Summary: MMO and RTS and FPS, oh my! What is a platformer? Should my toddler play a sandbox game? We define a few common video game terms and abbreviations.<br> <br> What we’ve been playing<br> <a href="http://amzn.to/2q0oewF">T.I.M.E. Stories</a> – We enjoyed this RPG, although we haven’t beaten the base game yet. We can understand why it tends to be a love-it-or-hate it game. There are currently 4 other stories available: <a href="http://amzn.to/2qjKfK1">The Marcy Case</a>, <a href="http://amzn.to/2qLwR0R">A Prophecy of Dragons</a>, <a href="http://amzn.to/2peI3Dp">Expedition: Endurance</a>, and <a href="http://amzn.to/2qjSYfj">Under the Mask</a>.<br> Anitra played as many games using <a href="http://www.thefamilygamers.com/2017/05/07/knot-dice/">Knot Dice</a> as possible, in order to write this week’s review. There are co-operative and competitive puzzle games, pathfinding games, racing games, an abstract storytelling game, and even a semi-cooperative building game.<br> <a href="http://www.haywiregroup.com/products/box-rocks/">Box of Rocks</a> – a silly and fun trivia game. The group competes against the box of rocks! It would make a great icebreaker.<br> Andrew beat <a href="http://amzn.to/2qjUg9T">Zelda: Breath of the Wild</a>, to no one’s surprise.<br> <a href="http://www.ghosttowngames.com/overcooked/">Overcooked</a>, the co-operative cooking game. Fun, high-adrenaline. You have to communicate with your co-players in order to complete orders through the challenging layouts, which makes it an excellent couch co-op.<br> Type: Rider, a beautiful and compelling platformer based on typography and fonts. We got it as one of the “free” PS Plus games for May, but it is available for under $5 on just about everything: <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/258890/TypeRider/">Steam</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/type-rider/id667443268?mt=8">iOS</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bulkypix.typerider">Android</a>, and <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/type-rider-ps4/">PlayStation</a>.<br> Our kids are still playing the ever-present Disney Infinity, and are branching out from the sandbox (“toy box”) mode to a few of the themed adventure options.<br> Video Game Terms<br> FPS (first person shooter): first person perspective, your only indication of the player is a gun or hands. Can lead to motion-sickness. Examples: Goldeneye, Wolfenstein 3D, Marathon.<br> TPS (third person shooter): third person perspective, showing the body (or at least the head) of the player character.<br> Platformer: basically Mario. Jump around, get to the end of the level. A recent example of 2D platformer: Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, or Type:Rider as previously mentioned.<br> Puzzle Platformer: Navigate in the same platforming way, but with puzzles you have to figure out to get through the level. There is a special sub-genre called “Metroidvania” (after the first 2 of this type, Metroid and Castlevania), where you re-tread the same ground several times, discovering new things as you gain power or weaponry.<br> Shmup (Shoot-em-up): a scrolling battlefield with limited movement; kill waves of enemies and receive power-ups to kill more enemies. Examples: Gradius, Ikaruga, Sine Mora, maybe Geometry Wars?<br> 2D and 3D are self-explanatory, but there’s also 2.5D. This is a game that is primarily two-dimensional but still have a depth component.<br> Turn-based game: I take a turn, then you take a turn. Action pauses in some way between turns.<br> Synchronous gameplay: everyone playing at the same time. No pausing.<br> Asynchronous gameplay: players do not have to be online at the same time to play the game together. Turn-based games lend themselves to asynchronous play.<br> AAA game: the big name, big budget games, the ones that are heavily marketed and available in Target. Gears of War, Halo,
