Continued from here.
41. Pinball FX2 - FINISHED ON: 20140830 DURATION: 8 Hours
This is one addicting game. Every table I played was worth the purchase. Each one brings unique gimmicks from the gameplay, to the props, to the unique mini games hidden away in each of the tables. Zen Studios does a damn fine job on each table. If you're a pinball junky who looking for a little more flare from their tables, look no further.
42. Skullgirls - FINISHED ON: 20140830 DURATION: 20 Hours
A solid fighter with an emphasis on fun. The combo system dial-a-combo, which makes the game less demanding on having strict timing to do cool combos, which helps player focus more on mind games than worrying about connecting moves at the right frame. On top of that their's an in depth training mode and all the characters have little tutorials. The art is unique and character animate very well. The only downside is that there aren't enough people online. I feel like fans are waiting on Beowulf and Eliza. Fans of BlazBlue, Melty Blood, UMVC3 will feel right at home with this game.
43. Injustice: Gods Among Us - FINISHED ON: 20140901 DURATION: 11 Hours
It's a game from NetherRealm Studios with back for block. That is already a great start to the game. Overall this game is simplistic in its mechanics with just enough depth to pull of some crazy antics on the screen. It's in no way a great looking game, but it makes up for it with a large cast with everyone having a unique moveset. Again, as with all their other games, I feel that their animation is wonky. Other than that, this game brings a great Story Mode to the table, along with all the other staples expected from a fighter in this era.
44. Wolfenstein - FINISHED ON: 20140908 DURATION: 20 Hours
Holy hell! I just finished Wolfenstein, and DAMN! Was that one badass story with awesome gameplay to boot. It surpassed Bioshock Infinite and is in my top 3 for the year. It was damn fun to finally play an FPS with actual bosses. Every set-piece looked unique. Very little reused assets aside from boxes and enemies. The stealth in the game was fun and not forced. The gun play was on point with almost every weapon feeling satisfying to use. Multiple firing modes were also not useless and kept the mainstay weapons feeling fresh. Dialogue between characters made me want to actually pay attention to the story, which was also pretty great. That, coupled with a fantastic soundtrack, really made the game a complete package. I hope Jens Matthies, the guy who wrote the story and dialogue, stays with the team to pen out future projects. I hope the game did well enough to keep Machine Games in the business.
45. Luftrausers - FINISHED ON: 20140910 DURATION: 2 Hours
This a unique little Shmup with little direction on what to do. After figuring out what to do, the game really picks up. There's tons of unlocks which leads to a huge number of combinations for your ship. The game gets progressively hard the longer you survive and the higher your score gets. The game's soundtrack and art direction is also great. Higher combos lead to more satisfying explosions from the enemies. The only negative I have about this game is the way the controller system is setup. I feel that this department could have used a little bit more work.
46. RefleX - FINISHED ON: 20140911 DURATION: 4 Hours
A solid Shmup, but comes up short compared to the previous ones I've played this year. The soundtrack is typical[ shmup fair. The gameplay is okay with it's bullet reflecting mechanic, but after a while it just feels old. The sprite work is fine, but at the same time things really feel clunky to me. I just can't explain it.
47. Deponia - FINISHED ON: 20140913 DURATION: 4 Hours
This is an okay point an click game, but with a couple of downfalls. The game's dialogue seems awkward at times, robotic in its delivery of it, and has jokes that completely miss the mark. The art direction is nice, but the animations for the game are terribly lacking. The puzzles are okay at best with some just seeming so bad that they allow you to skip them within the game. I'm hoping as I continue with the trilogy that the negatives of this game get addressed.
48.Guilty Gear X2 # Relaoad - FINISHED ON: 20140913 DURATION: 3 Hours
It was a treat to come back to this game after so many years. Especially since I have a firmer understanding of applying the mechanics in a fighting game. The game still looks great even for it's age. The game itself plays well and is a great port EXCEPT for the lack of online play. Which means this game will hardly be touched outside fans supporting ASW in hopes of them bringing their games onto the platform. I believe there's a workaround for online play, but being that I'm a man that only practices current fighting games for online matches, I won't be bothering with it. Aside from that, it's got a decent story mode along with challenges in other modes that bring a lot to the game. I will say shame on those who ported this to not include some form of online play.
49.BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger - FINISHED ON: 20140914 DURATION: 7 Hours
The same great fighter I played years ago on 360. It pisses me off that there isn't any online play to be had on the Steam version. Aside from that, the game is still great. I haven't played any of the other iterations to know what I've been missing out on. The Story mode is more than decent, but doesn't offer the cohesive unity found in Injustice or MK9. The gameplay and mechanics on the other hand blow the aforementioned games out of the water. I don't feel like the characters are as well designed as Guilty Gear, but the boost in resolution sure do make them pretty. The stages and effects are beautiful. Character movesets look great, but lack in the animation department when compared to 3S or KOFXIII. Other than that this game is good to go.
50.NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM Revolution - FINISHED ON: 20140918 DURATION: 10 Hours
To start off, the mechanics in this game are almost the same as the last, which is fine by me. To tell you the truth, the only negative thing I can say about this game is that there isn't a true Story Mode. What this game focuses on is the tournament mode, which also seems lik the only way to unlock characters. It's a 4 man free for all with powerups and obstacles thrown into the matches to make things interesting. This iteration of the game really feels like it could have a $20 add on to the previous game. Other than that. the game looks great and plays great as always.
51. Hyper Light Drifter (Alpha) - FINISHED ON: 20141006 DURATION: 5 Hours
The alpha version runs at 30fps. It's a combo heavy action game and this really makes the flow and control feel sluggish. Aside from that this was a great taste of thing to come for this game. Animations look amazing, backgrounds are highly detailed, combat looks great, and the music sets the mood. The game seems like it will have a deep combo mechanic inlaid later on. I can't wait to see this game's progression later on. Hopefully they fix the frame rate issue.
52. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - FINISHED ON: 20141013 DURATION: 25 Hours
What a great game. It was a little repetitive near the end and the ending left me wanting more, but overall it was a more than decent romp. The game doesn't excel in many areas, but everything is brought together in a great package that created a pleasant experience The voice acting, music, art direction were all well done. My only qualm was the lack of variety with enemies. I just felt like it was Uruks, Dogs, and Ghulz through the whole game. The combat started out being pretty repetitive, but really opened up near the end and basically made you an overpowered Uruk juicer. The game could have improved on armor variants for the protagonists, real time cutscenes so as not to be so jarring. it blows my mind that they didn't do this. It would have conserved space and looked better. Hell, they basically used in game character models for the pre-rendered scenes. Other than that, I'm hoping the season pass keeps the game going strong. I'll definitely be coming back to this game for more when new content is released.
