Yakuza 4. It's more Yakuza, except just a little different. The consistency in the series is one of its appeals, in the sense that you keep going back to the same place and seeing minor changes and graphical improvements over time instead of every game being a completely new experience. You spend time in the same hangouts with certain characters carrying over. The big wrinkle in this particular installment is that there are four protagonists - Kiryu is back again, but there's also Akiyama the benevolent loan shark, Taiga Saejima the escaped convict, and Tanimura, a cop with a gambling addiction who puts his winnings toward helping immigrants. Each guy has his own fighting style and the story takes a while to emerge as each quadrant provides a few more links, but ultimately it adds up to the usual intricate melodrama in which the Tojo Clan's existence is at stake that also touches on police corruption. I did think some aspects of the story strained credulity even by Yakuza standards (rubber bullets...really?).

The game wouldn't be exceptionally long except that the runtime is padded out with tons of substories and side activities that are often absurd compared to the main story. I completed a good deal of stuff, although I didn't do much with the arena fighting again and I got tired of Saejima's dojo instructor stuff pretty quickly.

As I like the series, I enjoyed the game although I did start to drag a bit in the second half because I played it almost immediately after Yakuza 3 and I was getting a bit weary of the games after so many hours. As they say, it's best to space these things out a little and I'm forcing myself to take a break before moving on to Yakuza 5.

Descent 2 has a great source port called D2X-Rebirth: https://www.dxx-rebirth.com/.

There's also D2X-XL as well:

www.descent2.de/d2x.html

Thank you, I knew about those ports. I've already downloaded all the fan-made levels from the German site, too... for me, Descent is one of those games that are so good, you immediately start searching for custom content to extend your experience of it. Now I only have to find the time to play them...

Lunistice. You people who hate pixel art can maybe rest a bit easier now because indie game developers have discovered PS1/Saturn graphics as a retro aesthetic. This is a short game that can be beaten in just a few hours. You control a female tanuki and have to run and jump around very colorful 3D levels, picking up origami cranes. In classic Sega manner, the game grades you on your performance, so if you really have fun you can replay levels to improve your grades, although I'm not sure doing so gets you anything except bragging rights. I settled on getting B's on most levels (good on clearing pickups but dinged a little for dying occasionally).

The game looks very nice, although I turned off the retro PS1 filter to get rid of the jaggies, and it mostly handles pretty well, although I found that doing some of the platforming was tricky because the game doesn't track your shadow very well. I found an option in the menu to switch on shadows, which gives you a really exaggerated shadow with a red outline that made things slightly easier. There's a strong Sonic influence in it, where you basically move pretty fast and occasionally hit rails and boost pads that cause you to go really fast.

The enemy selection is kind of boring, with only a few simple types that are more like obstacles and can often be avoided easily. No boss battles, which can be good or bad depending on taste. Controls are simple - run, jump, attack - with very few combo effects. The music isn't bad but I would have liked more tracks. The first track gets really old before it switches to the next after a handful of levels. This is a good game to pick up on sale, for when you want something light to run through between heavy, more time-demanding games.

Dishonored (GOG) - A masterpiece. I especially liked the sense of freedom it gives to the player. You can choose to be the "ghost", the "silent assassin" or the "human killing machine", or a mix of them, with matching powers and abilities (the replayability factor is therefore very high - you really feel compelled to replay the game in a different way).
You feel you can go wherever you want (well... almost), especially in the vertical axis, and the game rewards exploration - something I always appreciate.
There are many options available to customize the playing experience, which is always a plus for me.
The maps are relatively small, but finely crafted and packed with detail; the game is linear, structured as a succession of discrete levels, but you can accomplish your objectives in different ways. I much prefer this over the "open world" formula.
The world-building is exceptional, with its detailed lore. There are so many interesting locations and architectures. The story, quite dark and gloomy, is involving, with relevant characters and meaningful choices.
The art direction is top-notch, going for a painting-like quality, with some beatiful vistas along the way. Classy voice-acting, too.
If I have a criticism, is that the stealth system isn't as well implemented as it could. There is no light gauge as in Thief or Splinter Cell, so sometimes it's hard to estimate how much you're visible to others. And in some situations the enemy soldiers seemed a little too blind to me, especially if I was stationed above them, even playing on "hard" difficulty. But the gameplay is so fun (with several smart, original mechanics) that you just don't notice - sometimes you feel it's even too easy (I love that "blink" superpower!). But please note that I can't say anything about combat, since I went for a full-stealth approach and avoided it altogether.
Dishonored takes obvious influence from such revered classics as Thief, Deus Ex, Bioshock, but manages to be its own thing. It has already joined them in my appreciation.
My vote: 5/5

And since this year I decided to write something about each game I finish, let's spend some words about Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair, too.
It strives to translate the original QTE laser-disc arcade into a modern, real-time 3D platformer. Well, actually it's not a straightforward translation - the plot is a bit more involved than "kill the dragon, save the princess" this time, with some twists and turns, but honestly I didn't care much for the story, and I think the game didn't really need one; I would have preferred a simpler, more literal approach. And the gameplay is more refined, with some special magic abilities you can (and sometimes must) use in the course of the adventure.
The graphics are colourful and obviously very reminiscent of the arcade. Great care has been put into animating Dirk, which closely resembles his arcade counterpart, with his typical mannerisms. Yet, sometimes I felt the characters were a bit "floaty", not really part of the environment, but rather flat and detached from it.
Many sound effects are lifted from the arcade, and heighten the nostalgia factor.
I used mouse and keyboard and I felt comfortable with camera and controls, generally speaking. I would have liked an option to adjust mouse sensitivity, though.
The levels and puzzles are, by and large, well crafted; some of them will have you think a bit, some parts are confusing, but generally it's easy to see what you have to do, or where you're supposed to go. At times I had the impression they were going for quantity over quality.
Combat is uninteresting and almost trivial, actually, with very little strategy or skill involved. You're simply too fast and powerful - just swing your sword repeatedly and you will kill almost any enemy. You can charge up for a spinning attack but I rarely felt the need for it; moreover, the charging takes some time and if you're surrounded, some of the enemies will inevitably strike you, disrupting the process. You're just better off using the regular attack.
You even have a crossbow this time; arrows are so plentiful, you're never in danger of running out of ammo.
Health and mana refills are so ubiquitous, you rarely feel at risk for your life.
You can quicksave anywhere and there are conveniently placed checkpoints, too.
So, overall, the game is on the easy side, but some parts are tricky, and one of the bosses was one of the hardest I've ever met (I'm not joking), especially in figuring out what you had to do AND then doing it! The final one was way easier in comparison. But maybe it's just me.
There are nice intro and ending movies in the style of Don Bluth's original work. But a mid-game cutscene was just comprised of stills, which felt lazy and cheap. And you even get a final (delightfully cheesy) song, like in MDK or Portal.
Much of the appeal of the game, obviously, stems from anticipating how the arcade levels of old have been transported into the new game. You will, indeed, meet some familiar faces and situations; some work very well in the new setting, others less so. However, a few of those old levels have been sorely left out.
In the end, a nice game this one. Despite some frustration, I had some simple fun playing it and I don't regret it. But those who don't have a nostalgic attachment to the franchise would probably find it lacking.
Princess Daphne is still smokin' hot after all these years, though.
My vote: 3/5
(note: I encountered a game-breaking bug at one point. Luckily I found the solution on YouTube.)

Hello cose_vecchie!

May I ask, if you played it from a retail cd-rom or a digital release?
I have an old cd version which I could not get to work on my Windows 10 Laptop, yet.

Kind regards,
foxgog

Hello! I played from CD; however, I'm sorry I can't be of much help, since I used an old machine equipped with Windows 8. For what it's worth, I had no trouble installing and running the game, except I couldn't get the soundtrack to play and the cutscenes had no sound (I had to watch them outside the game, on VLC Media Player).
Possibly it has to do with SafeDisc?

Include me:

Games completed:
Jan 1: Pikmin 1
Jan 2: Legends of Zelda ToTK
Jan 9 Pikmin 2
Jan 15 Pikmin 3 (Ultra Spicy Difficulty Jan 24th)

Tomb Raider (2013), Jan 18 (GOG)-I had a lot of fun with this. The plot was ridiculous but the gameplay was good. Combat, climbing, exploring, and collecting were all good. There were a lot of things to collect but it felt very thematic and an extension of the character although it did frequently ruin the immersion when your friends are in danger and you take a 15 minutes side quest to explore a tomb. The game was a little janky at times especially climbing sections in the later parts of the game with occasional stutters and jerkiness. The camera style in general seemed a little shaky and found footage-like. Combat was fun but very over the top when Lara turns into a terminator right after you kill your first human enemy. I read that the writers on the game wanted Lara's first kill to be more impactful and traumatizing but were shot down for gameplay reasons. I agree it would have made the plot better but would have probably forced them into a more stealth oriented gameplay. Even so it was still a lot of fun to play.

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Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (Borderlands 2 DLC, 2 player co-op)

New funny setting (fantasy pen and paper and MMO parody), new visually pleasing areas, new interesting enemies and traps, classic old characters with new voicelines. Sadly no new weapons (crossbows could have been fun), but all in all there were a lot of things to like here. Quite long for a DLC, too. A bit of filler content (large areas full of enemies without much story bits between the fights) and gameplay-wise, it's mainly just more of the same, but it's still competently done, for the most part, and well worth it as a DLC. Some of the humour was rather predictable and had gotten a bit old by now, but there were also a few hilarious surprises. Last but not least, as I forgot to mention it about the main game: We played the German translation, which I usually try to avoid in games, but it was quite good and unexpectedly, the German voice-overs were fantastic (especially Tiny Tina, Handsome Jack, and Claptrap).

Harbinger (GamersGate). "Diablo in space", as it's often described, and by and large that's true - except, it's not as good as Diablo.
The story is fine and involving, though not particularly long. Great atmosphere. The tone is overall quite grim, but with nice touches of humour here and there.
You can choose among three different classes, which enhances replayability. I've only played as the human, but I wouldn't mind trying the other two. I wonder when that could happen, though.
Graphically, the game is very pretty, although some animations could have been smoother.
The game's worst defect is perhaps that it comes off as a bit bland, a bit dull, lacking enough variety in its environments and enough sophistication in its mechanics to stand out in the crowded aRPG field.
There are a few simple character stats, but a skill tree is missing altogether.
Combat is nice but it can get repetitive after a bit (always a risk in this kind of game). You can outrun most enemies and you find a ton of health supplies, so it's rather easy, even when you're outnumbered. Even bosses aren't that challenging, by and large. Near the end I had such a good armour and long lifebar that I didn't even need to dodge attacks anymore. But sometimes you have to wait for your weapon to recharge, which kills the pace.
There's some tactics at play, in that you have different types of attacks that are effective against different strands of enemies. As the human, you can also place mines of various kinds, but I didn't find them very effective, and the placing itself is not that straightforward, especially in the heat of battle.
You have temporary bonuses, too, but they didn't seem to have a really noticeable effect to me, so I didn't care much for them. For example, you can deploy resistances against heat or poison, but these two do such a small damage anyway, there's no need to bother. It's possible they're more important for the other classes, though.
I think I played through most of the game with the same weapon and armour I bought after the first couple of missions. More powerful items start to appear only towards the end. In general, the loot system is not as developed or interesting as the one found in Diablo.
In the end, this game is not a masterpiece by any means, but it doesn't overstay its welcome, either. As I said, it's not that long, and it's reasonably entertaining if your expectations are not too high.
It's a simple, if a tad unremarkable, kind of fun.
My rating: 3/5

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Nice ! I hope you are not against DRM. Shadow of a Tomb Raider fits nicely into the picture painted in the first title.

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition

A walking simulator, you walk slooow on an island, alone. Only a voice speaks you about a story. Graphics and music are the best, and his lenght, an hour. But with this experience, walking simulators are deleted from my backlog.

Score: 1/5

I plan on playing Rise of the Tomb Raider on Gamepass later in the year. When Shadow is available, I'll play that one too.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars- Directors Cut (GOG)

I played the original and the sequel when they came out in the 90's, I still have the boxed editions. I decided to replay this one, since I must have got the GOG version at some point as a free game- I don't remember buying it anyway. I did buy parts 2-4 in the holiday sales to go with this one though, plus I already have access to part 5 on Xbox.

My vague recollection of playing the original was that it was serviceable, but way overshadowed by the Gabriel Knight series in every way. Now that I've played this newer version, I can confirm that recollection fully. Decent old-style point and click adventure- but too much like Monkey Island. I never liked Monkey Island. The puzzles become too silly and often lack much logic and sometimes rely on trying things again even after you've already interacted with them once. Also, the humorous tone is at odds with the brutal murder investigation. Still, I'll probably work through the series over time as this type of game can be played in small doses whilst engaged in much larger games.