My annual "Games of" series took a solid shape starting with "Games of 2015." There have been minor tweaks, but the 2015 post has served as a solid template. I have always wanted to "remaster" older posts to include the stats and screenshots newer "Games of" posts are known for. I also wondered if I could fill in the gaps. The missing posts for the years 2011 and 2012 have always been sore spot for me. Because of achievements, save files, and old posts, I discovered I could fill in those blanks in my post history. I also discovered I could fill in the years going back to 2005! Thus, "Games of Remaster" was born!

Modern "Games of" posts have several personal stats. My goal for the "Remasters" was to fill as many of the following stats: number of hours played, number of achievements earned, number of screenshots taken, acquisition date, acquired from, and purchase price. Because game tracking for my gaming history is incomplete, many of these stats are lost to time. If I do not have a stat, then I put "NA" for "not available."

I have added two additional stats which are required for these posts: date played and completion status. "Games of" posts are sorted by the order I played the games, so "date played" was needed to get the order correct. This stat is based on achievement timestamps, save file timestamps, and/or old posts. "Completion status" gives a little bit of insight into my thoughts on the game. I think I will be carrying this stat into future "Games of" posts.

As with the modern posts, I have included a paragraph or two with my thoughts on the game. I tried to look at old posts to get my thoughts from that period. I tried to link to the post when I could. If I had never written about the game before, then I wrote something from memory, which may or may not be accurate. Except for "2013" and "2014," I have not included screenshots. It takes a lot of time to gather screenshots, especially from older consoles.

Please enjoy these windows into the past.

"Games of 2005" has never existed. It is a list of games I played in 2005. There are not a lot of games, and many of the stats are missing. What stats I was able to find came from old save files on my Playstation 2 memory card, and Playstation Portable. I could not find any old blog posts that mention these games, so all of my thoughts are from memory.

The Birth Of Love

Burnout 2: Point of Impact (PS2)

Release date:                  10/03/2002
Date played:                   02/18/2005
Number of hours played:        27.25
Completion status:             Mostly
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              NA
Acquired from:                 NA
Purchased price:               NA

I wanted to play a racing game and Burnout 2: Point of Impact did not disappoint. It has drifting, and encourages driving dangerously to fill your boost. The fast pace is adrenaline inducing, and makes it better than the rest of the arcade racers on the market. I am not a big fan of the Crash mode, but the racing is a lot of fun.

Solidifying The Love

Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2)

Release date:                  09/08/2004
Date played:                   08/10/2005
Number of hours played:        24.5
Completion status:             Mostly
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              08/10/2005
Acquired from:                 Target
Purchased price:               $20.00

Burnout 3: Takedown is better in every aspect from Burnout 2. The graphics are sleeker, and the art style gives it a unique look compared to other racing games. The music list is filled with licensed tracks that feel great when driving erratically through traffic. It introduces my favorite things in the series: takedowns and Road Rage mode. It adds so much fun to the game. Burnout is easily one of my favorite series because of this entry.

Birth Of A Fanboy

God of War (PS2)

Release date:                  03/22/2005
Date played:                   10/20/2005
Number of hours played:        24.50
Completion status:             Complete
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              10/05/2005
Acquired from:                 Gift
Purchased price:               $0.00

There are two words that describe God of War: blood orgy. At least that is how teenage me saw it. The combat is so satisfying, bloody, and visceral. I feel bad for making my mom buy the game for/from me, but the game is so good! I am a sucker for a good revenge story, especially one set in Greek mythology. It opens with a flashforward of a suicide. It is both violent and emotional. I mainly bought this game, because I saw the lead game designer, David Jaffe, talk about the game on XPlay. David Jaffe just so happened to make one of my other favorite series, Twisted Metal. There was no way I was not going to play, and I am glad I did.

Return Of The Fanboy

Twisted Metal: Head-On (PSP)

Release date:                  03/24/2005
Date played:                   12/03/2005
Number of hours played:        NA
Completion status:             Complete
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              NA
Acquired from:                 NA
Purchased price:               NA

David Jaffe also helped design Twisted Metal: Head-On as well. I bought a Playstation Portable just for this game. It is the true sequel to Twisted Metal 2 that I have always wanted. The levels are filled with secrets, and are expertly designed. The physics are over-the-top, and feel right. It is great to play a new game in this series.

First Sidetrack

Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2)

Release date:                  11/15/2005
Date played:                   12/10/2005
Number of hours played:        NA
Completion status:             Midway
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              NA
Acquired from:                 NA
Purchased price:               NA

The cover looks cool on Shadow the Hedgehog. I mean, he has a gun. It is not what I expected from a game in the Sonic series. I am not a big Sonic fan, but this game is fun. It is a bit cheesy. I did not get very far before I got sidetracked by other games... I think this is the first time that this happened. It certainly will not be the last.

Second Sidetrack

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2)

Release date:                  11/01/2005
Date played:                   12/21/2005
Number of hours played:        1.75
Completion status:             Very early
Number of achievements earned: NA
Number of screenshots taken:   NA
Acquisition date:              NA
Acquired from:                 NA
Purchased price:               NA

That did not take long. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness I got sidetracked while playing. I do not think I was having fun with this game, which may have contributed that. Again, the cover looks cool. It has swords, which is cool. Other than that, I do not remember much about this game.

2005 Summary

Total number of games played: 6
Total number of hours:        84.25*
Oldest game played:           Burnout 2: Point of Impact (PS2)
Newest game played:           Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2)
Game with most hours played:  God of War (PS2)
Total spent:                  $20.00**
Personal game of the year:    God of War (PS2)

*Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2), and Twisted Metal: Head-On (PSP) are not included in total hours.
**Only Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2), and God of War (PS2) are included in total cost.

2005 is a huge milestone in gaming for me. Before 2005, I had to ask my parents for money, or use birthday/Christmas/allowance money for games. It took years for me to save up for a Playstation 2, let alone games for it. In 2005, I got my first job. I could buy whatever game I wanted. I also bought a Playstation Portable.

With income not being an issue, I started buying up games and consoles. I did not have to replay the same games over and over again. From here on out, the number of different games I played increased dramatically; not all of them were good. I also started paying more attention to game releases, and the industry in general. This year was just the beginning.

I did not play a lot of games this year, but many of them started or continued my love for the series. I did miss some games that came out in 2005. I actually played many of them years later.

Psychonauts. I love Tim Schafer, and I am so mad that I missed this game on release. It made "Games of 2011," so it took awhile for me to remedy my mistake.

Burnout Revenge. I swear I bought this game, but I do not see it with my other PS2 games. I have no save data for it on my memory card. It is possible I never played it. Maybe I was thinking of buying the XBox 360 remaster some day.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. I love the Grand Theft Auto series, but I did not ever get around to playing this one. It looked cool to have a GTA game on a portable system.

Shadow of the Colossus. This game was not on my radar at all. After I found out about it, I played it. It made "Games of 2007."

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. I played a little bit of the first game, but never played any of the other games up to this point.

Animal Crossing: Wild World. I think I played this in 2006, but I never talked about it in any post, and I do not have any time stamps on my save file. I booted the game up to check, and my town was overrun with weeds, and my house infested with bugs. I played quite a bit of this game.

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. I wanted to play the Prince of Persia games in 2008, but I got side tracked and never finished the first one. I own the entire Sands of Time trilogy for the Playstation 2. I should play them.

Mario Kart DS. I bought a DS and played this in 2006. I also wrote about it for "Games of 2006."

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Like Animal Cross, I am sure I played this in 2006, but have no data that said I did. I also barrowed this game, so I do not even own it. I love Aria of Sorrow, so I am sad I could not find any old posts about this game.

Thank you for reading this remaster. It is a short one, but I spent a lot of time on it. I had to rely on my memory, but many of the games are part of my favorite game series. I hope you check out some of these games; they might become your favorites.

- Royfuss