video games – Tessera Guild

Interview with a 9 Year Old

By John McGuire interview, life, Video Games

Every generation prior to the current one is always held with such esteem. And they always lament the next generation. They were the hard-workers and this next one is lazy. We know how the world works. They’ll be lucky if they can tie their shoe laces correctly.

I heard the same things said about the Generation Xers that are now being said about the Millenials. And I’m pretty sure in a few years we’re going to hear that the Millenials are worried the world is going to go downhill with the generation after them.

I try not to judge too harshly. I want to understand where other people’s thoughts and experiences have taken them. And maybe I don’t always agree with them about any number of things, I’m also not entirely sure I’m the one who is correct.

***

I loved video games growing up. The Atari was played as much as humanly possible, and when everyone else had a Nintendo, I begged my parents for one of those. As the years have gone on I’ve gone through many gaming systems and it is probably only in the last few years I haven’t played as much as I might like (given the quality of today’s games).

However, there is a weird (to me) phenomenon where a whole generation of kids aren’t necessarily playing the video games themselves, but are instead going online to watch others play the games. I don’t know if I even knew about this being a thing until South Park ran an episode a few years ago “#REHASH”.

I think a Cartman commentary of my life would be “Gah, going to work again? Boring!”

And it is clearly big business as it shows up on my tv some late nights on TBS or ESPN. The other night I saw a show where they were breaking down a Street Fighter Tournament like it was the NCAA March Madness selection show. And while I might watch out of curiosity for a little while, mostly shows like that make it where I’d just rather play something myself.

During our annual family beach trip, I saw that my nephew is one of those kids who watch Youtubers (is that even the correct word?) for hours upon hours. Now he also plays some games, but there is a definite joy for him by simply watching and listening to other people playing.

So I decided to run an impromptu interview with my nephew in an effort to get to the bottom of this (and did a follow up on the phone). But as with anything asked of him, he can be a bit evasive to actually give answers.

He won’t look up because he’s ENGROSSED… or maybe he doesn’t like taking pictures. Definitely one or the other.

Who is your favorite person on Youtube to watch?

fudz

Why is that?

He’s funny.

Ah, I see. Not going to give me very much to go on already. That was OK, though, I had ways of making people talk.

So what’s the deal with watching other people playing video games on Youtube all day?

I don’t know.

Hmm, this might be a tougher nut to crack than I first thought.

Well, you like watching them, right?

Yes.

Right. Maybe try a different tactic?

Would you rather watch them or play the game yourself?

Watch them.

Really? Why is that?

They show you how to play. You don’t have to look up how to do something because they already know and won’t get stuck.

Finally, now we’re getting somewhere.

Do you watch them play games you’ve never played?

Most of them I’ve never played.

He’s up to something… don’t let the grin fool you.

Oh.

I mean, I’ve played Dumb Ways To Die and Battlefront.

What’s your current favorite game?

Star Wars Battlefront and Nascar 14. It’s a much better game than ’09 was.

What is your favorite game to watch, but you haven’t played?

Unknown Battlefield

Is making Youtube videos something you’d want to do?

Yes.

Why don’t you do it now?

I don’t have all the equipment for it.

At that point, his people swooped in and ended the interview. The phone went dead. I scrambled with my own cell, making sure it wasn’t me who was the problem… but I had plenty of bars and plenty of power. His mother called me back shortly thereafter to let me know that he hung up on me.

I’m not sure if I was asking the right questions or if he was just leading me through a maze with no escape. Or maybe I was getting too close to the truth of it all, and he decided that he’d end the conversation before we reached a place we could never come back from.

And I’m not sure if I’ll ever really know the answer.

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novellas Theft & Therapy and There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

NES Games Left Off The Classic

By John McGuire games

Check out John McGuire’s The Gilded Age steampunk graphic novel on Kickstarter!

Every year there is the IT toy/thing. Most years I am far too out of it to even know what the THING could be. However, given that I do occasionally partake in that odd thing we call video gaming, I knew what at least one of the THINGS were going to be this year:

nes-classic

NES Classic.

I gave it a go when Amazon first put them up on their website, and like most people I could never get through as every other person on the planet apparently wanted one of these consoles. I did my one attempt and figured I’d pick one up in February after the craze died down and the supply caught up with the demand.

Yet, I’m lucky in the friends I have. In particular, my old college roommate is a machine when it comes to getting these sold out items in a way that makes my head spin. So imagine my surprise when he had a gift for me this Christmas.

In the days before I had an original Nintendo, I often would hope for rain when hanging out with my buddy who lived down the street, as that would finally allow me to play these video games everyone else was talking about. Of course, scrolling through this set of games, those old memories flooded back. Various codes, long since buried to time, popped into my head again. Later when I was in college someone on the hall had a Nintendo which still worked (some decade later) and many rounds of RBI Baseball or Tecmo Bowl were played into the late hours.

After I busted open the Classic, well, we might have had to bust out some Tecmo Bowl action that night. You know, for old time’s sake.

Scrolling through the 30 titles, I’d say a quarter were ones I’d never played before (a couple I hadn’t the first clue as to what exactly they were).

It’s kind of like getting a greatest hits record from a band, only to find out they might have missed a couple of obvious choices, and maybe some of the ones included… meh.

The following isn’t to say I’m unsatisfied with the product. I’m certainly not privy to possible legal reasons a game was or wasn’t chosen. But I do think if they ever released more games for it (not sure how that could happen since it doesn’t appear to be expandable), these would shoot to the top of my own “Want List”:

Pro Wrestling

You’re not going to find Hulk Hogan or Sting or Ric Flair in this Pro Wrestling game. No, you’ll have to make due with such characters as King Slender, Giant Panther, Kin Corn Karn, Starman, The Amazon, and a couple of others. Here’s the thing, the game shouldn’t be very good. And at times it does turn a bit into a button smasher. But it has a couple of things going for it:

There is a storyline mode… kinda.

I’m not talking about the current WWE games with your ability to map a course to Wrestlemania. This is defeating 4 or 5 opponents in a row to get your first title, and then needing to defend it 2x against every wrestler in the game. Only then could you square off against the Great Puma in a match where your title and his title were up for grabs.

During this gauntlet, my friend and I would trade off on matches (if only to make sure our fingers didn’t break off!).

But the other reason is that this is a 2 player game, which the Classic only has 6 of (meaning simultaneous play), helping to fill that much-needed gap.

r-b-i-baseball-usa

R.B.I. Baseball

Listen, if you want to spend way too much time and effort on a baseball game, you can get all the MLB 2k16/17/whatever you want. For me, too many nights were spent in my dorm neighbor’s room learning how to strike him out. Adjusting the speeds, steering those late inning pitchers as they labor through the last of the line up.

Unlike Tecmo Bowl, there was no “just play the Raiders” type of glitch in this game (or at least not one we knew about). No, this was just about picking your team (if it was represented) and dueling it out with another person.

A slight caveat to this game, I’ve never actually played the one player version of the game. Since I didn’t own it, I only played against other humans (normally in some elaborate tournament set-up for a bunch of people on the hall).

dragon_warrior

Dragon Warrior

Technically this slot on the Classic is fill admirably (Final Fantasy isn’t a slouch at all, nor are the Zelda games), but in this expansion pack I’m building, there is always room for one more RPG game. Selfishly (well, these are all selfish choices) I’d want to see this game again because I never got to beat the original even though I owned it, worked my way all the way to the very end, and even confronted the last boss (Dragonlord).

You see, when you reach him there is enough time before the big fight for a conversation. In it, Dragonlord offers to split the world with you so that you both rule. Now, I know I’ve been fighting this whole game to save my people from this terrible tragedy. I ALWAYS wear the White Hat…

Yet for some reason I agreed to it. The screen fades to black, everything goes red, and that’s the end of the game.

Considering what a pain it had been to get to him in the first place, I needed to take a break from all the game for a while, and never made it back to answer No.

I need to answer No.

metal-gear-nes-_

Metal Gear

I don’t know much about the actual story of the game. I’m pretty sure you’re a guy, Solid Snake, who needs to blow up a base because the fate of the world is at stake. You needed to be cautious. You needed to sneak around. You needed to be COVERT.

You see, this was a game where you had to take your time dealing with the various levels. This was really the first game where it forced you to play differently than you’ve possibly played before. Brute force wouldn’t get you very far.

And yes, it was frustrating at times when an enemy spotted you just before killing you. It was also sometimes a pain in the ass to reach the other side of a seemingly simple board. Oh, and it helped to know where some of the special equipment was located.

Something about the idea of altering your play style. I think that’s worth another look or two.

Plus, it feels like a proper predecessor to the alarms of the police in the Grand Theft Auto series (with less stealing cars and more saving the world).

Honorable mentions: Spy Hunter, Paperboy, Castlevania III, Blades of Steel, and Rygar.

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

Tessera’s Top Five Posts from 2014

By Amanda Makepeace tessera

First off…

Happy New Year!

I’m going to assume you all are recovering from last night’s festivities, so today’s post is a simple one. Let’s look back into the Tessera archives and reminisce, shall we? Here are the top 5 posts (by views) from 2014.

5. Taking a Stab at Marvel Movies by John McGuire

It’s not surprising this made the cut. Marvel is huge. Marvel is everywhere.

4. Forget Me Not by John McGuire

Writing – Where do writers get all those ideas? Another post by John McGuire!

3. Ten Questions for Humanity by J Edward Neill

Neill gets philosophical in this popular post from just a couple weeks ago.

2. Monsters, Magic and Moonlight by Amanda Makepeace

That’s me! This was my pre-Halloween post on spooky art through the ages.

1. My Top Six Videos Games of All Time by J Edward Neill

Yes, on a website of writers and artists, our top post of 2014 is about video games. This post sparked us all to write up our own top six video games.

Here’s to a fantastic 2015!

Dragon Age: Inquisition

By Amanda Makepeace games

When I pre-ordered Alien Isolation over the summer I made the mistake of having my teenage daughter by my side. I was lured by forces beyond my control to also pre-order Dragon Age: Inquisition. At the time, I told my daughter this would be a Christmas present. Then the game released and Tumblr began regaling me with screencaps. There was no hope from that point forward. The game case is still going to be wrapped and put under the tree, but we’ve been playing the game since Thanksgiving. According to my daughter, I’m the best mother in the world.

One of the best things about this game has to be the character creation engine. The possibilities are endless. So instead of giving away all the game secrets, I thought I’d share my character Aeira. I’ll be in The Hinterlands if you need me.

Alien Isolation

By Amanda Makepeace games, Horror, sci-fi

Alien Isolation Xenomorph

You had to know this was coming…. This is the video game I’ve been waiting for, for a long, long time. I pre-ordered Alien: Isolation sometime over the summer–months ago. I’ve never pre-ordered a game. The only thing I wish I had now was a bigger flat screen TV!

And yes, I recorded this opening of the game myself! I was grinning like a 10 year old at Christmas.

If you don’t already know, I am obsessed with H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph. I’ve been enamored with the monster ever since I saw Alien on TV when I was around 11 years old. The film terrified me but the creature was such an amazing work of art I found even at that age I couldn’t look away. By the time I was 13, I was also reading the comics and drawing Xenomorphs straight from the pages. There are many things I’ve drawn and thrown away as a young artist, but these were not one.

So yeah. I’ve been waiting for this game. I’ve been waiting for video game graphics to reach the level needed for a quality game, made by people who know what an Alien game should be. And let’s face it, you could almost say this game was made for me. The main character, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, is named Amanda.

Because of some turmoil going on his my house at the moment, I didn’t pick up the game the day it released in stores. I picked it up over the weekend but still didn’t have a chance to play till yesterday. I didn’t mind waiting. My family comes first and the game wasn’t going anywhere, though I should have at least installed it over the weekend!

Alien Isolation is two discs and took longer to install than I imagined it would. If you own an Xbox 360 you can probably guess what happened next… There was an update to install too.

Ugh…

Once that finished I had to download my add-on content. One, Crew Expendable, comes with the game. The second, Last Survivor, was a bonus I received from GameStop for pre-ordering the game.

The game was worth the wait. It doesn’t take long to live up to its name. You begin the game as part of a team to investigate the discovery of the Nostromo’s flight recorder. Before Amanda and the others even board the trading station Sevastopol, she is separated from them. Alone. Isolated.

I haven’t even seen an alien yet and it’s had my heart pumping.

That’s all I’ll say for now. I don’t want to ruin the game for anyone who plans to buy/play. But if you’re interested in reading a more detailed review, that includes insane GIFs of the various ways the alien will kill you, take a look at this Alien Isolation review from Kotaku.

This is Amanda, geek obsessed artist, signing off.

CO-OP Gaming: The Best Way To Game, Part Deux

By Robert Jeffrey II games, Horror, sci-fi, tessera, Uncategorized

So wow, that week turned into a month…..

🙂

And what an eventful month it’s been.

But back to my top two co-op vidya’ games.

3. Halo: Combat Evolved/ XBOX/ Release Date: November 15^th, 2001

I’m going to spoil something for you: my last two spots are going to be FPS’s.

Sorry to all the FPS naysayers. I’m by no means a hardcore Call of Duty, or Battlefield aficionado.

So you can breathe a collective sigh of relief that this list isn’t going to head in either of those directions.

Storming the digital beaches of Normandy, or running through the streets of a war torn urban metropolis just doesn’t do it for me. Never had much fun playing those types of games.

But give me a horde of religious fanatic aliens, and oh yeah, fun times all around.

Not saying that the Space Marine trope hasn’t been done to death, but that’s another discussion for another day.

Let me take you back. Back to a somewhat simpler time. The year was 2001. I’d just started college, and my weekends were sometimes spent hanging with my best pal, Phillip.

Phillip was (and I think still is) a straight up, hardcore gamer. Not just a dude who loved playing games hour, upon hour’s on end. This was a guy who truly appreciated video games. He loved gaming. All aspects of the art form.

Some of my most fun times talking video games, and just playing them were spent with the ‘ole Phil-meister.

Dude if you read this: HIT ME UP!!!!!

But I digress. Phillip had gotten the new fangled XBOX, and this little game, that was soon to become a decade spanning monster of a franchise, Halo: Combat Evolved.

So, in my little world, the FPS genre only included the classic N64 Golden Eye 007 and Wolfenstein.

Hang Time (And I’m Not Talking About the mid- 90’s Teen Comedy)

My mind was blown open to high h^%* with the galaxy spanning adventure of Master Chief and company.

This was the first time that I saw the XBOX pushed to its impressive limits. Of course we now live in an age where PS4 and XBOX One would blow such a system out of the water, but for its time the XBOX was the shiznit.

With the aide of Phillip, I found myself running across impressive snow draped alien vistas, battling hulking behemoth’s known as Hunters in frantic close quarter combat, and driving like a bat out of hell on a Warthog as the world went to crap around us.

As with most of the titles on this list, late nights were constantly spent trying to beat this game, and fun times were always had. Even now there are parts from this game that I can still remember, and for a guy whose played a lot of video games in his 32 years on this world, that’s saying a lot.

14 ammo rounds until certain death……

But what sticks with me the most is teaming up, and kicking some alien butt, via split screen shenanigan’s. Sure, we’d flip the Warthog over a cliff, or accidentally lob a grenade or two at each other mistakenly.

But after laughing our butts off, and respawning, Phillip and I were ready to push back the tides of the Covenant and the Flood.

Fun times indeed.

Honorable Mentions: Halo: Reach, Halo: ODST, Halo: 2-4

1. Left 4 Dead/ Left 4 Dead 2/ XBOX/ L4D: October 17, 2008, L4D2: November 17, 2009

Gotta get this out of the way first: I love zombies.

World War Z, the novel, is a must read. The original Night of The Living Dead is a classic piece of barrier breaking genre film making. When people talk about the Holy Trilogy of films, I lean more towards the Romero side of flicks, rather than the Lucas camp.

The Walking Dead (comic series). Return of The Living Dead. Ash. Dead Alive. House of The Dead (as crappy as the flick was). 28 Days Later (and I know they’re not “traditional zombies”, but that movie is a great addition to the zombie movie genre). Capcom’s “Resident Evil”.

And the Left 4 Dead series.

Numero Uno

Numero Dos

I can wax on all day and night about how much I love these two games. About how they rank up there with some of the greatest video games I’ve ever played.

My ride…..

But I know I’ve only got so much space on this blog, so I’ll try to keep it succinct.

Basic premise of the L4D franchise: you’re grouped with three other survivors of a zombie outbreak, and are placed in various scenarios where you have to fight your way through endless hordes of zombies, and other infected creatures.

The game is a FPS which, at least for me, only intensifies the feeling of dread and anxiety which permeates both these games. There will always be countless instances where a swarm of zombies will run at you at top speed (sorry for all you Boyle zombie haters, these ain’t the shuffling ghouls), unless you can dispatch them in enough time with dwindling ammo.

The environments in this game also set a creepy mood, ranging from an nighttime abandoned hospital, to the sunlit French Quarter avenues of New Orleans fame.

Teamwork is essential to this game. Teamwork. Teamwork. Teamwork.

…..or die crew.

Now, of course you can just blow your way through each level, with no strategy, just picking off zombies, Tanks, Hunters, Smokers, and Witches.

::Shivers:: Don’t even get me started on the Witches.

But in my opinion, to truly appreciate this game, it should be played with three other folks, with some sort of a plan in mind. Definitely, don’t become one of those ultra tight butt folks who treat the game as if it’s a real life or death mission.

Run.

Have fun with it, but just try to have something of a plan.

Case in point: on the last level of the aforementioned hospital stage, your final fight for survival takes place on the roof of the building. You head here to await rescue from a helicopter, but in the interim, you have to fight the living dead. Final showdown and whatnot.

Before the zombies began attacking us, we wound up stocking up on ammo, setting up gas cans as booby traps, and placing ourselves in such a fashion that we could deal out the most damage to the monsters.

Fun times. 🙂

The calvary’s on its way…..

Overall this is a must have for any fan of zombies. Even if you don’t play video games, this is the game that should force you to learn how to play.

Imagine having an opportunity to recreate some of your most favorite tense filled, survival moments from any of the Romero flicks, and you have the Left 4 Dead franchise.

There were times in this game where I literally jumped in my seat, while either playing online, or playing on a LAN gaming session with three other friends.

Rumors abound about a third game being worked on by Valve. Here’s hoping it kicks as much butt as the first two installments.

Both games (along with a crapton of DLC/ downloadable content) can be found pretty much in any brick and mortar gaming store, and on Steam.

Honorable Mentions: Game of The Year Editions/ L4D & L4D2

So that’s it for me. If ya can, please drop a line or two in the comments section about your own favorite co-op games. And if you’re ever on XBOX Live and want to run some rounds, hit me up.

CO-OP Gaming: The Best Way To Game

By Robert Jeffrey II books, comics, games, tessera, writing

First, let’s get the business out of the way.

If you want to read some quality comic books head here and here.

I’m kind of biased, but I think they’re the bee’s knees. 🙂

So, I’m here tonight (or this morning, considering what side of the world you’re on) to talk video games with ya.

Specifically co-op games.

A lot of people love playing sports games, role playing games, third person action-adventure games, first person shooters (FPS), and the lists go on and on. A little mustached plumber and his brother have pretty much cornered the market in most of the above categories, though I haven’t seen Mario busting a cap FPS style in a goomba’s butt.

That’d be awesome to watch.

Mario brings sunshine.
And pain.

I’m getting sidetracked.

Co-op games.

Jason Rybka of About.com defines co-operative games as “a game in which two or more players team up to achieve a specific goal, playing side by side, either via LAN, split-screen, or via the Internet. More specifically, co-op is a multiplayer game play type. The literal translation is co-operative. Co-op games are widely popular and are increasingly becoming an included game play option in many games.”

Robert Jeffrey’s definition of co-operative games: games which allow you and a group of friends to collectively kick the butt’s of hordes of zombies/ super villains/ stereotypical y cheesy 80’s-90’s street toughs, while having a fun time.

The idea of teaming up in person with a group of friends, random strangers at an arcade (ahhhh, those were the days), or via online gaming, is a fun one for me. I understand the single player experience. I get it. Heck, I even love the competitive aspect of an FPS or fighting game. I’ve spent countless hours getting my butt handed to me in epic Halo death matches, and Marvel vs. Capcom bouts.

But to me, planning, and strategizing with a group of guys and gals to complete a game can lead to some extraordinary gaming experiences.

Special Co-Op Handshake. All the cool kids do it.

I don’t consider myself an expert gamer at all, just a guy who likes to have a good time with a wireless controller.

Wow, that didn’t sound right at all.

Um… well as I think of a way to clean up that creepy statement, read ahead and check out the first two entries on my list of my four favorite co-op games/ gaming experiences.

4. Streets of Rage 2/ Sega Genesis/ Release Date: December 20, 1992

The cover of this game says it all.

After my brother and I got our NES system, the next game console that we received a few years later was the Sega Genesis. The mighty, mighty, SEGA! Note: you’ve got to yell SEGA like that guy from the commercials.

The system of Sonic. Altered Beast. Toe Jam and Earl. Sewer Shark (actually that was the Sega CD).

And Streets of Rage 2.

Oh hellz yeah.

Streets of Rage 2 was the shiznit. Sure there had been Double Dragon before, and other such brawlers. But for me the Streets of Rage series was something special. Was it the stylish R&B, electronica/techno laced soundtrack (that I can still nod my head to even now)? Was it the aforementioned stereotypical multi-ethnic street gangs with dumb names? Or was it the fact that each game in the series had a plot which sounded like a bad Steven Seagal movie?

It might’ve been all of the above. Who knows? But what stood out to me (and I’m sure my brother can agree with this) was the awesome butt whooping’s that you could lay down.

First off, every fighter in this sequel (Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, Eddie “Skate” Hunter, and Max Thunder”) KICKS-MAJOR-ASS. And has an awesome name.

Choose wisely……

Whether it’s Axel knuckling up on some punks, Blaze kicking butt oh-so gracefully with skull crushing kicks, or Max Thunder using his hulking frame to tear through the baddies, you got to button mash to your hearts content.

And don’t think I’ve forgotten about Skate. My homey Skate.

Skate sizing up the competition.

This dude was fighting on roller blades.

ROLLER BLADES.

Skate doing what he does best: knocking dudes out.

I know I turned into an 11 year old with that statement, but hear me out.

This was a kid, a black kid who was kicking butt to save his kidnapped brother. And in an industry where a lot of heroic characters of color weren’t in great abundance, this was awesome for my brother and me to see.

Skate could pull off awesome moves like jumping onto the back of a thug, and commence to dropping blow’s like small anvils on their heads. He had this fantastic special move where he’d flail his arms like a madman, while hurtling towards the bad guys on his roller blades.

Blaze was always my personal favorite in the series, but Skate came a close second.

I’ll admit, she was my video game crush. Don’t judge me.

So we would spend countless hours beating up various baddies in the hopes of defeating Mr. X, and saving the day. Whether it was avoiding motorcycle riding grenade tossing Mad Max rejects, or fighting evil kick boxers, my brother and I enjoyed fun times with cracking skulls and taking names.

So definitely, if you’re in the mood to team up with another friend, to just knuckle up and beat some bad guy butts, you can find the title on XBOX Live Arcade, and Steam.

Go with the dynamic duo of Blaze and Skate and you won’t be disappointed.

Honorable Mentions: Street Team: The Video Game, Battle Toads, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Castle Crashers, XMEN Arcade, TMNT Arcade

3. Marvel Ultimate Alliance/ Xbox 360/ Release Date: October 24^,2006

Remember as a kid when you use to team up with your neighborhood friends, choose a superhero, and kick all sorts of imaginary bad guy butt? Remember how awesome it felt to strap a towel around your neck, jump from tree’s, do fake karate, and shoot imaginary laser’s from your fists?

Awesome, right?

Fast forward a number of years, and now you can do that from the comfort of your couch, sans towel wrapped around your neck.

Okay, maybe you still wear the towel.

Hey, if Linus can rock it for as long as he has, so can you.

Enter stage left, Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Alliance allows you to choose from an impressive lineup of Marvel heroes and heroines, including such stand out characters as Spiderman, Blade, Captain America, Wolverine (as if that dude doesn’t get enough screen time already), Ms. Marvel, Mister Fantastic, Colossus, Luke Cage, Doctor Strange, Thor, Storm, and the list goes on, and on, and on.

Notice Blade in the top right trying to look cool as a cucumber.
A half human/ half vampire cucumber.

You want the Fantastic Four? You got ‘em.

You want an X-MEN themed team? You got ‘em.

You want the mighty, bi-coastal Avengers? You-got-em.

Sweet Christmas! That’s a lot of characters!

With a host of baddies to fight, and levels potmarked with Easter Eggs which die hard Marvel fans can appreciate, this game is a beauty to behold.

The fighting system is excellent, and as you gain more experience your abilities grow in awe inspiring fashion. Being able to do team combos is an added plus, and gets you wanting to reenact scenes from “The Avengers”.

Spidey and company going buck wild.

Don’t even get me started on the awesomesauce that is “alternate costumes”.

So many Storm’s…….

Myself and a group of friends pretty much waded through this game over a series of weeks, XBOX controllers in hand, staying up to the wee hours of the night. A personal favorite of mine is Storm (going back to the X-MEN Legends days, another title you should give a shot for the PS2). This goddess of weather tornadoed and chain lightning’ed her way through Dr. Doom, Ultron, the Winter Soilder and a host of other evil-doers.

You can more than likely find a copy of this with most online video game retailers (Amazon.com), or used video game retailers.

Honorable Mentions: XMEN Legends, XMEN Legends: Rise of Apocalypse, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Gonna stop here for the evening as my eyelids are steadily drooping. I’ll drop my last two favorite co-op titles your way next week. Thanks for following me down my video gaming memory lane.

Amanda’s Top Six Video Games of All Time

By Amanda Makepeace games, life

I’ve never been what you’d call a gamer, but I’ve been playing video games since the days of Atari, back before Nintendo shook up the market and recently I even started using a free HWID spoofer. I have my favorites, but I’m not obsessed. This week marked my 38th birthday and I’m still playing games when I have the time (Steam and Xbox360). After reading J Edward‘s post on his Top 6 Video Games, I felt compelled to take a walk down memory lane with my own top six list. The games on my list are those that turned me into a follower, buying up version after version.

#6 Wizardry

Have you ever played a game that annoyed you so much you became obsessed with it’s annihilation? For reasons I cannot fully fathom I played this game until our system kicked the bucket. It had a tendency to freeze up right in the middle of my progress too, but I kept playing.

After the NES left us, I went on to play Wizardry on our computer. MS-DOS. The days of Wizardry are long gone, but there’s a newish game on Steam that has the feel of the old dungeon crawlers but with updated graphics–The Legend of Grimrock. Yes, I play it too.

#5 Football Manager:

I have a real appreciation for the Football Manager, where the success of your career is shaped by every decision you make. There’s something incredibly engaging about it. It stands out as a game that captures the intricacies of football management and has become a staple of my gaming collection. I’ve spent countless hours on Steam perfecting my strategies and leading my teams to glory. The depth of the game is immense, from nurturing young talent in the academy to masterminding victory in the top leagues. It’s a game that truly allows you to carve out your own story in the football world. For more Football Manager content check out FMBrotherhood.

#4 Doom

I’ve been playing Doom since the days of DOS. I’m sure someone introduced me to the game, but the memory escapes me. This was (and is) a game I can play for hours. I’ve played Doom, Doom 2, Final Doom, Doom 64, Doom 3 and now I own Doom 3 BFG Edition for Xbox 360 (includes Doom and Doom 2). For some it might be embarrassing, but I have zero issue revealing that I also played mobile editions of the game. Yeah. I love this game.

There’s been some rumors/announcements about a Doom 4, but I have yet to see any promotional material from id Software. Before anyone asks, no I haven’t played Rage but it’s on my wishlist.

#3 Resident Evil

Here’s another game I’ve been playing for ages. I can’t even recall which game I started with (before Resident Evil 4) but I can tell you how unbelievably terrified I was of this game. I’ve always been a horror fan, but this game took it to a new level. Mindless zombies are one thing, but zombies with wits, biological experiments, monsters, abominations… You can’t reload your gun fast enough.

#2 Skyrim

Skyrim made it to my top list, partly because I’m an Elder Scrolls fan and partly just for the amazing beauty of the world. I agree with J Edward on the characters (Too epic not to be included, but damn so many of its characters for being cardboard.) but I just don’t care. I still laugh when I hear the sweetroll comment or the arrow in the knee comment, because all I can focus on is the amazing scenery. The auroras alone. Wow. Riding my horse across the Giant lands. Slaying dragons.

Dovah Kiin!

It also doesn’t hurt that Skyim is inspired by the Vikings. My character is a Nord named Brynn. My daughter, playing the Dark Elf Alythrae, thinks that’s boring.

#1 Zelda

On this, J Edward and I are on the same page. I have played every single incarnation of this game, even the Gameboy and DS versions. All, except Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. My daughter is playing it first on her 2DS. Without a doubt, Twilight Princess was extraordinary but The Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 will always have a special place in my heart.

Before the Nintendo 64 version (1998) we had Link’s Awakening in 1993 (Gameboy) and A Link to the Past in 1991 (Super Nintendo). When I first saw The Ocarina of Time I was dumbfounded by the leap in graphics and storytelling. It blew my mind. No other Zelda game has done that. Yes, Twilight Princess was beautiful–but expected.

Honorable Mentions and Forthcoming:

All of the Lego games. They are just too much fun. I especially love the Star Wars collection.

Tomb Raider — the newest game by Square Enix. I’ve only played this game a bit. It’s my daughter’s game and I’ve watched her play it from start to finish. Amazing! Another extraordinary achievement. You feel as if you’re part of the game. Stunning graphics and story.

Alien Isolation — This game isn’t out yet, but I have a feeling it will make this list a year from now. I’ve been waiting my entire life for an Alien game of this caliber. I’m so excited!! I’ve been having everyone watch the trailer….

And the character’s name is Amanda. This game was made for me.

Tag: video games