The Games of 2017. (Off-Topic)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, December 29, 2017, 06:31 (2522 days ago) @ cheapLEY
edited by CruelLEGACEY, Friday, December 29, 2017, 06:37

My most played and most enjoyed game this year was actually a 2016 game: Titanfall 2. The support that Respawn has put behind that game deserves all the recognition it can get. Great new maps, great new game modes, constant balance tweaks, all for free. Their updates are so frequent that when they made a balance change that the community wasn’t happy about (merging the grappling hook) it only took them something like 3 weeks to undo the nerf.
That stuff aside, it’s still the best feeling and Best playing shooter on a console (I know Destiny excels in this area, but Titanfall 2 has snappier controls and more responsive movement. As a result, it doesn’t look as smooth as Destiny, but I *feel* like I’m more in control).

Horizon Zero Dawn is a masterpiece, plain and simple. I just started it again from the beginning, and the game is blowing me away all over again.

Destiny 2 might not be as replayable as D1 for many people, but as a game that you play through once and then come back to from time to time with friends, it’s pretty great.

A few other noteworthy games that I’ve played...

Assassin’s Creed Origins really does nothing for me. The franchise has gone so far away from what drew me to it in the first place. It’s also a game that fails to do anything particularly well, IMO. The combat, storytelling, graphics, music, world design... it’s all just “ok”. I find it especially disappointing given that Ubisoft took a year off the AC franchise so that they could really invest in this game, and the results are possibly the most boring and generic entry in the franchise so far.

Star Wars Battlefront 2. Ok, there’s something to this game. It’s not amazing. I’d have a tough time recommending that anyone pay full price for it. The Microtransaction economy is so bloated and clunky that even though they’ve removed any real-money transactions from the equation, the whole “card” system is obnoxiously obtrusive. And yet, every couple weeks I spend a few hours with this game and have loads of fun. The levels feel lovingly crafted, the combat is fun, and the whole Star Wars universe is so faithfully recreated that I get a thrill from being in the various worlds and battles. It’s also worth mentioning that the game has a huge list of custom game options that make it super friendly to jumping in with friends of varying skill levels. You can give individual players more or less health, faster or slower cooldowns, etc. Makes the game very approachable.

I also went a bit insane this year and got 3 new consoles O_o

The Nintendo Switch is a pretty cool little device. I had some bad luck with it; my console died a few days after I got it, but I was able to get it replaced easily. I’ve put a bit of time into Zelda... only a few hours, but so far I’m really not seeing what all the hype was about. It feels to me like a game that might have been groundbreaking if it came out 10 years ago, maybe. That said, I’m having a decent time with it. It’s very pretty and charming. But I lost my save file when my console died, and I’m really not looking forward to replaying the first few hours, for whatever that’s worth. I also spent a tiny bit of time with Mario Kart... not as much as I’d like (my console kept freezing before dying), but the one thing that jumped out at me is how friendly and approachable it is for new or young players. There are auto-acceleration and auto-turn options that can be toggled on/off per player, so my 4-year-old daughter and I can play split screen together along with all the AI drivers and she can feel like she’s truly competing, which is awesome.

Xbox One X. I picked this up a little while back, but just recently got a 4K tv. So now I feel like I can really appreciate what it does. We’re still in the early days of true support for the console, but so far I’m impressed. Destiny 2 looks absolutely gorgeous in HDR 4K.

PS4 Pro. HZD in 4K/HDR ZOMG!!!!

I’m probably forgetting something too, but that’s all I can think of for now :)