Unplugged: Dominion, the German Game of the Year
Just this morning, the most prestigious boardgame award of the year was awarded to the card game Dominion. The award is the Spiel des Jahres (German for game of the year) and nominees are announced each May with the actual award presented every year at this time. In Germany, boardgames are a common gathering point for families and friends and games recognized with the Spiel des Jahres (SdJ for short) are known for their uniqueness, fun, and appropriateness for families to play together. Winning the award virtually guarantees huge sales in Germany for the base game and then future expansions are almost always added on to take advantage of the increased interest. This year’s winner, Dominion, is easily my favorite game of the past year and I’m glad to see it win the award. Congratulations to the designer, Donald X. Vaccarino and publisher, Rio Grand Games. Both are from the United States, so that bodes well for the domestic boardgame industry. Clearly the German judges like the game, but how does it play?
In the past few weeks there have been several new sport related titles on the Wii, several of which tout new, improved controls through the use of the MotionPlus peripheral which plugs into the base of the Wiimote. In honor of Father’s Day, I thought take a look at some of these new sports titles to see how they measure up. Of course, since it is all about the competition, we’ll have to have the new titles go up against old, established ones in a head to head match for dominance on the Wii system.
I’ve been spending some quality time with my new DSi lately playing through games of a favorite genre, the role playing game. However, that genre is quite broad and can often be placed into two camps, what I call old-school RPGs (as could be found in the 80s and 90s on computers) and ones commonly found on modern console systems often made in Japan, sometimes abbreviated jRPGs. While playing through The Dark Spire and Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier . Even the length of the names gives you a clue as to which is which. The Dark Spire is an homage to old-school RPGs while Super Robot Taisen is through and through jRPG. Both games have their advantages and disadvantages, but I more often found myself drawn to The Dark Spire.
Nintendo knows when they have a good thing going. They have dominated the handheld gaming market for many years, often with progressive upgrades rather than trying to build up an entirely new user base with each new handheld machine. This spring, they have released the newest upgrade to the DS line of handhelds, the DSi. By removing the Gameboy Advance slot, they have clearly staked out an attitude of looking towards the future rather than the past. Beyond that significant hardware reduction, there are numerous software improvements that make it a larger leap forward than the leap from Nintendo DS to the DS Lite.
As a big fan of boardgames as well as role-playing games, it was with a bit of excitement that I set out to take a look at the recent Atlus title, Dokapon Journey. My knowledge of Japanese games is limited, so I can’t tell you anything about previous incarnations (if any) of this title. Unfortunately, what I can tell you is that the game was a disappointment. There is the making of a somewhat interesting boardgame in the vein of Talisman, Return of the Heroes, and other sorts of RPG/adventure boardgames, but it fails to provide much in the way of meaningful decisions. The interface, graphics, and even the backstory are all reasonably well done, the gameplay simply results in nothing more than a kind of Candyland with lots of chrome.
Some may argue it should only be placed in the “God Game” genre, but I think of Populous as one of the best, very early examples of Real-Time Strategy. Published in 1989, three years before Dune II, four years before Warcraft, and five years before Command and Conquer, Populous had strategic depth but also made players think on their feet to respond to what the computer was doing in real time. I remember fondly my college days where I was raising and lowering the LEGO shaped landscape so that my followers could create large dwellings in order to reproduce and fuel my divine wrath towards the opposing deity and his followers. Amazingly, this icon of my early PC gaming days has returned in the form of a strategy game on the DS. I am admittedly looking at the game through rose colored glasses of nostalgia, but it is one of the top retro games I have played on the DS.
Modern technology is wonderful. If you were to tell me 10 years ago that I’d be able to download software to my console that let me aim my controller at my TV in an effort to give vegetables a superior haircut, I’d have said you were crazy. I’d have been interested, but still thought you were crazy. Here I sit today having downloaded the the unique game, Bonsai Barber, onto my Wii. It is a lighthearted game based around grooming friendly vegetables who visit your barbershop. Using standard barber tools and your Wiimote, players attempt to fix hairstyles to match patrons’ preferences. Do a good job, and they’ll tell their friends, begin to schedule appointments, and even start to send you virtual postcards to let you know they’ve been thinking of you. The game is different and has potential, but is it worth the 1000 point download?
Spring is in the air, and Nintendo has just released a new color of the DS Lite to match. When I first saw photos, the bright spring green color cried out to me (Half my wardrobe, and often my hair, is green.) Conveniently released a week before Mother’s Day, the new DS Lite comes with the Personal Trainer: Cooking cartridge and a nice floral patterned canvas carrying case. At first glance, it looks like a great Mother’s Day present for my wife, until I realized that it might come across as a glorified cookbook. I’ve been married long enough to know better than to get my wife a cookbook for Mother’s Day. Perhaps I have a better idea…
Almost a year ago, Wizards of the Coast revealed the newest version of their popular role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. This fourth edition of the game (known as 4E D&D) was designed to be easier to learn, faster playing, and better balanced. I’ve been playing the new version for about a year and my conservative favoritism has blossomed into a positive enthusiasm for the new system. If you haven’t taken a look at the new version or haven’t ever tried D&D before, now is your chance. Wizards of the Coast has just released everything you need to get started as a free download! Read on to find out the details…
101 in 1, the name says it all. This title, published in the US by Atlus, is a large collection of games all on one cartridge. As a budget-priced title, this makes it one of the cost effective titles around in terms of price per game. But are the games worth even that much? Well, some are and some aren’t. Where you stand on each of those categories determines if this game is right for you.
