Key

Welcome to Ki's Picks
(a few days early)

If you're keeping up, I've decide to dedicate the month of February by talking about games that I have personally played and enjoyed. None of the games here will be games that I have not played, and none of the games here will be games that I ended up not liking. These are strictly games that I love and potentially still play to this day.

To start things off on the right foot, I'm going to talk about a game that I have fallen in love with more and more over the past week or so:


Stardew Valley

When Stardew Valley was released for PC, I went ahead and bought it because a bunch of Youtubers were raving about it and talking about how much fun it is. It even made some of their game of the year lists with it taking the #1 spot. I was in a different spot than they were upon playing it for the first time because I really wasn't into the whole idea of the game...at first.

Since it's release, the game has been sitting in my "uninstalled" list for a while catching dust, up until I decided to install it again and play it. And boy I'm glad I did. Stardew Valley brings you back into the world of gaming that revolved around the likes of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, and throws it all into this wonderfully beautifully created world where there is absolutely no limit to what you can do. You can go into town and meet random strangers and converse with them, you can give them gifts, and you can buy and sell your goods for extra money. You can also take care of your farm, and have a cat or dog on your farm to keep you company while doing so.

The main draw that I have noticed with this game is that you end up spending so much time in this cute little world that you forget that you aren't actually living there. It's one of those things where you'll sit and think "yeah, i'll play for about 10 minutes", and before you know it, 2.5 hours have gone by. Although I've been working a full time job lately, I've manged to throw around 4 hours into the game, and I have not even gotten started or even gotten close to cracking the code as to what this game has to offer. Best part is, the creator of this game (yes, one guy) is continuously updating it with new and original content to make the gun seemingly last forever.

If you were a fan of the Harvest Moon era of games which I imagine most of us were, Stardew Valley is the spiritual successor in all ways, and will probably always hold a special place in my heart and others people's hearts for years to come. I can only imagine the amount of money the creator of this game has made since its debut, seeing as everyone has attached to this game like flies. Rightfully so though, as it is a lot of fun, and it's got the right amount of relaxation mixed with fun events to keep you going with little to no frustration.

My only gripe with the game would be that some things should be streamlined a little bit, like watering your plants with a water bucket, but I know that you can install sprinklers to make that easier. Unfortunately that also requires you to find the materials you need and get the proper crafting level. It's fair enough that the game has a difficulty curve, I'm not saying anything negative about that. My point is that you probably won't completely understand the base game as soon as you pick it up. But from experience, it took me about...45 minutes to really see what this game is all about. Once that clicked, I found myself really enjoying it.

Graphically the game is perfect. It's exactly the right amount of pixel art and animation that really does the genre well in regards to Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. The music is also original and fantastic and helps fit the mood several times throughout your play through. I expect to put in at least 100 hours of my time into this game somewhere down the line, mostly because it seems like there's literally so much content that you pretty much have to end up getting somewhere between 100-200 hours before you get even close to finishing the game.

As someone that didn't give this game a chance at the start, I would definitely say you should give it a shot if this is the kind of game you like.

Key

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl

You ever get that wonder feeling when you find a game in the same region of other games that you absolutely love? Well, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl fits that bill when it comes to games that are like Fallout, but old and somewhat better. People at this forum know fairly well by now that I'm a humongous fan of the Fallout series, specifically Fallout 3. The apocalyptic nature and the barren wasteland made for a fantastic first time experience not too long ago. Now, as much as I like that game, it does come with its glitches and faulty hardware due to it being so old, but god damn it's good. This of course prompted me to be on the lookout for games much like it, and thus S.T.A.L.K.E.R made its way into my Steam library.

I think it was through the video game thread that Batty was saying he was playing this game, and of course knowing him and how he rates his games, I took his advice seriously when he was telling people to play it, and god damn it's good. You get placed right at the beginning already needing to figure out how to fend for yourself, and if you aren't aware of the difficulty of this game, it becomes abundantly clear in the first mission. I can safely say I probably died around 10 times before I figured out the right maneuvers and formula in order to take the enemies down. And of course, me being me, I was offered help on this mission but I was like "nah, it's the first mission, how hard could it be?" Boy was I wrong. You learn really fast that if you can get the help, take it, because you're going to need it.

I take the game for what it is because much like Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an older game, so it doesn't meet the standards of today's games graphically. However, everything else the game has to offer holds up really well. The combat is enticing, the overall feel of the game is depressing enough to make you feel like you're truly alone. It's very easy to control, and it's nowhere near as broken as one may think. It's tough to say whether or not a lot of people would enjoy this game, because as I said earlier, it comes with a pretty high difficulty level that catches you off guard. You wouldn't even think for a second that the first few missions would be difficult, but damn they are. But it just makes it so much more rewarding when you figure it out.

I'd say if you're in for a challenge, give this game a go.

The Batlord

And if you don't like ammo management then this game is not for you. Firing anything other than your pistol is pretty much an investment.

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Key

Redout

In an era of gaming where fast paced blood pulsing racing games have taken a bit of a backseat, Redout is the "man in shining armor" to bring back the concept full force. Along the lines of F-Zero, Wipeout 64, and others, Redout brings a fast paced blood pulsing experience that is cleverly mixed together with a heart racing soundtrack to keep you wanting more. While other games in this genre are somewhat easy to get a hang of if you play it long enough, Redout seems to be rather unforgiving in that regard.

I remember seeing one of my favorite Youtubers talk about this game, and I was instantly hooked just by the sheer amount of polish the game seemed to have upon its release, and boy...the polish surely translates to your own experience. I picked up the game for about 40$ if I remember, so don't think you're going to only shell out like 10 bucks. The price tag is probably the only part that may keep people from getting it. But, for 40$, you get not only a rehash of a golden gaming genre that took a pause, but you also get a fantastically made career mode that get tougher as you go on.

As of right now, I've put about 7 hours into the game, and that's just with the career mode alone. I've nearly already made my moneys worth since I consider at least 10 hours to be worth it for the price tag, though I know cheaper games allow for more play time. But seeing as this is just a concept being put into play, it's not entirely surprising to expect no more than 20 or 30 hours from this game. Which honestly, that's more than enough for me.

One of the main draws of the game, at least for me would have to be the potential for online multiplayer. I've done a few matches and I've been successful in finding a match, but it's very few when you get into a match. Which is rather unfortunate because I feel this game could do really well just with its multiplayer alone. Unfortunately that's the curse of releasing a game that didn't get a lot of drive from the get go. Hopefully at some point it picks up.

And although the online play can be a bit hectic sometimes, everything else about the game is perfect. I play the game in 1920x1080 resolution and I have my PC setup with a surround sound logitech speaker system with a subwoofer, and by god it sounds amazing. If you have all the right specs, you really start to feel like you're actually in the game. Did I mention there is a VR mode? Yes. There is a VR mode. And from what I've heard, it's really good.

If you're looking for that game to take the place of your urge to race at fast pacing heart pounding speeds, Redout is the game for you. I'd strongly recommend checking it out.

Key

GoldenEye: Source

So, believe it or not, GoldenEye or as some would call it "007" has made it's way back into the wave of gaming that we know and love today. Basically what was done is that somebody took on the role of taking Valve's Source engine and creating a complete conversion that fits the needs of those that hold GoldenEye near and dear to our hearts. The best part about it? It's free. Yes! It's free.

I'm one of those gamers that holds Nintendo 64 games very close to my heart, because that is to my knowledge some of the best gaming I ever did as a kid. And of course, that is what boosted my way into enjoying video games today. Goldeneye, Turok II, Wipeout 64, Super Mario, all those games are some of the best parts of my childhood, and to see some of them come back into the world today and be completely accessible to those with the right setup is pretty amazing.

Looking at it from someone that used to play multiplayer GoldenEye with friends, I can safely say that this conversion mod did everything it was meant to do and more. It keeps the old school graphics that you love about the game, and allows for so much more. Instead of only needing a duel screen multiplayer, the people behind this setup dedicated servers, and of course...those servers tend to fill up pretty quick. The first time I played it, I spent a good 3 hours just really enjoying the feeling of being back in the saddle of GoldenEye.

Perhaps one of the coolest additions with this mod would have to be the soundtrack that the developers made for this game. It's very much similar to the original, but has a unique twist to it that gets your blood pumping and gets your ready to get into the game and shoot down your enemies. Of course, one of my personal favorites would have to be:



If you guys want to play some GoldenEye: Source, I'm more than open to opening up a server and getting some games going.

The Batlord

The people on those servers are terrifying though. I have no idea how you can get an instant headshot on command with Goldeneye's aiming system. Bastards.

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Key

Yeah, I think my only gripe with the game would be that the aiming system and the overall playability does feel like it'd be better with a USB N64 controller. Other than that, it's pretty solid.

Key

Runescape

Back in 2004, I stumbled upon a game pretty much by accident and little did I know, everybody in my middle school had already latched onto this game. Yes, I'm talking of course about Runescape. We've all heard about it, and we've all showed some sort of admiration for the game whether it's the original music or the hopeless addiction you find yourself in.

Although recently, or throughout the past couple years, the Runescape that I used to know seized to exist, I still have a special place in my heart for this game for many reasons. One of course being one of the greatest MMO's I have ever played. Keep in mind, this was back in the day where Runescape and World of Warcraft were THE games to play, and since I didn't really have the money to cater to a World of Warcraft addiction, I stuck to Runescape. Funny enough, it wasn't even the paid version. I played the free to play version for years before I convinced my mom to put her credit card on file in order for me to play the members game. And man...my world opened up.

Runescape has many flaws, from the salty community to the now grind grind grind mentality, but back in its hey day, it was a place to escape from the real world and enjoy hours upon hours of fun. I met so many online friends through Runescape and some I had managed to keep for years, up until they as well decided to quit. With the company putting in updates that weren't overly favorable, they basically killed their own game.

Now, don't get me wrong, up until a few months ago, I was still playing this game off and on. I've been on an uphill and downhill battle with this game where I'll quit for long periods of time, but then I'll get right back into it as if nothing had happened. It was a game that I knew I could always turn to when I didn't have anything else to play. It even got to a point back when I started in 2004 where I was neglecting my homework for school, and I basically thank Runescape for making me have to take two summer school classes in order to pass high school. But you know what? I have no regrets. The memories I made with the game will stick with me for the rest of my life.

I know there are a lot of people that still play the new Runescape and a lot of Youtubers play the old school version, which I watch regularly. More specifically, A Friend:



I strongly believe and somewhat hope that the game does pick up again and continue to flourish, because even if you look at the comment sections of the old music that played in the game, you can see hundreds of people reliving their childhoods through the music alone. That's how captivating the game was.

Whether you played the game or not, the company behind this game have managed to keep themselves afloat and I can't even imagine how much the company is worth now. But when it really boils down to it, I think the draw behind it all will be that people will always have fond memories of this game, and the company will be the reason for that. Although they may not know where they want to go now, nothing will ever replace the memories that this game brought.

Truly a magnificent game and one that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Tristan_Geoff

All my brother plays is CS:GO and 2007scape. I'd look into the latter since that seems to be what you would wanna play.

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Emo/Pop Punk Journal

Techno Journal

Key

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

I've been constantly going back and forth with Ori and the Blind Forest in regards to me liking it or me not liking it, and I can safely say that after putting a good couple hours into the new and improved definitive edition, I can conclude that the game is amazing and meets the expectations I set up for it when it was previously released.

Before the definitive version, I owned the original release of the game, and man...it was filled with bugs and some game breaking glitches that somehow made me erase my file that I was about 25% into. It was my first play through so I was very disappointed. I had the urge to play the game again a few months later, and I had found that there was a definitive version that apparently fixed all the game breaking bugs and made the game way more fun, and let me tell you, it delivers.

It's unfortunate when a game like this doesn't do well in its original state, and I feel for the developers when they have to re-release a game in a different namesake in order to meet peoples expectations. Luckily, for people that originally owned the original version, the developers went ahead and sent those people a very generous discount for the definitive version, so I felt obligated to buy it.

Ori and the Blind Forest is still to this day, one of the best experiences in regards to playformers and graphics style, but what it really does well is the atmosphere and soundtrack. I've heard some negative things about the end game and the story altogether, but I can't deny that they set this game up to be one of the most beautiful experiences you'll ever...er...experience. I'm nearly halfway through the game, so of course the game does feel a bit short. But there are many secrets to be found, and a whole world to explore.

Definitely do check this game out if you did previously give it a chance.