Top 10 Games To Play When Drunk

Many gamers have played through a game or two under the influence of alcohol. Add in a few friends and gaming becomes an often hilarious experience when drunk.


Join me as I count down the ten most enjoyable games to play when drunk, and preferably, with some friends!.


10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The need to cause hefty amounts of destruction to the eighties set Vice City is only further added to when drunk. Rope in a few friends and take it in turns attempting to steer a car or two around the city. Turn the in-car radio on, and crank up the volume for a soundtrack comprised of eighties cheese. Somehow, that only enhances the hilarity. Sit back, and laugh as your drunk friends repeatedly struggle to drive their car for more than a few metres before crashing.


9. Wii Party

The Wii's motion censored controls are perfect for a whole host of party games,with Wii Party being an excellent example. The mini-games on offer provide a range of dexterity challenges, "friendship tests" (such as answering a set of questions about your friend), races, and more. Drunkenness definitely makes these mini-games much more difficult to complete, but thankfully, not in a frustrating way. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Wii Party makes it's way into the drunk list due to being a total laugh. 


8. Wii Sports

Motion control and drinking of course do not go together. Your bodies ability to balance starts to take a complete nosedive once a few alcoholic beverages have been consumed. Laugh as your friend bowls yet another gutter ball, or falls over whilst missing the ball during golf. Tennis provides an even larger challenge. One piece of advice though: move any valuables away from reach during this one. That old saying is right, it's very much like watching a bull in a china shop.


7. House of The Dead 2 (Wii edition)

If Wii Sports did not already make this clear, then I'll say it again-motion control and drunkenness do not mix successfully. However, it definitely makes for a hilarious experience. House of the Dead 2 comes bundled with House of the Dead 3 on the Wii, but it is the former that provides the most hilarity. The House of the Dead games are notorious for providing rather awful dialogue, and the second game holds the record for the worst. Poorly acted and incredibly cheesy, the dialogue is even funnier when listened to whilst drunk. Add in the zombie killing element with the inability to cease the WiiMote from erratically swaying in your drunken hand, and you're on to a real winner here.


Compete with friends to see how long you can make it through the game whilst intoxicated, whilst all the while chuckling at the hammed up dialogue. Brilliant.


6. Halo Reach (online mode)

Laughing at your friends whilst they accidentally blow themselves up with grenades (again) is funny enough whilst drunk. The obligatory Halo "teabagging" (look it up people) is even funnier. Add in some drunken banter, and this makes for a hilarious multi-player experience.


5. Mario Party series

Each entry in the Mario Party series provides a huge amount of mini-games, which only become more competitive and hilarious when drunk. The mini-games at times require a lot of concentration-something which is hard to grasp when intoxicated. Watching yourself and friends fail at the easier games is where the laughter comes in though.


4. Burnout Paradise

Like GTA: Vice City, the drunken fun in Burnout Paradise comes in the form of destruction. Somehow, the stunt runs and pursuits become a lot more fun when you have a bunch of drunken friends cheering you on. Create as much carnage as you wish, whilst gaining a great adrenaline high. 


3. The Rockband series

Rockband allows you and three other buddies to team up on the drumkit, guitar, microphone or bass, whilst the latest, Rockband 3, also includes a forth member on the keyboard. 


Like many warbling karaoke goers before this, the Rockband series allows so many drunk players to believe they are much better than they actually are. The drunken fun comes in when players team up for a big rock number. Think "More Than A Feeling" by Boston. 


2. Super Smash Bros. series

There is something strangely satisfying about beating up your friends in a video game. This is only further enhanced when you take the role of a memorable Nintendo character. The Super Smash Bros. series combines the classic beat 'em up game play with fun stages, excellent side-games (Brawl's Subspace Emissary is worth checking out) and a real sense of enjoyment. 


Arguably some of the best beat 'em ups ever, the Super Smash Bros. series becomes an even greater laugh when a drunk player is handed the controller. 


1. Mario Kart Wii

Like real life, driving should be avoided whilst drunk. The same can be said for the game which has claimed our number one spot, Mario Kart Wii. 


Hilarity ensues when you and your drunk friends try to make it through each of the excellent levels that Mario Kart has to offer. The real challenge lies in trying to complete Rainbow Road (or worse, Rainbow Road in mirror mode) whilst drunk. Good luck, you'll need it!


Games that narrowly made it into the list:
Donkey Konga, Left 4 Dead, and, the rather bizarre but somewhat hilarious when drunk, Don't Shit Your Pants.


Ones to avoid:
Unless you're fully prepared to drunk-proof your house, it is advisable to avoid the more active games, such as Just Dance and Zumba Fitness.

Dead Island Review

After releasing a rather excellent debut trailer, Dead Island rapidly built up a surge of hype for it's September release date. With promises of 4 player co-op, combined with an idyllic island setting and plenty of gruesome zombies, there was already enough reasons for players to get excited about it. The trailer may have already successfully heightened expectations, but now that the game has been here for a few weeks now, was this hype justified?

Well, to put it shortly, mostly. Whilst the majority of the game is excellent, it just does not feel completely polished. Dead Island follows the same fun co-operative gameplay that has been seen in Borderlands and Left 4 Dead respectively, but thankfully, it is not a straight forward copy. Sure, inspiration has definitely been drawn from other RPG titles, but Dead Island thrives frantic survival element. Combine this with great combat, and a variety of intriguing missions, and you've got a well-packaged game here.

The storyline is simple enough. A zombie outbreak has hastily spread through the idyllic island of Banoi, leaving a trail of distraction in it's wake. Many of the inhabitants have joined the hoard of walking dead, but thankfully there are some who were lucky enough to avoid the virus. You play as one of the four key survivors, who, somehow, is immune from this infectious disease. The game follows your chosen character as he or she help out the fellow survivors, whilst searching for a way off of the island. The story is prone to predictability at times, but the story is not what matters here. What matters is the gameplay itself.

Combining the typical elements of an RPG (levelling up, looting items, etc) with the type of frantic and intense game play found in other zombie games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Island's gameplay is incredibly fun. Bashing in decomposing zombie brains is satisfying, to say the least. What works the most is the feeling  of survival being held constantly by a tether. Weapons constantly break, leaving players searching for more, first aid kits (which are very similiar to Fallout 3's Stimpacks) are at times very sparse, and other factors definitely add to the "fight or flight" format that is being adopted here. This survival element is what makes Dead Island so appealing. It adds a touch of realism, as even though your chosen character is immune, this does not stop them from being taken down by the intense infected. 

Players are free to explore the island as they wish, and the map adds a little structure for this exploration. The game is broken up into a series of maps, which divide the island into different explorable areas, such as the resort, city and jungle. Each area allows the player to discover new survivors, who, for the most part, have a few missions for you to complete. Players can stick to the structured storyline only if they wish, but the real fun comes in the exploration. Several surprises lie in exploring, so missing this opportunity seems like a real shame.

Missions range from the typical collecting quests which so many RPG's have dealt with before, to clearing zombies in particular areas, helping the survivors to rig up explosives or communicative devices, and then, unfortunately, there are a few escort missions. I for one have never been a fan of escorting missions, and I know there are many that agree with me here. The escort missions provide a few frustrating moments in the game which tarnished the experience a little for me at times. NPCs have a habit of getting stuck during journeys at times, and refuse to follow the player as they are guiding them to their destination. I had to restart a mission due to one of the characters I was supposed to be guiding refusing to climb a flight of stairs, for no particular reason. Upon researching this, it appears that the escort missions seem to provide the same frustrations to many people.

Dead Island's combat is primarily melee based, which forces the player to get up close and personal to the undead. Melee weapons are found all over the island, and there is a large variety to choose from. Players will start with the more basic weapons of paddles and broomsticks, but they will gain the ability to combine or create weapons as more objects are collected. The challenge comes in the constant need to repair or replace melee weapons. You cannot go through the whole game holding the same broomstick you picked up at the very beginning. Due to this, players will constantly be on the lookout for new weapons. Weapons breaking during a fight with a bunch of zombies creates an incredibly intense, and at times, scary game.

Those who are used to blasting zombies away in games such as Left 4 Dead will be surprised to see that firearms are overshadowed by melee weapons here. Guns and ammo are available, but they are much more sparse, and tend to deal damage much slower than most of the melee weapons do anyway. Taking on the role of a blades specialist, I found the game to be much easier when relying on knives and sharp melee weapons than the handguns and shotguns found later on in the game.

Unfortunately, where Dead Island suffers a little is in the single player mode. It is evident that this game is aimed more towards co-op players. The missions seem far more challenging when played alone than when completed with a friend or two. Also, the fun gets a little stale after a while when beating it solo. This lack of split-screen single console co-op is also a downer, as playing it on the same TV screen as a room-mate, friend, partner, etc, would have been excellent.  

As previously mentioned, there is a feeling of Dead Island not being completely polished. The graphics can at times be a little poor, especially during the cut-scenes, where the characters look expressionless, somewhat lifeless. Zombies or NPCs often get stuck on scenery (something which makes completely certain quests a complete challenge at times). It is hard to ignore the glitches when they hinder the completion of a quest. I had to reload my game several times over the course of the game in order to complete a quest. The game also suffers from an anti-climatic ending, which is a little disappointing, especially as the game builds up to what should have been an action-packed crescendo. 

Dead Island can be fully completed (achievements and all) in around 30 to 40 hours. Playing it solo may be a little boring by the time these hours rack up, so it's definitely recommended to find a friend or two to plow through it with. There is no denying that Dead Island was designed as a multiplayer game first and foremost, which successfully manages to be an enjoyable and satisfying experience. The mission related glitches sour the experience somewhat, so I only hope that these are patched up soon enough, but overall, the game is a joy to complete. 

I am currently reading the Dead Island novel. Stay tuned for a review soon!

Borderlands Review

Borderlands 2 was announced back in August, and to show my enthuisasm at this upcoming game, I have decided to share with you my review of the original Borderlands which I have decided to write in celebration of this news.

Hybrid games are often released on the Xbox 360. Combining several different game genres into one creates a refreshing experience for the gamer, and thus revamps what could simply become another victim of an overly tried and tested genre. Borderlands, released by games company Gearbox Software in 2009 is a great example of this genre mixing. Originally billed as a cross between the first person shooter elements of Halo, and the role playing adventuring in Diablo, Borderlands brings a stylistic cell-shaded treat to your TV screens, complete with plenty of playability.

Upon starting the game, you will notice that the Halo claim may not exactly be that fitting. For, this is not a big scale war of the species. Instead you are thrust into a outlawed wasteland setting, where looting, pillaging and bounty hunting are rife. Borderlands in fact combines the quest element in RPG's with the standard functions of a first person shooter. Exploration is the key in this largely expansive game, and only by exploring will you pick up missions or find people to brawl. Set on the fictional planet of Pandora, 

Borderlands allows you to play as one of four characters. Each character carries different abilities, and can change your gaming experience depending on what one you choose to complete the game as. Firstly, there is Mordecai, from the "hunter" class. With Mordecai you are more precise at stealth shots (sniper fans, you'll be in for a treat here), and comes equipped with his own falcon to deliver some expertise finishing moves. Second, you can choose to be Lilith, from the "siren" class. She can turn invisible to enemies once her action bar is charged up, and packs incredible strength. Thirdly, pick Roland, from the "soldier" class if you want someone who is proficient with weaponry (shotguns in particular), and can easily deploy turrets for extra enemy damage. Lastly, there is Brick, from the "berserker" class. He is specialises in explosive weapons, such as rocket launchers, and he also has a great attack called "berserk" which sends him into a fit of rage just perfect for a bit of melee combat. 

Once you have chosen your character, you are then thrown out into the wasteland of Pandora to earn yourself some money. The treasure hunting aspect of the game is probably one of the most enjoyable aspects. All loot is randomly generated, so you will never know where you will stumble upon a hoard of money, or gun that doubles your damage.The hunt for these multitude of goodies becomes rather addictive, and combined with the shooting, melee fights, driving and mission completing, creates a game that many gamers will become hooked to. 

Once you have completed the first mission (which acts as a loose tutorial), you are free to accept and complete the rest of the bunch. You can pick up missions on bounty boards which you can find with the help of your map, or interact with the games NPC's to unlock some more. In simple terms, the missions are pretty similar. Simply accept your mission, drive to the destination, perhaps collect an item or engage in a fight, and then drive back to collect your bounty. However, each mission is different from one another, and are incredibly fun to complete. If you choose to, there are challenges you can complete for extra objectives. The challenges that you can engage in can be found in your games menu, and will be ticked off when you have completed them. Complete them all to get an achievement! 

Like many RPG's, Borderlands has a level up system. Players are able to collect points through completing missions, knocking down opponents, finishing races, collecting weapons on your travels, and much more. Your character becomes much stronger as the game progresses and your level increases. This levelling up system brings another motive to the game besides all the shooting and exploring, and actually makes you feel like you have achieved something at the end of a mission or fight when you notice that your character has progressed up another rank. Levelling up allows you to unlock a multitude of weapons, and helps to make the game a little easier for those who are struggling at the lower levels. You will find that at a higher level, your character is able to complete missions with much higher level enemies, so the opportunity to experience more game play is therefore opened.

Borderlands supports multi-player playability, which is a welcome addition. Using this, players are able to play through the game with up to another three players. Together you can complete missions, shoot it up and generally just muck about. Sharing the experience with a bunch of friends rather than flying it solo through the wasteland seemed much more fun, and having your buddies there to back you up in a fight makes a lot of difference. I recommend investing in headsets though, so you and your friends can actually talk about what you plan to do! 

As for criticisms, in all honesty, Borderlands does not really suffer from many. The only aspects I would point out is that at times the map got a little tricky to navigate, and the game, like many others, suffers from the occasional "glitching" bug. The rarer weapons also appear to be too rare at times, which is a pain as I found myself discovering repeated weapons from time to time when in all honesty I was itching to start using a brand new one. However, these criticisms remain a small niggling feeling, rather than something that could potentially spoil the gaming experience. 

Luckily, as the world of Pandora is incredibly vast, it does take a considerably long time to fully complete this game, especially as if you are intending on unlocking every achievement in this game, you will be required to complete this game more than once (for instance, there are character specific achievements so you need to have played with each of them at some point to gain them). 

Once the main storyline has been completed, you are free to continue your game play to complete any left achievements, discover new weapons and locations, and more. You will notice that the second play-through is much harder. Enemies are tougher, and deal much more damage than before, so this brings a refreshing challenge to the proceedings. Once you have exhausted this freedom though, there are plenty of excellent downloadable content extras to download on the Xbox 360 marketplace. Having completed all of them, I would strongly suggest downloading "The Island of Dr. Ned" DLC. This brings a new twist to the game, as well as a new location-zombies, a crazy doctor, and a B-movie feel. It also takes quite a long time to complete this DLC pack, so it is definitely worth the Xbox points you had to part with to download it. 

Borderlands was one of the most engaging, addictive and lengthy games of 2009. The cell-shaded cartoon style gives the game a bit of unique charm, and gives the game a slight comic book feel. The characters are well-thought out, and bring different aspects to the game, depending on which one you choose to play as. There are a multitude of missions and challenges to complete, as well as the ability to treasure hunt for money, weapons and objects. 

The multi-player function is a welcome addition, as it allows you to enjoy the game not only with a second player in the same room, but with people over the Xbox Live connection also. Playing this game as a duo, threesome or quartet is definitely recommended as it brings a bigger level of enjoyment to the proceedings than just playing it solo does. Although the story in Borderlands may seem rather loose through the majority of it, it is littered with enough gags and enjoyable moments to become totally immersed in it. This is a great example of a hybrid genre game, and combined with the hours of downloadable content, no wonder this game became such a huge seller. 

Crimson Alliance Demo Review

Although it appears to be a free Xbox Arcade game, this is definitely not the case for Crimson Alliance. Xbox gamers are able to download the game for free on the marketplace, which gains you some of the gameplay, but not all of it. In other words, this "free" download entitles you to the game itself, but in order to actually progress any further than the first few demo levels, you must unlock character packs. As the unlocks are pretty costly, for now I have decided to only review this demo version.


In starting the demo, you have a choice of one of three characters, who are classed under the headings "Wizard", "Rogue" and "Mercenary" (I chose the wise looking Wizard). Each character has different abilities and attacks, so I suggest giving all three a go to determine which one you enjoy playing as the most. The demo allows for up to three players, which I highly recommend, as for me, this game was much more enjoyable with other players. Purchasing a character pack allows you not only to play the full game, but to have full access to the characters abilities, weapons and more. Unfortunately, each pack will cost you 800MSP, or 1200MSP for the whole crew. If bought separately however, be expected to shell out a whopping 2400MSP. This has to be one of the most expensive Xbox Live Arcade titles so far, which I am sure many people will not be pleased about. For such a high price, the game must be great, surely? 

Thankfully, from the brief gameplay the demo provided, it appears that it is. The cut scenes piece together the plot in a stylised motion comic form, which seem to work much better than relying on computer graphics. There is an impressive amount of detail in the game. The game works as a top-down hack and slash, so zooming in to have a better look is impossible, but it is still a delight to look at the surroundings from afar. 


As for the actual gameplay, Crimson Alliance reminded me a lot of the repetitive hack and slash formula that games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance adopts. Adopting this aspect of gameplay can get somewhat repetitive after a while, but the interesting looking enemies, and detailed level design thankfully stop this from happening. Elements that are typical in RPG's make an appearance here, such as the ability to level up your character, collecting dropped items to use during the game, and unlocking new weapons as you progress. Combining this the simplicity of a hack and slasher with more complex RPG elements help to make this stand out a little more.

So in conclusion, is it worth shelling out for all the character packs? Well, in all honesty, I was somewhat impressed by the demo. The levels are impressively detailed at points, and the enemies are interesting to look at. 


The multiplayer function is perhaps the best way to enjoy Crimson Alliance, as   you will find the game much less frustrating. From reading about the single player mode in more detail, it appears that you benefit more from playing it with some friends, as hidden areas cannot always be unlocked when playing it solo. The gameplay is pretty much the same throughout, which I felt would get boring quite early on. Thankfully, I actually wanted to play more after the demo ended, which is a good sign. The only drawback is the price of course. It seems a shame that in order to experience the game fully, you must unlock all three character packs, which involves spending a lot of microsoft points. 


If you like games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Golden Axe, then this one is definitely for you.