Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove

November 30, 2021 Filed in: Video Games

My time spent playing Left 4 Dead 2 was quite brief. After L4D2, I wanted something completely different. Next up was a "casual" game, Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove. Mystery Case Files is a long-running series of hidden object puzzle games. Dire Grove is a little bit of a hybrid between hidden object and point and click adventure. There is a lot of wandering around to collect objects, which are needed to solve various puzzles. Some of those puzzles are hidden object puzzles. The horror themed story is about four graduate students who travel to a small English town and investigate an ancient Celtic legend. Much of the story is told through videotapes you uncover, which feature full motion video. Although I am not a hidden object game devotee, I enjoy playing them from time to time. With Dire Grove, I liked the hidden object parts more than I liked the point and click adventure elements.

Left 4 Dead 2

November 29, 2021 Filed in: Video Games

Valve's games using the Source game engine have caused me motion sickness. I really looked forward to the Half-Life series but I couldn't play those games for very long before feeling ill. One of the next games up on my list was Left 4 Dead 2, another Source game. I decided to give it a try, knowing I probably wouldn't stick with it very long. I played the Dead Center campaign and experienced a little motion sickness but it wasn't horrible. L4D2 was clearly designed as a cooperative first-person shooter. I played it solo so my fellow survivors were computer controlled. It is a combat heavy shooter with wave after wave of infected zombie-like enemies. It is a well made game but not really my cup of tea.

Gratuitous Space Battles

November 24, 2021 Filed in: Video Games

I haven't been playing a lot of video games recently. What little time I've spent has been on Gratuitous Space Battles. The title is pretty descriptive. There isn't a story; it's all about the battles. You design ships, buy ships, and form fleets of ships. Then you send them into battle and watch the combat unfold. Ships are divided into three classes: cruisers, frigates, and fighters. There is a vast amount of possible configurations given the large number of available components (engines, armor, weapons, shields, etc.). I designed several ships and played through all of the battle scenarios. There was also a campaign but I gave up on it due to frequent crashes. All in all, it was a fun little diversion but I'm ready to move on to another game.