Still Playing: The games of 2014

New to 2014, the following are games I have begun but not completed.

Assassin's Creed 4: This nut will crack sometime in January. It's a great game and far superior to the mess that was Assassin's Creed 3.

MARK OF THE NINJA: A taut stealth side scroll-er with beautiful art and great mechanics, this XBL Arcade game is always beckoning to me.

RED FACTION:ARMAGEDDON: I had heard how terrible and linear this game is compared to its predecessor, and while it is linear, it is a perfectly fine third person shooter. It is gorgeous on PC and just the thing for a lazy afternoon of "working" from home. Hit the same long checkpoint enough times to finally give up towards the end. Endlessly repetitive and far too long. Feels compromised.

F.E.A.R 3: I ignored this game when it was released, but having finished and enjoyed F.E.A.R. 2 and love the original, I wanted to give it a shot. Graphically impressive on PC, the mechanics are as expected with the new addition of co-op. The story is nonsense but as a satisfying mouse and keyboard shooter, I am digging it.  Enjoyed this until my save disappeared.

Dead Rising 3: A sluggish poor PC port, this bad ass needs a reasonably beefy rig to run well. Slowdowns happen in the same parts of the map like clockwork. Sticks to the Dead Rising formula but seems confused about what it wants to be. Story is as dumb as ever.

Alien: Isolation - I barely touched this before it went back to the library by accident. Playing it fills me with actual dread as the atmosphere and suspense are amazing. Can't wait to get back into it.

Thief (2014) -  Played for about 2 hour before I decided I hated the controls and look of the game on console, so I bought it on sale on PC. Curious to see if that makes it more palatable.

Here I discussed a bunch of games I had not yet finished at the end of 2013,  few of which are now in the can, unfortunately.

STATE OF DECAY: This surprise hit downloadable game is a great if janky open world zombie exporation game that incorporates day/night cycles and mission timers like Dead Rising. I keep restarting it, hopefully I will find time to finish it.

DEAD ISLAND:RIPTIDE: A disappointing cut and paste of Dead Island with some of the more interesting quirks patched out, DI:R still has that combination of broken jank and open world combat that made the original compelling. However the linear nature and extreme familiarity to the first game make it a bottom rung choice.


SKYRIM: This game is like my white whale. I keep finding reasons not to play it.

FAR CRY 2: Like any other open world game, I get lost in wandering and lose interest in the main thread of quests. Rightfully lauded for emergent gameplay and player agency, I hope to give this game it's due. I have attempted to stick to the main quests, especially after finishing Far Cry 3, just so I can stop wandering. 

JUST CAUSE 2: The campaign story is pointless and best ignored in favor of exploring the massive game map, wreaking havoc. The lack of compelling direction makes this and Skyrim both hard games to stick with.*NOW WITH INSANE MULTIPLAYER*  
With much determination I finally waded through this batshit inane story to its deserved conclusion and just in time for Just Cause 3.

Still Playing:The games of 2013

From my Still Playing 2009 post I was playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I have abandoned that game as I got stuck in a level, completely under leveled and under equipped with only a revert to a previous save from hours earlier as an escape. Yeah so no. I have not started either of the sequels.

New to 2013, the following are games I have begun but not completed.

Assassin's Creed 4: This nut will crack sometime in January. It's a great game and far superior to the mess that was Assassin's Creed 3.

MARK OF THE NINJA: A taut stealth side scroll-er with beautiful art and great mechanics, this XBL Arcade game is always beckoning to me.

RED FACTION:ARMAGEDDON: I had heard how terrible and linear this game is compared to its predecessor, and while it is linear, it is a perfectly fine third person shooter. It is gorgeous on PC and just the thing for a lazy afternoon of "working" from home.

F.E.A.R 3: I ignored this game when it was released, but having finished and enjoyed F.E.A.R. 2 and love the original, I wanted to give it a shot. Graphically impressive on PC, the mechanics are as expected with the new addition of co-op. The story is nonsense but as a satisfying mouse and keyboard shooter, I am digging it. 

STATE OF DECAY: This surprise hit downloadable game is a great if janky open world zombie exporation game that incorporates day/night cycles and mission timers like Dead Rising. I keep restarting it, hopefully I will find time to finish it.

DEAD ISLAND:RIPTIDE: A disappointing cut and paste of Dead Island with some of the more interesting quirks patched out, DI:R still has that combination of broken jank and open world combat that made the original compelling. However the linear nature and extreme familiarity to the first game make it a bottom rung choice.

Here I discussed a bunch of games I had not yet finished at the end of 2012,  few of which are now in the can, unfortunately.

SKYRIM: This game is like my white whale. I keep finding reasons not to play it.

FAR CRY 2: Like any other open world game, I get lost in wandering and lose interest in the main thread of quests. Rightfully lauded for emergent gameplay and player agency, I hope to give this game it's due. I have attempted to stick to the main quests, especially after finishing Far Cry 3, just so I can stop wandering. 

RAYMAN ORIGINS:  Equally beautiful and punishing, I will push through until my skill runs out, which may be sooner than later. Abandoned.

JERICHO:  A dark and ugly curiousity, I will give it a go I gave it a go. Poor squad mechanics and relentlessly ugly. Abandoned.

DRAGON AGE II: "Streamlined" and repetitive I should be have been able to tear through this in short time, especially in comparison to the enormous time I put into Dragon Age:Origins, but nope. I enjoyed Dragon Age II a lot. The animations are beautiful and the combat is fantastic. By skipping virtually all side quests I was able to finally finish it in due time.

HYDROPHOBIA: Released, tweaked and released again in a perpetual feedback loop, the graphics and mechanics make the janky parts bearable, but just. The broken just couldn't be patched out. I finally abandoned.

ODDWORLD: STRANGER'S WRAITH (Maybe HD): Be super if remake developer JAW finally released the promised patch so I can play it on PC with an ATI card and a stable framerate. When and if it comes, I can't wait to beat this game again as I loved it on OG Xbox. It finally required upgrading to quad-core to get the game to hit 60 fps at 1080p so it is clearly under optimized for PC.

JUST CAUSE 2: The campaign story is pointless and best ignored in favor of exploring the massive game map, wreaking havoc. The lack of compelling direction makes this and Skyrim both hard games to stick with.*NOW WITH INSANE MULTIPLAYER*


OLDER CONSOLE GAMES:

I have a bunch of older 360 and PS3 games to attach as well  Abandoned

Bully (360)
Metal Gear 4 (PS3)
Resistance 1 & 2 (PS3)
Psychonaughts  (PC)

Time to catch up

Despite the absence of posts I have been playing a tremendous amount of games since Dec of 2009. Four months into the new year 2010 is shaping up to be a better year than the year before, and I beaten more games in the last few months than I have in the last year. Unfortunately I still have an ever growing list of games I just can't find the time to dig into and finish, and I have found most of the games beaten this year to be 20 hours or less.

This leads to a quandary, do I keep expanding a pile of games I can't finish or do I finally bite the bullet and uninstall those games I haven't looked at in a while? I think it's clear some of the games on the list will never finished, because they don't compel me to finish them.

Those counted on the list of the fallen and soon to be deleted:
-Supreme Commander: While this RTS is silky smooth to play, with tight controls, active A.I. and the vaunted strategic zoom, the story is almost non-existent. With the online multiplayer holding virtually no attraction for me, this game is hitting the recycle bin.
-Far Cry 2: Beautiful and emergent, FC 2 is everything and nothing in that it reflects the intent of the player, rather than directing the player.I could spend days simply wandering the jungle seeing what there is to see without ever completing a mission. Once again, the simplistic and arbitrary story leaves me wanting, though in this case the narrative could in fact be self-created. In the end, I want to continue this journey, but right now, I can't make the time to be self-indulgent enough to lounge about the jungle.
-Fallout 3: A fantastic open world wasteland, that betrays the faith of the player in its final moments, I have kept the game installed partially as a wish to travel the entire wasteland and see what hidden treasures lurk and partially as a benchmark for upgrades.It's time to move on.
-Crysis: Kept this as a benchmark only, can't really myself playing it again despite its graphical prowess. There isn't enough meat on these bones for another go around story-wise (there's that word again)
-VTM:Bloodlines: Buggy and sometimes ugly, this underbaked RPG has lived on through its fanbase and endless patches/updates.I loved playing it despite the performance issues as it combined sex and violence in a truly mature way.I keep it so my wife can play it but she clearly isn't coming around to this anytime soon.

Oldy but Goody

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is staying because the game's moody atmosphere and open world still calls to me, and graphics patches have helped keep the engine from becoming fugly.

Half-Life 2/Ep. 1 & 2 are perennial favorites that are like visits from old friends, and sit contently in my Steam folder, along with The Witcher.

Unlike my console games which rotate in and out of the inventory on a regular basis, PC games grow especially difficult to trade so I simply retire them to their boxes in the closet. I think fondly of them once in a while and hope I see them again, but doubt it, kind of like grandparents.

Games-In-Brief: Spring/Summer 2009

A massive slew on ongoing personal stuff including moving my family 3500 km has been distraction. I am working to keep them under better management to prevent further distraction.
I rotate through a pile of games, as I usually get to play in chunks, and when I get frustrated, I quit. Here is a list of the games currently plaguing my shelves and hard drives:

The Witcher: Extended Edition- A visual feast of an RPG with truly adult themes and content (without being gratuitous), the combat is a bit wonky. Unfortunately the most recent patch destroyed my install so I am re-installing and re-patching.
Supreme Commander- This epic RTS has been a blast to play but the biggest impediment is that the missions grow massive and timely as you play. I am wary of starting what appears to be an end-game, as the initial mission space is massive and looks to only get bigger. I also suck at RTS’s
World in Conflict- I left this game behind a while ago on an abandoned Vista partition-Win 7 is spectacular, and leaves me thinging I will be nuking that partition so I should finish the game. A tight, accessible RTS, it is visually enthralling and can really push a system. Great story too.
Far Cry 2- Visuals again lead the pack in this game, as does the dynamic weather, day/night and fire propagation systems. The open ended nature of the game leaves the experience entirely to the player, which can be daunting. Like Supreme Commander, this game has a potential to be a massive time –sink as the exploration of the world is far more compelling than any story missions. More annoying is the compressed and apparently time-adjusted dialogue, which makes everyone, talk as if they are running at 1.5X.
F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point – A reasonable expansion pack to the original, it builds on the atmosphere of the first game, bumps up the weapons, but still leaves the player fighting inside warehouses and corridors. The A.I., while more cleverly scripted than actual A.I., is challenging and exciting.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Not yet graduated to the Clear Sky prequel, this game, while initially buggy, has finally been patched to a tight, unique experience. As much RPG as shooter, it has a vibrant exciting world with threats from all side and looks fantastic.
Age Of Conan- I have jumped back into this ultra-violent yet striking MMO with renewed vigor, as new content has been released, opening areas of the world previously unexplored. Recent patches addressed balancing issues, which required me to re-outfit my avatar with new skill trees, but the new far more granular feedback on stats is welcome.
Titan Quest- A pretty Diablo clone RPG is accessible and entertaining, though driven solely through mouse-clicks. The resounding thud of a shield bash is satisfying, though I feel like I am not leveling properly. Distribution of skill points is a bit obtuse and unlike as to potential benefits.
Fallout 3- Though I have not purchased or played any DLC, I continue my quest through the capital wastes, avoiding the game ending mission in order to finally and fully explore the map. Now essentially overpowered and able to walk through (almost) any enemy in the game, especially accompanied by weaponized companions, I am playing to explore, and discovering new and weird things every time.
Xbox Live Arcade has gotten my attention with two game demos: Shadow Complex and Trials HD. Shadow Complex is a gorgeous side-scroller rendered in 3D, following the old-school vibe of the original Metroid. The Unreal Engine is stunning as ever and this massive arcade download comes complete with full rendered cut scenes. Ridiculously fun and might in fact pry $20 from my cold hands in the form of 1200 Microsoft points. Trials HD is a physics based 3D almost-isometric view of a motorcycle stunt driver who the player has manipulate through a serious of ever more challenging jumps and tricks. Controlled only by acceleration, braking and leaning back or forward, the bike and rider are sent hurtling through the air into flips and ramp slide, often culminating in a massive ragdoll crash. Deliriously entertaining, it looks like a steal as well.