What games did you finish in 2014?

[Quest]

Joe Danger and Frobisher Says done.

October 3rd: Joe Danger (Vita) - Has a nice, tactile, compulsive feel to it. Shame it only really presents a challenge when going for the pro medals. Individual standard medal challenges just feel like going through the motions, and the scoring system feels too easy to exploit.

September 30th: Frobisher Says (Vita) - Been dabbling with this and the DLC since getting a Vita and it's fun enough for what it is. Basic Warioware-style micro-games that use the Vita's various functions.

September 28th: Resident Evil 6 (PS3) - An absolute mess of a game, but I still managed to get through every campaign. Not sure why, really, other than that I used to adore Resident Evil games. So many poorly implemented and pointless excursions into QTE setpiece nonsense. Capcom need to take a long hard look at what made this series enjoyable, because they've lost their way. Reminds me of Lost Planet 2's bloat and general inability to excecute its ideas in anything other than a frustrating, awkward fashion.

September 24th: Puppeteer (PS3) Reminded me a lot of Dynamite Headdy. A solid, enjoyable and lovingly presented game. It's well behind recent Rayman games and Nintendo's stuff in terms of pure platforming, but all the mechanics tie together pretty well. Shame the head-swapping gimmick is really superficial.

September 24th: Proteus (PS3) - Was wandering around, finding this nice enough but a bit underwhelming and then it suddenly started to give me the damn shivers. Weirdly atmospheric in a way that's hard to describe, so I won't.

September 21st: Grand Theft Auto V (PS3) - Nothing to say that hasn't beeen said a million times. It's the sheer detail and cratmanship of it that impresses, really. It's still struggling with the controls and I wish you could grab people/objects and have more physical interactions with the world, but it never felt truly lacking. Worth the money just for the radio stations, if you ask me. Online refuses to work here in China, unlike most PSN stuff, which is a shame.

August 1st: God of War III (PS3) - Aside from a few spectacular, stand-out boss fights, this may as well have been PS2 game. The combat is functional but dated, the graphics are nice but feel very much like looking at an elaborate diorama, and there's a frustrating amount of padding. Maybe I'll prefer Ascension.

July 27th: Killzone 2 (PS3) - Paint-by-numbers FPS. Looks impressive for a game that's about six years old now, but does absolutely nothing interesting. Shooting is solid enough, AI is fine, but it's bafflingly mediocre for a big budget first party title. Why is the level design so pedestrian? Why is the player character so short? Why would anyone care about this game?

July 22nd: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) - Found the first few hours of this really weak. Treacle-paced and fragmented, with loads of weak puzzles and tepid action sequences. If this series is going to be a linear spectacle it may as well do it with some gusto, which thankfully it starts to do in the latter half. The things I disliked in the first two games are all there, though. Armoured-up bullet sponges, poorly designed arenas, wooly aiming, auto climbing. The fact that Naughty Dog persist with the whole running-into-the-camera nonsense is fucking ridiculous, too. It's all nicely presented, though, I'll give it that.

July 15th: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360) - It's not bad, but the story mode felt a bit lifeless and lacking in challenge. The excuse for tracking through the same environments three times felt flimsy and clichéd, and it failed to evoke the creepiness of Wake's main game. Arcade action mode seems fine but having to unlock weapons through the campaign collectathon turned me off.

July 11th: Motorstorm RC (Vita) - Furiously addictive little game. Wish it didn't dangle DLC stuff in your face all the time but it's no biggie. Rinsed through the main game and will eventually get around to doing everything, but I'm done for now.

July 3rd: LocoRoco (PSP) - A few hours of squishy-squashy joy. I have no problem with games that are tactile audio-visual delights more than they are mechanically deep. The flaws are there in the controls, which I found myself fighting during the more fiddly platforming sections, and the idea of replaying every level over and over to collect everything fills me with dread, but as a one-shot playthrough it was a lovely.

June 30th: Muramasa Rebirth (Vita) - Beautiful-looking and frequently thrilling game with solid combat mechanics. The story is weak but the translators have done their best with what was given to them, with some genuinely surprising and funny lines.

June 26th: Sound Shapes (Vita) - Found it a bit of a disappointment, really, but that might be my own fault. I thought the music would respond to the way I played, but really it's just triggering stuff in a linear way. That's fine but not terribly exciting. It does look and sound bloody lovely, though. The Jim Guthrie/Superbrothers levels are particularly wonderful. Level editor seems pretty decent and the community have made some nice stuff, I just don't have time for all that is all.

June 21st: Pixeljunk Shoter Ultimate (Vita) - A well-balanced, varied game that surprised me with how many little ideas it had. The fluid physics are impressive, while the visuals are simple but appealing and very readable. The only major issue was that sometimes an enemy would fly into me from the side of the screen with no warning, just as I was about to finish a level. Great game, though.

June 15th: Gravity Rush (Vita) - A beautiful little gem of a game. It doesn't do anything outrageously new, nor does it do everything perfectly, but it's one of the few open world-ish games in recent years that's captivated me enough to finish all the side quests. I dunno how long I spent just shifting around the city, freefalling and catching myself at the last minute. It's so relaxing. Made with love, this one.

June 14th: Hotline Miami (Vita) - Played this ages ago on my laptop, but it buggy as fuck. This was much better, and surprisngly well suited to the Vita's controls. It's just ridiculously satisying kicking down doors and fucking up everyone's day, and in such a perfectly gross, bleary, nauseating world.

May 24th: Prototype 2 (360) - The pinnacle of the smash-the-crap-out-of-everything open world games, at least as far as I've played. Takes the template of the first, fixes some of the frustrations like being attacked from off screen all the time and lets you run riot. Story is bobbins but it rattles along at a fair clip so it hardly matters. Surprisingly good looking, too.

May 20th: Asura's Wrath (360) - QTEs annoy the shit out of me when they're thrown into the likes of Halo 4 for no particular reason, but often find myself letting it go if the game is built around them. I had a lot of time for From Software's Ninja Blade and this isn't too dissimilar, really. Basic action game scrapping, big QTEs and dumb set pieces. It's a flawed curio for sure, but there's something hilarious about millions being spent on this barely interactive vanity project in which a a man has a hissy fit every three minutes and punches everything to bits.

May 19th: Rock of Ages (360) - A decent game, but one that needed a bit more work to really make the most of the concept. I always felt too rushed to strategise in any meaningful way between rounds, so I'd end up randomly chucking towers around so I could get the next boulder rolling. Still, it's unique in its presentation and I had a few hours of fun with it. Not too shabby at all.

May 10th: Kentucky Route Zero: Act III (PC) - It's just so eerily evocative of... something. One of the few games with a genuine sense of mystery to it. All you really do is colour the story as you go through, but it's so confident in taking its time, letting you bathe in its oddness, that it doesn't matter. There's one scene in this act that is among the best I've ever experienced. Lovely.

May 8th: Syndicate (PS3) - Nowt much to do with the old games, but that doesn't bother me much. Seems like they just tacked the name on to a typical Starbreeze shooter about half way through development or something. It has that really physical brutality that they're so good at, and using the active reload mechanic from Gears as an attack is pretty neat, but it's otherwise really forgettable. Oh, and the bloom is bloody ridiculous.

May 6th: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - So much better than the first game it's unreal. Everything polished until it gleams, few bullshit instadeaths out of nowhere and some damn fine set-pieces. It's such a shame I find Drake one of the most repellent characters ever created, as the game seems to think he's charming or something.

May 4th: Rayman Legends (PS3) - Absolutely bloody pristine platforming. The only one in recent years that's come even close to Nintendo's best. Such a shame this seems to have sold fuck all, because it feels so well crafted.

April 29th: Saints Row: The Third (PS3) - Steamed through the story missions, couldn't be arsed with the filler. This is true of most open world games for me, these days, so it's no big deal. Though much of the zany American humour fell flat for me, I bloody loved the main missions and found the game full of so many satisfying little moments, like jumping straight off the side of the penthouse, parachuting at the last second and then bombing through the windscreen to pinch a car. Feels good, man.

April 24th: Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - It's a bit of a mess, there are too many cut-scenes, too many turret sections, the bosses aren't as good as they should be and it all feels a little bit archaic BUT... I bloody love Metal Gear games.. I like tinkering with them, finding the little quirks they've included if you play around with the items and enemies. I'd take a lesser Kojima Metal Gear over your standard action fodder any day. It's really no Snake Eater, though.

April 21st: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - Pretty much hated the first half of this. Stiff, dull combat with the occasional bit of automatic jumping, interrupted only by something popping up and killing me out of nowhere or Drake completely failing to do what I asked. The plots not even very good, really, and I was lead to believe was quite well done. Picks up the pace a bit in the latter half but even then it felt a bit shonky. Everyone says the sequels are better though. We'll see.

March 27th: Noby Noby Boy (PS3) - Daft little toy thing, but I found myself messing around with it for way longer than expected. Rough around the edges but really charming and amusing at times. Controls are mental, though.

March 27th: Guacamelee (PS3) - Really nicely drawn and concise Metroidvania with nifty combat. Didn't really notice the difficulty spikes I'd read about, just had to watch the attack patterns of some of the later bosses. Could've done without the naff memes and games references scattered about, but you can't have everything I suppose. I had a really enjoyable couple of evenings with this.

March 25th: Flower (PS3) - Looks like a fabric softener advert and the music is occasionally a bit 'early-90s motivational video', so why is this so bloody lovely? I dunno, but it is. Relaxing in a way that games so rarely attempt, let alone achieve. Kinda wish it wouldn't grab the camera to show something happening when you're mid-'flow', but it's no biggie.

March 24th: Flow (PS3) - A pretty mesmerising experience while it lasted, and I'm glad they were smart enough not to drag it out longer than the concept deserved. Enjoyed one of the later creature that had me dashing around, gorging on other creatures in a ravenous blood-lust.

March 24th: Rain (PS3) - A simple, slight but very charming little game in which you find yourself visible only under rainfall whilst evading a seemingly immortal monster. There's nothing mechanically original about it, and the presentation is a little cloying at times, but it all hangs together very well. Reminded me of Clock Tower for some reason.

March 21st: Killer is Dead (PS3) - By the numbers Grasshopper, really, which is bit of a disappointment as I usually love their games. The combat is simple yet satisfying, but it lacks the madcap daftness of Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned for which I forgave those games their flaws. Here, it's disjointed action vignettes punctuated by self-consciously zany cut-scenes, when really I yearned for Killer7's pervasive weirdness. Gigolo missions seem more like clumsily executed Bond parody than works of outright misogyny they've been reported as, but are still boring and unnecessary. Bosses were mad fun, though.

March 17th: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut (PS3) - An enjoyable game. Nice to play something that lets you play at your own pace, even if it does feel like you're faffing about when the narrative is telling you to hurry the fuck up. Mass Effect has the same problem, though. Good things: Enjoyable stealth, interesting upgrades, decent dialogue, looks pretty nice. Bad things: Bosses are shit, ropey cut-scenes, repetitive hacking and locations, meandering plot. A solid foundation for a follow up, I reckon.

March 10th: Tomb Raider (PS3) - Does so many things well yet disappoints equally. There's a better, more open and more ambitious game in there, somewhere. The entire hunting/camping/crafting side of things has little to no underlying systems yet feel like they should, while the traversal is slick but streamlined to the point of being inconsequential. Combat is satisfying due to the auto-cover and the wonderful bow and shotgun, but the arc of 'traumatised by first self-defence kill' to 'wiped out about a thousand guys because survival' feels really weird and gross. Could've done with cutting out about half of the enemies and going for more abandoned spaces. Still, the animation is lovely, I found the plot engagingly silly for most of it and the soundtrack is some primitive Einsturzende Neubauten industrial thing in places. Highs and lows.

March 5th: LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) - An under-appreciated game, I feel. It loses some of ModNation's more unique approach to kart racing but gains the vastly more appealing world and powerful creation tools of LBP. A fair trade, I reckon. Inherits some of LBP's woolliness in the controller response, which is a shame, but the story mode was pretty enjoyable throughout. Some really neat community levels to mess around in, too.

March 3rd: Journey (PS3) - ...aaaand from the ridiculous to the utterly sublime. A stunning work, it really is. Visually it's along the lines of Gwen, ou le Livre de Sable or some of Moebius' desert vistas, which would probably be enough for me. The fact that it's also a brilliant, brilliant game is the most wonderful bonus. The feeling of companionship you have with other players is genuine but also really difficult to explain, as is the rather odd sensation of loss when you lose someone. I won't go into more detail for fear of spoiling it, but it's one of the only games that I would consider perfect.

March 3rd: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) - I don't really mind these narrative experiences and I thought the initial third of the game was pretty great, to be honest. Genuinely enjoyed some of the sequences in which you're on the run. Then it flies off the rails and never recovers, mostly through bad writing, but the gameplay, as flimsy as it is to begin with, never really evolves at all. Oh, and they do that thing where they put a bunch of racial caricatures in a game and then invent a country in an attempt to make it all okay. Fuck off.

Feb 28th: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3) - Favourite thing I've played all year, this. Played Normal Ironman a found it just wonderfully absorbing and utterly gutting when you'd lose a long-serving squad member. A few technical problems with the camera but nothing too distracting. Heading back in soon for another run...

Feb 21st: FTL (PC) - Put about ten hours in and probably done with this. Utterly and completely absorbing while its charms lasted, but the randomness of it just wore me out after a while. Nothing wrong with it, as the brutality is the nature of the thing, but I just don't have the will continue.

Feb 21st: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 (360) - A bit flat and lifeless, this episode. Minimal interaction even by Telltale standards and few decisions seems to be of real consequence. Hopefully it picks up again. Still bloody love the score.

Feb 15th: Bioshock Infinite (PS3) - I loved it. It would've been nice to have a few more open arenas and a little more response from the enemies when you hit them, but I don't get the harsh criticisms of the combat. Swinging around on the skyrails was endless fun, bounding off and chucking some vigors all over the shop I found some of the old ultra-violence a bit off, but it's a small matter. More than anything I admire its ambition, and Levine done good in my book.

Feb 11th: Metro: Last Light (PS3) - I absolutely loved this, if for nothing other than the atmosphere and sense of place. I do have a weakness for grim Russian apocalypses and atomic mysticism, though. There are faults, like the overpowered stealth, linearity and abundance of supplies, but it all came together well. Would appreciate more freedom to wander the surface in a follow-up. Here's hoping.

Feb 8th: Remember Me (PS3) - A game of linear traversal and simple, satisfying combat. Punctuated nicely by the memory remixes, which were interesting even though they failed to live up to their potential. Other than that, I enjoyed the story, found it looked spectacular throughout and thought it had some neat ideas (like the customisable combo strings).

Jan 29th: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360) - The story was jingoistic rambling nonsense, and half the game felt like a tutorial for multiplayer or something, but it perked up once it let you have some freedom. Nice to see a game that accommodates different strategies, if only in certain sections.

Jan 27th: Shoot Many Robots (360) - Abandoning this but I kinda consider it finished as I've almost certainly seen everything it has to offer. Generic 2D run-and-gunner with an admirable number of levels and upgrades but a woeful lack of variety throughout. Boring.

Jan 27th: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (360) - A somewhat confused but heartfelt 80s pastiche. I reckon I'd have preferred it if they'd played it straight, to be honest. Could've done without the lazy internet meme humour, too. Enjoyed the boosted pace and lack of fall damage but wish they hadn't walled-off the bases as it seemed to limit the ways in which you could approach them. Feels like an idea that could be better fleshed out with a sequel, though.

Jan 27th: You Will Die Alone At Sea (PC) - Spend a minute floating in a red wireframe ocean, doing nowt. I have a fair tolerance for pointless indie curios but this does nothing and says nothing. At least has the decency to so succinctly.

Jan 25th: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 (360) - An intriguing story, remarkably well executed visually, with a neatly understated synth-pulse of a score. I was bound to like this. I see the recent Telltale games more like choose-your-own-adventure books than the point-and-clicks of the past, and enjoy them on those terms. Besides, I always hated the obtuse puzzles of most adventure games so I'm glad those are out.

Jan 24th: Spec Ops: The Line (360) - By-the-numbers gameplay that disguises (or allows for) a surprisingly subversive take on the strange appeal that video game conflict has to so many. Or at least, that's how I read it. The execution is a little uneven but it's encouraging to see a big budget title try to tackle these things.

Jan 18th: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (360) - Not a bad take on the 2D Castlevania formula. Having three playable characters might have been more interesting if they'd had significantly different weapons and move sets, and I wish they'd gone with the art style in the cut-scenes, but the combat was pretty decent. Story is too boring to mention in any detail.

Jan 14th: Deadlight (360) - This has possibly the worst writing and voice acting I've encountered in a long, long while, along with too much trial-and-error bullshit and inexplicably unresponsive controls. The last one isn't too much of an issue when the game lets you move around at your own pace, but once it starts expecting you to perform flawlessly at speed the game falls apart. A shame because there's a decent contemporary Flashback-style platformer in there, somewhere.

Jan 14th: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360) - Curious little game with some neat, simplistic ideas coming and going before outstaying their welcome. Wasn't convinced the storytelling was much more than a generic mishmash of over-familiar fairy tales, but it was enjoyable enough.

Jan 13th: Halo 4 (360) - Really, really enjoyed this, but I always enjoy Halo. Nothing drastically different and sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. I had certain problems with the Prometheans, as I always seemed to end up fighting them in much the same way, but nothing that can't be ironed out in the next one.

Jan 6th: Outland (360) - Love the animation and fluidity of movement in general. Probably could've done with a heavier emphasis on the Metroidvania side of things and I almost lost patience with the final boss, but a solid, enjoyable game.

Jan 4th: A Dark Room (Browser) - Finished in the sense that I got bored of waiting for something interesting to happen. Not even sure if there is an ending. I'm not averse to text-based games but there are better uses of my time than watching numbers go up, waiting for a smidgen of revealing information somewhere down the line.

Jan 3rd: Night Rider Turbo (Browser) - Basically EnviroBear 2000: Operation Hibernation with an 80s vibe. Pretty funny for a few minutes.

Jan 2nd: Peggle Nights (360) - It's more Peggle. Nowt more to add, really.

Jan 2nd: I Am Alive (360) - It tried hard, but ended up being a pretty hollow experience. Archaic in most areas and the combat never really lived up to its potential. I liked that climbing actually a required a bit of thought and effort, though.

Jan 1st: Dishonored (360) - Beautiful, fascinating and a bit flawed. Felt it gave you a vast arsenal of stuff for a chaotic play-through but was lacking interesting stealth options. Probably still one of my most enjoyed games of recent years.

[dreamylittledream]

October

Yikes six months between completions, what have I been doing? Well picking at stuff mainly, a month or so Mario Kart addiction and well playing a few less games perhaps. Anyway

Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS3)

A bit of a slog is the overall impression. It all started so promising too - its pretty, its dumb, it has lots of big guns. Knowing too, the setting straddles a thin line between po faced seriousness, unusually deep introspection and plain silliness. The cut scenes unusually are well scripted and acted and for the very first time 'BJ' is actually drawn as a semi three dimensional character.

The cover and leaning system is well implemented and early on the combat is great. However, the game is overlong and starts to drag for the final third as it hits irritating difficulty spike after difficulty spike. The trip to the

moon

is a wasted opportunity and tiresomely the game also decides to offer a final c**t of a boss.

Overall it was still enjoyable but feels like a missed opportunity from what the first two thirds of the game or so promised. Still nice to see the ex Starbreeze team get some more work and this is certainly better than Syndicate

Previously in 2014

April

So 2014 is not shaping up to be one of my more productive game completion years but two to add to the tally

Call of Juraez - Gunslinger (PS3)

Snapped this up for peanuts in one of the PSN sales (£2 maybe) and it really is a delight to play an old fashioned unashamed shooter with a couple of neat twists. Graphically its lovely - the slight hint of cell shading on the old west looks glorious and I've rarely seen the unreliable narrator conceit done quite so well in a video game. The dialogue was as sharp as hell too.

But damn all that its the shooting that is the real star here - the weapons feel meaty and satisfying, its got a bullet time mode (man I love me a bullet time mode) and whilst at times it is little more than a glorified shooting gallery, its a very well executed shooting gallery. Took me about 10 hours to play through (mainly because I'm rubbish I suspect) which is about a perfect run time for my attention span and the odd annoying difficulty spike aside I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. The duels were especially well realised, although not sure I ever properly worked out what I was doing during them.

With CoJ neatly wrapped up I thought I'd return to

Sleeping Dogs (PS3)

I played through the first half of this about a year ago when it appeared on PS+ and was having a thoroughly good time, then something else caught my attention (I think it might have been Bioshock Infinite) and I hadn't returned.

So with completion on my mind I returned and quickly wondered why I'd given up originally. This is just such a well executed open world game. The setting is ace, the brawling is really satisfying but it also periodically chucks in a decent 3rd person shooter into the mix (again great bullet time mode). The driving is a tad woolly - but I always drive like a drunkard in these sort of games so that didn't really bother me. Also very unusually even the side story stuff is pretty fun, some great battles and shoot outs in the drugs bust missions and some amusing moments from the favours. Only ones I left were the races as the cars I had were clearly not up to the job.

Turns out the second half of the story missions are really genuinely very good - well the triad ones are anyway (the cop ones are filer really, although entertaining filler). Finally nailed (or

Spoiler

last night and was genuinely sad to have finished.

dreamylittledream, on 26 Jan 2014 - 11:55 PM, said:

Jan 2014

26/01/14 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

A new Zelda is always a thing to be savoured and this more so than most, its the first 'real' 2D Zelda since Minish Cap (I did actually really enjoy Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks less so but the controls and design make them a 3rd sub category beyond 2D and 3D Zeldas), and of course its the sequel to one of the most beloved games of all time.

And yes it is magic - its the best Zelda since Wind Waker and could stake a substantial claim to being the best 2D Zelda yet (its comfortably ahead of all the GB versions and it is tighter and more focused then A Link to the Past).

Not perfect however, the tightness of the design is also married to a slightly disappointing brevity - its certainly my quickest time on completing a Zelda and that's with taking my time messing about at every opportunity (although no I don't feel the need to collect everyone of the octopus things) - I could have easily swallowed whole another half a dozen dungeons and not felt satisfied.

And yes the dungeon design is first class, but rarely challenging at all. The Ice Palace stands out as the cleverest and most devious by a long way. Also the item rental thing, hmmmm did it add anything? No not really - just the odd bit of irritation. In some ways it was still too conservative - I loved the non linear layout and the way your inventory was all there from a few hours in but it felt a trick was missed in still focusing each dungeon on one or two items - hell if you are going to give us all the items from almost the get go then let your imagination go wild on combining their use in the dungeons.

But all that feels a little churlish - its the best thing I've played in months and the flow of the game and the pace is second to none. Even the story had a few clever twists that I didn't see coming.

The trouble with Nintendo be damned - as long as they keep making games like this I'll buy their hardware.

dreamylittledream, on 21 Feb 2014 - 12:53 AM, said:

February

Hotline Miami - I played though two thirds of this last year then got bored for some reason before returning to it earlier this month to see out the end to the perplexing story tonight (nope I don't really get it). When it clicks its amazing but in some ways it feels like an iOS game in the number of restarts you have to hit before the solution to a level hits you - the feeling of executing it (very literally) is amazing though.

In some ways its over rated - but for a couple of quid on PSN currently there is little more bang for your buck I could recommend.

[Wiper]

Started and finished The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in one sitting tonight; the game lasted me about 2 and a half hours, including a fair bit of backtracking, but I don't regret getting it for a moment.

It's a game like Gone Home in that it takes the first-person perspective, marries it to a combat-free narrative, and makes the core gameplay a work of investigation based on literal exploration and inspection of the things around you. However, it takes that to a very different genre, in a far larger environment, and with a more on the nose approach to storytelling (the game won't let you miss any clues if you want to finish it, and there are no hidden narratives to be missed). The only bit I disliked was a small section involving jump-scares (which you can't avoid), but other than that it was an enjoyable, engrossing experience.

[Quest]

I went and played Heavy Rain. It wasn't very good.

October 10th: Heavy Rain (PS3) - I actually really enjoyed the first half of Beyond: Two Souls until it flew off the rails. This one goes the opposite way and does its best to recover from an abysmal, embarassing opening. I can see what this was trying to do and I'm actually quite keen to see how these narrative experience evolve, but I found most of this poorly written, directed and generally quite boring.

October 3rd: Joe Danger (Vita) - Has a nice, tactile, compulsive feel to it. Shame it only really presents a challenge when going for the pro medals. Individual standard medal challenges just feel like going through the motions, and the scoring system feels too easy to exploit.

September 30th: Frobisher Says (Vita) - Been dabbling with this and the DLC since getting a Vita and it's fun enough for what it is. Basic Warioware-style micro-games that use the Vita's various functions.

September 28th: Resident Evil 6 (PS3) - An absolute mess of a game, but I still managed to get through every campaign. Not sure why, really, other than that I used to adore Resident Evil games. So many poorly implemented and pointless excursions into QTE setpiece nonsense. Capcom need to take a long hard look at what made this series enjoyable, because they've lost their way. Reminds me of Lost Planet 2's bloat and general inability to excecute its ideas in anything other than a frustrating, awkward fashion.

September 24th: Puppeteer (PS3) Reminded me a lot of Dynamite Headdy. A solid, enjoyable and lovingly presented game. It's well behind recent Rayman games and Nintendo's stuff in terms of pure platforming, but all the mechanics tie together pretty well. Shame the head-swapping gimmick is really superficial.

September 24th: Proteus (PS3) - Was wandering around, finding this nice enough but a bit underwhelming and then it suddenly started to give me the damn shivers. Weirdly atmospheric in a way that's hard to describe, so I won't.

September 21st: Grand Theft Auto V (PS3) - Nothing to say that hasn't beeen said a million times. It's the sheer detail and cratmanship of it that impresses, really. It's still struggling with the controls and I wish you could grab people/objects and have more physical interactions with the world, but it never felt truly lacking. Worth the money just for the radio stations, if you ask me. Online refuses to work here in China, unlike most PSN stuff, which is a shame.

August 1st: God of War III (PS3) - Aside from a few spectacular, stand-out boss fights, this may as well have been PS2 game. The combat is functional but dated, the graphics are nice but feel very much like looking at an elaborate diorama, and there's a frustrating amount of padding. Maybe I'll prefer Ascension.

July 27th: Killzone 2 (PS3) - Paint-by-numbers FPS. Looks impressive for a game that's about six years old now, but does absolutely nothing interesting. Shooting is solid enough, AI is fine, but it's bafflingly mediocre for a big budget first party title. Why is the level design so pedestrian? Why is the player character so short? Why would anyone care about this game?

July 22nd: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) - Found the first few hours of this really weak. Treacle-paced and fragmented, with loads of weak puzzles and tepid action sequences. If this series is going to be a linear spectacle it may as well do it with some gusto, which thankfully it starts to do in the latter half. The things I disliked in the first two games are all there, though. Armoured-up bullet sponges, poorly designed arenas, wooly aiming, auto climbing. The fact that Naughty Dog persist with the whole running-into-the-camera nonsense is fucking ridiculous, too. It's all nicely presented, though, I'll give it that.

July 15th: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360) - It's not bad, but the story mode felt a bit lifeless and lacking in challenge. The excuse for tracking through the same environments three times felt flimsy and clichéd, and it failed to evoke the creepiness of Wake's main game. Arcade action mode seems fine but having to unlock weapons through the campaign collectathon turned me off.

July 11th: Motorstorm RC (Vita) - Furiously addictive little game. Wish it didn't dangle DLC stuff in your face all the time but it's no biggie. Rinsed through the main game and will eventually get around to doing everything, but I'm done for now.

July 3rd: LocoRoco (PSP) - A few hours of squishy-squashy joy. I have no problem with games that are tactile audio-visual delights more than they are mechanically deep. The flaws are there in the controls, which I found myself fighting during the more fiddly platforming sections, and the idea of replaying every level over and over to collect everything fills me with dread, but as a one-shot playthrough it was a lovely.

June 30th: Muramasa Rebirth (Vita) - Beautiful-looking and frequently thrilling game with solid combat mechanics. The story is weak but the translators have done their best with what was given to them, with some genuinely surprising and funny lines.

June 26th: Sound Shapes (Vita) - Found it a bit of a disappointment, really, but that might be my own fault. I thought the music would respond to the way I played, but really it's just triggering stuff in a linear way. That's fine but not terribly exciting. It does look and sound bloody lovely, though. The Jim Guthrie/Superbrothers levels are particularly wonderful. Level editor seems pretty decent and the community have made some nice stuff, I just don't have time for all that is all.

June 21st: Pixeljunk Shoter Ultimate (Vita) - A well-balanced, varied game that surprised me with how many little ideas it had. The fluid physics are impressive, while the visuals are simple but appealing and very readable. The only major issue was that sometimes an enemy would fly into me from the side of the screen with no warning, just as I was about to finish a level. Great game, though.

June 15th: Gravity Rush (Vita) - A beautiful little gem of a game. It doesn't do anything outrageously new, nor does it do everything perfectly, but it's one of the few open world-ish games in recent years that's captivated me enough to finish all the side quests. I dunno how long I spent just shifting around the city, freefalling and catching myself at the last minute. It's so relaxing. Made with love, this one.

June 14th: Hotline Miami (Vita) - Played this ages ago on my laptop, but it buggy as fuck. This was much better, and surprisngly well suited to the Vita's controls. It's just ridiculously satisying kicking down doors and fucking up everyone's day, and in such a perfectly gross, bleary, nauseating world.

May 24th: Prototype 2 (360) - The pinnacle of the smash-the-crap-out-of-everything open world games, at least as far as I've played. Takes the template of the first, fixes some of the frustrations like being attacked from off screen all the time and lets you run riot. Story is bobbins but it rattles along at a fair clip so it hardly matters. Surprisingly good looking, too.

May 20th: Asura's Wrath (360) - QTEs annoy the shit out of me when they're thrown into the likes of Halo 4 for no particular reason, but often find myself letting it go if the game is built around them. I had a lot of time for From Software's Ninja Blade and this isn't too dissimilar, really. Basic action game scrapping, big QTEs and dumb set pieces. It's a flawed curio for sure, but there's something hilarious about millions being spent on this barely interactive vanity project in which a a man has a hissy fit every three minutes and punches everything to bits.

May 19th: Rock of Ages (360) - A decent game, but one that needed a bit more work to really make the most of the concept. I always felt too rushed to strategise in any meaningful way between rounds, so I'd end up randomly chucking towers around so I could get the next boulder rolling. Still, it's unique in its presentation and I had a few hours of fun with it. Not too shabby at all.

May 10th: Kentucky Route Zero: Act III (PC) - It's just so eerily evocative of... something. One of the few games with a genuine sense of mystery to it. All you really do is colour the story as you go through, but it's so confident in taking its time, letting you bathe in its oddness, that it doesn't matter. There's one scene in this act that is among the best I've ever experienced. Lovely.

May 8th: Syndicate (PS3) - Nowt much to do with the old games, but that doesn't bother me much. Seems like they just tacked the name on to a typical Starbreeze shooter about half way through development or something. It has that really physical brutality that they're so good at, and using the active reload mechanic from Gears as an attack is pretty neat, but it's otherwise really forgettable. Oh, and the bloom is bloody ridiculous.

May 6th: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - So much better than the first game it's unreal. Everything polished until it gleams, few bullshit instadeaths out of nowhere and some damn fine set-pieces. It's such a shame I find Drake one of the most repellent characters ever created, as the game seems to think he's charming or something.

May 4th: Rayman Legends (PS3) - Absolutely bloody pristine platforming. The only one in recent years that's come even close to Nintendo's best. Such a shame this seems to have sold fuck all, because it feels so well crafted.

April 29th: Saints Row: The Third (PS3) - Steamed through the story missions, couldn't be arsed with the filler. This is true of most open world games for me, these days, so it's no big deal. Though much of the zany American humour fell flat for me, I bloody loved the main missions and found the game full of so many satisfying little moments, like jumping straight off the side of the penthouse, parachuting at the last second and then bombing through the windscreen to pinch a car. Feels good, man.

April 24th: Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - It's a bit of a mess, there are too many cut-scenes, too many turret sections, the bosses aren't as good as they should be and it all feels a little bit archaic BUT... I bloody love Metal Gear games.. I like tinkering with them, finding the little quirks they've included if you play around with the items and enemies. I'd take a lesser Kojima Metal Gear over your standard action fodder any day. It's really no Snake Eater, though.

April 21st: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - Pretty much hated the first half of this. Stiff, dull combat with the occasional bit of automatic jumping, interrupted only by something popping up and killing me out of nowhere or Drake completely failing to do what I asked. The plots not even very good, really, and I was lead to believe was quite well done. Picks up the pace a bit in the latter half but even then it felt a bit shonky. Everyone says the sequels are better though. We'll see.

March 27th: Noby Noby Boy (PS3) - Daft little toy thing, but I found myself messing around with it for way longer than expected. Rough around the edges but really charming and amusing at times. Controls are mental, though.

March 27th: Guacamelee (PS3) - Really nicely drawn and concise Metroidvania with nifty combat. Didn't really notice the difficulty spikes I'd read about, just had to watch the attack patterns of some of the later bosses. Could've done without the naff memes and games references scattered about, but you can't have everything I suppose. I had a really enjoyable couple of evenings with this.

March 25th: Flower (PS3) - Looks like a fabric softener advert and the music is occasionally a bit 'early-90s motivational video', so why is this so bloody lovely? I dunno, but it is. Relaxing in a way that games so rarely attempt, let alone achieve. Kinda wish it wouldn't grab the camera to show something happening when you're mid-'flow', but it's no biggie.

March 24th: Flow (PS3) - A pretty mesmerising experience while it lasted, and I'm glad they were smart enough not to drag it out longer than the concept deserved. Enjoyed one of the later creature that had me dashing around, gorging on other creatures in a ravenous blood-lust.

March 24th: Rain (PS3) - A simple, slight but very charming little game in which you find yourself visible only under rainfall whilst evading a seemingly immortal monster. There's nothing mechanically original about it, and the presentation is a little cloying at times, but it all hangs together very well. Reminded me of Clock Tower for some reason.

March 21st: Killer is Dead (PS3) - By the numbers Grasshopper, really, which is bit of a disappointment as I usually love their games. The combat is simple yet satisfying, but it lacks the madcap daftness of Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned for which I forgave those games their flaws. Here, it's disjointed action vignettes punctuated by self-consciously zany cut-scenes, when really I yearned for Killer7's pervasive weirdness. Gigolo missions seem more like clumsily executed Bond parody than works of outright misogyny they've been reported as, but are still boring and unnecessary. Bosses were mad fun, though.

March 17th: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut (PS3) - An enjoyable game. Nice to play something that lets you play at your own pace, even if it does feel like you're faffing about when the narrative is telling you to hurry the fuck up. Mass Effect has the same problem, though. Good things: Enjoyable stealth, interesting upgrades, decent dialogue, looks pretty nice. Bad things: Bosses are shit, ropey cut-scenes, repetitive hacking and locations, meandering plot. A solid foundation for a follow up, I reckon.

March 10th: Tomb Raider (PS3) - Does so many things well yet disappoints equally. There's a better, more open and more ambitious game in there, somewhere. The entire hunting/camping/crafting side of things has little to no underlying systems yet feel like they should, while the traversal is slick but streamlined to the point of being inconsequential. Combat is satisfying due to the auto-cover and the wonderful bow and shotgun, but the arc of 'traumatised by first self-defence kill' to 'wiped out about a thousand guys because survival' feels really weird and gross. Could've done with cutting out about half of the enemies and going for more abandoned spaces. Still, the animation is lovely, I found the plot engagingly silly for most of it and the soundtrack is some primitive Einsturzende Neubauten industrial thing in places. Highs and lows.

March 5th: LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) - An under-appreciated game, I feel. It loses some of ModNation's more unique approach to kart racing but gains the vastly more appealing world and powerful creation tools of LBP. A fair trade, I reckon. Inherits some of LBP's woolliness in the controller response, which is a shame, but the story mode was pretty enjoyable throughout. Some really neat community levels to mess around in, too.

March 3rd: Journey (PS3) - ...aaaand from the ridiculous to the utterly sublime. A stunning work, it really is. Visually it's along the lines of Gwen, ou le Livre de Sable or some of Moebius' desert vistas, which would probably be enough for me. The fact that it's also a brilliant, brilliant game is the most wonderful bonus. The feeling of companionship you have with other players is genuine but also really difficult to explain, as is the rather odd sensation of loss when you lose someone. I won't go into more detail for fear of spoiling it, but it's one of the only games that I would consider perfect.

March 3rd: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) - I don't really mind these narrative experiences and I thought the initial third of the game was pretty great, to be honest. Genuinely enjoyed some of the sequences in which you're on the run. Then it flies off the rails and never recovers, mostly through bad writing, but the gameplay, as flimsy as it is to begin with, never really evolves at all. Oh, and they do that thing where they put a bunch of racial caricatures in a game and then invent a country in an attempt to make it all okay. Fuck off.

Feb 28th: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3) - Favourite thing I've played all year, this. Played Normal Ironman a found it just wonderfully absorbing and utterly gutting when you'd lose a long-serving squad member. A few technical problems with the camera but nothing too distracting. Heading back in soon for another run...

Feb 21st: FTL (PC) - Put about ten hours in and probably done with this. Utterly and completely absorbing while its charms lasted, but the randomness of it just wore me out after a while. Nothing wrong with it, as the brutality is the nature of the thing, but I just don't have the will continue.

Feb 21st: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 (360) - A bit flat and lifeless, this episode. Minimal interaction even by Telltale standards and few decisions seems to be of real consequence. Hopefully it picks up again. Still bloody love the score.

Feb 15th: Bioshock Infinite (PS3) - I loved it. It would've been nice to have a few more open arenas and a little more response from the enemies when you hit them, but I don't get the harsh criticisms of the combat. Swinging around on the skyrails was endless fun, bounding off and chucking some vigors all over the shop I found some of the old ultra-violence a bit off, but it's a small matter. More than anything I admire its ambition, and Levine done good in my book.

Feb 11th: Metro: Last Light (PS3) - I absolutely loved this, if for nothing other than the atmosphere and sense of place. I do have a weakness for grim Russian apocalypses and atomic mysticism, though. There are faults, like the overpowered stealth, linearity and abundance of supplies, but it all came together well. Would appreciate more freedom to wander the surface in a follow-up. Here's hoping.

Feb 8th: Remember Me (PS3) - A game of linear traversal and simple, satisfying combat. Punctuated nicely by the memory remixes, which were interesting even though they failed to live up to their potential. Other than that, I enjoyed the story, found it looked spectacular throughout and thought it had some neat ideas (like the customisable combo strings).

Jan 29th: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360) - The story was jingoistic rambling nonsense, and half the game felt like a tutorial for multiplayer or something, but it perked up once it let you have some freedom. Nice to see a game that accommodates different strategies, if only in certain sections.

Jan 27th: Shoot Many Robots (360) - Abandoning this but I kinda consider it finished as I've almost certainly seen everything it has to offer. Generic 2D run-and-gunner with an admirable number of levels and upgrades but a woeful lack of variety throughout. Boring.

Jan 27th: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (360) - A somewhat confused but heartfelt 80s pastiche. I reckon I'd have preferred it if they'd played it straight, to be honest. Could've done without the lazy internet meme humour, too. Enjoyed the boosted pace and lack of fall damage but wish they hadn't walled-off the bases as it seemed to limit the ways in which you could approach them. Feels like an idea that could be better fleshed out with a sequel, though.

Jan 27th: You Will Die Alone At Sea (PC) - Spend a minute floating in a red wireframe ocean, doing nowt. I have a fair tolerance for pointless indie curios but this does nothing and says nothing. At least has the decency to so succinctly.

Jan 25th: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 (360) - An intriguing story, remarkably well executed visually, with a neatly understated synth-pulse of a score. I was bound to like this. I see the recent Telltale games more like choose-your-own-adventure books than the point-and-clicks of the past, and enjoy them on those terms. Besides, I always hated the obtuse puzzles of most adventure games so I'm glad those are out.

Jan 24th: Spec Ops: The Line (360) - By-the-numbers gameplay that disguises (or allows for) a surprisingly subversive take on the strange appeal that video game conflict has to so many. Or at least, that's how I read it. The execution is a little uneven but it's encouraging to see a big budget title try to tackle these things.

Jan 18th: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (360) - Not a bad take on the 2D Castlevania formula. Having three playable characters might have been more interesting if they'd had significantly different weapons and move sets, and I wish they'd gone with the art style in the cut-scenes, but the combat was pretty decent. Story is too boring to mention in any detail.

Jan 14th: Deadlight (360) - This has possibly the worst writing and voice acting I've encountered in a long, long while, along with too much trial-and-error bullshit and inexplicably unresponsive controls. The last one isn't too much of an issue when the game lets you move around at your own pace, but once it starts expecting you to perform flawlessly at speed the game falls apart. A shame because there's a decent contemporary Flashback-style platformer in there, somewhere.

Jan 14th: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360) - Curious little game with some neat, simplistic ideas coming and going before outstaying their welcome. Wasn't convinced the storytelling was much more than a generic mishmash of over-familiar fairy tales, but it was enjoyable enough.

Jan 13th: Halo 4 (360) - Really, really enjoyed this, but I always enjoy Halo. Nothing drastically different and sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. I had certain problems with the Prometheans, as I always seemed to end up fighting them in much the same way, but nothing that can't be ironed out in the next one.

Jan 6th: Outland (360) - Love the animation and fluidity of movement in general. Probably could've done with a heavier emphasis on the Metroidvania side of things and I almost lost patience with the final boss, but a solid, enjoyable game.

Jan 4th: A Dark Room (Browser) - Finished in the sense that I got bored of waiting for something interesting to happen. Not even sure if there is an ending. I'm not averse to text-based games but there are better uses of my time than watching numbers go up, waiting for a smidgen of revealing information somewhere down the line.

Jan 3rd: Night Rider Turbo (Browser) - Basically EnviroBear 2000: Operation Hibernation with an 80s vibe. Pretty funny for a few minutes.

Jan 2nd: Peggle Nights (360) - It's more Peggle. Nowt more to add, really.

Jan 2nd: I Am Alive (360) - It tried hard, but ended up being a pretty hollow experience. Archaic in most areas and the combat never really lived up to its potential. I liked that climbing actually a required a bit of thought and effort, though.

Jan 1st: Dishonored (360) - Beautiful, fascinating and a bit flawed. Felt it gave you a vast arsenal of stuff for a chaotic play-through but was lacking interesting stealth options. Probably still one of my most enjoyed games of recent years.

[Jolly]

2014 so far...

14/01/14 - Need for Speed: Rivals (PS4)

29/01/14 - Playstation Allstars Battle Royale (Vita)

30/01/14 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

09/02/14 - OlliOlli (Vita)

23/02/14 - Unit 13 (Vita)

05/03/14 - Outlast (PS4)

09/03/14 - Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

19/03/14 - 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (DS)

02/04/14 - TxK (Vita)

06/04/14 - Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

30/04/14 - Batman: Arkham Origins (Wii U)

08/05/14 - Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F (Vita)

27/05/14 - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

24/06/14 - Entwined (PS4)

25/06/14 - Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PS4)

03/07/14 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)

10/07/14 - Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

14/07/14 - Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)

10/08/14 - Mercenary Kings (PS4)

12/08/14 - The Swapper (PS4)

16/08/14 - Metrico (Vita)

22/09/14 - Diablo III (PS4)

01/10/14 - Velocity 2X (PS4)

10/10/14 - Thomas Was Alone (Vita)

Didn't really like this at all. I found Danny Wallace's narration incredibly irritating, the writing far too smug and the actual game completely undemanding. Mercifully brief although the soundtrack was pretty fantastic.

Currently playing

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita)

Pix the Cat (Vita)

The Evil Within (PS4)

[Bojangle]

Just finished The Bureau. I was expecting something god awful after the general reception it got, but I enjoyed it throughout. Admittedly I went in knowing I was going to get something massively different from past XCOM games, so I can understand the disappointment for people who expected that side of XCOM. I thought it was a brilliant, strategic third person shooter which really looked the part and did a pretty good job of setting the scene.

[shirubagan]

2014 so far...

JANUARY
Jetpack Joyride (Vita) // Jet Set Radio HD (Vita) // Hotline Miami (Vita) // Guacamelee! (Vita)
Kirby's Adventure 3D (NES/3DS) // Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS)
Ridiculous Fishing (iOS)

FEBRUARY
Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo (3DS)
The Walking Dead Episodes 1-5 (Vita) // The Walking Dead 400 Days DLC (Vita)

MARCH
Batman Arkham City Armoured Edition (Wii U)
Halo 4 (360)
Battlefield 4 (PS4)

APRIL
LIMBO (Vita)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Wii U)

MAY
Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
Contrast (PS4) // Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (PS4)

JUNE -- nothing. MK8 and Battlefield Premium happened. Started Infamous: Second Son

JULY
Aliens: Infestation (DS) // Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Infamous: Second Son (PS4) // Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) - Fergus Timeline
Metal Slug Defence (iOS)
Swords & Soldiers HD (Wii U)

AUGUST
Monument Valley (iOS)
Blok Drop U (Wii U)
Stick it to the Man (PS4)

SEPTEMBER
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) // Abyss (Wii U) // Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

OCTOBER

Guacamelée Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4) -- Even better than the original and worth going for a second time round.

Liberation Maiden (3DS) -- Third play through: 93% Public approval. The final boss is an utter bastard, but the game is great.

Currently playing:
Pikmin 3, Hyrule Warriors – Adventure Mode, DK: Tropical Freeze, NES Remix 1 & 2 (Wii U)
PS+, Driveclub, PvZGW, BF4 (PS4)
South Park: Stick of Truth, Dead Island, BF Bad Company 2 (360)

On hold: Wonderful 101 - Stages take too long, finding the time to commit to it is difficult

Abandoned

Zombi U - too difficult and random

Dynasty Warriors Next - too much content. Played 20+ hours and didn't feel like it was ever going to end, nor did I understand the story at all.

______________
2013 List

January -- Gunman Clive (3DS)
Crimson Shroud (3DS)

February -- Liberation Maiden (3DS)
Walking Dead Episode 1 (iOS)

March -- Wipeout 2097 (Vita)
Judge Dredd Vs Zombies (iOS)
Little Inferno (iOS)

April -- Code of Princess (3DS)

May -- Nothing. Monster Hunter got it's hooks in me.

June -- Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)

July -- Nowt

August -- Streetpass Squad (3DS)
New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)

September -- Ghostbusters (360)

October -- Nada

November -- Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS)
Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Wii U)

December -- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)
Tearaway (Vita)
Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (Wii U)
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies Special Case (3DS)
Streetpass Battle (3DS)

[Clyde]

Destiny.

It may be an online game that has a lot of content beyond the main campaign but I'm counting it! A fun game but I lost interest in the story very early in the game. I didn't really bother finishing it since you can do anything else without finishing the main story, but I'm someone that doesn't like leaving the main campaign unfinished and with Watch Dogs being delivered soon, I decided to get it done.

[Treble]

03/01/2014 - Dishonored ( PC )

20/01/2014 - Crysis 3 ( PC )

28/01/2014 - The Call of the Fireflies ( PC )

15/02/2014 - Dead Space ( PC )

21/02/2014 - To the Moon ( PC )

02/03/2014 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ( 3DS )

22/03/2014 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ( PS3 )

29/03/2014 - Dragon's Crown ( Vita)

07/04/2014 - Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast ( PC )

05/06/2014 - Killzone Mercenary ( Vita)

20/06/2014 - Super Mario 3D World ( Wii U )

20/07/2014 - Race the Sun ( PC )

20/07/2014 - Hawken ( PC )

20/07/2014 - Destiny Beta - 8 hours played ( PS3 )

08/09/2014 - Resident Evil ( GC )

12/09/2014 - Resident Evil 0 ( GC )

14/09/2014 - Gone Home ( PC )

17/10/2014 - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ( PC )

22/10/2014 - The Stanley Parable ( PC )

I know, three walk 'em ups in a row, right? Well, not quite. I'm still reproductive organs-deep in Hyrule Warriors but haven't yet quite polished it off. Also got NSMBU on the go and Bayo 1&2 queued. That'll offset the massive number of art-wank games I've chugged through in 2014!

I'd rank Gone Home and Stanley as my joint favourite games of their type... Stanley maybe edging it as it's just fucking bonkers and completely unique. Ethan is less successful - it takes the Dear Esther template and moves it forward a tad (more puzzles, for one) and looks absolutely amazing but its environmental puzzles aren't a patch on those in the (totally free) Call of the Fireflies. Definitely feels more like a concept than a fleshed-out experience, and the tenner I paid feels quite steep. Still highly recommended though. Those backdrops, man... they're the future.

[Quest]

Finished that there Borderlands 2 and rather liked it, I did. Will have a wee break before tackling the season pass DLC.

October 24th: Borderlands 2 (360) - Really loved this, even playing it solo throughout. I found the original a little undercooked, a little repetitive, but this one just kept throwing fun in front of the player constantly. Some of the quests are blatant padding, the vehicle handling is pretty horrible and once again I could do without the nerdy 'reference' humour, but generally found this really compelling.

October 10th: Heavy Rain (PS3) - I actually really enjoyed the first half of Beyond: Two Souls until it flew off the rails. This one goes the opposite way and does its best to recover from an abysmal, embarassing opening. I can see what this was trying to do and I'm actually quite keen to see how these narrative experience evolve, but I found most of this poorly written, directed and generally quite boring.

October 3rd: Joe Danger (Vita) - Has a nice, tactile, compulsive feel to it. Shame it only really presents a challenge when going for the pro medals. Individual standard medal challenges just feel like going through the motions, and the scoring system feels too easy to exploit.

September 30th: Frobisher Says (Vita) - Been dabbling with this and the DLC since getting a Vita and it's fun enough for what it is. Basic Warioware-style micro-games that use the Vita's various functions.

September 28th: Resident Evil 6 (PS3) - An absolute mess of a game, but I still managed to get through every campaign. Not sure why, really, other than that I used to adore Resident Evil games. So many poorly implemented and pointless excursions into QTE setpiece nonsense. Capcom need to take a long hard look at what made this series enjoyable, because they've lost their way. Reminds me of Lost Planet 2's bloat and general inability to excecute its ideas in anything other than a frustrating, awkward fashion.

September 24th: Puppeteer (PS3) Reminded me a lot of Dynamite Headdy. A solid, enjoyable and lovingly presented game. It's well behind recent Rayman games and Nintendo's stuff in terms of pure platforming, but all the mechanics tie together pretty well. Shame the head-swapping gimmick is really superficial.

September 24th: Proteus (PS3) - Was wandering around, finding this nice enough but a bit underwhelming and then it suddenly started to give me the damn shivers. Weirdly atmospheric in a way that's hard to describe, so I won't.

September 21st: Grand Theft Auto V (PS3) - Nothing to say that hasn't beeen said a million times. It's the sheer detail and cratmanship of it that impresses, really. It's still struggling with the controls and I wish you could grab people/objects and have more physical interactions with the world, but it never felt truly lacking. Worth the money just for the radio stations, if you ask me. Online refuses to work here in China, unlike most PSN stuff, which is a shame.

August 1st: God of War III (PS3) - Aside from a few spectacular, stand-out boss fights, this may as well have been PS2 game. The combat is functional but dated, the graphics are nice but feel very much like looking at an elaborate diorama, and there's a frustrating amount of padding. Maybe I'll prefer Ascension.

July 27th: Killzone 2 (PS3) - Paint-by-numbers FPS. Looks impressive for a game that's about six years old now, but does absolutely nothing interesting. Shooting is solid enough, AI is fine, but it's bafflingly mediocre for a big budget first party title. Why is the level design so pedestrian? Why is the player character so short? Why would anyone care about this game?

July 22nd: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) - Found the first few hours of this really weak. Treacle-paced and fragmented, with loads of weak puzzles and tepid action sequences. If this series is going to be a linear spectacle it may as well do it with some gusto, which thankfully it starts to do in the latter half. The things I disliked in the first two games are all there, though. Armoured-up bullet sponges, poorly designed arenas, wooly aiming, auto climbing. The fact that Naughty Dog persist with the whole running-into-the-camera nonsense is fucking ridiculous, too. It's all nicely presented, though, I'll give it that.

July 15th: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360) - It's not bad, but the story mode felt a bit lifeless and lacking in challenge. The excuse for tracking through the same environments three times felt flimsy and clichéd, and it failed to evoke the creepiness of Wake's main game. Arcade action mode seems fine but having to unlock weapons through the campaign collectathon turned me off.

July 11th: Motorstorm RC (Vita) - Furiously addictive little game. Wish it didn't dangle DLC stuff in your face all the time but it's no biggie. Rinsed through the main game and will eventually get around to doing everything, but I'm done for now.

July 3rd: LocoRoco (PSP) - A few hours of squishy-squashy joy. I have no problem with games that are tactile audio-visual delights more than they are mechanically deep. The flaws are there in the controls, which I found myself fighting during the more fiddly platforming sections, and the idea of replaying every level over and over to collect everything fills me with dread, but as a one-shot playthrough it was a lovely.

June 30th: Muramasa Rebirth (Vita) - Beautiful-looking and frequently thrilling game with solid combat mechanics. The story is weak but the translators have done their best with what was given to them, with some genuinely surprising and funny lines.

June 26th: Sound Shapes (Vita) - Found it a bit of a disappointment, really, but that might be my own fault. I thought the music would respond to the way I played, but really it's just triggering stuff in a linear way. That's fine but not terribly exciting. It does look and sound bloody lovely, though. The Jim Guthrie/Superbrothers levels are particularly wonderful. Level editor seems pretty decent and the community have made some nice stuff, I just don't have time for all that is all.

June 21st: Pixeljunk Shoter Ultimate (Vita) - A well-balanced, varied game that surprised me with how many little ideas it had. The fluid physics are impressive, while the visuals are simple but appealing and very readable. The only major issue was that sometimes an enemy would fly into me from the side of the screen with no warning, just as I was about to finish a level. Great game, though.

June 15th: Gravity Rush (Vita) - A beautiful little gem of a game. It doesn't do anything outrageously new, nor does it do everything perfectly, but it's one of the few open world-ish games in recent years that's captivated me enough to finish all the side quests. I dunno how long I spent just shifting around the city, freefalling and catching myself at the last minute. It's so relaxing. Made with love, this one.

June 14th: Hotline Miami (Vita) - Played this ages ago on my laptop, but it buggy as fuck. This was much better, and surprisngly well suited to the Vita's controls. It's just ridiculously satisying kicking down doors and fucking up everyone's day, and in such a perfectly gross, bleary, nauseating world.

May 24th: Prototype 2 (360) - The pinnacle of the smash-the-crap-out-of-everything open world games, at least as far as I've played. Takes the template of the first, fixes some of the frustrations like being attacked from off screen all the time and lets you run riot. Story is bobbins but it rattles along at a fair clip so it hardly matters. Surprisingly good looking, too.

May 20th: Asura's Wrath (360) - QTEs annoy the shit out of me when they're thrown into the likes of Halo 4 for no particular reason, but often find myself letting it go if the game is built around them. I had a lot of time for From Software's Ninja Blade and this isn't too dissimilar, really. Basic action game scrapping, big QTEs and dumb set pieces. It's a flawed curio for sure, but there's something hilarious about millions being spent on this barely interactive vanity project in which a a man has a hissy fit every three minutes and punches everything to bits.

May 19th: Rock of Ages (360) - A decent game, but one that needed a bit more work to really make the most of the concept. I always felt too rushed to strategise in any meaningful way between rounds, so I'd end up randomly chucking towers around so I could get the next boulder rolling. Still, it's unique in its presentation and I had a few hours of fun with it. Not too shabby at all.

May 10th: Kentucky Route Zero: Act III (PC) - It's just so eerily evocative of... something. One of the few games with a genuine sense of mystery to it. All you really do is colour the story as you go through, but it's so confident in taking its time, letting you bathe in its oddness, that it doesn't matter. There's one scene in this act that is among the best I've ever experienced. Lovely.

May 8th: Syndicate (PS3) - Nowt much to do with the old games, but that doesn't bother me much. Seems like they just tacked the name on to a typical Starbreeze shooter about half way through development or something. It has that really physical brutality that they're so good at, and using the active reload mechanic from Gears as an attack is pretty neat, but it's otherwise really forgettable. Oh, and the bloom is bloody ridiculous.

May 6th: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) - So much better than the first game it's unreal. Everything polished until it gleams, few bullshit instadeaths out of nowhere and some damn fine set-pieces. It's such a shame I find Drake one of the most repellent characters ever created, as the game seems to think he's charming or something.

May 4th: Rayman Legends (PS3) - Absolutely bloody pristine platforming. The only one in recent years that's come even close to Nintendo's best. Such a shame this seems to have sold fuck all, because it feels so well crafted.

April 29th: Saints Row: The Third (PS3) - Steamed through the story missions, couldn't be arsed with the filler. This is true of most open world games for me, these days, so it's no big deal. Though much of the zany American humour fell flat for me, I bloody loved the main missions and found the game full of so many satisfying little moments, like jumping straight off the side of the penthouse, parachuting at the last second and then bombing through the windscreen to pinch a car. Feels good, man.

April 24th: Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - It's a bit of a mess, there are too many cut-scenes, too many turret sections, the bosses aren't as good as they should be and it all feels a little bit archaic BUT... I bloody love Metal Gear games.. I like tinkering with them, finding the little quirks they've included if you play around with the items and enemies. I'd take a lesser Kojima Metal Gear over your standard action fodder any day. It's really no Snake Eater, though.

April 21st: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) - Pretty much hated the first half of this. Stiff, dull combat with the occasional bit of automatic jumping, interrupted only by something popping up and killing me out of nowhere or Drake completely failing to do what I asked. The plots not even very good, really, and I was lead to believe was quite well done. Picks up the pace a bit in the latter half but even then it felt a bit shonky. Everyone says the sequels are better though. We'll see.

March 27th: Noby Noby Boy (PS3) - Daft little toy thing, but I found myself messing around with it for way longer than expected. Rough around the edges but really charming and amusing at times. Controls are mental, though.

March 27th: Guacamelee (PS3) - Really nicely drawn and concise Metroidvania with nifty combat. Didn't really notice the difficulty spikes I'd read about, just had to watch the attack patterns of some of the later bosses. Could've done without the naff memes and games references scattered about, but you can't have everything I suppose. I had a really enjoyable couple of evenings with this.

March 25th: Flower (PS3) - Looks like a fabric softener advert and the music is occasionally a bit 'early-90s motivational video', so why is this so bloody lovely? I dunno, but it is. Relaxing in a way that games so rarely attempt, let alone achieve. Kinda wish it wouldn't grab the camera to show something happening when you're mid-'flow', but it's no biggie.

March 24th: Flow (PS3) - A pretty mesmerising experience while it lasted, and I'm glad they were smart enough not to drag it out longer than the concept deserved. Enjoyed one of the later creature that had me dashing around, gorging on other creatures in a ravenous blood-lust.

March 24th: Rain (PS3) - A simple, slight but very charming little game in which you find yourself visible only under rainfall whilst evading a seemingly immortal monster. There's nothing mechanically original about it, and the presentation is a little cloying at times, but it all hangs together very well. Reminded me of Clock Tower for some reason.

March 21st: Killer is Dead (PS3) - By the numbers Grasshopper, really, which is bit of a disappointment as I usually love their games. The combat is simple yet satisfying, but it lacks the madcap daftness of Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned for which I forgave those games their flaws. Here, it's disjointed action vignettes punctuated by self-consciously zany cut-scenes, when really I yearned for Killer7's pervasive weirdness. Gigolo missions seem more like clumsily executed Bond parody than works of outright misogyny they've been reported as, but are still boring and unnecessary. Bosses were mad fun, though.

March 17th: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut (PS3) - An enjoyable game. Nice to play something that lets you play at your own pace, even if it does feel like you're faffing about when the narrative is telling you to hurry the fuck up. Mass Effect has the same problem, though. Good things: Enjoyable stealth, interesting upgrades, decent dialogue, looks pretty nice. Bad things: Bosses are shit, ropey cut-scenes, repetitive hacking and locations, meandering plot. A solid foundation for a follow up, I reckon.

March 10th: Tomb Raider (PS3) - Does so many things well yet disappoints equally. There's a better, more open and more ambitious game in there, somewhere. The entire hunting/camping/crafting side of things has little to no underlying systems yet feel like they should, while the traversal is slick but streamlined to the point of being inconsequential. Combat is satisfying due to the auto-cover and the wonderful bow and shotgun, but the arc of 'traumatised by first self-defence kill' to 'wiped out about a thousand guys because survival' feels really weird and gross. Could've done with cutting out about half of the enemies and going for more abandoned spaces. Still, the animation is lovely, I found the plot engagingly silly for most of it and the soundtrack is some primitive Einsturzende Neubauten industrial thing in places. Highs and lows.

March 5th: LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) - An under-appreciated game, I feel. It loses some of ModNation's more unique approach to kart racing but gains the vastly more appealing world and powerful creation tools of LBP. A fair trade, I reckon. Inherits some of LBP's woolliness in the controller response, which is a shame, but the story mode was pretty enjoyable throughout. Some really neat community levels to mess around in, too.

March 3rd: Journey (PS3) - ...aaaand from the ridiculous to the utterly sublime. A stunning work, it really is. Visually it's along the lines of Gwen, ou le Livre de Sable or some of Moebius' desert vistas, which would probably be enough for me. The fact that it's also a brilliant, brilliant game is the most wonderful bonus. The feeling of companionship you have with other players is genuine but also really difficult to explain, as is the rather odd sensation of loss when you lose someone. I won't go into more detail for fear of spoiling it, but it's one of the only games that I would consider perfect.

March 3rd: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) - I don't really mind these narrative experiences and I thought the initial third of the game was pretty great, to be honest. Genuinely enjoyed some of the sequences in which you're on the run. Then it flies off the rails and never recovers, mostly through bad writing, but the gameplay, as flimsy as it is to begin with, never really evolves at all. Oh, and they do that thing where they put a bunch of racial caricatures in a game and then invent a country in an attempt to make it all okay. Fuck off.

Feb 28th: XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PS3) - Favourite thing I've played all year, this. Played Normal Ironman a found it just wonderfully absorbing and utterly gutting when you'd lose a long-serving squad member. A few technical problems with the camera but nothing too distracting. Heading back in soon for another run...

Feb 21st: FTL (PC) - Put about ten hours in and probably done with this. Utterly and completely absorbing while its charms lasted, but the randomness of it just wore me out after a while. Nothing wrong with it, as the brutality is the nature of the thing, but I just don't have the will continue.

Feb 21st: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 (360) - A bit flat and lifeless, this episode. Minimal interaction even by Telltale standards and few decisions seems to be of real consequence. Hopefully it picks up again. Still bloody love the score.

Feb 15th: Bioshock Infinite (PS3) - I loved it. It would've been nice to have a few more open arenas and a little more response from the enemies when you hit them, but I don't get the harsh criticisms of the combat. Swinging around on the skyrails was endless fun, bounding off and chucking some vigors all over the shop I found some of the old ultra-violence a bit off, but it's a small matter. More than anything I admire its ambition, and Levine done good in my book.

Feb 11th: Metro: Last Light (PS3) - I absolutely loved this, if for nothing other than the atmosphere and sense of place. I do have a weakness for grim Russian apocalypses and atomic mysticism, though. There are faults, like the overpowered stealth, linearity and abundance of supplies, but it all came together well. Would appreciate more freedom to wander the surface in a follow-up. Here's hoping.

Feb 8th: Remember Me (PS3) - A game of linear traversal and simple, satisfying combat. Punctuated nicely by the memory remixes, which were interesting even though they failed to live up to their potential. Other than that, I enjoyed the story, found it looked spectacular throughout and thought it had some neat ideas (like the customisable combo strings).

Jan 29th: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360) - The story was jingoistic rambling nonsense, and half the game felt like a tutorial for multiplayer or something, but it perked up once it let you have some freedom. Nice to see a game that accommodates different strategies, if only in certain sections.

Jan 27th: Shoot Many Robots (360) - Abandoning this but I kinda consider it finished as I've almost certainly seen everything it has to offer. Generic 2D run-and-gunner with an admirable number of levels and upgrades but a woeful lack of variety throughout. Boring.

Jan 27th: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (360) - A somewhat confused but heartfelt 80s pastiche. I reckon I'd have preferred it if they'd played it straight, to be honest. Could've done without the lazy internet meme humour, too. Enjoyed the boosted pace and lack of fall damage but wish they hadn't walled-off the bases as it seemed to limit the ways in which you could approach them. Feels like an idea that could be better fleshed out with a sequel, though.

Jan 27th: You Will Die Alone At Sea (PC) - Spend a minute floating in a red wireframe ocean, doing nowt. I have a fair tolerance for pointless indie curios but this does nothing and says nothing. At least has the decency to so succinctly.

Jan 25th: The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 (360) - An intriguing story, remarkably well executed visually, with a neatly understated synth-pulse of a score. I was bound to like this. I see the recent Telltale games more like choose-your-own-adventure books than the point-and-clicks of the past, and enjoy them on those terms. Besides, I always hated the obtuse puzzles of most adventure games so I'm glad those are out.

Jan 24th: Spec Ops: The Line (360) - By-the-numbers gameplay that disguises (or allows for) a surprisingly subversive take on the strange appeal that video game conflict has to so many. Or at least, that's how I read it. The execution is a little uneven but it's encouraging to see a big budget title try to tackle these things.

Jan 18th: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (360) - Not a bad take on the 2D Castlevania formula. Having three playable characters might have been more interesting if they'd had significantly different weapons and move sets, and I wish they'd gone with the art style in the cut-scenes, but the combat was pretty decent. Story is too boring to mention in any detail.

Jan 14th: Deadlight (360) - This has possibly the worst writing and voice acting I've encountered in a long, long while, along with too much trial-and-error bullshit and inexplicably unresponsive controls. The last one isn't too much of an issue when the game lets you move around at your own pace, but once it starts expecting you to perform flawlessly at speed the game falls apart. A shame because there's a decent contemporary Flashback-style platformer in there, somewhere.

Jan 14th: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360) - Curious little game with some neat, simplistic ideas coming and going before outstaying their welcome. Wasn't convinced the storytelling was much more than a generic mishmash of over-familiar fairy tales, but it was enjoyable enough.

Jan 13th: Halo 4 (360) - Really, really enjoyed this, but I always enjoy Halo. Nothing drastically different and sometimes there's nothing wrong with that. I had certain problems with the Prometheans, as I always seemed to end up fighting them in much the same way, but nothing that can't be ironed out in the next one.

Jan 6th: Outland (360) - Love the animation and fluidity of movement in general. Probably could've done with a heavier emphasis on the Metroidvania side of things and I almost lost patience with the final boss, but a solid, enjoyable game.

Jan 4th: A Dark Room (Browser) - Finished in the sense that I got bored of waiting for something interesting to happen. Not even sure if there is an ending. I'm not averse to text-based games but there are better uses of my time than watching numbers go up, waiting for a smidgen of revealing information somewhere down the line.

Jan 3rd: Night Rider Turbo (Browser) - Basically EnviroBear 2000: Operation Hibernation with an 80s vibe. Pretty funny for a few minutes.

Jan 2nd: Peggle Nights (360) - It's more Peggle. Nowt more to add, really.

Jan 2nd: I Am Alive (360) - It tried hard, but ended up being a pretty hollow experience. Archaic in most areas and the combat never really lived up to its potential. I liked that climbing actually a required a bit of thought and effort, though.

Jan 1st: Dishonored (360) - Beautiful, fascinating and a bit flawed. Felt it gave you a vast arsenal of stuff for a chaotic play-through but was lacking interesting stealth options. Probably still one of my most enjoyed games of recent years.

[Jolly]

2014 so far...

14/01/14 - Need for Speed: Rivals (PS4)

29/01/14 - Playstation Allstars Battle Royale (Vita)

30/01/14 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

09/02/14 - OlliOlli (Vita)

23/02/14 - Unit 13 (Vita)

05/03/14 - Outlast (PS4)

09/03/14 - Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

19/03/14 - 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (DS)

02/04/14 - TxK (Vita)

06/04/14 - Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

30/04/14 - Batman: Arkham Origins (Wii U)

08/05/14 - Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F (Vita)

27/05/14 - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

24/06/14 - Entwined (PS4)

25/06/14 - Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PS4)

03/07/14 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)

10/07/14 - Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

14/07/14 - Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)

10/08/14 - Mercenary Kings (PS4)

12/08/14 - The Swapper (PS4)

16/08/14 - Metrico (Vita)

22/09/14 - Diablo III (PS4)

01/10/14 - Velocity 2X (PS4)

10/10/14 - Thomas Was Alone (Vita)

25/10/14 - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita)

This series is frustrating me a bit because it's so close to greatness. The mini games in the trials and some of the writing is just a bit too clunky for it to be considered a classic. But what it does well; humour, twists, character and sheer wtf-ness, it does very well indeed. Probably just about preferred the first, but keep 'em coming. They're going to knock it out of the park eventually.

Currently playing

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Pix the Cat (PS4 )

The Evil Within (PS4)

[Unofficial Who]

October

26/10 Valiant Hearts:the Great War (360) I think this worked a lot better than Child of Light. Design wise it reminded me a lot of 'arcade adventures' that you used to get on the 8 bit machines. This hit the mark that Ocean's Platoon was trying to hit almost two decades ago. It's short but highly recommended.

06/10 Iron Fisticle (PC) One of the best twin stick shooters I've played in ages. It looks like an Amiga game and plays like a cross between Robotron and Rogue. Highly recommended.

September

19/09 Diablo 3:Reaper of Souls

15/09 Eternal Sonata (360)

14/09 L.A. Noire (PC)

07/09 Saint's Row the Third (360)

August

26/08 Depression Quest (PC)

24/08 Lee-Lee's Quest 2 (Flash)

23/08 Alice:Madness Returns (360)

10/08 The Plan (PC)

10/08 Mark of the Ninja (and DLC) (PC)

04/08 Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)

03/08 Thief (PC)

July

03/07 Dr Who:the Gunpowder Plot (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Shadows of the Vashta Nerada (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Tardis (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Blood of the Cybermen (PC)

June

30/06 Dr Who:City of the Daleks (PC)

30/06 Muri (PC)

30/06 The Yawhg (PC)

23/06 Jetpack Joyride (iOS)

22/06 Samorost (Browser)

11/06 Ending (iOS)

10/06 Child of Light (360)

09/06 Superfrog HD (PC)

09/06 Bulletstorm (PC)

01/06 DiRT 3 (PC)

May

27/05 Lili:Child of Geos (PC)

24/05 Stranded (PC)

24/05 Red Faction:Guerrilla (PC)

April

30/04 Bioshock Infinite:Clash in the Clouds (PC)

27/04 Call of Juarez:Gunslinger (PC)

24/04 Bioshock Infinite (PC)

18/04 Finn and Jake's Epic Quest (PC)

11/04 Bioshock Infinite:Burial at Sea (PC)

March

30/03 Remember Me (PC)

28/03 Beautiful Katamari (360)

09/03 Jazzpunk (PC) (360)

08/03 Assassin's Creed:Liberation (360)

Febuary

17/02 Assassin's Creed 3 (and DLC) (360)

11/02 Botanicula (PC)

10/02 Saint's Row 4 (PC)

January

30/01 Saint's Row the Third (PC)

26/01 Broken Age:Act 1(PC)

14/01 Wake (PC)

08/01 Syder Arcade (PC)

07/01 Ducktales Remastered (PC)

04/01 Diablo 3 (360)

[Jamie John]

October

Final Fantasy IX (VITA)

The first game I've completed in two whole months, but that's what starting a new job does to you, I guess.

Back in the early noughties, this was my favourite game of all time, and since then I've started but not completed it half a dozen times. Playing it again recently, I realised that the reason why I started it but then just left it so many times before was because the best part of the game is easily the first disc and a half, which is twice as charming and engaging as the twenty-five hours or so that follow. It's testament to the oft-mentioned portability and accessibility of the Vita that I decided to keep going with it until the very end, even if I did just skim-read a lot of the dialogue from about half way onwards (or that dialogue which involved the convoluted and naff storyline, anyway).

In many ways, 13 years since its release, it's difficult to decide whether to recommend it or not. The random battles are frequent, interruptive and slow to load up; the aforementioned story becomes generic and boring by the second disc; and the game's biggest side-quest (the Chocobo 'Hot & Cold' game, through which you get the best equipment) is irritating, repetitive and too dependent on luck (I didn't bother with it very much at all this time around, despite getting the golden chocobo back in 2001). On the other hand, the pre-rendered backgrounds are still beautiful (see this fantastic GAF thread) and many of the FMV cut-scenes are spectacular; some of the interactions between characters (mostly those that involve either Steiner or Quina) are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny; Lindblum is probably the best town I've ever encountered in an RPG; and you can easily complete the game without having to grind at all, as long as you don't run away from enemies.

If you haven't played it before, I'd stay it still holds up and is well worth the £3 or so you can pick it up for in the PSN sales. If you have played it before, and enjoyed it, like me, I'd say tread a bit more carefully, as even though I don't regret replaying it, once you get over the nostalgia it does take a degree of patience to see through to the end; had I not had it on the Vita, I doubt I would have stuck with it.

January

GTA V (story mode)
Brothers

February

Catherine
Picked up for less than a tenner in the Live sale. Generally a good game that made me laugh out loud at several points but which lagged a bit in the middle. I started on Normal but after getting stuck after about two hours in, running out of lives and constantly having to reload the game from the title screen (infuriating, by the way, and telling of some seriously overlooked game design), I started again on Easy. This proved a good move because even on the lowest difficulty I had to YouTube a few of the later levels (although I don't tend to play puzzle games so a more au fait player probably would have persevered). The block puzzles themselves were a mixed bunch, sometimes satisfying when you could sort of see what you had to do and were able to develop a path accordingly, but sometimes annoying, too, dependent on luck and the creation of a path seemingly entirely by accident.

I'd recommend it for the dark comedy and the imaginative bosses, but am glad I didn't pay any more for it than I did. If I ever do go back to it it'll be to have a crack at the Coliseum mode, not to replay the story for a different ending.

The Walking Dead, Season 1, Episode 1
Nearly two years late to the party with this one, and the first 'interactive narrative' game I've played probably since Fahrenheit on PS2. All the same, this was a very enjoyable four-hour slice of intense, interesting gaming entertainment. The voice-acting is superb, and I think the choice on the part of the developers to make the game cel-shaded allows the various characters' facial expressions and assorted emotions to really come through, more so than had the character models been rendered in the usual 3D (and, obviously, the cel-shaded look stays faithful to the franchise's comic book/graphic novel origins). Best of all, however, the game was free! I'm now currently debating whether to buy the remainder of the episodes via LIVE at about £4.00 each or pick up the GOTY edition. Either way I'll definitely be coming back to see what happens next before long.

March

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Finished the co-op single-player last night with my better half. Good fun, especially considering the game was free. It only caused about six or seven domestics, too, so I'll be looking to pick up more co-op games in the future . We played it on easy, and apart from towards the end where she got a bit flustered, it wasn't too frustrating a game to play with a non-gamer. If you're looking to do co-op on it, though, I'd recommend that the more experienced person play as Totec and the newbie play as Lara, because Totec seems to be the one required to do all the more precise movements to solve the puzzles, which my missus (seeing as she had trouble getting Lara to walk in a straight line, bless her) would have struggled to do. I'll definitely come back to it at some point on a solo run to pick up all the things we missed/ do all the challenges (some of which look quite tricky).

April

Dark Souls 2
Very good, but me being a knob and using the guide when I shouldn't have stopped it from being great. I've posted my full impressions in the DkSII thread.

Spec Ops: The Line
I mopped this up of an evening recently after putting it on a hold for a month while playing DkSII. Despite there being little difference in the map layouts and enemy types throughout, not to mention the gameplay generally, I still enjoyed this - the gun mechanics were suitably meaty and the package overall was well done. I appreciated the story's ambition and some of the images had the effect of being truly unsettling, which made up for the odd occasion when I think the writers overdid 'the horror, the horror' elements a little bit. I was also sufficiently gullible not to see the twists in the narrative coming, which was nice. A good game, especially seeing as I got it for free in the Xbox Live games with gold thing.

May

Papers, Please (PC)

Having got to the last day and seen about half the endings, plus most of the best bits, I'm classing this as 'finished' for the time being. I thought it was brilliant throughout for the same reasons that many, many others have touted already. Superb. Play it now, if you haven't already.

*****

Tomb Raider (360)

I thought this was very good. It's probably the best presented game I've played on my 360, and while a lot of that had to do with things like the lighting, textures and surface detail, what I thought was really impressive was how well Lara was animated and how she reacted so believeably to her enviroment. I spent most of the game walking, not running, and panning the camera every which way, just so I could take more of everything in. The way that the game's copious cutscenes were integrated seamlessly into the gameplay is also something that other games should look to copy. Had there had been loading screens every time a cutscene was due it would have made the game annoyingly bitty, but as it was it never felt like the cutscenes were getting in the way of the gameplay, and on the contrary they added to the blockbuster-ness of everything. The cutscenes also serve to disguise the loading times fautlessly, meaning that (until you come to fast travel between maps later in the game) you never see a loading screen.

I think that what stopped it from being great was what many others have commented on: the disparity between how the game wants you to see Lara - as a naive, scared and lost twenty-one year old - and how Lara actually is - by the game's end, a ruthlessly genocidal one-woman army with the superhuman ability to withstand a plethora of falls, gunshots and grevious injuries. I knew that this was going to be the case going into the game, having read reviews, so to some extent I was prepared for it and was able to suspend my disbelief well enough. What I found entirely ridiculous, however, was the bit about two-thirds in [very mild spoiler] where you have to traverse a cliff-side using your bare hands, disembowel a nine-foot armoured enemy and travel to the lower decks of a sinking ship in search of some tools for an NPC so that the story can progress. I was expecting these to be a set of highly specialist, multi-headed futuristic omni-tools after the effort it took to get to them. Instead you receive a spanner and a screwdriver. You then have to re-traverse the cliff-side to get back to the aforementioned NPC, on the way passing countless other shipwrecks, storage containers and ruined dockyard buildings, any of which could quite feasibly contain a toolbox much nearer to the NPC's original location.

Hmm.

But still, a few narrative foibles aside, the whole experience is supremely slick and quite enjoyable if you don't mind a very low level of challenge and just want something pretty to look at while not having to concentrate too much. Perfect post-Dark Souls 2 fare, then.

****

The Walking Dead Season One: Episodes 2-5 (360)

More or less brilliant, from start to finish. Entirely engaging and with a moral system that does actually affect the way the game plays out on more than a superficial level. Completing episode five late last night,

Spoiler

I've got 400 Days on my hardrive, waiting to be played, but I think I'll do my best to wait until all the Season Two episodes are out before I dive back in. Like with TV boxsets, I think these types of episodic games are best played in binges over the course of a fortnight as opposed to waiting for months between chapters. Hopefully TellTale will see to it that all the epsiodes are out by the end of the year...

*****

And that's 400 Days done. Vince's chapter was my favourite. Looking forward to Season 2!

June

I've just this minute finished watching the end credits on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS).

This was sublime more or less the entire way through. I would occasionally get frustrated in a couple of the dungeons mid-game, when it felt like I was getting mullered from all angles and getting pushed off platforms (especially by the Keese, which are still the most annoying fucking enemies in games ever), but I more or less forgot to use my shield until the last dungeon, so that probably had something to do with the fact I was repeatedly getting my arse handed to me. Apart from that, though, I've very few complaints. The dungeons, bosses and music were all brilliantly done and (as you would expect) the whole game is impeccably designed.

I was also surprised at how the perspective you view the game from makes it feel like you're playing a shoot-em-up. A lot of the combat involves you trying to move into space in order to avoid enemy projectiles, and with no roll button, ducking and weaving out of the way before unleashing an AoE attack reminded me of playing something like Geometry Wars, especially in the Treacherous Tower.

Fantastic stuff.

*****

Hotline Miami (Vita)

I'm stopping playing this now. I've got all the trophies excepting the platinum and the one for getting A+ on all of the levels. I've got an A+ on all but three stages, but I'm finding that getting the last three is making me rage too much and I don't want to end up getting annoyed with the game. I'll likely leave it installed and keep on chipping away.

The game itself is very good, if you can deal with the frustration factor. It's almost always completely fair, however, and when you die (and you die a lot) you know its your fault. That doesn't stop you from making the same mistake another thirty times though...

It's got a great style and I'm looking forward to the sequel in a couple of months. The music's superb, too, as everyone says. I'd definitely recommend the Vita version over the PC, but it's a lot easier to play if you've got a grip for your Vita.

****

Fez (Vita)

Rinsed this for the platinum. Absolutely superb, the music, the puzzles, the ambience. It deserves to be played by everyone.

*****

July

Pullblox (3DS)

I've been playing this on and off for months now but tonight I finally did the last puzzle in the main game (this opened up a load of bonus stages, but I'll get round to them at some point). As someone who has very little patience for puzzle games, I thought this was superb. The learning curve is nigh-on perfect: every stage is challenging (some of the latter ones especially so - it was almost like I could feel my my brain whirring with a few of them) but they always give you somewhere to start from, and, as your skills slowly develop, you come to learn that if you just keep on going you'll eventually crack every stage, no matter how intimidating it looks to begin with. I only had to look up the solution to one of the puzzles towards the end, and as soon as I did I felt really annoyed with myself because the answer was so obvious and had I had been patient I would have got it. (Incidentally, all three of the five-star puzzles I found easier than a few of the four-star ones).

It's also a game that is perfectly suited to a handheld console as it benefits hugely from being played in short, 20-30 minute bursts. Often I'd turn the game off after being entirely stumped by a stage, only to come back a day later and see the solution in seconds. Perfect fare for commuting or for people who can only spare half an hour per day for gaming.

Is there any other puzzler out there which gets the learning curve as bang on as this does? I hear that Fallblox, the sequel, isn't quite as well-refined.

If you own a 3DS, go and buy this game now Mallo is also now my new favourite Nintendo character:

*****

I polished off Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS) last night. It's not without its flaws (these being a few overly-obscure puzzles that I had to look up, a reduced game to text ratio and the really, really annoying beeping noise that triggers every time someone speaks, which you can't turn off) and it's a bit Scooby Doo, but if you can get over the ludicrousness of everything then there's a lot to enjoy here. I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of its episodic format and playing it one episode at a time, with other games in between. I found that clicking through the reams and reams of text became tiresome and I started to think about playing something else where I was required to actually do a lot more, rather than just read and present the occasional piece of evidence; playing a different game in between episodes keeps things fresh. The game also lends itself to being played episodically as I found that it often gave me a brief recap of what had been happening previously at the start of each new episode anyway, and if you need more details then there's always WIkipedia.

It's also presented really well: the characters are expressive and well-animated and the sometimes twee, sometimes melodramatic music suits the tone of the game nicely. My favourite part of the whole thing was watching how the previously well-composed baddies became more and more dishevelled and hysterical as you shook them down.

****

Dishonored (360)

After a really promising start I don't think this managed to keep up the quality all the way through, but it's still a really good mash-up of HL2, Fallout, The Darkness and Bioshock that's well worth the £8 or so you can buy it for nowadays. I liked the game world particularly - Victorian sci-fi without being overly Steampunk - and enjoyed reading all the books about whaling and so on. I did an entirely non-lethal run (apart from apparently killing someone in the second mission, which stopped me from getting the achievement ) and I'll definitely be going back for another go where I get my hands dirty in a few games' time. Next time, however, I won't buy the power up that lets you see through walls as I thought it made things too easy towards the last few missions.

Unfortunately (and as seems par for the course with Bethesda games) I did encounter several bugs, the most annoying of which was this strange rushing/whirring noise playing on a loop in the background constantly for about two hours of play, no matter how many times I reloaded, which went as suddenly as it came. Also, during the mission where you have to crash the party, for some reason one of the Boyle sisters went into alert state every time she saw me, despite the fact that I was in disguise and no one else (including the guards) paid me any mind.

Still, Better Than Assassin's Creed IV/10.

August

Persona 4: Golden (Vita)

Superb, for the full 75 hours it lasted me. I'll be going back to Inaba again before too long. Full impressions in the Vita thread.

*****

Metrico (Vita)

Short, but sweet. Satisfying and unique puzzles that were let down by being a touch fiddly, at times, and more than one I'm pretty sure I managed to cheat my way through, or I certainly didn't solve it in the way the game intended, anyway. As Jolly's mentioned, the soundtrack can get annoying, but I'd definitely recommend playing it as the way the game makes use of the Vita's features I thought was unique and caused a big smile when they were revealed.

***

Gears of War 3 (360)

I played this on a whim after having it on my shelf for months and months, neglecting it while I was playing other things. As long as you're not expecting anything that will set the world alight, it's actually really quite good fun. The duck 'n' cover, over-the-shoulder gameplay is fluid and frustration-free; the different means you have of creatively mutilating your enemies are satisfying and...meaty; and the constant stream of set pieces are as delightfully bombastic and over-the-top as you would expect from the series. In my opinion, it's still nice to look at, too, even after the three years since its release, and you can tell that there was a lot of cash put into it to make it as blockbustery as possible. The storyline is immediately forgettable, but that's by the by. Overall, if you're looking for something cathartic that you don't really have to think about too much, you could do worse than buying this from CEX for a fiver.

Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)

I started off really enjoying this: the level design, the animation and the amount of detail in each room were impressive, and it was fun finding all the secrets and the different ways that you could interact with your environment. By the end, however, the enjoyably backtracking Metroidvania nature of it all had almost entirely faded and things had just become repetitive and linear. It seemed to suffer from several design problems, which I found especially jarring in a Nintendo game, as they're normally the best in the world at getting this aspect of games bang-on. (Looking at Wiki after I finished it, I've found that it's not first party, which explains a lot). As an example, once you get the final equipment upgrade (which I managed to do less than half-way through the game) there's no longer any clear incentive to continue poking and prodding into every nook and cranny for money, or unearthing the game's secrets. As such, I found myself rushing through the game's second half, whereas before it would regularly have taken me over five minutes to 'clear' each new room I entered. And while I enjoyed searching for the gems and the hidden Boos, there was no reward that I could see for finding them, either. The fact that if you missed a Boo or gem you had to restart the mission in order to acquire it, and then complete said mission once again, was also annoying; seeing as there was no incentive to go back and collect the gems/Boos, I just left them and moved on.

The 'mission' structure of the game, in general, where you have to return to the bunker every time, I thought was its biggest problem. The first game's structure (IIRC correctly - it is 13 years old, after all), where you had to get keys or do certain things to unlock areas of the mansion that you visited before but didn't have access to (like Metroid), made for a much more satisfying game, and had each area of this game followed the format of Luigi's Mansion 1, I think it would have resolved a lot of the issues I had with the sequel.

Still, if you get over its flaws then there is definitely some enjoyment to be had here, plus it's got nines and eights out of ten from most sources so you'd be better to make your own mind up.

Attack of the Friday Monsters (3DS)

This started off quite nicely as a sort of interactive Studio Ghibli film with plinky music and some pretty drawing. I think I must not have been paying attention, though, because for the last half an hour I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on, and then suddenly the credits were rolling. Very strange. Maybe something was lost in the translation, or maybe it's just me.

[Polmon]

Well, I was aiming to finish off the second and third Dark Souls 2 DLC entries, and Wonderful 101 in October before Bayonetta 2 landed. What happened instead is that I finished off the DS2 DLCs (both really good), and got halfway through Wonderful 101, before getting wrapped up in the hype for Shadow of Mordor, getting completely addicted to that and 100% completing it, just in time for Bayonetta 2. Poor old W101 - I'll be back one day, I promise.

I also managed to finish my first run through of Bayo 2 (fucking amazing) - still a lot more to do there though. And then there's the obligatory playthrough of Bayo 1 to do

2014 so far:

January

Mass Effect 3 (360)

Gunpoint (PC)

Gone Home (PC)

April

Dark Souls 2 (PS3)

May

Dark Souls 2 (PC)

Rayman Origins (PC)

Monkey Island 2 (360)

June

Botanicula (PC)

Thomas Was Alone DLC (PC)

The Blackwell Legacy (PC)

Proteus (PC)

July

Beneath a Steel Sky (PC)

Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea DLC (PC)

DmC: Devil May Cry (PS3)

Dark Souls 2: The Crown of the Sunken King DLC (PC)

August

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (PS3)

Resident Evil 6 (PC)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U)

Mega Man 2 (Wii U VC)

New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)

September

Planescape: Torment (PC)

The Wolf Among Us (PC)

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (PS3)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PC)

October

Dark Souls 2: The Crown of the Old Iron King

Dark Souls 2: The Crown of the Ivory King

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Bayonetta 2

[MTC]

Jamie Jon. I'm about to start playing FFIX myself; for the first time I should add. If you like PSONE RPGs give Breath of Fire 3 (PSP) a purchase on PSN and play it on the vita. I am about 30 hours in and it's definitely one of my all time favourite games. I did complete about 15 years ago and replaying it now after so long is great. I would stick it right up there with the other best known PSONE RPGs for sure.

[Chadruharazzeb]

January

Assassin's Creed IV (PS4)

Need for Speed Rivals (PS4)

February

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4)

March

South Park: The Stick Of Truth (PS3)

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

April

inFamous Second Son (PS4) - "Good" playthrough

May

inFamous Second Son (PS4) - "Evil" playthrough.

inFamous Second Son (PS4) - Expert playthrough (my first Platinum trophy!)

November

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordorroror (PS4) - Only got one side quest left which can wait.

I need to get Watch Dogs finished before FC4 comes out, god damn it.

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

So far...

Killzone: Shadow Fall - PS4.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - PC.

The Evil Within - PC.

Costume Quest 2 - PC.

Shadow of Mordor - PC.

The Last of Us Remastered - PS4

The Last of Us: Left Behind - PS4

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - PC.

Destiny - PS4.

Dead Rising 3 - PC.

Resistance 3 - PS3

Diablo 3 - PS3

Risen 3 - PC.

Kingdom Rush - PC.

Borderlands: Secret Armory of General Knoxx - PC.

A Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 - PC.

Too Human - 360.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - PC.

How to Survive - PC.

Murdered: Soul Suspect - PC.

Two Worlds 2: Pirates of the Flying Fortress - PC.

Lifeless Planet - PC.

Borderlands: Zombie Island of Dr Ned - PC.

Borderlands - PC.

Watch Dogs - PC.

Bound by Flame - PC.

Two Worlds 2 - PC.

Dark Souls - PC:

Singularity - PC.

Far Cry 3 - PC.

South Park: The Stick of Truth - PC.

Assassin's Creed 4 - Freedom Cry - PC.

Metro: Last Light - PC.

Rise of the Argonauts - PC.

Borderlands 2: Headhunter 1 - Bloody Harvest. - PC.

Lollipop Chainsaw - 360.

Assassin's Creed 3 - PC.

Risen 2 + DLC - PC.

Assassin's Creed Liberation HD - PC.

RAGE + The Scorchers DLC - PC.
The Stanley Parable - PC.

Lego Marvel Superheroes - PC.

[shirubagan]

2014 so far...

JANUARY

Jetpack Joyride (Vita) // Jet Set Radio HD (Vita) // Hotline Miami (Vita) // Guacamelee! (Vita)

Kirby's Adventure 3D (NES/3DS) // Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS)

Ridiculous Fishing (iOS)

FEBRUARY

Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo (3DS)

The Walking Dead Episodes 1-5 (Vita) // The Walking Dead 400 Days DLC (Vita)

MARCH

Batman Arkham City Armoured Edition (Wii U)

Halo 4 (360)

Battlefield 4 (PS4)

APRIL

LIMBO (Vita)

Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Wii U)

MAY

Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

Contrast (PS4) // Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (PS4)

JUNE -- nothing. MK8 and Battlefield Premium happened. Started Infamous: Second Son

JULY

Aliens: Infestation (DS) // Elite Beat Agents (DS)

Infamous: Second Son (PS4) // Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) - Fergus Timeline

Metal Slug Defence (iOS)

Swords & Soldiers HD (Wii U)

AUGUST

Monument Valley (iOS)

Blok Drop U (Wii U)

Stick it to the Man (PS4)

SEPTEMBER

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) // Abyss (Wii U) // Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

OCTOBER

Guacamelée Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4)

Liberation Maiden (3DS)

NOVEMBER

Bayonetta (Wii U) -- Never actually got round to playing it on 360, so this was a no-brainer. Rarely has a game made me feel both incredibly awesome and utterly fucking stupid, often within seconds of each other. At it's best, this is sublime, though for me hampered by a few too many unfair instant deaths and bastard hard bosses. However, nearing the end of the game and having actually bought some health from the shop, I got into the swing of things and started to get my timing up, combos up and not end up with stone awards at the end of each level. This screams "Play me again!" but I want to plough into Bayonetta 2 (don't we all) to continue the batshit mental story.

it deserves the high accolades, but you really need to put time into finding out a bit about the game first as it's just brutal.

Steamworld Dig (Vita) -- Completed in 6 hours, 50% of trophies. Of course I bought this the week before it went on PS+, but only payed £2.90 or something daft for what is a thoroughly excellent little game. Anyone with PS+ should play this for definite this month, then again so should anyone with Steam, Wii U or a 3DS for that matter.

Currently playing:

Pikmin 3, Hyrule Warriors Adventure Mode, DK: Tropical Freeze, NES Remix 1 & 2 (Wii U)

PS+, Driveclub, PvZGW, BF4 (PS4)

South Park: Stick of Truth, Dead Island, BF Bad Company 2, Vanquish (360)

Mario Golf, Super Smash Bros, Fantasy Life, Million other things (3DS)

Binding of Isaac, Steamworld Dig (Vita)

On hold: Wonderful 101 - Stages take too long, finding the time to commit to it is difficult

Abandoned

Zombi U - too difficult and random

Dynasty Warriors Next - too much content. Played 20+ hours and didn't feel like it was ever going to end, nor did I understand the story at all.

______________

2013 List

January -- Gunman Clive (3DS)

Crimson Shroud (3DS)

February -- Liberation Maiden (3DS)

Walking Dead Episode 1 (iOS)

March -- Wipeout 2097 (Vita)

Judge Dredd Vs Zombies (iOS)

Little Inferno (iOS)

April -- Code of Princess (3DS)

May -- Nothing. Monster Hunter got it's hooks in me.

June -- Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)

Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)

July -- Nowt

August -- Streetpass Squad (3DS)

New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)

September -- Ghostbusters (360)

October -- Nada

November -- Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS)

Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Wii U)

December -- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)

Tearaway (Vita)

Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (Wii U)

Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies Special Case (3DS)

Streetpass Battle (3DS)

[Jolly]

2014 so far...

14/01/14 - Need for Speed: Rivals (PS4)

29/01/14 - Playstation Allstars Battle Royale (Vita)

30/01/14 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

09/02/14 - OlliOlli (Vita)

23/02/14 - Unit 13 (Vita)

05/03/14 - Outlast (PS4)

09/03/14 - Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

19/03/14 - 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors (DS)

02/04/14 - TxK (Vita)

06/04/14 - Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

30/04/14 - Batman: Arkham Origins (Wii U)

08/05/14 - Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F (Vita)

27/05/14 - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

24/06/14 - Entwined (PS4)

25/06/14 - Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PS4)

03/07/14 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)

10/07/14 - Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

14/07/14 - Beyond: Two Souls (PS3)

10/08/14 - Mercenary Kings (PS4)

12/08/14 - The Swapper (PS4)

16/08/14 - Metrico (Vita)

22/09/14 - Diablo III (PS4)

01/10/14 - Velocity 2X (PS4)

10/10/14 - Thomas Was Alone (Vita)

25/10/14 - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Vita)

10/11/14 - Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Never anything less than absolutely fucking incredible. Manages to surpass the first for me by trimming all the fat. Even the story ain't too bad considering Platinum's usual standards. I really, really love this game. Really.

Currently playing

The Binding of Issac (PS4)

The Evil Within (PS4)

[Clyde]

I haven't posted in this thread in a while but I have been keeping my list updated. This is what it looks like at the moment.

JANUARY

03.01.14 - Tearaway (PS Vita) *06.01.14 - 100% Completion; Platinum Trophy

07.01.14 - Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

08.01.14 - The Last Express (PC)

09.01.14 - Guacamelee! (PS Vita)

13.01.14 - The Stanley Parable (PC)

FEBRUARY

14.02.14 - The Last of Us - Left Behind (PS3)

16.02.14 - Resogun (PS4)

21.02.14 - Final Fantasy III (DS)

MARCH

14.03.14 - Gone Home (PC)

23.03.14 - Secret Files: Tunguska (PC)

24.03.14 - Papers, Please (PC)

27.03.14 - Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC)

28.03.14 - South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC)

31.03.14 - Syberia (PC)

APRIL

13.04.14 - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PS3/PS4)

25.04.14 - Syberia II (PC)

MAY

04.05.14 - Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis (PC)

19.05.14 - Infamous Second Son (PS4) *100% Completion

20.05.14 - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4)

21.05.14 - A New Beginning (PC)

24.05.14 - Transistor (PS4)

25.05.14 - Still Life (PC)

27.05.14 - Half-Life (PC)

30.05.14 - Portal 2 (PC)

JUNE

24.06.14 - Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse (PS Vita)

JULY

09.07.14 - The Wolf Among Us (X360)

AUGUST

25.08.14 - Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4)

28.08.14 - The Walking Dead: Season Two (X360)

SEPTEMBER

01.09.14 - Crash Bandicoot (PS1)

OCTOBER

23.10.14 - Destiny (PS4)

NOVEMBER

09.11.14 - Machinarium (PS Vita)

11.11.14 - Hotline Miami (PS Vita)

[Treble]

03/01/2014 - Dishonored ( PC )

20/01/2014 - Crysis 3 ( PC )

28/01/2014 - Call of the Fireflies ( PC )

15/02/2014 - Dead Space ( PC )

21/02/2014 - To the Moon ( PC )

02/03/2014 - Zelda: Link Between Worlds ( 3DS )

22/03/2014 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ( PS3 )

29/03/2014 - Dragon's Crown ( Vita)

07/04/2014 - Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast ( PC )

05/06/2014 - Killzone Mercenary ( Vita)

20/06/2014 - Super Mario 3D World ( Wii U )

20/07/2014 - Race the Sun ( PC )

20/07/2014 - Hawken ( PC )

20/07/2014 - Destiny Beta - 8 hours played ( PS3 )

08/09/2014 - Resident Evil ( GC )

12/09/2014 - Resident Evil 0 ( GC )

14/09/2014 - Gone Home ( PC )

17/10/2014 - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ( PC )

22/10/2014 - The Stanley Parable ( PC )

08/11/2014 - Hyrule Warriors ( Wii U )

[Wiper]

Two games finished earlier in the week, both by the same developer:

Dungeon of the Endless, played through to completion of "Too Easy" mode on Saturday, while recovering from flu. It's a lovely little hero- and resource-management game with permadeath, procedurally generated levels and with elements of tower defence. It's also gorgeous and characterful, and ridiculously difficult on its default "Easy" mode. There's nothing else quite like it, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Endless Legend, played through a Small map to completion as the Vaulters on Monday. A solid 4X game with very nice city-building elements which has pleasingly asymmetrical empires (including some which completely change the rules of the game, notably the Cultists who can only ever build one city, but it sprawls ridiculously, and the nomads who can literally move their cities around the world on the backs of scarabs). The AI's a bit poor, but it's got a lot of character, and I enjoyed completing it very much; I would have finished it a second time, but a bug has left me stuck in my second playthrough just short of victory, waiting for a patch... Either way, a very nice game, and one I've enjoyed more than their first foray into the genre (Endless Space).

Looking forward to seeing what Amplitude make next.

[Unofficial Who]

November

16/11 Bird Story (PC) Like To The Moon it's so linear it's almost not a game. But what this guy can do with music and a few pixels...Pixar should grab Kan Gao before anyone else gets their hands on him. He's almost wasted making games.

15/11 Hitman:Absolution (360)Got this for free with my live sub and after hearing so much about it's sexism I just had to try it out and decide for myself. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, there is a certain satisfaction in arranging things to look accidental. The latex nuns are stupid though. I think Eidos have a problem at the moment with big teams creating seperate levels without someone checking them over to see if they all gel together. In some ways it reminded me of the new Thief in that respect.

11/11 The Room (PC) It sounds like one of those 'escape the room' style web games. But it's not. The room has an open door. So it doesn't have that claustophobic feel. The room contains a puzzle box. (More like a puzzle trunk.) The aim of the game is to open the box. (And the box within the box and so on.) This was originally made for touchscreen and that's probably the best way to play the game, but even the PC port feels pretty tactile. The puzzle level was pitched at just the right difficulty for me which drove me to finish this in a couple of sessions. Took me only two hours but it was a great two hours.

October

26/10 Valiant Hearts:the Great War (360)

06/10 Iron Fisticle (PC)

September

19/09 Diablo 3:Reaper of Souls

15/09 Eternal Sonata (360)

14/09 L.A. Noire (PC)

07/09 Saint's Row the Third (360)

August

26/08 Depression Quest (PC)

24/08 Lee-Lee's Quest 2 (Flash)

23/08 Alice:Madness Returns (360)

10/08 The Plan (PC)

10/08 Mark of the Ninja (and DLC) (PC)

04/08 Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)

03/08 Thief (PC)

July

03/07 Dr Who:the Gunpowder Plot (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Shadows of the Vashta Nerada (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Tardis (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Blood of the Cybermen (PC)

June

30/06 Dr Who:City of the Daleks (PC)

30/06 Muri (PC)

30/06 The Yawhg (PC)

23/06 Jetpack Joyride (iOS)

22/06 Samorost (Browser)

11/06 Ending (iOS)

10/06 Child of Light (360)

09/06 Superfrog HD (PC)

09/06 Bulletstorm (PC)

01/06 DiRT 3 (PC)

May

27/05 Lili:Child of Geos (PC)

24/05 Stranded (PC)

24/05 Red Faction:Guerrilla (PC)

April

30/04 Bioshock Infinite:Clash in the Clouds (PC)

27/04 Call of Juarez:Gunslinger (PC)

24/04 Bioshock Infinite (PC)

18/04 Finn and Jake's Epic Quest (PC)

11/04 Bioshock Infinite:Burial at Sea (PC)

March

30/03 Remember Me (PC)

28/03 Beautiful Katamari (360)

09/03 Jazzpunk (PC) (360)

08/03 Assassin's Creed:Liberation (360)

Febuary

17/02 Assassin's Creed 3 (and DLC) (360)

11/02 Botanicula (PC)

10/02 Saint's Row 4 (PC)

January

30/01 Saint's Row the Third (PC)

26/01 Broken Age:Act 1(PC)

14/01 Wake (PC)

08/01 Syder Arcade (PC)

07/01 Ducktales Remastered (PC)

04/01 Diablo 3 (360)

[ChewMagma]

Ok let's see, in rough chronological order:

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - the best Zelda I have played in a long-time. I find I tend to prefer the handheld iterations though.

Dark Souls + DLC (360) - incredible stuff. 1.5 playthroughs. Soloed every boss at least once.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360) - I enjoyed how the mechanics were used to underline the narrative themes, but felt this was too slight in the end to be the classic that some touted it as.

Dark Souls 2 (360) - lacked a certain something compared to the first one (probably in terms of boss and level design), but mechanics and multiplayer were massive improvements for me. 2.5 playthroughs and first game I have ever bothered to 100%. Strangely though not been tempted by the DLC yet.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360) - stealth/hacking playthrough. Boss fights detracted from it, but I felt it was a worthy successor overall.

Skate 2 (360) - I guess you don't finish a game like this, but I did more than enough to scratch my skating itch. Really enjoyed it, but then haven't played a skating game since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, so I don't have much to compare it to.

Deadlight (360) - nice art design and worth a play for sure, but I hate narratives that end like this. Also it is coming back to me now how woeful the writing and voice acting were.

King of Dragon Pass (iPad) - another one that is difficult to finish as such, but I did play the hell out of it. Very original, very ambitious, it points the way to another direction in videogame design, which was perhaps never taken.

Pokemon X (3DS) - I actually started this back in January and it took me 10 months to finish on and off. First Pokemon game I have ever played. Deeply weird UI, felt like a lot of stuff was unexplained for the casual player, which I found surprising for what is ostensibly a kids game. But it was sort of charming and the fights were easy enough that I could just muddle my way through in the end.

Mass Effect (360) - having played ME2 previously, I wanted to do a full Renegade playthrough of the whole trilogy. This is pretty creaky now and I had to give up on the side missions because they, and especially the environments, were so massively samey. Still there was enough in the main storyline to see why this became such a big franchise. Looking forward to playing ME2 again.

[Polmon]

Dark Souls 2 (360) - lacked a certain something compared to the first one (probably in terms of boss and level design), but mechanics and multiplayer were massive improvements for me. 2.5 playthroughs and first game I have ever bothered to 100%. Strangely though not been tempted by the DLC yet.

The DLC for Dark Souls 2 is really, really good. Much more like the areas from the first game than those of DS2. I'd highly recommend playing them

[Jamie John]

November

Spelunky and Steamworld: Dig, both on Vita.

Spelunky was shit for the first two hours, when I was dying repeatedly without knowing why, and then fantastic for the subsequent thirty-odd hours, when I was still dying repeatedly but this time knowing that every time I did die, it was always my own fault. I managed to beat Olmec and squandered about another 100 further deaths trying to complete the game without using the shortcuts. Ultimately, however, I've decided that, at the moment, I don't think I've got the patience, or the level of concentration, required to finish the game in this way, so I've moved on. I like to think I'll do it one day, however, as well as make it to hell.

Steamworld, another game that focuses on descending through claustrophobic subterranean environments while avoiding enemies, was almost like a soothing bath after Spelunky: completable in a few hours' play, rather mellow, and (I found, at least)| largely devoid of challenge.

Edit:

I thought I'd posted this already, but, looking back, apparently not: I also finally got round to playing, and completing, Season 2 of The Walking Dead on my Vita. Overall I thought it wasn't as good as the first season, and janky as anything on the Vita, but still fantastic. I can't wait to see wait they're going to do with the third season, as and when it manifests itself, what with everything else Telltale are in the middle of producing at the moment,

January

GTA V (story mode)
Brothers

February

Catherine
Picked up for less than a tenner in the Live sale. Generally a good game that made me laugh out loud at several points but which lagged a bit in the middle. I started on Normal but after getting stuck after about two hours in, running out of lives and constantly having to reload the game from the title screen (infuriating, by the way, and telling of some seriously overlooked game design), I started again on Easy. This proved a good move because even on the lowest difficulty I had to YouTube a few of the later levels (although I don't tend to play puzzle games so a more au fait player probably would have persevered). The block puzzles themselves were a mixed bunch, sometimes satisfying when you could sort of see what you had to do and were able to develop a path accordingly, but sometimes annoying, too, dependent on luck and the creation of a path seemingly entirely by accident.

I'd recommend it for the dark comedy and the imaginative bosses, but am glad I didn't pay any more for it than I did. If I ever do go back to it it'll be to have a crack at the Coliseum mode, not to replay the story for a different ending.

The Walking Dead, Season 1, Episode 1
Nearly two years late to the party with this one, and the first 'interactive narrative' game I've played probably since Fahrenheit on PS2. All the same, this was a very enjoyable four-hour slice of intense, interesting gaming entertainment. The voice-acting is superb, and I think the choice on the part of the developers to make the game cel-shaded allows the various characters' facial expressions and assorted emotions to really come through, more so than had the character models been rendered in the usual 3D (and, obviously, the cel-shaded look stays faithful to the franchise's comic book/graphic novel origins). Best of all, however, the game was free! I'm now currently debating whether to buy the remainder of the episodes via LIVE at about £4.00 each or pick up the GOTY edition. Either way I'll definitely be coming back to see what happens next before long.

March

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Finished the co-op single-player last night with my better half. Good fun, especially considering the game was free. It only caused about six or seven domestics, too, so I'll be looking to pick up more co-op games in the future . We played it on easy, and apart from towards the end where she got a bit flustered, it wasn't too frustrating a game to play with a non-gamer. If you're looking to do co-op on it, though, I'd recommend that the more experienced person play as Totec and the newbie play as Lara, because Totec seems to be the one required to do all the more precise movements to solve the puzzles, which my missus (seeing as she had trouble getting Lara to walk in a straight line, bless her) would have struggled to do. I'll definitely come back to it at some point on a solo run to pick up all the things we missed/ do all the challenges (some of which look quite tricky).

April

Dark Souls 2
Very good, but me being a knob and using the guide when I shouldn't have stopped it from being great. I've posted my full impressions in the DkSII thread.

Spec Ops: The Line
I mopped this up of an evening recently after putting it on a hold for a month while playing DkSII. Despite there being little difference in the map layouts and enemy types throughout, not to mention the gameplay generally, I still enjoyed this - the gun mechanics were suitably meaty and the package overall was well done. I appreciated the story's ambition and some of the images had the effect of being truly unsettling, which made up for the odd occasion when I think the writers overdid 'the horror, the horror' elements a little bit. I was also sufficiently gullible not to see the twists in the narrative coming, which was nice. A good game, especially seeing as I got it for free in the Xbox Live games with gold thing.

May

Papers, Please (PC)

Having got to the last day and seen about half the endings, plus most of the best bits, I'm classing this as 'finished' for the time being. I thought it was brilliant throughout for the same reasons that many, many others have touted already. Superb. Play it now, if you haven't already.

*****

Tomb Raider (360)

I thought this was very good. It's probably the best presented game I've played on my 360, and while a lot of that had to do with things like the lighting, textures and surface detail, what I thought was really impressive was how well Lara was animated and how she reacted so believeably to her enviroment. I spent most of the game walking, not running, and panning the camera every which way, just so I could take more of everything in. The way that the game's copious cutscenes were integrated seamlessly into the gameplay is also something that other games should look to copy. Had there had been loading screens every time a cutscene was due it would have made the game annoyingly bitty, but as it was it never felt like the cutscenes were getting in the way of the gameplay, and on the contrary they added to the blockbuster-ness of everything. The cutscenes also serve to disguise the loading times fautlessly, meaning that (until you come to fast travel between maps later in the game) you never see a loading screen.

I think that what stopped it from being great was what many others have commented on: the disparity between how the game wants you to see Lara - as a naive, scared and lost twenty-one year old - and how Lara actually is - by the game's end, a ruthlessly genocidal one-woman army with the superhuman ability to withstand a plethora of falls, gunshots and grevious injuries. I knew that this was going to be the case going into the game, having read reviews, so to some extent I was prepared for it and was able to suspend my disbelief well enough. What I found entirely ridiculous, however, was the bit about two-thirds in [very mild spoiler] where you have to traverse a cliff-side using your bare hands, disembowel a nine-foot armoured enemy and travel to the lower decks of a sinking ship in search of some tools for an NPC so that the story can progress. I was expecting these to be a set of highly specialist, multi-headed futuristic omni-tools after the effort it took to get to them. Instead you receive a spanner and a screwdriver. You then have to re-traverse the cliff-side to get back to the aforementioned NPC, on the way passing countless other shipwrecks, storage containers and ruined dockyard buildings, any of which could quite feasibly contain a toolbox much nearer to the NPC's original location.

Hmm.

But still, a few narrative foibles aside, the whole experience is supremely slick and quite enjoyable if you don't mind a very low level of challenge and just want something pretty to look at while not having to concentrate too much. Perfect post-Dark Souls 2 fare, then.

****

The Walking Dead Season One: Episodes 2-5 (360)

More or less brilliant, from start to finish. Entirely engaging and with a moral system that does actually affect the way the game plays out on more than a superficial level. Completing episode five late last night,

Spoiler

I've got 400 Days on my hardrive, waiting to be played, but I think I'll do my best to wait until all the Season Two episodes are out before I dive back in. Like with TV boxsets, I think these types of episodic games are best played in binges over the course of a fortnight as opposed to waiting for months between chapters. Hopefully TellTale will see to it that all the epsiodes are out by the end of the year...

*****

And that's 400 Days done. Vince's chapter was my favourite. Looking forward to Season 2!

June

I've just this minute finished watching the end credits on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS).

This was sublime more or less the entire way through. I would occasionally get frustrated in a couple of the dungeons mid-game, when it felt like I was getting mullered from all angles and getting pushed off platforms (especially by the Keese, which are still the most annoying fucking enemies in games ever), but I more or less forgot to use my shield until the last dungeon, so that probably had something to do with the fact I was repeatedly getting my arse handed to me. Apart from that, though, I've very few complaints. The dungeons, bosses and music were all brilliantly done and (as you would expect) the whole game is impeccably designed.

I was also surprised at how the perspective you view the game from makes it feel like you're playing a shoot-em-up. A lot of the combat involves you trying to move into space in order to avoid enemy projectiles, and with no roll button, ducking and weaving out of the way before unleashing an AoE attack reminded me of playing something like Geometry Wars, especially in the Treacherous Tower.

Fantastic stuff.

*****

Hotline Miami (Vita)

I'm stopping playing this now. I've got all the trophies excepting the platinum and the one for getting A+ on all of the levels. I've got an A+ on all but three stages, but I'm finding that getting the last three is making me rage too much and I don't want to end up getting annoyed with the game. I'll likely leave it installed and keep on chipping away.

The game itself is very good, if you can deal with the frustration factor. It's almost always completely fair, however, and when you die (and you die a lot) you know its your fault. That doesn't stop you from making the same mistake another thirty times though...

It's got a great style and I'm looking forward to the sequel in a couple of months. The music's superb, too, as everyone says. I'd definitely recommend the Vita version over the PC, but it's a lot easier to play if you've got a grip for your Vita.

****

Fez (Vita)

Rinsed this for the platinum. Absolutely superb, the music, the puzzles, the ambience. It deserves to be played by everyone.

*****

July

Pullblox (3DS)

I've been playing this on and off for months now but tonight I finally did the last puzzle in the main game (this opened up a load of bonus stages, but I'll get round to them at some point). As someone who has very little patience for puzzle games, I thought this was superb. The learning curve is nigh-on perfect: every stage is challenging (some of the latter ones especially so - it was almost like I could feel my my brain whirring with a few of them) but they always give you somewhere to start from, and, as your skills slowly develop, you come to learn that if you just keep on going you'll eventually crack every stage, no matter how intimidating it looks to begin with. I only had to look up the solution to one of the puzzles towards the end, and as soon as I did I felt really annoyed with myself because the answer was so obvious and had I had been patient I would have got it. (Incidentally, all three of the five-star puzzles I found easier than a few of the four-star ones).

It's also a game that is perfectly suited to a handheld console as it benefits hugely from being played in short, 20-30 minute bursts. Often I'd turn the game off after being entirely stumped by a stage, only to come back a day later and see the solution in seconds. Perfect fare for commuting or for people who can only spare half an hour per day for gaming.

Is there any other puzzler out there which gets the learning curve as bang on as this does? I hear that Fallblox, the sequel, isn't quite as well-refined.

If you own a 3DS, go and buy this game now Mallo is also now my new favourite Nintendo character:

*****

I polished off Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS) last night. It's not without its flaws (these being a few overly-obscure puzzles that I had to look up, a reduced game to text ratio and the really, really annoying beeping noise that triggers every time someone speaks, which you can't turn off) and it's a bit Scooby Doo, but if you can get over the ludicrousness of everything then there's a lot to enjoy here. I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of its episodic format and playing it one episode at a time, with other games in between. I found that clicking through the reams and reams of text became tiresome and I started to think about playing something else where I was required to actually do a lot more, rather than just read and present the occasional piece of evidence; playing a different game in between episodes keeps things fresh. The game also lends itself to being played episodically as I found that it often gave me a brief recap of what had been happening previously at the start of each new episode anyway, and if you need more details then there's always WIkipedia.

It's also presented really well: the characters are expressive and well-animated and the sometimes twee, sometimes melodramatic music suits the tone of the game nicely. My favourite part of the whole thing was watching how the previously well-composed baddies became more and more dishevelled and hysterical as you shook them down.

****

Dishonored (360)

After a really promising start I don't think this managed to keep up the quality all the way through, but it's still a really good mash-up of HL2, Fallout, The Darkness and Bioshock that's well worth the £8 or so you can buy it for nowadays. I liked the game world particularly - Victorian sci-fi without being overly Steampunk - and enjoyed reading all the books about whaling and so on. I did an entirely non-lethal run (apart from apparently killing someone in the second mission, which stopped me from getting the achievement ) and I'll definitely be going back for another go where I get my hands dirty in a few games' time. Next time, however, I won't buy the power up that lets you see through walls as I thought it made things too easy towards the last few missions.

Unfortunately (and as seems par for the course with Bethesda games) I did encounter several bugs, the most annoying of which was this strange rushing/whirring noise playing on a loop in the background constantly for about two hours of play, no matter how many times I reloaded, which went as suddenly as it came. Also, during the mission where you have to crash the party, for some reason one of the Boyle sisters went into alert state every time she saw me, despite the fact that I was in disguise and no one else (including the guards) paid me any mind.

Still, Better Than Assassin's Creed IV/10.

August

Persona 4: Golden (Vita)

Superb, for the full 75 hours it lasted me. I'll be going back to Inaba again before too long. Full impressions in the Vita thread.

*****

Metrico (Vita)

Short, but sweet. Satisfying and unique puzzles that were let down by being a touch fiddly, at times, and more than one I'm pretty sure I managed to cheat my way through, or I certainly didn't solve it in the way the game intended, anyway. As Jolly's mentioned, the soundtrack can get annoying, but I'd definitely recommend playing it as the way the game makes use of the Vita's features I thought was unique and caused a big smile when they were revealed.

***

Gears of War 3 (360)

I played this on a whim after having it on my shelf for months and months, neglecting it while I was playing other things. As long as you're not expecting anything that will set the world alight, it's actually really quite good fun. The duck 'n' cover, over-the-shoulder gameplay is fluid and frustration-free; the different means you have of creatively mutilating your enemies are satisfying and...meaty; and the constant stream of set pieces are as delightfully bombastic and over-the-top as you would expect from the series. In my opinion, it's still nice to look at, too, even after the three years since its release, and you can tell that there was a lot of cash put into it to make it as blockbustery as possible. The storyline is immediately forgettable, but that's by the by. Overall, if you're looking for something cathartic that you don't really have to think about too much, you could do worse than buying this from CEX for a fiver.

Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)

I started off really enjoying this: the level design, the animation and the amount of detail in each room were impressive, and it was fun finding all the secrets and the different ways that you could interact with your environment. By the end, however, the enjoyably backtracking Metroidvania nature of it all had almost entirely faded and things had just become repetitive and linear. It seemed to suffer from several design problems, which I found especially jarring in a Nintendo game, as they're normally the best in the world at getting this aspect of games bang-on. (Looking at Wiki after I finished it, I've found that it's not first party, which explains a lot). As an example, once you get the final equipment upgrade (which I managed to do less than half-way through the game) there's no longer any clear incentive to continue poking and prodding into every nook and cranny for money, or unearthing the game's secrets. As such, I found myself rushing through the game's second half, whereas before it would regularly have taken me over five minutes to 'clear' each new room I entered. And while I enjoyed searching for the gems and the hidden Boos, there was no reward that I could see for finding them, either. The fact that if you missed a Boo or gem you had to restart the mission in order to acquire it, and then complete said mission once again, was also annoying; seeing as there was no incentive to go back and collect the gems/Boos, I just left them and moved on.

The 'mission' structure of the game, in general, where you have to return to the bunker every time, I thought was its biggest problem. The first game's structure (IIRC correctly - it is 13 years old, after all), where you had to get keys or do certain things to unlock areas of the mansion that you visited before but didn't have access to (like Metroid), made for a much more satisfying game, and had each area of this game followed the format of Luigi's Mansion 1, I think it would have resolved a lot of the issues I had with the sequel.

Still, if you get over its flaws then there is definitely some enjoyment to be had here, plus it's got nines and eights out of ten from most sources so you'd be better to make your own mind up.

Attack of the Friday Monsters (3DS)

This started off quite nicely as a sort of interactive Studio Ghibli film with plinky music and some pretty drawing. I think I must not have been paying attention, though, because for the last half an hour I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on, and then suddenly the credits were rolling. Very strange. Maybe something was lost in the translation, or maybe it's just me.

October

Final Fantasy IX (VITA)

The first game I've completed in two whole months, but that's what starting a new job does to you, I guess.

Back in the early noughties, this was my favourite game of all time, and since then I've started but not completed it half a dozen times. Playing it again recently, I realised that the reason why I started it but then just left it so many times before was because the best part of the game is easily the first disc and a half, which is twice as charming and engaging as the twenty-five hours or so that follow. It's testament to the oft-mentioned portability and accessibility of the Vita that I decided to keep going with it until the very end, even if I did just skim-read a lot of the dialogue from about half way onwards (or that dialogue which involved the convoluted and naff storyline, anyway).

In many ways, 13 years since its release, it's difficult to decide whether to recommend it or not. The random battles are frequent, interruptive and slow to load up; the aforementioned story becomes generic and boring by the second disc; and the game's biggest side-quest (the Chocobo 'Hot & Cold' game, through which you get the best equipment) is irritating, repetitive and too dependent on luck (I didn't bother with it very much at all this time around, despite getting the golden chocobo back in 2001). On the other hand, the pre-rendered backgrounds are still beautiful (see this fantastic GAF thread) and many of the FMV cut-scenes are spectacular; some of the interactions between characters (mostly those that involve either Steiner or Quina) are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny; Lindblum is probably the best town I've ever encountered in an RPG; and you can easily complete the game without having to grind at all, as long as you don't run away from enemies.

If you haven't played it before, I'd stay it still holds up and is well worth the £3 or so you can pick it up for in the PSN sales. If you have played it before, and enjoyed it, like me, I'd say tread a bit more carefully, as even though I don't regret replaying it, once you get over the nostalgia it does take a degree of patience to see through to the end; had I not had it on the Vita, I doubt I would have stuck with it.

[Jamie John]

Far Cry: Blood Dragon (360)

I can't say I was at any point particularly enamoured with this. I picked it up for £3 in an XBL sale earlier in the year and would have been annoyed if I'd paid any more for it. Very little challenge beyond the first hour's play, so much so that you can run past enemies to get to the next checkpoint marker without much fear of reprisal. The humour did raise a chuckle on a few occasions, but the trouble with having a purposefully shit story and inane dialogue is that, once the jokes start to wear thin, all you're left with is a shit story and inane dialogue...

The music's superb, though! Easily the best thing about the game.

January

GTA V (story mode)
Brothers

February

Catherine
Picked up for less than a tenner in the Live sale. Generally a good game that made me laugh out loud at several points but which lagged a bit in the middle. I started on Normal but after getting stuck after about two hours in, running out of lives and constantly having to reload the game from the title screen (infuriating, by the way, and telling of some seriously overlooked game design), I started again on Easy. This proved a good move because even on the lowest difficulty I had to YouTube a few of the later levels (although I don't tend to play puzzle games so a more au fait player probably would have persevered). The block puzzles themselves were a mixed bunch, sometimes satisfying when you could sort of see what you had to do and were able to develop a path accordingly, but sometimes annoying, too, dependent on luck and the creation of a path seemingly entirely by accident.

I'd recommend it for the dark comedy and the imaginative bosses, but am glad I didn't pay any more for it than I did. If I ever do go back to it it'll be to have a crack at the Coliseum mode, not to replay the story for a different ending.

The Walking Dead, Season 1, Episode 1
Nearly two years late to the party with this one, and the first 'interactive narrative' game I've played probably since Fahrenheit on PS2. All the same, this was a very enjoyable four-hour slice of intense, interesting gaming entertainment. The voice-acting is superb, and I think the choice on the part of the developers to make the game cel-shaded allows the various characters' facial expressions and assorted emotions to really come through, more so than had the character models been rendered in the usual 3D (and, obviously, the cel-shaded look stays faithful to the franchise's comic book/graphic novel origins). Best of all, however, the game was free! I'm now currently debating whether to buy the remainder of the episodes via LIVE at about £4.00 each or pick up the GOTY edition. Either way I'll definitely be coming back to see what happens next before long.

March

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Finished the co-op single-player last night with my better half. Good fun, especially considering the game was free. It only caused about six or seven domestics, too, so I'll be looking to pick up more co-op games in the future . We played it on easy, and apart from towards the end where she got a bit flustered, it wasn't too frustrating a game to play with a non-gamer. If you're looking to do co-op on it, though, I'd recommend that the more experienced person play as Totec and the newbie play as Lara, because Totec seems to be the one required to do all the more precise movements to solve the puzzles, which my missus (seeing as she had trouble getting Lara to walk in a straight line, bless her) would have struggled to do. I'll definitely come back to it at some point on a solo run to pick up all the things we missed/ do all the challenges (some of which look quite tricky).

April

Dark Souls 2
Very good, but me being a knob and using the guide when I shouldn't have stopped it from being great. I've posted my full impressions in the DkSII thread.

Spec Ops: The Line
I mopped this up of an evening recently after putting it on a hold for a month while playing DkSII. Despite there being little difference in the map layouts and enemy types throughout, not to mention the gameplay generally, I still enjoyed this - the gun mechanics were suitably meaty and the package overall was well done. I appreciated the story's ambition and some of the images had the effect of being truly unsettling, which made up for the odd occasion when I think the writers overdid 'the horror, the horror' elements a little bit. I was also sufficiently gullible not to see the twists in the narrative coming, which was nice. A good game, especially seeing as I got it for free in the Xbox Live games with gold thing.

May

Papers, Please (PC)

Having got to the last day and seen about half the endings, plus most of the best bits, I'm classing this as 'finished' for the time being. I thought it was brilliant throughout for the same reasons that many, many others have touted already. Superb. Play it now, if you haven't already.

*****

Tomb Raider (360)

I thought this was very good. It's probably the best presented game I've played on my 360, and while a lot of that had to do with things like the lighting, textures and surface detail, what I thought was really impressive was how well Lara was animated and how she reacted so believeably to her enviroment. I spent most of the game walking, not running, and panning the camera every which way, just so I could take more of everything in. The way that the game's copious cutscenes were integrated seamlessly into the gameplay is also something that other games should look to copy. Had there had been loading screens every time a cutscene was due it would have made the game annoyingly bitty, but as it was it never felt like the cutscenes were getting in the way of the gameplay, and on the contrary they added to the blockbuster-ness of everything. The cutscenes also serve to disguise the loading times fautlessly, meaning that (until you come to fast travel between maps later in the game) you never see a loading screen.

I think that what stopped it from being great was what many others have commented on: the disparity between how the game wants you to see Lara - as a naive, scared and lost twenty-one year old - and how Lara actually is - by the game's end, a ruthlessly genocidal one-woman army with the superhuman ability to withstand a plethora of falls, gunshots and grevious injuries. I knew that this was going to be the case going into the game, having read reviews, so to some extent I was prepared for it and was able to suspend my disbelief well enough. What I found entirely ridiculous, however, was the bit about two-thirds in [very mild spoiler] where you have to traverse a cliff-side using your bare hands, disembowel a nine-foot armoured enemy and travel to the lower decks of a sinking ship in search of some tools for an NPC so that the story can progress. I was expecting these to be a set of highly specialist, multi-headed futuristic omni-tools after the effort it took to get to them. Instead you receive a spanner and a screwdriver. You then have to re-traverse the cliff-side to get back to the aforementioned NPC, on the way passing countless other shipwrecks, storage containers and ruined dockyard buildings, any of which could quite feasibly contain a toolbox much nearer to the NPC's original location.

Hmm.

But still, a few narrative foibles aside, the whole experience is supremely slick and quite enjoyable if you don't mind a very low level of challenge and just want something pretty to look at while not having to concentrate too much. Perfect post-Dark Souls 2 fare, then.

****

The Walking Dead Season One: Episodes 2-5 (360)

More or less brilliant, from start to finish. Entirely engaging and with a moral system that does actually affect the way the game plays out on more than a superficial level. Completing episode five late last night,

Spoiler

I've got 400 Days on my hardrive, waiting to be played, but I think I'll do my best to wait until all the Season Two episodes are out before I dive back in. Like with TV boxsets, I think these types of episodic games are best played in binges over the course of a fortnight as opposed to waiting for months between chapters. Hopefully TellTale will see to it that all the epsiodes are out by the end of the year...

*****

And that's 400 Days done. Vince's chapter was my favourite. Looking forward to Season 2!

June

I've just this minute finished watching the end credits on Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS).

This was sublime more or less the entire way through. I would occasionally get frustrated in a couple of the dungeons mid-game, when it felt like I was getting mullered from all angles and getting pushed off platforms (especially by the Keese, which are still the most annoying fucking enemies in games ever), but I more or less forgot to use my shield until the last dungeon, so that probably had something to do with the fact I was repeatedly getting my arse handed to me. Apart from that, though, I've very few complaints. The dungeons, bosses and music were all brilliantly done and (as you would expect) the whole game is impeccably designed.

I was also surprised at how the perspective you view the game from makes it feel like you're playing a shoot-em-up. A lot of the combat involves you trying to move into space in order to avoid enemy projectiles, and with no roll button, ducking and weaving out of the way before unleashing an AoE attack reminded me of playing something like Geometry Wars, especially in the Treacherous Tower.

Fantastic stuff.

*****

Hotline Miami (Vita)

I'm stopping playing this now. I've got all the trophies excepting the platinum and the one for getting A+ on all of the levels. I've got an A+ on all but three stages, but I'm finding that getting the last three is making me rage too much and I don't want to end up getting annoyed with the game. I'll likely leave it installed and keep on chipping away.

The game itself is very good, if you can deal with the frustration factor. It's almost always completely fair, however, and when you die (and you die a lot) you know its your fault. That doesn't stop you from making the same mistake another thirty times though...

It's got a great style and I'm looking forward to the sequel in a couple of months. The music's superb, too, as everyone says. I'd definitely recommend the Vita version over the PC, but it's a lot easier to play if you've got a grip for your Vita.

****

Fez (Vita)

Rinsed this for the platinum. Absolutely superb, the music, the puzzles, the ambience. It deserves to be played by everyone.

*****

July

Pullblox (3DS)

I've been playing this on and off for months now but tonight I finally did the last puzzle in the main game (this opened up a load of bonus stages, but I'll get round to them at some point). As someone who has very little patience for puzzle games, I thought this was superb. The learning curve is nigh-on perfect: every stage is challenging (some of the latter ones especially so - it was almost like I could feel my my brain whirring with a few of them) but they always give you somewhere to start from, and, as your skills slowly develop, you come to learn that if you just keep on going you'll eventually crack every stage, no matter how intimidating it looks to begin with. I only had to look up the solution to one of the puzzles towards the end, and as soon as I did I felt really annoyed with myself because the answer was so obvious and had I had been patient I would have got it. (Incidentally, all three of the five-star puzzles I found easier than a few of the four-star ones).

It's also a game that is perfectly suited to a handheld console as it benefits hugely from being played in short, 20-30 minute bursts. Often I'd turn the game off after being entirely stumped by a stage, only to come back a day later and see the solution in seconds. Perfect fare for commuting or for people who can only spare half an hour per day for gaming.

Is there any other puzzler out there which gets the learning curve as bang on as this does? I hear that Fallblox, the sequel, isn't quite as well-refined.

If you own a 3DS, go and buy this game now Mallo is also now my new favourite Nintendo character:

*****

I polished off Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS) last night. It's not without its flaws (these being a few overly-obscure puzzles that I had to look up, a reduced game to text ratio and the really, really annoying beeping noise that triggers every time someone speaks, which you can't turn off) and it's a bit Scooby Doo, but if you can get over the ludicrousness of everything then there's a lot to enjoy here. I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of its episodic format and playing it one episode at a time, with other games in between. I found that clicking through the reams and reams of text became tiresome and I started to think about playing something else where I was required to actually do a lot more, rather than just read and present the occasional piece of evidence; playing a different game in between episodes keeps things fresh. The game also lends itself to being played episodically as I found that it often gave me a brief recap of what had been happening previously at the start of each new episode anyway, and if you need more details then there's always WIkipedia.

It's also presented really well: the characters are expressive and well-animated and the sometimes twee, sometimes melodramatic music suits the tone of the game nicely. My favourite part of the whole thing was watching how the previously well-composed baddies became more and more dishevelled and hysterical as you shook them down.

****

Dishonored (360)

After a really promising start I don't think this managed to keep up the quality all the way through, but it's still a really good mash-up of HL2, Fallout, The Darkness and Bioshock that's well worth the £8 or so you can buy it for nowadays. I liked the game world particularly - Victorian sci-fi without being overly Steampunk - and enjoyed reading all the books about whaling and so on. I did an entirely non-lethal run (apart from apparently killing someone in the second mission, which stopped me from getting the achievement ) and I'll definitely be going back for another go where I get my hands dirty in a few games' time. Next time, however, I won't buy the power up that lets you see through walls as I thought it made things too easy towards the last few missions.

Unfortunately (and as seems par for the course with Bethesda games) I did encounter several bugs, the most annoying of which was this strange rushing/whirring noise playing on a loop in the background constantly for about two hours of play, no matter how many times I reloaded, which went as suddenly as it came. Also, during the mission where you have to crash the party, for some reason one of the Boyle sisters went into alert state every time she saw me, despite the fact that I was in disguise and no one else (including the guards) paid me any mind.

Still, Better Than Assassin's Creed IV/10.

August

Persona 4: Golden (Vita)

Superb, for the full 75 hours it lasted me. I'll be going back to Inaba again before too long. Full impressions in the Vita thread.

*****

Metrico (Vita)

Short, but sweet. Satisfying and unique puzzles that were let down by being a touch fiddly, at times, and more than one I'm pretty sure I managed to cheat my way through, or I certainly didn't solve it in the way the game intended, anyway. As Jolly's mentioned, the soundtrack can get annoying, but I'd definitely recommend playing it as the way the game makes use of the Vita's features I thought was unique and caused a big smile when they were revealed.

***

Gears of War 3 (360)

I played this on a whim after having it on my shelf for months and months, neglecting it while I was playing other things. As long as you're not expecting anything that will set the world alight, it's actually really quite good fun. The duck 'n' cover, over-the-shoulder gameplay is fluid and frustration-free; the different means you have of creatively mutilating your enemies are satisfying and...meaty; and the constant stream of set pieces are as delightfully bombastic and over-the-top as you would expect from the series. In my opinion, it's still nice to look at, too, even after the three years since its release, and you can tell that there was a lot of cash put into it to make it as blockbustery as possible. The storyline is immediately forgettable, but that's by the by. Overall, if you're looking for something cathartic that you don't really have to think about too much, you could do worse than buying this from CEX for a fiver.

Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)

I started off really enjoying this: the level design, the animation and the amount of detail in each room were impressive, and it was fun finding all the secrets and the different ways that you could interact with your environment. By the end, however, the enjoyably backtracking Metroidvania nature of it all had almost entirely faded and things had just become repetitive and linear. It seemed to suffer from several design problems, which I found especially jarring in a Nintendo game, as they're normally the best in the world at getting this aspect of games bang-on. (Looking at Wiki after I finished it, I've found that it's not first party, which explains a lot). As an example, once you get the final equipment upgrade (which I managed to do less than half-way through the game) there's no longer any clear incentive to continue poking and prodding into every nook and cranny for money, or unearthing the game's secrets. As such, I found myself rushing through the game's second half, whereas before it would regularly have taken me over five minutes to 'clear' each new room I entered. And while I enjoyed searching for the gems and the hidden Boos, there was no reward that I could see for finding them, either. The fact that if you missed a Boo or gem you had to restart the mission in order to acquire it, and then complete said mission once again, was also annoying; seeing as there was no incentive to go back and collect the gems/Boos, I just left them and moved on.

The 'mission' structure of the game, in general, where you have to return to the bunker every time, I thought was its biggest problem. The first game's structure (IIRC correctly - it is 13 years old, after all), where you had to get keys or do certain things to unlock areas of the mansion that you visited before but didn't have access to (like Metroid), made for a much more satisfying game, and had each area of this game followed the format of Luigi's Mansion 1, I think it would have resolved a lot of the issues I had with the sequel.

Still, if you get over its flaws then there is definitely some enjoyment to be had here, plus it's got nines and eights out of ten from most sources so you'd be better to make your own mind up.

Attack of the Friday Monsters (3DS)

This started off quite nicely as a sort of interactive Studio Ghibli film with plinky music and some pretty drawing. I think I must not have been paying attention, though, because for the last half an hour I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on, and then suddenly the credits were rolling. Very strange. Maybe something was lost in the translation, or maybe it's just me.

October

Final Fantasy IX (VITA)

The first game I've completed in two whole months, but that's what starting a new job does to you, I guess.

Back in the early noughties, this was my favourite game of all time, and since then I've started but not completed it half a dozen times. Playing it again recently, I realised that the reason why I started it but then just left it so many times before was because the best part of the game is easily the first disc and a half, which is twice as charming and engaging as the twenty-five hours or so that follow. It's testament to the oft-mentioned portability and accessibility of the Vita that I decided to keep going with it until the very end, even if I did just skim-read a lot of the dialogue from about half way onwards (or that dialogue which involved the convoluted and naff storyline, anyway).

In many ways, 13 years since its release, it's difficult to decide whether to recommend it or not. The random battles are frequent, interruptive and slow to load up; the aforementioned story becomes generic and boring by the second disc; and the game's biggest side-quest (the Chocobo 'Hot & Cold' game, through which you get the best equipment) is irritating, repetitive and too dependent on luck (I didn't bother with it very much at all this time around, despite getting the golden chocobo back in 2001). On the other hand, the pre-rendered backgrounds are still beautiful (see this fantastic GAF thread) and many of the FMV cut-scenes are spectacular; some of the interactions between characters (mostly those that involve either Steiner or Quina) are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny; Lindblum is probably the best town I've ever encountered in an RPG; and you can easily complete the game without having to grind at all, as long as you don't run away from enemies.

If you haven't played it before, I'd stay it still holds up and is well worth the £3 or so you can pick it up for in the PSN sales. If you have played it before, and enjoyed it, like me, I'd say tread a bit more carefully, as even though I don't regret replaying it, once you get over the nostalgia it does take a degree of patience to see through to the end; had I not had it on the Vita, I doubt I would have stuck with it.

November

Spelunky and Steamworld: Dig, both on Vita.

Spelunky was shit for the first two hours, when I was dying repeatedly without knowing why, and then fantastic for the subsequent thirty-odd hours, when I was still dying repeatedly but this time knowing that every time I did die, it was always my own fault. I managed to beat Olmec and squandered about another 100 further deaths trying to complete the game without using the shortcuts. Ultimately, however, I've decided that, at the moment, I don't think I've got the patience, or the level of concentration, required to finish the game in this way, so I've moved on. I like to think I'll do it one day, however, as well as make it to hell.

Steamworld, another game that focuses on descending through claustrophobic subterranean environments while avoiding enemies, was almost like a soothing bath after Spelunky: completable in a few hours' play, rather mellow, and (I found, at least)| largely devoid of challenge.

Edit:

I thought I'd posted this already, but, looking back, apparently not: I also finally got round to playing, and completing, Season 2 of The Walking Dead on my Vita. Overall I thought it wasn't as good as the first season, and janky as anything on the Vita, but still fantastic. I can't wait to see wait they're going to do with the third season, as and when it manifests itself, what with everything else Telltale are in the middle of producing at the moment,

[Unofficial Who]

November

26/11 Battlefield:Bad Company 2 (360) I was kind of looking forward to this after the trailers a couple of years ago. But....this sort of thing isn't for me. For some reason modern war shooters leave me cold. Amazing visuals and enough of an interesting start to carry me through the single player campaign. But I'm unlikely to play the prequel (or promised sequel.)

20/11 Metal Slug X (PC)As below really. The pixel art is lovely but the game is so rock hard the only people who could one credit it are those who found Army Moves or Game Over too easy back in the day.

19/11 Metal Slug 3 (PC) Still some of the best pixel art ever in a game. Still so unfair. Has anyone ever one credited it?

19/11 Never Alone:Kisima Ingitchuna (PC) I think I'm a bit worn out after a year that included Brothers and A Bird Story. If you loved Limbo then you'll love this. It's a similar length as well, two hours (more if you watch the included videos.)

19/11 Donkey Kong Jnr (C64) It may have taken me only minutes to finish all four screens but I've been waiting for this port for almost three decades. I still love it, it's Nintendo's lost classic.

16/11 Bird Story (PC) Like To The Moon it's so linear it's almost not a game. But what this guy can do with music and a few pixels...Pixar should grab Kan Gao before anyone else gets their hands on him. He's almost wasted making games.

15/11 Hitman:Absolution (360)Got this for free with my live sub and after hearing so much about it's sexism I just had to try it out and decide for myself. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, there is a certain satisfaction in arranging things to look accidental. The latex nuns are stupid though. I think Eidos have a problem at the moment with big teams creating seperate levels without someone checking them over to see if they all gel together. In some ways it reminded me of the new Thief in that respect.

11/11 The Room (PC) It sounds like one of those 'escape the room' style web games. But it's not. The room has an open door. So it doesn't have that claustophobic feel. The room contains a puzzle box. (More like a puzzle trunk.) The aim of the game is to open the box. (And the box within the box and so on.) This was originally made for touchscreen and that's probably the best way to play the game, but even the PC port feels pretty tactile. The puzzle level was pitched at just the right difficulty for me which drove me to finish this in a couple of sessions. Took me only two hours but it was a great two hours.

October

26/10 Valiant Hearts:the Great War (360)

06/10 Iron Fisticle (PC)

September

19/09 Diablo 3:Reaper of Souls

15/09 Eternal Sonata (360)

14/09 L.A. Noire (PC)

07/09 Saint's Row the Third (360)

August

26/08 Depression Quest (PC)

24/08 Lee-Lee's Quest 2 (Flash)

23/08 Alice:Madness Returns (360)

10/08 The Plan (PC)

10/08 Mark of the Ninja (and DLC) (PC)

04/08 Professor Layton and the Last Specter (DS)

03/08 Thief (PC)

July

03/07 Dr Who:the Gunpowder Plot (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Shadows of the Vashta Nerada (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Tardis (PC)

03/07 Dr Who:Blood of the Cybermen (PC)

June

30/06 Dr Who:City of the Daleks (PC)

30/06 Muri (PC)

30/06 The Yawhg (PC)

23/06 Jetpack Joyride (iOS)

22/06 Samorost (Browser)

11/06 Ending (iOS)

10/06 Child of Light (360)

09/06 Superfrog HD (PC)

09/06 Bulletstorm (PC)

01/06 DiRT 3 (PC)

May

27/05 Lili:Child of Geos (PC)

24/05 Stranded (PC)

24/05 Red Faction:Guerrilla (PC)

April

30/04 Bioshock Infinite:Clash in the Clouds (PC)

27/04 Call of Juarez:Gunslinger (PC)

24/04 Bioshock Infinite (PC)

18/04 Finn and Jake's Epic Quest (PC)

11/04 Bioshock Infinite:Burial at Sea (PC)

March

30/03 Remember Me (PC)

28/03 Beautiful Katamari (360)

09/03 Jazzpunk (PC) (360)

08/03 Assassin's Creed:Liberation (360)

Febuary

17/02 Assassin's Creed 3 (and DLC) (360)

11/02 Botanicula (PC)

10/02 Saint's Row 4 (PC)

January

30/01 Saint's Row the Third (PC)

26/01 Broken Age:Act 1(PC)

14/01 Wake (PC)

08/01 Syder Arcade (PC)

07/01 Ducktales Remastered (PC)

04/01 Diablo 3 (360)

[ChewMagma]

The DLC for Dark Souls 2 is really, really good. Much more like the areas from the first game than those of DS2. I'd highly recommend playing them

I think I might hold off now and get the new edition when it comes out for PS4. I am going to have to get a PS4 for Bloodborne anyway.

[shirubagan]

2014 so far...

JANUARY
Jetpack Joyride (Vita) // Jet Set Radio HD (Vita) // Hotline Miami (Vita) // Guacamelee! (Vita)
Kirby's Adventure 3D (NES/3DS) // Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS)
Ridiculous Fishing (iOS)

FEBRUARY
Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo (3DS)
The Walking Dead Episodes 1-5 (Vita) // The Walking Dead 400 Days DLC (Vita)

MARCH
Batman Arkham City Armoured Edition (Wii U)
Halo 4 (360)
Battlefield 4 (PS4)

APRIL
LIMBO (Vita)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Wii U)

MAY
Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
Contrast (PS4) // Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (PS4)

JUNE -- nothing. MK8 and Battlefield Premium happened. Started Infamous: Second Son

JULY
Aliens: Infestation (DS) // Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Infamous: Second Son (PS4) // Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4) - Fergus Timeline
Metal Slug Defence (iOS)
Swords & Soldiers HD (Wii U)

AUGUST
Monument Valley (iOS)
Blok Drop U (Wii U)
Stick it to the Man (PS4)

SEPTEMBER
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) // Abyss (Wii U) // Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)
Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

OCTOBER
Guacamelée Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4)
Liberation Maiden (3DS)

NOVEMBER

Bayonetta (Wii U)
Steamworld Dig (Vita)

Bayonetta II (Wii U) -- Much preferred this to the first. It's less hardcore and more accessible, the colours are vibrant, the graphics are astonishingly beautiful, the animations are sublime, the gameplay much more balanced (they got rid of the cunty instant deaths from QTEs) and Bayonetta's haircut suits her better.


Currently playing:
Pikmin 3, Hyrule Warriors Adventure Mode, DK: Tropical Freeze, NES Remix 1 & 2 (Wii U)
PS+, Driveclub, PvZGW, BF4, GTA V (PS4)
South Park: Stick of Truth, BF Bad Company 2, Vanquish (360)
Mario Golf, Super Smash Bros, Fantasy Life, Million other things (3DS)
Binding of Isaac (Vita)

On hold: Wonderful 101 - Stages take too long, finding the time to commit to it is difficult

Abandoned: Dead Island (360) – because it's a bit shit.


______________
2013 List

January -- Gunman Clive (3DS)
Crimson Shroud (3DS)

February -- Liberation Maiden (3DS)
Walking Dead Episode 1 (iOS)

March -- Wipeout 2097 (Vita)
Judge Dredd Vs Zombies (iOS)
Little Inferno (iOS)

April -- Code of Princess (3DS)

May -- Nothing. Monster Hunter got it's hooks in me.

June -- Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)

July -- Nowt

August -- Streetpass Squad (3DS)
New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)

September -- Ghostbusters (360)

October -- Nada

November -- Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS)
Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Wii U)

December -- God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)
Tearaway (Vita)
Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (Wii U)
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies Special Case (3DS)
Streetpass Battle (3DS)