The front page of GameJolt has been hitting hard the past few weeks, this time featuring the sublime (sorry) Subline. Jord Farrell’s (@Mr_Tedders) newest puzzler lets you figure out the mechanics on your own, and if you stop reading now and go try it, it’ll be that much sweeter. At its core, Subline asks “What if Snake were more of a puzzle game?”
Throughout each year, you’ll find a tab on the home page called “Games of 20xx.” This page houses every game I’ve played that’s been released during the current year, and by year’s end it’s a gigantic cluster of everything I found time to try. If you ever feel like you want to see a large-scope picture of what gaming looked like in a year, browse through one of these lists. As of the time of this post, the 2014 list has just over 240 games on it, down about 200 from last year. This isn’t because fewer games were released, but because I didn’t have quite as much time to blow through a dozen every week. Still, that’s a massive number, ranging from the smallest indie games to the largest AAA titles through the entire year. Some have argued that 2014 “had no games” but a quick look at this list should tell a different story. (more…)
Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us tackles a different setting than their previous smash hit, The Walking Dead, but it’s still centered around what made that game so great: people. Their mastery of writing interesting characters in an interesting world is only showing off more as they grow into one of gaming’s most prominent studios. (more…)
Clickhole is one of my favorite new websites of 2014. It’s a new spinoff of The Onion, so it shouldn’t be surprising how consistently clever and funny it is, but if you haven’t been reading it you’ve been missing out. HippoChippies is primarily a site about video games, so you haven’t heard much about them here. That was until I found out about their incredible short story/adventure game thing, How Long Will You Survive In The Chamber?
How Long Will You Survive In The Chamber was posted back in June of this year, and I just heard about it via Kole Ross‘s mention on his and Gary Butterfield‘s Bonfireside Chat podcast (which you should also 100% check out.)
The Clickhole quiz takes you through a journey of preparation before you’re sent into The Chamber. This chamber houses terrifying creatures with names like “The Child Who Is Not A Child”, so you should carefully plan out your moves before you enter.
Like most posts on Clickhole, it’s smart, will make you laugh, and you’ll want to drag your friends to it to show them how brilliant that writing staff is. After the quiz you’ll find out how long you would survive upon entering the chamber. I lasted 30 minutes. Good luck.
So there are a few reasons the last few months have been a little slow on HippoChippies.
1: I’ve been playing so many new games that I haven’t had as much time to cover things on the site, especially now that a new college semester has started.
2: Since I’ve been doing more reviews lately, I’ve been waiting to cover games in a more in depth way after I’ve finished them. Since I enjoy playing so many simultaneously, it’s taken me about 2 months to finish a short game like Gunvolt.
3. My close friend Trevor Baldwin launched a new site called SadisticPixel.com, and I’ve been writing several things over there. Check it out, it’s a really cool thing backed up by a lot of cool people.
4. The Games of the Month posts had to take a break, because after 2 months of basically nothing coming out, I couldn’t fill a 5 to 6 entry list of noteworthy games. Also, I’ve been on a retro kick, playing games like Duck Tales for the first time, and haven’t played as many new indies as I would’ve liked.
We’re getting back on track today. (more…)
Now that we’ve all had a while to experiment with all of the Naxxramas cards, which are the best? Here’s a collection of my favorite cards in the set, and how I like to play them. If your favorite cards don’t show up here, that doesn’t mean I think they’re bad, I just haven’t found a deck that I love playing them in.
This card is amazing, but I bet it won’t be forever. Mad Scientist is such a good card, I feel like it’s begging for a nerf. It’s a great play on turn 2 with decent stats, and it works well with Undertaker combos in the early game. As soon as you play this card on turn two, you’re probably getting ahead of the other player. As soon as they reluctantly kill it, a secret is pulled straight from your deck, and put directly into play. That’s just… mad. It’s amazing in Hunter decks, as you get a free Explosive or Freezing Trap on turn 3 or 4. If that isn’t value, nothing in this game is. FOR SCIENCE!
If you’re not running this in speedy Deathrattle decks, you’re missing out. Throw this guy into a Tempo Priest or Hunter deck, and watch him grow. This guy instantly raises the value of all those other Naxxramas Deathrattle cards, because he’s just begging you to play them and make him bigger. Play this guy on turn one with a coin and a Leper Gnome, then a Mad Scientist, a couple of Zombie Chow or a Loot Hoarder on turn two, and you’re opponent better think of something fast. Oh…goody!
Combos with Undertaker? Check.
Comes with Taunt, and spits out another Taunt when he dies? Check.
Usually the best turn 5 you can ask for? Check again.
Yeah, Sludge Belcher is one of the best cards in the game, and if you’re ever happy to see your opponent play one of these, you’re in a pretty good spot. This guy stops your opponent right in their tracks. Sure, this guy’s a pretty big target for a Silence, but after they waste that you can play something even bigger, and a 3/5 on the board still isn’t bad. Or just play that second Sludge Belcher that you’ve been holding and start it all again.
Priests needed this. It’s hard to ask for a better turn 3, especially if you’re playing a full Deathrattle Priest with Undertaker. But even if you aren’t, it still has useful Deathrattle and good stats for 3 mana. As long as you’ve got someone else on the board, they get a 3 health buff. It can be easy for your opponent to play around, but on turn 3 it’s usually tough for them to get 4 damage off before you can heal or drop a taunt. Priests are finally back in a big way thanks to Naxx, and this card is one of the reasons why.
You gave Control Warriors a weapon with Whirlwind? Death’s Bite only makes a good class stronger, by giving Warriors one more way to hit a bunch of creatures at once. Whether they need to activate a Frothing Berserker, Armorsmith, or Acolyte of Pain, they’ll have fun doing so with a cheap 4 mana weapon, all while smashing 4 damage into your best minion.
This little spider has gotten me out of some tight spots. While the text’s effect may be random, its real effects are purely strategic. First, it can buff your Undertaker. Second, it can proc your Starving Buzzard for a free card. Third, your opponent is scared that it’s going to give you a free King Crush. Whatever card you actually draw is a free 31st card that you didn’t have to put in your deck, so you’re never losing anything by getting it killed. At its worst, it’s something to play on turn one to take out a Leper Gnome. At its best, two of them let you end the game with a couple of King Crushes one after another.
While this is a very situational card, you can always play this card smartly to your advantage. Play it on turn 1, and it’s cheap removal for your opponents starting minions. Save it until later, and then toss out an Auchenai Soulpriest with a Circle of Healing, and you’ve got a versatile Mind Blast for 1 mana. Have a Baron Rivendare out when you do that combo with 2 of this guy? That’s a 20 damage blast for 6 mana, and you’re opponent will never underestimate Zombie Chow again.
Naxxramas brings a lot of changes to Hearthstone, and a lot of really fun decks. If you haven’t tried building a deck around Undertaker and Deathrattles, I really recommend it. It took me a while to learn how good those early combos can be, but it’s awesome when you pull it off. I’ll continue updating this page as I find new cards to play and build new decks around different ideas. With just 30 cards changing the game so much, I can’t wait to see how much the new 100+ card expansion will change things. Expect another card roundup when that hits too!
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