Monthly Archives: November 2017

The Top Ten Best Games Ever @ Library Journal

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M. Brandon Robbins has decided to step down as the author behind Library Journal’s monthly “Games, Gamers, & Gaming” column. But before he left, Robbins published a retrospective look back at his personal picks for the “Top Ten Best Games Ever.”

So head over to the Library Journal‘s site to see why he picked what he picked…

For five years, I’ve been honored to talk to LJ’s readers about games, the people who play them, and how bringing gaming into the library can help connect with patrons. Now, the time has come to pass the joystick to others. For my final play, this is the article I’ve been wanting to write since the beginning: my picks for the top ten greatest video games ever made.

10. Frogger
9. Tetris
8. Super Mario Bros.
7. Halo: Combat Evolved
6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
5. Batman: Arkham Asylum
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Half-Life 2
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
1. [SPOILERS! YOU’LL HAVE TO READ THE ARTICLE TO FIND OUT]

It’s a good selection of games. Tetris is a tad too low for my taste, but definitely a good list.

Niantic’s Next Augmented Reality Game is Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

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Niantic’s Pokemon Go turned the mobile gaming world upside down last year, as millions of players tried to “catch ’em all,” and escape to the wilderness to chase Pokemon hiding out in the real world. Yesterday, the developer announced their next augment reality game for mobile devices, and I think it’ll likely make an even bigger splash with the gaming public.

In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, players will get the chance to “go on adventures, learn and cast spells, discover mysterious artifacts, and encounter legendary beasts and iconic characters as they explore real-world neighborhoods and cities across the globe.”

“At Niantic, our goal is to leverage technology to create real world experiences that help people to discover the wonderful, and often magical parts of the world around them,” said Niantic’s CEO, John Hanke. “The beloved Harry Potter stories have captured imaginations worldwide for more than 20 years and soon we’ll turn the fantasy into augmented reality, allowing fans and their friends to become wizards and witches.”

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be the first title published by Portkey Games, a new division within WB Games devoted to creating video games based on characters and locations from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. So you can expect more Harry Potter games to be announced in the not-too-distant future.

More information on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be announced in 2018.

Stardew Valley Review @ Teen Services Underground

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A few months ago, I introduced Stardew Valley as “a retro-styled farming game” and said, “[it] first appeared on the PC in February 2016. Since then, it has also cultivated a large fanbase on the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The serene simulation is the work of a single developer, Eric Barone, and it was hugely inspired by the Harvest Moon franchise.”

That introduction lead into a glowing review of Stardew Valley at School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox.

Yesterday, Teen Librarian Dustan Archer published a review of Stardew Valley for Teen Services Underground after spending quite a lot of time with the game:

I think it’s safe to say that he highly recommends it as well:

Stardew Valley is an indie role-playing farming simulator, very similar in style to the Harvest Moon franchise. Even the graphics are a throwback, but they’re beautiful in comparison to older consoles. You start off on an old, poorly maintained farm and begin to craft a new life for yourself. You decide what you want to do with your allotment of time and energy every day – whether it’s farming, raising livestock, fighting monsters, mining ore, or building friendships with the rest of the village’s inhabitants. You can craft all kinds of items, grow various types of crops (many of which only grow in specific seasons), go fishing, get married and have children. Very little in the game is mandatory and it is totally open-ended as to how and when you decide you’re ‘done’, if ever.

[…]

Truly, this game captured me like no other in the last few years. I’ve spent over 100 hours on two separate playthroughs, and few games can get my attention like that. It has become my go-to game when I just want to relax after a long day, do something that doesn’t require too much thinking, and enjoy either the peaceful music in game or my own soundtrack that I play in the background. The community is fairly robust and friendly, and there’s a great wiki on the game if you want to look up hints and tips rather than discover things for yourself.

Barone is still working on Stardew Valley, and he’ll bring the game to the Vita in 2018, along with a multiplayer mode on all platforms.

Hearthstone 101 @ Inverse Genius

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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft continues to be a popular choice in the competitive gaming scene, and Stephanie Frey from Inverse Genius’s Games in Schools and Libraries blog has put together a new how-to guide for librarians interested in trying out the Collectible Card Game (CCG):

Are your gamers interested in Hearthstone? Do they already like games like Magic the Gathering and Yugioh? Do you want to try something new to attract a new group of the gamer curious to your library or school club? Here is everything you need to get started.

Hearthstone is a FREE Online Collectible Card Game. It is played over PC, Android, or Apple devices and an online connection is required. This is a game where gamers construct decks from cards they collect either from leveling up their characters by playing matches or from buying booster packs with points earned or cash. While it is free to play, each gamer can have their own account or the moderator can make guest accounts available, players can earn in-game currency to purchase additional booster packs and game modes or do the same by spending real money. We are getting a lot of play without spending a penny.

Looking for more Hearthstone information? Find all posts tagged with a Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft label now!