I’m off to a pretty good start with the games from my 2017 post, so thought I’d do a bit of an update. If I manage to continue this kind of progress, I may do monthly or bi-monthly posts, but we’ll see.
Games completed this month
Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (PC)
Really enjoyed this, I think I’ll probably be playing the other expansion, Legacy of the Void sooner rather than later, but I may also go back and mop up some achievements from the Wings of Liberty campaign first. This month I’ve also had a good time playing some of the co-op missions with a buddy too, so will be doing more of that.
Mortal Kombat XL – Story (PS4)
Never been a real Mortal Kombat fan, always preferred Street Fighter. However, the Injustice fighting game was surprisingly good fun, and MKX seemed to build on that so thought I’d give it a go. Injustice also had the most enjoyable story mode I’d played in a fighter too, and MKX does a decent job of living up to it. It’s also about a million times better than the travesty of a ‘cinematic story mode’ that Capcom patched into Street Fighter V, I had the misfortune of playing through that as well this month. (SFV is still the best 1 v 1 fighter you can play with a mate in the same room, but it’s hard to recommend for anything else)
Real MYST: Masterpiece Edition (PC)
After years of promising myself that I’d play through MYST again, I finally got round to it. The Real MYST engine held up nicely, and it was great to be back in that setting. Was also nice to finally see the Rime age that had been added. When I finished I thought I’d get stuck straight into Riven, but unfortunately that really doesn’t run well on my machine. I’m considering watching a play through for the story, and picking up with MYST 3 after.
Telltale Batman (Xbox One)
Possibly the buggiest Telltale game I’ve played to date, but I still enjoyed it. The Batman licence is a good fit for a game in this style. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy one, doesn’t seem as suitable, but we’ll see. This has got me over my Telltale burnout though, and I’ve now gone back to my Game of Thrones save I’d previously abandoned, and just played episode 3. Maybe I will see the end after all.
Progress against 2017 goal
I’m going to count my MYST play through against the entry for Riven, as it was half the plan anyway, and it’s probably important to keep the motivation going while I’ve got it. So along with Starcraft 2: HotS and Batman, that’s 3 down from my initial 9. Pleased with that, I’ve also put in a preorder (against my better judgement) for Yooka-Laylee, so that’s one from the other list that will be happening.
Also played in January
Diablo 3 Anniversary event (PC): Had a lot of fun with this, enjoyable to spend some time in classic Tristam, and pick up some new pets and transmogs. Managed to net all but one of the achievements, couldn’t bring myself to be farming rare monsters. Yawn.
Sonic Dash 2 – Sonic Boom (Android): I’m not entirely sure why I’m playing this, aside from Hearthstone I don’t play many mobile games. I also played quite a bit of the original Sonic Dash. Part of the interesting thing here is that I got both games via Amazon Underground, where all in-app purchases are free, but it still tells you how much they would have cost otherwise. I pretty much buy upgrades for all the characters and unlock anything offered when I fancy, then look back and am fascinated/horrified by how much that would have cost. If I’d been paying real money I’ve already gone over £600.
Spec Ops: The Line (PC): From the 2017 list, I’ve been enjoying this, making use of my Steam Link and an Xbox One S wireless controller to play it on the big screen in the lounge. Think I’ll probably finish the campaign within the week, so I’ll have at least one more to scratch off in February!
Banjo Tooie (Xbox One): Also from the 2017 list, having a bit of trouble getting back into this. I was tempted to start over since it had been so long since I touched my game save, but decided 9 hours was too much progress to lose, so I’m persevering. I’ve mostly got it sussed, still a couple of worlds where I’m unsure which jiggies I’ve got already. Hoping to wrap this one up before Yooka Laylee arrives!