I don’t agree with the mindset that all video games have to be excellent and substantial in our lives, like The Last of Us, God of War or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I think equating depth, complex messages and length (40-50 hours) with quality is an increasingly common mistake. It’s also a perfect way to miss out on a lot of smaller experiences.
I’ve been in an experimental phase for a while now. I’m spending a bit more time consuming certain content that I didn’t spend time and attention on before. For example, anime and manga. As for video games, I’ve decided to discover smaller ones that I can consume in an enjoyable way and that don’t require a 50-hour commitment.
Maniac has been one of my most fun recent successes. I dedicated a somewhat wild article to it. I searched for my new treat and found it when passing by an arcade in my town. I unlocked several memories of Time Crisis and I thought, “Steam has to have a decent FPS that doesn’t require too much thought and that I can play with one hand.”
The other side of World War II that we have all played
I didn’t have to look too far. The answer to my new craving had been sitting on my Steam Wishlist for two years: Beach Invasion 1944 y Beach Invasion 1945 – Pacific. It wasn’t a random choice. I’ve recently reviewed Conscript, revisited the series Blood Brothers and seen the movie The Ministry of Dirty War; so I was coming in hot with the topic of the World Wars.
I think Beach Invasion is the simplest game I’ve played in recent times. Its creators define it as a wave-based FPS, although I personally like to call it a Tower Defense where you are all the towers. Because calling it a simulator is a bit risky.
Beach Invasion 1944 y Beach Invasion 1945 – Pacific are set during World War II and put you on the opposite side of the machine gun fire. Call of Duty has allowed us to experience the Normandy and Peleliu landings (World at War and WWII) from the American point of view, but in this case we are the Germans and Japanese who defended those beaches.
The gameplay is so simple that you don’t need to think and you can play with just one hand, specifically with the mouse. You have to defend the beach line with a series of weapons that you must unlock and repair as you overcome waves of enemies. The more waves, the more and more types of enemies. The end.
While calling this experience a simulator is a stretch, it does have some realistic touches. The weaponry is typical of the era. Beach Invasion 1944the Germans have Flak 878 and PanzerTurm cannons and MG08 and MG42 machine guns.
In Beach Invasion 1945the Japanese have TYPE96 25mm AA, TYPE 10 120mm guns, TYPE 95 HA-GO tanks, and TYPE 92 MG and TYPE 99 Nambu machine guns. In both games you can request perks such as repairs, explosive barrels, anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, and artillery barrages.
It’s true that things can get a little tense as the waves progress, but it’s an experience that takes your mind off any worries. The most the game asks of you is that you choose an advantage after each round. I’ve spent a little time after work this week and I must admit that it’s been great, almost therapeutic. It’s perfect to combine with a live show, series, movie, music, podcast…
I tried first Beach Invasion 1944 and by wave 20-30 I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. The Allies were destroying one or two weapons per wave. Not that I minded losing. I was in my relaxing moment. Plus, losing is pretty historically accurate. However, I thought playing this co-op with a friend while talking about nonsense would be cool.
Beach Invasion 1944 It doesn’t have cooperative, but it does Beach Invasion 1945I have not managed to fool anyone into sharing this massacre of Allied forces. However, I am convinced that it can be a very stimulating and fun experience, since the responsibility of the nine towers is divided between two or three, depending on the number of friends.
With all this I don’t mean that you should buy them right now. My only intention with these words is to tell you how a couple of fairly simple games have livened up my week and have helped me disconnect for a while each day from all the news, the rest of the video games and the noise that comes with living connected to social networks. There is fun beyond fashion and AAA games.
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