Tag Archives: Resident Evil 2

A Different Kind of Gaming

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In my everyday life, I’ve been guilty of not getting out much and of making impulse buys. For a long while, I’ve been happy just spending evenings at home either watching TV or playing video games. And when it came to impulse buys, I often invested in collectibles—limited edition DVDs or action figures, for example—that I thought I might be able to sell on E-Bay for a profit at a later date.

That being said, I first learned from a video game streamer called TheLegitTipster sometime in 2017 about a Resident Evil 2 board game that was trying to acquire funding for production on Kickstarter.com. Along with thousands of other people around the world, I chose to financially back the project. And it was quite successful—the company making this board game acquired enough money to manufacture a tabletop game featuring hours, if not days, of enjoyment for the player.

Those who invested in the development of the board game gained access to all extras that came with it, even some that were Kickstarter exclusives. I personally invested enough money into the project to acquire three sets of the board game, two of which I plan to sell on E-Bay at some point. It took a while, but my new tabletop game was shipped to me in February 2019. The one problem—I didn’t have anyone in my life I could actually play the board game with. I doubt anyone in my writing group would be interested, and I don’t have very many friends.

Everything changed one Saturday morning in April when I ventured out to my local library to return some movies. I got there before the library opened at 10 am and was surprised to see a dozen people milling around toting a wide assortment of board games.

I struck up a conversation with one of the guys while waiting and found out that this is a group that meets at the library once a month just to play tabletop games. I got interested enough to participate for several hours—I had to work at 3 pm—and see what they were all about.

I ended up joining in on a fantasy horror game called Touch of Evil in which the players cooperate with each other—though the game can also be played competitively—to achieve the collective goal of locating and vanquishing a powerful supernatural monster—Cthulhu in this case. I wasn’t able to stick around long enough to finish the game, but the other players told me that someone could easily take my place for the remainder. There was a really good turnout for the get-together that day; every seat in the auditorium was taken.

I had so much fun that I decided I wanted to participate in more than just the one session, especially when one of the group leaders told me other players would be open to learning about the Resident Evil 2 board game I owned.

As fate would have it, I’d requested the weekend off for the next board gamers get-together on May 18—that was before I’d even found out about this group. My initial plan was to go to a comic convention, but I changed my mind when the celebrity I wanted to meet in person cancelled at the last minute. This left my Saturday wide open to hang out at the library playing board games.

Unlike my last visit, the group members didn’t start coming in until about 10:30. I hung out in the Internet lounge until then—either writing or playing part of a video game on my laptop.

I had only just unwrapped the Resident Evil 2 board game at home, as well as two add-on packs containing additional monsters and playable characters, prior to coming to the library. It was a little embarrassing to admit to the group leaders that I’d never actually played the game, as well as showed that the card decks were still wrapped in plastic and the board pieces hadn’t been punched out from the protective cardboard.

One of the leaders nicely suggested I take time to get the components ready for use and familiarize myself with the rules—this took several hours. I did run into a snafu when it came to assembling the spinner dials for the various guns/ammo amounts. On several, I didn’t arrange the components correctly—I had one heck of a time pulling the fasteners apart to fix it. One of the other group members had to help me with this.

I don’t know how long I spent going through the manual before I got a solid handle on how the game worked. Once I got the board layout for the first scenario set up, I was joined by a female group member—I’m unsure of her name—who said she was interested in trying it out with me.

She read through the rulebook a little herself and I explained some bits before we got started. The first scenario is very simple and the only creatures you face are zombies that can be taken out in one hit—the game gets progressively harder as you go along. The goal of scenario one is just to make it through the door at the end of the board.

I did take one point of damage by stopping to grab a shotgun—a weapon that really only comes in handy in subsequent scenarios. The one thing that my co-player and I neglected to make use of was the tension deck—we were supposed to draw cards at the end of our turns to determine if we were in a safe area or not. The tension deck can generate random encounters or dangerous events to make the game more interesting.

One point of the rules that was unclear pertained to line of sight. The instructions state that you can’t shoot a zombie if it’s behind a closed door, behind a wall, or around a corner. But apparently, there’s no restriction if another creature or character is between you and your target. I looked online for clarification on this and found there’s no problem shooting through whatever animate entity is in your way. But I may set my own restriction for future gameplay.

After we’d finished the scenario—we both agreed it was fun—I proceeded to pack up the game. I’d taken a picture of the character\creature tokens beforehand to determine what went where. Aligning the board pieces back in the box felt like playing a game of Tetris. And one of the board game group leaders was kind enough to give me a Ziploc bag to store all the smaller components for the time being. He suggested I compartmentalize them into smaller baggies for an easier setup next time.

I also learned from reading through the rules that the game can be played solo—I will definitely be giving that a try to get a better feel for it. And even though I’d brought additional sets with extra characters and monsters, reading through the booklets for each made me think it was too much for a trial run. Interesting side note—two of the extra characters are evil and can make the game competitive rather than cooperative if you choose to play as them.

For the remainder of my time at the get-together, I got the opportunity to learn several other games: a card game called Arboretum with two other players and a couple board games called Between Two Cities and Hive Mind, each with four other players. The group leader who introduced me to Arboretum was surprised at how quickly I picked it up—I scored really well for a beginner.

I don’t feel I can adequately simplify how Between Two Cities works—I wasn’t clear on how the winner was determined when I played it—so here’s a YouTube video that explains it.

Hive Mind was the most fun, even if I did lose on my first playthrough. The game starts with all player tokens at the top of a six-story beehive. During each turn, players must write down a set number of answers to whatever question was asked—such as “Name three time travel movies.” The goal is to match whatever the other players wrote—the more matches, the more points you get. The person with the least amount of points per round must go down a level in the beehive; whoever gets expelled from the hive first loses the game. Needless to say, I didn’t do well in matching my responses, even though I got really good answers on some questions. For example, I wrote down Terminator for the movie question, but none of the other four players did.

My co-player for Resident Evil 2 joined me for all subsequent games. Before we started playing Hive Mind, she asked about trying out the next scenario. I declined because I believed the library would be closing within an hour—turns out I was wrong about that—and I felt it would take too long to set up.

All in all, I’m really glad to have discovered this group—not just because it granted me the opportunity to crack open a tabletop game that may otherwise have collected dust. I look forward to broadening my knowledge of the many board or card games out there. And I’ve resolved to request one Saturday off from work on a monthly basis.

I can’t wait to see what the next get-together yields.

My Top 10 Video Games with Variant Stories

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As a child, I was a huge fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. There was something about the notion of getting a different story with each read that guaranteed I would keep coming back to these books. Most story-based video games can also be considered as choose-your-own-adventure. Especially those that allow you to personally decide how the story will play out.

Below is my top ten list of video games that offer a lot of versatility with each playthrough.

10) Phantasmagoria (spoiler alert) – An interactive horror game released in the mid-90s, Phantasmagoria tells the story of Adrienne Delaney and her husband Don after they’ve moved into a haunted century-old mansion. The house was previously owned by a 19th Century illusionist who was married five times and whose wives either went missing or died under mysterious circumstances. The game features hours worth of content. There is much to explore to uncover the truth and discover what’s happening to Don when he gets possessed. It’s easy to miss an aspect of the story if you don’t thoroughly examine everything in each chapter. What keeps Phantasmagoria from a higher rank is the fixed singular ending – Adrienne is forced to kill her husband to keep him from killing her.

9) Life Is Strange (spoiler alert) – Life is Strange is a coming-of-age drama game that centers around teenager Max Caulfield and her discovery that she can rewind time–an ability she uses largely for selfish gain. Life is Strange gives you the option to look at both choices of decisions to make throughout the game before locking one of them in. While this game offers two conclusions, the bad ending doesn’t really delve into the repercussions of Max’s decision to sacrifice the townsfolk to an f5 tornado to save her dearest friend. I still love Life is Strange in spite of the lackluster ending for its many different paths over the course of the game.

8) Resident Evil 2 – The first Resident Evil game may have launched the survival horror franchise, but it is the second title that really breathed life into the series. Resident Evil 2 introduced players to Leon Kennedy– a rookie cop on his first day on the force–and Claire Redfield–a college student in search of her missing brother. What sets Resident Evil 2 apart from the rest of the series is that one character’s actions impact how the other’s story plays out. For instance, starting with Leon’s campaign dictates the path taken by Claire through the police station and vice versa. The game’s developers gave players two differing narratives–Leon A\Claire B or Claire A\Leon B–to offer a unique experience with each playthrough. What makes Resident Evil 2 even better is that you can also assume the role of one of the antagonists in a separate scenario or play as a block of tofu armed with a knife–a joke character thrown in by the developers. But like Phantasmagoria, Resident Evil 2 always ends the same no matter which character you start with.

7) the Mass Effect trilogy – Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 earn top marks for having the most variance in their narrative, but fall flat due to a disappointing penultimate ending. To get the most out of the trilogy, you’d have to play through all three games. Saved data can be imported from one title to the next to keep track of the choices you’ve made, such as whether you saved or sacrificed a given character. I love the trilogy for letting you decide whether your main character will be male or female, peacemaker or badass, or monogamous or field-player. I just wish Mass Effect 3 had featured multiple endings as well.

6) Marvel: Ultimate Alliance – Well before the ongoing series of films featuring Marvel Comics superheroes were on the horizon, the video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was the definitive guide to the comic book characters. The game takes you on an epic journey from the bottom of the ocean to the far reaches of space, from the depths of Hell to Asgard, home of the Norse Gods. The basic storyline of the game sees members of the X-Men, Avengers, and the Fantastic Four–as well as other superheroes that operate solo–band together to combat a massive team comprised of their respective arch-enemies. In between missions, you have the option of learning all sorts of trivia about every character–and then some–featured in Ultimate Alliance. What makes the game even more interesting is that you can customize your team at the start of each mission. Even better–each time a hero and antagonist who have a history come face to face, it will trigger a unique bit of dialogue. I would definitely recommend giving this game a look if you’re a big fan of Marvel Comics–you won’t be disappointed.

5) Dragon Age: Origins – Dragon Age: Origins is a game that I have yet to play through to the end, but what little I’ve seen has earned it a spot on this list. The fantasy fighting game starts with you selecting one of six characters to join a warrior faction called the Grey Wardens for the purpose of combating an ancient evil. Each character has their own unique background and origin story–the game gives you a glimpse into their lives prior to their arrival at the academy. I don’t know a whole lot about Dragon Age, but I’ve heard that your character’s gender also has an impact on how the narrative plays out.

4) Beyond: Two Souls (spoiler alert) – Beyond: Two Souls is a game that tells its story in a non-linear format, jumping back and forth to different points in the life of heroine Jodie. She is a character who has lived with a spirit guide named Aiden her entire life, and she has the unique ability to see the world through his perspective. Unfortunately for Jodie, she is taken from her mother at birth and is exploited as a spy by the government due to her ability to obtain information from a distance. The game largely revolves around Jodie’s journey to find where she belongs in an unforgiving world. Beyond: Two Souls is a great game not only for its variant story, but also for its multiple endings. There is even an outcome where Jodie dies and herself becomes a spirit guide to a young girl born during the course of the game.

3) Until Dawn (spoiler alert) – A survival horror game where even the slightest miscalculation can get a character killed, Until Dawn is definitely a nerve-wracking experience. The story follows eight friends vacationing at a mountain lodge owned by one of them, where they are besieged by a group of violent supernatural creatures. Until Dawn is not a perfect game–the story is chock full of plot holes and a few characters are downright annoying–but it does offer a lot of variance. It can end in any number of ways–ranging from everyone making it through the night to zero survivors.

2) King’s Quest VI – The Kings Quest games as a whole chronicle the story of a knight who earned the title of king and his family. The sixth game in the series follows the king’s son, Alexander, on his quest to rescue his true love, Cassima, upon receiving word that she and her kingdom are in danger. What’s most unique about Kings Quest VI is that you can either speed your way through it or take a longer path through the narrative to obtain the best possible ending. While the game ultimately concludes with Alexander and Cassima’s wedding, the ceremony can either have a sparse amount of guests or be a large, joyous event attended by both their families.

1) Heavy Rain (spoiler alert) – Heavy Rain is a dramatic mystery game that largely revolves around Ethan Mars, a father desperately racing against time after his son is abducted by a serial murderer known as the Origami Killer. The game also follows three other characters–journalist Madison, FBI agent Nathan, and P.I. Scott–investigating the killer and their crimes. What I like most about Heavy Rain is that there are dozens of ways in which it can end based on the actions of its four leading characters. There is even a scenario where the killer survives and escapes justice. Heavy Rain offers so much variety with each playthrough that I wish there were more video games like it.

While I love video games in general, the ones that offer flexibility in their story-telling definitely make me want to play through them multiple times. I do wish there were more games out there that let you choose your own adventure, but I am satisfied with what’s out there for now.