Top 5 Brown Games

Brown has a bad reputation, which probably has something to do with connotations to a less than pleasent body function that this blog is way too mature to talk about. Dookie aside, brown is usually considered to be a dull and uninspiring colour, having been relegated to feature on the sides of trees, non-brand coffee lables and those beat up cars from the 70's and 80's that just sit on the roadside never to be driven again, owned by people too lazy to scrap them.

But the game development world is fighting back against the demotion of this colour, they know that in the far future everything with be a muddy colour, and they love and embrace this fact. To celebrate the unsung hero of the visable spectrum I have compiled this list that I like to call 'The Best Of Brown'... unfortunately James Brown's lawyers have informed me that this name is already taken so I'm pleased to present you with...

The top 5 games that don't skimp on the brown palette!

Command And Conquer 3



Shade: Dry Earth

C&C 3 isn't a completely brown game, the stark out croppings of green tibirium steal away from what in places could be an exceptionally bleak landscape. The GDI have been at war with the evil NOD for such a long time that their trademark bright yellow paint has almost completely ran out. Being a resourseful bunch they have stretched the supplies by watering down the paint with muddy water, so now all their vechiels sport a rather charming pale beige. A low saturated pallette of course is extremely realistic, and in this game about a war between the governments of the world, a cult and an alien invasion force, realisim is a key factor.

Fallout 3

Shade: Moist Bark

When innevitably the bombs fall and we're all left scurrying for shelter, remember in your haste to grab a few crayons as they'll come in far more useful than any of the guns and ammo you could carry. When 200 years later you venture into the wastelands which once consisted of your neighbourhood you'll wish you had something to brighten your day, not only that but the crayon to caps exchange rate will probably work exceptionally well in your favour. Fallout 3 is an exact simulation of the end times, right down to the glitches, so if Fallout says the apocalypse is going to be mostly brown, then you can pretty much gaurentee it'll be right!

Condemned 2

Shade: Old Coffee

Forget what you may have heard about yellow being the colour of madness, Condemned knows the truth is that yellow's filthy cousin is the real indicator of insanity. No other game on this list lets you get as up close and personal with the #964B00 side of society as much as condemned 2 does, with the populace of the game so excited with the various shades featured on their attires they instantly feel the need to rush up to your character so he can enjoy a full view. Alas, all attempts to find an embrace button have failed, and instead you end up beating upon these otherwise normal people. Shame on you Condemned 2, you otherwise up-beat game.

Gears Of War

Shade: Bloody Mud

Gears is a game developed on one of the most advanced videogame engines ever dedicated solely to creating environments with overwhelming mocha tones; the unreal engine. Unreal is a poor choice as far as naming was concerned however, because, as I stated earlier, nothing is more real than dull earthy tones. It should be noted however that Gears does attempt to break away from the constraints of a single colour with liberal use of brown's more popular cousin; red.

Silent Hill

Shade: Poisoned Chocolate

Up until recently Silent Hill was defined by warping players to a hellish brown parallel world, although I was unaware this was the case until someone pointed it out to me as the alternative world looked so much like England. Silent Hill takes it's brown usage seriously, leaving not a single shade of the colour untouched, and on many occasions going out of its way to try and squeeze as much of the brown spectrum into even a single enemy.