Media Recap: March 2014

Posted on Tue 22 April 2014 • Tagged with Media Recap

Summary: 6 games, 20 videos

Interestingly, it seems as if holidays actually slow down my writing process.

Video Games

  • Fable 3 - Almost done with the achievements in this one. Can’t say I enjoyed most parts of the game. Weak presentation of the story. Might be due to me comparing it with Mass Effect or other series instead of a single title. However, one look at Grandia proves that even a single game can be an epic all by itself without having to rely onto sequels. Side note: I absolutely adore Grandia to this very day.
  • Plague Inc. - I wanted to try the iOS version of Plague Inc. immediately after I watched Polygon’s Overview video on the game. I found it to be - as mentioned in the video - quite hard. It took me several tries to finish one game on Easy difficulty and to this day was not able to complete a game in Normal mode.
  • Gyromancer - Gave in, bought the DLC, completed the accursed Challenger’s Door. Finished collecting achievements. Dare I say that the summons in the DLC pack are seriously and severely overpowered?
  • Guild Wars 2 - I dove back into GW2 for a bit after having purchased a new MacBook. I still tend to like it even though some systems have become quite complex and the April update changing so many of the existing systems. I am very fond of the new wardrobe system and spent a while looking through all the different outfits available for my Sylvari lady thief.
  • Dungeons of Dredmor - Had some time to kill - a reason that often sends me back to entertaining, shorter games like Dungeons of Dredmor. Which I always, always want to write ‘Dredmore’.
  • The Elder Scrolls Online, Beta - I am a fan of The Elder Scrolls and have been since I played Morrowind. I was bored by Oblivion but Skyrim saved the series for me. The Elder Scrolls Online however, did not. I missed the feeling of being the central part of the story. I felt unimportant and even lost at times which is a huge deal breaker for an MMO. Some people say that it’s hard to tell the NPCs from the players - it’s not. Players are the ones jumping around stupidly and sprinting hectically from place to place.

You are the one who will save us. And this guy over there. And that guy. And that other one.
~ Markus

Videos

Polygon has a new series called ‘Overview videos’ in which they play a game for a certain while and try to explain as well as show what the game is about. Most parts of the series tend to clock in at about 20 to 30 minutes and are at least slightly amusing. I think they really help to demonstrate what the game is about and I vastly prefer those to video reviews. I still read the written reviews of more interesting games for that matter. I tend to watch nearly all of those to get a good impression of what’s new in gaming.