Random Gaming Thoughts II ~News Items Beware~

This year was a shiter and that's all there is to say on the matter.

No not really from hype but none of the series that came out this year are series that I really care about part from the odd few.

Not saying new IPs aren't great like Splatoon or Life is Strange which they are and there haven't been good games and I've enjoyed them.

This thread is now just treading old ground from another thread when I wanted talk about Nintendos poor year.

I'm sure this will come as a big shock, so you might want to sit down my friends. I disagree with Masofdas.

masofdas wrote:

Which shows Nintendo has had it's worst year. . . Metacritic backs him up.

No.

We've talked about review scores a number of times, and as you know I'm not the biggest fan but I've no issue with anyone else saying they find them useful. Metacritic, on the other hand, can fuck all the way off. Measuring success on an overall average can only serve to encourage dull, by-the-numbers tripe. Nothing can or should appeal to everyone equally; people have individual tastes and some of the greatest masterpieces also have the most glaring faults. Art cannot be scored impartially, and relying on the lowest common denominator is what pushes the like of Michael Macintyre to the top.

Moving beyond my issues with metacritic as a whole, using it the way the "study" you cite does is even more ridiculous. At nintendo's undeniable height, when the DS and Wii were riding high, the amount of shovelware and rubbish would undoubtedly have brought such an average down, yet the gems that did come out were phenomenal.

The_Jaster wrote:

I've certainly had more fun with this years games than last years.

This is literally all that should come into it. (Though perhaps instead of fun, it should be "memorable experiences" as some of my favourite moments this year have not been fun at all.)

masofdas wrote:

Nintendo didn't publish MH4U.

Even you have to admit that's a pedantic thing to pick up on.  

Quote :

But are any going to be classics, Halo 5 for instance is one of the worst Halo's and seems to be forgotten already.

What a reductive thing to say. It may be your opinion that Halo wasn't great, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a story which used the Halo lore and the series' inspiration in really clever ways, it was one of the best looking games of the year and the multiplayer is still being played a great deal. Because the PS4 has a larger and more vocal userbase, Halo wasn't given the most coverage, but it has sold a lot of copies, will have a long tail and is being enjoyed as we speak.

Quote :

This is all opinion and 2015, I won't remember that fondly and can't wait in till 2016 which looks like it's going to be a excellent year.

I've said this before, and I won't pretend for a second that I'm not gonna end up saying it again: just because something is your opinion doesn't mean you can't be called out on it when you chat shit.
You've said that for you this has been a disapointing year for games, and that's fair enough and you're obviously entitled to think that. But then you've jumoed from there to saying the year is categorically crap, which people who've enjoyed it are obviously going to feel a need to debate, and to make the bizarre suggestion that if not everything released was exactly to your tastes its impossible to acknowledge the success of the year.

Muss wrote:

It's fine if you didn't really like 2015, like I said I cannot understand that notion in any way shape or form but whatever.

When you talk about excitement though, I don't really get hyped for games anymore either.

Gaming is bigger than ever but most of us are now well into adulthood. I think you're comparing a 2015 where you know everthing about a game before its release and can buy all the special editions on release day to a 2007 where we were still in school and every game was a mysterious treat.

In conclusion, I have to reject your idea that a meta-metacritic proves this is a crap year, and I strongly disagree that it has been a disapointment personally. Metal Gear Solid V is a game which, on reflection, I think will make it into my all-time top 10. Arkham Knight made me feel like Batman more than ever. Halo 5 was a thoroughly enjoyable entry in a series I've come to love. Life is Strange, Undertale and Her Story were touching, exquisite pieces which made me re-evaluate what a game should and can be. Telltale's Game of Thrones transported me to Westeros, and took me on an emotional rollercoaster, in a way I've not felt since I read the books.

I've not yet played Witcher III or Bloodborne, but what I've seen and heard and read has really piqued my interest. Fallout 4 isn't my personal cup of tea but is clearly scratching that itch for a lot of people. I didn't play it myself, but through Muss I experienced Ori and the Blind Forest which looked utterly gorgeous. And Xenoblade isn't even out yet!

Forgetting all that, going back to just Nintendo: there's a part of me, the part that comes alive when I'm playing one of those two games, that makes me wish I only had a 3DS and Wii U so I could dedicate myself to MH4U and Splatoon. Unparalleled multiplayer experiences, bursting with charm, content and little touches it would take far more than a year to experience.

2015 has been an absolute blinder.

The point of the Meta was to show that Balla who has just said This year was a shiter and that's all there is to say on the matter had a point, you may not agree with meta and I do find it silly some times as this game didn't get a 80 on meta, the devs miss a bonus where it shouldn't be like that. Hence my pedantic MH4U comment as the Meta artilce was talking about Nintendo's games as you bring u the Wii's shovelware and the system overall Meta may be rubbish but Nintendo's will likely be good with likes of SMG.

And you know I don't like score either, I've never used scores on Gintendo for instance.

Fun is subjective, me and Andy were talking on twitter about Catherine but we both think is great but I like it because of the story but thought the gameplay but was still muh but still had fun, where Andy seems to like the gameplay. And the games I've played this year part from the odd few have seemed more of chore then fun, it's one of the reasons I now like things like Life is Strange which you get in nice short bursts.

On Halo 5, I enjoyed it you read my article on Halo's but I still think it's one of the worst in the series

I said the year was sort of B+ to me which Muss says isn't bad and when did I say Meta says this year has been bad in general, I didn't the avg score of 2015 maybe is amazing that I don't know, I just know what was in that article about Nintendo's year and it touched on Sony's & Microsoft's published games.


Some of the games you touch on like MH4U & Splatoon don't have meaty story driven single player experiences and I can find a negative to most of the games you bring up part from two of them. Maybe I'm a sort of a Anti-Pollyanna.

I think I actually bought & played more games in 2007 then 2015 as I had more disposable income then now and worked less hours, what a year that was and that is still the best year in gaming to me that maybe it's my own fault wanting to compare each year after to it as games should be getting better.

But I'm now looking at 2016 which has a Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, 2 games from Platinum, Uncharted, Zelda and I could name loads more including No Man's Sky.

They both have incredible single player. I've barely actually taken Monhan online yet.

But where was the story though, it's one of the reason's I'm excited for MH: Stories as it has a story.

There was a fair old bit of story in 4, actually. It wasn't a grand quest or anything, but it was full of character and there was always a goal in sight.

Maybe there was I've tried playing the game but couldn't get into it, as I want a reason to do the quests or whatever in a game.

I've loved 2015 - the fact that three games from 2015 are already locks for my top 10 favourite games is enough for me. Undertale is one of the most moving, memorable experiences I've ever had playing a game, MGSV redefined the open world game in my eyes as well as being the best Metal Gear in terms of gameplay and Fallout 4 has me itching to play it again ten minutes after I switch my PS4 off.

And I've still not played Bloodborne or The Witcher III. Plus, at the start of the year I was playing on Smash 3DS a lot. I know that's technically 2014, but the DLC had a huge role to play in keeping me playing that game.

Balladeer wrote:

This year was a shiter and that's all there is to say on the matter.

You make a couple of interesting points, and it is certainly hard to fault your rhetoric. That said, I do have three counter-arguments:

1) You're a shiter.
2) Shut up.
3) Nanananana I'm not listening.

Metacritic is like most Republican US presidential candidates: there's a massive flaw in logic to its output, and yet it still makes waves.
Unless all sources of scores have scored everything, the end result is meaningless.
The other thing, of course, is that our expectations change. And I genuinely think that, because of the increased possibilities, games are being scored lower than they were, 10, or even 5, years ago, because we have more awareness of the extent of what a good game can be, but it's not feasible for the creators to easily reach that.

Spoiler:

Maybe 2015 has been a little disappointing, from Nintendo's point at least. They've had to do a lot of work themselves, and did lose a key player, and you do worry that things like Chibi-Robo and Mario Tennis have dropped short, and felt very "un-Nintendo" in their shortcomings; indicative of an attitude we never expect Nintendo to have. But we've also had Splatoon and Super Mario Maker - two things that were good to start with, and Nintendo has worked hard to make even better. Likewise, on Other Formats, I've mostly used this year to catch up on old stuff I missed. But then, I've not got round to playing Fallout 4, or Metal Gear Solid V, or Bloodborne.

So... everyone calm the fuck down.

Forgot about Mario Maker. BANGER!

mas wrote:

Nintendo didn't publish MH4U.

They did in Europe though.  

Drunkalilly wrote:

There was a fair old bit of story in 4, actually. It wasn't a grand quest or anything, but it was full of character and there was always a goal in sight.

I keep saying this about 4 ultimate, even though it's not done in your typical "RPG go explore for adventure" way it's the best it's been for a MH game & has made the overall experience better. I also found myself becoming attached to not only the people of the caravan but the elite hunters who pop up and that's down to how charming & well written the characters are plus it can be pun city at times.

Great reply Jimbob, loving the graph.

I think this year has been absolutely great for games! It's definitely not every year you get a new MGS and a new Fallout, yet we have seen both MGSV and Fallout 4. MGSV especially must rank as one of the best games of all time (and I've still yet to finish it). From new games I've played this year which I think are deserving of top praise we've also had:

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Splatoon
Super Mario Maker
Mad Max
The Witcher III
Star Wars Battlefront
Rocket League
Helldivers

And Just Cause 3 is coming up very soon, which I have no doubt will be amazing!

From this year I still have to play these too, which I know to be excellent because they are re-releases/remakes/expansions that I have played before:

Tearaway Unfolded
Uncharted Collection
Journey Collector's Edition PS4 (I own this but haven't played yet)
Toukiden Kiwami
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (I have played some of this)

And while not amazing I have also enjoyed a fair number of other releases this year, like Rodea, Minecraft: Story Mode, Godzilla, Devil's Third, Looney Tunes: Galactic Sports, Bladestorm: Nightmare and Samurai Chronicles 3. There are probably more I am forgetting!

There has been one good thing in 2015 that's the E3 of Dreams from Sony.

You mean the remake, the niche sequel and the game that should have come out in 2010? It got the nostalgia glands going but I still don't think it bares much scrutiny.

Course not as it was brilliant and stuff people like me and others, you just have to watch the reaction videos have dreamed about, that's why it doesn't come under much scrutiny and don't forget they showed Street Fighter V and a new IP in Horizon: Zero Dawn which may turn out be to be shite but I doubt it.

I am jealous of Street Fighter, and I've got a feeling Horizon will be alright.

FFVII I reckon is coming to NX. Otherwise, Cloud in Smash is super weird. I would like to play SHENMUE,  as long as Sega get their shit together and bring out a HD 1&2. Last Guardian... It's gonna disappoint.

No The Last Guardian is going to be perfect and the best game on the PS4

I know I'm going to be likely disappointed by it as I bought a PS3 for that game but still Sony had maybe the best E3 ever for me personally as what they showed & announced is stuff I've wanted for years since that PS3 tech demo of FF7 for instance.

I don't think TLG will be awful or anything, I just think it'll be fairly standard Ico stuff. A great game but not new or exciting considering how long ago the other two were.

I think that Last Guardian is going to be a bit of a Duke Nukem: Forever...

I'm also still not convinced by Shenmue, especially as the guy hasn't even made anything of note in years.

FF:VII isn't going to be as good as XV so that's barely registering.

You say TLG maybe a Duke Nukem Forever yet you bring up FFXV which has been in the works just as long. Okay we have played FFXV and the demo was very good but I wouldn't right of TLG and FFVII remake will likely be a fine game.

On Suzuki, true he hasn't done anything since Shenmue II (I think) which still holds up to this day perfectly fine that, if his team can do the same then all is good.

Like I said that was mine & many other people's dream E3, I was jumping around the room like a loon.

I definitely don't think TLG will be a Duke Nukem. As well as a protracted development, that game also jumped from developer to developer and production was scrapped and restarted multiple times. If anything, TLG is suffering from the opposite problem: It hasn't changed since we saw it on PS3! It will probably be a great game, I just don't think it will blow minds like Ico or Shadow did.

Sony's brilliant E3 has definitely sagged on later consideration. Taking a look at its megatons:

• TLG drew attention because it appeared at all. I think it'll be better than Drunka thinks, but in retrospect, possibly not deserving of the hype everyone (self included) showered on it at E3.
  
• Shenmue 3 sounds like more of a catastrophe every time Suzuki opens his mouth.
  
• FFVIIHD is being done by Squeenix and will probably include micro-transactions for Chocobo breeding or some such nonsense, when it finally comes out in 2025.
  
• Horizon: Beyond Dawn still looks da .

The latter still makes it the E3 of this year for me though.