Forums > Contributor Zone > Alpha Marathon '10

The year was 2008 2009. A year of infamy so infamously like the last, that I briefly considered just copying and pasting the entire topic over and changing the years. It was Alphabetic Marathon time again and I won it. Again. I can now call myself undefeated. And you know I will every half chance I get.

It was a closer call, though, sure. Two others limped over the line where there’s only previously been one. But I'm not even going to name they. They didn't win. I did. Did I mention I was undefeated?

Welcome to Alpha Marathon ‘10. Who knows what will happen next!

The rules are simple enough for anyone to follow, but the schedule is not. You have one year and one year only to write a review for every letter in the alphabet (including #). By the end of the year. There’s a time limit: it’s a year.

Here are the rules copied directly from the last topic. They seemed to work.

For us. For them. For you.

EmP's list:

# is for 8-bit Girlfriend & 101-in-1 Sports MegaMix & 101-in-1 Megamix

A is for Armada 2526 & Aphelion

B is for Breath of Death VII & Broken Sword

C is for Clover: A Curious Tale

D is for Dead Space

E is for Enchanted Arms

F is for Fable II, & FIFA '10

G is for Get to tha Choppa & Godfather II

H is for Halo 3: ODST & Halo: Reach

I is for I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1INIT!!!1

J is for Jewel Quest Mysteries

K is for Kozu

L is for Light's End & Lego Rock Band

M is for Modern Warfare 2 & Mafia II & Medal of Honor

N is for Nostalgia

P is for Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

R is for Resident Evil 5: Untold Stories & Resident Evil & recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

S is for Syberia & Syberia 2 & Sam & Max 301/302/303/304/305 & Silent Hill: Homecoming & Shining Wisdom

T is for Top Gun & Tasty Planet

U is for Uno

V is for VF CG Portrait Series v.3: Akira Yuki

W is for Wings of Prey & Worms XBA & Winter Voices: Chapter One

Z is for Zombie Estate

EmP's plans: MORE S!

For us. For them. For you.

Progress: 11/27

B -> Bakugan: Battle Brawlers (XBox 360)
C -> Chronicles of Mystery: The Tree of Life (PC)
F -> Fret Nice (PS3)
H -> Heartwork (PC)
M -> Moero!! Downhill Night (PC)
      -> Madden NFL 11 (Wii)
P -> Polar Panic (XBox 360)
Q -> The Quest Trio (DS)
S -> Shimano Xtreme Fishing (Wii)
      -> The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii)
T -> Trauma Team (Wii)
W -> World Cup of Pool (DS)
# -> 0-D Beat Drop (XBox 360)

Buy -> Opium!

I might be one of the three people who has completed the Alpha Marathon, but seeing as how I'm obviously not a threat at all, let us forget about it.

A - Alan Wake and Alpha Protocol and Alien Swarm
B - Borderlands, Double Game Add-On Pack and Bionic Commando and BioShock 2
C - Crackdown
D - Demon's Souls and Dante's Inferno
E - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
F - Final Fantasy XIII
G - God of War III
H - Halo 3: ODST and Heavy Rain
I - Infamous
J - Just Cause 2
K - Killzone 2
L - Left 4 Dead
M - Machinarium and Mass Effect 2 and Metroid Prime Trilogy
N - Ninja Gaiden II
P - Pokemon SoulSilver Version and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
S - Super Mario Galaxy and Singularity
T - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
U - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
X - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Z - Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition

Progress: 20/27

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

7 reviews last year, but 5 letters. Bah.

I can avoid death by not having a life.

EmP fails to mention that one of the contestants finished in about nine months. He took almost twelve.

This contestant is too humble to mention his name explicitly, but in the purposes of full disclosure, a glance at the week's reviews shows he has started off with the following:

A: American Dream
G: Great Deal

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

My progress report:

# - 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
A - Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island (DS)
B - Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PS3)
C - Cooking Mama 3: Chop & Shop (DS)
D - Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (DS)
E - Endless Ocean: Blue World (Wii)
F - Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
G -
H - Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
I - Iron Man 2 (PS3)
J -
K -
L - Let's Draw! (DS)
M - Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
N -
O - Our House (DS)
P - Picross 3D (DS)
Q -
R - Rabbids Go Home (DS)
S - Space Invaders Extreme (DS)
T - The Treasures of Montezuma 2 (PC)
U -
V -
W -
X -
Y - Young Thor (PSN)
Z -

I'd list current plans, but I almost never know these things until they actually happen.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto

Not this year, folks. Last year was my one shot at this. I don't know where I'd come up with the # again.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Zipp--2400 AD is a neat one.

A: American Dream
B: Blodia Land
G: Great Deal
H: Hottaman no Chisoko Tanken

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

So, will 2010 by my year of great victory! Ah, who'm I kidding.... But it's fun to try!

B = Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II AND Batman: Arkham Asylum

D = Darwinia+ AND Doom 4 SNERDs

E = Enchanted Arms

F = Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo

M = Modern Warfare 2

P = Project: Snowblind

S = Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

T = Tecmo Secret of the Stars AND TwinBee 3

V = Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment

W = Wacky Races

Y = Ys III: Wanderers From Ys

IN. THE. WORKS. -- C or X, I guess.

I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

If I see one more wacky races review... grrr...

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

But....it's only the second one on this site....

Which means SOMEONE ELSE needs to do a Wacky Races review to have a holy trio of them!

I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

Say! My current plan-sheet for W has a pretty wimpy game. Maybe I oughtta look into that.

Or is it an unspoken rule that 2 people shouldn't use the same game for this, as the intent is to cover all games?

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

There's no such rule, Andrew. I personally prefer to see people cover games that others haven't, of course, but I see this particular event as something fun for each of us to try independent of that.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto

And anyway, I'm just being snarky. Write as... many... wacky racer... reviews as... you... want............


........ that wasn't easy.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Thanks--I confess, I was just trying to get a reaction.

I agree this is a great way to motivate reviews I'd wanted to write a lot but never got to. Turned up some neat old games too. I've been able to find better games along the way, too--whether that translates to better reviews, others must judge.

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

9

A = AKIRA (NES)
B = Brutal Legend (Xbox 360)
D = Dead Rising (Xbox 360)
F = Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360)
G = Ghostbusters: The Vidya Gaem (Xbox 360)
J = Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast)
O = Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (Xbox 360)
P = Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn)
T = Too Human (Xbox 360)

Updated 7/30

_

Wow. 3 behind the leader and it's barely February.

A: American Dream
B: Blodia Land
G: Great Deal
H: Hottaman no Chisoko Tanken
J: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho
U: Ultima: Warriors of Destiny

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

Ah, what the hell. I'm not looking to finish, but I may as well get some exercise.

A= Alien Versus Predator
C= Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
F= Final Fantasy XIII
H= Heavy Rain
M= Myst

5 alphas.

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Now that I've written 3 reviews this year and plan on writing quite a few more this summer, I'll throw my name in. I wasn't going to bother if I didn't get at least 5, but that'll probably happen now. Probably more.

B = Beyond Good & Evil
D = Dragonester
E = Eschalon: Book II
F = Fantasy Wars
G = God of War II
H = .hack//Infection
K = Kingdom Hearts II
L = Legend of Dragoon
M = Metal Gear Solid 2
P = Plants vs. Zombies & Puzzle Bots
R = Resident Evil: Code Veronica X

What espiga does in his free time
[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

More!

W= What did I do to deserve this... yadda yadda
P= Parasite Eve 2
S= Sakura Wars

3 more for a total of 8

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

I have 7 now.

That's as many as I had last year. I think I'll at least beat that, haha.

What espiga does in his free time
[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

EmP, I am up to 9. Get me out of last place, you charlatan.

_

I have five.

B - Beneath a Steel Sky: Remastered
C - Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night
D - Doctor Who: The Adventure Games - City of the Daleks and Blood of the Cybermen
H - Hook Champ
S - Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies

"fuck yeah oblivion" - Jihad

I was prepared to make a last-minute rush to finish this, but the seven reviews I would be turning out wouldn't be up to my standards. Besides, the last few weeks have been among the busiest of my life and there's no reason to add another layer of stress by forcing myself to write seven half-assed reviews. I actually knew which games I was going to review for my remaining letters, but as it turns out, waiting until the last minute wasn't the right move.

So... good game, EmP.

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.