As you might expect, everyone with a Wii U has been playing Mario Kart 8. Luckily, not everyone owns a Wii U and those people are here to tell you about the games they have been playing that aren’t Mario Kart 8. Although Mario Kart 8 is actually quite good and you should totally buy it.
James Wilson
I’ve been playing Wolfenstein: The New Order on Playstation 4. From my previous experiences with the franchise I was expecting better, and The New Order met those expectations and then some. The game is set after the second World War in an alternate future where the Nazis, lead by General Deathshead, won, and the world has been turned into a grey, robotic ‘utopia’.
The story had me gripped the entire way through, and I never got bored of slaying Nazis. The game now even lets you play stealthily which is cool, but in most situations you’re going to want to go in shooting with both barrels. I personally found the dual-wield rifles to be the most satisfying, but I also loved the ridiculous added combat features such as the laser kraftwerk and the under-mounted rocket launcher, also using a knife has never been as much fun as it is in Wolfenstein: The New Order.
B.J. Blazkowicz is a tank, fuelled by 14 years of Nazi oppression, and in 1960 he is finally let loose.
Looking forward to E3 2014.
Emma
This week I’ve participated in the open beta of Magicka: Wizard Wars. I’ve played the original Magicka extensively and have been keeping an eye out for this PVP standalone version of the game. So far playing the two maps on offer with friends is a blast! Friendly fire is prevalent which ensures lots of yelling and “my bads”. My first kill in the match was accidentally my team-mate. I thought I was healing him, I was not. That’s what has been fun in this game, there’s no rage to speak of amongst online players, so far anyway.
There are three spots rather than five in the original *Magicka *for you to fill with different elemental combo’s in order to do damage or healing spells. Being a free to play game there are in-game purchases to be made from cosmetics through to various gear. I can’t wait for more maps to be released. Initial thoughts so far is that this is a polished game for a beta release. Watch this space for a detailed preview on Magicka: Wizard Wars.
Aidan Barry
Now that I am finally free from end of semester assignments, choosing a game to play has been long overdue. Recently, I found myself playing through Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
I have always been a fan of the stealth/espionage genre for its freedom of interaction. Splinter Cell has always managed to get the balance between challenge and enjoyment more-or-less right and Blacklist takes this to another level. Unlike another recent addition to the genre, Hitman Absolution, Blacklist awards fewer points for an assault style of play instead of subtracting from your score. Meaning you are free to play however you please and not end up in the negatives.
Also one of Splinter Cell’s selling points is that it keeps the split-screen local co-op. This is something I cannot over emphasise now that my friends and I have completed most everything else. Not to mention clumsy attempts at hiding from or subduing guards and shooting sticky cameras when out of bullets are two ways Splinter Cell: Blacklist can be even more hilarious than specific comedy games.
Wilson Tang
I have been balancing College work and personal life (i.e video gaming) at the moment apart from write essays, I just installed my 48” HD TV in my room, (its massive! Only because my room is the size of a small hotel bathroom), and what games have I been playing on this set-up?!?
Well…I’ve recently gotten Murdered: Soul Suspect, which came out a few days prior and I’ve been playing around in the game. It’s like Ghost Trick mixed with elements from LA Noire. So far Murdered: Soul Suspect is fun. I like the locations, even if it’s contained to Salem Massachusetts.Graphically it’s nothing special, character models look like they’ve been to war and back and look a bit rough, and it seems there are only a few made. I haven’t seen the ‘pea-soup’ effect in ages in a game and its presence is known in this game. But the story and game mechanics of investigating, seemed intriguing and it’s why I pre-ordered it and at the moment, the game has got me on the edge of my seat.
Senior Stiv
I have to say I’ve been playing a lot of new games these past two weeks. I first finished up Bioshock Infinite’s Burial at Sea Episode 2. The use of stealth offers some refreshing new gameplay to the series, while the story has a bittersweet ending that hits you right in the feels, bringing the whole story together. Be sure to check out my Burial at Sea Episode 2 Review.
But I’ve spent most of the past two weeks playing Wolfenstein: The New Order. I’m impressed by the way game plays like an old school FPS. The story isn’t exactly deep, but it looks and plays beautifully even on my Xbox 360. That and you’re killing Nazi’s, what could be more fun than that?
Last, I’ve been playing Child of Light. It’s visually stunning and the classic side scrolling, turn-based RPG gameplay brings back the days of the first RPG’s I played. But the rhyming used in the storytelling can be quite annoying at times, but thankfully it doesn’t completely ruin it. Actually, I should get back to playing more of the game.
KRS 2
At last I have finally finished Xenoblade Chronicles! After more than 130 hours of mad side questing, battling monsters to the death and an epic story, I have finished am ready to move onto my next epic adventure on the list. Also I’m still playing Fire Emblem: Awakening.
I picked up Child of Light on launch and am making may way through that now as a nice break between games. According to most reviews it’s only about 12 hours so that sounds perfect for me right now. The artwork is absolutely stunning for this game and seems that almost every character and background has been done on water-colour paper with pencil and water-colour. The music is also quite nice but some loops are far too short. The most painful part of the game though is the entirety of the script is done in rhyming couplets which sounds like a neat idea, but after two hours into it, I’m feels likes the writers were a little too desperate in trying to find rhymes while writing the script. But overall, it is a game I am quite enjoying.
I also got Mario Kart 8 last weekend. The first day I got it, I had an intense 6 hour gaming sessions with three others to unlock all the race tracks (I love that you can play the Grand Prix mode with four players now) and almost all the characters. Ever since, I boot it up every now and then to see if I can get gold on 150cc cups. If you own a Wii U and don’t own this game already than you are missing out. And yes, I know there is only two of you out there since everyone else already bought it.
Cheers,
Krs 2
That’s it from the crew this time! Be sure to let us know in the comments what you’ve been playing. Remember we don’t discriminate here. If all you’ve played in the banjo, we want to hear about that too.
Look forward to next week as we share our thoughts on E3 2014.
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