Screw you longcat, my list is longer!
Well, this is much later than I had originally planned on posting it. Actually, I had planned on posting it at the end of December or very beginning of January...but oh well. If you don't know what kind of procrastinator I am by now, chances are you don't really know me at all.
First and foremost, holy crap 2009 was a great year for gaming. Not only were a ton of great games released this past year, but I had plenty of awesome older games I played too. Thinking back on it, 2009 was probably one of my best overall years for gaming ever. Sure I played better games in different years, but last year was more well rounded.
A big part of this was due to the fact that I had finally stepped into the next (or rather, "current") generation of gaming at the beginning of the year and got my PS3. Also, rather than focusing only on RPGs like I normally do, I expanded my experience by trying a vast variety of different genres as well. Some of the genres include first person shooters, third person shooters, action/adventure, platforming, survival horror, racing, fighting, strategy...hell I even tried a bit of tower defense games which I tend to find pointless (Seriously, why can't a tower defense game have a storyline and give you a purpose for defending?).
Anyways, here's what I've been playing for the last 365 days prior to January 1st, 2010. Hmm...I think I'll organize by platform and then alphabetically within each platform.
Playstation 3
Batman: Arkham Asylum: Ok, I've always been more of a Marvel fanboy and usually stayed away from the DC superheroes...but after playing this game, I think Batman may be the exception (Ok, green lantern is pretty cool too..). With an original and AMAZING storyline, this game was just a blast to play through. No raspy Christian Bale trying too hard to be badass, but you instead have the voice of Kevin Conroy running around beating all the baddies in what would be EPIC in comparison to the original comic books. The controls and moves were just spot on. Easy to learn, but difficult to master and you have a wide enough variety to keep it interesting throughout the entire game. There's something very satisfying about doing inverted takedowns on unsuspecting thugs.
Bioshock: This was the very first time I actually sat down and played through a FPS campaign all the way to the end. Normally FPSs tend to be pretty mindless and only about slaughtering racist, foulmouthed 14 year olds online. Bioshock is a one player game however and involves a deep and moody setting and storyline. It has a somewhat creepy atmosphere as you unravel the events that unfold in a Utopian society gone wrong. It was defintely worth playing and my only regret was renting it instead of buying. I would definitely play through again.
Disgaea 3: What can I say? I love Disgaea games. And the third installment is no exception. While Adell in Disgaea 2 left me feeling kind of apathetic and uncaring, Mao and the cast of Disgaea 3 kept me very entertained. I think Laharl from the original is still my favorite, but Mao is defintely up there. This is also the first time I decided to attempt to max out all my characters in a disgaea game. Level 9999 is just..crazy. And time consuming. But it's still fun to play. I'm only like...a third of the way there, but I DO want to max all my characters out and get every single trophy in this game eventually.
Eternal Sonata: A game that's almost up there with the "Tales of" RPGs but doesn't quite make it. This was actually the first game I bought for my PS3. The RPGs were kind of limited back then, but this one had really nice looking, colorful art. So I had to give it a try. It's actually really fun and the storyline is pretty interesting too. My only gripes about it is that I didn't care much for the random history lesson intervals and the game was really linear (some more open exploring and sidequests would have been nice...). There are still some things I need to do on a second playthrough, and I've yet to play the game in HD (it was always kind of warped around the edges on my old tv) so going back to this one sometime in the future will be a welcome choice.
Ghostbusters: This game is just...epic. They took everything I loved from the movies and made it that much more awesome. Hell, I'd even go as far to say that the game is better than the movies, just because it's longer and has more storyline while keeping the actors and humor of the original intact. Some of the gameplay elements took a little getting used to, but after a short while, I was trapping ghosts like a pro. This was another game I rented and wished I bought...but at the time, the 80 dollar price tag just didn't seem worth it. It was too short and the online modes were just ok.
God of War: Heh..this was the very last game I beat in 2009. I actually finished it just a couple hours before midnight on December 31st. I can see now why it was considered such a classic. It's just...epic. But mainly in terms of violence, sex and...um...more violence. My only problem with playing is that I don't have the stamina to keep up that kind of furious button mashing for extended periods of time. Also, Ares was a bitch. But I kicked his ass after a few tries, so it's all good.
Little Big Planet: This game fills me with...um...happy. Seriously, it's just a cute, fun game that you can keep on playing forever. There's like...MILLIONS of levels out there and that's not even a hyperbole. I still need to sit down and make my own level (other than that random zombie level I made to just screw around) but I still enjoy going back every now and then and playing some random levels for fun. To this day, the Metal Gear Solid and Pirates of the Carribean DLC add-ons are the only ones I've paid for. They were worth every penny.
Prince of Persia: Not to be confused with the older Prince of Persias on the PS2, this one is...different. A lot of it is just platforming around and collecting stuff. The fights are easily avoidable until you get to the "boss" of the area. I thought it was fun enough to play through. Graphics were prettymuhful too. Not sure why everyone hates it so much. Everyone likes to emphasize what a douche the Prince is...but I've seen douchier *shrugs*
Ratchet and Clank Future - Tools of Destruction: This was actually my first ever Ratchet and Clank game I've played. And it was just as fun as everyone told me it would be. The story itself is amusing in the way one of those animated kids/family movies would be...but the vast amount of weaponry you get to screw around with is what makes the game so awesome. I loved throwing down a disco ball, only to cause every enemy on screen (bosses included) to stop what their doing and start busting a move while I ran around and blew the living crap out of them. The Nano Swarmers were another favorite..they kind of reminded me of the bee plasmid you can get in Bioshock..they just swarm and eat away at any enemy that comes near while you can continue to blast them away with missles/plasma beams/whatever.
Street Fighter IV: I can't lie...I honestly regret buying this game on day 1. I think I was just blinded over my nostalgia over Street Fighter II. I mean it's a GREAT game and delivered everything it promised to be...but...I suck at it. I just continuously got raped online and everyone else seems so uber pro. Also, it irks me that I paid 80 bucks for it to get it on its release date...and it dropped down to HALF of that a few months later. Nowadays I see it going for 20 bucks every now and then. Also, Super Street Fighter IV is coming out which is the same game only with a crap ton more characters and different super moves. Way to make me feel ripped off Capcom.
Uncharted - Drakes Fortune: When I first saw videos of this game on gametrailers, loooong before I owned a PS3, I remember thinking to myself "Wow...even though I don't play shooters, this game looks pretty cool..." If I had only known just HOW cool this game really was back then. Everything from the graphics to the storyline to the platforming to the shooting/cover system......my god this game is just amazing. It took a while for me to start not sucking at it, but once I did, I enjoyed the game sooooo much. Nathan Drake is just hilarious as a character and the storyline is as epic as the original Indiana Jones...even more so than the newer Indiana Jones. I just honestly can't give this game enough praise...I love it.
Uncharted 2 - Among Thieves: Sooo...yeah...remember how I was JUST saying how epic Uncharted was? Uncharted 2 took everything good about that and made it that much better. Hands down one of my favorite games of ALL TIME. I honestly can't remember the last time a game took my breath away. They also included an online mode this time around, both coop and versus modes, which I've spent countless hours at. Even if you don't usually care much for the genre, if you have a PS3, you NEED to get this game. Trust me, it'll convert you.
Valkyria Chronicles: Valkyria Chronicles is what a lot of people are saying is the most underrated game in 2008 and quite frankly, I have to agree. It's also the best JRPG-type game on the console to date (even though it is technically more like a strategy rpg). The gameplay is just...really fun, plain and simple. Love the use of the cel shaded graphics too. My only gripe was that I actually had to cringe at the cliche anime-esque "fluff" they put into a game about war...but it's easy to look past and still enjoy. Oh and you can also recruit Vyse and some other characters from Skies of Arcadia into your party. This made me wish they would release a remake of Skies of Arcadia on the PS3. I never did get to finish that game...
X-Men Origins - Wolverine: Another "best" game for my list. This time, this is the best movie adaptation. Normally games based directly off of movies tend to just...suck. That is definitely not the case with Wolverine. While the storyline (of the game AND movie) left me kind of "meh =/"-ish, the gameplay is where it's at in this. They made it so much fun to just go berzerk and slash the hell out of everything. Everything from the special moves to Wolverines healing factor to the enemy AI were just spot on. Also, this is probably the most violent I've seen wolverine be..especially compared to the cartoons/movies/what I've read of the comics. It also makes me happy that I found it for 20 bucks pretty much at the video store. Though my brother borrowed this at Christmas and I'll probably never see it again...*sighs* oh well.
PSN downloadable games
Linger in the Shadows: This was more so interactive art rather than a video game. To be honest, I mainly bought it because it was only 3 bucks and came with trophies. It was a trippy/kind of cool video....but nothing special. Not much more I can say about it really...
Fat Princess: This game is essentially capture the flag with wizards and knights and stuff. Only instead of flags, you're capturing princesses which you can make obese by feeding magical cake to. Easily the best 15 bucks I spent on the playstation store. When you have a full team of actual players instead of AI, all chaos ensues and it's just a fun game to play. I think I have around 40 hours or more clocked in with this...which is what I'll typically spend on a full RPG, even though this is more or less only online play versus matches. The graphics and humor are cute too, so that's another plus.
Flower: Bought this game while it was on sale and felt like an idiot for waiting that long. The game is just...beautiful. The graphics are gorgeous and the game itself is quite tranquil and relaxing. You just float through colorful flowery meadows blooming stuff to very peaceful music. I normally hate using the SIXAXIS controls (equivalent to motion control on the wii) but it just worked so well in this game. Flower easily proves that games can be viewed as an art medium rather than just mindless entertainment. It also proves that you don't need to kill stuff to have fun (holy crap, did I just say that?).
Penny Arcade Adventures episode 1: It's an RPG made within a gothic/victorian 1800s type setting. The humor is great and the gameplay is fun. As an RPG fan it was hard to pass this one up. It is rather short though..especially considering it was 15 bucks (I think 5-10 would have been a more fair price) But still enjoyable while it lasted. It also caused me to go back and read Penny Arcade more regularily now.
Penny Arcade Adventures episode 2: Pretty much more of the same as the first one with a new storyline. Still just as enjoyable and there were a few minor tweaks here and there, but nothing major. My only gripe is that the full story still doesn't end. It's implied that there will be 2 more episodes, but episode 3 has been on hiatus with no talk of it being worked on. Now I have that nagging imcomplete feeling about the series which leaves me feeling a little empty inside...D:
Punisher - No Mercy: Ugh. Okay, I love the Punisher. He's one of my favorite super heroes. And that was pretty much the ONLY reason why I bought this game. THe one player campaign was just mediocre..but I guess that's what I should have expected from a 10 dollar game. I only bothered to play online once and had to deal with the typical n00by FPS fanboys. Blargh. The gameplay itself is just your standard dime a dozen FPS setup. Only you don't get any grenades. So that kind of sucks.
Zombie Apocalypse: A mindless, kill-everything-that-moves zombie overhead shooter type game. I actually had a lot of fun with this one. The controls were set up pretty well so you can get into it easily enough and don't have to get tired from spamming attack buttons. The main campaign was like..60-70 levels I think. I've probably killed tens of thousands of zombies in this game. Still need to play through "7 days of hell" mode for a trophy...but find myself lacking the patience. Just ONE of the levels usually involves you killing thousands of zombies...which takes longer than you might think.
Playstation Portable
Dissidia - Final Fantasy: I spent a lot of time with this game. To the point where the moogles would send me a message telling me to GTFO and get a life instead of playing so much every day. But I did beat through every characters individual scenario and the final main scenario. There were a lot of characters I liked playing as, but in the end, Cloud was my main. Grinded him to level 100 (lulz..grinding in a fighting game) and pretty much breezed through the end boss. There are still other characters I kind of want to get to level 100 with too...namely Terra, Jecht and Gabranth. Oh, and I still want to play versus with people over adhoc party on my PS3 (Pengtwin, I'm looking at you <.< ).
Mana Khemia: I almost quit this game a few times. Actually..I did once or twice and had to come back to it. I think it was mainly due to the fact that the game would FREEZE on me. Buggy piece of crap. Also, the voice acting was just TERRIBLE for the most part. But after sticking with it and getting a ways into the game, I really did enjoy the storyline. The alchemy/skill learning system was pretty cool too. All in all, a decent game (save for the freezing -_-)
Star Ocean 2: Pretty much a 3rd or 4th (maybe 5th?) playthrough for me. Only this time on the PSP. The music made me go into nostalgia mode hard. I had just as much fun with it now as I did as a kid. Not much to say really. My only gripe was with the voice acting. Ashtons was so bad that I had to bench him even though I didn't originally intend to. I also got a new ending for the character they added in. I already forgot her name, but I remember she was pretty annoying.
Playstation 2
Disgaea 2: I really wanted to finish this one before playing Disgaea 3...even though the stories aren't in any way connected at all. It was pretty fun. The gameplay was the addictive tactics RPG style I've come to love in the Disgaea series as they honestly do it best. The characters were pretty unmemorable save for the Ninja Girl however. And that's only because I have a ninja girl fetish.
Dokapon Kingdom: I'm pretty sure that was this year we finally finished it. I played it over at Robs. I can't remember what happened, but I remember feeling gipped and cheated at the end...*thinks* oh yeah, for defeating the last boss, that pretty much makes absolutely everything else in the game pointless. Bah. If I knew that I probably would have put more effort into grinding and getting better gear rather than focusing on towns and selling gems and stuff. Blargh. Oh well.
Persona 3 FES: Does this count as one game or two? Since I did finish the Answer. I actually thought I beat this game earlier for some reason, but looking back on last years blog, apparently that wasn't the case. Either way, I think I fanboy'd over this game enough. It's tied with Tales of the Abyss as my favorite RPG played as an adult..and...yeah. Oh, and Yukari is a fucking bitch.
Persona 4: I frikkin love the Persona series. This game was just as great as P3 was only slightly different. Actually, if I were forced to choose, I'd say P3 was a bit better, but this was still an excellent game. Chie is annoying and kind of a bitch at times, but no where NEAR as annoying as Yukari was. Also, Chie had her moments when I didn't mind her so much. Kanji and Naoto were easily my favorite characters. What? I have a thing for reverse traps...(that goes for Naoto only..not cross dressing Kanji. That was just...creepy). Now then. I'm off to find the secret hidden penguin animal cracker....<.<
Nintendo DS
Devil Survivor: My favorite non-Persona Shin Megami Tensei game. It was really fun and had a really interesting storyline. I'm always into those post apocalyptic type stories, so yeah...I really enjoyed this game. Once again, the main female lead was just whiny and annoying...but oh well. I guess that's a trademark for megaten games. I need to play through again and try to get the other endings...
New Super Mario Bros: Heh, better late than never I guess. I honestly don't remember the last time I beat a Super Mario game. But it was fun. I also felt out of practice on some levels, but got better after a while. Fireballs made the bosses way too easy...
The World Ends With You: There was something about this game where the storyline just didn't stick in my brain. I don't know if I just didn't get it or if I had trouble keeping track of the characters or what. But I do remember enjoying it while I played. The music was catchy and I got used to the battle system after a while. Neku was also a pretty cool main character, rather than your standard "white knight" type heroes. He was more so like "fuck your shit *puts on headphones and ignores*". Also, I enjoyed collecting pins, as I do that in real life as well. I definitely need to play through this one again.
Xbox 360
Halo ODST: Rob rented it and I played through the story campaign with him. I never really played through the other Halo games, but seeing as this was a sidestory or something, I didn't think it mattered all that much. Either way, the game itself sucked. I didn't really have any fun with it but forced myself through it anyways. That reason might be because Rob would tend to run ahead and kill everything on his own a lot, but even aside from that..meh. Halo is only good for its simplicity with the multiplayer really. And even then, I got bored with it after a while. Halo is just overrated these days.
------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's every game I finished this year. I try counting it up but every time I wind up with a different number for some reason. I think my eyes are bugging out. I numbered them off in my notepad list I made up and came up with 33. I guess I'll go with that. 33 games I beat this year. I'm actually quite proud of myself for that. I mean, sure some of them were 10-15 hour campaigns only, but still, That's a lot of gaming.
Also, I'm not a 100% completionist, but I did go through all of the games on the normal difficulty (never easy or hard) and I do go out of my way to explore everything and at least make an attempt for a good chunk of the bonus stuff (like trophies and such). So that should put into perspective how much I put into each game. I never really do a "speed run" where I'm just racing to finish it as fast as possible. I'm actually quite slow in that sense...
BUT, unfortunately for me, this list is not done yet. While that was all the games I BEAT there were still a ton more I didn't quite finish. And some of these games I spent more time playing than the ones I did finish. Ugh..so my list of gaming in 2009 continues. I didn't bother putting this list in any particular order...so yeah. It may seem kind of jumbled.
Also, I have the memory of a goldfish (and lawls, I typed goldfish of a memory at first there) so I'm probably forgetting quite a few games too. Hell, I have a feeling I'm forgetting games I beat as well..so this list may or may not be incomplete.
Anywho, here goes (man, attempting this in one sitting was a bad idea. I'm already so worn out x___x;; )
Close But No Cigar - Games I Never Finished
Okami: Calica was awesome enough to send me this game <3 and with perfect timing too as it came when I was looking for something to play. I put several hours into it, but didn't really finish it. I guess I just kind of got sidetracked after a while with my PS3 ._. I will definitely finish it some day though!
Silent Hill Origins: I've been playing bits and pieces of it, but just couldn't stay interested enough to sit down and play through the whole thing, even though it isn't really a long game. I guess I just have to be in the mood for a horror type genre...
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Found this brand new at the game store across the street and nearly HNNNGGG'd right on the spot. Been wanting to play this game for a while. And it's a really good game. I'm not sure why I didn't finish it. I guess I just got distracted with PS3 games once again or something. I think I was around the halfway point in terms of progress. Definitely want to finish it up and get the 2nd one as well.
Atleiler Iris 3: Found this for...what? 10 bucks? at Rogers Video. Played through the first few dungeons. Easy game was easy...not as good as Mana Khemia though, but still enjoyable. I think I was just waiting for the story to pick up. I neglect my PS2 way too much these days.
Final Fantasy VII: I was just doing another replay to refresh my memory on the series. I actually got right to the final dungeon and most of the way through the final dungeon to level grind for a bit...but never bothered beating sephiroth for some reason. I was just working my way through all the sidequests and gave up on chocobo breeding due to lack of patience.
Final Fantasy XII Felt like replaying it for a bit...made it out of Rabanastre and moved on to something else. Yay for short attention spans! Though I do want to go back and finish all the hunts and sidequest some day...
Resident Evil 2: It had been so long since I last played so I bought the PS1 classic version off the PS store and was playing through Claire's story. Don't know why I didn't finish it. I will soon though. I think I was past the halfway mark on that too. At least I was out of the RPD building...
Burn Zombie Burn: Bought it while it was on sale in the PSN store. It was a meh game. Didn't really get me hooked so...whatever. I'll try playing some more if I ever get bored enough I guess.
Lost Planet: A third person shooter I bought for 20 bucks when I didn't have many PS3 games. It's a fun enough game..but I think I got stuck on a boss and just said "fuck this" and quit. Haven't really been interested enough to go back and finish it. I got like..3/4ths of the way through the game too.
Gunstar Heroes: Found it on the PSN store for PS3. It's a remake of an old Genesis shooter game that sort of plays like Contra or Metal Slug. It's pretty fun..but kind of hard at parts. That one level where you have to fight through 7 bosses was kind of a pain in the ass. I'm stuck towards the end where you have to fight through a rather long level..then 2 bosses...all with one life bar and no continues. If you die, you restart at the beggining of the level. So yeah..I'm just kind of stuck on this one. There's an online 2 player mode...maybe I can talk Sam into playing with me....
Wild Arms: I wanted to play this more, but keep on getting side tracked. I've picked up and dropped it several times now. I'm about 3/4ths through the game too...I'll finish it one of these days. Then get Wild Arms 2 and play that.....
Oblivion: everyone seems to swear by the elder scrolls series as an amazing RPG...but it's a WRPG, so I had a hard time really getting into it. I love how huge the world is, but it's way too open ended and I find myself just wandering aimlessly and doing whatever rather than actually levelling up or progressing the story. I don't hate it or anything...I just can't seem to focus when I play.
Orange Box: this is actually three games. I played a good amount of portal, but only in small doses and never really finished. I think I might be stuck on one of the puzzles and refuse to look the answer up online. But yeah..Portal was pretty much the only reason I bought this game. That and the 10 dollar price tag. I played a bit of Half Life 2 and thought it was just..meh. No one to play Team Fortress 2 with on the PS3 so I just didn't bother with that yet. I think valve is totally overrated as a game company...even if I do enjoy the Left 4 Dead series.
Sonic Unleashed: I was tricked! I played the demo of this game which is pretty much the first sonic the hedgehog level and it was actually really fun. And so were some of the later ones. But then there's the Sonic the Werehog levels which are just complete ass. Controls and camera angles are poorly done. Also, the daytime hedgehog levels later on just get kind of ridiculous and unfair. You pretty much have to memorize every single thing and act it out accordingly. All while having to collect stupid tokens in order to move on. Bah. And here I was hoping for at least a DECENT Sonic game..*sighs*
Dead Space: Another game I dug out of the bargain bin...it's actually pretty good. Sort of plays like a clunkier Resident Evil 4/5...only it's in space...and the mutant zombie creatures you have to fight are a lot more deadly and vicious. It's actually a really cool game with an interesting enough story (if you liked the movie Pandorum, this is pretty much the exact same thing)...but just like Silent Hill, I think I just have to be in the mood for horror in order to play this one. There are also a lot of cheap scare tactics in it where things just suddenly burst out of nowhere and you get loud noises as you fumble through the controls to kill whatevers running at you. It made me paranoid and I open every door with my gun/cutter thing ready <.<;
Resident Evil 5 Played a bit of this with Rob on the 360....again, he already played through the game and is better so he just runs ahead and kills everything making it vastly less fun for me. I think I need to get this game on the PS3 and just play through on my own so I can take the time to read all the documents and enjoy the storyline/gameplay at my own pace.
Burnout Paradise: I actually played this game quite a bit...just driving around, doing races, stunts, smashing other cars up and crashing myself. Put many hours into it..but it's not really a game you can "beat" unless you count getting your burnout liscence. But that just seems like a pain in the ass. One of the things that bug me is it doesn't tell you what challenges you've already completed and if you do the same one more than once, you can't exit out, you have to finish. That and you don't get the credit towards unlocking the next liscence. So its just impossible for me to keep track of what I did or didn't do...and..yeah. Bleh. oh well, I still had fun with it.
Phoenix Wright - Trials and Tribulations: The only Pheonix Wright game I still need to play through. Sometimes I'm in the mood for the story and other times I'm not. I bought it cheap, used and with a coupon...but I guess I wasn't completely in the mood for it as I only made it to the second trial or so. I'll finish it one of these days though. I like the Phoenix Wright games.
Prinny - I can really be the hero?: I <3 Prinnies. Adorable, psychotic, exploding, penguin slaves. But this platformer is hard. Like..ridiculously hard. You get 1000 "lives" (actually, when you die, it's just another prinny slave taking over in your place) and I've only used..maybe..30 or 40 of them or so...but STILL. Some things are needlessly frustrating. My biggest gripe with the game is once you jump, you have absolutely no control. Like...in Mario if you jump, you can press back and forth on the d-pad and sort of "aim" where you're going to land....that's not the case in Prinny...it's always a set arch. And when you have to dodge crap flying at you from every direction while climbing up platformers you can just BARELY reach at times, then yeah...it just makes you want to RAAAGGE. I played a bit more of the game so far this month and only have 2 more levels to complete (I think) so I'll probably still try to beat it...but yeah. Blargh. The game could have been soooo much better if it weren't for that one control issue.
Persona: I was greatly disappointed with this game. The random battles are just...so...slow. And tedious. And leveling up/acquiring new Personas is just a pain in the ass. If you look past that though, the game is alright and has an amazing soundtrack. But yeah...it was hard to find motivation to play like I did with P3 and P4 which were more addictive than crack. I am doing alright though...I'm almost at the end of the game now. Only one or two more dungeons left to go through. Would be half a dungeon, but I looked up on how to get the "good ending" online. Then I still have to play through again to see the Snow Queen story...but..I might put that off for a while.
Super Mario Party DS: I played a few rounds every now and then *shrug*
Metal Gear Solid 2: Start playing through this because I need to refresh my memory on 2, play through 3 then finally MGS4 on the PS3...but yeah. Like everything else, I got sidetracked. I finished Snakes part in the beggining and started playing through Raidens part...but then I remembered how much I didn't like Raiden and lost interest. But I do need to finish it up and refresh my memory on how everything ended. That or find one of those anthology dealies and just read it all I guess...
Final Fantasy V: Started playing for a bit..died a cheap death in that one tower near the beggining (having all monks was a bad idea for that one boss...) quit for a while and just never went back to it. Oh well.
Sword of Mana: Same ol' same ol'...started playing, got distracted. Only played a couple hours into the game.
Pokemon Emerald: Ugh..I REALLY need to just finish this already and collect all the pokemon. Especially before Soul Silver comes out in a couple months. I think I have one more badge to go and then it's on to the elite four. I think I have a bit of grinding to do to get some of my other pokemon stronger too...
Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past: Once again, got a couple hours into it and then distracted. I'll finish it one of these days, really, I swear. Maybe before I finally start Spirit Tracks...
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days: I think I'm like..half way through this game? It's pretty much an ice cream eating simulator with hinted yaoi undertones. It's not a bad game...I guess I'm just tired of having to play the same worlds over and over again. I hope Birth by Sleep will have new worlds...
My Japanese Coach: Spent several hours trying to learn Japanese with this game and I was actually doing pretty well. But then I just stopped practicing and now I've forgotten pretty much everything. So I need to review everything all over again and pick up the game again and continue...
Spyro the Dragon: This game came "free" when you bought an issue of Qore on the playstation store. The issues of Quore was only 2 or 3 bucks I think, so it seemed worth it. I only played through the first world or two of it. THe game was making me kind of nautious so I quit. It seemed a lot funner when I was younger....
Umjammer Lammy: Bought this off of the PSN since I really enjoyed Parappa as a kid but never got around to playing this one beyond the demo. The controls just don't seem responsive...even if I think I'm doing something spot on, it tells me I'm doing bad ._. I only got through the first 3 stages or so then I got stuck. Haven't played since. Bleh. Rapping dogs are cooler than rocking lambs.
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty: More awesome R&C-ness...only...not quite. Felt very limited in terms of weapons and customization and even though its VASTLY shorter, I just didn't feel like playing all the way through. I'll finish it up before getting A Crack in Time I suppose.
Noby Noby Boy: I bought this thinking it would be just as fun as Katamari. I was wrong. Most of the time I spent playing, I was just wondering "ok...so...wtf am I supposed to do?" You don't even get a goal in the game. At least with Katamari you had objectives....in Noby Noby boy you just stretch out really long, eat things up and poop them out. Oh and if you were wondering why I was making the comparison, it was because both games are made by the same dude.
Marvel vs Capcom 2: I wish I bought this INSTEAD of street fighter IV. I'm much better at it and I've probably played it more than SFIV...but yeah. I just never bothered to play through arcade mode in one player. I mainly just played online vs Sam and his friends. Spiderman and Jin are my best characters...though I usually pick at complete random.
Bomberman ULTRA: Another game I bought on sale off of PSN just because. No real point to it other htan just blowing stuff up. Literally. Wee?
World of Warcraft: I feel deeply ashamed for this. Sam bugged me like...EVERY DAY for MONTHS so I finally just gave in and played a week or two with the free trial. It wasn't as bad as I thought and a lot more fun when you have friends to play with...but still it's not something I would obsess over or pay to play *shrugs*
------------------------------------------------------
Well..that's all I can think of at the moment, even though I *know* there's more I'm forgetting. I also left out stuff like random games I've played at the arcade or the countless hours I spent playing random demos of games here and there...but yeah. that was pretty much my 2009 experience as a gamer.
If you actually managed to read through all of this...holy crap, you deserve a medal. I mainly wrote it all to stop and reflect on what I played over the past year and how much time I invested into this hobby. That and I think on a subconscious level I just wanted to "brag" about how much I've played. But I sacrificed a social life and invested all that time into playing these games, so I'd like to think I earned my bragging rights...
I can honestly say video games have become a bigger interest to me than anime has. Now I just need to find a way to get my ass over to some of the video game conventions like Penny Arcade Expo, E3 or SGC....
I also need more friends to game online with...
2010 is looking like it'll be an even better year of gaming for me, just with everything that's coming out. THere are multiple games coming out each month that I really want to play and I still need to catch up on a crap load of games from last year. Even if my New Year's resolution was to be more social...if I want to get all that gaming done this year, that will be very very difficult...
But oh well. Who needs friends when I have pixel wimminz to spend my time with =D
God I'm so ronery...D: *needs a Persona 5 on PS3 already*
First and foremost, holy crap 2009 was a great year for gaming. Not only were a ton of great games released this past year, but I had plenty of awesome older games I played too. Thinking back on it, 2009 was probably one of my best overall years for gaming ever. Sure I played better games in different years, but last year was more well rounded.
A big part of this was due to the fact that I had finally stepped into the next (or rather, "current") generation of gaming at the beginning of the year and got my PS3. Also, rather than focusing only on RPGs like I normally do, I expanded my experience by trying a vast variety of different genres as well. Some of the genres include first person shooters, third person shooters, action/adventure, platforming, survival horror, racing, fighting, strategy...hell I even tried a bit of tower defense games which I tend to find pointless (Seriously, why can't a tower defense game have a storyline and give you a purpose for defending?).
Anyways, here's what I've been playing for the last 365 days prior to January 1st, 2010. Hmm...I think I'll organize by platform and then alphabetically within each platform.
Playstation 3
Batman: Arkham Asylum: Ok, I've always been more of a Marvel fanboy and usually stayed away from the DC superheroes...but after playing this game, I think Batman may be the exception (Ok, green lantern is pretty cool too..). With an original and AMAZING storyline, this game was just a blast to play through. No raspy Christian Bale trying too hard to be badass, but you instead have the voice of Kevin Conroy running around beating all the baddies in what would be EPIC in comparison to the original comic books. The controls and moves were just spot on. Easy to learn, but difficult to master and you have a wide enough variety to keep it interesting throughout the entire game. There's something very satisfying about doing inverted takedowns on unsuspecting thugs.
Bioshock: This was the very first time I actually sat down and played through a FPS campaign all the way to the end. Normally FPSs tend to be pretty mindless and only about slaughtering racist, foulmouthed 14 year olds online. Bioshock is a one player game however and involves a deep and moody setting and storyline. It has a somewhat creepy atmosphere as you unravel the events that unfold in a Utopian society gone wrong. It was defintely worth playing and my only regret was renting it instead of buying. I would definitely play through again.
Disgaea 3: What can I say? I love Disgaea games. And the third installment is no exception. While Adell in Disgaea 2 left me feeling kind of apathetic and uncaring, Mao and the cast of Disgaea 3 kept me very entertained. I think Laharl from the original is still my favorite, but Mao is defintely up there. This is also the first time I decided to attempt to max out all my characters in a disgaea game. Level 9999 is just..crazy. And time consuming. But it's still fun to play. I'm only like...a third of the way there, but I DO want to max all my characters out and get every single trophy in this game eventually.
Eternal Sonata: A game that's almost up there with the "Tales of" RPGs but doesn't quite make it. This was actually the first game I bought for my PS3. The RPGs were kind of limited back then, but this one had really nice looking, colorful art. So I had to give it a try. It's actually really fun and the storyline is pretty interesting too. My only gripes about it is that I didn't care much for the random history lesson intervals and the game was really linear (some more open exploring and sidequests would have been nice...). There are still some things I need to do on a second playthrough, and I've yet to play the game in HD (it was always kind of warped around the edges on my old tv) so going back to this one sometime in the future will be a welcome choice.
Ghostbusters: This game is just...epic. They took everything I loved from the movies and made it that much more awesome. Hell, I'd even go as far to say that the game is better than the movies, just because it's longer and has more storyline while keeping the actors and humor of the original intact. Some of the gameplay elements took a little getting used to, but after a short while, I was trapping ghosts like a pro. This was another game I rented and wished I bought...but at the time, the 80 dollar price tag just didn't seem worth it. It was too short and the online modes were just ok.
God of War: Heh..this was the very last game I beat in 2009. I actually finished it just a couple hours before midnight on December 31st. I can see now why it was considered such a classic. It's just...epic. But mainly in terms of violence, sex and...um...more violence. My only problem with playing is that I don't have the stamina to keep up that kind of furious button mashing for extended periods of time. Also, Ares was a bitch. But I kicked his ass after a few tries, so it's all good.
Little Big Planet: This game fills me with...um...happy. Seriously, it's just a cute, fun game that you can keep on playing forever. There's like...MILLIONS of levels out there and that's not even a hyperbole. I still need to sit down and make my own level (other than that random zombie level I made to just screw around) but I still enjoy going back every now and then and playing some random levels for fun. To this day, the Metal Gear Solid and Pirates of the Carribean DLC add-ons are the only ones I've paid for. They were worth every penny.
Prince of Persia: Not to be confused with the older Prince of Persias on the PS2, this one is...different. A lot of it is just platforming around and collecting stuff. The fights are easily avoidable until you get to the "boss" of the area. I thought it was fun enough to play through. Graphics were prettymuhful too. Not sure why everyone hates it so much. Everyone likes to emphasize what a douche the Prince is...but I've seen douchier *shrugs*
Ratchet and Clank Future - Tools of Destruction: This was actually my first ever Ratchet and Clank game I've played. And it was just as fun as everyone told me it would be. The story itself is amusing in the way one of those animated kids/family movies would be...but the vast amount of weaponry you get to screw around with is what makes the game so awesome. I loved throwing down a disco ball, only to cause every enemy on screen (bosses included) to stop what their doing and start busting a move while I ran around and blew the living crap out of them. The Nano Swarmers were another favorite..they kind of reminded me of the bee plasmid you can get in Bioshock..they just swarm and eat away at any enemy that comes near while you can continue to blast them away with missles/plasma beams/whatever.
Street Fighter IV: I can't lie...I honestly regret buying this game on day 1. I think I was just blinded over my nostalgia over Street Fighter II. I mean it's a GREAT game and delivered everything it promised to be...but...I suck at it. I just continuously got raped online and everyone else seems so uber pro. Also, it irks me that I paid 80 bucks for it to get it on its release date...and it dropped down to HALF of that a few months later. Nowadays I see it going for 20 bucks every now and then. Also, Super Street Fighter IV is coming out which is the same game only with a crap ton more characters and different super moves. Way to make me feel ripped off Capcom.
Uncharted - Drakes Fortune: When I first saw videos of this game on gametrailers, loooong before I owned a PS3, I remember thinking to myself "Wow...even though I don't play shooters, this game looks pretty cool..." If I had only known just HOW cool this game really was back then. Everything from the graphics to the storyline to the platforming to the shooting/cover system......my god this game is just amazing. It took a while for me to start not sucking at it, but once I did, I enjoyed the game sooooo much. Nathan Drake is just hilarious as a character and the storyline is as epic as the original Indiana Jones...even more so than the newer Indiana Jones. I just honestly can't give this game enough praise...I love it.
Uncharted 2 - Among Thieves: Sooo...yeah...remember how I was JUST saying how epic Uncharted was? Uncharted 2 took everything good about that and made it that much better. Hands down one of my favorite games of ALL TIME. I honestly can't remember the last time a game took my breath away. They also included an online mode this time around, both coop and versus modes, which I've spent countless hours at. Even if you don't usually care much for the genre, if you have a PS3, you NEED to get this game. Trust me, it'll convert you.
Valkyria Chronicles: Valkyria Chronicles is what a lot of people are saying is the most underrated game in 2008 and quite frankly, I have to agree. It's also the best JRPG-type game on the console to date (even though it is technically more like a strategy rpg). The gameplay is just...really fun, plain and simple. Love the use of the cel shaded graphics too. My only gripe was that I actually had to cringe at the cliche anime-esque "fluff" they put into a game about war...but it's easy to look past and still enjoy. Oh and you can also recruit Vyse and some other characters from Skies of Arcadia into your party. This made me wish they would release a remake of Skies of Arcadia on the PS3. I never did get to finish that game...
X-Men Origins - Wolverine: Another "best" game for my list. This time, this is the best movie adaptation. Normally games based directly off of movies tend to just...suck. That is definitely not the case with Wolverine. While the storyline (of the game AND movie) left me kind of "meh =/"-ish, the gameplay is where it's at in this. They made it so much fun to just go berzerk and slash the hell out of everything. Everything from the special moves to Wolverines healing factor to the enemy AI were just spot on. Also, this is probably the most violent I've seen wolverine be..especially compared to the cartoons/movies/what I've read of the comics. It also makes me happy that I found it for 20 bucks pretty much at the video store. Though my brother borrowed this at Christmas and I'll probably never see it again...*sighs* oh well.
PSN downloadable games
Linger in the Shadows: This was more so interactive art rather than a video game. To be honest, I mainly bought it because it was only 3 bucks and came with trophies. It was a trippy/kind of cool video....but nothing special. Not much more I can say about it really...
Fat Princess: This game is essentially capture the flag with wizards and knights and stuff. Only instead of flags, you're capturing princesses which you can make obese by feeding magical cake to. Easily the best 15 bucks I spent on the playstation store. When you have a full team of actual players instead of AI, all chaos ensues and it's just a fun game to play. I think I have around 40 hours or more clocked in with this...which is what I'll typically spend on a full RPG, even though this is more or less only online play versus matches. The graphics and humor are cute too, so that's another plus.
Flower: Bought this game while it was on sale and felt like an idiot for waiting that long. The game is just...beautiful. The graphics are gorgeous and the game itself is quite tranquil and relaxing. You just float through colorful flowery meadows blooming stuff to very peaceful music. I normally hate using the SIXAXIS controls (equivalent to motion control on the wii) but it just worked so well in this game. Flower easily proves that games can be viewed as an art medium rather than just mindless entertainment. It also proves that you don't need to kill stuff to have fun (holy crap, did I just say that?).
Penny Arcade Adventures episode 1: It's an RPG made within a gothic/victorian 1800s type setting. The humor is great and the gameplay is fun. As an RPG fan it was hard to pass this one up. It is rather short though..especially considering it was 15 bucks (I think 5-10 would have been a more fair price) But still enjoyable while it lasted. It also caused me to go back and read Penny Arcade more regularily now.
Penny Arcade Adventures episode 2: Pretty much more of the same as the first one with a new storyline. Still just as enjoyable and there were a few minor tweaks here and there, but nothing major. My only gripe is that the full story still doesn't end. It's implied that there will be 2 more episodes, but episode 3 has been on hiatus with no talk of it being worked on. Now I have that nagging imcomplete feeling about the series which leaves me feeling a little empty inside...D:
Punisher - No Mercy: Ugh. Okay, I love the Punisher. He's one of my favorite super heroes. And that was pretty much the ONLY reason why I bought this game. THe one player campaign was just mediocre..but I guess that's what I should have expected from a 10 dollar game. I only bothered to play online once and had to deal with the typical n00by FPS fanboys. Blargh. The gameplay itself is just your standard dime a dozen FPS setup. Only you don't get any grenades. So that kind of sucks.
Zombie Apocalypse: A mindless, kill-everything-that-moves zombie overhead shooter type game. I actually had a lot of fun with this one. The controls were set up pretty well so you can get into it easily enough and don't have to get tired from spamming attack buttons. The main campaign was like..60-70 levels I think. I've probably killed tens of thousands of zombies in this game. Still need to play through "7 days of hell" mode for a trophy...but find myself lacking the patience. Just ONE of the levels usually involves you killing thousands of zombies...which takes longer than you might think.
Playstation Portable
Dissidia - Final Fantasy: I spent a lot of time with this game. To the point where the moogles would send me a message telling me to GTFO and get a life instead of playing so much every day. But I did beat through every characters individual scenario and the final main scenario. There were a lot of characters I liked playing as, but in the end, Cloud was my main. Grinded him to level 100 (lulz..grinding in a fighting game) and pretty much breezed through the end boss. There are still other characters I kind of want to get to level 100 with too...namely Terra, Jecht and Gabranth. Oh, and I still want to play versus with people over adhoc party on my PS3 (Pengtwin, I'm looking at you <.< ).
Mana Khemia: I almost quit this game a few times. Actually..I did once or twice and had to come back to it. I think it was mainly due to the fact that the game would FREEZE on me. Buggy piece of crap. Also, the voice acting was just TERRIBLE for the most part. But after sticking with it and getting a ways into the game, I really did enjoy the storyline. The alchemy/skill learning system was pretty cool too. All in all, a decent game (save for the freezing -_-)
Star Ocean 2: Pretty much a 3rd or 4th (maybe 5th?) playthrough for me. Only this time on the PSP. The music made me go into nostalgia mode hard. I had just as much fun with it now as I did as a kid. Not much to say really. My only gripe was with the voice acting. Ashtons was so bad that I had to bench him even though I didn't originally intend to. I also got a new ending for the character they added in. I already forgot her name, but I remember she was pretty annoying.
Playstation 2
Disgaea 2: I really wanted to finish this one before playing Disgaea 3...even though the stories aren't in any way connected at all. It was pretty fun. The gameplay was the addictive tactics RPG style I've come to love in the Disgaea series as they honestly do it best. The characters were pretty unmemorable save for the Ninja Girl however. And that's only because I have a ninja girl fetish.
Dokapon Kingdom: I'm pretty sure that was this year we finally finished it. I played it over at Robs. I can't remember what happened, but I remember feeling gipped and cheated at the end...*thinks* oh yeah, for defeating the last boss, that pretty much makes absolutely everything else in the game pointless. Bah. If I knew that I probably would have put more effort into grinding and getting better gear rather than focusing on towns and selling gems and stuff. Blargh. Oh well.
Persona 3 FES: Does this count as one game or two? Since I did finish the Answer. I actually thought I beat this game earlier for some reason, but looking back on last years blog, apparently that wasn't the case. Either way, I think I fanboy'd over this game enough. It's tied with Tales of the Abyss as my favorite RPG played as an adult..and...yeah. Oh, and Yukari is a fucking bitch.
Persona 4: I frikkin love the Persona series. This game was just as great as P3 was only slightly different. Actually, if I were forced to choose, I'd say P3 was a bit better, but this was still an excellent game. Chie is annoying and kind of a bitch at times, but no where NEAR as annoying as Yukari was. Also, Chie had her moments when I didn't mind her so much. Kanji and Naoto were easily my favorite characters. What? I have a thing for reverse traps...(that goes for Naoto only..not cross dressing Kanji. That was just...creepy). Now then. I'm off to find the secret hidden penguin animal cracker....<.<
Nintendo DS
Devil Survivor: My favorite non-Persona Shin Megami Tensei game. It was really fun and had a really interesting storyline. I'm always into those post apocalyptic type stories, so yeah...I really enjoyed this game. Once again, the main female lead was just whiny and annoying...but oh well. I guess that's a trademark for megaten games. I need to play through again and try to get the other endings...
New Super Mario Bros: Heh, better late than never I guess. I honestly don't remember the last time I beat a Super Mario game. But it was fun. I also felt out of practice on some levels, but got better after a while. Fireballs made the bosses way too easy...
The World Ends With You: There was something about this game where the storyline just didn't stick in my brain. I don't know if I just didn't get it or if I had trouble keeping track of the characters or what. But I do remember enjoying it while I played. The music was catchy and I got used to the battle system after a while. Neku was also a pretty cool main character, rather than your standard "white knight" type heroes. He was more so like "fuck your shit *puts on headphones and ignores*". Also, I enjoyed collecting pins, as I do that in real life as well. I definitely need to play through this one again.
Xbox 360
Halo ODST: Rob rented it and I played through the story campaign with him. I never really played through the other Halo games, but seeing as this was a sidestory or something, I didn't think it mattered all that much. Either way, the game itself sucked. I didn't really have any fun with it but forced myself through it anyways. That reason might be because Rob would tend to run ahead and kill everything on his own a lot, but even aside from that..meh. Halo is only good for its simplicity with the multiplayer really. And even then, I got bored with it after a while. Halo is just overrated these days.
------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's every game I finished this year. I try counting it up but every time I wind up with a different number for some reason. I think my eyes are bugging out. I numbered them off in my notepad list I made up and came up with 33. I guess I'll go with that. 33 games I beat this year. I'm actually quite proud of myself for that. I mean, sure some of them were 10-15 hour campaigns only, but still, That's a lot of gaming.
Also, I'm not a 100% completionist, but I did go through all of the games on the normal difficulty (never easy or hard) and I do go out of my way to explore everything and at least make an attempt for a good chunk of the bonus stuff (like trophies and such). So that should put into perspective how much I put into each game. I never really do a "speed run" where I'm just racing to finish it as fast as possible. I'm actually quite slow in that sense...
BUT, unfortunately for me, this list is not done yet. While that was all the games I BEAT there were still a ton more I didn't quite finish. And some of these games I spent more time playing than the ones I did finish. Ugh..so my list of gaming in 2009 continues. I didn't bother putting this list in any particular order...so yeah. It may seem kind of jumbled.
Also, I have the memory of a goldfish (and lawls, I typed goldfish of a memory at first there) so I'm probably forgetting quite a few games too. Hell, I have a feeling I'm forgetting games I beat as well..so this list may or may not be incomplete.
Anywho, here goes (man, attempting this in one sitting was a bad idea. I'm already so worn out x___x;; )
Close But No Cigar - Games I Never Finished
Okami: Calica was awesome enough to send me this game <3 and with perfect timing too as it came when I was looking for something to play. I put several hours into it, but didn't really finish it. I guess I just kind of got sidetracked after a while with my PS3 ._. I will definitely finish it some day though!
Silent Hill Origins: I've been playing bits and pieces of it, but just couldn't stay interested enough to sit down and play through the whole thing, even though it isn't really a long game. I guess I just have to be in the mood for a horror type genre...
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Found this brand new at the game store across the street and nearly HNNNGGG'd right on the spot. Been wanting to play this game for a while. And it's a really good game. I'm not sure why I didn't finish it. I guess I just got distracted with PS3 games once again or something. I think I was around the halfway point in terms of progress. Definitely want to finish it up and get the 2nd one as well.
Atleiler Iris 3: Found this for...what? 10 bucks? at Rogers Video. Played through the first few dungeons. Easy game was easy...not as good as Mana Khemia though, but still enjoyable. I think I was just waiting for the story to pick up. I neglect my PS2 way too much these days.
Final Fantasy VII: I was just doing another replay to refresh my memory on the series. I actually got right to the final dungeon and most of the way through the final dungeon to level grind for a bit...but never bothered beating sephiroth for some reason. I was just working my way through all the sidequests and gave up on chocobo breeding due to lack of patience.
Final Fantasy XII Felt like replaying it for a bit...made it out of Rabanastre and moved on to something else. Yay for short attention spans! Though I do want to go back and finish all the hunts and sidequest some day...
Resident Evil 2: It had been so long since I last played so I bought the PS1 classic version off the PS store and was playing through Claire's story. Don't know why I didn't finish it. I will soon though. I think I was past the halfway mark on that too. At least I was out of the RPD building...
Burn Zombie Burn: Bought it while it was on sale in the PSN store. It was a meh game. Didn't really get me hooked so...whatever. I'll try playing some more if I ever get bored enough I guess.
Lost Planet: A third person shooter I bought for 20 bucks when I didn't have many PS3 games. It's a fun enough game..but I think I got stuck on a boss and just said "fuck this" and quit. Haven't really been interested enough to go back and finish it. I got like..3/4ths of the way through the game too.
Gunstar Heroes: Found it on the PSN store for PS3. It's a remake of an old Genesis shooter game that sort of plays like Contra or Metal Slug. It's pretty fun..but kind of hard at parts. That one level where you have to fight through 7 bosses was kind of a pain in the ass. I'm stuck towards the end where you have to fight through a rather long level..then 2 bosses...all with one life bar and no continues. If you die, you restart at the beggining of the level. So yeah..I'm just kind of stuck on this one. There's an online 2 player mode...maybe I can talk Sam into playing with me....
Wild Arms: I wanted to play this more, but keep on getting side tracked. I've picked up and dropped it several times now. I'm about 3/4ths through the game too...I'll finish it one of these days. Then get Wild Arms 2 and play that.....
Oblivion: everyone seems to swear by the elder scrolls series as an amazing RPG...but it's a WRPG, so I had a hard time really getting into it. I love how huge the world is, but it's way too open ended and I find myself just wandering aimlessly and doing whatever rather than actually levelling up or progressing the story. I don't hate it or anything...I just can't seem to focus when I play.
Orange Box: this is actually three games. I played a good amount of portal, but only in small doses and never really finished. I think I might be stuck on one of the puzzles and refuse to look the answer up online. But yeah..Portal was pretty much the only reason I bought this game. That and the 10 dollar price tag. I played a bit of Half Life 2 and thought it was just..meh. No one to play Team Fortress 2 with on the PS3 so I just didn't bother with that yet. I think valve is totally overrated as a game company...even if I do enjoy the Left 4 Dead series.
Sonic Unleashed: I was tricked! I played the demo of this game which is pretty much the first sonic the hedgehog level and it was actually really fun. And so were some of the later ones. But then there's the Sonic the Werehog levels which are just complete ass. Controls and camera angles are poorly done. Also, the daytime hedgehog levels later on just get kind of ridiculous and unfair. You pretty much have to memorize every single thing and act it out accordingly. All while having to collect stupid tokens in order to move on. Bah. And here I was hoping for at least a DECENT Sonic game..*sighs*
Dead Space: Another game I dug out of the bargain bin...it's actually pretty good. Sort of plays like a clunkier Resident Evil 4/5...only it's in space...and the mutant zombie creatures you have to fight are a lot more deadly and vicious. It's actually a really cool game with an interesting enough story (if you liked the movie Pandorum, this is pretty much the exact same thing)...but just like Silent Hill, I think I just have to be in the mood for horror in order to play this one. There are also a lot of cheap scare tactics in it where things just suddenly burst out of nowhere and you get loud noises as you fumble through the controls to kill whatevers running at you. It made me paranoid and I open every door with my gun/cutter thing ready <.<;
Resident Evil 5 Played a bit of this with Rob on the 360....again, he already played through the game and is better so he just runs ahead and kills everything making it vastly less fun for me. I think I need to get this game on the PS3 and just play through on my own so I can take the time to read all the documents and enjoy the storyline/gameplay at my own pace.
Burnout Paradise: I actually played this game quite a bit...just driving around, doing races, stunts, smashing other cars up and crashing myself. Put many hours into it..but it's not really a game you can "beat" unless you count getting your burnout liscence. But that just seems like a pain in the ass. One of the things that bug me is it doesn't tell you what challenges you've already completed and if you do the same one more than once, you can't exit out, you have to finish. That and you don't get the credit towards unlocking the next liscence. So its just impossible for me to keep track of what I did or didn't do...and..yeah. Bleh. oh well, I still had fun with it.
Phoenix Wright - Trials and Tribulations: The only Pheonix Wright game I still need to play through. Sometimes I'm in the mood for the story and other times I'm not. I bought it cheap, used and with a coupon...but I guess I wasn't completely in the mood for it as I only made it to the second trial or so. I'll finish it one of these days though. I like the Phoenix Wright games.
Prinny - I can really be the hero?: I <3 Prinnies. Adorable, psychotic, exploding, penguin slaves. But this platformer is hard. Like..ridiculously hard. You get 1000 "lives" (actually, when you die, it's just another prinny slave taking over in your place) and I've only used..maybe..30 or 40 of them or so...but STILL. Some things are needlessly frustrating. My biggest gripe with the game is once you jump, you have absolutely no control. Like...in Mario if you jump, you can press back and forth on the d-pad and sort of "aim" where you're going to land....that's not the case in Prinny...it's always a set arch. And when you have to dodge crap flying at you from every direction while climbing up platformers you can just BARELY reach at times, then yeah...it just makes you want to RAAAGGE. I played a bit more of the game so far this month and only have 2 more levels to complete (I think) so I'll probably still try to beat it...but yeah. Blargh. The game could have been soooo much better if it weren't for that one control issue.
Persona: I was greatly disappointed with this game. The random battles are just...so...slow. And tedious. And leveling up/acquiring new Personas is just a pain in the ass. If you look past that though, the game is alright and has an amazing soundtrack. But yeah...it was hard to find motivation to play like I did with P3 and P4 which were more addictive than crack. I am doing alright though...I'm almost at the end of the game now. Only one or two more dungeons left to go through. Would be half a dungeon, but I looked up on how to get the "good ending" online. Then I still have to play through again to see the Snow Queen story...but..I might put that off for a while.
Super Mario Party DS: I played a few rounds every now and then *shrug*
Metal Gear Solid 2: Start playing through this because I need to refresh my memory on 2, play through 3 then finally MGS4 on the PS3...but yeah. Like everything else, I got sidetracked. I finished Snakes part in the beggining and started playing through Raidens part...but then I remembered how much I didn't like Raiden and lost interest. But I do need to finish it up and refresh my memory on how everything ended. That or find one of those anthology dealies and just read it all I guess...
Final Fantasy V: Started playing for a bit..died a cheap death in that one tower near the beggining (having all monks was a bad idea for that one boss...) quit for a while and just never went back to it. Oh well.
Sword of Mana: Same ol' same ol'...started playing, got distracted. Only played a couple hours into the game.
Pokemon Emerald: Ugh..I REALLY need to just finish this already and collect all the pokemon. Especially before Soul Silver comes out in a couple months. I think I have one more badge to go and then it's on to the elite four. I think I have a bit of grinding to do to get some of my other pokemon stronger too...
Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past: Once again, got a couple hours into it and then distracted. I'll finish it one of these days, really, I swear. Maybe before I finally start Spirit Tracks...
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days: I think I'm like..half way through this game? It's pretty much an ice cream eating simulator with hinted yaoi undertones. It's not a bad game...I guess I'm just tired of having to play the same worlds over and over again. I hope Birth by Sleep will have new worlds...
My Japanese Coach: Spent several hours trying to learn Japanese with this game and I was actually doing pretty well. But then I just stopped practicing and now I've forgotten pretty much everything. So I need to review everything all over again and pick up the game again and continue...
Spyro the Dragon: This game came "free" when you bought an issue of Qore on the playstation store. The issues of Quore was only 2 or 3 bucks I think, so it seemed worth it. I only played through the first world or two of it. THe game was making me kind of nautious so I quit. It seemed a lot funner when I was younger....
Umjammer Lammy: Bought this off of the PSN since I really enjoyed Parappa as a kid but never got around to playing this one beyond the demo. The controls just don't seem responsive...even if I think I'm doing something spot on, it tells me I'm doing bad ._. I only got through the first 3 stages or so then I got stuck. Haven't played since. Bleh. Rapping dogs are cooler than rocking lambs.
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty: More awesome R&C-ness...only...not quite. Felt very limited in terms of weapons and customization and even though its VASTLY shorter, I just didn't feel like playing all the way through. I'll finish it up before getting A Crack in Time I suppose.
Noby Noby Boy: I bought this thinking it would be just as fun as Katamari. I was wrong. Most of the time I spent playing, I was just wondering "ok...so...wtf am I supposed to do?" You don't even get a goal in the game. At least with Katamari you had objectives....in Noby Noby boy you just stretch out really long, eat things up and poop them out. Oh and if you were wondering why I was making the comparison, it was because both games are made by the same dude.
Marvel vs Capcom 2: I wish I bought this INSTEAD of street fighter IV. I'm much better at it and I've probably played it more than SFIV...but yeah. I just never bothered to play through arcade mode in one player. I mainly just played online vs Sam and his friends. Spiderman and Jin are my best characters...though I usually pick at complete random.
Bomberman ULTRA: Another game I bought on sale off of PSN just because. No real point to it other htan just blowing stuff up. Literally. Wee?
World of Warcraft: I feel deeply ashamed for this. Sam bugged me like...EVERY DAY for MONTHS so I finally just gave in and played a week or two with the free trial. It wasn't as bad as I thought and a lot more fun when you have friends to play with...but still it's not something I would obsess over or pay to play *shrugs*
------------------------------------------------------
Well..that's all I can think of at the moment, even though I *know* there's more I'm forgetting. I also left out stuff like random games I've played at the arcade or the countless hours I spent playing random demos of games here and there...but yeah. that was pretty much my 2009 experience as a gamer.
If you actually managed to read through all of this...holy crap, you deserve a medal. I mainly wrote it all to stop and reflect on what I played over the past year and how much time I invested into this hobby. That and I think on a subconscious level I just wanted to "brag" about how much I've played. But I sacrificed a social life and invested all that time into playing these games, so I'd like to think I earned my bragging rights...
I can honestly say video games have become a bigger interest to me than anime has. Now I just need to find a way to get my ass over to some of the video game conventions like Penny Arcade Expo, E3 or SGC....
I also need more friends to game online with...
2010 is looking like it'll be an even better year of gaming for me, just with everything that's coming out. THere are multiple games coming out each month that I really want to play and I still need to catch up on a crap load of games from last year. Even if my New Year's resolution was to be more social...if I want to get all that gaming done this year, that will be very very difficult...
But oh well. Who needs friends when I have pixel wimminz to spend my time with =D
God I'm so ronery...D: *needs a Persona 5 on PS3 already*