Fandomania Staff: What Are We Playing?

Here’s a quick rundown on what video games all of the staff here at Fandomania is playing these days. What are you playing?

Jason: I’m currently playing in the beta for Champions Online. I was a big City of Heroes / Villains fan, and CO feels like the next iteration of those games. If you liked CoX, chances are that you’ll like CO. I’m not too far along with it, but so far it feels like there’s a lot more customizability for your character in CO, and I love that you don’t have to subscribe to a specific archetype or class from the start. I tend to hop around from MMO to MMO, but this is the one that has my attention at the moment. I also have been playing through a number of Xbox 360 games. The ones getting the most play lately have been X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Splosion Man, and Red Faction: Guerrilla. I want to get started with Fallout 3 again and play through the additional DLC, but I keep getting sidetracked with less time intensive games. (Xbox 360 gamertag: Prophet Five)

Celeste: I’m currently playing the Red Faction: Guerrilla DLC, Demons of the Badlands. It’s pretty similar to the main game, so if you liked that, you’ll like this. It adds several more missions and side missions, plus some really cool weapons. Given the nature of the story (it’s a prequel, but to say more would be a spoiler), the game provides some more information about certain aspects of the history of Mars under Ultor and the EDC, which is pretty rad if you’re into the story of the games you play, like I usually am. And, of course, there are plenty of explosions and gun fights, which you can hardly go wrong with. As I said, the story of the DLC is a spoiler for the main game, so definitely finish that before you start this. (Xbox 360 gamertag: starsprinkles)

Paige: Right now, I hate to admit, the game that is sucking up the most of my time is Mafia Wars on Facebook. It’s addictive and frustrating at the same time — I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about. Because portions of the game are still in beta, there’s constant updating with new features, new interfaces, etc., which helps to keep my attention… but the length of time it takes me to level up and what not now has forced me to turn back to my faithful companion: my Xbox 360 (a graduation present to myself when I received my degree from Wheaton in May ’08). Right now I’m switching between several games because I find if I spend too much time on one, I get frustrated and stop playing altogether. Most recently I’ve been playing Tomb Raider: Underworld, Fallout 3, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, and I just bought Gears of War 2 and will be cracking that open soon. It’s a mix that has something for almost any gamer — blood and gore, thought and puzzles. I’d highly recommend all of these games to our readers, but I do have to add one final thought: there are a few games that are coming out in the next 3-12 months that I’m REALLY excited for, including Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Wolfenstein (which was just released), Bioshock 2 (the release date for which keeps getting pushed back), and Fable III, which is still a ways off but nevertheless on my radar!

Summer: Well, I haven’t been playing much but Tetris on my 360 since I’ve been dealing with Carpal Tunnel-like pain in both hands since about May.

Rose: Rose is very busy with some game called “Real Life.” She’s playing the “Nursing School” expansion. She also occasionally messes around with Darkest of Days.

Dax: I’ve been playing the same game now for five years. I’m an official WoW-addict. Sure I’ll branch out and play something else here and there (Rock Band 2, Fight Night Round 4) but at the end of the day I always go back home to Azeroth. You can find me on Whisperwind as the Orc Warrior Morgraan. Today, though, the UPS man should be dropping off a shiny new copy of Arkham Asylum which I predict will monopolize much of my time for the next few days. Well, unless I have a raid. (Xbox 360 gamertag: Zaazil)

Julio: Right now I’m playing my favorite game in the world, Star Wars: Battlefront II on my good ol’ PS2. I just cannot get enough of it. Even though it might get a little repetitive over a while, it always has something new that I’ve never seen before. I always love to play as the Republic just so I can use a blaster pistol and just go to town on a couple of battle droids, super battledroids, droidekas, and, if I get cocky, on a Spiderwalker. In this one you also get the chance to play as the famous heroes and villains of the saga (Favorite: Darth Maul. Least Favorite: Luke Skywalker). Some of my favorite maps include, Utapau, the Death Star, Naboo, Mygeeto, Kashykk, and Endor. The only map that I hate playing in is Dagobah. The basic storyline is one we have heard and seen played out in the films, except that we see what happens to the clone troopers that survive the Clone Wars and how that elite group of the 501st gets renamed and reformed into Vader’s Fist. The downside to playing this video game for an extended period of time: really bad case of trigger finger. ‘Nuff said.

Sean: I still have a Playstation 2 and all I play on it are Chessmaster or a collection of 80s classic arcade games.

Kelly: I’m old-school, man! I am currently back playing a game called Gemstone IV. It’s a text-based (MUD) role playing game made by Simutronics. It’s high fantasy and always has been a lot of fun. I began playing it back in 2001ish (I’d have to go back and check my account history to be sure), and played it pretty heavily for a long time. By the time I graduated high school and started college I didn’t have time to play much anymore, but would sign back on every now and again. In December 2008 I graduated with my second bachelors, and found I had some free time on my hands (and was a little tired of playing WoW, which I also play) and had the itch to start up Gemstone IV again. I’m a recreational played of both Gemstone IV and WoW, maybe signing on only once a week or so, but I find that I always drift back to Gemstone. Gemstone does have a monthly subscription, but the advantage, such as it is, to playing it is there is no software to buy, everything you need you download from the website. Being text based, I credit it with my speed reading and speed typing skills. When an orc is coming at you and you have to type “attack orc” really fast or “prep such and such spell… cast spell on orc” you get the hang of typing fast. I would recommend Gemstone IV to anyone who likes high fantasy role playing — your imagination definitely gets a workout and I find it absolutely addicting. Gemstone IV and other Simutronics games (also text based) can be found at www.play.net.

Louis: Lately I haven’t been playing much, since there hasn’t been a major release that’s caught my eye. But in such dark times, I always fall back on playing Team Fortress 2 on the 360 with my friends. It’s still to this day a incredibly well-balanced game, always fun to play, and usually isn’t overrun by obscene 13 year-olds who like to play Halo 3 whilst drinking their Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel. The game I’m most looking forward to is Mass Effect 2. Hands down. I believe the first Mass Effect was a crowning achievement for video games, and every little tidbit I’m hearing on the sequel makes me giddy as a schoolboy. With guns. Who likes to hunt the Geth. (Xbox 360 gamertag: Neurally Cloned)

Paolo: I’m playing with the games on Nitrome. I have been sporadically playing Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and Rhapsody on the DS if that counts.

Lauren: I’m much more of a casual gamer, but I am currently obsessed with Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. I have lost many hours of my life to that stupid game.