What's on My Plate: Asteroids, Giant Robots and Broken Bones

I have a bad habit. I am not the kind of person that plays one game through to the end before picking up another. In any given week, I'm often playing at least three different games (not concurrently, mind you) often more. Today is April Fool's day and the gaming news out there should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to talk briefly about some of the games I'm playing this week.

Look at that beautiful grabber. Asteroids, here I come. Eventually.

Kerbal Space Program: KSP just launched the Asteroid mission pack today. Built in collaboration with NASA, th pack introduces numerous pieces of tech as well as roaming asteroids. I've been having a  blast trying to capture them, though my attempts have been far, far less than successful. I've yet to manage even a successful rendezvous, but the new parts from NASA are more than enough to keep me entertained in the meantime. I'm particularly curious about what can be done with the asteroids once they've been nabbed. There is so much to experiment with, don't expect a full article until later this month. I want to get the most out of the new materials.

This is not my mech. I'm about half that things size.

Mechwarrior Online: In light of my article on HAWKEN, I decided it was time for me to get into MWO a bit more. My first few matches were pretty touch and go. I had no idea where I was or how to get the most out of my mech. I tried a few different trial mechs out before I earned enough credits for my own. Excited to get into the action in my own mech, I joined the first skirmish I could and was promptly slaughtered. As a new player in a tiny mech, my role is essentially that of a chew toy. I'm still getting my bearings in the world, so I'm useless as part of any strategy other than "run at them and shoot until they/you you die." Given some more time, I'm sure the difficulty will start to  edge off. If I hook up a joystick though, I might be able to give myself a bit of a boost.

Here, Lara breaks her leg for the fiftieth time.

Tomb Raider: The Square Enix reboot of Tomb Raider is very different from the game I remember from high school. Meant to show the pivotal events that made Lara Croft the badass we've always known her to be, Tomb Raider takes a dark and brutal path, right from the start. This Lara is the most often battered, burnt, bruised and bludgeoned character I've ever played. I think someone needs to have a long chat with Square Enix about the difference between character building and character beating. I don't entirely agree with their methods, but the story being told between injuries is actually a very compelling one.

There we have it for now. I'm in the middle of a few others as well, but these three are my primary focus for the time being. Keep an eye out for longer pieces regarding these games in the near future.