Report #60
This is my last post for this year. I’m not ready to reflect on my gaming year in detail yet, but let’s have a look at my goals for 2021! I did manage to miss every goal for this year :D Despite a last ditch effort I only finished 8 games with achievements instead of 10. I was only 1 game short of my second goal, finishing 9 out of 10 long games (35h+). I’m working on Dirt 3 at the moment, a long game with achievements, but I don’t think I’ll manage to complete it in the remainder of the year. While not reaching these goals I came close at least. The last goal, getting my unfinished games down to 49, was missed by a larger margin though. I still have 53 unfinished games left. Well, it is what it is.
I’m not sure what goals to pick for the next year, but there is some time left to decide. Did you already make some (gaming) resolutions for 2022?
Reviews
Bang Bang Racing is a top down racing game, akin to older titles like Micro Machines. It's an okay game, very short, but nothing I would really recommend. The tracks and cars are okay, nothing major in terms of replay value though. After 2 hours I had beaten every track and the credits rolled.
There are achievements in the game, but none of those unlocked during my initial playthrough. I did not have the nerve to invest about a dozen hours into the game to get the achievements, so I decided to put this game in the beaten category.
The FRAMED Collection contains two small puzzle games. You are playing as crooks who stole a suitcase and now have to flee not only the police but also some kind of competitor. Each section is represented by pages out of a cartoon. In order to complete a section, the individual panels have to put in the right order, so that the story can unfold. If you mess up, you get caught or die in some way.
The puzzles are rather easy, I could figure out most puzzles quickly. One single solution eluded me though. Maybe the game is not for someone looking for a challenge, but I was happy with it. I liked the art style and the music. I don't think the concept has enough stamina to last for several hours, but it was good fun to play for 2.5 hours. I can recommend the game if you're looking for something easy and relaxing to do.
11-11 Memories Retold
11-11 Memories Retold is a very interesting and unique adventure game/walking simulator. It is set during the World War One and follows the story of a canadian war photographer and a german engineer. It focuses on the every day life of not only the soldiers but also the civilians during this time. It's main goal seems to be to show the horrors of war, without glorification or choosing sides. I even learned some things I did not know before, for example how massive the tunnel systems on the western front were.
The most striking feature of the game is the artsy style. Everything is rendered in paintstrokes, similar to impressionism. It's really unique and in my opinion fits the game very well. The musical score for the game is overwhelming. It manages to perfectly add to the scenery and paint (sorry) an impressive (sorry again) picture of the mood in the different parts of the game. The voice acting was good and depending on which side of the front you are the NPCs spoken language changed accordingly. I really appreciated that they chose native speakers for the different languages.
While the game does not offer too much in terms of gameplay, the story is captivating. I was anxious to know how the life of Harry and Kurt, the two soldiers we're following, will unfold and if they manage to survive the hardships of war. I won't go into the details, I have point of criticism though (spoilers!): I disliked the last part of the story, where Kurt decides to avenge his son. I think it destroyed the perfect setup of the protagonists as passive characters which are helpless victims of the horrors of war. Without this turn of events I would have given the game a 5/5 rating, but this somehow lessened my enjoyment, because I felt it did not fit the overall theme of the game.
Overall the game is an amazing piece of work and art. I think it is a refreshing perspective on World War One and it educates its players about the disastrous effects of war. I can only recommend the game if you don't mind slow paced gameplay and taking your time.
A caveat for achievement hunters: 2-3 collectibles are bugged and may force you to replay certain chapters. While there is a chapter selection it can get a bit on your nerves.
Currently playing
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DiRT 3 Complete Edition
I managed to get the last MP achievement for Dirt 3 and I’m currently mopping up the SP achievements. I don’t think I’ll manage to complete it this year, but who knows, maybe I get lucky…
With that being said, I concluce my year on BLAEO. Thank you for all the interesting discussions and reviews this year, I enjoyed being here as always. Keep up your spirits in this pandemic and I wish you happy holidays and a good start to 2022. I’m looking forward to my first post next year and laying out my plans for 2022.
Until then: Happy backlog-clearing to everyone,
Vito
2021 goals: 8/10 achievement games – 9/10 long games – 53/49 unfinished games
Happy holidays to you too!
I missed my goals too and I think I was less ambitious than you :p Just look at my “play this year 2021” list.
IMO finishing 9 long games in a year is impressive, especially I see games like AoE II which take a lot of hours, so good job!
As for 11-11, what was your first ending, before going for achievements?
Yeah, I was really concentrating on crossing some longer games off my backlog. I’m not unsatisified with my progress, I was just hoping to reach at least one of my goals :) There are some good games on your 2021 list, but definitely a lot of games on the longer end as well!
I got the Peace ending, where Harry saves Kurt but both are kinda on the bad end of the trade, as Harry is an outcast after helping a german and Kurt still hating Harry. After playing every ending it turns out though that there is only one real happy ending, where everything seems to work out more or less fine for everyone (I think it’s the Forgiven ending). Which ending did you get?
I got the same ending on my first playthrough. It’s probably the second best you can get IMO. Well unless you hated Kurt then maybe it’s the 3rd best :P
This comment was deleted over 2 years ago.
Thank you for the review(s). I’m going to try to get to FRAMED Collection this month for the monthly theme, once I finish House of Da Vinci. And esp. thank you for the review of 11-11 Memories Retold. It looks really interesting, and I activated it on my alt when I saw it had broken achievements.
Have a great holiday season!
FRAMED is a really quick and relaxing game, just right for the holidays. I was able to get every achievement for 11-11, they were not actually broken as far as I can tell. There are only some collectibles which sometimes don’t spawn, which forces you to replay the chapter.
Thanks, I hope you have a great holiday season as well :)
Late to wish Merry Christmas so I’ll just say happy New Year in advance.
Did you already make some (gaming) resolutions for 2022?
No because I’d really just set myself up for disappointment, but I foresee even fewer finished games in 2022. I don’t know if it’s choice paralysis or just that Backlog has finally started to win.
Thanks for your wishes!
Choice paralysis can be hard to overcome. I sometime struggle for quite some time before choosing my next game. I haven’t found a consitent way to overcome it, but plans like yearly resolutions sometimes help me.
I wish you a happy new year and a good start to 2022 as well :)
Happy New Year, Vito, and congrats on all your games beaten in 2021! You may not have reached the goals you set for yourself, but without them, you might not have finished as many titles as you did.
I have strong memories from Framed - not from playing it myself, but it was my son’s favorite tablet game for a while, and that soundtrack is quite catchy!
Thanks, happy new year to you too! And well put, thanks for your perspective. You’re right, my goals definitely helped me playing some games I would not have touched otherwise.
The soundtrack for Framed is quite catchy indeed. I really enjoyed it. Your son seems to have a good taste in games :)
Don’t worry about missing your goals. Having some set is already a partial victory since it means you acknowledge having a huge backlog is a problem.
I also failed miserably but I won’t get into details now. I’ll keep them for my yearly stats posts in a couple of weeks.
Yes and I’m keeping them reasonable this time: Only spend up to 100 euros on games next year and play new games immediately (except for Humble Choice ones).
You’re definitely right. I’m not too sad, but I was hoping to finish at least one of the goals ;) But the true goal, helping me play some games from my backlog, was definitely reached, so that’s a win. I’m looking forward to your post, despite the miserable failings.
That sounds like a reasonable goal for 2022. 100 Euros are still enough to buy you some nice games, but not very much stretched to one year. Good luck with it :)