One of the things that a lot of people know about me (but maybe you don’t) is that my secret vice is video games. I don’t often talk about them, not because I’m a media elitist, but simply because there are so many video game trade publications and websites that do a much better job of it than I would. However, some recent time in virtual worlds has convinced me that I need to speak to you about a couple of experiences.
Have you been curious about the new Valve game, Left4Dead? Click here. That screen shot alone should tell you everything you need to know about the game. If you like zombie games, fast-paced shooters, co-op play, or blowing stuff up, this is the game for you. It is scary, fast-paced, and unbelievably intense. You can take a molotov cocktail, light it on fire, and then throw it into a horde of rushing former humans to make them all undead, screaming torches. This is the true stuff of nightmare here, but it’s one that you’ll want to experience again and again with your friends.
I recently acquired a Wii. I had been somewhat skeptical about the platform, believing it to be a one-trick pony platform, but I love my Nintendo DS. After a New Year’s Party in which I played one, I decided to give it a shot. First of all, the Wii Sports game is wicked fun. The bowling especially is a great party game, one that I can actually get my wife to play. I personally enjoy tennis, but that one doesn’t seem to be anyone else’s favorite.
Where the console truly excels, though, is the unique use of the Wii remote and nunchuk system. Super Mario Kart comes with a wheel accessory that you can snap the remote into so that you feel like you’re steering a car. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has you wield the Wii remote as if it were a lightsaber, hewing down enemies with the might of the dark side. Gestures with the nunchuck in your left hand enable you to use force powers, which will allow you to choke enemies with savage glee. In fact, these two games alone are worth the price of admission for the Wii.
I’ve also been playing the infamous World of Warcraft. In this outing, my time is pretty severely limited (at last count, I’m somewhat less than half the time played at current level of my closest cohorts), but I’m enjoying the casual play, the questing, and exploring the world. I’m not as obsessed with trade skills or gear this time (although I do love to min/max my character with the aid of a damage meter). This is what WoW was intended to be, I think. We have a small guild of pretty close friends that doesn’t bring the drama of the forty man raids of yesteryear (was that really two years ago?), so I’m fairly happy with it.
What I truly miss, though, is the friendship and teamwork of the Battlefield series of games. I saw recently that they’ve announced Battlefield 1943 (yay!), so I have hope that my desire for team-based combined arms combat will soon become a reality.
If we all still played Battlefield the way we did when we competed I’d still be a die hard gamer. Watching everyone go their seperate ways (mostly to WoW) was rough.
I’d like to get into the Left4Dead, but its not compatible with my laptop
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Even though I really, really, really suck at FPS games like batlefield, I still really enjoyed playing them with you and Kate and Brian and the rest. Man… I really suck at those games.
1943 Looks like MAYBE it could be good. I was just thinking about reinstalling 1942 and seeing if there were severs around.