Every weekend begins with a dream: to sit at home, in front of our PCs, and play games until we fall asleep. The problem? There are too many games to choose from. As a result, we spend most of Friday thinking about what we're going to play and planning in advance. Maybe you have this problem too, maybe you're looking for suggestions for what you could try, and maybe you have suggestions for us. Read on for the PC Gamer team's ideas for what to play this weekend.
Stalker: Call of Pripyat - Craig
Call of Pripyat Complete was just released, so now's the perfect time to return to the irradiated hell hole surrounding Chernobyl. The mod alters the weather, graphics and sound, AI and fixes a few missing elements, but the quests and characters remain unchanged. It's a prettier apocalypse.
The Dreamcast Collection, Dragon Age 2 - Tim
I'm laptop bound, so I've got to play stuff that won't break its horrendous on-board graphics. I've started playing the Dreamcast Collection on Steam. The Dreamcast is the first console I owned, and the only reason I bought it was because Crazy Taxi hypnotised my in an arcade during a weekend break in Blackpool. The conversions are pretty ropey, and they're massively dated, but that's just fine. Because Space Channel 5 Part 2 has Michael Jackson as an end boss. Which is cool. When I get back on Sunday, though, I'm slumping into a chair and mainlining Dragon Age 2 until I fall asleep in a pool of dribble. Read our review if you're thinking of doing the same.
Bulletstorm - Tom
If anyone was put off this game at first, like me , I really recommend soldiering on at least until you get the cannonball thingy. It's not a great weapon, but that's the point at which all the other weapons, upgrades and environmental hazards really started to click for me. You have enough options that the fights have a rhythm to them, where you're doing a different combination of violent crimes to each guy.
I'm going back to it this weekend to finish it off - I'm fighting a big thing, so presumably I'm near the end. I've become a lot more tolerant of the dismal plot since I confirmed my suspicion that Trishka is played by Jennifer Hale, the female Shepard voice from Mass Effect. Now, if I pointedly look in the other direction, I can imagine a very Renegade Shepard is one of the main characters.
Princess Maker 2 - Graham
I'll probably spend some time playing Crazy Taxi, and if a copy of Dragon Age 2 should materialise, I'll try that. But most of my weekend will be spent raising my daughter, Mount-Everest Acebomb, and endeavouring to steer her towards a path of virtue and adventure. It's a stat-heavy game almost entirely governed by menus, but there's so many options available that you can have personal, fascinating experiences as a freakishly controlling and overbearing father. Apparently there's 76 endings. So far my own daughter is mostly showing an aptitude for cooking and cleaning, and destined to become a housewife, but I'll try to change that this weekend before her 18th birthday.
What are you all planning on playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
