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Your desert island game? No wifi, so single-player only.
-@Onehitkills
This has become a very rough topic for me. I used to play three games obsessively (Madden, Rome: Total War, and Starsiege: Tribes 2). As I got older, however, I suffered from adult onset gamer ADD. Now, I’ll play dozens of games every year, losing the focus in favor of a broader experience of a large number of games. Games that years ago I’d have sunk hundreds of hours into (say, Total War: Shogun 2), get around 30 hours of play before I move on. That’s the number I currently place on obsessive.
But now, to get back to the question, my desert island game must have a couple of features. It must: have a variety of gameplay experiences (to avoid boredom), a long campaign (I’m going to be on this island for a while), and it must be mentally stimulating (games of mindless repetition, even if they are fun, will sour on me eventually). The lack of wifi tosses out some options (Halo 4, for example, would be a great desert island game with multiplayer), but, really, as The Strategist, a strategy game has to be the best choice. The mindless repetition of sports games, which I used to find soothing, now tends to bore me after a while, so Madden or MLB The Show would be out as well.
Still, I’m tempted by Elder Scrolls V: Skyim. With a huge world, and a lot of different ways to play, you can definitely get lost in the game. There is also some interesting storytelling, which would really help me pass time on my island. But, I’ve already put a lot of time into Skyrim (and would like to go back sometime soon), and I know that at some point, I’ll reach my tolerance, despite my love. Exploration is great, but even in Skyrim, you’ll run out of things to see eventually.
No, this is really a battle between two games: Rome: Total War and Crusader Kings 2. Rome: Total War is a classic, with a huge variety of very different factions to play, AI that is challenging at the higher levels and a huge amount of territory to conquer. The Britons, Germans, Parthians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Greeks are all very different experiences to play as, and the campaign is long and compelling. Additionally, the Barbarians and Alexander expansions change everything in terms of play, providing plenty more to come back to. Crusader Kings II, on the other hand, provides an RPG/grand strategy experience, allowing you to play as a medieval ruler in a variety of different settings, from Mulim Sultan, to Viking lord, to French duke to Venetian doge. The different cultures all play differently, and with more than 500 years to cover after the most recent expansion, there’s plenty of play.
I think, at the end of the day, my love of the Romans wins out. Rome Total War also includes two levels of play, strategic moving of armies and tactical battles. With three campaigns, a huge number of factions, historical battles and amazing gameplay, it’s my ultimate desert island game. Now all I need for perfection is an awesome update in the upcoming sequel. Help me out, Creative Assembly. I have a desert island to travel to.
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