As gaming becomes increasingly social, gamers need to have a stock of titles for those special times of year. We polled our people on what games they just can’t wait to break out when a few friends get together.
FIFA, Shooters (var.)
James Wilson
Usually when at a gathering that involves a console of some sort one of three types of game is played; a racing game, a shooter, or FIFA. It’s usually FIFA.
Horror (var.), Jackbox Party, Wii Party
Aidan B.
Video games have become a mainstay at my family get-togethers and so having a quantity of new and accessible games to play is all the more important. The general Wii titles (Party, Sports and the Wii U counterparts) have always been decent. They’re fun, they’re simple, and everyone can compete more or less evenly. Great for those among us who aren’t exactly experienced handling a controller.
A recent discovery, put to me by a friend, is the Jackbox Party Pack. Available on Steam, this game uses people’s phones and tablets as controllers to play as part of a series of boardgames. Things like filling in sentences with lies and trying to fool each other or general trivia. Even non-gamers find it easy to get into and start having a good time – mostly because you’re playing one another instead of the game.
If there’s ever a few of us hanging around, a nice and simple horror game never goes amiss. Similar to what I said before, these games interact with us at a personal level and so they’re simply more engaging for people who don’t have a gamer bone in their body.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a good one because of how easy it is to dive right into. The stock standard Amnesia is decent for a longer haul.
Super Smash Bros (Wii U)
Dan
I don’t know many things that nerds love to do more than argue over who would win in a fight of fictional characters. Smash Bros is one of the original party games that helped settle those arguments.
Super Smash Bros has gone through a few iterations but I’m happy to pick up any version and go a few rounds. I’m sure there are purists out there who claim one generation or other is superior, however when my mates and I are looking to compete with each other in a friendly manner the Wii U (and 3DS) is usually close at hand.
Super Smash Bros is easy enough to pick up for casual gamers that it isn’t too frustrating. Other fighting games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat or Tekken tend to have a bit of a higher learning curve and usually only support 2 players at a time. Throw in some Computer players or a trained Amiibo and things get hectic pretty quickly.
I think it’s the quick nature of Smash that lets a group pick it up for a few quick rounds while continuing conversation and drinks that make it such a good party game.
What games do you like to play when some friends come over? Do you make a massive session on one game? Or do you swap between a few favourites?
