Another week, another game crossed off my list. Gungrave is beaten. Tsugunai: Atonement still is not, but I did make some progress. I also started playing Growlanser III again. All in all a productive week.

Gungrave is astoundingly short. Given what it is that is not surprising, but it does not change the fact that this game is not long at all. I am not overstating this; I beat the game in less than 3 hours. Gungrave is a shmup by way of the 3D action game. The graphics are rough, the story is barely intelligible (I assume it relies on knowledge of the anime/manga/whatever) but the game is actually fun. It occasionally puts the player in that perfect, zen-like shooter trance, where the controller is forgotten and the player simply reacts. Honestly, though, I would have been upset with the length if I had paid more than 6 bucks on this game.

Tsugunai’s blandness has kept me from making much more progress. If my opinion does not change by next week, the game is getting kicked to the bottom of the list, or even off it.

I also broke out Growlanser Generations back out. GG is Working Designs last release, a compilation of Growlanser II and Growlanser III. I’ve already beaten II and I liked it a lot. I played about halfway through III before I got bored or distracted by something else. Since starting it again, I’ve noticed 2 things. The first is how great the battle system is. It is like a real time Final Fantasy Tactics. More could have been done to improve it from II, all that appears to be changed is a significant bump up in the difficulty, but it is still very good. The second thing is how very anime this game is. That is something that may have appealed to me 5 or 6 years ago, but now it is somewhat off putting.

Next week: more Tsugunai and Growlanser, plus I plan to start Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. In addition, Eve of Extinction, which was found not purchased, is again lost. It has been replaced on the list with the newly purchased Yakuza 2. Which does not play in my PS2, but I am determined to play it.

1. Tsugunai:  Atonement
2. Okage:  The Shadow King
3. ChoroQ
4. Chaos Legion
5. Mark of the Kri
6. Forever Kingdom
7. Silent Hill 2
8. Darkwatch
9. Shining Force Neo
10. Genji
11. Maximo
12. Marvel Ultimate Alliance
13. Front Mission 4
14. Grim Grimoire
15. Killer 7
16. Star Ocean 3
17. SMT Devil Summoner 2
18. Shining Tears
19. Growlanser 3
20. Drakengard 2
21. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
22. Wild Arms 3
23. Rogue Galaxy
24. The Thing
25. Yakuza 2
26. SMT Nocturne
27. Gun
28. Gungrave
    
29. Steambot Chronicles
30. Bully
31. Unlimited Saga
32. Phantom Brave