Gone Home (PS4)

Date Purchased:  June 7, 2016
Date Completed:  January 30, 2017
Price: Free (PS+)

Greg Miller, a highly recognized games journalist convinced me to play this game again after quickly dismissing it initially.  He keeps talking about it and not being ready to start another long campaign, I downloaded it again and gave it another shot.   Greg Miller has lost all credibility.  Don't play this. The story is "kinda sorta okay I guess" but it was spoiled for me by Greg.  Your character arrives back at home after spending some time studying abroad to find your home empty, it's up to you to determine where everyone is.  It requires a lot of walking around a large home, reading notes and various papers throughout the house to determine where they went.  An audio journal from your disturbed sister plays in the background occasionally helping the narrative along.  Doom, then Abzu, then this?  Perhaps wrong time to play this game ... but no ... pass.

ABZU (PS4)

Date Purchased:  January 1, 2016

Date Completed:  January 30, 2016

Price: $7.99 (PSN)

Flower, Journey, and now Abzu.  Picked this up during a boxing day sale and I’m not exactly sure why.  I’d heard about it quite a bit last year, perhaps it was just name recognition, but I usually don’t care for these types of games … this one was different though.  After coming off Doom I was looking for a palette cleanser before jumping into Dead Space 2, this game fit the bill perfectly.  Abzu’s been described as “Journey under water” and while I can agree with that from a gameplay perspective, the graphics and tone of this game are much nicer to look at.  It has a wonderful symphonic soundtrack is quite simply a masterpiece in presentation.  The gameplay is, well, what it is, it’s more of an experience than a game.  There was zero challenge, I may have had 1 or 2 head scratches but they were quickly resolved (I was over thinking) and before I knew it I was swimming along again in this beautiful ocean in all its splendour.   I enjoyed my time with ABZU and will play it again, it's even made me consider giving Journey another run.  Recommend.

Doom (PS4)

Date Purchased: December 28, 2016
Date Completed: January 27, 2016
Price: Free (Christmas Present)

I had some serious conviction playing this game.  Let’s just get that out front and centre.  Yeah, I played the old Doom games back in “the day” but those graphics, while ground breaking at the time, couldn’t tell a compelling story, for a long time I didn’t even know I was shooting Demons, I thought they were just monsters. 

Fast forward 20 some years and things have changed.  Games can now tell detailed stories (still usually not very good, but that’s another discussion),  and the graphics are quite astounding.  Doom 2016 looks incredible.  With that though came some strong guilt playing through this game.  I knew what I was getting into, and that should have been enough to stop me from wanting to play this game, but I’d also heard how it “didn’t take itself too seriously”, so, I was curious, thinking “how bad could it really be”?  Well, It can get pretty bad.  There are pentagrams all over, demonic chants, plenty of gore, demons everywhere, and you literally go to Hell … but you are the Demon slayer!

I still can’t decide whether I can recommend this game.  I’ve done some research on the subject, read reddit threads etc. and can’t come to a conclusion as to whether a  Christian should partake in an experience like this.  Would I want my kids playing it?  Heck no!  Did I enjoy it?  Heck yes!  What did I like about it?  It plays like a fast paced old school shooter, much like my game of the year for last year.  The metal soundtrack (instrumental only, no screaming) is awesome.  The graphics are great.  The story is … interesting (There’s an energy crisis on earth, and a corporation has built a portal to Hell to access their infinite supply.  Things get out of hand, and that’s where you come in)  But that gameplay?  It’s fantastic. 

I can’t say “Don’t play this game” … but be aware of what you’re getting into.  If you’re easily influenced, or you’ve read this thinking “oh man, this is not for me” or “I can’t believe he played it” then it’s probably not for you.  If the story had me fighting alongside the demons, I would in no way be able to recommend this game.  I ultimately come back to the fact that it’s merely an interpretation of Hell, and in some small tiny way, is educational.  But that gameplay though.  Recommend.

Forza Horizon 2: The Fast and the Furious (XB1)

Date Purchased:  January 3, 2017
Date Completed:  January 14, 2017
Price:  $2.50, Regular $10 (Xbox Live Marketplace)

I really enjoy the Forza Horizon series, so much so that I feel I should give OG Forza a spin sometime, but for now, I'll stick with Horizon until I finish up 3.  I picked this up on a boxing day sale and what it essentially is, is a mini Forza Horizon 2.  A glorified demo really with a small set of cars, a portion of that games map, and a new "skin" tying it to the popular movie franchise.  There's not much to say that hasn't been covered it my original look at Forza Horizon 2.  It was nice to revisit the game again, but if you've played Horizon 2, there's no need to come back.  Recommend on it's own, pass if you own the full game.

Top 10 of 2016

My annual lengthy discussion for the best games I finished in 2016.

Happy New Year! (The Pile)

To keep things simpler, I'm just going to keep the pile of shame list in a ... list format.  I was in the habit of feeling obligated to even finish freebies from PS+ or Games with Gold, but from now on, I'll give some a try, but shouldn't feel any "shame" for not finishing a "free" game.

So, games I've paid for but still need to finish:

• Abzu (PS4)
• Forza Horizon: Fast and the Furious
• Dead Space 2 (PS3)
• Dead Space 3 (PS3)
• Doom (PS4)
• Resident Evil Revelations (3DS)

I'm beginning to sense a theme here.  Anyways...

Overwatch (PS4)

Date Purchased: November 25, 2016
Date Completed:  December 31, 2016
Price: $41.75 (PSN)

This years Black Friday haul was light on titles, I knew I would be busy in December, but still wanted to pick something up.  The Dutchman in me can't pass up a good deal.  Overwatch seemed a good fit for a variety of reasons.  I wanted a game light on story, that I could could pick up and put down as I pleased, and something that was playable in front of my wife and kids.  I couldn't have picked a better game.

I haven't played many competitive shooters over the past few years.  If you check this blog often, which you don't, you can see I clearly steer towards story driven games, often skipping the multiplayer portion altogether.  This game could change all that ... but I doubt it.  When the Overwatch Servers were being weird, I tried playing Halo 5 multiplayer again.  Nope.

Overwatch has so much going for it, the game is a different experience depending on which hero you choose, the gameplay feels great, the game looks beautiful, and is just simply fun.  You can play for 5 minutes or hours at a time.  It's the perfect compliment to spotify or a podcast.  I love it.  This could lead me to playing less games (in quantity) in 2017.  We'll see.  Recommend.