Welcome back Bronze Buds!
Bronze Buds is a recurring segment where friends of Bronze League talk about some games we should check out! On the lineup we have Buck up and Drive!, Ball Sort Puzzle, and Final Fantasy XIV. Yeehaw!
If you sent me your game rec and you don’t see it here, it may not be posted this week but it will get posted! Thank you for your patience <3
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As always, please be sure to check out the folks who gave their time to chat about these games. They put aside their time and energy for Bronze League, so all I ask is that you do the same in return! All of the names in the headlines are hyperlinks, so check out these Bronze Buds and the games they recommend!
Retro Radical- Buck up and Drive! (2022)
Lots of games have aimed to combine the racing genre with other types of games. The most common nowadays is easily the Car-P-G, but back in the day the king of all racing subgenres was Car Combat, and before that even, came arcade racers. Buck up and Drive aims to nestle itself somewhere in the collective nostalgia of a time when arcades were being brought into the home, and people were playing the likes of Daytona 500 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in the comfortable glow of their CRT TVs. The type of game that Buck up and Drive seeks to emulate simply never existed, a bombastic title like this may have even been too bold of a choice in the experimental age of gaming that was the late 90’s.
In describing the gameplay of this title I am hesitant to even mention it’s motorized mechanics as they seem almost fabricated, in no way should the player expect to operate the vehicle in any way resembling a car as they flip the hunk of metal violently from side to side and execute perfect drift-grinds. You almost have to forget that you’re supposed to be “driving” to really get a grip on the mechanics at play in this game. Clearly inspired by games like Skate-or-Die and Outrun, the arcade mode sees you traversing an endless road all the while drifting between oncoming traffic and side-flipping into perfect car sized board-slides.
On top of the excellent and addicting endless mode there is also a separate 1v1 fighting mode to play with your friends. And while this is much more Lethal League and a lot less Fighting Vipers, it is interesting to take these extreme car-capades you had been previously using to score sweet lines and high scores and apply them to absolutely stuffing your friend’s face in the dirt. All in all, it is a fascinating and most importantly fun game that for only $8, you should not pass up on.
Big Booty Baller Britty Brice - Ball Sort Puzzle (2019)
I will preface this review with saying that the only games of interest to me are strategic, storyline (you know like Club Penguin - RIP), or zombies on Call of Duty. When COVID hit, I was finding myself spending more and more time playing games on my phone to pass the time. One day, I was sitting on the couch playing CandyCrushSaga on my iPhone 7 when an advertisement for Ball Sort Puzzle started playing. I was instantly intrigued. I try not to fall into the trick of game advertisements because they really can be hit or miss. One time I downloaded a game that was COMPLETELY different than the actual video advertisement, but this time, Ball Sort Puzzle seemed ~different~, so I decided to take a gamble.
As I started to advance levels so effortlessly, I became addicted. I don’t even know how to appropriately describe this game, as it is such a fun and relaxing, yet ridiculously frustrating, silly game. The premise is to organize the randomly assorted balls by color in designated tubes. You make one wrong move and boom, you must either use your undo moves (you only get 5) or restart the level. There also is an option to add a tube, but personally, I never do this because I think of it as cheating as it’s just easy way out. When playing this game, I am always examining the assortment of the colors and thinking five steps ahead before I make a move because you do not want to get so far into a level to only lead yourself to a dead end.
I will say the only downside of this game is the frequent advertisements that are played during this game. I guess I could pay the 3 extra dollars for the non-ad version of the game, but then I would be too invested. The ads can also be a good thing because I get so ticked off that I have to watch yet another freaking ad that I end up exiting out of the app. However, a hack to solve this matter is putting my phone on airplane mode, so I can cruise through levels. Sometimes I do forget to turn off airplane mode, so I occasionally miss texts and phone calls but hey at least I beat 13 levels on Ball Sort Puzzle.
This game is really not action packed at all and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, so I used to think I was the only weirdo that played this silly little game. It wasn’t until I was waiting in line at Universal’s Islands of Adventure VelociCoaster with DoughyDev that we noticed a group of girls playing a variation of Ball Sort Puzzle but with colorful sand. I am biased but the balls are superior.
OhSoFrank - Final Fantasy XIV (2010)
So you ever seen the meme on the interwebs regarding the "critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, with a free trial that includes award winning expansions yada yada yada"? Well I'm here to tell you, that game is the absolute truth. If you're a fan of MMOs such as World of Warcraft, or just a fan of Final Fantasy games in general, Final Fantasy XIV is the game for you.
FFXIV is a play at your own place MMO, in which you can create your own character from several classes to choose from. It can range from mighty Hrothgars, to diminutive Lalafells (condensed evil IMO). You can also pick any starting job to start your journey, such as mighty paladins and warriors, to archers, and even healers/summoners if wizardry is your cup of tea. The best thing about it is that you can try each class at your leisure without having to sacrifice much as far as main story progress. As you progress through the game, you can unlock more exciting jobs to further enhance your experience.
FFXIV is a visually stunning game, with a great in-depth story, and an overly positive community always willing to embrace and guide new players. It has the feel of WoW, without the toxicity and heavy hours of grinding. Did I mention that there's a free trial you can download?! Check it out today on Steam and PlayStation!
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