Still Playing:The games of 2013

From my Still Playing 2009 post I was playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I have abandoned that game as I got stuck in a level, completely under leveled and under equipped with only a revert to a previous save from hours earlier as an escape. Yeah so no. I have not started either of the sequels.

New to 2013, the following are games I have begun but not completed.

Assassin's Creed 4: This nut will crack sometime in January. It's a great game and far superior to the mess that was Assassin's Creed 3.

MARK OF THE NINJA: A taut stealth side scroll-er with beautiful art and great mechanics, this XBL Arcade game is always beckoning to me.

RED FACTION:ARMAGEDDON: I had heard how terrible and linear this game is compared to its predecessor, and while it is linear, it is a perfectly fine third person shooter. It is gorgeous on PC and just the thing for a lazy afternoon of "working" from home.

F.E.A.R 3: I ignored this game when it was released, but having finished and enjoyed F.E.A.R. 2 and love the original, I wanted to give it a shot. Graphically impressive on PC, the mechanics are as expected with the new addition of co-op. The story is nonsense but as a satisfying mouse and keyboard shooter, I am digging it. 

STATE OF DECAY: This surprise hit downloadable game is a great if janky open world zombie exporation game that incorporates day/night cycles and mission timers like Dead Rising. I keep restarting it, hopefully I will find time to finish it.

DEAD ISLAND:RIPTIDE: A disappointing cut and paste of Dead Island with some of the more interesting quirks patched out, DI:R still has that combination of broken jank and open world combat that made the original compelling. However the linear nature and extreme familiarity to the first game make it a bottom rung choice.

Here I discussed a bunch of games I had not yet finished at the end of 2012,  few of which are now in the can, unfortunately.

SKYRIM: This game is like my white whale. I keep finding reasons not to play it.

FAR CRY 2: Like any other open world game, I get lost in wandering and lose interest in the main thread of quests. Rightfully lauded for emergent gameplay and player agency, I hope to give this game it's due. I have attempted to stick to the main quests, especially after finishing Far Cry 3, just so I can stop wandering. 

RAYMAN ORIGINS:  Equally beautiful and punishing, I will push through until my skill runs out, which may be sooner than later. Abandoned.

JERICHO:  A dark and ugly curiousity, I will give it a go I gave it a go. Poor squad mechanics and relentlessly ugly. Abandoned.

DRAGON AGE II: "Streamlined" and repetitive I should be have been able to tear through this in short time, especially in comparison to the enormous time I put into Dragon Age:Origins, but nope. I enjoyed Dragon Age II a lot. The animations are beautiful and the combat is fantastic. By skipping virtually all side quests I was able to finally finish it in due time.

HYDROPHOBIA: Released, tweaked and released again in a perpetual feedback loop, the graphics and mechanics make the janky parts bearable, but just. The broken just couldn't be patched out. I finally abandoned.

ODDWORLD: STRANGER'S WRAITH (Maybe HD): Be super if remake developer JAW finally released the promised patch so I can play it on PC with an ATI card and a stable framerate. When and if it comes, I can't wait to beat this game again as I loved it on OG Xbox. It finally required upgrading to quad-core to get the game to hit 60 fps at 1080p so it is clearly under optimized for PC.

JUST CAUSE 2: The campaign story is pointless and best ignored in favor of exploring the massive game map, wreaking havoc. The lack of compelling direction makes this and Skyrim both hard games to stick with.*NOW WITH INSANE MULTIPLAYER*


OLDER CONSOLE GAMES:

I have a bunch of older 360 and PS3 games to attach as well  Abandoned

Bully (360)
Metal Gear 4 (PS3)
Resistance 1 & 2 (PS3)
Psychonaughts  (PC)