Forums > Contributor Zone > Alpha Marathon 2013

Hey, all. Remember when EmP, our much-beloved resident cynic, made the Alpha Marathon as a way to encourage everyone to review a game starting with every letter of the alphabet throughout the course of the year? Remember when he won twice in a row, only to be throttled in the event's third year of history? Humiliated, EmP dropped off the face of the Earth never to continue the topic again. Or maybe the discontinuation of the trial simply had to do with increasing lack of interest in the community and otherwise busyness in life on part of the creator to continue. Either way, I'm bringing it back for another shot.

For anyone interested in challenging themselves this year, all you have to do is post a list of all 26 letters (and the infamous #) and fill them up as you write reviews. The winner will be the first person who reviews all 27 characters by the end of the year. Of course, anyone who manages this feat should be commended, as it's really quite difficult when you're running a busy life.

The only thing you should remember is to let us know from time to time when you've updated your list, as we won't always come around to check it.

And with that, let the race begin!



TOTALS:

JoetheDestroyer - 22
EmP - 15
Overdrive - 12
honestgamer - 10
Suskie - 7
holdthephone - 5
zippdementia - 3
Wolf Queen - 2



#:
A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J:
K:
L:
M:
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R: Resident Evil 2
S: Spyro the Dragon
T:
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

[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

It would be good for me to write some reviews. I've had to put aside my fiction writing to get my school work done, finishing editing this war memoir, and finalize a major film deal (fingers crossed). So if I can fit in some reviews it'd be a good release for me. This would be about two a month, so... Aw, heck, why not? As long as I can count my Mass Effect review.

#:
A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J:
K:
L: Little Nemo: The Dream Master
M: Mass Effect Trilogy
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S:
T: Tomb Raider
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

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

27 reviews? Here goes:

#:
A:
B:
C: Call of Duty: Ghosts
D:
E:
F: Final Fantasy XIII
G:
H:
I:
J:
K:
L: League of Legends
M:
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R: Resident Evil: Revelations
S: Spec Ops:The Line
T: Tomb Raider
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

Mobius 1, engage...

I might as well try. Here's my record for the year...

#:
A: Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd you steal our garbage?!! (3DS)
B: Battletoads (NES)
C:
D: Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS)
E:
F: Fortune Street (Wii)
G: Grand Theft Auto V (PS3)
H:
I:
J:
K: Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4)
L:
M:
N:
O:
P: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)
Q: Quackshot: Starring Donald Duck (Genesis)
R: Rayman Legends (Wii U)
S: SimCity (PC)
T:
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

"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 on secret doors to another world2

Might as well. I can't say I'll go out of my way to complete this but let's see how many I can knock out. (Not many for the foreseeable future, as the two games I'm slated to review this month are already duplicates.)

#:
A: Anarchy Reigns
B: BioShock Infinite
C: Crysis 3
D: DmC: Devil May Cry
E:
F:
G: Gears of War: Judgment
H:
I:
J:
K:
L:
M:
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S:
T:
U:
V:
W: The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series
X: XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Y:
Z:

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

Oh ho! And who was it that throttled EmP that year? Who was it? That's right, yours truly! I abstained from doing this last year, but I think I'll try a hand at it again this year. I'm off to an okay start so far...

#: 10-Yard Fight (NES)
A: Action 52 (NES)
B: Bloody Good Time (PC)
C: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS)
D: Demon's Crest (SNES)
E: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3)
F: Final Soldier (TG16)
G: Godzilla: Kaijuu Daikessen (SNES)
H: Home Alone (NES)
I:
J: Jaws (NES)
K: Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
L:
M: Mega Man 2 (NES)
N: NecroVisioN (PC)
O:
P: Primal Fears (PC)
Q: Quake (PC)
R: RoboCop (NES)
S: Sacred (PC)
T: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Atari 2600)
U: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
V:
W: WWF Royal Rumble (SNES)
X:
Y: Yo! Noid (NES)
Z: Zeno Clash II (PC)

Excessive Excess:
Faria (NES), Chains (PC), Battle Arena Tohinden (PS)

The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.

I currently have 12. I also have four that begin with the letter "S" and two with "D".


#:
A: Abadox
B: Bloody Warriors
C: Captain Commando
D: Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daishi
E: Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine
F: Fuzzical Fighter
G: Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou
H:
I:
J:
K:
L:
M:
N:
O: Over Horizon 3
P:
Q:
R: Romancing Saga 3
S: Secret of Mana
T:
U:
V: Vay
W: Willow
X:
Y:
Z:

THOSE ACCURSED DUPLICATES!!!!!:
Dead Moon
Salamander
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Space Megaforce

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

FOR THE RECORD: I won this thing three times. Three! I've completed it twice, and it's also been completed only by previous winner, Joe, and sneaky efforts by Suskie and Schultz. I miss Schultz; someone track him down.

15/26

#:
A: Aliens: Colonial Marines [PS3]
B: Bulletstorm [PS3]
": Broken Sword 5
C: Cursed Loot [360]
D: Double Dragon Neon [360]
": Deadly Premonition [PC]
E: Exed Exes [NES]
F: Formation X [NES]
G:
H: Hudson Hawk [NES]
I:
J:
K:
L: Labyrinth X [360]
M: Montague's Mount
N: Nihilumbra [PC]
O:
P:
Q:
R:
S: Super Black Bass 3D [3DS]
“: Spec Ops: The Line [PS3]
": Silent Hill 3 [PS2]
": Silent Hill Downpour
T: Tomb Raider [360]
U: Under Defeat HD [360]
V: Vampire Rain [360]
W: White Noise: a Tale of Horror [360]
“: White Noise Online [360]
": Walking Dead 2.1: All That Remains
X:
Y:
Z:

16/2 Notes: This site tried to declare me legally dead on several occasions, with good reason. How the hell am I winning this?

For us. For them. For you.

I think EmP, Suskie and I are tied now. Oh, it's going to be a battle royale!

The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.

I updated the leaderboard for everyone. If I made any counting errors (going from 5 to 6 can be rough for me), let me know!

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

As promised, thrown an update up. Numbers tallied, and so forth. Think Joe's impressive Halloween run has thrown him waaaaay up front.

For us. For them. For you.

Last couple of days to update this before I close it all down.

I'm kind of annoyed at how poorly I've done. I think I'm going to make it my mission in life to complete it next year. Or not -- who knows!

For us. For them. For you.

Congrats go to Joe for another fine win. He wasn't able to complete the course, though, so let's not give him too many props. Perhaps a polite golf clap and no direct eye contact.

For us. For them. For you.

Downplay it all you want, but I'm not going to be modest.

:D

The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.