2017 Game-Along Choices, Part 1

The Community Game-Along Initiative

Image by Chic Pixel

Last year, I stumbled upon the Community Game-Along via #DatingSiMonth, and thought it was something really cool to try out. It's back again, for the fourth year, hosted by Chic Pixel once again. But this year has some different categories to choose from for gaming.

Like last year, I want to try to plan out what to play, and look for suggestions from others if I'm feeling stumped on what to play, or if I'm not digging what I choose to play. The platforms I have available to me, currently, include:

• X-Box 360 (not my favorite system)
• Nintendo DSi
• Nintendo DS (original—able to play GBA games)
• PC (by far my favorite platform)
• PS Vita (my second favorite plaform)

I much prefer playing on the PC or Vita, so choices for those are valued above others. I do aim to purchase a 3DS at some point this year, but that depends on how I budget finances and what "gimme gimme" things I prioritize (there's a very long list, including updated furniture, tattoos, and Polecon, but that's another topic for another day). So, let's plan what to play for the first three themes.

January: #DatingSiMonth

Image from Aksys Games

January has come and gone, and I got in some dating sims just in time. As mentioned prior, I played some Sweet Fuse: At Your Side, Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya, and Seduce Me 2: The Demon War. Dating Sims are something I always try to play, so I'll be continuing all of them throughout the year, regardless. Especially since I am really digging Sweet Fuse. I'm glad I finally picked it up!

February:  #FashionGameFeb

Image from official Sims website

This topic was suggested by Vanishing Age to Apricot Sushi. Last year's February game topic was fishing simulators. Back then, I used leveling up my fishing in FFXIV as a way to participate in the theme. This year, I'm going to do somewhat the same with World of Warcraft and WildStar. They both have different types of costuming systems, and collecting these items and playing dress-up is lots of fun.

However, I've never actually played a fashion game, and I'm intrigued, as Style Savvy is a pretty popular game series. Unfortunately, without a 3DS, I'm going to have to trawl around various Gamestop stores to see if I can find the original DS version. Worse comes to worst, I can always resort to buying one used off of Amazon, as well (which, to be honest, is probably just what I should do and forego Gamestop).

Sims 4 is also currently on sale for 50% off. I'm quite honestly tempted to purchase it because playing dress-up in the Sims is my favorite thing to do, outside of playing Legacy challenges. I've held off on Sims 4 because they didn't have toddlers in the base game, but with the recent addition of toddlers, I'd added it to my budget as a "gimme gimme" (more on my "gimme" list at another point). So maybe I'll re-prioritize my "gimme" list and pick up the Digital Deluxe version!

March: #MonMonth

Image from PlayStation store

Last year, I had no stinking clue what Monster Hunter-likes were, and Apricot Sushi was kind enough to expound on the types of games that were included in this category. Based on that information, I really don't know that I'll like the theme (I kind of stayed away from it as it seemed daunting last year), but I'm going to try really hard to get at least a few hours in of a game. After a lot of research, I think I'll be picking up Ragnarok Odyssey to give it a try. It's cutesy enough that it might catch my interest. Overall, though, it will come down to cost-vs-time, what else is on my "gimme" list, and what I feel I can really get away with and enjoy.