With no new Mega Man level design contests cropping up, I found myself able to once again devote my free time to...uh...staying late at the office. April was a busy month. However, I managed to accomplish a few things of note, so I'm happy with what I have to show for myself this time.
This Website:
I did a lot of writing in April (at least, by current standards), and there's another Star Trek Series Opinions page and two blog posts already in the works for May. If you ever miss the kind of writing I used to do for Exfanding Your Horizons, the posts from this month should be a treat. Incidentally, I wrote almost the entire post about the NuTrek Enterprise back in February; I just didn't take photos until the trailer for Star Trek Beyond and news of the upcoming Star Trek TV series got me thinking about NuTrek again, which also prompted the 2009 Series Opinions page. I swear I've finally gotten all the complaining about the reboot out of my system. Well, at least until I start reviewing Into Darkness.
- Retrospective: March 2016
- Origin Stories
- A Tall Ship, and a Star Trek to Steer Her By
- Series Opinions: Star Trek (2009)
I did a lot of writing in April (at least, by current standards), and there's another Star Trek Series Opinions page and two blog posts already in the works for May. If you ever miss the kind of writing I used to do for Exfanding Your Horizons, the posts from this month should be a treat. Incidentally, I wrote almost the entire post about the NuTrek Enterprise back in February; I just didn't take photos until the trailer for Star Trek Beyond and news of the upcoming Star Trek TV series got me thinking about NuTrek again, which also prompted the 2009 Series Opinions page. I swear I've finally gotten all the complaining about the reboot out of my system. Well, at least until I start reviewing Into Darkness.
- Retrospective: March 2016
- Origin Stories
- A Tall Ship, and a Star Trek to Steer Her By
- Series Opinions: Star Trek (2009)
YouTube:
I simply did not have the time or wherewithal to record as much as I wanted, but I managed to pull off one impromptu livestream, and I recorded the intro stage of Mega Man 8 for my upcoming video playthrough. And, of course, I published the elaborate April Fools video I had originally planned for last year. Happily, it works even better now than it would have then.
Flashman85LIVE:
- One-Shot Live Playthrough: Prince of Persia
GeminiLaser:
- [April Fools'] Mega Man 8 Teaser Trailer
I simply did not have the time or wherewithal to record as much as I wanted, but I managed to pull off one impromptu livestream, and I recorded the intro stage of Mega Man 8 for my upcoming video playthrough. And, of course, I published the elaborate April Fools video I had originally planned for last year. Happily, it works even better now than it would have then.
Flashman85LIVE:
- One-Shot Live Playthrough: Prince of Persia
GeminiLaser:
- [April Fools'] Mega Man 8 Teaser Trailer
The Backloggery:
I effectively cleared six games from my backlog and only bought two new ones with my tax refund money, but I still only broke even on my progress index for April. Go figure. April was simultaneously one of the most refreshing and one of the most disappointing gaming months I've had in quite a long time.
Appallingly unprofessional PC port issues aside, I had an absolute blast with Ghostbusters, which reminded me why I play video games in the first place. The game was immersive, faithful to the spirit of the movies, thoughtfully designed, possessed of fun mechanics and excellent production values, and very funny (the Spirit Guide descriptions cracked me up). X-Men Legends was a cathartic release of wanton destruction and a throwback to my college days, when people in the house would pop in and out as one of us kept plugging away at the story mode.
Playing a shinier version of Gradius, which I grew up with on the NES, brought back some fond memories, and Gradius Gaiden was awesome. Hopping around from game to game in the Gradius Collection gave me my first real appreciation of what good and bad game design look like in a scrolling shooter. Bad game design looks like this iteration of Gradius III, and to a lesser extent Gradius IV, which derive challenge from all the wrong places.
Although I wasn't as happy with those games as I'd hoped, FEZ was the biggest letdown of the bunch. It could have been a clever puzzle-platformer, or a diabolical puzzle game with platforming elements, but it insisted on being a boring and tedious collectathon with almost everything worthwhile locked away as a poorly explained secret. The game is full of good ideas, but their execution makes the game feel either pretentious or just badly designed—neither of which inspired me to stick with the game any longer than I had to.
Oh, and while the sentiment of gifting me with AVGN Adventures was appreciated, ten minutes with the game reinforced how much I really dislike AVGN. Sorry.
New:
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (NDS)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius Gaiden (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius II (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius III (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
Started:
- Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Steam)
- FEZ (Steam)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PC)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius Gaiden (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius II (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius III (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
- Type:Rider (Steam)
Beat:
- FEZ (Steam)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PC)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
Completed:
- X-Men Legends (GCN)
Removed:
- Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Steam)
I effectively cleared six games from my backlog and only bought two new ones with my tax refund money, but I still only broke even on my progress index for April. Go figure. April was simultaneously one of the most refreshing and one of the most disappointing gaming months I've had in quite a long time.
Appallingly unprofessional PC port issues aside, I had an absolute blast with Ghostbusters, which reminded me why I play video games in the first place. The game was immersive, faithful to the spirit of the movies, thoughtfully designed, possessed of fun mechanics and excellent production values, and very funny (the Spirit Guide descriptions cracked me up). X-Men Legends was a cathartic release of wanton destruction and a throwback to my college days, when people in the house would pop in and out as one of us kept plugging away at the story mode.
Playing a shinier version of Gradius, which I grew up with on the NES, brought back some fond memories, and Gradius Gaiden was awesome. Hopping around from game to game in the Gradius Collection gave me my first real appreciation of what good and bad game design look like in a scrolling shooter. Bad game design looks like this iteration of Gradius III, and to a lesser extent Gradius IV, which derive challenge from all the wrong places.
Although I wasn't as happy with those games as I'd hoped, FEZ was the biggest letdown of the bunch. It could have been a clever puzzle-platformer, or a diabolical puzzle game with platforming elements, but it insisted on being a boring and tedious collectathon with almost everything worthwhile locked away as a poorly explained secret. The game is full of good ideas, but their execution makes the game feel either pretentious or just badly designed—neither of which inspired me to stick with the game any longer than I had to.
Oh, and while the sentiment of gifting me with AVGN Adventures was appreciated, ten minutes with the game reinforced how much I really dislike AVGN. Sorry.
New:
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (NDS)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius Gaiden (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius II (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius III (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
Started:
- Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Steam)
- FEZ (Steam)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PC)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius Gaiden (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius II (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius III (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
- Type:Rider (Steam)
Beat:
- FEZ (Steam)
- Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PC)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius (PSP)
- Gradius Collection: Gradius IV (PSP)
Completed:
- X-Men Legends (GCN)
Removed:
- Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Steam)
Hey, this felt like a proper post for a change! It's good to be writing again.
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