Category Archives: Gaming

Posts including board games, card games and video games. :P

My Favorite Video Game Worlds

Posted in Gaming by
[Image is two controllers, one Playstation and One Xbox controller side by side]
Image from Pixabay

I’m a gamer for many reasons, but I have always liked becoming immersed in the story. Reading is great, but I don’t visually get to see the characters or the setting. A great video game to me makes me feel like I’m a part of that environment or I start to feel for the character I’m playing. This topic randomly popped into my head while I was eating my eggs this morning, I wanted to recall my favorite video game worlds I played through.

Rapture

Rapture is the fictional underwater city in Bioshock. Rapture is a 1940’s themed underground city created and constructed by Andrew Ryan. Bioshock is one of my all-time favorite video games because of how brilliantly Rapture is set up. Of course, I wouldn’t want to live there but the idea seemed great at the time. Setting up an underwater city where people could go in case things get bad above the water. I love the beauty in it even though I can still see the darkness.

Animal Crossing New Leaf

How could you not want to live here? Living in a cute town of your creation with animal neighbors and constructing lighthouses. Animal Crossing New Leaf is my guilty pleasure, a cutesy video game. When I first got my 3DS in college, this was the only game I played for about 5 months.

Colombia

Bioshock Infinite wasn’t too bad considering it didn’t take place in Rapture. Can you tell I love the Bioshock series a little too much? Colombia was the fictional universe in the sky and you could travel around by zip lines. That would actually be kinda cool yet freaky because I hate heights. It’s a beautiful environment with different influences from the United State’s founding fathers.

Boyfriends Choice: Assassin’s Creed

I asked the boyfriend what video game world he would want to live in, and he chose the world of Assassin’s Creed due to its expansive setting. I have to admit this would be a pretty cool place to explore.

Ode To RiverQuest

Posted in Gaming by

It’s been six months since I graduated from college and there are times I miss being a student. Having Sunday relaxing days while I study for an exam or getting coffee and walking around town. One college memory that has stayed with me is my gaming marathons at my college game store River Quest Games. Unfortunately, I was alerted by a Facebook status that River Quest would be closing its doors permanently, and hearing this news left me feeling sad and nostalgic. I wanted to reflect on how much River Quest meant to me.

[Image is a screenshot from "River Quest Games" The message is as follows: "I've heard you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain. For those that know me, I am far too comfortable wearing a cape to be anything other than a hero. It is because of that, and with a heavy heart, I am announcing the closure of River Quest Games. I started RQ because of a passion for Magic and games, and that passion is burning just as fiercly. However, due to circmstances beyond my control, River Quest Games will be closing. I know there will be many feelings related to this announcement so I encourage you to come talk to me if you have any qestions and I will do my best to answer them. What does this mean logistically? River Quest Games last day of operation will be December 18th 2017. Although things didn't work out quite like I anticpated, I do not regret anything. There are so many people and experiences I have in my life because of River Quest, and for that, I am so thankful. My love of Magic and gaming will live on, and I hope we will find a way to continue to play and game together".]
Photo was taken from River Quest Games Facebook Page

I started attending River Quest two years ago after my best friend got a job there. I was pleasantly surprised by all the employees who were nice and relaxed. The owner does a great job of creating an accepting environment for all gamers. I also learned how to play Star Wars Destiny at a pre-release event River Quest hosted.

[Three dice lined next to each other. Two dice say RQ Games]
Souvenir dice from River Quest! Photo was taken by me.

As a broke college student, I never felt pressure to buy anything. I wish I could have supported River Quest more, but going to college is expensive and I was often living paycheck to paycheck. I drove to River Quest two weeks ago and I was surprised by how there weren’t as many people in the store. It made me sad to see that there were fewer people gaming.

I’m thankful for Riverquest and how I could hang out with friends, play Magic or the occasional board game and unwind after a tough week. One message I want to reiterate is to support your local game store! I wish I could have supported River Quest more to prevent them from closing its doors. Local gaming stores need your business. Plenty of customers will buy from Amazon or Target, but to get the absolute best customer service, it’s best to shop local.

Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode #2 Review

Posted in Gaming by

Currently, I’m playing Deadpool, the game by High Moon Studios & Activision along with episode #2 of Before the Storm. Episode #2 was available for download on October 19th, 2017. I only was able to finish the episode a couple days ago due to my limited availability for gaming. Before the Storm is a prequel to Life is Strange which is one of my all-time favorite games I played this year. This prequel is told from the perspective of Chloe Price, Max Caufield’s best friend from their younger years. These episodes explain Chloe’s relationship with Rachel who if you played Life is Strange, know that Rachel disappeared in that episode. I do like to include spoilers in my video game reviews so please avoid them if you’re planning on playing Life is Strange or Before the Storm. 

SPOILERS 🙂

[Image is a poster for Life is Strange Before the Storm. On the left is Chloe and on the right is Rachel]
Chloe on the left & Rachel on the right. *Image from Youtube*

Chloe Price and Rachel Amber are in Principal Well’s office due to their actions for skipping school in the previous episode. Rachel claims that ditching school was her idea which was the truth to avoid Chloe having to take the blame. One of the biggest actions you can make here is to decide to go along with Rachel or say she’s lying and take the blame. I chose to go along with Rachel because it was her idea to ditch school which Chloe went along with.

Chloe avoids her mom and David to hang out at the junkyard where she finds a beat-up truck. She tries to repair it as she would love to leave Arcadia Bay for good. Frank Bowers, Chloe’s drug dealer calls her about a possible way to escape the debt that she owes him by stealing drug money from Drew, her classmate. She searches Drew’s dorm and finds the money, but his younger brother Max arrives with Drew as she is leaving Drew’s dorm. Suddenly, Max is left in the dorm with Chloe as Drew is beaten by a fellow drug dealer looking for money. Another crucial decision in the game is to decide to intervene even though Drew specifically said not to, or to stay silent. I chose to stay silent to protect Max. After witnessing this, you can choose to keep the money or give it back to Drew. I chose to give it back to Drew because I couldn’t bear to keep the money.

Rachel and Chloe attend the Tempest which is a play Rachel was supposed to play the lead in, but Principal Wells banned her from performing after ditching school. Rachel ends up being the lead in the play along with Chloe and they perform the play together. It’s a huge bonding moment for the two of them. After the play, they agree to leave Arcadia Bay and move to LA.

Rachel and Chloe go to Rachel’s house for dinner. This is a huge deal because Rachel’s father was seen by Chloe and Rachel making out with another woman. Rachel is confused and heartbroken over her father’s actions and Chloe thinks he’s an ass. A fight erupts after dinner where Rachel’s father reveals that woman is Rachel’s biological mother. [insert drama music here]

End of SPOILERS!

 

 

Before the Storm is fun especially if you really enjoy Life is Strange, but the story feels more character driven, than plot driven. The game doesn’t really have a plot to it, it’s more to tell Chloe Price’s story outside of the little knowledge we knew about her. I think that makes this version much weaker than Life is Strange, but again I am enjoying playing each episode. I can’t stress enough how much I recommend Life is Strange and if you haven’t played it, you’re missing out.

Halloween / Call of Cthulhu D&D

Posted in Gaming by

Halloween was almost two weeks ago, can you believe how fast time is passing? Halloween as I probably have mentioned numerous times on my blog is my favorite “holiday” even though it’s technically not a holiday. This year, I was able to get together with a D&D group and play Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and I had a blast. I wanted to briefly recap my 3-hour gaming episode for Halloween on my blog.

Before summarizing the story, I wanted to share a couple details about the Call of Cthulhu gameplay. When you roll, you always want to roll low, rolling high is considered a failure typically. For example: If I wanted to fight a creature, rolling a 20 is better than rolling a 90. Also when players start the game, they don’t know their own skills. To reveal your skills, you have to roll close to your skill. For example, my character had to pass the spot hidden check, I rolled a 67 and the GM revealed that my character had at least 67 to the identify/listen skill. Anyway, now onto the recap of the campaign.

[Image is a "Call of Cthulhu" character sheet. It lists my character name "Tamela Wissler" and how old I was, and where I was from along with my skills]
Character sheet

My character started off in a locked room in an asylum. I glanced into the mirror to realize my head had been shaved. I was let out of my cell and followed the other players to a room where we could hear jazz music. The GM forced us to this room because of creatures chasing us down the hall. My character was in the jazz room where I picked up a saxophone, nicknamed “Johnny” to use as a weapon. Unfortunately, another player failed an insanity check after looking at herself in the mirror and bashed me in the head with a cornet. I was now bleeding from the back of my head. We followed this old lady to a library where a little girl was sitting and reading a book. I used my library check to discover a map of the asylum so all the characters could leave. Another character ended up staring into a statue, went insane, and attacked the other players. I was able to calm him down because apparently, I’m also good at using psychology.

After that ordeal, we headed down to the morgue for medical supplies. Suddenly, the dead body lying in the middle of a table grabbed one of my other players by the arm and was squeezing him. I kept rolling too high so I would try and smash him with Johnny, but I missed every single time. More bodies came back to life in the morgue forcing the players to go to patient records where we found out why we were locked in the insane asylum in the first place aka. revealing our characters’ names and abilities. My name was Dr. Tamela Wissler, a scientist put away in the asylum due to my religious ramblings. I’m also an above-average brawler so I should have been easily able to use a saxophone as a weapon but failed miserably. Our group neared the end of the session with knowledge of our characters, but still, a long way to go to escape the asylum.

[Image is me wearing a "Where's Waldo" Halloween costume complete with the hat, glasses and the shirt]
Waldo Costume

I tried to keep the recap brief without missing anything in the campaign. To celebrate Halloween, I also dressed up as Waldo from Where’s Waldo for fun. Call of Cthulhu was the perfect game to play on the spookiest night of the year.

Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode #1

Posted in Gaming by

I hate coming up with catchy titles for blog posts. I struggled to write this article for the longest time because I couldn’t come up with a creative title. One month ago I wrote about Life is Strange so check out my review if you haven’t already. I received a comment on the post directing me to Before the Storm, a prequel game released starring Chloe and Rachel. I recommend completing Life is Strange plus the first episode of Before the Storm before continuing to read this post. Also, spoilers are included.

[Image is a poster for "Life is Strange Before the Storm" It features Chloe on the left and Rachel on the right]
Chloe is on the left & Rachel is on the right. *Image from Youtube*

*Final Warning: SPOILERS*

Chloe at this point in time has just lost her father in a car accident. She often has flashbacks to being in the car with her father before he’s hit by another vehicle. She blames Max for not being around and she slips into a depression.

The episode begins with Chloe wandering around a farmhouse where a punk rock band is playing. I like how instead of Max’s optional photos, Chloe carries a Sharpie to graffiti with. It’s fitting to her personality. This is also the event leading to her meeting Rachel because she saves Chloe from these creepy guys at the concert. Throughout the episode, I found Chloe and Rachel’s friendship to be awkward, yet endearing. I personally hope there is a romantic relationship between the two of them.

One of my favorite scenes in the game is when Chloe plays D&D with a couple friends. I start to like Chloe more through this scene because she treats her friends extremely well and seems to have a good time.

One unique game mechanism in Before the Storm is Chloe’s back talk ability. To progress a certain sequence in the game, Chloe has to use her sass to get what she wants. The game gives prompts to choose from based on what the characters say. If you choose the correct response, Chloe can sway characters into doing what she wants. Although every time I used Chloe’s ability, nothing major in the story happened. The mildest incident is chasing off a bully, but that’s about it.

Life is Strange was one of my favorite games I beat this year, and I personally got my money’s worth of Before the Storm. I think Before the Storm has a lot of hype because of how fantastic Life is Strange was. The next episode is available for download on October 19th.

Life is Strange – Review

Posted in Gaming by

CW: Suicide

Max Caulfield from Life is Strange reminds me of myself at the age of 18. She’s insecure, and timid, yet caring to her close friends. Playing through Life is Strange reminded me of the old high school drama that I experienced. My best friend recommended this game which says a lot because she isn’t a gamer though her boyfriend recommended it to her.  After finishing the game, I can without a doubt say that this was the best game I played this year.

Max is a freshman at a prestigious art school in Arcadia Bay, Oregon. As a talented photographer, she was accepted into Blackwell Academy which is her dream school. During a lecture, she experiences a vision of a tornado destroying Arcadia Bay. In addition to having these visions, she hides in the bathroom and watches helplessly as a woman is shot and killed by a student. Turns out this woman was Max’s former best friend, Chloe. Max awakes in her classroom and is able to rewind time to save Chloe. Max now has to balance her newly renewed relationship with Chloe and uncover how to save Arcadia Bay from the tornado.

Life is Strange is all based on making decisions that will impact the later episodes. I often took a couple minutes to think about how Max would react. It could be something as simple as choosing to comfort a mean girl or more complicated responses like trying to prevent a student from committing suicide. The game is all dependent on how you choose to interact with each character.

*Massive Spoilers*

At the end of the game, Max is looking out at the tornado which will soon be upon the shores of Arcadia Bay. Max and Chloe realize that the tornado was created based on how time has been altered. Chloe pleads with Max to allow her to die to save Arcadia Bay so do you: A. Ignore Chloe and watch as your family and friends perish or B. Choose to rewind time, but not save Chloe and allow her to die so the town will be protected.

I had a difficult time making a choice. After some careful thought, I chose the option to not save Chloe. Morally, I couldn’t justify saving one person and sacrificing thousands. It’s heartbreaking to watch the cut scene as Max is shedding tears knowing there’s nothing she can do to save her.

I’m interested to know what my readers thought about all the decisions in this game and what they chose at the end. Also, I really hope there will be a Life is Strange sequel because I will have that pre-ordered in a heartbeat. Life is Strange is the best video game I played and probably is one of my all-time favorite games.

D&D One Shot Monsters and Other Childish Things

Posted in Gaming by

Becoming a game master in my own D&D campaign is a recent goal of mine. Last Saturday, I was fortunate to be included in a one-shot campaign using the rules from Monsters and Other Childish Things. Players take on the role of children whose best friends are monsters as they play through a custom story about surviving the school day. Ironically, our story didn’t even occur on school grounds instead our story took place at a sleepover at my character’s house. This campaign can be adapted into a longer campaign or a one-shot which is what my group did on Saturday.

One-shot campaigns are campaigns that begin and end on the same day. Most D&D campaigns I have heard of continue for weeks or months. I like that one shot is short because if your schedule is as chaotic as mine is, it’s difficult to carve time for a D&D campaign weekly.

[Image is a children's drawing. At the top it says "Mr. Waffles" with a cat and an exclamation point right after. Below there are two images. One is an orange cat and the second cat is a lion creature with a sword]
I was required to draw Mr. Waffles, so this is what I came up with.

Ellie Ferguson is the character I created myself. She’s a sassy 7th grader living with her dad, little sister, and her monster. Unfortunately, her mother passed away when she was young, so her dad struggles to put food on the table. This circumstance has influenced Ellie to be overprotective of her little sister. Ellie’s monster is named Mr. Waffles who is an orange tabby cat when he’s happy. If Mr. Waffles is threatened, he turns into this raging orange lion monster complete with a sword. Mr. Waffles also has menacing claws that when he scratches his opponent, an ooze leaks from his claws that causes his enemies to hallucinate.

[Image is a character sheet. At the top it says "Permanent Record" and it lists my character's name, birthdate etc.]
My character sheet for Ellie Ferguson.

Over the course of the story, Ellie’s father starts dating a woman who turns out to be a witch. The big conclusion to this story is when Mr. Waffles is fighting her in the house, Mr. Waffles constantly scratches her head causing her to hallucinate because of the ooze that leaks from his claws. Also, Mr. Waffles can breathe fire so the house burned away ultimately collapsing on the evil witch, and killing her.

D&D is a way I can express my creative side by envisioning Mr. Waffles walking alongside Ellie. Monsters and Other Childish Things can be found at a local game store that carries D&D handbooks. Otherwise, the book can be found online in paperback and PDF format. Hopefully, the more experience I get role-playing, the more comfortable I would be in being a game master.

Overcooked – A Cooking Co-Op Game

Posted in Gaming by
[Image is a game cover called Overcooked.]

I finished playing Overcooked back in April but ended up writing about other topics. I felt it was time to carve time to talk about Overcooked and how adorable this game is. I love any game that I can play with the boyfriend.

Overcooked tells the story of the Onion Kingdom that’s currently controlled by an evil entity. To defeat him, you have to feed him on time before he gets hangry. While playing through the levels, new recipes are learned and there are various characters to unlock as well.

As I played through Overcooked, it kept reminding me of Diner Dash. Diner Dash was more focused on running a restaurant while Overcooked is about cooking recipes with some added challenges from the levels. In one level, me and the boyfriend struggled because the floor was so icy. Our characters kept slipping on the ice and falling into the river. oops.

Overcooked is such a fun, challenging and short game to play. Overcooked is available on Xbox One, PS4 and on the Switch. For all the Xbox players, achievements are easy to earn in this game and everyone needs a boost in their gamer score.

Selling My 360; Embracing the One

Posted in Gaming by

My gaming has consisted of solving a murder in Murdered Soul Suspect and attempting to stop Ganondorf in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As I have gotten older, it’s much more difficult to play video games. I try my best to cram thirty minutes for gaming on my 3DS, but working longer hours gets in the way. Besides bills, moving home has made me busy along with organizing my boyfriend’s belongings. He moved home with me because he accepted a job in the Minneapolis area. The boyfriend is a huge gamer so he has his own Xbox 360 and Xbox One which means I didn’t need my white Xbox 360 from 2008. I had two options: I could keep my 360 because it does hold a lot of great gaming memories or I could sell it. I hate clutter, so I made the choice of selling my Xbox 360 to GameStop.

I don’t regret selling my 360 because I didn’t need it anymore. I will never forget the excitement I had in Christmas 2007 when I unwrapped the Xbox 360. When I sold my 360, I ended up having $69 dollars in store credit to spend. Here’s my Gamestop haul:

Link Poster

[Image shows a poster laying flat. The poster features Link holding a bow and arrow]

I got this poster for free because the Gamestop employee found it in the back and gave it to me. I plan on buying a frame for it and hanging it in my future apartment.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M

[Image shows a cover of a video game. "The cover is Code Name S.T.E.A.M"]

This game features the voice work of Wil Wheaton and the art is inspired by comics. What more could you want from a video game?

Deadpool

[Image shows a video game cover for Deadpool. Deadpool is giving a thumbs up]

I don’t know how great this game will be, but it looks like Wolverine and Psylocke may appear at some point so I’m looking forward to that.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes

[Image is a video game cover. The video game is LEGO Marvel Super Heroes]

LEGO games are underrated and usually keep me busy for a good chunk of time.

Life is Strange

[This is a video game cover for Life is Strange]

My friend played this game on Steam and loved it. This means a lot since my friend typically isn’t a gamer. After Murdered Soul Suspect, this is the next game that I will be playing.

Sonic Boom Fire & Ice

[Image is a video game cover for Sonic Boom Fire & Ice]

The last game I purchased is this Sonic game. I remember being a young kid watching my brother play a Sonic the Hedgehog PC game. I have a soft spot for any Sonic game.

I’m glad to have new games to play! I hope to post reviews of these games soon.

Dice Rolling & Deck Building; Star Wars Destiny

Posted in Gaming by

My tabletop gaming consists of cooperative gameplay, but not deck-building games. I dislike the complexity of deck-building games. When I play Magic the Gathering some of the cards are difficult to understand and it leaves me feeling frustrated. A couple weeks ago my friend invited me to the Star Wars Destiny card game release at my local game store. I cannot recommend this card game enough and I had a blast playing multiple games in a row with friends. This weekend I am teaching my brother how to play this game because I am trying to get as many people introduced to Star Wars Destiny as possible.

[Image shows 6 dice, three dice in 2 rows. Below the dice is a card deck. The top card says "Darth Vader / Dark Apprentice. This card features a young Anakin Skywalker before he becomes Darth Vader]

Star Wars Destiny offers two starter decks: Rey or Kylo Ren. I wasn’t able to buy either of these because my game store ran out of starter decks. I bought a bunch of booster packs and a couple of people gave me cards to help me build a deck, but it does help to buy a starter deck first. I pulled Anakin Skywalker and he is super powerful in this game so I ended up building a Sith deck.

Star Wars Destiny allows players to roll dice to simulate attacks with characters and activate special abilities. When I roll Anakin’s die, I have a couple outcomes including a lightsaber attack, his special ability, and a blank. If I don’t like the roll, I can discard a card out of my hand to re-roll all my dice. I have essentially one action per turn so if I choose to tap Anakin to roll his dice, that’s the end of my turn. On my next turn, I could play a card or use one of the dice on my opponent.

It sounds confusing, but once you play a few rounds you catch on pretty quick. There was one game where I kept rolling Anakin’s ability 5 or 6 times in a row and I ended up winning that game. I also heard that Star Wars Destiny will include Rogue One characters and I will hopefully have that pre-ordered because Jyn Erso is one of my favorite Star Wars characters. I’d love to build a deck around her.

Star Wars Destiny is probably my favorite tabletop game I have played this year. Local game stores should have more information about this game if you’re interested in getting started. Otherwise, you can find more information about Star Wars Destiny here: Fantasy Flight Games/Star Wars Destiny.