Your opinion on the game is interesting to me, because for some days now I'm playing J.U.L.I.A. Untold without having played J.U.L.I.A. Among the Stars before. And I think as a puzzle game it works very well.

It starts very easy and tells you the basic mechanics, but then it gets harder and you really have to use your brain to find the solution. It doesn't get insanely hard (like SpaceChem), but hard enough that you'll an hour or even more on certain levels.

There are some things to criticize for sure (e.g. the explanations what you can and can't do with certain components are not really clear in some cases), but overall I think it is a good puzzle game and I really enjoy playing it.

To be fair, the main reason for my disappointment were my expectations, which as I said were not fulfilled at all. But that's entirely my fault, and nothing to throw at the dev's face.

The rest of my beef had to do with what you mentioned about the vague explanation about some components, mainly the wireless ones (I was left under the assumption they only worked if both terminals had direct line of vision, which in the end turned out to be false). And, above all, a particular circuit from the last block (the green one): according to Circuit Theory the solution I came up with was functionally equivalent to the given blueprint, but the game kept insisting it was wrong. :(

Yesterday I finally finished Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

I started it in 2014, before putting my desktop away for more than a year and ever since I got my desktop back I had been staling finishing it. Mostly because it became a bit tiresome and too long, the secondary objectives for 100% synch are usually annoying as hell.

I was surprised that I finished it yesterday, I wasn't expecting to have patience to go through sequences 8 and 9 together at once, but the game rushes you through the final missions.

I'm not in a hurry to get Revelations, but I'll get it, eventually.

Mafia 2 (360)

Just like it's predecessor, this one is an open world, but no real side missions or activities. It's all about the story. But what an awesome story. Both Mafia games I now rate as some of the best story telling in an action game- really only outdone by true story driven adventure games. Like the first game, this story starts off slow and builds up some bonding with your best buddy in crime, but soon spirals down into an even more violent and brutal gangland tale than the first game. Whilst Tommy from Mafia 1 was a generally likeable guy that found himself in his situation when events got away from him, Vito in Mafia 2 is more of a hardened criminal and this is the tale of his rise, fall and rise again.

Some people don't agree with setting such a game in an open world. It could be done the usual way with a number of individually loaded instance levels where you start directly in the action. But the reason why the Mafia games immersed me so much was because your character lives somewhere. In the morning he gets up and may get a call from the boss for some work. You may want to steal a faster car for the job, you drive to your mates place to pick him up, maybe go get some guns and drive to the job. Do the job, maybe loose the cops and at the end of the day drive your mate home, and then go to your own home. It feels like your living as a gangster.

Combat in Mafia 1 was like Max Payne. This time it's like Max Payne 3. Some say it's easier. Yeah that's true, but the first game was hard usually for the wrong reasons- bad AI for your friends resulting in you having to baby sit them. This time that is not an issue. As the game goes on, the shootouts get more epic as the story escalates.

It's all set in mid 40's to early 50's and the soundtrack is awesome period music. The cars look and drive great. The city looks and feels like it's time. Best of all the devs are not scared to make the world like it was without todays more modern sensibilities. People talk like they did, people are what they are and are called what they are for the time. Women are broads, you are a Dago or a Wop, you beat down Spooks, Chinks, Micks and visit the Yids for a loan. You may even get to beat the living crap out of a few gay rapists.

Collectibles? Ignore them if you like. But who doesn't want a collection of period Playboy centerfolds? That's a rhetorical question.

I hope the devs can stay true to making authentic period worlds when it come to Mafia 3. It's shot way up the scales of my most anticipated games based upon the first two. I hope they don't fuck it up. Which reminds me, according to Wikipedia Mafia 2 holds the current record for the most times the word "fuck" is used in a game. So there.

Edit: I went looking to see how much the PC version sells for. It doesn't, just like the first game it was also pulled from sale. Same on XBL. Seems to be no way to buy it now. Music license expired I guess. No wonder 2K gave it away on GwG last year, before it was pulled. What an awesome GwG game this turned out to be, I wouldn't have it otherwise.

Hopefully Mafia 3 turns out okay, yeah. I think the main guys on the first two games are the ones making Kingdom Come: Deliverance right now.

Insanity's Blade (Thank you Blarth for the game)

For a while that i've been searching for a game like this, a game that was able to capture everything from the games that i used to play, from the gameplay to the music.
There's not much that can be said about the combat, it's simple but that enjoyable, even if the player is only maching the attack and jump button, there's a grab but i rarely used it, only for enemies that had a shield. There's this mechanic where you can rip the arm of an enemy and used it as a weapon but i never understood what was the point, the same with the weapons that sometimes appeared to be grabbed, the character was using ranged attack so i barely had to go close quarters with them, especially after buying the upgrades with the gold that you can grab from the enemies.

The music was on point, it's not memorable or something that i would listen outside of the game but it was good, it really help with the mood of the game, even with the cliché story.

Now, what i didn't like was the game design, i do understand the need of spawning enemies left and right but that lead to frustrating moments like enemies inside the walls where i couldn't shoot them (but they could) or on those levels where it's constantly moving (notably on the last level) and creates these "cheap deaths", you're trying to jump to a plataform but SURPRISE, an enemy appeared from nowhere and made you fall to your own death.

The game is short but that was ok for me, i was already at that point that i wanted to finish the level, there wasn't any difficulty (besides the cheap deaths) and i was just moving forward and mashing the buttons.

Battle Group 2

There's no much to say about this one, is a missile command on the move that feels like a mobile game (and what do you know, it is a mobile port). Point and click, grind, upgrade your ship (or buy a new one) and get new powers, repeat it until you get the last ships upgraded (just the guns, i never felt the need to upgrade the health) and a bunch of powers.

Best compliment that i can give is that it's a nice time waster if you want something to play while listening to music or a podcast.

Age of Wonders

I wrote a lot about the game and my impressions in this thread, so I will only write about my experience with the last mission here:

I've finally completed Age of Wonders. The last mission was pretty easy, because in the end I was allied with the humans and the elves and only had to wait for them to kill each other. When the elves were already pretty weak, I declared war, killed their leader and the game was over.

The end was quite sad though. I was able to bring peace to the world, but it came at a very high price (personally and for some of the races). I think I will have to play again in the future to find out if there is a better end when I choose different allies.

Have to say that I absolutely loved this game and that it became one of my all-time favourites. I guess I have to get the sequels at some point to find out if they are equally good.

Complete list of finished games in 2016

Finished The Walking Dead: Season 2. It's my second playthrough as I played it when it was released (with the waiting between the episodes) and it was still as brutal and good as the first time. Maybe better without waiting.

Full list here.

It was nice, yeah. Can't say I recall how I did the last scenario, but sure hate betrayals, so didn't use that. Remember how pissed I was that I was required to betray once in AoW2, as I had two allies who were at war with each other so there'd be no allied victory for all 3 and they weren't going to sort that matter out among themselves. Back to AoW, was Keeper campaign, standard dwarf and elf choices.
Reviewed AoW2 when I finished it, but that sure was an odd case of knowing I liked it but having a darn hard time being able to say why. Yet to play Shadow Magic though.

But speaking of reviews, finished the whole Tropico 4 package 3.5 weeks ago but only reviewed it about a week ago and that just popped up on MobyGames now (though it was of course on my blog since being written), so there's that as well.

I didn't want to betray Julia. My problem was that I thought that I would get an allied victory when I was allied with all the other races.
I didn't know that all the factions involved have to be allied with each other. Elves and Humans were at war, so I didn't get that victory. I could have waited for Elves and Humans to kill each other, but it was a huge map and it would have taken forever.

The Blackwell Legacy

Only around two hours long (Less than one hour if you know what to do), I was slightly disappointed by this title. This game barely gets underway before it abruptly ends. Not a horrible first entry with future possibilities, but hopefully this isn't the pinnacle for the series. I guess I'll play through it again for the bonus commentary tracks. If I picked this up by itself (rather than as part of the Blackwell Bundle), I'm not sure I would get the other four games.

Anna's Quest (Adventure)

Options include Subtitles, Hotspot Indicator, Achievements notice, Minigame Skip Button, and Open Inventory by Clicking, all of which are selected by default except the inventory one. Separate sliders for Music, Voices, Effects, Cinematic Volume, and Global Volume, plus Fullscreen, Resolution from 640x480 to 1920x1080, Additional Animations, HD Cutscenes, and a slider for Brightness. There are also six languages to choose from.

I did the game entirely as point-and-click, but there are keyboard shortcuts if you prefer. Left-click to interact, right-click to examine, press down on scroll button (or the space bar) to indicate hotspots. Double-click on an exit to immediately leave the scene.

The game offers a tutorial, which will guide you through the basics of gameplay, including how to combine items, interact with the environment, and use your powers. Be aware that you MUST right-click (examine) some items in order for the game to progress, so remember to look closely at your environment and inventory items!

The game never tells you that there are 12 candy pieces scattered through the game. Nothing happens when you click on them, save that they disappear. Finding all 12, though, will net you an achievement. You can find the Steam Achievement Guide HERE, and it includes all of the candy locations.

Gameplay is mostly logical, though there are a few odd tasks and solutions. Overall, I'd say that it's one of the easier point-and-clicks out there. Anna gives you the occasional gratuitous hint, and she won't let you do anything that would be game ending (like jumping off a cliff ;p ) Do REMEMBER TO SAVE, though! There is an auto-save function, but it's not set up by default.

I found the game to be delightful. There are many references to fairy tales scattered throughout the game, not to mention hidden references to other Daedalic games. The story is very dark if you stop to think about the full implications of what's going on around you, but the way it's presented takes away the horror edge completely... Well, *almost* completely. ;) The beings we meet can be weird, amusing, colorful, wicked, mysterious, sweet, and more, making for a cast full of interesting characters.

There is a deeper message to Anna's Quest; one that is not immediately evident. I will not ruin it for you by explaining further, but I will say that it had an unexpected impact on me. Overall, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and recommend it to those who enjoy the genre.

List of games completed in 2016 HERE

I saw the credits, seems like the rest of it is post game. Just went through Hyerdimension Neptunia U. It's basically like Dynasty Warriors or Senran Kagura, or both-ish. Excellent voice acting, very good writing, good levels with an exception or two.