SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS

What a befitting title for this ingenious piece of gaming software. Whether you consider this to be a proper game or not, the idea behind it is absolutely unique,  no doubt about it. And the gameplay is very much true to life, as the trolling and fighting for and against social justice takes place in virtual space, just  as God intended. Progressivists troll, regressivists troll , trolls troll for the fun of it, and everyone looks exactly the same as everyone else , all in a world where it's ok and not ok to have an opinion on anyone and anything and run people down by use of cars if they disagree with the car owner. In a world where fascism is sold as freedom of speech  and the double standards are employed throughout the globe by big players, it is hard even for a politically-minded individual to keep track of what might be going on in this confusing new world.The aptly used pejorative term stresses this feeling  and gives the player a hint of what to expect from the game itself. The game does what it says on the tin, you engage in outwitting trolls until they go online and another troll takes their place, recreating and reliving "real-life"online experiences that are immediately identifiable. Expecting anything else from this game would mean steering away from its intent and purpose, if there be one.

The question is -why would anyone go through such lengths at recreating unpleasant trials and tribulations that everyone of us has experienced online? Is it meant to make us realize  people can't change and that  trying to prove otherwise is a complete waste of time? Does it make us rethink the agressive posture we sometimes assume when talking to a complete stranger or casual acquaintance we're never likely to meet offline anyway? I guess it's about preserving your sanity and reputation , online and offline.

ROGUE

I've been a fan of roguelike games for a while now, but it wasn't until the local computer magazine ("Svet Kompjutera")  went into the nature and the origins of the genre  that made me go back and try the game the whole genre was named after. Boy was I  surprised! What I thought was the result of an amassed experience of a history of titles within the genre basically boiled down to one single game. Everything one loves about a roguelike is here: permadeath, text terminals, procedurally generated levels, ludicrously hard gameplay, procedurally-created levels,suspense,looting and dungeon crawling, sprites positions etc. Let go of your thirst for the graphically demanding games and try this gem, you'll enjoy it immensely. The rudimentary ascii graphics will spark your imagination beyond anything you've seen in this genre  so far.