Another list to keep track of everything I've played throughout 2017.
UPDATE: My PS4 died right in the middle of December, so I haven't been able to get back to any of the games I wanted to play before the end of the year. I have listed these games below (...). I'll probably get to them in 2018.
January 2017
Completed Assassin's Creed 2 on PS4
Completed Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood on PS4
I've probably played through AC2 more times than any other game I own. It remains one of the best games in the series (AC Brotherhood, and AC4 are up there too), and Ezio is one of the most charismatic assassins that Ubisoft has ever created. The games look great on the PS4 as well, especially after they patched out the bug-eyed dude.
AC: Brotherhood was enjoyable to play through again, mainly because of the assassin recruiting mechanic. It really adds a nice dimension to the game that is sadly missing from the most recent AC games. There are some standout missions here (The Passion play being the most memorable), but it doesn't quite reach the heights of AC2.
January 2017
Completed on PC
I picked this up during the steam winter sale, and I've mainly been playing co-op missions. The bounty hunter missions that randomly appear in your game world are also a lot of fun. I can't speak much for the single player game yet, because I've been gathering data points and finishing side quests to level up, but it seems much less serious than the first game (which is a good thing).
January 2017
Completed on PS4
This is one of the best games Telltale has made. I'm not kidding. At first I was skeptical that they could make a decent story based game from the Borderlands world, but holy shit was I wrong! This game has a tremendous amount of heart, and I loved the characters so much. The opening songs for each chapter were perfect! A true gem of an adventure game. Highly recommended.
January - February 2017
Completed on PS4
I can safely say that the oxygen mechanic is annoying as hell, but the lower gravity jumps and boosting are cool. Also, everyone on the moon is a crazy Australian!
Update: After finishing the game, there are some real problems with the level design that just don't exist in BL2. Places that are impossible to get out of, crappy enemy placement, etc. The whole last level of the game is a tedious slog, and I was really getting sick of it, so I had to force myself to finish. That's a big problem. There's some funny writing and good shooting, but it gets overshadowed by the monotonous level design and tedious enemies towards the end.
January - February 2017
Completed on PSVita
An interesting visual novel / adventure game that is pretty much the anime version of Saw, mixed with Phoenix Wright and some touch screen nonsense. Also, there's a mechanical teddy bear named Monokuma who is just DELIGHTFULLY homicidal.
January - February 2017
Completed on PC
This game is really made for multiplayer, and I had a lot of fun playing through again with some friends on steam. It's still buggy as hell though. When we killed the Warrior, it dropped right onto the quest objective, and we couldn't reach the button...so annoying. We're trying out True Vault Hunter Mode right now.
February 2017
Completed on PC
After watching The Expanse on Syfy, I got a hankering to play Dead Space again. It continues to be one of the most interesting action/horror series from last generation. Also, Breaking News: Everyone loves Peng now? When did this happen?
February - March 2017
Completed Assassin's Creed Revelations on PS4
This is an interesting final entry to Ezio's tale that moves the series out of Italy and into Constantinople (which feels like a mix of Florence and Damascus from the original AC). There are some good additions to the arsenal, the bomb crafting brings a lot of variety to the gameplay, and the hook-blade adds some new traversal options. I only played through it once on release, so I'm having a good time revisiting the game.
February - March 2017
Completed on PC
This is the high point of the ME series, and I enjoyed revisiting it while waiting for Mass Effect Andromeda to release.
March 2017
Completed on PC
A platforming game centered around mining and gathering gems to turn in for upgrades while dealing with the occasional enemy. It's got a very satisfying gameplay loop that gets pretty fun with some late game upgrades - the rocket punch and double jump really speed things up.
February - March 2017
Played on PSVita
Like the first game, but now set on a tropical island, with a new (somewhat familiar) cast and a female bunny robot. Plus there appears to be a pet raising mechanic tracked by the amount of steps you take. Weird. I'm just getting into this, so more later...
EDIT: I've had to set this down for the moment with ME:A and P5 occupying most of my time.
March - April 2017
Completed on PS4
ME:A is very cool. The story of terraforming undiscovered planets in a new galaxy is really winning me over. The combat, the open world gameplay, and the graphics are all great...but then there is a lot of jank mixed in. A SHIT TON of jank. The facial animations for the aliens are pretty good for the most part, but a lot of the humans are wooden/bad. The writing overall is good, but some of the dialogue is laughably bad. The overall story has been really interesting and cool, but most of the sidequests I have done reminded me of the Hinterlands in Dragon Age Inquisition - AKA filler. Ultimately this game is a "mixed bag" and I'm having a blast with it so far.
EDIT: The multiplayer is RAD AS HELL. Krogan Vanguard = Kroguard <3
April 2017
Completed on PS4
This is one of the best videogame experiences I have had so far this generation. The presentation is top notch. The story is engaging, fun, and DARK. I wasn't expecting some of the themes to be this serious. The music is great. Even the menus are lovingly crafted and elaborate. This is a GOTY contender for sure, but there seems to be zero interest from the GB crew. It's a real shame.
EDIT: This is my personal GOTY 2017.
May 2017
Played on PC (free weekend on Steam)
Fallout 4 continues to be totally engrossing, and I'm kind of glad I only got to play it again for a few days.
May - June 2017
Played on PSVita
I'm enjoying this game so far. It's a cool mix of metroid and dark souls. I think I died to the first boss 5 - 6 times before I got the hang of it.
Update: This game kind of got lost in the shuffle with all of the time I have put into ME:A multiplayer, as well as the new games I got in June. I enjoyed my time with it, but it seems like a typical dark souls grind.
May - June 2017
Played on PSVita
A surprisingly difficult rhythm game couched within a spin-off tale with the cast from Persona 4. We're talking fully voiced visual novel fare mixed with anime cutscenes and rhythm game challenges. It's a lot of fun so far, and I'm enjoying spending more time with the P4 cast.
Update: On hold for a bit while I play other games.
May - July 2017
Played MP on PS4
The multiplayer continues to be great, and they are making regular updates to add new characters and weapons, along with balance changes and new maps. The MP is the best thing about ME:A.
June 2017
Completed up to Patch 3.5 Pt. 2 on PS4
This game continues to be great. The final battle of the Dragonsong War is suitably epic, and the rest of the patches do some interesting setup for Stormblood. I'm not a fan of the final dungeon, but the MSQ wraps up nicely by the end of 3.5 Pt. 2.
June - December 2017
Completed MSQ 4.1 on PS4
Square Enix has really upped the ante with this new expansion. It is SO much better than Heavensward (and I liked HW). The new classes are great. The new zones are beautiful and HUGE. The new city hub Kugane is so much more colorful and dense than Ishgard - it actually feels like a real FF city. I'm having a really good time so far just playing through the Main Story Quest, and I'm looking forward to leveling Samurai and Red Mage.
EDIT: I finally completed the main story and I loved it. One of the best games this year.
EDIT 2: I'm continuing to play almost every day, leveling alt jobs and doing dailies. I am also grinding Deltascape every week for gear. The Genta gear set looks really freaking cool. Most of my gaming time at the moment is spent with FFXIV.
June - November 2017
Completed MSQ on PS4
Completed The Frozen Wilds DLC on PS4
This is a beautiful game. I'm really enjoyed the bow combat, and I found it quite challenging to go up against some of the larger machines. The story has just enough mystery to keep it interesting throughout my time with it (60+ hours). I really like Aloy as the main character, and most of the other characters / voice acting is top notch. Not much else I can say - if you have a PS4, you should play this game. One of the best videogame experiences this year.
Update: The Frozen Wilds DLC is beautiful and a lot of fun. Great DLC.
July 2017
Played on PC
This game is METAL AF. Nuff said.
November 2017
Completed on PS4
This game has so many things going for it: the Ancient Egyptian setting, beautiful graphics, a totally revamped combat system, a likable protagonist, climbing the pyramids at Giza and exploring many different Old Kingdom tombs, chariot racing, sailing the Nile river, gladiatorial arena battles, hippos, etc. Probably the best AC game since Black Flag. Definitely one of the best videogame experiences this year.
November 2017
Played on XBOX ONE
I played through a few SP missions on a friend's XBONE, and I have to say, I haven't been this impressed with a CoD game since Modern Warefare. The graphics are top notch. It's not quite Saving Private Ryan "The Game" yet, but it's close. I'm definitely going to pick this up on PS4/PC and finish the SP campaign when there's a sale.
December 2017
Completed Single Player Campaign on PS4
Fun space battles, but the rest of the game is a mixed bag of mediocrity and a MP loot box dumpster fire. I ended up renting the game because I didn't want to support EA's shitty business practices anymore (I already spent enough money on Mass Effect Andromeda's multiplayer). To put it plainly, I was pretty disappointed. The single player story starts cool, but turns into stupid town pretty quick. The main character is Iden Versio, the badass CO of the Inferno Squad (the Imperial Special Forces), and you play some cool missions fighting against the rebels, but in highly predictable fashion, you switch sides after seeing your homeworld ravaged by the Empire (NEWSFLASH the Empire oppresses people and they are JUST NOW noticing this???). You then switch between major Star Wars characters for seemingly no reason other than to familiarize the player with the MP special units. The whole campaign should have been from the Empire's point of view (something we don't ever see) instead of the switching sides bullshit that we were given. In fact, the whole game should have been flying around in a TIE Fighter, and infiltrating Rebel bases. Pretty weak IMO and ultimately not worth your time.
EDIT: When are they going to make a current gen version of TIE Fighter? Or Rogue Squadron?
December 2017
Completed on PS4
A side adventure/semi-sequel of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but focused on Chloe and Nadine in India looking for The Tusk of Ganesh. The game has beautiful graphics, a fun Uncharted story, and Chloe and Nadine make a good team.
UPDATE: I LOVED my time with this game. One of my best gaming experiences this year.
December 2017
Playing on PC (in progress...)
I've played about an hour of the game so far, and it seems pretty good. I'm interested to see more of the story.
