5 – Need for Speed

Need For Speed was one of the first gaming franchises that I really took note of. I’d play it on the computer a lot with and it was always a ton of fun. I like how it’s not that complex a racing game, and they have kept that for the most part. Some of them, more recent ones, try and add in too much story or complexity for kitting out your car, making it more like a Fast and the Furious movies than like original Need for Speed, and it just loses something. I want to go and race immediately, not have to drive around to find the next event, hope it’s a type that I have my car kit ready for. But the game is just a classic at this point, and some of them, Hot Pursuit 2 in particular are just awesome.

4 – Mario Kart

Needless to say, I like racing games. This goes back to what I said in the open, I like games that aren’t going to take multiple sessions that are hours long to play. I can sit down with a group of friends and knock out a Mario Kart tournament in a few minutes, and that has a group of people with it. I like Mario Kart slightly better than Need for Speed because while both are fun, Mario Kart can be more social, and while Need for Speed isn’t highly realistic in damage to your car or it blowing up, Mario Kart is less so, which just makes it that much more fun.

3 – Tales from the Borderlands

This is a kind of bigger game, but mainly it’s a kind of silly game. I love the Borderlands franchise and this is obviously completely different than those looter/shooters, but it is still a blast. Tales from the Borderlands tells a good story set in that world, and even ties into the 3rd (4th) Borderlands game. It does a good job of keeping the humor and tells what is a very traditional Borderlands story in a condensed and faster game play. I like that I can pick my story decisions and make changes to the world because of them. It’s not all amazing because there are some quick time events that are just annoying and feel like they are there so you, as the player feel like you’re doing something, if it’s been a bit between choices, but generally, like I said, just annoying. Great story overall though, and a lot of good choices.

2 – Borderlands Series

Next up we have the whole of the Borderlands series, Borderlands, Borderlands: The Pre-sequel, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3. These are just fun looter shooter games. This is a bigger series of games, and the 3rd one has been harder to get through because I just don’t have the time to sit down and play a ton, but I do really like that they are couch co-op and not that difficult to play. They give you a good silly time as you run around, blow up monsters, get crazy guns, blow up bandits, blow up bad guys, get more guns, and did I mention blowing stuff up with guns? That’s basically what the series is about, and the silly humor that it has to go along with it. Such a good time and easy to get into without having to be that good at the game, you can always just go do something else, shoot and blow up something else, and come back when you’re at the right level.

1 – Dragon Age: Origins

Finally, Dragon Age: Origins. I do like the 2nd one as well, but the 3rd one lost me a bit for a few reasons. What I like so much about Dragon Age: Origins is that it’s an “open world” game. By that I mean that you can do stuff in different orders, and explore different sections, but it is a pretty limited open world game. You can’t just wander off in a direction to see what is there, you’ll run up against how far you can go pretty quickly. And you can’t just randomly stumble into a late game quest. This is just an interesting story of a game that is told while giving you a lot of choices but you kind of work in quest batches that you can pick the order of but will always end up at the same ending spot. Now that might seem like your choices don’t matter, they do, some, but the dragon must be slayed no matter what.

Those are some of the top ones for me, a few that just missed the list would be Powerstar Golf, probably my most played game, because I can sit down and play it so fast, and couch co-op. Jazz Jackrabbit, Alpha Centauri and Tony LaRussa Baseball which I grew up with. 1943, a top scrolling flying game, and then stuff like Mortal Kombat and Super Mario, that I can play, but are easy to pick-up and set down.

What are some of your favorite games, with my taste, what games should I checkout?

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1 Dragon Age
I’m assuming this was my previous #1, and I mean the first two, not Dragon Age Inquisition. The third one is just too open world and there’s something about the point of view that is slightly motion sickness inducing for myself. The first two are a lot of fun though, I like the character progression, I like the random conversations that happen, and I like how you can effect the story but the story is still tightly written and you don’t wander around with nothing to do.

2 Borderlands 1, 2, Pre-Sequel
I really considered this for #1 as well. I’m generally not a shoot-em-up fan but Borderlands does a good job of having a fun enough story and the art work in the game is just amazing. The game doesn’t take itself seriously, and the skill trees that you unlock make it feel like an RPG while having a more tightly directed story than most RPG’s do. Overall it’s just a lot of good and silly fun with a great smack talking robot.

3 Myst/Riven/Return to Zork/Labyrinth of Time
This was on last years list as well as a huge group. These classic games from the 90’s were all about solving absurd puzzles. Some of them have more story than others, but most of them had the basic premise. You are dropped into this crazy world and you have no idea what is going on or where you are, now figure out how to get out of there. I just like a game that really stretches your brain, and I might have to go back and play some of them as I do own a couple of them, Myst and Riven on Steam. Too many things to do, and too little time.

4 Tales from the Borderlands
I didn’t include this with Borderlands, because Tales from the Borderlands is a 100% different game. It’s basically a choice making game where you watch a story unfold and then as you hit certain points your story can branch out into other areas and go different ways. It has a mechanic that I really love that Oxenfree and Life is Strange does as well, where it shows you your choice versus the choices of other people, so you can see how you differ and can start to see how that shapes your game. And it keeps the humor of Borderlands and the story feels like Borderlands, you just aren’t shooting everything.

5 Heroes of Might and Magic
This is another game that I think I could just sit back down and play. There is something about turn based games that I really like, and while Alpha Centauri is off the list this year, Heroes of Might and Magic stays strong. The combination of troops you can have, and building up your forces and spreading out in what is basically an area control game is a lot of fun. It helps having memories of massive games of it in college with a couple of roommates.

Of course, there are going to be some honorable mentions as well. One that won’t make that list that I’ve already mentioned is Life is Strange. While Life is Strange is an amazingly well done game, it’s very tough to play through because of the heavy subject matter. There is depth in that game that makes is an addictive and tough experience to play, and while it was thought provoking

Honorable Mention:
Jazz Jackrabbit
Chip’s Adventure
Super Mario Bros
Alpha Centauri
1942

What are some of your favorite video games? Are there any that you think would match the type of games that I like?