This Game Will Take Me Forever

There is one problem I have when I play games. 

If it's a game I really like, then the OCD that lives inside my gaming persona takes on a whole new level.

The Witcher 3 for example, probably my favourite game ever. Most lists say you can complete it in around 80 hours. I took nearly 200.

Fallout 4. Probably you could finish it in say 60 hours. I'm at 263.

If I can help it, I don't fast travel in big, sprawling RPG's, which explains the play time of The Witcher 3. And the moment those little treasure icons pop up or side missions appear, I must do them.

 

And so it looks like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is going to be on this list. I've just completed mission 20 by <SPOILER> driving the Man on Fire off a cliff. Apparently there are 50 story missions. So far, I've hit the 37 hour mark.

The game doesn't really get you until about mission 10, when you start getting better weapons and two really important assets that keep your undivided attention at all times. I've never really played any of the other MGS games other than Ground Zeroes but this game is immense. 2015 was a good year for games.

See you at Christmas.

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words

A quick update, and this picture basically sums up my month's gaming (aside from a bit of LA Noire and finishing Battlefield Hardline....less said about that the better.

I'm about five chapters into Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its safe to say I'm enjoying it immensely, despite not having a clue what's going on half the time. The opening chapter was just...well...crazy, and unfortunately the game quickly turns into a third person shooter as I'm about as stealthy in this game as Donald Trump is in a beauty pageant.

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 27^th. 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. 

 

Mirror's Edge of Darkness

So, Mirrors Edge Catalyst is completed. I’m not sure whether I really like the game or really loathe the game. It’s probably a bit of both.

I never played the original so I missed out on probably most of the backstory of the original. The heroine Faith, comes across as a rather bland cardboard cut-out. One aspect of movies and games in general is that if there are flashbacks to the charactors childhood, then one part of the past believed to be the truth is in fact false. I half guessed early on what the twist was and from then on it played out as expected. Faith’s rather blasé reaction to it only reinforced my view of it.

The story is rather boring. The parkour element of the game is easily the highpoint. The fun of running around a rather lifeless environment is the only really redeeming feature of the game.

The biggest problem is quite simply the appalling melee combat system and the stick men that you fight. Maybe I’m just old and useless but the amount of time I completely lost sight of who I was meant to be fighting or zoomed past them was really horrific. There are no boss fights, the best fight in the game is a cut scene at the end and by the time the final chapters start its far easier to just run away from them instead of fighting them.

All in all, Mirrors Edge Catalyst is an average experience and I’m glad that I only got the game on Origin Access as I wouldn’t have liked to have dumped the full price on it.

Down to 28.

The last couple of days I've managed to complete another of the #dirty30 with the completion of Never Alone.

I bought this game on the 24th September last year and was fully intending to play it by Christmas last year but events such as Fallout 4 and the first Witcher DLC overtook it.

It isn't a very long game, it took me four hours (add an hour for senility), but its a lovely puzzle game with some great insights into the people of the region. The only downside with the game is some really clunky controls (don't mention the bola) and occasions when the character you did'nt have control at the time jumps to their death. 

All in all a little gem

In other news, I've progressed into World Tier 4 of The Division. There is something about it being set around the festive season that makes me want to play it, much like the tug of playing Skyrim around this time. 

The bad news is that Lords of the Fallen will have to be replaced on my dirty 30. The game just keeps crashing during the second boss fight and I've tried virtually everything to sort it but with no joy. A shame really as I really liked it from the couple of hours I played. To replace it I've dipped in the Origin Vault and chosen Battlefield Hardline.

The Division is divided and conquered.

Well, that’s the first dirty 30 game completed. After 45 hours of shooting and looting, that’s Tom Clancy’s The Division completed.

I actually got The Division free with my GTX980 in April, about a month after it was released. Early impressions were that it wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not the best shooter and after dying one too many times I just put it to one side and forgot about it.

Then I saw some gameplay footage of the Survival mode and it again piqued my interest. So in November I started it up again and I’m very glad I did.

OK, there is no real narrative other than go there-shoot-get the loot. But after about 10 hours and I started to get the mechanics of the game I really started to enjoy it. I’ve not really touched the Dark Zone and after getting the season pass for £11 in the black Friday sales I’ve got some more content to get to. I’ve reached World Tier 2 now with a decent selection of high end gear to do some of the end game stuff.

All in all. The Division is a solid 8/10 and in my top five for GOTY 2016.