Games Beaten In 2012!

[Austin]

12. Wolfenstein 3D (XBOX Live Arcade/XBOX 360)

 

Basically a flawless port of the PC classic (albeit with some menu changes). I started fresh on this at Episode 1 a few months back on the "I am death incarnate!" skill mode, but I never finished it (ended up getting through most of Episode 4, then stopping). I finally decided to wrap it up over the weekend and rolled through the last two episodes, although not as quickly as I would have liked (they are both tough AND annoying compared to the rest of the game).

[StanJr]

Not sure if I have beaten Mickey Mousecapade (NES) before or not, but I did it again or perhaps for the first time...

[+thegoldenband]

13. Trampoline Terror! (Genesis)

 

I bought Trampoline Terror a while ago, but had never really played it until this weekend. I beat it on Easy last night on my first attempt, and Normal today on my second attempt (third gameplay session overall). There doesn't appear to be a Hard mode.

 

The difficulty does jump abruptly around the halfway point, but other than that it's a fairly steady climb. Only a few levels are really tricky, most are well-designed, and none of them are anything like as hard as what you'll get in a game like Flappy or Kickle Cubicle. The nastiest ones often include an extra life bonus that's easy to get -- in one case, screwing yourself over = prematurely ending up at the extra life bonus, so you can just keep trying until you figure it out, with no penalty.

 

I'd give this a solid B+, pushing an A-. Good production values (except for the manual which has some errors and omissions), attractive graphics, solid controls, and a very arcade-style aesthetic. Nothing wrong with the basic gameplay mechanic, though sure, it's frustrating when you don't center a jump, and the Bender heads are a stone in one's shoe on Normal. But the game is never cheap. The worst I can say about it is that it could use a little more variety of enemies, might benefit from a boss every four rounds, the story is silly (but aren't most games?), and the final boss is too easy.

[Cybergoth]

They're falling fast now, today I beat 'Last Duel' from Capcom Classics Collection 2, unlocking all three extras

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2 & Last Duel

[Austin]

13. DOOM II (Saturn)

 

Like just before the weekend where I ran through the Ultimate DOOM side of Saturn DOOM, I'll consider the DOOM II side a game in itself, which I spent nearly four hours last night running through. Unfortunately, the stages in DOOM II feature larger rooms and generally more going on than what's found in the Ultimate DOOM side, so there are far more "two-to-three frames per second" instances of slowdown than my last playthrough, making this session much more painful overall in that regard. Because DOOM II is trickier in that there are more forced-death scenarios if you don't play right, there are a couple of instances where the framerate really hindered progressing on in the game. The first and main instance is on the Tricks & Traps stage. Those who are familiar with this level know that the final room requires you to run across various platforms to the exit. However, these platforms are narrow (easy to fall off of), and they sink into the ground the second you touch them, with lava at the bottom with no way to get out if you get stuck. The framerate is so bad here that I had to repeat the level five times or so just to have another chance at getting past this last part. Ugh.

[Tempest]

I beat Wario World on the GC last night. The game was a fun quasi-3D platformer, but it was really really short (like I beat it in 8 hours short, and that was getting all the treasures). The main problem with the game was the 3D jumping and block puzzles which made the game very frustrating. Think all those annoying special stages in Super Mario Sunshine, but far far worse. Thankfully you have some serious control over the camera in these stages (including a directly overhead view which is very useful) and you have infinite lives otherwise they would be maddening. The game was also fairly easy, but the wide variety of stages and the huge boss battles make up for this. It's not the best game out there, but it's worth picking up if you can get it cheap.

[+Charlie Cat]

Hi guys,

 

Rad Racer II NES!

 

Anthony....

[Cybergoth]

So, just got the best ending for Duck Tales!

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel & Duck Tales

[Austin]

14. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Genesis/MegaDrive)

 

I bought a reproduction of this from someone here. I ended up running through all three Mega Mans on it in the last day or so, and rolled through the unlockable "Wily Tower" afterward (basically a few new stages and bosses). Overall I am pretty satisfied with these remakes. I don't like how you can't fire as quickly as you can in the NES games (it makes it more challenging, actually), but I enjoyed the remixed music and the colorful background visuals. Definitely a game fans of the early Mega Man games should run through!

[Cybergoth]

14. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Genesis/MegaDrive)

 

Definitely a game fans of the early Mega Man games should run through!

 

Unfortunately a 400 Euro game though

[Austin]

14. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Genesis/MegaDrive)

 

Definitely a game fans of the early Mega Man games should run through!

 

Unfortunately a 400 Euro game though

 

Yeah, that's exactly why I might suggest a reproduction (mine has a battery so it can still save), or going through emulation. Definitely worth playing either way.

[+thegoldenband]

14. Beach-Head (Atari 8-bit)

 

Played via emulation on the Dreamcast. I'd beaten difficulty level 1 a few weeks back, and sat down today and ran through levels 2-4 in about an hour.

 

Fun game! I would've loved it as a kid -- too bad I didn't have anything like it for the CoCo when I was growing up. It'd have been a great choice for a 1980s math class, since calculating the artillery distance on the fly gives you a huge advantage if you can do the mental math quickly.

 

I guess I'd give it a B+, since it's a well-balanced game with nice variety that's just a bit too short.

[Cybergoth]

Terminator Salvation on PS3.

 

What a trainwreck of a game... I only played it through to the because it's only a few hours and easy

[Cybergoth]

Just played through Strider from the Strider 2 Bonus Disc

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel, Duck Tales & Strider

[+thegoldenband]

15. Legend of Wukong (Genesis)

 

Beat this today. I'm still mulling over what I think of the game, but I'd put it in the B range, and might crack B+ if I'm feeling generous (or sink to B-/C+ if I were feeling stingy).

 

It has a lot of objective faults, most of which boil down to a lack of variety. But OTOH the game isn't annoying or cumbersome, and among RPGs that counts for a lot: I've played games that eventually start feeling like a total pain in the ass, and for the most part, this wasn't one of them. I like the chapter-based structure, too.

 

(Disappointing ending, though.)

[pce_collector]

Terminator Salvation on PS3. What a trainwreck of a game... I only played it through to the because it's only a few hours and easy

 

I beat the XBox 360 version a couple of years ago and I don't remember much besides some flying drones.

[Cybergoth]

Terminator Salvation on PS3. What a trainwreck of a game... I only played it through to the because it's only a few hours and easy

I beat the XBox 360 version a couple of years ago and I don't remember much besides some flying drones.

 

The game has an awesome assortment of 3 different enemies though: Flying Drones, Spiders and T-600s

[Cybergoth]

I've just beaten Ghouls 'n Ghosts on the CCC for PS2 and unlocked all 4 extras. Thank heavens the second run was a lot easier because of the extra magic firepower

 

Capcom games beaten in 2012: Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 2, Last Duel, Duck Tales, Strider & Ghouls 'n Ghosts

[MaximRecoil]

Karateka for the Atari 7800:

 

http://youtu.be/ODktLc-rM04

 

I beat that game in 2004 on an emulator, but I beat it on the real hardware for the first time just the other day. It is a very difficult game to beat due to the extremely poor/unresponsive controls and the cheap method of implementing the difficulty (i.e., the invincible attacking birds which take 3 arrows of your life in one hit, and starting you out with only 5 arrows of life for the final opponent compared to his 24 arrows of life).

Edited March 26, 2012 by MaximRecoil

[+thegoldenband]

16. Jewel Master (Genesis)

 

Just beat this on Hard, after beating Normal and Easy. What a great game!

 

The review on Sega-16 is pretty much spot-on, though I didn't think it was that difficult. It's the sort of game where, each time you play, you get just a little bit further, and once you get the hang of things you can run through it pretty easily. I'm not sure how many attempts it took me to beat Easy, but with that under my belt, Normal and Hard took just one playthrough each (and were only slightly more difficult than Easy). I was almost able to 1CC/1LC the whole thing on Hard, but didn't quite finish off the final boss on my first attempt.

 

Jewel Master also has also some of the best tunes I've heard on the Genesis. The instrument choices and orchestration aren't as sophisticated as in some later games, but the compositions themselves are the best kind of chiptune prog-rock -- I can totally imagine Camel or Happy the Man playing some of them. I vastly prefer this kind of music to the FM guitar Poochie power chords that other titles favor.

 

I do wish there were a few more secrets, especially in the last stage (which is a bit less inspired than the rest of the game). Combining the Double Jump and High Jump powers allows you to reach tremendous heights, but it's never really exploited. Speaking of the final stage, it's annoying that you get sent back to the beginning if you die (at least when playing on Normal/Hard), since there's basically no challenge before the final boss rush.

 

Anyway, a game like this makes you realize how mediocre a lot of 16-bit action-platformers really are. I'd give it a solid A.

[+thegoldenband]

And speaking of mediocre 16-bit platformers:

 

17. The Ren & Stimpy Show Presents: Stimpy's Invention (Genesis)

 

Beat this tonight on Hard (after beating Easy last night with my girlfriend, and Normal earlier today). Overall I'd give it a D+, or maybe a C- at best.

 

I was a huge Ren & Stimpy fan BITD -- especially the very first season, which was absolutely mind-blowing at the time -- but I don't think it captures the spirit of the show particularly well at all. The voices sound off, the plot is generic, and only one or two cameos got me to chuckle (especially Mr. Horse at the refrigerator). I haven't really played the other R&S games, but if they're worse (as some say they are), it still isn't a point in this one's favor.

 

The game is short and glitchy, with mediocre level design, below-average music, and annoying gimmickry like the aerial and bicycle stages. But the biggest problem is the controls. For starters, they have that "16-bit licensed platformer with fancy graphics but sloppy platforming" syndrome that plagues so many titles from the early 1990s, though not as bad as some. And the aforementioned gimmick stages, which should be a welcome change of pace, are frustrating and feel cheap.

 

But the biggest problem is that the button used for running quickly is the same button you use to team-jump forward! I had to resort to the workaround of jumping straight up, holding down the run button, and only then running forward -- otherwise I'd fling myself off the nearest cliff. And of course there were all the times that my secondary character got stranded somewhere stupid, and left me unable to pull off a high jump or long jump. The tower of lightbulbs in the last stage was the worst example of this -- I was constantly taking damage because I couldn't make the next jump until Powdered Toast Man intervened.

 

Finally, the 2-player mode is basically a disaster. You're constantly getting in each other's way, and it's difficult to coordinate your actions since the controls are context-sensitive and a slight mispositioning changes everything. I guess if you wanted to put the time in, you could make it work, but we just didn't find it to be much fun.

 

Anyway, the game was somewhat entertaining despite all this, and there were a few clever touches -- it was satisfying to figure out the key to dealing with the hippos in Stage 2. But overall it feels like a rush job, poorly produced and undercooked.

 

It really reminds me of another Genesis licensed platformer -- the infamous Disney game Fantasia, right down to the mediocre renditions of classical hits and the parallax scrolling with foreground objects that obstruct your view of gameplay elements (in the Pound stage).

[Cybergoth]

Just finished "Wanted - Weapons of Fate" on PS3. At least it was better than Terminator

 

EDIT: And "Art Style: Penta Tentacles" on Wii is finished as well. Not getting warm with the Art Style series, just like Cubello before, I didn't like it...

[StanJr]

FINALLY! I had previously rated this game too hard for me. Then I discovered how to play the game and in a few hours took it down!

 

Now, I get why everyone loves the damn thing so much!

 

Is the second quest any harder?

[Turbogfx]

Games beaten this week (all NES), for the very first time:

 

- Kirby's Adventure (not 100% unfortunately)

- Castlevania

- Ninja Gaiden

 

Ninja Gaiden was the most difficult without question. I'd like to think of it as the "R-Type of 2D action platformers".

I never played these games when I was a kid because I didn't own a NES back then, but the art, music and gameplay depth of these games are still very solid by today's standards. Easily three of my favorite games on the NES.

[+thegoldenband]

18. Sküljagger (SNES)

 

At last! I've had unfinished business with this game for close to two decades, and finally beat it today. I played it a fair amount when I was a teenager, but somehow never finished it; yesterday I picked it back up in earnest for the first time since then.

 

I remembered getting intensely frustrated by the game, but as I played through the first five levels, I couldn't really see why: it wasn't that hard, the boss fights were doable, and it had a nice password system that meant you didn't have to do it all in one sitting. What was the problem?

 

...Well, the problem is that the password system stops at level five, so -- in an uncanny echo of Sol-Feace for Sega CD! -- you have to play straight through Stages 5-7 (with one continue). It's an artificial way to extend the game, and lays bare some of the game's faults: leaps of faith, cheap hits from off-plane enemies (you can only attack sideways), and the lack of a much-needed system for looking up/down/to the side. And occasionally the game commits a really egregious misdeed, like respawning your character with an enemy bearing down on him from inches away.

 

Still, I can't help but like Sküljagger. It plays reasonably well, has a decent soundtrack with dub/reggae influence, and the basic theme is just so goofy -- a pirate game with bubble gum weaponry? -- that it's hard to bear a grudge against it. It's full of hidden areas ("Fantasy Zones") that can replenish your supplies when things get tight, and whenever I felt myself starting to really loathe Sküljagger, I found that there was usually either a Fantasy Zone or, in one case, a 1-up loop to help ease the pain. To reach these, though, you'll need a copy of the game's thick manual, which is almost entirely devoted to a lengthy backstory (70+ pages!) whose main purpose is to hide the access codes for the secret areas. And the manual is a must to get some extra help for the final battle, which would otherwise be ridiculously unfair.

 

Anyway, I'd give Sküljagger somewhere around a B, though that may be tinged with nostalgia since I grew up with the game. Even so, I had fun defeating it at last.