A lot of us remember our very first video game rather fondly. While I’m not going to explain my own life story, I will say that I was first hooked on video games through my older cousins’ Sega Genesis systems, specifically the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Much of my interest in gaming as a whole came from the Yuji Naka-created mascot. It wasn’t the only set of games on the Genesis available to me at the time, but it was without question the series that hooked me. It began my own journey humbly, but in retrospect, it’s actually quite difficult to articulate why it was so interesting to me. This is a situation that many of us recall, but rarely ever examine deeply. Think about your first video game, the one that convinced you to pick up a controller and keep playing till the end credits, the one that convinced you to try another game afterward. What exactly was it about that first game that hooked you and urged you to keep playing from then till today? In essence, what appealed to you about that game that made you "a gamer"?
The story development in this episode brings out its appeal to older audiences. It's fast paced and doesn't leave a whole lot of room to think where it would be important to. Quick time events (QTEs) are important in the episode, as they have been in the previous three, making it known that you have to be ready for anything. When you aren't interacting in a QTE, you are trying to solve a series of puzzles that can only be done so by following a set of clues. The previous episodes also had puzzles the solve but they were as easy as flipping a few switches and moving on. This episode stresses your ability to listen in order to solve the puzzles and makes it a little easier to screw up and start over again. The episode also follows in the footsteps of the previous as exploration continues to be an important aspect. Since these puzzles are a little bit more difficult, every room has more information and lore about the world that Telltale has created as you search for clues.
This may be a cheat, but I didn't want to single out one MOBA like League of Legends, and fuel the ongoing debate of which of these series are better, when really the only intention here is to focus on how great this entire genre is. As such, this entry goes to all you fine MOBAs out there.
Its graphics are certainly nothing to write home about, but what it lacks in visual fidelity, it more than makes up for elsewhere. The game features a slew of old-school RPG mechanics and combines them with some of the more recent survival game concepts to great effect. Choices feel meaningful and gameplay is fluid which together leads to a wonderful experience whether playing on one's own or together with a fri
Capcom took a similar approach in 2010 with Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, although that was turned from a demo into a 10 dollar downloadable title. Set in a small town entirely separate from fortune city, it still offered a streamlined version of the core Dead Rising experience – a sandbox packed with improvised weapons, hundreds of zombies, and scattered survivors to save within a set time limit. Players got a cheap taste of the full game without spoiling anything, and their stats carried over to reward the investment of their time and money. It’s impossible to say exactly How rare is a chicken jockey Case Zero impacted Dead Rising 2 in terms of sales, but I can testify that it’s what sold me on buying the full game.
Those who enjoyed being thrown straight in at the deep end in Don't Starve Together will likely have a lot of fun with Raft . They'll begin their playthrough with nothing but a single scrap of wood, but will eventually find the materials and resources needed to expand that lonely plank into the game's titular raft. Well, they will if they can survive for long enough to find what they need, any
Sometimes, though, developers go the extra mile and build a vertical slice to demonstrate their game. This is a lot of work – even re-using assets from the game, you’re looking at many hours of scripting and scenario design – but the payoff speaks for itself. Bravely Default’s demo is essentially its own mini-RPG, with three dungeons to conquer, five bosses to fight, and a whole bunch of enjoyable grinding to do in the interim. It has condensed versions of the streetpass and job mechanics from the main game that allow you to familiarize yourself and get to the fun quickly. The demo may take all of its assets from the main game, but it uses them to craft an experience entirely distinct from it. In doing so, it gets straight to the essence of what makes the full game fun. What’s more, if you master the demo, you get rewards to help you out in the early game, as well as a head start on streetpasses.
Of those contributions, none were greater than Rock Band. In fact, you could argue that a big part of the reason the entire genre seemed to disappear so quickly is because there was no way you were going to top Rock Band as far as advancing the genre is concerned. It didn't matter who you were or your thoughts towards video gaming, the feeling of getting four friends together and rocking across the globe with the help of a massive list of classic hits had an appeal that could seize infinite nights and weekends away. Many games work endlessly to pursue that level of zen that accompanies the perfect multiplayer gaming experience, but Rock Band manages to mass produce that euphoria to the point where you almost become burned out on it like a raging weekend drug bender.
