Some Thoughts On Video Games November 2017

I’ve been kicking my writer side of my brain into high gear for this month. So I’ve had at least one review each week and less games to talk about on this monthly list. But I still have some stuff to say about the other games I've played.

After I started this list a makeshift theme started to form and that is known as pain. (A more literal theme would be the fact they are all in first person.) First up is physical pain. B.J. has gone through a lot by the time time the intro starts with him in a wheelchair. Leading to an existential crisis where he doesn’t feel like the man he once was. Next up on the chopping block we’ve got physiological pain. Daniels brings in a lot of baggage on top of the fact he is fighting in WW2. For something he did in the past haunts him to this day. Finally emotional pain rounds up our little tour. Not in the lovey dovey kind of way either and if you want to know more you’ll just have to check out the last game in this list on your own time. It's free after all.

List items

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  Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

  I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to check this game out so soon after release. Shooting virtual Nazi’s is certainly a worthy goal for any gamer but the even more serious nature of the story didn’t seem like it blended in quite as well this time. Which is what I got out of the backstory for BJ. It goes hard on some very rough topics that shine some light on his motivations. Which is good but it really doesn’t match up with the insanity that happens multiple times throughout the campaign. Still it has quite a few moments that were worth playing through the game just to see.

  Meanwhile the gameplay is on point too. Dual wielding guns blasting through a bunch of generic Nazi enemies is fun. Stealth is still a option too but unlike the first game I didn’t really use it a lot. Every map was set up in a way someone always saw me more often than not. Not a huge issue when the game is set up in a way where they want you to constantly run around shooting things but I did notice a lack of weapon variety. For most of the game I was using the machine gun or assault rifle. Some of the cooler weapons tend to have minimal ammo so blowing guys up didn’t happen that often. Still a fun ride with a bit too much drama. Worth playing for sure if you're in the mood for a tough FPS focused running around like a madman.

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  Call of Duty: WWII

  So apparently I have some nostalgia for the first two CoD games? Since I enjoyed the campaign more than I expected to going by the tepid response to it. The storyline may not be anything new but I haven’t really watched anything like this for a while. Plus the personal element of the main character Daniels is much more interesting than seeing a brotherhood form badly with the rest of the cast. So yeah I thought it was okay plus I kept being reminded of older WW2 games a lot. Like the Nazi spy part reminded me of the disguise mission in Medal Of Honor Frontline. Along with battle of the bulge level almost being spot on with what they did before in CoD United Offensive. Which kinda means I just liked it because it reminded me of some cool moments I enjoyed in the past. Still a solid little campaign even if it didn’t do anything new. Like always I barely even touched the multiplayer even though I really enjoy how the guns shoot in this game.

• 

  Doki Doki Literature Club

  After the last two games you might be thinking this is a good palate cleanser just going by the art. Upfront it is a visual novel that plays with the troupes of the genre. Which is backed by some good writing that manages to tow the line being parody and being sincere. Also aided by some nice upbeat tunes that easily stick in your head after the credits roll. Even one of the ways you make a choices is rather unique. Instead of just picking one girl over another via multiple choice all the time, each day you go through requires you to write a poem. Knowing what each one likes will let you continue down that narrative path the next day. Which makes this a solid VN on it’s own. Yet that is when everything changes.

  This game has a warning upfront to let you know it deals in some serious stuff. Do not go into this unless you want a chance of having your heart broken to pieces. Then afterwards it slowly starts to break down and turn into something else entirely. This is what this game is known for and should be played for that reason alone. Eventually the story crescendos in a way you might not be able to predict. Then it throws a little ah ha moment afterward just to mess with ya. Overall I “enjoyed” my time with this free game. Kinda sad the developer didn’t think it was worth people paying to play it.