Relive the good old arcade days with “Dragon’s Crown.”
Credit: Atlus
Video games have a bad rap of being a lonely activity usually conducted in the basement of a parent’s house. This is not entirely true. Sometimes that basement has other people in it! Here are reviews of two recent titles that feature neat multiplayer components.
‘Dragon’s Crown’
PS3/Vita
Atlus
4 globes
Remember standing in arcades as a kid and pumping quarters into multiplayer fighting games like “Double Dragon” and “Golden Axe?” Wouldn’t it be cool if someone took that basic “fight anything that moves” premise and added in a host of RPG mechanics, complete with stats, hundreds of items and secret areas? Well now that exists!
“Dragon’s Crown,” which can be played on PS3 or Vita, is an absolute corker of a sidescrolling brawler. There are tons of classes to choose from, and so many weapons and spells that it’ll make your medieval head spin. This game is absolutely meant to be played with friends, however. The levels, and bosses, are absolutely brutal to take on by yourself.
‘Pikmin 3’
Wii U
Nintendo
4 globes
It’s been a long time since gamers got to play a new iteration of Nintendo’s real-time strategy/exploration/apocalyptic garden simulation known as “Pikmin.” To newbies, the series has you controlling a fleet of tiny creatures as they collect fruit, attack monsters and occasionally commit suicide. You know —good wholesome fun. This new version streamlines the entire process and brings it to glorious HD to make it the current stand-out title on the Wii U.
Not only does “Pikmin 3” feature an alarmingly addictive competitive multiplayer mode based on bingo (really), but there are also a host of two player co-op missions. It cannot be overstated how fun it is to plan a detailed route of attack with a friend. Having to talk in real life to play a video game? Unheard of!
