Forums > Contributor Zone > Alpha Marathon ‘09

The year was 2008. A year of infamy so infamous that the word needs repeating a second time. Just this time, in italics.

Infamy!

It was the first year of the Alphabetic Marathon a feature so gruelling that it forced several competitors into retirement after it ground them into the, um, ground. Via grinding.

There was only to be one winner and, in fact, one man to make it over the finishing line. He’s been very smug about the entire thing. Infamously smug.

In 2009, the chance to do it all other again is about to be presented.

Welcome to Alpha Marathon ‘09. I’m going to win this one, too.

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. Sounds easy on paper, yet only one man has yet to finish it.

Did I mention that was me, by the way?

Here are the rules. Do try to follow them:

Keep an up-to-date listing of your progress intact. I will not be rooting through anyone's review listings to do the tally for you.

If you want to drop out of the running, please say so rather than deleting your list in a huff and then say nothing about it

It’s advisable to make a fresh post for each new review you wish to have added to your tally to prompt me into counting it in the main league. This is so I don't need to randomly sweep through the topic counting up your progress when I don't know if any had been made. I‘ll do this at points anyway, because it‘s be proven you‘re all of no help at all. Staff members can keep their own tallies added

And even if you do post your tally regularly, I may not update it without continuous nagging.

If you don't list it in this topic, I don't count it.

I reserve the right to make up more as I go along.

Game: Start
WINNER
EmP = 27 LettersSECOND
aschultz = 27 LettersTHIRD
Suskie = 27 Letters

honestgamer = 21 Letters
Woodhouse = 21 Letters

overdrive = 18 Letters
Zipp = 18 Letters

Zigfried = 17 Letters

Wolfqueen = 7 Letters

Fasty = 5 Letters
Janus = 5 Letters

Jerec = 5 Letters

Genj = 4 Letter
Will = 4 Letters

Boo = 3 Letters
DoI = 3 Letters

Psyschopenguin = 1 Letter
Drella = 1 Letter

For us. For them. For you.

# is for 7 Wonders II

A is for Assassin's Creed & Adam's Venture

B is for Big Bang Mini & Blacksite: Area 51 & Blue Dragon Plus & Broken Sword DS

C is for Crazy Mini Golf & Challenge Me: Maths Workout & Crazy Machines 2: Complete & Cocoto: Platform Jumper & CustomPlay Golf 2010

D is for Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes

E is for EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey

F is for FIFA '09

G is for Gears of War 2

H is for Hired Guns: The Jagged Edge

I is for IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

J is for Junior Classic Games

K is for King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga

L is for: Lunar: Genesis

M is for Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars & Mystery Stories & Metal Slug 7

N is for Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

O is for Osomatsu-kun: Hachamecha Gekijou

P is for Perfect Dark Zero & Pass Your Driving Theory Test & Pass your Driving Theory Test again! & PDC World Championship Darts 2009

Q is for QuickSpot

R is for Resident Evil 5 & Raven Squad

S is for Sam & Max: Season One & SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 & Samurai Shodown Anthology

T is for Trackmania DS

U is for Underwater Attack

V us for Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 2: Jacky Bryant

W is for Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

X is for XCOM

Y is for Yamaha Supercross

Z is for Zeno Clash

For us. For them. For you.

Why not just put your letters in the intro post?

Also, I think you should add another sentence in that rule about updating: "And even if you do post your tally regularly, I may not update it without continuous nagging." =P

C = Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel
G = God of War
H = Half-Life 2
K = Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust Gaiden
M = Mother
P = Psychonauts
V = Vay
Z = Zombies Ate My Neighbors

[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

oh snap

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

This seems dangerous. I reckon I could do it, but my quality control would nosedive. And my quality control is really the only thing I revere.

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Well, I've kicked the year off with great RSI, so I'd be nuts to commit now. I'll see how I'm travelling 6 months from now :)

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I'm on board for this year.

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During the course of this week, I shall make my impact felt with one or PERHAPS two letters taken care of.

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

I plan to participate, if only because I plan to review a lot of games. So... same story as last year. Last round I didn't review any games specifically for the marathon but almost made it to the finish line in spite of that. Let's see a bit more competition this time around!

"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

I already have an insurmountable lead.

Catch me if you can, suckers!

For us. For them. For you.

Let's see how much better I can do this year than last!

A = Amnesia

B = Bionic Commando: Rearmed AND Blue Dragon AND Breath of Fire

C = Castlequest AND Challenge of the Dragon

D = Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

E = The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles AND Emerald Dragon

F = Final Doom AND Final Fantasy Adventure AND Final Fight Guy

G = Gauntlet: Dark Legacy AND The Great Waldo Search

I = Icarus: Alien Vanguard AND Ion Assault

J = James Cameron's Avatar: The Game

K = Kung Fu Panda

L = Leather Goddesses of Phobos AND Legend of the Ghost Lion AND Low G Man

M = Mazes of Fate AND Meteos Wars AND Monsters vs. Aliens

O = Operation Secret Storm

P = Panic Restaurant

R = Resident Evil 5 AND Revelations: The Demon Slayer AND Robodemons AND Rolling Thunder

S = 'Splosion Man AND Streets of Fury

W = Wild Arms

NEAR FUTURE GOALS: I DON'T KNOW!

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

Well, EMP, come week's end I should have three of the letters covered. I think by year's end you'll have a serious competitor on your hands.

Finding those X's, Y's, and Z's could be tough, though. As could the #'s and W's. It may be time for a Warcraft review, and a 7th Guest review.

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

R = Rhapsody (DS)

http://backloggery.com/main.php?user=psycho_penguin

V= Valkyria Chronicles

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

L is for Lumines: Supernova.

I'm gonna give you a run for your money this year, EMP. Nobody gets the "latters" like I do.

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

I'll take a run at it.

Y -> Yggdra Union (PSP)

Buy -> Opium!

Just for the fun of it. Can't believe I've done 3 so far. It's only March! I'm setting myself a goal for 12 by the end of the year.

A - Animal Crossing: City Folk
C - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
L - Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
T - Tales of Vesperia
W - Wii Fit

I can avoid death by not having a life.

Progress 2/27

New
---
B -> B-Boy

Past
----
Y -> Yggdra Union (PSP)

Buy -> Opium!

Let's see how I do this year, then. I'll update this post as I go and will probably help out with the original tally to make sure that my number is accurately reflected. That's what I did last year, anyway. It seemed to work out well for me. ;-)

# is for ?
A is for Active Life: Extreme Challenge (Wii)
B is for Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2 (PC)
C is for Castlevania Judgment (Wii)
D is for Dokapon Kingdom (Wii)
E is for ExciteBots: Trick Racing (Wii)
F is for Fuel (PS3)
G is for Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PS3)
H is for ?
I is for I'm Gonna Nurse You -Voice Plus!- (PC)
J is for ?
K is for The King of Fighters XII (PS3)
L is for Left Brain Right Brain 2 (DS)
M is for The Maw (Xbox 360)
N is for Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships (PC)
O is for Overlord II (PS3)
P is for Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
Q is for Qix++ (XLA)
R is for Rygar: The Battle of Argus
S is for Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure (Wii)
T is for Terminator: Salvation (PS3)
U is for Up (Xbox 360)
V is for ?
W is for Wheelman (PS3)
X is for ?
Y is for ?
Z is for Zen Pinball (PS3)

I have a bunch more games to play and review, so I should be making decent progress in the weeks ahead. Not sure what my next project will be, though...

"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

D is for Devil May Cry 4. That's three in as many weeks. "O" will probably be next, if anyone cares to take a guess at the title.

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

H = Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Hopefully I can top the 5 or 6 I did last year!

_

I was wrong, "#" was next, for 7th Guest.

TAKE THAT! I GOT THE # IN THE BAG!

You know, one year we're not gonna be able to do the # anymore. There simply aren't enough games to go around.

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

"W" is next, for Way of the Motherfucker... I mean, Samurai.

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

Progress 3/27

New
---
C -> College Hoops 2K8

Past
----
B -> B-Boy

Y -> Yggdra Union (PSP)

Buy -> Opium!