Throwback Thursday - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  Crashing into the scene this week - the game of high stakes and no brakes that is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Released in the US on October 13th, 2009, Uncharted 2 is still widely considered as the best adventure in its spelunking, adrenaline-filled series.  The game starts with thrills and chills right off the bat as the hero, Nathan Drake, awakens wounded on a dangling train cart threatening to fall off a snowy mountain.  With this exciting and eye-popping intro, the intrigue and tone is set, and we then dive back several months before this event has occurred.  But the game never loses pace in this intrigue.  Through museum heists to war torn cities to fights with helicopters and wild train escapades, the momentum continually builds with higher stakes and excitement to be found.  The experience can be so engrossing at times, you'll forget you're playing a game.  Aside from the stellar action sequences, this immersion is furthered by superb motion-captured animation and very talented voice acting / writing.  The wit and charm of each character in the game is so engaging and natural feeling, you can't help but to get invested into their absurd adventure.

Tabletop Tuesday - Incan Gold

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the game of pushing your luck for that glittering stuff that is Incan Gold.

Players: 3-8
Time: 15-20 minutes
Genre: Casual Card Game

Finding the Purr-fect Outfit

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Throwback Thursday - Hohokum

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  Coming in for a landing this week: The game of fresh beats and hide n' seek that is Hohokum.

Released in the US on August 12th, 2014, Hohokum is a most unusual game of visual wonder and musical delight.  Players control a long, kite-like being known as "Long Mover" who flies across many colorful and varied dimensions in search of its similarly kite-like friends.  What makes this a fascinating experience is that the game provides very much little objective outside of this.  There is no hand-holding in this game, as players must explore and come to understand how each dimension functions.  Every world features a unique narrative, artistic styling, and creative means to interact and make beautiful beats.  There is as much joy in figuring out the inner-workings of a world as it is just meditatively meddling in them.

Tabletop Tuesday - Smash Up Expansions

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck, and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...a return look at absurd combinations and its various expansions that is Smash Up.

Players: 2-4*
Time: 45-60 minutes
Genre: Strategy Card Game

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

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Throwback Thursday - Ico

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  On the horizon this week: The game of unspoken bonds in a most unusual prison that is Ico.

Released on the Playstation 2 in the US on September 24th, 2001, Ico was a unique and minimalist adventure game designed by a new group of developers known as Team Ico, led by game designer Fumito Ueda.  The game centers around a simple narrative: A young horned boy named Ico, is taken and locked away in an abandoned castle.  After a sudden tremor that frees Ico from his hold, players begin exploring the castle and discover another captive girl by the name of Yorda.  Freeing this girl, the two search for a way out of this castle.  The ways in which these two characters interact with one another to explore and solve puzzles is the heart of this clever, but simple gameplay.  And it was a very intentional choice as designer Ueda wanted to focus on building a bond between these characters without any direct communication.  This is directly felt in the mechanic in which players will grab the girl's hand to guide her through the castle.  Occasionally, shadowy beings will gather in attempts to take back the girl, which players must find the means to fend off while keeping a watchful eye on their companion.  And there are times when Ico must venture on his own by means only he is capable of, adding an unnerving sense of fear leaving your partner in such potential risk of danger.  This game develops such an engrossing and rich relationship through such simple means of gameplay and interaction between the two.