Earthbound and Dune 22.12.16

Beasts of Balance (iOs/Physical) I kickstarted this game a while back and was really pleased when it firstly met its goal and secondly turned out to be such a lovely object. The object of the game is to stack physical objects onto a base and the bigger your tower the higher your score on an app attached to a phone or ipad. The objects are really nice looking creatures. This menagerie includes a bear, toucan, octopus amongst others and with each comes quirks to how they stack depending on the height, appendages and balance of them. Along with the animals there are other blocks to add to your tower which can increase your score, be it crossing species or adding elemental pieces to match the creatures placed in the tower (water for the shark for example) this all marries up to the app on the phone with a little world populating with beasts, becoming more fantastical as they get crossed in more bizarre ways. I've not paid that much attention to the app as the actual practice of stacking these objects is mesmerising, my first intention was to get my three year old daughter involved but I soon politely moved her to one side so I could optimise how my tower was constructed, I'm sure its a lot of fun as a multiplayer experience but I'm loving it on my own, methodically comparing how things will stack. I've got a very modest high score, back to the app when it all comes tumbling down it tally's up how your world has fared, if you gave enough earth to the boar for example. This is a nice way to make me want to keep returning to the game and i'm really appreciating how the app doesn't take too much attention away from my building. Everything is packaged and designed beautifully, the objects themselves I'd happily have on a shelf to look at, the fact they are part of such a lovely and addictive game is a bonus.

Mario Run (iOs) came out this week also and its a really strange thing. After being used to Mario in his guise of a portly Italian plumber who moves in a very specific way for so long this game is a bit of shock, he looks the same (its almost exactly as I expect the New Super Mario games to look) but it feels very different. Its this contrast that I'm struggling to get to grips with, instead of holding down the run button to get more distance I'm now expected to hold my thumb down for longer in order to get more height on my jump thats the biggest one so far. He's always running, thats another one, but I appreciate that they've made it feel more optimised for an iPhone. He's not always running though, he pauses at specific blocks for a breather and changes direction when making contact with other blocks. The levels are fairly quick to get through and for the most part fun enough, I really disliked the ghost houses though. Something about trying to work out the fairly basic puzzles when the biggest issue is that I'm constantly moving just irritated me. The game goes a long way to redemption though with the addition of the Rally mode, here you compete against other players on courses to get an audience of toads on side. Through collecting coins, beating enemies and doing simple tricks a little crowd of toads cheer you on, the winner is the person who gets the higher number of toads supporting them, and this mode i've found addictive and a lot of fun. 

Earthbound and Dune 11.12.16 My Games of 2016

On top of the below five games, I played a bit (around 3 hours) of The Last Guardian (PS4) this week, and I'm really into what I've played so far. Its a very strange game, absolutely beautiful, both the characters and the world its set in, sort of like Mysterious Cities of Gold if it was a bit more muddy. The gameplay is really squirrelly, its nailed the feeling of darting about as a child, platforming feels more luck that skill. The main task in the game is guiding around the giant cat-bird-dog Trico, which despite my reservations is adorable and it guiding it around it acts as both a weapon and a platform for navigating the environment. Its a lot less frustrating that I expected, the beast does have a mind of its own, but i've found that quite endearing and twice its got so bored of my botched attempts of working out puzzles that its pretty much picked me up and moved me onto the next section. I'm not too sure how much of the game I can take, i'm playing it in very small chunks and can't see much variety in what i'm doing, hopefully it will go places and I'm liking a lot about it. 

Anyway below is my top five games of 2016:

05.Pocket Card Jockey (3DS) Such an unusual game, constructed of so many ill fitting parts that it really shouldn't work. Somehow an RPG where you spend your time on horseback playing solitaire is the most addictive game i've played this year. Theres a sense of ownership of the horses through breeding and naming them, it all looks impossibly cute and has a great sense of humour. I'm sure I'll be playing it well into next year.

04.Pokemon Moon (3DS) the sharp hooks of Pokemon games were firmly in my back by the point this game came out. For the first time though I am playing a Pokemon game without forgiving it its flaws. Its a lot of fun and I struggle to convey how great it looks. The game has developed way beyond the simple task of taking a gym leader on to a more interesting set of tasks to complete before inevitably fighting an equivalent gym leader or strong Pokemon and theres also a world dotted with NPCs offering rewards for side quests which also show a nice variety. The basic premise of rock, paper, scissors in these games is helped by a varied cast so I no longer have to put a grass Pokemon in my party to get through a section, theres plenty of Pokemon to catch so I'm finding ones that are atheistically pleasing. At the end of everything a game which has me wander about islands with a dolled up seal, horse with dreadlocks, stuffed bear, boxing crab, magnet and an Easter Island head is pretty cool in my book. 

03.DOOM (PS4) I've a fondness for the Doom franchise which is higher than any other first person shooter and this game certainly didn't disappoint. Moving away from the horror aspects of Doom 3 and toward the big guy with a big gun shoots bad monsters. At times it felt like a remake of the original Doom, some of the action sequences felt pleasingly similar and the return to hell in the middle section was as happy an event as a return to hell could be. The nods toward older games continue with some more interesting takes on the iconic demons than in Doom 3 and some inventive use of the coloured key cards. There is some drastic changes to gameplay, which feel a lot more natural than I feared, clearing sections before moving forward, severely limiting chainsaw fuel and brutal finishing moves on monsters never gets boring or repetitive. The end of the game introduced further monsters that were familiar and it's open ended nature left me really excited to see where it goes next.

02.Uncharted 4 (PS4) I was dubious about playing this game, I'd not played any of the previous games in the series and more than anything was worried I needed some context. Luckily I played in anyway as it was an absolute blast throughout. Everything I was expecting from what I'd heard was there, great dialogue and acting, amazing action sequences and some great toys to play with throughout the game. It peaked about two thirds of the way through, but thats not to say that the rest of a game was a slog.  The only, thing I disliked about the game is quite a big thing, I hated the final boss fight in the game, had that been better I'd have struggled to find any faults in what is a game I still really, really liked.

01.Inside (PS4) I don't think I can say a bad thing about this game. It looks amazing, is so intricately designed that every moment feels right and is spot on with its duration. The only thing I am wary of saying about this game is too much, as the most delightful thing about the game was discovering and trying to decipher what is occurring in this game. Like all great puzzle games it made me feel cleaver when I found the solution to what I was doing and as the tasks become more ingenious it continued to impress me. On top of all of this nothing is overused and it's the perfect duration. An absolutely wonderful game.

Earthbound and Dune 05.12.16 My Games of 2016

While my passion for games this year have dwindled at points and I don't think there have been as many games I've enjoyed, I still think 2016 has been a really solid year. As ever there are games I not enjoyed because of my own incompetence like Hitman, really wanted to like others but really disappointed with, I'm looking at you Starfox Zero! and other games which in my heart of hearts knew I wouldn't get so didn't invest in them, like Titanfall 2 and The Witness. Also a few games which came close to making my list like Pony Island, Streetfighter V, Worms WMD, No Mans Sky (which for all its flaws I really liked my time with), Pacman CE 2 and Paper Mario Color Splash (which I really wanted to get into but was too much of a time investment).

Honorable Mention

This year has me change my opinion on adventure games and also Pokemon games. I finally played Pokemon Yellow (3DS) and it led me down a dark path of the franchise. I must have spent a good chunk of my summer commute playing this lovable little RPG familiarizing myself with the original 151 Pokemon, getting frustrated with legendary Pokemon and killing them rather than catching them, looking up what TMs and HMs are and working out the best combination of Pokemon types to take into battle and realizing the selection I'd chosen was useless. There are games on my list that came out earlier than 2016 but this game seemed like it would be a stretch to add to my list and also other Pokemon games have forced there way into my life this year too.

10. Abzu (PS4) Sharing a lot of the same DNA as Journey it looks gorgeous and was a joy to play. It took no time at all to drift through the ambiguous story but it was broken up by stopping every once in a while to admire the look of the game and the spectacular eco system that the game contains. It doesn't really build on mechanics, at the end of the game I was doing the same thing as the start but it's worth it just for the few spectacular set pieces in its short duration, the encounter with a pod of whales in particular was awesome.

09.100ft Robot Golf (PS4) I liked this game quite a bit, easily the best story mode in any golf game I've played and it was refreshing how each character in the game took a different approach to swinging a golf club. A different approach is the best way to describe this game, instead of taking turns most modes is a race of destruction toward getting the ball in the hole. Not everything about the game worked, but when all the chaos hit the right spot it was a lot of fun.

08.Life is Strange (PS4) bit of a technicality this one as it was released last year, but I got the complete collection early in the year, like a good TV show this is how I'd rather consume games, knowing that all the pieces are there to complete it rather than waiting around for the next instalment. I took a big break between a section of the game and i've no idea why as once I returned to it it was moving,gripping and one of the best storylines in a game I've played. The choices and character interactions all felt meaningful the only thing, sadly this is quite a big thing, that let the game down was when it decided it wanted to be a video game and forced elements like stealth into the game and that didn't work most of the time. Still its a wonderful thing all the way to its powerful conclusion.

07.Firewatch (PS4). There are a couple of games on my list this year that I'd rather watch than actually play the game, in a good way. The story of this game was so strong and unusual for a video game that it had me gripped from start to finish. I loved the feeling of ownership I had to the main character I had through the early decisions I made and it instantly got me hooked on the game. What transpires is unexpected because its an understated game which goes in directions which I genuinely didn't see coming. It's choice of a cartoony look contrasts with what is a very adult story, dealing with grief, responsibility and depression. Its good fun though. Honest.

06.Pokemon Go (iOs) For time spent with a video game this year or miles walked with a game this would be hands down number one. Stripping back to the series core concept of "Catch 'Em All" theres a battling/gym thing going on but I couldn't care less. For me its about the 82 miles that I walked to evolve a Charizard or when I happened upon a Primeape while walking home. Steady updates have reeled me back into playing it every time I thought I was out and the most unusual thing is its a free to play game with little incentive for me to put money into it. A real guilty pleasure of mine.