Jill’s Gaming Favorites – June 2014

June has come and gone, and while we are already over a week into July, I thought this would be a great time to introduce a new monthly feature into the PolySlaughter blog- that, well, is a monthly feature of sorts! Monthly Favorites are a fairly popular staple in a few blogging circles, and I thought it would be an awesome little feature to bring over here. So, each month, Zerby and I will be recapping our favorite gaming related stuff- be it games, hardware, news, streamer, whatever!

Video Game Favorites

There weren’t a lot of stand out titles that released this month, but here are the games I have been seriously enjoying in June!

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare

I love PvZ- It’s cute, it’s quirky, and it has to do with zombies! The newest installation was right up my alley- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer combined with a little Team Fortress, with PvZ’s unique flair. The gameplay is solid, the classes are fun and unique, and the game is both incredibly adorable and rather pretty!

If you feel the need for FPS action involving sunflowers and zombies, you can check out Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare here.

Rimworld

I played the CRAP out of Rimworld- To be frank, I’m glad it isn’t yet on Steam, because I would probably embarass myself with the number of hours I played into it last month. It is easily my most-played game from month to month, and June was no exception! The frequent updates, awesome modding community, and the random-ness of the gameplay keep the this title fresh and fun every time I pick it up.

For those who don’t know, Rimworld describes itself as ‘a sci fi colony sim driven by an intelligent AI storyteller.’ That little sentence sums it up nicely, but there is so much more to it than that. You start out with a small group of 3 survivors, crash landed on an unknown planet, who must fight tooth and nail to survive- and you really do. There are several storyteller AI’s to choose from that will dictate the pace of play, and each map is randomly/procedurely generated so you never play the same exact game twice.

Plus, it draws inspiration from Firefly- that alone should be enough to sell you a copy!

If you haven’t tried Rimworld yet, you can check it out here.

Killer Is Dead

I have been a huge Suda51 fan since I first laid my eyes on Killer7, and he never disappoints me. His games are always quirky, and are definitely not for everyone, but I cannot get enough. I bought Killer Is Dead on the PS3 when it first released, and loved it- but then we got our new PS4 and ol’ faithful has been unplugged and ignored ever sense. However, Killer Is Dead also released on Steam at the end of May- and Zerby and I each preordered a copy as soon as we saw the advertisement.

My favorite aspect of this game is the way it looks. Screenshots absolutely do NOT do it justice- it looks at least 100x better in motion and is just beautiful. I love the stylized take and the sharp shadows, I love the character designs, I just love everything about it. I played a fair bit of this game throughout June and I would have played more- but I got entirely too distracted making gifs and taking screenshots to get through the story. Whoops!

Killer is Dead is available on Steam here, with more information available here.

Mario Kart

So, uh, guess who got their Wii U in June? Yeah, we did, and while Zerby’s been loving Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, I have been burning rubber and defying gravity in Mario Kart 8 instead. Let me just start off by saying that MK8 is seriously. fricken. gorgeous. It could put some so-called hardcore games to shame- seriously, it’s beautiful. It’s another game that screenshots don’t do total justice, and while it’s hard to admire the surroundings while you’re dodging shells, the highlight reel after each race gives you an opportunity to admire the environment elements that you missed.

Every course in this game is awesome, and they introduced some cool, sort of ‘point to point’ type races where you don’t race in a circle, which is a refreshing twist! Plus, the soundtrack? Shut up and take my money, it’s phenomenal. It isn’t just there, but it adds to the game and enhances the experience- I would sincerely miss it if I ever had to play the game muted. Plus, it can be played entirely on the Wii U tablet thing, which is a fun touch!

The only disappointment is the Battle mode- they didn’t make different stages and you just drive around the normal race tracks, but I have always preferred the normal races, so this doesn’t bother me.

You can find out more info about Mario Kart 8 on the official website, here.

Hardware Favorites

Nintendo Wii U

While I do most of my gaming on PC, we got our Wii U in June and, I gotta admit, I am pretty infatuated with the thing. We also have a PlayStation 4, for reference, and while I love some of our PS4 games, it really just feels like an upgrade of obligation- but the Wii U vs. the Wii? I am loving it.

The Tablet, which I thought was going to be a gimmick, is actually incredibly useful. We have it set up as a universal remote for our TV, and it is now our primary Hulu/Netflix machine (if it had a Crunchy Roll app and a Twitch app, I might die from joy). Both of the games we have (Mario Kart 8 and Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD) utilize the screen well, too. We bought the limited edition (?)  version with the Wind Waker themed tablet and, while I realize it is just a gold spray on top of the black tablet, it looks gorgeous and both of us will cry a few sad nerd tears when said paint eventually rubs off.

You can check out The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U Limited Edition Bundle here on GameStop (they had the lowest price when we were shopping around, if you’re interested, but that was over a month ago.)

Wii Remote Plus Princess Peach

Okay, I’m just throwing this up here because I’m totally a Peach fangirl, but dude, this Wii remote? It is WAY cuter than it has any right to be. And, on a more practical note, it has a nice, textured, uh, texture to it which makes it feel more secure in my hand vs the older Wii Remotes and Wii Remotes Plus, and it came with a super cute pink silicone sleeve and pink wrist strap. I am definitely getting the matching ‘Fight Pad’/GameCube controller when

You can buy the Wii Remote Plus Princess Peach controller (holy long name Batman) here from GameStop.

Misc. Favorites

SGDQ 2014 Charity Livestream

Summer/Awesome Games Done Quick is a (roughly) bi-yearlycharity livestream I always look forward to. Basically, a bunch of speedrunners get together and speedrun games back-to-back for a several days to raise money for charity… I mean, what’s not to love about that? This year, SGDQ raised a whopping $718140.07 for Doctors Without Borders! Yes, $718 THOUSAND dollars. That, frankly, is awesome and I’m super proud of my fellow gamers who helped make this possible.

You can find all the relevant information about Summer Games Done Quick and Awesome Games Done Quick on their website, and don’t forget to check out Speed Demos Archives, who organize the event.

firedragon764

I have always enjoyed FiFi’s streams, ever since I first caught him in his streaming infancy with maybe 10 viewers (before I was Twitch admin or he was a Twitch partner!) and in June, he was my go-to stream to lurk in. Not only is he a great speedrunner and a talented broadcaster, he is a seriously nice guy- he never fails to bring a smile to my face and his chat community is almost as delightful.

Be sure to catch out firedragon764 broadcasting live on Twitch here, and check out his YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well!