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Gaming under the influence...

by Sam Fletcher - September 12th, 2008

I take my position at PlayStation Beyond very seriously. As such, when given the task of writing a feature for the site the first thing that came to my mind was my PS3, a group of friends and enough alcohol to make me regret it the next day.

There is merit to this article though, as it aims to find out the best game to play with your friends while in an intoxicated state...trust me you’ll see.

GTA IV
It’s only fitting that the first game I tested was a game that allows you the player to get drunk. The game’s a huge laugh when whatever morals you have are severely crippled by excess amounts of alcohol. It was a huge laugh driving down the pavement (curb) killing anyone who happened to be foolish enough to use it. Getting out the car didn’t prove as fun and as a single player only game, it can only hold the party for so long. It must be said however, there’s no trippier feeling than getting drunk in a game while drunk. All in all, the game gets 2.5 out of 5.

Super Stardust HD
Playing Super Stardust HD whilst drunk isn’t a great idea. Playing co-op is an even worse idea. The fast motion of the game coupled with the precision nature needed at some of the later levels just doesn’t suit a drunken state. The game starts a blur and quickly ends on a blurry game over screen and you shouting at your partner for not being able to dodge properly. 2 out of 5.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
Moving onto a fighter game now and one I pride myself at being quite the master at. A problem I encountered was the speed of the game in comparison to the slowness of the world around me. It felt like I was in some sort of a time pocket, slowly pressing a few buttons to see the characters fight at crazy speeds. It was a very weird feeling. However, have a winner stays on situation and set the rounds to one and you have yourself a winner. 3.5 out of 5.

PAIN
PAIN’s a weird enough game to play sober. Sometimes the game just isn’t got by people. When drunk though, the wanton destruction becomes a riot, for a while at least. At first the game is a barrel of laughs as you fire yourself onto the giant bowling ball and roll down the street holding onto it. It doesn’t take long though, before the game starts to wear thin, mainly due the lack of levels the game has to offer. 3 out of 5.

FIFA 08
I had a tough time playing FIFA 08 while drunk. The players seemed small, distant and blurred and the ball was almost invisible to me. My opponents seemed to be having the same problem, but that didn’t stop us from trying. The game was still a huge laugh though, where scoring goals resulted in drunken celebrations and winning a game provided bragging rights like no other. Substitute FIFA for the sports franchise of your choice, and you’re onto a slightly blurred winner. 4 out of 5.

Buzz: Quiz TV
Buzz was a surprise letdown, not because it was bad, but because I had such greater expectations for it. The game is great fun to play when drunk, the bragging rights are second to none and it gets everyone involved at once. It just seems to drag whilst drunk. I encountered problems with it when drunk which I didn’t while sober. The games seem to drag way too long, which when in a drunken state, just doesn’t hold the attention of the party. Couple this with the same game structure every time then you can only play it twice more before you find yourself moving onto better things. 3 out of 5.

International Track And Field
A classic PS1 game I downloaded out of nostalgia. When sober this game is awesome for competition but when drunk, it’s a completely different story. At first, not being able to tap the buttons fast enough and not being able to press the action button at the right time is funny. It soon becomes frustrating. You can only run into the sand pit so many times before it gets dull. 2 out of 5.

Rock Band
I definitely saved the best game till last. Foolish me didn’t expect much from Rock Band. I believed the drunken state of the party members would result in us failing the song before it was half way through. Boy was I wrong. It’s actually quite surprising how well you can still play when the notes are blurring together and being able to wow your drunken friends while playing on expert is certainly a riot. The alcohol furthers the illusion of the rock star life, and it even inspires the shyest of people to get up on the mike and scream along to Sabotage. A word or warning though, I don’t remember exactly how, but my friend filled in the blanks for me, and it turned out that I was so drunk I thought I could spin the microphone like “A proper rock and rolla!” only for me to smash a mirror. 5 out of 5, despite the broken glass.




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rbrtchng: Wait for WipeOut HD. That's gonna be the best drinking game. WHD's zone mode is gonna be great.

ExcelBeyond: I'm terrible at Guitar Hero when I'm drunk... I can just imagine what a mess a whole band sounds like :P