Game #11: Akiba's Trip

Akiba's Trip
Platform: PS4
Total Playtime: 8 Hours

Yeah I beat 2 games in one night. I'm a baller.

This one was a bit of an impulse purchase. A friend of a friend did the VO for one of the characters and I had remember hearing about it a while back. Erika and I figured what the hell and picked it up.

This game doesn't take itself seriously, to the point where a good third of your dialogue options are internet memes. You can make your character look at stupid or as cool as you want. For example, I beat the game with headphones, a combat vest, a diva skirt, and sandals and I was fighting with a keyboard so you know, I was pretty damn fly.

There's a pretty large amount of weapons in the game, and each one plays a bit differently. Honestly though, most are garbage. Just grab a bat and beat the crap out of everything that moves. The game does a great job with its setting as well. Loading screens for Akihabara restaurants, animes, tons of local stores, it was pretty fun just wandering around.

There are also multiple endings and paths depending on which waifu you wanna get with. If you're just looking for a sensible chuckle while beating up hordes of anime people while looking silly, you could do a lot worse than this game.

Game #10: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Pokemon Alpha Saphire
Platform: 3DS
Total Playtime: 21 Hours

So, Pokemon Gold and Silver is the only mainline Pokemon game I never beat. Isn't that nuts? I have been playing Pokemon games for 20 years. Hundreds of hours spent capturing little dumb monsters and forcing them to fight other dumb monsters. I actually still have my Blastoise from Pokemon Red in Pokemon Y. I love that little thing, and I love this franchise.

I wonder why I can look past the fact that the game is largely the same year after year. Maybe because it's a lower price on handhelds? Maybe the pure nostalgia factor? I will say that it did take me a while to beat this one instead of blitzing through it like I did with Pokemon Y, but I still bought it day 1 and managed to complete it. This is one silly little fad I am still happy to have in my life.

I think I'll be spending more time in this one as there seems to be more post game content in this one compared to Y. Now to transfer over 400 Pokemon into this version.

Game #9: Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule Warriors
Platform: WiiU
Total Playtime: 10 Hours

So historically, I have never been a huge fan of Dynasty Warriors. I think the last one I played was back on PS2 and after like an hour or two I just turned it off. I understood the appeal of it, it just wasn't really up my ally at the time.

With Hyrule Warriors, I think I initially wrote this off as a cool idea, but not something I would buy. Reviews were super solid though, so I gave in. Honestly, this game is pure stupid fun.I was really surprised that I could be entertained for so long by just mindlessly blowing through thousands of enemies. I think the Zelda package around it went a long way towards my overall enjoyment.

The only real disappointment I had with the game was that so many of the story levels pretty much forced you to use Link, who wasn't really the most interesting character to play as. Ganondorf is a fucking beast, as is Princess Ruto. Once I had those two, I was wrecking on a whole different level.

Play as a stupid amount of characters, murder minions, kill bosses, get heart pieces. That's the game, and it was well worth my time. It is kinda weird to see Ganondorf use a hookshot though.

Game #8: Saints Row: Gat out of Hell

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell
Platform: PC
Total Playtime: 3 Hours

BAH! This was a short one. So technically, this game is stand alone DLC for Saints Row 4, picking up after the events of "How the Saints saved Christmas". While this one was a bit bigger budget than the other DLC packs so far, it was a little light on the humor compared to some of the previous outings.

In terms of gameplay, there are no real "Story" missions. You basically go around the open world completing the various challenges until Satan gets mad enough at you to advance the plot. Mechanic wise, you have multiple new superpowers, and an actual flight mode instead of just gliding. Flying actually feels really awesome, and the flight challenges were by far my favorite. Other familiar Saints Row challenges show up again like mayhem and fraud. You also get a new batch of weapons this time out, but once again dual pistols wrecks pretty much everything in the game if you can aim well enough.

More Saints Row is never a bad thing, and I always smile when interacting with the gang again. I just wish the trip was a bit longer, and the jokes more plentiful. I honestly just ended up missing SR4 more after playing this. I may go back and do another playthrough sometime this year. If you've never played it, the next gen bundle with SR4 and all the DLC + Gat is incredibly worth your time.

Game #7: Halo 4

Halo 4
Platform: XB1
Total Playtime: 7.5 Hours

If playing through the original Halo trilogy was a trip into the annals of FPS history, Halo 4 is like taking a time machine into the future to see the dystopian landscape of everything that is wrong with the genre now.

Crowded HUD? Check.
CoD segments where your character is flung around without your control? Check.
Final boss that's just a quick time event? Check.

Even in the first firefight I got into, I could immediately tell this was a completely different game. After killing the same enemies with the same guns for 3 games and knowing how many bullets it took, everything just felt off. Enemies take a ton of bullets in this game to die, making automatic weapons pretty much the worst choice in every situation. Headshots with the various semi-autos were the only really effective way I found to put down enemies at a decent pace.

Speaking of enemies, the new ones you fight in this game (The Prometheans) are probably the most annoying enemies I have ever encountered in an FPS. They constantly dart around, they have regenerating shields, they teleport away when their shields go down to let them recharge, and there's a unit that can just rez the rest of them that immediately flies away when you try and kill it. I liked using their weapons a lot, and they have a slick design, but damn were they a pain to fight.

So what did I end up enjoying? The vehicle segments were a lot of fun this time, especially the Death Star trench level. I really did like a lot of the new guns that were added like the Promethean guns and the single shot Human rifle. The equipment was pretty fun to experiment with and the game did a good job of making you try out each one before populating the maps with the more popular choices. It was also a very pretty game to look at.

Oh, and I am not going to talk about the story. After fully completing the game, I still cannot tell you why the Covenant were even in it to begin with other than to be a different enemy to fight.

I miss dual wielding :(

Game #6: Halo 3

Halo 3
Platform: XB1
Total Playtime: 4.5 Hours

Yeah, I was surprised at that playtime too. Maybe I was just confused thinking about plot holes instead of focusing on playing the game. Like really, how did Keys and Johnson get to Earth before me AND have time to establish a base since I left them behind on a Halo and I was already in orbit above Earth when Halo 2 ended? Man, I don't know. I had to stop thinking about that.

The game felt very final. As in, it was very obvious Bungie was saying goodbye to this story and most of the characters. As a result. it was overall a solid end to the trilogy. Mechanics were polished as ever, some of the new guns felt very fun to use, vehicles weren't a nightmare to control, it was the final iteration on systems that were introduced years ago and the game was a lot better for it.

I just wish the final fight wasn't against a stationary robot you shoot 4 times.

Game #5: Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment
Platform: PSVita
Total Playtime: 49 Hours 30 Minutes

Finally finished this one. For a licensed game, the developers had a very strong understanding of the show and the character interactions, even if the English translation was absolutely terrible. I had to sit and try to interpret the meaning behind all the incorrect translations and typos. Because I was able to look past this though, I found a very fun game with a stupid amount of content.

You play as Kirito, and can partner up with any of the main characters from SAO as well as two new ones introduced in the game. Leefa and Sinon also show up through some convenient plot to allow them as party member options. You can use any weapon from SAO as Kirito and each have their own talents, strengths, and weaknesses. Though if you use anything besides two swords you should be shot.

Combat is actually really well adapted and makes sense in the show's rules. Honestly it just feels like you're playing SAO, without you know dying when you fail. Hell, bosses even have last hit item bonuses, and people in the assault group can die permanently. Lots of stats and equipment to manage and max out, threat tables, skill points, combo attacks, it's all pretty deep. Aside from all the combat, there are a ton of side scenes with individual characters as well as the group as a whole. I've done everything from family picnics with Asuna and Yui to going on a quest to find some rare food for Pina. There are a few too many fan service moments, but you can kinda just roll with them and move along.

This is probably one of the best licensed property adaptations for a video game out there, it really is apparent how much of the show went into this title. It also helps of course that it was fun to play.

Game #4: Halo 2: Anniversary

Halo 2: Anniversary
Platform: XB1
Total Playtime: 11 Hours

So I was making my way through Kingdom Hearts 2 and my PS3 died 17 hours in :(

Frustrated, I went out into the living room and started up Halo 2. Erika joined me though, and we had some awesome co-op action.

The level design was light years better in Halo 2 compared to 1. Clear paths through levels without having to rely on constant waypoints. That's not to say there weren't any times at all that we both got stuck for a bit, but it was far less than Halo 1. Storytelling got kicked up a notch too, and there was a lot going on with both sides of the conflict and it was pretty easy to follow along.

By the way, the remastered cutscenes by Blur were amazing. It was worth it to play through the game for those alone.

I did play though this way back when, but I forgot just how much of a cliffhanger the ending is. Good thing I have Halo 3 on the same disc and ready to go!