Desert Island Video Game Draft Playoffs - Round 1 5/12

[Capt. Factorial]

Insomniacal Fan​

1. Baldur's Gate 3 (PC)
2. Red Dead Redemption II (PC)
3. The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker (Nintendo GameCube)
4. Subnautica (PC)
5. Factorio: Space Age (PC)
6. World of Warcraft (PC)
7. Sid Meier's Civilization IV (PC)
8. Super Smash Bros. Melee (Nintendo GameCube)
9. Dwarf Fortress (PC)
10. Satisfactory (PC)
11. X4: Foundations (PC)
12. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PC)
13. Crusader Kings II (PC)
14. NFL Blitz (Arcade)
15. Tribes 2 (PC)

vs.

Turgenev/macadocious​

1. Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo)
2. Final Fantasy IX (PS2)
3. Stardew Valley (Android)
4. Overcooked 2 (Xbox One)
5. Football Manager 15 (PC)
6. NBA Street Vol. 2 (PS2)
7. Kingdom Rush (Android)
8. Bill Walsh College Football 95 (Sega Genesis)
9. Grand Theft Auto - Vice City (PS2)
10. NBA Jam (Arcade)
11. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
12. Genshin Impact (PS4)
13. Bonk's Adventure (TurboGrafx-16)
14. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (IBM 386)
15. Tom Clancy's The Division (??)

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

IF only has one game on his list that I've played. And if it was literally the only game on his list, he still would have gotten my vote.

 

[whitechocolate]

I went with the list I could endlessly nerd out on.

 

[Padrino]

There are a few games that I really appreciate on the @Turgenev / @macadocious list: Donkey Kong Country, Stardew Valley, NBA Jam. But @Insomniacal Fan grabbed my vote because of his top-3 selections: Baldur's Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption II, The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. His following two picks (Subnautica; Factorio) are games I have not played but would like to try.

Interestingly, I thought those early picks were going to portend a list that would be in deep competition with mine, but then @Insomniacal Fan went after a lot of strategy/management/sim games, for which I have some interest but minimal experience. That said, Red Dead Redemption II and Baldur's Gate 3 are titans of video gaming for me, so he still gets my vote.

 

[Srzly]

My word… @Insomniacal Fan ‘s list seems stacked: Civ, Factorio, WoW, Melee, BG3, Red Dead. Sheesh.

 

[SLAB]

Insomniacal’s list starts off so strong for me … then our tastes go on a massive divide after Subnautica (and even that one’s ‘not one of my favorites). I could play BGIII and RDR2 for a long long long time. Strategy games do less than nothing for me.


T&M’s list doesn’t hit the highs of those games, but (outside of the sports games) it has a deeper roster of games I would enjoy. The Division is an excellent ender. Genshin Impact is fun and an absolute time-sink if you want to dedicate the time. GTA:Vice City is a classic.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

The games from T&M I need to talk about:

Stardew Valley is so perfect. Not only did it revive a classic SNES game (Harvest Moon) it actually lived up to the promise of what that game evoked by actually filling the game world with stuff! It has character driven stories for a diverse group of townspeople. It has an elaborate crafting system based on the huge variety of materials found by exploring the world. And the core business sim of the farm is taken to the next level with elaborate sprinkler systems and artisan goods.

It's always in my rotation for when the world seems crazy and I need to just comfy out for a bit. I'd recommend it to anyone, (and fortunately it's available to play on every flat surface!)


GTA: Vice City was a foundational game for Rockstar. To some extent GTA 3 had only been a sort of violent sandbox, the most fun in the game was in fact getting your star rating as high as possible then trying to escape. There had been voiced characters and a story, but your protagonist was silent, and the other characters were basically cartoon cutouts.

With Vice City, you start to see the storytelling ambitions of the Houser Bros. Gone is the silent protagonist, replaced with a wisecracking criminal played by Ray Liotta. The story is still a composite of crime movies, with a lot of Scarface mixed in, but the characters are around long enough, that you start to care what's happening in the plot.

I don't think you could get to a RDR2 without going through something like a Vice City

 

[hrdboild]

This is going to be a challenge. I've only played 5 of these games though based on how I scored the other two rounds, me having played the game isn't necessarily a good thing. I can also see that this is going to be more one-sided than the last two scores but I do want to emphasize that these are just my preferences and I'm not trying to pretend like they should matter to anyone else.

Seeing how @Insomniacal Fan's list has shaped up, I can understand your point of view better now regarding games that make the player into the author of their own experience. Strategy games do that more successfully than any other genre. Though I do feel like a good strategy sandbox game is also the hardest type of game to design and surely there's artistry involved in that process? Perhaps it's the auteur theory that needs updating. Anyway, on to the list...

1. NBA Street Vol 2 (Turgedocious) = 30 "I somehow missed this when it came out despite playing mostly basketball games on my PS2. The way it combines street art, pickup basketball, and hip-hop culture all into one stylized package makes me wish I could go back in time and play this instead of NBA 2K games and the NBA Jam remake. Actually, I might have to track this one down to play it now."
2. Final Fantasy IX (Turgedocious) = 29 "Unfortunately I never finished this one but that was more a bad timing thing than a choice. It's also the only game on either list that I own (I guess technically I also "own" World of Warcraft but I didn't pay for it so that shouldn't count)."
3. X4: Foundations (Insomniac) = 28 "Haven't played it yet but it went right onto my Wishlist. A good space sim sandbox game is something I've been interested in for decades. There are a lot of choices but this one looks like it might come closest to what I want to play."
4. Tom Clancy's The Division (Turgedocious) = 27 "Oh wow, I had forgotten about this game and how much I wanted to play it when it came out. I liked the Rainbow Six tactical shooter games and this has some of that pedigree but as an open-world Ubisoft game set in a modern urban apocalyptic setting that does not involve zombies. I feel like I would dig it."
5. Super Smash Bros Melee (Insomniac) = 26 "I've done a lot of hating on Nintendo in this draft so I'm glad now I get to gush a bit. Super Smash Bros was a perfect little streamlined dueling game and Smash Bros Melee didn't try to fix what wasn't broken. I had a lot of fun playing this one."
6. Subnautica (Insomniac) = 25 "Ever since seeing 'The Abyss' I've been fascinated with underwater exploration. This looks cool."
7. Dwarf Fortress (Insomniac) = 24 "Over the course of a half dozen video reviews just trying to wrap my head around what this game is I did a complete 180 from being completely mystified to convincing myself it is the only game worth playing, or would be anyway if I had vampire blood and a few hundred years to kill."
8. Red Dead Redemption II (Insomniac) = 23 "Such mixed feelings here. I love the look and the promise of telling my own archetypical Western story. I also have some experience with Rockstar Games and strongly suspect that the tone and emphasis would not be to my taste. I can't deny that the visuals appeal to me though, which is why this is still ranked pretty high."
9. NBA Jam (Turgedocious) = 22 "This game was the best! Boom-shakalaka! And that Kings duo of Spud Webb and Wayman Tisdale... I'm not mad at it. Spud Webb is the reason I became a Kings fan after all."
10. Baldur's Gate 3 (Insomniac) = 21 "I moved this one up and down this ranking quite a bit. I like the CRPG genre but I'm not really a fan of the Dungeons and Dragons setting. The character animations look incredible but the overall style of the art is too flatly lit for my taste, like every object is decoupaged together instead of occupying the same environment. It really would have benefitted from more atmospheric lighting in my opinion -- especially in the daytime scenes. But ultimately it just comes down to is the story good? And I'd have to play it to find out."
11. Factorio: Space Age (Insomniac) = 20 "I can't help feeling that this is basically Settlers II -- instead of crash landing a sailing ship on a new continent and developing our colony to the point where we can outfit a new ship and sail off it we crash land a space ship on an alien planet and get to work destroying it and killing the locals because we really just don't know any better. This process of devouring resources and solving logistics puzzles obviously stimulates some deep-rooted cerebropathy though because even after recognizing this compulsion as a cultural disease, I must admit that the concept is still endlessly engaging."
12. World of Warcraft (Insomniac) = 19 "I also played this one a lot and if I separate the game itself from the subculture that grew around it, that first version of World of Warcraft before all of the expansions was really something special to behold. I loved just wandering around and exploring the world."
13. Sid Meir's Civilization IV (Insomniac) = 18 "I never really got into the Civ games but I'd give this one a try. This feels like a proper barometer of my level of interest."
14. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (Insomniac) = 17 "This is tough. Playing as a ranger in an Assassin's Creed style Lord of the Rings game sounds epic and yet everything I've seen about this game is so off-putting from the muddy brown color palette to the endless ruins and scaffolds in the environment to the orcs, orcs, and more orcs you fight against. Peter Jackson also forgot by the end of his movie trilogy that the human characters are the least interesting part of Tolkien's world, which is why The Return of the King is the LOTR movie I'm least interested in re-watching."
15. Donkey Kong Country (Turgedocious) = 16 "Oh no! Retroactively unfortunate character naming aside, this game would probably be a blast to play again. It came out in the period of time when graphics were still stylized but started to look more realistic. And the co-op mode is fun."
16. Genshin Impact (Turgedocious) = 15 "They certainly nailed that slightly washed-out watercolor look for the backgrounds which is one of the trademarks of Studio Ghibli. I dig that. Judging by my initial attempts to find info on this game, it feels like it was designed around the attention economy of Twitch streaming."
17. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (Turgedocious) = 14 "Ah yes, I did play one of the Leisure Suit Larry games back in the day, though not much of it. Reading the synopsis for this one, it sounds surprisingly dark. I guess this is intended as satire but oof. Sierra Online felt to me like the Roger Corman of computer game publishers. They sure churned out a lot of games but many of them were of questionable quality. Still, it's a point and click adventure game so I'd play it."
18. Stardew Valley (Turgedocious) = 13 "I know of this one by reputation. It has a charming visual presentation but its probably not something I could play very long without getting bored. I might be wrong."
19. Crusader Kings II (Insomniac) = 12 "This is two video games in a row which have been spun off into tabletop games (which is usually what I play these days if I'm playing anything) but this one has more of a tabletop gaming feel with that 2D map of Europe. And I'd rather be playing the board game version of this, to be honest."
20. Satisfactory (Insomniac) = 11 "Hmm, this whole factory automation thing is starting to feel bleaker and bleaker."
21. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Insomniac) = 10 "I liked the cell-shading era of video game art direction and this is a look that feels especially right for the Zelda series."
22. NFL Blitz (Insomniac) = 9 "American Football is a bit of a silly sport, and this game plays into all of that silliness. I've found that I really do not like Football video games though -- with 22 players on the field there's too much going on with each play that you have no control over."
23. Football Manager 15 (Turgedocious) = 8 "I ranked Capt's baseball management game pretty highly but as is typical of Americans, I only ever watch Football/Soccer when the World Cup is on. I do like watching and playing the sport but all of the teams, stats, and player attributes might as well be Greek to me."
24. Overcooked 2 (Turgedocious) = 7 "As a co-operative 2-player game I can see why this might be fun to play. But watching the gameplay videos, I have no idea what is actually happening in any of them (well, other than washing dishes -- that part makes sense) so I would need somebody to explain all of this to me."
25. Bonk's Adventure (Turgedocious) = 6 "This ranking only represents how much I think I would enjoy playing this game. If I were instead ranking this commercial it would be much much higher."
26. Tribes 2 (Insomniac) = 5 "I'm sure this was a tremendous experience when it was new, most online multi-player games were for those of us who came of age during the birth of the internet. But I'm seeing huge, mostly empty levels, hilariously primitive player animations, and an FPS game where your targets are so far away you might as well be targeting ants. And that doesn't sound very fun. Also I wasn't a big fan of Capture the Flag modes in shooters."
27. Jak & Daxter: The Pre-Cursor Legacy (Turgedocious) = 4 "I can see the markers here of Naughty Dog quality in the level design and visual flare. I would have ranked this higher but I just don't have much interest in playing a 3D platformer from this era of game design anymore. Not when games like Uncharted exist which I feel is such an elevation of the concept that it makes this era obsolete."
28. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Turgedocious) = 3 "What?! No, I never cared for the Grand Theft Auto series. I've seen people play this when it was new and was bored with it then. I watched some gameplay videos to refresh my memory and I don't think I would want to play this even if someone were willing to pay me to do it."
29. Bill Walsh College Football 95 (Turgedocious) = 2 "It's the football video game problem again but this time without the silliness."
30. Kingdom Rush (Turgedocious) = 1 "Tower defense mobile games are kindof like if you took everything that's fun out of a RTS game and only left the part where your friend Zerg rushes you in the first 5 minutes while you're still trying to get your economy going. But the Zerg rush goes on forever. Not feeling it."

Final Score: INSOMNIACAL FAN = 268 defeats TURGENEV / MACADOCIOUS = 197

 

[whitechocolate]

If somebody says NBA Street Vol. 2 is the best sports game of all time, there's nothing you can do but compliment their taste.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

This is going to be a challenge. I've only played 5 of these games though based on how I scored the other two rounds, me having played the game isn't necessarily a good thing. I can also see that this is going to be more one-sided than the last two scores but I do want to emphasize that these are just my preferences and I'm not trying to pretend like they should matter to anyone else.

Seeing how @Insomniacal Fan's list has shaped up, I can understand your point of view better now regarding games that make the player into the author of their own experience. Strategy games do that more successfully than any other genre. Though I do feel like a good strategy sandbox game is also the hardest type of game to design and surely there's artistry involved in that process? Perhaps it's the auteur theory that needs updating. Anyway, on to the list...
...

I enjoyed this writeup. I won't go point by point on every take, but there were a few that stood out that I wanted to respond to.

1. X4: Foundations (Insomniac) = 28 "Haven't played it yet but it went right onto my Wishlist. A good space sim sandbox game is something I've been interested in for decades. There are a lot of choices but this one looks like it might come closest to what I want to play."

This is on sale currently at the steam store (the base game 75% off for $12.50) I will caveat, that you might want to avoid this game if you aren't interested in automation and solving logistical challenges. It's also the jankiest of the games on my list, evidenced by having a metacritic rating < 60 (though it's gotten much better since initial release.) Most of my favorite games are in or related to the Eurojank scene, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Tribes 2 (Insomniac) = 5 "I'm sure this was a tremendous experience when it was new, most online multi-player games were for those of us who came of age during the birth of the internet. But I'm seeing huge, mostly empty levels, hilariously primitive player animations, and an FPS game where your targets are so far away you might as well be targeting ants. And that doesn't sound very fun. Also I wasn't a big fan of Capture the Flag modes in shooters."

Those observations are fair, but misses what this game does differently from modern multiplayer shooters, which is the movement. Instead of hiding in cover in dense environments, you're zipping through the air, gathering momentum. And it's hard to snipe folks across the map when they're moving so fast, so the gameplay trends towards a set of high speed chases. Kinetically a very different feel from your average shooter.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Those observations are fair, but misses what this game does differently from modern multiplayer shooters, which is the movement. Instead of hiding in cover in dense environments, you're zipping through the air, gathering momentum. And it's hard to snipe folks across the map when they're moving so fast, so the gameplay trends towards a set of high speed chases. Kinetically a very different feel from your average shooter.

The Tribes games were very fun. A lot of what they did was ripped off and put into closer quartered games for sure, Tribes felt far more strategic and less like a modern twitch shooter.

But, I do think there was certainly a "had to be there" component?

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

The Tribes games were very fun. A lot of what they did was ripped off and put into closer quartered games for sure, Tribes felt far more strategic and less like a modern twitch shooter.

But, I do think there was certainly a "had to be there" component?

Perhaps there is a bit of room on my island for nostalgia, but I think I would still play this game

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Perhaps there is a bit of room on my island for nostalgia, but I think I would still play this game

Yeah I might too, just thinking that I imagine those who missed out on it might not see the beauty of it.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

Yeah I might too, just thinking that I imagine those who missed out on it might not see the beauty of it.

I appreciate that, I'm only trying to explain the beauty

 

[hrdboild]

I enjoyed this writeup. I won't go point by point on every take, but there were a few that stood out that I wanted to respond to.

This [X4] is on sale currently at the steam store (the base game 75% off for $12.50) I will caveat, that you might want to avoid this game if you aren't interested in automation and solving logistical challenges. It's also the jankiest of the games on my list, evidenced by having a metacritic rating < 60 (though it's gotten much better since initial release.) Most of my favorite games are in or related to the Eurojank scene, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Oh I'm definitely interested in playing games about automation and solving logistical challenges -- that's not what that little commentary is about. I assume you didn't read that whole Myst essay I wrote but to summarize the relevant part in a single statement...

The lore of Myst is about colonization and xenophobia and the arrogance of the "civilized" thinking that their technology (their authorship over their environment, in the language they would use) makes them a superior lifeform. And so in real-life terms I'm very much aware that we are destroying our planet and ourselves with this type of thinking. Or at least that's what I believe. So it's more of a push-pull feeling where I am very much a product of my culture and can't help but enjoy these types of puzzles but I'm also trying hard to look at the world through different eyes, I suppose.

Those observations are fair, but misses what this game [Tribes 2] does differently from modern multiplayer shooters, which is the movement. Instead of hiding in cover in dense environments, you're zipping through the air, gathering momentum. And it's hard to snipe folks across the map when they're moving so fast, so the gameplay trends towards a set of high speed chases. Kinetically a very different feel from your average shooter.

The Tribes games were very fun. A lot of what they did was ripped off and put into closer quartered games for sure, Tribes felt far more strategic and less like a modern twitch shooter.

But, I do think there was certainly a "had to be there" component?

Hmm, I appreciate what you both have to say about Tribes 2. I do actually remember when this game came out and I didn't play it back then because I didn't like the way it looked, which was probably a mistake. I went to school to study cinematography -- I'm very much a visual person in terms of what appeals to me. To my detriment in some cases because kinetics can be a very big part of what makes a game fun too. This is a running theme with me hating a lot of games which are mostly about movement and are lacking in aesthetics and story. But I did sing the praises of Unreal Tournament's Instagib mode which is one game that is all about momentum which I did appreciate. So when you put it in those terms, I can see the appeal.

 

[whitechocolate]

Dwarf Fortress (Insomniac) = 24 "Over the course of a half dozen video reviews just trying to wrap my head around what this game is I did a complete 180 from being completely mystified to convincing myself it is the only game worth playing, or would be anyway if I had vampire blood and a few hundred years to kill."

Have you watched this one? It's really good. I've watched it many times. His Kenshi review is just as good too.

 

[hrdboild]

Have you watched this one? It's really good. I've watched it many times. His Kenshi review is just as good too.

Hmm. I tried, but eventually resorted to fast-forward. I find this editing style very hard to watch.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Congrats, @Insomniacal Fan - you are moving on to the 4/5 matchup!