BlueGamer’s Game of the Year 2016

It has been a while. This year got a bit quiet, here on BG, but it’s only temporary. I started a new project that’s going to be some time in the making and hopefully I’ll have more news on that soon. If you follow me on instagram, you might have an idea. Anyway…there were less original games that I enjoyed and more sequels that shocked me. I even spent more time with older games. In fact, Minecraft became my favorite game this year, but it didn’t come out this year, obviously!

The Division – I gotta say, the content is lacking here, but visuals, controls, gameplay, etc, are all on point. The DLC has been fantastic too – Survival is very fun! I’ve played on both PS4 and PC, and yes, the PC version looks fantastic.

Doom – This turned out rather amazing, but more due to shock of what they pulled off rather than it actually being amazing. I wish they didn’t reboot – but they did an amazing job on characterization. Mid-to end of the game was great, but the beginning didn’t pull me. It was just doing a AAA version fo what indie FPS games have been doing since AAA games stopped doing what Doom started…if that makes sense.

Dead Rising 4 – This is like a mid-budget game of a AAA franchise. I think by having my head wrapped around that (knowing Capcom used a western developer from last time) I was less critical. Complaints would be no co-op, no timer, and survivors are easy to save – but it changed the game. I actually took my time and went everywhere. Dead Rising does a good job of making a world feel real, and I really got to enjoy that design as I played. It was just FUN.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – I feel like a tool adding a CoD game, but they made a campaign comparable to Titanfall 2 – the reality is CoD games can do things great and us veteran gamers have to get it out of our minds that this is just mainstream fluff. Every level was so detailed and alive, but outside that, half the game was space battles! They did a good job giving the ships FPS controls too – not deviating far from the standard way to play. So, I’m hoping we see this more. It still has large, linear, set-pieces, but countered by nearly sandbox style space ship missions. The MP is fun too – but nothing drastic enough to give it any special honors.

Dark Souls 3 – Not as good as Dark Souls, but better than 2. It’s Dark Souls and that’s all that matters. Not GoTY because it didn’t do much new compared to how Titanfall 2 did more new for the FPS genre.

8-Bit Armies/Hordes/Invaders – This is everything I ever wanted. Westwood makes a C&C-style RTS that pulls concepts from C&C, WarCraft, and StarCraft – making 6 factions that have enough differences to be interesting. It’s pretty much my go-to RTS.

And the GOTY is…

Titanfall 2 – I disliked the first game, but they turned it around. The campaign is incredible. They did more than just make it a single-player version of what the MP is, they actually built a world, story, and crazy sci-fi elements. The only thing I’d ask for is the next one to have a co-op campaign. Think of how frenetic the MP is, then add that into a scripted campaign. Speaking of the MP: God-tier. Last year Halo 5 took the crown, and I think it stepped up here. The gameplay takes FPSs to another level, requiring more out of a player, but making that skill certainly achievable.

Honorable mentions:

Overwatch – great game, but it’s rather samesies all the time.

Forza Horizon 3 – Best racing game, but I spent so much time on FH2 that I need more of a break before I get all in it again.

Battlefield 1 – it looks great! But it doesn’t do much new or different.

Rise of the Tomb Raider – I got the Windows 10 version which came out in January. 3rd person controls perfected, but the length was padded by collectibles that eventually drove me insane and made me rush to beat it. They need to balance that better next time.

Watch Dogs 2 – Unfortunately I just started this, but it’s leagues beyond what the first game was.

Star Fox Zero – the level design was there. The story was there. The action was there. But the gyro/gamepad controls just got in the way to actually enjoy it. This could have been near the top, but those damn controls. My wish is for a Switch version with standard controls!

But my favorite games I played this year from previous years are Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Minecraft, and LEGO Dimensions.