Project Fandom Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Games
Any gamers on your holiday list? Here are a few of our favorite games (console and tabletop) this year.
Concept (Tabletop)
Concept is a board game similar to games like Pictionary or Catch Phrase in that you’re given a person, object, or phrase and you use the board to give hints for others to guess what it is. I originally bought this as a party game, but it also went over real well at our weekly nerd gaming group. - ProFan Patti
The Unfinished Swan (PS4/Playstation Vita)
Originally developed for the Playstation 3 and released on that system in 2012, Giant Sparrow’s The Unfinished Swan had already racked up two 2013 BAFTA awards (“Game Innovation” and “Debut Game”) before finally hitting Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita this October. The game is simply fantastic. Throwing the player headfirst into an interactive world of wonder and innovative gameplay, the game takes no time at all to have you completely enveloped in its storybook world. One drawback for some could be the game’s relatively short length, but that actually turned into a positive for me and my equally short attention span; the length also all but guarantees you won’t have a chance to wear out the novelty of the gameplay. Plus, at $15, you more than get your money’s worth. The Unfinished Swan is currently available for download from the Playstation Network. - ProFan John
Destiny (Consoles)
The sum of everything above has created much debate throughout the gaming community. Destiny is a game that people will either love because of its beautiful graphics, outstanding mechanics, and exciting multiplayer or loathe because its story is lacking, the grinding through patrols required to upgrade your Guardian, or because Destiny just is not as big as it seems. In my opinion, Destiny is the foundation of something fun, exciting, and different. The lack of a good story can be overlooked because it is fun to play. But Destiny’s true triumph is in the social arena. This is evident every time you receive a message from someone you did not know with an invite to a Fireteam or to ask you where they can find a particular weapon or piece of armor. As stated above, Destiny does not live up to the hype surrounded by the game, but what it does give us is something worth experiencing. - ProFan Julius
Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
If you enjoy traditional racing games and are not typically interested in Mario Kart, I suggest giving this iteration of the longtime franchise a look as you will be surprised by how much better the game controls. If you are a fan of the series, Mario Kart 8 is a must buy for you. This is by far the best game in the history of the Mario Kart franchise. - ProFan Julius
Yggdrasil (Tabletop)
Yggdrasil by Z-Man Games is a cooperative game for 1-6 players set within Norse mythology. Each of the players take on the role of the Norse gods (Odin, Thor, Tyr, Frey, Freya, and Heimdall) in a battle against the enemies of Asgard to keep them from reaching the home of Odin. Each god has a different power which offers them a slightly different tactical advantage. For example, Frey gets 4 actions instead of 3 and Thor gets a +1 attack and so on and so on. Gameplay itself is pretty simple but this game is HARD. But not the kind of hard where you get frustrated and give up. The kind of hard where you can’t win (we’ve won twice in maybe 30 games) but you want to keep playing again and again. Even though winning is rare, this game is probably in my top 5. The design, the pieces, and the storage are great. It’s just overall fantastic. - ProFan Patti
For another game Patti rated a perfect 10, check out her review of King of Tokyo.
