Tatty's 2016 Game Of The Year Awards, 2016. LIVE! Of Duty! Pokemon!

Now that the SEO is out of the way, I'll begin.

I've collected 15 games that I enjoyed more than the others this year, which were released this year, plus a few other random awards inserted when I get bored.

Onwards!

#15 - Trackmania Turbo



Developer: Nadeo

John-Ra (She-Ra's brother): Racing

March 24, 2016.

PC, PS4, XBO

Trackmania is more than just a racing game. It's a community driven, online multiplayer hellhole soundtracked by dubstep Cher remixes.

It's that good.

The purists will gravitate towards the earlier Trackmania 2 Stadium because the editing tools were a lot more open (and you could run your own music server) but Turbo has something that the earlier titles lacked - accessibility.

No doubt necessitated by a console release, Trackmania Turbo is a lot more locked down in terms of its lunacy but the blisteringly fast Time-Attack racing remains, and it's as tight as ever.



In 5 years time I'll probably have left Turbo in the dust and will still be trying to find servers for Stadium which run the mighty Star Wars Metallica track, backed with the Buck Bumble theme, who's to say?

Sometimes you just wanna race, man.

CLASH OF CLANS!

__________________
"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

My excitement at this thread is counteracted only by the fact that I briefly thought the whole list had been posted. I got some coffee, sat down...and found only one. Sadface.

Countdowns are 2011's hottest internet trend.

I know Tatty knows his stuff, but hoping to see Blood Bowl pop up here.

COUNTDOWN: Best Years Since 2011.

1. 2014
2. 2015
3. 2013
4. 2014
5. 2016

2016's bestest (year) old game - Until Dawn!



For the first time since the mid 2000s, I bought a games console and couldn't wait to start playing all the hot exclusive titles that I'd been missing out on in the three years since this generation started.

There are very ... very few.

Fortunately, Until Dawn is an outlier and well worth a place in anyone's library.

It parodies a genre of film I don't really like (slasher horror) and takes the game style of a developer I have equally little time for (David Cage) but does it in such a style, such a joyous style, that I was immediately hooked. Basically, you're keeping as many teens alive as possible over the course of a long, jumpscare-ridden night.

The reason why I think Until Dawn succeeds as a 'cinematic' game (and why Cage's frequently fall flat on their noses) is that it's self aware. It's also one of the few games where I'm glad that it was massively delayed.



Can you imagine this as a PS3 Move title? That's what the studio was originally shooting for.

ANGRY BIRDS!

Please explain two girls, one...I mean, two drivers, one car. I wish this would drop in price (just like Overcooked), because it looks great.

As far as I know (as I've not tried the mode) it's two people controlling the same car. Not one in charge of acceleration and braking and one doing the steering, as you might expect, but both players doing everything and the game taking some kind of average for their combined inputs.

Wow, 2014 must have been an amazing year. It was so good that you listed it twice.

__________________
.
If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

#14 - Dark Souls III



Developer: From Software

Genre: Action RPG

March 24 2016

PC, PS4, XBO

Oh, Dark Souls. I've put probably 200 hours into Souls games over the last decade and only actually finished the first one, Demon's Souls.

Dark Souls III was going to be different, I'd told myself. It had the world cohesiveness of DS1 with the slick 60fps PC gameplay of DS2 and the hub mechanic of Demon's. What could possibly go wrong?

What went wrong, as it turned out, was some bone-headedness from me.

30 hours into the game (and with me enjoying it immensely) I decided, for no good reason other than "Yeah, why not?", to do a clean re-install of Windows. In these days of cloud saves I hadn't given any game progress a second thought ... until I booted up DS3 a few hours later. My save had gone.

No cloud save support for one of the year's biggest releases. Ok, then.

I tried starting again, rushing through; but rushing is one thing you can't do in a Souls game and I quickly became frustrated, then de-motivated before eventually giving up.

This cut me up because Dark Souls III is fantastic. They've kept enough of the basics to sate long-time players but have injected the combat with a sometimes frenetic pace, which will keep even jaded veterans on their toes. And get this - If you take your time and do a little planning, it's not offputtingly difficult.



Now that some time has passed, I can see myself starting again and actually finishing the game ... but maybe not in 2016.

Bonus points for the game's cover - The first thing which came into my mind was a guy giving a really unenthusiastic thumbs-up to the camera, as if to say "Ok, I've got this! Dark Souls doesn't scare me ... honest!"

FRUIT NINJA!

#13 - DOOM



Developer: id Software

Genre: Action

May 13 2016

PC, PS4, XBO

Doom was never supposed to be this good.

The id Software making it was far removed from the company of Romero, Carmack et al and their previous game had been the unloved Rage. The multiplayer Beta garnered criticism from all quarters and even pre-release gameplay videos hinted more at Halo than harked back to the original Doom.

Pretty much everyone on the internet was wrong.

I'm someone who generally doesn't like first person shooters (and wasn't a massive fan of 90s Doom, being more of a Quake guy) but Doom is quite possibly the best franchise reboot I've ever played.



It's lightning fast, gory and has controls which are tighter than a really tight thing which has been washed on too high a temperature. It's also super, mega fun.

The game will doubtless appear at the top of many lesser GOTY lists but (and Linda Carter has phoned me personally to confirm this) it'll be damn happy to feature at all here. Diversity!

THE SIMPSONS: TAPPED OUT!

2013 was a beast. And 2016 was second I'd say.

#12 - N++



Developer: Metanet Software

Genre: Hair-loss inducing platformer

August 25 2016 (game released in 2015 on PS4)

PC, PS4

In 2005 there was a little browser based indie platformer called N. I played it and thought it groovy.

2008 saw the release of N+, an Xbox 360/NDS/PSP sequel. N+ was one of the best games on the XBL Arcade and in the hard platformer stakes, I thought it was an even better game than Super Meatboy.

You're a Ninja. You love gold. Levels contain gold, along with the possibility of an early death. You prefer gold to life. I think.

It's taken Metanet a long time to release the third entry and on the face of it they haven't changed an awful lot - It's still got some of the most fluid floaty movement I've ever experienced; it's still got wonderous music; it's still got hundreds of levels. In addition, N++ now has a level maker and uploading facility so as long as their servers stay up, you'll find it hard to run out of content.



I don't buy a lot of platformers, finding them a bit dull and dated in 2016, but the great ones still tend to find their way into my collection. N++ is one such great game - It can get as difficult as anything from the SNES/Mega Drive era but it never feels cheap, and has a style all its own.

FARM HEROES SAGA!

Honestly I am not up to speed on the video game market, and this is the first im seeing of N++

Damn that looks tight as hell! I just put it on my wishlist, thanks Tatty

#11 - ABZÛ



Developer: Giant Squid

Genre: Life Affirming Explorative Diving Sim

August 2 2016

PC, PS4, XBO

ABZÛ comes from a new studio set up by Matt Nava, one of the people behind Journey, Flower and flOw. If you've played those particular games, you'll not be surprised by the feel of ABZÛ, which isn't a negative. At least in my eyes.

In terms of packing an emotional punch, Journey was one of the most powerful games I've ever played and while ABZÛ doesn't quite reach those heights, I don't think it was ever shooting for them to begin with.

Sure, you'll feel a number of poignant highs and lows as you explore the ocean depths but the message I took from Nava's new game was not one of humanity (as I did in Journey) but an appreciation for life itself, in all its forms.



Sorry if I'm coming across as a little free range yogurt or organic eggs here but, and you'll have to trust me in that there's no BIG MESSAGE agenda at work here. No smug 'the current world is bad, ours is idealistically good' nonsense, just a feeling of awe. Without the shock.

Apart from one minor jump scare.

It's one of the most beautiful pieces of art (there I go again) that you'll see all year and, apart from a couple of minor gripes, the game's got the mechanics and feel of scuba diving down pat. Score by Austin Wintory, and that's all I need to say on that ... erm ... score.

ABZÛ might not be as genre defining as Journey was, but as a new studio's calling card it's still mighty fine.

10 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen



Developer: Capcom

Genre: Action RPG

January 15 2016 (PC version)

PC, PS3, X360

I played the original release of Dragon's Dogma and didn't get very far. It had some neat ideas but the severe performance issues and my overall Dark Souls fatigue meant I didn't spend much time with it. By the time the updated Dark Arisen version came to console I'd pretty much packed those machines away for posterity so only gave it a cursory glance.

Fast forward 3 years and word came out that Capcom was porting the game to PC and would be selling it at mid-price. I wasn't massively excited.

Japanese developers had rarely gotten PC ports 'right'. All too often they were locked at 30fps, had nonadjustable resolution options and paid no more than lip service to the weirdos PC users who preferred using a keyboard and mouse while playing a console game. What chance did a three year old mid price game which hardly set the world alight on original release have?

It's one of the finest PC ports from any region in years.

Gone are the muddy textures, enforced screen borders (to cut down on having to render an entire screen on console), sub 30fps gameplay and sundial-measured load times. We can no concentrate entirely on the game itself, and the game is a bit of a gem.

Much as the Souls games looked West for their gameplay inspiration, Dragon's Dogma is a JRPG only in terms of where it was made. There are no spiky haired, morose teenaged heroes. No overly flashy combat systems. No hamstrung, linear progression.

It's open world, for a start, with combat (while not in the From Software league, that's not what they were aiming for) that can be adapted for multiple situations and character builds. The story itself is a bit cookie-cutter but the world feels vibrant and eminently explorable with tons of interesting characters and quests.



Capcom's cherry on the cake, however, is the Pawn system. Much like with Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis mechanic, once I'd played Dragon's Dogma I wondered quite why we'd not seen it in a game before.

At the beginning of the game, after you've rolled your player character you create your 'pawn', a follower/valet who you can level up and equip in the same way you do and who is with you throughout the game. The great thing here is that your pawn can be with other players throughout their games too - When you're not playing, the pawn can be hired by other players and will level up while in battle with them. if they do well, they come back to you with a gift: sometimes a few apples, sometimes a rare weapon, given by the pawn's hirer.

You adventure with a party of four so there's ample chance to always have two pawns from other players. It's a simple, neat and well implemented system which gives personality to your NPC party. Forza's Drivatar (ugh, that name) system is the only thing I can think of which is similar.

If you own a half decent PC (the game plays great on even budget gaming rigs) there's no reason not to pick up DDDA in the next Steam sale. It's one of the best kept secrets out there.

COOKING MAMA 3: SHOP & CHOP!

2016's Most Disappointing Game: Street Fighter V

C'mon, you figured it'd be No Man's Sky didn't you?

Whilst Hello Games' ... thing provoked the internet's chattering classes in 2016, once it had been revealed that the game would be little more than another open world survival crafting experience, my hype was well and truly crushed.

Street Fighter V, though. It's effing Street Fighter! Vee!

Pre release rumours weren't great - The game would initially ship without a story mode, without a proper arcade mode and with a non-functioning in-game store. No proper tutorial mode either.

It's still a Street Fighter game, yeah? It'll at least have the opportunity for epic online match-ups?

The net code stinks. They couldn't even get that right.

I can see the reason behind Capcom rushing the game's release - They wanted it to be playable by the time their E-Sports tournament began - and they've largely kept to their word of regular introductions of missing features, but the world (and me) has largely forgotten that Street Fighter V exists now.

It's a shame because, underneath, it's one mightily impressive fighting game, but for all but the small proportion of hardcore fans (who mainly play local one-on-one matches) it's one who's time may already have passed.

When you consider how long Street Fighter IV's tail was (and how well that game is still regarded), it's criminally disappointing. I mean, it's got Akuma coming and I don't care.



Effing Akuma!

#9 - Pac-Man 256 (non-phone version)



Developer: Bandai Namco/Hipster Whale

Genre: Arcade/Runner

21 June 2016

PC, PS4, XONE

You might have heard of Pac-Man. He's a greedy little fella who scares ghosts, loves fruit and pills, and is obsessed by (although some would say trapped in) ever changing mazes.

Basically, he's a meth head.

Unlike most normal meth heads, however, Pac-Man has had a long shelf life. I can remember playing some of the first Pac-Man machines on family holidays in the early 80s and loved the game so much that I eventually bought a non-functioning table cabinet. It was going to cost a total bomb to restore so I swapped it for a Galaga machine, but that's quite another money pit story.

There have been a number of sequels over the years but Pac-Man didn't really get his second wind until Championship Edition was released in 2007. The little speed freak was cool again!



Pac-Man 256 is a game by Hipster Whale, the team behind Crossy Road. Its underpinnings are similar - Keep moving upwards while the ground disappears behind you - but gameplay is a lot more nuanced. You've got power-ups, chain bonuses and, of course, Pac-Man's arch nemeses: law enforcement Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde.

The ghosts. Those are the names of the ghosts in Pac-Man. I have known this since I was a child. That's not weird. No.

It's not.

Whether it's (free to play, and in a fair way) on phone, PC or console, Pac-Man 256 is a joy. It's fiendishly addictive, with new power-ups changing gameplay at regular intervals, without having the 1000 mile an hour speed which made Championship Edition DX so difficult to nail.

Championship Edition DX 2 was second in my 'most disappointing' list, by the way. 256 is awesome because they tried something new.

MINECRAFT POCKET EDITION!

#8 - Thumper



Developer: Drool

Genre: Rhythm Violence

10 October 2016

PC, PS4

Generally, the only thing which makes me feel actual emotions in a video game is a well told story provoking a connection with characters and events. Thumper turned that on its head.

This game makes me scared.

Not scared to play it, but tense and nervous while I am, followed by a wave of relieved adrenaline when I pass a stage. It really is quite something.

If you've ever played a Guitar Hero or a Dance Dance Revolution game you'll be familiar with the basic premise - Press buttons or combinations of buttons in time with the beat and/or a visual cue. Thumper is like that ... in Hell.

Weird TRON Hell.



The game was made by the bass player (surprisingly not the drummer) from Lightning Bolt, Brian Gibson, and the musician's touch shines through Thumper's diabolic mixture of TRON Light Cycles, Wipeout and Elite Beat Agents - A lot of sections require to hit cues off the beat, jazz drummer style.

You jump, you ride, you fly and you slam your strange Space Beetle towards each level's boss to a cacophony of industrial dance music which is so good, I quickly bought the game secondly and picked up the soundtrack edition.

It's probably best played in short bursts - finishing a level actually leaves me feeling drained, but elated - but play it you should. I've never seen anything quite like it...

And 2012 must have really sucked because it didn't rank at all...

__________________
Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page