Lisa the gamer?

After my last post, someone asked if I play any computer games at all. I do, although not to the extent that Ben does, and I'm pretty old school in my tastes:

Black & White

The original game has been around for 7 years (the sequel was released in 2005), so this isn't exactly cutting edge material, but the storyline appeals to my cracked sense of humor...and possibly my moral flexibility. You quite literally play the Hand of God - a big disembodied, floating hand that represents the deity of a community. Your power rises and falls with the faith of the population, and you can choose between benevolence and terror to influence them. You also also get to train an anthropomorphic creature to be your worldly representation - and there's nothing more awesome than a gigantic, rampaging, evil cow to do your bidding:

(Obviously I think that the terror method is more fun, as I enjoy any game that allows you to pick up and throw the villagers.)

Age of Empires

Another oldie but a goodie - the first one was released in 1997, so this is one of the granddaddies of modern real time strategy games. You advance through historical ages while controlling a population (are we seeing a theme here?) by erecting buildings, growing crops, harvesting natural resources, and maintaining an army to use in assaults on neighboring civilizations.

Each civilization has unique strengths and weaknesses: for example, the Persians suck ass at defensive structures, but their war elephants are practically unstoppable - build up an army of those bad boys and the game map is your oyster. Oh, and if anyone cares, I always play for total conquest wins only. Winning with a Wonder is for losers.

(Side note: yes, I've played Civilization and other similar games. I prefer AoE. Can't put my finger on the reason why - I just do.)


Titan Quest

One of the few non-RTS games that I like, Titan Quest follows your hero as you battle mythological creatures through ancient worlds in an effort to save mankind; training skills (I highly recommend the very cool lightning hurling) and wearing special charms focus your fighting and magical abilities.

Even though it's not the kind of game I normally play, I jumped at this when Ben brought it home, mostly because I was really into Greek mythology as a kid (when else do your parents encourage you to read about eternal torture, incest and bestiality?). This game is also what led me to the realization that Ben and I have very different gaming styles - he enjoys the watching the lengthy lead-in so he can hear the epic backstory, which he feels adds to the overall gaming experience. I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to skip the monologue and just start cracking some monster skull. (And I still say that my way is better. Who gives a rat's about the backstory when there are centaurs, gorgons, minotaurs, gigantic spiders and Harryhausen-esque skeletons to slay? We don't need no stinkin' plot.)


Evil Genius

Possibly my favorite game of all time, which should tell you a lot about my personality. It's a pretty basic concept: you select an Evil Genius, build a secret lair (on an island, natch) with the help of your henchmen, and defend it against government agents while establishing world domination through evil deeds. The defending part is where the real fun is, since the best way to get rid of agents is through ridiculously elaborate traps - the very best ones involve oversized flamethrowers:

Say it with me: sah-weet! Look at those flames! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


I'm sure nerds are seeing a theme by now. The kinds of games I dislike are, well - Eve. Nothing against the concept, but I get my thrills by being evilly manipulative, and I like games with a social element and a human face...and preferably with a nastily funny undertone (The Sims does nothing for me, although creating incestuous family trees and then killing them all in a gas explosion could be amusing). Inanimate objects like Eve's spaceships just don't blow wind up my skirt, so it's not likely that Ben and I will ever team up to take over the universe together.

But I'll join him for a round of AoE any day. I call Persians.