{"id":1819,"date":"2014-11-17T09:24:22","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T17:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1819"},"modified":"2014-11-17T09:24:22","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T17:24:22","slug":"backlog-blitz-the-games-of-october-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1819","title":{"rendered":"Backlog Blitz: The Games of October 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20141117_ghg_backlog_oct\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh, the holiday season. It’s that time of year when companies do everything they can to get their big releases out in time for Black Friday. It’s also when outlets like Steam, Humble, GOG.com, and Bundle Stars bring out the big guns, unveiling deals that for even the most resistant of shoppers, make bulk purchases irresistible.<\/p>\n

October turned out to be an OK month. I still slipped a little bit, but managed — just barely — to stay in positive territory. We’ll see if that holds in November, but the outlook is grim. Anyway, the format,\u00a0as with previous updates<\/a>, is\u00a0Game\u00a0Title<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(Platform, Purchase Price, Play Time).<\/p>\n

Games purchased (-4, $78.25 spent):<\/h1>\n
    \n
  1. The Humble Mobile Bundle 9\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(Android, $3.25)
    \nAnother month, another Humble bundle… or two. This one included the following titles: Bardbarian: Golden Axe Edition, Devil’s Attorney, First Strike, Leo’s Fortune, Mountain, Neuroshima Hex, Out There, So Long Oregon!<\/em>, and Syberia<\/em>. I had\u00a0just\u00a0<\/em>purchased Leo’s Fortune<\/em> the month prior, and now here it is included in this bundle. Oh well, that’s OK. It’s a wonderful, high-quality game, so I don’t mind double-dipping on it.<\/li>\n
  2. Bayonetta 2 <\/i><\/b>(Wii U, $60.00)
    \nOne of the most highly anticipated games on the Wii U, it was exciting to finally see its release! From Platinum Games, who also did The Wonderful 101<\/em> on the same console, this game received some of the highest scores last month from gaming outlets, including a number of 10 out of 10s. I’m about a third-way through it, and it’s every bit as good as everyone says. It’s a stunning game that improves upon the original in every way except maybe its story.<\/li>\n
  3. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance<\/i><\/b>\u00a0(Xbox 360, $9.00)
    \nAnother game from Platinum, I decided to pick this up on the cheap. I don’t think it sold all that well, being such a departure from the Metal Gear Solid<\/em> series, but as an action game, it has received very good scores. After enjoying the first Bayonetta<\/em> as much as I did, I went on a small shopping spree to pick up some of their other games like this one.<\/li>\n
  4. The Humble Indie Bundle 13\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(PC, $6.00)
    \nAny “Indie” titled bundle from Humble is usually a big deal, and this one was no exception. It included a number of very high-profile indie games including:\u00a0Teleglitch: More Die Edition, Tower of Guns, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, OlliOlli, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, Jazzpunk, Risk of Rain, The Novelist, Eldritch<\/em>, and Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Games finished (+3, $26.00 value):<\/h1>\n
      \n
    1. Don’t Move\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(Android, $1.00, 2 hrs.)
      \nExcerpt from my review: \u201cDo you need a game to be fun to feel satisfied when you reach the end? Does a game need to be challenging in order for you to enjoy it? Is variation in gameplay and locations key to keeping you interested in a title? Don\u2019t Move<\/em> will make you ponder these questions and more, long after you reach its Game Over screen. For something to make me think about games like this is a sign of something worth looking at, no matter how painful the experience was to get there.\u201d\u00a0Overall: B
      \n<\/b>      REVIEW LINK<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Lego City Undercover\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/strong>(Wii U, $5.00, \u00a045 hrs.)
      \nExcerpt from my review: \u201cThe world is a pure joy to explore, and the controls are solid. Some platforming and judging of distance is vague, but with unlimited lives and convenient retry features, it\u2019s rarely an issue. Grand Theft Auto<\/em> could learn a thing or two from this game\u2019s flying controls, which are wonderful. Tons of gameplay variation and abilities will keep you going long after the credits roll.\u201d\u00a0Overall: A-<\/strong>
      \n      REVIEW LINK<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Bayonetta<\/em><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(Xbox 360, $20.00, 15 hrs.)
      \nExcerpt from my review: “Bayonetta<\/em> is one of the best pure action games I\u2019ve played in a long time. Its combat system is highly satisfying and possesses splendid depth. Although there are frustrating aspects, including gimmicky minigames, instant-death quick time events, performance issues, and a glut of unnecessary cutscenes, the foundation is rock-solid, and is a game that action fans should not miss.” Overall: B+
      \n<\/strong>      REVIEW LINK<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      As I hinted at above, November is looking ugly. With good deals and big releases like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U,\u00a0<\/em>it’s likely that November will be the first month that will see me falling into negative territory. Oh well, it’s worth it! See you next time and have a wonderful holiday season.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Oh, the holiday season. It’s that time of year when companies do everything they can to get their big releases out in time for Black Friday. It’s also when outlets like Steam, Humble, GOG.com, and Bundle Stars bring out the big guns, unveiling deals that for even the most resistant of shoppers, make bulk purchases […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[427,394,395,429,19,432,405,404],"class_list":["post-1819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-backlog-blitz","tag-backlog-blitz","tag-bayonetta","tag-bayonetta-2","tag-dont-move","tag-humble-bundle","tag-lego-city-undercover","tag-metal-gear-rising-revengeance","tag-october-2014"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4yrob-tl","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=24","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":0},"title":"The Backlog Blitz","author":"Mike","date":"April 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A few years ago, I realized that I was buying way too many games. Actually, this has been true for at least the past two decades, and well, I've known it all along. I mean, it's very easy to amass a large collection of games than you have yet to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"+12 for the year so far","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140414blitz.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140414blitz.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140414blitz.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140414blitz.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1030,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1030","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":1},"title":"Backlog Blitz: The games of April 2014","author":"Mike","date":"June 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I slipped in April. What can I say, there were some good sales! April was also the month I created GHG, so that ate significantly into my game playing time. I would make up for it in May, but June's not looking great so far. Anyway, the format, like previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"20140619_backlog_blitz_april_2014","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/20140619_backlog_blitz_april_2014-300x218.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1712,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1712","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":2},"title":"Backlog Blitz: The Games of September 2014","author":"Mike","date":"October 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Hmm, going from a peak of +14 back in March to a +2 in September is not a good omen. After a good recovery in July and August, I've once again slipped into near-negative territory. As you'll see, several nice bundles are to blame, but I did finish a couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"20141006_backlog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/20141006_backlog-300x218.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1883,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1883","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":3},"title":"Backlog Blitz: The Games of November 2014","author":"Mike","date":"December 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"November can be a painful, evil month for gamers. With publishers wanting to take advantage of the holiday shopping season by getting big titles out to market, and retailers offering deep discounts on even the newest games, giving in to temptation is easy. And give in I did, as weakness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"20141205_backlog_november","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/20141205_backlog_november-300x217.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1677,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=1677","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":4},"title":"Backlog Blitz: The Games of August 2014","author":"Mike","date":"September 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Where does the time go? I can't believe it's already mid-September! It was a pretty even month, even though I did buy more than I finished. However, a couple of the games I finished rank as some of my favorites of the year so far, so I'm OK with that.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"20140916_ghg_backlog_aug_14","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/20140916_ghg_backlog_aug_14-300x218.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":281,"url":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?p=281","url_meta":{"origin":1819,"position":5},"title":"Backlog Blitz: The games of January 2014","author":"Mike","date":"April 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month, I shared the Backlog Blitz\u00a0process that I've been using to track what games I'm buying and playing. While it gave a very basic overview of what it is and why I do it, I thought it'd be more interesting to dive into what actually makes up those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Backlog Blitz"","block_context":{"text":"Backlog Blitz","link":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140116_tlou.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140116_tlou.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140116_tlou.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/20140116_tlou.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1819"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1823,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions\/1823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.grayhairedgamer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}