It has been a superb time to be a gamer the last few years. The current generation has probably peaked in terms of quality, and we’ve seen some revolutionary gaming titles. The likes of Bioshock, Portal, and Dead Space are all superb examples of new franchises, but as is often the case in gaming we’ve had some truly amazing sequels. Grand Theft Auto 4 found universal critical praise (and mammoth sales figures) upon release, Assassins Creed 2 proved that listening to criticism will help you produce a vastly improved experience for your fans, and after years of delays and speculation Team Fortress 2 has shown just how far you can push the concept of multiplayer to its full potential.
This generation isn’t quite over yet, and these are a few of the games I’m eagerly awaiting, but haven’t heard much from recently…
The Last Guardian
Team ICO have only made 2 games so far, yet both have been fantastic. Ico was about a lone boy who had been locked in a castle. You take control of him as he escapes from his cell and simply has to figure out how to escape with a fellow prisoner, the mysterious Yorda. Shadow of the Collossus was equally simple in concept – to slay 16 enormous beasts in the hope of reviving a princess. Their newest effort, The Last Guardian appears to be a combination of the two – the trailer suggests you will be controlling a familiar looking young boy, only this time his companion is a giant mythical monster. I can’t wait to see how they implement the monster into the gameplay, as it seems you’ll need to help each other through the world’s puzzles and enemies. It’s probably going to be brilliant.
Diablo III
Like Valve, Blizzard have a similar approach when it comes to game releases – its done when its done, and its usually worth the bloody wait. Diablo II came out a decade ago, unbelievably. It was an addictive loot-em-up dungeon crawler of the highest quality, with a huge story, fun and varied gameplay, and fully integrated multiplayer co-op. It set the standard for those type of games and has inspired numerous copy-cats since its release. Lets hope Diablo III can continue Blizzard’s excellent track record… Enjoy the epic CGI teaser trailer below.
Half Life 2: Episode 3
Nothing. Not even a screenshot. Valve have literally shown us nothing of the almost mythical Episode 3 (maybe even Half Life 3?) but we all know they’re making it. Numerous fake images have come and gone and there was recently a surge in hype when Valve announced a ‘surprise’ at E3 which turned out to be a false alarm, but the sad fact is we’ve had very little info about the game. Based on events of Episode 2, we can assume it’ll be set in the snowy north, and could potentially involve a visit to Apeture Science (Portals!), but we really haven’t got a clue. A screenshot, Valve, I just want a screenshot! For now, lets revisit Dog’s greatest moment.
Dome Keeper is an excellent little spin on the tower defense game, in which you play the role of a jetpacking miner defending his base from swarms of aliens, whilst searching for a hidden relic buried somewhere beneath him. And now, with this huge free update, you can play it with friends.
I want to talk about Cloudpunk, a game where you get to be a flying-car delivery driver in a futuristic cyberpunk city. Its world is an incredible achievement of environmental design, and while the gameplay itself may be basic, the city of Nivalis is a thing of beauty to behold. Nivalis is built out of hundreds of hand-modelled cuboid buildings; there’s nothing procedural about it. Apparently it took 3 years for the devs to design the city, and it really shows.
I do love me some quality pixel art, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Cast n Chill is a cozy side-scrolling fishing game by small indie dev team Wombat Brawler, with absolutely gorgeous visuals. It’s simple to play, and you you can dip in and out of it at your leisure, making it a fine addition to our collection of coffee break games.
WoW consumed my life for almost the entirety of 2004/05, when I was studying for my A-levels, and was probably a key contributor to my D-grades. I’m probably not the only person who would admit to daydreaming of roaming through Elwynn Forest, even many years after I stopped playing. I just spent so much time there, and other places of that world, sometimes roleplaying, always questing, but best of all simply exploring an unknown land. Even though I LOVE what Blizzard did in Cataclysm, my favourite memories all come from what they call Vanilla WoW, the original version of the game.
Don’t kill people. That’s the ARC’s job. Make no mistake, I ain’t no softie. Just coz I won’t attack you first, don’t mean I won’t defend meself from a rat bastard who likes the look of my backpack! The rustbelt is a volatile place. I’ve seen what it’s done to us. What it does to the mind. But we gotta stick together, fight for humanity, and focus our efforts where it truly matters – FOR SPERANZA!
Hades is a great example of a coffee break game. You can play through a single run within 30 minutes, but if something comes up and you have to stop mid-run you can save and quit in whatever room you’re in and continue later. As the father of a toddler, I find this particularly appealing these days. I like to squeeze in a quick game during my baby girl’s nap time, and since I never know exactly how long she’s going to sleep for, I need games that can be played in short bursts. I’m starting this new mini-feature series with Hades, because you’re almost always guaranteed to have a good time, no matter how long you play for.
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