#todayibeat

Sometimes I feel like the only one who didn't like Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS. It's too easy, the level designs are uninspired and it does little new. I enjoyed 3D World a lot more, although I don't think it compares to the two Super Mario Galaxy Titles. I do love that there's quite a solid amount of hidden areas in this one, though.

Lone Survivor: Director's Cut on PS Vita Didn't save any of my own screens. Hadn't played the original version of this game, the Director's Cut was my first attempt. It's surprisingly creepy despite its graphical style. Gameplay is far more survival horror than most AAA games that claim to be. Multiple endings and some interesting Trophies, but ultimately I would be surprised if I go through it again. http://superflatgames.com/wordpress/?p=1229

Hotline Miami on PS Vita For whatever reason I finished this on Vita first (didn't save any screens, this is from online). I think the touchscreen aiming options helped. Had fun with it. Got most of the masks and finished the letter puzzle. Awesome music, as everyone says.Looking forward to 2.  http://www.hotlinemiami.com/

Gauntlet on Steam I generally enjoyed this game. It’s fun and runs well. I only finished it as the Elf, Questor, but there are three other characters as you would expect. The downer is that it’s fairly short and there’s not much difference in the level designs.  http://store.steampowered.com/app/258970/

Bayonetta 2 on Wii U. Loved the original on 360, was very excited to pick this one up. The original being included is an awesome bonus. The game isn't horribly long, but there is quite a lot to find and unlock. The Nintendo fanservice is great. http://bayonetta2.nintendo.com/

Originally released as Zombies. (which I also finished), this game was enhanced and later released as Corporate Lifestyle Simulator. It's quite fun. It's essentially a twin-stick shooter with zombies, but it includes a lot of office humor and great music. Enjoyed it.

Really awesome game. Controls well, looks great and is just plain fun. Has an interesting shooting mechanic and a sword that can destroy certain types of projectiles and enemies. There's only six levels, but there are unlockable difficulties and so forth that keep it worth replaying.

140 on PC http://store.steampowered.com/app/242820/ A pretty fun music based platformer. You're a shape, you go around levels avoiding static and collecting other shapes. Sometimes it turns into more of a shoot 'em up, where you have to avoid things. Can get fairly challenging. Once you finish it, there's a secondary set of levels that are just the mirror image of the originals. I'm cheating a bit here, but I didn't bother with those.

Shovel Knight on Steam http://yachtclubgames.com/shovel-knight Fantastic game. Most similar to Mega Man, but it takes some cues from The Adventure of Link, Super Mario Bros. 3 and others. Looks great, the music is solid and it plays really well. Definitely enjoyed it, going to try the New Game + mode.

Love on PC http://store.steampowered.com/app/269270/ A simple platforming game with only 12 official levels, but it's still surprisingly fun. Most of the replay value comes out of improving your score -- in Standard Mode you get 99 lives; the faster you go, the less lives and checkpoints you use, the better your score will be. Really enjoyed the music, as well.

So if you like AVGN you might find this funny (and some of the references are a bit more interesting -- such as the last image I uploaded). For everyone else, it's basically a Mega Man clone with expletives in it. It's not that bad, although it's obviously fairly shallow. But more than anything, I'd just call this "Death Block Simulator". See those skull blocks in many of the shots I uploaded? They're instant death. And the game lazily peppers them EVERYWHERE, relying on them to add challenge to the stage.

This is a fun title, reminiscent of more punishing games like Super Meat Boy -- but in more of a "beat the clock" racing format. It's not very long, but if you're into high scores there's good reason to replay. I also think the devs did a good job with crafting achievements that are worth going after.

Loved this game. The story and characters are surprisingly solid and I found myself wondering what was next, it's generally all well presented. The gameplay is very similar to Ys Seven, but even if you've played that it's still enjoyable here. One of my favorite games on PS Vita so far.

If you're a fan of South Park, you'll enjoy this one. It's a somewhat slow start,  but things eventually get as crazy as you expect. I thought reviews like Gamespot's were a bit off -- this is a SP game first, RPG second. And if battles are "simplistic" here, then you might argue the same of some of the Paper Mario games. It's not especially difficult or long, but it's a fun title.

This is a fairly solid update, but not mind blowing. The situations where the game has hand drawn backgrounds make you wish that's how the entire game looks -- most are really dull, very basic polygon re-imaginings. But the game still plays well and is entertaining. I don't get the complaints about "too much talking" -- anyone who genuinely cares about Ducktales will be excited by the mini-reunion done for this game.

Outlast on PC http://store.steampowered.com/app/238320/ Enjoyed this one. I thought it was going to end a few times, but quite a bit happens. The character being reliant on his camera is well handled and there are some genuinely creepy/startling moments in it. I thought the sound stood out, especially. Interested in seeing how the prequel DLC turns out.

I put a lot of time into this game across two different platforms and finally got through at least the main campaign. Overall I still have mixed opinions on it; I enjoyed the game, but there are portions of it that are needlessly frustrating from a design perspective. I still remember the time I walked into something on Blighttown that was instant-death for no apparent reason.