Rest in Peace, Tom Clancy October 2, 2013

It is my unfortunate duty to inform all of you that writer Tom Clancy has died at the age of 66.  While I’m sure many of you remember him for penning the books that would become blockbuster movies like The Hunt for Red October or Patriot Games, his work has also inspired many of the most popular video game series of all time including Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell.  He has been heavily inspired by the trials and tribulations of our day, starting with penning books inspired by the events of the Cold War and moving in the more recent years to books that have talked about cyberwarfare and international counterterrorism.

After Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six made a huge impact in the PC market, I decided to give his original book Rainbow Six a read during my sophomore year of High School, and I have to say I loved every word.  What an ending!  After reading Without Remorse that summer, I decided to read every single one of his Jack Ryan books, and I spent most of my free time in High School and my first year of College reading every single one of his fiction novels,  It was so cool that he chose to include a small follow up to Rainbow Six by including the characters from Team Rainbow in The Bear and the Dragon.  His final Jack Ryan novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, was something I read every break I had from working the summer it was released.

Today, his name still lives on in entirely new game properties coming out from Ubisoft, like Tom Clancy’s The Agency, which was announced at this year’s E3.  Rest in Peace good sir.

Games You Should Play With Your Significant Other September 28, 2013

Let’s face it, there are going to be a lot of people who visit this site who have significant others who do not share their interests in gaming like they do and would like to change that.  On Thursday, I posted up an article where I detailed ten games that probably would not help them in that endeavor, or at least shouldn’t be the first games they should play with their significant others.

To further help you out, here are ten games that I would recommend playing with your significant other.  These games were chosen because they are just fun games to play that exemplify some of the best aspects of the medium and should not provoke any relationship arguments.  Now a lot of these games can be played in two-player, but some of these games are single-player only.  Please don’t worry too much about that, their single-player campaigns can be just as fun to watch as they are to play, and at the very least, you can always change who’s playing at regular intervals.

1. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – PS3 players can find a lot to enjoy in this entire exclusive series.  Each game has a great story, fun gameplay, and incredible exotic locations to explore.  Whether you decide to play the game or just watch your partner play it, you’ll have fun together, and it always helps to have a second mind to help figuring out some of the puzzles.   In fact, wasn’t there a Kevin Butler commercial about this for Uncharted 2?

2. Nintendo Land – Nintendo Land is a great game for couples to play.  Imagine a theme park where each section focuses specifically on each of Nintendo’s popular franchises and imagine visiting it with your partner.  You’ll get the chance to work together or against each other in a wide array of different minigames that are inspired by many of Nintendo’s properties including Metroid, Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, and more.  It’s a lot of fun to play these games together, and just be aware that even if you are playing against each other, the game will save the coins you earn playing to help you unlock more decorations for the park.  So even if you are playing against each other, you’re still helping each other towards a common goal.

3. Pokémon – Even from its humble beginnings, Pokémon is the definitive two-player portable game.  With two games being released for each iteration, Nintendo has made it clear that you need to travel through both of them in order to capture all the Pokémon and become the very best like no one ever was.  Imagine each of you playing through one of a generation’s games at the same time as your partner is playing through the other.  The Pokémon world is bright, colorful, and there’s a lot to explore.  You can share tips on how to get through different areas, give each other advice on how to best battle the various gym leaders, but best of all you can link up at the various Pokémon Centers and trade your Pokémon, expanding your experience and building your Pokédex.  Get your partner a Nintendo 2DS or 3DS and a copy of one of these games.  With two trainers working together, it is possible to truly catch ’em all!

4. Halo 4 – Halo has always been the definitive party game since the first game launched with the original Xbox but the Xbox 360 exclusive Halo 4 cranked cooperative play up to eleven.  On the one hand, you will be able to play an engrossing single-player story together on the same Xbox 360, as you try to save the life of the partner you’ve had since the very first Halo game.  Or if that is not your cup of tea, you can play through a lengthy ten-part campaign (each with five levels) which will set the scene for the story of Halo 5.  This is the perfect game for couples to play.  Oh and the best part is, unless you’re playing with the Iron Skull enabled, if your partner dies, they can always have the opportunity to respawn without much of a penalty.

5. Alan Wake – This PC and Xbox 360 exclusive is a game about a regular guy trying to save his significant other from supernatural forces, a perfect subject matter for couples.  The story, music and gameplay are so much fun to either play or watch your partner play.  The worst thing that could end up happening over this game is the argument you may have over who gets to play next.  In fact, the setting is so incredibly atmospheric don’t blame me if someone wants to go on a vacation to the Pacific Northwest after finishing the game.

6. Dance Central – Who needs prom?  People like to dance and there’s nothing wrong with that, and this game will give you an excuse to dance with your significant other, and who wouldn’t want that?  Whether you decide to trade-off dancing the lead, or be your significant other’s backup dancer, you can learn new dance moves together while listing to some fun party songs.

7. Kinect Adventures – If you have a Kinect for your Xbox 360 you already have this game. In Kinect Adventures, you need to accomplish a series of fun mini-games using your entire body, so it is a great exercise tool for both of you.  As for why it would be so great to bring your partner in it with you, two people can accomplish a lot more in this game than one, and your scores will reflect that.  Just be aware, the game will randomly snap some pictures of you two having fun and will show them to you at the end of each level.

8. Journey – Many people have considered this 2012’s Game of the Year, and while I don’t agree with that sentiment, I do see exactly where they’re coming from.  The game is beautiful, the music is amazing, and the world laid out in front of you just begs to be explored. thatgamecompany produced the perfect game to play with someone who has never played a game before.  You can’t die, there’s no penalty for exploring the game’s world or trying different things to solve the game’s puzzles.  The best part is that you never know when you’ll find help.  Random players online phase in and out of the game’s world.  You can either choose to work together or leave them behind.  The mountain’s peak calls.

9. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX – Lets face it, we’ve all grown up watching a lot of Disney’s classic films, and this game series has been the culmination of all of them. This is a game series that takes some of Disney’s biggest franchises and most popular characters and puts you right in the middle of their worlds, and the characters in them look, act and sound exactly as you remember them.  A great game to play for the nostalgic.  While the games are single-player only, Kingdom Hearts: 365/2 Days is a fully remastered HD cinematic game, so it makes for a nice excuse to sit down on the couch together, pop some popcorn and just watch the story unfold.

10. Minecraft – The goal of this game is to build structures in an artistically pixelated world fighting off zombies, spiders and other creepers but in reality this game is really just a goldmine for your creative side.  You can link with friends, check out their work, or create an entire world of your own.  How much fun would it be to build an entire world from scratch and then have your partner explore it with you?

So there you have it, ten games that would work great to introduce to your significant other, even if they aren’t a gamer.  Special thanks to Princess Angel for helping me out with this!

Games You Shouldn’t Play With Your Significant Other September 26, 2013

This article is herby dedicated to help out all of the gamers out there in relationships.  While there are couples out there that choose to share their gaming hobby with each other, many of you may not and wish to change that.  I encourage you to share your gaming interests with your significant other as I think that communication is important in any relationship, but it may be difficult to find the perfect game to start off with.  That’s where I come in.

What you are about to read is a list of games which may be a bad choice to play with your significant other first.  I drew up this list based around two major factors,  First off, some of these games may leave a bad first impression for the gaming uninitiated, and the best thing you want to do is start off with something fun that both of you can enjoy.  The other issue is that some of these games, either through their themes or design, may trigger discussions in your relationship that you may not be willing to have just yet, and the last thing you want to do is have a possible relationship-ending argument over a video game.

1. Catherine – This game has been described by many to be the prototypical relationship sim, and it has a great story that tailors its ending to the choices you make throughout it.  However, lets face it the entire story of the game revolves around infidelity and the life decisions that people make, whether to settle down with the person they are with or to move on.  Kind of like bringing a date to a wedding, this may provoke conversations that you’re not yet ready to have, or could offend your partner.  However, if your partner is also a gamer, the questions that the game asks are a great way to get to know your significant other better.  Best to save this one for later on down the road.

2. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – This game is designed to create a psychological profile on the player as they play in order to provide them with the most disturbing experience to them.  It does this by asking you personal questions or accomplish similar tasks as to what you would be given in a psychologist’s office.  While it has an interesting story with gameplay quite unlike what had previously been seen in a Silent Hill game, some of the questions that the game makes you answer may be questions that you are uncomfortable answering in front of someone you are romantically linked with.

3. Heavy Rain – I know that a lot of people have chosen this game to be the one they play first with their significant others as I have seen several Let’s Plays online for this game done by couples, or at the very least a much higher percentage of couples have done a Let’s Play for this game than I have seen for other games.  Needless to say, while I stress that this is a very good game to play if you’ve never played a game before, this may not be the right game for a couple to play as its subject matter deals with things that no couple wants to go through.  Over the course of this game, a son is killed in a horrible accident, which tears a family apart, and another son is kidnapped by a serial killer who you need to rescue.  How you choose to play this game is up to you, but just be aware you could disagree on how to play out several different scenes, and you may not like the decisions that your significant other made during a scene.  No matter what, there’s no game over, the game will continue and your decisions will stay throughout the rest of the game.

4. Duke Nukem Forever – I know this game did make my Top 10 Romantic Video Games list a few months ago, as I personally enjoyed it quite a bit but honestly, I’m pretty certain there were guys who may have ended up single over this game.  The biggest concern I have here is it has the chance of leaving a bad impression with the gaming uninitiated.  I personally can imagine many scenes in this game, ranging from Duke’s reaction to finding the Holsom Twins to Duke Nukem’s Titty City level as being a buzzkill to a romantic setting.  Not all games are like this anymore.

5. Any Fighting Game – This goes for any Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, or Soul Caliber game.  While it may seem like a 2-player fighting game would be a perfect fit to play with your girlfriend, it in reality is a lose-lose situation.  On the one hand, your girlfriend may be inexperienced in fighting games, and you could be stuck with the dilemma of either losing on purpose to spare their feelings (and trust me, some people don’t like when you let them win on purpose), or defeat them and run the risk of them not enjoying the game, and not wanting to play ever again.  Your best bet is to let your partner learn the game’s mechanics fighting against the CPU first, and then challenge them once they’re comfortable with the game’s controls.  Once that happens, may the best player win.

6. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – Okay, I know you’re probably asking why Vice City made the list and not any of the other Grand Theft Auto games, they all have violence, guns, foul language, drug references and prostitutes.  Two words, Dennis Hopper.  You’re probably not going to want to make a date completing the porn studio’s missions, they’ve got some really filthy writing.  Sure the dialog is hilarious, but it may just offend your significant other.  It’s best to wait on this one, and discover through other means more about your partner’s sense of humor before playing this together.

7. Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh – This late-90s adventure game can get scary at times but more importantly it deals with some pretty dark themes like sex, infidelity and sadomasochism, things that shouldn’t be brought up lightly in a relationship.  If you are a huge fan of this game and you simply must play it with your significant other, I recommend doing what I did and just watching Spoony’s Let’s Play of it together.  It’s really funny and if your partner really likes it, then you can give the game a spin.

8. Metroid: Other M – While I personally enjoyed this game, I know that there were a lot of people who disliked how protagonist Samus Aran was depicted and you probably don’t want to be playing this game with someone who discovers they agree with that sentiment.  Players commented that she acted far too weak, a complete 180 from her depiction in previous Metroid games, like sidescrollers or the Metroid Prime series.  If you want to play a Metroid game with your partner, you’re better off sticking with them.

9. God of War Collection – This includes the first two God of War games remastered for the Playstation 3.  The main character of God of War, Kratos, is a character that sits upon every possible extreme.  He kills or has sex with whatever is in his way.  Many could consider him a deeply troubled individual, and others could simply consider him the ultimate bad-ass to aspire to.  This is not the kind of argument you want to have with your significant other.

10. Enslaved – This is a great game made by Ninja Theory which features fantastic graphics and decent gameplay.  The whole game revolves around the story of Trip. who is an incredibly intelligent hacker and Monkey, who is a big beefy brute.  In order to survive, Trip fits a slave headband onto Monkey’s head and orders him to do her bidding so they can both survive their way through a post-apocalyptic world.  Your significant other may find this offensive, specifically how it could possibly pertain to gender roles.  Now, I’ve intentionally avoided talking about gender roles in this article because not every relationship includes a man and a woman, but regardless you probably don’t want to provoke a discussion that has existed since the beginning of time just to realize you disagree over it.

So that is just ten of my picks on games you probably shouldn’t play with your significant other, specifically non-gaming significant others.  However, as your relationship grows with time, you may decide that you want to play these games, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Next time, we’re going to be talking about some games that would work great to play with your significant other.  Stay tuned.