Breweries and Games!

You may notice that today's post isn't about an old game. You may also notice that there was no post on Thursday. You may also have noticed that this is not the first time this has happened. There's two things I want to talk about tonight and this topic is the second one. First though, I'd like to get something out of the way. Merry Christmas everyone!  Wherever you find yourself, whatever games your playing, whatever pint your drinking have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This blog has only been going for half of 2017 but in that time we've played some awesome games and seen some spectacular breweries. I'd like to take this chance to thank everyone who reads this blog for being apart of that. Comments or not just knowing that people are reading this blog makes me smile. So thanks guys and gals. Raise a pint for yourself this winter. The second point relates to our schedule. When I set out to create this blog one of the rules I set for myself was no...

Part two where we talk about the games we liked from the past couple of years. These are the game that either aged well or are still fun to play without the hype of being a new release. Again, only games that we reviewed are eligible for this list. #3 Call of Duty Infinite Warfare It doesn't seem right that I put a  Call of Duty game in my top 3 but damnit if this one wasn't great. In perhaps the natural direction for a series that's been riding the wave of the first modern warfare for Far too many years the game is set IN SPACE. It's a plot that's more space opera than anything else but it actually really works in the CoD style. The villains are so laughably evil, the locals you visit just happen to be the entire solar system, and it borrows so much from other sci-fi titles that it should seem like a 50's b-movie. It works though and like I said in the review, it even made me tear up at the end. Strangely, the modern warfare shooter may have found a go...

You could be forgiven for not knowing that there's a brewery in the center of downtown Seattle. Gordon Biersh sits on the top floor of the Westlake Mall.  From this lofty vantage point the beer and good food flow. Flagship: Golden Export, marzen Oktoberfest Dogs: no Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: Full menu Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: outside the business, still inside the mall Wifi: yes The top floor of the Westlake Mall houses several restaurants  and a movie theatre. Along one side of this space sits the Gorden Biersh Brewery Restaurant.  Large, proud GB letters adorne the area and wooden accents welcome anyone who ventures close. The inside is standard, but impressive. A large bar area with a long bartop runs below windows that fame the brewing process going on behind them. Tables and chairs sit in the standard ways while awards shine from their places on the wall. U The restaurant and brewery has a very modern, new look ...

It's the end of the year.  Christmas, New Years, Boxing Day, Hanukkah... All the holidays and more are coming up.  Eggnog and peppermint everything.  Some snow if you live up North. It's also the time of year when all the talking heads of gaming rate things from the last year. Of course this place is all about older games. This means that we're doing things a bit different here. As the title says this is Breweries and Games! Top and Bottom Three Games of 2016 and 2015 in 2017.  So to be clear only games I've already reviewed can be on this list. Also I'd planned to just have games from 2016 here but there just wasn't enough to do so.  We've only been going for half a year. We're going to split the list it into two weekend leading up to Christmas. This week it's the bad ones. #3 Star Wars Battlefront This game just barely makes the list but it still does. It's just didn't age well. What started as an outstanding reboot of the original B...

It's not everyday I get to talk about one of my favorite breweries. Rouge is a well known and respected brewery from Oregon. There not a brewfest I see them at that where they don't tap out. Imagine my surprise then when I spot the brewery in Issaquah, Washington. Puzzled I went inside to investigate. Flagship: White Frog/dead guy Dogs: at outside seating only Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: yes It seems that rouge has grown such that they have satellite breweries. This one is sitting just outside of Seattle and we had a wonderful time. The place itself is rather large, larger than many non-satellite breweries I've been to. There's a beautiful old style wooden bar near the entrance and some seating but it's packed so we set down in a room off to the right. This room is typical of a restaurant with standard tables and chairs. It's the walls that stand out here. They're decked ...

Battlefield 1942 was a game that was truly ahead of its time. The PC shooter mostly ignored a campaign in favor of large multiplayer maps filled with vehicles, class based combat, and the capacity to put 64 people on each team in these maps. At a time when the WWII shooter was king and the campaigns in these games played out the best scenes from movies of the era. So anyway...heres Battlefield Hardline. WWII and modern conflicts got boring for a time before WWI looked attractive so in 2015 Battlefield decided Cops and Robbers was the way to go. I sound critical of this but I'm all for people trying new things. And this showed promise. Battlefield Bad Company had been a very story driven experience so why not tell a story other than war with the same mechanics. I was even a bit excited when the opening of the game resembled a crime show. Then the problems started. In the first mission your asked to chase someone in a car and wow. Just wow. The controls for driving are really...

Well Battlefront II is in the news for all the wrong reasons. What better time for Breweries and Games! To take a look at the previous installment in the Battlefront series. The first Battlefront premiered on the Xbox/PS2 way back in 2004. It was nothing less than a masterpiece. An instant classic that took the style of the then largely PC series Battlefield and merged it with Star Wars to create the experience of the most important part of Star Wars, the wars. It was followed in 2005 by Battlefront II. This next installment added a number of new features such as starship combat in space, a more story focused campaign, and the battles from Episode 3. Regarded by many as a superior game to the original, gamers eagerly awaited the next installment in the series. Unfortunately what came next was a number of titles exclusive to handheld devices. These games all had unique features and showed potential but being on handhelds they were never going to have the impact that the other ...

Well don't I feel silly. Here I was reviewing Advanced Warfare, gleefully typing away my complaints about its story and plot.  Stretching my critical muscles as I prepared to throttle the next Call of Duty title on my list. I was ready for anything the game could throw at me. Anything except for it being rather good. I'm going to lose a bit of journalistic cred here but I actually really liked Infinite Warfare.  In fact, in going to say this was the best one since the first Modern Warfare. The plot is that it's the future and much of try solar system has been colonized in some way. At some point control of Mars was seized by a militant group called the settlement defense front.  In response the world governments created the UNSA. At some point a war was fought between the two groups with something of a ceasefire eventually reached. The game picks up with the SDF up to no good and then attacking earth. As a SCAR team, something of a combination operator and space f...

Western Washington is uniquely blessed in its location. Close to both the vast Pacific Ocean on one side and great Cascade Mountains on the other. Kayaking in the sound is hardly 100 miles from mountain biking in the national forest. It is fitting then that a brewery in this wondrous part of the world would deliberately invoke this. Enter Sound to  Summit Brewing. Flagship: multiple Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: Events: yes Outside seating: yes This modest brewery is located just outside of snoholmish in that sweet spot of the evergreen state. A bright orange sign proclaims the location of the brewery just off a busy highway. Walking inside the place immediately gives off the relaxed, casual feel all breweries strive for. Much of the buildings' guts are on display but a few pictures on the walls keep things looking friendly while being the first things I notice to live up to both the "sound" and "summit" parts ...

This will be the oldest game we've covered yet being a title from 2014 but: 1. It's super cheap now 2. It's still a current gen game 3. I want to preface the next game and complain about this one a bit. As I said this game debuted in 2014 and I remember being intrigued at the concept. A near future shooter with technology like something out of Deus Ex?  Count me in.  I was all ready to give out bonus points for the inversion of having the player character working for a PMC rather than just being another special forces soldier. PMC's being on everyone's mind since the recent conflicts and what a change it would be for a series with "duty" in the name. Not exactly duty to fight for a paycheck alone. I'll start with the good. The game does near future well. The setting is plausible, scary, cool, and most importantly fun. The idea of soldiers having powered exoskeleton suits has been explored in other mediums but it really shines when the audien...

What's up guys and gals?  This week we got a pint in Washington's favorite Bavarian village, Leavenworth Washington. This brewery was an outstanding example of everything that makes this town great. Flagship: multiple Dogs: outside patio only Do they brew there: yes Food: Bavarian snacks Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: yes Few things, to me, feel as good as a strong, dark beer right after you come in from the cold.  In the mountains that divide west and central Washington the Icicle brewing Company seems to understand this. Like everything in this picturesque town the brewery radiates a Bavarian style. This brewery takes a unique but also German approach to their setup. As soon as you step inside you are greeted by the main bar.  Once you have a pint you can go outside to a patio or around the right side of the bar. We'll cover the patio later but the right will send you up a staircase to a spacious loft.  Wooden tables share the space wit...

When the first Dark Souls came out I got the worst pitch of it from my roommate that I could have gotten. If you die progress resets?  Intentionally tough and/or unfair mechanics?  I remember shaking my head at the notion. Why play something like that when I had Halo?  That even had multiplayer. Years later once there had been a few more and the hype train started I finally sat down and got to playing. Immediately I realized this was the worst kind of game for me. Not that it's bad, oh no. In fact It's rather good actually. The problem for me is the desire to and ability in the game to maximize your stats perfectly.  Dark Souls as a series made a lot of unique choices and for the most part they all paid off. This week we got to play the newest one. Dark Souls 3 is the latest and apparently last game in the series. This time around the player is "unkindled" rather than undead. I'll admit to actual liking this setup a bit better since it made more sense to me...

It was a dark and stormy night when I went to Lantern brewing. The ever present dark clouds that cover the city in during the fall had made their presence known all day but only now that night had fallen did the rain began to pour. I cling to my phone as I wound my way through North Seattle, counting off the streets until I found the one my phone had marked. Through the watery haze I spotted a simple sign placed on the soaked sidewalk. Lantern Brewing it read. I pushed past the lonely food truck and grip the handle of the door. Warm air greets me as I open it up to reveal... Flagship: N/A Dogs: service animals allowed Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: food trucks Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: it was pouring rain when we went. Located in North Seattle Lantern brewing seems to be a small operation. In fact when we visited there was only one person working there, and he was the brewer. The building has a very reused feel. Large garage-style doors ...

Sim City is a game that needs no introduction.  The progenitor of an entire genre of games from which everything from the tycoon games, to the sims, to today's title can trace their lineage back to.  Cities skylines was free to play this last weekend on the Xbox One so I thought I’d give it a go and see if I am as bad at this one as I was at sim city back in 1997. Now I’m going to preface this here with a bit of a disclaimer.  I’m playing the Xbox One version not the computer one.   This means that all the problems that usually happen with management titles on the console are probably going to be here and I’m going to complain about them even if they aren’t really present in all versions of the game.  Consoles have had a tenuous at best relationship with management games over the years but Halo Wars was playable and fun so they can get it right. Right, now that that’s out of the way and I’m done with repeated words in this review we can talk ab...

There's something to be said for having a good brand. These days people in every field talk about their "brand" or what makes a successful brand or how they think branding works. Well, this week we went to a place that does it right and manages to make some good beer along the way. Flagship: head hunter IPA Dogs: outside only Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Outside seating: yes Wifi: yes Sitting in downtown Portland a stones throw (alright maybe you'd need to pick up the stones and toss them again) from Powell's is the Oregon branch of Fat Heads brewery. The night we went the brewery had a lot to offer, so let's get right into it! First off the place is big. Certainly capitalizing on the restaurant aspect of the space the brewery features large windows, wooden booths, and a full but not crowded assortment of tables and chairs. The entire building features a high, curved ceiling giving it a wa...

This week we looked at a game that's a bit older then what we usually discuss. Even so, Fallout 4 is an impressive game that deserves some discussion. Also I wanted an excuse to play it again. So how does the game compare so far after launch?  After all, this game had so much hype behind it words don't do it justice. At school, work, even the gym, people were talking about the new Fallout.  Set about 10 years after the last numbered Fallout you play a vault dweller who was frozen in cryostasis inside their vault at the onset of the Great War. While trapped you witness the murder of your wife/husband and the kidnapping of your infant son. This sets off the main plot when you finally escape the vault and the game starts proper. Many of the standard Fallout features return in this game such as companions, perks, and dialogue trees though all exist in a simplified, streamlined manner. New features abound, including a crafting/ base building system. Let me take a min...

Big E's This week we headed up north. Just outside of King County to the busy community of Lynnwood Washington we found the outstandingly cozy Big E Ales of the Ellersick Brewing company. Flagship: 12 1/2 man ipa Dogs: outside only Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Outside seating: yes Wifi: yes This brewery isn't too far from the sprawling Alderwood mall but still manages to be a little secluded.  Tucked away on one end of a long building the brewery has a deceptively plain exterior. A trick of the light as I approached made the glass windows that formed the entry wall and door seem tinted. So much I wonders if the place was open at all. Fortunately, my fears were ill founded. Once inside I found the brewery beyond welcoming. The space is small but cozy.  Before I can fully take it all in a friendly waitress shows me to a table and puts a menu in my hand.  Minutes later I'm settled in with a pint, food...

Well the sequel is out and has been for long enough that real game journalists are giving their take on it so I feel justified in tackling the original. Lucky for you I didn't play bungie's new IP until right before 2 came out. So rest assured, this is still a better late than never take even if this game is 3 years old. This is the first game I've reviewed that I really didn't like. Not from the get go I mean. For years people have been trying to sell me on Destiny and for years I planned to get onboard but I never got around to it. It took me worrying that the servers might shutdown with the new one to get me over to the GameStop and buy a used copy. Destiny then is a FPS with RPG elements with a fair bit of MMO added in.  Players can Sorta but not quite like Borderlands. From what I can tell the story is that an alien intelligence called the Traveler came to earth, boosting our technology. It was followed by something bad which has now reduced humanity to...

It's that time of the year again. The leaves are beginning to change, the mornings are cold. Yes, fall is upon us and with it comes one of the most important of all the beer holidays, Oktoberfest!  Recently we got to attend the Fremont Oktoberfest and it was a blast! The event was in the western part of the neighborhood and covered two streets near the waterfront. A savory mix of beer tents, sponsor booths, and a few buildings open filled in the area with food, fun, and of course, beer. This Oktoberfest had everything from beer to bratwurst, dogs to dirndls and even one of those big magic carpet slides. Upon entrance to the event, I was given a mini stein and a number of beer tokens with the understanding that each would fill said stein in the typical way of every American brewfest ever. Beer is the true attraction at any Oktoberfest and the Fremont Oktoberfest delivered.  There were over 80 beers representing some of the finest breweries around and not just thos...

It seems like another lifetime ago for me. Logging onto miniclip.com at my high school to play runescape anytime I thought I could get away with it. I would find that MMO's are as addicting as they are time consuming but before I would finally break free of their grasp I would be introduced to the holiday event. Runescape had annual events around Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. They usually involved a short, easy quest after which you'd get a thing as a reward. But this thing was no mere item. It was a holiday item. A holiday item unique to that year. This meant that you exactly one chance to get that item in all of time. If you missed out that was it. There would be no getting it another time no matter how cool it was.  Even after I was no longer playing on a regular basis I would mark my calendar to make sure I didn't miss getting the holiday item. These days even the most specifically single player game will have some kind of online element. Xbox live, PlayStat...

Guys and gals, we're excited to announce that Breweries and Games! Is now officially sponsored by Fatal Grips.  This is good news all around, but for you, yes you, the deal is the best. By using the promo code BeerNGames you can get 10% off in their store.  Go check them out: https://fatalgrips.com

Of all the food you can enjoy with a strong pint, nothing compares to a good slice of pizza and this week I got just that.   Resonate is a winning combination of beer, pizza, and music! Flagship: Atomic Punk (IPA) Dogs: no Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: Pizza! Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Outside seating: no Wifi: yes Located in the South Bellevue/ Newcastle area the brewery seems unassuming from the outside with a simple metal sign and storefront. Sitting in a strip mall connected to a largely empty parking lot I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived. Stepping inside though, I couldn't keep the smile from my face. The space isn't overly large, but there's plenty of room and though I'm there on a Friday afternoon, there's quite a few people here, many of them families and all enjoying themselves. The theme is heavy on metal and wood, Certainly not the most unique choice for a brewery but they pull it off with great style. The ...

These days video games are not just one thing. We live in an era when video games are not a single thing but a genre.  Video games can tell horror stories  and love stories. Sci-fi epics and rough westerns. In an era of unsurpassed storytelling what could be more fitting than the simplicity of the 90's shooter?  Wait what? That's right last year there was a new DOOM game and when it was announced I had flashbacks to Duke Nukem Forever. Was this yet another old franchise here one try next gen consoles to be milked for profit with no resemblance to the original?  Well, no apparently. Full disclosure here I never played any of the other DOOM games but I know the series by reputation and like I've said hundreds of hours playing Duke 3-D so I know my 90's shooters and feel I can make a bit of a comparison. The plot is a corporation on Mars in the future has been using Hell itself as an energy source and something went wrong and now demons are everywhere oh my go...

Bighorn sheep or Rams are pretty awesome creatures. And just like their namesake, the RAM Restaurant & Brewery is pretty awesome too. Flagship: multiple Dogs: no Kids: yes Do they brew there: yes Food: full menu Has guest taps: no Events: yes Outside seating: yes There are multiple RAM locations but this week we got to visit the one in University Village, Seattle. Sitting on the North end of the shopping plaza this brewery is everything it's name claims it to be and more. Stepping inside I am greeted to a spacious room filled with tables, booths and several families enjoying an early dinner.  To the right of the seats I get a peak into the kitchen where a half dozen people are cooking, working, and moving about.  Above it all is a full size racing boat and oars.  Banners from various PAC-12 teams  hang from the oars and soft lighting completes the room.  This is the restaurant portion of the place and it's actually pretty impressive both in si...

I...am not a computer gamer. Though the first video games I can remember playing were on my dad's Windows 95, it didn't take long for for me to get confused by different system requirements and jump over to the console world. I say this because this weeks game is of a type that has historically only had a home on PC. Overwatch is an exciting blend of shooter and MOBA and I really like it. The game is an online multiplayer only experience consisting of roughly 20 minute 6v6 matches in one of a few kinds of game modes. Overwatch games are primarily objective based, and though kills are tracked for personal points, victory comes down to objectives.  This means that players really need to work as a team in order to succeed in Overwatch. To do this players take control of one of several different heroes. These characters are all vastly different from each other and each has a number of special abilities in the MOBA/MMO style complete with cool downs.  Your skill with yo...

Ok language quiz time! What is the Czech word for community? It's Obec!  That alone should tell you all you need to know about this brewery. Flagship: Czech Pils Dogs: yes Kids: no Do they brew there: yes Food: no Has guest taps: yes Events: yes Wi-fi: yes Outside seating: yes Obec Brewing is one of the newest breweries in Seattle at the time of this review. New is good though. New means that when I visited I got to talk to the founder and head brewer. Over the course of a few beers I hear from the founder about the breweries name and, surprisingly, about the welcome they received from the other breweries in the area. I first noticed the Obec sandwich sign a block away in the median while driving through Ballard.  And just like those campaign signs that plagued any open bit of grass near a road until recently there was another brewery sign next to it. Competition as fierce as in city politics?  It seemed like it. Imagine my delight when I found out the o...

The first time I heard of the Mad Max series was a joke in the web series Red vs. Blue. From there a young James walked down the the video rental store and paid 99¢ to rent The Road Warrior. Instantly I was in love with the series. In the years before post-apocalyptic genre was mainstream, I was obsessed with Mad Max. I tell you this to preface todays review. I knew I would like the Mad Max game before I played it because I like the series that much. So there's a bit of bias here, but I'm going to focus on the features and be as impartial as I can. The Mad Max series is back in everyone's minds again after the blockbuster film Fury Road. Winning numerous awards and boasting over the top action a video game tie-in seemed natural. The game that came out, simply titled Mad Max, is kind of a tie in, and kind of not. Some names from the latest movie appear and at times the plot does seem to suggest this is a prequel, but there are things to suggest the opposite as well...

Hey guys and gals, with the big forest fires raging all around Washington it seems appropriate to  review a brewery from that area. I got to visit the Roslyn Brewing Company a few weeks ago, and once the nearby fire is out you can too! Flagship: Roslyn Dark Lager Dogs: in beer garden Kids: no Do they brew there: yes Food: can bring in outside food Has guest taps: no Events : no Wi-fi: yes Outside seating: yes Roslyn is a charming mountain town located on the east side of the Cascades just North of I-90. The town itself has several attractions and a long history, but on my last visit I only had eyes for good beer. To my delight the Roslyn Brewing company was there to provide. The brewery is located centrally in the town near just down the street from  other famous Roslyn attractions. The outside is all dark wood playing to the feeling of a Northwest Mountain town. Inside is a gorgeous bar and a friendly feeling. The brewery wasn't crowded when I was there,...

The original Deus Ex has become the equivalent of a cult film in the video game world.  A winning combination of difficult gameplay, freedom to choose your own paths, and character progression make it stand out even today. And just like other cult properties a modern remake/reimagining/prequel/new one was inevitable. Human Revolution filled this role some years ago and I remember really liking it. A strong visual style, solid gameplay, and a good story. Mankind Divided takes the approach that I wish more sequels would. Keep what was good about the last game, improve or remove what wasn't, add more features.  For this game that translates to new locations and augments. These are the biggest and most obvious changes but there are other more subtle ones as well. The visual style I mentioned earlier is still there but there's been obvious attempts to change it up. For example the first hub city is explored during daylight hours and in a way it's really cool to see this n...