It's such a specific flavor-a gothy, urban RPG that gives you so many options it's right on the edge of being an immersive sim-and any mention brings the taste right back.Īndy Chalk: I mean, it is Deus Ex. Jody Macgregor: I've finished Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines with three different clans, and started but never made it to the end with three more. Eventually I have to clear it off my SSD, because the whole trilogy of levels is a bazillion gigs. That usually means I put in another 10 or 20 hours, have fun learning new things about old maps, and then get hung up on an overly ambitious idea until I give up. As soon as anybody talks about an interesting kill method on a level I haven't tried yet, I feel compelled to reinstall and finally 100 percent that game. Morgan Park: That's definitely Hitman for me. That's what I remember and it's what always draws me back in. Having fun isn't as memorable as feeling freaked out, horrified, or so tense that my heart starts pounding. I think maybe it's because most games don't really generate a lot of strong feelings in me. Why are those bad feelings so compelling? I'm not sure. I think I associate such strong feelings with those games: the tension, the stress, the dread. I don't play it much at all these days but every so often something Starcraft 2-related will remind me it exists, and that night I'll go on and give some lucky soul a very easy win.Ĭhristopher Livingston: Weirdly it's grim, bleak, punishing games like DayZ, Stalker, and Frostpunk. I was obsessed with Wings of Liberty for about two years of my life. Zombies Ate My Neighbours, a real lost LucasArts gem for many years, recently appeared on Steam and I just had to go back (still ace!) Whenever Quake pops up I feel an urge to play that but honestly haven't in years. It sometimes happens with others, not every time they're mentioned but when you've had enough reminders, or it's just a complete surprise. As soon as I start reading or writing about Counter-Strike I just get the urge, and that night I'll somehow squeeze in a game by hook or crook. Richard Stanton: I play Counter-Strike and it's definitely one where my enthusiasm is reignited every month or so by seeing it in the news, whether that's for esports or a new operation or whatever. Fall of the Samurai sure is cool, though. That, and knowing that I'd dump entire weeks into a new campaign.
I think the reason I don't actually fall back into playing Total War every single time the temptation arises is that there are so many of them, the choice paralysis slows me down long enough for the urge to pass.
How long until Warhammer 3's out, again? Maybe I should just wait for that one. I could pick that campaign back up-orrrrr I could start fresh as a whole new faction. then again, I never did finish conquering China in Three Kingdoms. Maybe tackle one of the bazillion expansions I never put enough time into? Fall of the Samurai sure is cool. Spend five minutes talking to me about any Total War, though, and I'll immediately start asking myself if I should spin up a new campaign. Wes Fenlon: This goes for pretty much any Total War game, but especially Shogun 2, which was my introduction to the series and still has some of my favorite units to take into battle.