Whether it’s a particular genre in gaming , or a title individually, there’s certain mechanics which bring gamers close. Something that can’t keep us away. What is it? Exciting characters? Hype? Graphics? All the above? The staff at Play Legit got together, to bring you the games we simply cannot get enough of.

Cmack: Since I do try to make my way around a number of different types of games, let me talk about my favorite genre instead, the fighter. Fighting games have always captured my imagination ever since I was a mere 8-bit sprite, but as I’ve grown, I’ve actually come to love fighting games even more. In real life, I love martial arts, and like many athletes who like to play video game versions of their sport,  I enjoy some of the similarities that fighting games have with actual sparring, such as needing impeccable timing, precision, control, a knowledge of your moves, but added to that comparison, I really love how in no two fights, in any well designed fighting game, will be the exact same. Sometimes crazy, unexpected things can happen, like very technical exchanges, moves working that you didn’t expect, or a last-minute, low health comeback. I love many different genres, but fighting games will always be the belt holder for me.

Ms. Throwback: Since I’ve done the Animal Crossing review my world has expanded to new heights. The game always keeps me coming back for more and that fact becomes overwhelmingly addictive. There is a point at which the game realizes that you have collected enough gyroids, which are musical decorations in the game.  Once this happens the only way to get more is to buy them from other people or convince them to give you theirs which isn’t an easy thing to do.  Not just in your town but also in the online world there are only so many gyroids period so you have to be very diligent.  I have also become and artist of sorts by designing my own clothes and having other people who visit me wear my clothes around in their town and then they can thusly spread them to other people.  It’s possible to become a real life fashionista as even though the clothing switches from one town to another it always carries your name and becomes a brand name in the world.  I just cannot get enough of this game and seeing as how the game changes with each season I think it’s going to be a long time before I put it down.

The Wizard: Out of all the next-gen games of the last few years there are two games I find myself coming back to over and over again. Since they are the same game we will just count Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls by From Software as one entity. Demon’s Souls had quite the cult following on PS3, and after Dark Souls was released the game was pushed more to the main stream. That being said you still may have never heard of these two punishing gems of games. They could best be described as online third-person tactical sandbox action RPG’s. The games take place in a dark fantasy world where you kill Demon’s for their souls and use the souls as a sort of currency to level up, upgrade weapons and armor, and buy items like weapons, armor, spells, buffs, etc. There are a few factors to consider why I always come back to the Souls games. The first is the difficulty. They are kind of difficult in the sense that bosses and even regular enemies can be cheap, but the real reason they are hard is because they punish in impatient. Instead of running into a fight you need to take your time, look for enemies, size them up, and make an educated guess based on past experiences. Can I go in swinging? Do I run and come back later? Should I look for a snipe spot and go ranged? Should I equip armor of a specific defense type? Should I go defenseless so I can evade faster? Should I lure one out at a time? Should I wait and try to get a co-op partner? These are the types of questions you will be forced to ask yourself over and over again.

You can’t expect to just go in swinging and make it through the games. They are not button mashers where you can man handle a group of enemies and walk away unscathed. You have to play tactfully by rolling, dodging, parrying, defending, and striking at the correct time. You can’t return to a place you defeated at level 20 when you’re level 90 and take on an entire angry mob because you can still die quite easily. That is the first reason I return to these games and replay them over and over. They present a challenge every time. Second is that the games are pretty open-ended. At any point in the game you make your own decisions where you want to go next. Sure some areas are locked, but you have lots of options up until the very end on the order you want to play the games. The Souls games are not games that hold your hand, and tell you exactly what to do and where to go. They throw you in, immerse you in the world, and let you figure things out. For people who have been playing games a good majority of their life this is a breath of fresh air. I get tired of sitting through an hour of tutorial every game and constantly being stopped and told where to go. I’m a big boy and I can do it myself! And I think a lot of people feel the same way. Third is the PVP and Co-op system. For the most part you will be forced into PVP and Co-op in your play-through. Love it or hate it, it will happen. You will be put in a position where you really want help with a boss, and in positions where people invade you unexpected and try to kill you. Some people play Dark Souls purely for the PVP and Co-op. They either like invading people and making their lives miserable, or helping them. Some people even PVP by waiting for people to invade them and catching them off guard with a solid PVP build.

People even host tournaments, and there are ranked PVP arenas. If you love an intricate battle system and PVP then you will most likely love the Souls games. The online alone is a good reason after completing the game to make a dedicated PVP or Co-op build and keep playing. Finally the last reason the games are great is that you have a lot of flexibility with your characters. Just because you are a spell casting class doesn’t mean you can’t wield a 2-handed axe and heavy armor. And just because you are a melee based class doesn’t mean you can’t cast some powerful spells. You build your characters from the ground up and tweek them the way you want. You can create a powerful melee character, or a spellcaster, or a dexterity build with powerful pyromancy spells, or a jack of all trades. It’s totally up to you the way you mold your character. Growing up in 1980’s playing games like Ghost’s ‘n Goblins, and Ninja Gaiden really got my blood pumping. Those were some tough games! To this day there is rarely a time I visit my parents and they don’t laugh at me for having blood-red ears during my goblin and ninja killing sessions after school. I guess that is where the Souls games really hooked me. They take me back to a time when games were incredibly hard, even to the point of ridiculous, I wanna break my controller in half and throw my NES through my television hard.

Although I have evolved over the years (my ears no longer get red with rage), I still am presented with challenges once in a great while. The Souls games give me that challenge I thirst for and totally immerse me in an interesting, strange, and unexplained world. For anyone out there who enjoys a tough game and some action I highly recommend the Souls games. They can be incredibly difficult at times but when you beat that boss or PVP invader you get a sense of accomplishment. When you beat Asylum Demon, or PVP invader NoobSlayer3777 and yell at the screen “screw you!”, you will totally understand where I am coming from. Since the first moment I played Demon’s Souls I already knew it was an instant classic. I feel like they are the types of games years down the road people will want to have because they will still hold up to the test of time. As I write this I am starting my 5th play through of Demon’s Souls after just beating Dark Souls for the second time. Dark Souls 2 comes out early next year so play through the first two games and maybe I will see you in Dark Souls 2!

@PlayLegit #Favoritegames