Game-related ramblings.

Tag: The Name Game

The Name Game: Red Dead Redemption 2

Previous Name Game posts can be found here.

Several weeks ago, a large number of people became very excited by a teaser believed (and now confirmed) to imply that a sequel to the game Red Dead Redemption is in development. Itself a sequel to Red Dead Revolver, the Western-themed Red Dead Redemption was hugely popular, and many began to wonder what its own sequel would be named. Surely Rockstar Games would keep the “R-D-R” naming convention? Alas, it was soon revealed that it would simply be called Red Dead Redemption 2. Here at The Name Game, we are disappointed. But we hope that Rockstar will consider resuming the naming convention for future games in the series. Here are some suggestions.

The Name Game: Resetting The Reset

I have several posts I want to write, but simply have not had the time. This is what we call a “filler post”.

The Name Game has not had cause to mention Hard Reset, Flying Wild Hog’s cyberpunk first-person shooter game inspired by the old-school classics of the genre, until now. That’s because Hard Reset is actually a great name. But it has come to our attention that Flying Wild Hog have decided to release a revamped edition of the game, which they are calling Hard Reset: Redux.

Do you hear that sound, Flying Wild Hog? That’s the sound of everyone at The Name Game collectively sighing and slowly shaking our heads. You had a golden opportunity, and you let it slip through your fingers. Clearly, the name you should have gone with is:

Hard Reset: Soft Reset

You’ve let us all down, Flying Wild Hog. Please consult The Name Game before any future naming decisions.

Some posts with actual substance are coming! Stay tuned.

The Name Game: Hard West

I won’t get around to playing Hard West for a while, although I’d like to as its mix of cowboys, demons, and turn-based tactical gunfights a la XCOM (the new one, not the original) sounds interesting. What I can do now, however, is have some fun with the name. Not to suggest an alternate name — because Hard West is actually an excellent name — but rather to suggest possible titles for my eventual post about the game. There are so many options! See some below.

The Name Game: Better Metal Gear

You can read other Name Game posts here.

I was planning to write about some different games, but then Caves of Qud happened. And then I kept playing it even after I posted about it. I was going to write more about it but then realized that I already wrote everything I wanted to write in either my first post or my more recent post, so that’s out.

Instead, I have to write about a game I haven’t played. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain released recently, and apparently it’s pretty great. Unfortunately, I’m crazy and can’t play any game without playing all the previous entries in the series first, even when it’s not necessary and probably a dumb idea. It also may be impossible in the case of Metal Gear Solid since I don’t own any consoles. I’ve only ever seen other people play parts of the Metal Gear Solid games, so I’d have to start from the beginning, which would take a long time even if I can find ways to play them all on my PC.

In the meantime, however, I can provide a a few naming suggestions. Read on.

The Name Game: Rebranding The Roguelike

As always, you can click on images to view larger versions.

What’s this? A Name Game post that’s actually serious? Indeed it is, but never fear, the Name Game will return to making fun of silly game names soon enough. Right now, however, the Name Game’s name-related talents are needed for something near and dear to this blog’s heart. I am speaking, of course, of the roguelike.

(If you are unfamiliar with roguelikes, you should read my introduction to the genre, and perhaps a few of the roguelike highlights that have appeared on this blog)

I recently read an interesting article (although the article itself is not recent!) arguing that the term “roguelike” is a rather poor one. It takes a genre of games and describes it entirely by its similarity to an earlier game, which is restrictive and often, to varying degrees, inaccurate. I find I agree with this reasoning, especially in light of the new and popular crop of games which borrow design elements from traditional roguelikes and expand them into new and interesting areas. I’ve used the term roguelike-like here on this blog mostly because I think it’s funny, but the reason it’s funny is it emphasizes the inherent absurdity of the original roguelike term.

Perhaps a new name is needed, then. Well, here at the Name Game, names are literally our game. We’ve got this.

The Name Game’s Great Game Names

I had hoped to continue chronicling my second playthrough of The Witcher 2 (started here), but I’ve been delayed by hardware issues. What to do while those are resolved? Some more Name Game, of course!

It recently came to my attention that there is a game called Bladestorm: Nightmare. It’s out in Japan, and will release elsewhere soon. First let me say that the game is set during the Hundred Years’ War but has a mode in which an evil Joan of Arc leads “an army of wizards and dragons”. This is awesome. But perhaps even more awesome is the title. Bladestorm: Nightmare. It’s better than Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It’s better than Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. It’s pretty much the perfect example of the ridiculous videogame name.

How will other games find names after this? Never fear, the Name Game is here to help. I present to you The Name Game’s Great Game Names:

Gunsquall: Reckoning
Axehail: Warcry
Hammerwind: Battlefray
Daggertide: Rising
Bulletflood: Full Auto
Arrowrain: Downpour
Boxmove: The Slidening
Laserblast: Planetfall

Click onwards for more names.

More Name Game: Elite: Dangerous

Despite having played a few games I want to write about, I’ve been extra busy and haven’t had time to write a post. Instead I’ve just been watching the disappointing progress of the Outcast HD Kickstarter campaign. It’s got 12 days left and ~$370,000 left to raise, so it needs a serious boost. Seriously, go donate to this. Outcast is awesome. It’s only $20 to get a copy of the game when it’s released, and if they don’t meet their goal you won’t be charged anything.

Anyway, to fix my not-posting problem I’m resorting to a tactic I’ve used before: making fun of a game’s name.

Now, I’m actually very excited about all the upcoming space-based games in development right now (and I may even post about some of them soon, if by “soon” I mean “in a few months”). TIE Fighter was a very important game in my youth, and both it and Freespace 2 are deserving of History Lesson treatment in the future. So I’m looking forward to the recent crop of Kickstarter-funded space sim games, including the two giants, Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous. The latter promises to be a fully modern entry in the series that started the whole open-universe, free-flying space sim genre, and it’s looking really good. But oh, that name. It’s as if the developers just picked a subtitle at random. Well, two can play at that game. Here we go:

Elite: Scary
Elite: Intriguing
Elite: Dastardly
Elite: Afterburner
Elite: Shiny
Elite: Capitalism
Elite: Slightly Worrying
Elite: Make It So
Elite: Spaceman
Elite: Serious Business

More after the jump.

The Name Game

I’m currently playing several games but I’m not ready to write about any of them yet. But I feel I should post something. So I’m posting this.

It’s no secret that video games often have pretty bad names. Case in point: the new Medal of Honor game is officially called Medal of Honor: Warfighter. To be fair, this is the fourteenth Medal of Honor game, so coming up with new names must be getting a little tough. But still — Warfighter? Surely someone could have come up with a better subtitle than that?

Rather than simply complain about it, I decided I’d offer some alternative titles. It should go without saying that I’m merely making fun of the name of a video game and mean no disrespect to the actual Medal of Honor from which it takes its title. Here we go:

Medal of Honor: Honor Guard
Medal of Honor: Honorable Mention
Medal of Honor: For Blood and Honor
Medal of Honor: Honor Thy Father
Medal of Honor: Mo Medals Mo Honor
Medal of Honor: 13 Medals Weren’t Enough
Medal of Honor: Honor Bound
Medal of Honor: Honor This
14 Medal 14 Honor
Medal of Honor: The Honor Is Literally Everywhere
Medal of Honor: You Can’t Handle The Honor
Medal of Honor: Even More Honorable Than The Last Game

Click past the jump for even more names.

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