Games Rebels Play — February

We here at 4cr take our gaming seriously — that’s why we only play in Official Nintendo Sweat Pantsâ„¢, which we stocked up on in 1990. Read on to find out what kept us busy during the month of February, and be sure to let us know what you’ve been playing, too.

Nick:

This month I have split my time between two games: Charadium and Plants vs Zombies on the iPhone. Charadium is one of the most addictive and well conceived mobile games I’ve ever played. It’s essentially online pictionary. You compete against others by typing in your guesses. Fastest one wins. And then when it’s your turn you use the touch screen to draw the item/place/thing you were given. It’s amazing. And addictive. Within a day of discovering it, the game had spread around my entire office. So fun. And the website is amazing too. It keeps track of the entire game and shows all the drawings as well. Good for a laugh and bragging rights.

And Plants vs Zombies… I shouldn’t have to say anything. Within 9 days of being on the App Store it’s already earned a million dollars. Crazy. It’s a super charming, super simple, yet addictive, RTS. And who doesn’t want to control a garden of awesome plants to thwart those evil Zombies?

Edgar:

I’ve been playing Borderlands and Dragon Age, both on the 360 for most of February, but I had to stop both due to getting the RROD On my iPod Touch, I’ve been playing Plants vs. Zombies a lot, I guess like everyone else who owns an iPhone/iPod.

Jody:

I have been playing Being a New Father 2K10. Aside from that, the limited game time I have had has been spent with Zelda: Link to the Past and Bioshock 2, with a bit of Borderlands thrown in. I have been thinking of picking Pokemon Platinum back up, but I think I’m going to wait for Heart Gold or Soul Silver.

Michael Tucker:

If you asked me a month ago what games I would be playing this month, I would’ve traveled into the future and kicked my own ass.

My “friend”, fellow rebel GK Zhang, tempted me to download a trial of World of Warcraft wherein after two days of playing he went out and bought me a month’s subscription of the game. So, then, despite my going to college and trying to get into a fairly difficult BFA program, how could I refuse to play? Now, because I have a level 55 undead rogue in the virtual world, I must avoid icy-cold glares from my girlfriend whenever she asks what I’ve been doing with my time and am struggling to begin my hours of homework anytime before the night prior to the due date. I could take responsibility for my own actions, but imma blame GK instead.

To further my shame, I attended a LAN party a couple of weekends ago on the suggestion of a friend from acting class, only to realize after attending it that I had none of the games that were being played. With the party being on school property and using the university internet connection, everybody was hesitant about sharing the goods. Maybe it was the cheap pizza or the endless soda or the loud noises and mob mentality, but I let myself be persuaded into purchasing Left 4 Dead 2 at full price. Yes, a game available on Steam, a service which has crazy sales almost every month. And I bought it at full price.

Despite my apparent hesitance when it came to purchasing these titles, they’re both fantastic games. World of Warcraft is everything I’ve heard it hyped as being and it’s been quite an enjoyable way to spend my time. It’s nice to be able to play games with friends across the country who I’d otherwise only talk to on the phone every few weeks. Left 4 Dead 2 is a wonderful update to one of my favorite new franchises in years, and has enough differentiation (and variety) from the original to make me enjoy playing it as often as I played the first game.

I haven’t played much of anything independent this month, which is unusual because when I lack free time, independent titles are usually my bread and butter. But I did find my old Gameboy Color a few days ago with my LSDJ cart inside, so when pressed for time, I’ve been opting for that instead of the more intensive titles I’ve mentioned.

GK:

I’m playing World of Warcraft with Hokku. Then I’m playing World of Warcraft with other friends as well. I don’t have a girlfriend to glare at me, but the reflection in the monitor while I play World of Warcraft is enough.

I have also recently played a mod that can only be described as PURE GENIUS! Okay, so get this. Adolf Hitler, in his rise for power, brings back a weapon from prehistoric times. Now in addition to his army of men, the Fuhrer himself also controls an army of man-eating dinosaurs! I don’t care if this game isn’t that great when it comes out. I want to fight against some Nazis, I want to fight against some dinosaurs, and most of all I want to fight against some Nazis and some dinosaurs at the same time! You can do this in the Half-Life 2 mod known as Dino D-Day. There is a tech demo out for the game right now, but the author states that the first full module should be out this spring. Check it out here.

Greg:

Well, I didn’t bring any of my consoles along with me to China, so I won’t get to play Mass Effect 2 or No More Heroes 2 for another month. However, I did recently get my hands on a DSi XL. It’s awesome! I was skeptical of the big-screen handheld, but I fell in love with it the moment I tried one out. I talked a store owner into a pretty good deal, and before I knew it, I walked out with one of my own.

To put the handheld through its paces, I finally played through Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The first three Phoenix Wright games were incredible, and I have no idea why I held out on the fourth for so long. I’ve just dived into the spinoff, Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations, which seems just as fantastic so far. I also got started into The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. I really liked it at first, but the charm has worn off a bit. It’s better than Phantom Hourglass, but it is still missing something that made Link’s Awakening and the Oracle games so great.

Oh, and like everybody else in this post, I’ve become hopelessly addicted to Plants Vs. Zombies on my iPhone.

Sean:

Has another month gone by already? I tore into Mass Effect 2, and didn’t let go for two weeks. I’m sure I’ll do a whole treatise about the experience soon at some point, but suffice to say that BioWare has outdone themselves. If Dragon Age represents the kind of sequel I expected for Mass Effect, the actual ME2 is more like an experiment in game design that I’m sure will pay great dividends. To say it’s flawless would be a lie, but their efforts have helped me focus on a story that might go down as one of the greatest sci-fi tales ever told. Each mission is a chapter in a larger narrative with clues (if you look for them) as to what will happen in ME3 — which, according to all indications, will be sooner rather than later. I took the rest of the month to acquaint myself with the Sega Master System, and revisit an old favorite from my Apple ][ days: Choplifter. But lest I forget Nintendo, I recently picked up a haul consisting of Mega Man, Adventure Island, Shadowgate, and… Back to the Future Part II & III? What in the blazing blue hell, JLN??

Vinnk:

Another busy month, but when I did have a few moments, they were spent playing No More Heroes 2. Almost done with it and I will try to review it for the site. My bathroom gaming for this month has consisted of Sands of Destruction. the game is pretty standard RPG fare, but I am enjoying it so far. As for retro gaming, I have been playing Buffers Evolution on the Wonderswan. It has a bit of a Mega Man vibe, but I haven’t fully figured it out yet.

Nick Rumas:

Once again, this month was all Wii Sports Resort and Mother 3 for me. In the former, I played nothing but Table Tennis. I still cannot believe how deep it is, and how fun it is to play. For at least three weeks, I have been battling the champion, Lucia, and then getting knocked down the podium over and over. She is a beast. But last night, I actually came close to beating her for the first time. There will be a rematch soon…

In Mother 3, I’m currently grinding in preparation for my final run. Even leveling up is a blast in this game.