hippochippies

  • Game of the Year 2013: #09 – Super Stickman Golf 2

    Game of the Year 2013: #09 – Super Stickman Golf 2

    super stickman golf 2Super Stickman Golf 2 does not have a great single player mode. The art covers the very basics of what was needed to make a video game. There are a few levels in the game that are terrible, and I never want to play through again. The saving grace, the one thing SSG2 has going for it, is that I would stop writing this post right now if someone asked me to play the multiplayer.

    Playing Super Stickman Golf 2 in local multiplayer is revelatory. If you load this game up on a couple of iPads or iPhones, someone is going to have a good time. It’s hard to put into words how much fun I had with this stupid game throughout the course of 2013, but I’ll try.

    The first night I played the multiplayer, a friend and I were staying in the same house, on opposite sides of the building. We loaded into Race Mode, where you try to be the first player to golf your ball into the hole. The laughter of defeat and victory rang throughout the night, and into the early hours of the morning. After each match, one of us would stomp to the other side of the house, shout obscenities at the other, and go back to play some more. There’s so much chaos that goes on in the game, and the fury of desperation to win makes me want to play over and over. Protip: Use the sand-into-water powerup just before someone lands a good shot, and sink their ball into a lake. I laughed until I cried, and I probably didn’t have that much fun with a game until an even larger group of friends played it again later that month.

    Above: Someone who is about to lose at Super Stickman Golf 2.
    Above: Someone who is about to lose at Super Stickman Golf 2.

    Having your ball be juussssst a fraction of a second ahead of the other guy’s, and making into first place right when they knew they were about to win is one of the most fun things I’ve done all year, and it happens over and over again. It’s such a simple conceit with very few skills to learn, but every player you add into the mix makes for a more hectic, insane and incredible experience.

    The powerups, abilities and unlockables are the icing on the cake. Yes, getting the most out of the game leads to playing the relatively dull single player component, but once you bring laser guided golf balls into a match, the slog is almost justified.

    Super Stickman Golf 2 has lived a long life on my phone and tablet throughout 2013, and I see it staying there for a long time. At least, until we get the sequel.

  • Game of the Year 2013: #10 – EGGNOGG/NIDHOGG

    Game of the Year 2013: #10 – EGGNOGG/NIDHOGG

    eggnogg
    EGGNOGG

    NIDHOGG is a two-player competitive platforming/fighting game that’s been privately taken around to trade shows for years. Only a few have gotten to see it live, and even fewer have been able to play it. This March, Paul Pridham of Madgarden made a “NIDHOGG-like” for the Toronto Game Jam, and gave the public its first taste of what this kind of game is all about. (more…)

  • The HippoChippies Podcast: Episode 006 – It’s December, Let’s Chill

    The HippoChippies Podcast: Episode 006 – It’s December, Let’s Chill

    CowboysHey! Since, there’s no huge releases we care to discuss this week, let’s take an hour and just relax. Let’s think about all the good times we had in 2013, before we get down and dirty with Game of the Year picks.

    Your pals Zack Dickerson and Zack Davis talk about Terraria, BioShock Infinite and much, much more. The guys are eventually joined by fan favorite, Trevor (The Wrecking Ball) Baldwin, and chat about Pokemon.

    Stay tuned after the end music as always, and you’ll be treated to some soothing sounds by Mr. Dickerson.

    Episode Link – http://zachbdavis.podomatic.com/entry/2013-12-16T23_37_29-08_00

    iTunes Link – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hippochippies-podcast/id776599918?mt=2

    Intro Music: “this machine thinks” by Goto80
    Outro Music: “influensa” by Goto80
    Extras Bumper: “Ladybug Castle” by Rolemusic

  • 2013’s Honorable Mentions – Papers, Please

    2013’s Honorable Mentions – Papers, Please

    papersPapers, Please doesn’t fit into any established genre. The closest thing I can think of might be L.A. Noire, but this is still radically different. At its most basic, Papers, Please a game about close inspection of miniscule details, and exploiting that information to your benefit. It’s also about the constant, unavoidable stress of consequences.

    Your role as an immigration inspector has you deciding who can enter the country and who cannot. There are penalties for breaking the ever-changing rules, and rewards for following your instructions. But when a known slaver tries to enter the country to kidnap a young woman, do you let him through even if his papers are in proper order? Breaking the rules means you’ll lose money for the day, which could cause your family to starve, but is it worth it?

    The actual gameplay of Papers, Please remains interesting because the rules change for each level, and the choices evolve in some surprising ways. Papers, Please is one of the most inventive, genre defying games I’ve seen, and is one of the most interesting games I played in 2013.

    In Honorable Mentions, the best games of the year that didn’t make the top ten are given their moment in the spotlight. While they might not be among HippoChippies’ ten best games this year, they were very, very close to making it there. This year, it came down to a list of 19 games that was trimmed into the Game of the Year list. This is one of the nine that almost made it.

  • 2013’s Honorable Mentions – SpyParty

    2013’s Honorable Mentions – SpyParty

    spysSpyParty has been floating around for several years now, but 2013 marks the release of its first open beta. This was the first time I’ve been able to play it, and I’m glad to say that it somehow lives up to all of my expectations.

    After hearing about SpyParty for so long, finally being able to act out the part of the Sniper or Spy was just as thrilling as I had hoped. Playing the role of a mindless A.I. partygoer as another player picks you out from the crowd is as nerve-wracking as it is exciting. Playing the role of the sniper is a similarly unique experience as well, as you second guess yourself until the moment your bullet leaves it chamber.

    The next year holds a lot of changes for the game, as it’s currently undergoing an entire graphical overhaul. As it stands, SpyParty is one of the most clever, original ideas for a game I’ve seen in ages, and is a defining experience of 2013.

    In Honorable Mentions, the best games of the year that didn’t make the top ten are given their moment in the spotlight. While they might not be among HippoChippies’ ten best games this year, they were very, very close to making it there. This year, it came down to a list of 19 games that was trimmed into the Game of the Year list. This is one of the nine that almost made it.

  • 2013’s Honorable Mentions – Gone Home

    2013’s Honorable Mentions – Gone Home

    gh

    Gone Home is important. Whether you want to call it a game, or an interaction work of fiction, or whatever, it’s something that everyone with a passing interest in game narrative should see. It’s a story about love, fear, and acceptance, and I found it to be one of the most impacting experiences of the year. It pushes this medium forward, and shows what a video game can be capable of when stripped of traditional game mechanics.

    The house in Gone Home feels lived in, and it’s your goal to see all of it. There’s a story you’ll come across on your way through the place, sometimes told to you explicitly and sometimes not, and it’s one that hasn’t been told in any game I’ve ever seen. Say what you will about the levels of “teen romance novel” drama Gone Home may dip into, but it’s a well told story, and one that is unveiled in a way unique to it’s medium.

    Gone Home is one of the finest game narratives I’ve seen, and the few short hours I spent with it meant more to me than the majority of hours I spent with anything else this year. While it might not be the best “game” of the year, it’s a beautiful story that demands your attention, and is one of my favorites of 2013.

    In Honorable Mentions, the best games of the year that didn’t make the top ten are given their moment in the spotlight. While they might not be among HippoChippies’ ten best games this year, they were very, very close to making it there. This year, it came down to a list of 19 games that was trimmed into the Game of the Year list. This is one of the nine that almost made it.