I thought I'd start off Meli does with a collection of every
single thing I'm a fangirl over. This is going to be the
inaugural fandom roundup. Hopefully we'll revisit this list around this time next year.
I'll try to keep this brief - honestly, you should give some of the games a try, if you haven't already.
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GAMES & OTHER THINGS
POKEMON
Yes, let's start off with one my all-time favourites. Pokemon...there are no words for Pokemon (and if you haven't heard of it...where have you been?). We've come a long way from 150 pokemon - now there's over 700 of them. And the games just keep getting cooler and cooler (I'm really intrigued by the new Mega Evolution scheme - I think it will be a great way to keep pokemon growing without giving us MORE pokemon to get confused over!)
My favourite from the whole series has to be the remake of the classic Gold and Silver - HeartGold and SoulSilver. The fact that you can walk with your pokemon makes it worth it, but travelling to two different sections of the pokemon world is the coolest thing ever. I'm excited to give X and Y a try.
The fandom is full of awesome - only continuing the greatness that is Pokemon. Make your own pokemon trainer. Draw them. Roleplay them. Turn the pokemon in to people. Draw the people. Make jokes about the latest professor.
ANIMAL CROSSING
Again, starting off with the second favourite game of mine. This was the game that made me a gamer, truly. When I was 8, I saw the Guidebook for Animal Crossing in a store, and I fell in love. I spent over an hour on the floor flipping through page after page of big-headed animal. That year for Christmas I got a Gamecube with that game. A lifelong love followed.
I purchased a DS just so I could play Wild World, and more recently, New Leaf was what spurred me in to getting a 3DS (it came out just a few days after my birthday, too. They know me).
I don't quite know how to explain the game in a way that doesn't make it sound super lame. You play as a character in a town full of animals. You make friends with them, catch bugs and fish, attend festivals and decorate your house. In New Leaf (the most recent game) you're the mayor, and are tasked with making your town awesome, in whatever way you choose.
There is an endless amount of creativity put in to people's towns, and the community is super inclusive and warm. Animal crossing - probably the happiest game in the world. Really.
LEGEND OF ZELDA
I still have some serious Geeking to do over these games - I've only played three of them. But I fully intend to play them all, because the Zelda games are some of the greatest adventure games ever played. They follow a similar formula, but all are unique and totally intriguing in their own way.
I can't wait to get my hands on Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds. One of my friends dressed up as Link for Halloween and it was perfect. If you're looking for a good fantasy-adventure game, look no furthur than any and every single Zelda game ever.
MINECRAFT
A little bit different than most games, Minecraft is insanely huge, and insanely fun. It's LEGOs for adults. Really. It's a world made out of blocks. You break them down and add other blocks, or you can play on adventure and fight zombies and avoid lava and slay dragons. It's your choice, and both a totally fun.
If you want something that is far, far too much fun, pick up MInecraft. If you get bored, there are THOUSANDS of mods avaliable on the community forums, and a ton of different challenges and...all sorts of things. It's endless, and so much fun!
TERRARIA
Terraria is a lot like Minecraft, but in 2D. Really. And it's great.
Now, I'm not going to go in to the HUGE argument over which is better, because they're both absolutely great games. When I don't feel like playing Minecraft, I switch to Terraria, when I get tired of Terraria, I play Minecraft.
Terraria is a bit more classic-fantasy oriented than Minecraft. There's more monsters to kill, more items to use, and less land to explore. But you can still dig and make tunnels, build houses, collect things and fight things. If you like Minecraft, but haven't tried Terraria, give it a try. If you like Terraria but haven't heard of Minecraft, see above and try IT out.
THE SIMS
Oh, The Sims. I don't know about you, but I've spent many an hour with my best friends giggling over making Sims kiss, or getting them trapped in a pool on vacation, or making them slap each other with fish. Yes, a lot of the games are buggy - that's part of the fun of it.
Really, there is nothing that can match the Sims that's anything like it. It's great fun, and honestly, when I don't want to play the game, I just play it to build really cool houses. Which is juuuust as fun! Really!
Oh, Okami. I loooove Okami - the quirky game where when you kill things, they turn in to flowers and sunshine and sparkles. And drawing with a pen and ink is an integral part of the game - how awesome is that?
Okami is a game based on Japanese
culture and legend. The main story revolves around the Sun Goddess
Amaterasu taking the shape of a white wolf and a little traveling
artist named Issun. Together they embark on a quest to vanquish the
evil that has enveloped the land of Nippon. I'm playing it on the Wii,
but it is also available for the Playstation 2, if you still have one,
and coming out for the PS3 as well.
What begins as a simple adventure,
though, soon turns in to a complete quest to save the world. The
storyline is gorgeously detailed and incredibly engrossing. Twists
and turns keep the gameplay interesting, and many, many hours of play are packed in to this unassuming game. Alongside the rich
main plot line, many side quests will keep a player busy when you
need a break from the plot.
EVERYTHING MARIO
I don't know if you can tell, but I like happy games. As I've hinted at before - sad, sappy stories make me feel nauseous. I just don't like it.
That being said, Mario is an explosion of happy. Always. There is nothing I like better than fighting to win a level in Super Mario Sunshine (Classic!) or forcing my family to try and beat me at a Mario Party Game (the wii one sucked). Super Mario Galaxy was an absolute BLAST, and honestly, the classic platformer game is just great. My absolute favourite has to be Paper Mario and the 1000 Year Door - it was so different, quirky and fun!
You can't go wrong with Mario, no matter which game you pick up. I love them all.
JOURNEY
(I love this game so much I wrote a real honest-to-god review on it)
This game made me cry. It made me cry in such an amazing way - I hid in the bathroom sobbing my brains out for over an hour, just from the sheer beauty of it. If you can play one game that will probably change you, play this one. It will.
I don't usually wax philosophical about
video games (or anything of the sort) but this game was so much more
than simply a game. It's ability to portray an age-old narrative in
an incredibly fresh way floored me. And the graphics, oh the
graphics. It's an absolutely stunning game to play through, and at
the risk of sounding like a sap, it almost feels as though you take
the journey with the character in the game – both of you changed
because of it.
Whew. With that over, let's get down to
the details of the game. The main character of the game is a small
hooded figure, with a scarf trailing behind it. The game really gives
you no details, no story, no nothing. You start smack-dab in the
middle of a desert, full of mysterious stones and slips of paper, and
you need to figure the rest out on your own. Of course, the game is
so stylishly done, it's quite easy to navigate, and they do make it
so you don't wander around the desert for hours (at least...not for
too long). I won't risk spoiling the story for you, but your goal is
to get to the top of a shining mountain, and you discover all kinds
of secrets along the way.
You travel through hills of glittering
sand (seriously – it's so sparkly, I died a bit), blistering winds,
and all sorts of gorgeous, gorgeous ruins. The details in them, if
you take the time to look closely, will floor you, and the stark
landscape clashes brilliantly with the details put in to the
buildings. You almost feel like an archaeologist, digging for secrets
as to where the people who built these ruins went.
It's pure magic. Play it play it play it.
MAGIC: THE GATHERING
No, this isn't a video game. Yes, this is the same Magic card game all those greasy boys in middle school played. Yes, it's as good as they say. And yes, it's as corny as it seems.
But it's great, really. It seems really, really confusing, but if you get an experienced player to guide you through it, you pick up insanely fast, and won't want to stop. Buy a pre-build deck and start playing.
ACHIEVEMENT HUNTER / ROOSTERTEETH
These guys. I fell in love after watching these . three . videos. And we haven't stopped watching them since. All of their videos are hilarity-inducing, and each of them have such personality. You can't help but secretly love them all in their own ways.
I hope I can be like all the Achievement hunter guys when I grow up. So far, we've concluded I'm a mixture of about 40% Gavin, 20% Ray and 20% Jack. It's all very scientific. Noooot. Seriously, go watch some of their stuff. You'll laugh until you pee.
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS
Yes. If you have lots of friends, play this game immediately. If you don't have friends - you will make some if you play D & D with them. Really. I've seen it happen.
For those of you out of the know, D&D is a roleplaying game. Which essentially means you ARE your character, and with the help of a magical person called the DM (who don't play with you, but act as the game itself) navigate a world and play adventures.You can be what you wantever you want to be and do whatever you want to do, so long as your DM lets you.
Our campaign so far has consisted of an elf bard named Legolas Bon Jovi, a half-elf Druid named Artemis with a giant black dog named Soot, a Halfling Rogue called Beatrice Turtle (who rides on said back dog), a bald priest named Uther Manstrong and an Orc named Baggi Dench. As well as their noble steeds Possession, Heavy and Bicep.
