Best Shooter of 2016
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
My surprise shooter of 2016 has been so much fun to play in all 3 modes and my favorite campaign in COD for a while.
Overwatch
A lot of fun, tons of charm and so many different ways you can play this. Feel like taking it slow after a long day of work? There’s a character for you. Feel like taking a quicker route to things there’s someone to you. Gameplay never gets old and Blizzard has been great supporting this game.
Titanfall 2
With a new campaign which brings great ideas to the single player experience, the same great MP is still present. Respawn has improved just about everything in this game and I really wish more people gave this series a try.
Gears of War 4
A return to form after the controversial Judgement released in 2013. Despite being lead by a different developer a lot of people lost interest with this franchise. I think it’s safe to say that the Gears series is in good hands with The Coalition leading the charge.
Best Shooter Overall
Doom
What a surprise for 2016. I even waited a bit to play this as I was holding off until I knew Doom was done right. In the first 2 levels you know you’re playing something special. From the level design and in game music to the AI challenging you in so many ways, this game just continues to surprise.
Game Most Regretted Missing (To Date)
Dishonored 2
I really enjoyed playing Dishonored 1 when it released in 2012. I made it through twice attempting to play both playstyles to get the most of the game. However, I did not find myself loving the game eager for a sequel. When Dishonored 2 was announced I wondered why, and when it released I didn’t care. After hearing people rave about the game and the difference in the sequel I’m intrigued.
Dead Rising 4
The series has been all over the place been very up and down with this series. The first one offered such a unique experience when the 360 released. I wasn’t a fan of part 2 and passed when it came out, played later on and it was already dated. 3 as a release day purchase for me and I had a great time with it from a fun factor. This was another title I enjoyed but didn’t love. 4 looks like a return to form and I hope all the issues have been resolved.
Dark Souls 3
I’ve tried Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2 and I still can’t understand how/why people love this series. Bloodbourne is currently in my backlog and I’ll be starting it with an open mind. Everything about this series outside of the gameplay constantly has me watching videos and watching to try it again.
The Witness
Right off the bat I can start by saying I’ll probably never play this game. I may be just too stupid to get past the first puzzle, I don’t have any interest in keeping a notepad handy or playing this game with a mirror behind me to help with certain areas. But, so many people love this game and feel it may be one of the best things that’s happened to gaming in over a decade.
Most Anxious to Play Overall
Final Fantasy 15
This series in general has had so many hiccups and the development story behind this title would give pause to just about any new fan to the series and even bigger yield sign to fans that have been with the series since the early SNES days. Again, the reviews and stories I hear from fans raving about it have me currently searching for a good sale on the title.
Most Overrated Game
Overwatch
I know I’ll catch flack for this and hate comments from many. I don’t however feel this game is worthy of the praise and hyping it’s gotten at this time of the year. I really enjoyed my time with it Experiences with friends, learning new characters and the charm the game brings each time you play. Now that it’s GOTY time everyone is all the sudden in love with it again. I found the lack of depth outside of personal gratification in playing unfortunate. Plus, whatever happened to great games that were missing a Campaign less than Stellar. Titanfall 1 and Battlefront come to mind.
Mario Maker
For months we’ve all waited for a killer Wii U first party game to play and fall in love with Nintendo all over again like we do 1 to 2 times a year. People LOVE this game and I simply couldn’t get into it. This may be due to such a limited library of releases this year from Nintendo.
Most Overrated Overall
Pokemon Go
To this day, I will never understand this phenomenon. At the same time I don’t play mobile games often and I don’t care for Pokemon. Downloaded it, tried it, deleted it.
Biggest Surprise of 2016
Overall Game of IW
After so much hate via social media and the complaints of the scifi future in IW, I found the campaign one of the best since the MW days. MP has brought a lot more than has been mentioned. So much for the most unliked Youtube video to date.
Playstation Pro Announcement and Technical Issues
While this may have been a surprise for many, it wasn’t for me. Sony’s messaging from the start had shortcomings from the start. Now that the games are coming out, we’re already hearing the confusion from people. We’re already being told some games need massive patches and to run them in normal mode. At this point in time the Pro only works for people that didn’t have a PS4 before or people begging for 4K streaming they can’t get elsewhere.
MW Remastered still Great
I purchased the Legacy edition of IW and playing this remastered version of the game was a pleasant surprise showing how well it’s aged. The MP has been completely revamped to compete with modern shooters.
Biggest Surprise Overall
Titanfall 2 Campaign
Wow, what a surprise after not having a campaign in the traditional sense from the first. Interactive puzzles, engaging narrative, and to an extent…a tiny dose of Portal mixed in. Short and sweet.
Most Beautiful Game of the Year
Gears of War 4 Multiplayer
This may be something special to me as I’ve followed every Gears game since the first. But watching this game run at a smooth 60FPS in MP is great. It really shows it’s colors when you go back to campaign and see it running at 30FPS
Forza Horizon 3
Probably the most beautiful sky you’ll see in any game is just the start of where Horizon shines. When you see the water wiped away on your windshield and drops gather on the paint during a race or cruise you really see the detail Playground and T10 have put into this title. While not 60FPS everything accomplished in this game is to be applauded.
Inside
You can take a screenshot in just about every moment of this game, print it out, and hang it on your wall. After a somewhat long development cycle for such a short game every step you take look fantastic.
Unravel
While a simple platformer, this game just looks gorgeous in every environment it throws at you. It’s a shame not too many people played this one.
Most Beautiful Overall
Uncharted 4
Really hard to believe this game is running on home consoles at this time in the generation. Naughty Dog has worked their magic in every aspect of the game.
Biggest Disappointments of 2016
Last Guardian
Having this in my lists of disappointments for 2016 was a struggle because as much as I knew this game would launch with issues, I think everyone wanted it to prove us wrong. I love ICO and Shadow, but this just came up short in so many areas.
The Division
My most anticipated game of this generation really let me down on so many aspects. So much was promised and so little was delivered. Playing solo became a massive bore and playing MP left me scratching my head on design. It’s great that the developer stopped DLC releases to fix a broken game.
Largest Disappointment Overall
No Man’s Sky
Where to start this game? So many things promised by the developer and so little delivered. People have compiled videos and audio clips of Sean Murray stating things that would be included in the game. While poor phrasing can be blamed on a couple comments, the rest cannot. If you didn’t research this game in super detail prior to release you were left buying a shell of a game you thought you were getting. Add to the fact that the developer went silent on all social media didn’t help their cause. I hope a lot of learned lessons come from the small development.
Bargain Bin Pending 2016
Watchdogs 2
I liked the first one for when it came out, but was let down by a lot of shortfalls on so many promises. The more I’ve seen from this game the less it interests me. San Francisco interests me and it’s been reviewed well.
Dishonored 2
While it sits in my most regretted games of the year, I still will want to get to this game. Just in no rush with all the other FPS games.
Battlefield 1
Battlefield titles always launch in Beta mode, in my opinion. The glitches and launch issues I’ve had with this game have been nothing sort of regular. I literally wasn’t able to launch the EA Access trial for MP since Thanksgiving. Tried again a few days ago and I can finally play. The glitches have been captured and raged about.
Mafia 3
I’m not sure I’ll ever get to this game, but I do love the genre and New Orleans so I’ll grab this when it gets under $20.
Personal Favorite Game of the Year
Inside
Like Limbo, I was very curious with the release of this game. While I had heard it was great before release, it wasn’t until I saw everybody raving about it that I rushed to download it. From the opening of the game I was filled with all sorts of emotions. What a great game and soon to be classic masterpiece.
Forza Horizon 3
At the moment I have over 100 hours in this game. I’ve spent a fair deal of this game on SP only and it speaks volumes to the variety of what it offers without needing to be online to enjoy the game. T10 and Playground games have evolved this series so well.
Uncharted 4
Naughty Dog was my favorite developer of last generation and the Uncharted series one of my favorites. In what appears to be Nathan Drake’s last adventure with us, we’re given a beautiful game that delivers on everything we hoped it would. Despite some levels that lag too long the story and charm with this title is something that cannot be missed.
Personal Game of the Year
Doom
This game has been the most fun I’ve had with a shooter in a very long time. Doom was my favorite game when it launched back in the early 90s. I found myself talking to everyone about how great it was and everyone had their own experience as well. This brought back the same feeling as it did when I was a kid. As of writing this I’ve let 3 different people borrow my game and each one has gotten something out of it. Each difficulty gives a different experience and AI continues to challenge you with each new enemy type. As the single player progresses you get new weapons, new abilities and they add to the game like other FPS titles don’t. I used and enjoyed just about all weapons and I’ve played it through twice. My game of the year. The game pays homage to the original in ways no other title has in recent memory and adds new stuff to talk about and share with your friends. In the future we’ll be sharing memories of how much we loved this game.
