Coint and Plick 2014 - The Seventh Annual ILX Video Game Poll

lol

never heard of that - i guess i am not really in the iOS market - but i am intrigued. whoever gave this #1 has to stand up and reprezent

that was me. i was wondering if anyone else would vote for it!

drive on moscow is really intense. every single move has to be carefully considered, and there many turns where you're scanning through the map, agonizing over every potential move and the consequences, thinking several turns ahead. it really shines when you're playing against a human opponent, especially if it's someone you know (i think it won pocket tactic's award for best multiplayer game last year).

it's not a casual game, but i don't think the learning curve is extremely steep, either. i think the game really confuses some people at first because the default scenario starts off with several exceptions to the normal gameplay (the axis units get to move several turns in a row and the soviets can't fire back - it's supposed to simulate the surprise attack of the real campaign). it's odd to complete the tutorial (which is well done!) and think you're totally ready to go, and then be thrown into a weird, unfamiliar situation.

but once you've got a handle on the rules, the game really comes into its own. the game really rewards both tactical and strategic thinking. you have to come up with some sort of broader strategy - whether to concentrate units to the east of moscow and move in with a pincer movement, to try to occupy/cutoff resupply cities for the enemy, or perhaps hang back and try to capture some nearby cities that are wellguarded but worth a bunch of victory points.

supply chains are the most important thing to keep in mind. you have to maintain a direct line of captured tiles back to your side of the map. if you don't, your units become isolated and are very much sitting ducks. likewise, you're always looking for opportunities to cut off your opponents supply chain. this is where the thrill/agony of every turn comes in, because the nature of the objectives and victory conditions means that (as the axis) you must always push forward as strongly as possible and try to capture a bunch of territory, but the more you push forward the more your supply line becomes vulnerable.

it is so good and engaging that it is agonizing. each scenario takes about 2-3 hours to play, depending on how long you tend to take while comparing every possible move. i played about 8 full scenarios, 4 against AI and 4 against a friend, and it completely overwhelmed my life and made me nervous. i had to stop. for those with steely nerves or the love of strategic anxiety, it's worth a couple bucks.

DDP: Saidaioujou was the only thing I voted for this year. you've probably already played it if you're into the series, but fwiw, this was my fave installment since the first two (which I honestly can't see anything unseating at this point). no 30min tutorials, no online play with teenage garbage people, just turn down the inane voice overs, turn up the rippin music, and dodge a billion bullets.

is this an import title?

yeah, but it isn't region-locked

thanks z! sounds really good i have to say. might have to take an office ipad home one weekend for diagnostics.

i love that bubsy game so so so so much

I adore bubsy 3D too, and I feel a real sadness at my inability to articulate how delighted it makes me feel. every bit of writing that appears on-screen kills me. every graphic kills me. every choice it makes is amazing.

I don't know why it took me so long to notice this, but many of the bosses look so..., calming. I don't know how else to say it. The bullet patterns, the speed of the bullets, the bosses themselves. I guess it's just the drugs speaking, or that I've played too much Mushi God-Mode under emulation, but I'm just saying. - Sapphire Densetsu, 9 months ago

is this true??? i kinda feel like heroin-SHMUP is exactly what i crave

ZS do u know the Battle of the Bulge game? same developers i think - very much like how you described. i think it just barely missed my ballot but now that i think about it i regret not voting for it :(

yep, same developers! battle of the bulge was the first one, and drive on moscow is the new version. same core gameplay, just slightly different units, different map, and moscow includes weather as a key feature.

is this true??? i kinda feel like heroin-SHMUP is exactly what i crave

sort of. (or maybe?) if a shmup is well-balanced and I really get into it, I do sometimes feel like the line between playing and reacting reflexively on a body level kinda breaks down and I get into this type of zone. a relaxing, and yeah, and maybe even vaguely psychedelic feeling reached by somehow navigating through something seemingly totally overwhelming. I can see where that guy is coming from regarding the the boss fights but I'm not sure I ever got good enough at this one to really say if it's a prime example. most any of the cave shmups would probably do - I really like the two mushihimesama games.

#29: Spaceteam - iOS/Android - 30 pts - 2 votes - 1 top game votes

http://i.imgur.com/Kj9FJsm.jpg

Website | Metacritic | Killscreen | Venus Patrol | Nerds Talking About Spaceteam | Website

Spaceteam is free and amazing (requires 2-4 players) - i really can't overstate how much fun it is. maybe game of the year. - Mordy

There aren't very many games that strike me as new and unique experiences. I've never played a game like Spaceteam. Nothing I played this year was more fun. Yell incoherently with your friends! - polyphonic

whaaat!? That sounds cool!

Reminds me of the Star Trek bridge simulator game.

I keep forgetting about that game! I may see if I can arrange a Spaceteam game tonight!

dan talking about artemis spaceship bridge simulator... i have heard a thematic comparison where artemis:enterprise::spaceteam:tardis

either way, i still haven't gotten a game of spaceteam going and have still only ever gotten one game of artemis going ;_;

#28: Super Mario 3D World - WiiU - 30 pts - 3 votes - TOP WiiU EXCLUSIVE

http://i.imgur.com/0gmn5yo.jpg

Website | Metacritic | Guardian | Quarter to Three | Trailer

How are we meant to keep reviewing these? It's a formula brilliantly executed, but more inventive than that reasonably ought to allow. - if

Fun co-op platformer, the cat suits are cute, the double Mario power-ups are fun and chaotic, but the Plessie levels can fuck right off - diamonddave85

I did play Super Mario 3D World and cat Mario is a brilliant idea. Plus the game looks amazing! - Adam Bruneau

#27: Shadowrun Returns - iOS/Android/PC/Mac/Linux - 30 pts - 3 votes - 1 top game votes

http://i.imgur.com/8bXzbyI.jpg

Website | Metacritic | Hardcore Gamer | IGN | Related Topics | Trailer

If you're after a game that has an involving storyline, excellent control system, intriguing and engaging characters and is something that you can pick up and play, despite having no prior experience with the RPG genre, I highly recommend Shadowrun Returns. It's almost more of a character driven, point and click adventure with the added depth of an RPG thrown in for good measure. - Karl Burnett, Touch Arcade

Shadowrun Returns gets honorable mention for the strength of its writing and graphic design, although its gameplay is far too unchallenging and the shift from a more personal quest to a conventional save-the-world plot halfway through is disappointing. (I have strong suspicions Expeditions: Conquistador may be the stronger RPG, but so far it's been too buggy on my laptop for me to evaluate properly.) - bnw

I'm dling Spaceteam as we speak!

#25 (tie): A Dark Room - Browser/iOS - 30 pts - 4 votes

http://i.imgur.com/CyIQr2s.jpg

Game | Kotaku | US Gamer | Walkthrough | Podcast

Could not get enough of these progression browser games this year. was pretty wild to find that it was (SPOILERS)!

I loved the minimalism of this and the sparse brutality of the writing. - reddening

I liked this one better than either Candy Box, though it lacked the element of tickled surprise that CB1 had. The doomy gloomy atmosphere worked very well for me. I only gave it five points in the end, but could have given it a few more, really.

The (SPOILERS) quote was Euler.

I voted for Dark Room. For those of us with a lot of tabs open at work, having a tab filled with progression bars and inventories is a welcome development.

I didn't vote for Last of Us or GTA5 as I didnt play them

a shadowrun game came out in 2013???

Yup, it was Kickstarted, and the second campaign came out recently. I should try it

that shadowrun quote wasn't me... unless i have finally broken off a lucky clone to get through my gaming backlog.

I think the Shadowrun quote was from my ballot, but it didn't seem worth a correction.

I played Shadowrun and had a decent time with it, but 5 hours in and it still felt like it was a tutorial. waaaaaay too easy

Yeah, I think the fact that it was impossible to save one's game within a level both limited the possible complexity of user mods and forced the designers to make progression too linear and encounters far too unchallenging when balancing the game. Apparently the new campaign fixes some of those problems, but I haven't played it so I don't know how much has been improved.

#25 (tie): Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing - Browser - 30 pts - 4 votes

http://i.imgur.com/hyIgLPc.jpg

Game | Rock Paper Shotgun | Destructoid | Let's Play

great writing, terrible game, not even a game really, a very half-assed pale version of frog fractions, but worth the 30 minutes or so for the parts that are good. also, i only had 9 games so i needed one more. - jjjusten

Wonderful game here, hilarious, and the most inventive typing tutor outside of Typing of the Dead. Lasts about 15 minutes, but definitely one of the most memorable games I played all year. - Nhex

Glad Mario came out above The Last of Us. I voted for both, am loving both, haven't finished either yet, but it's Mario that keeps pulling me back and preventing me getting further in TLOU.

this had a great conceit and writing, also loved the names of all the weapons you acquire after beating each stage

icarus proudbottom def suffers in the post frog fractions world

Mavis Beacon or GTFO

On the contrary, I thought Frog Fractions was too over-the-top silly, and I couldn't suffer my way through the whole thing. This had a laser-like focus in comparison, and didn't waste too much of my time.

I think I only fiddled with Icarus Proudbottom (er), didn't give it that much of a chance, will give it another play.

Nhex, dissing Frog Fractions? Cool it.

some of these browser games...smh. are these voted for by ppl with super long commutes and time to kill? maybe read a book.

or post to a messageboard

or whittle

i haven't played the new shadowrun but a few years ago i did play SR4 on a Shadowrun Pen&Paper style MOO (Shadowrun: Denver). even then it was possible to step out of cgen w/ a totally tricked out, super overpowered character and the game never really figured out how to challenge players who could min-max even acc to the rules. i played a sniper w/ a super high powered sniper rifle + so much chrome i was basically able to blow through every adversary. noting this just to say that SR4 rules themselves might be at fault for the game being super easy. there's only so much you can do when you're committed to a particular design system.

noting this just to say that SR4 rules themselves might be at fault for the game being super easy.

my teenage memories are that the SR system is fucked

otm, but the setting is so much fun it almost makes up for it

some of these browser games...smh. are these voted for by ppl with super long commutes and time to kill? maybe read a book.

Heaven forbid these games get some votes instead of [REDACTED BIG BUDGET TITLE THAT WILL NOT APPEAR IN THESE RESULTS].

#24: Europa Universalis IV - PC/Mac/Linux - 35 pts - 3 votes - 1 top game votes

http://i.imgur.com/8bbhXjA.jpg

Website | Metacritic | Strategy Informer | Gaming Nexus | Fan Fiction | Time Lapse | Trailer

exactly the same game as eu3, which means i have bought this game 3 times now? 4? i guess i have played it for approx a million hours so i figure i am at least getting my money's worth. i don't even know if it is fun but once i start it is like pringles

...

whenever i have played a europa universalis game, whatever my initially strategy, i always end up trying the conquer the world by force. i remember having taken over mainland europe with austria and pushing simultaneously into britain, iberia, asia minor, japan and the americas - every turn took hours and i compulsively couldn't stop playing. but there has always been a tipping point for me where i got enough of a moment of clarity to realize that a particular game is just an elaborately disguised black hole for time and i got out. - Roberto Spiralli

kind of wish i had a PC for that. i think i played 2? hard as shit

I was having a great first time experience playing EU4 as Castile but then I never got the personal union event with Aragon that is apparently almost impossible NOT to trigger for some reason, and then France somehow managed to get a personal union with Aragon, and they both hated me and wanted to destroy me and I had a rage quit. ;_;

it was too bad because I was dominating overseas colonization in South America and the Caribbean - Portugal was the only other power there, and then I wailed over them and vassalised them. Things were looking bright, but I didn't feel like fighting an endless impossible defensive war for 50 years against the giant blue blob (France). But I'm not bitter.

#22 (tie): Candy Box - Browser - 35 pts - 4 votes - TOP BROWSER (tie)

http://i.imgur.com/P99I3PU.jpg

Game | PC Gamer | Mashable | Know Your Meme | Let's Play

Candy Box eventually evolves into a passable rpg, with exploration, looting, and a tangible end game. the constant underlying multiplying accumulation engine is given meaning because you're actually saving up to buy real items that you need for the adventure component of the game. - Karl Malone

I didn't finish but I won't lie, it had me clicking for two days. - Jordan

#22 (tie): Cookie Clicker - Browser - 35 pts - 4 votes - TOP BROWSER (tie)

http://i.imgur.com/jHoSzZV.jpg

Game | Polygon | IGN | Know Your Meme | Deviantart | TV Tropes | Endgame

i can't say i dislike it because i've sunk an embarrassing amount of time into it already, but i don't think Cookie Clicker compares very favorably to Candy Box. Candy Box eventually evolves into a passable rpg, with exploration, looting, and a tangible end game. the constant underlying multiplying accumulation engine is given meaning because you're actually saving up to buy real items that you need for the adventure component of the game. Cookie Clicker doesn't have any similar meaning. saving up for the big upgrade only results in a split second bit of jogged curiosity when you see how much your multiplier increased. it feels much more like checking boxes. - Karl Malone

it automates the clicker! if they add more features to this I've got my save game ready to go. this was my Year of Background Gaming (looking at you Tiny Tower) & Cookie Clicker was better than staring at the clock - Euler

I kept a tab with this open for, oh, a month and a half straight? It was extremely satisfying up until I earned all the achievements, after which the dawning futility of it all filled me with horror and I closed the tab for good. - reddening

i quit cookie clicker earlier today. final score: 537 million cookies per second - abanana

god, don't hold me accountable for the candy box quote. i was in the deepest depths of my candy box addiction and i had no clue what was going on in real life at the time

I liked your quote so much I used it twice in a row!