Ah, what gives, include me. Thanks for the thread.

--- o ---

Completed (entry links to post)
(07.01.2023) Super Mario Sunshine (NSW / Super Mario 3D Allstars) - 19h 15m [with 94 Stars] - rating 7.0
(13.01.2023) New Pokemon Snap (NSW) - 21h 47m [7h 07min played in 2021] - rating 7.5

Alien: Isolation. A very nicely done licensed game, stealth/horror with some immersive sim aspects. It does a great job of emulating the look of the original movie. It's so well-done graphically that when you do come across imperfections in the graphics it can throw you more than it probably should. For instance, the game uses a lot of intense lights and shadows but Ripley herself doesn't cast a shadow, nor does her reflection appear in shiny surfaces. The cutscenes also look worse than actual gameplay - the human models are just "eh" and the framerate is a bit weird.

One of the common complaints about the game is that it's too long for its genre but maybe I was just having so much fun but I thought the length was just about right. I probably put not much more time into it than I did Thief and they're somewhat similar games in that you spend most of your time creeping along and hiding, creating distractions, messing with stuff in the environment, trying not to get caught because you're dead meat if the Alien sees you and not much better off against the androids and hostile people. There's also a lot to explore and I missed a good bunch of things despite trying to be relatively thorough. Audio logs have unfortunately turned into a bit of an abused cliche in games but I liked how the game handles them in that they're mostly only available through computer terminals and not because the crew was leaving recordings lying around in random places.

Much like the best stealth games, the game never stops for you even when you're going into a hacking minigame. The hacking itself isn't hugely interesting, but when you're trying to use a terminal or cut open a door when something is stalking in your immediate vicinity and you can't waste precious seconds, it can get pretty nerve-wracking, which is all it really needs to do. The only thing that stands out in a bad way in the gameplay is the crafting system. Yeah, jury-rigging the flamethrower and motion tracker was a thing in the original movie, but forcing you to create medkits and gadgets as you go along is just silly. Just give me the damn medkits - valuable stuff lying around in such a wrecked setting seems like it would be appropriate enough without requiring that Ripley also be MacGyver. Crafting continues to plague modern game design.

The Alien is much louder and more aggressive than he is in the movie, which is a reasonable concession for gameplay. There's been much said about the rubber band AI and how it keeps the creature hovering around your area no matter where you go. I thought I would hate this but it's actually not bad in practice. The trick is to just keep out of sight until it gets bored and takes off for a half-minute, and then you can go on your way until it returns. I didn't do a lot of hiding in lockers and such. I found it more effective to just crouch behind furniture, maybe toss out a flare or noisemaker to get it away from doors I needed.

The game does falter a bit right at the end, as the final mission is linear and setpiece-driven and then the game closes on a QTE, but the other 95 percent is fine. The single-player DLC with the surviving original cast is a bit slight but kind of interesting for a half-hour or so of extra play. Disappointed that they didn't include Jonesy the Cat, though. Too bad this game probably won't get a sequel, at least not by the original creators. We know from the Aliens director's cut that Amanda has to get back to Earth to live out her life and die as a senior citizen, but there is a bit of a tease for a next game.

Tinykin, Jan 2 (Xbox Game Pass)-Kind of a puzzly, platformy game with lots of collection to do. I was surprised by how much fun I had with it. Would have liked a couple more levels run around in because its very short. Also, the last 10 minutes seemed unnecessary and silly.

Full List

The List

Saints Row: The Third (95% completion - female/Russian voice)
Prey (2006)
Bound By Flame (Hawk difficulty / No Possession / Vertiel ending)
DOOM MegaWAD - STRUGGLE: Antaresian Legacy (No Rest For The Living)
DOOM (2016)
Quake ( + The Scourge of Armagon & Dissolution of Eternity expansions)
Bionic Commando (2009 - Hard)
Quake 4 (Lieutenant)
Fallout 3 (Male-Scourge of Humanity / Big Guns & Unarmed)

Include me!

New year, new hope for having more time for gaming.
To start it off -

3.1.2023 Ratchet & Clank - Quest for Booty [PS3]
4.2.2023 Kingdom Hearts Final Mix [PS4]

Ratchet & Clank - Quest for Booty

A short adventure set between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time. It more of the Tools of Destruction gameset and gameplay, except (I think at least) I've suffered from obnoxious amounts of input lag at some points and game wasn't really accommodating for it. It might be my console/tv/gsmepad combo though so *shrug*

The Signifier
Whispers of a Machine

Include me.

Games finished in 2023:
Dead Beacon.
State Of Decay 2
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
Daymare 1998
The Evil Within 2
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 7
Entropy Zero 2
Darksiders 2

Tell Me Why, Jan 3 (Xbox Game Pass)-A good story if a bit cliched and predictable. In the vein of Life is Strange but with a different gimmick/mechanic. Voice acting was very good and it was all very polished. I thought the best parts were those that incorporated the Book of Goblins into the gameplay especially the last section. Maybe that's because section had actual puzzles and the rest was mostly dialogue and walking.

Full List

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Jan 3 (Xbox Game Pass)-Didn't care for this one. It felt a lot like Mixed Up Mother Goose. The combat was clunky for a game with so much of it and switching between items as needed was painful. As a result a couple of bosses were rather difficult. I guess there was a plot, too. Don't think I'll be playing the sequel.

Full List

Wizardry: The Five Ordeals

This new wiz is only available on Steam (C'mon GOG!) and has 5 official scenarios and about 100(!) user-made scenarios.
I've finished the first of the officials, the Traveler's Property (旅人の遺産). My adventurers are Fighter, Samurai, Thief, 2 magic users (due to class change, can cast both mage and cleric spells), and Bishop (former mage). I want to make the thief to ninja, but his status is too low for a prerequisite.
The scenario was very hard and reminded me of the difficulty of the original Wizardry 1, which probably prevents young gamers from liking it
Also, it doesn't allow the player to use an auto-map function freely and requires a level 1 mage spell (Some scenarios allow to freely use it, and others don't), so I used the traditional method, namely using a pen and a graph paper notebook for mapping the dungeons. lol.

My List

INCLUDE ME

Kept meaning to do these for the last few years

Lets see what I can actually complete in 2023

Beacon Pines : First game completed in 2023
Paradise Killer: Messed up a bit on the trial at the end, so had to execute someone post trial. But very good game

08/01 - Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
17/01 - Horizon Zero Dawn - ultra hard, all achievements
06/02 - Pillars of Eternity

Games finished in 2009
Games finished in 2010
Games finished in 2011
Games finished in 2012. Incomplete
Games finished in 2013
Games finished in 2014
Games finished in 2015
Games finished in 2016
Games finished in 2017
Games finished in 2018
Games finished in 2019
Games finished in 2020
Games finished in 2021
Games finished in 2022

2012's List
2013's List
2014's List
2015's List
2016's List
2017's List
2018's List
2019's List
2020's List
2021's List
2022's List

1. Dragon View - GOG - January 4, 2023
2. Asteroids Recharged - GOG - January 8, 2023
3. Missile Command: Recharged - GOG - January 9, 2023
4. Save Room - Organizational Puzzle - GOG - January 12, 2023
5. Transcendence - Freeware - January 13, 2023
6. Iron Grip: Warlord - ISOTX - January 14, 2023
7. Strange Adventures in Infinite Space - Freeware - January 14, 2023
8. Master of the Skies: The Red Ace - CD-ROM - January 14, 2023
9. Noxious - Freeware - January 14, 2023
10. A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda - GamersGate - January 15, 2023
11. Meteor - Freeware - January 16, 2023
12. Titan Station - GOG - January 16, 2023
13. Cardinal Quest - GamersGate - January 17, 2023
14. Power of Ten - GOG - January 17, 2023
15. Acidbomb - Freeware - January 18, 2023
16. Acidbomb 2: Rearmed - Freeware - January 21, 2023
17. Spud's Quest - GamersGate - January 21, 2023
18. The House of the Dead - CD-ROM - January 22, 2023
19. Another Bound Neo - Freeware - January 25, 2023
20. La Croix Pan - Freeware - January 27, 2023
21. Overview Effect - Freeware - January 30, 2023
22. By The Numbers - Freeware - January 30, 2023
23. Battleships Forever - Freeware - February 5, 2023
24. Necropolis Rising - Freeware - February 6, 2023
25. Mondo Medicals - Freeware - February 6, 2023
26. Mondo Agency - Freeware - February 6, 2023
27. Go Go Marine Squad - Freeware - February 7, 2023
28. Robo Quest - Freeware - February 9, 2023
29. The Other Side - Freeware - February 9, 2023
30. Fate By Numbers - Freeware - February 11, 2023
31. ARMED SEVEN - Groupees - February 11, 2023
32. Unrelenting Part 1 - Freeware - February 20, 2023
33. A Building Full of Cats - GOG - February 23, 2023
34. Sudocats - GOG - February 24, 2023
35. A Castle Full of Cats - GOG - February 25, 2023
36. Colossal Cave - GOG - February 26, 2023
37. Nano Pack - Freeware - March 1, 2023
38. Chicken Assassin: Reloaded - GOG - March 12, 2023
39. Zodiacats - GOG - March 26, 2023
40. The Supper - GOG - March 27, 2023
41. Shattered Pixel Dungeon - GOG - June 5, 2023
42. Hidden Mysteries: Titanic - GOG - June 5, 2023

Include me, please

earlier years

-2021-
-2022-

1] 5-01-23 10:54 :p Tomb Raider (2013) Steam. 81% completion rate. 17 hours and 20 mins

Last Year (2022)

Current Play List
2D Action - Overhead/Isometric: Monaco
2D Action - Side: Deadlight: Director's Cut
2D Action - Side Force Scroll: Odyssey (C64)
3D Action Adventure: American McGee's Grimm
Adventure: SC2VN - The eSports Visual Novel
Fighting: Super ComboMan: Smash Edition
FPS: Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders - Episode One: City of the Damned
FPSRPG: Dead Space
Open World: Bully: Scholarship Edition
Puzzle: Hanono Puzzle
Racing: Project Speed
RPG - 3D: The Witcher
RPG - Isometric: Riverbond
RPG - Japanese: Soul Blazer (SNES)
RPG - Turn Based: Geneforge
RPG - Other: Bardbarian
Sports: Shufflepuck Cantina Deluxe
Strategy - Grand Strat: Reus
Strategy - RTS: Sacrifice
Strategy - TBS: Attack of the Earthlings
Vehicle Combat: Steel Storm: Burning Retribution

Completed This Year
2023-05-03 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms: Icewind Dale Complete