Your 2020 in Gaming - Highs, Averages and Lows
Jan 1, 2021 8:06:58 GMT -5
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Jan 1, 2021 8:06:58 GMT -5
Here's the yearly thread where we share our experiences in gaming throughout 2020. If you wish to participate, simply list the games you've played this year in a highs-averages-lows ranking (or however you wish), with an additional comment (or however you wish!). It doesn't matter if your post gets long -- that's the idea! And don't feel like you must restraint yourself to games-only events and experiences.
If you also feel like sharing without all the rules of the Game Finish Challenge thread attached then this thread is for you!
The only things I'd recommend is being open about using save states or other cheats if you did, and to use proper paragraph division if you want to write longer texts about any of the games. Personally I tend to use save states for many older games, not in a spammy way but about once per level/area/quest, or if I need to take a break.
2019 thread: hg101.proboards.com/thread/14730/2019-gaming-highs-averages-lows
Best:
System Shock 2 (PC, 1999) - 8 (Normal, Navy class)
Compared to SS1, it's both more linear and has less of a movement ability focus (and no cyberspace segments in the same sense), but also more RPG elements, a bit more involved stealth and hacking, better controls and interface, and better VA. In this one you start off chosing from 3 classes and get a form of skill points from exploring and completing sub goals. These are then used to grow your skills and stats pretty much however you want at certain terminals, though unlike some other games you are encouraged to make a more specialized build and stick with it, picking a few skills and stats that complement each other. There's quite a bit to customize which adds to the replay value and sense of freedom, and you can do some unusual stuff like hack security turrets to have them defend you, make yourself super fast to pull off seemingly impossible jumps, or trap enemies with a certain psi power.
Progression in the early-mid game is actually quite guided by a radio voice telling you what your next goals are. You can however explore most floors in a non-linear fashion, and when you reach floor 4 you can choose to go to floor 5 and complete the objectives there first instead. There are some sequence breaking opportunities (some more with a psi power focused char build, which I didn't go for), plus you backtrack a few times to previous floors to progress and you face some new enemies when you do.
Story-wise it's a lot like the first, except now there's an additional villain heavily reminiscent of the overmind from SC, which is in opposition to Shodan who also returns (no surprise there though the foreshadowing to her entrance is decent). I found this other villain a bit too one note, tough most of the audio logs telling the story of how it lures the crew over to its side and to commit various atrocities is well done. It just got a bit old by the end-game, and same goes for some of Shodan's comments ("good job insect, have some cybermodules" felt like it was repeated about 5-10 times). The ending is kind of hilaribad. Honestly it pissed me off a bit at first because the tone is mostly serious prior to it and it's definitely not satisfying in terms of what you've accomplished with the whole adventure, but watching it again it made me laugh. It might've been interesting to be able to choose sides here, between succumbing to the many (though I can't see that ending in any good way for the player), working for Shodan (also would probably just backstab you based on how she acts) or taking them both out and without it ending badly anyway.
While it's missing a few aspects I liked about SS1 and could've included some completely alternate paths to take based on your abilities (or at least had the game open up more a bit sooner), it's a very good game and I felt equal parts dread and excitement when firing it up, similar to when I played Silent Hill 2. It puts you in a hostile environment where you can't really relax anywhere and resources are limited, though with some planning and tactical play (and/or save scumming) you'll be able to get through it and it rarely feels unfair or tedious.
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu/Go for it! Goemon 2: The Strange General McGuinness (SNES, 1993) - 8 (1p, no difficulty options)
This one was finally fan translated last year IIRC. A hub map has been added with a few branching paths, an additional playable char in Sasuke, and other neat things like being able to push enemies into other ones after crawling and hitting their legs, being able to teleport to visited towns, and a few temporary vehicles within levels. The audiovisuals and controls are a step up, the silly tone of the other games is intact and variety is as good or better than before. For some of the boss fights you are put in a FP view mode, controlling a giant mech fighting another in a gallery shooter/fighting hybrid of sorts - it's a bit clunky and they have some arbitrary invincibility periods, but it's impressive for the SNES and cool to see the origins of after playing the N64 games, and for the finale there's a twist to this formula which I won't spoil. Finally there's an optional post-game level which references CV that you can play if you beat the game and the mini-games in one of the towns. If you like Mystical Ninja then this is a must play for SNES.
Games that exceeded my expectations:
King's Bounty (MD, 1991) - 7 (Knight, Normal)
Surprisingly complex, open-ended and well streamlined for an old PC to console port. Non-random encounters, fast movement and a good map system are some of its nicer features. While you're still better off playing the reboot or a Heroes game, this one might be worth checking out to see the origins of those. But beware, audiovisually it's pretty subpar.
Outcast (v1.1)(PC, 1999) - 6.5
In some ways. It has quite a vivid world with its own terms (and a glossary), a scanner feature which is kind of like detective mode in Arkham Asylum, lets you climb buildings and jump around on roof tops in towns, reputation and dialogue trees, a nice orchestral score before that became the norm, and a bit of an immersive sim element to how you tackle problems. On the other hand it's still very buggy, there are various interface and control issues, on foot movement is a bit slow, sometimes directions are poor and there are some backtracking issues.
Gauntlet IV (MD, 1993) - 7 (Quest mode)
This includes a mode called quest mode which plays basically like Zelda 1 but without the overworld, with exp point leveling and manual stat allocation added, and up to 4-player co-op. Not quite great but it's a nice addition to the old formula and I think most people overlook it entirely. Apparently this was one of the first M2 game, now famous for their ports. Their legacy goes far back!
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2016) - 7.5 (Normal, 98% - all but two MP upgrades)
Was quite impressed with the overall movement, the save system (game lets you place your own save points at an energy/MP cost), and the bash ability in particular, which really changed up the platforming in a cool way. It's also a great looking game. If it was a bit more open and didn't have difficulty spikes at the end of dungeons it would've been an 8 and among the best I played this year.
Star Control II (PC, 1992/3DO, 1993)(Ur-Quan Masters remaster, 2011) - 7.5
Again a quite immersive and open world with several distinct alien races to encounter, a lot of interesting ideas for its time like being able to affect some races survival, the emergency warp or the unusual fast travel system, a comedic tone which mostly works, pretty nice ship customization and good if unbalanced thrust-based combat. There are various issues which I've posted about on the game's subreddit but overall I enjoyed it a lot.
Highs:
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu/Go for it! Goemon 2: The Strange General McGuinness (SNES, 1993) - 8 (1p, no difficulty options)
System Shock 2 (PC, 1999) - 8 (Normal, Navy class)
Micro Machines (MD, 1993) - 7.5 SP/8 MP
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2016) - 7.5 (Normal, 98% - all but two MP upgrades)
Batman: Arkham Asylum: GOTY Edition (PC, 2010) - 7.5 (Normal, 61%)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC, 2000) - 7.5 (beat it as allies, beat almost half the soviet campaign, normal)
Metroid Prime (GC, 2002) - 7.5 (normal/default, v1.02, about 72% completion)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PC) - 7.5 (Normal, 85-ish %)
Star Control II (PC, 1992/3DO, 1993)(Ur-Quan Masters remaster, 2011) - 7.5
Shaman King: Master of Spirits (GBA, 2004) - 7.5
D/Generation (AMI) - 7.5
Spider-Man 2 (PS2, 2004) - 7.5
Ratchet & Clank (PS2, 2002) - 7.5
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS) - 7? (Normal) - possibly 7.5 on hard and w/ the improvement hack
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) - 7
Ultracore/Hardcore (MD, 1995) - 7
King's Bounty (MD, 1991) - 7 (Knight, Normal)
Silver (PC) - 7
Gemfire (MD, 1992) - 7
Gauntlet IV (MD, 1993) - 7 (Quest mode, 1p)
The Punisher (MD, 1994) - 7 (SP, Normal)
Pepenga Pengo (MD, 1995) - 7 (SP)
Road Rash 3 (MD, 1995) - 7 (SP)
Sonic Blast Man II (SNES, 1994) - 7 or 7.5? (normal, 1p)
Xeno Crisis (MD, 2018) - 7 (1p, Easy - there's no normal, just hard and easy)
Ghost Sweeper Mikami (SNES, 1993) - 7 (default)
Gokujou Parodius (SNES, 1994) - 7 (default, beat the extra levels as well)
Shadow Man (N64, 1999) - 7 (~97/120 dark stones, 9/10 HP, 1 violator)
Rayman 2 (PC) - 7 (80-ish % collection completion)
Wario Land 3 (GBC, 2000) - 7 (got about 80% of the treasure)
Blaster Master: Blasting Again (PS1, 2000) - 7 (normal)
Shantae (GBC, 2002) - 7 (got most hearts and warp squid babies, some fireflies)
Threads of Fate (PS1) - 7 (as Rue)
Armored Core (PS1) - 7
Iji (v1.7)(PC, 2017)(Originally from 2008) - 7 (bad/sad ending)
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (GBA, 2004) - 7 (70% completion (got all hearts), SP)
Dungeon Explorer II (PCE CD, 1993) - 7 (1p, mostly as the Fighter)
Banjo-Tooie (N64, 2000) - 7 (70 jiggies)
Mids:
Tiny Toon Adventures: ACME All-Stars (MD, 1994) - 7? (6.5 SP)
Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove (PC) - 6.5 or 7 if bugs are fixed (1p, fixed mode as Earl (died) and then Toejam)
Outcast (v1.1)(PC) - 6.5
Desert Strike (MD, 1992) - 6.5
Rolo to the Rescue (MD, 1992) - 6.5
Milon's Secret Castle (GB) - 6
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (MD, 1996) - 6.5? (1p)
Odyssey (AMI, 1995) - 6.5
Global Defense/SDI (SMS, 1987) - 6.5
Rygar (NES, 1987) - 6.5
Vigilance on Talos V (PC) - 6.5
Spellcaster (SMS) - 6.5
Alundra 2 (PS1) - 6.5 (Normal)
Within a Deep Forest (PC) - 6.5 (Normal)
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (SNES) - 6.5
Tomba! 2 (PS1, 1999) - 6.5 (did about 85% of the quests, no difficulty options)
La-Mulana (PC, 2005) - 6 (~70% roms, didn't trigger hard mode, no hell temple)
Radia Senki (NES, 1991) - 6
Lows:
Ikachan (PC, 2000) - 5.5
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (MD, 1992) - 5
Ecco Jr. (MD, 1995) - 5
Space Hunter (NES) - 5
Clash at Demonhead (NES, 1989) - 5.5 (due to the bomb defusal part, otherwise 6)
Gave up on:
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe (MD, 1996) - 7.5? wanna try 2-player, Puyo Puyo (MD, 1992)(Scenario mode, normal) - 7, Ms. Pac-Man (MD, 1991)(1p) - 7, Eternal Daughter (PC) - 6.5, Shapeshifter (PCE CD) - 5.5?, Clock Tower (SNES, 1995) - 6? (WIP, maybe), Osomatsu-Kun (MD, 1988) - 5, Asterix and the Power of the Gods (MD, 1995) - 5.5, Alien 3 (MD, 1992) - 6.5, Paperboy (MD, 1991) - 5.5?, Super Hang-On (MD, 1989) - 6?
A big chunk of the year was dedicated to updating my quick reference guide to retro metroidvania/platform games, so most of what I played was related to that genre. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it up by the end of 2021, covering all notable games from 1985-2009.
platformadventure.weebly.com/
If you also feel like sharing without all the rules of the Game Finish Challenge thread attached then this thread is for you!
The only things I'd recommend is being open about using save states or other cheats if you did, and to use proper paragraph division if you want to write longer texts about any of the games. Personally I tend to use save states for many older games, not in a spammy way but about once per level/area/quest, or if I need to take a break.
2019 thread: hg101.proboards.com/thread/14730/2019-gaming-highs-averages-lows
Best:
System Shock 2 (PC, 1999) - 8 (Normal, Navy class)
Compared to SS1, it's both more linear and has less of a movement ability focus (and no cyberspace segments in the same sense), but also more RPG elements, a bit more involved stealth and hacking, better controls and interface, and better VA. In this one you start off chosing from 3 classes and get a form of skill points from exploring and completing sub goals. These are then used to grow your skills and stats pretty much however you want at certain terminals, though unlike some other games you are encouraged to make a more specialized build and stick with it, picking a few skills and stats that complement each other. There's quite a bit to customize which adds to the replay value and sense of freedom, and you can do some unusual stuff like hack security turrets to have them defend you, make yourself super fast to pull off seemingly impossible jumps, or trap enemies with a certain psi power.
Progression in the early-mid game is actually quite guided by a radio voice telling you what your next goals are. You can however explore most floors in a non-linear fashion, and when you reach floor 4 you can choose to go to floor 5 and complete the objectives there first instead. There are some sequence breaking opportunities (some more with a psi power focused char build, which I didn't go for), plus you backtrack a few times to previous floors to progress and you face some new enemies when you do.
Story-wise it's a lot like the first, except now there's an additional villain heavily reminiscent of the overmind from SC, which is in opposition to Shodan who also returns (no surprise there though the foreshadowing to her entrance is decent). I found this other villain a bit too one note, tough most of the audio logs telling the story of how it lures the crew over to its side and to commit various atrocities is well done. It just got a bit old by the end-game, and same goes for some of Shodan's comments ("good job insect, have some cybermodules" felt like it was repeated about 5-10 times). The ending is kind of hilaribad. Honestly it pissed me off a bit at first because the tone is mostly serious prior to it and it's definitely not satisfying in terms of what you've accomplished with the whole adventure, but watching it again it made me laugh. It might've been interesting to be able to choose sides here, between succumbing to the many (though I can't see that ending in any good way for the player), working for Shodan (also would probably just backstab you based on how she acts) or taking them both out and without it ending badly anyway.
While it's missing a few aspects I liked about SS1 and could've included some completely alternate paths to take based on your abilities (or at least had the game open up more a bit sooner), it's a very good game and I felt equal parts dread and excitement when firing it up, similar to when I played Silent Hill 2. It puts you in a hostile environment where you can't really relax anywhere and resources are limited, though with some planning and tactical play (and/or save scumming) you'll be able to get through it and it rarely feels unfair or tedious.
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu/Go for it! Goemon 2: The Strange General McGuinness (SNES, 1993) - 8 (1p, no difficulty options)
This one was finally fan translated last year IIRC. A hub map has been added with a few branching paths, an additional playable char in Sasuke, and other neat things like being able to push enemies into other ones after crawling and hitting their legs, being able to teleport to visited towns, and a few temporary vehicles within levels. The audiovisuals and controls are a step up, the silly tone of the other games is intact and variety is as good or better than before. For some of the boss fights you are put in a FP view mode, controlling a giant mech fighting another in a gallery shooter/fighting hybrid of sorts - it's a bit clunky and they have some arbitrary invincibility periods, but it's impressive for the SNES and cool to see the origins of after playing the N64 games, and for the finale there's a twist to this formula which I won't spoil. Finally there's an optional post-game level which references CV that you can play if you beat the game and the mini-games in one of the towns. If you like Mystical Ninja then this is a must play for SNES.
Games that exceeded my expectations:
King's Bounty (MD, 1991) - 7 (Knight, Normal)
Surprisingly complex, open-ended and well streamlined for an old PC to console port. Non-random encounters, fast movement and a good map system are some of its nicer features. While you're still better off playing the reboot or a Heroes game, this one might be worth checking out to see the origins of those. But beware, audiovisually it's pretty subpar.
Outcast (v1.1)(PC, 1999) - 6.5
In some ways. It has quite a vivid world with its own terms (and a glossary), a scanner feature which is kind of like detective mode in Arkham Asylum, lets you climb buildings and jump around on roof tops in towns, reputation and dialogue trees, a nice orchestral score before that became the norm, and a bit of an immersive sim element to how you tackle problems. On the other hand it's still very buggy, there are various interface and control issues, on foot movement is a bit slow, sometimes directions are poor and there are some backtracking issues.
Gauntlet IV (MD, 1993) - 7 (Quest mode)
This includes a mode called quest mode which plays basically like Zelda 1 but without the overworld, with exp point leveling and manual stat allocation added, and up to 4-player co-op. Not quite great but it's a nice addition to the old formula and I think most people overlook it entirely. Apparently this was one of the first M2 game, now famous for their ports. Their legacy goes far back!
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2016) - 7.5 (Normal, 98% - all but two MP upgrades)
Was quite impressed with the overall movement, the save system (game lets you place your own save points at an energy/MP cost), and the bash ability in particular, which really changed up the platforming in a cool way. It's also a great looking game. If it was a bit more open and didn't have difficulty spikes at the end of dungeons it would've been an 8 and among the best I played this year.
Star Control II (PC, 1992/3DO, 1993)(Ur-Quan Masters remaster, 2011) - 7.5
Again a quite immersive and open world with several distinct alien races to encounter, a lot of interesting ideas for its time like being able to affect some races survival, the emergency warp or the unusual fast travel system, a comedic tone which mostly works, pretty nice ship customization and good if unbalanced thrust-based combat. There are various issues which I've posted about on the game's subreddit but overall I enjoyed it a lot.
Highs:
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu/Go for it! Goemon 2: The Strange General McGuinness (SNES, 1993) - 8 (1p, no difficulty options)
System Shock 2 (PC, 1999) - 8 (Normal, Navy class)
Micro Machines (MD, 1993) - 7.5 SP/8 MP
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2016) - 7.5 (Normal, 98% - all but two MP upgrades)
Batman: Arkham Asylum: GOTY Edition (PC, 2010) - 7.5 (Normal, 61%)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC, 2000) - 7.5 (beat it as allies, beat almost half the soviet campaign, normal)
Metroid Prime (GC, 2002) - 7.5 (normal/default, v1.02, about 72% completion)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PC) - 7.5 (Normal, 85-ish %)
Star Control II (PC, 1992/3DO, 1993)(Ur-Quan Masters remaster, 2011) - 7.5
Shaman King: Master of Spirits (GBA, 2004) - 7.5
D/Generation (AMI) - 7.5
Spider-Man 2 (PS2, 2004) - 7.5
Ratchet & Clank (PS2, 2002) - 7.5
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS) - 7? (Normal) - possibly 7.5 on hard and w/ the improvement hack
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) - 7
Ultracore/Hardcore (MD, 1995) - 7
King's Bounty (MD, 1991) - 7 (Knight, Normal)
Silver (PC) - 7
Gemfire (MD, 1992) - 7
Gauntlet IV (MD, 1993) - 7 (Quest mode, 1p)
The Punisher (MD, 1994) - 7 (SP, Normal)
Pepenga Pengo (MD, 1995) - 7 (SP)
Road Rash 3 (MD, 1995) - 7 (SP)
Sonic Blast Man II (SNES, 1994) - 7 or 7.5? (normal, 1p)
Xeno Crisis (MD, 2018) - 7 (1p, Easy - there's no normal, just hard and easy)
Ghost Sweeper Mikami (SNES, 1993) - 7 (default)
Gokujou Parodius (SNES, 1994) - 7 (default, beat the extra levels as well)
Shadow Man (N64, 1999) - 7 (~97/120 dark stones, 9/10 HP, 1 violator)
Rayman 2 (PC) - 7 (80-ish % collection completion)
Wario Land 3 (GBC, 2000) - 7 (got about 80% of the treasure)
Blaster Master: Blasting Again (PS1, 2000) - 7 (normal)
Shantae (GBC, 2002) - 7 (got most hearts and warp squid babies, some fireflies)
Threads of Fate (PS1) - 7 (as Rue)
Armored Core (PS1) - 7
Iji (v1.7)(PC, 2017)(Originally from 2008) - 7 (bad/sad ending)
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (GBA, 2004) - 7 (70% completion (got all hearts), SP)
Dungeon Explorer II (PCE CD, 1993) - 7 (1p, mostly as the Fighter)
Banjo-Tooie (N64, 2000) - 7 (70 jiggies)
Mids:
Tiny Toon Adventures: ACME All-Stars (MD, 1994) - 7? (6.5 SP)
Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove (PC) - 6.5 or 7 if bugs are fixed (1p, fixed mode as Earl (died) and then Toejam)
Outcast (v1.1)(PC) - 6.5
Desert Strike (MD, 1992) - 6.5
Rolo to the Rescue (MD, 1992) - 6.5
Milon's Secret Castle (GB) - 6
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (MD, 1996) - 6.5? (1p)
Odyssey (AMI, 1995) - 6.5
Global Defense/SDI (SMS, 1987) - 6.5
Rygar (NES, 1987) - 6.5
Vigilance on Talos V (PC) - 6.5
Spellcaster (SMS) - 6.5
Alundra 2 (PS1) - 6.5 (Normal)
Within a Deep Forest (PC) - 6.5 (Normal)
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (SNES) - 6.5
Tomba! 2 (PS1, 1999) - 6.5 (did about 85% of the quests, no difficulty options)
La-Mulana (PC, 2005) - 6 (~70% roms, didn't trigger hard mode, no hell temple)
Radia Senki (NES, 1991) - 6
Lows:
Ikachan (PC, 2000) - 5.5
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (MD, 1992) - 5
Ecco Jr. (MD, 1995) - 5
Space Hunter (NES) - 5
Clash at Demonhead (NES, 1989) - 5.5 (due to the bomb defusal part, otherwise 6)
Gave up on:
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe (MD, 1996) - 7.5? wanna try 2-player, Puyo Puyo (MD, 1992)(Scenario mode, normal) - 7, Ms. Pac-Man (MD, 1991)(1p) - 7, Eternal Daughter (PC) - 6.5, Shapeshifter (PCE CD) - 5.5?, Clock Tower (SNES, 1995) - 6? (WIP, maybe), Osomatsu-Kun (MD, 1988) - 5, Asterix and the Power of the Gods (MD, 1995) - 5.5, Alien 3 (MD, 1992) - 6.5, Paperboy (MD, 1991) - 5.5?, Super Hang-On (MD, 1989) - 6?
A big chunk of the year was dedicated to updating my quick reference guide to retro metroidvania/platform games, so most of what I played was related to that genre. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it up by the end of 2021, covering all notable games from 1985-2009.
platformadventure.weebly.com/