I am also thinking of starting Shadow Hearts 3 again, been meaning to do it since beating SH2 again a few months ago and of course that game put me in the mood for the same gameplay with better battle design. I just haven't decided yet if I want to do a fairly normal playthrough or some sort of silly challenge. Fenrir, Snow, etc.: any ideas?
I haven't played the game since its release, I can't remember what would make a challenge fit with those mechanics. Plain simple Shania solo sounds tempting but probably doesn't work well. (might as well have Yuri solo SH2 instead)
Maybe Always pick the lowest level character at the beginning of a dungeon + Give them elements?
Penny Arcade 3, Insane mode: Went back to an earlier save, grinded a bit (for cash mostly), then beat the game.
Too bad about that one drastic difficulty spike. Just like Santa in Cthulu's angels. Zeboyd has trouble balancing the harder difficulty modes.
The addition of the Grandia battle system was kind of a waste. You can't interrupt with a regular attack (until later with a particular class), and your interrupts have diminishing results over time. What doesn't help is that Moira, the speediest character who sounds like she was made to interrupt people, was even better as the item spamming girl.
The biggest advantage over regular FFX style CTB was that you could really tell the exact speed of anyone more easily. It is actually essential in insane mode.
I can't praise the gameplay and job system enough. There's a ton of depth here, and it's all streamlined to work well with a really short RPG. (Unequipped classes still leveling up)
I used mostly:
Gabe: Crabomancer + Dinosorcerer. Use Leer, and tank with a T-Rex if I'm feeling confident, or a stegosaurus if I'm not.
Jim: Apocalypt + Gentleman. Gentleman brings much needed healing and magic. Apocalypt is one of the best source of damage until lategame.
Moira: Slacker + Cordwainer. High speed, healing, item use.
Tycho: Gardenar + Hobo. Didn't really know what to do with him, so he ended up as the supporting guy.
Eventually I replaced Apocalypt and Slacker with Diva and Delusionist. I nearly never used Masochist (Too bad), Tube Samurai (I'm not wasting one turn for this) or Elemenstor (Boooring).
Mass Effect 3: Finished.
Yes, I can understand the complaints about the ending. It's actually the exact same ending as Deus Ex Human Revolution!
I did kind of like how Asimov-ish the plot got (Note: I actually haven't finished Foundation) but the lack of consequences for the rest of the game is a serious issue. I wanted to see Krogans go on war against the entire galaxy for getting betrayed again then getting exterminated. I wanted to feel that guilt! But no, happy ending for them too.The game's kind of impressive, and is trying to be bold and ambitious, but the countless graphical glitches during cutscenes will make it seem extremely dated in a few years (moreso than the graphics) The game wants you to be immersed, like in a good movie (Batman 3!) but that's impossible.
The lategame also suffed from being too huge, the greatest strength of this game actually being the small talk.
Endgame gave some actually though battles for my overpowered Shepard. Namely the true final one with a reaper shooting on a battlefield while fighting brutes, banshees and a ton of general grunts. That was intense.
I still died more because the game fucked up and Charge didn't work for some reason (this happens constantly. The special powers sometimes feel as accurate as a Wii waggle, which is terrible for a power that restores all your shields), than because of honest mistakes.
Diablo 3: I'm a level 15 female witch doctor, and I'm invincible.
Plot is terrible.
The best part of the game is stacking as many Exp+ items on yourself as possible in co-op gameplay, to get levels faster than whoever you're playing with.
Spelunky: I think I'm done here. My goal was unlocking that strange door with the strange hat, but I just can't reliably kill an Anubis with no weapons. He is a god and I'm a shotgun-less adventurer. This is a severly mismatched fight, and I don't want to play 15 minutes to get there every time I want to try again.
I still beat the game!