It has taken me a long time but I have finally completed Front Mission 2: Remake and have added it to my list of completed games. Front Mission 2: Remake was released initially for the Nintendo Switch in October 2023 then 6 months later on every other platform. Originally however Front Mission 2 was released for the Japan market in 1997 by Square for the PlayStation. Unfortunately until this remake it was never released for any other region.
Front Mission 2 is a turn based strategy role-playing game involving customizable wanzers (mechs) which are piloted by the protagonists and their enemies. Set in the 2102 in a country called Alordesh (Bangladesh) Front Mission 2 tells a remarkable story about a coup d’état, love, betrayal and a secret weapon. I can’t write much more about the story without running the risk of spoiling it for someone, but I will say that the story is excellent and is easily the best feature of this game. One thing I found quite funny is one of the characters, Maylan, reminds me of someone.
I have to admit, that while the story is really good, the combat is clunky and at times the game can be a bit of a chore. After each character has been introduced you end up with 12 pilots and wanzers which periodically need changing for better parts and weapons. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to customize and try new things, but after a while it became too much and I just wanted to get on with the game. To be fair I am criticizing 27 year old game mechanics which I know was improved significantly for the sequel.
There is a lot of replay value in Front Mission 2: Remake. There are numerous difficulty settings and once you have completed the game I believe you can start over and retain much of the progress your pilots have made in developing their skills. This is also available in Front Mission 1st: Remake, but as before I am only interested in playing through the story and completing the game on ‘normal’ difficulty which actually took over 48 hours of play time. Now I must wait for the remake of one of my most favourite games of all time, Front Mission 3.
A couple of days ago my friends Jamie, Shadey and I completed a play through of The Forest, a survival horror game released in 2018. Developed and published by Endnight Games, The Forest combines survival, exploration, building and a strong sense of horror. It beings with the protagonist surviving a plane crash and watching their son get kidnapped from the wreckage. What follows is a hunter gathering survival style of gameplay while looking for clues for the whereabouts of Timmy, the protagonists son. As you explore a network of caves and find clues, a grim story unfolds.
During our play through we dedicated some time to building a base using the various resources available. While it is cool to build something to call home, it is nowhere near as good as what can be achieved in games such as Minecraft or Valheim. I have to say I also found the game somewhat buggy and at times cumbersome. Having said that I found that the best part of The Forest was the atmosphere and the sense of horror it bestowed. At times it was really good and while exploring the caves I was reminded of the film The Descent. I hear that it is possible to play The Forest using VR, which I am sure would be terrifying and make it that much more atmospheric.
It would be wrong of me to spoil the story but I will say that there are two endings to choose from, which, along with secret items and optional areas to explore, makes the game re playable. We have spent over 32 hours completing The Forest and I have added it to my list of completed games. Jamie is bit of an achievement hunter so we will continue to play it for a while longer, at least until we get the lions share of the available steam achievements. While I do not care much for achievements (I am not sure about Shadey) I think it’s important that we all get what we want out of a game before we move on.
Not too long ago my friends Jamie and Shadey introduced me to Golf With Your Friends, a casual sort of crazy golf game which requires no time investment. Most games that I play requires a certain amount of commitment of time to play through and get the most out of it. Golf With Your Friends is not like that, you can invest very little time yet still have a fun social experience. The way we play the game is usually for maybe 30 minutes to an hour at the end of a gaming session. I find that it is a way for us to play a game, chat, be a little silly and not take it too seriously.
One thing I have noticed about Golf With Your Friends is that people can design and publish their own golf courses. If I wanted to work in the gaming industry this is where I might start. I would learn a lot about level design, publishing my creations and would get feedback. This is hardly unique, there must be hundreds of games which support modding, map creation and community content, but I always applaud games like this which are designed to allow the community to continue to build the game and get satisfaction from creating content.
Because the game is such a casual and easy going experience, I got the game for my friend Jason. We speak for several hours each week and now sometimes play this game and chill. The game supports up to 12 players so I can see that it could be a little less chill and more chaotic, but it’s an excellent way to break the ice and possibly make some new friends. Another benefit is that Golf With Your Friends can kind of be like neutral ground. You might have gamer friends who are interested in playing a game that you’re not into right now or vice versa, but you can still hook up from time to time and play this for an hour, bringing different gamers and different friends together.
It is not often that I write a blog post for my ‘personal‘ category, but I feel compelled to write about a fellow blogger, gamer and nerd who went by the name Ibelin. His real name was Mats and was a Norwegian man born in the late 80’s and sadly died of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2014, aged just 25. I did not know Ibelin, nor did I ever exchange messages with him, but we both fell in love with a game called World of Warcraft and escaped from the realities of our world to Azeroth.
I first heard about Ibelin some years ago. I heard that a man had died and that the community was hurt by the loss. I do not recall where I heard it, I suppose someone told me or maybe I picked it up on the grape vine, but I will forever remember my surprize when I saw there had recently been a Netflix documentary made about him called ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin‘. I watched the documentary and found it amazing that Ibelin had touched so many people’s lives, but it is not entirely surprising to me. I would encourage anyone to watch the documentary, even if you have never set foot in Azeroth. If you do not have the time then the below YouTube video promoting Cure Duchenne will summarize how remarkable Ibelin really was in this online world some call home.
As well as helping to promote and support Cure Duchenne with a ‘Reven Pack’ microtransaction, a monument was added to the retail version of Azeroth as featured above. It reads ‘Deeply missed, never forgotten’. There are many monuments in Azeroth, but this is the only one I know where so many people took the time to pay their respects. I don’t know if it makes any difference, but when I visited the monument I decided to bring my first character that I created in 2004 at the beginning of my journey. Perhaps I am bring overly sentimental, but it felt right.
I will admit that while watching The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, I cried. But it wasn’t all because of Ibelin, his struggles and untimely death. Part of it was because I wondered if I had ever touched peoples lives in this way, and, after 20 years of playing the game, I have come to the realization that I do not think I have. It’s not because I am constantly a troll or intentionally unkind, but I am shy and reserved most of the time. When I think of the opportunities I might have missed to make someone’s day, but kept quiet and did nothing, I am filled with sadness and sorrow. I do not play World of Warcraft very often anymore, but perhaps now I will make an effort.
It’s rather dated, but if you have made it this far, watched the above video and documentary, you might be interested in reading Mats blog which he called Musings of life. I would like to end my post with a quote from his blog. I don’t have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, nor do I have a handicap, but it’s something that I recognize in myself.
“My great escape is gaming. I boot up the computer, get into position and then I leave this world. It’s not a screen, it’s a gateway to wherever your heart desires. I spend most of my time in a little place called Azeroth, familiar name to some, I’m sure. In there my handicap doesn’t matter, my chains are broken and I can be whoever I want to be. In there I feel normal.”
Recently I have been playing TCG Card Shop Simulator, which is available on Steam as an ‘Early Access’ game. Developed by indie developer OP Neon Games, TCG Card Shop Simulator combines retail shop simulating with a trading card game called Tetramon. Players are encouraged to sell Tetramon cards and other typical card shop merchandise in order to make money, level up the shop and build a business. Meanwhile you can open packets of Tetramon cards to either sell them individually or collect.
So far I have completed 124 ‘days’ and have a shop level of 42 with £115,430 in the bank. I have also collected 774 out of 1332 Tetramon cards. The most expensive in game card I have (which I suppose makes it the most rare) is the one pictured below. The value of merchandise fluctuates to simulate what happens in real life, which is kind of cool, but right now its value is around £2700. I have expanded the shop several times, upgraded the furnishings, increased the range of products I can sell and even employed a member of staff. I have to say that while I am pleased with my progress it is quite paltry to what others have been able to do.
It’s no secret that I like trading card games. I have written several blog posts about Magic: The Gathering Arena and I have physical copies of some trading cards. Tetramon seems to be a spin off of the Pokémon card game which I remember became very popular in the mid to late 90’s where I live in the UK. It goes without saying that Pokémon is still a very popular hobby and well loved franchise, but it’s hard to describe just how crazy people were about it. If only I knew then just how valuable the early Pokémon cards would become.
After playing through Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light not so long ago, this game has been an enjoyable change of pace. That said I don’t think I will invest too much more time in it. I am however impressed with the developer, they are an excellent example of what is possible in the gaming industry. It shows that if you have a passion and like video games, with hard work the sky is the limit.
After less than a week of my play through of Metro 2033 Redux, I completed the sequel, Metro: Last Light Redux. Initially released in May 2013 with the redux version following in August 2014, Metro: Last Light was developed by 4A Games as a post apocalyptic first-person shooter with a solid story line and horror theme.
Set 1 year after the events of Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light is a continuation of the story for the protagonist, Artyom. As before the majority of the setting is in the Moscow metro system where survivors live in relative safety from the fallout above ground. There are however communist Reds, fascist Nazis and bandits to deal with along with a variety of mutants. The game encouraged me to dispatch the enemies using stealth, which I found fun, but sometimes I just wanted to go in all guns blazing.
As with the prequel I think that the best thing about this game is the atmosphere. The graphics are very good, as is the story, but for me the dark, gloomy, dirty, grimy feel of the game is the stand out feature. It’s a very linear game but does have a few side objectives which allowed me to stray just a little and gave me the opportunity to determine what kind of person Artyom is. Having completed the game in 15 hours using ‘survival’ mode with the ‘normal’ difficulty setting, I have added Metro: Last Light Redux to my list of completed games.
As I have written for Metro 2033, there isn’t much replay ability. There are other difficulty settings and the easier ‘spartan’ mode of play. But for me it would be like watching a good film for a second time, it could be fun one day, if I had nothing else, but it wouldn’t be as good as the first time.
Some years ago my friend Jason recommended Metro 2033 Redux as well as the other games in the Metro series. He doesn’t play games very often these days making his endorsement quite rare and I thought worth following. During one of our regular conversations one of us noticed there was a bundle of Metro 2033 Redux with two sequels Metro: Last Light Redux and Metro Exodus for £8.06 in a Steam sale. I couldn’t resist such an offer since I knew I would most certainly want to try them out one day.
Initially released in 2010 and then as the name suggests remastered in 2014, Metro 2033 Redux was developed by 4A Games as a first-person shooter survival game. Set in a post apocalyptic Russia you play the protagonist Artyom as he traverses through the Moscow metro system to reach his destination and achieve his goals. Sometimes it is also necessary for Artyom to go above ground and deal with the fallout as well as mutants and other enemies within the ruins.
The horror at every turn and the atmosphere with its dirty, grimy feel throughout is excellent. It’s a very linear game with little to no deviation. It tells a pretty decent story and made me feel like I was participating in an action horror film. The graphics are really good, especially for a version of the game that’s 10 years old. I must admit that I found the game quite easy. While several parts of the game were a little difficult and I required multiple tries, the amount of checkpoints is so generous that if I failed and died I lost very little progress. It took about 16 hours to play through Metro 2033 Redux on survival mode with the ‘normal’ difficulty setting. I think this is enough to add it to my list of completed games.
There is some replay ability. Instead of survival there is spartan mode which sounds easier in that combat is more forgiving and supplies are more plentiful. Then there are harder difficulty settings which are hardcore, ranger, and ranger hardcore which offer a more intense experience. For me however I usually prefer to play linear games like this just once, so it’s unlikely that I will play it again. I do however have the next 2 games in the series to look forward to.
I have finally completed Final Fantasy IX. It’s hard to explain just how happy I am to have at last found the impetus to complete what I started over 2 and a half years ago. I first wrote about Final Fantasy IX back in February 2022 with my part 1 post. Since then I have mentioned that I wanted to finish the game in my year 4 review and even in my year 5 review. I didn’t mention it in my recent year 6 review because I knew then I was playing the game and didn’t want to put anything bad in what otherwise was perhaps my most positive review to date. It’s not that I find Final Fantasy IX a bad game that I wanted to persevere. It is I think a combination of things that has prevented me from getting on with it, most notably that I have on 2 occasions been severely sick and have suffered several bouts of bad mental health.
The truth is Final Fantasy IX is one of the best games I have ever played. The story and soundtrack is particularly excellent, not to mention the goose bump inducing cinematics. It was the last Final Fantasy game to be released on the PlayStation and as such I believe the developers managed to utilize every last bit the console is capable of. The graphics was about as good as it gets before the PlayStation 2 entered the market several months later. Here are some of my favourite screenshots I took of the cinematics.
One thing I mentioned in my part 1 post is that there is a lot of optional content such as side quests / exploration / mini games and treasure hunting. I have probably spent about 10-15 hours doing these things but I imagine it would take much longer to do everything. For me the main thing was the main story line and adding Final Fantasy IX to my list of completed games. After over 60 hours of play time, without using any of the cheats or shortcuts the PC version offers, I am able to do just that.
Although a little late it is time for the yearly review of my blog and to some extent my gaming in general. Last year my blog review was full of disappointment. This year however it is the complete opposite, I am really pleased with with how the last year has panned out and I am excited to see what will happen over the next 12 months.
There have been 18 blog posts since my year 5 review. 11 of these posts have been about about new games, most of which I have completed. The remaining 7 posts have been about games I have already blogged about in the past. Most notably EVE Online. Last year I admitted that I had not completed a single game since the previous review. This year I have completed 11 games, some of them with friends. I think the most noteworthy game is Valheim, but completing Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Fallout 4 are pretty decent achievements, taking a lot of time and effort. The first game I completed since my last review was FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake in September. I can not express the relief this gave me. Knowing that I was capable of completing a game made me feel like me again, it made me feel like a gamer. My list of completed games has grown from 13 to 24. To think that in 1 year I completed almost as many games as I had in 5 years is incredible to me and perhaps a little frightening.
Friends are good! Of the 11 games I have completed Jamie and Shadey are one way or another responsible for 6. Spending more than 200 hours playing through Valheim with them has been particularly good, but playing through Portal 2 and A Way Out with Jamie and then later Left 4 Dead with both of them was fun. Jamie also let me use her copy of Stray and they both gave me Slay the Spire and Hades. All of which are excellent games. To be honest I am not used to this kind of attention. To go from having 1 true friend who is several thousands of miles away to having 3 friends, 2 of which live in the same city as me, is a pretty big deal. This has improved confidence considerably but I feel that I still have some way to go.
It is possible for me to play an MMO and play a variety of other games. I suspect however that this is unique to playing EVE Online. Playing World of Warcraft I found that if I didn’t play, if I didn’t invest time, I would fall behind and not be able to keep up. With EVE Online however it is different. A lot of it comes down to your character(s) improving over time. Skill training occurs even when you’re not playing the game, but more than that most ships and activities in EVE Online remain relevant. Growing and improving is never ending, which is true for everyone, but after a relatively short investment of time it is possible to never fall behind and always be able to keep up with other players in a particular way. If I stopped playing but started to play again 6 months later, everything that I could do is still relevant and useful. There are no specific goals other than the ones that you set for yourself which means it does not much matter what other people are doing or where they are in their EVE Online career.
I want to do much of the same. I would like to continue to invest in spending time with my friends which in turn will continue to improve my gaming experience. More importantly this gives me an opportunity to grow as a person by building my confidence and perhaps, in time and with effort, become part of a wider friend group. If not I must at the very least remember to make efforts to try and give as much as I take from my relationships. For most this probably comes quite naturally, for me it’s really scary. My friend Jason may remember my closing statement of the Playing Alone post I made almost 5 years ago.
‘My heart tells me that I should dream, that I should see the world for what it could be, that I should dare to seek friends, dare to love and be loved. But my head tells me to stop, don’t get hurt, don’t get disappointed, nobody could like you anyway. Which is why I sit here alone, playing a game alone, with thousands of people.’
This hasn’t changed. For the most part I still feel this way. But I hope I can be brave and continue to listen to my heart a little more.
If anyone would like to provide feedback and/or suggestions for my year 6 review, please feel free to do so. You can leave a comment or contact me by any means.
After more than 200 hours of play time my friends Jamie, Shadey and I have completed Valheim and have created an amazing base. That adds up to more than 600 hours play time between us. Developed by Iron Gate Studio, Valheim was released in 2021 as a third person open-world survival game with a viking theme and in many ways reminds me of Minecraft. We generated our world with a random map seed and began exploring the biomes, starting with the meadows. As we gathered resources recipes would unlock to let us craft weapons, armour, food, crafting stations and building blocks to help prepare us for the next (more difficult) biome. By progressing through the biomes we would encounter new challenges, dungeons and bosses which would unlock special powers for us. This is what Shadey and I focused on where as Jamie focused on the creative side of the game.
Shadey and I would spend most of our time progressing through biomes collecting the new materials available to us so that we can create better and stronger weapons, armour and food for the impending battle with the biome boss. We would also bring back a large quantity of building materials for Jamie, who we named as Builder Bean, so that she can continue her efforts creating our base. That’s not to say Bean never joined us. Whether it be cutting down trees or helping carry metal scraps, Bean did help with gathering materials, especially at the beginning of our adventure and always helped when we confronted one of the 7 bosses. As builder, Bean built herself a throne room under the house as pictured below.
I felt it was important to cultivate vegetables and other ingredients used to craft most food and mead recipes. This is an important element for the overall progress of the game. New foods and meads would give us more health, stamina, resistances and later eitr which would help us combat ever more challenging monsters and environments. While some might find the task of cultivating ingredients a bit boring, I actually enjoyed it and was named Cultivator Copper. Because of this Bean built a throne for me overseeing our farm.
Shadey had already played Valheim up until the plains biome and had defeated Yagluth who resides there. This made Shadey a natural leader for the group, at least at first, and had the most motivation to progress and enjoy newer content that he hadn’t experienced yet in mistlands and then ashlands which was released in May. It’s not like Shadey did nothing else, he was part of the team and certainly did his fair share of gathering and crafting. But his desire to explore, progress and defeat stronger enemies earned him the name Slayer Shadey. Bean built Shadey’s throne inside a temple decorated with trophies of slain foes.
It’s difficult to describe how exciting it is to find new items and the recipes they unlock. At first to see the new weapons and armour available but then over time what Bean was able to build. After each session Shadey and I would take the time to see what had been built in our base while we had been exploring. While it was cool exploring Valheim, for me the highlight has always been the creation of our base which involved expansions and several rebuilds. To give an idea of how cool our base is, I created the YouTube video below. The quality isn’t as good as I would have liked and I found it was too much of a struggle to record in first person view.
The creators of Valheim have promised one more biome which will be the Deep North. The release date for this has been penciled in for December 2024/January 2025, but there’s no telling how accurate that might be. As it stands I believe that we have completed Valheim and will add it to my list of completed games. At some stage however it is highly likely that my friends and I will return to Valheim for the final biome. If we do I will more than likely provide an update on our adventure, but for now we will move on and play some other games.