Completion Thread 2012: Hai! Dekimashita!

[Joust Williams]

This isn't a very good stealth game

I am glad someone else said this. It isn't. I have shelved it temporarily.

[GohanX]

This page is complete insanity.

<3 TNL

[Compass]

MM has free DLC coming later this month that sounds like it doubles the size of the game.

Whoa, there, Complet. Not quite. The free DLC only adds 20 retro bonus stages. For some reason I thought it also added another 20 regular stages with 100 crystals each.

[Tain]

I don't think I'm going to count it as a game, but I beat the Serious Sam 3 Jewel of the Nile DLC. There are some quieter exploratory moments that you don't really see in the main campaign, but for the most part, the DLC is more of the same. Which is still pretty fun, since SS3 is one of the greatest first person shooters ever.

[Finch]

Whoa, there, Complet. Not quite. The free DLC only adds 20 retro bonus stages. For some reason I thought it also added another 20 regular stages with 100 crystals each.

The grandma levels are really fucking hard...

[Compass]

Yeah, I'll do one or two and then I have to put it down because I'm irritated. Getting tired of the fall-down-hover-through-spikes-then-shoot-up-at-the-last-second scenario in seemingly every level.

[gameoverDude]

28) Dragon Saber (AC, JPN ver.) 1st credit: 171150 pts/Area 5
1P mode has checkpoints. No cheating was done by using the 2P join-in. A 1CC doesn't look too hard to do eventually.

This is a good sequel to Dragon Spirit, with some cool added weapons (especially the phoenix-shaped energy blast, one of the charge shots). Charge shots are done like Battle Bakraid where you let go of fire for a few moments. Area 2 revisits the fire mountain theme from DS1, but the ground quakes and splits in some places. Mode 7 effects are used well- there's a rotating lava pit that one of the bosses will rise from, and some enemies will scale up from lower levels ala Rayforce if you don't drop a bomb on them first. Area 5 has a speed zone which is challenging but mercifully short. Iron walls in the cavern require you to get into position quickly enough to blow them away. One of the new stage designs has you in the guts of some beast (not unlike Salamander). You start out near the rib cage (careful- the ribs swing up to stab you), while the immune system lays the blitz on with antibodies and killer cells.

Of course, DS2 has another amazing Megaten soundtrack. It mixes hints of DS1's music style with an epic orchestral sound, and the result simply rocks. Zawell's theme is used again for the final boss, but that's fine- it's a classic, and one of my favorite BGM tracks ever. You can even select to use an arranged version of DS1's BGM. The fact that Namco Museum Vol. 6 (Encore) never showed up in the USA deserves a big "Why the hell not?". Rolling Thunder and Dragon Saber would've been recognizable enough to sell that compilation.

[Melf]

#19.

I go through NES Contra at least once a year. It's old school awesomeness that never gets old.

#20.

Panzer Dragoon is still amazing, after all these years. The atmosphere, enemy designs, and the brilliant soundtrack combine to create one of the most unique worlds in gaming. It may be the weaker of the quadrilogy, but it still outshines most other rail shooters out there. Sega really needs to keep this series alive, or at least remaster the Saturn trilogy with new graphics.

[James]

My last completed game was September 9? I suck.

21) Clan of Champions, on Easy. Review embargoed, I'll have a nice post in the PC Gaming thread later, when I can officially talk about it. I don't normally review (or play, or care about) Easy but I was under the impression I'd just cleared out the first set of levels. Whoops.

-edit- Review embargo over. It's utterly terrible. How on earth can they justify it being $40 on Steam? I was thinking it'd be $10-$20 when I played it, and even that was overpriced.

James

[gameoverDude]

29) Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC) Normal difficulty
Illuminati & Templars defeated. Rejoined Paul & JC at the Statue of Liberty to merge with Helios.

It's about 1/2-1/3 the length of the first DE (9 hours) but still good. IW is somewhat "consolized" compared to the original, with the level size being reduced. Your inventory system is simpler, with all items taking one slot- no more arranging stuff on a grid, and no slot required for weapon mods. Repair/med bots don't have to recharge. The blade isn't as powerful as the Dragon sword but it can still 1HKO light enemies if you hit correctly. Later, I had some sick fun terrorizing heavy armored enemies with a level 3 Spy Drone.

The factions play a greater part. Sometimes, a representative from one of the groups gets annoyed at your assisting their rivals. Get someone really pissed and they can send a task force after you. I like in this one how you don't have to sit in place and wait for the reticle to "zero in". The universal ammo system cuts both ways. You'll have a lot of ammo if you're using the pistol or boltcaster, but the rocket launcher and sniper rifle are expensive to use- depleting a full stock quickly if you whore them out.

DXIW is very different from the first in some ways but still good.