GOTY 2015
"I'm just sayin'... video games!"
List items
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MGSV is both the greatest and most disappointing game I've played in years. The stealth mechanics feel greater than they ever have and the open maps allow for a ton of possibilities when deciding how to tackle any given objective. While there isn't much story in the game, I do enjoy what's there and how it enhances the lore of the franchise. I also spend a ton of time playing Metal Gear Online.
The disappointment comes in how the game very clearly isn't finished. Skullface doesn't feel fleshed out, multiple plot threads in chapter 2 are dropped entirely, and the ending comes completely out of nowhere with no build-up in the preceding missions. A few years back Kojima claimed there would be five open world areas in the game, and that players would revisit Camp Omega. The shipping game only has TWO maps, and Camp Omega only appears in flashbacks to Ground Zeroes. Given both the insanely high quality of what is there and its place as the last Kojima Metal Gear game, it is an incredible disappointment that the game didn't end up being all it could have been. Still, it's an incredible game and a mostly great send-off to this incredible franchise. Thank you Kojima, go make one of the new projects you've wanted to do for years. You've earned it.
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Devil May Cry 4 is my favorite character action game of all time due to the incredible combat mechanics found in it, so when you take that game and add 150% more new characters to it I am in heaven. Even though I'd already played through the original campaign at least a dozen times, I still ran through this game multiple times with Dante, Nero, Vergil, Lady and Trish. Yes the game is still structured so that you go through the same maps twice, and no I still don't care.
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Splatoon is an incredible breath of fresh air for the stagnant online shooter genre. The ink based gameplay, the squid mechanics, the incredible style, Splatoon is a strong debut on all fronts and kept me coming back for months after release with new content. I dropped off after Metal Gear came out, but I want to get back into this game in 2016.
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RONIN is just a really fun turn based game. Analyzing the situation and figuring out which direction to leap, which of your special abilities to use and when, and how to manipulate the enemy AI into doing what you want is both a fun challenge, and levaes you with an incredible feeling when you pull it off. The ending of the game was frustrating, but finally finishing it after an hour might've been the biggest feeling of accomplishment I felt in 2015.
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Yakuza 5 is a game I unfortunately haven't spent much time with due to coming out at the end of the year in a month I was really busy. I'm only partway through the first segment of the game, but I've already obeyed the road laws as a taxi driver, dismantled an underground street racing scene, belted out songs at karaoke, played multiple sessions of Takio Drum Master at the Club SEGA, and of course caved in the faces of countless punks wandering the streets. On top of the usual slick presentation the series has always had the combat has some really smart improvements that makes this entry feel significantly better than even the already solid Yakuza 4. I've been a huge fan of this series for years, and just from what I've played I can tell I'm going to love this entry. If this had come out earlier and I'd had time to finish it it most likely would have ranked even higher than it already did.
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Super Mario Maker is a fantastic concept that Nintendo executed almost flawlessly. Though they could always add more course elements from the numerous enemies and items that have appeared across the years, and the in-game search tools could be refined, even if they never changed anything about the game Mario Maker would still be incredible. I've only made a few levels in the game (one of which, P-Switches Get Stitches, got featured in a Super Bunnyhop video!), but I definitely plan to return to the editor and come up with more levels.
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A game I didn't play myself and haven't seen through to the end, but Life is Strange is most likely the best one of these types of games I've ever seen. Meaningful choices and great characters make it a stand-out. Can't wait for the Giant Bomb East guys to get back to this one.
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I didn't actually play this one either but Contradiction is some good goofy FMV fun, and I had a fantastic time experiencing it alongside the GBEast crew.
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Batman Arkham Knight is a game I wish I liked more. The changes to both the combat and the stealth are great, even if it's not as big of a step up as City was from Asylum. The game looks gorgeous and the story is way less of a clusterfuck than City's. But unfortunately, at some point during the development of this game, somebody at either RockSteady or Warner Bros said "What if the Batmobile turned into a tank?", and irrevocably fucked this game up. Any time you're expected to either chase someone or get in a tank battle the game becomes a chore to play, and it feels like that stuff takes up half of the game. I really loved Knight when I was either punching guys or sneaking up on them, but the Batmobile really ruined this game for me. Still better than Origins, and worth playing through at least once if you're a fan of the RockSteady games, but I doubt I'll ever finish it a second time. Don't buy it until a complete version is out though, the season pass has some good content and makes the challenge mode actually worth a shit, but it definitely isn't worth the price of FORTY DOLLARS(!!!).
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