New Holosuite article up!
http://holosuitemedia.com/roaming-the-commonwealth-with-dogmeat/
Now that Extra Life is over and my jobs *should* be getting less crazy, I hope to update here more frequently.
Gryph is Playing
The Talos Principle is a game I was intrigued by when it first came out in December 2014. It’s a first-person puzzle game (my screenshots are not in first person, but it’s optional), which always gets my attention, and I’d heard very good things about its atmosphere and themes. I’d further heard it inspires some pretty serious contemplation about life and the Self, which always makes my ears perk.
I still held off on it for almost a year. Part of this is because it wasn’t (and isn’t) a cheap game, even for a new release. I prefer to buy my games on sale even if it means waiting a while, and tend to wait until something is at least under $20. The other part of my hesitation was due to it being in a genre I absolutely love. I can’t seem to help comparing all first person puzzle games to the Myst series. A game in this style has to work hard to impress me. I don’t say that as a good thing, either. Setting my bar at, “How I felt the first time I played Myst,” is a ridiculous and unfair comparison to make…it’s just where my mind always wants to go.
The Talos Principle sat on my wishlist until I got one of the lovely (and dangerous!) emails that something on my wishlist was on sale. I don’t remember how much of a sale it was, to be honest, but enough for me to chance it. Continue Reading
After getting frustrated with my internet last night, (The Right Round is NOT a fun mission to disconnect on. And yes, the problem was on my end, not TSW’s.) I decided to scan through my Steam library for something single-player. “Ohhey, Craft the World! I haven’t played in ages, wonder if it’s still fun?”
The answer is yes, yes it’s still fun and crazy addictive. I was on for about 4 hours, and it was 2am before I went to bed. >_>
From the Steam page:
Craft The World is a unique sandbox strategy game, the mix of Dungeon Keeper, Terraria and Dwarf Fortress. Explore a random generated world populated by dangerous creatures, build a dwarf fortress, gather resources, and craft all the items, weapons, and armor you need
I fall in love again every time I play this game, I really do.
Alice: Madness Returns was released back in 2011. It’s an action/adventure 3D platformer based on a dark version of the Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass stories. (Fans of the original books will find plenty of callbacks and references ingame.) It’s also a sequel to American McGee’s Alice, which was released in 2000 for PC. The Steam page begins its description with:
Eleven years ago a horrific fire took Alice’s family from her and left her mind horrifically scarred. Afterwards she was confined to Rutledge Asylum, where she struggled to confront her demons by slipping further into her fantasy world of Wonderland. Now, after ten years, she has finally secured her release—yet she still bears the heavy psychological burden of that tragic event.
I’ve been a fan of the Alice games since American McGee’s Alice back in the day, and I remember being vaguely nervous when the new one came out. I wasn’t convinced a sequel could avoid being either nothing more than a repeat, or changing things up enough to ruin the magic. Luckily, the game managed that balance quite nicely. Continue Reading
Wow.
For perspective, I almost never buy games right when they come out, not even smaller ones on Steam. Partly I’m forever behind on games to begin with, and partly I like waiting for sales. I saw this game mentioned on my Twitter feed yesterday, though, and was immediately intrigued. (I don’t remember who posted it, sadly. I caught it right as I was getting ready for Beyond the Veil and was distracted.) Continue Reading
Quite a few Blaugustians have been posting about the mobile games they’re playing, so why not talk about what I’ve got on my phone? As promised, I’ll keep the screenshots large.
Minecraft: Big surprise I have this one, huh? The mobile controls aren’t stellar, and it’s weird playing on such a small screen, but it’s not bad for what it is. The touchscreen is very nice for placing blocks and sorting inventory, though I’m not a huge fan of the way crafting is just picking results from a list. I can see why they’d make that change for the mobile version, but simplified crafting doesn’t feel right. If you don’t expect the full Minecraft experience, there’s worse than spending a few minutes mining on your lunch break.
More site update goodness, yay! I’d planned on a more regular post today, but wanted to make sure folks know about the changes. Plus, I’m pleased with what I’ve done. 🙂
TSW Help
I’ve noticed sometimes the search terms that link to my blog are more likely questions about actual gameplay in The Secret World than readers looking for opinion pieces. Since I’ve yet to write any player guides, I’ve added a TSW Help section to the main menu. This section has helpful links with descriptions for players who are looking for advice. I’ve also added links to some of the other social groups in the game. If readers think of one I’ve missed, let me know and I’ll be sure to add it! Continue Reading
One of the most interesting writing prompts for Blaugust has been Aywren’s “The Game That Changed My Life.” I’m right on board with her about Final Fantasy IV (SNES II) being one of those games, but she’s done such a beautiful job with her posts already that I’m going to pick a different game. 🙂 I considered Riven, since it’s my favorite in the Myst series, but Myst was the one that started it all. Continue Reading
Ok, to be fair this post is a bit of a cheat – I haven’t been actively playing Minecraft for quite some time. Reading posts from folks like The Ancient Gaming Noob has just reminded me how addicted to the game I used to be. I even have a page on the Minecraft Awesome wiki! This game has a permanent spot on my favorites list no matter how long it’s been since I played.
While I’ve previously mentioned that the Video Games Awesome Minecraft server helped get me into actually interacting with people in online games, I didn’t talk much about the game itself or what I built on the server.
Minecraft is so well known by now that I doubt I need to explain what the game is. If you’ve somehow missed it entirely (how?) it’s the one about exploring and mining and creating and checking the wiki because you can’t remember how to make a redstone repeater. It’s also ridiculously entertaining for many people, including me.
Many screenshots ahead! Continue Reading
I usually try to space out the “Gryph is Playing” posts, but I’ve been meaning to cover this game for a while. Plus, otherwise you’ll be stuck with more TSW gushing. 😉
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale is a game I was very doubtful about back when Gremz kept tweeting about it. She’s got great taste, but a game where you run an item store? I’ve worked in retail for too much of my life already, why would I want to do the same thing ingame? Eventually my curiosity won out, and I’m glad it did. Continue Reading
LFGryph 