A little bit of this and that

Wow, I feel like the days are flying by now. For a while there I felt like there was no possible light at end of the tunnel separating me from Warhammer’s release. I’ve found comfort in the arms of games that I never would have played had it not been for this “between games” feeling. Let me backtrack a bit. I’ve not felt the urge to log in to Pirates of the Burning Sea for the past few days. I’ve fought off the urge and logged in when I find time to spare but nothing makes me feel compelled to continue playing. I have, for lack of a better word, burned out on the burning sea. Cutting right to the chase here, I may or may not continue playing. That isn’t what this blog entry is about though. I want to share with you all a few games that are holding my attention and making the wait suddenly not seem so bad. I’m going to briefly touch on each of the games I’m playing and tell you quickly about them and why they are interesting to me.

Civilization IV

It’s a classic Sid Meier’s game. It’s all about building up a civilization from scratch and creating an empire through all the choices you make while playing. It’s turned based, easy to pick up and play, and challenges me to think about more than simple keystrokes. Today is the first time I’ve actually played more than the tutorial. Graev has been trying to convince me that Civ4 is really good game for a long time and I always blew him off. Well, I was wrong. Civ4 feels like a mix of the board game Settlers of Catan and Age of Empires. The only downside really is that it can get fairly deep and really start consuming you. I’ve spent the entire day playing just one game and I haven’t even scratched half the map; albeit I’m a noob, I’m still shocked by the depth. Playing around with economy, culture, military, and determining how you will progress your civilization is a blast.

Sins of a Solar Empire

I recently reviewed SSE – feel free to read what I had to say and learn about the game. Another time consumer and deep game (am I sensing a trend?) that offers a unique experience. Graev informed me yesterday that SSE is less of a RTS and more of a “4x” – again I feel like a noob for having no idea what that means. So, for the sake of not looking foolish, I’ll refer to SSE as a blend of RTS and 4x gameplay. Making massive armies and conquering planets – good stuff.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl

Yes, I play Pokemon and I’m proud of it. Graev and I have been Pokemon fans since the first season began airing on TV. Graev owns Diamond and I own Pearl. We’ve recently started up new files with our minds set on finally capturing all the Pokemon. Perhaps a much larger task than we first anticipated. I forgot that every game/season adds a bajllion more Pokemon. Nevertheless we have decided to enjoy a slow casual approach to the game. Pokemon D/P plays like every other Pokemon game. Many years ago when I first played Pokemon I took my main guy and maybe another to the max and beat the Elite four and thought I was awesome. Now that I’m older I can appreciate how intricacy of these games. Graev and I have decided to raise an entire team of 6 pokemon (each different and balanced) and play through the game as parallel to each other as possible. We just beat the first gym last night. I have a level 13 Turtwig, 13 Starly, and 14 Abra. The best thing about Pokemon is that unlike the previous two games I’ve talked about it’s as deep as you want it to be. Pickup and Play value here is unparalleled. We may never catch’em all but we’re going to have fun trying.

CoD4/TF2/Savage

Okay, so these two games aren’t necessarily ones I wouldn’t play without this lull. When I’m not in the mood for something that makes me think or at least try, I drift over to my two staples. First person shooters are the ultimate “I’m bored and need a good game to play for 2 hours” experience. Both games are so truly well made that I doubt they’ll ever get old. I plan to be playing these even after Warhammer releases simply because they are fun to play.

There you have it. An update on what I’m playing and why I’m playing it. Graev and I both want to play an MMORPG but we’ve decided that playing one for the sake of playing one leads to nothing but becoming more jaded. It’s also a waste of money to pay for a subscription to a game when there are no plans to persue the game after a few months. MMOs are investments of time and money – neither of which grow on trees. I still have that “ugh” feeling that I get when I’m not in a MMO but when I look around and realize there are fun things to play it’s just enough to get me through.

Update: I’m shocked that I forgot to add Savage. I placed it in with the CoD4 and TF2.

  • I saw you in Savage 2! How neat. You joined the main chat channel (default when you connect) and I was like :o, probably named bwndead or bonedead. That’s sexy huh.