My backlog grew in 2012 to over 30 games because Steam, so I would like to bring it back down to a more reasonable number this year. But, I did beat 48 games in 2012, which is the most I've beaten in a single year since 2007!
January
1. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP (Steam) - This game was too light on the gameplay/puzzles for me to really enjoy it, but the audio and visuals were fantastic of course. Another feature that I liked in this game that I don't think I've seen before, is how your character actually gets
weaker as you keep playing...as in, you start with a lot of health and as you play, your max health goes down. This makes more sense to me than games where you just get stronger and stronger, and often times you end up with an overpowered character at the end. Overall though, a pretty game that is very bland in the gameplay department. 5/10
2. Saints Row: The Third (Steam) - Definitely some fun parts to this game, but after coming off of Just Cause 2, I can't say I enjoyed this one as much...I found most of it to be too over the top, and not in a good way. Obviously this game does some things better than JC2, like driving and customization, but the grapple hook/parachute combo in JC2 > anything in SR3. I did enjoy stuff like the deckers.die and Murderbrawl levels, but some of the last missions had so much shit going on that I just got pissed off. Seriously, one of the last missions made me feel like I was swimming through a sea of armored vehicles, and the onslaught didn't stop...just trying to get away in my own vehicle was nearly impossible. 7/10
February
3. Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii) - Very humorous game with some fantastic cartoony animations and super quirky minigames. Still perhaps too simplistic. 7/10
4. Nintendo Land (Wii U) - Some fantastic minigames, some mediocre. The cooperative minigames are fantastic with the exception of Zelda Battle Quest, which I found pretty boring. Pikmin Adventure was so fun to play through with 3 players; two friends and I mastered it in a couple long-winded sessions. Donkey Kong Crash Course was my favorite single player game. Overall, a great collection of high-quality minigames. 8/10
5. The Basement Collection (Steam) - I've become a huge Edmund Mcmillen fan over the past year. Not every game on this collection is great, but some of them are. Time Fcuk is definitely the best in my opinion, but others such as Spewer, Aether, and Triachnid are great as well.
6. Closure (Steam) - Some brilliant puzzle design in this game. I did have to mess with the game files some, because it has problems with some integrated graphics cards, but nothing too irritating. Completed this with 8/8 achievements. 8/10
March
7. Hitman: Blood Money (Steam) - After playing the mediocre tutorial stage, which does a rather poor job of showing you how to play the game well, and dying on the first level repeatedly because I didn't know what I was doing, I was about ready to give up on the game after 30 minutes. Boy am I glad I stuck through it. The game gives you a tutorial level that has you completing it in a very linear fashion, then drops you in a completely open level with little info on what to do. After playing around a bit (and dying a lot), I finally figured out what was going on, and from that point on I was hooked. Each stage in the game is a vibrant, bustling setting that you get to explore to figure out the best ways to dispose of your targets. There are so many different ways to complete a level, I imagine most people will play differently from each other. The soundtrack is haunting and beautiful. It also has one of the best ending "levels" I've ever played. 9/10
8. Shank 2 (Steam) - A pretty fun beat-em-up sidescroller with some really nice cartoony visuals. This game was HARD, even on normal difficulty. I would die 15 times or so on later stages. Good thing there were plenty of checkpoints. One of my biggest complaints is that there are TWO MANY DIFFERENT BUTTON COMMANDS for this game. Seriously, I'm pretty sure there are 6 different buttons just related to attacking: light attack, heavy attack, ranged attack, explosive attack, pounce attack and grab. That's in addition to buttons used for jumping, rolling, and a "use" button. Still a pretty fun game. 7/10
9. Darksiders (Steam) - This game not only has unoriginal gameplay, but also shamelessly pulls too often from other games, namely Zelda, and surprisingly, Portal. I mean did they really need to make the portals that the voidwalker shoots blue and orange??? Sheesh. Other than that and the ridiculous characters that all have super-macho over-the-top voices, this was an OK game. One point taken off for being a bit shoddy of a PC port. 6/10
10. F-Zero (Wii U) - I beat this on beginner, which was still pretty difficult on the Queen and King class. A fun, if dated, title. 7/10
April
11. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) - I did an "OCD run" of sorts on Hard/Classic: letting no characters die while also recruiting every possible character. I haven't done all the paralogues yet so I'm not quite done with all the missions, but the main quest is done. Almost everything about this game is an improvement over previous Fire Emblems. I especially love the soundtrack and think it's one of the best I've heard in a while. 9/10
May
12. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS/Wii U) - Once again my life has been overtaken my Monster Hunter and it has led me to have only beaten one game in April, and likely few this month as well. Even though I "beat" the game by completing most of the offline quests, I'm sure I'll still be playing this game for at least another month, though I hope not to play it as much as I did Tri as I don't want to continue to neglect other games. 10/10
13. Kirby Mass Attack (DS) - Neat little Kirby spin-off game that, like most Kirby spin-offs, ends up being just as good, if not better, than the main series. Some of the mini-game extras are really cool, like the pseudo-Kirby's Pinball Land sequel called Kirby Brawl Ball. Canvas Curse is still my favorite Kirby game, however. 8/10
14. Bastion (Steam) - Really fantastic presentation. I was worried that the narration would get old, but it never really did. Loved the weapon variety, though I didn't like how the weapons you got near the end of the game were very overpowered. 8/10
15. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Wii VC, Genesis version) - I originally downloaded this to play co-op with a friend and do a Let's Play. We played it on hard and got maybe 2/3rds of the way through. I decided to just try beating it and opted for the beginner mode. There are some very cheap deaths to be had in this game...it's a very bland experience. 4/10
16. Offspring Fling (Steam) - Decent puzzle platformer, though I wish the achievements weren't so difficult (beating dev times for all 110 levels = no thanks). 6/10
Edited review (7/11/2012): When Steam implemented trading cards for this game I went back and played more and somehow got addicted to beating all the dev times. I ended up unlocking everything this game has to offer and I must say, it has some super fun challenging levels at the end (like, rivaling Super Meat Boy challenging) and some neat secrets to uncover that most players will probably never see. 7/10
17. Punch-Out!! (Wii U VC) - Ok so I like, super cheated on Mr. Dream by using lots of save states. But man, this is one of the NES' best games IMO. 9/10
18. Catherine (360) - I inherited my friend's Xbox 360 recently because he moved to Japan, and he left me about 20 games. This was the first one I played, mainly because I've watched him and another friend play through it and it looked awesome. Needless to say, it is awesome, and is definitely a breath of fresh air amid a sea of mostly rehashed big budget titles. 9/10
June
19. Proteus (Steam) - Ok so I don't think you can really "beat" this one, but I played until I got to a point that took me back to the title screen, so whatever that means. Not much of a game, but quite the experience. Very curious title. 7/10
20. Thomas Was Alone (Steam) - Lots of promise, but I found the puzzles to be ultimately very easy and poorly designed. The good presentation and story does not make up for poor implementation. 4/10
21. Hotline Miami (Steam) - So fun and brutal, the presentation on this one really is unique and fantastic. Much more interesting of a game than I was expecting. I also beat the game without the use of locking on to enemies or looking ahead because I'm an idiot and missed those parts in the tutorial. 8/10
22. Costume Quest (Steam) - Fantastic writing/dialogue, seriously funny game. Overly-simplistic RPG elements but thankfully there aren't too many battles to be fought so it doesn't get too stale. 7/10 (completed)
23. Sonic Dash (iOS) - my first iPhone game, and it was pretty decent. I still loathe the fact that the game let's you pay real money for unlocks though. 6/10
24. New Super Luigi U (Wii U) - I sped through this with my friend, but now I'm going back and playing another file with my GF to try to 100% the game. The levels are really good, short, and difficult. Having to watch the same cutscenes and fight the same bosses is stupid though. 8/10
July
25. Legend of Grimrock (Steam) - My first foray into dungeon crawlers and I really enjoyed it. As I played longer and learned more I came to regret some of the things I did earlier in my game like use pre-built characters, but I managed to beat it on normal. Might be interested to go for a 100% run on hard sometime. Oh and some of the puzzles are
brutal. 8/10
26. Donkey Kong '94 (3DS VC) - A fantastic little platformer that takes the original DK for a spin. I am very impressed with how tight the controls are on a game this old. 8/10
27. Fez (Steam) - Apart from some really brutal puzzles, this game was a joy to play. Fantastic atmosphere and sound design. 9/10
28. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I (Steam) - A decent homage to original Sonic aside from the ABYSMAL music. Seriously terrible stuff. 7/10
29. Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed (Steam) - An excellent kart racer that bests Mario Kart in some areas, mostly in amount of single player content. Controls still aren't quite up to par with Mario Kart though, and some of the World Tour modes have absolutely terrible design (I'm looking at you, Pursuit) 8/10
30. Sakura Samurai (3DS) - Nice but short little 3DS adventure. 7/10
31. Psychonauts (Steam) - fantastic characters, extremely hilarious, though I despise the presentation and some of the interfaces. Gameplay is decent and has some really inventive levels but overall too imprecise and a bit glitchy. 7/10
August
32. Intrusion 2 (Steam) - Initially I didn't like this game, but once I got over the odd physics it was quite fun. It just feels like everything's always....falling down. 7/10
(sometime after beating Intrusion 2 in early August I got... a NEW GAMING PC. this heavily influences the next games that I play, which generally are ones that I've owned for a while but didn't run well on my Macbook)
33. Deus Ex: Human Revoltion (Steam) - This game had a very well designed world, but I wasn't a big fan of revisiting old areas. I did really enjoy how punishing the game was if you were spotted...you die very quickly! 8/10
34. Little Inferno (Steam) - nice little game with beautiful presentation and cute story but it's still pretty much a non-game. The ending is phenominal though and totally worth sticking around for. 7/10
September
35. Alan Wake (Steam) - Fantastic storytelling, love the episodic, TV-show type setup. Love the Twin Peaks references. Gameplay gets a little repetitive but it's still super fun. Need to play the DLC next. 9/10
36. Sonic Generations (Steam) - This is my first real Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 Battle on Gamecube, and I have to say it was way better than I expected. Awesome level design in both the 2D and 3D worlds. Love how it's pretty much an homage to all Sonic games. The last boss was abysmal though. 8/10
37. Capsized (Steam) - Mediocre indie game that still managed to be pretty difficult on the easiest mode. I just don't think they got the feel down right, and some of the gameplay elements can be very frustrating. 5/10
38. Spelunky (Steam) - I had been following this game for a while and broke down and bought it after going 2+ months without buying a new game. I don't regret it. Some of the most addictive, painful fun I've had with a game all year. The presentation and graphics are glorious. The soundtrack blows my mind with how good it is. (I find myself listening to the soundtrack on bandcamp when I'm not playing the game -
http://phlogiston.bandcamp.com/album/spelunky). The controls are tight and the game is just a joy to play. Would love to get all the achievements in this game...next up is to beat it the "hard" way. 10/10
October
39. Angry Birds (iOS) - Just great to pick up and play. I've beaten worlds 1-23 and I guess they're still making more, but that's enough for me to consider it "beaten." 7/10
40. The Wonderful 101 (Wii U) - Did not like this as much as I hoped I would. I borrowed it from a friend and ran through the game in about a week and a half. There was just too much frustration for me. The core gameplay is solid and can be really fun, but there was waaay too much padding. I could do without all the QTE cutscenes and poor "mini-game" type sections of levels. Still, I really appreciate all the hard work and care that went into the game. 7/10
41. Snapshot (Steam) - I left a lot undone, but this is a solid puzzle-platformer with a few design issues that keep it from being better. The graphics give off a strong SNES vibe. 7/10
42. Stacking (Steam) - Really lovely Double Fine game with puzzle based gameplay that encourages experimentation and just messing around. It's also hilarious, as their games always seem to be. 8/10
43. Quantum Conundrum (Steam) - starts off a little slow, but by the time I got to the 2nd and 3rd areas I realized that it's a quite good Portal-type puzzle game. The main difference is that the gameplay revolves around shifting dimensions. My main problem with the game is the bland graphical style and presentation. 7/10
November
44. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) - I'm considering this beaten after having seen the credits screen for the first time, which happens when you first see KK Slider, and I've put in 20 hours so that's enough to count it as beaten I think. Anyways, initially I was very disappointed that the game didn't even seem to do much different from the original AC (which was the last one I played), but as it opened up some more I've definitely warmed up to it. It's definitely a "non-game" in my eyes, but it is a very well made one. 8/10
45. Jetpack Joyride (iOS) - I initially checked this game out based on reviews that talked about how good the sound design was in this game, but I ended up discovering one all-around very well made endless-runner. The whole package is just well put together, it's a blast to play, and the level of customization is great. I paid $4.99 for the "double coins" item, which is certainly worth it in my eyes, but will likely not put any more money into the game. 9/10
46. Tiny & Big: Grandpa's Leftovers (Steam) - A short 3D platformer based around destroying the environment in order to progress. Considering that most of the levels are destroyable leaving a lot of possibilities open, they were still fairly navigable. However the game is still kind of glitchy and the game mechanics aren't overly interesting to me anyways. It's certainly a "hipster indie" game if I've ever played one. 5/10
47. Metro 2033 (Steam) - I played through the first half of this a couple months ago and got stuck on a level in chapter 4. I came back to it and turned the difficulty down to easy, and had a lot more fun with it. The gameplay is ok, I wasn't a big fan of parts where you had to fend off hordes of enemies, but it was still pretty good, and also looks incredible on my PC. 7/10
48. Pokemon X (3DS) - My journey is far from over, but I have beaten the Elite 4. This is my first Pokemon game since Diamond and Pearl, and there are a large amount of improvements. Most of all I love how streamlined the main story is now; I remember taking 30-40 hours to beat previous games, and thanks to stuff like Exp share, this one took me under 25. And Pokemon has always been about the post-game for me; building my team and filling out the Pokedex. 9/10
49. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U) - Just a super solid platforming experience made exception by the amount of polish, great presentation, visuals, and soundtrack. As with all Mario games and as a platformer veteran I would love increased difficulty, but I realize that they need to make it appeal to a larger market. The two new main powerups (catsuit and double cherry) are also coincidentally the best powerups in the game. I love the large variety of powerups and level types that were added, but I'm also disappointed that there isn't a challenge mode like in NSMB. 9/10
50. DLC Quest (Steam) - Ok so this game is terrible. I thought there would be some semblance of an old-school platformer/action game underneath the whole DLC gimmick, but I was shocked when I realized there is no real combat....just talking to other characters and platforming for coins to progress. I could forgive a game like this maybe if it were more humorous or compelling, but it's not. I kept waiting for the game to actually start and to actually fight some enemies, but it never happened. 2/10
December
51. Rogue Legacy (Steam) - A nice game with some flaws that keep me from really loving it. I was attracted to this because of the "roguelike" qualifier, but this game is hard to call that because it's all about grinding. Get as much gold as you can until you die so you can power up, and do it again. And if I were to compare it to something like Spelunky, I find the music and visuals much weaker. Still, the gameplay is pretty solid, and it was very addicting. 8/10
52. Borderlands (Steam) - Finally got around to playing this series. I had fun with it, but a few things really irked me, mostly having to backtrack through environments after completing them, and also just having SO MANY ITEM DROPS. Seriously, this game could've had 20% of the amount of items (weapons, shields, etc) drop and it would've been better. There's just so much....junk, but you still want to pick it all up to sell it later. Just a hassle, really. 7/10
53. Liberation Maiden (3DS) - Short and simple game that never really piqued my interest. I don't mind the length, it's just that the gameplay was pretty repetitive and unrefined. 5/10
54. 140 (Steam) - Short little music-based platformer. Simple concept, nice execution, but only 3 levels that take about 30 minutes to beat (and 3 mirror versions of those levels). 6/10
Year-end total: 54 games beaten!
Games "Completed" in 2013:
1. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (all achievements)
2. The Binding of Isaac (all achievements)
3. Paper Mario Sticker Star (all 8 Super Flags)
4. New Super Mario Bros. U (5-star profile)
5. Closure (all achievements)
6. Thomas Was Alone (all achievements)
7. Costume Quest (all achievements)
8. Offspring Fling (all achievements)
9. Fez (all achievements)
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I (all achievements)
11. Little Inferno (completed catalog/all combos)
12. Just Cause 2 (all achievements)
13. New Super Luigi U (5-star profile)
14. Saints Row The Third (all achievements)
15. Stacking (all achievements)
16. Sonic Dash (all achievements)
17. Spelunky (all achievements)
Previous years:
2012:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9286927&postcount=97 (48)
2011:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8498054&postcount=160 (7)
2010:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6695973&postcount=83 (9)
2009:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5317627&postcount=60 (34)
2008:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3774462&postcount=20 (31)
2007:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2682156&postcount=129 (53)