Montana Jones

Ask Montana Jones

So what are the games you enjoy? I've never tried an online game, mainly because I'm afraid I would play too much... But I also prefer games like CivIII, where you get to take over a planet, bwhahahaha!
--Touchstone

Glad you asked.

For those of you not keeping up with the Jones's, this question came from my recent rant about online games.

Touchstone you are so right, the Civilization games totally kick ass and taking over planets, well, that kicks more ass. I have been a longtime fan of strategy games like Civ or Age of Empires. But I believe the question is about online games.

The reality is that I am not a serious gamer. I don't keep up with the state of the art and, like you, I find that too much gaming gets in the way of real life. Another rant is probably out of place. Short answer; I like online games that are simple, easy to play, easy to quit, and where there is equality among the players. No one should have more power ups, bonuses, mod points, rank or other attributes than anyone else does. I like games where skill and strategy make the winner.

So I present to you a short list of two of my favorite online games and one bad one to avoid.

The greatest and most addictive online game of all time has been around since the late 90's. Check out Subspace.

Simple concept, top down view of space ships roaming around blowing each other to bits and has a high degree of playability and fun. Added bonus, it's free! I have been playing this since 1996 and would like to recommend the powerball arena. Bad point to this game that occasionally stops me from playing: some of the regulars tend to be assholes. There are a few really annoying and disrespectful people playing here.

Another great game that has taken much of my time: Aces High.

This game is sweet. It is a flight simulator combat game that puts you in the cockpit of pretty much any WWII aircraft (and other vehicles like tanks and boats) and you get to fly head to head against other aviators. I love this game because of the attention to detail. The flight simulation is top notch, the selection of aircraft is impressive. You will need a joystick and a microphone helps too. It is super easy to get caught up in this for hours. Downside: Being a real time flight simulator it can get tedious flying across the map to get into combat.

I got totally sucked into Warrock not to long ago. But don't bother with it now, the free beta abruptly ended in February and I think the pay version is in Korean. Since I was left without a fix for my FPS addiction I gave planetside a try. This is a sci-fi themed massively multiplayer FPS, you can play for free until next March (with some restrictions) and it pretty much sucks. I have been spending too much time trying to figure out how the game works and getting killed a lot (no fun). It is bloated, overdone, over complicated, and weighted toward the players that spend the most time and money so the casual gamer doesn't stand a chance and did I mention not much fun? If I am to satisfy my FPS craving I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and go buy Battlefield II.

Happy gaming.

Montana Jones is not really a know-it-all but he plays one on the internet. If you have questions about games, the internet or how stuff works feel free to write to montanaj@gmail.com

Posted by: Montana Jones / 10:02 AM