2014: A Year in the Life of a PC Gamer

2014: A Year in the Life of a PC Gamer

 

      2014 was a record breaking year for me in that I finished 20 games. The closest I had ever come to that number was 18 games, set in 2013. I doubt that I will ever finish 20 games in a year again. I just started a new job, and it’s much more time consuming than my old job which afforded me wonderful three day weekends.  It was fun while it lasted, but I always knew I’d have to find a real job someday. Ha! I played numerous small indie games that took up all of a three or four hour afternoon, but I also managed to knock out some heavy hitters. The year proved once again, I’m much more of a solo gamer than a social gamer. I’m in the =sBs= clan, but almost in name only. I’ve tried to quit, the chief admin and founder won’t let me. Heh. I still play Battlefield 3; they have moved on to Battlefield 4.  

          Far Cry 3 was the big enchilada for me this year. The game not only swallowed me up into its environment, it also affected me in my daily waking life. I burned the soundtrack onto a CD and listened to it constantly during the summer months. And I’ve never been taken back to my youthful navy days in quite the same way as by anything else as this game did. The game clutched me so deeply that when I finally finished it, I found an odd catch in my throat, a sad reminder that all good things must come to an end.  I have no desire to start up FarCry 4, not for a very long time. I need to catch my breath.

Another epic AAA game I finished this year was Mass Effect 2. I remember the first Mass Effect dragging on and being somewhat “chorey.” ME2 was so much more streamlined, and it reminded me of how the Normandy has become my favorite home away from home when it comes to virtual environments. Let J.J. Abrams commandeer Star Wars AND Star Trek. As long as Bioware helms Mass Effect, the universe shall stay in order. Mass Effect 2 has the best cinematic ending of any game I’ve ever played.

 

While we’re on the subject of space, I did get a chance to revisit (and replay) Origin’s venerable and lauded Wing Commander. This was one of the first PC games I ever played. I actually upgraded my 286-12 mHz PC to a 386-25 mHz just so I could watch the animations run faster back in 1991. Living in Austin, Texas at the time, the home of Origin, I actually applied to work there after playing this game. See how I’ve always been affected! It was wonderfully refreshing to pick up WC on www.gog.com and play it through again in its entirety. It’s aged considerably, though not horribly. In its day, Wing Commander on the PC was miles ahead of anything out on console at the time. There simply was no comparison.

I played through Path of Exile, an action RPG in the same vein as Blizzard’s Diablo 3. PC Gamer Magazine swore up and down PoE was “more Diablo 3 than Diablo 3 was.” Perhaps it was; I’ve not played Diablo 3, I just know I got bored very quickly. And then I picked up The Incredible  Adventures of Van Helsing and had the time of my life. This game made me realize I could have a hella good time with an action RPG.  

     

As far as strategy games I took a chance and invested in Ultimate General: Gettysburg, an early access game from Game-Labs. I realize early access can be hit or miss, but I got lucky. I bought the game for a reduced “ea” price, and then a week later it came out complete at a higher price. The game is a great war strategy game that isn’t complex enough to be considered “grognard,” but still fun enough to be challenging for the likes of me. It didn’t take me long to beat it from both sides, Union and Confederates. I wrote a review on Steam that snowballed in popularity to the point of being the number one review for the game for several weeks. http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197995381979/recommended/306660 If you click the link please give me a thumbs up, I’d certainly appreciate it.

 

As far as driving simulations (which you all know I’m quite fond of) I eschewed Codemaster’s F1 2012 (because it was a broken game) for F1 2013. The game is a noticeable improvment over its predecessor no doubt, and with my Logitech G27 wheel/paddle set it’s the closest I will ever get to actually racing a 750 hp Formula One beast. F1 2014 is out and for sale, but after reading the reviews, I think I got lucky in getting F1 2013. I’ll stick with that one until (and if) Codemasters really improves the series.

 

I beat Borderlands 2 this year as well. I played the original back in 2010, and I liked it, although it got a bit tedious because of its repetition. Gearbox as a developer has been hit or miss over the years. I’ve always enjoyed their Brothers in Arms series, however, they took a royal beating over Aliens: Colonel Marines and even garnered a class action lawsuit over it. But I have to admit they did just fine with BL2. I enjoyed every moment I was in the game. I once spun off a heated letter to Computer Gaming World over something Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox said. It became their “Letter of the Month.” So, I can safely say Gearbox has always made me feel something.

 

RPGs always swallow me up, sheesh, FarCry 3 took me 107 hours to beat. I want to play The Witcher 2 and Dragon Age 2, but pending the release of Dragon Age 3, I got to watching videos and trailers of the original Dragon Age, and alas, here I am playing through the original all over again! We’ll see how it goes, but so far, so good. I don’t feel like I’m involved in a chore simulator—not yet, anyway.

 

Looking ahead I think 2015 will be a good year for us PC gamers. Alien Isolation is out this year, and Rockstar will finally release GTAV as well. The Occulus Rift will find more new homes for PC this year (it’s just terrible Facebook purchased it . . .I guess the idea of Farmville in true 3D appeals to them. Yuck!) We will see Fallout 4 this year, and probably a World of Warcraft movie. (I doubt I will see it. I refuse to waste two hours of my life in such a manner.) Just Cause 3, Outlast 2 and of course, Evolve will “evolve” this year on PC. I’m going to predict Tom Clancy’s (God rest his soul) The Division will appear and blow away the console versions (expect a November ’15 release.) This year, as every year is, will be a good year for us PC gamers.

 

PC vs Console

PC vs Console.

The debate lives on and with the release of two new platforms the debate is flourishing. Here are my reasons why I think the PC is the stronger platform. Agree? Disagree? Hit me up with your comments below.

1. Mouse/Keyboard Interface

Blizzard's Starcraft and Starcraft II are national religions in South Korea. Even the South Korean Air Force has a sanctioned team. PC is king in this country because of the mouse and keyboard needed to play these real time strategy games. Imagine playing Shogun: Total War 2 or Sins of a Solar Empire on a console with the same ease. Nope. Not going to happen.

2. Solitary/Intimate play 

I am not a social gamer. And even when I am, it’s online only for me, baby. I get my social fix in MMOs, Guild Wars 2 being my personal poison. Granted, setting up to play with family or friends sitting side by side at the same PC is doable, though cumbersome at best. But that’s okay. PC gamers are used to solitary play. In the dark. With headphones. It’s all about total immersion.  

3. Multitasking 

Imagine sitting on the sofa listening to music on your console, alt-tabbing out to chat to friends and raising hell in GTAV and also watching an eBay auction wind down to snipe seconds. Playing on a PC there is no imagine. There just . . . is. Not to mention being able to craft a novel, spell check it, and then print it out (or email it to an editor.)  

4. Game selection

Walk into any Gamestop and declare you’re a PC gamer and you’ll get treated like a leper. Walk into a Best Buy and your mouth will drop open when you see the diminutive (and dwindling) selection of PC games on the shelf. You know what? This doesn’t matter, not anymore. In the world of digital distribution there is no need for brick and mortar real estate shelf space, plastic discs, cardboard game boxes and paper manuals. And the Steam digital distribution venue is king of this new realm. Steam currently offers over 2,000 games. You won’t find this kind of selection on a “next-gen” console. You won’t even find half that selection, and that’s on both consoles combined.  

5. Cheaper games 

Okay, I know I’m splitting hairs here and stepping into the gray area, especially since the Sony Playstation online service offers free games from time to time, and Blizzard became a trendsetter and offered Call of Duty games on PC for $60.00 (the same price for the console versions.) Still, I scored Far Cry 3 for $7.49 on a Steam sale. And I paid $40 for Bioshock: Infinite. I got Batman Arkham City Game of the Year Edition (which includes all of the DLC packs) for $10 on a Steam sale as well. Console games are $60. Period. They almost have to be. That first ten dollars covers licensing fees.  

6. Backward compatibility 

Chances are you can take any older PC game from your shelf, install it, and get it to work. It might take some tweaking, but you can make it happen. Better yet, you can buy an already tweaked version for your system on www.gog.com. The nice thing about GoG.com is game purchases usually include screen wallpapers, mp3s of the game’s soundtrack and nice PDF game manuals. In addition, GoG is on the verge of implementing an active client service like Steam. Game updates will be automatic, and you can chat to other GoG members and create a personal profile showing off all of those great old games you own. Wing Commander for $4.99? Consolers, don’t try this at home. Don’t even try to play PS3 games on your PS4 or Xbox 360 games on your XB1.

 

So, there you have it. And yes, I’m being a little harsh on console boys, because in truth, PCs and consoles have enough differences that maybe it really is unfair to try to compare them in this manner. I’ve been a PC gamer since 1990, but I actually started on an 8 bit Nintendo NES. Metal Gear made me late for work the whole time I was playing it. At about the same time I beat it, I got a chance to see a gaming PC. That’s all it took. I gave my Nintendo away and never looked back.

2013: A Year in the Life of a PC Gamer

2013: A Year in the Life of a PC Gamer

 

 

      The beginning of 2013 was an impending explosion trapped in a bottleneck. I had been gaming on a PC I bought in 2009, and everything I put on it was starting to resemble a slide show at an old folks' home. If everyday is New Year's Day in the world of computerdom, then my old E7200 processor equipped Antech 300 was something that emerged from the Jurassic era. I spent about everyday for weeks doing virtual builds of new PCs on DigitalStorm, Cyberpower and IBuyPower sites. I researched like a medical scientist attempting to discover a cure for cancer. And then I stumbled upon a Youtube video that showcased a PC building firm called Ironside Computers. I hit them with a real life game of Twenty Questions on their site, and they were quick and efficient in answering every one of them. They even talked me out of buying extra items that were unnecessary in a build I had been constructing on their site. They sold me. And then they sold me a PC.

 

      I got the PC in March, and the impending explosion burst through the bottleneck. The energy could have soared a Saturn V rocket to the next galaxy. I ended up playing over 40 games in 2013, and I finished a record setting 18 games. Although, I noticed indie games stealing more and more of the forefront in 2013 I managed to play a variety of games.

      I gave my system a little bit of a workout with Battlefield 3 and SimCity (who's debacle launch had to be one of the darkest sour points of the year.) I also (for once) played a game mere months after it had released, Bioshock: Inifinite. This is probably one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. This is a game you call your friends, family and neighbors over to say, "Hey, look at this, look what my computer can do."

 

      Despite what I said earlier about indie games rearing their ugly and not so ugly heads to the forefront, I got my hooks into some of them as well. Zeno Clash was a struggle, but I finally beat it. It will probably go down in history as one of the greatest punching simulators ever made. I tackled Bastion which turned into another struggle, however, the ending made it all worth it. The strange novelty of having a narrator describing your every move in real time makes this a game experience everybody should partake in. And I have to admit, the Xbox controller mechanics and the body English maneuvers to get my character to jump over to the next ledge, tree, mushroom, whatever, all vanished by the wayside as I got enmeshed in the story itself. I played through Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the main attraction being its claim to be one hella scary game, and the fact that none of my friends had finished it because it was too scary. I played it, and I beat it. Boo-yah! It was fun, but there were some puzzles that were extremely difficult and quickly pulled me from the suspension of disbelief. Yes, the game was in fact quite scary, not the monster in the closet jumping out at you kind of scary, but more like a sense of dread kind of creepiness when you see movement in the shadows.

 

     Being many years removed from my callow teen aged years I often find nostalgia in the strangest of things. My own PC was the portal to my own gaming nostalgia in 2013. (Try to get nostalgic with those wonderful old Metal Gear games with your new next generation console. Not going to happen.) I played through 2004's lauded Doom 3 again after all of these years. The game still looks good. I thought it repetitive and clichéd, but it was a fun romp. I can see why it was such da bomb when it came out, though I always thought Far Cry was the much better game at the time. I also reinstalled Tron 2.0 and finished it this time. That should renew my geek cred for at least another whole year. I also reinstalled Mirror's Edge and finished it this time. This game had jaw dropping visuals when I first played it back in 2009. That hasn't changed. When Splinter Cell came out all of the gaming periodicals talked about its wonderful use of lighting. I think Mirror's Edge had it beat in that department. I was greatly frustrated right before the ending when I first played it. I got through it this time, and I'm honored to have completed it. The idea that there will be a Mirror's Edge 2 is music to my ears. I also played through Sid Meier's Rails! a second time. That game was certainly no Railroad Tycoon, but it still exuded a certain charm that made it irresistible. I never could get it to work for very long in Windows Vista, but it seemed to warm right up to my Windows 7 64 bit.

 

     I dabbled in Civilization V throughout the year. It's a game that really does scare me. It frightens me how life suddenly fast forwards when I play Civ 5. I can glance at the clock, and in no time two hours have flown by. No matter what time I start playing it, it's always dawn when I finish it. I don't even boot it up during the work week. It's just way too tempting. "Argh! Just . . one . . more . .turn!"

 

     Simulations is truly what drew me to PC gaming way back in 1989. I got to revisit some of that love in 2013 with a few select sims. I reinstalled Rise of Flight which ran like a choppy 56K slide show on my old Intel E7200. It was amazing to be able to run the game at max settings on my new rig. But it wasn't until I picked up Saitek's outstanding X52 Flight Control System that Rise of Flight really took on a new life for me. The game is still no pushover. You'll be lucky to obtain Ace in a simulated career, but having a powerful gaming rig and a flight stick and throttle stick to match definitely can put the odds in your favor. Speaking of hardware, I also picked up a Logitech G27 Wheel/Paddle set in 2013, and I bought Euro Truck Simulator 2 at a Steam sale to put the peripheral through its paces. Man, oh man, oh man, oh man. This game and wheel\paddle set is a marriage. The game was made for the Logitech system, or is it more like the Logitech system was made for this game. I don't know, I just know when I've got my headphones on listening to that wheeze of the turbo diesel emanating from my truck's twin stacks, and I've got European Trance on the radio, and I see hayfields and quaint pastoral houses in the distance I just feel like I've come home. That, my friends, is the magic of PC gaming.

 

     I don't expect 2014 to be as bold of a year in my gaming indulgences. First, there won't be anything as dramatic as upgrading to another rig. Secondly, I have numerous longer games lined up to play. I don't anticipate getting anywhere near 18 games finished. The Witcher 2 and Dragon Age 2 are both on my plate. I take twice as long as you do playing an RPG, I'm sure of it. But the Steam Winter Sale just ended, and as usual, it was an embarrassment of riches for me. I spent way too much on games that I have no idea when I'll get around to playing. But hey, this is the dawn of a brand new year sprawled out before us. I guess it's time to get cracking.