Day 130 - The 'Gaming the Pandemic' Top Ten.

Over 4 months ago I was furloughed from work and, worried that a lack of structure and mental activity would drive me insane, I started a blog. At that time I had 645 unplayed video games in my collection and I would play, and write a review of, one game a day until my furlough ended. 

Well, today is that day. I return to work on Monday so tomorrow and Sunday are just a regular weekend. So today, rather than do a final game, I though I'd pull together a top ten of the 150+ games I've played over the last 130 days.

Enjoy.

Day 129: Owlboy (Switch)

A stunning surprise for today's title from my 519 game backlog, I'm playing one game a day, every day, while furloughed from work...

Owlboy for the Switch
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

You may, or may not, be aware of a classic game studio called Irem. Their most famous work is almost certainly ‘R-type’, probably the most famous horizontal shooter of them all, but they were behind many other very popular games from the 80’s and earlier. ‘Kung Fu Master’ was one of theirs, as were ‘Moon Patrol’ and ‘Lode Runner’.

For me, though, this developer stays in my mind thanks to two of their more obscure games. I discovered ‘In the Hunt’ and ‘Undercover Cops’ while writing my previous blog about the hidden gems of MAME. The former is another side scrolling shooter, although, unlike R-type, this one takes place under water. The latter is a post-apocalyptic side scrolling brawler. What these games have in common, other than both being superb examples of their genre, is that they feature the most beautiful pixel art graphics and animation I’ve ever seen in a video game.

When I ran the random selector earlier today, I did not expect to be adding another game to that short list. But here we are with 'Owlboy'; one of the most stunning video games I’ve ever played.

Day 128: Colony Wars: Vengeance

The difficult second album of a classic Psygnosis trilogy is today's title from my 520 game backlog, I'm playing one game a day, every day, while furloughed from work...

Colony Wars: Vengeance for the PlayStation
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

I said, a little while back, that somewhere around day 110 it started to feel like things in the world, or in my world at least, felt like they were getting back to normal because I began to struggle to find a good amount of time to play a game for this blog. I’ve since realised that this is only partly true.

I’m one of those people who needs a tangible deadline for motivation. For the last four months (or more) every day has felt much like the last. The very purpose of this blog was to give me something to focus on and keep my mind active. But now, with my return to the workplace just four days away, I have that ‘tangible deadline’, and the reason I’m finding it harder to find the time to play games is, yes, partly because the opportunities for other activities are far greater than they were, but also partly because I’ve realised that so many of the things I could, and probably should, have done while furloughed need to be completed in the next four days.

So where does that leave me with Colony Wars: Vengeance? 

Woefully unprepared, is the all too apparent answer.

Day 127: Super Space Invaders (Game Gear)

Making a hypocrite of myself with today's title from my 521 game backlog, I'm playing one game a day, every day, while furloughed from work...

Super Space Invaders for the Game Gear
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

There’s been a shift in the retro game scene over the past few years. What used to be a hobby driven by nostalgia and a desire for a - dare I say - ‘purer’ gaming experience, has relatively recently become more about using hardware and software modifications to bring these old system as close to modern consoles as possible.

This manifests as everything from putting hard drives filled with bootleg games into a PS2, to spending hundreds of pounds replacing the screen in an Atari Lynx with a ‘better’ version. In the course of installing these modifications thousands of original spec units are being irreversibly corrupted and, as a consequence, video game history is being chipped away by people who I’m convinced ever actually play the machines anyway.

It reminds me of the 90’s banger racing scene in the UK. Friends of my brother were into that particular grass roots motorsport and most weekends you’d find at least one of them stripping Ford Granadas, Cortinas, and Escorts down to their shells to be raced until they imploded at a nearby meeting.

Now there’s not really a lot of crossover in the demographics for enthusiasts of classic cars and video games, but if there was someone aware of both, who, even more unlikely, happened to be reading this, you’d feel them wincing, and hear their sobs, from wherever in the world you happen to be right now.

The way I see it: If you want the retro experience then the crappy screens, long load times, cassettes that don’t work, and controllers that are too small are all part of that. Even if you’re not after a nostalgia hit (for which I salute you) the hardware is part of what the games are - by ‘improving’ that you end up with a less effective experience.

And then there’s Super Space Invaders on the Game Gear.

Day 126: Trine 4 (PC)

Turns out today's title from my 522 game backlog is pronounced to rhyme with 'fine', and now I don't know why I ever thought otherwise - I'm playing one game a day, every day, while furloughed from work...

Trine 4 for the PC
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

For some reason I'd always pronounced these games 'Treen', as in, rhymes with 'green' - lord knows why, but it's funny how often I do this with things in games.

 

Growing up, I always pronounced the name 'Ryu', 'Rye-oo'. In fairness, there weren't many points of reference back then. But even now, when I know full well it's Ree-oo, the guy from Street Fighter will always be 'Rye-oo' to me. 

And then there's Nier: Automata, which I pronounce as 'Near Or-ta-mah-ta'. I've no idea about the Nier part because it's made up, but Automata is a pre-existing word that is, and always has always been, pronounced 'Or-tommer-ter' - but I can't stop myself now.

I've not played any of the other games in the Treen Trine series. I remember reading that the third one was a bit of a disaster, but that's about as much as I know. Bob, with whom I previously played the VR co-op game Evasion, suggested we give it a go. It was on offer for £7.49 on Steam so I figured, why not?

Day 125: Golf on Mars (Android)

A late dip in the mobile pool for today's title from my 524 game backlog - I'm playing one every day while furloughed from work...

Golf on Mars for the Android
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

Gaming the Pandemic is coming to its end soon. Next Monday I’m going back to work and the blog, and the games, will have served their purpose: I’ve made it through furlough without killing anyone, or going stir crazy, or becoming the star of my own personal Roman Polanski style metaphysical nightmare. 

I’ve played about 150 games so far, but part of me is wondering if I just could have just played Golf on Mars everyday and achieved the same result.

Day 124: Lichtspeer (PC)

Finding out if das simple indie is up my strasse with today's randomly selected title from my 524 game backlog - I'm playing one every day while furloughed from work...

Lichtspeer for the PC
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

There are people in the world, deeply unpleasant people, who not only have a very high opinion of themselves, but feel it is their place to inform you of that opinion.

“I’m wild, me!” - “I’m the joker of the group” - “Everyone says I’m a bit crazy *Fakelaughs*” - there’s a short word for this kind of person, but I’ll leave that to your imagination. (Hint: It rhymes with cunt.)

At its worst, early on when it’s giving you time to think, this is the personality of Lichtspeer.

“I’m so wacky with my funny German-ish words” - “Ha-ha the currency is called LSD” - “Look at the deliberately bad animation, LOL” - “Aren’t these creatures maaad!”

As you would expect, this made me want to hate this game, but then I played for 2 hours non-stop and had to be threatened with divorce before I finally managed to pry myself away from “Just one more go!”