And We're Back

Oh hey. Didn't see you there. I was just over here playing...Desktop Dungeons? That game's over a year old? Bizarre. Yeah, that's what I've been doing for the past year.

Okay, so I've fallen off and even let my domain name lapse, but over the holidays, I realized that I really wanted to start talking about games again, I really wanted to start writing again, and I kinda liked having a record of what I did every day. So I retrieved the domain name (for SOME REASON, nobody bought it) and we're going to do this again. Every day, I promise. (Well, until I get on a boat in a month, but shush.)

But what have I been doing this past year, you might be wondering? Did I really give up on playing games? Of course not. So, as a catch-up, here's an incomplete list of what I've been playing in 2014 based on my terrible memory. Ahem.

Castleville Legends

There is a game on my phone that I refuse to delete and it's infuriating. It's one of those resource management games that is completely time-based (click to start growing lemons, come back in nine hours), but somehow I just tend to open it a few times a day, see if I can complete any quests, maybe make a wheel of cheese, and close it again. And it has been on my phone for over a year, and it somehow has gotten better, gaining a lot of features that speed up the game without costing money, and just generally making it a bit more “fun”. Currently it is winding down its several-stage-long Christmas quest, and I am currently trying to complete it in time to get a Christmas tree. Still haven't spent a cent on this freeium game. Amazing.

Swords and Potions 2

ANOTHER free game that I still play for some reason. This has a special arc, as the game kinda officially died while I was playing it, as the developers just gave up and sold the rights to some company that hasn't done anything, but I keep playing because I liked the cycle that the game invokes, as you play a game at a time crafting materials, slowing learning new recipes, and constantly disappointing customers. Then, six months later, I log in to a message saying that the developer has reacquired the rights and wants to finally implement a feature it promised over a year ago. And they did! As far as I can tell, the game is going to continue evolving, and while I play less than I have, I will still keep coming back to it.

Watch_Dogs

Ooooof this was a punch in the stomach. I was so excited about this, and when my roommate tripped into a Xbox One, I had the perfect excuse to get this and try it out, and I played for a bit, and started to realize that the story was just absolutely terrible and pretty sexist, the sidequests were dull or too difficult, and the touted multiplayer enhancements were awful and obtrusive. I tried to give a damn, played for several hours, and it just stopped clicking. My biggest memory is going to an island and killing everyone there, because there was no longer any reason to even pretend with all the cool hacking abilities. Just a huge turd that proves that Ubisoft's method isn't working anymore.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

This doe! I liked Assassin's Creed 4 a lot, because it gave you a lot of fun things to do, its story is just interesting enough to work, and the multiplayer was refined to a fine enough point to be just right (before being unfortunately jettisoned in Unity). I spent a ton of time just running around the islands, getting ALL THE THINGS, stabbing crocodiles, and once again falling into that trap where I assume that just because a male character is small and has a feminine voice doesn't MEAN that character is actually a girl (goddamn it). But yeah, super fun, although the story is kind of the worst. I do love the weird wraparound of you being a game designer DESIGNING the game you are playing as their poor attempt to keep their metaplot going. I hope to finish it someday.

Russian Railroads

It was not a good year for board games, as I kinda drifted away from my board game group, something I wish to remedy in the coming year. And while I played a number of board games, none of them really impressed me too much, except for Russian Railroads, which is a worker placement game that is utterly incomprehensible on its face. Your personal board is a mess of symbols with like four different trail tracks, and there are a dozen different actions you can take, and when you build your railroad you can build one of four different types of tracks, and it was very difficult but interesting to parse when I played. An amazing puzzle. I lost, of course, but if this is what board games can be? Well, board games are becoming a strange place indeed.

One Night Werewolf

There is a new bluffing game in town, and it only takes ten minutes! So if your guests hate it, they don't have to play it again! It's a simplified version of Werewolf in which there is one night, in which all the players figure out who they are and use their powers, but there a couple of changes. First, not all roles are used, so there's no guarantee there's a werewolf or a seer. Second, some roles CHANGE your role without telling you, so you might suddenly be the werewolf without realizing it, and so there's an added incentive for all players to lie just a little. Then, you are given a limited amount of time to figure out who is who, and everyone chooses who they want to kill, whoever gets the most votes die. If it's a werewolf, village wins. If it's not, werewolves win. It's a fast, interesting game and I like it a lot, and am waiting patiently until I can get my hands on the expansions, which should add a ton of insane interactions.

Marvel Heroes

My computer just decided to stop working sometime in July, so I acquired an upgraded rig, and while screwing around, I remembered there was this game I was mildly interested in but couldn't handle with my old computer, Marvel Heroes was it? Yeah, okay, I got hooked on another free MMO, and have spent a kind of embarrassing amount of money on it. Don't tell my mom. Marvel Heroes is basically Diablo, only with heroes from the Marvel universe, and there are 30 or so different heroes with unique abilities, and a lot of different areas to explore and lots of upgrades to slowly work towards and it's a lot of fun. I imagine I will be playing this a lot in the coming year, primarily since I've already purchased 12 heroes yet to be released. Whoops!

Fantasy Life

Fantasy Life is a very good game where you run around as one of twelve classes doing stuff in a fantasy world, whether it's gather supplies, crafting stuff, or fighting monsters. I enjoy it greatly, it's probably my favorite 3DS game of the year, which is saying something because a LOT of good 3DS games came out this year, it is ridiculous. Bravely Default, Persona Q, A Link Between Worlds, I really have some catching up to do.

Dragon Age Inquisition

I felt the need to mention a more recent game that I am enjoying but not quite clicking with, and Dragon Age sits in that space. I've been told how great this game is, and the interactions between the characters are good, but the quests are a bit busywork, I really don't like the combat, and while I'm constantly told how huge this game is, if the hugeness is as vast and terrible as the Hinterlands, I'm not sure I'll like it. I literally spent 30 minutes of the game being chased by bears, at one point having successfully escaped from my bear train only for another bear to literally pop into existence in front of me and begin biting my face. That's a bit of a buggy mess, but I'm intrigued where it's going. Currently deciding which terrible group to side with.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

The fun I've been having going through the story mode of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is probably the biggest catalyst of the return of this blog, because oh damn is this game ridiculously fun to play/watch. This game is dripping with tiny little details that fans to the series can enjoy, it offers a ton of content for a basic fighting game, and while the DLC is a bit expensive, it is a great showing that really pays huge dividends if you know what you are looking for. I still absolutely love Naoto's hesitance to give Koromaru (the dog who can summon a demon) an honorific. It just...gets the characters so well (and, frankly, so much better than Persona Q). I almost look forward to the dancing game at this point, and then maybe, MAYBE, there will be room for some new goddamn Persona characters. (By the way, Persona 5 is getting pushed to 2016. Guaranteed.)

What a weird year. A lot of free games, a lot of video games, and it's about time I start spreading my wings again. And, of course, telling you about it. Good to be back, see you next year.