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Digital Playground

Quick Hits: Plants vs. Zombies

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(Editor’s Note: BRAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNS!)

I have made no apologies for my life long infatuation with zombies. It started with Night of the Living Dead, continued through the Resident Evil games, reached its peak with The Walking Dead comic book and finally died with the TV show. However, like the zombies themselves, I’m sure that it will rise again from the grave to haunt me and attempt to devour my brain. In that case, this past week might represent the part in the movie where the hand shoots out of the earth and the ominous music plays.

Okay, guys, will you now admit that I'm the best at hide and seek?
Okay, guys, will you now admit that I’m the best at hide and seek?

Somehow, through all of the movies (hell, I even enjoyed Warm Bodies), comic books (Marvel Zombies was a favorite along with The Walking Dead), and games (Dead Rising become more fun than the Resident Evil series), I missed Plants vs. Zombies. I knew about the game, of course, but never played it. I played a version of it as a quest in World of Warcraft for a battle pet (at the time just a vanity pet) but never the actual game. Like Candy Crush, the game just never registered as one I’d enjoy.

Blizzard, your undisputed champions at making money off of other people's ideas.
Blizzard, your undisputed champions at making money off of other people’s ideas.

I got introduced to Candy Crush finally through my kids and Mother-in-Law. She was stuck on a level and I played through to help get her to the next level. It wasn’t long until I downloaded the game on my own tablet and now I’m up to level 152. A former student told me about the daily spin to keep me logging in every day and I’ve even spent some money on the game buying a couple of the weekend deals.

My introduction to Plants vs. Zombies was not as gradual. After not having played the game, I got the urge to download and install it on my tablet. I think that part of the reason that I never played it was that I only owned phones and don’t like the overall experience of gaming on phones. I have had the tablet for a few months, now, so that doesn’t explain the sudden interest in this particular game. Well, whatever the reason, I’ve found a new mobile obsession to play while waiting for my lives to regenerate in Candy Crush.

My thoughts:

  • The game isn’t all that hard. Most of the time, a row of sunflowers behind two rows of the pea shooters is sufficient to clear the level.
  • Even so, the game play and zombies are varied enough that you occasionally have to change your strategy to account for thedifferent attacks.
  • The mini games and puzzles are different enough to break up the monotony of the main game. It’s just too bad that there are so few of them.
  • I have never been able to play other zombie games around the kids, for obvious reasons, but that’s not an issue with this game.
  • As a follow up to that last point, there’s nothing cuter (or weirder) than hearing my 4 year old wail, “Braaaiinnss” because he heard it on the game.
  • Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the game as a good game. It is a mostly fun game and free (or 2 bucks if you want to get rid of the ads, as I did), so you really can’t lose by trying it out if you have somehow avoided it as long as I have.
Digital Playground

Button Mashers Beget Button Mashers

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(Editor’s Note: Apologies again for our silence this week. I’ve been dealing with end of semester stuff. Hopefully I can maintain the schedule of posting twice over the next two weeks. If not, I’ll definitely be back when finals are over.)

My family took me to a local arcade (yes, they still exist!) for my birthday this year. It might be more accurate if I saythe local arcade since I believe it is the only one close enough to be called local. We do have a Chuck E. Cheese, but the arcade there is secondary. You mostly go there for the mediocre (really, terrible) pizza. Wait, why does anyone go there? A question for another time, perhaps.

The trip took me back to the years of my youth misspent in arcades from Erie, Pennsylvania to Silver Springs, Maryland. I got 2 hours to play Tetris, Dig, Dug, Rampage, NBA Jam, The Simpsons, Centipede, any many others. Sadly, no Q*Bert or Pac-Man and the Mrs. Pac-Man machine was out of order. Also no Mario Brothers and the only Neo Geo games were Bubble Bobble and Bust a Move. Aside from the more modern games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, those were the old school games that I played in the arcade and at home. Still, I had so much fun and it is one of the best birthday presents ever.

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Button mashers in training

During one of my breaks to watch TMNT (They showed it on the big screen, but with no sound. That’s my only complaint, even if understandable.) and eat free fries (part of a Groupon deal), I noticed Liam and Aiden playing together on a machine and having a ton of fun. I went over to see what brought them such joy. It was one of those Street Fighter clones, but one that I’d never played nor even seen. This is noteworthy because I thought that I’d played them all. At the least, I was sure that I’d played the ones that featured Ryu as a character. I noticed he was on the roster during one of their character selections.

Now, it is bugging me again that I never knew the game existed and I forgot to write down the name of the game. I need to figure this out. Bear with me. Enjoy the musical stylings of Nick Winters while you wait.

Okay, I’m back! Google is a wonderful thing. Whether you need to find the name of a never before seen 2D fighter or directions to the Rhode Island Convention Center for an underwhelming trip to wach the SCG Open event, Google has you covered. Sure, they’ll catalog your search results, sell your personal information and data, and then use that money to lobby Washington DC for less strict anti-trust laws. That’s all a small price to pay for all that convenience.

Once they finished playing and it was time to go, I asked the natural question, hoping for a particular response. They looked like they had fun, but I wanted to be sure. “Did you like it?” I asked. They both said, “Yes, it was fun!”

Woo hoo!

It started with board games, branched out into Heroclix, Pokemon, and Magic, and now extended into 2D fighting games. My kids share many of my gaming interests and I’m thrilled by the prospects. In fact, they enjoyed the game so much that they didn’t want to leave. While I’m not entirely sure how they kept track, we only had technically two hours to play and our time was over. No tears were shed, but they definitely expressed their disappointment.

Oh, in case you were wondering, the game they were playing:

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Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

I remembered that Chris gave me a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. This led me to download the second game on XBox Live. I mentioned to the boys that I owned a similar game to soften the blow. Naturally, my intent was to play the game with them. However, as happens (and happened too often this winter), the gamegot lost in the shuffle and forgotten for several months.

I don’t remember exactly how or why the game came up in conversation again. I think that it was just luck. We were sitting in the living room, Aiden had finished playing some ‘Splosion Man, and was getting ready to turn off the XBox. I grabbed the other controller to load up Marvel vs. Capcom 2. He got so excited when he heard the music and saw all the characters that were available. Neither he nor I understood the intricacies of the game, so we were on mostly level ground in that regard. I did have the advantage of knowing some of the special moves. That advantage disappeared quickly, though.

I’m not sure that he knew the exact moves. Then again, I’m not sure that he didn’t, either. He pulled them off with such frequency and skill that he might have stumbled onto something by mistake. Either way, he beat me legitimately more than once. I’m not proud of it, but it did happen. As someone who pretends to be a reporter on the internets, it is my duty to report news when it happens.

Breaking! 8-year old beats his father! Click herefor the rest of the story.

Hey, maybe I’m not just pretending to be a reporter. I seem to have learned the basics of web journalism already. I can generate click bait. What do you mean journalistic integrity? See, I’m a natural!

We moved on to Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Excited by the fact that, even though it takes them a while, Capcom can count to three, I assumed that meant that they also improved their games with each successive sequel. Sure, I knew that they often didn’t necessarily improve when they released the in between expansions for each game, but they had to make the sequels better, right? I excitedly told Aiden that they made the graphics better and added new characters. Sadly, only one of those was true. There were actually less characters and they didn’t even necessarily pick the good ones to include in the game.

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Marvel vs. Capcom 2
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Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Of course, the game featured all of the familiar faces from both Capcom and Marvel. Ryu, Sagat, Ken, Spidey, and Hulk all made the cut. So did some secondary characters like Dormammu, Moon Knight, the Darkstalkers girls, and the guy from Ghosts and Goblins. Deadpool and X-23 were added with a few others, but Zangief is gone. Probably the most egregious omission is the mummy guy from Darkstalkers. I accidentally discovered this move that turns the oppponent into this tiny zombie looking robot thing. Aiden and I laughed hysterically any time that I managed to land the attack. That’s what games are all about. Finding a move in a fighting game that makes both you and your 8-year old son giggle in the same way and spam it to no end.

Another strike against the third game is that Christine found the case. She asked, “Is this appropriate for them to play?” I asked what she meant and that I played it with Aiden and saw no problems. She replied, “It’s rated T.” I rolled my eyes. “Probably for cartoon violence or something.” To be honest, I never checked the ratings and felt a bit embarrassed by that. When I checked, I was flabbergasted. Partial nudity and sexual themes? WTF? I’m not sure that I played that game. I did a little research and I guess that it is due to the Darkstalkers ladies and Deadpool says a few potentially offensive things. I think that they were a bit heavy handed with the rating, but I can see their point. Some parents and children might be more sensitive to these issues.

All things considered, the second game seems like the obvious choice. No Deadpool and there are the ridiculously sexist costumes for some characters mentioned above, but they are overshadowed by the sheer number of other characters and easily avoided. I would give the game a try yourself first to see if that is something that you don’t find too offensive. If you find that it is okay for you and your kids, then get your kids to fight with each other and not worry about the destruction of property as a result.

…in a fighting game. Continue reading

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…Vol.12

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I think we're gonna need a bigger screen..
I think we’re gonna need a bigger screen..

Thor: God of Thunder (DS) Good lord it’s a game based on a movie and it’s actually really, really fun!’ At first glance it looks like your normal run of the mill beatemup, but there are some neat elements in this game that make it stand out. You collect runes that upgrade Mjolnir (that’sThor’s mythical hammer for you comic noobs out there), your armor and your helmet. There are some of huge bosses that take up both DS screens, and the combat is pretty decent.’ My one complaint is that the enemies get very repetitious.’ You definitely get tired of seeing the same baddies over and over again. In my opinion, the good outweighs the bad though. It’s a ridiculously cheap game (only $5-$7 on eBay)and 100% worth the money.

 

wheroesWorld Heroes Anthology (PS2) In preparation for our next podcast, in which we will be discussing 2d fighters in general, I’ve been dusting off some older fighters in my collection and giving them another look. Well, let’s just say I now remember why I let this one collect dust.’ I actually really enjoyed the first World Heroes game for Snes, so I figured that the PS2 versions of these games must be just as good right? Wrong. The original plays fine, it’s still fun, and I still really dig the Deathmatch mode.’ That’s were the compliments end. The Anthology also consists of World Heroes 2, World Heroes Jet, and World Heroes (not so) Perfect.’ These 3 games suffer from speed issues. I think it’s the emulation that they used to port these games over, but whatever it is, it makes the rest of the games not fun at all. One fight you are flying around the screen at a breakneck pace, and the next match you are at a normal, or slightly below, speed.’ It makes the game feel unpolished in a way. I’ll still play it but only for the original World Heroes, which doesn’t suffer from the same issues as it’s successors.

Digital Playground

We Are Builders of (Lego) Worlds

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(Editor’s Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but it was VSL night and I crashed after that. Sorry.)

We recorded Episode 5 of the podcast this past weekend. I’m in the process of editing it and it should be live by next weekend. Hopefully, because it is a busy one with a Cub Scouts camping trip followed by a drive to Providence for the Star City Games event. Look for my article about that next week.

We discussed Heroclix and Lego Games in this episode. I already covered several of my favorite super hero themed games last week, so what better way to follow that and the podcast than with more Marvel Madness. Both the Lego games and Heroclix have DC counterparts, but I am an unapologetic Marvel zombie. Also, that alliteration at the end of the last sentence was so worth it, amirite?

I never used to be interested in the Lego video games. I shared the sentiment of a friend who said, “why play Lego games when you can just play Legos? ” (sic. I have since learned that there is no plural to Lego.) I owned Lego Indiana Jones as one of the XBox promotional combos and didn’t play it for the longest time. It wasn’t until they released the Lego Star Wars game that I gave them a chance. Almost immediately, I realized my earlier mistake of equating the games to actual Lego. I would say that Minecraft is more comparable, but even that isn’t the exact same thing. All three fit a niche nicely and can peacefully coexist.

The initial games were fun enough to keep me playing. Eventually, the boys caught wind of the game. It started with them joining me to play. I found this very frustrating because you were limited in how much you could move by the other person playing the game. When playing with young children, this often meant not being able to advance in the level because they didn’t understand this limitation. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I tried to explain to them, nothing changed. I’m not proud of this, but these gaming sessions often ended with me dropping out in frustration and coming back after they went to bed. How funny is that visual? Instead of playing Dead Rising or GTA as I had been, I got relegated to playing Lego Star Wars while they slept so that they didn’t mess up my progress. Alas, karmic retribution will find a way.

The boys figured out how to work the XBox 360 by themselves. As a consequence, they loaded up their new favorite game, Lego Star Wars, and promptly deleted my saved game. There was only one save game slot in the game. Luckily, the designers tackled that and now games have multiple files for saves. I was almost 70% completed, too. All things considered, I think that I handled the situation well. I did what any well-adjusted adult would have done, I complained about it on Facebook and disowned them. I wish them well, as always, with their new families.

Jokes aside, I got over the transgression and have visual proof that I beat the game 100%. It is one of only two games that I do so without help, so I’m proud of the achievement. (For the record, Jak and Daxter, not Ratchet and Clank, is the other.) Adding more slots for saved games is a component of one of the major selling points of the Lego series. Take Two could easily simply churn out decent game after decent game, slap the Lego brand on them, and people would buy them. They don’t.

Not only did they add the save games, but they make other quality of live improvements, too. Remember when I mentioned that playing with young children was frustrating because of movement limitations? No more. It started with a smart split screen that offered more range of motion, became a gameplay mechanic by adding a new puzzle type, and now offers both players complete freedom to move via complete split screen. On the topic of puzzles, the puzzles have been improved and made more challenging. Granted, the games are still mostly geared to kids, but there was at least one part in Marvel Super Heroes that had us all stumped for several days and maybe even as long as a week. The puzzles are varied, too, and often able to be solved in more than one way depending on the characters available. This is important because each successive generation of the game offers more and more characters. In addition (and this is one of the favorite things forLiam and Aiden to do) you can create your own characters. They made their own super hero team and created an entire story while playing through the open world map in Marvel Super Heroes.

I can admit when I’m wrong. It happens often enough that I’m used to it. I never thought that I’d willingly play a Lego video game. It seemed like a silly idea given that Legos (I know, not a word) are a thing and we have so many of them in the house. While we still enjoy playing Legos (there’s that non word again!) and other family toys (Lincoln Logs, Thomas the Tank Engine, board games, etc), the Lego games have become an integral part of at least our father-son game playing time. Christine even noticed the recent announcement of Lego Dimensions, so it is spreading to the whole family.

The Lego games are not only fun to play. They are also constantly improved in nearly every way imaginable. Like actual Lego, they can inspire creativity in players beyond the main game. They are kid friendly, sometimes challenging to adults, and encourage families to play together as a result. Even if you don’t have kids, there is plenty to enjoy about the games. I compared them to Grand Theft Auto in the podcast and there are many similarities, right down to the senseless violence of little Lego men exploding. There is no blood, drinking, drugs, or other elicit activity. If that’s your thing, then stick to GTA. Otherwise, pick up your favorite Lego franchise, convince someone to join you, and have an absolute blast. You won’t regret it.

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…Vol.11

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fighter_history--article_image

Fighter’s History (SNES): Commonly referred to as Karnov’s Revenge, this game is actually nothing like the first Karnov, which was a platformer/shooter for the NES. Fighter’s History is actually a fighter (re: Street Fighter clone) that was released on the SNES and the Neo Geo. This game is probably the closest thing to Street Fighter that I have played on the Snes, although not as good as Street Fighter (duh). In fact, It’s so close that Capcom actually filed a lawsuit against Data East. Enough about that unpleasantness though. As far as fighters go this game is really decent. I usually don’t have high hopes for any fighter released during the Genesis/Snes era, with the obvious exceptions of MK, SF, Killer Instinct and Samurai Shodown, but I have to say this one is worth picking up. There are 9 fighters to choose from, and as is the case with all 2D fighters, they have their own set of special moves complete with fireballs, flying spinning kicks, jumping uppercuts..hey..wait a sec…ahem..moving on! The controls are decent, there is no lag as you pull off a special move and go straight into a combo, and the backgrounds are definitely on the same level as Street Fighter 2. I actually found that the 1 player mode is fairly easy, even on the hard setting, so there isn’t too much replay value there. Karnov is the last boss, and his moves are predictable, so once you figure the pattern out he is easy to beat down so it takes the challenge out of the game a bit. I think the replay value lies within the Vs mode where you and a buddy can beat the bajeezus out of each other. Of course that value is limited as there are only 9 characters but still it’s worth the money as this game only goes for around $10 on eBay. Helpful hint: the speed can feel a little slow, especially when compared to today’s fighters, but go to the options menu and change the speed to fast and the game flows much better.

Digital Playground

Revisiting 2 “Marvel”ous Games

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(Editor’s Note: I know that I promised a video for Fallout 1 and 2 and haven’t delivered. Marvel Puzzle Quest is running a video contest, though, so I am planning a video for that game soon.)

We are recording episode 5 this weekend. The show is about Heroclix and Lego video games. We are going to concentrate on Marvel Super Heroes and Batman. I mentioned both Marvel Heroes and Marvel Puzzle Quest on last month’s show. They are both games that I play daily. I’ve planned to write about them several times, but haven’t featured them on the page yet. I thought this would be a perfect time to finally focus on comic book themed games on the website. All of these forces have conspired to come together as this article.

Let’s start with Marvel Puzzle Quest. In case you don’t know, the Puzzle Quest games are of the match three variety like Bejeweled or Candy Crush. Unlike either of those games, Puzzle Quest has a storyline that accompanies the sometimes tedious gameplay. Sure, Candy Crush has a story, but it is mostly an afterthought. The stories of Puzzle Quest are actually good and worth playing through the games to advance. I would say complete, but the Marvel version constantly adds new chapters.

The first Puzzle Quest story involved a typical fantasy setting with all of the usual cast of characters and plotlines. I’m a sucker for most fantasy, even the cheesy kind, so it was enough junk food for the brain to keep me entertained for about a year of playing a half an hour per day. It helped that the game is kid friendly at a time when we had two young children in the house. Liam enjoyed watching the game as I played and even asked me to make him a Steam account to play Marvel Puzzle Quest after he saw me playing it. He has done pretty well in the game. Aiden has an account, too, and we have made a clan in the game with a friend. It is an excellent family game.

In addition, as one of the match three games, it has been ported to mobile devices. I have only tried it a few times on mobile because I don’t know of a way to move my account data and I don’t want to start over again. I already lost my account once and it sucked to go back to the beginning. Luckily, they were able to retrieve my data, but I haven’t been able to find a way to transfer from PC to mobile. Just be warned if you decide to get started that you need to choose one or the other.

I’ve talked about Marvel Heroes on the podcast before and I have mentioned it on the web site, too. In case you missed it, Marvel Heroes is an ARPG like the Diablo or Torchlight games. The game stumbled out of the gate and people hated it with good reason. You could only choose from two free characters and there was no end game. The story was decent, but not enough to encourage replay. I stopped playing after defeating Dr. Doom (the end boss at the time) and I suspect that many others did, too, if they even made it that far.

Luckily, the designers of the game listened to player feedback and worked to improve the game. As I mentioned in my previous article on Diablo III, it was voted as most improved MMO in 2014 or 2015. They have added many new heroes, opened all heroes as free to play to level 10, implemented several end game options, buffed loot drops via weekly events, and many other improvements. The game is much more fun to play now. I play it on a daily basis and have even spent money on the game even though it is free to play. I want to encourage them to continue to develop and improve the game.

Liam and Aiden both started an account for this game, too. Liam and I even got a few chances to play the game together. The game isn’t quite as kid friendly and they’ve been more interested in Pokemon recently, so they haven’t played much of either this or Marvel Puzzle Quest. It is nice to know that we will have two more games to enjoy as a family that aren’t just Dance or Mario. Sure, those games are fun, but variety is the spice of life and such.

Both games are free to play, as mentioned. Marvel Heroes is constantly being improved. Marvel Puzzle Quest also updates regularly, but it is often unclear whether those changes are for the better. Most recently, they altered one of my favorite powers and made it decidedly weaker. I’m not going to be one of those guys that threatens to quit the game over such a minor adjustment. Still, I don’t quite understand what they’re trying to accomplish and it is frustrating to have to deal with something like that. (Side Note: I looked at the patch notes and I now understand, but it still makes little sense from a player point of view. Oh well, might be time to find another combo to abuse.)

If my children are any indication, then the games are relatively kid friendly. There is some questionable material in Marvel Heroes (mostly from Deadpool, of course) but it is easily avoidable. You should be aware. Puzzle Quest is simply a match 3 game, so it is much tamer and better for kids if you don’t want to take the chance. You could do worse than trying out both games. If you played Marvel Heroes and didn’t enjoy it, then give it another chance. It is a much better game and you won’t be disappointed. If you do try either game, let me know. I would be glad to play a round or two or let you get started in our clan on Marvel Puzzle Quest. At the risk of being sued, Excelsior!

Digital Playground

Dismantling the A-Bomb (Take 2)

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(Editor’s Note: Yes, another Fallout article. Yes, another Fallout 3 article about how I’m going to go back and finish the game. This time I have my gamer’s resolution to play new/different games, so I might actually go through with it. Stay tuned for the next Fallout 3 article, coming to 2 Guys Gaming in 6 months.)

As a writer, I learned that you need a hook to get people interested. As a fisherman, I learned that you need to set that hook before you start to reel in your catch. Fallout 1 and 2 both have that same hook of story as the third. So far, they have yet to set that hook to keep me playing beyond the introduction. Fallout 3 does not have that problem. I keep coming back to the game even to the point that I restarted it because I had forgotten some of the story at the beginning. Eventually, I do want to finish the game to move on to the DLC and New Vegas. Eventually starts today!

I grew up with video games. My family owned an Atari 2600 and then a 7800. I received a Commodore 64 for Christmas one year and drooled over the Amiga ads in the magazines. Those same magazines offered programs for video games that I almost never got to work. Still, they inspired me to collaborate with a friend to make a game together. We never made it past the design phase, but a fun experience and I still enjoy programming when I have free time.

Eventually, our parents caved and bought us an NES. After getting my first job, I bought a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. When I moved out, money became more of a priority, so I took some time off until the infamous full price Playstation purchase. Since then, I have owned an N64, XBox, XBox 360, PS 2, and Wii. I intend to buy a PS4 if the new Orcs Must Die Unchained game works as well on consoles as on the computer. What’s the point of this? Relax, you must be new here. I promise that the point is coming soon.

You could possibly tell the exact same story as I just did. That’s part of the point. We are alike and you probably enjoyed Fallout 1 and 2. As a result, you may have paled a the thought that Fallout 3 was going first person. When first announced, the internet (as it does) went absolutely nuts over the decision. Similar to Diablo III, I should like the first two games. But, I don’t. What, then, about Fallout 3 appeals to me as an aging gamer when compared with its predecessors?

I have already covered my thoughts on graphics in my previous article. In case you missed it, graphics are not a huge consideration for me. I have played and enjoyed games since they were single color blobs moving across a single colored background. Besides, it’s not like the graphics of Fallout 3 are that impressive. Sure, they are more modern. Comparatively, though, the game came early in the life of the XBox 360 and the graphics show their age.

I’ve already established that I love the story behind the games, too. That is universal. Fallout 3 hooked me from the opening cinematic. In fact, all of the games have incredible opening credits and character introductions. The story kept me playing the first two games longer than I might have normally. On the other hand, instead of avoiding Fallout 3, I find myself drawn to the game and want to play it to the end. More than that, I also have Fallout: New Vegas and all of the expansions for the game that I need to experience. Story, alone, shouldn’t be enough to keep me coming back to the game. Especially when you consider that I could just watch the story on Youtube. That’s what I did with Dead Rising rather than play through the frustrating final battle. I regret nothing.

That brings us to the gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, the internets hated that thought of Fallout 3 when it was announced. You know who you are internets. Don’t try to deny it now. Also, face it. You might have been right about Diablo III and the real money auction house, but you were dead wrong about Fallout 3.

Look, I understand the sentiment. Ever since Doom (really Wolfenstein and I’m sure there’s some nerd more well versed in the history of video games that will point to an earlier iteration of the FPS), game designers have tripped over themselves to capitalize on the success of the FPS genre and it looked like that’s what Bethesda was doing with Fallout 3. This goes against the spirit of the games. Stop trying to be something you’re not, blah blah blah. I don’t know why the decision was made to go from third person RPG to a first person shooter with RPG elelements. However I can (and will) wildly conjecture about their motives.

First, I think that those third person RPG and RTS games were a time and place phenomenon. There will always be exceptions (most notably Starcraft because of the highly popular competitive scene), but go back to play any of those games; Warcraft, Bard’s Tale, Fallout 1 and 2. They are boring. Now matter how interesting the story, the click to move mechanics and the endless searching for clues make for a dull experience. At least the D&D games were mostly linear. I know that sounds weird because D&D isn’t, but it makes for a much better video game. You might argue World of Warcraft or Skyrim in favor of 3rd person RPGs. I will agree with Skyrim. While designed as a first person, I immediately searched for a way to make the game 3rd person and I was better for it.

On the topic of World of Warcraft, I offer the counter argument that its success is due more to the social aspect. I used to play WoW much more than I do now because I used to have friends who played the game and no longer do. Still, it proves that 3rd person RPGs can work and work well. Even so, I have never tried WoW from a first person point of view, but many tanks do and I suspect that it is because of the main point of this article. Finally, all your hard work and dedication to reading this whole article is about to pay off.

If I know anything about story (and sales of my book indicate that I do not), part of the reason to go first person in Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls series was to enhance the already superb story. I mention Skyrim again because I initially wanted to experience the game third person due to not being as familiar with the story. I quickly changed my mind and point of view upon being faced with my first dragon encounter. I wanted to experience the power and horror in the full glory and magnificence. I was not disappointed.

Similarly, my favorite parts of the first two Fallout games were when you interact with the NPCs via the full screen interface with the occasional voiceover. First person makes a great story more intense, immerses you in the action, everything feels more immediate, and it personalizes the game to make the experience much more entertaining and enjoyable.

Do you prefer the first person intensity of newer RPGs? Or, are you an old school gamer who just wants whippersnappers like me to get off your lawn with my fancy graphics and engrossing point of view gameplay? Who knows? Maybe I can be persuaded to go back to play the first two games.

Digital Playground

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legomarvel

 

Lego Marvel Superheroes (360): Yup. A Lego game. After our last podcast, we decided to do a comic book theme for our next show which will be recorded on April 11th. To stick to the theme Shawn thought it would be a good idea to do a segment on the Lego superhero titles. I told him that it was a great idea BUT I have never played a Lego Batman or Marvel game. Long story..uh..shorter…I picked up a copy of Marvel Superheroes at Best Buy because it was on sale (I’m cheap, what can I say?). I popped the disc in with a sigh, not really expecting all that much. I mean it’s a damn Lego game, these things are meant for kids…right? Wrong. The game is insanely fun..I expected a mindless PG rated beat’em up, but instead I found myself playing a really good puzzle game with some beat’em up segments sprinkled in. Honestly, this is the kind of game that you would want your kids to play. It tests your critical thinking skills, it’s entertaining as hell, and it’s not over-the-top violent. Despite the lack of violence and the fact that these are little Lego characters running around solving puzzles, this game can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages. I highly recommend this one.

<I refuse to insert a picture of the next game>

Afro Samurai (360): Okay, we go from a great, well-designed game, to a steaming pile of dog sh*t cooking in the hot summer sun. I really liked the Afro Samurai anime series, so I thought the game must be, at the very least, playable. Can’t win them all I guess. If I had to choose one word to best describe this game it would be repetitious. You run around hacking the crap out of a bunch of Japanese guys. That’s it. The voice acting is decent, (hot damn! A compliment!), but wears thin after awhile..(aaaaand compliment retracted). Between the wacky camera angles, the boring combat system, and fighting what looks like the same enemies over and over, this game isn’t worth the 5 bucks I paid for it.

Digital Playground

Days of Future Past

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(Editor’s Note: Look for the companion video coming soon!)

Few game series have captured my imagination in the way that the Fallout games did. Similar to the Diablo series, I had never played the first two games because of my lack of PC gaming experience. I simply heard good things about the third one. When I saw it for twenty dollars in the bargain bin, I did what I always do as a cheap gamer. I bought it.

I know what you’re thinking. Okay, I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking. Though I’ve tried, I have yet to perfect the talent of reading minds. Plus, I don’t know even how many of you are out there, so I couldn’t even hazard a guess. Except for you guys who are thinking, “I really want pizza and wings.” You guys are my people.

Let’s get back to the subject. If you have been paying attention to the website or podcast, you will be thinking that I often buy games, especially discounted games, and then they sit in the closet and suffer the fate of never being played. You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that did not happen in this case. Not initially, at least. I played through the game, hooked from the opening credits until–well, let’s wait on that. I have an article planned for next week specifically for Fallout . I will tell the rest of this story in that article. How’s that for a tease?

I’m not sure what about the story and world captivated me so much. I’m not usually one for post apocalyptic stories, unless it is zombies and even those are losing some of their appeal, but this one fascinated me. My obsession started as research for a novella that I am writing that takes place in a similar post nuclear America setting. What got me was the thought and creativity that went into creating a well constructed history for the games. The scope of that history added a new dimension to the game world and I developed an appreciation and admiration for the creators of that world.

Eventually, I moved on to other games, most notably Lego games, Just Dance, and other games that we could play as a family. Still, I never forgot about the games and especially the story. I kept going back to website after website to read timelines, alternate histories, fan fictions, and more. When I discovered that Steam offered both Fallout 1 and 2 plus Tactics, I went into full “shut up and take my money” mode. Given a chance to explore that world and history for myself, I bought all three. If you guessed that these games suffered the fate of countless (or 30, but rising, so essentially countless) other games in my Steam library and went unplayed, then give yourself a cookie. I still haven’t played Fallout 1 or 2. However, that is about to change. I want to do a video on whether or not the games are still fun as an entry point or if I should just stick with the third game and my quest to follow a walkthrough to fame and a fortune of bottle caps. This article will serve as a companion piece to that video. However, the video will focus more on whether Fallout 1 and 2 are still “good” games when compared with current games. I can use this article to focus more on the why or why not.

We all know what makes a good game for us. For instance if graphics and special effects are one of your main reasons to enjoy a game, then these games most likely not for you. Luckily for me, graphics are never a consideration when playing a game. Sure, we all like pretty pictures and impressive effects, but there’s a reason that I still play the original Tetris after all these years and it has nothing to do with bits or polygons. So, what makes a good game? As I’ve gotten older, story has become one of my primary reasons for playing a game. We have already established that the larger story of Fallout interests me, but is that story reflected in the earlier games?

Before focusing on that, though, let’s discuss the rest of the game. My main factor of whether to play a game is, not surprisingly, gameplay. How are the controls? This is especially important for PC games that use a keyboard and mouse for literally hundreds of button combinations. Fallout controls aren’t necessarily intuitive, but they are easy to figure out and learn. I imagine that when the game was released that it came with instructions. Games don’t really do that anymore because nobody ever reads them. Instead, then have a tutorial. Without instructions or a tutorial, I had to learn how to move and attack by myself. I used Google for some of the more troublesome of the PipBoy commands.

Closely related to gameplay, the lack of a linear quest line hurts the game by increasing the challenge unnecessarily. Not only did I spend the better part of my time in Vault 13 at the beginning of the game punching rats (not even with brass knuckles) instead of stabbing or shooting them because I didn’t know any of that was in my inventory. Now I have to search around and find a rope without any hints or clues? Ugh, post apocalyptic first world problems, amirite, Twitter?

I understand that discovery and adventure used to be the MO of these adventure type games, but I’m a spoiled old man gamer without much time to spend playing these games. I like that more recent games lead you by the nose with carrot quests and then you can choose to explore via side quests or just because you don’t want to blow up that person’s car right now.

While these traits might detract from the gameplay, they actually perversely add to the story. Undeniably the strength of the series, it is not as strong in Fallout 1 as the other two games, but it is still impressive for its time. Cinematics and voice acting both bring the world to life and kept me playing even though the rest of the game felt a bit lame.

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the game is not as strong as the story. As far as that game itself, it is a bit slow in the beginning. All you do is kill the rats that I talked about earlier and then maybe kill some bigger rats without much indication that you should be doing anything else. I may have just been in WoW quest ignore mode, but once I got to Vault 15, I felt like the game just sort of abandoned me to die in the wasteland and have my corpse eaten by the descendants of the rats that I killed. “Hello, my name is Inigo Ratoya. You killed my father, starved to death while on a quest to save the people in your vault, and rotted to my preferred level of carrion. Prepare to be gnawed slowly over the next few months.” Not nearly as catchy, but still scary.

Maybe that is how the game is supposed to end. I haven’t looked at a walkthrough to confirm, but maybe you are just supposed to end up rat chow. If so, then this is the fastest that I have ever completed a game to 100%. Yay, me! On to the second game. Maybe I can beat that one even faster. Okay, okay, seriously, though, the game is quite confusing at first. Then again, I might just be an idiot. That isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

I want to play a game that will be challenging, but not too challenging. I like being able to pick “Easy” or “New Player” instead of “Insane”, “Inferno”, or “Nightmare” mode because then I don’t have to dedicate too much of my time to the game and the bosses can still present a challenge. Hey, I’m the Noob of All Trades! This game went a bit too far in the figure it out on your own for my tastes.

We come, at last, to graphics. It’s an older game, so I don’t expect great things from the graphics. As mentioned, the cinematics are cool. The actual game, though, is monochrome like Diablo, making it difficult to find any inspiration in pretty pictures while playing. Seriously, though, what is it with game designers and their aversion to using the whole rainbow? Hell, Gauntlet needed only 16 colors or whatever to make a bright and colorful play world and that world was dark, Man. Do you remember “Wizard needs food badly?” Just thinking about it now sends shivers down my spine.

Given everything about Fallout 1 (and to an extent Fallout 2) that I’ve experienced, I would not pick them up as a stand alone game. They look and feel impressive for their times, but times change and sometimes culture does not translate over that time change. While Fallout 2 looks to pick up immensely as far as story goes, I’m not sure how much it improves upon the formula in the first game. Independent of my enjoyment of the story and third game, I probably wouldn’t even bother with the first two games. However, I will stick with them and hope that the story can carry me through the warts. If not, well, we’ll always have Megaton.

Digital Playground

Currently Playing…Vol.10

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dark2

Darksiders 2 (360): I was a fan of the first Darksiders, mostly because I’m a huge fan of Joe Mad’s artwork, and also because I liked the Devil May Cry/God of War/Zelda hybrid-feel to it. Was it the most original game? God no. Anytime you can call a game the hybrid of <insert game titles here> then it’s not all that original. Strangely though, despite the less than the original concepts, it was a really fun game with some mind-blowing bosses. Last week, during my nightly eBay perusing, I saw a copy of Darksiders 2 about to sell for $4.75 with free shipping, so I swooped in with 8 seconds to go and got it for an even $5.00, ruining someone’s night and making mine a bit better. Double bonus. After playing it for a few days, I can say that this game is much different from the original Darksiders. The biggest difference being the addition of loot. You now get coins and more importantly, equipment that you can either use, sell, or sacrifice to level up the equipment you have. Just this one aspect makes this game more enjoyable to me. Also, I like the fact that the battles are not one after another after another after another..etc..so you actually get some time to explore the enviroments. It gives the game an RPG kinda feel to it. The puzzles are a lot more interesting, a couple reminded me of Portal, (you have to fire portals to get from point A to point B),and generally they didn’t piss me off like some of the puzzles in the original. Not that the original’s were incredibly difficult, just incredibly frickin’ long. I actually really enjoy playing as Death more than I did playing as War in D1 (tired of typing Darksi…damn..<sigh>…Darksiders). Death’s abilities are more interesting and just plain cooler. He can create doppelgangers of himself, wall-walk, summon monsters, and opens doors and chests with ghostly hands. His scythes are pretty damn neat too. The bosses from what I’ve seen so far are huge but not as challenging as the bosses in D1. We’ll see if that holds true as I get deeper into the game. Speaking of which, I read earlier that this game is larger than the D1, so that’s another bonus. Overall I’m really happy with this game, definitely worth 5 bucks. And ruining someone’s night.