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Help! Be my personal game concierge
Josh
Saturday
10:08 am
The holidays are coming up quick (Christmas and a birthday), and along with that comes the inevitable “you’re so hard to buy things for — what do you want?” line of questions.
The honest truth: I have no idea. But I’d love something fun that doesn’t breathe or make anyone take out a bank loan. That leaves out puppies and HDTVs, so games seem like a logical suggestion to parents and aunts.
But I’m not as into gaming as I used to be, so I have no idea what to ask for. I need your help.
I’m going to list out my video game caveats below in hopes you folks can help me put together a wish list so my stocking isn’t filled with ties and screwdrivers… leave your advice below!
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Good times.
SYSTEMS:
I can run most any PC title (and technically Mac as well), and I have a Wii. No PS3 or Xbox360. - SOME OF MY RECENT FAVORITES: They tend to be adventure titles or games with a great story — but not always. The best game I’ve played in years was Mass Effect, closely followed by Fallout 3. I enjoyed Half-Life 2, and had a soft spot for some of the later Final Fantasy titles (8 and 10). I don’t have a ton of Wii titles I’m in love with, but I play a TON of Mario Kart, and Super Mario Galaxy was a lot of fun.
- SOME CLASSIC FAVORITES: The Wing Commander series, Gabriel Knight, pretty much any adventure title by LucasArts (Full Throttle, The Dig, Manic Mansion, etc.), the classic Fallout series and Deus Ex (but not the sequel). My favorite game of all time, though, is likely Starcraft.
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Riveting — at first.
GAMES I PLAYED AND DIDN’T LIKE:
Doom 3 was a horrible waste of time. I bought Resident Evil 4 for the Wii, and just couldn’t get into it even though I tried — I think it’s the whole “have to find a save point to save” concept. I thought Return to Castle Wolfenstein was remarkably boring, and, while I LOVED Bioshock at the beginning, it devolved into routine shooter conventions fairly quickly. - NO SWORDS ALLOWED: For some reason, I just can’t get into fantasy-themed games. I’m definitely much more of a present/future/alt-history/eclectic setting.
- GENRES: I’ll try anything, but I tend to shy away from turn-based tactical games (too slow) or twitch-based routine first-person shooters (too predictable). But I’d still give them a shot if they come highly recommended.
So, any suggestions? Help a fella out!
Thanks Amy! 
Amber
Jason
Nick Burns
Christy
Charlotte
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Bill
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Reader Comments
New Super Mario Bros Wii perhaps?
I have the exact same gaming setup (Wii and PC).
It’s a short one, but give Overlord on Wii a shot. Fun story, and some decent side-quests. Plus, it’s only a fantasy game in idea. Has nothing to do with gameplay.
How about board or card games? Bonus points – you can play them with your family for two gifts in one (a gift & family time).
Settlers of Catan is loved by many of my gamer friends and simple enough that elementary aged kids should be able to play it.
David — I’ve looked at SMB-Wii — that’s a distinct possibility.
TheKM — Overlord does look interesting, and maybe something my daughter would enjoy watching, too.
Courtney — Some neighbors came over last summer, and we played Settlers and Ticket to Ride — both fun games. That’s a great idea!
I’ve always been a fan of the Total War series, in particular Rome: Total War. And Mass Effect 2 comes out Jan 26th.
Portal, duh.*
*My own caveat being that I’m not actually a gamer myself, just friends with people who are, and this is really the only game I’ve fallen in love with and actually…you know, played, as opposed to watching someone else play. Although I did that first since my gamer friends wanted to introduce me to GLaDOS and the Weighted Companion Cube, and I was pretty much a fan from then on. Oh, and I spent a goodly amount of time watching them play Shadow of the Colossus, too, which looked pretty good.
There are plenty of games that you could be playing. The Call of Duty series have a different setting depending on what game you choose. Call of Duty 1 & 2 were set in WWII, While III & IV are set in the here and now. DemiGod was fun for a few weeks for me but then Fallout 3 came and I lost majors hours to that game. Batman Arkum Asylam looks like a good game I haven’t picked it up but have finished the demo multple time. I also thing Dragon Age looks fantastic also. Waiting for a demo to play. I hope this helps you out. and you can find something to play.
James G. Campbell
L-3 Communications
Systems Administrator
March ARB, CA
hm, did you ever have a look at Zack&Wiki for Wii? its basically a puzzle game – but not puzzle like Tetris – rather like adventure puzzles but set in stages.
Don’t let the cover scare you off, there’s a demolevel on the homepage I think.
super mario bros wii, COD4:MW2 (short single player, made for multiplayer). if you havent already, try some super smash brothers brawl, maybe some super punch out. how about some madworld if u want some insane violence voiced by greg proops, or house of the dead overkill for some very adult dialogue thats funny as funk!!
EL.
Well, I was going to point you at Torchlight, but it has swords. Similarly Dragon Age.
I’ve been enjoying Assassin’s Creed 2 and the first game was awesome. You might could find it cheap (I think it released on PC). Wait. That was swords in it, too, though it’s sort of alt-history, rather than fantasy.
Mass Effect 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction are due out early next year, so you could ask for a pre-order, maybe.
If you liked StarCraft, I highly recommend looking at Dawn of War and Dawn of War 2. Both available on Steam. They’re based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and do a great job of RTS, in my opinion. They play pretty differently from each other, I should note.
Also: Left 4 Dead. Get it. The sequel just came out and I have been too busy since then to put in much time, but the demo seemed like a strong indication of win. It takes about an hour of time to play one “campaign”, which is, in my life, not an unreasonable amount. The fun goes up exponentially with friends, since it’s designed to play as 4-player co-op. The difference between a game that HAS co-op and a game DESIGNED for co-op is huge. Playing with friends > playing against friends.
El: People keep recommending COD4 as a great (if short) single player game. I’m going to have to put that on the list, even if I’m not much into the usual multiplayer FPS. (Well, not since Tribes 2, at any rate.)
Ben: Splinter Cell wasn’t on my radar — I think the last game I played in that series was the launch title, but I really enjoyed it. Also, I’ll have to check out Dawn of War — also not on my radar.
As far as Left 4 Dead, it looks hugely fun, but I’m just not really into multiplayer FPS, unless it’s served up with a major kink from the usual gameplay. That said, maybe I’ll toss it on there, too. : )
I’ll second the New Super Mario Bros. We hated Galaxies at our house but the new one is fun. Pretty much the best of all the past Mario games rolled into one.
I was die-hard against FPS, and I LOVED L4D. The cooperative play really makes it I think. I’m still “meh” regarding FPS games, but L4D is…different some how. Also, in 2, you can kill zombies with a frying pan. So, yah. Not much in the world better than that. (Since you said puppies where out).
I second the recommendation for Dawn of War 1&2. Really well done RTS games + Warhammer 40,000 = Win!
Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii can be a lot of fun, particularly with a full 4 players.
I love Left 4 Dead. A lot. That being said where it really shines is in the co-operative game play. So unless you have 2-3 people to play it with on a regular basis or you enjoy grouping up with random people, I would probably pass.
As an Xbox 360 gamer and a fan of Fantasy and FPS games I can’t really add many more recommendations.
Well, while they are older, I didn’t see Knights of the Old Republic 1 or 2 on your list any where, they should run on your PC and are worth checking out. Borderlands, while I haven’t played it myself, sounds like a good FPS/RPG title. The new Super Mario game for the Wii if you like the old Mario titles on the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo that would be up your alley. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 on the PC plays a lot like the old Gauntlet games, with some rpg elements that let you upgrade your characters powers/attacks to suit your play style.
KOTOR 1 is a great RPG. KOTOR has a lot of good in it but has some issues. Though there are a couple of fan groups working to add a bunch of cut content back into the game.
Borderlands is a lot of fun both in single and multiplayer, but it does lean heavy on the FPS side of things.
Also if I remember correctly, on the Wii there are the new episodic Monkey Island games which you can download through the Wii Ware(or whatever they call it) service.
Knights of the Old Republic! Fantastic! I KNEW there was something that should have been on this list. I heard those were great games — I just never got around to playing them….
And I hear Borderlands is fun, too. I forgot that wasn’t a 360-only title.
I’ve been playing Borderlands purely solo for about 25 hours and I’ve finally hit the “this game sure would be better with friends” wall. I’ve tried it online with randoms but it’s just not fun.
Left 4 Dead on the other hand is a game that I can enjoy with random dudes. Most of the people I’ve played with online (PC) are very cool. I’ve met several people through Left 4 Dead that I now game online with on a semi-regular basis. You should grab the demo for L4D2 on steam and give it a shot. As others have said… it’s not your standard FPS.
As for myself, my Christmas gaming wish list includes Dragon Age and Assassins Creed 2. Maybe I’ll hook up my wii and try out the new Super Mario Bros game.