Fear's 2016 Game of the Year

Fear's 2016 Game of the Year!

        So welcome to my yearly post about my favorite games for the previous year. I'll be breaking down the games that I spent a good amount of time on during the 2016 calendar year and rating based on how much I enjoyed them. A big point to make is this list is based off of what I played during the year. As a working husband and father, a lot of games get put into a backlog, and it's almost certain if a game comes out at the end of a year, the next year will be the year it gets the most play. A game may have come out a year or two before 2016 but I just got to it. I'll give each game a sort of mini review along with a review score of 1-10. I'll also point out a games score won't decide where it ranks on this list that is determined by how much it stands out and the enjoyment. So let's start with number 10!

10) Fallout 4  

Without a doubt this a great game, but I didn't spend as much time I would have liked with it, and honestly it comes down to a flaw (for me anyway) with the progression of my character. I don't like how most of the really cool skills and new features advertised with the game are locked away behind upgrade skills. For me I wanted to really start to build new armor, only to find out it would take a few upgrades, while at the same time there were other new features that you had to unlock as well. Now this may not have bothered some players, but for me, it killed the flow. While it is very similar to the upgrade system of Skyrim, I felt Skyrim handled it better. Not a total deal breaker, but after the first 20 hours, I started to noticed my enjoyment was fading, which in a game like Fallout, is relatively quick.

Now I say that, but I have started getting more into the game with the patch that allows for MODs. With these MODs I have been able to unlock all skills and abilities to really enjoy. Yes some people might say it "breaks the game", but for me it has pulled me back, so I think it is a plus. I did have issue with them removing a few glitches after launch that also made things easier as well, only because if it's a single player and exploiting glitches helps the player get more enjoyment out of a game they spent 60 bucks on, why change that?

I have not played any of the DLC, and I haven't made it that far into any of the missions in the game. Sadly this game may be the game that gets lost in the backlog and only played during slow times. It's still worth a spot on this list, and could end up on my Top Games list for several years.

Even with the little time I spent on this game in 2016 (most of the mentioned 20 hours was in the latter part of 2015) I still have to give this game an 8.75.


9) Saints Row 4/Gat Out of Hell

So first thing to point out is this is the PS4 version, and I'll be scoring the base game, DLC, and GooH expansion in one. It's also a game that sat on my backlog for quite a while. OK so here is the thing with me and the Saints Row franchise; I did not like the first game, like at all. I then skipped the second game, then decided to take a chance on the third game since it looked like so much fun and I absolutely loved it.  Yes it was over the top, but in such a fun way that I didn't care. I wanted to play 4 when if first game out, but between the story looking REALLY over the top, and the fact it came out within weeks of GTAV, I passed on it. I was hoping to get to it a lot sooner, but this was the first year I got to play it. I gotta say, while I didn't love it as much as I did the third game, and I didn't play and do every side mission and spend hours just goofing around, I still loved this game.

The main story was so over the top, but with a tongue in cheek attitude that kept it fun and just as funny as the last installment of this series. The characters in this series, for being as whacky as they are, are well done to the point that I enjoy each of them. Even though the alien invasion (the point of the campaign) only features 1 speaking role, even He is well done. The writers of this series land almost every joke they throw out, which helps take a story that is mostly a parody of the Matrix, Mass Effect, and several other franchises, and makes it worth your time investing in.

This being the PS4 version I was able to play through all the previously released DLC, including the Gat out of Hell expansion. I honestly found the DLCs to be a lot of fun. I'm not sure how much they would have been to buy on PS3 as they released, but added to this package, they were a great addition.

Gat out of Hell is an oddball for me. I thought the premise was really cool and playing as series favorite Gat was great (plus I find Kenzie to be a great character as well), and the story was funny, including a full on Disney inspired song. The biggest problem I had with this game is the way in which you play the story. See the normal side missions or activities in the main game here are represented in a hell type version. To advance past a few of the handful of real missions, you have to level up, which means you have to do nothing but side missions. In all I think there is maybe 5 real missions and the rest is doing the same mission activities over and over. That being said the flying in this game is well done, and this expansion and the main game do a great job making you want to collect orbs in the environment.

For the total package as a whole, this is a solid 7.75 experience. Had the expansion been better paced and the main game have a little more variety in its side activities (nothing new is really added over what was in 3) it would have put it at 8 or 8.5.

8) Batman: Arkham Knight (the season pass DLC)

Last year my GOTY was Batman: Arkham Knight, in fact I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed Metal Gear Solid 5, which I didn't think was possible. The main game isn't what I'm ranking or reviewing here, this is base solely on the DLC. I waited a while to buy the season pass, unsure if the offered DLC would be better than the Harley Quinn and Red Hood pre-order bonuses. I can tell you now, for the most part, the DLC is really good. Catwoman's was really cool, Nightwing was fun, Robin's was ok, but the two standouts have to be season of infamy and Matter of Family.

Season of Infamy was comprised of stories with the Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and the League of Nations. I really enjoyed all of these. They might not have been long or mind blowing, but each was really well done. Mr. Freeze and League of Nations are standouts.

Matter of Family was one I went in with thinking I wouldn't like it. Not only were the reviews not kind but it didn't sound that fun. I was very wrong. Playing as Batwoman with Robin trying to take down the Joker and Harley Quinn was a lot of fun. Not to mention the new area was a perfect example of what I imagine Joker would want to call home.

Based on the fact I got the season pass on a sale, with the amount of enjoyment I got out of the DLCs, plus honestly any excuse to go back to my 2015 GOTY, this was a total win for me. The reason its lower on this list just comes down to it only lasting a few hours, but those hours were well spent. Final Score is an 8.

7) WWE 2K16

So I'm a huge WWE fan, so it's no surprise to me that their yearly games always make an appearance on my yearly GOTY post. In fact WWE 13 was my GOTY for 2012. The WWE games have been in an odd place since being developed by 2K games. Their first effort 2K14 was really well done, but a lot of the ground work was completed by THQ. WWE 15 came out, looked great, for the most part had some great features added to the flow of matches, but had a bare bones roster, and for some reason, the biggest crime (for me and my universe mode) was taking away the ability to run in on other matches during universe mode. It ended up being a dull game for.

WWE 2K16 really improved on a lot of that, with a great roster, improved gameplay, and great visuals. It still didn't have a run in option, but the additions of create a belt, and other features really helped it shine. Now it wasn't perfect, the career mode somehow was extremely boring and repetitive but overall I spent a year with the game enjoying it.

This game is rated higher than most would like by the score I'll give it, but I enjoyed it and came back to it all year. Final score is 7.5.

6) Assassin's Creed Syndicate
This is the game that restored my faith in the Assassin's Creed series. Granted I love Rogue, but that game is sadly treated like a forgotten member of the series. While most of the games are still really good, I hated how the present day story has progressed since AC3. The yearly games have taken some of the shine away, esp if you consider how mangled Unity was when it released, and just the general reception to the game. When Syndicate was announced, I brushed it off as "more of the same", I have never been so happy to be wrong!

Granted this game has suffered in the same fate Rogue has, it seems to be ignored in the wake of Unity's bad launch. It's a shame because this game truly refined all the systems and features that are featured in the game. The gameplay is smooth, the story is really well done, and the characters may be the most likable since the days of Enzio.

What really stuck with me about this game was how they split up the different aspects of the twins and how they tie into the series different styles. Evie was the more traditional character and her story and missions played out like older games in the series as she looked for an apple like object and Jacob's was more in the new style of taking over areas, fighting, getting recruits, and fast paced action. The present day was also told in more of a non-playable movie, but I felt like it was also the best it's been in a while.

The reaction I had to this game was so great that I have to point out that I did beat and complete most of this game in 2015, and only spent the first week or so of 2016 playing it, but I had to include it in this list. This also was the first game in a series that made me want to play the next game. Before this game I was happy with the series taking a break, now I'm dying for the next game. Final score is a very impressive 9.0.

5) Far Cry Primal

I have been a fan of this series since the first game was brought to the 360 in 2006, and fell in love with in with the release of Far Cry 3. Far Cry 4 was more of the same greatness, even if it didn't add a lot to what was done with 3. Primal was a ballsy move, setting a game in the earliest stages of human history with those weapons and even using a created language could have been a disaster. Thankfully Primal is one of the strongest games in the series.

Primal is a testament to how great Ubisoft is at creating worlds. Honestly if I had to point out the best feature of the game, it would just be the world that was created. I'm can't pin point what makes this game's world so great, but I honestly just kept wanting to explore it. From the different landscapes, the areas where tribes had built monuments, and the feeling that this is what the world looked like, it just sucked me in.

This happens to be one of the only PS4 games that I got the platinum trophy for, but doing so also took it down farther on the list than I would have expected due to the amount of grinding I did playing this game. The only major issue I had with this game itself that kept me from overlooking the grinding and bumping it higher on my list is the fact that I felt the story was very basic. There was no stand out story moments, no larger than life villain, just a basic survival of the tribes' story. That's not to say what we got was bad, just nothing that stood out like 3 and 4's story did for me. Credit has to be given for the time setting. 

Again ballsy move, but it also seperated it from the rest of the FPS and allowed it to really shine.Final score is an 8.75

4) WWE 2K17

You can do a run in! Yes for the 2nd time on this list I am including a WWE game, and this one scores high on the list. I love this game, and though I haven't put as much time as I want to, or went as far in my universe as I'd have liked, it's because I get lost in the details of it. Sure Mycareer mode is still on the repetitive side, but this year the decision to earn VC points outside of Mycareer mode allows you to upgrade your created character a lot faster, which helps makes you feel like your progressing, even if for some reason the ranking in the game stalls. I'd love to see the mode get revamped next year, for a wrestling game, it doesn't have to be just match after match; it needs to be story after story.

Between the digital ropes the gameplay is as great as ever. I applaud the addition of rollouts in multi-man matches as it gives the gameplay a chance to be hectic and fun, while also not too crazy. Universe also includes run ins, however outside of attacking someone during their entrance, I have yet to see how I can be the person who runs in, which of course is a feature that needs to be fully brought back. Again this is a wrestling game, wrestling just as much about the story as it is the wrestling, and doing a run in and distractions play a big role in that.

See Universe mode is where I get most of my play time in on WWE games. The trick that I believe THQ nailed was giving me the tools to really make this mode shine. 2K has added some cool additions like being able to fully customize a superstar's attire, but for the first 2 years they lacked on other areas. These games don't have to be full of legends, but give us a good roster of current superstars and legends, throw in some customization, give us the freedom to create some great stories in our worlds and this mode is a major hit. While I still think 2K has some growing to do, 2K17 has done a great job of repairing what was damaged for me.

As I play more of this game, the more I love it, which is why it is rated so high in this list, and why I can give an early spoiler for next year and say it will also be high on that list as well. Final score is an 8.

3) Witcher 3

Honestly what can I say about this game that hasn't been said by everyone, including me last year? This is a great game, and while I spent a lot of time playing it in 2015, 2016 is when I finally finished the last 3rd of the story, completed a lot of side missions and monster quests, and achieved a lot of in game awards (like armor and weapons). However the game is huge enough that I have plenty left to do this year, including the 2 expansions that I have yet to pick up. I'm just going to leave it at that, I could have just wrote the title and moved on, everyone knows this game is great, easily the game of this generation so far. Final score (for at least this year) 9.75.

2) Uncharted 4

Even writing that in the number 2 spot is a shock for me. This game is at the pinnacle of what developers should strive for. A great story, great graphics, a great world, and some of the best characters and writing this generation. This truly is the best "final chapter" I have ever played.

Seeing Drake and the gang again was just a blast. The addition of his brother had me worried since at no point is he ever brought up in the previous 3 games, but it is handled well enough that you (or at least I) never worry about that detail once the game began. The locals are great, the puzzles are fun, and while the game isn't open world, or made up of hub worlds, each area is open enough to allow for a lot of exploration.

The biggest takeaway from this game is Nathan and Elena's relationship. Throughout the series I have watched it begin, begin again, and then go from shaky to solid. Going into 4 I was hoping that with a tagline of "a Thieves End" it wouldn't go sour for good. I wrote a blog about the Uncharted series last year and this relationship was a central theme of it. This is one of the best written relationships in any series, and that doesn't include the Drake/Sully relationship which also great. Back to point though, the theme that Drake truly loves Elena and wants to give up the adventure for her, but is pulled back in like it's an addiction is done so well. This is also one of the few series that wraps up with an epilogue that leaves you glad you played all 4 games, but not wanting them to revisit the series and risk ruining the perfect ending.

I went into this game wondering how they would end this series that felt satisfying, and they did that with a perfect ending. I was so worried that a major death would happen for shock value, but everything in this game happened with a great reason, and the epilogue to the story was how I wanted to see this series ride off into the sunset. This came so close to being my number 1 game of the year. Final score 9.75.

1) HITMAN

Replayability is the word that comes to mind with this game and why it beat out Uncharted 4. I have been a fan of this series since Hitman 2 arrived and I can say I have enjoyed every game in the series, yes even Absolution. This game had me concerned with its episodic release, however the developers used that time to fine tune each release and to listen to feedback. On top of that, the bonus missions, elusive targets, and all the extra content puts this developer right up there with how the Witcher 3's developers took care of fans post launch last year.

The story was done very well in small doses. This isn't a series that needs a big story (see Absolution) but a story piecing the game together helps create a world that pulls you into why you are playing a game.  Each mission has a small story to close it, that by the end of the season, you are invested in, but it never gets in the way of the missions themselves. Each mission is pretty much self-contained, and channels the legendary Blood Money's levels where the mission is a map full of areas, unlike Absolution where the story (and limits to the hardware) broke missions up over several levels. With this generation's power, levels are the perfect, not too big or too small size (they don't need to be a full city seeing how we are only taking out a few targets on each map). Adding to that is the different opportunities that the game presents, and ones that players can find on their own which add to the massive amount of replayability of this game.

The elusive targets have to be one of the coolest new features of any game this generation. Every month I think I'm done with the game, a new target pops up and I can't wait to jump back in. I'm not a multiplayer fan of most games, but the carryover from Absolution's awesome Contracts mode is a welcomed addition. Creating your own hits and having players from all over trying to match or beat your score is a great way to add even more legs to this already long experience. The series also has a series of Escalation missions as well. These start off as killing one target a certain way, but by the 5th level you have a whole set of rules to work around, forcing you think outside the box.

This is probably the smallest amount of missions in the series history, but I believe when you add the release schedule, it made for the longest amount of time I've put into a Hitman game. Where as with most games, I would play a mission then move to the next one, unless I seen a new approach that I wanted to try; releasing only one mission a time allowed me to really try out all the approaches. The fact that they show some of the more interesting opportunities really fleshes out each level, and in my opinion each one got my creative juices flowing for how I would do things myself. So while most Hitman games took me around the 12-15 hour mark, this game was a 30 plus hour game. And I have to say, some of these levels will easily pop up on "Favorite Hitman Levels" list in the future.

When I finished Uncharted 4 I was only up to episode 2 of Hitman, and while I was loving it, I felt at that time Uncharted would easily be the title to beat for my Game of the Year. However with the continual flow of releases, the improvements that took place between each episode, and just the insane level of replayability in Hitman, I'm happy to say Hitman is my Game of the Year over some fierce competition. Final score is 9.5.


Final Thoughts

So there it is, Fear's GotY list for 2016. While my list is unique in that it focuses on just my games played in a calendar year and review scores don't determine where it will fall on the ranking, I feel like my list is fair and I offered some good points. 2016 was a good year in gaming for me. I didn't get to play as many new games as I'd have liked and some games took me longer than I would have liked at times (Far Cry Primal) due to a change in my schedule, but I enjoyed what I played a lot. I also can report that I just started Rise of the Tomb Raider at the beginning of the year, and wow it is going to take a lot to beat that game for my 2017 GotY, which is very exciting to think about!

-Fear