Loser Friendly - Audiosurf

I'm moderately bummed that I had to disqualify this one.  The only game that provides a higher level zen for me is Wipeout (specifically, Zone tracks).  Audiosurf doesn't have an endgame; as long as you have music tracks, you have Audiosurf tracks.  It's a wonderful game, and I still pull it up to run a song every now and then, but it's loser friendly.

On the other hand, we've completed the 'A's!  Party Time!!!!

Our first 'B' is Baldur's Gate Complete, which may take me a little while to get running, as it doesn't like Win 7 very much.  Updates to follow.

Atom Zombie Smasher

While I can't figure out what's going on with the title, I love this game.  A strategic roguelike-like, Atom Zombie Smasher sets you as the containment protocol commander during the 'zed' apocalypse.  You direct your various mercenary forces to save the gold dots from the purple dots civilians from the zombies.

Dots everywhere!

Atom Zombie Smasher is the pure core of strategy.  Given a set of constraints, solve a problem.  In this case, the problem is "save all the people or kill all the zombies."  The constraints are what make the game interesting.  Your mercenary roster rotates on a semi-random basis, so most missions are run with a group of three units the game chooses for you.  Each in-game month, a new modifier comes into affect, which can be anything from improved helicopter speed to decreased daylight to speedier zombies.  The outbreak level of your chosen mission site will determine not only the number of zombies running about, but can even modify your objective.

Also, this game is hard.  Failing a mission does not end the game, so the fail state will be determined by where things stand at the end of the campaign.

Armed, Dangerous and Dead

In 2000, LucasArts released their last new adventure game, Escape from Monkey Island.  After that, they shut down adventure game development and focused nearly exclusively on Star Wars.  Armed and Dangerous is one of the few post-2000 LucasArts games that isn't based on the Star Wars IP.  While it is a third person shooter, in many ways it the spiritual successor of its adventure game antecedents, steeped in parody, over-the-top snark, and crazy props.

Being a Steam game, it was a breeze to get running, which was a welcome change from the nightmare that had been Anachronox.  So I booted up, watched the first cutscene, and got started.  My companions, a English-accented, tea drinking terminator-esque robot and a grumpy Scottish mole, and I are rescuing an old blind sod from the forces of the evil Hitler king and his SS soldiers.

I'm baffled by whatever it is that is going on here.