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August 2013 Video Games
Civilization V (31 hrs) – I’ve been playing with Dan and Dave via Giant Multiplayer Robot. You can follow posts about the game with Dave here. You can follow the posts about the game with Dan and Dave here. There will be a long overlap between those two, however, the one with Dave started a…
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Winter is Coming and there will be timed Explosions (3460 BC / 3820 BC)
The first group of warriors we went out have reported back to me that they have found some ancient ruins. I have instructed them to search these ruins in the hopes that they will find the secrets of an ancient civilization or perhaps the remnants of some ancient civilization that may wish to join the…
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Too Bad
It’s too bad the whole plastic instruments genre died out so quickly. I would have loved to have played Salsa Band.
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New Neighbors and New Games (3700 BC/4000 BC)
As I continue exploring, I discover that I have a City-State to the South. That’s going to put a damper on my expansion south unless I destroy them. Also, if they end up best buds with someone else that’s an enemy on my doorstep. They may be the first casualty of living near the Great…
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Will we actually finish this time? (4000 BC)
Ever since the play by email (PBEM) feature in Civilization IV, I’ve tried to play multiplayer games with my brothers. It’s pretty ridiculous in this day and age that Civilization has Nintendo-level abysmal support for asynchronous play. The games often take 40 hours to complete solo and even longer when playing live so asynchronous play…
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July Video Games Report
Lucky reader, you get (at least) two posts today! Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (4 hrs) – I finally started playing Ass:Rev nearly 7 months after I got it as a gift. I’d been putting off playing it because it’s a lot easier for me to play computer games at night than it is to play with…
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Microsoft and Sour Grapes with XBONE DRM
In a lot of ways I really don’t care what happens in the video game console world. In the last 2-3 years I have rediscovered computer gaming. Actually, to be more accurate, game publishers have rediscovered computer gaming. I remember in my youth when the best of the best games came out for computers and…
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June Video Games Report
Costume Quest (7 hours) – I completed the main Costume Quest and then continued on to the DLC. The game continued to be charming and I enjoyed playing it as well as the simple story arc of the brother and sister realizing they didn’t hate each other that much. Gameplay-wise the game is not…
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May 2013 Video Games Report
During the month of May I continued to try and completed story-based games in my library. Quantum Conundrum (3 hrs) – I started playing the game early this year. I really, really enjoy this game, but the imprecision of the moves really bugs me. I’ve been playing it with a keyboard and mouse, does anyone…
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Spending Time as a Female in a Physics Puzzle Game
Gender is a pretty interesting concept when it comes to video games. Putting aside “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, video games are unique in that the players are active in constructing the narrative. Some games, like puzzle games don’t REALLY have a narrative (but that doesn’t mean my brothers and I didn’t come up with…
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Giving them a taste of their own medicine
It is a fact of life that things will be bootlegged. (commonly called pirated, but this is one area where I strongly agree with rms. Piracy is a horrible thing where people get kidnapped on the ocean and die. I have in-law relatives who have died from pirates. So I don’t find it cute to…
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April 2013 Video Games Report
In addition to the game I played this month, I’ve decided from now on to include a running total of the top games to see if/how they change with time. For example, when I wasn’t paying attention, Saints Row: The Third made the Top 7. (Which, raptr, is a weird number. Usually these things are…
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Cities XL Followup: I’ve Become Addicted
I am really, really enjoying building up my city. There are new zoning densities that open up as you get more and more populous. For a while I was using a strategy similar to what’s going on in my in-law’s neighborhood – raze the single family homes to build apartments. Then later raze those to…
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March Video Game Report
Saints Row: The Third (3 hrs) – I finished Saint’s Row: The Third in March. Overall, my enjoyment suffered a bit from a lack of play, but it was necessary due to planning for Scarlett’s birthday and starting a new semester of my graduate work. In the final mission you’re given a choice of pursuing…
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January & February 2013 Video Game Report
Saint’s Row: The Third (15 hrs) – I played a lot of fun missions, including Deckers.die, but in order to get there I had to get Dan’s help on this helicopter escort mission. It was fun having him join in. I might need him in March as I finish up the game. Quantum Conundrum…