What we are playing: November 25
What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Select members of the team talk about the games they’ve been playing over the past week and which they’re most looking forward to.
Christine Mitchell – I’ve not had much time for gaming this week but I picked up XCOM: Enemy Unknown recently so managed to play a bit of that. I’m looking to get The Walking Dead next now that all five episodes have been released.
Brandin Tyrrel – I’ve been slogging my way through The Walking Dead lately, trying to get toward the recently released season finale.
John Laster – I finished up The Walking Dead this week. If you haven’t played that series yet stop what you are doing and go download it. It’s rather impressive. Also I need some pinball buddies to challenge my Civil War table score.
Nick Santangelo – I took the next-gen plunge on Sunday and picked up a Deluxe Wii U with New Super Mario Bros U. The game is great through the first four worlds, especially when you add a couple of other players to the mix. It’s too bad that the U’s menu system is a discombobulated mess, but it’s still a major step up from its predecessor. Hopefully Nintendo updates the hell out of it in the coming months and years. On another note, I’m getting ready to sit down for some Halo 4 multiplayer as I sit here typing this on Friday night.
Phil Nachum – Having taken advantage of some Steam sales, I’ve been playing a bit of Cave Story and Knights of the Old Republic II. But more of my week has been spent playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted. I’m generally not the biggest racing fan, but Criterion are masters of their craft, and Most Wanted is a joy to play. I just wish they’d have spent more time with some of the user interface.
Matt Liparota – Quite a lot of gaming for me this week, actually – I bought a Wii U on a whim and have been enjoying the heck out of it. New Super Mario Bros U is a blast (easily the best entry in that offshoot of the franchise to date) and Nintendo Land is a huge step up from Wii Sports. It’s not perfect, but the system definitely shows a lot of promise (also on the Nintendo front, I’ve been playing a lot of Paper Mario: Sticker Star on the 3DS). On Xbox, I’m still playing through Assassin’s Creed III in bits and pieces, but I also picked up Sega’s ToeJam and Earl rerelease and Zuma’s Revenge on XBLA, the latter of which I’ve already sunk way more hours into than I’m willing to admit.
Ryan Thompson – Assassin’s Creed III is incredibly compelling — besides reviewing the Civil War pinball table, AC3 is the only game I’ve played all weekend. The multiplayer has finally been refined into a full-fledged game, and no longer feels like it’s tacked on. I can imagine spending months sneaking around stabbing people, and am looking forward to doing just that.
Matthew Smail – This week, the only boxed game I’ve been playing is Dishonored. I like it a lot, but it’s certainly no Thief III. I guess things change eh? I’ve also been playing a few new games that I picked up on XBLA such as Spelunky, Magic 2012 and others. To top that off, I’ve even had time for a little Minecraft action!
Scott Baker – Playstation Plus gave me an early Christmas present with much-needed fresh games for my Vita. Falling everywhere in Gravity Rush is, fittingly, a rush. At home, I’m working my Commando up to level 50 in Borderlands 2. Thanks to Mr. Torgue, I’m having plenty of laughs along the way.
Your turn.