A lot of students have a lot more free time now that winter break has started. A lot of us will fill this with things like catching up with old friends, spending time with family or being productive in general. For the time that isn't occupied by any of those things though there are four video games that are worth that time.
1. Transistor
Transistor is an isometric Sci-fi Action RPG. You play as a woman named Red who is armed with the Transistor, a sword like weapon that is capable of freezing time allowing the player to strategize during combat. The story involves Red being chased by a robotic force called the Process which was unleashed by an organization called the Camerata who tries to assassinate Red when the game starts. It is up to Red to use the power of the Transistor to make her way through, locate the Camerata and put a stop to their plan. The story is revealed to the player as a reward for experimenting with the different abilities of the Transistor, which keeps this game from ever getting repetitive. Transistor is available for PC and PS4.
2. Space Engineers
So word of warning this game requires a powerful PC to run it, but if you have one it is well worth the buy. Space Engineers is another game where you build things but it takes building to its ultimate extreme. Clever building is proven necessary for the player in the game's survival mode where the player is constantly under attack from pirate drowns, and even sider aliens. The game is in early access right now, and it updates on a weekly basis with the most recent update being full sized planets. There is no other creative building game on this scale, so if you have a powerful enough PC to run it then you should.
3. Journey
Journey is a downloadable title for the PS3 and PS4. It is an adventure game where the goal is to reach the top of the mountain in the center of a desert in which you start at the deserts edge. The world that Journey presents is a fallen civilization for players to discover. Players will randomly be paired together, and with no mic support players have to use the game mechanics to communicate with each other. There is no other game where you will have as much fun exploring a world with a random person online.
4. Rivals of Aether
Rivals of Aether is a smash brothers like fighting game where the goal of the game is to knock the other players off the screen. The cast of playable characters are anthropomorphic animals each with an elemental power. The characters all play very differently from each other, which gives the game a huge amount of variety. Online player vs player is available in the latest version, and it works well. Since the Super Smash Bros. series are Nintendo console exclusives it is also great that this game is available for PC with an eventual release on the Xbox One.
