Favorite Video Game 5

 When Twitter died (for what seems maybe real albeit it has been over many times before), I moved to Mastodon. Mastodon is neat but in a DIY sense. The people on Mastodon remind of that one guy in 8th grade computer club who really liked Linux and our collective response was "What?" We were debating which of the Solitaire card backs in Windows was best. People on Mastodon have their houses wired with mini network rooms. 

At the time, the trend was to drop a hashtag and introduce yourself My Space style with favorites, dislikes, etc. And since it is the Mastodon fediverse there is no algorithm to glean your info. Instead it is left for people to find by searching the hashtag. Mastodon has an early 00s message board feel where you find certain people, chats, veins and then run with them. Its work but feels redeeming. I remember spending a lot of time trying to get stars on the Fish Lore or The Agony Booth to get that same feeling.

One of the intro hashtags was favorite video games. For this ask I always have my answers ready. Its an ice breaker that I have anxiously practiced over hundreds of times*

So, ill milk this for a series of posts to get those numbers up and those two sets of eyeballs reading.

And Number 5, is kind of a cheat. Sorry! Because its a category of a game. And, one I made up.

It's the Big Dumb Shooter.

First experienced in the aforementioned computer club when we played the first few levels of Star Wars Dark Forces from demo dics.

And then just honed to death in Goldeneye of which I was the generation that argued over people cheating by picking OddJob and the guy who insisted on Licenses to Kill (you die in on hit) and then Slappers only (there are no guns just people running around trying to karate chop each other). 

Not to mention arcade light gun shooters. I sank way too many quarters into Area 51 and Revolution X. The latter being a rail gun shooter (you cant do anything but aim and shoot. No moving through the area. All the arcade shooters are like this, making this aside somewhat moot.) where you fight a tyrannical rock and roll hating regime with CD shooting guns while being mentored by Aerosmith. There are super soldiers in rubber yellow and black armor running around on rollerblades and bug eyed ninjas throwing Nerf throwing stars at you. Other things in this game

• Steven Tyler tells you, dead to rights, "Music is the Weapon"
• Laserdisc are flaming CDs which deal even more damage
• You have to save hostages (The same bleached blond 90s California babe in a pink tank top) by shooting away the locks on their stripper cages. Note they are still dancing while there is a gun fight happening. That male gaze is something.

But, the first time I ever played a big dumb shooter and thought "Damn, is this is a game**" was Far Cry 3. That game is a banger with an open world (That doesn't feature that enemy scaling bullshit. No point in an open world if there are areas you are wink wink not really allowed to go to) and a real sense of clawing your way back. The premise?

You and your friends are partying in a pictaresque Indian ocean archipelago and get kidnapped by pirates save for you (who escape) and then have to shot and stab your way to save them. You have to craft weapons, gear to carry more weapons, and then medicines from the animals and plants on the islands. This is all pretty reductive save to say that the world felt alive (Still empty. There are people there but, like an shooter world, its either shootable or not) particularly with the animals. You will be running away from enemies after messing up some stealth attempt to take down an outpost and also waiting for the game to let you heal*** and jump into a pond. And then, there is an alligator in there and you are WTF! You are lining up to take a long sniper shot and the familiar hiss of a Komodo Dragon pops up and you are No no no no, fuck!

The game also sets up umpteen sequels (all just derivatives of FC3) that add more features (In FC6 where you fight in a fictionalized Cuba you have a backpack that shoots rockets and a cock fighting rooster that can kill people) but its just lots of fluff. The core formula works so well that they have set it to run in Paleolithic time (Primal) and cyber vector punk futures (Blood Dragon), then Nepal (4) an Montana (5 and New Dawn)

Far Cry 3 also has an overpowered bow and arrow weapon which can one shot guys in armor. The developers weaken this in later games but damn is it satisfying to plunk people with it. Lets me say "bend back your bow" which is a lovely phrase.

Next one (and all the next ones) are less violent so don't worry. This is as dude bro as it gets.

*As an introvert (The last time I did a Myers Brigg I was INFJ If that helps you contextualize) the worst thing with icebreakers is not the questions themselves but going first. For this, I have many canned responses and quirky facts. I enjoy the lesson teaching semi woke ones meant to make you think. These feel better in an 8th grade classroom but fuck yeah can I name 10 countries in Africa. 20, 30, 40, 50. Bring it on! 

**Note that there are many great games I have played but arne't on the list. Not a knock on them just that if you tell me "Hey, no way you would ever be allowed to play these games again." then I would be quit sad, indeed.

***Big douche daddy shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield (I actually like the B3 soundtrack fwiw) popularized the "hide behind a crate and heal" motif. Far Cry does that save that the game lets you start a manual heal. Which then involves varying scenes where you characters heals by pulling a shark tooth out of their hand. Or shoving a bundle of matches into a wound to cauterize it.