The Xtortionist
Member
Don't knock it till you try it
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GAF Games of the Year 2015 - Voting Thread [LAST DAY FOR VOTING]
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
- Status
Don't knock it till you try it
ViewtifulJC
Banned
yeah let me jump in with dem 20 dudes still playing the game with all the DLC and shit
CitizenCope
Member
Hopefully ill get around to make a list before the deadline. If I don't and Blooborne loses by 1 then I'm sorry.
Yeah, my list format is just lifted from Riposte. Pouring one out for our fallen brethren.
I swear it's good.
It might be more based on how you felt about the original anyway, since I still liked it a lot. Though I never found combat to be actively terrible, and in here it felt paced out a lot more where I recall fighting waaaaaay more in the original game. Might be a UC3 type of deal where it fell down to pacing. I felt like I did nothing but fight in that even if you statistically kill more people in UC2.
Either way, for me in particular this year in general didn't have a game that really shot out at me that I wanted to put way above everything else like before. My top three could be flipped around either way.
I swear it's good.
It might be more based on how you felt about the original anyway, since I still liked it a lot. Though I never found combat to be actively terrible, and in here it felt paced out a lot more where I recall fighting waaaaaay more in the original game. Might be a UC3 type of deal where it fell down to pacing. I felt like I did nothing but fight in that even if you statistically kill more people in UC2.
Either way, for me in particular this year in general didn't have a game that really shot out at me that I wanted to put way above everything else like before. My top three could be flipped around either way.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Unforgivable!
He got the #1 game right and put a comment so I don't see why not
Assassin's Creed
Spieler Eins
Member
1. Bloodborne ; This might be one of the most beautiful games I've ever seen, it's an absolute treat for any fan of classic horror. The amount of detail is overwhelming. But it's also a treat for any fan of early character action and highly competent Metroidvania-design on a large scale. I'm personally a little let down by the general lack of music, which could have elevated the atmosphere even higher in certain parts, but it's still one of the best in the classic horror segment. Level design follows Metroidvania-tradition in a superb way, which makes exploration an absolute joy. The complete lack of hand holding also conveys a better sense of freedom than most ,,open world" games. While I'm not too fond of a few boss battles, combat in general is simply fun and never feels cheap, despite the challenge. All the right parts from Souls have been streamlined.
2. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; This game finally brought the natural evolution of classic Resident Evil and its survival horror, at least as far as it was possible within the realms of modern gaming. No, it's not as deep and not quite as unnerving as for example the REmake, but it brought back the right essence. A little exploration, some puzzle solving, some survival, much more slower moments, less cutscenes, and mass shootings are only used for specific panic moments. But it also brings in new elements like stealth and a decent partner system, which is good even more so in singleplayer. And it has a surprisingly fun story that feels like one of the old games. It embraces the campiness and fanservice in just the right way and the characters are all likeable. What a return for Barry and Claire.
3. Transformers: Devastation ; I have never seen anything Transformers-related in my life, but I can only recommend this game to any action fan, as it is yet another amazing entry in the portfolio of PG. It has a great battle system that's very flexible, great to control and offers lots of battling variety. Inbetween battles, the racing and platforming is decent and there's many things to discover. Despite the kid-friendly IP, this game is still surprisingly tough too. And just a joy to play in general.
4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; The combat is as great and profound as ever, plus there's probably never been that many completely different monsters to fight, even if most of it is more of a collection of previous titles. There's also still tons of different weapons and it's always fascinating how all of them are balanced well enough to be suited for each enemy. It is however not my favorite in the series. The graphics for everything but the monsters are bad - however the OST is as good as ever. The new mechanics are sadly redundant and feel tacked on. Guild quests feel half-baked compared to exploration tours and the enraged/frenzy monsters later on just cause inventory clutter, as they require special items to fight. Still, can't argue against the playtime overall.
5. Shovel Knight ; In a market oversaturated with standardized Nintendo 2D platformers, retro-styled indie sidescrollers/Metroidvanias, it feels hard to still come across something notable in that area, but Shovelknight has finally found a somewhat refreshing and genuinely well crafted take on it. This game takes elements from several role models like Megaman, Ducktales, Dark Souls, Mario Bros. 3 and more, but mixes them in a unique way that has it's very own feel and identity. It is an action platformer first and foremost, with pretty long stages that offer both variety and highly competent level design, which is gradually becoming more challenging, without ever feeling cheap. There's also several quite sophisticated battle scenarios which you encounter alongside quite a bit of exploration, as it also has a motivating adventure aspect to it.
6. Fast Racing Neo ; Despite profiting from the fact that this game came out on a system without much competition in the release schedule, it's actually a title deserving of the (mini) hype for once. It's not only a F-Zero clone, but it adds its own touch, for example through Ikaruga-esque colour switching mechanics which add another layer to the racing. The visuals put many Wii U games from Nintendo themselves to shame, the sense of speed is conveyed really well. It's very fun to master each of the 16 tracks, which are pretty diverse and not many of them are really subpar. Considering that it's still a game from probably not more than five people, there's still a few places lacking polish, but they are rare. Still, whenever these parts occur, they don't correlate too well with the brutal difficulty and can eventually cause frustration. However, to counter this, it feels very refreshing that the computer controlled enemies can die too and the cup ranking is never pre-set. Plus there's always time trials to cool off. The selection of vehicles gives you a good amount of different play- and control styles too.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; What do you get from a mixed up-port from the GOAT? Well, still a very good game and the new graphics are pretty interesting to see alongside a few other changes. Too bad they couldn't just leave it be mostly a texture update with inoffensive menu improvements like Ocarina of Time. As expected from modern Nintendo, way too many casualizations are too intrusive or nonsensical. Some things are not as bad as expected, but still just produce needless clutter in the menus or make the controls worse. Majora's Mask is the greatest Zelda game, but this is basically the Star Wars Special Edition or Ninja Gaiden Sigma of it. Now there's no real ,,definitive" version of the game anymore. Some things are superior, other parts have been made worse.
But is the base game still good. This is the Zelda in which you aren't in for the dungeons at all, despite them being some of the best too.
8. 3D Streets of Rage 2 ; Maybe the best game among the 3D remasters and I actually only played the game for the first time last year on PS3, then sank another 30 hours into this version after double dipping. And it's a fine remaster, it's interesting to see 16bit titles like this or OutRun being turned into technical 3D games. There's also a funny mode in which the 3D effect simulates a tube monitor ,,below" your 3DS screen like in an arcade, among some other options.
9. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water ; This game probably has the most fun ghost hunting of the series if you are using traditional controls. Doing combos and mixing them with new camera techniques never felt so good. Sound design is decent and graphically Tecmo has gotten the very last bit out of PS360 tech - locales look very pretty. There's still several spooky moments and scenes, but unfortunately they aren't really held together by the nonsensical story that lacks scariness and supports backtracking far too often. Which can be fatal from time to time, because the game is also too easy and way too simple compared to previous entries, making most iterating parts not correlate well at all with backtracking (since this is not backtracking in the vein of Resident Evil or Metroid).
10. Her Story ; I really like getting into titles in which you need to orientate yourself all on your own within an unknown game structure and don't really know where you're heading. So there's really not much you should say about this game, but to get it. But preferably with a discount, since it's really designed to be ,,beaten" in a single sitting and the effect of the game probably only works once. When it comes to writing and the style of experimentation, this game really feels like the director's other work Silent Hill Shattered Memories on a smaller scale. And since most likely more people at this point have played Her Story than the former, I really suggest people to dig out their Wiis and get a copy of Shattered Memories, if they found any kind of interest in Her Story.
x. Tearaway Unfolded ; Unfortunately, I haven't come close to finish this yet, but what I've played would have easily been a high spot otherwise. Hopefully this year.
x. Final Fantasy VII ; Played this for the first time this year, it's really great. An awesome atmosphere that's still more cartoony than J-POP mixed with unique ,,cinematography" of pre-rendered backgrounds will not make this game redundant after the remake hits. I can also see why it got so big. Outside of the great presentation, this game is also a very good beginner's RPG. Something I really needed after playing several exhausting entries of SMT. The newly added ,,cheat button" is a little too much though. Awkward.
x. 3D Out Run ; This game might be even more fascinating with the 3D effect on than SoF2. It truly breathes new life into the game. The cartoony style is also something you don't get for racing games anymore, so it's still fresh even nowadays. They've also added a few unlockables, making somewhat of a mini-,,campaign".
kinaesthete
Member
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
nortonff
Hi, I'm nortonff. I spend my life going into threads to say that I don't care about the topic of the thread. It's a really good use of my time.
A simple Top 5:
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Just impressive in every way. Epic fantasy adventure full of surprises, amazing writting and gorgeous graphics.
2. Bloodborne ; A fast paced hack and slash Dark Souls set in a Lovecraftian world? Hell yeah.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; My first MGS
and, to me, it has a perfect gameplay. It's just so fluid and responsive that is a pleasure playing it.
4. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Amazing conclusion to an amazing trilogy. Loved everything about it. Even Batmobile. Yeah, that's right.
5. Fallout 4 ; A new Fallout for current gen. Period.
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Just impressive in every way. Epic fantasy adventure full of surprises, amazing writting and gorgeous graphics.
2. Bloodborne ; A fast paced hack and slash Dark Souls set in a Lovecraftian world? Hell yeah.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; My first MGS
(please don't judge me)
4. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Amazing conclusion to an amazing trilogy. Loved everything about it. Even Batmobile. Yeah, that's right.
5. Fallout 4 ; A new Fallout for current gen. Period.
RespectThySole
Member
Incorrect formatting. Read OP. Put periods after the numbers and semicolons in place of the dashes.
This is the first anything I have seen of this game, and you just sold me.
Just wanted to get this up before I forgot.
1. Bloodborne ; I'm a huge fan of the Souls series, so I wasn't a surprise that it ended up on my list. What was a surprise is just how great it turned out to be. Don't be surprised if Dark Souls 3 turns up close to, or at the top of my list next year.
2. Metal Gear V ; I'm a long time MGS fan and to be honest this "should" have been my game of the year, but, while It's easily the best playing MGS game, I found myself longing for that ridiculous over-the-top story that made the series so memorable.
3. Life Is Strange ; Complete surprise. I bought it on my phone completely by accident (somehow got it mixed up with the Bloodborne DLC) and ended up playing it to completion a few days later.
4. Witcher 3 ; My first Witcher game. It has two of the best quest lines I've ever played in an RPG (you know which two). Looking forward to the next adventure.
5. Until Dawn ; Another adventure game and it's based on the horror genre? Can't wait to see what the do next.
6. Fallout 4 ; More Fallout, but that's a good thing.
7. Dying Light ; Took a chance on this title and it paid off. First person parkour works and it works well.
8. Axiom Verge ; I love the old school metroid games and while this game starts off as a love letter to that series, it manages to subvert expectations and turn into something truly special.
9. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Like Fallout before, more of good thing. Really enjoyed this game.
10. Mad Max ; I'm a long time Mad Max fan and while this is "open world the video game" it's also Mad Max. I had a lot of fun exploring and upgrading.
1. Bloodborne ; I'm a huge fan of the Souls series, so I wasn't a surprise that it ended up on my list. What was a surprise is just how great it turned out to be. Don't be surprised if Dark Souls 3 turns up close to, or at the top of my list next year.
2. Metal Gear V ; I'm a long time MGS fan and to be honest this "should" have been my game of the year, but, while It's easily the best playing MGS game, I found myself longing for that ridiculous over-the-top story that made the series so memorable.
3. Life Is Strange ; Complete surprise. I bought it on my phone completely by accident (somehow got it mixed up with the Bloodborne DLC) and ended up playing it to completion a few days later.
4. Witcher 3 ; My first Witcher game. It has two of the best quest lines I've ever played in an RPG (you know which two). Looking forward to the next adventure.
5. Until Dawn ; Another adventure game and it's based on the horror genre? Can't wait to see what the do next.
6. Fallout 4 ; More Fallout, but that's a good thing.
7. Dying Light ; Took a chance on this title and it paid off. First person parkour works and it works well.
8. Axiom Verge ; I love the old school metroid games and while this game starts off as a love letter to that series, it manages to subvert expectations and turn into something truly special.
9. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Like Fallout before, more of good thing. Really enjoyed this game.
10. Mad Max ; I'm a long time Mad Max fan and while this is "open world the video game" it's also Mad Max. I had a lot of fun exploring and upgrading.
Spieler Eins
Member
Budget release too.
OceanicAir
Member
1. Life is Strange ; I really loved this game from the moment the music in the trailer started playing. Of course when I actually started the game I fell in love with it even more.
2. Undertale ;
3. Her Story ;
4. The Room Three ;
5. Tales of Zestiria ;
I hope to write more later, I also feel I played more games released this year than this too.
2. Undertale ;
3. Her Story ;
4. The Room Three ;
5. Tales of Zestiria ;
I hope to write more later, I also feel I played more games released this year than this too.
1. Pillars of Eternity ; An excellent throwback to old RPGs that builds on them in neat ways. I thought the illustrated interactions and accompanying text descriptions, in particular, were inspired choices and I hope they expand on them in the inevitable sequel.
2. Undertale ; Fun mechanics, truly excellent music, memorable characters, and a lot of surprises. The end sequence alone almost put this at number one.
3. Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows ; Simply changing up the controls made Plague of Shadows feel like a completely new game, despite the fact that it reused most of Shovel Knight's levels. The madcap jumps and constant explosions really sold Plague Knight as a unique character. Also a dance button.
4. Her Story ; Any game that makes be pull out a notebook and start taking notes is doing something right.
5. Contradiction: Spot the Liar ; It was a banner year for FMV mystery investigation games. I thought the main mechanic of the game was surprisingly clever and effective, and the acting had just the right amount of ham.
6. Invisible, Inc. ; Turn based stealth is an idea so clever that I was amazed it hadn't been done before. Klei's art and animation doesn't hurt either.
7. Sunless Sea ; Like any Failbetter game, the writing and atmosphere is really neat. The gameplay has some repetition built in that harms it a little, but it's still a very neat experience with a lot of weird stories tucked into the corners.
8. Cities: Skylines ; This definitely scratched the SimCity itch, though it didn't stick with me for very long, maybe because after a certain point you're just overflowing with cash and any difficulty vanishes. Maybe I'll come back to it at some point, though.
Honorable Mentions
x. Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition ; It seems fun so far, but I'm only a couple of hours in and there's no way that I'll be able to play enough in time to judge it well.
x. Tales from the Borderlands ; Similarly, I only got to episode one. That episode was really good and worth mentioning on this list, but there's no way I can judge how the final product ended up yet.
Unfortunately there are a lot of games I'm interested in that I didn't get to this year (Bloodborne, Life is Strange, SOMA, The Witcher, etc) but them's the breaks, I suppose.
2. Undertale ; Fun mechanics, truly excellent music, memorable characters, and a lot of surprises. The end sequence alone almost put this at number one.
3. Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows ; Simply changing up the controls made Plague of Shadows feel like a completely new game, despite the fact that it reused most of Shovel Knight's levels. The madcap jumps and constant explosions really sold Plague Knight as a unique character. Also a dance button.
4. Her Story ; Any game that makes be pull out a notebook and start taking notes is doing something right.
5. Contradiction: Spot the Liar ; It was a banner year for FMV mystery investigation games. I thought the main mechanic of the game was surprisingly clever and effective, and the acting had just the right amount of ham.
6. Invisible, Inc. ; Turn based stealth is an idea so clever that I was amazed it hadn't been done before. Klei's art and animation doesn't hurt either.
7. Sunless Sea ; Like any Failbetter game, the writing and atmosphere is really neat. The gameplay has some repetition built in that harms it a little, but it's still a very neat experience with a lot of weird stories tucked into the corners.
8. Cities: Skylines ; This definitely scratched the SimCity itch, though it didn't stick with me for very long, maybe because after a certain point you're just overflowing with cash and any difficulty vanishes. Maybe I'll come back to it at some point, though.
Honorable Mentions
x. Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition ; It seems fun so far, but I'm only a couple of hours in and there's no way that I'll be able to play enough in time to judge it well.
x. Tales from the Borderlands ; Similarly, I only got to episode one. That episode was really good and worth mentioning on this list, but there's no way I can judge how the final product ended up yet.
Unfortunately there are a lot of games I'm interested in that I didn't get to this year (Bloodborne, Life is Strange, SOMA, The Witcher, etc) but them's the breaks, I suppose.
1. Bloodborne ; not as good as Souls but close enough
2. Splatoon ; just wish the single player campaign was more fleshed out
3. Legent of Zelda Majoras Mask 3D ; still the best 3D Zelda
4. Fallout 4 ; I played it way too much not to give it a spot
5. Gunman Clive 2 ; because fuck it, there's no rules against voting for your own game and it will certainly be the game I remember most from 2015
2. Splatoon ; just wish the single player campaign was more fleshed out
3. Legent of Zelda Majoras Mask 3D ; still the best 3D Zelda
4. Fallout 4 ; I played it way too much not to give it a spot
5. Gunman Clive 2 ; because fuck it, there's no rules against voting for your own game and it will certainly be the game I remember most from 2015
I've been mainly visiting this thread to ask questions, so I haven't gotten around to reading many ballots yet. But I just read Nocturnowl's, and it's amazing. Check it out here:
Nocturnowl Part 1
Nocturnowl Part 2
One of my favorite parts, about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, a game I didn't play but he helped me imagine well:
Good stuff!
Nocturnowl Part 1
Nocturnowl Part 2
One of my favorite parts, about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, a game I didn't play but he helped me imagine well:
Also, his take on Splatoon and Super Mario Maker make me feel inadequate about my own write-ups. He really captured the appeal of those games. (Especially the bit in Splatoon about painting over a roller's paint, Looney Tunes-style)
Good stuff!
The Xtortionist
Member
is it weird that after all the time I've read Nocturnowl's posts on GAF it was only recently that I connected the dots between his username and the Pokemon of the same name
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Did you know my username (y'know, the one nearly everyone misspells and no one knows how to pronounce) is the Japanese name of a Pokemon? Because I couldn't just be slightly nerdy, I had to go all out.
And speaking of connections... What was the Vs avatar you used to have all about? I'm not sure I recognized it. (The new turtle look is great, btw, but I'll always think of cereal.gif when I think of you.)
The Xtortionist
Member
...oh
this is my berenstein/berenstain bears moment
help guys reality is collapsing
Those bear books were scary. The one where everyone in the park was a child molester * made me afraid to talk to strangers for years.
* it was heavily implied
The Xtortionist
Member
I pronounce your username as "Neh-tay-oh", hopefully that's right. Though I could see it being "Nigh-tay-oh" instead
The Vs. logo was for an old physical trading card game called Vs. System. It died a horrible death years ago at the hands of corporate mismanagement, but it was nearly peerless while it was alive. No other card game let you pit comic books teams like the Teen Titans against the Avengers against each other with fantastic and flavorful mechanics. And I loved the logo - it was so simple and elegant, but it also really stood out to me. Rest in peace *salute*
Fancy Clown
Member
You will love it. Probably gonna add it to my GOTY list before the deadline is up.
That's how I pronounce it, too! (Neh-tay-oh)I pronounce your username as "Neh-tay-oh", hopefully that's right. Though I could see it being "Nigh-tay-oh" instead
Nice!
I always thought the Vs. avatar was fitting for you because you have a deep appreciation for skill-driven games, and competitive titles tend to involve those.The Xtortionist said:
(I also still have nightmares of your Ganondorf absolutely destroying me in Smash 4)
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I did write a couple things if anybody was interested in reading that. Like I found a Destiny: The Taken King write-up in here somewhere:
In September 2014, Bungie released a paid beta for a game called "Destiny". This was alarming for a few reasons, the biggest one of all that it was $60 and didn't seem to have any indication that it was a paid beta on the cover. Any unassuming kid who walked into Gamestop and heard there was a new sci-fi shooter from the creators of Halo could, potentially, pick this game up and assume it was perfectly formed product.
It was not that.
Even the most hardcore of Destiny year one players, the ones who come back for hundreds of hours to farm its missions and hurl exploding space magic balls at each other, could write a laundry list of problems the game had. Bungie knew this as well, and over the past year has been making progress to try and fix up their popular but puzzling shooter. Now, little over a year later, Bungie has released a full game, confusingly titled "Destiny: The Taken King".
If you've been under a rock for a year, the best way to explain Destiny is Halo inside a Phantasy Star Online framework. You pick one of three classes, you and your friends go to various planets shooting hundred of enemies in the face, occasionally get loot that levels you up and sometimes the loot is actually cool. That hasn't changed in the TTK expansion. What Bungie has done is made this whole thing considerably smoother.
For one, they taken a serious beating about their "story" missions, and clearly put some work into them this time around. There are cutscenes with characters with good professional voice actors to give some character and context to the universe! There are missions that require the full use of your abilities besides just shooting things in face(crouching! platforming! stealth! rudimentary exploration!), and bosses that actually move around in arenas that contain dynamic environmental hazards! And when you're done with the story, tons of questlines open up, which is where the new Questline tab in your pause screen comes in handy. Bungie has given its variety of Missions/Strikes/Patrols/Fetch Quests a structure, with visible progress for every step and tangible rewards for completing them. So while you're still mostly running around shooting people in the face, the design of the missions has improved, and so has the way you approach them.
The biggest boon to the game, however, is the newly retooled loot/light system. Namely, it actually works now. 10 months ago, there was a strange ass leveling system where you needed to get a random drop on Legendary boots to get your light level up so you can attempt the endgame content. Any blues/rares you got for that item slot? Garbage? You got a Legendary Engram to decode? It actually decoded to blue lol hold dat shit. You could play the game for a week straight and not progress. It was a game that didn't respect your time.
Bungie has seen fit to correct this in a number of ways. For one, the Light level is now just an average of all your weapons and gear, so as long as they have higher attack/def values, you can put on whatever you like. Its not all about Legendary items anymore; blue/rares drop all the time that often have higher attack/def values than what you have on. In fact, the loot system now "reads" your current light level and tries to give you items at or above your level, so you can keep progressing. If you get a Purple Engram, you know for a fact its gonna be a Legendary item. And if you get a Legendary or Exotic weapon/armor that you really like, but a Rare item has higher attack/def values so the light system encourages you to choose it? You can "infuse" your favorite Legendary/Exotic weapon with the Rare, allowing you to keep your favorite gun and keep progressing. Destiny is now in a state where you can play ANYTHING(Strikes, Missions, Patrols, PVP) and get new loot to level you up. Which is how it should've been in the first damn place.
This goes a long way to help bolster the strengths Destiny already had. There's a reason people kept playing this heavily flawed game even before the big fixes. The biggest one being the gunplay. It just feels really fucking good to shoot people, over and over and over. There's a smoothness of control that comes from designing top tier first person shooters for consoles better than anybody else since 2001. Bungie understands the power of spectacle, and fills the screen with colorful explosions and great animations. The core gameplay loop is shooting these mildly annoying enemies over and over and over again for dozens/hundreds of hours, and they've polished that loop to a sparkling shine. It will NEVER not be fun to blast a Cabal's head off, its neck exploding like an oil geyser.
Aesthetically, its always been fantastic. No game with this many complex things to keep track of has ever had a smoother, slicker UI. The art direction is incredibly strong, like Halo with a big helping of Star Wars' space fantasy. And while Marty O' Donnell famously left Bungie, Michael Salvatori and co continue to create memorable music that carries his signature gift for melodies and expansive motifs.
Once you get enough loot, you can participate in more endgame content, including the new Raid, "King's Fall". Its a collection of intense challenges for a 6-player co-op team involving puzzles, platforming, and mechanic heavy boss fights to figure out. It requires communication, coordination, acquisition of knowledge through trial and error, and just good ol' fashioned teamwork. Its really damn hard and quite complex, but with every obstacle your team overcomes, there's a giant sense of relief, as well a good chance at some powerful Raid-exclusive loot. Its the best part of Destiny.
And in a way, the raid feels like a micro version of Destiny's development over the past year. People from all walks of life coming together, confident in their fully leveled abilities, brought down low by their confusion of the situation. There was anger, disappointment, people threaten to quit. But somehow someway they pushed on, something calling them back to get this damn thing done. In the end, the triumph was that much more satisfying.
And also expensive cuz holy shit this expansion is $40!?
In September 2014, Bungie released a paid beta for a game called "Destiny". This was alarming for a few reasons, the biggest one of all that it was $60 and didn't seem to have any indication that it was a paid beta on the cover. Any unassuming kid who walked into Gamestop and heard there was a new sci-fi shooter from the creators of Halo could, potentially, pick this game up and assume it was perfectly formed product.
It was not that.
Even the most hardcore of Destiny year one players, the ones who come back for hundreds of hours to farm its missions and hurl exploding space magic balls at each other, could write a laundry list of problems the game had. Bungie knew this as well, and over the past year has been making progress to try and fix up their popular but puzzling shooter. Now, little over a year later, Bungie has released a full game, confusingly titled "Destiny: The Taken King".
If you've been under a rock for a year, the best way to explain Destiny is Halo inside a Phantasy Star Online framework. You pick one of three classes, you and your friends go to various planets shooting hundred of enemies in the face, occasionally get loot that levels you up and sometimes the loot is actually cool. That hasn't changed in the TTK expansion. What Bungie has done is made this whole thing considerably smoother.
For one, they taken a serious beating about their "story" missions, and clearly put some work into them this time around. There are cutscenes with characters with good professional voice actors to give some character and context to the universe! There are missions that require the full use of your abilities besides just shooting things in face(crouching! platforming! stealth! rudimentary exploration!), and bosses that actually move around in arenas that contain dynamic environmental hazards! And when you're done with the story, tons of questlines open up, which is where the new Questline tab in your pause screen comes in handy. Bungie has given its variety of Missions/Strikes/Patrols/Fetch Quests a structure, with visible progress for every step and tangible rewards for completing them. So while you're still mostly running around shooting people in the face, the design of the missions has improved, and so has the way you approach them.
The biggest boon to the game, however, is the newly retooled loot/light system. Namely, it actually works now. 10 months ago, there was a strange ass leveling system where you needed to get a random drop on Legendary boots to get your light level up so you can attempt the endgame content. Any blues/rares you got for that item slot? Garbage? You got a Legendary Engram to decode? It actually decoded to blue lol hold dat shit. You could play the game for a week straight and not progress. It was a game that didn't respect your time.
Bungie has seen fit to correct this in a number of ways. For one, the Light level is now just an average of all your weapons and gear, so as long as they have higher attack/def values, you can put on whatever you like. Its not all about Legendary items anymore; blue/rares drop all the time that often have higher attack/def values than what you have on. In fact, the loot system now "reads" your current light level and tries to give you items at or above your level, so you can keep progressing. If you get a Purple Engram, you know for a fact its gonna be a Legendary item. And if you get a Legendary or Exotic weapon/armor that you really like, but a Rare item has higher attack/def values so the light system encourages you to choose it? You can "infuse" your favorite Legendary/Exotic weapon with the Rare, allowing you to keep your favorite gun and keep progressing. Destiny is now in a state where you can play ANYTHING(Strikes, Missions, Patrols, PVP) and get new loot to level you up. Which is how it should've been in the first damn place.
This goes a long way to help bolster the strengths Destiny already had. There's a reason people kept playing this heavily flawed game even before the big fixes. The biggest one being the gunplay. It just feels really fucking good to shoot people, over and over and over. There's a smoothness of control that comes from designing top tier first person shooters for consoles better than anybody else since 2001. Bungie understands the power of spectacle, and fills the screen with colorful explosions and great animations. The core gameplay loop is shooting these mildly annoying enemies over and over and over again for dozens/hundreds of hours, and they've polished that loop to a sparkling shine. It will NEVER not be fun to blast a Cabal's head off, its neck exploding like an oil geyser.
Aesthetically, its always been fantastic. No game with this many complex things to keep track of has ever had a smoother, slicker UI. The art direction is incredibly strong, like Halo with a big helping of Star Wars' space fantasy. And while Marty O' Donnell famously left Bungie, Michael Salvatori and co continue to create memorable music that carries his signature gift for melodies and expansive motifs.
Once you get enough loot, you can participate in more endgame content, including the new Raid, "King's Fall". Its a collection of intense challenges for a 6-player co-op team involving puzzles, platforming, and mechanic heavy boss fights to figure out. It requires communication, coordination, acquisition of knowledge through trial and error, and just good ol' fashioned teamwork. Its really damn hard and quite complex, but with every obstacle your team overcomes, there's a giant sense of relief, as well a good chance at some powerful Raid-exclusive loot. Its the best part of Destiny.
And in a way, the raid feels like a micro version of Destiny's development over the past year. People from all walks of life coming together, confident in their fully leveled abilities, brought down low by their confusion of the situation. There was anger, disappointment, people threaten to quit. But somehow someway they pushed on, something calling them back to get this damn thing done. In the end, the triumph was that much more satisfying.
And also expensive cuz holy shit this expansion is $40!?
The Xtortionist
Member
ViewtifulJC
Banned
I have some Arkham Knight/Ori and the Blind Forest/Axiom Verge things in here somewhere, but my documentation is so trash...or maybe I just deleted them in a rage of "fuck it all"
Nocturnowl
Member
That's not the Devil's Third writeup I've been expecting from JC.
...okay I'll stop pushing that narrative now, I don't think anyone's buying it.
This reminds me, I need to check your Mario Maker stuff at some point, I think we're in agreement with it having the best controls in the series, it just feels so right across all palettes.
Speaking of character control I'm glad Papercuts pointed out that Ori is smooth as butter in his writeup, I've been thinking as of late just how much this can make a difference in some games.
I'm like the bootleg knock off of Noctowl.
In any case me and Neiteio are like pokemon name bird bros, or something.
...okay I'll stop pushing that narrative now, I don't think anyone's buying it.
like Devil's Third hohoho!
Aww shucks.
This reminds me, I need to check your Mario Maker stuff at some point, I think we're in agreement with it having the best controls in the series, it just feels so right across all palettes.
Speaking of character control I'm glad Papercuts pointed out that Ori is smooth as butter in his writeup, I've been thinking as of late just how much this can make a difference in some games.
Similar name, though I imagine that was due to character limitations with pokemon names more than anything else.
I'm like the bootleg knock off of Noctowl.
In any case me and Neiteio are like pokemon name bird bros, or something.
KingJ2002
Member
1. Destiny: The Taken King ; The most engaging experience this year. A complete improvement over last year which still takes a good portion of my free time today. Best game of 2015.
2. Batman: Arkham Knight ; The best open world title of 2015. The story has many twists and turns and the gameplay is still ten times better than others
3. Assassins Creed: Syndicate ; A return to what made the previous entries great while improving on traversal through the city.
4. Metal Gear Solid V ; feels like a master piece through and through... i didnt finish the game yet but so far it's good enough to be in my top 5
5. Mortal Kombat X ; Best fighting game on the market until Street Fighter V drops. would have ranked higher but the online modes are unplayable and the microtransactions / F2P stuff to get costumes were annoying.
Honorable Mentions
x. Bloodborne ; A very challenging experience that i have yet to beat.
x. Uncharted Collection ; As a 360 to PS4 convert the collection allowed me to see why people are craving the UC4. The graphics of 2 & 3 rival some of today's titles... which says alot about how far along Naughty Dog was in the PS3 era
2. Batman: Arkham Knight ; The best open world title of 2015. The story has many twists and turns and the gameplay is still ten times better than others
3. Assassins Creed: Syndicate ; A return to what made the previous entries great while improving on traversal through the city.
4. Metal Gear Solid V ; feels like a master piece through and through... i didnt finish the game yet but so far it's good enough to be in my top 5
5. Mortal Kombat X ; Best fighting game on the market until Street Fighter V drops. would have ranked higher but the online modes are unplayable and the microtransactions / F2P stuff to get costumes were annoying.
Honorable Mentions
x. Bloodborne ; A very challenging experience that i have yet to beat.
x. Uncharted Collection ; As a 360 to PS4 convert the collection allowed me to see why people are craving the UC4. The graphics of 2 & 3 rival some of today's titles... which says alot about how far along Naughty Dog was in the PS3 era
huh, sounds pretty interesting. a shame i never was able to try it
Axiom Verge is on the shortlist of games I didn't get to this year that I wanted to try, especially since I liked Ori so much.
The Xtortionist
Member
I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thought that Pokemon's name was Nocturnowl. Like, how couldn't it be? Probably something technical like you said.
Yeah, especially since Destiny raids work best with people you know - people who won't abandon you.
Axiom Verge is pretty kewl. Didn't really dig the art, which kind of put a damper on the greater experience for me, and this one vocal song becomes game-killingly bad if you get stuck in that area. Repeatedly double tapping to perform a certain movement mechanic also hurts my thumb a bit. But definitely worth playing if you like Metroid. A nice subversion of typical Metroidvania traversal mechanics.
"Nocturnowl" is 10 characters, so it would fit in the Pokemon games! But yeah, the actual name is Noctowl.
I find it amusing that the owl-centric Ori was Nocturnowl's top pick.
Thanks. I need to check out more GAF levels myself.
When I post all three parts of my ballot in one place (presumably later this week), take the link in my Mario Maker entry and try the levels "Concrete Peak" and "The Great Goomba Trench." I labored over nailing the flow and feel in those ones... Hopefully it worked!
I also made a stealth level called "Mario Gear Solid V" that references lots of stuff from MGSV but doesn't spoil anything. It has checkpoints but it's almost psychologically intimidating in its length. I'm happy with it, though!
That we are. Not only that, but we both reference Gen 2!Nocturnowl said:
If anyone's wondering, my screen name is the Japanese name for Xatu:
You are all enriched for knowing this.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Here's a fun game, predict your GAF GOTY 2016 list and see how wrong you are in 365 days!
1. Street Fighter V
2. Uncharted 4
3. 3D Mario(its happening ok)
4. Dark Souls 3
5. Mass Effect
6. Deus Ex
7. XCOM 2
8. Nier Automata
9. Gears 4
10. Hitman
1. Street Fighter V
2. Uncharted 4
3. 3D Mario(its happening ok)
4. Dark Souls 3
5. Mass Effect
6. Deus Ex
7. XCOM 2
8. Nier Automata
9. Gears 4
10. Hitman
Ha, you crack me up.
Honestly, I've given up trying to predict what I'll like in any given year. E3 is the earliest I might make such a prediction.
Although I have a good feeling about Dark Souls 3. The bit in the trailer where the giant skull with a crown peers out of the darkness makes me think "I LOVE VIDEOGAMES."
Lostconfused
Member
Xcom and SFV too high.
Fancy Clown
Member
Find your axiom verge write up so I can be motivated to get back into it
New thread? Doing that here may overwrite your list.
Nocturnowl had a good writeup on that game. See my post at the end of the last page; I link to Part 2 of his ballot, which has his writeup for Axiom Verge, iirc.
EDIT: Here it is
The Xtortionist
Member
edited for potential parsing issues
Featuring the return of Crocodile Isle and Squitter.
Actually, just do a straight-up remake of DKC2.
And make it DARK.
Oh yes.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
just know that its the best Metroid
That's extremely tall praise, saying it outclasses all of those titles as a Metroid-style adventure.
Admiral Woofington
Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt; What is there to say, besides that it's now my favorite RPG of all time. Breathtaking graphics, great sidequests, fantastic voice acting, you name it.
2. Bloodborne; From knocked it out of the park with their first attempt at a fast paced Souls title. The atmosphere, creature designs and combat is unmatched.
3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter; While I haven't finished it, it really is one of the best jRPGs (and old school RPGs) I've ever played. Absolutely charming.
4. Pillars of Eternity; Obsidian needed our money, and they proved that they had what it took to deliver one of the few CRPGs with a top down view I've genuinely enjoyed.
5. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number; While it suffers issues that the first one didn't face in its attempt to add more variety, it is still a Hotline Miami title. The soundtrack and fun are out of this world.
6. Xenoblade Chronicles X; I had issues near the end game, but it doesn't change the fact it's a technical marvel with a LOT of content. Skells ftw, so freaking fun.
7. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection; I had a hard time deciding where to put this. It was the first time I played the titles and loved loved loved all of them, but at the same time I didn't put it higher because I wanted other brand new titles to shine.
8. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5; The surprise of the year, TftB is a must-play for any fan of Telltale titles as it's arguably their best title to date. Even if not and just want a calm game,
9. Broforce; Downright THE MOST FUN I've had with a co-op game in ages. Hadn't loved one this much since Castle Crashers. The humor was on point.
10. Batman: Arkham Knight; Even what is imho the weakest Arkham title in quality, is still an Arkham title so I couldn't NOT put it in my top 10. The bat tank brought it down from a higher position, but god dang if I didn't love everything else.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Grand Theft Auto V; The PS4 port was amazing and the first person view super fun, but I couldn't in good conscious put it in the top 10 due to liking other titles more and it being a port.
x. Mad Max; A game that did a lot of right, and looked fantastic. But it also suffered from repetitiveness. Still an honorable mention for coming out in a dry month period.
2. Bloodborne; From knocked it out of the park with their first attempt at a fast paced Souls title. The atmosphere, creature designs and combat is unmatched.
3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter; While I haven't finished it, it really is one of the best jRPGs (and old school RPGs) I've ever played. Absolutely charming.
4. Pillars of Eternity; Obsidian needed our money, and they proved that they had what it took to deliver one of the few CRPGs with a top down view I've genuinely enjoyed.
5. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number; While it suffers issues that the first one didn't face in its attempt to add more variety, it is still a Hotline Miami title. The soundtrack and fun are out of this world.
6. Xenoblade Chronicles X; I had issues near the end game, but it doesn't change the fact it's a technical marvel with a LOT of content. Skells ftw, so freaking fun.
7. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection; I had a hard time deciding where to put this. It was the first time I played the titles and loved loved loved all of them, but at the same time I didn't put it higher because I wanted other brand new titles to shine.
8. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5; The surprise of the year, TftB is a must-play for any fan of Telltale titles as it's arguably their best title to date. Even if not and just want a calm game,
9. Broforce; Downright THE MOST FUN I've had with a co-op game in ages. Hadn't loved one this much since Castle Crashers. The humor was on point.
10. Batman: Arkham Knight; Even what is imho the weakest Arkham title in quality, is still an Arkham title so I couldn't NOT put it in my top 10. The bat tank brought it down from a higher position, but god dang if I didn't love everything else.
Honorable Mentions:
x. Grand Theft Auto V; The PS4 port was amazing and the first person view super fun, but I couldn't in good conscious put it in the top 10 due to liking other titles more and it being a port.
x. Mad Max; A game that did a lot of right, and looked fantastic. But it also suffered from repetitiveness. Still an honorable mention for coming out in a dry month period.
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