Sunday 1 January 2017

The Only Game of The Year List That Counts



Right then, without further ado, here is the only Game of the Year list for 2016 that counts. These are all based on PC release date and include no remasters (Sorry Skyrim).


5) Rise of The Tomb Raider

Before you say anything, released on PC on January 27th. Whilst I don’t think it’s quite as good as the reboot from 2013, it is still deserves a place in this top five. Graphics are beautiful and the gameplay is fun.


4) The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC

I never usually include expansions in GOTY lists, but this one is virtually a game in itself. A triumphant end to the saga of Geralt, with a gorgeous world and the return of the Archspores from the first Witcher. The best game ever.


3) The Division

This did not enter this top five until very late, as I put it to one side after getting it free in April. But after putting some hours in the drive for loot becomes very addictive. And the representation of New York is superb and the story is interesting. 


Now, the last two on my list I spent hours debating which one to choose as my number one as there is literally a fag paper between them. But, in the end I had to choose…..


2) Doom

When I saw the Bethesda conference in 2015, I said to myself there is absolutely no way I’m getting Doom. It’s a pure shooter and just not my type of game. I saw the adverts through Spring and again it just didn’t appeal to me. Then Steam put it on sale in September at a good price and I thought, why not? Well, I’m glad I did.

Doom is one of the most fun games I’ve played. There is basically a token story, no character development whatsoever but….it’s just so much fun chainsawing demons, ramming an arm into a throat…I could go on. A triumph.


But it was beaten at the very last by…


1)  Titanfall 2

Never played the first one. Like Doom I had no intention of picking it up. I then watched a stream during extra life weekend and it swayed me into getting it in the sales next year. Then Amazon reduced the price to £25 during Black Friday and kerching, bought it.

I have to say that the multiplayer is the best I’ve played, catering for people that are not particulary good at shooting by giving them a giant robot as a friend. Bounty Hunt is a great mode as well.

What got TF2 to number one in my list is its single player. The story is fun, engaging and surprisingly emotional. If the story had been as long as Doom was, to me it would be a consensus GOTY.

The only thing wrong with TF2 is EA’s complete stupidity in releasing it within a week of Battlefield 1. To say that they wouldn’t compete is ludicrous and in some ways it has doomed the game. Only 6000 players are around during weekend’s which is disappointing. Why didn’t EA put the game into the 10 hour Access trial when the did with Battlefield? To me, the only way to save Titanfall 2 is to get the game into the vault within the next couple of months or it will die.

A couple of honourable mentions:

F1 2016 would have been number five on the list if I didn't include Blood and Wine. It's a fabulous and frustrating game.

Fallout 4 Far Harbour DLC has a great atmosphere and more interesting creatures than the main game. The story is still pretty weak however and has one of the most frustrating sections in any game this year. 
 

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