2019 CYE Backlog Challenge

[dschroll]

Well, I was hoping to get one more game into 2018, but couldn't manage it, so I guess I start out 2019 strong with a new completed game.
Batman Returns for the SNES. This game plays like Final Fight and other beat'em up games, so if you enjoy those, you will like this.
It's made by Konami, and has solid graphics and gameplay. My main gripe with the game are the boss fights as they are just WAY stronger than you and kill you with one or 2 hits. While you continue to beat on them with very little damage (not very realistic given a beat down from Batman should do way more than it does). Admittedly, I had to use a cheat code with this game to give me more continues. The game only gives you 3 and there are 7 stages. Seems reasonable enough, but you will lose A LOT of lives to Catwoman and Penguin boss fights, which just made it impossible for me to finish the game on 3 continues. The cheat code gave me 9, which was more than enough as I only needed about 5 to finish the game on Normal.

Solid beat'em up game. Can be finished in about 1-2 hours, so it's short and sweet. 7/10

[fatty]

Have you tried The Adventures of Batman & Robin yet? I played it on the SNES and it was very fun. The Genesis and SNES are two different versions though, the SNES being more like Final Fight where the Genesis version being a mix between Contra/Gunstar Heroes. Like Final Fight and Contra, the game is a lot more fun with another person. I am pretty sure I played Batman Returns but don't quite remember it, but might have to revisit it a bit.

[fatty]

Well, this might be the only time this year it happens, but I am winning so far this year!

To help with compiling the games later, I'm going to use the same format dschroll did for 2018:

1) Steamworld Dig (3DS)
2) Hexalogic (Switch)

Steamworld Dig. I think I got this game as part of a Humble Bundle a long time ago. Before playing it I didn't think too much of it, at the surface it doesn't stand out in the looks department, but recently reading a lot of praise for the sequel I decided to try the original.

The game is a mix of Metroid and Dig Dug. You get the standard searching for power-ups that give you new abilities to access different areas while mining for minerals to sell for money to buy weapons upgrades. What I really liked about this game is that the abilities would progress like a typical metroidvania game but being able to upgrade weapons, armor, health, etc. really kept the pace moving. I found myself constantly going back to play just a little bit more to keep getting the next upgrade.

The level design is structured differently in that you create your own path (ala Dig Dug) while going deeper underground accessing new areas. The one downfall is that there were not a lot of bosses, just the one at the end of the game. The enemies got harder, but that is about it. Still, I didn't really mind as I was having a lot of fun. Game lasted about 10 hours for me, at the time it seemed liked the perfect length.

I give it a 8.75/10.

I've already started playing the sequel to get more. As a comparison, I'm was also playing Guacamelee a couple months ago, which is a beautiful game, but I still haven't gotten back to playing it again yet. I will, but the Steamworld games are just more addicting for me.

Hexalogic decent little puzzle game, the trailer gives you a good idea exactly what you're getting. For the two bucks I paid, I got my hour or two of enjoyment out of it.

For the small price, I give it 7/10.

[dschroll]

Nice! I've been meaning to play Steamworld Dig. Your review is motivating me to play it sooner than later. Thanks!

[UsualNoise]

Playing Smash Ultimate has awakened my desire for more Smash! I'm counting Smash Bros. for 3DS as done; I unlocked all fighters and stages and completed the first 2 pages of challenges. Page 3 (the hard one) is simply not worth the time required, so I'm stopping here. Fun, but after playing Smash Ultimate it pales in comparison. Ultimate really is a great iteration. It also doesn't help that the 3DS is simply a sub-optimal Smash controller.

[dschroll]

Finished Astro Bot Rescue Mission for the PSVR.
This is without a doubt my most enjoyed game on PSVR. It's a platforming game but is not in the first person. You play as a robot that is ultimately controlling a smaller robot to do some platforming and rescue your crew that is scattered about across 5 worlds. Each world has 5 stages with the 5th stage being a boss fight.

You would think that an ideal way to play games in PSVR would be in the first person, but this is from a 3rd person perspective in terms of the robot you're controlling. The VR allows you to look around and get unique perspectives as you traverse the various worlds fighting off baddies and rescuing your crew. And it just makes the boss fights look larger than life.

This game literally made me smile the entire time. The music is upbeat and memorable, having me hum it when the game was off. The levels were varied, especially the 5th world which just had a bunch of different themes going on. The controls were excellent and the game made great use of the PS4's touchpad and gyro sensing (one level had the controller act as a flash light and it just felt perfect as you were holding it in your hands and moving it around to reveal secret platforms.

Each stage has hidden chameleons that if you spot them (you literally just need to look at them using the PSVR) will unlock challenge stages. These chameleons are easy enough to find at first but do start hiding in some more clever places as you advance through the game. The challenge stages they unlock are a mix of speed racing levels and mini games. I will say this about the challenges, I am normally not a fan of speed racing levels, but the times you are asked to beat are tough but very doable. I managed to complete all of the challenges, which rescues additional bots.

The final boss fight was very well done and incorporated a lot of elements from the earlier stages.

I liked this game so much that I 100%'d it and got all the trophies.
If you have a PSVR and you enjoy cutesy platforming games akin to Nintendo (which most everyone here does) then this game is an absolute must get. You won't regret it. 9/10

[dschroll]

Finished Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.
I've never played this game before. Up until now, I've only played Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D on the 3DS and that's it. No other DK games save for the arcade/NES game original.

I know this game got a ton of hype back in the day due to the unique graphics and such, and Rare is a top tier studio, so I figured I'd try my hand at it. I have to say though, I was not impressed with this game at all. It is punishingly difficult. Your jumps have to be perfect or else you will die. The game has a steep difficulty curve. It starts out easy enough but soon ramps up to cheap deaths. I don't think I've dropped so many F bombs in front of my daughter than I do with Donkey Kong games. I don't mean to either, but man, the rage comes pouring out when you die over and over again, ultimately, not making any progress in the game.

The music and sound effects in the game are decent. The graphics don't quite hold up like some of the other SNES games do nowadays, but again, back in their day it was revolutionary. The level design is ok and there are tons of hidden rooms throughout the game (some I found, some I did not). But as I mentioned, the game is so challenging that it really deterred me from extensive exploration because I knew if I died I would have to start all over again.

The game later on had some very cheap deaths. Things where an object in the foreground is blocking the platform you have to jump on, making the jump almost impossible on the first try. Or you'll walk forward and the screen suddenly reveals a bad guy right in your face with no time to react. Or levels where the lights turn out mid way through so you have to jump in the dark, again, almost impossible to do on the first time. I'm not looking for an easy game, but I want it to be a challenge without me having to die first in order to figure it out.

This is a game where save points are few and far between as you normally have to play through a few levels before a save point opens up to you. Once you start a new area, you can't go back to previous save points until you've opened up a few levels in the new area and unlock the area that lets you travel back. I remember going back to earlier levels so I could wrack up a bunch of lives, and got up to about 30 lives. I started a new area then and by the 3rd level in that area, had lost all my lives and did not unlock a save point. So, I had to start all over again from the beginning of that area. Ugh. That was the last straw for me and I updated my Ever Drive so I could use Save States.

I had played about half the game normally, but then started using save states after that. And I am so glad I did, as the remaining areas were so difficult that there is no way I would have the patience or persistence to finish the game. Save stating made the game infinitely more enjoyable for me and allows me to make positive progress no matter when I played.

So I finally finished the game this evening, beating King K Rool. The game ends letting you know there were secrets you didn't find and you should go back and find them. I looked on YouTube to see if there was a different ending to the game if you got everything, because you never know....I might be motivated to get the better ending. In this case, nope. Ending is almost identical, with some different text at the end acknowledging you found everything. Not even a different graphic or anything.

So that's it for me and DK Country. To me, a Super Mario World is leaps and bounds better than this game and far more charming and enjoyable. But I've been wanting to play this game for a long time so am glad I can finally cross it off my list. I hear DK Country 2 is a lot better, so I will play that at some point, but I'm a bit DK'd out at the moment, so onto something else.

Sorry DK Country, you get a 6.5/10 from me.

[UsualNoise]

Thanks so much for the review. I too have never played the original DKC other than some casual play back in the 90s. I've had the same impression over the years (and it's good to see it confirmed) that as a platformer it's just not a ton of fun. Way more difficult to control than Mario games and just hard in general. I feel better about not tackling it now. If you do try DKC2 I'll be interested in hearing if *that* one is worth it.

I know people think original games like DKC are the best, but give me an updated, easier-to-control platformer anytime and that's what I'll likely prefer.

[dschroll]

Finished Titanfall 2 on PS4. This game got a lot of buzz and I snagged it for cheap (~$10 new). The campaign is not long....maybe 6-7 hours. I will say, this game is fantastic if you like FPS. I really enjoyed this game a lot. The graphics were great, the story was interesting (although nothing revolutionary), the controls were tight, and they had some really neat gameplay mechanics. Your character, Jack Cooper, is a rifleman that quickly gets promoted to "pilot" when the previous pilot dies. Pilots are people who control these giant mechs, called Titans. The game intermixes gameplay with you on your own and inside the mech. Both are great and varied. Outside the mech, you are fast, can run along walls, and do double jumps. The controls feel solid and the double jumps perfect like they did in Metroid Prime. Inside the mech you are slow but strong and you have access to some very cool weapons.
The game on normal difficulty isn't terribly challenging, but enough that you may have to replay the occasional boss fight. The AI isn't great, often leaving cover so I can easily pick them off. But overall this game was top notch. I don't think this game got the commercial success it deserved, but it's a really solid FPS game. Highly recommend if you like a good FPS campaign that's not too long. 9/10.

[dschroll]

Finished Kirby Star Allies on Switch. This game was a swing and a miss as far as I'm concerned. WAY too easy and not that interesting art style or anything to make up for it.
I know Kirby games are easy, but I finished this one with 115 lives. I think I died maybe twice on the last boss fight since it can sometimes be difficult to see your character clearly on screen when there are so many other "allies" fighting with you on screen as well.

The graphics and sound and production values are there. This is a Nintendo game after all. But the difficulty really just kills this game. It was clearly designed for little kids in mind. I mean, Kirby can basically fly indefinitely if you want. So, having these levels where platforms fall from under you isn't a big issue since I can basically have Kirby fly the entire time. Heck, you can literally fly over most of the bad guys in the game and just fly to the end of most levels if you want.

Nintendo's gimmick this time was to make it multiplayer, or in my case, have 3 CPU "allies" along with me (Kirby). This is partly what makes the game so easy as your allies just pound on whatever bad guys they come across so you almost have to do nothing. I don't even think this would be more fun with live players because it's so easy any friends that played it with me would soon be bored. I got it so I could play through with my daughter, but she even never had strong interest in this one, so I ended up finishing it off myself.

Anyway, if you collect for Switch, which is what I seem to be doing as of late, then buy this one on sale. But if not, then skip this game. There are better and more fun kirby games out there. 6/10

[fatty]

Jan 15, 2019 22:43:27 GMT -5 dschroll said:

Finished Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.
I've never played this game before. Up until now, I've only played Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D on the 3DS and that's it. No other DK games save for the arcade/NES game original.

I know this game got a ton of hype back in the day due to the unique graphics and such, and Rare is a top tier studio, so I figured I'd try my hand at it. I have to say though, I was not impressed with this game at all. It is punishingly difficult. Your jumps have to be perfect or else you will die. The game has a steep difficulty curve. It starts out easy enough but soon ramps up to cheap deaths. I don't think I've dropped so many F bombs in front of my daughter than I do with Donkey Kong games. I don't mean to either, but man, the rage comes pouring out when you die over and over again, ultimately, not making any progress in the game.

The music and sound effects in the game are decent. The graphics don't quite hold up like some of the other SNES games do nowadays, but again, back in their day it was revolutionary. The level design is ok and there are tons of hidden rooms throughout the game (some I found, some I did not). But as I mentioned, the game is so challenging that it really deterred me from extensive exploration because I knew if I died I would have to start all over again.

The game later on had some very cheap deaths. Things where an object in the foreground is blocking the platform you have to jump on, making the jump almost impossible on the first try. Or you'll walk forward and the screen suddenly reveals a bad guy right in your face with no time to react. Or levels where the lights turn out mid way through so you have to jump in the dark, again, almost impossible to do on the first time. I'm not looking for an easy game, but I want it to be a challenge without me having to die first in order to figure it out.

This is a game where save points are few and far between as you normally have to play through a few levels before a save point opens up to you. Once you start a new area, you can't go back to previous save points until you've opened up a few levels in the new area and unlock the area that lets you travel back. I remember going back to earlier levels so I could wrack up a bunch of lives, and got up to about 30 lives. I started a new area then and by the 3rd level in that area, had lost all my lives and did not unlock a save point. So, I had to start all over again from the beginning of that area. Ugh. That was the last straw for me and I updated my Ever Drive so I could use Save States.

I had played about half the game normally, but then started using save states after that. And I am so glad I did, as the remaining areas were so difficult that there is no way I would have the patience or persistence to finish the game. Save stating made the game infinitely more enjoyable for me and allows me to make positive progress no matter when I played.

So I finally finished the game this evening, beating King K Rool. The game ends letting you know there were secrets you didn't find and you should go back and find them. I looked on YouTube to see if there was a different ending to the game if you got everything, because you never know....I might be motivated to get the better ending. In this case, nope. Ending is almost identical, with some different text at the end acknowledging you found everything. Not even a different graphic or anything.

So that's it for me and DK Country. To me, a Super Mario World is leaps and bounds better than this game and far more charming and enjoyable. But I've been wanting to play this game for a long time so am glad I can finally cross it off my list. I hear DK Country 2 is a lot better, so I will play that at some point, but I'm a bit DK'd out at the moment, so onto something else.

Sorry DK Country, you get a 6.5/10 from me.

Ahh, Donkey Kong Country. This game came out the year I got married, haha. I remember getting this and NBA Live 95 as gifts. Both games were highly reviewed back then. NBA Live was fantastic, being able to jump in mid air and then do a behind the back pass was ground breaking at the time. Such a pleasant surprise that game was. DKC was also a surprise.

I remember starting that game and noticing how beautiful the game looks. The graphics still do hold up for me. But I also remember the game being...boring. I agree with everything stated above. Super Mario World was "a bit" of a let down for me, seeing the jump from SMB2 to SMB3, I was expecting that same kind of leap, especially on a new SNES system. That being said, Super Mario World is leaps and bounds better than DKC.

I've also heard that DKC 2 is better, and I actually have it (picked it up used at some point) but still haven't played it. That and Donkey Kong Country Returns. But in the back of my mind I think it is going to be similar to the original DKC and I think I will be disappointed. I'm pretty sure that is not the case but that is how I am kind of feeling. Good to see, though, that someone else shares my feelings on the original Donkey Kong Country.

[fatty]

So, I'm not going to lie, I am a little sad that I am no longer in the lead. But...I did complete another game!

Steamworld Dig 2 for the Switch. Liked the first one so much that I hopped into the sequel almost immediately. Playing it on the Switch this time instead of the 3DS, I really enjoyed the graphics more. Much more clear and vibrant backgrounds, and the worlds had more variety to them. It's basically everything I liked about the original game but better. I won't spoil anything but the new power-ups are a blast to use and you get a great deal of satisfaction as you level your character up. This game also adds a bit to the formula by allowing you to find cogs that allow you to modify your abilities even more (i.e. walk on lava for a short time without taking damage) so you get even more customization and choices.

Game was real fun, story even kept me interested to find out what happened in the end.

But I think I have gotten my fill of the Steamworld universe for just a bit. There is a strategy game that I want to try (Steamworld Heist), which got really good reviews as well. For now I just want to jump to another world for a bit. I give the game a 9/10.

Updated standings:

Dschroll:
1) Batman Returns (SNES)
2) Astro Bot Rescue Mission (PSVR)
3) Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
4) Titanfall 2 (PS4)
5) Kirby Star Allies (Switch)

Fatty:
1) Steamworld Dig (3DS)
2) Hexalogic (Switch)
3) Steamworld Dig (Switch)

UsualNoise:
1) Super Smash Bros. (3DS)

[oldskoolboarder]

Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 and 2.

Man, those are some gut wrenching story lines.

[dschroll]

Finished South Park: The Fractured But Whole on the Switch. I haven't played a SP game in years and it's been a long time since I watched the show. Nonetheless, I got this one for cheap ($15 new at Gamestop) and was in the mood to play something that would make me laugh. It received decent reviews and I figured I'd give it a try.

Overall, it's not the laugh out loud game I was hoping it would be, but it did make me chuckle a few times. It's an RPG game that literally makes you feel like you're inside the cartoon. The graphics, the voices, the sounds, all of it straight from the cartoon so it's very good production values if you're a fan of the show. This game is a sequel to the previous SP game called Stick of Truth. I didn't play that game so I can't say anything about it other than this game seems to start from the ending of that game and then goes into it's own story. This game centers around super heroes as you "The New Kid" team up with all the various characters in SP to become superheroes as you're trying to locate a missing cat? Why do you care about the missing cat? Because there's a reward of $100 to find the missing cat and Eric Cartman needs that money to seed his super hero franchise plans through Netflix shows, movies, theme parks, etc.

Anyway, the game has a turn based battle system and gives each character unique abilities. Truth be told, it's a solid RPG overall as you progress through the game and level up your character and gain new abilities and meet new allies. As I mentioned before, the story is decent and feels like something straight out of a SP episode, albeit drawn out a bit. I think this game took me about 20 hours or so to finish.

Of course, if you are easily offended, then stay far away from this game as it pretty much pokes fun at race, religion, politics, super heroes , and even Morgan Freeman.....ie typical SP stuff. It's been a long long time since I've played a full blown RPG and I forgot how much I enjoy them. Very easy to pick up and play, do a battle or two, and put the switch to sleep when other life stuff had to get done. I somewhat prefer this type of RPG as I like the turn based elements. I can take my time to figure out how I want the battle to play out.

The game does have a couple audio bugs and it crashed on me once, but it autosaves frequently so I wasn't out anything other than a minor inconvenience.
Anyway, if you like SP and super hero stuff, check this one out. I would give it an 8/10

[dschroll]

Finished Moss on my PSVR. This was a fun VR experience as well. Tells a fairy tale type story where you play as a Mouse hero with a sword. It's an action platformer type game. Graphics, story, and music are all good. Controls are good and gameplay is solid, although the game requires you to control things in VR using the light bar on your PS4 controller, which is less than ideal. Nonetheless it gets the job done. My biggest issue with this game is that it's crazy short. Like maybe 4 hours at best? It wasn't until I get to the end of the game that it says it's chapter 1. The game was $30, which feels a bit steep for a 4 hour game that is ultimately just the first chapter. I don't regret buying it as I want to see more games like this come to life, but I do think it's a tough sell for such a short game.

Overall, if length of time were not an issue, I would give this game an 8/10, but factoring in the short run through, I would say maybe 7/10.
Astro Bot to me is still the best game on PSVR, but Moss is definitely a solid entry and worth your time if you can get the game on sale (I think it comes bundled with the newest PSVR bundles, in which case it's easy to endorse).

[UsualNoise]

My brother got me to try out a randomized game. I finished a mashup of Link to the Past and Super Metroid with all the items shuffled between the two games. It was certainly an interesting experience. Took around 15 hours. Keep in mind if you want to try something like this you'll need an emulator to play it (I started on my PC but finished on the Wii U using RetroArch). RetroArch is pretty robust at this point and if you can get the controllers configured (I used a Wii Classic Controller Pro) it's a pretty nice experience.

Next on my list to try: Metroid Prime Randomizer.

[oldskoolboarder]

Shadow of the Tomb Raider on PS4, courtesy of GameFly. First Tomb Raider game for me. I tried to play the prev ones but the controls weren't as good.

I've been missing Uncharted and this hit the spot. Played on normal mode. I'm TERRIBLE at the FPS parts so that always got me stuck.

67% completion because I'm not a completionist. I did a challenge tomb in San Juan that was WAY harder that I had planned so after that I gave up trying to complete more. Controls were well done IMHO and I liked the gameplay. If you like Uncharted or Tomb Raider, this is a good one to try.

[UsualNoise]

Finally completed Super Mario Galaxy 2 last night, including all 242 stars and (for the first time without 2nd player assistance) The Perfect Run final level. It probably took me 30-40 tries before I finally did it, but the persistence paid off. Honestly the difficulty of just that last level makes me rank Super Mario Galaxy 2 slightly below Super Mario Odyssey because I found The Perfect Run more difficult than anything in Odyssey. I'm not a fan of that level of insanity, but I'm quite pleased I finally finished it.

[dschroll]

Well, to my amazement, I managed to get ALL of the moons in Super Mario Odyssey. This was no easy feat and caused a lot of swearing and some late nights, but magically I got them all, even the 16 stage last level. So I will now count this game as complete. Boo ya!

[UsualNoise]

Nice! It's a great feeling to finish a game that difficult, congrats.