I originally posted this several years ago when I first became active here, and after EmP started the Alpha Marathon thing. There are so many games here I don't really have a hope of reviewing them all, but I like to update the list as I go on (and often add new items...), just to see my progress. I'm primarily re-posting it again because I don't feel like having to go back to my old post and doing it there, plus I want to use this to sort of motivate myself to write more.

These are all games I want to review / have reviewed either for kicks or because someone recommended it. Recommendations are always welcome.

3DS

Kid Icarus
Resident Evil: Revelation

DS:

Contra 4
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
Fossil Fighters
Pokemon Pearl

Game Boy:

Pokemon Red/Blue (Whichever I feel like)
Pokemon Yellow

Game Boy Color:

Animorphs
Pokemon Gold/Silver (whichever one I feel like)
X-Men: Mutant Academy

Game Boy Advance:

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire (whichever I feel like)
Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green (whichever I feel like)

Genesis

Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel
Earthworm Jim
Jim Power: the Arcade Game
Shining in the Darkness
Shining Force
Shining Force II
Twinkle Tale
Ys III
Zombies Ate My Neighbors

NES:

3D Battles of World Runner
Ai Sensei no Oshiete: Watashi no Hoshi
Bad Dudes
Crystalis
Dragon Warrior
Dragon Warrior III
Fire 'N Ice
Gauntlet
Incredible Crash Test Dummies
Just Breed
Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust Gaiden
Metroid
Mother
Musashi no Bouken
Q*bert
Rainbow Islands
TaleSpin
Ys
Ys II

PC:

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
Age of Empires III
Age of Mythology
Blades of Time
Confrontation
Dungeon Siege
Dragonester
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Eschalon: Book II
Fantasy Wars
Half-Life
Half-Life 2
Heroes of Might and Magic II
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
Heroes of Might and Magic V
Lylian: Episode One
Magicka
Nancy Drew: Mystery at Waverly Academy
Oil Rush
Plants vs. Zombies
Puzzle Bots
Quake II
Sam & Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die
Sam & Max 201: Ice Station Santa
Speedball 2
Spore
Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1: Launch of the Screeching Narwhal
Wizardry 8
Worms Armageddon

Playstation/PSN:

Castlevania: Symphony of Night
Darkstone
Digimon World
Final Fantasy Origins
Final Fantasy VII
Legend of Dragoon
Lost World: Jurassic Park
Medievil I
Medievil II
Metal Gear Solid
Spyro the Dragon
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Tekken 2
Xena: Warrior Princess
Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories

Playstation 2:

007: Nightfire
Beyond Good and Evil
Casltevania: Curse of Darkness
Final Fantasy X
The Getaway
God of War
God of War II
.hack//Infection
.hack//Mutation
.hack//Outbreak
.hack//Quarantine
.hack//G.U Rebirth
.hack//G.U. Reminisce
.hack//G.U. Redemption
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Medal of Honor: Frontline
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Medal of Honor: European Assault
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 3
Primal
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Psychonauts
Ratchet and Clank
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Star Wars Battlefront II
Twisted Metal: Black
Yu-Gi-Oh: Duelists of the Roses

PSP:

Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Shadow of Destiny

Sega CD

Vay

Saturn:

Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 9: Kage Maru

Alpha Marathon 2012

#:
A:
B: Blades of Time
C: Confrontation
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J:
K: Kid Icarus
L:
M:
N:
O: Oil Rush
P:
Q:
R:
S:
T:
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y: Ys II
Z:

Level designs often pair different sorts of beasts and toss them into a compact space. In Alpine Ridge, you’ll face armored rooster people that try to smack you with their scepters. In the same general vicinity, you’ll also encounter grotesque bears and druids that have a habit of moving platforms around.

Actually playing the game itself isn’t quite so bad, though it is horrifically easy. You’ll likely require only a few hours to beat it, and only a very small portion of the obstacles you face during that time will prove even remotely challenging.

Rather than pairing up squares for points, as you do in Bejeweled, you use the stylus to group symbols in order to clear colored tiles within a given time limit. Matching specific symbols, such as tomatoes or gold coins, earns you resources, which you receive upon level completion. These resources enable you to erect a number of historical Egyptian buildings, each of which is accompanied by a little historical factoid about that particular structure’s function in society at that time.

You wield sadistic dual blades, sling spells without much care, and solve innumerable puzzles. It's just that the variety is lacking. Yes, it's totally fun to tear up swarms of zombies with sharpened swords, or blast winged warriors out of the air with a high-powered rifle. It's thrilling to ignite a sea of humanity on fire or freeze pesky critters in place. But the catharsis isn't quite the same.

What makes this game so compelling isn't the plot (which is fairly stereotypical) or even the environment (which is quite beautiful despite the post-apocalyptic setting). It's the careful balance between a remarkably simple interface and complex strategy. Unlike other examples of this genre, you don't need to consider eight million factors when planning a move, or gather fifty kinds of resources, or examine ninety different stats. Instead, your concerns lie with your units and, of course, oil.

To stop all evil in the world, you control a squad of warriors belonging to the Griffin (human) faction. Though you'll recruit teammates as you travel through various lands, you can only fight with four at any given time, so you must choose your lineup carefully. You'll often be surrounded, outnumbered or overpowered. Your enemies are frequently stronger, or have better skills. It'll take your best thinking and planning to succeed.

Somehow, the most appealing aspect of any chapter is the game's strong learning curve. Even though you receive a great deal of guidance from the Goddess of Light, that advice only tells you how to interact with your surroundings (such as when she instructs you to grind along rails or explains what activating certain switches might accomplish).

Most of the time, it only takes a couple of levels to crush your enemies. Sure, you might be throwing grapes at elephants for how little damage you do, but you'll never get hurt – even head-on – as long as you constantly press forward. Eventually you'll be able to annihilate them with just a few choice blows.

In the first level, enemy planes try to ram you as you fly over large expanses of water dotted with oil platforms. Halfway through, you confront the infamous air pirate Don Karnage, who is hell-bent on ruining your day. You can't beat him yet, so you must evade his shots while pressing forward until he gives up.

Dragon Quest VI's main draw will always be its extraordinary plot and immense world. The plights of each world's citizens feel real, raw. They’re moving and inspire players to do all that they can. The enormous map will ensure that you're still discovering new places well into your fiftieth hour. But most of all, once you’ve uncovered that last inch of land, you'll be sad it's over. You'll look back on all that you've done and ask, “Why did it have to end?”

The hammer chips and softens the tough outer layer of the fossil rock while the drill carefully cleans away the remaining sediment without obliterating the delicate skeleton underneath. Upgrades give you stronger versions of these tools, but because of their strength, your chances of breaking certain bones are much greater.

My greatest enjoyment from Pearl, as with all generations of Pokemon, has come from finding and capturing every species available, figuring out how the new ones evolve and deciding how best to maximize my Pokemon's move set to create the most effective strategy. But Pearl has added a lot more to this level of discovery.

Some time into her stay, she mysteriously finds her restraints loose and door unlocked. Free to explore the bleak and darkened corridors of the institute in search of donuts and a kidnapped Bob, the child encounters many bizarre phenomena. Crazed nurses wander the halls, determined to kick the girl into submission, while donut-stuffed fatties try their best to crush her beneath their obese weight.

With as many Star Wars games as there are on the market, it might be hard to imagine that any of them stand out. Knights of the Old Republic managed to do this with its famed openness and attention to morality, but even that title told its story through the eyes of the Jedi. Star Wars: Battlefront II breaks from the usual Jedi perspective, preferring instead to show the rise of the Empire from standpoint of a veteran clone in the 501st Legion, a division so elite that it bec...

Eschalon Book II picks up right where the first left off, explaining enough as you go along so that you don’t need to have any prior experience with the series to get your full enjoyment out of it. Furthermore, all the qualities that led to the first game’s fantastic reception are back. Open exploration and non-linear storytelling enable you to complete quests at your leisure. Customizable character creation enables you to assign attribute and skill points however you wish. And an innumer...

Puzzle Bots is one of those games that just sucks you in from the get go. Its witty writing, ironic situations and outright hilarious dialogue combine to make a light-hearted and enjoyable experience that never takes itself seriously. It’s this ability to stay consistently funny throughout the entirety of the game that really adds to the nature of the puzzles themselves, for while they gradually become complex, there aren’t very many. In fact, this small but worthwhile purchase can be bea...

Many years ago, I watched an anime called .Hack//Sign and absolutely fell in love with it. It told the tale of a young boy trapped inside the virtual reality MMORPG, The World, and how he copes with his existence. As other players heard of and attempted to unravel the mystery behind his condition, they discovered a series of potentially fatal anomalies involving the game’s own mythology. It was the sheer complexity of that mythology and the mystery behind it that drew me in so thor...

The first Kingdom Hearts brilliantly blended the worlds of Disney and Final Fantasy in a refreshing and surprisingly unique tale. There, we followed Sora, the unsuspecting Keyblade Master who was ripped from his peaceful island home and separated from childhood friends Riku and Kairi. We watched as he met new companions and ventured through Disney-themed worlds, attempting to seal them from impending darkness. We helped him battle the Heartless, physical manifestations of evil, as ...

At first, I didn’t know how to classify Dragonester. Research led me to believe that it was some sort of raising simulation with a weird shooting component. It’s not. Rather, it’s a unique mix of genres that suck the player into a realm of unexpected complexity and ferocious intensity.

When it comes to difficulty in videogames, my feelings often appear contradictory. I frequently grow impatient or bored with oppressively difficult action titles like Contra, but when I play games that actually require me to think, I revel in the challenge. I suppose it’s a matter of interest and ability. I enjoy strategy because I know I’m smart and so seek to prove that against anyone daring enough to try me. That’s why I’m so addicted to Fantasy Wars. It leaves very little room ...