While the WII U came out last year, the next generation of gaming kicked off today with the release of the PS4, and rolls on to next Friday with the XBOX One is released. I have no doubt that the current game systems will continue to thrive for years to come, as seen by most of the release titles and future titles for the PS4 and Xone are available on both generations. That’s one of the reasons I have decided to hold off on buy a newer system and stick to my good old PS3/360. But I do realize that just because the PS3/360 isn’t going anywhere soon, this generation’s days are getting smaller. With that I’ve looked back over the last 7 years that I have been playing the PS3/360 (I still remember buying my 360 on March 8th 2006, the PS3 came in January 2008), and I have realized just how many amazing games I have played. I started the last few years picking my Game of the Years (GOTY), but I decided to make a post and go back and pick my GOTYs from 2006-2014.
A few things to understand before you start reading my choices:
1) My choices are not based on gameplay alone; I am going with what game I enjoyed the most that year, the game that really stands out. This is important to remember when you think that it has been several years since I played some the games from the earlier years in this list.
2) In the last few years my schedule has caused a backlog of games, and with a lot of games coming out toward the end of the year, some games don’t get played until the next year. Since this is a reflection of my GOTYs, they will show up on whatever year I spent the most amount of time playing the game.
3) These games will all be based on the PS3/360 versions, even if they came out on the PS2 or original Xbox.
So let’s start this list with my 2006 GOTY:
There really wasn’t any other game I could have picked for this year. Dead Rising was a game I read about before the 360 launched and I told myself I had to play it! Also remember this is before the zombie craze that would come a few years later, so zombies were not in almost every game like they are now, which had me even more excited. Plus, look at that screenshot, that is the first picture I remember seeing of the game (circa 2005) and could not have been more hyped for the game. Dead Rising truly was a system selling game for me. The best part is the game lived up to all the hype. Sure it took me a restart to understand how the timer in the game worked, but once I got that down, I was in zombie-killing heaven. I played through the game several times when it came out, and about once a year for the next two or three years. The only gripe I had for the game was that the writing at the bottom of the screen telling you about a new side missions, or even mission objectives was designed for HDTVs. At the time I (along with a large portion of gamers in 2006) only had a SDTV, making the text extremely small and hard to read. It was small complaint, but a valid one. The gameplay and story were a blast to run though. The side missions featured some of the craziest boss battles I have played in a game (and I am a huge fan of MGS).
Runner-ups: Hitman: Blood Money, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
These are the three games I came back to most over the years. Thanks to the HD collection on PS3, I have recently started Hitman again (all three), Marvel is a game that at least once a year I play just to get a quick superhero fix, and Oblivion really opened my eyes to what to expect from this generation of gaming.
2007 GOTY
I have to admit, the first time my friend asked me if I was stoked for this game in 2006, I told him no. For the most part, whenever I heard that a game was an RPG, I figured it wasn’t going to be my type of game. Don’t get me wrong, I love a great story in a game, but my mind flashed to games like Final Fantasy or Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic. Great games I’m sure, but I have never been able to get into a game that didn’t feature Real-Time combat. As much as I love a great story, I can’t get into it without the gameplay to back it up. However Action-RPGs like X-men Legends, and Oblivion started to open my mind that RPG was not a term I needed to run away from. After our conversation about the features of the game there was a spark of excitement. Over the next year as previews started coming out, that spark turned into a fire. When this game finally released I couldn’t wait to get home and play it. Simply put, I was blown away. Everything about this game was amazing to me. The story was top notch, the gameplay was fun and engaging, the ability to craft a story to my own adventures and all the side missions were so good I hated that it was only 30 hours long. Hell I even like going to all the planets and mining them.
Runner-ups: Assassin’s Creed, Skate, Halo 3.
I am one of the few that loved Assassin’s Creed 1. I didn’t get bored with the set up to each kill because I found that buy doing all of it, it made the kill easier. Skate was a game that returned the fun to skateboarding games to me. After the first Tony Hawk Underground I felt like the series was becoming too wacky, Skate brought back a realistic approach in terms of story and gameplay that I loved. Once I got the game, I couldn’t but it down. Sadly the learning curve was high, and after clearing one of the two magazines in the game, I suffered my first Red Ring of Death. By the time my Xbox was sent back to me I had Mass Effect, and Assassin’s creed to play, and when I finally got back to Skate, my skills were gone. But again, I loved the time with the game. Halo 3 was amazing because I am generally not that big into FPS, but I had a blast with Halo.
2008 GOTY:
Metal Gear Solid 4
I should start by saying my favorite game is Metal Gear Solid 3 (I just played through the HD version and I’m happy to say it is still my favorite game), and once MGS4 was announced I waited and studied any piece of information that came out about it. It was almost a 3 year wait for this game, and man it was worth it. The storyline, while not as clean cut as 3 was, did a great job of tying all the loose ends of the series up. The gameplay was amazing, and after playing the first two chapters a few months ago I can honestly saw still holds up against the best 3rd person action games out there. With a new camera system, stealth suit, and upgradable weapons this game was an action lover’s dream. Yes the cut scenes were long and there were a lot of them, but if you were a fan of the series they were not an issue. I found myself waiting to see what happened next. You could also pause them, which seeing how some of them were 45 minutes, was a nice addition. I will say that a year after I beat the game I replayed it and skipped the cut scenes, as I did a few months ago, so if you don’t want the story there isn’t an issue. I just have to point out the gameplay again, 5 years later and I still can’t believe how well it holds up to all the newest action games.
Runner-ups: Uncharted, GTAIV, Fable 2, Spider-man: Web of Shadows.
Uncharted is the first game on this list that you will see mentioned in a year after it came out. I loved this game. It was the first PS3 game I bought (Jan of 08) and I played it twice that year, and again in 09. GTAIV as I mentioned in a previous post (I’m currently working on a GTAV review as well), while it stripped a lot of the fun wacky elements from the previous games in the series, it added grittiness to its story that I think really made it amazing. I skipped the first Fable out of my fear of RPGs at the time, but I felt I had to play 2. I was amazed at how much I loved it. I couldn’t put the game down. Lame ending and all, I just enjoyed watching my character interact with the world and grow. I also loved buying all the towns property, a feature I’m glad to see has made it into more games. And yes, for this year I had to add a fourth runner up. Spider-man WoS to me is the pinnacle of the Spider-man games. Sure the camera was a little wonky and the combat could have used some tightening, but I felt like the game really made you feel like Spider-man more than any other game before it. The story (once you got past the much too long first act) fit perfectly into a comic book world based on the web head. Again, I love a game that gives you choices, and this game had that as well.
2009 GOTY
Uncharted 2
This is the blueprint for which all action/adventure games should follow. Of course don’t copy it, but take note of how to tell a great and interesting story, add in some great characters (including women who aren’t there just as eye candy), and some comedy that is actually funny. On top of all that the gameplay was top notch. Who can forget the thrill of the first level where Drake starts off hanging from a train that is hanging over a cliff itself? From there the story and gameplay just build on that opening foundation. This truly is a must play game for anyone.
Runner ups: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ghostbusters, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Assassin’s Creed II.
I cannot stress how hard it is for me to pick between Batman and Uncharted! Even in 2009 I had a hard time, and now four years later I have the same issue. To me, both are perfect games. Ghostbusters was just a flat out fun game that did a great fan service. The game was a way to make the third movie that was stuck in developmental hell. The only negative about the game is that it was so well received that the talk of a third movie started up again, which as much as it pains me to say, doesn’t need to happen. I am a huge wolverine fan (I have a tattoo on my arm to prove it) and I had to include the wolverine game on this list. Maybe it was because I am bias toward the game, but like the Spider-man game the year before, I loved this game and felt like it made me feel like wolverine. The game took the God of War concept and applied it to Wolverine. Assassin’s Creed II was an improvement on almost every level over the first game. The revelation of “Those that came before” and the ending were jaw dropping moments. The only complaint I had against this game, which is the reason it’s not my GOTY, would be that I didn’t feel like a true assassin. In the first game once you collected all the information about your target, you could find a way to silently assassinate them, while in this game I felt like it always turned into a giant brawl.
2010 GOTY
Mass Effect 2
Let me start by saying that in February of 2010 I started Air Force basic training at the age of 27 (which is pretty old compared to the normal age of recruits). Between February and November of that year I didn’t get a lot of gaming done due to the training, which I why this year doesn’t have a lot of titles for me, and also why 2011 you start to see the backlog seep in. Anyway Mass effect 2 took what the first game did and took it to the next level. The action was tighter; the story was filled with twist and turns. Some of the features were streamlined, but that didn’t affect me, but I could see how some of the more RPG fans were disappointed by that. The ending mission on this game was EPIC. For pretty much the entire game you were told you were going on a suicide mission, and the developers made sure it felt that way. When I think of this game I think of the drama to the story, and the fact that I just wanted to keep pushing forward. In all honesty, this is the game that makes me want to go by the collection and play through it on PS3.
Runner ups: God of War 3, UFC 2010, Splinter Cell: Conviction.
God of War 3 was my first choice for GOTY back in 2010, but as time has went on I’ve decided that Mass Effect *barely* edges out GoW. GoW was truly an amazing game, and I’m still hard pressed to pick out a game with better graphics. The game was a thrill as I went from destroying one god to another. UFC I included because due to my short amount of game time, I spent a lot of it with this game since I could play a few fights and move on. I enjoyed this game a lot, granted I was nowhere as good on the ground as I was in the first game. I enjoyed the career mode and the bonus fights as well. Splinter Cell is a series that I didn’t get into until Double Agent, and I loved that game. With Conviction I enjoyed the game right up until the last two missions. I still enjoyed the game and all the new features as well.
2011 GOTY
Red Dead Redemption
Due to my previous year being as busy as it was, I didn’t really get to play this game until around January 2011, and from the moment I started playing, I was hooked. The game built on everything Rockstar had put into its previous games and then some. I felt like I couldn’t put this game down. Once I beat the game, I played what I still consider my favorite DLC of any game Undead Nightmare. Back to the main game, the story was so well written I couldn’t help but put John into my top 5 favorite characters. The ending was the perfect ending to any game I have played this generation. One of the biggest issues I had with GTA games was what I call the “second island fatigue”. Basically in those games and with a lot of open world games, you do so much exploring when you first start the game that by the time you move to the second area of the game, you start to get bored, possibly losing interest. If you push through you generally find yourself back to loving the game when you get to the third area. Well with this game, I never experienced that. I don’t know if it was the amazing story, the settings, the stranger missions, or the random events that would happen in the world or all of them combined, but I was hooked from day one. After a few months away I went back to the game to get 100%, the only Rockstar game I have done that with (working on GTAV now).
Runner ups: Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3, Alan Wake.
If I had played Red Dead Redemption when it came out I would have had a huge issue once again picking between Batman and Uncharted. Both of these games are generation defining games. In 2011 (when I didn’t count RDR due to me considering it a 2010 game no matter when I played it) I gave the nod to Uncharted 3 again. However I will say, I only played uncharted once, Batman I played again last year after watching The Dark Knight Rises, so maybe I would give it to Batman now. Either way both are amazing games. Alan Wake is another game that was pushed back a year, and while I wasn’t sure I would like it, I ended up loving it. Then ending was a little too “draw your own conclusions” than I would have liked, but then again, I never played the DLC that may have helped with that.
2012 GOTY
WWE 13
Here’s the thing, I am a huge wrestling fan. I have been since I was around 4 or 5 and I was exposed to the sight of Hogan and Andre. I have pretty much played all the WWE games from the time of Super Wrestlemanina on SNES till now. Like many I always thought Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain was always going to be the king of the virtual ring, until I played WWE 13. This game consumed my life. The Attitude Era mode, Universe, the amount of characters that were in the game from my teenage years during the attitude era, all of it had me hooked. I played this game from the time it came out up until the newest release came out. I even have a post about what is happening in my universe (that is sadly very outdated). I could say a lot about this game, but the game truly does find the right mix of nostalgia with the older guys and the storyline, and the current happenings in the WWE. I honestly think I put more time into this game in the two months I had with it in 2012 than any other game of that year.
Runner ups: Saints Row the Third, Skyrim, Gears of War 3, Mass Effect 3.
I was never a big fan of Saints Row, but after hearing so much about SR3 I gave it a shot. I won’t lie the first few hours I wasn’t that impressed, then I stopped playing it like a GTA game and embraced the wackiness of it. My character was insanely buff, had blue and black hair, skull face paint, and blood pouring down his face. Oh and every tattoo I could get on him at once. I was completely taken in on how great this game was. I can only remember one mission that I hated. I will also say that some of the side activities I didn’t like as well, but overall I loved this game. Skyrim is Skyrim. There really isn’t anything I can say about the game that hasn’t been already said. I still play it, and I am nowhere near done with it. The thrill of battling dragons is amazing; I look forward to those encounters. Gears of war is a series that while it hasn’t been in my top games until the third one, is still one that I love. To me the third game is the real stand out. The first game was all about the action, which was great. The second one started to put a real story into, which was needed. The third one was able to further both of those along into an amazing game. The story is awesome and filled with excitement and drama (Dom’s epic moment always stands out) and the gameplay is as tight as ever. I know you might have been expecting me to put Mass Effect 3 on the list but that ending kept it out of contention against these other games. Here’s my thing, I put 30 hours into each of the three games, and I only didn’t like 15 minutes out of that 90 hours. But for the narrative of there series, the ending was critical. Even after watching the DLC I still didn’t get it. If they would have had a better ending for the series, or even went with the fan theory of indoctrination it would have been perfect and taken the top spot.
2013 GOTY?
Well I haven’t decided what 2013’s GOTY will be yet. Odds are it will be the pictured GTAV, but I like to wait until the beginning of the year to make the decision. I still haven’t played Batman Arkham Origins or Assassin’s Creed 4 yet. With that being said other than GTAV; Far Cry 3, Hitman Absolution, Assassin’s Creed 3 and WWE 2K14 are all in the running as well.
Thanks for reading, and check back in a few months as I give my game of the year! But I want to end this by saying there are a lot of games that I played and loved that did not make this list. And yes some are better games than the ones on this list, but I chose based on what game do I remember enjoying the most from the given year. Fallout 3 is a game that pops to mind, I loved it, but it just missed this list. Also in the last couple of years I have not played as many games as I use to so I may have missed your favorite game. Again these are my choices for GOTY, based on my experience with them. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed going down memory lane! I also want to point out and apologize for the odd placement of the pictures. I spent over an hour editing the pictures, but for some reason the last two nights have been hell trying to post them. I will try and fix this at a later time.
-feaR
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