What's CCNY's Gaming Club up to? Getting ready for the new releases in what may be the most exciting season in gaming history.
by Hannington Dia
The CCNY Gaming Club's meeting space looks a lot like your 8:30 am psychology class. There's dusted up blackboards, wobbling chairs and no windows to see the Manhattan skyline through.
But despite its 6th floor purgatory, the room operates as a heaven for video game consoles and their constantly plugged in human operating devices. Commonplace among the emulators, Street Fighter IV arcade sticks and occasional cosplayers are nerdgasms over the latest and coolest games. With winter season fully in swing, the pulsations are coming faster than ever.
“Batman Arkham City is a game I've been looking forward to because I beat Arkham Asylum, and it was a pretty good game,” says un-decided junior Nikoru George. “Arkham City really expands on that. It's not a small little facility. It's a full section of Gotham City that makes you feel like Batman; like an actual predator.”
The gaming club member is also salivating for another title arriving within the coming months: Mass Effect 3. " I've been keeping up with the first two games," he says. "You can carry your profile from one game to the next. Whatever you do in the past games affects your future games. It's really fun.”
"For me, I've been using unrankedsmurfs to level my LoL account, and I'll soon be using my newly ranked account to go at it competitively." said Dave.
Jeb Elizes's devotion to gaming would bring tears to an android's eyes. The Skyrim addict and un-decided sophomore is buying a game every week from now until bust. He has access to special deals, he says, through a friend. “I have Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and of course Skyrim. There's always hot games coming out at this time.”
A point which cannot be disputed: Gamers during fall and winter months are like tweenage girls at a Justin Bieber concert. They can't focus on anything else but the goodness in front of them and scream at the top of their lungs (well, maybe only the true blue fanboys). And these next few months are shaping up to be some of the best in video game history. Helmed by titles such as Metal Gear Solid Rising, Super Mario 3DS Land, Max Payne 3 and The Darkness II, your favorite gaming companies are sparing no expense in ensuring your wallets get skinny fast.
So with Santa's sleigh bells a comin', this is the best time for the club's members, right? It would be, except for school, which can get in the way of the fun. “Midterms and video games don't side well with each other," says Elizes. "I'm just struggling to find time to play all the games.”
Club Secretary Christian Medina is placing exams in his rear-view mirror. Citing Sonic Generations, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom as his top season games, the undecided-junior is spending for the love of the joysticks. “This is my favorite time cause everyone's gonna be scrambling to pick up their top games. November and December are the best months. And we're already broke cause we're college students.”
Not everyone in the club loves the season just for the new games though. "It's the favorite time of year for the club because of all the fun we have playing games together, chatting and competing against each other," CCNY Gaming Club President Lugino Gigante says via e-mail.
The Anthropology junior, a producer for Geekfist Radio in his spare time, is anticipating releases such as The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Final Fantasy 14 re-launch and The Elder Scrolls 5.
No matter what you're into, be it relieving a certain hedgehog's glory years, shooting zombies or two-stepping to "Boom Boom Pow," the games will be there to heed your call this season. Don't worry about the money. Just use your financial aid checks to cover the costs. You'll graduate three years late, but you'll be happy you made the sacrifice!
Here are some of the under-the-radar titles club members want you to keep a eye out for:
- Skull Girls
- Minecraft
- Humble Indie Bundle
- Rayman: Origins
- The Golden Sun Series