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Normally, I reserve the space in this column to warn my readers about what to do in the event of a zombie infestation or to help inform their buying decisions. But this week, I’ve decided to look inward, and use the space to help one of Shox Studios’ own. If you enjoy any aspect of our little website: be it the blog, the webcomics, the Shoxmon Cometh strip, or even this very column, you have one person to thank. Studio director Michael White is the foundation of Shox, the one who makes sure everything runs smoothly due to his tireless work ethic. He’s incredibly dedicated, outstandingly creative, and just an all-round great guy. So you can understand my shock when I learned recently that the last videogame he played was 2000’s Diablo II. Now, I’m in no way bashing D2, which is a great game, but it’s been nearly a decade since he played anything new. So, in the name of friendship, I’ve decided to help Michael move on to something new.

Now there are many reasons why people love D2, the most common being the loot. In this action/RPG, slain enemies constantly drop new and useful items, with the more powerful foes giving up the rarest of weapons and armor. This collect-a-thon aspect makes the game incredibly addictive, as players are constantly trying to get their grubby hands on unique items. Luckily for Michael, there is no shortage of these kinds of games on the market. Unsurprisingly, the best substitute is another Blizzard Entertainment game. It’s one you may have heard of before, a little title called World of Warcraft. Like D2, WoW, (Holy acronyms Batman!) features an absurd level of items to collect. But the best part is, because it’s played online with millions of other players, you get to show off that sweet new armor set that you just picked up.

Persona 4

Of course, WoW is a fairly lighthearted game, and it may be the demonic themes of Diablo that kept Michael coming back for more. Now there are several choices when it comes to games with similar thematic elements. There is the Persona series of role-playing games, which put the player in the role of a high school student in modern day Japan. The twist is, while your days are spent going to class and flirting with girls, your nights are filled with lots and lots of demon slaying. Additionally, players can summon their own demons–the titular personas–to aid them in battle. The anime aesthetic ensures that it’s not as dark as Diablo visually, but the themes are certainly there.

But the problem with both these games is that they require a significant time investment to fully enjoy. Something which, sadly, I know our faithful leader doesn’t have in abundance. So a game that can be played in short bursts may be the best option. And the best place to find these kinds of games is probably on the Nintendo DS. Games like Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and The World Ends With You can be played for as little or as long as you want, and provide all of the dark themes and role-playing elements you could want. And since we know Michael is in to art, a game like Hotel Dusk: Room 215–a gritty detective story with a beautiful, pencil drawn art style–may be just the thing.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

The World Ends With You

Hotel Dusk Room 215

These are, of course, just a few options. Over the past 8 years, there have been a metric tonne of incredible games released, so narrowing it down to just a few is no easy task. I’m hopeful though, that this list will do the trick, and that the man behind the Shoxmon will once again be able to call himself a gamer. And if that doesn’t work, we can always wait until the release of Diablo III, which will certainly re-ignite the gamer flames.

Andrew Webster is a freelance writer based in Toronto who covers comics, movies, videogames, and anything else that will rot out your brain. Check out his personal site to read more of his incoherent ramblings.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Tales From The Basement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.