Tarpstone
BACKER
1997
Such fond memories of playing this with Dad growing up, taking turns sitting at the PC for our shots. I remember the physics being quite crisp for such an old game.
2001
StepMania permanently changed my health and life for the better. Will never stop playing.
1997
This review contains spoilers
You can race as a box.
2012
A physics masterclass with such simple controls, but infinite depth and difficulty...just something inherently addictive about this concept that kept us coming back for more.
2013
Other than Virgin Media Endurance on Very Hard (aka impossible) this was an enjoyable game with some solid multiplayer elements.
2009
Solid racing game that I took all the way to the R1 championship. Would have liked a bit more track variety; it got somewhat stale after season 3.
2012
Anyone remember getting this for $15 on launch? What a nice surprise this game was when it first launched. We've been loyal Horizon fans since. It's MMO-style exploration combined with some solid track design and fun multiplayer. Made it to yellow 25 in multiplayer. Would have benefitted from better collision, and I wish the DLC was still available/not as expensive when it first dropped (while I was a broke college student).
1999
This review contains spoilers
It's still unbelievable to me that FF8 and 9 released in back-to-back years. They're both in my top 3 for the series.
I give FF8 the edge over most other FFs because:
- Best music in the series. I love most FF soundtracks and listen to them day after day, but somehow this one just hits another level, especially the combat songs...they just totally teleported me into the world
- Best villain/final boss fight (I know this one's a hot take...kurse you and kurse all SeeDs)
I give FF8 the edge over most other FFs because:
- Best music in the series. I love most FF soundtracks and listen to them day after day, but somehow this one just hits another level, especially the combat songs...they just totally teleported me into the world
- Best villain/final boss fight (I know this one's a hot take...kurse you and kurse all SeeDs)
2000
This review contains spoilers
It's so hard, but if I had to pick one, it's FF9 because:
- Best cast of characters in the series
- Beautiful graphics for the era; one of my favorite things about being late in a console cycle is seeing how much further devs push it vs. early-cycle games, and FF9 went to the limit
- Doesn't take itself too seriously (I think FF is at its peak when it's self-aware; it's called Final Fantasy after all)
- I'm a sucker for happy endings
- Best cast of characters in the series
- Beautiful graphics for the era; one of my favorite things about being late in a console cycle is seeing how much further devs push it vs. early-cycle games, and FF9 went to the limit
- Doesn't take itself too seriously (I think FF is at its peak when it's self-aware; it's called Final Fantasy after all)
- I'm a sucker for happy endings
2006
Gameplay wise, the original Virtua Tennis for Dreamcast feels better...but the career mode in this one is quite fun as you make your way to #1 rank.
We didn't push this game as hard as we did Black Ops, but we did still play enough multiplayer to hit 6th prestige. Some super memorable maps in this one (Dome ❤️).
2012
DiRT 3 definitely wins for most fun car control in the series, but I frankly enjoyed how ridiculous DiRT Showdown was as a spinoff, from soundtrack to visuals. It had some solid multiplayer elements too, including the Racenet Team Championship. Another solid racing game from Codemasters.
2007
After experiencing DiRT 3, we wanted to go back and play them all. It was fun to see the series origin, but it was a little more monotonous than its successor (1,000 miles...). Also, screw Rally Raid.
See my main Four Swords review to learn more about how as a 5th grader, I robbed my friends of as many medals of courage as possible.
Black Ops multiplayer was already great, and I think it got better in Black Ops II. This time we ended up going all the way to master prestige, and even played some of the competitive mode (pretty sure we were just silver though, lol).