Viewing entries tagged
strategy
There are so many genres in gaming that it stands to reason how none of us will be one hundred percent familiar with every single one of them. In fact, I think if we were all a little honest and reflective about what we're into, the diversity and eclectic aspect of our tastes would be relatively limited. I'm no different, but I think the key to remaining open to things outside of our usual wheelhouse is to always be willing to give something new a try.
I haven't been feeling myself lately, as I've come down with a bad case of 'enjoying multiplayer' in many games. Honestly, I'm a little worried, as I haven't really enjoyed any multiplayer gaming since I played games like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Quake III over dial-up internet. For some reason, over the last few years there have been a number of multiplayer games that managed to squeeze their way into my day.
Sometimes I find myself as far from my comfort zone as I've ever been before, and it usually means I’m playing something close to a JRPG and the like. In fact, I doubt I would have ever really given this game a fair shot if it hadn't been for some friends emphatically recommending 13 Sentinels to me, repeatedly, and without hesitation.
Enter the obligatory line about how the hottest city builder / management game right now is one about survival during a near-future ice age. Although, there's no denying that Frostpunk is one hell of a well put together game from the makers of other well put together titles like This War Of Mine.
Sometimes having a good idea isn't enough to really make an impression among the myriad of indie games released on a regular basis. Most of the time, a game really needs to be the complete package if it's going to catch your eye, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
The world of mobile ports to other platforms is often fraught with bad controls, poor optimisation, and a long list of other complaints that make them barely worth considering. Often it's because the process adds a bunch of clunky patches in an effort to make it work, while ultimately distilling out the very thing that made it fun in the first place.
When I started writing these posts about games, I knew I'd be looking at a bunch of older titles that may not be all that relevant anymore. This was never meant to be a blog about the cutting edge new releases, but I didn't think I'd be writing about a game so close to the release of its sequel. I almost figured I'd wait until I'd played the next version, but this game is so damn good, I couldn't help myself.
Remember the first time you installed Half-Life 2 and were forced to use that silly DRM launcher program called Steam? It was obtrusive and clunky; to the point that I found a hacked version of the game that didn't require it so that I was able to play Half-Life 2 without it crashing every time my internet connection dropped.
The first time I saw the computer game version of Monopoly, it blew my tiny little mind. As with Battle Chess before it, here was a game I'd played in the real world enhanced by animations and sounds that seemed impossibly immersive. However, when the novelty wore off, the lack of physical interaction with a game like Monopoly only served to expose its weaknesses. The more you play the video game version, the more you realise it's one hundred percent dice rolls, with little else happening along the way.
