The Shoot ’Em Up – Call of Duty: Downton Abbey
Combining the upstairs/downstairs aesthetic of this beloved series with the fast-paced action of the Call of Duty games, this one finds players engaged in the defining conflict of the 20th century – the class war. Players choose to play as either an aristocrat struggling to retain his privilege or a serving girl resorting to armed uprising after years of having her dreams frustrated by the social hierarchy. Downloadable content includes a cooperative mode where players unite to fend off a new-money American family seeking to build a home in Yorkshire, and power-ups can be unlocked through either gameplay or submitting to sit through presentations on historical topics like the Teapot Dome scandal and the formation of the Irish Free State. The bullets fly faster than the Dowager Countess’s quips when the future of the empire is on the line – do you have what it takes to survive?
The Platformer – Tomorrowland: Save The Day
Players of this classic arcade-style platform game control a Disney executive who bravely travels back in time to prevent the film Tomorrowland from getting made. You’ll have to dodge director Brad Bird’s hurled copies of The Fountainhead, duck George Clooney’s gee whiz charm, and withstand Hugh Laurie’s withering gaze if you’re to prevent the biggest flop in Disney history from coming to fruition. There’s a touch of pathos in that your character is all too aware that the film isn’t nearly as bad as people say and that its message – although muddled – is an interesting response to modern film trends, but at the end of the day adventure calls and economics rule.
The Rhythm Game – Rock Me, Amadeus!
An inevitable blend of Guitar Hero-style rhythm games and Miloš Forman’s classic film about music and madness in 18th century Vienna, this one presents players with a fun musical challenge that captures the rivalry between the preternaturally gifted Mozart and his mediocre pal, Salieri. Gameplay is simple – the game can only be played in competition mode, and throughout each round one player is constantly granted bonuses and power-ups that give them an edge. It’s not impossible for the Salieri-player to win, but it’s not easy. In fact it’s difficult. In fact, the Salieri player might find themselves overwhelmed with a kind of rage, not at his fellow player as much as at the game itself, or the programmer beyond the game, whoever makes these decisions about who should be rewarded and who should toil and strive.
The Sandbox spin-off – Inception: Build Your Own World
This adaptation of Christopher Nolan’s 2010 science fiction thriller swerves from the shoot-em-up players might expect and instead takes a page from Minecraft, allowing players to construct vast, complicated cityscapes with impossible architecture that reflect the limits of their imaginations more than the laws of physics. A skyscraper that twists like a corkscrew as it rises into the clouds? Sure! Why does that image remind me of my mother? Hard to say, but there’s the exciting twist – players can log into multiplayer mode and explore and offer analysis on the dream cities constructed by users all around the world. Who knows what you’ll discover about yourself and others as you play through, but be careful: prolonged gameplay can blur the line between the game and real life, resulting in possibly tragic real world consequences.
The Puzzler – Aloha: Figure It Out
If you love puzzles you’ll have a hard time not spending up to 11 hours a day engaged with Aloha, the game that puts you in the editing suite. Players are presented with seemingly endless amounts of footage starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams playing through scenes devoid of narrative drive or continuity and are tasked with arranging these scenes into something resembling a film for human consumption. Is Aloha a romantic comedy? A PTSD drama? Wait, is that Danny McBride all of a sudden? And now there’s a subplot about Chinese hackers? For an extra challenge, try the game on its “difficult” setting, where the gameplay is timed and constantly interrupted by studio executives seeking random changes you have no choice but to make.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game – Happiness: Get Happy
In 1998, director Todd Solondz perfectly predicted the next two decades of internet culture with this dark exploration of the ways loneliness can drive people to seek happiness through exploration of their darkest and most depraved impulses, making the film a perfect candidate for a massively multiplayer role-playing game adaptation. While most MMRPG’s are beloved by fans for the limitless possibilities they present, players here will be restricted by how much raw humanity they can endure as their carefully customized avatars engage in emotional warfare with each other, themselves, and an endless procession of seductive Russian cab drivers. This one’s definitely not for kids. Featuring original voice work by Jon Lovitz.
