2016 Gaming Awards

by TripOpt55 Sat Dec 31, 2016 4:11 pm

Time to talk about the best stuff in gaming this year. I will also post the TV/Movie/Music one in Off-Topic as well.

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Honorable Mentions:

Downloadable GotY:
Handheld GotY:
Worst GotY:
Best Remake:

Best Singleplayer:
Best Cooperative Multiplayer:
Best Competitive Multiplayer:
Best Overall Multiplayer:

Best New Character:
Worst New Character:
Best Writing:
Best Story:

Best Voice Acting:
Best Soundtrack:
Best Sound Design:

Best Graphics-Technical:
Best Graphics-Artistic:
Best Overall Graphics:

Biggest Surprise:
Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related):
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year:
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016:

Favorite Level:
Favorite Moment:
Worst Moment:
Best Boss Fight:
Game You Played the Most:

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016:
Most Overrated Game:
Most Underrated Game:
Best New IP:
Any other thoughts on 2016 in gaming:

Well there it is. Explaining your choices or discussing others' choices is welcome to help spur more discussion. Have at it!

by TheMatt Sat Dec 31, 2016 9:13 pm

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:

1. Stardew Valley - no game sucked me in like Stardew Valley this year. It's a love letter to Harvest Moon, but it's packed with great characters, charm and humor. I just downloaded it on PS4 to give it another go.

2. The Witness - Played through this with my wife and it consumed our nights for a solid month. We filled up a notebook of sketched and theories to different puzzles. I didn't really get into the preachy artsy fartsy stuff towards the end, but solving the puzzles was extremely satisfying.

3. Overwatch - Blizzard strikes gold again. It's hard to get me into competitive multiplayer these days, but Overwatch had me hooked for most of the summer. Fun characters, extremely accessible and fun to play with randoms. I wish I had time to stick with it!

4. Titanfall 2 - Best first person shooter campaign I've ever played. Some really awesome moments and really creative ideas. One of the rare FPS campaigns I will replay.

5. Jackbox Party Pack 3 - Been high on these games for years, they have been a staple for gatherings with my family and friends. I think this year's game is the strongest yet.

6. Pokemon Sun & Moon - A fantastic entry on one of my favorite series. Everything is streamlined and revamped to make it feel new and original while following the Pokémon formula.

7. Uncharted 4 - A solid ending to the Nathan Drake story. And oh boy, that game looks pretty. I really, really hated Sam and it kind of gave me some trouble pushing through the middle parts of the game... but the ending was really satisfying and it had the best gameplay of the series.

8. Forza Horizon 3 - I want to play much, much more of Forza Horizon 3. I am sad to say it's as close to Burnout Paradise 2 as we're going to get. But it's a great consolation.

9. Oxenfree - Great creepy little game with solid voice acting and tons of atmospheric spooky stuff. There are branching story lines so I'd like to play through it again some day to see some of the other endings.

10. Firewatch - Really amazing writing and voice acting in this one. Gives you a sense of solitude and has you questioning what is real and what is the main character starting to lose it. I was a little disappointed by the ending but the whole game was solid enough to round out my top 10.

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy XV - will probably make my top 10 after I finish it, but it'll be well into 2017 before I get done with it.

Downloadable GotY: Stardew Valley

Handheld GotY: Pokemon Sun & Moon

Worst GotY: Street Fighter V

Best Remake: Ratchet & Clank

Best Singleplayer: Stardew Valley

Best Cooperative Multiplayer: The Witness

Best Competitive Multiplayer: Overwatch

Best Overall Multiplayer: Overwatch

Best New Character: BT - 7274 - Titanfall 2

Worst New Character: Sam - Uncharted 4

Best Writing: Firewatch

Best Story: Firewatch

Best Voice Acting: Firewatch

Best Soundtrack: Stardew Valley

Best Sound Design: Oxenfree

Best Graphics-Technical: Uncharted 4

Best Graphics-Artistic: Firewatch

Best Overall Graphics: Uncharted 4

Biggest Surprise: Stardew Valley

Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related): Street Fighter V

Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the

First Time This Year: Bastion

Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: Hitman

Favorite Level: Effects & Cause (Titanfall 2) - I won't spoil it for those who haven't played it. But for those who have, you should understand.

Game You Played the Most: Stardew Valley

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016: PS4, I guess? These days there's not much difference.

Best New IP: Stardew Valley

by volvocrusher Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:17 am

TripOpt55 wrote:Time to talk about the best stuff in gaming this year. I will also post the TV/Movie/Music one in Off-Topic as well.

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1. Overwatch- Like Matt I normally don't really get into MP games, but this one just never gets old. All the characters feel so distinct and fun I keep coming back to it.
2. Pokemon Sun and Moon- A great way to shake up the Pokemon formula while keeping it as fun as the past games.
3. Ace Attorney 6- My second favorite in the series now. Finally gave Apollo a great arc.
4. Superhot- A great twist on FPS games, felt more like a puzzle game
5. Doom- The most fun I had with an FPS campaign in years. Just such a blast to play.
6. Battlefield 1- I'm surprised by this one, but had some great WWI stories and surprisingly great MP.
7. Pokken Tournament- A fighting game with Pokemon. What's not to love?
8. Titanfall 2- Another great FPS campaign. BT was a fun character too
9. Pokemon Go- The novelty's worn off, but that first month was something special.
10. Grow Up- A very fun platformer with some fun exploration.
Honorable Mentions: Watchdogs 2, FFXV, and The Last Guardian- These games seem fun, I just need to finish them. Also ReCore and Ratchet and Clank

Downloadable GotY: Superhot
Handheld GotY: Pokemon Sun/Moon
Worst GotY: Starfox Zero
Best Remake: Ratchet and Clank

Best Singleplayer: Pokemon Sun and Moon
Best Cooperative Multiplayer: Don't think I played any co-op
Best Competitive Multiplayer: Overwatch
Best Overall Multiplayer: Overwatch

Best New Character: Datz (Ace Attorney 6)
Worst New Character: Sam (Uncharted 4)
Best Writing: Ace Attorney 6
Best Story: Ace Attorney 6

Best Voice Acting: Overwatch
Best Soundtrack: Uncharted 4
Best Sound Design: Doom

Best Graphics-Technical: Uncharted 4
Best Graphics-Artistic: Overwatch
Best Overall Graphics: Uncharted 4

Biggest Surprise: How good Overwatch ended up being
Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related): Mirror's Edge 2 felt pretty uninspired, but I should probably get back to it.
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: Modern Warfare Remastered, fucking Activision....

Favorite Level: Ace Attorney 6's final case
Favorite Moment: Ace Attorney 6's ending
Worst Moment: When Uncharted 4's story came to a halt with that flashback
Best Boss Fight: Pokemon Sun/Moon's Elite 4
Game You Played the Most: Pokemon

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016: PC of course
Most Overrated Game: Uncharted 4
Most Underrated Game: Superhot
Best New IP: Overwatch
Any other thoughts on 2016 in gaming: Year of the FPS

Well there it is. Explaining your choices or discussing others' choices is welcome to help spur more discussion. Have at it!

by TripOpt55 Sun Jan 01, 2017 4:48 am

I'm hoping to play a few more games this week like Oxenfree and Battlefield 1 before I make my list up. Been a great year for games. Will be hard to pick ten I'd imagine.

by SanAndreasX Tue Jan 03, 2017 3:06 am

TripOpt55 wrote:Time to talk about the best stuff in gaming this year. I will also post the TV/Movie/Music one in Off-Topic as well.

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1. Final Fantasy XV
(The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD)
(Valkyria Chronicles Remastered)
2. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
3. Dragon Quest VII
4. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
5. Nights of Azure
6. The 7th Dragon III Code: VFD
7. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
8. I am Setsuna
9. The King of Fighters XIV
10. Pokken Tournament
Honorable Mentions: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered. These are respectively my second and fourth favorite video games of ALL TIME, and both games are still quite secure in those rankings. And honestly, both of them were well-done remasters, with Zelda being cleaned up and VC having both higher resolution graphics and an upgrade to 60 FPS. The only reason they didn't put at number two and three (or even number one and two) was because I played both of them to completion on their original platforms. I never completed Dragon Quest VII on PS1 and never even got to play Odin Sphere on PS2.

Downloadable GotY: I am Setsuna
Handheld GotY: Dragon Quest VII
Worst GotY:
Best Remake:Dragon Quest VII

Best Singleplayer:Final Fantasy XV
Best Cooperative Multiplayer:Pass on this one.
Best Competitive Multiplayer:King of Fighters XIV
Best Overall Multiplayer:King of Fighters XIV

Best New Character:Ignis
Worst New Character:The annoying American otaku dude in TMS #FE. Love the game otherwise, but he's annoying.
Best Writing:Final Fantasy XV
Best Story:Final Fantasy XV

Best Voice Acting:Final Fantasy XV
Best Soundtrack:Dragon Quest VII
Best Sound Design:Final Fantasy XV

Best Graphics-Technical:Final Fantasy XV
Best Graphics-Artistic:I really really REALLY want to put Valkyria Chronicles Remastered here...
Best Overall Graphics:Final Fantasy XV

Biggest Surprise:The now five-year-old 3DS being one of the hottest toys of 2016, probably thanks to Sun/Moon and residual hype from Go
Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related): Street Fighter V
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year:Odin Sphere
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: World of Final Fantasy, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Fire Emblem Fates

Favorite Level:
Favorite Moment: Listening to "Stand By Me" in FFXV's opening.
Worst Moment:Getting curb-stomped by the first night demon battle in FFXV
Best Boss Fight:The musical enemy in Nights of Azure
Game You Played the Most:Valkyria Chronicles Remastered. Would have been FFXV except that I didn't get it until the end of the year.

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016: PS4
Most Overrated Game: Overwatch. I tried it, but you all know how I am with FPSs. Sorry :p
Most Underrated Game: Nights of Azure. It'll never win any awards but it's honestly a good game. It did well enough for a sequel, at least.
Best New IP: Nights of Azure
Any other thoughts on 2016 in gaming: One, glad to see RPGs making such a huge comeback on consoles. There were more RPGs than I can shake a stick at this year culminating in FFXV, and next year looks even more awesome. Square Enix has regained its spot as my favorite third party developer, and Sega and Namco are coming on strong next year. I also hope the Switch will have plenty of RPGs to serve up.

The other thing: Remasters. Most of my favorite games have gotten remasters over the past year, and it's given me an excuse to replay them. I really want to platinum Valkyria Chronicles, which didn't have trophy support on PS3. I actually support remakes. We can still buy old movies, so why not older games, especially the ones that stand the test of time? It helps keep the video game industry from having its past obliterated, something which has already happened far too often. It also gives franchises a shot in the arm if the publisher sees there's demand for it.

Well there it is. Explaining your choices or discussing others' choices is welcome to help spur more discussion. Have at it!

by BretBaber Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:08 am

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1. Uncharted 4 - Everything I'd want from an Uncharted game. Great multiplayer too that I still need to get back into.
2. Final Fantasy XV - Enjoyed this game more than I would have ever dreamed! So pleasantly surprised and delighted with it.
3. Ratchet and Clank - Just so much. Only complaint is that Nefarious could have been better.
4. Severed - Drinkbox Studios does it again! They're the best. 3 for 3 when it comes to quality games.
5. World of Final Fantasy - Haven't played much, but I can tell what is there is a game that would be high on my list.
6. The Last Guardian
7. Dragon Quest VII
8.
9.
10.
Honorable Mentions:

Downloadable GotY: Severed.
Handheld GotY: Severed.
Worst GotY:
Best Remake: Ratchet and Clank. Honorable mention - Never played it but I'm sure it would be Modern Warfare. I want it so bad.

Best Singleplayer: Uncharted 4.
Best Cooperative Multiplayer:
Best Competitive Multiplayer: Uncharted 4. I really don't play these anymore, but I put a lot of time with Matt when it first came out. Well, a lot by my standards any ways.
Best Overall Multiplayer: Modern Warfare 4. If it's unchanged, there's no way it could be anything else.

Best New Character: Raif. I liked that crazy bastard.
Worst New Character:
Best Writing: Uncharted 4. If someone was playing it and I was a spectator, I'd gladly just watch from beginning to end.
Best Story: Uncharted 4.

Best Voice Acting: Uncharted 4.
Best Soundtrack: Final Fantasy XV. Not so much the new stuff, but you could buy so many tracks from old Final Fantasy games!!! HEAVEN!!!
Best Sound Design: How should I know?

Best Graphics-Technical: Uncharted 4, runner up would be Ratchet.
Best Graphics-Artistic: Part of me wants to say Severed, but it's a bit too simple, so I"ll say The Last Guardian. You could just freeze frame and it would look like a painting.
Best Overall Graphics: Uncharted 4

Biggest Surprise: Final Fantasy XV being awesome. Didn't expect to like it so much.
Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related): Dragon Quest VII. Not that I don't like it, but a lot of the game is just so repetitive.
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year: Not sure of all of the games I played for the first time, but the freshest one that I can think of that I liked a lot was Link's Awakening for the Gameboy Advance. Super fun. Just goes to show you graphics aren't everything.
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: Dragon Quest Builders. I'll get to it at some point, just a lot on my plate right now.

Favorite Level: You could probably pick almost any chapter from Uncharted or Ratchet and Clank. Those games were so fun to play from beginning to end. I'll pick Scotland from Uncharted just because of the snow!
Favorite Moment: When I discovered that I could buy old Final Fantasy soundtracks in Final Fantasy XV. The best part is that a lot of the songs that they picked for the games were the songs I most wanted to hear!
Worst Moment: How easy Nefarious was.
Best Boss Fight:
Game You Played the Most: Probably Destiny.

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016: Playstation 4
Most Overrated Game: NES classic.
Most Underrated Game: Severed
Best New IP: Don't think I played one
Any other thoughts on 2016 in gaming: One of my favorite years, and there's still games I'd like to play that I haven't. In no way would I have guessed that Final Fantasy XV would be so good.

by avidacridjam Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:26 am

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1. Uncharted 4
2. Overwatch
3. Doom
4. Ratchet & Clank
5. Titanfall 2

Best Singleplayer: Uncharted 4
Best Cooperative Multiplayer: Overwatch
Best Competitive Multiplayer: Titanfall 2
Best Overall Multiplayer: Overwatch

Biggest Surprise: Doom
Biggest Disappointment (could be a game or just something gaming-related): Street Fighter V. This still hurts. I wanted to be involved.
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: Inside

by TripOpt55 Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:48 am

Here are mine!

List your Top 10 Games of the Year:
1. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Mechanically improved. Loved some of the new additions like the grapple and the jeep. And couldn't be happier with how they ended things for Nate and company. I enjoy kicking butt in the multiplayer too!
2. The Last Guardian - The controls and camera can be frustrating, but the bond created through gameplay between the boy and Trico was amazing and I loved the story it told. I thought some of the puzzle and setpiece designs were really impressive too.
3. Titanfall 2 - Love the mobility in combat. Titans are vehicle sections done right adding variety while staying true to the core gameplay. Only wish there was more of that one mechanic. One of my all-time favorite FPS campaigns.
4. Doom - Another awesome FPS campaign. A throwback to yesteryear with its run and gun combat and labyrinthine level designs. I liked all the little challenges it had for you to go after while you played.
5. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst - For all of its issues, it delivers some of the best platforming ever. The way Mirror's Edge challenges players through its moveset, level design while under time pressure is unmatched. The dashes are perfection.
(less sure about the choices/order after this top five)
6. Quantum Break - I was surprised how all the different storytelling elements came together. Better than I expected and a unique mix for sure. The shooting was fun and not cover-based which was a nice change of pace from the norm.
7. Severed - Didn't think I'd like the swipe-based combat so much, but they kept on adding mechanics to make something surprisingly deep. The exploration/dungeon crawling/light puzzles helped add variety to what could have been repetitive.
8. Ratchet & Clank - I feel like there were some real missed opportunities here, but I love the core gameplay loop of the series and always have a good time with it when they don't stray too far from the proven formula.
9. Kirby Planet Robobot - The mech suit was just super cool. I loved seeing old copy abilities given new life because I could use them with the mech. The final boss is kind of bonkers too.
10. Gears of War 4 - Safe but solid. Did a good job of transferring to the new characters while still involving the tried and true gameplay, old characters and series' lore. Kudos for the enemy variety too.

Downloadable GotY: Severed
Handheld GotY: Severed
Worst GotY: TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan - Platinum will never be an elite dev if they make trash like this.
Best Remake: Ratchet & Clank unless that is cheating
Best DLC (adding this in, feels like this should have been included): One is an hour and the other is like 20, but I really liked both Rise of the Tomb Raider's Blood Ties and The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

Best Singleplayer: Uncharted 4
I don't think I played enough multiplayer games this year to say which is best.

Best New Character: Trico
Worst New Character: No one really offended me this year I guess.
Best Writing: Uncharted 4
Best Story: Uncharted 4

Best Voice Acting: Uncharted 4
Best Soundtrack: Virginia
Best Sound Design: Inside

Best Graphics-Technical: Uncharted 4
Best Graphics-Artistic: The Last Guardian
Best Overall Graphics: Uncharted 4

Biggest Surprise: Titanfall 2's campaign. The first didn't have one so I didn't know how much effort/budget this would get. And it was from the Modern Warfare dudes which is the most overrated FPS campaign I've ever played. So obviously I didn't expect to be so taken with this.
Biggest Disappointment: I'll drop a few here. Watch Dogs 2. They really threw the baby out with the bathwater here. While the new game seems alright, I'm disappointed they didn't build on what was good about the first. Most of that is gone. They tore things down and started from scratch pretty much. I wish ReCore had been given the time and budget it deserved. Could have been a real gem. And even if I was expecting it, Nintendo's bailing on the Wii U in such complete fashion is still disappointing.
Best Non-2016 Game You Played For the First Time This Year: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. I love this so much. A retro throwback done right. Feels like Castlevania meets a sidescrolling Zelda. And it's hilarious. Shoutout to Risky's Revenge and Tales from the Borderlands in this category too.
Game You Wish You Played That Came Out in 2016: Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. After falling in love with this series, I suspect this would have made my top ten. The Witness, Unravel, Firewatch, Forza Horizon 3 and Oxenfree (though I played like 15 minutes of that last one) too.

Favorite Level: I'm torn between a few from Uncharted. Chapter 11 or Chapter 17 probably.
Favorite Moment: The ending of Uncharted 4
Worst Moment: The final boss fight of Quantum Break. Not only does it include a number of my gaming pet peeves, the fight should have been awesome but they seemingly decided to avoid it being awesome as much as they could.
Best Boss Fight: Can't think of a lot of great ones from this year. Probably one from Kirby.
Game You Played the Most: Uncharted 4

Platform/system with the Best Software Lineup in 2016: PS4
Most Overrated Game: I guess Inside, but I still liked it.
Most Underrated Game: Severed
Best New IP: Quantum Break

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