Sunday 31 December 2017

2017

I can't believe it's that time again either, the 2017 gaming review! So many games were played this year, some good, some bad, some disappointing and some surprising. So, why not pick a winner for each category? Also, there'll be a best and worst DLC too. If you see a game mentioned that has not yet had a review, they will be coming in the next few weeks. Dont forget; this is a selection of games I played through for the first time, not exclusively games released in the past twelve months. So, onto the winners (and losers) of 2017.

Best game I played in 2017 - Uncharted 4

Runners up: Shadow of War, Titanfall 2

Honestly, once I finished Uncharted 4, there was never any doubt it wasn't going to be my game of the year. Being a sucker for Naughty Dog and a huge fan of the Uncharted series, the fourth in the series not only lived up to my expectations, but surpassed them and became the best Uncharted for me. A great story, fantastic gameplay and graphics, amazing locations and mechanics. It had everything. My one criticism; why didn't they bring back Cutter?! Uncharted was only 0.2 points off equaling my current highest rated game - The Last of Us, the Magnum Opus of Naughty Dog. It's unclear if we'll ever see another Uncharted starring Nathan Drake, but I'll certainly stay hopeful. Excellent work once again.

Worst game I played in 2017 - Hydrophobia

Runners up: Walking Dead Survival Instinct, Dear Esther

Fuck me. First of all, it's part one of what was meant to be three parts, so it's not even a complete game because they never bothered to release the rest on console. Besides the aesthetic look of flowing water, this game had nothing going for it. Don't even get me started on your supposedly whimsical sidekick, who was the most annoying, poorly acted, useless character I've seen in a video game. The story sucked, the voice acting was horrendous and the gameplay was poor. Story, likeable characters and good acting is a must in any story driven game, and here, they all failed MISERABLY. The worst part was that the city you end the game in looked great, if you got to explore that in the second part it may have redeemed itself, but of course this piece of shit ends as it starts to look interesting. GARBAGE.

Most disappointing game I played in 2017 - Watch Dogs

Runners up: Life is Strange, For Honor

Pffft. All I can say is I had huge hype for this back in 2013. Watch Dogs and Quantum Break were two games I genuinely thought could be the best games ever to have come out on this generation of consoles. Both disappointed. Although I quite liked Watch Dogs overall, it was bland in comparison to my expectations. Average looking characters, repetitive, simple gameplay, unimaginative story, it was just average. Also, why does a hacker need a cliché raspy, tough guy voice? All he does is press a button on his phone, he's not Rambo or anyone. I did really like the unique ways of taking out enemies through the cameras, but it wasn't enough. The sequel looks great, but first impressions last.

I'm just gonna throw this out there too; I said in the 2016 review that my most anticipated game to play this year was Amazing Spider-Man 2, because of how much I liked the first... It fucking sucked!

Most surprising game I played in 2017 - SpeedRunners

Runners up: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, The Escapists

SpeedRunners had no competition here, it was really difficult to come up with 'speed'runners up. (sorry) The sad thing is that I'd never have played this had it not gone free in the Games with Gold program. Hands down the most fun I've had on a game in recent years, if you've got a friend to play this with, do it. I guarantee you'll have a great laugh, I physically couldn't stop laughing my first night on this. It's fun, competitive, cool race maps, great abilities and weapons, fitting music, and there's nothing more satisfying than swinging around on the map to stay in the lead. I will 100% buy a sequel if they make one, and I pray that they do.

The new ones!

Best DLC I played in 2017 - Far Harbor (Fallout 4)

Again, there wasn't much competition. The thing with DLC for me is that it's either really bad or disappointing. This is one of the few that overcomes the DLC stigma, Far Harbor is fantastic. A whole new island, and it's huge, plus there's plenty to do. It's own story and a number of side quests, new enemies, factions and followers. If you're a huge Fallout fan like me, get this DLC if you haven't already. It's one of the few worth getting and you don't feel like they've cashed in.

Worst DLC I played in 2017 - Dark Forest (Dante's Inferno)

Jeez, wtf is this? Seriously. It's one puzzle, split into three sections, with a wave of enemies in between each section. It's even set right at the beginning of the game and has no impact on the story. Remember that guy who killed your wife at the start? Well, you're chasing him, that's the premise of the story. Oh, and it's about twenty five minutes long if you stretch it out. Yeah, they seriously wanted money for this. The puzzle itself is better than most in the full game, but who the fuck wants to pay to play a puzzle section in a hack 'n' slash game? Nobody on Earth that has a functional brain. Yet, I paid for this, so I deserved the pain I endured. 

Here's a list of games I played this year that I didn't review and my thoughts on each.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Xbox 360)

Toy Soldiers is a strategy game, I'm not really a fan of these kind of games, and I rushed through its campaign to say I'd done it. That's why I decided not to review it, it'd be unfair as I didn't play the way you're meant to. I like how you could actually control the weapons you planted, and even commandeer tanks and choppers, that made it more fun. The commando who could gun down everything too was fun to play. Ultimately, not my kind of game and only had it due to it being free on the Games with Gold program a few years back.

Disney Pixar Cars (Xbox 360)

ACHIEVEMENTS. That is all.

I would like to say I bought this on PSP back when the movie came out and loved it. I always felt I missed out when I heard the console version was free roam, so I felt I owed it to myself to get that version one day. I definitely didn't miss out.

Mortal Kombat X (Xbox One)

I'm not really into fighting games, but I still always buy them. I'm not sure why, I never put any effort into them and never bother trying to learn moves or master a character. I just button mash and bumble my way through the story modes. How would that be fair to review? I have always had a thing for MK though, probably the gruesome fatalities. I love Scorpion too.

Serious Sam (Xbox 360)

I love the original Doom, it's fun and the music is the best. Serious Sam is a very similar game, except better graphics and constant rushing enemies. Sam is more crazy and you're nonstop shooting. I love the mass amount of different enemies and weapons, but the music pales in comparison and the levels aren't really fun to explore. The puzzles really slow the game down and I just played through the entire game while watching videos on YouTube, paying next to no attention, so no review. I didn't even get an achievement for finishing the game when I was supposed to, so fuck you Sam!

Fable Heroes (Xbox 360)

It's a four player party game I played alone. Basically a hack 'n' slash, it's boring to play alone. It might be fun to play with others, but I doubt it'd be much better. There's something about the Fable series, I always think I love it, I loved two and three back in the day, but when I think of them, it's overshadowed by the boring combat. I'm yet to play the original in fairness, but they brought out some spin off games that didn't go too well. I'm glad Fable Legends got cancelled too, it looked crappy to me. I doubt we'll ever see Fable 4, I'm not sure if I'd like it anyway.

For another year, Last of Us sits pretty as the king of games, despite its close call this  year. There's plenty of big hitters coming out in the next twelve months and I already have some stellar games waiting to be played. Will we see a 9.6/10 or higher? It's certainly possible Hopefully more retro reviews will come out next year and possibly pick the classic game of the year. I'm planning on adding some new topics to my blog over the next few months too, so look out for them. Thanks for reading.

Happy 2018.


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