Well, I guess it happens to everyone. I’m getting old, and so are my two friends. While we used to be able to run around and pop off shock rifle head-shots while twisting in mid-air, that’s not happening so much now. We’ve been fans of the Battlefield franchise since the 1942 days, and we’re kinda getting our asses handed to us in Battlefield 4.
We’ll probably play BF4 again, but for now, one of my friends cannot get it to run. Last couple weeks he’s been crashing frequently and/or not getting it to run at all. We can’t help him, because he’s in I.T. and he’s depressed, so he simultaneously knows everything and doesn’t give a shit. BF4 isn’t likely to happen soon with him, so let’s not get distracted with trying to fix that.
Given that, I thought that with the STEAM sale going on and all, I’d explore alternatives - something that we can hang out in Teamspeak and have some fun with while sitting in our respective homes. It shouldn’t be too complex - my other friend is on meds and has concentration issues. We used to play Dungeons & Dragons Online, but that’s too much for him these days. I was thinking about Risk: Factions, but Risk seems kind of tame after years of more interesting games.
Kind of a difficult question I know - how are you to know what we like and what we can handle? Regardless, if you know of a game that doesn’t demand twitch reflexes and can keep us interested while not overwhelming us with detail & complexity, I’d like to hear of it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and strike gold.
I haven’t played the Worms games for a while now, but was thinking of picking it up on Steam. It’s a side scrolling turn based team deathmatch game. You have a nice variety of weapons, randomized levels, etc. It was a great multiplayer game back in the day, and turn based so you geriatrics can get your game on without fumbling through the controls while bombs rain around you
Path of Exile Little bit more twitch based, but if you’ve played the Diablo games it’s very similar, and the action, while fast paced, isn’t going to require hair trigger reflexes. Huge variety of builds, tons of items, lots of areas to explore, and of course it’s one of those games that’s better with more people. And it’s free to download and free to play. There is some IAP (in app purchases), but it is all cosmetic except for extra stash tabs.
Terraria is a side scrolling combat/exploration/building/crafting game a little similar to Minecraft. I picked it up cheap not expecting much, and currently have 240+ hours into it. Multiplayer with random people can be hit or miss, but playing with friends is a blast.
Definitely both 1 and 2. And I come across lots of old coots like me (middle 40s) playing the game. There’s even a klan or guild or whatever that only accepts older players.
DOTA 2 and other MOBAs in general require twitch action and concentration to play at high levels… but for a group of 5 friends to chat and casually have a good time, it can be fun too.
Thanks for the ideas so far. I’m gonna check them out on STEAM and YouTube to see how they look.
We played an MMO - Dungeons & Dragons Online, but it’s too much for my one friend to keep track of all the armor and weapons and magic items every player uses.
If you remember the old arcade beat 'em up Dungeons & Dragons, they made an upgraded version. It’s both games. Planescape: Torment is older and single player, but thou must! if you haven’t.
You don’t say how old - I remember BF1942 (although Vietnam was the one I played to any length), what does that say about me!? A reference to TeamSpeak seems old school to me, but I might be out of touch just because many games have integrated chat. But if you’re of a certain age, to the Moon (single player) might be appropriate. Or inappropriate
I don’t even bother with multiplayer anymore. But it’s a lot more fun playing with friends instead of random shlubs. MMORPGs are too much like a full time job,
[QUOTE=Revtim;17495941There’s even a klan or guild or whatever that only accepts older players.[/QUOTE]
How old? I’m the youngest at 48, the oldest is 55. We want multiplayer, because it’s a way for us to hang out together when we live hundreds of miles apart. We actually use TeamSpeak3 these days, but I don’t know anyone that ever bothers to say the “3” part.
Thanks for the suggestions. I feel like I’ve asked you this before, but I don’t know that I ever got an answer. Is “TheLurkingHorror” a reference to the old Amiga computer game of the same name? My friends and I were into the Amiga - we met through an old Amiga BBS in the 80’s.
I’d also suggest turn-based strategy games such as the Civilization series, Galactic Civilizations, Age of Wonders. . . Maybe even the Total War series but there is quite a bit of real time strategy involved there too, but I think if you multi-play with friends you can take it at a slower pace. I’d look for the sub-genre “4x” which is often applied to these sorts of games. The beauty of a true turn-based strategy when playing with friends is that you can literally take it a slowly or quickly as you want, and each player can take the time they need. Single games can last an hour to a few months or more according to the schedules and play-style of the players.
These days the only non-single player games I play are turn-based strategy. Playing shoot-n-spawns bores me in seconds; my adult life responsibilities keep me from committing to MMPOGs.
Men are wierd though. I can’t imagine calling one of my brothers and just having a chat, but if we leisurely play a 4x we’ll talk. Men bond not by focusing on one another, but by focusing on something else together.
Anyway (got off on a tangent), I suggest Sid Meiers Civilzation IV, which is both better in gameplay and price.
I would stay away from that Risk game on Steam, I have a friend who has it and says it is pure trash, it’s a shitty Popcap game. Hasbro interactive published a very good version of Risk with multiplayer. We put a lot of hours into that one. No idea if it’s available in any way, or if it would even hold up. It has to be 20 years old now so I’d bet it is floating on some abandonware site.
Thank you for this. I played the D&D beat em up in an arcade about 10-15 years ago, and forgot all about it until your post. I’m definitely picking this up soon.
