It’s been an interesting year for gaming, it could be easily summed up with a few phrases like game delays, console upgrades and disappointments. Every year I usually give a witty and often snarky anecdote on the state of the games industry and how developers are caving to the whiny gamer generation but not this year I said, not this year! This year I would focus on the amazing games that developers put out, reigniting tired franchises, creating new worlds for exploration and new console announcements. It truly was an incredible year of gaming and 2017 shows no sign of letting up! Here in no particular order (besides game of the year of course!) are my picks for top games and some honorable mentions for 2016.
Best Games Of 2016
Ratchet & Clank the return of the beloved Lombax and his mechanical sidekick that tried to ignite box office success with a failed movie, somehow surprisingly translated into one of the most beautifully animated games on the Playstation 4 system this year. The gameplay was addictive and everything bright and beautiful it was a wonder to look at. There are so many collectibles and side quests to explore after the short main story quest that kept me coming back to this game again and again.
Rise Of The Tomb Raider (PS4 Ultimate Lara Edition) after the surprising news that Lara would debut first on Xbox One, Playstation fans finally got their hands on the ultimate editition of Rise Of The Tomb Raider and we were not disappointed. Beautifull detailed tombs, an engaging story saw this game catapult forward to the top of my most played list for this year. Although it came out after the far superior Uncharted 4, it still bore a worthy place on this years list of gaming greatness.
Firewatch was my biggest surprise of 2016. One of my friends told me to buy this game and play it immediately, and in doing so saw me binge the entire single player story over the course of two days while also encapturing the attention of my partner who sat dutifully by my side for the whole experience revelling in the story and being spellbound by the Pixar style graphics and well written script that delivered a mystery and drama that I can’t wait to go back and play in the newly released freemode.
Day Of The Tentacle Remastered one of the games that first captured my imagination as a teenager, this slick remaster from the team at Double Fine delivered all the original nostalgia to our new systems and was the perfect game to add to my collection on the PS Vita. The touch controls and general controls were a breeze on the handheld and the colours popped on the OLED screen. If you are looking for great story based games on the Vita, this is one of them.
Far Cry Primal I never thought I would add a Far Cry game to my best of lists, and yet here we are. The successful reboot of the series going back to the BC era was not only entertaining as a Far Cry game of shooting, but also taming animals, building your village and claiming land all combined to make this game an unforgettable and addictive Far Cry experience. Big thumbs up for the devestating opening scene and slaughter of your entire tribe.
Game Of The Year – Uncharted 4 : A Thief’s End there is not enough time on the planet to talk about how much I loved this game. It was the (potential) last time we would go exploring with Nathan Drake and co. and while I was concerned about how they could possibly wrap all of this up with a satisfying conclusion for fans of the series. Fortunately my concern was not needed as the new and improved gameplay combined with the best looking graphics on any current gen console supported by a fantastic script with many moments with our favourite characters that left a lasting impression to close off the series with.
Honorable mentions go out to the following games :
Unravel
Overwatch
Doom
The Last Guardian
Battlefield One
Watch Dogs 2
Forza Horizon 3
The Witness
No Man’s Sky
Worst Games Of 2016
Ghostbusters
Umbrella Corps
TMNT Mutants In Manhattan
No Man’s Sky
Star Fox Zero
Quantum Break
Mighty No.9
