What we’re playing: February 14, 2014

Another week, another full catalog of games that we’re trying out, or…indulging in. This week, we’re playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Shadow Warrior, Theme Hospital, Attack on Titan: Howl of Freedom, Dota 2, and Hotline Miami. Find out what we think of these games!

Mary-Anne’s choice

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS)

by Capcom

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (MH3) was never on my to-play list. To my female mind it was such a quintessentially male game where you ran around beating up monsters and upgrading weapons to beat up more monsters. Then I bought my boyfriend a physical pre-owned copy the weekend the game also went on digital sale on the eShop and finally ended up with a digital copy so we could play together. Aww, couple time!

If you asked me, MH3 is to dudes what Harvest Moon is to girls. There is the gathering game, and then there’s the hunting game. That simple monster hunting game is so much more than just beating monsters up; there’s a storyline, a quest system, personable NPCs who flirt with you, some pretty stunning presentations of monsters, and there’s even a pig that you can dress up, name, and cuddle when you feel like it. What’s up with this game? Now I never want to put it down.

Charlie’s choice

Shadow Warrior (PC)

by Flying Wild Hog

Recently, I’ve been feeling a little bit of nostalgia for the old days of first-person shooters. And while I’ve got a copy of Dark Forces on my Mac (thank you, DOS emulator!), sometimes it’s fun to play something with the feel of an old game but the look of a new one. The 2013 re-imagining of Shadow Warrior is exactly that; an old-school FPS in a shiny new coat of paint. Sure it’s full of dumb wang jokes and an intentionally-cliche-looking Asian setting, but you can run around at the speed of light cutting demons apart with a katana or blasting them with a variety of guns. It’s basically the video-game version of a summer action flick. Yeah, it’s not going win any awards for having a deep, thought-provoking story. But it’s a flashy, fast-paced, and gloriously violent game that spends refreshingly little time on the big set pieces of modern-day shooters so you can focus on what’s important: cutting monsters in half with an awesome sword.

Vincent’s choice