What We Played #446 – Call of Duty: Warzone, Animal Crossing & Ring Fit Adventure

I’m in an ethical quandary. Am I allowed to be enjoying lockdown? I don’t feel like I should be, but I often don’t leave my house for days at the best of times, and I’m getting to spend loads of time with my family. So, yeah, it’s… oddly wholesome for me.

I imagine we’re all experiencing different levels of oddness, but at least we all have computer games to take our minds of it all, and to while away a few more of those indoor hours. I’ve played a bunch of stuff, including Freedom Finger, Warzone, The Division 2, while whinging about the updates I’ve had to install since it’s not on Stadia. Alongside that, everyone in the house is now playing Animal Crossing and I’m having to share my island. The lockdown is teaching me the importance of sharing, even if I’m not very good at it.

Aran has played some Yakuza 3, but doesn’t seem too happy about it; “Not really feeling it compared to the previous games”. He’s also played more Warzone – with me and Gareth at times! He’s still missing that elusive win, but he did come second the other day, which is much higher than he achieved when playing with us.

Tuffcub surprised no one, including himself, by playing Destiny 2, and Tef has also had a pretty slow week with just bouts of Animal Crossing here and there. He’s not sharing his island, but did have the “joys” of Nintendo’s online networking when trying to offload turnips for ludicrous profits.

Jim has been keeping his ring fit with Ring Fit Adventure this week – what? That’s not what it’s for? Well, I’m very confused then – but either way he’s said “it’s been a great experience and I’m enjoying how its starting to weave in more traditional game-like mechanics like crafting and item management. Having it as part of my daily routine has helped me keep a little more sane during lockdown.” He’s also plunged deeper into Control, saying, “I had been chipping away slowly but only now has it gripped me. The combat gameplay isn’t as strong as I’d like though the world-building is fantastic and there’s a great destructibility to the environments.”

Nic B has almost finished FF7R, saying it’s a “great game with a few minor flaws. Also played some Magic Arena, though for the first time in a year I didn’t max out my mastery pass. Arena is changing the economy of these passes slightly, so I don’t know if I’ll buy the next one if they insist on keeping the price but dropping what you get out of it.” Nick P has also been exclusively playing FFVII this week. “I think I’ve put nearly 30 hours into it. Aside from a few small gripes, I’m really enjoying it so far. Going to be annoying to have to wait another 5-6 years for the next installment.”

Gareth spontaneously got a PS Now trial and played quite a lot of Vampyr, some Just Cause 4, and some Batman Arkham Origins. “Vampyr is pretty great other than PS Now crashing a few times, although escaping real life quarantine by going into the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 wasn’t the best choice. Just Cause 4 is just Just Cause, just it’s less fun somehow. It doesn’t feel up to the admittedly rough quality of either of the two previous games I’ve played in the series. Batman Arkham Origins, meanwhile, is awesome. Angry young Batman rocks and the story is a bit mental. And no, I won’t be finishing any of these games because my trial ends tomorrow. Bah.” Other than that he’s played Throw Anything and Separation for review.

Meanwhile, Steve has gone back into RE3 to trophy and score hunt; “It’s really well designed for replay ability which makes up for its short playtime. Still haven’t looked at the multiplayer mode.” Besides that he’s been exploring the PS3’s forgotten past by playing a few more levels of Lair, saying, somewhat politely, that “it’s a fascinating example of a waste of potential. Read up on the production issues beforehand so knew what was to come”. He’s also played some PC games for review including the Pythonesque Procession to Calvary and the intriguing The Shattering. If that weren’t enough, he’s been playing Adventure Time Explore the Dungeon with his 8 year old and Stranger Things 3 with his 13 year old, saying “you can tell it’s the holidays and lockdown”.

Now then, what about you, what have you played?