Gaming In 2016: Snore…
I love gaming, there’s no question about that. But as August winds down and we enter the final third of 2016, it appears it’s been a rather lackluster year! A quick look back at what has come out and what I’ve played reveals a slow trickle of games truly worth playing.
Checking my PSN Profiles Page I see a short list of new games I’ve played since January. It’s not comprehensive, there have been a number I’ve played but didn’t care for (like many recent PS+ games. Ugh). Also note that I haven’t an XBox One, my 360 is about to die and both the Wii U and 3DS are utterly useless outside of Mario and Zelda games. Let’s see where we stand…
Games Of 2016
- Ratchet & Clank
- Resident Evil 0
- Resident Evil 5
- Shadow Complex Remastered
- Street Fighter V
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Zero Time Dilemma
Umm…Seriously? NOT ONE original title? Maybe I’m just a cautious buyer now, but c’mon, that’s pathetic. So, we have three ‘remasters’, one re-envisioning, and three sequels. Now, the sequels are good. ZTD is a solid finale into the fun series, SFV as a package is flawed but the gameplay is spectacular and the production value of UC4 is second to none. It just makes a ‘Game Of The Year’ competition unfun. There are other sequels coming…Gears 4, Rise Of The Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy XV. There are also more re-re-releases like Rez Infinite and Resident Evil 4 as well as Modern Warfare and Skyrim. However, if that were my top seven of 2016, it’s sad to know I’d already beaten two of them, three if you count R&C.
I have friends curious about Mafia 3 or Battlefield 1 or whatever, but going by what interests me, there’s almost nothing on the horizon. And in my Game Of The Year competition, I list the best game and the best new IP title…I have NOTHING for the latter?
OK, enough of the bitchfest twenty sixteen. Let’s see what I’ve actually beaten this year. See if there’s a theme here. This list omits the aforementioned titles (of which I haven’t yet beaten RE0 and ZTD):
- God Of War (*)
- God Of War II (*)
- God Of War III Remastered (*)
- Gone Home
- Lego The Hobbit
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes
- Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition (*)
- Metal Gear Solid 4 (*)
- Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker: HD Edition
- Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
- Tales From The Borderlands
- Tembo The Badass Elephant
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (*)
- Ys: Memories Of Celceta
Asterisks denote games I’d already beaten already (barring HD upgrades, etc.) Of the 14 titles, I’d already completed 6? Two of those were my GotY for 2008 and 2013!!! The two Lego titles I got platinums in. They’re fun to play with the kids. But they’re the same as every other Lego game. There’s nary an interesting and unique game in the lot that has done something I hadn’t already done or seen before. Well, Gone Home but that almost doesn’t even count.
So…I’m disappointed by 2016 but hey, it’s how things go. I haven’t tried No Man’s Sky yet. Maybe that’ll be great. For giggles, here’s a full list of what’s left in the year as well as a few titles that trickle into 2017.
2016
August
30 – Resident Evil 4
September
13 – Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
October
11 – Rise Of The Tomb Raider
13 – Rez Infinite
28 – Skyrim
November
04 – CoD: Infinite Warfare
04 – CoD: Modern Warfare Remaster
29 – Final Fantasy XV
2017
January
24 – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
February
28 – Horizon: Zero Dawn
28 – Vikings: Wolves Of Midgard
Who Knows
?? – Zelda: Breath Of The Wild