Dem Bones: Into the Echoside

Into the Echoside
Dark Carnival Themed Deck Building Game
2-4 Players
Playtime: Under an hour, usually
Designer: Jumpsteady, Louis Simpson, Tom Wood
Publisher: Psychopathic Records
Year of Release: 2016

Surprisingly the Insane Clown Posse has had multiple forays into the world of games prior to this. Penedulum's Promise was a fairly rudimentary tabletop RPG. Morton's List, the end to boredom, was, well really just a big list where you rolled a die to see what you and some friends should do that day. The Quest for Shangri-La is this big mysterious entity to me that is way out of print and I think was drawn by one of the members of the group. And now Into the Echoside, a deck building game. I may have grown disillusioned with the band years ago and don't really enjoy their new music, but after getting really into the band and the "lore" they created for around five years I can't deny I have an affinity for that universe. Of course I had to pick it up.

Too Soon: Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online
STAR TREK MMO
MMO
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Cryptic Games
Year of Release: 2016 (Originally 2010)

This game came out right around the time I was heavily getting into Star Trek. I had always been a Star Wars kind of kid and aside from that one time my dead beat father got me a fucking Quark action figure (because hey! Star Something huh, you little twat) my experience with Star Trek was as close minded as the feud between the franchises would have led you to believe. Eventually in late high school I marathoned every episode of the original series and a convert was made. Well, not so much a convert. As an aside, of the seven deadly sins I most closely identify with gluttony. Not just literally, with food, but with media, and ideas. I just voraciously devour as much as fucking possible as quickly as I can. So, for me at least, there's room in my soul for Wars and some good old fashioned Trek.

Fangasm: Trumptendo

Trumptendo
Political Parody NES Romhacks
1 Players
System: PC
Developer: Jeff Hong
Year of Release: 2016
Trumptendo Games

I don't discuss politics on this blog often, if ever, because, well, I don't have much faith in them anymore. Especially with this year's election. However, Trump does provide some promising things. Such as being able to add him as the final boss in old NES classics. There isn't really much to say about these games, the Trumptendo series is literally just Trump plopped into classics. But I felt like it was a humorous enough concept to warrant me talking about it. Until Nintendo comes and DMCA's it because they forgot what fun fucking is.

Dem Bones: Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter
Zombie Survival
2-5 Players
Playtime: 30 Minutes to 2 Hours
Designer: Jonathan Gilmour, Isaac Vega
Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
Year of Release: 2014

It takes a while to stop dying in Dead of Winter. It took my group about five or six games before we actually won at all, much less with any frequency. It has an interesting learning curve, we honestly aren't sure what we're doing much different. For me at least I respond to problems as they come up while focusing on the group's current needs and being as stingy with items as possible. I thought that's what I did when we first started playing. But no. We usually wound up getting torn to shreds by the hoards of the undead.

Games I Beat: Until Dawn

Until Dawn
Story Driven Horror
1 Player
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Supermassive Games
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: September 2nd, 2016

I don't technically enjoy this game. Until Dawn isn't really a game though. The bits I enjoyed were the same sort of bits I enjoyed in Telltale's Walking Dead series. Getting to take part in a movie is an interesting experience, but unfortunately it doesn't have any staying power. Being worth experiencing while not necessarily being worth owning can pose a bit of a problem. Although Red Box exists, but I've never used one and don't know how quickly games get removed from their catalogs. This is weekend rental movie, game, is what I'm trying to say.

DLC I Beat: Fallout 4 Season Pass

Fallout 4 Season Pass
Open World Shooty "RPG"
1 Player
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: August 31st, 2016

It's a sad state of affairs we find ourselves in. In regards to how RPG's have become streamlined action games. In regards to Bethesda continual slide into mediocrity. In regards to how downloadable content is handled. In regards to the practice of overpricing games and downloadable content. In regards to the lack of communication in the world of video games. In regards to the Fallout series as a whole. In regards to the current elections. Truly, this is a time of chaos.

Fangasm: Super Smash Land

Super Smash Land
1-4 Players
System: PC
Developer: Dan Fornace
Year of Release: 2011
Download Here

The concept of the "demake" has always fascinated me. Trying to take a modern-er game and scaling it back to a previous generation can be an interesting experiment, both as a final product and as a learning process for the creator. Dan Fornace took his love for Super Smash Bros and trimmed it down to what is essentially an original Game Boy game. And it works.

#SaveConstantine

When Constantine first aired I really enjoyed the show. I recall thinking less favorably on some episodes, but overall I saw nothing but the basis for an excellent show. For anyone who paid it any attention you're probably aware of the drama surrounding it's possible cancellation and the (allegedly) immense fan outcry against that. Thus, #SaveConstantine was created and used to communicate just how many people enjoyed the show. It was one of the few times I bothered using a hashtag,  because Constantine could have, should have, grown into an excellent series. I planned on writing about the series then, but before I could they announced the show was officially cancelled and by then I didn't feel like thinking on it any further. Having re-watched the first, and only, season over the last couple of weeks I realize only now that Constantine didn't just have potential to become excellent, it already was.

DLC I Beat: Sunset Overdrive Season Pass

Sunset Overdrive Season Pass
Open World Hardcore Parkour Murder-fest
1 Player (More online)
System: Xbox One
Developer: Insomniac Games
Year of Release: 2014/2015
Beaten: July 8th, 2016

Having picked up Sunset Overdrive on the cheap, beating the game over the course of a few, long session, nights and loving the game (for the gameplay at least) lead me to really want to pick up the DLC once I realized there was actual content packs available. For twenty dollars you get about four hours of additional gameplay and a pack of weapons. For me, this was very much worth it, and to save you time, if you liked the base game, especially if you picked it up for the low ten dollar price point I managed to buy it for, this is well worth it. The only downside is the relatively short play time, but that's just kind of the times we're in now isn't it?

Games I Beat: Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive
Open World Hardcore Parkour Murder-fest
1 Player (More online)
System: Xbox One
Developer: Insomniac Games
Year of Release: 2014
Beaten: June 29th, 2016

From a strictly game play perspective this is exactly what I've been needing for a while now. You know when you're yearning for something in particular, though you aren't quite sure what that thing is? Sunset Overdrive scratched that itch for me. I don't know why this game wasn't more critically acclaimed. I guess it's because of how incredibly obnoxious every bit of the plot is, but seriously fuck all that. Playing Sunset Overdrive is pure fun fresh squeezed out of freshly picked joy.