Modern Games Beaten in 2024

[+wongojack]

Getting this thread going as I intend to post some completions very soon.

[cimerians]

First game of 2024 to complete is Stray, fantastic game, not too difficult which is a good thing, puzzles make sense that don't completely stump you, excellent controls, animation, music and story. 

[+wongojack]

12 hours ago, cimerians said:

First game of 2024 to complete is Stray, fantastic game, not too difficult which is a good thing, puzzles make sense that don't completely stump you, excellent controls, animation, music and story. 

Nice - this is definitely somewhere on my list.  Have they released an Xbox version yet?  Seems like it is about time for it to come to GamePass if not there already.

[+wongojack]

Ok, I am posting a trio of games as my first entry for 2024 because I played them together deliberately.  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Battlefield Bad Company 2 - all on Xbox 360.  This is not my preferred genre, and I really have no interest in playing the multiplayer modes of these games (good thing because they are all around 10-15 years old).  I set out to finish the single player campaigns on these games as they are credited as being some of the best examples of recent single player FPS campaigns.  Each of these were remarkably similar in length ranging from 453 mins to around 490 minutes.  A pretty shockingly close result.  Although it should be noted that Black Ops does give you more to play with a single player survival mode immediately following the campaign, so there is potentially A LOT more content when going solo with that one.

 

These games are all pretty excellent examples of Hollywood-style military entertainment brought to video games.  The stories are well constructed but not overly burdened by character, plot, or background content. 

Black Ops manages to transcend a little by building heavily on historical context to add a bit to its overall appeal.  It feels more like a plot from the Jason Bourne series of movies.  Jumping around the 60's still felt fresh to me even if the over-arching plot of brainwashing and revealing the secret meaning of "the numbers" was a bit derivative.

Bad Company 2 does a nice job capturing a sort of "Buddy Cop" feel only with a small squad of almost cartoonish military bad asses.  It works well and delivers several memorable and quotable moments along the way.  They even manage to reference Seinfeld in there at one point with a throwaway line about how the sand "is making me thirsty."  There's also another unforgettable little speech about one of the characters wanting to be buried at Texas Stadium.  It really makes you want to like these guys and get through the campaign with them.

CoD 4 was apparently the first entry in the series NOT to be set in WWII.  Arriving in 2007 and featuring intense combat sequences in a fictional middle east country (that totally isn't Iraq/Kuwait), this one carries some weight to it when a devastating event changes the future for the fictional world they've built.  In what was a surprise to me - the main characters aren't necessarily safe. I am sure that many active-duty soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan played this game and were impacted by it.

 

These games are similar enough to all receive a 4 out of 5 rating from me.  Their single player campaigns deliver exactly what they meant to but fall short of being something really special.  In fact, in 2023 there are probably current examples from each or equivalent series that could also get the job done about the same way which isn't true for many genres.  If I were to rank these 3 single-player campaigns against each other, I think they would shake out like this:

 

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops <- The gameplay lifts it slightly above with fewer frustrating "scripted" moments and some better reasons to try out different weapon combos.  Zombie survival mode is also a nice bonus for a solo player.
2. Battlefield Bad Company 2 <- The humor and characters really work well, but the gameplay is a bit less varied.  I was able to stick with the same weapon combo the whole game, rarely needed to experiment.
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare <- A compelling and maybe even a little risky story.  I think it falls to 3rd because of a handful of frustrating moments where I wasn't sure how to make progress in their "scripted" scenarios.

Your squad from BC2:

[Razzie.P]

1)  Hard West II (PC)

 

This was great.  I liked part 1 alright, but this was amazing from front to end.  It's been a long time since I've been sad to see a game end.  

 

If you like tactical "X-Com" type of games, and have any interest in westerns (with a supernatural twist), give it a look.   It was really cheap during the Steam holiday sales, and I'm guessing its the type of title that gets discounted often.

 

 

[newtmonkey]

Labyrinth of Zangetsu (Switch)

This is basically Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn with a Japanese coat of paint.  You create a party of six characters and then explore a dungeon to save the world.  The most unique thing about this game is the graphics.  It's mostly in black and white, and looks like an ink drawing come to life.  This is cool at first, but after a few hours in become very dull indeed.

 

It's a strictly linear game, though you can go back to previous dungeons if you want.  The dungeons are actually quite interesting, as they have fun layouts and usually some unique gimmick.  By far the best dungeon in the game is Guren Temple, the penultimate area.  This is a massive dungeon that has you exploring the temple grounds to find a way in, and then storming the eight floors of Goren Tower itself.  It has a pretty complicated layout since you often have to back to previous floors after unlocking stuff, so it's a lot of fun figuring it out.  The game has a very nice automap, which helps.

 

There is a class changing system, but I didn't bother with it.  It's a pretty easy game overall, and I was able to clear it without any grinding, using just the basic classes (I used two Warriors, a Priest, a Thief, and two Magicians).

 

It's not anything amazing, but as a Wizardry fan, I enjoyed playing through it.

Edited January 15 by newtmonkey

[Giles N]

I completed … no wait… you said 2024 … what are you people here made of…!!!???

Edited January 28 by Giles N

[+wongojack]

I completed Spiderman for the PS4.  The game was everything they say it is.  I can't imagine ever playing a better version of Spiderman and the story managed to elevate and have some gravity to it that I didn't expect.  Negatives would be that the game seems to copy almost everything from somewhere else.  It plays so similarly to the Arkham games that early-on, I got a little frustrated when I'd try some of Batman's moves and they'd fail.  The open world is also firmly in that Ubisoft format that many of us have played over and over again.  And of course, it's a Spiderman story, so you basically know what's coming the whole time.  Even so, the game did its own thing and was a lot of fun.  I'd give it an easy A - 5 out of 5.

 

In terms of the great PS4 exclusives that I've played, I think I'd put it behind Astrobot and HZD, but ahead of God of War, TLOU2 and Uncharted 4.

[Razzie.P]

2)  Evil West (PS5)

 

Second game finished this year was another supernatural western type of thang  😁  I thought this was gonna be a shooter, but turned out to be more of a GOW type of game, but without all the walk n' talk that GOW has become.

 

I really liked it a lot.  It really needs some polish -- has a nasty save bug issue, a bit clunky at time leading to missed inputs, and it cheated me out of the "beat the game on normal" trophy (not a big deal with that one) but even so, I had a blast from front to end so I recommend checking it out.   It's this month's free PS Plus game if any PS+ member wanna give it a go at no extra cost.

[homerj]

Finished Star Wars Fallen Order last night.  
 

thst might be the first game I’ve beaten in 2024.  I finished Resident Evil 2 Remake and Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 pretty recently but i think they were in late December. 

[+wongojack]

I didn't know that TellTale was back in business.  I've enjoyed their games over the years, and I was very excited when I saw them release a game based on The Expanse.  This game was made for me.  I love the Expanse books and the show, and I love the hybrid character added to the show who is the protagonist of this game.  There's nothing new in The Expanse compared to other TellTale games, but it works and this was a nice use of The Expanse license.  I give The Expanse: A TellTale Series a 5 out of 5.

 

[+wongojack]

I made my way through all the contenders and title defense fights in Wii Punch-Out.  The game was a great homage to the NES game and the arcade originals, and I really liked the updates to the characters' abilities and dialog etc.  A classic game re-done right in my opinion.  They also are very respectful of the player's time by giving the option to practice against all the fighters (except for the last hidden character) AND you can restart a match at any time.

 

However, I'm not sure that in a modern context the game would really have impressed me without the HEAVY nostalgia I have for the NES version.  While they do give ample chances for practice and restart, the difficulty is definitely MUCH higher now.  There are also many places in the game where memorization is simply required rather than the read and react gameplay that was dominant in the NES version.

 

The game also sort of left me with a bad taste when after finishing my title defense, I unlocked a "Last Stand" game mode that is kind of like an "endless" mode.  The problem is, you only ever get one chance at this mode before you are forced to retire permanently.  That profile can never resume their career or get a try at the "Last Stand" mode again - weird because I would have loved to fight the boxers in a mode more like the original game.  Of course, I hadn't practiced against the individual boxers in days, so I lost 3 matches right away and my last chance was up.  I'll have to fight through an entirely new career just to enjoy that mode ever again.

 

Spoiler

Finally, the final secret character is . . . Donkey Kong.  This was fine, I guess, but it is not the arcade classic version of Donkey Kong, and he turned out to be the least fun fight in the game for me.  There's a bit too much memorization and pattern recognition required for me to remember that fight being fun, and I don't really want to beat up a lovable animal anyway.  Probably would have been better to get Bowser in there.  He seems more like a fantasy character than an actual animal, and who doesn't want to punch Bowser in the face?

 

This is my DK:

 

 

Despite the very end, there was A LOT to enjoy in this version of Punch-Out.  I wish more classic games would get treatment like this.  I give Wii Punch-Out a very strong 4 out of 5.  I think the precision and memorization required to succeed at this game are a bit of a mismatch for my tastes in 2023.  I know there are plenty of Soulsborne fans who dig this stuff, but I just can't be bothered very often to get through it.  Anyway, I mention that only to call out that if you ARE into that style of game then this would probably score a bit higher for you.

 

[Astro Rabby]

Beat Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore a few days ago. Great game and the animation is funny, especially as a fan of classic YTP. I plan on getting Penny's Big Breakaway next.

[+wongojack]

Half Life Alyx - I borrowed a Quest 2 and finally got a chance to play Alyx.  The technical side of things was kinda rough for the first half of the game in that my Quest 2 kept crashing at various points.  Turns out connecting via a USB cable was the worst option for me, and I got it ironed out connecting wirelessly and adjusting a few settings.  The game is certainly of very high quality, but it still has that feel of VR newness that kinda pervaded the last big burst of creation for the niche.  My main experience with VR has been through PSVR where I originally had all my ooohs and aaaahs turn into something else, so throwing around glass bottles and playing on a VR playground aren't really new and exciting to me anymore. 

 

Thankfully, there is plenty of quality gameplay and puzzle solving to be had in Alyx.  It feels like it is the first game in a series that would have become even better with a sequel or 2, but we've never gotten those.  As a result, it sorta stands in place with light decay and paint peeling still holding the title of "greatest VR game of all time" (and maybe always will be).  A major point in its favor is the VERY active mod-scene which produces extremely high-quality levels to play once you are done with the campaign.  I've probably put more time into playing story mods than the original game at this point.

 

I'm left wondering if I hadn't had ANY technical problems what I would think of the game, but that wasn't my experience.  Someone else might score the game higher, but I'm giving Alyx a 4 out of 5.  There's so much potential here and so much user-created content left to play, but it would have been nice to get a more "completed" package.  I would definitely play a sequel even if it isn't Half Life 3.

[+wongojack]

And . . . a quick one.  I finished Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris with my nephew a few weeks ago.  I think of this game and its prequel as the very best of the trend of smaller games getting a digital release.  I know that isn't novel anymore, but there was a time when it was unheard of, and this series is a good example of what makes it a good thing.  Simple but varied gameplay that still manages to tell a story and give you an exciting conclusion but enough challenges and other activity to keep you playing.  Plus, the almost effortless inclusion of Co-Op players and difficulty that allows for varied player maturity/expertise.  It's great.  I wish there were spinoffs of my all my favorite series like this.  I give it a 5 out of 5.

 

 

[Razzie.P]

3)  Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

 

It was alright.  I love a good metroidvania, and this one had a lot of great parts.  But it kinda overstayed its welcome a bit for my tastes and the boss fights in the last quarter or so brought it down a LOT.  I'm not a fan of the "I'm gonna zip around constantly so you can't hit me" fights in general, and this one seemed to rely on that 100% as it neared the end.

 

 

[Razzie.P]

4)  Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

 

 

I've now officially played a total of 2 Final Fantasy games.    The original on NES back in 89 or 90, and this one.

 

 

This was alright.  I started quite some time ago but got distracted and forgot to get back to it, so I jumped back in this weekend to finish it up.  I finished it, did some "post game" stuff, but honestly have no idea what the heck happened for the most part. Maybe it's one of those stories that really clicks for Final Fantasy fans, but if occasionally just seemed like random cutscene nonsense that was "look cool" first and "make sense" second.

 

A favorite moment of mine was when I found a door, and one of them starts droning on about "solving the ancient riddle of this door..."    Their was a key in a chest about 15 feet away.  🙄

 

[+wongojack]

I recently went through a bit of a VR phase.  I mentioned Alyx earlier in the thread, and I tried out 6-8 other VR games that I already had in my Steam library from various bundles acquired in the past.  I played two of those games enough to say I "beat" them or at least finished a common scenario to get to the credits.

 

Slinger VR - I think this game is well known among VR gamers, but it is still a bit obscure.  It has been sitting in my Steam library for years.  It has no achievements or trading cards to be earned, and I don't think it has ever received any updates.  Well, none of that matters because the gameplay is unique, challenging to master, and takes excellent advantage of VR.

 

There is no story.  You are simply thrust into an outer space playground of floating platforms that you must navigate by "slinging" out wires? beams? webs? from two devices that vaguely resemble VR hand controllers.  The challenges ramp up fairly slowly as the game introduces new enemies that you must swing around and defeat using various weapons scattered around the disconnected islands floating in the void.  You CAN die by falling or swinging away from the platforms and islands, but it is pretty rare that you can't save yourself from a fall.  When you do die, it is usually because of a faraway laser or a type of floating enemy who can vacuum you up if you aren't secured directly to a surface.

 

The game gives you a very real sense of 3d space in VR.  You're standing on platforms suspended on nothing, so the sense of height is very real, and I felt a feeling of actual danger many times while playing.  If you have any phobia of heights, I would absolutely avoid this game, but I found it very fun to sort of play around and safely experiment with the feeling of getting in and out of danger while swinging and falling.  This feeling alone was good enough to keep me playing Slinger through all of its 20 stages, but the gentle ramp up in difficulty also helped keep me interested.  The second to last level was a bit clumsy in that they went with the "Let's throw a ton of enemies at the player" strategy, but it (along with the final boss) proved to be a fun challenge to overcome on medium difficulty.

 

Slinger VR wouldn't even be a game without VR.  There's no point really comparing it to Spiderman or some other game where you swing on 3d platforms.  It is a VR darling and deserves to be, but it doesn't quite bump up to something that I would recommend to just anyone.  I give Slinger VR a 4 out of 5.

 

 

 

Battlezone Gold Edition (aka Battlezone VR) - A 2017 entry into the list of games now part of the Battlezone franchise.  I first played this game on PlayStation VR, and it gave me some slight VR sickness.  I finally came back to it because I knew it had promise, and I ended up really enjoying it.

 

You pilot a futuristic tank from inside a VR cockpit.  The immersive setting is very cool and gives you a great feeling of rockin a bad ass space tank.  The graphics are very stylized and serve the game well.  What's it styled like?  I'm glad you asked.  The game includes a version of the coin op Battlezone from 1980, and while the main game doesn't use exactly the same style, it adds color and builds on it quite well.  Unfortunately, the classic version in this release seemed a bit different than the original arcade game, so I quickly left it behind and returned to the modern adaptation.  VR is not required for this game or the extra game that mimics the original.  However, everything was designed for VR, so that will be your best experience.  I probably wouldn't bother without it.

 

The game has almost no story.  Mission setup is done on a gameboard where you move one hexagon at a time.  Each space gives you something to do.  Most of the time that something is go shoot a bunch of enemy tanks, but sometimes there are narrative style choices about whatever planet you are on and whatever conflict you are fighting in.  It doesn't matter because the main attraction here is piloting the tank, defeating enemies, upgrading the tank, and finally defeating the enemy AI core.

 

You can set up the board to be S,M,L and set the difficulty as you choose.  I managed to defeat the AI core on a medium sized board while playing on medium difficulty, and it was the right level of challenge.  The combat wasn't anything particularly special, but I found it to be quite fun.  The negatives are things like the fact that the missions end up being quite repetitive and the total length of a run against the AI core tends to be pretty long.  That means you see a lot of repeat maps and missions even within a single medium playthrough.  Thankfully those things aren't enough to keep you from coming back for another run.  The game does feature coop play, but I didn't get to experience that part.  Overall, I was very pleased with this version of Battlezone.  I give it a 4 out of 5.

 

 

[+wongojack]

Tetris Effect: Connected PS4

There's really not that much to say.  This is quite the nifty update to Tetris including many new game modes and single player challenges along with multiplayer competition and community events.  It also includes a VR option that while not the greatest VR experience in the world certainly offers a new and interesting way to experience Tetris.  All of the excellent gameplay from the original is here and with more challenges and scenarios, the only way you will NOT like this is if the music turns you off, or you just don't like Tetris.  I can't give this game anything but an easy 5 out of 5.

 

Control Xbox Series S/X

 

This was an interesting game.  I really liked the story although I've seen online how it has been criticized heavily.  I didn't really mind the "Don't reveal everything" style of storytelling, and I enjoyed actually reading the various texts that filled in the story elements.  However, the gameplay for me was very hit and miss.  There were times when it was laughably easy and other times when the game environment made it much more difficult.  Exploring the "Oldest House" was quite interesting, and the best moments come when you feel like you've discovered something the game has hidden from you.  The worst moments come when you are trapped in a room with a boss that constricts your movement and forces you to drastically change your playstyle to defeat waves of annoying enemies.  There was also one puzzle in the game that I would have never figured out without a lot of trial and error or looking up hints.  But then, there's the incredible blistering soundtrack of the "Ashtray Maze" that was totally awesome and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the concert battle in Alan Wake.  I haven't finished playing the last DLC, but I'm ready to pass judgement.  Even though the game was a mixed bag, there's enough here to consider it above average.  I had thoughts about a 3, but I'm giving Control a 4 out of 5.

 

Here's a complete list of games that I've finished this year with a score out of 5.  Those in green are ones that I earmarked for completion at the beginning of the year.

 

>Y2k
The Expanse: Telltale Series 5/5
Lara Croft: Temple of Osiris 5/5
Spiderman 5/5
Tetris Effect: Connected 5/5
Battlefield Bad Company 2 4/5
Battlezone Gold Edition 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4/5
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 4/5
Control 4/5
Half Life: Alyx 4/5
Punch-Out (Wii) 4/5
Slinger VR 4/5

 

Classic
Castlevania Symphony of the Night 4/5
Ghostbusters Ultimate Edition (Intv) 4/5
Ghostbusters (SMS) 3/5
Tennis (NES) 3/5

[Razzie.P]

On 5/12/2024 at 10:04 PM, wongojack said:

Battlezone Gold Edition (aka Battlezone VR) - A 2017 entry into the list of games now part of the Battlezone franchise.  I first played this game on PlayStation VR, and it gave me some slight VR sickness.  I finally came back to it because I knew it had promise, and I ended up really enjoying it.

 

 

 

 

Got this on at launch and played the crap out of it co-op with friends.  Absolutely loved it, but at first I did have to limit our play sessions as I got sick a bit.  Guess I got used to it, though, because that stopped happening.  Some of our runs would go straight to hell quickly and we'd fail, but it always felt like high stakes when we got deep into a run.  

[Razzie.P]

5)  Unicorn Overlord (PS5)

 

 

Yep, this will most likely be my personal "game of the year" and there's a really good chance it'll be the one of the few that stands out as representing what this gen of gaming meant to me when I look back 20 years from now, if that makes sense.  I was a fan of Ogre Battle 64 on N64, and this is the first game I've found since that seems to have anything in common with the core gameplay of that one.   A lot of overall differences, of course, but the way the main gameplay loop plays out really feels similar to Ogre Battle 64.

 

And other than one potentially BS boss fight* at the end, the fine tuning is pretty much perfect.  You have tons of strategic options that allows the player to play a broad "might pushes through" strategy, or can micromanage individual units' behaviors to fine tune your playstyle as much as you'd like.

 

 

*I didn't personally have any problem with him, because I think part of my team was over leveled by that point due to my reliance on that team/unit and completing 100% of the side quests, but I see a lot of chatter where this boss immediately takes the difficulty from 1 to 10 and causes roadblocks for some.

 

 

But yeah, pretty much the perfect game to me, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy Strategy/RPG, and even more so for anyone who wishes we had more games that played like Ogre Battle 64.