8/31 Progress

Time to move some of the Epic Quest games forward. Obviously, I expect these to be the longest, with a few exceptions like the eternally long Oblivion in my Sword Slashing category.

So, I started off with the next chapter of Star Ocean. This chapter was uneventful and boring, as Fayt (the main character) and Sophia (His gal pal) are trapped in an evacuation center after a bunch of jerky-puss aliens called the Verdini attacked a vacation colony planet they were on. Fayt's been separated from his parents and doesn't know their fate (boo hoo!) and the Pangalactic Federation (That's the "good guys") shunted us off into this underground facility.

All I had to do in this chapter was walk around and talk to everybody, and eventually there were some nice cut scenes with them circus folks I made friends with in the first tutorial chapters. After getting some sleep, an announcment occured that we were being moved onto a military transport ship. I beamed onto it (Thanks Scotty!) and now I'm on the ship. Tempted to keep playing, but you know, it's checkmark time. And onto the next game!
_______________________________________________________________________________

Figured I'd see what was next in store for me in Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. After all, this was the game I had the hardest time getting the checkmark for in Round 1.

This time around, its just a big fight against a super villain named Mercy. She, of course, doesn't have any. She teleports around, shoots massive laser beams, and actually gets tougher as the fight progresses. Very challenging to an uncoordinated button masher like me.

I almost defeated her once out of the four times I tried, but it looks like she's going to have to go down another day. She will go down for me! Er, that didn't come out right. I mean, she will be defeated at some indeterminate time in the future. Oh yes. Oh yes she will.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Time to put in the next Suikoden, since I'm doing three of these eternally long games simultaneously. Suikoden 5.

As we start out this session, I get to watch the first round of the Sacred Games, a tournament to determine a husband for my 12 year old Princess sister. I guess that's how they did it in the old days! This foreign swordsman named Belcoot took out this huge gladiator, and I got sent on a mission from dear old Dad, the Knight Commander Ferid, to seek him out and learn more about him.

Exploring town -- got me a new shiny helmet! (Spear and maaaagic helllmeet!) Okay, it's not a magic helmet. It's a plain ol' leather helmet. But it cost me $4500 so it better be from Gucci! Upgraded some skills. You have a report card like grade system for your fighting and magic skills in this game. Mine are all at E. If I brought home a report card like this, I'd get spanked. I have a feeling if I encounter a tough opponent, same thing will occur!

Ran into this martial artist chick who wanted to enter the Sacred Games, not knowing the winner gets the hand of the Princess. Oops. She ran off after finding out. Bet she'll be back in the story later. Ya think?

After running all over town randomly, I finally find Belcoot, who is being threatened by a bunch of thugs. They don't believe I'm the Prince because they are idiots, and me and my bodyguard knights whoop them easily. Belcoot joins our party! Mission Accomplished. Checkmark Acquired.

Aaand time to move on.
_________________________________________________________________________

I insert Kingdom Hearts into my Playstation 2, not knowing what's going to happen next. When last we left off, I had sealed the last of the current worlds - Wonderland, and now its time to head back to good ol' Traversetown.

I blow a lot of shit up on the way there in my Gummiship. Yeah, that's right. My ship is made out of Gummi. What about it?

I get to Traversetown with my boys Goofy and Donald Duck, and we talk to Sid in the Accessory Shop about the doohickey plot device object I acquired, and he gives me a crusty old book he put together, which I now have to deliver to Merlin in the Third District of the city.

A bell chimes off in the distance. Ooh, that sounds like an adventure! Sid tells me not to go there yet, deliver the book first. Bah! I'll do what I want to. I'm in control. I'm the big man in town! I rule here.

I go deliver the book.

Merlin informs me he has no idea what it is either. But he puts it on a pedistal for me to check out. I talk to the Fairy Godmother, who also hangs out in Merlin's crib. Hmm, Merlin and the Fairy Godmother are shacking up together. Not that I'm a gossip monger but....ya know, they are both at least 300 years old.

So The Fairy Godmother tells me that I can now summon Simba in combat! Like, the giant Lion from the Lion King. Yee-Ahhh. I can't wait to sick his ass on somebody. What now? I got lionz!

I look at the book...and instantly get teleported inside. As Scooby Doo would say "Rhut Row!" And without my boys. Goofy and Donald got left behind.

I explore, and come across a meadow. Do I want to go in, it asks me. Am I playing this game, I say, as witty rejoinder. It doesn't get it. I go in.

There's somebody sitting alone on a tree branch. AHHHH HELLLZ YEAAH. It's the MAN. The Myth. The Legend.

It's Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie's all depressed and suicidal. Everybody's gone and he's trying to figure out how to say goodbye to himself, cause he figures with no honey tree, he'll soon disappear too. NO WAY MAN. I gotta save the Poohmaster.

I go to his house. He eats the last of his honey. Oh no's! Don't slit your wrists Winnie. I leave the house after stealing an Elixer out of Winnie's cabinet, cause that's what I do. (See Gold from Elven Village above). I pilfer in the name of GOOD! No, really, I need it.

An owl appears and tells me that I can't progress further because pages of the magic book are scattered all over the universe on other worlds. Doh. That sounds like a massive side quest to me. I leave the book world.

Cut Scene: My old friend Silverhaired Kid shows up! Donald doesn't like him, he can't come along with us. Then he vanishes mysteriously. What the? Oh well, I head back to the Accessory Shop, save the game. That's a checkmark folks. Task completed.
__________________________________________________________________________________

And the board for Round 2 looks like this:
MIND TEASERS:
Chess Titans - 1
Gabriel Knight - 1
Mahjong Titans - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 2
Spider Solitaire - 2
World Series of Poker - 1

STRATEGY:
Civilization - 2
Europa Universalis - 1
Gladius - 2
Space Empires - 1 (1/2 hour played. 1/2 hour to go until checkmark)
Suikoden Tactics - 1
World of Mixed Martial Arts - 2

SHOOTER:
Crysis - 2
Fallout 3 - 1
Freedom Fighters - 2
Killzone - 2
Resident Evil 4 - 1
Ring of Red - 1

PURE ACTION:
Devil May Cry - 2
God of War - 1
Madden Football - 2
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - 2
Soul Reaver 2 - 2
Soul Caliber - 1

SWORD SLASHERS
Champions: Return to Arms - 1 (Hacking Orcs A' Plenty)
Dark Cloud - 1
Drakengard - 2
.Hack Infection - 1 (Level Grinding in progress)
Oblivion: Elder Scrolls - 1
Shadow of Rome - 1

EPIC - FANTASY
Dragon's Age Origin - 1
Dragon's Quest 8 - 1
Final Fantasy 12 - 1
Suikoden 3 - 1
Suikoden 4 - 2
Suikoden 5 - 2

EPIC - OTHER GENRES
Kingdom Hearts - 2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - 2
Mercenaries - 1
Rogue Galaxy - 1
Star Ocean - 2
Xenosaga - 1

ROCKSTAR MISSION BASED
Assassin's Creed - 1
GTA: Liberty City Stories - 1
Hulk - 1 (Tough Boss Fight!)
Manhunt 2 - 1
The Warriors - 1
Urbz - 1

8/30 Progress

I found Freedom Fighters, an old computer game from 2003 that has the Soviet Union taking over the world and assaulting New York City, in a drawer and realized that I had only played through it at normal level. Since I need a 6th Shooter, this will do until I acquire something new in that genre.

Wow, going from Crysis to this is like night and day. As in, this game looks and plays much crappier than Crysis. But, its still a fun game, at least as far as I remember.

I played through the tutorial mission where you follow Mr. Jones around (Ooh, mysterious), kill Russians and learn how to use the controls. We have a slick hideout in the...eh...Manhattan sewers...yuck.

I then blew up a gas station in Brooklyn to scorch snipers guarding the police station. That'll show you who's boss, Ruskies! Yee-Ahh! That's two checkmarks, to even this up with the rest of the field.
____________________________________________________________________________
Went after Mahjong Titans again. 0-3! When I put this game on the list, it was as an afterthought, really. I crushed the first design, Turtle, in the second game. I figured I'd whip though the other 5 designs and it wouldn't be an issue. But I haven't won since. I have come very close three times, but close is not a checkmark. Bah! I can't match stuffs well.
________________________________________________________________________________
Started on the new level in Champions: Return to Arms. Hmm, the Elven City of Kelthin. Now that I am well into this game, let's see what kind of super original monster types there are for me to fight this time! The anticipation is killing me. They....are....

Orcs. Oh.

Okay, then. Slay the orcs! Funny, there are chests with lots of gold all over the place for me to take. Yet, I am saving the Elven village. So, basically, I am pillaging from the Elves as I save them. I'm a hero!

Orcs have a hero too. His name is Orc Hero. And I thought Mr. Jones was a bad character name.

Orc Hero is super-tough. I got slay-i-fied seven times by him, I'll have to come up with a plan. Yeah, a plan. Here it is: We'll come back to this game later. Take that, Orc Hero!

I bravely run away, away away away....brave, brave, brave, brave, Sir AL!
___________________________________________________________________________

MIND TEASERS:
Chess Titans - 1
Gabriel Knight - 1
Mahjong Titans - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 2
Spider Solitaire - 2
World Series of Poker - 1

STRATEGY:
Civilization - 2
Europa Universalis - 1
Gladius - 2
Space Empires - 1 (1/2 hour played. 1/2 hour to go until checkmark)
Suikoden Tactics - 1
World of Mixed Martial Arts - 2

SHOOTER:
Crysis - 2
Fallout 3 - 1
Freedom Fighters - 2
Killzone - 2
Resident Evil 4 - 1
Ring of Red - 1

PURE ACTION:
Devil May Cry - 2
God of War - 1
Madden Football - 2
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - 2
Soul Reaver 2 - 2
Soul Caliber - 1

SWORD SLASHERS
Champions: Return to Arms - 1 (Hacking Orcs A' Plenty)
Dark Cloud - 1
Drakengard - 2
.Hack Infection - 1 (Level Grinding in progress)
Oblivion: Elder Scrolls - 1
Shadow of Rome - 1

EPIC - FANTASY
Dragon's Age Origin - 1
Dragon's Quest 8 - 1
Final Fantasy 12 - 1
Suikoden 3 - 1
Suikoden 4 - 2
Suikoden 5 - 1

EPIC - OTHER GENRES
Kingdom Hearts - 1
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - 2
Mercenaries - 1
Rogue Galaxy - 1
Star Ocean - 1
Xenosaga - 1

ROCKSTAR MISSION BASED
Assassin's Creed - 1
GTA: Liberty City Stories - 1
Hulk - 1
Manhunt 2 - 1
The Warriors - 1
Urbz - 1

8-29 Progress

When I was young, my mother and her friends used to sit around a table playing Mahjong. Mahjong Titans is NOT Mahjong. It's a matching game. You know like you used to play in Kindergarten. Match two of a kind and they vanish. Except the trick is there are two of each pair, so you might match the wrong two of a kind, and then your screwed! Screwed I tell you. Okay Mahjong Titans. I am here to get me some!

Update: DAMN IT! 0-4! I will beat you Mahjong Titans. You wait and see!
___________________________________________________________________________

Re-Started Crysis, and made it through the first two checkpoints. That's two checkmarks to get Crysis back even on the list. Poor Aztec didn't make it though. He got kill-i-fied. Never got out of the parachute. And then we vaporized him. Buh bye Aztec! I knew you...not so well. You had a line or two in the initial cut scene. I didn't get that attached, buddy. Sorry!
__________________________________________________________________________

Onto Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I defeated Bullseye to stop the Hellicarrier's nuclear missle. Checkmark acquired. I was playing as Mr. Fantastic and kept accidentally hitting the wrong button, and turning myself into a living pinball. Oops. Good thing Ghost Rider killed everything that moved while I, you know, covered the rear.
________________________________________________________________________________
I decided to continue building colonies in Space Empires. But aliens showed up and took one of my first five colonies. That means war! Okay, so when these aliens showed up, they offered me a ridiculous one-sided treatise. I countered with a fair, even offer. They turned it down. They then provided me with another one-sided ludicrous treaty. I countered with a super fair offer, slightly favorable to them. They turned it down.

Now they took one of my colonies. Okay, you bastards. I tried to be nice. Now it's on! I am just getting used to this game, having never played it before. So we'll see if I can hold my own against these alien slimepods.  As I have only played half an hour of the game, I still have another half hour before I checkmark this strategy game and move on.

Here's where we are now with the entire scenario:

MIND TEASERS:
Chess Titans - 1
Gabriel Knight - 1
Mahjong Titans - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 2
Spider Solitaire - 2
World Series of Poker - 1

STRATEGY:
Civilization - 2
Europa Universalis - 1
Gladius - 2
Space Empires - 1 (1/2 hour played. 1/2 hour to go until checkmark)
Suikoden Tactics - 1
World of Mixed Martial Arts - 2

SHOOTER:
Crysis - 2
Fallout 3 - 1
Killzone - 2
Resident Evil 4 - 1
Ring of Red - 1

PURE ACTION:

Devil May Cry - 2
God of War - 1
Madden Football - 2
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - 2
Soul Reaver 2 - 2
Soul Caliber - 1

SWORD SLASHERS
Champions: Return to Arms - 1
Dark Cloud - 1
Drakengard - 2
.Hack Infection - 1 (Level Grinding in progress)
Oblivion: Elder Scrolls - 1
Shadow of Rome - 1

EPIC - FANTASY
Dragon's Age Origin - 1
Dragon's Quest 8 - 1
Final Fantasy 12 - 1
Suikoden 3 - 1
Suikoden 4 - 2
Suikoden 5 - 1

EPIC - OTHER GENRES
Kingdom Hearts - 1
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - 2
Mercenaries - 1
Rogue Galaxy - 1
Star Ocean - 1
Xenosaga - 1

ROCKSTAR MISSION BASED
Assassin's Creed - 1
GTA: Liberty City Stories - 1
Hulk - 1
Manhunt 2 - 1
The Warriors - 1
Urbz - 1

8-28 Progress

Well, I tried the Dragon Design on Mahjong Titans. 0-4. Very frustrating, one game, I had only 2 matches left, but the tiles were stacked and thus I could not win. Bah! That is unfair, Mahjong Titans generator program. I curse your ancestors. I guess that would be Pong.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Suikoden 4 - All I have to do for now is go back and forth between two islands, fighting living seaweed and weakling fish men. This is what I mean about these level grinding games. Sometimes they force you into endless combats to build the characters. I used to resist this because of my gaming impatience, akin somewhat to other people's road rage. But now I understand! So...kill the seaweed!

 Defeated a pretty weak sea monster to clear a beginner level mission. All 4 of my current characters advance to level 10. That's a checkmark!
____________________________________________________________________________

Hulk Ultimate Destruction - I DIIIIID IIIT!! Seriously, took me about 25 tries to do the current mission of retrieving a truck full of data before either I got killed or the truck got destroyed. But finally, I have passed the one mission in this game that has prevented me from continuing.

Funny, when you finish the mission, Hulk does a big victory dance. I was doing it with him, I was so happy. HULK SMASH PUNY CHECKMARK!
________________________________________________________________________________
Annnnd Xenosaga. I finally beat the boss Virgil in the Song of Nephilheim level. Very difficult boss, and I couldn't kill him because of his ability to transform halfway through the fight into a being that renders certain party members ineffective. I finally put together the right mix to beat him with both of his transformations, and
I'm past him. That's the last checkmark I needed to get to complete a full circuit. I'm officially on Pass 2 with all eight categories. So today I have freed up both the Rockstar and Epic Other genres to be played.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Oh No's!

I experienced a major technical difficulty with Crysis. After killing four North Korean special unit guys, I was supposed to be picked up in a VTOL and whisked off to the next level. I was all ready to mark it down as a checkmark, and then something happened. Or rather, didn't happen. The VTOL didn't show up. After scanning the internet, this is a glitch in the game. I had to uninstall the game, re-install it, then install a patch. Reloading from my save game does not solve the issue. Apparently, I will have to begin the entire game again! I would complain if I hated this game, but Crysis is so good that re-starting will not be so bad. Still, that's frustrating. I am going to consider the re-start the new starting point and so I will only be allowed to play through the first two checkpoints in the game right now. But, them's the breaks.

The Checklist Situation 8-28-2010

Here are all the games, in the genres, with the number of checkmarks next to them. There are two games, The Hulk, and Xenosaga, with no checkmarks. This is because I can't get past the current mission in Hulk, and because I got my butt whooped by the current Boss in Xenosaga. Yes, there are some games with 2 checkmarks. I have decided for my own sake of fun, that when I get a checkmark in all of the games in a category, then I can proceed and play all of the games in that category again, up until 2 higher than the lowest other game.

In other words, since I have 2 games at zero checkmarks, the games that have 2 checkmarks cannot be played again until I clear the current situations in Hulk and Xenosaga. But I am free to play anything with one checkmark, that is not in the same genre as Hulk (Rockstar) and Xenosaga (Epic Other).

So, here's where we are overall. I started this system on July 14th, 2010 and have been making tweaks as I go. So its been about 6 weeks so far.

MIND TEASERS:      
Chess Titans - 1
Gabriel Knight - 1
Mahjong Titans - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 2
Spider Solitaire - 2
World Series of Poker - 1

STRATEGY:
Civilization  - 2
Europa Universalis - 1
Gladius - 2
Space Empires - 1
Suikoden Tactics - 1
World of Mixed Martial Arts - 2

SHOOTER: 
Crysis - 1 (almost at 2 with current save spot)
Fallout 3 - 1
Killzone - 2
Resident Evil 4 - 1
Ring of Red - 1

PURE ACTION:
Devil May Cry - 2
God of War - 1
Madden Football - 2
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - 2
Soul Reaver 2 - 2
Soul Caliber - 1

SWORD SLASHERS
Champions: Return to Arms - 1
Dark Cloud - 1
Drakengard - 2
.Hack Infection - 1 (Level Grinding in progress)
Oblivion: Elder Scrolls - 1
Shadow of Rome - 1

EPIC - FANTASY
Dragon's Age Origin - 1
Dragon's Quest 8 - 1
Final Fantasy 12 - 1
Suikoden 3 - 1
Suikoden 4 - 1 (Mission in progress)
Suikoden 5 - 1

EPIC - OTHER GENRES
Kingdom Hearts - 1
Marvel Ultimate Alliance - 1
Mercenaries - 1
Rogue Galaxy - 1
Star Ocean - 1
Xenosaga - 0

ROCKSTAR MISSION BASED
Assassin's Creed - 1
GTA: Liberty City Stories - 1
Hulk - 0
Manhunt 2 - 1
The Warriors - 1
Urbz - 1

So that's the current tally of game advancements since the system began. Think I'm going too slow? I have a life too, ya know! We'll see what happens come the winter. I am notorious for hibernating like a bear, so I anticipate lots of checkmarks!

10] Rockstar Mission-Based Games

Well folks, this is it. The last of the eight genres. Rockstar Games of course, is not a genre, its a company. But I have decided it is a genre, for this list, because of the way most Rockstar Games play. Let's face it GTA did start a new genre of games. A big component to Rockstar Games is that there is no character building. You have your guy(s) , and you advance through the storyline. There are few games with no character building, so that's a part of this genre. Also an interesting part of this game is that some missions are really short, so you can get a checkmark in like 5 minutes! However, I suck so much at games like GTA that I often have to do a mission 20 times before I succeed and advance. So I consider each one to be a major accomplishment.

Game 42] Assassin's Creed - I know right? This game could be put in other categories, perhaps the Epic Other, or even the Sword Slashers. But I decided that this game is mission based. You need to complete short missions in order to unlock bigger missions. It fits in this category nicely. I am playing this on my PC.

Checkmark - Complete a mission, get a checkmark. Yes, sir!

Where Am I? - About a third through the game. You have to assassinate 9 people, and I have killed 3 of them so far. Working on doing enough missions to get close to the 4th guy. Soon he will be dead, say I!

Game 43] GTA: Liberty City Stories - Well, here we go. I have never come close to finishing any Grand Theft Auto game I have ever tried, because I am a spaz. But I am improving. No, really!

Checkmark - Complete a mission, get a checkmark. That wasn't predictable was it?

Where Am I? - I think I've now completed five missions. Still early in the game, I can only get missions from 2 characters, so that is sure to expand after a few more completions. It took me like 10 tries to save this 4 jerks from police in a gas station. We'll see what this game has in store for me next.

Game 44] Hulk Ultimate Destruction - This game is now the bane of my existence. I love this game, for the most part it has been wonderful. The Hulk in all his rampaging glory. It's well designed.

Checkmark - Hulk Smash what Stupid Sampson say Hulk should smash then Hulk gets strongest Checkmark there is!

Where Am I? - I was cruising along in this game, because its great. But, I am now on a mission that I can't beat. I have to stop an armored car in a force field from getting across the city, but it has a platoon of tanks, helicopters, and dudes in mech armor protecting it. I keep getting killed. I have tried it over 20 times. now. But I will get through it. I only have to do it successfully once. When I do it, there will be a party.

Game 45] Manhunt 2 - The crazy psycho dude is back! I am playing him. A lot of people told me they didn't like this game, but I am having a good time with it. It's a little different. Very dark, indeed.

Checkmark - Each level has its own pitfalls, but that's what needs to be done. To get a checkmark, I have to clear a level. There aren't really enough objectives within each level to justify a checkmark before that.

Where Am I? - I am well within the game now. Probably a good third of the way through it. Again, I have no idea of the actual length, so we'll just see how long it goes before I win. But I have cleared enough levels that I am certainly well beyond the early portion of the game.

Game 46] The Warriors - For Playstation 2. I always loved the movie, now I am loving the game. Its really excellent, one of Rockstar's best titles.

Checkmark - Solve a level, and you get a checkmark. However, there are also side quests that can be conducted behind the headquarters, so those can earn checkmarks as well.

Where Am I? Nine days before the meeting. I'm excited. Up to this point, its all been the backstory that the game provides that happens before the meeting. How the Warriors started, etc. etc. Its been excellent, building towards the start of the movie. I am looking forward to getting to that point, where the movie the game is based upon begins, and then seeing how things progress from there.

Game 47] Urbz - What? You can't kill people in every game can you? Haha. This is a true changeup game. I have my Sim, and have to go to all the neighborhoods and advance in the different jobs and other tasks. Its not the best, good as a changeup. If I had to choose a Sim game to buy for Playstation 2 again, it would be the one where they are trapped on an island. But I own this, may as well play it!

Checkmark - There are actual checklists of tasks to be done in each neighborhood. When I get a checkmark in the game, I get a checkmark in the list.

Where Am I? - Unlike most games, this one is hard to gauge in terms of "progress." But I have opened three neighborhoods and am working on tasks in all of them. There may be more, or not. I don't know. I kind of hope not! This game is not super fantastic.

AND THAT'S IT! All 47 games now revealed. Soon there will be a 48th, a sixth shooter to fill up all of the categories. But this is what I'm playing now.

Follow the blog to see how I go about advancing in each game. The Insanity Project continues...

09] Epic Other Genres

There are many other kinds of "Epic Quest" games, that are not in the Fantasy Realm. Some are sci-fi, but others are unique and don't fit into their own genre. So, I lump them all together.

Just like the Fantasy Epic games, these are long and have everything from side missions to level building, often the necessity to level grind is important.

Game 36] Kingdom Hearts - Yeah, its Donald and Goofy and a bunch of Final Fantasy characters against all of the Disney villains. I'm digging this Playstation 2 game. Its fun. My only problem with it is that sometimes it has some difficult jumping to do, and I hate that stuff. But, other than that, the story is well told, and I am having a ball.

Checkmark - This is really a story based game with lots of bosses. On each planet, there are various things that need to be done before the world can be locked by your big ol magic swordkey thingamabobbie. So, checkmarks are really about completing tasks on each world.

Where Am I? - I just completed locking the three initial worlds. Now I am certain to unlock more as I head back to the main home base planet. Still early in the game, I figure, even though I've done a bunch. Teaming up with Tarzan was fun.

Game 37] Marvel Ultimate Alliance - I beat this game for the Playstation 2 on easy mode, but never figured out how to unlock Moon Knight. I also didn't bother with most of the training discs. Plus, Nightcrawler croaked it! Doh!  I begin again, this time on Difficult level. We'll see how much harder it really is, and I plan on trying to unlock everything possible this time through.

Checkmark - You travel to different environments well-known in the Marvel Universe, I thought this game was really well put together. In each level, there are many tasks to accomplish. Once I accomplish a task, that's a checkmark. I will also be attempting to pass the training discs that I have acquired. Doing each of those is a checkmark, also.

Where I am - At the very beginning. I just started, whooped Scorpion easily, and am heading onto the next challenge on the Hellicarrier.

Game 38] Mercenaries - I initially thought to put this in the Shooter category, then realized it was different, and belongs in this Epic category, because it is open-spaced, and you can go do any number of quests and side-quests out of sequence. Attempting to capture instead of kill all of the "cards" has proven to be a task requiring me to replay often when a guy gets killed. I really enjoy this Playstation 2 game. It's excellent.

Checkmark - Either completing a side quest mission, or capturing one of the number cards is a checkmark.

Where Am I? - I have captured all of the first suit cards, except for the King and Ace. So the King is next. Obviously, this was all the first stage of four. I realize that the difficulty level is probably going to go up starting right now, since the King and Ace will likely be long, touch missions, and then the next area will likely sport tougher opposition than what has occured to this point.

Game 39] Rogue Galaxy - This Playstation 2 game is complex and has lots of layers. It is well written but difficult, as save points are hard to get to sometimes, combat is extremely challenging, and there are so many extras you are constantly sidetracking to go back to your factory and create a new item, or merge existing weapons to try and upgrade them. Lots to do.

Checkmark -  Moving the story forward requires quite an effort as there are random monster encounters all the time. You have a bunch of characters to choose from, and just when I thought I couldn't get any more, I just got a new one! Checkmarks for completing objectives, and also for completing new weapons and useful devices in the factory. The Factory is difficult, it could take me an hour or two to configure machines correctly so that the item gets correctly made. When I do it successfully, I feel its an accomplishment worthy of a checkmark.

Where Am I?  - I am deep into the game, having visted quite a few worlds and completed all my objectives on them, but this game is obviously very long, and I don't know that I'm even halfway through it. We'll see.

Game 40] Star Ocean - Another Sci-Fi quest game for the Playstation 2, this one appears well-written. Like Rogue Galaxy, combat is frenetic and a bit stressful, but I'm learning how to get the job done. This one is supposed to be very long, so it should be on this list for awhile.

Checkmark - Story objectives and world level completions earn checkmarks. I have a feeling level grinding may be important in this game too, so I may do some of that. I don't want any more low powered end game scenarios, after all!

Where Am I? - At the very beginning of the game. I got through the tutorial mission stuff, and now I am underway. Just got separated from the family and am on the first real area of the game.

Game 41] Xenosaga - One of the best sci-fi epic games I've ever seen, this is also on Playstation 2. The cut scenes are beautiful, the story is extravagant, and the game is long and fun. One of my favorites for certain.

Checkmark - Levels have different objectives, and are very long, so completing objectives earns a checkmark. I am quite concerned that I am near the end of the game, and am underpowered. If I discover I can't kill the next boss, I am going to have to consider a re-start, which would be awful. But again, I've been playing this one for a long time, and I wasn't interested in level grinding before. My bad!

Where Am I? - I played the hell out of this game, and am near completion. Whether I can actually complete it or not is the question. Am I underpowered for the big bosses coming up? I may be. And that, would suck.

8] EPIC - FANTASY GENRE

The Epic genre means the extremely long quest game that takes a million and three hours to play through. I love them, they are among my favorite types. The problem with them, and this is how you can generally differentiate them from action genre or other games is that you need to spend a lot of time level grinding to ensure that your characters all get powerful enough by the end of the game.

Another way to determine the Epic genre is you generally get a party of characters instead of just one. In the Suikoden Series games, you get 60!

These ones are in the Fantasy Genre, which is a bulk of the type of Epic games available for Playstation 2.

Game 30] Dragon's Age Origins - This PC game is among the best I've ever played. Based on reviews this is the general feeling. The characters are all complex, the storyline is fantastic, there are great twists and your decisions make a difference in how the story unfolds. Very nice. You control a whole party but there are lots of people to pick up through the game to add to your group. You run around with 4 at a time, and there is a lot to do. You are trying to convince different races to honor an ancient treaty to come and help you fight off The Blight, a race of demons that are invading the land. But to convince each race to join your army, you have to go through hell and back in each instance. Well, if you didn't, it wouldn't be much of a game, now, would it? Honestly, its fantastic.

Checkmark - There are a billion side quests, and the main quests in each territory. You can also do some level grinding, but not as much because there aren't a lot of random encounters in this game.

Where Am I? - I am about 50 percent through this game. I get through a lot of the initial stuff in each land but constantly have issues with extremely powerful bosses and/or assaults by lots of enemies at once. What is nice is the ability to back out of every territory and go do something else. So you can essentially complete stages of each area, and as you gain in power, go back and forth advancing where you can. I like this feature of the game. There are only a few areas I've found where once you enter, you can't leave until you complete the area. The game is so well designed though, that when I've encountered those areas, I was indeed powerful enough to complete them. So it hasn't been an issue.

Game 31] Dragon Quest 8 - This game, for the Playstation 2, is entertaining, hilarious at times, well-written, and an overall good time. You have four characters in the game, as you help a king transformed into a hideous monster by an evil jester-mage dude. You run around the world trying to catch up to this super powerful, evil jester who commits attrocities wherever he goes for some darker purpose which is slowly being unraveled as the storyline progresses.

Checkmarks - Mission based, with a few side quests, but mostly you follow Mr. Evil Jester's tracks and try and catch up to him. I will definitely be getting Level Grind checkmarks as the game progresses, from time to time, and there are a billion random encounters on the road and in the dungeons. Sometimes to an annoying extent. Fortunately while outside you can teleport around with magic.

Where Am I?  - I am off the first continent, have a magic boat, and have tracked Mr. Evil Jester guy (he has a name, I can't remember it. What? I'm playing 47 games!) to the second continent, where I'm starting the missions there. Looks like a big dungeon coming up next. Whether this means I am halfway through the game or not, I have no idea. We'll see. This game appears long and huge, and since its so entertaining, that's good by me.

Game 32] Final Fantasy 12 - You knew there had to be a Final Fantasy on this list right? I actually have 10, played through to near the end, and found out I was too wimpy to continue. Bah! So I have that game in reserve and will re-start it later. So far, I am finding 12 to be excellent fun and I am taking the time to level grind.

Checkmark - Final Fantasy is one of the series where Level Grind is absolutely necessary. There areas in the game that you can return to that are just populated with random beasts and you can wipe them out and rack up experience points. It's necessary, but boring. I also get checkmarks for completing story missons, naturally.

Where Am I - Relatively early, but no longer at the beginning of the game, I am deep into the rich plot line, and am in the second land available to adventure in.

Game 33] Suikoden 3 - This was the other game, along with Final Fantasy 10 that I went through the entire game, which is awesome, only to learn I hadn't leveled up enough. The Suikoden series is going to take awhile, because you need to collect the 108 Stars of Destiny. These are characters that you build an army with, and about 60 of them can be put in your adventuring party of 4-6 characters depending which Suikoden you are playing. You have to level up ALL of them to have a chance at the end. I was too impatient to do this, and paid the price. This time around, I will be doing tons of level grinding with all of the characters.

Checkmark - This game is broken into chapters. In each chapter there are quests and side quests, so all of these can be used to gain checkmarks, as can the chapter end place. Level Grinding is very important as already noted, and checkmarks will be given for that as well.

Where Am I - Highly disgusted, that's where. I am starting this game over, from scratch, from the beginning. First off, I didn't find all 108 characters and got impatient to see the end of the game. My bad. This time, I'll work to get all 108 Stars, and make sure all of the playable ones are high level by the game's end. But yes, I am at the very start of the game.

Game 34]  Suikoden 4 - What? Another Suikoden? Yep. This game has nothing to do with Suikoden 3, completely different characters, different time frame, different plot aspects, etc. etc. Once again, I will need to find all 108 Stars, and level grind, and all that.

Checkmark - Story progression missions, side quests, and level grinding are all available in this game as checkmarks.

Where Am I? - Near the start of the game, this Suikoden has a lot of naval aspects to it. So I'm going back and forth between two islands right now tediously completing chores and whacking low level sea monsters as I increase in level.

Game 35] Suikoden 5 - Haha. Yes. I AM playing Suikoden 3-5 simultaneously. Because I'm crazy, that's why. Another pack of 108 Stars of Destiny for me to find. Woo hoo.

Checkmark - Story progression missions, side quests, and level grinding are all available in this game as checkmarks.


Where Am I? - At the point where it looks like the main story will finally begin. A lot of setup as a tournament for the hand of the princess of the land, who happens be your character's little sister, is about to take place. We'll see what occurs in it, and how it royally screws everything up and starts the big story in earnest.

That's it for the Epic Fantasy games, at least until I get my hands on the next Suikoden hahaha.

07 Level Grinding - Another reason for this Insanity Project

Long time gamers already know what I mean when I use the term "level grinding." It is a necessary evil in many longer quest-type games with hard boss villains to overcome.

I am someone who hates level grinding. I find it tedious. I play the games for the storylines and want to rush through them to get to the next animated cut scene and next batch of objectives to complete.

I therefore often get deep into games and then suddenly my once invincible party can't hack it anymore. They are weak compared to the opponents. This is a flaw in my own gaming style. In large quest games you simply need to stay put and kill monsters for awhile to ensure that your characters gain in power and will always be ahead of the curve. Often you can't get major powers you'll need to overcome the final bosses of the game unless you are of a much higher level than you get to if you just blow through the game as quickly as you can.

Due to my impatience, I never win long quest games. This Insanity Project will help me finally complete some of them by allowing me to use Level Grinding as a checkmark barometer. If I put in a game, and my only goal is to raise my party's levels by 2, then I can focus on that, and by the time I get super-bored, I can move on to another game on the list.

Grinding is boring! But now I have a way to make it fun for myself. And that's what this whole process is about. Fun for ME.

06] Sword Slashers

Sword Slashers are basically games, usually in a fantasy setting, where you physically run around with a sword or axe and kill lots of things with it. Usually the purpose of the game is to end the lives of thousands of baddies with your sword, yelling "Thormak has slain thee!" as you do. (Warning: The girlfriend does not like to hear about Thormak's exploits!)

Game 24] Champions: Return to Arms - A fun game for the Playstation 2, where you run around with a singular hero, either a warrior, mage, or thief, and kill hundreds of thousands of bad guys as you go from world to world to right the wrongs that need to be righted! Its a simple game because there isn't hardly anything you encounter in it that doesn't need a good hack to the head.

Checkmark - Each world has a certain quest attached to it in order to advance. Some of them have multiple quests involved that unravel as you do the first one, so I can earn a checkmark for each of those, as well, when they arise.

Where Am I Now? - Very far into this one. I've defeated five of the worlds, and must be getting close to the end of the game. I think. I haven't looked at a game guide for this one, so I have no idea when the end will come. But I expect this to be one of the first games that I complete in the first rotation of 48.

Game 25] Dark Cloud - This wacky game for the Playstation 2 has you running through dungeon levels racing against time to not die of thirst, you have to keep jumping into pools of water. Inside the dungeon levels are pieces of the rest of the world that were magically transformed into orbs by an evil genie in the opening movie. So you go through a level, and grab all of the orbs in it before dying, then unpack them in the city you are trying to rebuild. Some of the "things" you unpack are actual characters, and this makes the game interesting. It's quirky and I don't absolutely love it, but its a good changeup in the mix.

Checkmark - To complete a level, you have to get all of the orbs in it, AND you have to get a key inside and unlock the door to the next level down. If you leave the dungeon at any time, you keep the orbs you collected but lose the key to the next level. And when you re-enter the dungeon, even though it is the same level, the dungeon is completely different. So now you have to find the key again. Checkmark is gained when a level is absolutely complete, I've got all the orbs, and I get the key and open the door to the next level.

Where Am I Now - I am about to enter the 13th level of the dungeon. I know, that sounds like I've been playing for months and should be ready for the final boss. But no, the levels are short by design, and while each is challenging to survive, I have barely scratched the scratch on this game. It's still early days.

Game 26] - Drakengard 2 - In this game, for the Playstation 2, you play a knight and his companions, which includes a huge dragon that you can ride on to blast monsters from the sky with. The game has a decent storyline which seems to be building. You mostly run around with your sword and hack like crazy, though.

Checkmark - This game is mission based. So once a mission level is complete, checkmark is acquired.

Where Am I Now? - Early on, I just completed the third mission, but the first two were tutorial based, so I just completed the first real one. Now we get into the actual game itself.

Game 27]  - .Hack Infection - Another game for Playstation 2, the designers have clearly put a lot of thought into the conspiracy backstory and have designed something really unique. Your actual character is a kid who is playing a MMORPH, called "The World." So you constantly log into "The World" to play your sword wiedling character. But there is something darker and deeper going on behind the scenes, and as you hack through monsters and build your character's and his allies' stats, you start to unravel a greater mystery. It's good.

Checkmark - This game requires level building, so Grinding Up is available as a checkmark (see my blog on this, its separate). When I move the story forward, that will also be a checkmark.

Where Am I Now - Early in the game, I have just made my third ally, a big dude with an axe. You can help other "players" and then summon them into your party as you adventure. So you don't always go it alone.

Game 28] Oblivion: Elder Scrolls Game of the Year Edition: Many would argue this should belong in my Epic Fantasy Games genre, but because I am holding my weapons in first-person mode and hacking, I disagree. This is, without a doubt, the largest game I have ever encountered, and I am glad I have a nice PC to contain it. Because I have the expansions, I am switching back and forth between the main mission of closing the Gates to Hell in the normal world, and traveling to another dimension to help out Shumagorath, the God of Insanity in his realm. Will I ever finish this game? We'll see.

Checkmark - Where do I begin? I have lots of notes and charts for this game, there is so much going on. First of all, there are a ton of guilds, and I am in all of them: Fighter's Guild, Mage's Guild, Thieves' Guild, Assassin's Guild. Then there is a main mission where you are trying to stop a cult who assassinated the King from eliminating the last heir and taking over the land. You can enter a ton of gates that open to hell, and fight your way through, and close the gate. There are also side quests galore to be found in every city, of which there are a bunch! Then there are a few hundred independent caves and dungeons to explore to get new equipment and gold! Over in Shumagorath's land, there are independent side quests galore, and the main quest where you are helping the God of Insanity stop an intended sanitation by the God of Order's army.

Holy Crow!

I get a checkmark for completing a quest of any kind, or for clearing out a random dungeon. Sometimes these quests can be started and finished in five minutes. Sometimes, they can take ten hours. It seems there is an unlimited wealth of things to do.

Where Am I? - When I first bought this game, I just played it exclusively, and tore through a ton of it. But after a while I craved other stimuli, and put it down for quite a few months. Now its back on the list, and while I have completed a ton of the game, perhaps about half of the quests for every guild and the main mission, that means I have the other half to go. This means I have hundreds of quests left. Completing this game will be an undertaking! I look forward to the "chore" 

Game 29] Shadow of Rome - In this PC game, you play two characters. One is a brutish Roman Soldier who runs around and hacks people in the bulk of the game. In the other, you play a citizen who investigates information in the city of Rome. Julius Cesar has been assassinated! Who done it? That's the motif of the game. It's not the greatest of all time, but it's fun enough for me to keep playing through.

Checkmark - This game is mission based, so whichever character you are, you complete the current mission objectives, and the checkmark gets acquired.

That's the sword slashers.

05] PURE ACTION CATEGORY

There are tons of games found in other genres that might be considered Pure Action. But I categorize this as the type of games where you have an avatar, and you are running, jumping, fighting, doing other random stuff based on the particular game's nuances.

I also am putting sports games in here, because I don't have a ton of them right now. Just Madden really. I would like a nice basketball game, we'll see.

Game 18) Devil May Cry 1 - I purchased the three-pack with all of them for Playstation 2, and have 2 and 3 in reserve for later. This game is wacky fun so far. I can see why the series is so popular right away.

Checkmarks - Very simple. You are in an area of this haunted mansion, or whatever. You complete the objectives involved in the current scenario to unlock a door and get to the next area. Okay then!

Where Am I - Early. Just got past Level 2 of, I expect, many. I got an upgraded sword and a shotgun. Yeee-Haw! I am always a happy camper when I get a shotgun. Er...

Game 19) God of War 1 - Another Playstation 2 legendary classic, I love this game, and have God of War 2 in reserve. I am bad at jumping missions, which makes this game challenging for me at times. But the originality and fighting aspects of the game, are tremendous. I am digging the storyline too.

Checkmarks - Seems like you complete objectives to move the storyline forward, and you can tell this has happened when a God from the Greek mythos appears to give you a new super power or a new objective, or both.

Where I am now - Zeus just gave me lightning bolts! Yee-Ahhh! Now I can kill pesky archers and other dudes that have annoyed me throughout the early portion of the game. Where I go from here? Onward and upwards, or something! Yee-Ahhhh!

Game 20) Madden 08- I know, right? Madden 11 is coming out, old-timer! Also, as a Giants fan, you'd think I'd at least want 09 which would have a much improved Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw, and overall defense. BUT, this is what I have for now. I'm sticking with it. Anyway, I'm not playing a team season. I created a running back in career mode, and am playing that one specific player. I am finding that interesting, indeed.

My running back Dan Wiggum (Whut? He needed a name. I gave him one!) got drafted by the Denver Broncos. Now I'm in my first season. After the 15 minute version of the game on pro felt like it took 10 years and the Broncos and Bills scored a collective 125 points, I decided that 8 minutes per quarter is all this game needs.



Checkmarks - I go through all the practices, and play a complete game in the season, and win or lose, I get a checkmark.

Where I am now - So far, 2-0 having beaten the Bills and Raiders. But let's be honest, in 08, not the best teams in the league. I have the Chargers and Colts coming up, we'll see if Dan Wiggum has the chops now, won't we?

Game 21) Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams - An odd little game for Playstation 2 where you have this kickass samurai dude trying to destroy the warped cherry trees controlled by the demon overlord dudes. As the game progresses, more team members join up. Fun, so far. Challenging bosses too.

Checkmarks - This game is mission based with big bosses at the end of the rainbow. Kill the boss, finish the level. Easier said than done!

Where I am now - Completed the third level, and added a team member. Nice! Upgrading weapons and skills is a nice feature of the game that I am experimenting with. You get to do that at headquarters between missions.

Game 22) Soul Reaver 2 - I am finding this game to be among the most intriguing in my collection. For the Playstation 2. The storyline is intense, and long cut scenes add dramatic tension and information. You have to do everything from run, jump, swim in deep pools, and fight in two different "dimensions" to advance the story of the holy vampire Azriel you are controlling. Very deep plot and good levels.

Checkmark - Save points are far and few between it appears. After you get through a lot of level, and get a cut scene to advance the story, there is a nice save point -- sometimes!! So I am giving myself the checkmark when I get to the next save point. This seems reasonable, as so far the average playing time to get to each one is about 40 minutes.

Where I am now - Just got instructions from a giant blob with big eyes, who is apparently my boss (I never played the first one) I'm early in the game, got past all of the tutorial boards, and am deep into the storyline now. Fun, challenging, rich game for the PS2.

Game 23) Soul Caliber 3 - I know what you are thinking, this is a fighting game, so I am just going through tournament mode. Nah! I find fighting games to be extremely boring, especially in one player mode. But this game has an interesting mission mode where you build original fighters and then go through lands fighting on various maps that you need to control. It interesting because you maneuver your characters into positions, and when the fighting happens, it goes to fighting mode, and whether you win or lose the fight, you gain experience. Its a little goofy, but as a change-up pure action game among 48 others, it has appeal.

Checkmark -  If you defeat all of the enemies in the scenario, or take over the objective on the map, then you clear the level. If you don't, you lose! That's pretty straight forward.

Where I am Now - Just zapped on through level 3. Early in the game, but who knows how many missions this game has. We'll find out the hard way, together. It'll be one of those games where when I finish it, I will happily chuck the CD into the sea!

And that's it for Pure Action.

04] Shooter Category

I love first-person shooters, though they are not the only kinds of games that fall into this category. I was one of those people who played Doom when it first came out, and I remember the invention of the genre. Its always been among my favorites.

I also include games where you run around with a dude shooting people, not in first-person, in this category.

Sadly, I only have five going right now instead of six, leaving me with 47 games instead of 48. I will endeavor to fix this scenario shortly, by acquiring a new one.

Game 13] Crysis - A quality game that was recommended to me, I am loving it so far. Killing tons of North Vietnamese has been fun, some of the levels have been challenging. But I know that soon enough I will have to deal with the predator thing that wiped out my unit one by one. We'll see if it has friends. I hope not!

Checkmark - This is a "clear the current objective" type game, which makes getting to checkmarks easy to discern. I kill a ton of bad guys, complete the current objective, and it's time to reluctantly close it down.

Where I am Now - I'm nearing the end of the third level, or at least my current objective on this level. However, I have hit a glitch! I killed all the bad guys and according to the walkthrough (Yes, I use them. What about it?) I should have been picked up by a military helicopter. But, er, no copter. So I may have to re-start at an earlier point. These things sometimes happen to gamers. It's not my fault! Waaugh.

Game 14] Fallout 3 - Perhaps one of the largest and best games I've ever played, this rich environment carries the series to the next level. Anyone who hasn't played this game, and I am playing the PC version, needs to get it! Get it now!

Checkmark - Sometimes you just show up somewhere, find a location, and do whatever there is to do in it. Checkmark. Sometimes you have a specific story mission that needs accomplishing in the context of a particular scenario. Since I have The Game of the Year Edition with all of the supplements, there seems like an endless amount of material. Woo Hoo.

Where I am Now - I actually put this game away for awhile, because I completed all of the main mission material and many of the supplemental main missions already. I am currently on the alien spaceship, killing them little dudes right and left. I just freed all the humans that were in cryogenic freeze, and now its time to take control of the helm! Or something. Once I get out of here, I will simply wander the land seeking out all of the things I didn't find. As there is plenty of landscape available for exploration, I am sure to run into many encounters. But first, I need to escape the spaceship!

Game 15] Killzone - An excellent first-person shooter for the Playstation 2, I just started this game. So far, its quite fun, and I like the easy interface.

Checkmark - Its mission based. Get through the current objectives to the next location map, and that's a checkmark. Hoo Hah!

Where I Am Now - Just completed the second map, still very early in the game. I have a feeling that in the next map, the difficulty level will start to rise, as the first two were rife with tutorial material.

Game 16] Resident Evil 4 - I think this is my favorite game on the Playstation 2. I won this game on normal level and played through the Ada missions as well. So here we are again, trying it on Hard level. Oh crap! The zombies are tougher and faster, and my aim sucks! Doh!

Checkmark - You have particular objectives, missions to complete. There is usually a good deal of exploring the current area of the map to go through before you get to the objective, so this isn't usually a "quick out" as far as getting checkmarks go. Fine with me. I love this game!

Where I am Now - At the beginning, essentially. I made it through the first path leading up to the village, but I am still adjusting to the faster, more resiliant zombies and I don't have any of the better, or upgraded weapons yet. So far the villagers have torn me to pieces three times. I think next time I will do more hit and run type tactics, see if that will work.

Game 17] Ring of Red - Not a conventional shooter, this is a Playstation 2 game where you control giant mechs in a futuristic landscape. When I tried to put this in a category, this seemed like the right one, especially in light of my lack of shooters to play right now. Anyway, this isn't an exact science. It's the Insanity Project, I can do what I wanna.

Checkmarks - This game is mission based. You are on a giant map and enemies show up, and you have to defeat them to move on to the next mission. Easy enough. Win or die. I get it.

Where I am Now - Very early in the game. The new experimental mech just got stolen by a spy for the rebellion. This was the first mission past the tutorial stuff, so I am just now getting into the actual game. We'll see how things go from here. This game is so unconventional, that it is a learning process every time I turn it on. But its enjoyable. So far.

And them's the shooters. Like I mentioned, I will be adding a new one to the rotisserie so I have six games in every category. Why? Cause its the Insanity Project!

03] STRATEGY CATEGORY

I love strategy games. I have always been a huge Sid Meier fan, and these games can last months, perhaps longer, depending on the game. Checkmarks for many strategy games cannot be handled like most of the other games in the Insanity Project. Why? Because you don't clear missions or levels, you don't advance the storyline in a clear way, and the game can take days or weeks before anything truly discernable even occurs, and months to complete!

07) Civilization IV - Like I said, I love Sid Meier games, and this is one of my all time favorites. I enjoy putting 17 computer opponents in the game, the most available, and making the game environment the largest size available. With Civilization 5 on its way out, this game may be on its way out. I've loved it for years, but the new one sounds magnificent, and I am not sure I can resist its siren's call.

Checkmark - Aside from winning, this game is consistent from beginning to end. Trying to use parameters like advancing technologies, defeating enemy nations in war, even building up cities to certain points, wouldn't really be a wise decision, just because of how this game plays. So I have determined that two hours of playing is a checkmark. Or winning the game.

Where I am - I play on Warlord level, with 17 nations, no barbarians (I hate those guys). When I win a game, not easy with 17 opponents, I strip off the victory condition and start a new game. Thus in order to advance to the next difficulty level I need to win every way conceivable at the current level. This will enable me to learn all of the different ways of playing this game, which is probably necessary to succeed at higher levels of difficulty. Anyway, I am two checkmarks into my current game, 4 hours of game playing. So far, so good, though I am running out of places to build cities and I haven't got enough of them to survive if someone else gets gunpowder first, and it looks like someone will. Doh!

08) Europa Universalis III - This is a PC game I purchased recently because it looked intriguing. You play as one of hundreds of countries in Europe before all of the major nations were created, and you try and become a European super power. I am playing my first game as England, one of the most powerful nations in the world, as I am learning the game from scratch.

Checkmark - This game is extremely slow, in that you need to slowly build resources every month and allocate them to different territories either to build an army unit, quell rebellion by building something to make the people happier, etc. etc. Its a very slow moving game, and I am giving myself a checkmark every 12 months of game time that is completed. This takes a few hours to play through, though a lot of it is just hitting the time advance clock and waiting for the month to end so you can get some cash to allocate. I am not deeply in love with this game so far, though its intriguing and mentally challenging. I think that it may be more fun to try to play a smaller nation in the middle of Europe, and have to try and expand by conquering neighbors, etc. But I'll play the game through as England to get a better handle on it.

Where I am Now - At the beginning of the game, I was immediately sucked into war against France, and conquered my northern neighbor as a result of their alliance with France. That was fun. But now that war has ended and the game is slloooow. We'll see if it gets more fun as time progresses. Frankly, if I can read a novel while playing a video game, then the video game isn't all that terrific. But, maybe as time progresses the game's nuances will fall into place, and I will enjoy it more.

Game 09) Gladius - As far as PS2 games goes, this is one of my all-time favorites, though I have yet to win. You form a team of gladiators, and make your way through a series of tournaments, conquering all that particular lands have to offer. As you move forward to the next land, the overall storyline advances as well, and you gain access to more hero characters for your team and more slots to hire other gladiators of various types. Very challenging, lots of fun, one of the best games ever made, in my opinon.

Checkmark - This is easy. Whenever I win a tournament, I get a checkmark. To win a tournament, you have to win a series of smaller challenges first, to unlock the tournament in a particular city in the land you are in. So there are tons of battles to be fought along the way in each city.

Where I am Now - This is a game that I have been playing for awhile, and I have advanced to the third land in the storyline. I believe there is only one more after this. I just unlocked and defeated the first tournament in this land, so I'm moving on to the next city.

Game 10) Space Empires V- A large galactic space game, this one is slow moving as you colonize planets, learn technologies at a snail's pace, and build your space fleet. I just got this game recently, and while not in love with it, it is a great way to kill some time.

Checkmark - This is just one that has to be conducted with a two hour play clock to get a checkmark. This game should take months to play, unless I meet some hostile race and get decimated. We'll see. This is my first time playing through a game of this, and depending on how intelligent the PC controlled players are, well, that will determine the overall challenge level for me.

Where I am now - Plugging along. I have colonized four planets, in a game like this you need about 20-25 to have an opportunity to win, so I have a long way to go. I met one alien race. We're friendly, but the bastard colonized a planet I wanted, so now we are sharing a neutral solar system together. Bah.

Game 11) Suikoden Tactics -  I love the Suikoden series for the Playstation 2, as you'll see when we get to the Epic - Fantasy Genre breakdown. This is different from those games. You have characters and you go from scenario to scenario, attempting to defeat the enemies on what is essentailly a grid board. Its a tactical combat game, and while not the one I grab for off the shelves first, this is a calm, relaxing game as compared to something like God of War.

Checkmark - Easy to determine with this game. Go to the next level, defeat the enemies, and advance the storyline. Checkmark acquired.

Where I am - Because I have no real concept about the length of this game, I don't know if I'm halfway through yet, but I have been defeating a lot of boards and am definitely past the early portion of the game.

Game 12) World of Mixed Martial Arts 2 - For my PC, from Greydog Software, in this game you run a mixed martial arts organization, and you recruit fighters, sign them to contracts, and pit them against each other in a virtual simulation of UFC. You create the fight cards, and then based on the results, winning fighters gain popularity and can become huge stars. You try and placate fans by giving them the most enteraining fight cards possible. Sometimes, that's not easy to do as fighters can take up to six months or longer between fights before they are ready to compete again. Some are ready only 2 weeks later, though, so usually you have enough people to have a fight card. Building great cards repeatedly is where the strategy comes in.

Checkmark - When you are just starting a new game, as I just did, you can spend countless hours just recruiting and signing fighters to your organization. At this stage I use the two hour playing time for a checkmark rule. Once the roster is complete (You are always tweaking it in this game, signing guys that end contracts with other organizations that you want, recruiting talented looking rookies, firing people for bad performances or irredemable losing streaks, etc.)  then its about booking cards and running them. So, after a card is run, a checkmark is earned.

Where I am now - I have chosen the GAMMA organization, one of the largest available, for this current game. I put out contract offers to every available fighter that I want. This took me four hours of playing time to accomplish, as you have to go through people's statistics and decide if they are good enough for your league. Next, we'll see who I am able to sign, and then it'll be about making my first fight card.


So that is the overview of the six strategy games. Six more categories to list!

02] The Games -- Getting the Check Mark/Category 1: Brain Teasers

I am supposed to be playing 48 games. There is something wrong. I am only playing 47! I will be adding another shooter to the roster soon, which will put me back up to 48. So don't be disappointed when you see only 47. Yeah, "only" 47. I'm still a freak!

Now, this is very important. I am not starting any of these games from the beginning. In fact, I am near the end of a couple of them already. I just decided to start this Insanity Project on July 14th, and have been convinced by friends to post this blog here, on August 27th. So I have been at this for about 6 weeks. However, I have been playing some of these games off and on for a year now. I am at different stages in each.

How this works:

My goal is to get a check mark. A check mark means that I have successfully moved the game a step forward. This means very different things for different types of games. So getting a check mark can take as little as 5 minutes for one game, and like, a week of playing for another. As I go over each game, I will also inform you what it takes for me to acquire a check mark in that game.


Here are the current games, broken into eight different categories. I will break this into several blogs, as I don't think I can sit here and write down all 47 active games in one sitting anyway. We'll see.

MIND TEASERS

I am starting with one of the oddest categories, simply because compared to the rest of the categories, this one is not as straight forward. I enjoy games of skill, and cerebral challenges such as the type that those point-and-click adventures provide. I have recently decided that all of the games that come with the computer that I have ignored for years, are deserving of being played and many of them fall into this category. Eventually, I will master some of them and they will therefore be eliminated from my active list, to be replaced with others. You'll see...

Game 1) Chess Titans - This is on my computer. I thought I was good at chess, but apparently I suck at it from lack of playing over the years. I am starting at beginner level, taking on the computer. If I can beat it, then I will advance to the next difficulty level. If I can ever defeat the computer at the hardest difficulty level, this game will be off the list. I am skeptical that will happen, but improving in chess is good for the mind.

Checkmark gets earned when: Either I defeat the computer at the current difficulty level, in which case I am done permanently with that difficulty level, and can begin again at the next difficulty level. However, I also earn a checkmark when I play three matches, even when I lose them. There are many games, especially the sports-related ones, where you cannot expect to win every match. Chess is like that, especially for me. So, I play three matches at my current level of difficulty. And I get the check mark.

Where I am now: I got slaughtered in my first three matches by the computer at easy level. Humiliating. But, hopefully I will not make the same mistakes in my next matches. We'll see.

Game 2) Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned - This is an old computer game that I found and was gleeful to discover works fine in my new Asus computer. I haven't played this game in so long that I forgot everything in it. I remember the story being compelling and intriguing.

Checkmark: This game breaks down into time of the day, based upon triggering story events by completing tasks in the game. So, I get a checkmark when I advance from the current time period into the next one by completing every task that needs to be conducted.

Where I am now: Just started this, I completed the first time period successfully, and have advanced into the second time period of the first day of the game. I was right, this game is worth replaying, even though it is archaic compared to video games that are released today.

Game 3) Mahjong Titans - Another game that came with my computer that I blatantly ignored, this is a great mind teaser as you have to free the tiles by eliminating them two at a time with different shapes and difficulty levels.

Checkmark - I get a checkmark for completing the current design. This sometimes takes a few tries, as you can leave a piece you need in a position you can't retrieve it in, and be out of moves in the game. Thus YOU LOSE. When I get through all of the designs, this game goes off my list and gets replaced.

Where I am Now: I earned a checkmark by defeating the first design. Onto the next one, eh?

Game 4) Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened: I recently purchased this game new from Amazon, for my computer. You are Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and you are facing off against a Cthulu Cult. That alone is one of the coolest concepts ever conceived of. I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, having devoured everything written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I love murder mysteries, so we're off. This is a point-and-click adventure. And so far, a very good one.

Checkmark - Story progression occurs after a series of activities in a given location are successfully completed. This is how most point-and-click adventures work. So, getting the timing on when to give myself a checkmark is easy to figure out. How long it will take to get one between sequences, we'll see. It could take a little playing to advance the story in some chapters, and some may be extremely long.

Where I am Now - I just found the first dead body in the story. Woo Hoo! After completing two chapters in London, Holmes and Watson are off to Switzerland. They split up there, so it should be interesting to see what each of them needs to accomplish on their own.

Game 5) Spider Solitaire - Yet another game that had been collecting virtual dust on my harddrive, this game is extremely difficult as you move up to different suits. Its very different from normal solitaire and I am enjoying the challenge.

Checkmark - As with most of these challenges, I can acquire a checkmark either by defeating it at the current level of difficulty, thus advancing to the next level of difficulty, or I can lose three times and gain a check mark. As in: Thanks for Playing, Loser. Move on to another game now!

Where I am -  I am killing this brain teaser. I have advanced past beginner, and intermediate levels. Now the real challenge begins. Can I defeat this challenging card game on the most difficult setting? If I can, then this will be the first game officially cleared in the 47 on the list. But, let's not brag about an accomplishment I haven't made yet. I do expect winning on Difficult level to take awhile.

Game 6) World Series of Poker - The first game on the list that is on my Playstation 2. I love Poker, and am learning all of its forms through this excellent game that features many pros on the real life circuit. You play in career mode, and your goal is to move through an entire season playing all the various types of Poker available. You also play cash games that you get invited to in order to rebuild your cash reserves, as every tournament has an entry fee. Tournaments require a lot of actual time to be able to play. They could take hours if I am good enough to keep playing. I therefore tend to get a lot of house chores done while playing this game. It's great.

Checkmark - I am viewing this in the same way as a sports game. You compete in a tournament, and there could be thousands of virtual players in the tournament. I have not won one yet, because I am not fantastic at poker yet, in all of its various forms. I am improving as I play through the season, yay me. Anyway, I can play cash games between tournaments and build up my cash reserves. But I get a checkmark for competing in the current tournament on the schedule, win or lose, the career has advanced. Thus a checkmark is earned.

Where I AM - About 25 percent done with my first year on the circuit. This is the kind of game that has endless replay value, and will probably be on my schedule permanently. Like I said, I love poker. And I have a lot to learn, making this brain teaser a great challenge.

So, there you have it. The first six games, and all of the Brain Teasers.

01] Insanity Project - Overview

Hi there,

Welcome to my personal Insanity Project. My name is Alan Zatkow. I'm a screenwriter, and screenwriting instructor in NYC. I am also an avid video game player,  but put my Playstation 2 away for about half a year. I have recently pulled it out again, and acquired some video games for my computer as well. After blowing through a few games, I decided to do something different.

I am playing 48 different games simultaneously, advancing each of them a "step" forward before moving on to the next one. I have a dedicated system in place for this, which I will explain in this blog. And then you can watch as I advance through the current games, and eventually, add more as I solve games and then replace them with new ones.

Why am I creating this blog?
-- Because I told a few friends what I was doing, and why (More on that later), and they requested that I create this blog so they could live viscerally through me and keep tabs on my crazy video game antics. Since I am currently playing on a Playstation 2 and computer games from 2006-2010, it also gives everyone viewing a bit of nostalgia, since the rest of you have Wii's and X-Box 360's and Playstation 3's. I don't yet, but I intend to get one (probably the X-Box 360) in about six months. That's part of my reward system for my screenwriting business. That's a whole different blog!

Which leads to a better question....Why play 48 games simultaneously? Why not 10 games, which might provide enough versatility to keep any gamer happy. Why not 16 games in a small tournament type fashion? Why 48?

Here are the primary reasons...
1) I have a full shelf full of Playstation 2 games that I have not solved, some of which I have owned for over a year and did not take out of the box. I bought most of these games for 10 bucks each, and was given a bunch by friends who were done with that "ancient" console, so it was never a priority to play them. But now I want to get through as many as possible, as quickly as possible, in preparation for a console upgrade of my own.

2) It feels like a large situation, which makes it fun, like Mission Impossible. Once I figured out I was going to do this at all, I figured, I might as well have as much crazy fun with it as I could. Choosing to play 48 games simultaneously is really difficult, its a challenge. I like a challenge.

3) Variety: You never know what kind of game you'll be in the mood to play from day to day, moment to moment. Having 6 games in 8 different categories of games means that if I am in the mood for a shooter, or a strategy game, or pure adrenaline action, or a mind teaser, there is usually at least one of each left on the list. So I will not be boxed into playing a game type that I don't want to play, if I'm not in the mood.

Wow, you're thinking. Are you independently wealthy? Can you just sit around all day playing video games? Nope! I do not have a day job so to speak, but I do teach screenwriting and am actively and heavily involved in script editing a movie for a legitimate producer/director. I'm actually VERY busy. But I have a time management system that is working very well for me, and part of it is to reward myself with a luxury like playing a video game or watching some television, after I complete 5 pages of writing and a couple of chores that need to be taken care of.

I also have a lot of script editing work to do for my students. I can have up to 300 pages a week sometimes depending on what's going on. You can't just read and mark up 300 pages of screenplay in a sitting or two. I need to handle assignments from my students, then relax for a little while before charging back into the fray to either write my own script materials or edit my students' work.

Before I created this system, I wouldn't know when and where to stop playing a video game and get back to work. I used to just play a game for an hour at a time, but that wouldn't necessarily be satisfying if I was close to finishing a mission. Some days I would get super lazy and just play for three hours before reminding myself I had work to do. Having this 48 game system in place is a great checks and balance system for myself. I complete a checkmark, then check the time. If my time is up, its back to work. If I do a quick mission then I can grab onto a second game or watch a DVD from Netflix or something. My productivity and contentment level are sky high since I started this.

You all probably think I'm a rigid freak right now who needs medication. But actually, I used to be very unorganized and lazy, and my time management system has made me so productive in all of the areas of my life, that I love it, and am moving forward in lots of directions extremely well. Having this system for my video games is also making a game out of playing video games. Its a game unto itself. That's the main reason for this Insanity Project. It's fun for me. Hopefully it'll be fun for you view this blog and follow my gaming antics.

Thanks for reading!