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BaD 2016: Everything and Everyone Dies


On 02/27/2018 at 06:09 PM by Super Step

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2016 sucked for me. Not because a bunch of celebrities bit the dust or our politics got even more polarized, though that didn't help, but for extremely personal reasons I won't go into. 

You remember Lion King, when Scar took over and all of a sudden everything became dark, deforested and hopeless looking? That was my 2016. 2013 & 2016 are pretty close in terms of how much they sucked for me, which made me even more superstitious about the number 3 (it's everywhere, man! EVERYWHERE!), but 2016 takes the bullshit cake. 

Whatever, let's get this shitshow over with. Also, I know that's a really dumb superstition, yet I can't stop having it. Weird. 

Oh and I played a LOT of this in 2017 rather than its release year, but we're in full on eff it mode today because I don't appreciate being reminded of 2016's existence. I was rooting for the Chicago Cubs to win that year, but I wasn't aware I was cheering on the tearing of the universe's fabric, so fuck you, Cubs!

Street Fighter V was a gigantic letdown of a Red Box rental. I hear they've added more content since, but I still can't get the "this is a demo" taste out of my mouth from that initial rental.

Need for Speed is one I think I forgot to mention from 2015, but I probably bought it at year's end 2015 or this year anyway. It's an addicting arcade racer, though I really wish they'd bring the cops back. I honestly kinda liked the cheeseball live action story stuff. It reminded me of the original PlayStation. 

Ratchet & Clank is one I bought to support Insomniac and was left impressed by the PIxar-level visuals and fun weapons. Too bad the movie supposedly sucked. 

Mirror's Edge Catalyst is another game I really like that got a lot of hate for some reason. I bought it on sale around Christmas 2016 and I thought it had some cool first-person platforming and didn't think the cutscenes were anywhere near as bad as reviews made me anticipate. I actually quite liked it overall. 

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is Rise of the Tomb Raider, but with all of the DLC included and you get to play as PS1 Lara. I thought it was more of the same from the 2013 title, but with even better graphics and more tombs to explore, so I'm a fan. 

Gravity Rush Remastered is one I didn't play until late last year, but it is a fun title for sure once you get used to the controls. I still think the environments should be more open than they are to avoid certain awkward things like clinging to a wall without meaning to, but it's a fun experience and unique idea for a game.

Firewatch is one I think is fairly overrated, honestly. I really would have liked to actually see the main character and his boss physically on-screen together at some point and I wasn't that taken in by what the story wound up being. BUT there's this really cool "audio tour" mode that acts as a BTS of sorts I really wish more games would incorporate. Sometimes I'm more interested in hearing how a game got made than the game itself. 

Stardew Valley was a GameFly rental I didn't have the patience for, because your stamina is so low when you start out you can barely get started before having to rest up. The Zelda reference I found was a nice, promising thing, but I could tell this just wasn't my kind of game.

Pokken Tournament is not a game I played, but basically what I always wished I was getting out of Pokemon Stadium. It's too bad I didn't have the hardware to realize that dream.

Hyrule Warriors is one I played back in 2014 or so at my friend Robbie's place, but forgot to mention in previous blogs ... it's actually not a 2016 release at all, I just thought it was a decent skin for the endless hack-and-slash series.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is another I didn't get to until 2017, but it's probably my second favorite in the series. The action set pieces aren't quite as fun the fourth time, but they're still great and I personally loved the slower and more character-driven story this time around.

Doom is a game I've played the demo of a couple times, said "this is good; I see why people like this" and left alone completely otherwise. Just not a huge FPS guy. 

Pokemon Go is not a game I ever played, but I distinctly remember pretty much everyone I worked the inventory job in summer with playing. I've been told our van driver at the time would gas up the van and go looking for hot Pokemon spots in Dallas. Man, everyone was happy those two weeks. That was nice. It's too bad 2016 was such a dark sinkhole it destroyed all of the joy emanating from the game and murdered the souls of all the children born that year.

Star Fox Zero was Nintendo's chance to get me to spring for a Wii U ... until everyone said they hated the control scheme and I decided I didn't need to play it. 2016 killed Star Fox too. 

Abzu is underwater Journey

Batman: The Telltale Series is a game I only recently finished THIS year, but while I liked the darker and more mature take on Batman, even compared to the movies, I thought they played a bit too fast and loose with established characters. I was a little annoyed by how much they veered away from canon in that sense. 

No Man's Sky was a game I knew was going to be a letdown, because no one seemed to be able to explain exactly what was on those planets. They even showed the game off on Stephen Colbert and I said, "that looks like it would get old fast. What is the point?" Apparently, they've updated the game significantly, but I still have no interest. It belongs in the 2016 shithole. 

Inside is LIMBO with what I presume are Nazis or a metaphor for Nazis. In fairness, I only played the demo. 

Resident Evil 4 is on everything every year; it was released on PS4 this year. My experience with it is having to lower the frame rate on Steam for it to be playable on my laptop. The sound design is effectively spooky though. 

Bioshock The Collection is one I have yet to finish a single game in. I've barely started Bioshock and keep getting killed by Big Daddies and only ever rented Infinite.

Virginia is a stupid game, with a plot that means nothing. Look up Julian Titus's review or my blog about it on here for more details. It was released in 2016 and it sucks. 

Rocksmith 2014 Edition Remastered is the version of this game I actually own. Apologies for having said otherwise.

PSVR was starting to become a thing this year ... so 2016 put a stop to that and said, "no future technology for you, you chucklehuggers!" and ran off into the night.

Titanfall 2 is actually a really fun FPS/platformer that I couldn't put down until I finished the story and even got into a couple online matches. The mech battles always felt a bit more random to me, but this game is still better than 2016 deserves. 2016 made it sell poorly, despite its having improved on everything in the original. 2016 is an asshole. 

Dishonored 2 was another disappointing rental for me. Sorry, I just don't see what other games see in this series. 

Watch Dogs 2 was a three-hour demo that I didn't really get. It had great reviews, but to me it was a less-funny GTA with uninteresting characters and un-fun mechanics. 

Final Fantasy XV is actually pretty decent from what I played of my GameFly rental. I'm honestly happy the combat doesn't have to be turn-based, even if it does get repetitive at times. If I ever play a Final Fantasy all the way through, this will likely be it. That's a big maybe though, especially now I remember it's from 2016.

The Last Guardian is a touching art game that really moved me without me entirely understanding why. It's absolutely gorgeous and I felt good figuring out a lot of the puzzles, but 2016 did mess with the mechanics a bit. 

No pictures or video for 2016. It doesn't deserve it. 



 

Comments

KnightDriver

02/27/2018 at 10:28 PM

I don't think the Ratchet & Clank movie was bad, it was just exactly the same as the game. So there was very little new to see. 

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 08:59 AM

I haven't seen it, but honestly the game's story was just ok, so I can see how folks who only saw the movie weren't fans. 

Cary Woodham

02/28/2018 at 01:46 AM

Yeah 2016 was not a good year.  I had just lost my job late the year before, so for the first third of 2016, I was unemployed.  I tried to get my dream job working at the National Videogame Museum, but that didn't work out, which broke my heart.  So I was forced to take any job I could, and ended up working at a hardware store and I don't care anything about hardware and do it yourself stuff.  I'm not a handyman.  And I'm still working there.

2016 sucked for games, too.  In 2015 we got awesome games from Nintendo like Splatoon, Mario Maker, and Yoshi's Woolly World.  In 2016 they gave us...Star Fox Zero?  Blech!  Good thing they made up for it in 2017.

I got Street Fighter V when the price went down to 20 bucks.  It is a disappointing game, but Cammy looks really cool in it.

The Ratchet and Clank movie didn't really suck, it just made me want to play the games instead.

I played and beat Gravity Rush on the Vita.  I wish I could've gotten the remastered version on PS4, but it got too expensive.  I do like the main character in those games, though.

Stardew Valley was fun, but I think most of the people who hyped it up must've never played a Harvest Moon game, because Stardew Valley is just a carbon copy of those.

Pokken Tournament was a great fighting game.  But then, Namco made it.  Although I wouldn't buy it again on the Switch, I did enjoy it on the Wii U.

I really only enjoyed playing Hyrule Warriors when it was co-op with my brother Jeff, so I don't know if I'll get the new edition that's coming out on Switch.

I didn't play Pokemon Go either.  Mianly because my cell phone is too old but also because I don't get out enough to really make use of it.  But I do remember when EVERYONE was playing it.

And like I said before, Star Fox Zero was just a bad game.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 09:08 AM

I guess I'll have to watch R&C for myself. I just know it got really bad reviews. 

I don't remember what I paid for Gravity Rush Remastered, but I definitely bought it on sale. I like the main character as well. I was a little weirded out by some of the times the game would imply she's homely, because she's so clearly not. You meet a guy looking for his dream girl who doesn't think she's "fair"  enough and it's like ... dude, she's waaaaaay out of your league; seize the opportunity.

I can't imagine Stardew Valley is much different from Farmville ...

I'd buy Pokken Tournament  if I ever got a Switch.

Hyrule Warriors was fun while I played it, which was for about an hour or two at a friend's place, but I could definitiely see it getting too repetitive.

Same here as far the old phone. I wanted to go out more, but my phone was not going to handle Pokemon Go, so I had to go without Pokemon.

I know at least one or two people on here who actually really liked Zero and said they got used to the controls, but I just wish they'd make a regular Star Fox game with regular controls. He's seriously like Nintendo's mini-Sonic at this point in that they can't accept people just want the classic gameplay and not a bunch of gimmickery.

Cary Woodham

02/28/2018 at 01:54 PM

Yeah there times when I wanted to jump into the Gravity Rush game and say to that lady, "Hey, don't listen to these mean people saying you're not pretty."

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 02:12 PM

There's a character in Yakuza 0 they do that to named Yuki who everyone says is plain and I think she looks cute. I guess the Japanese just have different tastes. 

Cary Woodham

02/28/2018 at 02:17 PM

I like the arcade lady.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 02:18 PM

Well, so do Majima and Kiryu, although they misread her signals. lol 

Nicoleb1989

02/28/2018 at 10:31 AM

If its any consolation I hated 2016 too and it can burn in a trashfire as far as Im concerned. I probably played new release stuff that year but me remembering it will be a challenge in itself. Im glad Im doing the 12 games a year thing now. Gives me a refresher on what I played that year the most. Wish I had started it sooner.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 10:35 AM

This year so far there's been one game I want each month, with FighterZ in January and SotC remake this month. March has Far Cry 5, which I'll wait for reviews for. 

A Way Out and Ni No Kuni II release on my birthday, but I don't like JRPGs and I'm a single-player gamer mostly. 

Nicoleb1989

02/28/2018 at 10:52 AM

I thought A Way Out could be played single player? I guess it would be a pain in the ass that way. Im probably getting Ni No Kuni 2. I didnt finish the first one but I did play it and enjoyed it. Just wish I would have gotten farther in it. Im wanting Kirby Star Allies and the Devil May Cry HD Collection as well. 

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 11:52 AM

It probably can be, but it's really heavily being sold as a co-op thing from what I recall. 

Casey Curran Staff Writer

02/28/2018 at 01:03 PM

Yeah, 2016 wasn't exactly a good year for me either. What you described was actually pretty accurate of my situation too. Games wise was kind of bland also. Pokemon Sun/Moon and Doom were great and there were some really good games like Battlefield 1, Overwatch, and Pokken too, but nothing that really blew me away. 2017 was when games really picked up for me.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/28/2018 at 02:13 PM

Same here on pretty much all fronts except which games we wound up playing. I don't think 2016 was a bad year for games by any means, but a) I'm sure my personal situation colored a lot of things I saw or played that year and b) having 2017 come right after with excellent game after excellent game and tons of variety doesn't do 2016 any favors. 

SanAndreas

03/01/2018 at 12:23 AM

Gaming in 2016 for me was defined largely by Final Fantasy XV, I also got Odin Sphere Leifthrasir and King of Fighters XIV. One of my favorite unusual gems from that year was Nights of Azure. Another little gem was The 7th Dragon on 3DS. I didn't play Doom on PS4, but I kind of want to get it for the Switch.

2016 wasn't great for me either. I ended up quitting the job that sent me to Maryland because of issues with an out of control employee and because it wasn't paying enough to cover the cost of living in Maryland. I got another job that paid better. I had a lot of conflict in my house. And on top of that, my parents got in a car accident in downtown Phoenix, with my dad ending up in the ICU and my mother blaming herself because she was driving. When I flew out there it was the first time I'd seen my family since I went to Maryland.

Super Step Contributing Writer

03/01/2018 at 12:59 AM

I notice you play a lot of RPGs. Is that your favorite genre? I'm notorious for not really being able to get into them, but I often wish I could for the story and visuals.

I'm still surprised at how many people had terrible 2016s. Like something shifted in the universe.

SanAndreas

03/01/2018 at 01:30 AM

RPGs are my favorite genre. I've been into them since Ultima III and Dragon Warrior in the 80s, but it was Final Fantasy VI and especially FFVII that really made the genre my favorite. The problem with this genre being my favorite is that even short RPGs tend to be longer than most other games, so that makes playing all of them difficult, as well as revisiting favorite RPGs.

That said, my favorite overall series is the Zelda series.

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