You saw our favorite games from 2016, but 2017 is a new year! We sat down together and picked out or most anticipated games coming out in 2017.
Frost – Marvel VS Capcom Infinity
Stellar.ice – Persona 5
NCG Luis – For Honor
NCG Mike – Last of Us 2
UndED – Ace Combat 7
Dark_Laharl – Horizon Zero Dawn
It was hard to narrow down our top picks, especially with other amazing titles coming out such as Kingdom Hearts, Neir, Crash Bandicoot, Danganronpa V3, and more!
What games are you looking forward to playing in 2017? Let us know in the comments!
2016 was yet another great year for games and we’ve played all we could get our hands on. Out of all the game releases, we all sat down and picked out our favorites. Here are our top picks for 2016:
Frost – Pokemon Sun and Moon Pokemon Moon brought back the nostalgia of old Pokemon games but still managed to add elements to the game to make it feel new. It was like an RPG, but with Pokemon.
Dark_Laharl – The Division
“When The Division first came out I just had to buy it, I was able to play in the beta and liked that I saw. Once I had the full game I spent hours playing and had lots of fun as I leveled up and found new equipment. I played a lot of it with a co-worker and despite having a hard time dropping legendary loot it was fun while we completed the story, this alone made it the game of the year. Never mind that it sucked a lot after the story was over, meaning the end game was trash.”
NCG Luis – Overwatch “When deciding what to pick for my favorite game of 2016 I wanted to put a little more though into what it was that made it so I enjoyed playing a particular game. And it became clear that quality the game play was determined by the time I spent playing it and perceived enjoyment I got after playing the game.
My game of the year is Overwatch; this is the same game I had originally perceived as a Generic shooter and a Team Fortress 2 clone. The game uses simple mechanics that almost felt ripped from different shooters. It has Characters that felt too familiar as I could swear I had just played them in different games while the maps or arenas felt small and clustered.
Nonetheless it was actually all these things brought together that made the game so enjoyable. The simplicity of the game in a highly competitive format made it so that even the most inexperienced player could pick it up and actually contribute. From the start every characters mechanics are clear, characters are balanced to be able to counter each other, there is the never the worry of having someone pick that one toon who developers can’t get right because of their strengths. You no longer are playing a game where you pick the strongest character, but rather picking the best character for whatever scenario your team needs to overcome.
As skill in the game is gained, it becomes apparent that it’s not your ability to go off and kill the enemy that sets you apart, but how you contribute, communicate and execute as a team. And this is truly what you want in any game that consists of group gameplay. After a match despite win or lose your contributions are clearly presented. Matches don’t end leaving you empty handed, like if the last half hour was wasted thanks to a special fairy who could not grasp the game. Queue time, load time and replay time is low, allowing you to enjoy more of that sweet gameplay you came for.
Those are my reason for making this my game of the year for 2016. When things are said and done every match felt rewarding and queuing up for another round was always an experience I welcomed. I believe it simplicity that makes this game so special and look forward to seeing how the game evolves thanks to numerous new characters and maps being released for the 2017 seasons.”
Stellar.ice – Overcooked Overcooked is one of those games where you grab a couple of drinks, get your friends together, and let the chaos unfold. You’ll spend most of the night shouting directions at one another, catching the kitchen on fire, and somehow manage to pull off the perfect service. I think it’s one of the best social games I’ve played because it forces you to work as a team rather than against each other. The game is challenging enough to make you replay some levels, and you’re always willing to start from the beginning to bring new people into the kitchen.
UndED – Forza Horizon 3 “Forza Horizon 3 was a breath of fresh air for me. While many of my other games lost their sheen after mere days of playing, Forza Horizon 3 kept me coming back to it for months. Variety is the name of the game here, with several choices of cars, events, and locations to make sure you don’t get bored. FH3 is easily the funnest and most rewarding game I’ve played in recent memory, and the inclusion of the Blizzard Mountain DLC had me back at the wheel, drifting through icy turns with a passion.”
NCG Mike – DOOM
Felt like a classic first person shooter.
And there you have the NCG’s top game picks for 2016! What was your favorite game from 2016? Let us know in the comments!
Square Enix just loves to tease us! Check out the next teaser trailer for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer. It looks like there’s going to be some awesome game play, customization options, and more glimpses of characters and story. It also reveals;
the trailer peeks into the machinations of the foretellers and the threat of a traitor within that lead to the devastating Keyblade War; the fate of Aqua as she battles to survive through the perilous and deceptive dangers of the Dark World; as well as Yen Sid’s wisdom on what Sora, Riku, and King Mickey must do in order to prepare for the final confrontation against Master Xehanort.
Based on the trailers what are some theories about the game that you have? Let us know in the comments!
If you didn’t get to make it to the PlayStation Experience, no need to worry. Square Enix is bringing the NieR: Automata demo to PlayStation on December 22nd! You’ll have a chance to check out the abandon factory backdrop, and play 2B’s mission to destroy a massive enemy weapon.
Check out the trailer below! Are you excited to get your hands on this title?
First released in 2010, Vigil Games’ hack and slash action game Darksiders set out to tell a unique story of War, his fall from glory as a horseman of the apocalypse, and his journey to clear his name. Acclaimed as a Legend of Zelda-style action adventure game, it was well received and even got the sequel treatment featuring brother Death. In 2014 Nordic games acquired some of now bankrupt publisher THQ’s properties and even took on their name, rebranding themselves to THQ Nordic. Along with several other titles, Darksiders was acquired, and a short two years later War rode again in the HD-updated title Darksiders: Warmastered Edition.
For starters, this game is gorgeous! Keeping in mind that this is only a polished version of the original game and not a complete remake, I was still very impressed with the level of detail on enemies, NPC’s, architecture, and especially cutscenes. Turning the camera is buttery smooth, and you’ll want to when you get to new areas. There is a real sense of scale that was missing from the original that is captured here. Buildings seem taller, falls seem higher, enemies die deader. Locations are diverse, and none ever feel recycled. When I find myself going into a new area, I immediately stop to just enjoy my surroundings. My only complaint is that everything is bright! Even one level which is supposed to be a graveyard at night looks less like a spooky cemetery, and resembles more of a city park with a blue filter.
Darksiders was the first game developed by Vigil games, and the story is proof of that. Its original enough that it peaks your interest, but stays safe in tropes found in many revenge style dramas. The game starts with a war breaking out on earth between Heaven and Hell. War shows up to kick ass and take names, trying to restore the balance between Heaven, Hell, and Mankind. He is defeated by a demon and nearly killed. Saved right before his death, War is quickly charged by The Charred Council for starting the apocalypse early, and being sentenced to death anyway. He tries to tell them in brute fashion that the war was already started, he was actually late. Instead of pleading much more, he convinces them to let him go find out what happened, and if he should die then the council gets what they wanted. The story isnt very deep, but that’s ok. It kept me interested and playing. I did however find myself forgetting a lot of why I was doing things in game. Its not a bad narrative at all, in fact the story of War redeeming his name is quite good, but I felt it was better suited to a comic book than anything else.
Everything about Darksiders is on a grand scale; the visuals, the stakes, and especially the audio. Weapons clang, the merchant cackles, and demons are especially loud. The music helps to sell not just what earth has become of in the middle of this war, but of large scale boss fights as well. Drums roll, trumpets blare, and violins hiss. No doubt Nordic Games put a lot of effort into truly bringing out and emphasizing the literal end-of-the-world feel from the original score.
Gameplay is the heart and soul of Darksiders. Swinging your sword around almost aimlessly, then running a small distance to do it again is the bulk of the game. Rarely do enemy types differ too far from each other. As with games like Dynasty Warriors and Dead Rising, it’s a great way to just blow off some steam at the end of the day. But unlike those games, Darksiders features puzzles that, even though they can be easily figured out, are fantastic at breaking up the monotony of hit this, go here, repeat. Boss battles are epic and rewarding. Sprinkle in some RPG elements and you got yourself quite the experience. A couple things did make this game feel incredibly dated though; quick time events, and on-rail shooter events. Knock an enemy back so many times, and watch a “B/Circle” button pop up over its head, telling you to give a devastating blow. Fun the first few times, but it quickly lost its charm. Shooting enemies while you glide through areas atop a griffin just felt really out of place as well. Even so, the gameplay is by far the best part about Darksiders.
Vigil games did a great job of putting out such an upfront, and genuine experience for their first game, and Nordic Games deserves a pat on the back as well for highlighting that. Darksiders had an original idea, incredible casting, and some amazing talent to back it up. There are some definite pitfalls in this game, but overall I didn’t regret spending time with it. I never put down the remote from a play session and thought that I would never come back to it. I wouldn’t put it in my must-haves list however. If you like Zelda-esque games, or brainless hack-and-slash, Darksiders needs to be in your collection. If those games dont interest you, you might want to wait until it goes down in price. Either way, it’s worth trying playing though at least once.
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