What We Played #76: Rebuild, Don’t Look Back

The lands of Skyrim laid claim to several hours of my time over the past weekend as I continue inching my way towards ‘completion’, dodging nimbly round the rotting corpses of glitched quests and their impossible objectives.

Despite the huge amount of time already invested the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Imperial/Stormcloak quest lines still remain unfinished. At least I’m comfortable in the knowledge that the PS3 won’t see any of the DLC.

Let’s face it, even though there may be indications that Bethesda might like to bring Dragonborn to the PS3 (or are using a common template) if Dawnguard doesn’t fit in RAM, various bits of Morrowind aren’t likely to either.

Outside of my usual weekly exposure to Mass Effect 3 and Borderlands 2 I’ve also been playing a few Android games on my Nexus 7. I’m persevering with Mass Effect Infiltrator but for a quick gaming fix I’m more likely to be found completing a few grids in Flow Free.

[videoyoutube]When I have a bit more tablet-time available I’m loving Rebuild.  While it’s yet another zombie game it has you leading a group of survivors as you attempt to rebuild a little corner of civilization amongst the wreckage of humanity.

Starting from just a few buildings you must scavenge the surrounding area for food and equipment, search for other survivors, fend off zombies and marauding groups of human raiders and grow your secure enclave. More than once a ‘quick game’ has resulted in a lost couple of hours.

Aran has been playing Of Orcs & Men and you may well have read his review already.  The tl;dr version is “the game has brilliant ideas and characters but is executed poorly. I really wanted it to be great but it just wasn’t.”

He’s started on Max Payne 3 and is so far “loving its excellent production and challenging gameplay”. And for Halloween he’s lined up Shadows of the Damned, Metro 2033 and Dead Space 2 in case groups of kids in plastic masks begging for sweets isn’t scary enough.

Also Android gaming this week is Chris:

I’ve been playing Don’t Look Back on Android. A wonderful platformer by none other than Terry Cavanagh, creator of VVVVVV and Super Hexagon. It’s a free game, not free as in supported by ads or IAP, but actually free. Whilst it’s extremely basic, its soundtrack and wicked difficulty makes it well worth the one minute it takes to download and fire up.

He has taken FIFA 13‘s career mode for the odd run around the park too. While finding it lacking in some respects, “I really wish there was a way to coach players, the management structure still feels really superficial compared to its rival”, once it comes to the actual football he loves it.

Keep your eye out online too as Chris says that “hopefully the stars will align in the near future and I can find time to join in the clubs mode, thingy, whatever it’s called – along with other TSA-ers.”

Finally this week we have Jim’s mixed bag of gaming. After some time away he’s returned to Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes “just in time for the game’s Halloween content update. A smattering of new characters and the new “Garden of Morr” game mode have eased me straight back into the free-to-play MOBA.”

It’s one F2P game that’s he’s sunk money into in the past and it seems like he will do again. “I’ll definitely be looking to sink some money into WoH soon” especially if and “when the team decides to unleash more Dwarf characters.”

In contrast to that he’s picked up a copy of DJ  Hero 2 and he’s “been scratching and dropping samples ever since”. While he finds it “a bit more finicky than Guitar Hero or Rock Band” he feels that the game “fits in better whilst in a party environment”.

At the bottom of his bag of pic’n’mix we find Dishonored. (It pains me every time I have to type that without a ‘u’ in it.)  “The way the game’s mechanics lace together is intriguing, as is the setting”, he tells me, but disappointingly it simply isn’t grabbing him the way he hoped it would.

So, over to you, what have you been playing?