Gaming off the Beaten Path

Wait a minute, this is supposed to be a blog about finding hidden retro gaming gems, why am I writing about a AAA title that came out like a year ago?  Well, I played it and I figured I would write a review since I don’t really play too many modern games.  Hell, I only played HZD because it went on sale for 10 bucks. I can’t say this review is completely off topic either.  One of the main reasons I stopped keeping up with newer games is my fatigue with FPS’ and open world games.  I am just so tired of them and that’s all there are anymore.  The whole “OMG ITS SOOPER DOOPER EPIC AND I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!!!” Thing wears thin when every game is like that.  Fortunately, Horizon does enough different from its predecessors.  For one, it actually has a plot.  Rather than put you in the role of a nameless protagonist, HZD puts you in the shoes of Aloy, a young girl who has been raised as a tribal outcast in a post apocalyptic world inexplicably filled with high tech b

Now that I got the last post out of my system, it’s time to start doing actual reviews.   I won’t be reviewing big name games, nor will I be covering super obscure games that never left Japan.   I am going to be talking about games that slipped through the cracks of history for one reason or another.   I am digging for hidden gems, but I’m sure to find some buried turds somewhere along the way.     Before I get started, here’s the rating scale. 0-1:   Buggy, broken, unplayable mess. Certified buried turds 2-3: You could feasibly play these, but you would never want to. Certified buried turds 4-5: Not particularly great, but playable.   Has a few redeeming qualities that might make them worth a look. 6-7: Good, solid games.   Maybe pick one of these up if you are a fan of their specific genre, or if you have played through all of your backlog 8-9: Great games.   Dig them up and play them.   Certified hidden gems 10 All-time classic.   I don’t think

I have decided to get back into writing after a long layoff.   It’s been a while since its been part of my job description and I need to work my way back into “shape.”   If I am going to be writing during my personal time, I am going to write about something I am passionate about, so I want to continue writing about gaming.    Rather than go through the machinations of creating a whole new blog, I’m just going to use my old one.   I deleted all of the non-gaming content, so all that’s left is the top 100 games of all time list I did when I was in college.   That was several years ago and its something I would like to revisit at some point.  Because of the layoff, the number of candidates for that list has grown a ton.   I didn’t even include games from the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii generation (which at this point is the previous generation).   While I have become more of a retro gamer in recent years, I can still safely say I have played enough games from that generation to add them