A library person is looking for suggestions for video games to play in the library for game night. We are sharing the initial question, and the responses. Check them out to see if you can use them in your library. And if you have other suggestions, share them in the comments so we can all try new things!
“We used to have Call of Duty gaming nights to get kids in to play together on our PCs. We were using Call of Duty 1 which worked as it was not particularly over the top graphic.
This version is super old and now fails on our PCs. Do you all have any suggestions on similar group play games that aren’t intensely graphic? These game nights happen out in the open in a room shared with all age ranges so it can’t be too too.”
- I would say Overwatch. More cartoony, but still very fun and intense arena combat. All the characters have great backstories.http://overwatch.gamepedia.
com/Overwatch_Wiki - Classic CounterStrike is still very popular, and can run on a potato.
- For group play that does not require significant processing power, have you considered MOBA or RTS fames, or is the group very firmly comitted to the FPS?
- If the group wants to branch out, Dota 2 and League of Legends both run on older computers.
- In the realm of FPS games, Team Fortress 2 is old enough to not be taxing on a low-powered computer, but still cartoony and engaging. For something more realistic, the ARMA series could provide an answer, as ARMA 2 can run on a Pentium 4 with 1GB of RAM.
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Have you considered non-FPS games?
From the makers of YOU DON’T KNOW JACK. They are playable on any device. http://jackboxgames.com/
- How about minecraft?
- One amazingly fun and completely nonviolent multiplayer game is Rocket League (basically soccer player with rocket-powered cars). It’s about the only game I play multiplayer personally, and it’s loads of fun.
- Otherwise, some great suggestions for multiplayer FPS games. Similarly, FIFA and Madden might draw crowds for multiplayer, as would something like Super Smash Bros. (though I’m uncertain if it ever made it to PC, and would guess no).
- Another suggestion for a FPS that is set in the WWII era could be Enemy Territory: Legacy. It’s an open source version of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It’s free so you won’t be out much by trying it. It works on Windows and Linux.
- Lego Anything (Batman, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. etc.) could work, or, in FPS style, perhaps something like Portal 2 would be clean enough…
- Back in the craze days of Pokemon Go, we set up a Pokemon Showdown server[1] at our library using a retired staff machine. The game itself is just a chat room and battles, so we had teen volunteers come up with some rules for a tournament in order to provide a little structure. Check out the web client[2] to get a sense of how they run it.[1] https://github.com/Zarel/
Pokemon-Showdown
[2] http://pokemonshowdown.com/