Most games are experiences that are easy to jump into, they are easy to play and easy to enjoy. There is another other kind of game though. The sort that is most definitely fun, but demands consideration; taking it in as you go along. Fans of horror games, RPGs and perhaps even adventure games probably know the feeling. It’s an odd sense, one of feeling like you’re a part of everything that’s going on on the screen even though you’re really just an outside observer. You’re definitely not there, yet none of what’s transpiring onscreen could have happened without you. Continue reading Dread and Gaming Emotions→
Here in the states, we’re in the throes of another turkey day. Happy Thanksgiving! Or, happy Thursday! However you are spending today, I hope you are enjoying it. I, for one, am looking forward to spending a little quality time with family and a lot of quality time with games. (Or…maybe that’s the other way round? Nah. J) If you celebrate this holiday, then you know it’s supposed to be a day during which we take some time to remember and be happy for all the good stuff that we’ve got going on. (As well as eat loads of delicious goodies and watch/play/listen to one sporting event or another. At least that’s what they tell me.) It’s in that vein that I use this space here today to honor a few of the games for which I’m thankful.
Sometimes the best relationships we have in games don’t involve other characters. Sometimes the road traveled alone is the best path, the most fulfilling path, the most sensible path. For every game that offers plenty of opportunities for teamwork and romance, there are dozens of others where these choices don’t exist. Your character — the John Marstons, Nathan Drakes, Batmans, and Altaïrs – are alone in the world with nothing at their disposals except their wits and the person at the other end of the controller. Sure, you (the character) will interact with other characters during the game to various ends, but you (the player) don’t have a stake in those relationships. No matter what saintly or nefarious paths you follow, John Marston will always save his wife and son; Nathan Drake will always choose Elena; Batman will always save the city from the Joker; Altaïr will always make his kills. In all these cases your mind is set on whatever needs to be done for the game – the missions to complete, the puzzles to solve, the items to find. You don’t have to worry about finding favor with others because they are all programmed to like or dislike you from the start.
The forming (and breaking) of intimate relationships between characters has become something of a hallmark in modern games. We muddled about by ourselves in games for years prior, taking on the toughest of enemies either alone or with a ragtag group of new-found “friends” with vacant backstories. Enter in the likes of story-heavy games, such as those in the Final Fantasy series, and change happens. Even though you couldn’t actively court other characters in games like that, it was easy to develop vicarious relationships with and through them because they each had individual pasts that lain in wait, to be uncovered at the player’s discretion. And before the world was treated to the now –ubiquitous character development styles of firms like Bioware, plenty of games had introduced the complexities that accompany personal interactions into their ranks, such as games in the Zelda, Metroid, and Half-Life series.
I recently picked up South Park: The Stick of Truth (SoT), and I’ve been having an absolute blast with it. It’s a fun, funny, and fantastic game complete with decent mechanics and enjoyable gameplay. SoT is a turn-based combat game, and it’s been awhile since I’ve played one of them. Thinking back…the last one had to be…gosh…Final Fantasy IV on the DS, maybe? What’s interesting about combat in SoT is that your party consists only of two people – you and another character. Going in I expected to start out small and grow my party into the standard three- to four-person crew. In SoT, while I’ve unlocked other members of my party, only one stays with you on screen and in battle. As they all have different abilities, you can switch team members at any given time, but more often than not, I’ve found myself a long-term companion in just one character. The sweet, and at times vicious Butters.
So here it is, after a lot of whittling down we have finally reached UWGs number one game, Mass Effect 2, it’s a giant of a game and one that really made me fall in love with the whole Mass Effect series. When the original Mass Effect was launched it was a game that I liked a lot, but by no means would I have put it in my top ten, but when the second instalment came out in 2010 I was absolutely blown away. I remember always liking the concept a lot from the original, the idea of what is pretty much a free roam RPG set in space always had fantastic potential but in Mass Effect 2 they turned that potential into a masterpiece and really pushed the series forward a lot.
“Many Decisions Lie Ahead. None of them Easy.” Looking back, it seems like Mass Effect could have easily been very different from what was released back in November 2007. Watching this trailer conjures mental images of a game filled with jaw-clenching life or death choices. “Who will you save? Which planets will you leave to their fate?” it seems to ask. In the beginning, this is the game we thought we were getting: high stakes and high consequences in a sprawling galaxy where you couldn’t possibly save everyone. Of course, that’s not what we got. Arguably, there were very few difficult decisions to be had (just one in fact). Such far-reaching choices would have been incredible, but I suppose it was never meant to be. We did get something else though, something that may have wound being better than such choices in the end. Continue reading UWG Top 10: #4 – Mass Effect→
