Thursday, July 4, 2019

2019 Portfolio

2019 Portfolio

All my written pieces for 2019. See the first post for more details about the Mentonomicon. A mixture of recurring features and brief series again this year, and the eventual restructuring of the round-up Summaries blog as a monthly piece.

Indie Game of the Week

Returning from 2017 and 2018. Each week showcases a new Indie game of a different vintage, from weeks old to years old.

Indie Game of the Week 103: Tacoma (Fullbright Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 108: Back to Bed (Bedtime Digital Games, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 118: Chaos on Deponia (Daedalic Entertainment, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 121: Dandara (Long Hat House, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 122: The Mooseman (Beletsky/Shvachko, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 123: Figment (Bedtime Digital Games, 2017)

The Bucketlog

A new monthly feature where I tick off long-standing items off my backlog that also functions as my "bucket list" of games: those I intend to play before shuffling off the mortal coil. After a few months I noticed I was picking games from separate, older platforms, which became a recurring theme for the remaining entries: twelve games across twelve different systems.

Bucketlog February: Steins;Gate (Nitroplus/5pb, 2009, Sony PlayStation 3)
Bucketlog March: Okage: Shadow King (Zener Works, 2001, Sony PlayStation 2)
Bucketlog May: Banjo-Tooie (Rare, 2000, Nintendo 64)
Bucketlog June: Mother 3 (Brownie Brown/HAL Laboratory, 2006, Nintendo Game Boy Advance)

Saturday Summaries/Mento's Month

The weekly Saturday Summaries feature was an attempt to put all the week's articles together in a single blog that summarized their content, as well as discussing the games and other media consumed that week. This was eventually shifted to a monthly format called Mento's Month, which simply does the same thing for a whole month's worth of blogging/consuming.


Wiki Project/Mega Archive

Occasional updates on work completed on the Giant Bomb Wiki, usually themed around events or specific consoles. The Mega Archive series, for instance, covers the games of the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in chronological order as I work on those wiki pages and dig up information through multiple points of research.


Seeking Warframe & Fortune

At some point this year I started playing a lot of Warframe, the free-to-play third-person shooter from Digital Extremes that sees regular new tweaks and content. Originally a weekly feature, it later become a monthly check-in for the progress and discoveries I've made. My angle is that I'm seeing how far I can get without any ridiculous grinding or paying real money: F2P usually demands one or the other.


May Millennials 2019

The recurring May-long feature this year focused on some CRPGs released in the early '00s. 

Welcome to May Millennials 2019! (contents/introduction)

Mento's Alternative to E3 2019

A recurring annual feature where I spend the five days of the E3 event - which includes the three days that the floor is open and the previous two days when the conferences are performed - looking at anything E3-unrelated for the sake of those enervated by the hype and marketing of the expo. In 2019, that meant a deep dive on the many games of Japanese RPG developer Nihon Falcom.


Valk-Tier-Ia Chronicles IV

A feature that attempted to sort the characters of Sega's Valkyria Chronicles IV into tiers, based on my experiences playing as them and - to a lesser extent - their characterization and quirks.


The Secret Lives of Funko Fantasy

A two-part feature that explored how the crossover RPG World of Final Fantasy chose to recontextualize the guest characters taken from various Final Fantasy games, and how they changed backstories to suit the new setting while retaining the core of the character's soul. 


Miscellaneous

A selection of one-off blogs.

A Thousand Roads: Modern Adventure Games - A look at the many different types of adventure game that continue to live on, or now exist for the first time, due to the innovations of the Indie market.

Lists







Thursday, February 1, 2018

2018 Portfolio

All my written pieces for 2018. See the first post for more details about the Mentonomicon. This year introduced a revolving Tuesday block, which hosted a number of features of variable length, as well as more coverage of TV and movies.

Indie Game of the Week 

Returning from 2017. Simply a weekly look at different games in the "Indie" sphere, or at least games of a sufficiently small size primarily sold digitally.

Indie Game of the Week 51: The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 52: SteamWorld Dig 2 (Image & Form, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 53: Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Young Horses, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 54: Escape Goat 2 (Magical Time Bean, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 55: Affordable Space Adventures (Nifflas/KnapNok Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 56: Bear With Me (Episode 1) (Exordium Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 57: Poncho (Delve Interactive, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 58: Chroma Squad (Behold Studios, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 59: Odysseus Kosmos & His Robot Quest (Episodes 1 & 2) (Pavel Kostin, 2017-18)
Indie Game of the Week 60: Human: Fall Flat (No Brakes Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 61: Volume (Mike Bithell Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 62: Yomawari: Night Alone (Nippon Ichi Software, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 63: Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power (Frozenbyte, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 64: Infinifactory (Zachtronics, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 65: The Cat Lady (Harvester Games, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 66: Eschalon: Book I (Basilisk Games, 2007)
Indie Game of the Week 67: Snake Pass (Sumo Digital, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 68: Deponia (Daedalic Entertainment, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 69: Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Yacht Club Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 70: Offspring Fling (Kyle Pulver, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 71: Kathy Rain (Clifftop Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 72: Super Time Force Ultra (Capybara Games, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 73: Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh & Sylvain Tegroeg, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 74: Scrap Garden (Flazm, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 75: Glass Masquerade (Onyx Lute, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 76: Guild of Dungeoneering (Gambrinous, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 77: Fault Milestone One (Alice in Dissonance, 2013)
Indie Game of the Week 78: Kingsway (Andrew Morrish, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 79: Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition (Massive Damage, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 80: The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (DONTNOD, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 81: Puzzle Puppers (Cardboard Keep, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 82: Endless Legend (Amplitude Studios, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 83: Volgarr the Viking (Crazy Viking Studios, 2013)
Indie Game of the Week 84: Last Day of June (Ovosonico, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 85: World to the West (Rain Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 86: Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! (Daylight Studios, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 87: Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island (Right Nice Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 88: Yoku's Island Express (Villa Gorilla, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 89: Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 90: Shadowrun: Hong Kong (Harebrained Schemes, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 91: A Hat in Time (Gears for Breakfast, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 92: Aarklash: Legacy (Cyanide, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 93: Iconoclasts (Konjak, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 94: Cat Quest (The Gentlebros, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 95: Rakuen (Laura Shigihara, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 96: Poi (PolyKid, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 97: Subsurface Circular (Bithell Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 98: Celeste (Matt Makes Games, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 99: Minit (Vlambeer, 2018)
Indie Game of the Week 100: The Messenger (Sabotage, 2018)

The SNES Classic Mk. II

A new feature for 2018 to replace "The Top Shelf" from the previous year. This feature, running every other week, takes two SNES games from its immense library - one I've played previously, and one I've yet to spend any significant time with - and judges their suitability for a hypothetical second SNES Classic console. Not only does this feature look at each game's general quality, but also considers its originality and how well it has aged - two important virtues for any retro game released today.

The SNES Classic Mk. II: Intro and Contents

The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode I: Demons & Angels (Demon's Crest + ActRaiser)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode II: Time Bomb (Operation Logic Bomb + Chrono Trigger)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode III: Aeronauts & Crosses (Mario's Super Picross + Pilotwings)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode IV: Telling Tales (The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang + Tales of Phantasia)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode V: Isometric Exercise, Care To Join Me? (Monstania + Equinox)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode VI: Pop'n Zitz (Magical Pop'n + Battletoads in Battlemaniacs)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode VII: Hakkun Smash! (Sutte Hakkun + Sanrio World Smash Ball!) 
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode VIII: Goofs & Parodies (Goof Troop + Parodius)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode IX: Holy Grails & Holy Umbrellas (Holy Umbrella: Dondera no Mubo + King Arthur's World)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode X: Birdman of Alca-Blaz (Alcahest + Skyblazer)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XI: Cecil B. DeMup (Shin Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun: Kunio-tachi no Banka + Final Fantasy IV)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XII: Guns N' Rodents (Gunple: Gunman's Proof + Lemmings)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XIII: Plok and Marty (Super Back to the Future Part II + Plok)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XIV: Soul-fége (DoReMi Fantasy + Soul Blazer)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XV: SinCity (Majyuuou + SimCity)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XVI: Too Easy (Ys V: Ushinawareta Suna no Miyako Kefin + Ys III: Wanderers of Ys)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XVII: Dream Bream Machine (Kirby's Dream Land 3 + Umihara Kawase)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XVIII: Jelly Boyz 2 Mega Men (Mega Man 7 + Jelly Boy)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XIX: Fiddle-Fodder (Hameln no Violin Hiki + Cannon Fodder)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XX: Sci-Fi B-Movie Double Feature (Robotrek + Secret of Evermore)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XXI: Writer's Blocks (Super Gussun Oyoyo 2 + Tetris Battle Gaiden)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XXII: ROM-Zom-Kong (Zombies Ate My Neighbors + Donkey Kong Country 2)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XXIII: The Marvelous and Mystical (Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima + Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XXIV: Quintet-sential (Terranigma + Illusion of Gaia)
The SNES Classic Mk. II: Episode XXV: End of the Rainbow (Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures + Mario Paint)

The SNES Classic Mk.II: The Finale


Rainy Days & Mundis

A mini-feature covering HOPAs - Hidden Object Puzzle Adventures - which have grown in popularity over the years. As an adventure game aficionado, I'm curious to see how rigorously these games stick to a blueprint. 

Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 1 
Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 2
Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 3
Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 4
Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 5
Rainy Days and Mundis: Episode 6
Rainy Days and Mundis New Year's Eve Special: Manic Mundis

A Randomized Link to the Past

An LP series for a "randomizer" run of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for SNES. Inspired by a Games Done Quick speedrun on a version of A Link to the Past that shuffles the contents of all the treasure chests of the game, giving certain items away early and hiding others in secret locations, I wanted to see how far I'd get with only a baseline knowledge of the core game.

A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode IV: Odie the Dog: Last Theft? Kennel Plaza!
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode V: Egad!, PhD: Little Fez Hat on a Skeleton
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode VI: To Fat Knight Zone: Help Delete Salad
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode VII: Please, God, No: The Zealand Kilt Theft
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode VIII: TalkFleet: An Elephant-Sized Hotdog
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode IX: The Fattened Ilk: A Gonzo Death Spell
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode X: Old Hazing Poll: Taste The Naked Feet
A Randomized Link to the Past - Episode Ys: Fleshpot Glitz: Needed a Tenth Koala


Mento Gear Rising

A brief two-parter to continue the "Mento Gear Solid" reaction blogs from previous years. This time, we cover PlatinumGames's 2013 franchise spin-off Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. 

Mento Gear Rising: Revenge Jests (Part One)
Mento Gear Rising: Revenge Jests (Part Two)


May Maturity 2018

May Maturity has been left intact from last year, where each of its subjects - all PC games from the 1990s - are afforded an "intro" blog that explores a game's systems and concepts in a screenshot LP format, and an "outro" blog that works more like a summation or final review.

May Maturity 08: Might and Magic: World of Xeen (Intro) (New World Computing, 1994)
May Maturity 08: Might and Magic: World of Xeen (Outro)
May Maturity 09: The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's Revenge (Intro) (Westwood Studios, 1994)
May Maturity 09: The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's Revenge (Outro)
May Maturity 10: Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (Intro) (Looking Glass, 1994)
May Maturity 10: Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (Outro)
May Maturity 11: The Feeble Files (Intro) (Adventure Soft, 1997)
May Maturity 11: The Feeble Files (Outro)
May Maturity 12: Anvil of Dawn (Intro) (DreamForge Intertainment, 1995)
May Maturity 12: Anvil of Dawn (Outro)


Mento's Alternative to E3

An annual blogging series that takes place across the six days of E3 (that is, the three days when the event is open and the three days prior when all the developer press briefings occur). This year's theme was randomizer hacks, following from "A Randomized Link to the Past," above.

Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day -2: A Randomized EarthBound
Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day -1: A Randomized Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day 0: A Randomized Super Mario World
Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day 1: A Randomized Final Fantasy Tactics
Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day 2: A Randomized Pokemon FireRed
Mento's Alternative to E3 2018 Day 3: A Randomized Secret of Mana


Mega Archive

A Giant Bomb Wiki-focused feature wherein I research and update, in chronological order, the game pages for everything released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It's the third and final major 16-bit console to tackle, after having completed Wiki Projects for the other two (SNES/Super Famicom and TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine), and I'm looking to make a significant effort towards ensuring a comprehensive database on the system.

(This year's Mega Archive covered the system's releases between 1988-1990 before going on hiatus. I plan to continue it in the future.)

Mega Archive: Part I: From Space Harrier II to The Revenge of Shinobi
Mega Archive: Part II: From Truxton to James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing
Mega Archive: Part III: From Darwin 4081 to Cyberball
Mega Archive: Part IV: From Super Monaco GP to Burning Force
Mega Archive: Part V: From Tel Tel Stadium to Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Mega Archive: Part VI: From Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel to Trampoline Terror!

Saturday Summaries

A weekly review show, taking in all the week's blogging as well as rundowns for other games I've been playing. This year also sees the addition of TV and movie appraisals.

Saturday Summaries 2018-02-03: JRPG Phoenixes Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-02-10: Giant Appraisal Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-02-17: CRPG Check-In Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-02-24: Legends of Legacies Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-03-03: Glitzy Oscars Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-03-10: Generic Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-03-17: Made and Remade Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-03-24: Games-To-Movies Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-03-31: Q2 Preview Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-04-07: Redefining Indie Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-04-14: Angler Wrangler Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-04-21: ProcGen Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-04-28: Randomized Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-05-05: YesterplayStation Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-05-12: Odds and Ends Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-05-19: Millennial Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-05-26: Prepare to Die Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-06-02: Dream Features Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-06-09: Pre-E3 Jitters Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-06-16: Post-E3 Jitters Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-06-23: Speedrun Summer Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-06-30: Q3 Preview Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-07-07: Eternal Switch Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-07-14: The PS3's Not Dead Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-07-21: Decennial Anniversary Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-07-28: Already Long Enough Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-08-04: Confluence Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-08-11: Franchise Frenzy Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-08-18: Evergame Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-08-25: The Last of The Last Remnant Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-09-01: "Shame Old, Shame Old" Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-09-08: Roundtable Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-09-15: Ranking of Fighters EX Turbo Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-09-22: Saves Takes Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-09-29: Jumbo Q4 Projection Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-10-06: Soundvenirs Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-10-13: Time-Sensitive Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-10-20: Priority Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-10-27: Spooktacular Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-11-03: Getting Down to Business (For the Kids) Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-11-10: Versatility vs. Veterancy Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-11-17: Simpsons GIF-OTY Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-11-24: Game of the Yesteryear Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-12-01: Back to the Feature Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-12-08: Century Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-12-15: Mind the Gaps Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-12-22: The Predicities Edition
Saturday Summaries 2018-12-29: 2019 Q1 Preview Edition

A Jazztronomical Score

A brief travelogue-type feature that describes the Garry's Mod mode Jazztronauts and my frequent heists in user-created levels. 

Misc

Hollow Knight: Bosswatch - A guide/codex to the many bosses of Team Cherry's Hollow Knight.
CING Inc. Their Praises - A rundown of defunct studio CING and five of their more notable games.
The Mento Game Awards 2018 - An awards blog for the most deserving games of 2018.



Thursday, March 16, 2017

2017 Portfolio

All my written pieces for 2017. See the first post for more details about the Mentonomicon.


The Top Shelf

The Top Shelf is a new feature for 2017 that explores a huge cross-section of the PS2's library, specifically the games I own. I'm essentially trying to determine a list of favorites via a long-form process of elimination. This repository is the "contents page" for this particular feature.

The Top Shelf: Case File Repository

These "first round" blogs consider five (later ten) games at a time:


The Top Shelf: Case Files 001-005: "From Small Beginnings"

The Top Shelf: Case Files 006-010: "Tempus Fugeddaboudit"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 011-015: "It's Oni Fair"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 016-020: "Giant Bombad"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 021-025: "The World Needs Laughter"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 026-030: "Yuri On Crisis"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 031-035: "A Raw Kickflip Off Hara-Kiri Rock"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 036-040: "No Rez for the Wizard"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 041-045: "Jaks, Max and Kodaks"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 046-055: "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 056-065: "Terror from the Deep"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 066-075: "...And My Lombax!"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 076-085: "Vexxed and Confused"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 086-095: "A Lot More Than a Thousand Words"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 096-105: "Ubivember"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 106-115: "One More Dog Rejected"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 116-125: "The Blood of the Covenant"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 126-135: "Bards, Bands, Balls"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 136-145: "And Someday You Feed On Lasagna"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 146-155: "Psycho Killer, Qu'ape Escape?"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 156-165: "Colossalvania: Soulthroney of the Fahrennight"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 166-175: "Penultimate Perambulations"
The Top Shelf: Case Files 176-185: "It's the Great Finale, Charlie Tunoku"

These "second round" blogs, for the games that passed the first round, are more in-depth articles on single items:

The Top Shelf: The Second Round 001: Onimusha Warlords
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 002: Headhunter
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 003: Nightshade
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 004: Oni
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 005: Kuri Kuri Mix
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 006: Onimusha 2
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 007: Grand Theft Auto III
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 008: Medal of Honor: Frontline
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 009: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 010: Rayman Revolution
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 011: Robotech: Invasion
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 012: X-Treme Express: World Grand Prix
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 013: Time Crisis II
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 014: Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 015: 007: Agent Under Fire
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 016: Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 017: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 018: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 019: The Mark of Kri
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 020: Champions of Norrath
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 021: Dropship: United Peace Force
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 022: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 023: Rogue Trooper
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 024: Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 025: Second Sight
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 026: Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 027: Giants: Citizen Kabuto
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 028: Forbidden Siren 2
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 029: Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 030: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 031: God Hand
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 032: The Thing
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 033: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 034: The Suffering
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 035: Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 036: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 037: Makai Kingdom
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 038: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 039: Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 040: Champions: Return to Arms
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 041: Gladius
The Top Shelf: The Second Round 042: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

This third round, dubbed "The Battle Royales", attempts to break down two or more games from the same series (or have a similar deeper connection) to determine the superior entry for the sake of a "one game per series" rule.

The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 01: Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy X vs. Final Fantasy XII)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 02: Silent Hill (Silent Hill 2 vs. Silent Hill 3)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 03: Ratchet & Clank (R&C: Going Commando vs. R&C: Up Your Arsenal)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 04: The Lord of the Rings (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring vs. LOTR: The Two Towers vs. LOTR: The Return of the King vs. Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 05: EverQuest Champions (Champions of Norrath vs. Champions: Return to Arms)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 06: Grand Theft Auto (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City vs. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)
The Top Shelf: The Battle Royales 07: Nippon Ichi Software Strategy RPGs (La Pucelle Tactics vs. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness vs. Phantom Brave vs. Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome vs. Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories)

These are one-off specials, usually discussing games not in my collection:

The Top Shelf: Special: The Ones That Got Away

And here is the grand finale to the Top Shelf, which summarizes all forty-four finalists:

The Top Shelf: The Top Shelf


Indie Game of the Week

Self-explanatory. An effort to play/review more Indie games, at least one a week.

Indie Game of the Week 01: Flywrench (Messhof Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 02: Refunct (Dominique Grieshofer, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 03: Ori and the Blind Forest (Moon Studios, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 04: Shardlight (Wadjet Eye, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 05: Abzu (Giant Squid Studios, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 06: VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (Sukeban Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 07: Adventures of Pip (Tic Toc Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 08: Oxenfree (Night School Studios, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 09: N++ (Metanet Software, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 10: Pony Island (Daniel Mullins Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 11: Hyper Light Drifter (Heart Machine, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 12: Valley (Blue Isle Studios, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 13: 2064: Read Only Memories (Midboss, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 14: Doki-Doki Universe (HumaNature Studios, 2013)
Indie Game of the Week 15: Tales from the Borderlands (Episodes 1 & 2) (Telltale Studios, 2014-15)
Indie Game of the Week 16: Severed (DrinkBox Studios, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 17: Tales from the Borderlands (Episodes 3 & 4) (Telltale Studios, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 18: Song of the Deep (Insomniac Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 19: Tales from the Borderlands (Episode 5) (Telltale Studios, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 20: Day of the Tentacle Remastered (Double Fine, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 21: Goat Simulator (Coffee Stain Studios, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 22: Owlboy (D-Pad Studio, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 23: Rebel Galaxy (Double Damage Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 24: Ziggurat (Milkstone Studios, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 25: Lara Croft Go (Square Enix Montreal, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 26: Wuppo (Knuist & Perzik, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 27: The Room Two (Fireproof Games, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 28: Salt and Sanctuary (Ska Studios, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 29: Bound (Plastic, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 30: Yesterday (Pendulo Studios, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 31: Jotun (Thunder Lotus Games, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 32: Cosmic Star Heroine (Zeboyd Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 33: Trine 2 (Frozenbyte, 2011)
Indie Game of the Week 34: Virginia (Variable State, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 35: SteamWorld Heist (Image & Form, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 36: Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft Montpellier, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 37: Waking Mars (Tiger Style Games, 2012)
Indie Game of the Week 38: Detective Grimoire (SFB Games, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 39: Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (Yacht Club Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 40: Samorost 3 (Amanita Design, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 41: Child of Light (Ubisoft Montreal, 2014)
Indie Game of the Week 42: Stories Untold (No Code, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 43: Driftmoon (Instant Kingdom, 2013)
Indie Game of the Week 44: Flinthook (Tribute Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 45: Paint It Back! (Casual Labs, 2015)
Indie Game of the Week 46: Caveblazers (Rupeck Games, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 47: Full Throttle Remastered (LucasFilm/Double Fine, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 48: Alwa's Awakening (Elden Pixels, 2017)
Indie Game of the Week 49: Firewatch (Campo Santo, 2016)
Indie Game of the Week 50: Pharaoh ReBirth+ (Krobon Station, 2016)


All-New Saturday Summaries

A truncated form of 2016's Sunday Summaries feature, aggregating a week's worth of writing accompanied with some musings about the past week and a supplemental piece on what I've been playing.

All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-01-07 (Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [2016])

All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-01-14 (Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles X [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-01-21 (Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles X [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-01-28 (Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles X [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-02-04 (Monolith Soft's Xenoblade Chronicles X [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-02-11 (Nintendo's Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker [2014])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-02-18 (Amusement Vision's Yakuza 4 [2011])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-02-25 (Amusement Vision's Yakuza 4 [2011])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-03-04 (Avalanche's Just Cause 3 [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-03-11 (Avalanche's Just Cause 3 [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-03-18 (Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex: Mankind Divided [2016])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-03-25 (Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex: Mankind Divided [2016])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-01 (Drakar Studios's Ginger: Beyond the Crystal [2016])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-08 (Hello Games's No Man's Sky [2016])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-15 (Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee [2017])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-22 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-04-29 (Arkane's Dishonored 2 [2016])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-05-06 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-05-13 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-05-20 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-05-27 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-06-03 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-06-10 (ChunSoft's Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc [2010])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-06-17 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-06-24 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-07-01 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-07-08 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-07-15 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-07-22 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-07-29 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-08-05 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-08-12 (N/A)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-08-19 (An assortment of games)
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-08-26 (Bandai Namco's Tales of Zestiria [2015])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-09-02 (Chunsoft's Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair [2014])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-09-09: Gateway Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-09-16 (Atlus's Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity [2004])
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-09-23: Switch Selections Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-09-30: Q4 Report Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-10-07: Game of the Generation Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-10-14: Star Runner Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-10-21: Lootbox Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-10-28: Scary Games Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-11-04: Force Min-Maxing Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-11-11: Tiers for Fears Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-11-18: Wii'll Meet Again Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-11-25: Clairvoyance Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-12-02: GOTY Anxiety Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-12-09: Fond CRPG Reminiscence Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-12-16: Surplus Awards Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-12-23: Happy Festivus Edition
All-New Saturday Summaries 2017-12-30: "2018 Can't Possibly Be Worse, Surely" Edition


May Maturity

This new iteration of the recurring May blogging series focused on 1990s games I'd been meaning to catch up on.

Welcome to May Maturity 2017!
May Maturity 01: Toonstruck (Intro) (Burst Studio, 1996)
May Maturity 01: Toonstruck (Outro)
May Maturity 02: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (Intro) (Blue Sky/Origin, 1992)
May Maturity 02: Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (Outro)
May Maturity 03: The Legend of Kyrandia (Intro) (Westwood Studios, 1992)
May Maturity 03: The Legend of Kyrandia (Outro)
May Maturity 04: Jagged Alliance 2 (Intro) (Sir-Tech Software, 1999)
May Maturity 04: Jagged Alliance 2 (Outro)
May Maturity 05: The Dig (Intro) (LucasArts, 1995)
May Maturity 05: The Dig (Outro)
May Maturity 06: Menzoberranzan (Intro) (DreamForge Intertainment, 1994)
May Maturity 06: Menzoberranzan (Outro)
May Maturity 07: The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate (Intro) (Westwood Studios, 1994)
May Maturity 07: The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate (Outro)


A Marvelous Alternative to E3

This year's "Alternative to E3" looked at the 1996 Super Famicom game Marvelous: Mouhitotsu no Takarajima, the first game directed by Zelda bigwig Eiji Aonuma.

A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part One
A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part Two
A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part Three
A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part Four
A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part Five
A Marvelous Alternative to E3: Part Six


Go! Go! GOTY! 2017

Every December, I attempt to blitz through a list of games released earlier that same year for some last-minute GOTY ideas. I relaxed the daily schedule this time, though managed to see a decent number of games in the time allotted.

Welcome to Go! Go! GOTY! 2017 (the introduction and contents blog)
Go! Go! GOTY! 2017: Game Three: Cryptark
Go! Go! GOTY! 2017: Game Four: The Sexy Brutale
Go! Go! GOTY! 2017: Game Five: TumbleSeed
Go! Go! GOTY! 2017: Game Six: StarCrawlers
Go! Go! GOTY! 2017: Game Seven: Uurnog Uurnlimited


Miscellaneous

Awesome Games Wiki'd Quick 2017 - A "Wiki Project" style rundown of a few curious games run during AGDQ 2017.
Wiki Project: Super '96 - A "Wiki Project" rundown of the 1996 releases for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom.
Wiki Project: Super Finale - A "Wiki Project" rundown of the 1997-2000 releases for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom. This completes the SNES library for the Giant Bomb Wiki.
The Mento Game Awards 2017 - My usual end-of-the-year awards show, given to the various games who made the biggest impression in 2017.


Lists

List: "List of Games Beaten in 2017" - Usual yearly list of completed games, with mini-reviews.
List: "GOTY 2014 (Adjusted)" - Another living "adjusted" GOTY list, which continues to re-rank the year's best games as I eventually get around to playing more of them after the fact.
List: "GOTY 2013 (Adjusted)" - Similar to above and the other "adjusted" GOTY lists.
List: "Princess Personality" - A Legend of Zelda series-wide look at the evolution of its eponymous Princess as a character. 
List: "The Top Shelf: The Reserves List" - An accompaniment to The Top Shelf, sorting the surviving games in order of preference.
List: "Trailer Blazer: E3 2017" - A recurring list feature, wherein I review every E3 trailer uploaded to Giant Bomb.
List: "Iglored" - A list that looks at games that create dense amounts of world-building reading material in an optional capacity, leading to many players ignoring it completely. 
List: "GOTY 2017" - As the name suggests, my (then-current) top ten games for 2017.


Reviews

Review: Torment: Tides of Numenera (InXile Entertainment, 2017)