Al's Review of Video Games in 2016

Last updated January 8th 2016.

It's now been a couple of years since I first logged into my PS4 and began the next generation of console gaming. While the 4 lacks the versatility and features of the 3, it does produce a fine gaming experience with its sharp graphics, faster framerate, and refined layout. And I found myself playing more with screenshots, video playback, and social features. For gaming, it's become my go-to system, especially with all the new titles from favorite franchises.

I've played my fair share of quality PS4 games at this point to make the console worthwhile, but I always crave something new and exciting. With 2016, unfortunately, it seemed like there were very few new game titles that really enthralled me. Yes, there is new Call of Duty game (including a remastered Modern Warfare). I keep hearing that Infinite Warfare has a good campaign, but after forcing myself through two of the Modern Warfare and one of the Black Ops games, I decided I had enough of military shooters. They aggravate me. In fact, I think they aggravate everybody. Eventually, I realized there's just no fun in getting sniped in the head or pummeled by grenades every five minutes, either in campaigns or online--these games are grueling by design, and despite the allure of a sci-fi themed shooter, I passed on Infinite Warfare.

However, I did man up and trudge knee-deep in Hell playing the new Doom. Given my distaste for CoD, I was certain I'd find Doom too brutal, but I was proven wrong. It's a fast, smooth, empowering experience with phenomenal quality and gameplay. And the story wasn't too bad either. I never was a die-hard Doom fan, but this game is genuinely awesome.

I had to pick up X-Com 2--I loved the original 1993 game, I loved the 2012 remake, so this was a no-brainer. On the PS4, the loading screens are agonizing (some kind of savegame issue causes it to take longer and longer the more you play--could take as long as five, ten minutes). Despite that, I felt the game delivered: I dug the story, I enjoyed the gameplay (and I find it more laid-back since you don't have to worry about keeping the nations together), and for a good while I just couldn't tear myself away from this.

Some time after its release, I downloaded Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (I think it was marked down on the PSN at the time). As expected, it was like its predecessor, and I enjoyed it that way. I loved the settings, I found the story interesting, and the combination of stealth and combat was always satisfying to me.

Watch_Dogs 2 was properly addicting for me. The open-world activities were consistently fun and addicting. Online gameplay wasn't too taxing, and was actually enjoyable at times. I liked the story just fine, especially with its colorful batch of characters. Best of all, they took out the boring or tedious parts of the first game and made it a little more colorful--a worthy improvement.

One of the most interesting projects I tracked and got myself psyched for was No Man's Sky. All the news I saw for it indicated a boundless universe full of exploration, offering gamers the ability to explore millions of planets by traveling through land, sea, air, and space. A lot of folks were let down because of the lack of content--limited combat, limited story or direction, limited factions and politics involved, and PvP was not intuitive. I never expected this to be a MORPG though, I was in it for the exploration. Despite some bugs, I felt the game delivered--it definitely gives you more breathing room than you'll ever need, because the universe and its procedurally-generatorated worlds are so huge and would take eons to get lost in. I did find the game genuinely immersive (and relaxing) in spite of all this. But after a month or so, I moved on and haven't bothered revisiting--chances are I won't be compelled to explore much more, now that all the trophies are under my belt and I completed the path of Atlas. Lack of rewards may have hurt this game the most, unfortunately.

For a while, I was into an online game called Dead Star. I thought it was great, playing little ships and working with teammates to capture stations and defeat enemy teams. Whether collecting resources or blasting enemies, it always felt like I contributed something, and the game was rewarding and addicting that way. Unfortunately, I stopped playing, and I think many other gamers have too. Without the online activity, it's a dead game.

Took a chance of a game called Asemblance, and was pretty intrigued by it. So short, but very enigmatic and compelling, I felt it was definitely worth the time and the brain power needed to interpret the story.

Uncharted 4 came out. Unfortunately, I didn't buy it. I still haven't made it through the original three (shame on me, I know!). At this point, I'm eyeballing the remastered set.

Which brings up the real highlights of the year: remasters. On the PS4, we've had a remastered Skyrim (yes, my favorite game, now looking better with all the DLC and no crashing!). The Bioshock trilogy. Dead Island. And even Day of the Tentacle. Incredible--it's been over 20 years since I played DOTT on a CD-ROM. It took me hours to figure out the whole story on my own (yeah, no guides, just me and a friend trying to figure it out by clicking on all the things). Now, it only took a day. But the game is as funny and great as ever, and it looks good remastered. Then I discovered the anniversary edition of Duke Nukem 3D--another title that takes me back. So over-the-top and ridiculous, I can probably appreciate it now more than ever. And a couple of Atari collections came out, offering oodles of classic titles I remember from way way back, when my parents had the actual Atari 2600 console. Those collections were genuinely nostalgic, and seeing those simple, old-school games made me appreciate how far games have come. There are also remasters available for some of the old Resident Evil, Dead Rising, and Assassin's Creed games, but I didn't bother with them.

Some games I have but haven't played enough of to make good comments on: Rise of the Tomb Raider (hey, if it's more of the same, I'll be happy), Dishonored 2 (looks like more of the same so far, which is good), Republique (pretty tricky stealth game), and Song of the Deep (which is cute). I have no plans on investing in Final Fantasy XV (I never even finished XIII, and I totally lost track of everything since that game's release). There is another Mirror's Edge game out, but I never even played the first one (tried the demo back in the day and hated it).

At this point, virtual and augmented reality is becoming more and more of a thing. VR games and headsets are out now, and during the summer Pokemon Go was all the rage. The latter seems to have lost all its steam, amounting to nothing more than a passing fad. VR is here to stay though, and I'm still skeptical about it. I love games--they have offered phenomenal storytelling experiences my whole life--but I'm personally wary of bringing the virtual fantasy closer to the mind. It's bound to have an impact on one's psyche one way or another. I don't believe it'll turn people psychotic or anything, but it could amplify preexisting negative and positive emotions in ways we can't even predict yet. I personally don't think it's wise to jump into this--with current gaming, there's at least a filter between the gamer and the screen to keep it all from becoming too real. When the line between reality and virtual fantasy blurs, it's bound to cause problems for people.

So looking back on 2016, I enjoyed a few good new games, but indulged in more oldies. There was nothing nearly as prolific or good as 2015, when Fallout 4 and Mad Max really thrilled me and kept me hooked for months. I was probably also still enjoying Dragon Age: Inquisition yesteryear. This time around, nothing new really blew me away (yet).

AL'S TOP 2016 VIDEO GAMES

01: X-Com 2

Familiar gameplay in an exciting new direction. Just like with the 2012 game, you command an elite squad of soldiers against alien invaders--this time, the world is already theirs, and your goal is to liberate the planet. It's really refreshing to have the mechanics remixed--you no longer have to worry about maintaining the X-Com council (meaning member nations don't threaten to leave), instead you win over each country until you gain enough power and control to complete the story. Lots of challenging new enemies to fight, lots of cool new toys to research and use, and interesting new tactics involved. Loading screens are awful on the PS4, but otherwise it's a phenomenal sequel.

02: Doom

Going back to the basics, 2016's Doom is a rip-roaring arcade-like adventure that demands more luck and skill than cover mechanics or other modern conveniences. It's a fast, smooth, and highly-empowering experience that successfully plants the gamers in the shoes of a space marine plowing through hoards of demons.

03: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Same general thing as Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Following the events of that game, we're immersed in a stark and volatile future where relations between men and "augs" are fragile. The streets of Prague are painted in grungy detail, and it's a great setting for this new story. And it is an interesting and thrilling story worth playing through. No annoying boss fights to this, but the stealth and combat are often challenging enough. I really like this series and the vivid world it takes place in, and will welcome additional installments with open arms.

04: Watch_Dogs 2

It's always good when a follow-up game improves on the original. Watch_Dogs was a lot of fun, but had some tedious side activities and missions. The second one takes away some of the tedium, adds in funner side activities, and the main story is packed with color and zing. I liked the characters, they were a likable and colorful bunch. Lots of interesting stories and experiences in this game, and even the online stuff is fun.

05: Asemblance

The gaming equivalent of an arthouse film. No direct answers or explanations are given for everything you experience, you simply experience it and have to draw your own conclusions. It is quite enigmatic and demands a good amount of attention and critical thinking to understand. Shame it's so short, and I'm sure some gamers will find it too frustrating or elusive to enjoy. But I appreciated a game that showed more, told less, and let the experience speak for itself.

06: Dead Star

For a few good months, I was genuinely addicted to this online game. It's got spaceships and plenty of pew-pew-pew action. It's pretty rewarding to support a team, take over stations, and blast enemies. Good graphics, smooth gameplay, no complaints.

07: No Man's Sky

Yes, I named this planet myself...

Despite its obvious shortcomings, No Man's Sky deserves its mention from me because I enjoyed its concept and appreciated it as a space sim of sorts. It genuinely puts gamers in the shoes of a space explorer, having to manage resources, life support, and hazards more carefully than the average space adventure. What really drew me in was the immensity of the game--a whole galaxy open to exploration, with each world different, populated with different life forms, and it's all there for gamers to experience their way. You could just zoom down the paths and finish the story, or you can take your own path one planet at a time. It can be quite addicting to farm and explore, but it's also a long, dry game that doesn't deliver a whole lot of action the way other gamers expected. In the end, I stopped playing the game because I saw no more point to it, but if it was more rewarding in some way, it could have come out as an all-time favorite.

VIDEO GAMES AL IS LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2017:

Chances are I'll be spending 2017 still playing old games I've had for the past ten years or so, on both the PS3 and PS4. I really ought to do more PC gaming with Steam, especially since I acquired a lot of big franchise collections like the classic Deus Ex games and Myst. But I am genuinely excited for these upcoming releases and will probably drop everything to shower them with love and attention.

Full Throttle Remastered: The next remaster project following DOTT and Grim Fandango, and Double Fine couldn't have picked a worthier title. I have fond memories of this game from the 90s, it's got great puzzles, a great story, and some really cool biker-gang action. And it's all done with taste and style. Remastered, it'll be interesting to see how this game fares, and I can't wait to play it through for the trillionth time.

Mass Effect: Andromeda: Assuming it doesn't get pushed back for any reason, Mass Effect anything is a must. I became smitten with the series after the first two games--their stories, characters, and worldbuilding were phenomenal space adventures on the same level and depth as any Star Trek show or film. To command a ship and crew again in this universe with new graphics and features will undoubtedly be the very experience my PS4 thirsted for from day one. I am more than ready to quench that thirst. It would also really make my day if the original three games get remastered for the PS4, but I see no sign of that happening.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Even though I haven't played the first game nearly enough, I saw enough of it to know it's pretty cool. This open world western game lends itself to lots of great adventures and encounters, and having the sequel on the new system should be as gorgeous as it should be immersive and addicting.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole: Because the other South Park game was hilarious. Look at this sequel's subtitle--even that's crudely hilarious. I value games that can make me laugh, so this ought to be an instant winner.