learn more about Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth. If I had to levy a criticism at it, it might be that the combat becomes something you endure rather than enjoy towards the game's end (a set piece on board an airship pretty much at the game's finale comes to mind) although that could be a compliment towards the game's story as opposed to a criticism of its combat. Some people didn't enjoy its gunplay however - I found it to be a step backwards from the original Bioshock, but that was more than made up with its story. Top top top stuff, I can't praise it enough.

Jimbob wrote:

Stu_the_great wrote:

Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES

Fact: I've had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about this game for years. At one time in my past the final world enraged me so much that I vowed to leave it in the past. Having got an actual working NES again, though, I felt somewhat compelled to finally put it to rest.

Put it to rest last week I did, and now that I can (just about) saunter through Dark Land (apart from bloody 8-1 on occasion), I feel a whole lot friendlier towards the game. I will go back and beat it 'properly' some day soon (in recent times, due to repetition, I've played by gathering the warp whistles from 3-1 and the first castle), and somehow this finally seems like it might be more of a pleasure than a chore.

8-1 - for a long while during my childhood, I genuinenly thought you couldn't get over one of the jumps without a P-Wing. Oh, the Bullet Bill?!

I hear you about that bit! You can make that jump by running at full pelt and jumping at the last second. You just have to clear that ruddy Koopa out of the way before you attempt it.  

(I found it beneficial to have the Raccoon Suit to give you a bit more leeway, as in most situations)

Yeah I suppose

Jesus Christ! That's me completed two games in a week! Yes, I just felled SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt on 3DS.

Pretty damned good. I was really taken aback by how fluid and intuitive managing all the different tools was, and quite amazed at how varied and interesting the developers were able to keep simple digging for the whole stretch. My only complaint is that I would have liked it more had there been an extra mine or two - while some might say it's tight as it is, I thought it was a little short at under four hours. Still, top quality stuff, and I'm glad I listened to the numerous recommendations I received here and elsewhere.

8/10

This morning Pokémon X fell. I found it a curious game: Pokémon has been so static for so long that it felt like a completely different collect-'em-all-'em-up. That wasn't a bad thing, though the similar storyline has begun to grate; the bad thing was the Exp Share. It made the final fights a breeze (I only lost one monster over the entire set of Elite Five battles), so I feel like I'm putting X to rest before its time.

Still, I'm delighted to be on A Link Between Worlds now! 

Vanquish

Have platinum ever made a bad game? I honestly don't think they have it in them, everything is just so polished & what's better than rocket boosting up to a stunned robot kicking it up into the air & slow mo shooting it to pieces? Or battling a tonne of robots as a bridge is collapsing undeneath your feet? Simply fantastic stuff.

ZeroJones wrote:

...the bad thing was the Exp Share. It made the final fights a breeze (I only lost one monster over the entire set of Elite Five battles), so I feel like I'm putting X to rest before its time.

It completely shot the balance of the game. I tried to not use it for the most part.

I will download Steamworld Dig I will I will I will.

Madworld wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't up there with their best.

The Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds

Beat this the night before last. Lovely game, though I think the people who are calling it the best Zelda in years are exaggerating a bit. The Wii and DS Zelda games did a lot more original things with the format. The dungeons-in-any-order thing just meant the latter dungeons were easy, at the end of the day.
Still, a fantastic way to wrap up a fantastic year on 3DS.

Batman: Arkham Origins
It's alright. More of the same, which was fine by me.
The end credits go on for FUCKING AGES though. I'm still watching them. The music has killed thrice, even after the first two songs and the little radio programme. It's a joke.