PixlBit

Not quite retro, but it'll do. I'm currently populating a list of games, books, film and music that I have and want from those years. I'll try and play some of the games (although Forza Horizon 4 will probably stomp that into the ground), read a few books, watch a few films and make several mix cds for my car. Here's some highlights. 

The WiiU came out these years as did the PS4, XBO, 3DS and Vita. I got a 3DS and Vita in 2013 and a XBO and PS4 in 2014. The WiiU I only got last month. Ever since about 2004 or so my goal was to own all the consoles that came out, eventually. I still don't have a Switch though. I'm also considering the iPad (or any tablet really) as another gaming platform I should own. The iPad released in 2010. I still don't have one.

Some game highlights:

I really loved Lunar Silver Star Harmony on the PSP. I rented it one month and kept it til I beat it. It seemed a tad easy but one day I want to go back and play it on a harder mode. 

Crackdown 2 was antcipated hotly by me. It didn't quite live up to the original. I remember people calling it Crackdown 2.0, which is sort of right. I, however, liked it well enough. I especially enjoyed the addition of a sound device on the helicopter that told you where the orbs were. It was a lot of fun flying around listening for them and then jumping out and finding them in the city buildings. Is 3 ever going to come out?

I bought Valkyria Chronicles II on PSP the moment it came out. I remember vividly playing it in a Panera before work every day. It got difficult very quickly though and I never finished it. 

One of my favorite games from my PC gaming days, Plants vs. Zombies came out on Xbox Live Arcade. I was thrilled and played the heck out of this inovative defense battle game. PvZ 2 came out on iOS and the PvZ Garden Warfare games are very different. I'm kinda pissed. 

Maybe my favorite Halo, Halo Reach came out. The last Bungie Halo game, I believe. I loved the environments and the way the multiplayer worked so seemlessly. You could jump right into matches and keep your friends with you all the time. Brilliant. A bit of a downer in the story department. Like the end of Halo, which it sort of was for me. I never did get as excited by the series after this one. Halo 4 and 5 were fine but lacked that certain something. Oh Bungie, come back. 

Fable III. Played this day one. It was a little more streamlined and actiony than Fable II. I'd have rather a more RPG style game, but it was very fun. I still remember getting those crazy achievements like the Henry VIII one where you had to marry and then kill a bunch of wives. Kind of creepy to me thinking about it now, but it was a laugh as I played a woman for this and smashed my last husband into a hot spring for the achievement. I've heard rumors of a possible Fable IV in the works. I can only hope. 

Pinball FX2 came out. I was a fan from the first Pinball FX and was on this right away. So many tables now. It's a bit overwelming. Still great fun the way they added new twists to traditional pinball gameplay. And with all those licences. Just great. 

Oh Epic Mickey how I wanted to really like this game. I loved the dark art design for this game and was so excited for it. When I played it though, I didn't much like the way I had to struggle with the camera. I should've have persisted though because it's a great idea and I wanted to see the rest of the game. I'll come back to it one day. 

A World of Keflings. I really liked this sequel to Kingdom of Keflings on XBLA. It's a simple builder game. You set your Keflings to work building stuff to complete story missions. It was a little like resource management in Warcraft II but with no battles. I kind of want battles. Where is a third game? They did Akimi Forest for PSN that's very similar with a different Japanese theme. I'd like a new Keflings game. 

Being a fan of Okami, I was ready for Okamiden for DS when it came out. I played it but got stuck somewhere maybe half way through. These games are long. I enjoyed it but always felt it would've been better on console. 

I learned of Capybara Games through their excellent Might & Magic Clash of Heroes. Yes it's a licenced game but what a good one. It came out on DS and XBLA. I played both version to completion. It had a unique battle system that's hard to describe. Mainly it's tactical but different than traditional turn-based rpg batlles. I'll leave it at that. Looked great too. I want another one. Capy's other games are really interesting, but I still like this one the best. 

Holly molly. I realized after doing all this research that I played a lot of games those years. I haven't even started 2012 yet in this list and I'm just mentioning the ones I played a lot. I guess I'll have to stop for now. Maybe I'll do another blog on the others.