Category Archives: Digital Playground

From 8-bit to whatever-the-hell-bit we are in right now, plug in and take a ride with us.

Digital Playground, Uncategorized

Video Game Collecting Q&A and Tips!

Leave a comment

As many of you who regularly peruse our website are aware, I’m known for being a retro video game collector above all else. With that in mind, I wanted to write an article that not only answers questions that I get frequently when I have friends/family stop over and see the ol’ game room, but also gives you, the noob collector, a few tips on building a collection on the cheap.

I guess the most common question I get is ?How did you afford all this stuff??

This is a pretty easy one to answer. I’m not rich. I have bills just like everyone else, so I built a gaming budget that I strictly abide by. I’ve also learned that building a collection is costly if you buy games individually. Always hunt for lots. Craigslist is an invaluable tool for this. For the most part, it will always be the cheapest route to go. eBay is useful for when you can’t find that one game you want in a lot anywhere. Lots are the quickest way to build a collection and if it contains games that you don’t want, then eBay them and put that money back into your gaming budget.

What’s your favorite system?

I don’t even have to think about this one. Playstation 2. It has such an immense library of great games, and I’m always discovering ones that I had never heard of before. Also, the price point is perfect right now, more on that later’Here’s a quick list of hidden gems:

The Red Star, Darkwatch, Castle Shikigami 2, Samurai Western, Klonoa 2, Arcana Heart 2, Blood Will Tell, Snoopy vs the Red Baron (Yes, really.)

Which one [system] do you play the most?

Well this isn’t a static answer so if I had to answer this question today, it would be the Neo Geo X Gold. I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas gift from my sister a couple of years ago, and I use it pretty consistently. As with most Neo Geo products the price for it has jumped significantly and it’s currently twice as much as my sister paid for it. Which, ya know, fortunate for her (and me), but unfortunate for anyone who didn’t get one in time. I’ve been on a shoot ?em up kick lately and this system came with a few really great shoot ?em up titles.

How did you get so many games?

I partially covered this in my first answer, Craigslist lots, but there is a slightly more to it than that. Game collecting is kind of like playing the stock market, you buy low, always buy low. What this means is that you wait until a console is fading away into the twilight and then collect for it. Right now is the absolute perfect time to collect for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. Even Gamestop is trying to bomb out their preowned inventory for a song, and usually has buy 2 get 1 free sales on last gen’s games. The games are super low because everyone is focused on the Nintendo Switch/Xbox One/PS4. Shawn and I have a running joke that we are always one generation behind everyone else. Well, there’s a good reason for that, it’s cheaper to build up a collection when you are buying games that the average gamer doesn’t want anymore. At this point in time, I’ve started collecting for the Wii, as the prices for the games are at an all-time low.

What’s your favorite game?

Of all time? I’ll have to go with Zelda: A Link to the Past. Currently? As I mentioned before, I’ve been spending a lot of time playing shoot em’ ups on my Neo Geo lately. My favorite kind are of the bullet hell variety, and no one does this better than CAVE games out of Japan. There are two amazing games on the Xbox 360 that I’ve been playing called Akai Katana and Deathsmiles (This game was featured in one of my articles a few years ago), and as of right now, Deathsmiles is my favorite game.

What’s your rarest game?

I’ll say Shining Wisdom for the Sega Saturn. I don’t even have a Saturn anymore, more on that later, but I held onto this game. While it’s not insanely rare, it does command a steep price ($80-$100). I found it at a indy video game store and got a really good deal thanks to a lazy employee and complete lack of price tags on all of their games. Long story short, I paid $15 for it. Don’t be afraid to haggle at your local game store.

How do you have time to play all of these [games]?

I don’t! If you remember I wrote an article a few years ago about the first time I was asked this question and my reaction to it. I’ll save you the time of trying to find that article, I sold most of my collection except for the stuff that I played on a regular basis. Something that I regret to this day. These days, I realize that it’s impossible to play every game from beginning to end. Sometimes it’s all about the hunt. I’m at peace with that fact, and I’m enjoying collecting.

Okay so here are my collecting bullet points for all my noob collectors out there:

-Set a realistic budget. Rome wasn’t built in a week and neither is a great game collection.
-Try not to buy individual games. Look for lots on Craigslist and sell off any games that you don’t want from those lots in order to stretch your budget.
-Obviously sometimes you will be forced to buy a title individually. If that’s the case, check your local goodwill first. You’ll be shocked at what you will find there. It’s hit or miss, but when you get lucky there is nothing better than paying a few dollars for a rare game.
-Narrow your focus. If you try to collect for a handful of systems at once, it’ll get costly very quickly.
When you do choose the system(s) you want to collect for, make sure they’re ones that have just faded out of the spotlight (Wii, PS3, 360) are all prime targets right now.
-Don’t be afraid to haggle at the game store. There is nothing wrong with trying to get the right price for your budget. Trust me, at your indy game store, the prices are not set in stone and if you run into an owner who is unwilling to budge, then turn to Amazon. It hurts the owner a lot more to watch that sale walk out of their store. 9 out of 10 times they will budge on the price.
-Visit your local Gamestop when they are having a preowned sale, that’s when you are getting the best deal that you can get there. Do not make them your first, uh, stop when it comes to finding that title you’ve been hunting for.

As always, thanks for reading, and if you have any questions or thoughts for us, just comment below!

Digital Playground

Mobile Mining

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: I’m pretty sure we’ve done an article on Minecraft for mobile before. However, I’m sure that there have been many updates since that article. Also, it’s been a while since I’ve fed this particular addiction. What could go wrong?)

I loaded up Minecraft on the phone earlier today. I’ve been keeping an eye on the updates that have been happening in recent weeks. For a while there, it seemed like they were coming in rapid succession. It might have just been because they were working so hard to get all of the versions compatible.

Ever since (and maybe even before) Microsoft acquired (invested in?) Mojang, there has been a push to make Minecraft cross platform. They’ve already experimented with the idea. The boys and I played on a “cross platform” version of the game. They played on their Kindles and I played on my computer on the Windows 10 version. I put “cross platform” in quotes because Windows 10 is Microsoft’s attempt at merging their mobile and PC markets with the same operating system.

Now, however, I’ve heard that they’re talking about allowing players to play simultaneously on PC, Mobile, and XBox One. There were rumors that Playstation would be included, but those have been tempered. Because Microsoft owns XBox and Sony is a direct competitor. I still hold out hope that Minecraft can be the game that overcomes the console wars and gives us our first truly cross console game.

Imagine all the Steves…living life in peace.

One of the roadblocks to bringing the three other platforms together was that some platforms didn’t allow for infinite worlds. Another was that the non PC versions were often several update cycles behind. As I mentioned earlier, they seemed to be working hard to remedy both situations through an intense series of updates earlier in the year. From what I was able to see on the mobile version, at least, they were successful.

The Good

The best thing that I can say about the mobile version is that it is much closer to Minecraft that I recognize. The last time I played it, there was much missing from the game. It didn’t impact playability, necessarily, but it did obviously limit the options in the game. The first improvement I noticed was the opening menu. It is much more user friendly. Also, infinite worlds!

That might not seem like a huge improvement. Even the old worlds are huge. However, there were a few times, mostly during multiplayer games with the boys, that we mined up to the edge of the world. It takes you out of the fantasy a bit when it happens. Plus, one of our borders was on the ocean, which is doubly annoying because there could have been a water temple down there! Alas, that’s not something that we have to worry about anymore.

This must be from an earlier edition before they added the ability to choose infinite worlds, but it’s there trust me. Or don’t. See if I care.

The other great thing about the game that I noticed was that opening your inventory automatically shows you the items that you can craft based on the items that you’ve collected. Then, you can just click on that item and it will automatically add the items for the recipe. Again, it is a small improvement, and some more traditional players might not even consider it an improvement, but I love it. The first thing I do on the PC version is I download an addon that does something similar to this. It just saves the time of not having to alt+tab to a browser and look up recipes.

There are other cool things. Addons, as you can see in the screenshot above, have been added. The nether is more than just a new dimension. The last time I played, the nether was there, but the only mobs were Zombie Pigmen, so it wasn’t very interesting to explore. Now, everything is there. Ghasts, Blazes, those little hopping things, firebats, fortresses! It’s going to be a ton of fun playing this game.

The Bad

The only bad thing that I could find about the game is that the controls are still super awkward. I don’t have a bluetooth controller for my phone, so I have to use the touch controls. While they lend themselves to an easier crafting experience, the mining and moving leaves much to be desired. I can’t cont the number of times that I’ve accidentally started combat with a farm animal instead of cutting down a tree or mined the wrong block because of the controls. It’s a minor annoyance, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it at times made me not want to play the game until I’m able to get a controller.

The Ugly

I know that the game is known for and defined by it’s blocky graphics. And, I’m usually a sucker for old school games with terrible graphics. But, the graphics in this game are really awful, even by the campy standards that should allow for bad graphics. I mean, honestly. The basis of the gameplay is simple. The graphics are terrible. Why is this game so popular?

Seriously, Grandpa. What am I doing with my life? What madness is Minecraft?

I know that I mentioned earlier that having the nether in the game was a good thing. That’s true in the context of making the games compatible for cross platform play. However, having lost many a game and too much inventory to even count when I made a misstep and fell off of a cliff into a pool of lava that I twitched a little bit when I set up the nether portal and took the trip into that burning hellscape, even though it was on creative and there was no chance of me dying.

The Verdict

I said earlier that I might not play again until I am able to get some kind of controller for the phone. I might even have to get a tablet for the bigger screen. I doubt that I’ll ever go through with it. First, that requires spending money, something that I’ve only done on beer and comics the last 3 months. Second, having played the game again, I realize just how much I enjoy the game.

I can and often do already play the game on the computer. There’s no reason to abandon that for a game with inferior controls. Of course, in less than a month, I will be back at work and not in front of a computer most of the day. Well, I might be in front of a computer most of the day, but my employers would frown upon me playing Minecraft instead of illuminating people on the wonders of math and physics. If I could port my PC worlds to the phone…

I agree, Batman. It’s just crazy enough that it might work.
Digital Playground

Gods in the Palm of your Hand

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: 2 Generations Gaming is back with a celebration of all things DC Comics over the next couple of weeks due to our enjoyment of the new Wonder Woman movie. Next month is Spidey and Marvel!)

I believe I’ve mentioned the mobile version of MKX in one of my reviews recently. Even if I haven’t, just know that I’m not overly impressed with the game. Look, I know that it can’t be an exact port from the console versions to mobile, but I just felt that it could be so much more. Against my better judgement, I fell for the advertisement in MKX and downloaded Injustice 2 for the phone. I’ve heard good things about the console version. However, as a cheap old gamer, I don’t have either of the current gen consoles required to play it. Also, Kevin crushed my dreams by telling me that it would not be released on Steam. Therefore, I have to wait until another price drop or two (and Chris told me that one is imminent!) until I’m able to play that version.

As a result, even though I’m deeply disappointed in MKX and Injustice 2 is done by the same studio, I took the chance. Part of the reason is that Wonder Woman released this month and I had plans of doing a DC spectacular on the podcast and I needed some DC games to fill in the gaps on the web page. Just like the movies (more on that Friday), there haven’t been many decent DC related games other than the Arkham series. I remembered the Injustice name from the first game and, as always, hold out hope that things will get better.

Usually, I’m the guy on the left. Every now and then, I’m pretty sure that I’m standing in a puddle of piss.

Let’s start with my primary complaint about MKX. Combat, frankly, is boring. As I mentioned earlier, it is mobile, so it is unrealistic to think that an exact port is possible. However, I feel they could have adjusted the game to take advantage of the unique nature of mobile gaming and make it more strategy based than just tap, tap, tap. On a related note, I’ve found some additional strategy with the block mechanic, but even that is very limited. Injustice improves upon that.

Adding to the basic/combo attacks and block maneuver, each character has a jumping attack, a crouching attack, a rush attack, and even a ranged attack. Each of them is activated using a unique motion. The variety of moves makes it feel so much more like an actual fighting game than MKX. I will be investing much more time into Injustice 2. I’ve already weaved it into my regular rotation as I wait for cooldowns to expire in MTG:PQ and Sim City.

They’re not lying. In addition to the fact that there is an actual moves list, the characters have unique animations for their different moves. It is quite an impressive improvement on MKX.

So, the move set is more complete. Big deal. Hey, as far as I’m concerned, it is a big deal. That alone makes it work the price of admission. By the way, that price is free for both games. It’s a metaphor, okay?! However, that’s not all. There are several other reasons that Injustice 2 is a vastly superior game to MKX. Let’s explore them.

There are more and a wider variety of game modes. Alongside the campaign mode, arena (which is similar to faction wars), and resource missions (sort of a ladder style mode that is somewhat analogous to Shao Khan’s tower), there is also a robust story mode, operations, and something called challenges. As of this writing, I’ve played all of the modes at least once.

I’ve only played through part of the story, but the cut scene that I watched was entertaining enough to keep me interested and I will probably play through more eventually. Right now, I’d much rather play the other modes as they offer much better loot. Area pits you against random teams put together by other players with the computer as your actual opponent. Operations are a completely different way to play the game. You choose one (so far the only ones I have unlocked are one) of your characters to go on a “mission” which awards various prizes depending on the mission. It is not terribly interactive, but I appreciate the attempt at doing something different. Plus, they’re part of the daily objectives that award you hero shards to unlock a new Wonder Woman.

For some reason, I’m all about Wonder Woman right now.

The last improvement that I will discuss is the concept of class advantage. This may exist in MKX. If it does, though, I’m not aware of it. Injustice 2 makes it abundantly clear that even a noob like me can not only know about it but also have a basic understanding of the Rochambeau nature of the mechanic.

I probably could go on, but I’m blanking on other specific parts of the game that have impressed me. It’s just overall a vastly improved game over MKX and very much what I expected a mobile fighting game would be without having any actual expectations the first time that I played MKX. Does that make sense? Probably not, so let me try to unpack it.

As we’ve seen, unpacking issues usually becomes a trip into dark and scary places.

I hoped that MKX would at least be a decent emulation of the console version. In the graphics, animation, and sound departments, it was. For everything else, it was hopelessly not. I played the game because it kept me entertained for about 5 or 10 minutes (my usual attention span when it comes to mobile games), but I wished for more. Having my expectations somewhat diminished by the disappointment of MKX, I went into Injustice 2 figuring that it might just be the same and I’d end up deleting it from my phone in a month or two to make room.

Obviously, that hasn’t happened. I’m playing Injustice on a regular basis and it has now moved past Sim City as my second most played game after MTG:PQ. I don’t see it surpassing that game as, no matter how much it frustrates me, I really enjoy that one. I’m not sure what a game would need to do to become my favorite over MTG:PQ. It is just a solid mobile game with that MTG flavor that I enjoy so much.

In closing, I really, really like the Injustice 2 mobile app. There are a wide variety of characters with a complete move set. Several game modes keep the game feeling fresh even if mobile isn’t exactly the best way to experience a fighting game. It’s free and the virtual currencies are easy enough to obtain that I haven’t found myself considering a purchase at all. We all know that I will usually make my 10 or 20 dollar purchase to support the developers, but I haven’t figured out what that will look like for this one yet. So, download it and give it a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Digital Playground

Noob’s History with Zelda

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: We did several of these last year with Mario. However, while we dedicated an entire month to Mario, we’re only giving Zelda a single article.)

Only one article for Zelda, perhaps one of the most iconic video game franchises ever? Look, this isn’t meant to insult Link and company. I simply don’t have as extensive a history with Zelda. Unlike Mario, which has gameplay simple enough that they made it into a mobile game, Zelda requires much more of a time commitment. I’m no longer at a point in my life when I can devote weeks of my life playing a game for hours a day.

Oh, Skyrim. You were there for me when I was an unemployed stay at home day. Now that I’m working, I let you sit on the shelf and collect dust. Oh, cruel fates for us both.

I remember certain things vividly from childhood. While that probably isn’t abnormal, some of my formative memories are strange. For instance, I remember one Christmas trip to my maternal grandmother’s house. Well, who wouldn’t want to remember holidays with family? It’s not that. Keep reading. Overall, these trips weren’t terribly memorable. Most of them, along with similar trips to visit my father’s family, are part of that amalgam of “holiday” memories that occupy space and occasionally bubble up into my consciousness. Not this memory, though.

So, what’s so special about this Christmas trip and what does it have to do with Zelda? Stick with me just a bit more. I promise a pay off soon. This isn’t just therapy time with Noob. During this visit, I did what I often do during a big get together. I searched for a quiet place to recharge. That search led me to a room with a Nintendo (original NES) and I think a projector and pull down movie screen. I may be making up that last part. Either way, the game being played was the original Legend of Zelda.

I only know this screen from memes. Just another in my long line of nerd shame.

This nerd shame stems from the fact that, unlike Mario, I never actually played the NES Zelda game. The first one that I played was the SNES classic “A Link to the Past”. That’s when my actual “lifelong” obsession with The Legend of Zelda began. The graphics are the SNES sprite based of my childhood. The story rivaled that of Final Fantasy III, one of my favorites from that system. I was hooked.

While I loved that game, it isn’t my favorite in the series. That honor goes to Ocarina of Time. I know that many people say that its sister N64 title, Majora’s Mask, is the superior title. However, I’ve never played that one. I know what you’re thinking. How can you have a comprehensive history without one of the best games? Well, first I never promised the complete history. Just my history.

And, I’ve never been much of a historian.

Similar to the Mario title for the N64, it took everything great about the game and added a third dimension. You had to worry about depth and height when fighting against bosses. Dungeons, a multilayered affair in previous games, now gave the developer free reign and they took full advantage. Also considered one of the most frustrating levels, the water temple is one of the most unique and innovative designs ever.

By not only giving your character the ability to swim, but also making it integral to the level design, Ocarina of Time achieved full 3D motion and showcased what the big deal was about 3D gaming. I think I’ve made this point before, but it bears repeating. Even though 3D is the obvious current standard in video games now, there was a time when people argued against it. One of their main arguments was that the camera angle and controls would go wonky every now and then. Unfortunately, they usually had a point with N64 games.

After revolutionizing video games with the game pad, Nintendo started down the path of crazy controls with that console.

I’m pretty sure that I never beat that game. I can’t say for certain because it was a while ago, but that was during a time in my life when I worked a ton, so it probably never got finished. As an aside, now that I think about it, there’s not been a time in my life since I started working that I haven’t worked a bunch. Okay, not exactly relevant. Just had to get that off my chest.

The fact that I didn’t finish the game is not that big of a tragedy, either. With the power of computers now at the level to allow for reliable N64 emulation, I can play the game any time that I want. And, now, just writing about it, I actually want to play the game again. Heck, I even have my USB N64 controllers! Okay, I know what I’m doing over the next few days.

I can say that I’m going to do a video comparing the two and then not actually do the video.

My last stop on the Zelda train was Wind Waker. No, I didn’t hate the game so much that I stopped playing them. I know that the graphics were a huge controversy at the time, but I loved them. I enjoy that Nintendo sometimes takes big risks with the title because familiarity can breed contempt. I’m also glad that they didn’t make those graphics the standard because I’m enjoying the more realistic graphics of Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild as their systems get more powerful. However for Wind Waker, the graphics fit in with the theme of the game perfectly.

Even though I never played Twilight Princess or Breath of the Wild, I’ve been keeping up with the series through those games. Being a Nintenerd, I really want the Switch, but couldn’t justify the price tag right now. However, they have announced a new 2D Street Fighter game for it. Along with Breath of the Wild, a new Mario game, and the possibility of a new Metroid game, I suppose it is only a matter of time before I end up getting one.

Digital Playground

Hot for HotS?

Leave a comment

I stink at League of Legends. Unlike other players who

  1. don’t know that they stink (and I’m not sure how they could possibly remain ignorant because the community is too willing to tell you.)
  2. are under the delusion that they can get better (and that may be)
  3. don’t care (this is most likely as I have both heard of and seen LoL trolls in action)

I know that I’m terrible, operate under the impression that I have almost no chance of getting better, and while I don’ t care that I’m bad, I also don’t have the time or energy to troll an entire community. League of Legends just seems like one of those games that has been swallowed by the esports scene. You either play it to “Go Pro, Bro”, spectate the championships, or don’t care one way or the other. I am absolutely fine being in the last camp.

I don’t care about this thing! Now, let me get on the internet and type angrily about how much I don’t care!

So, why did I just spend an entire paragraph and number list talking about how much I don’t care about League of Legends? Well, after stinking up the joint in that game, I did what most LoL burnouts do these days, I loaded Blizzards offering into the not-MoBA *wink, wink* genre, Heroes of the Storm. As with most of Blizzard’s games these days, it gave players a noob friendly experience that more or less replicates the gameplay of the more established game. They call it removing unnecessary elements to make the games more fun. I call it stealing, or copyright infringement, at least.

Okay, I’ll ease up on the random Blizzard hate. Because, I honestly like Heroes of the Storm. Unlike League of Legends, I found a mode in HotS that allows you to play solo with bots to practice strategy. As an added bonus, the mode allows for the completion of quests to gain gold and buy more heroes. For a hopeless anti-social noob like me, that’s perfect. Sure, it gets boring beating the AI all the time and occasionally I will venture into PvP mode. It doesn’t last long because my incompetence shows very quickly. However, unlike LoL (again), there isn’t a heap of abuse that awaits new or bad players. Instead, other players are decent and many more than you’ll ever find in LoL are actually helpful.

Typed League of Legends noob into the Google machine to see if I could get an example of the abuse. This image came up, which I assume is supposed to be insulting. I, however, am such a neophyte to the game that I’m not entirely sure.

Now, why am I digging up ancient history with LoL and HotS? I haven’t played either in months and don’t really miss my time in game. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I saw that Blizzard was advertising Heroes of the Storm 2.0. Instead of making some snarky comment about releasing unfinished beta as a completed game, I will keep an open mind and see what’s the big deal.

Upon logging in, there’s a huge splash screen announcing that they are officially out of beta. Er, I mean, they’ve retooled the whole game and are now calling it the 2.0 version! Then, you get some of the goodies that await you like player level, 3 (!) different kinds of currency, and two other things that obviously weren’t that impressive that I felt the need to remember them minutes later. Oh, and lookie here! Loot chests! Woo hoo! Opening stuff is fun! In all seriousness, this feels like the loot chests from Deulyst and contains most of the same kinds of loot like emoji, “spray” (whatever the hell those are), and skins for the heroes. All in all, I got some pretty decent stuff, including a legendary skin. I will give it to Blizzard. They know how to get you on that treadmill.

I always use treadmill, but I suppose that hamster wheel is more appropriate. If you work on a treadmill for long enough, you will start to see results.

The gameplay remains largely untouched, as far as I can see. I’m sure they’ve done some “Blizzard balance” ™ on certain heroes and powers, but it still revolves around defeating your enemies, collecting various bonuses depending on the map you play, and killing the opposing base by whatever means necessary. You can still play strictly AI games (though I didn’t have the patience to finish out the game and see if they still offer quest completion that way) so that’s a nice way to ease back into things.

Similar to LoL and many other multiplayer games these days, the esports scene has infiltrated HotS and there are competitive games. So, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get into the game as it is intended to be played. However, if I’m bored some days and fed up with the other games that I usually play, I might fire it up and play a few games with the bots. They are entertaining enough for limited interaction.

And, now, even as I’m writing this, I go exploring and find that they have several modes that are not competitive in nature. Quick Match, Unranked, and Brawl are all modes for the filthy casual like me. So, I fired up a Brawl match to see what it was all about and I got matched up against a single other player with bots filling in the rest of the team. That seems to have been a one time occurrence and the second game was with actual players. There wasn’t any of the abuse of League of Legends, we came back to win a very close match, and I actually had fun.

Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives and I will most likely be trying to rotate Heroes of the Storm into my daily routine. One of my Hearthstone accounts might suffer for it, but that’s a risk that I’m willing to take. Damn you, Blizzard. Just when I think I’m almost out, you pull me right back in.

Not you, though. You stay dead and buried in my shameful, but glorious (no! do not give it power!), past.
Digital Playground, On the Tabletop

Star Wars Potpourri

Leave a comment

I have a couple of articles that ended with “to be continued”. While I, myself, hate the traditional cliffhanger, in this case it was unavoidable. “Okay, Buddy, that’s the argument that every hack writer makes.” You’re probably thinking at this point. “I really hate this hacky writing device, but I had no choice.” First, I won’t argue that I’m a hack. Second, you must understand. It is the end of the semester and things are insane right now. I am actually impressed that I’ve more or less kept up with my schedule as I can’t do that even during the best of weeks. So, while it was avoidable, I did not exert the extra effort to avoid it. Therefore, without further ado, I present the thrilling conclusion to 2 Generations Gaming Star Wars week.

Lego The Force Awakens

I have no update on this game because I haven’t been able to play it. Both our Wii U is not fond of the television in the playroom (it is an old tube TV, so doesn’t play well with the new fangled HD gaming systems) and the disc is behaving funny. I did watch some gameplay videos on YouTube to be able to discuss it shortly on the podcast, but I can’t report on my own experience right now.

I know, Chewy. Believe me, I’m disappointed, too.

Star Wars Battlefront

I’ve only loaded this one up once or twice since the original article, but I’m here to report that I still enjoy the game very much. I’ve gotten over my initial skepticism about the tutorial level that was only an FPS and the seemingly overly long X-Wing level to settle on a mostly positive impression of the game.

I played through some of the speeder level and it is even cooler than the Lego level. You don’t have the secrets (at least I didn’t find any secrets during my run) that you do in the Lego level, but the graphics are top notch and it really feels like you are in the movie. I want to play some more to try to finish the level as I was terrible at controlling the speeder and kept running into trees. So, I suppose, it was more or less canon.

The game does not mince words when you are bad.

I also did a bit of the escort mission to take the AT-AT to take over the rebel base in order to wait for Darth Vader. So, I guess I played those levels out of order. Oops. Well, really, who among us wouldn’t have done the same. You get to play as Vader or you get to escort an AT-AT? Really, that’s a no brainer. Regardless, I didn’t get very far in this level because the computer couldn’t handle the graphics. Wait, let me see if I can tune down the settings. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? And, nope, at the lowest level and only pulling 10 FPS. Well, this computer was never meant for gaming. Just a happy accident that some games are not as graphic intensive. Well, maybe if I get a full time job, I can pick up yet another gaming PC for myself. In the meantime, I’ll stick to what works on this computer.

X-Wing Miniatures

Of the games that I promised an update, I have played this one the most. First, I played against Liam to prepare for the podcast. Then, Chris and I played a game last Friday during our latest abbreviated nerd night. Even so, I might yet have to do another quick update on the game in the near future. You see, both games were played without the advanced rules because both times I was introducing the game to them. We may have been able to use the advanced rules in the game against Chris, but more on that in a minute.

When playing against Liam, the first thing he asked was how long a game might take. I found this a bit odd, as it’s not like he would have a hot date that night. He clarified by saying, “It’s just some games take a long time to play like Monopoly.” This time, I found his choice of simile odd. We almost never play Monopoly in this house. Perhaps he was trying to Muhammad Ali me with a bit of rope a dope.

Actual footage of my brain as Liam played his mind games on me.

If that was in intention, it worked. He beat me pretty handily. Maybe I just stink at the game and I’m making excuses. Granted, there is precedent for me being terrible at games. However, and this is the important part, I’m not one to make excuses. If i stink, I will fully admit that I stink. Besides, I beat Chris the next day, so if I stink, he’s even worse.

Speaking of Chris, I mentioned earlier that we probably could have played with the advanced rules. That’s because during our game, I found myself referring to the rulebook often to look up what a particular symbol meant. More often than not, my response was, “Oh, that makes sense” or “Yeah, I can see how that fits into the flow of the game.” So, while the basic game is fun, I think we’re ready to move on to the next level.

Digital Playground

Saving My Galaxy?

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: Yes, this headline is one of our soon to be famous lame “dad joke” double meaning ones. Not only that, I will “mom joke” it and explain the punchline! First, the game is called “Galaxy of Heroes”. Secondly, I actually was playing it on a Galaxy and Samsung batteries are known to explode/catch on fire! Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Tip your servers.)

I am still wary of mobile games. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I still worry that I’m going to download a game and its going to be some random match-3 with an IP slapped on it or, possibly worse, a terrible Chinese card battle rip off game. I mean, come on, Hearthstone is on mobile now. I just downloaded MKX on my phone. Granted, the gameplay of that one is pretty terrible and it is mostly just a treadmill game. Still, the graphics are great and the treadmill is enough to keep me logging in. So, I’m not entirely sure why I can’t let go of that bias. Old prejudice die hard.

I think the most recent election proved that. Damn, this just got way too real.

And, back to the main topic of the article. I’ve covered a PC Star Wars game (2 if you count the Minecraft mod), a console game, and a tabletop miniature game. All that’s left is mobile to cover all of the bases. Once upon a time, I played the Commander game, which is a clone of Clash of Clans. Honestly, I’m not that big of a flan of Clash and the Star Wars coating wasn’t enough to make it worth my time. So, I went on the search for a different mobile game.

Enter both an ad and an “Editor’s Choice” designation for Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and maybe my earlier rant starts to make sense. Having been burned by my previous experience, I worried that a similar disappointment awaited me in this game. “But, Editor’s Choice!” You might say. Honestly, that’s the only reason that I downloaded it. Score another one for the capitalist pigs!

Well, not really, since the game is free to play. But, you get the point. I’m honestly glad that I did end up downloading it. The game does introduce “cards”–one of the things that I worried about–but it is an honest to goodness turn based strategy game. Granted, it isn’t as in depth as some other games. Also, there is literally no story.

I think if ever there was an appropriate time to test this theory, it would be in writing the story for a Star Wars video game. Don’t they literally write themselves?

That’s the most disappointing part of the game. As someone who plays games mostly for the story, it can be difficult to enjoy a game that eschews story for no good reason. Besides, even Candy Crush has a coherent story. There’s certainly no excuse for a Star Wars game to not have at least some story of story. It’s unforgivable! Sure, they attempt to put a face on it like there’s a story by pretending some nonsense or another, but it is barely worth mentioning.

However, if you either don’t care about story or can ignore the utter lack of one, you will be rewarded with a mostly positive game experience. I mean, it isn’t any more than tap gameplay of most mobile games. However, some game types and genres fit better than others. Others, as evidenced by Mortal Kombat, suffer greatly.

I know that I can sometimes exaggerate things, but the graphics of this game are damn good, right? I know they couldn’t do a full port of the game, but *tap* *tap* *tap* for punch, punch kick?

The aforementioned “match 3” game is obviously some of the best, er, match for this style. It shows in the sheer numbers of those games. As is to be expected, most are crap. Don’t get me wrong. I actually enjoy some of them. The Puzzle Quest series, for instance, are great games.

Thankfully, though, this isn’t that. It also is not one of those lame “card battlers” that have come out of Chinese game studios. There are “cards” in the game, but they aren’t integral to the actual gameplay. The game revolves around turn based combat. Initially, I almost fell into the habit of calling it a turn based RPG. Other than the combat, though, there is nothing here that I’d even remotely call an RPG.

As already mentioned, it is severely lacking in any type of story. After having played it a bit more, the weird thing about that is that they actually lump your “missions” into clumps on similar planets. That fact lends itself to developing a reason why your party is on that planet, objectives that your party needs to accomplish (other than just killing dudes), and you got yourself a story.

I mean, seriously. I can’t promise that I come as cheap as them or could write as well as them, but that was just off the top of my head.

So far, it has been very easy to level my player level and each level you get a bag full of goodies from it. You use those goodies to level your characters, rinse, and repeat. I haven’t been tempted to spend real cash on the game yet, but I’m the kind of person who doesn’t often spend a ton of money on these games, so maybe I’m not the best barometer in that case. Then again, if you are like me and you like to squeeze as much as you can out of these free to play games and let the whales throw around their money to support your habit, then this seems like a game that will let you do that.

Add in the occasional “Wow, cool!” moment when you open up a familiar character from one of the movies and you have a pretty decent game. It isn’t high on my rotation. Also, it remains to be seen if I continue to log in every day. But, for right now, it has become a part of my daily routine.

Digital Playground

Mine Wars

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note #1: We are reviewingParzi’s Star Wars Modfor this article. What? A genuine Editor’s note and not a lame joke? Well, they asked to be given credit in any article/video, so here it is.)

(Editor’s Note #2: You got Star Wars in my Minecraft. You got Minecraft in my Star Wars! Two great tastes that go great together? Ah, there’s the lame joke.)

This article will serve as a bridge between our current topic of Star Wars and our main topic of May, which is Minecraft. I wish that I could take credit for doing that on purpose. However, the truth is that it is a happy accident. I was simply looking for another Star Wars game to write an article to support the podcast and I remembered that I downloaded a Star Wars mod for Minecraft last year, but never played it. Well, as Bob Ross says, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”

This accident certainly was happy. I made the same stupid joke in the editor’s note of my Lego Star Wars article as I did in this one. Sometimes a “mash up” of two different good things is a disaster. I’m looking at you, Glee. Most of the time, though, as long as the two things complement each other and care is taken to integrate the best of those things into the final product, the mash up can succeed and maybe even surpass the quality of the originals.

Seriously, Thriller is just about the perfect song. You dishonor your family by attempting to remix it.

As you read this review, bear in mind that I have only made it about an hour into playing through the mod. It’s been enough to discover two new types of dust, fuse them together, and smelt them into a new kind of ingot. Other than than, though, the rest of what I’ve done is normal Minecraft things. I haven’t even been able to use the new metal to craft any other new material. So, no, this mod has not enhanced Minecraft to a level beyond yet. It certainly is not something I’d play over Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, or even any of the Lego games.

I’m not saying that it won’t. I’m not even saying that it can’t In fact, I did a bit of searching to see if I could find any tips or hints for the mod to get me started. “Hey!” You might protest, “Minecraft is about exploration!” True. However, and my defense is two fold. First, I was exploring the Google Machine for assistance. Secondly, the console version has a tutorial to introduce you to the game. So, I feel vindicated from my Googling shame.

Besides, it’s not like I found anything. I think I need to take my phone to the Apple genius bar to get it checked out. The Google doesn’t work right.

So, while I have a life line out at the mod forum, I loaded it up in creative. The main problem is that I need a ship to use my hyperdrive in order to get to other planets. I’m not sure if I have to craft the ship or if I will find one that has spawned randomly. So, I created my own ship, used the hyperdrive, and went to Tatooine.

Okay, now this is more like it! There are sand people (and their signature roar!), Bantha, and pig men (not of the zombie variety)! That guy over there wants to make me a storm trooper! This guy doesn’t like me, either! That dude is selling ships! Wow, this is awesome! For the record, both Aiden and Quinn agree.

This is awesome!

I didn’t want to spoil too much of the mod before I’m able to do a video capture, so I shut down the game after that. However, I have an update on my forum inquiry. Apparently the first hyperdrive, the one that takes you to Tatooine, does not require a ship. Therefore, I am free to continue my exploration to find obsidian to make a nether portal and get a blaze rod. Because, the hyperdrive requires an Eye of Ender. I already have the Ender Pearl (because eff those creepy thieving freaks) and the ore (found a use for it!), so it’s diamond hunting time. Should be no problem because I usually have an uncanny ability to find diamonds. As with my Lego The Force Awakens Update, look for more of my adventures in the mod in a couple of weeks when we talk about Minecraft.

Happy little accident.
Digital Playground

Bricks in Space!

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: You got your Lego in my Star Wars! You got your Star Wars in my Lego! Two great tastes that taste great together? Actually, Lego taste gross, so, no.)

We are huge fans of both Star Wars and Lego here at 2 Generations Gaming. it stands to reason that we would be fans of the Lego Star Wars games. in fact, we are not. We find the games lacking in depth of story and character development. They are derivative and insulting to the source material. I would go as far as to say–I’m kidding. We love all of the Lego games. Since our topic on the podcast this week is Star wars, I will focus on them in this article. I promise that won’t be a problem. While I have played almost all of the Lego video games, I haven’t played any of them as extensively as the Star Wars ones.

In fact, the first game that I bought for the XBox 360 was the complete saga. That was even after having beaten the original trilogy on PS2. That was even in the face of a new, and in some ways, more interesting Lego game. Having purchased the “family” version of the XBox 360, it came with Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones. Don’t get your knickers in a bunch. I’m not saying that I prefer either the Indiana Jones movies or games to Star Wars. However, I had already beaten the Star Wars games, so I should have wanted to play Indy to try to beat the game and increase my nerd cred.

I don’t need to prove myself to you or anyone.

However, nerd cred be damned! I game what I want! Also, I’m pretty sure that they boys really preferred Star Wars at the time. So, in the name of one of our founding principles, I played games with my kids. I think that I mentioned in past articles what a nightmare that was. Those first Lego games required both players to share the same space. You were not able to break free and explore on your own as you now can. Therefore, half of the game was spent trying to convince your young child that he was the one hindering your progress through the level. The rest of the time was figuring out how to manipulate both controllers to solve the puzzles that required cooperation and, often fine motor or logic skills not usually possessed by the average preschool aged child.

Granted, preschool kids have their own versions of Lego in Duplo and now Juniors, but what lame kid wants to play with Duplo? All the cool kids play with Lego and Duplo are just there to suck up even more money from well meaning parents and grandparents. Kids certainly aren’t going to play a Duplo themed video game. Can you imagine how lame it would be? The mind boggles.

Forget what the Lego movie says. These things will probably just fall apart for no good reason and end up shoved in the far corner of the playroom closet.

So, much of my exploration (such as it was in those days) and enjoyment of the first round of Lego Star Wars games happened alone when the kids were in bed. Imagine that. I went from Fatal Frame, Skyrim, Resident Evil, Fallout 3, and Dead Rising to trying to find that last mini kit piece in level 2 of The Empire Strikes Back. Having children changes you, Man.

However, I can’t blame my kids for the fact that this game led me to many years of purchasing and playing Lego video games. sure, I can say that I’m buying the games for the boys, but we all know the truth. Don’t get me wrong. I love sharing these things with others, especially my flesh and blood, but just like Power Rangers, Star Wars, and Marvel movies, I’m ultimately doing this for me and I have the boys for company because Christine wants nothing to do with any of it.

Some parents dress their kids in designer clothes. I got mine involved in nerdy hobbies. Both acts are equally likely to get them beat up.

My kids, though, they’ve gotten my appreciation for the finer things in nerd life. I didn’t even have to buy Lego The Force Awakens because Liam asked for it for Christmas. Honestly, I wasn’t even going to get the game. Or, maybe, I’d have just ordered it from Gamefly to try it out, because I was going to wait for all 3 of the movies to be released and then the combination game would come out at half of the price of the single versions. I haven’t played it yet, but Liam and Aiden have and they seem to have had fun with it. Maybe I will play it over the next few days and add an addendum to the article with any new opinion on the game itself or the additions to the game.

Because, of all the game series I’ve ever played, Lego games are the ones that improve with every new game that is released. They included the ability to free roam away from the other character. They allow you to purchase characters by bumping into them in the world instead of having to go to the screen to do so. Some of the improvements are significant. Some are simply cosmetic or quality of life improvements. However, all are improvements. So, I’ll have to see how The Force Awakens has changed the series.

To be continued…

Sorry, I usually hate those, too, but it’ll get you to tune in next time!

Digital Playground

Journey to Redemption?

Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: We know that you have become accustomed to our intense and burning hatred for all things Blizzard and Hearthstone. If so, this article might come as a shock to you. Please consult your doctor if you have a heart condition or are prone to fits of hysteria.)

Yes, it’s that time again when a not so young gamer’s heart turns to anger and frustration. Spring means a new Hearthstone expansion–as they’ve done away with adventures–and our “card review”. More often than not, “card review” means that I discuss new mechanics, get excited that control might finally become a viable option in the game, and then conclude that Hearthstone is just fundamentally flawed in design and face decks will always rule until they change how the game plays.

It’s become a bit of a running gag around here that we hate Hearthstone. That’s only partly true. I do find the focus on aggro and the reliance on RNG to be annoying. Also, I’m bitter that they ultimately killed a good game in the WoW:TCG to focus on this. I still feel like they could both exist. But, I do genuinely like some of the ideas that the game has introduced to the genre.

I mean, people might get confused because there is so much overlap in the art for the two games, but eventually, I think we’re smart enough to get it.

And, so, I kept playing in spite of how angry it sometimes made me. Chris kept telling me that I was addicted. Hell, I might have been. I am a sucker for the treadmill type of games that Blizzard makes. So, I guess we score one for addiction. Because I kept playing it, I’ve found my comfort zone in the game. It may not always be fun, but I’m not constantly texting Chris how much I hate the game anymore.

I have a feeling that some of this is temporary. After months of trying and promising control decks, Blizzard finally accidentally created an environment where they are viable. Sure, the meta is overwhelmingly face decks, so you still get aggro’d out of the game quite a bit of the time, but control decks actually do exist and get played quite a bit. As someone who prefers that playstyle, I couldn’t be happier. But, Standard rotation beckons and Reno is being relegated to the Wild frontier.

Don’t worry, Buddy. As a filthy casual, I prefer playing Wild, so we won’t be apart for long.

That’s the big selling point this time. Every time there’s an expansion, players get excited for new cards, the meta gets solved in a few days to a week, and then everyone complains about how boring the game is for another 3 months. Rinse and repeat. This time is different, Blizzard promises. Not only are new cards being introduced, but cards are rotating out for only the second time int he history of the game. That’s gotta add at least a day or two of theory crafting to figure out that spamming minions and going face is the optimal strategy. Okay, okay, that was a cheap shot. Only one at this in the article, though, is way under par.

So, what cool stuff can we expect from Un’Goro? First, and I’m actually genuinely excited about htis one, they’re bringing back the concept of quests. If you ever played the WoW: TCG, you remember that quests were the resource similar to mana. Since Hearthstone uses mana crystals, it doesn’t make sense to use quests in a similar fashion. Instead, they are legendary cards that are auto included in your opening hand. They require you to do something–ie, playx cards of some sort or another–and reward you with a super powerful card. I don’t know if any of the quests will be seen in competitive play, but I can’t wait to play around with them in the casual modes.

I feel like I’ve seen this card before. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the card was definitely blue there, too.

The other new mechanic that has potential is “Adapt”. This feature “discovers” three upgrades to your minion in the form of divine shield, windfury, stealth, taunt, etc. The discover mechanic is one of the best ideas that the Hearthstone team has introduced into the genre. It fits in with the theme of the game that RNG is skill. There is variance, but because the game gives you three options, the chances of getting something useful are that much higher. Anything that adds more discover to the game is okay by me.

Hey, you might say, you’ve already mentioned 2 concepts that you like about the new expansion. Maybe you’ve turned the corner and will actually like the game now. Woah! Hold up there. Hating Hearthstone is part of my identity. If I actually like it, who have I become? this is an existential crisis in the making. But, not right now! Yes, there are some cool mechanics in the set, but there are always things that I can find to like about a card set before it’s been released.

I’m right there with you, Snoopy. Hearthstone is enough to make a man mad.

Usually, in Magic, that means that these things are not remotely viable as a competitive strategy. In Hearhtstone, they are usually unique strategies that change the way the game is played. So, I guess both are in keeping with my tendency to go against the grain. As far as the rest of the cards are concerned, there is an emphasis on “tribal”. Tribal is always one of the MtG buzzwords that is never viable, but always hooks me.

In addition to an overall deck strategy, I will often try to adhere to a tribal theme in Magic. Honestly, I don’t thin that it is any more viable in Hearthstone, but it is easier to make a tribal theme work because the synergies are more prevalent. For instance, you won’t ever get high ranks playing murlocs, but I did get a healthy win streak while playing a dumb shaman murloc deck the other day.

Who knows? Maybe I have turned the corner. I have gone from actively hating the game to accepting it as part of my daily routine. I suppose the next logical step is actual enjoyment.