If you’re looking for chill alternatives to the nerves-frazzling shooting of Call of Duty: Black Ops III or Star Wars: Battlefront, there are ample options. Nintendo fuses two of its most popular franchises — Mario Party and Animal Crossing — and tosses in its addictive-to-buy Amiibo action figures in the board game-style mash-up Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival.
If you are digging Fallout 4 and craving more methodical exploration of apocalyptic destruction, give Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut a whirl. Also, those who are looking for a cheaper, less cumbersome way to check out Skylanders SuperChargers can play the just-released table/phone version.
Publishers provided review copies.
Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival
(Wii U, $60, Everyone)
Nintendo fans miffed that the Wii U Star Fox and Zelda entries have been delayed until next year have a virtual board game to play while counting down the days to bigger releases. Packed in with two Amiibo characters from the publisher’s farming and city-building Animal Crossing franchise, the game is a combination of Sorry! and Candy Land. You buy up turnips, wait for prices to rise, then sell them off to reap the profits and build up resources. There is more strategy involved than in button-mashing/luck-based Mario Party minigames, but be sure to block out plenty of time to play, because rounds can take as long as half an hour and don’t give you the option to save and resume.
An alternate game mode lets you round up supplies to leave an island before time runs out. To play either game, you’ll need to tap an Amiibo action figure to the GamePad. Playing round after round racks up unlockables and keeps track of your records. The clever use of the Wii U’s ability to scan in info with NFC technology is underused in other games, and gives Amiibos more relevance than they have in other games. At $60, the price is steep for such a flimsy package, but since Amiibos run $15 alone, Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival isn’t horrible overpriced for collectors.
Skylanders SuperChargers Mobile
(iPad, iPhone, Android devices, $25, Everyone 10+)
Including everything you get with the console version at a third of the cost, the portable edition of Skylanders SuperChargers is the smartest, most convenient way to take the game for a test drive. The emphasis this year — for better and worse — is on vehicles. The driving sequences tended to alienate player two on the console versions, because there was nothing to do other than aim a cursor at the screen. Since single-player is the onus on the mobile version — and the game only comes with one controller — that problem doesn’t apply here.
As with past mobile editions of Skylanders games, this version hangs with its bigger brothers in content and visuals. The inclusion of a controller is a godsend, letting you control the in-game action figures with easy precision rather than awkward screen taps mobile gamers have become accustomed to. Since most everyone has a phone or tablet that’s compatible with the game, there’s no need t upgrade to the latest console just to play the game. The single-player emphasis may make it tougher to team up with friends, but for solo Skylanders fans, this is the way to go.
Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut
(Xbox One, PS4, $40, Mature)
The old PC franchise that inspired the Fallout series manages to remain relevant by sticking to the basics of scavenging-based exploration and combat it instituted in the late 1990s. Unlike the largely solo journey of Fallout games, Wasteland 2 sticks to the traditional RPG party structure, putting you in control of a group that ranges from four to seven characters. You juggle your gang’s resources and abilities as you clash against raiders, androids and monsters that roam the warmed-over nuclear winter. Dialogue trees are rich and diverse, letting you complete missions by talking your way out of problems rather than fighting, and stealth is also a frequent option.
The story transforms depending on the choices you make. The game is massive, and bulges with side quests, economies to exploit and characters to meet and hidden places to explore. The wasteland teems with weapons you can tinker with, upgrade and sell off to provide needed resources for your party. You could channel dozens of hours into the saga, share your experiences with a group of others who have done the same, and barely share any stories that match up. That’s a tribute not only to the game’s size, but the richness of its writing. Similar enough to Fallout to draw those interested in it, Wasteland offers enough to distinguish itself from the giant franchise it expired to stay relevant and appealing.
