Oh, I am definitely still going. I hope to finish another game or two this weekend.
But the backlog progress will probably grind to a halt once Persona 5 comes out (and Plague Tale). Ha.
2 Likes
Good.
2 Likes
Heck yeah, Iāll return as well next year and Iāll try to keep @NierlyCrazy behind me for this year 
This competition is great, for a number of reasons weāve mentioned. Iāll add the inspiration to dig up certain games from the backlog when I see some of the ones you guys are completing, itās great to get some inspiration when you have so much to choose from. I really enjoy everyones little mini-reviews and impressions!
3 Likes
Just finished Crysis 2 Remastered. + 1
Really enjoyed this. The shooting is good and the suit powers are cool and very useful. Pretty nice variety of weapons too - including several you only get to use a few times.
Without going into spoilers, the plot was obviously influenced by Bioshock to some extent. But I thought they pulled it off pretty well (even though I saw the betrayal coming a mile away).
I played Crysis 1 really recently, and I think I liked 2 a little bit more. There were a couple of stretches of the first one that I didnāt care for that much, but I never felt that way with 2. With that said, 2 is set entirely in a (partially destroyed) urban environment. So, if you are big on biome diversity you wonāt find it here.
I did encounter a few minor bugs like flickering textures or enemies getting stuck inside pillars, but nothing game breaking.
Overall, this was about an 8 for me. Very fun.
3 Likes
Definitely the best in the trilogy imho.
2 Likes
Mortal Kombat 9 finished. +1 for me.
Held up pretty well. Still looks good - as always, shout out to Auto HDR. Played well, and the cast felt balanced. Though, Shao Kahn as a boss was utterly broken bullshit. Iāve now played the whole modern trilogy and it was a fun ride to go on! I should buy the Aftermath DLC for MK11ā¦
If @profjjj wants competition, then let there be competition! Looks like I still have more work to do!
2 Likes
Finished Star Wars: Squadrons. +1 for me!
Figured since I just finished two games that didnāt count for the backlog challenge (Deathloop and 100% replay of A Plague Tale: Innocence) I should probably get working on this challenge again. lol
Overall, this game is okay and didnāt do much for me. A couple missions in I decided to throw a podcast on in the background. I just didnāt care much for the story or characters.
The combat was fine, but man does the frame rate tank at times (yes, even on Series X). Iād also like to add this game can be a bit buggy. There may be times where you cannot progress through a level so youāll need to quit out of the mission (or dashboard and quit out of the game completely in my case) and restart the mission from scratch. This happened to me on the last missionā¦ and I had spent an hour last night bashing my head against a wall trying to figure out why I was dying so much to then be followed up by a no progress for my efforts.
Also, I highly recommend not playing this with touch controls. Tried it on my phone once a month ago and it was a horrid experience. I donāt know how anyone could play this game that way.
Iāll probably come back to do some MP based achievements (I only unlocked 4 total, 2 of them being Story mode completion based on difficulties).
Now weāll see if I get another game done today before A Plague Tale: Requiemā¦
2 Likes
Bought FAR: Lone Sails. -1 for me.
Beat FAR: Lone Sails. +1 for me. (no overall change)
Been meaning to check this one out for a while, especially because the sequel is on Game Pass. It was a meditative and tranquil game, which is my kind of jam. Tasteful soundtrack, with unique instrumentation. Sort of a nouveau-jazz vibe at moments. The puzzles arenāt too clunky and the non-verbal mechanics were handled well. Austere art style, too. A very nice package all-around. Would recommend. (As of this posting, itās on sale for $7.50)
Also, Iām a few chapters into Dead Space 3. Not as much of a fan of this one so far. Iām planning to finish it very soon, though, so stay tuned. Need to maintain my lead!
Plague Tale: Requiem can wait a few days, but Iām still very excited for that.
4 Likes
Yeah, Dead Space 3 was a bit of a disappointment for me despite being warned. They lost what made the first one so damn good.
1 Like
Just finished Battlefield 4. +1 for me!
I looked this morning and realized I hadnāt touched the campaign since 2017. Wild.
I remember next to nothing about the campaign, but as soon as I loaded in I remembered why I had quit. I love the more arcade-y feel of CoD, so Battlefieldās reliance on avoiding the same cover for too long and watching out for vehicles sometimes gets the better of me.
I managed to get two of the three endings done today (mainly because my campaign completion achievement didnāt unlock after the first endingā¦) so I definitely feel Iāve had my fill of the franchise for the rest of the year.
I do plan on revisiting Battlefield: Bad Company at some point down the line (I think Iāve gotten halfway through that campaign at least on two different occasions) and I eventually want to play through Battlefield 1 as well.
Now, back to A Plague Tale: Requiem!
2 Likes
Just finished Gris. +1
Was looking for games I own to play on my Steam Deck and noticed that this one was āgreat on deck.ā I did not know anything about it, and have no memory of buying it (ha), but Iām very glad I did.
This was a near-perfect little 2-D puzzle platformer. It has absolutely beautiful hand drawn, water color style animations, a fantastic soundtrack, tight controls, very good platforming, and it doesnāt overstay its welcome. It took me around 5 hours to finish.
If you are interested in this type of game I highly recommend you check it out.
2 Likes
Gris was great. Glad you enjoyed it. @profjjj
After MK9 I was still interested in more fighting games, so I picked up MK vs DC. -1 for me.
However, I spent my evening finishing it. (Both story paths.) +1 for me, so no overall change. @PhantomFox
Didnāt care for this one as much. The story was pretty lame (which I should have expected) and the combat felt stiff. The VA and music was always below the standards I expected. Overall, I wouldnāt really recommend this game, but for $6 on eBay I had enough fun where my curiosity was satiated.
Iāve played the Injustice campaign before, but that was on a buddyās console and not my own profile. So, Iām going to play that next, considering I do own it. And then thatāll be the last remaining NRS game for me to play through on my own profiles. Theyāre one of my favorite studios and Iām quite excited to see what theyāre up to next. (And I wouldnāt mind them joining Xbox if the opportunity presented itself 
)
edit - also played through FAR: Changing Tides via Game Pass. Would definitely recommend it to fans of the first game.
edit 2 - Finished Injustice: Gods Among Us. +1 for me @PhantomFox
Really enjoyed this one. Itās been very interesting to see the progression of NRS over these 3 games. This game was likeā¦twice as good as MK vs DC. Incredible production values, better hitboxes, better story, better acting, better combat, etc. Hard to believe the two games were 5 years apart and on the same hardware.
3 Likes
Sounds interesting, might bump that one up the list then.
In other news, Iām wasting all my gaming time in Chivalry 2 so nothing completed yet haha.
Yeah, do it while Injustice 2 is still on GP!
1 Like
Oh, very good point!
Dead Space 3 done. +1 for me. @PhantomFox
Would not recommend it. I donāt necessarily regret my time with the game but Iām definitely glad itās over. It becomes a SLOG in the back half of the game. So much padding. As a series, I kind of feel these were overrated. Iām now less hyped for Callisto Protocol, thatās for certain. And Iāll likely be waiting for a sale (or EA Play) for the Dead Space remake.
Going to play Plague Tale Requiem soon and then Iāll check back in here.
1 Like
Well this spells doom for me. Dead Space 3 is something I plan on finishing this year (and probably the DLC).
I definitely have to say, the only memorable thing about the game that I remember is one of the space sequences where it sounds like Carver screams āZombie Dick!ā and now itās an inside joke with one of my buddies.
Alright guys, sorry for the long wait! I think I got everything, but double-check and lemme know if I missed something.
Leaderboard - October 25th, 2022:
- @outrigued +34.5
- @profjjj +29.5
- @Mort +23.5
- @NierlyCrazy +8
- @PhantomFox +2.5
- @BadMoodJones +1
- @watgreatgaming -1
Just wanted to touch on two things as well:
-
A reminder that the final date to update your score is December 12, 2022, as set by ProgStopper. Only about 1.5 months left!
-
Iām not going to be able to host this challenge next year. As you might have already noticed, Iām not very active on here anymore, as Iām trying to put more time and effort into my personal life. Thatās also why Iāve barely made any progress in this challenge. So as a result, weāre going to need someone else to do it if we want this to keep going. Anyone able to do so?
5 Likes
I could probably take up your duties for next year, if no one else offers. (Hope youāre well, for what itās worth!)
As for me, I have no score changes to submit, because I bought and then finished two games in the past few weeks; those games were CoD Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Ghostwire Tokyo. (I also finished Plague Tale Requiem, via Game Pass)
The CoD campaign was good! One of the better ones theyāve done in recent years. This new engine theyāre using is so astounding, too. Thereās some problematic moments in the storytelling and as an overall plot itās nothing too special, but as a game of moments, it has a lot to offer. Enjoying the MP so far. Thisāll probably sneak onto my top 10 for the year.
Ghostwire Tokyo Iām less positive on. Itās a very cool world to walk around in, but the activities and traversal donāt really offer much of interest, and the combat stops evolving after a certain point. I hope that Tango considers releasing a Definitive Edition update when the Xbox version launches next year, to help flesh out some of the shortcomings of the game. Neat game overall, but a bit bland in a few too many areas.
PT:Requiem was great. Not quite evolved enough from the first game as I would have hoped (let me give my partners stuff to hold!!) but the story, visuals and music were the stars of the show. Stellar get for Game Pass, and very excited to see what Asobo does next.
Expect more updates in a few days. Enjoy the holiday gaming season, everyone!
3 Likes
Another 0 pointer for meā¦ its the long awaited Persona 5 Royal.
Man, what can I even say about this game that we havenāt heard over the years?
This simply is not one of the best JRPGs of all time, but instantly one of my favorite games of all time in general. Between the lovable main and supporting cast of characters, the absolutely addictive music, the sweet artistic style, and the interesting plot beats throughout this 100+ hour experience, its easy to see why this one is considered a classic.
While I will say some fights can be a bit frustrating, they didnāt detract from my overall enjoyment of the game (hell, there were days I was playing this till 2/3am when I had to be in the office by 7). I get hooked on a lot of games pretty easily, but this was something else.
Now its time to finally get to Strikersā¦ and maybe actually earn a damn point.
P.S. At this point, I definitely donāt have a chance at catching up, but thatās not gonna stop me from trying to at least raise a few eyebrows.
2 Likes