Backlog Gamer Week 4

I've decided to start using a numbered system instead of just associating my post titles with dates.  Thought it would look a bit better, and I also won't feel so guilty when I post in the middle of the week.  I've also changed the layout a bit.

Not a whole lot to say this week.  Due to my Game 2 selection last week I am starting to regret not being more selective with my game collecting.  If I would have just put the crap down my sense of self loathing would be at an acceptable level, instead of the gargantuan level it is at now.  Is this how Emo-folk feel all the time?  If I go stand in the corner with my crappy game(s) and cut myself with a game manual will I feel a accomplishment?  Christ, that was way off topic.

                     
                                                                        Post Mortem

Enslaved: I really enjoyed playing this game, even though I have to recognize its often glaring flaws, but instead of focusing on camera angles, proportionate bodies, and the quirks of the Unreal Engine, I think I will instead view the game as a whole experience, because I feel that taking this game as a whole is the only way to truly enjoy it (much as I felt about Jak II).


                                                                          
                                                             Games For This Week




                                                                                                                                   

Game 1 Title: GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City
Platform: PC (Steam)
Purchase Date: 11/25/11
Cost: $2.49

I was pleasantly surprised to see this chosen as a random game, especially as I had started playing it anyway as a pallet cleanser to the piece of trash below.  So far everything is fine, though in the beginning I had quite a bit of trouble with the controls.  I just don't feel that I will ever be comfortable playing a GTA game with a keyboard and mouse.  It just doesn't feel natural, almost like I am contorting across the keyboard like a damn Twister-nut just to powerslide into a turn.  I suppose that I could just play Lost and Damned on the 360 and come back to the PC for Gay Tony (that sounded awkward), but the game looks so much better on my computer.

I am amused to learn that since the game is both on Steam and a Games for Windows game, my Gamercard sig is showing GTAIV on the Xbox Live side and Episodes of Liberty City on the Steam side.  I have to say stuff like that every now and then or else they will revoke my Freakin' Dork/Jedi Master card.

                                                                             

Title: Stellar-Fire
Platform: Sega CD
Purchase Date:1998
Cost: $1.00


I spent around three days trying to beat this game and only managed a few levels.  On the plus side I learned how to beat the game, and on the negative side I don't think I want to go through the effort.  Dare I explain?  In the game the goal is to collect gems, which can be easily located by following the white bar displayed on the radar.  The problem is that the gems seemed to be scattered around the level, so that in some stages following the radar will almost ensure repeating the level (meaning that you will die).  However, if you make a map you can find a better, more optimized route than the shitty GPS route the game gives you.  This way of playing is just not an option in some of the latter stages.  Should I give up?  Should I pull an "Arino" and call in a AD to finished the job for me (which means using a cheat to see the ending)?  Only time will tell.

                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                 

Title: Treasure Adventure Game
Platform: PC
Purchase Date: N/A
Cost: N/A


I found this little title while mindlessly clicking on links in my Bookmarks Toolbar.  Even though I spend a lot of time on the Internet, I had all but forgotten that I have a Fileplanet link.  Weird, huh?  Although it is described as a platformer, I find it to be a pleasant combination of platforming, action, and RPG.  I especially like that the game has fully customizable controls (a rarity amongst free Indies games), so I can finally assign my movement to the WASD keys and the action buttons to the arrow keys.  I know you don't understand this but just believe me that it is important.

Please play this.  You will be surprised then you will have fun.  Then you will thank me, which will stoke my ego and make me smile (which is a bi-product of my ego stokage).



In The Bag For 2012
Alan Wake - 1/25
Dead Space 2 - 2/4
Portal 2 - 2/10
Enslaved -  2/17

Backlog Gamer 2/12-2/18

Well, my posts are getting closer to the beginning of the week.  At this rate I'll be posting on day one by the middle of next month.  All right me!

As I stated last week, when I first conceived this I thought it would be best to show some sport and only pick games randomly.  I failed miserably when the first group of games turned out to be some of the most highly rated recently released games in my collection.  However, this week I decided to play by the rules and  pick randomly.  Will I be rewarded for my honesty, or will I feel the flames of redemption?

                     
                                                                        Post Mortem

Portal 2: Wow.  I mean, wow.  The only way I think I can express myself properly is to directly beam the information to your brain in the pure emotional content (so as to not spoil the nice bits).  Ready?  Errrrrm.  Got it?  Yeah, what did I tell you!  Awesome, right?


                                                                          
                                                             Games List For This Week


Game 1: Enslaved
Game 2: Stellar-Fire
Game 3: Kyle's Quest 2 

                                                                                                                                   

Title: Enslaved
Platform: Xbox 360
Purchase Date: 9/29/11
Cost: $9.99

At last, Enslaved finally gets the attention it deserves.  I know that in the past I seemed a little "blah" on it, stating that it seemed a little average and maybe generic.  I would now like to formally take this back.  Sure, in some cases the action can be a bit predictable (I'm speaking specifically of the general direction of the action, not the action itself), but Enslaved has sunk its claws into me, and not just the story this time: The characters, action , along with the story are equally as important to my experience.  I especially enjoy how, for all his supposed strength, Monkey is often completely outmatched by the mechs in combat (even against the "weaker" ones) and is forced to rely almost exclusively on his unmatched agility.

If I reviewed games I would give this game a solid B as long as it holds out to the end.

                                                                             

Title: Stellar-Fire
Platform: Sega CD
Purchase Date:1998
Cost: $1.00


The funny thing is that I thought for sure that most of the games I randomly picked would end up being PC or NES games, which makes sense as those platforms make up over 26% and 20% of my collection (respectively).  In the end I think I had to hit the random button three times.  The first two were either demos or games I'd already beaten, and on the third Stellar-Fire popped up.  I have to admit I am rather nervous.  I have never played this game, not even to test.  I purchased all of my Sega CD games in a lot, and I was only really interested in the Working Designs games that came with it.

Playing this game might prove a little harder, as my Sega CD was acting "weird" the last time I booted it up.  Therefore, I will use my laptop as an emulator, which should be interesting at the very least.

                                                                                                                                                  

Title: Kyle's Quest 2
Platform: iOS
Purchase Date: N/A
Cost: N/A


Once upon a time there was a group of devices called PDAs.  While they were mainly for organizational and productivity purposes, it turned out that people wanted to also play games.  Many of these games were fun, but most sucked.  A game that didn't suck on this platform was a little series called Kyle's Quest.  At heart modeled after 8-bit role playing games, this two Kyle's Quest games featured Japanese-inspired big-head characters but with a nice Western twist: you could make your own adventures.  While this sort of control didn't appeal to everyone, it wasn't long before there were a ton of great adventures to play.  While the games weren't free (very little quality titles were free on PDAs) the adventures were, meaning that one could easily make the $14.99 price tags a non-issue.

Kyle's Quest 2 (and the innumerable downloads for it) provided me many hours of entertainment in a very dark part of my life.  Because of this I didn't expect to care much when I found this game in the iOS App Store (just thinking about it brought back memories of hospital-sterility) for free, but I was surprised.  Though the game has lost the ability to load player made levels from the Internet, there are still twenty different games loaded in, and since many of them are short, they fit the aesthetics of a mobile platform.

I don't see myself deleting this game on Monday as I have done with the previous weeks "Game 3" title.



In The Bag For 2012
Alan Wake - 1/25
Dead Space 2 - 2/4
Portal 2 - 2/10