We've decided to start up a new column on our website, solely based on the conversations we usually have in the store with all of you. Instead of asking for outright recommendations, most of us gamers tend to get ideas of what game we want to play next by chatting with our friends about what they're currently indulging in. This also proves true in the shop, and not only do we give out recommendations on games this way, we very often get ideas on what to put next in our personal gaming queue from all of you. Since not all of us can be in the store to talk to people (at least three of us live in places that are not Santa Cruz), and not all of our readers are in California either, we've decided to start this article series instead. How often it's updated will depend at least partly on how quickly we clear through our games, but currently we're aiming at once a week. We hope you enjoy our first of many installments of 'What We've Been Playing'.
Sherrie
I've been dividing my time between three games most recently, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (PS4) , Rune Factory 4 (DS),and Final Fantasy XIV (PS3/PC). I won't go too much into Assassin's Creed, as to be honest I'm not that far into it. I've barely gotten my own ship, and am still mostly just messing around on the open waters instead of doing what I'm supposed to be and progressing the story in any sort of way. After Aaron got so far ahead of me in the game story-wise, I decided to put it on the back-burner for now and retreat into another room and another game. An unfortunate downside to being married gamers, I guess. Luckily for me my Dad sent me a copy of Rune Factory 4for Christmas.
I'm a huge Harvest Moon fan, and I played the first and second Rune Factory games a while back, but kind of fell out of love with the series for some reason I can't even really remember anymore. I decided to ask for Rune Factory 4 partly because of the positive review Peter did a few months ago, and partly because the company that makes Rune Factory went bankrupt. While the IP seems like it will be picked up by someone else, there's always the chance that 4 could be the last Rune Factory game ever, and I didn't want to miss out on my chance to get it. I'm so glad I asked for it, since it's the best Rune Factory game I've ever played, and the most use my 3DS has seen since the last Harvest Moon game. Being able to choose between a boy or a girl character from the beginning (finally!) was especially nice. The characters in the game are great, and have made me laugh aloud with certain things they've said. I've been sneaking in moments of gaming with it every chance I get, but while my game time counter is pretty high, I'm still only in Summer of my first year currently. From what I've been reading online though, it looks like I'm about halfway through the story of the game; the nice thing about both Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games though, is you can play them for as long as you want to.
Final Fantasy XIV, as is the nature with all MMOs, is an ongoing experience. I've been working on finishing off my myth gear for my dragoon and leveling my black mage, which is currently 35. Sadly, I already have all the black mage darklight gear waiting for it to hit 50, because it's taken me that long to level it. I've also been enjoying Coil runs (up to 4 now) and Crystal Tower, although I've only gotten a couple of item drops from it so far. That's about all I've been up to currently, hopefully you guys are having a great time gaming as well!
Aaron
This past week I've been working my way through three really fun and enjoyable games. First up, from the makers of Little Big Planet, is Tearaway for the PS Vita. Tearaway is a fun little platformer set in an imaginative papercraft-themed world. The game has been incredibly fun so far and every new area has brought with it some new and creative environment or character. I'm only about half-way through the game right now, but it is so much fun, and if you have a Vita you need to be playing this game. Next up is Assassin's Creed 4, which I am thisclose to beating. I've probably sunk at least 40+ hours into the game so far, and I have enjoyed every second of it. While the core-story itself has had its moments (like fighting along-side Black Beard) the highlight of the game, and where the bulk of my play-time has been sunk into, is sailing around, listening to my crew sing songs while playing pirate. Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Last, but certainly not least, I've been continuing my months long adventure in the lands of Eorzea in Final Fantasy 14. I've finally gotten around to tackling the new Extreme Mode Primal battles and have managed to take down Garuda with my guild, and have now moved-on to dying continuously at the feet of Titan. While I do enjoy a challenge, these EX mode primal battles do border on ridiculousness. That being said, I am going to keep on trying, and I am sure I will eventually down them all. That's it for me this week.