Ah, video games. If only we had the time and resources to cover them all, every waking minute of each. Video games, even if they’re not a whole lot of actual games, are awesome. 2017’s first WeekEndGame sets out to explore some of those ‘non-gamey’ games.
Me, Watched Watching Fire
Firewatch first popped up in our diarised ramblings as a 2016 GOTY nominee. Yes, what essentially is a walking simulator and no, it wasn’t a moment of panic to merely pad the magnificent seven.
Narrated as beautifully and naturally as it is, the story of Firewatch will keep you engaged in all its simplistic and linear interactions like few big-budget blockbusters do. It’ll upset, it’ll soothe, it’ll thrill, and it’ll humour. The gallery of glorious-four-kay shots won’t show most of that, agreed. But given how touchingly beautifulFirewatch‘s cell-shade-like world is, we reckon it doesn’t have to.
Me, Guarded Guarding
Our relationship with Elite: Dangerous‘ vast-but-gut-wrenchingly lonely universe is that of joy. And love. And disillusion. And indeed hate.
The reason we had our stinky space suit dry-cleaned and back in service was of course the game’s two-year anniversary update 2.2, labelled perhaps too hazily The Guardians. With it, ship-launched fighters and passengers missions arrived. We liked that. And one of that, we still do. Watch that story being told in pictures below.
All excited about the new passenger missions, I loaded up some folk to my spanking new first and business class cabins. And off I went.
The destination was a tiny nebula some 1,200 light years away. Never since my return trip from Sagittarius A* was my skull pulsating with boredom this much.
Fuel scooping inbetween endless jumping doesn't exactly keep one from sliding down insanity. Looks pretty sometimes though.
Majorly disappointed by the tourist destination, I've plotted my route through California Nebula and Maia. I couldn't go too wild with it as, ridiculously, you're asked to bring your passengers back and that within a time limit. The sights didn't disappoint, mind you.
I live throwing the ships about an asteroid field. So I did. Elite: Dangerous shines when you're... fucking around.
Next stop Maia and the (in)famous Obsidian Orbital. Drifting around it was the most exciting bit as the station represents an exceptional in-game, well, absolutely nothing.
Getting rid of whiny passengers and the cabins was a loud and violent affair. They got replaced by a couple of tiny angry fighters and boy was bounty hunting a rejuvenated hoot! That Anaconda over there packed a lot of heat. I should know, it's mine.
Raking bounties, winning wars. I enjoyed the new assets a great deal on my travels. All is well with Elite: Dangerous...
... until I decide to take on black box salvage mission in my spanking new Federal Gunship that is. The game let me hang around target location for 1h (one hour) 25m (twenty-five minutes) before it spawned the objective. Time to fold my beloved HOTAS.
It does get a tad less lonely in the next WeekEndGame, that’s already a given. Stay tuned.
