STATE OF THE [VIDEO] GAME

I like games. I work at a company that sells games as a purchasing assistant. I own more games than I’ve played and the queue just keeps getting bigger. Right now, I’m knee-deep in multiple video games with more on the horizon that’re going to demand my time.

My current addiction is a little 2-D, side-scrolling, rogue-like called Dark Dungeon. To be upfront, it’s not my normal fare in gaming. Death is permanent, the difficulty gives a new meaning to the word hard, and RNGesus loves to come in and kick you repeatedly. But there’s a story in the game, some excellent narration by Wayne June, and a graphic style that reminds me a lot of Hellboy. There’s a lot to love about the game. I’ve racked up triple digits in the game, since you can log in, play 30 minutes at a stretch, and then leave. It’s a nice little time killer.

The big one in my current playlist is Fallout 4. It’s a franchise that caught my interest way back in the day when it was going to be based on GURPS. The deal fell through because of the iconic Pip Boy artwork was deemed too silly [or so the story goes]. I had to upgrade the video card in my machine to get it running decently and while I’ve not huge amounts of time, I try to play a couple times a week. Again, we get back to the story and little things that make the series interesting. The main story isn’t the strongest and if Preston asked me one more time to help a settlement, I’m gonna scream. There’s other bits that make up including references to HP Lovecraft, getting the USS Constitution up and running again, and some seriously messed up bits if you explore off the beaten path. Not to spoil anything, but there’s a cabin in the woods near Sanctuary Hills with a skeleton, mattress, and a diary. It was depressing to say the least. Thank you Bethesda. You put out a buggy game and manage to make me come back for the little things to find.

X-Com 2 drops tomorrow, another series that I’ve played since the first installment. I didn’t get the reboot until it’d been out a year and then played it like no one’s business. I love the new story, the single base aspect, and listening posts aka satellites. That’s what I did in the original game and it works well. I’m looking forward to playing it once I get done with everything else on the list. I believe that the new DOOM is due out this year for more first person shooting goodness.

Sitting mostly untouched in my queue is Sub-Nautica, Tales of the Borderlands, and Shadowrun: Hong Kong.  I got those for Christmas off my Steam wish list from folks and they beckon me to play. I’m running up against not enough time again. The solution is dedicating a chunk of time to play them like I do with my writing. Set aside an hour to play something and a few extra on the weekend. There’s raiders to kill and ghouls to blast. The Commonwealth isn’t going to save itself.