You are welcome! I like reading this thread too!

I agree with you. I also though that this game would have been better received if it hadn't been labeled as D&D.

Sure, there are many better hack & slash action games but for me only a few of them are true masterpieces that I like to replay. So playing Demon Stone for the first time is more entertaining than replaying a better game that I already know. True, I could have found a game that is both: better than Demon Stone and new to me but you know, I couldn't be sure that it would be better than Demon Stone until I play it. Instead of wasting time on searching for a better game I decided to try the one that I already had on my shelf. And I don't regret, as I said before it's moderately entertaining but without any major frustrations. Good enough for me.

I'm first to admit that that both combat mechanics and camera need polishing but they are not terrible neither. I've mentioned before that the ability to change characters added a lot. Without it the game would be rather dull and repetitive so they saved their game by this little trick (of course there is a lot of place for improvements) Plus I don't think I've ever died because of clunky camera/controls combo.

Just finished The Blackwell Deception. Certainly a much more consistent game than the third one, and the puzzles were slightly trickier, but not much. Two scenes in particular had me laughing out loud until my stomach hurt.

The new sprites for Rosa just looked nothing short of horrible though - it looked like some amateur had gone haywire with MS Paint

But all in all, looking forward to Epiphany.

Jeebus - I just beat The Elder Scrolls 1 - The Arena
ALL the way through this impressive for its time but silly, broken and repetitive game with an amazing heritage
One of the very best things is getting out of the first prison dungeon and working out how to go to the World Map and being able to see the whole of Tamriel with Skyrim in the north, the town of Daggerfall in Hammerfell province, Morrowind with its volcano etc. and being able to go where you like and check it all out
Amazing to think that 20 years later the next Elder Scrolls game is still the most hotly anticipated game of 2014 for a lot of people!
My Char was a Bard, Bards get a bad rep but I really liked being able to handle a sword but still have access to all sorts of handy 'utility' spells like Light Heal, Light, Levitate, Resist Fire etc. VERY handy!
Incidentally I don't know if it was a random bug but the whole corridor of doors that you were meant to collect the keys for in level 2 of the 8th dungeon (Darog-Ur - the one in the Morrowind Volcano) weren't 'magically held' and it let me pick them really easily so I managed to pretty much by-pass that level - almost feel a bit bad but I won't be losing MUCH sleep I don't think...

Full list:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post64

Finished:

Dungeon Siege 3 - Alright action-rpg imo. Controls were not the best ( felt like another console port). Combat was a lot of pressing the same 1-3 buttons over and over ( fights can take long and there are those meaningless enemies respawn in masses ), not so much fun after the inital phase had past. Also too much meaningless loot at every corner imo. However, most of the negatives are what one would probably expect from a game in this series, so it's hard to fault the game for them. And the game has some very nice features, which are the interesting world/story and, for the most part, well made charaters. Would recommend the game to anyone in the mood for an action-rpg with lot's of fighting, while I'd recommend to those that want more variety to pick up a different rpg.

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 - Nice 2nd episode to this well made game. Similar to the 1st episode in most aspects and lenght. Would, of course, recommend it to all that liked the 1st episode.

Complete list: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post44

Just finished Incredipede - my first GOG for the year. I started it ages ago and decided to finish it off with the help of watching some level solutions.

So much of this game is just incredibly fiddly, frustrating, and inconsistent. A big problem is that you're both the engineer and the pilot: if you're bad at the creation phase, then no matter how good you are at the action phase, you can still end up at an impasse if you have a flaw with your design. And vice versa - even If you have a fantastic design, it can still be incredibly arduous to pull off the correct moves.

The game's interface is pretty awkward - for example, if you have a dense design, clicking certain joints and muscles can be almost impossible. Also, the game is broken in some parts - such as a number of areas where your limbs can clip through the environment.

I appreciate the distinct visual style (even though some parts are disproportionally low resolution). Also, I really like the way that the audio is handled - music interspersed among ambiance is a really interesting idea; it makes the parts where the music pops up feel special.

So, to sum up: I'd only recommend playing Incredipede if you're into masochism or if you're some kind of biomechanics savant. Also, maybe if you're into games with interesting art styles...

Its fitting that my first game finished this year is Thief Gold. I may just have to make that a new tradition... although it likely was incidentally anyway ;)

1. Thief Gold (Replay).
2. Thief 2 (Replay).
3. Thief 4.
4. Broken Sword 5 - Episode 1 & 2.

SteamWorld Dig

Some people say it's a short game. My opinion is, however, a bit different. Unfortunately the game simply lacks the content. A lot of digging, sure, but besides that... not so much. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast playing it for... what was it? Three hours and forty minutes!

Levels are randomly generated but frankly, it hardly matters. There are way too few features/block types/enemies in this game. Yeah, it's randomized but every part looks awfully similar to any other part of the level. I don't think it would make a game worse if it wasn't randomized.

There a few puzzle rooms where you can get a new ability/equipment. The only problem is that those puzzles are extremely straightforward and you may solve them before realizing that it was actually a puzzle! Only the last room is different because it's filled with a few nasty traps. So this one was great but the rest... just nothing special.

I thought that I would be able to create my own mine and enhance it every time I sell some ores. Alas, nothing like that can be found here. True, you have to be careful how you dig so that you won't trap yourself. But the only enhancements you can place in your mine are:
- lamps (I've never ever used them)
- ladders which can save you if you botched up mine design or fell into a pit
- teleports that can save you some backtracking
Well, even Diggers and Diggers 2 - flawed little games from 90s - had more mine customizations like lifts, doors, rails... too bad there is nothing like that in SteamWorld Dig. You just dig a hole and extract minerals, nothing else.

It is worth mentioning that digging is perfectly balanced: by the time you reach harder soils you either get a new equipment or have enough money to upgrade your old one so that digging is not taking too long.

Let me repeat once again: the game is very entertaining and it will give you a lot of fun for several hours. However, I do wish it was more complex and replay-worthy. I still wholeheartedly recommend it to any fan of simple-yet-entertaining games. Finding the most precious and well hidden minerals is really rewarding!


Full list

damn wish I could say that
does Freddy Fish count? :)

The Entertainment

This short, free game comes from the makers of Kentucky Route Zero. I don't know if this ties to the series in any way, because I have never played it. And based on this, I have absolutely zero interest to try Route Zero. What the fuck was this?? "The Entertainment" must have been used in ironic sense because this was the most boring, pretentious, artsy crap I've ever seen in my life. The sound technician must have been drunk because I could barely hear anything the characters "said" (or mumbled): that, or my character was nearly deaf. The person responsible of the lighting was probably drunk too, because the lights would dim or go completely off randomly or if I so much as glimpsed the other way. And, the story...what story? What the fuck was that? In which bars do people do conversations like that? What DID they talk about? And, finally, it ends suddenly when a glowing, electric stick figure appears behind me...just, what? WHAT was this?! I have literally no words to describe what I just saw. I guess you need to play it yourself. Or don't. I have no idea what the purpose of the game was.

I finished Shelter last evening. I have mixed feelings about it. I thought it was well done, I wanted to save the cubs, all of them, to protect them from danger, but as I lost some of them on the way I actually started to care less. Lost two cubs during the night, I hated the night, and lost one more to the bird because all three that were left decided to run to a turnip (?) instead of following me in the tall grass. That part just pissed me off. But at least it was easier to care for the remaining ones.

I had no problem with the shortness of the game, I actually wanted a short game. That's the main reason I decided to play it, I knew it would take just over an hour, an hour and a half. The problem is replayability. There is none for me, even if I only saved two of the five cubs. The beauty of the game was discovering and learning new things, good things and scary things. I feel that a second play would be more calculated and it would miss all that made the game good. So, while being short is not a problem, being short and with no replay value, can be a problem. But it's mainly a monetary issue. Pick it up a during a sale (like the one from last week on GOG) and you shouldn't have any regrets.

Full list:
- Splinter Cell Blacklist
- Borderlands DLC campaigns
- Aliens - Colonial Marines
- Borderlands 2
- Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
- Broken Age - Act 1
- Crysis 2
- Shelter

Finished Privateer (base game) yesterday. This was the second playthrough for me, first time was somewhere in the 90s.

The end fight was much easier than I remembered. Overall, I didn't find the game as interesting as I remember it being the first time. The game seems now quite simple overall, and I had no urge to try to explore the vast(?) universe. Until I started executing the story missions, I stayed mostly in/near the Troy system where you start the game. It didn't seem to yield any big rewards if you'd waste time jumping to other systems just because.

And damn those asteroid fields are aggravating, but soon after I remembered how to tackle them easily: just wiggle your ship up and down constantly, then no asteroid will hit you even if you use afterburner. The asteroids coming at you will magically disappear as soon as they go out of your view. :) The only problem was if there were enemies in an asteroid field, but I'd normally choose to speed through them then, no reason to take heavy damage from asteroids due to some stupid enemies.

Good thing that Privateer was quite playable with a mouse, because with the two gamepads I tried to play it, the analog steering was far too sensitive and inaccurate, feeling almost like with non-analog controls. I didn't try it with my proper flightstick yet. Then again, using mouse made it feel less like a space combat game.

I started the Righteous Fire expansion pack now, I haven't played it before and it was the real reason why I replayed the base game. Dey dook my gun!

Serena (free on Steam) - To sum it up, and I hate to be reductive, but it's pretty much a poor man's Gone Home. Ultimately though, it was an enjoyable journey with some interesting story beats. Although, there were a bunch of things I disliked - hit or miss voice acting; far too much referential humour; lack of any options whatsoever, pressing the escape key just exits the game straight away...

PixelJunk Shooter

One of the best arcade games I've ever played! Whoever designed those levels is a genius! There are not that many features after all but they are arranged perfectly so that each level is challenging, entertaining and unique. It didn't become repetitive even though there are plenty of levels! I wish there were more games like this one!

When the sequel gets ported to PC and appears here it'll be an instabuy for me!


Full list

Story behind this game is kind of interesting (it was made to cheer up a girl who was attacked by Paul Trowe after disagreeing with him about how he runs his company).
Have installed and waiting.

I couldn't see past 'ah! A ring of jumping!'