By Chris Nafekh, Staff Writer

Published in print Mar. 17, 2015

During the semester, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Between papers to write, classes to attend and a career looming in the near present, it’s easy to lose sight of what is important. Over spring break I reacquainted myself with leisure and played my Xbox 360 for the first time in a while, rekindling my fondness for video games.

I went out and bought the new “Majora’s Mask” release for Nintendo 3DS. Playing it again was like strolling 15 years into my youth. This game is by far the darkest in the “Legend of Zelda” series. It’s the story of a selfless adventurer searching for an old friend, and slowly the game tells a story filled with dark themes of evil and death.

Anyone who has played this game knows its value. Widely considered the best “Legend of Zelda” game, it is arguably the greatest game ever released by Nintendo. The extensive self-referenced mythology throughout the “Zelda” series makes the game memorable, unique and friendly to avid fans. And the next “Zelda” game promises great things, like a horse that steers itself and an immense open world, full of rich lore and beautiful graphic design.

But we won’t learn more about that until E3 2015 later this summer. So what does one do in the meantime to occupy their thumbs? My first suggestion is to play “Majora’s Mask” if you haven’t yet, but we have a few more things to look forward or back on…

…such as “Dark Souls 2”. This game, notoriously challenging for any gamer, is getting a special addition rerelease for April 7. If you take yourself to be a serious gamer, always up for challenge and nice, long commitment, this game is for you. Set in an RPG fantasy world, “Dark Souls 2” provides the challenge of systematical progression. Making one wrong turn could result in death and a great loss in progress. The notoriety of this challenge is unmatched, and now I feel a need to play this game once more.

If you like any RPG fantasy type game, you should be excited for “Worlds of Magic”, scheduled for release tomorrow, March 19. Like Majoras Mask, this game takes us back to a golden age of gaming. It’s the successor to the highly popular ‘90s 4X strategy game “Master of Magic”. It was Kickstarted by Wastelands Interactive, an indie game studio out of Poland.

“Worlds of Magic” is turn-based with intimate gameplay; you can control your mage, a military and other units to explore and expand your empire. Collecting and making your own spells through a vast world, you advance with a hearty spell system. This game is also run on an Open Gaming License popularized by third edition “Dungeons and Dragons”. This means that the game is a huge, open world full of creatures, characters, events and quests that change with every play though; no two games are ever alike.

Reviews are giving mixed messages about “Worlds of Magic”. On one hand, it’s a familiar concept for anyone who played “Master”. For players new to the concept, it may prove challenging. This game punishes you for simple mistakes. The reviews say there are too many bugs to make the game enjoyable. But keep your eye on this game. If the publishers release the right updates and fix all the bugs, this came could have endless potential.

If you liked how “Worlds of Magic” sounds, another game to watch is “Magicka 2”. This is the sequel to “Magicka”, a Norse-themed action adventure released in 2011. Playing a monochrome wizard, you control the elements. Water, fire, earth and wind are only a few, and combining these elements creates powerful magic. Creative spells and a great multiplayer mode help you have a clever and entertaining adventure. I only regret that my computer couldn’t handle the original. The sequel is set to release on May 26.

For the more artistic gamer, I recommend picking up “Ori and the Blind Forest”. This game was released recently and the artwork brings tidings of enchantment and amity. It’s a story of two unlikely friends brought together by the first 10 heartrending minutes of the game. The scenery is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films, and as I read more about this game my imagination wanders. After release the game received outstanding reviews, but not just for being artistic. The platforming uses gravity mechanics and special puzzles to progress the game. Some areas of the world are only unlocked by solving these puzzles. Thus, “Ori” is not only beautiful, but clever and challenging.

These are only a few games in store for 2015. At E3 this year we will see plenty of new gameplay from a variety of anticipated titles, but for now, these new and old releases will keep me busy waiting.