Day -2 Hours: Counting Down

The preparations for the challenge are as complete as they can get.  Unfortunately, my video capture card  isn't working properly.  So videos to go along with these entries will be few and far between for now.  I do have my webcam set up to record images, but it won't be very good quality for the videos.  Anyway, for the purpose of this blog, videos will be minimal anyway.  I will probably record boss fights (if applicable for the game) or some other tidbits about my progress in the challenge.  I am not sure.  All I know is that I am as ready as I can be, and I am excited to get started.

Everything as far as the actual playing of the game is ready to begin.  I have already check the game out, and it works perfectly.  I will be using my black PS2 to play the game, rather than my trusty silver one.  It works in both, so I just wanted to be super sure that everything is ready.  Some games don't play in the silver one, but work well in the black one (Xenosaga I, Metal Gear Solid 2).  The controller is in working condition, and the memory card has plenty of space on it.  So all I have to do is actually play.

Anyway, I am thinking of starting right at midnight tonight.  I will probably tap a short nap now and then wake up in time to start.  And since I don't have work until Tuesday, I have the whole day to just focus on gaming and the challenge.  So, I am going to cut this blog entry short, and finalize everything for later.

Well, I will back online in about an hour.  I hope to see you then!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day -3: The First Game Is Chosen

Hello again everyone!  I am back with the second preview blog entry before I begin my Completion Challenge.  I listed all of the possible games I could play, and it totaled to 302.  Those compilation games sure do have a ton of games on them.  Anyway, I spent about five hours deciding which game I play to kick off this challenge.  But first, here's a little information about each of the final six choices.

1. Atari Anthology - Pong (PS2 - 2004): 

One of two Atari Anthology games to make it to the Final 6 Picks.  Pong itself is a game that has a simple concept, a long history, and is one game that I am horrible at playing.  I don't what it is, but I can never win when I play this.  Even on the most basic difficulty I have trouble.  I am good at playing tennis, so my lack of skill at playing Pong is baffling to me.  Maybe it's because I am so used to seeing the ball coming toward me that watching it from a different view is not something I can get used to.  I don't know.

One of things that makes Atari Anthology's Pong different compared to the original is the special modes that you can play the game on.  There's a Time Challenge, where you have only a limited time to get the most points.  Then there's Trippy Mode, where the colors become distorted (they call it a "mind-warping experience") and makes it very difficult to see where the ball and paddles are on the screen.  Next, your gaming experience is affected in Time Warp mode by the speed changing at random moments.  Fast or slow, you have to be able to change reaction times at a glance.  There's also a Double Speed mode, that plays the entire game in well, double the speed as normal.  And finally, in Hot Seat mode, the actual game you are playing will change.  I am not sure which games you play along with Pong, but I do know that it changes the game at random times, having you change your play style a lot.

However, this is not the game I will be playing.

2. Atari Anthology - Swordquest: Waterworld (PS2 - 2004):

I am a big fan of adventure games and RPGs.  I especially like the Final Fantasy series, with IX being my favorite (maybe, I haven't actually finished all of the ones I own - hence the reason why I am having this challenge and blog).  I know very little about the Swordquest games.  Basically, Atari has adventure games, and they are playable.  That's about it.  From a quick glance at the manual (Atari Anthology features the manuals and other fun information and facts in the Bonus Menu) I am to find the clues in the game that correspond to the correct frame numbers in the comic book of the game (which I can't seem to find in the menus if it is even there).  As for gameplay, it's a big puzzle with items that I have to put in the correct room and complete the game.  I think.  Anyway, since there is no chance for me to win the big contest and get that $25,000 crown (since the game came out in 1983), I am not sure how fun this game will actually be.  It seems kind of entertaining, though.

But sadly, this didn't get chosen as the first game to play.

3. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GameBoy Advance - 2003):

As much as I am a fan of the Final Fantasy games, I am not a big fan of turn-based tactics and strategy games.  I have only finished one such game in my gaming career.  That was Future Tactics (PS2) last year.  I borrowed the game from someone, and had to finish it before he wanted it back.  I don't know if I prefer the originial FFT to FFTA, because I haven't finished either one.  From what I have played of both, they each have things I really don't like.  As this entry is about the Final 6 Picks, I will save any thoughts of the original Tactics for later.  As for what I don't like about this game, though, there's quite a few things

First, I don't like how the characters learn abilities.  It's the same way as in Final Fantasy IX, and I really like it then.  It's just that I would have to outfit the characters with the same things multiple times in order to get all of the abilities.  And since advanced jobs are linked with the quantity of the lower jobs, it's just too much.

Second, there are too many characters.  I prefer a RPG to have a small battle party, four being optimal.  With this game, there are just too many characters.  And then, you can send the ones you aren't using for battle on little sidequests.  Sure, it allows to not think about them for a little bit, but they are still there.  I think what my main problem with the amount of characters, equipment, and abilities is that I would have preferred to see all the information on one screen rather than having to switch screens all the time.  When I would attempt to play this game, I'd have my dry erase board filled with stat information, abilities and equipment logs, and character stuff.  There is just so much information, and because it wasn't all together on the screen, it may have led to my not wanting to finish it.

Third, the laws.  Oh my gosh, by the final boss fight the laws were outrageous.  And on top of that, I couldn't  negate the laws or change them!  During my last attempt at completing the game, I got to the second stage of the final boss fight.  I couldn't change the laws, and the characters I had available were not suited for the battle, and there was nothing I could do about it.  I even went and waited for "days" to get more preferable laws, but there would always be one law that would be stuck in there that would hinder me.  But the boss would still be perfectly capable of defeat me.

Thankfully, I am not playing this first!

4.  Midway Arcade Treasures 3 – Badlands (XBOX - 2005)

 

I have never actually played this game.  It was a game that came with the XBOX when my Mom gave it to us kids.  When she gave it to us, I was a "I am strict SONY gamer, and Microsoft sucks!" kind of person.  And at the time, I didn't like racing games, especially arcade style racing games.  I was not good at steering, or braking, or anything associated with the genre.  My brother was the racing game player in our house.

Anyway, this game takes place in post nuclear war era?  I don't really know what that looks like in this game.  If it's like Fallout 3, then it is definitely not somewhere that is not suited for driving.  From the manual's description of the game, you drive and you can shoot the other racers.  That's it.

By the grace of the gaming gods, this game did not win the first place spot.

5. Sega Genesis Collection - Comix Zone (PS2 - 2006):

This game is odd.  I haven't gotten past the first level, so I don't know how odd it actually is.  But from what I have played in the past, it's odd.  Here's the description from the SGC manual.

With his blond ponytail and tiny shades, comic book artist Sketch Turner is as hip as they come.  But all the hipness in the world won't help him when his own creations turn against him.  Mortus, the main villain in Sketch's comic book comes to life after a bizarre thunderstorm, blasting the artist into his own comic book where he must fight off an army of mutant warriors.

It's a pretty basic platform game.  It's has good graphics for it's time.  It came out in 1995, so it's graphics are most definitely better than that of the Atari Top 6 games.  It may or may not have a story to it.  I haven't gotten very far in it before, so I am not sure.

Though I was kind of looking forward to playing this one, it didn't win.  The next game I talk about is the one that will begin the challenge.

6. Sonic Unleashed (PS2 - 2007)

This is actually one game that I have finished before.  But the challenge is to finish every game I own in the 6 months, so even those games that I have completed are on the list.  Though I have finished the story, I haven't 100%'ed it.  There were still tons of things I needed to collect. But I know the basic story and what happens.

I think this is my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game.  It's not just the fast hedgehog that can slide on pipes and run super fast in this game.  It has a precision element and battle mechanics that you don't normally see in a Sonic game.  And Chip is my all-time favorite character in the series now.  Beating out Tails and Cream.

So in this game, Sonic has been transformed into a Werewolf-type creature.  Every night his body changes into a gristly monster with some butt-kicking prowess.  Where his fast feet and legs are his strong point in the day light, at night his stretchy arms are massive punches take precedence.

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How did I go about choosing what game I would play?  In a way, it was randomized.  I had all of the games listed in alphabetical order.  Then to make it fun and not mind numbing, I went over to Board Game Online and played a few games there.  Every time the dice was rolled, I would go down the list and mark off one of the games.  I played five games today.  Here's the breakdown:

Round 1: 302 started, 234 moved on to the next round

Round 2: 234 started, 110 moved on to the next round

Round 3: 110 started, 58 moved on to the next round

Round 4: 58 started, 6 moved on to the next round

Round 5: 6 started, 1 won the chance to be played first.

Anyway, that's how I got to choose which game would start off this challenge.  On Monday, I will play as much as possible so I can get it done and move on to the next one.  Now, I won't move on down the list.  It will be a completely different evaluation to see which one gets played next.  And chances are that I will have more games by the time I have to pick one to play after this first one.

The next entry is probably going to come up on Sunday evening.  I think I will try and do a marathon gaming session starting at Midnight on July 1, 2013.  So the entry on Sunday will be the big kickoff entry.  Here's hoping everything goes well with you, and have fun with what ever it is you choose to do!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day -5: A bit about what I plan to do.

Hi there!  I am Michael.  I go by a few names around the Internet.  Some gaming forums know me as Michael Swayne. On YouTube, I am michaelswayne.  And other places, I am called me3lingual (PSN, Osu!, etc.  Anyway, in my 26.5 years of live on this big rock we call home, I have racked up quite a list of video games that I have never finished.  Quite a list.  I used to be proud of my completion percentage back when I first started gaming.  I had only a few games, but I had completed them all.  After I became an adult and could afford to buy video games whenever I felt the urge for a new game, my percentage dropped.  A lot.  Like from 100% to 44%.  It is not where I wanted to be at this point in my life.

I thought that I would have all these games, and have the ability to say "yeah, I played and finished that game."  But sadly, I am stuck saying, "Oh, that game?  Yeah, I played it.  I haven't finished it though."  I say that about a lot of the games in my collection.  Most of the time, I stop playing a game because I get to a really difficult spot, and I am unable to get passed that point.  Then I stop playing, and never play it again.  Other times, I buy a new game that transfers my attention to it, and the game I was playing before begins a long life of collecting dust.  And then there's those times where I buy a game because the cover looks neat, or I heard from a friend that it's a great game, and it turns out to be a game I can't stand to play.  I will play it for a half hour or so, and then never play again.

I love keeping track of things.  If I can list it, or make a spreadsheet about something, I will do it with a smile on my face.  As I was making a list of all the video games I own, the smile I usually have while listing things became a frown.  As each game title was added to the list, I realized just how many games I have actually finished.

That's why I am starting this blog.  I want to record my journey to complete every game I own.  Whether it be in this blog, or on my YouTube channel, or whatever.  I just think that if I make it public of my intentions, I could get some support or advice on how to defeat the bosses that have always given me trouble.  Solve the puzzles I can't solve alone.  Win the races that I can't even finish.
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I have what I consider to be a big collection of games and systems, but I know people with a whole lot more than I do.  I own two PS2s, a PS3, a XBOX, a Nintendo 64, a Nintendo GameCube, two GameBoy Advance SPs, and a Nintendo DS.  In all, I have 162 playable games.  I also have two Super Nintendo games that I have never played, let alone know if they even work (I don't, nor have I ever owned a Super Nintendo).  And I recently bought a game from eBay (as in, a couple hours ago) that hasn't arrived yet.  This number doesn't include the games that are actually compilation games that have more than one game included.  It also doesn't include the few PC games or PSN games I own.  The actual number of games I could play is more than 300.

Below is the list I compiled today of what games I own.

	Game Title	System
1	Ape Escape 3	PS2
2	Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?	NintendoDS
3	Atari Anthology	PS2
4	ATV Offroad Fury	PS2
5	Bully	PS2
6	Cabel's Deer Hunt: 2004 Season	XBOX
7	Cabela's Dangerous Hunts	XBOX
8	Catherine	PS3
9	Chicken Little	PS2
10	Crash & Spyro Superpack	GBA
11	Crash Bandicoot	PlayStation
12	Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back	PlayStation
13	Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped	PlayStation
14	Crash Nitro Kart	PS2
15	Crash Tag Team Racing	PS2
16	Crash TwinSanity	PS2
17	Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon	XBOX
18	Curious George	PS2
19	Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME	PS2
20	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	PS3
21	Driver 2	PlayStation
22	Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures	PS2
23	EOE: Eve of Extinction	PS2
24	EverGrace	PS2
25	F1 World Grand Prix	PlayStation
26	Fallout 3	PS3
27	Fantavision	PS2
28	Final Fantasy Anthology	PlayStation
29	Final Fantasy Chronicles	PlayStation
30	Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls	GBA
31	Final Fantasy III	NintendoDS
32	Final Fantasy IX	PlayStation
33	Final Fantasy Tactics	PlayStation
34	Final Fantasy Tactics Advance	GBA
35	Final Fantasy V Advance	GBA
36	Final Fantasy VII	PlayStation
37	Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus	PS2
38	Final Fantasy VIII	PlayStation
39	Final Fantasy X	PS2
40	Final Fantasy X-2	PS2
41	Final Fantasy XII	PS2
42	Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings	NintendoDS
43	Final Fantasy XIII	PS3
44	Final Fantasy XIII-2	PS3
45	Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light	NintendoDS
46	Flushed Away	PS2
47	Ford Racing 2	PS2
48	Frogger	PlayStation
49	Gex 64	Nintendo64
50	Gran Turismo	PlayStation
51	Gran Turismo 2	PlayStation
52	Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec	PS2
53	Grand Theft Auto III	PS2
54	Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes from Liberty City	PS3
55	Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	PS2
56	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2
57	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	PS2
58	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories	PS2
59	Grind Session	PlayStation
60	Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	PS2
61	Hard Rock Casino	PS2
62	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	GBA
63	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	GBA
64	Herdy Gerdy	PS2
65	High Rollers Casino	XBOX
66	High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE	PS2
67	Hitman: Blood Money	PS2
68	Hitman: Contracts	PS2
69	Hot Shots Tennis	PS2
70	IHRA Drag Racing	PlayStation
71	IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005	XBOX
72	Jak 2	PS2
73	Jak 3	PS2
74	Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy	PS2
75	Katamari Damacy	PS2
76	Kingdom Hearts	PS2
77	Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days	NintendoDS
78	Kingdom Hearts II	PS2
79	Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories	PS2
80	Legend of Zelda, The: Collector's Edition	GameCube
81	Legend of Zelda, The: The Wind Waker	GameCube
82	Luigi's Mansion	GameCube
83	Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga	GBA
84	Mario Party 7	GameCube
85	Mary-Kate and Ashley: Girls Night Out	GBA
86	Metal Gear Solid	PlayStation
87	Metal Gear Solid 2	PS2
88	Metal Gear Solid 3	PS2
89	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	PS3
90	Midnight Club II	XBOX
91	Midway Arcade Treasures 3	XBOX
92	Mortal Kombat Trilogy	PlayStation
93	Mortal Kombat: Special Forces	PlayStation
94	Mountain Bike Adrenaline	PS2
95	NASCAR '98	PlayStation
96	NASCAR '99	PlayStation
97	NCAA Football 2005/Top Spin	XBOX
98	NCAA Football 2008	XBOX
99	Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)	PS3
100	Need for Speed: Underground	XBOX
101	Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch	PS3
102	Oni	PS2
103	Outlaw Golf	GameCube
104	PlayStation Demo Disc 41	PlayStation
105	PlayStation Demo Disc 9	PlayStation
106	Pokémon FireRed	GBA
107	Pokémon LeafGreen	GBA
108	Pokémon Sapphire	GBA
109	Pokémon Stadium	Nintendo64
110	Portal 2	PS3
111	Prince of Persia	PS3
112	Project Gotham Racing	XBOX
113	Project Gotham Racing 2	XBOX
114	Quake	Nintendo64
115	Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal	PS2
116	Raw Danger!	PS2
117	Rock Band: Metal Track Pack	PS3
118	Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012	PlayStation
119	Romancing SaGa	PS2
120	RPG Maker 3	PS2
121	Rugrats: Search for Reptar	PlayStation
122	Sega Genesis Collection	PS2
123	Sega Superstars Tennis	PS2
124	Shrek: Reekin' Havoc	GBA
125	Sonic Heroes	PS2
126	Sonic Mega Collection	GameCube
127	Sonic Unleashed	PS2
128	Spyro the Dragon	PlayStation
129	Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly	PS2
130	Spyro: The Legend of: A New Beginning	PS2
131	Spyro: The Legend of: The Eternal Night	PS2
132	Stake: Fortune Fighters	XBOX
133	Star Ocean: Till the End of Time	PS2
134	Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Tetris Worlds	XBOX
135	Strike Point	PlayStation
136	Super Mario 64	Nintendo64
137	Super Mario Advance 4	GBA
138	Th3 Plan	PS2
139	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	PS3
140	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	PS3
141	The King of Fighters XI	PS2
142	The Sims	PS2
143	The Sims 2	PS2
144	The Sly Collection	PS3
145	Thunder Truck Rally	PlayStation
146	Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder	XBOX
147	Tomb Raider	PlayStation
148	Tomb Raider II	PlayStation
149	TouchMaster Connect	NintendoDS
150	Trigger Man	PS2
151	Twisted Metal 4	PlayStation
152	Ultimate Board Game Collection	PS2
153	Unlimited Saga	PS2
154	Virtua Fighter 4	PS2
155	WWF Smackdown!	PlayStation
156	WWF Wrestlemania	Nintendo64
157	XBOX Demo Disc 13	XBOX
158	XBOX Demo Disc 22	XBOX
159	XBOX Demo Disc 28	XBOX
160	XBOX Demo Disc 30	XBOX
161	Xenosaga	PS2
162	Xenosaga II	PS2

Starting next Monday (July 1, 2013), I am going to try and finish every game I own before the end of 2013.  In those 184 days, I will make it a priority to defeat the bosses, eliminate the targets, solve the puzzles, and win the races that I have spent 15+ years collecting.  My 44.4% game completion percentage will no longer be so low.  I will once again have that 100%!

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What is this blog for, then?  Well, I hope to write or film my progress on reaching my goal.  I hope to also write my feelings and opinions about those games I complete.  That way I can both entertain and educate those interested in someone else's opinions about video games.  I want this to also be a place for other people with opinions about games to come together and just have some great discussions about games.  I find that discussions about games to be as entertaining as playing the actual games themselves.  And if you learn a little bit about me in the process, more power to you.

Why am I starting this blog a week before the actual project's start date?  I am starting it early to get readers to offer their picks for what game I play first.  I am known to go to extravagant lengths to decide what game I game.  Pick a number from a hat, roll a die, use random number generator programs, asking friends on Facebook and forums, etc.  So, leave a comment here or in one the many ways to reach me with your pick(s).  Then if I pick your choice, I will be sure to give you a shoutout or some other prize in a possible more tangible way.

Well, I think that's about enough for this intro post.  I have a blog over on a gaming forum, and it tends to ramble on and on way more than it should.  I will try not to let this one do the same.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy reading (or watching, I may make a vlog from time to time) about my journey as much as I hope to to enjoy being on it!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎