Finished Games of 2007

[EvilHomer3k]

This is the fifth year for this list, and the sixth actual list.

Rules: Maintain a list of all of the games you have completed (judgement call on open-ended games) in 2007. Listing games you started in previous years is fine.

Post only once, then go back and edit your post as necessary. Feel free to add a blurb at the bottom about the most recent game, your current gaming habits or whatever, but the thread isn't for discussion .

Only list games that you have completed in 2007 (you could have started it in 2006, that is ok).

Be sure to indicate games you have re-played with an (Again) or (Repeat) or some such marker.

[Blackhawk]

Starting off early with:

~Gothic II

Played in anticipation of Gothic 3.

[VegasD]

Reserving my spot here. Maybe this will give me some incentive to actually complete some games this year.

Completed 2007
- None yet

[Jolor]

Finished in 2007
Neverend
Runaway 2 ~ Dream of the Turtle
Titan Quest - Immortal Throne [Battlemage]
Titan Quest [Summoner]
Two Worlds [Bounty Hunter]
Loki Heroes of Mythology (Norse Warrior)

Now Playing - Primary
Overlord
Puzzle Quest

In the mix
Bioshock
Oblivion (Knight)
NWN2 (original campaign) ~ Half-Elf Ranger C/G

In the queue
Sam & Max Season 1

[Asharak]

So EH3K is the CSL of the Gaming forums?

I'll try to be in this, too, but I'm horribly bad about remembering these things.

- Ash

[ChuckB]

Currently playing:

World of Warcraft
MLB '06 The Show (PSP)
MVP Baseball 2005 (with the 2007 total conversion mod)
Team Fortress 2
Flight Simulator 2004
Bioshock
Call of Duty 2

Completed:

Sam & Max: Culture Shock
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Rainbow 6: Las Vegas

[Kyosho]

Completed:

PC:

Gamecube:

N-Gage (yes, N-Gage. Shut up!):

[D.A.Lewis]

Completed
UFO Extraterrestrial
2 Worlds
BioShock

Playing
------------

On hold
Culpa Innata
Witcher
Sam & Max
Gothic 3


About to Play
Culpa Innata
Witcher

[McCrank]

XB360:

Saint's Row - %100 complete. Liked it better then all the games in the GTA3 trilogy.

Condemned: Criminal Origins - Awesome, awesome game. Probably the scarriest and most nerve testing game I've played to date.

Crackdown - My favorite sandbox game next to Saint's Row.

Dead Rising - Definitely a brilliant atmosphere here. Just not a big fan of the fact I could never seem to take my time when I wanted to, game keeps you at a very fast and hetic pace, always having to keep one eye over your shoulder.

GRAW 2 - Great, but not as great as the first.

PC:

Sam N Max: Season 1 - Kinda repetetive by the time I finished. Episodes 3 and 4 were the highlights.

Titan Quest - Awesome Diablo clone.

Space Quest 5 - Yup, so I never beat this one when It first came out. Finally whipped it out and finished it. Awesome game!

[JonathanStrange]

(The) Chronic (what?)Les of Riddick

[Ulee]

Completed:

Secret Files: Tunguska
Lego Star Wars II
Snoopy vs. the Red Baron
Archmage
Titan Quest (repeat)
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (main quest completed)
Scratches
Sam & Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
Sherlock Holmes: Awakened


Currently Playing:

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Neverwinter Nights 2

[Enigma]

Completed:
Age of Empires III (campaign)
Call of Duty United Offensive Exp Pack
Warhammer: Dawn of War (campaign)


In progress:
Medieval Total War 2 (PC)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)

[sgoldj]

Completed:

Nosferatu -1/2/07
The Bard's Tale (2005) -3/27/07
Might & Magic VII - 5/15/07
TMNT (Wii) - 7/14/07
Vampire: Bloodlines - 8/10/07
Heroes of M&M IV -10/12/07
Age of Wonders II -11/4/07
Planescape: Torment - 11/25/07

[SlapBone]

Completed in 2007

Titan Quest

[Teggy]

Completed in 2007
Sam & Max: Episode 1 (PC) 7 out of 10
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP) 8 out of 10
Rayman 2 Revolution (PS2) 7 out of 10
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (XBox) 8 out of 10
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2) 8 out of 10
God of War (PS2) 8 out of 10
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN) 8 out of 10
Indigo Prophecy (PS2) 6 out of 10
007: Everything or Nothing (XBOX) 8 out of 10
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (XBOX) 8 out of 10
Killzone (PS2) 8 out of 10
Black (XBOX) 7 out of 10
Metal Gear Solid (replay on PS1) - finished 8/6
Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) 6 out of 10 - finished 9/22
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) 9 out of 10 - finished 11/28
Armed And Dangerous (XBOX) 7 out of 10 - finished 12/24

Working on
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (XBOX)
Hot Shots: Open Tee (PSP) - forgot about this one. I chip away at it now and then with the intention of getting 100% of the items.

On hiatus (have put considerable playtime in but got put aside for whatever reason)
I-Ninja (XBOX)
Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (VC)
Star Wars: KOTOR (XBox)
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP)
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo (PSP)
Okami (PS2)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) (need to finish the last boss )
Psi-Ops (PS2) (need to finish the last boss )
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (XBOX)
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA)
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS)
Metroid Prime (GCN)
Super Paper Mario (Wii)

Gave up (would never finish)
Thief: The Dark Project (PC)

[Gwar21]

Completed:

Fatal Frame (PS2) - 1/11/07
Final Fantasy I (part of Final Fantasy Origins compilation) (PS2) - 2/4/07
Final Fantasy II (part of Final Fantasy Origins compilation) (PS2) - 3/24/07
Freedom Force (PC) - 4/15/07
Warlords Battlecry II (PC) (combat-oriented hero) - 5/13/07
Heroes of Might and Magic III - original campaigns (PC) - 11/17/07

Currently playing:

Heroes of Might & Magic III - Armageddon's Blade expansion (PC)
NCAA Football 2007 (PS2) - Dynasty: year 6
Final Fantasy IV (PS2)

[Gwog]

For posterity's sake, here's the 2006 list.

1/3/08: Well, I made it halfway through Deus Ex before year-end. Pretty great year; had fun but at the same time reduced my gaming, which had been my goal.

Completed
Half Life 2 - Episode 1 - Appetite for Ep2 physically painful. Especially since I bought Ep2 and then couldn't play it.
Daikatana - Wanted to replay for a while now. The MP resurgence came just at the right time.
Undying - Nice to return to the ol' girl but I'm kind of thinking I won't finish this playthrough. (I completed the playthrough the day after I wrote this. wtf.)
System Shock 2 - This time I went as an OSI char and used invisibility, and could not believe how much easier it made everything. Although I did build out my character in a way that made the Shodan boss fight impossible, heh.
Painkiller - A great DOOM sequel, with a fantastic mission pack. Wary of the sequel/prequel.

Currently Playing
Deus Ex - Time for my annual playthough. Going all rifle-y and not messing around with poncy hacking.
UT3 - Truly great. The game, I mean, not me... not by a long shot.

Gave up on:
Half Life 2: Episode 2 - Could never get it to stop crashing. Made it just far enough to feel almost sick because I couldn't keep playing.
The Quest - A fantastic first-person RPG for PocketPC. My job changed and I no longer had any time for PDA gaming at work, heh.
TRON 2.0 - Couldn't get it to work for some reason.
Call of Cthulhu - My mind wandered away. I'll get back to it sometime.
Oblivion - Dark Brotherhood quests. I hit the wall with Oblivion halfway through these quests.
Pharaoh - Too many shooters and not enough time for anything but.

[Mandeville]

Completed in 2007
X-Men Legends 2 (PS2)
Marvel Ulitmate Alliance (PS2)
CIV Warlords (I'm going to count the scenarios)
CIV BtS (Also counting scenarios)
Might & Magic VI (for old times)
Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2)
Ur-quan Masters
Freedom Force
Lego Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
Hulk Ultimate Destruction (PS2)
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (old times sake. finished the original story)

Currently Playing:
God of War (PS2) (stuck at a jumping puzzle and getting frustrated) I Never finished this because of this stupid part. maybe next year!

Not a lot of new PC games. I hope to get a new rig this year then LOOK OUT! I find that I am getting far more play time in with my PS2 which is weird because I have to wait for my wife and kids to go to bed to put it on.

[moss_icon]

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (first RTS i have ever finished)

[BooTx]

Now working on...:
Baldur's Gate II + Throne of Bhaal
The Battle for Middle Earth II: Rise of the Witch King

Completed in 2007:

Call of Duty 2
Quake IV
Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance
Far Cry (Replayed)
Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (Replayed)
Max Payne 2 (Replayed)
Battlestations: Midway
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends
Company of Heroes
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Replayed)
Diablo 2 Classic (Replayed a number of times over the Summer...)
Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Quake IV (Replayed)
Fallout (Replayed)
X-Wing Alliance (Yahooo!)
Fallout 2 (Replayed)

Backlog:
Thief
Thief 2
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (stalled)
Homeworld (stalled)
Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries

[Quitch]

Now playing

Survival Crisis Z (zombie blasting fun)
The Longest Journey (started good but beginning to drag)
Neverwinter Nights 2 (meh)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (awesome)
Jagged Alliance 2 Gold (a great squad TBS)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Sword of the Stars - Born of Blood
Runaway - A road adventure
Bioshock (okay FPS, intriguing story)
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade - repeat
Mafia (well told)
Team Fortress 2
Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts
Adventures in the Galaxy of Wonderment
Battle for Wesnoth - repeat
Birth of America
The Art of Theft
Eschalon: Book I
Sam & Max Episode 2

Finished

Kohan II - 9/10
Galactic Civilisations II - 7/10 (campaign 3/10)
Galactic Civilisations II: Dark Avatar - 7/10 (campaign 4/10)
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - 7/10
Sword of the Stars - 8/10
Space Rangers II - 10/10 - repeat
Pocket Slay - 6/10
Armageddon Empires - 8/10
Depths of Peril - 7/10
Quake III - 5/10
Portal - 8/10
5 Days a Stranger (Special Edition) - 7/10
1213 (Special Edition) - 8/10
7 Days A Skeptic (Special Edition) - 7/10
Max Payne - 7/10 - repeat
Trilby's Notes (Special Edition) - 8/10
Sam & Max Episode 1 - 7/10

[Giles Habibula]

Star rating at the beginning of each summary are out of a five-star maximum total rating.

*** 01-14-07 "Matto 4" mod for FarCry. A seven-level mod with very nice level design, but pretty bad voice-acting (understandable since the maker wanted to release this and didn't want voice-acting to hold it up any longer). But if you can get over Jack's voice in partcular (it's just awful), this is one of the best FarCry mods I've seen.

***** 01-21-07 "Call Of Juarez". Created by Techland, the maker of the "Chrome" games. However, this plays soo much better than those lackluster titles. I absolutely loved it. Graphics as good or better than any A-list title currently on the market. And wonderful old-fashioned Old West fun. Possibly my favorite game released in 2006, just because it's such a blast to play! You need a decent rig, but it's so worth it! Even better gameplay than the old king of the genre, "Outlaws".

**** 01-31-07 "Codename: Outbreak". The 2001 FPS by GSC Gameworld, the developers of the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I really didn't expect much from this, but came away very pleasantly surprised. A bit rough around the edges, but overall very good level design, and decent AI for its day. A good mix of indoor and outdoor levels, and some of the levels are vast. The final level in particular was excellent. Reminded me of a cross between FarCry and a poor man's Ghost Recon. Your AI buddy would actually follow orders, and you can switch between soldiers at any time. I can easily see myself running through this one again.

**** 04-12-07 "Patriots: A Nation Under Fire". This game is a budget FPS, and really starts out horribly, but then 3 or 4 missions in, it suddenly turned fun, and just got better with each passing level. Nice level design (after level 3), acceptable AI for the budget crowd. Overall, I had lots of fun with it. I'll be playing this one again. Ranks right up there with the "Vietnam: Black Ops" games, which are my favorite budget shooters.

*** 04-23-07 "Line Of Sight: Vietnam". A semi-budget FPS from 2003. List price was $29.99 at K-Mart, and I paid it back then. Insanely difficult, I finally managed to finish this one by switching to 'easy', which really is easy. The game is nowhere near as good as the "Vietcong" games released around the same time, but on its own, it holds up pretty well.

*** 05-06-07 "Mob Enforcer". A ValuSoft budget shooter from 2004. I wouldn't have touched this because screenshots on the box looked terrible, but I found it for $6 at Big Lots, and those screenshots don't do the game justice. It actually looks pretty good. Built with Lithtech's Jupiter (NOLF2) engine, it's only real graphical crime is lack of wall variety. Gameplay is pretty good, though it obviously uses trigger points to spawn the enemies. No endless respawning however. And with an ultimate goal of, "Rescue Al Capone!", who could resist?

**** 05-28-07 "Condemned: Criminal Origins". A Monolith production from early last year, it's taken me over a year to complete it, and I'm not sure why. It's really very good, and scary. But you can't just breeze through this game. It's tough. You can carry only one weapon at a time. Any firearm you find only has whatever ammo happens to be in it when you find it; typically 2 to 5 shots. After you use the ammo, all you can use it for is a poor club. So I spent most of the game favoring my trusty tazer, and weapons like the fire-axe and the paper-cutter. The look and feel is excellent (you need a decent video card for this), and the game exudes fear. But I docked it a star for being one of the most linear FPS games I've ever played.

**** 06-10-07 "Marine Sharpshooter 3". Very good for a budget title. This series, while quite simple in gameplay, provides quite a lot of fun. Many spots to snipe from. Choke points, but otherwise some vast, open level design. Not enough variety in buildings, though I did appreciate that I could go upstairs in many of them and snipe from the rooftops. MS2 took place primarily in the jungle, and was also a good game. This one takes place in a mideast urban-type area, and works well. The series keeps improving. I only wish there were useful items to go exploring for in these vast, explorable levels. Looking forward to the 4th installment.

*** 06-22-07 "Navy Seals 2: Weapons Of Mass Destruction". Yet another Jarhead Games budget title, this one from 2003, and sequel to "Navy Seals", which is a game I own, but never played, and can't find it at the moment. "Navy Seals 2: WoMD" has one very big thing going for it: A VERY pleasant nostalgia factor. It feels a lot like playing a graphically updated version of the original "Wolfenstein 3D". It's so simple to play, and yet challenging, and most of all, fun.

*** 12-15-07 "Soldier Of Fortune: Payback". Developed by Cauldron Studios, who also gave us the pretty decent "Chaser" a few years ago. Payback doesn't live up to the SoF franchise legacy titles, and yet, judged on its own merits, it's a decent shooter, but its console roots are apparent. Good-looking engine, however, and great settings. Plenty of fun, nothing new though.

***** 12-22-07 "Crysis". I loved FarCry, and I loved Crysis just as much. Great game. Ran well on my AMD64 3700+ 7900GS eMachine.

**** 12-24-07 "Shadow Force: Razor Unit". A shooter by Fun Labs from 2002. Fun Labs also did another of my favorite budget shooters called "Revolution" (which was only good after it was patched). Devious level design in Razor Unit. I particularly enjoyed the mideast city levels. Open and three-dimensional design. Every door can be opened, and many rooftops and balconies can be reached. If you see a bad guy standing somewhere, there's a good chance you can go there too. Lots of good old-fashioned FPS fun here.

[Big Jake]

Finished:
Prey (PC)
Suikoden 5 (Finally!) (PS2)
BFME2:RotWK (Acronymariffic!) (PC)
SMT: Devil Summoner:Really Long-ass Name (PS2)
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2)
Alien Shooter: Vengeance
Homm 5 + Hammers of Fate
God of War (PS2)
ICO (PS2)
Half Life 2
HL2: Epsiode 1
HL2: Episode 2
Shadowgrounds
Shadowgrounds:Survivor

Currently Working on:
Titan Quest Immortal Throne (Conjurer, Templar, Dreamkiller)
Heroes5:Tribes of the East
Hellgate London (Marksman, Evoker)
Portal

[docD]

Finished

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (360)


Currently Playing

Never Winter Nights 2
Medieval 2: Total War
Bully
Final Fantasy 12


docD

[Greg Wak]

Finished
Gothic 3



Playing
Prey

[Grievous Angel]

The Simpsons: Hit and Run (1-29)
The Bard's Tale (3-1)
Neverwinter Nights (original campaign) (4-14)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (6-2)

[Arnir]

Finished:
Hoyle's Card Games (okay, so I haven't played much this year)
CIV
NWN2 OC
Broken Sword IV

[Kagath]

Finished:
XB - Halo (#3)
XB - Metal Arms: Glitch In the System
XB - Area 51
PC - Half-Life 2 (#2)


Playing:
PC - Morrowind
PC - Arcanum

[Noman]

Neverwinter Nights 2 - Massive single-player game and one of the best CRPGs ever
The Bard's Tale
Indigo Prophecy
Dreamfall (Best computer game plot since Torment)
Mean Streets (replay on DOSBox)
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (replay)
Martian Memorandum (replay on DOSBox)
Under a Killing Moon (finished it for the first time... DOSBox and Vista)
Sam and Max: Season 1 (pretty good games)
Broken Sword: Secrets of Ark (uneven quality - very good at times but a rushed nonsensical ending)
Pandora Directive (my first time through the game, on DOSBox and Vista)

Hmm.. so this was 2007. The list seems adventure-game heavy, but there are several unfinished games from other genre that I'll put down in 2008 thread; Titan Quest, STALKER, Crysis, Bioshock, Oblivion, Fable and others

[Caine]

finished:
Wii:
Zelda: Twilight Princess
CoD3

PC:
SW:EAW:FOC
Stalker

DS
Puzzle Quest


on deck:
360:
Spiderman 3
Far Cry
Gears of War

DS
Hotel Dusk
Mario Kart
New Super Mario Bros
Phoenix Wright 2

Wii
Super Paper Mario

GC:
Metroid Prime 1 & 2
Zelda: Wind Waker
MGS: Twin Snakes

PC:
hmm, time to get the backlog down before the big stuff hits.
Splinter Cell: DA (ctd's galore)
Hitman: BM (not really started yet.)
CoH (stalled 3/4th through)
NWN2: (barely scratched the surface)
Oblivion: (more time spent modding than playing)
+ Shivering Isles
Just Cause: (early stall out)

[Hipolito]

PC

Homeworld: Cataclysm (Feb. 11) ~ ~ ~ ~ (on scale of 0 to 8)
I had more fun with this game than its predecessor because of its adjustable difficulty, interface improvements, less boring levels, and wackier ship abilities. The story and music, while adequate, lack pathos. The voice acting is also not as good though the actors do attempt emotion (unlike in the previous game, in which the acting was emotionless but effective).

Crimson Skies (Feb. 19) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lots of fun. The voiceovers are cheerful and enthusiastic. The documentation, cutscenes, and look of the game really feel like an old movie (except for the bizarrely shaped planes you start out with. What's up with that?) The frequent air banter, daring stunts, and fast action make every mission exciting. The flight model leans to gameplay more than realism, which is just fine because staying in the air is challenging enough. In fact, the missions can get frustratingly hard. (A joystick is highly recommended.) I do wish I could continue or save within a mission, especially when I die because a stupid wingman collides with me. You may skip a mission after several attempts, but then you miss out on the flavorful scrapbook entries.

Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² (Aug. 18) ~ ~ (review)

Bad Mojo Redux (Nov. 12) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This game looks and sounds great, and manages to convey the appropriate sense of scale without making you trudge through to explore. It's surprising how well-maintained the proportions are throughout the game and how atmospheric they made it from a bug's perspective. Despite bad acting (never mind that it was "supposed" to be bad) and telegraphed plot, you'll want to keep playing to unlock more video footage and see what challenges await. The multiple endings and bonus features round out the reward. I didn't play the original Bad Mojo, but this seems to be a remake done right.

Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It (Nov. 14) ~ ~ ~
The game pits you in several scenarios that you solve by guessing puns, plays on words, and idiomatic expressions. It's enjoyable and humorous when you know what to say and how to say it. But too many of the expressions you have to come up with are out of date or obscure today. The only scenario I really enjoyed was the one taking place in a restaurant, though the staged sitcom scenario was kind of funny, too.

Fate By Numbers Episode One (Nov. 17) ~ ~ ~ ~
An attempt to bring back Tex Murphy. I'd play future episodes as the story is fairly good, though I hope the acting and puzzles improve.

Sam & Max Season One (Dec. 31) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Though the average rating of the episodes is only 4.7, I give the overall season a 6. The humor was pretty enjoyable overall. The graphics and art were impressive. The episodes share a consistency of design and quality, and I became fond of the recurring characters. I was further impressed by the timeliness of the episodes and the game company's ability to release them all in a seasonal compilation. Here's my critique of each episode:

1. Culture Shock ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   The beginning has the same problem as the Hit the Road game of being unfocused and unfunny. But soon the game becomes pretty funny and the puzzles are suprisingly not pushovers for a brief episode. But in the end, it's a bit of a chore to walk everywhere. A promising and strong first episode, just shy of a full recommendation.
2. Situation Comedy ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   Even funnier and with puzzles just as good as before. The story concept is much better, and is exciting to be involved in. Still a lot of walking around, but the child characters aren't as annoying this time. Sam has new things to say about some of the returning items, but I was disappointed that he didn't have new things to say about everything.
3. The Mob, the Mole, and the Meatball ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   Begins strong and funny, and the casino is a hoot during the duo's first visit there. But the game then drags until the end. The puzzles are mostly given to you; for the first time, I needed no hints, and one of the puzzles even has the same solution as a puzzle from the previous chapter.
4. Abe Lincoln Must Die! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   Much longer than the typical episode, this one delivers a couple of puzzles requiring some thought. Unforunately, the walking around and repeated visits become a bit too much, and the story, despite having great ideas and a highly unexpected musical number, is not very funny.
5. Reality 2.0 ~ ~ ~
   This is hailed as the best of Season One, but for me it's the least enjoyable so far. Instead of relying on its own humor, it brings in lots of cliches and memes. The puzzles make little sense and the rules of the world are inconsistent; these traits might serve the story's premise but, as in Bureaucracy, they also make the game more annoying. The musical number is terrible and the new characters wear out their welcome soon.
6. Bright Side of the Moon ~ ~ ~ ~
   Just an okay episode, and an intentionally heavy-handed attempt to wrap up the season. There are some great lines delivered with perfection, but the game has too much walking around. It's also frustrating to try to use inventory objects when they keep going back into your inventory after failed uses, especially when you're trying to click on difficult targets. Though I came close to looking at hints, I never needed them.

PlayStation 2

Bully (March 15, 100% completion, 44 hours) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The bright, well-animated graphics that change appropriately with the times of day and year, the varied sound effects (including fine voice acting), and the subtle background music bring life to the school setting. Ironically, the game gets lets interesting when you can leave the school to explore the surrounding neighborhood; there's a lot to see, but not much you'd want to do out there since the school is the center of the story (and fun). The story feels like it will lead to something interesting, but while the ending is played off as a big finish, it's not anything surprising. Fortunately, the missions are much easier than in the Grand Theft Auto games.

Space Channel 5 Part 2 (June 30) ~ ~ ~
Part 1 was kind of a bad game but fun enough to play with its short length and cute bosses. This follow-up is terrible, though, with its ill-conceived instrumental sections and lack of cuteness. The idea that anyone would want to play the game enough to earn even half of the collectibles is laughable (although, judging from GameFAQs, this has actually happened).

Killer 7 (July 28, Normal difficulty) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bizarre is good in this game, with its dreamlike look, memorable soundbites, obscure story told through evocative cutscenes and whispered monologues, freakish enemies, and even the unexpectedly simple gameplay that lets you focus on the bizarre. The roleplaying element seals the deal. I would have liked a difficulty level that kept the puzzles challenging but the battles easy; as it is, you can only have both easy or both hard.

Shadow of the Colossus (Sep. 3) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It's like playing one heart-pumping boss battle after another, except that the bosses in this game are more fun than the bosses in most games. The battles are broken up by lonely journeying sections, which are sometimes long and confusing but make the anticipated battles more enticing. Frightening, awe-inspiring, and unexpectantly poignant are fitting adjectives not just for the game but also for the music. The problems I had with the game: the middle part feels a bit repetitive, a couple of the bosses are not bosslike in stature, and I felt a bit cheated by the interactive part of the game's finale.

God of War (Oct. 20, Spartan difficulty, 14 hours 45 minutes) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I didn't think the genre of fighting games was for me, but this game certainly is. With highly accessible and fun gameplay, cool and tough enemies around every turn, great moves and powers to unlock, big scenery, and no-holds-barred storytelling and cutscenes, this game only aims to please.

FreQuency (Dec. 25, all non-bonus Normal songs beaten) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Music is arguably the most important part of a rhythm game, and fortunately this game gets it right with lots of great tunes. The gameplay is okay, though it's often tricky to jump from one track to another and difficult to figure out whether you can use the solo mode. I also think the points needed to earn the bonus songs in Normal difficulty are too many. You can make your own cool tracks with the editor.


Game Boy Advance

Final Fantasy IV Advance (Nov. 17, 35 hours) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This GBA version of the SNES game seems to make the random battles more difficult but the boss battles easier, which is the balancing I think the game needed. The story is not notable, but it keeps you interested from beginning to end thanks to good pacing and evocative characters that can say all that has to be said with just a downturned head. The music is not only great, it's effectively wielded (along with silences) to accentuate the emotional.


Edit: originally, this post only had tentacle ratings for the games. (The exception being Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.², for which I linked to a full review.) However, when I had played the games, I had written in my personal notes not just my ratings but also brief critiques about them. I just hadn't shared those critiques here. It didn't occur to me until now to go back and edit this post to include those critiques. So I've now included the critiques.

[iloveplywood]

When I hit 70 with my mage I'm going to count WOW as a finished game. I made the mistake of looking at my played stats and my mage has 25 days played. I have never come close to playing a video game that much before -- I don't want to abandon my real life friends that play it, but that is too much of my life hitting A,A,A,q, backup, A,A in sequence over and over and over again. Of course instances are completely different -- I just hit A over and over again (okay I poly some too).

[malchior]

Completed:
Dead Rising

Playing:

PC:
Planescape: Torment
EU III -- I'll calling this completed once I complete a campaign.
Oblivion

360
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Gears of War

PS2
Bully

[Fafhrd]

Completed 2007
Thief: Deadly Shadows (repeat)
Halo (repeat)
Halo II (repeat)
Doom III (repeat)
Civilization VI (repeat)
Half-Life 2 (repeat)
Half-Life (repeat)
Half-Life Blue Shift (repeat)

[Papageno]

Completed: Total Overdose main story missions (Xbox)

[disarm]

Splinter Cell: Double Agent (360)
PGR3 - Gold Championship (360)
Crackdown (360)
GRAW2 (360)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (xbox)
Guitar Hero 2 - Hard (360)
DiRT - Pro-Am Career (360)
Psychonauts (xbox)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA)
Bioshock - Harvest Ending (360)
Halo
Halo 2
Halo 3
Portal (360)
Guitar Hero III - Hard (360)
Rock Band - Guitar Tour, Hard; Drum Tour, Medium (360)
Mass Effect - Paragon Vanguard

[Godzilla Blitz]

Finished
Final Fantasy III (DS, in Japanese)
GUN (PC)

Currently Playing
Final Fantasy IV (GBA, in Japanese)

[tripcrow]

Finished:
NWN2- disliked it at release. But feel in love with it the second time around.
Titan Quest (again)- this time as Epic soothsayer
Tiatn Quest Immortal Throne- Epic soothsayer
Oblivion (again) new 26 Witchhunter on to Shivering Islses

[EddieA]

Finished Games
==========
Baten Kaitos (Gamecube) - 107 hours
Pac-Man World 2 (Gamecube) - 16 hours
God of War (PS2) - 12 hours (+4 for Challenge of The Gods)
Ratchet & Clank : Up Your Arsenal (PS2) - 35 hours
Jade Empire (XBox) - 47 hours
Crash : Twinsanity (PS2) - 6 hours
Dark Messiah : Might & Magic (PC)
Ultimate Spiderman (XBox) - 20 hours
Gauntlet : Seven Sorrows (XBox) - twice
Champions of Norrath (PS2) - second time through
Star Trek Voyager : Elite Force (PC)
Suikoden IV (PS2) - 68 hours
Wild ARMs 4 (PS2) - 66 hours
Titan Quest (PC) - 53 hours
Jak 3 (PS2) - 28 hours
Prince of Persia : The Two Thrones (XBox)
Half-Life 2 (PC)
Timesplitters 2 (XBox)
Gun (XBox)
Justice League Heroes (XBox)

# of Casual Games Finished - 41

[Glycerine]

Finished
Dead Rising (360)
Gears of War (360)
GTA : San Andreas (PC)
Saints Row (360)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (360)
Sly 3 Honor Among Thieves (PS2)
Guitar Hero 2 (360)
Overlord (360)
The Godfather (360)
Bioshock (360)
NBA Street Homecourt (360)
Lego Star Wars 2 (360)
Stranglehold (360)
Half Life 2 (360)
Condemned (360)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (360)
Halo 3 Normal & Legendary (360)
Call of Duty 4 (360)
Assassin's Creed (360)
Guitar Hero 3 (360)
Mass Effect (360)

In Progress
Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC)
Command and Conquer 3 (PC)
Mass Effect - Replay (360)