Top Ten Games of 2016 [UPDATED]

I started my list last year with glowing praise of 2015 as a great year in video games, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give gaming in 2016 the credit it's due. Despite several games being pushed to 2017, many high-profile games released to unbelievably high praise. On the other hand, games like Final Fantasy XV came out after a decade of hype, book-ending many of the promises developers have set for the industry. 2016 was a great year for the games, so much that it's nearly impossible to qualify each game listed. With that in mind, please enjoy my list.

An update: in my rush to finish this list I completely neglected a title that I absolutely adored and feel horrible about its omission. Final Fantasy XV has been bumped off the list completely, and the new title has been added as the number two spot. I feel awful about forgetting it, but I'd rather not let the mistake slide.

Honorable Mentions

This might be a bit contrived, but I'd love to make my list longer than simply ten. I played a ton of games this year and many of them were stellar, but the following games I simply can't find a place for in my top ten. In no following order, here are a few of the honorable mentions for the year:

Ratchet and Clank

The new Ratchet and Clank is a breath of fresh air for a series that's gotten lost in a mire of spinoffs, but I liked the new game enough to make a rambling, incoherent mess of an impressions video. Warning: it's not safe for human consumption.

That said, I have more than a few issues with the game. While it is a complete remake of the original game, there's very little to set it apart compared to some of the earlier entries in the series. The framerate is laughable, the plot is barebones, the budding friendship between the titular characters is completely ripped from the story, and the game is pitifully easy even on harder difficulties. I'm glad to see a new Ratchet and Clank, but it's a shame it has to be so by-the-numbers.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

Good lord did I want to hate this Wii U exclusive. I absolutely despise the tone and characters, but the overall style and game mechanics are typical top-tier Shin Megami Tensei. That aside, the gameplay itself is a simplified version of the gameplay system seen in the much-superior Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, and I lost interest in the plot after the second chapter. The main story is so unengaging and groan-worthy that I can't see how anybody alive could see it through to the end. Oh, and let's not forget the mountainous pile of removed or altered content Atlus was forced to implement under Nintendo's watchful gaze. I'd love to have seen this game under a different set of circumstances, but the game that was delivered is contentious at best.

Fire Emblem: Fates

Much like Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Fire Emblem Fates is a game that I simply could not stay interested in, despite buying the unbelievably rare collector's edition. The changed mechanics are fairly interesting; if you'd told me Intsys had managed to completely balance a Fire Emblem game without weapon degradation I'd be extremely skeptical. I started up Fates with that skepticism and was blown away by the depth of the game. Regardless, Fates suffers from a nonsensical story with completely uninteresting characters; I'm no longer interested in mounting an offensive against a clearly evil villain with zero twists along the way. And don't get me started on the lame dating elements added in to hook lonely weebs; like Tokyo Mirage Sessions, I balked at the massive amounts of apparent censorship Nintendo forced the developers to make but approaching the altered mechanics caused me to have a different reaction. The face-petting minigame was stupid at best and the clumsy removal of this mechanic doesn't help at all. If Intsys continues the series, I seriously hope they throw out the lame dating system and actually focus on an engaging campaign.

Ace Attorney 6: Spirit of Justice

Boy oh boy am I kind of sick of Phoenix Wright at this point. While there are some interesting new shake-ups to the series, at the end of the day it does little to differentiate itself from the standard Ace Attorney game. Handing off half of the entire game to two characters I outright despise doesn't help things either. I didn't really consider this when making the list, but it just dawned on me that three of the games on this list share a common trait: I became so uninterested in this game as well that I couldn't find it in me to keep playing. Not that I finished all the games in my top ten list, but those were more an issue of time and I'll definitely go back to the other games I didn't finish. Ace Attorney 6 marks the third time in the series--in a row--that I've lost interest in the story, and each time that switch happens earlier into each game. I only completed Dual Destinies to catch up before the release of this game, and part of me wishes I hadn't. For a series I love so dearly, every new game loses me more. Maybe Ace Attorney 7.

Final Fantasy XV

I don't know if I'm more angry at myself or Square-Enix for having such a low opinion of the latest entry in the venerated Final Fantasy series. Another Japanese game in a long line of needless open world sequels, Final Fantasy XV trades the series's typical intricate story for a massive, though massively empty, open world. Despite a grand-scale story the entirety of Final Fantasy XV follows Noctis and his merry band of bodyguards as he has the worst bachelor's party in history--until the story takes a turn near the early stages of the plot to focus on Noctis's rebellion against an evil empire whose motives are never made clear because with the exception of two cutscenes, the story is told entirely through Noctis's perspective. The party then has to find a series of super-weapons until they decide it's not important and they'd rather hunt for a very small slice of the main Final Fantasy series summoned monsters. Eventually they get bored of this too and decide to just end the game.

Was any of that coherent? Neither is Final Fantasy XV. While I love the banter between characters, if I'd never watched the Brotherhood anime I'd have no clue what these characters' motivations were, where they came from, or what their role is in the party. The gameplay is very similar to Kingdom Hearts, which should come as no surprise as it was originally created on the Kingdom Hearts game engine. That is to say, I loved playing the game and never got tired of experimenting with new weaponry. I also like the expanded version of the hunt system seen in Final Fantasy XII, but I now have more open world games than I can stand. It's no Xenoblade X, and at times it doesn't seem like it even wants to try. Another point in Xenoblade X's favor: Final Fantasy XV doesn't allow players to accept more than one quest at a time, wasting more playtime than is ever necessary. For a game with a decade of development time (unless you don't include the middle of said decade where the game was almost cancelled) it's shockingly bipolar and feels like a totally wasted effort. When I saw the title of Chapter XIV I nearly leapt out of my chair thinking of the new opportunities in the game, but like much of Final Fantasy XV the game lands flat on its face and disappoints.

I wish I could say the game was better because I genuinely enjoyed most of the 40 hours spent with the game, but if Square-Enix hadn't promised extensive improvements to the story flow and gameplay it wouldn't even be in my honorable mentions. As a side note, will the fully-patched game eventually be retitled Final Fantasy XV: International Edition, or Final Fantasy XV: Final Mix?

Now that those are out of the way, let's get down to brass tacks.

The Top Ten Games of 2016

Number Ten - Street Fighter V

It's a shame that Street Fighter V released in the state that it did, because the game as it is now is fairly competent. Survival Mode is still not a decent replacement for Arcade Mode, but the various challenges and story modes are decent enough going into the 2017 season. I also appreciate the implementation of the shop in-game; merely playing through the short story modes allowed me to buy characters and stages I'd gladly spend money on otherwise. This is to say nothing of the reworked game mechanics, which are some of the most fluid and responsive in the entire genre. After merely playing Akuma for a few minutes I was able to complete his trial challenges after only a bit of time playing:

I appreciate how newcomer-friendly the game is, going so far as to reward players for merely watching demonstrations for each character. That said, the general lack of gameplay features--especially compared to its contemporaries or even past games in the series--makes Street Fighter V a difficult game to break too far into this list. I'd love to see Capcom take this as a challenge and shove more modes into the game, because I'll definitely keep playing Street Fighter V far into the future.

Number Nine - Monster Hunter Generations

I didn't play Monster Hunter Generations as long as I did many of the other games in the series, but don't take that as me disliking the game. Generations is another standard Monster Hunter, so most of my praise for last year's game applies here. The new hunter styles, however, completely change the way the game is played. Every single weapon now has four styles, with an additional style allowing the player to control the series mascot felyne pets. I love this series, and every year a new game comes out it'll always have a spot on my game of the year list. I sincerely hope XX (Generations Ultimate? Generations X?) releases alongside the Switch, as that would cause the new system to instantly jump up to a must-buy.

Number Eight - Dragon Quest VII

A game that basically everyone interested in the series had given up on, Dragon Quest VII finally released in the West to lukewarm sales. And god am I glad it at least came out at all. While the gameplay systems are fairly stock-standard, the presentation and style of the main story is so charming and simple that I can't think of a single person who couldn't pick up and enjoy the game.

Rather than a grandiose story typified of the Dragon Quest series, VII instead focuses on the story of individual islands broken up across time as the hero and his group of friends set off on an adventure to reclaim the titular forgotten past. It's not a short game; the original was notorious for its hundred-hour-plus game time and cryptic puzzles. Square-Enix poured massive amounts of love into this full remake by addressing complaints while expanding on what made the game a cult hit, creating a simple RPG full of heart. This is the one game on my top ten list I didn't finish (Monster Hunter doesn't count), but only because I want to enjoy it as long as I can. At least, until Dragon Quest VIII comes out in 2017.

Number Seven - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Before I begin, please divert your attention here:

Mankind Divided is the first game I put a lot of time into editing a video review for, not because I particularly want to make a habit of it on Youtube but simply because I enjoyed it so much. I played through the game twice after it released and loved all the improvements made to the gameplay of Human Revolution, but the abrupt ending was extremely disappointing. It's nice that Prague is so dense with detail, but even if the game was intended to be the beginning of a trilogy I think it could have ended a bit smoother. Rather than being outraged at the end, I took this as a preview of the episodic nature of games Square-Enix appears to be experimenting with; if the Final Fantasy VII remake is something like this, I don't think I'll be too disappointed.

That is to say I'm pinning my hopes on this sub-series of Deus Ex to release very closely to each other; if the next game doesn't release at the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018, my opinion on this episodic style is going to sour extremely quickly. If another five years pass between Mankind Divided and its sequel, I'll be devastated. A great experience, if not fleeting.

Number Six - Doom

I don't think anybody really expected this game to be good, so when we all took time to clear through the excellent campaign it was extremely refreshing to see that it smashed everyone's expectations. Taking snappy controls and crunchy weapons, then mashing it into labyrinthine level design and sprinkling in a ton of enemy variety has created one of the most flawless shooters in years.

It's not perfect, though--I felt the game had just started wearing out its welcome as it wrapped up, and it's not until the last few levels that Doom even introduces its three boss fights. I do greatly appreciate the negligible story and the way it's presented via System Shock 2-style ghosts and data logs, but there's very little to comment on other than "Doom Guy wants to kill a lot of demons. Luckily there are a lot of demons, so have fun." Ending the game on a cliffhanger seems unnecessary, especially given how abruptly the game ends for having such a surprisingly long run time.

I think I might have put the game higher on the list if either the multiplayer wasn't such a carbon copy of Halo--or if, like Wolfenstein: The New Order, id had simply poured all their effort into the single player campaign. The multiplayer is a black stain on a great game, but even without it I don't think I want to go through the campaign again any time soon. The running time is just a bit long and hunting for the collectibles took a lot out of me, but that's not to say it wasn't well worth the time. If id is already working on the expansion, or god help us a sequel, I'll be in line day one to continue Doom Guy's rampage.

Number Five - Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Hoo boy was I not prepared for this. Before this year I'd been chipping away at the original release of Shin Megami Tensei IV, but the looming release of its sidequel prompted me to finally set aside the time to complete it. I literally was not prepared to begin Apocalypse, but against all odds I managed to smoothly transition from the original game.

These might be the most satisfying turn-based games in existence. The protagonist is extremely customizable, boasting multiple playstyles with dozens of skills to choose from. That's not even to touch on the massive amount of choice in the game's list of hundreds of demons, all of which can have their skillset tweaked to perfection. Changes to the Shin Megami Tensei series mechanics give the game a familiar, though different experience from its predecessor. Even though Apocalypse supplants the ending of the neutral ending of Shin Megami Tensei IV, I wouldn't recommend skipping the original--the two games compliment each other perfectly, the apocalyptic scale of the original increasing to cosmic heights in this game.

The characters are well-written and each undergo their own struggles as they flit in and out of your party, making them feel like they have their own business to worry about outside of your character's struggle. If you have a 3DS, you owe it to yourself to play these games. They might seem daunting at first, but mastering the complex Press Turn system creates some of the most varied encounters in JRPG history. I might go so far as to say Apocalypse rivals the current masterpiece of Shin Megami Tensei, the third mainline game Nocturne. With more difficulty options, four endings and a multitude of approaches, I don't think I'd be out of line in saying it even surpasses it.

Number Four - Dark Souls III

I still don't know who the serpents are. But it doesn't matter, because the story has finally reached its excellent conclusion. The game's a bit linear for my liking, especially compared to last year's winding Bloodborne and even more when compared to the original Dark Souls. That aside, the gameplay has been refined to its absolute peak, with each weapon being given its own individual skill. Magic has also been altered, now more closely resembling the magic system seen in Demon's Souls. Even if your character isn't focused on magic, players can still opt to delve into their own weapon arts or completely neglect magic entirely--no Souls game has ever featured this much depth in gameplay.

The linearity of the overall game progression really is disappointing, but each area feels very complex--if these areas were connected similar to the original Dark Souls, the final game would easily rival the original for me. On its own Dark Souls III stands above most games released this year, a stellar action adventure in a doomed world. If Dark Souls presented a world on its death bed, Dark Souls III places players in a world convulsing in its death throes. Long questions are paid off in full while still presenting new world details, though I'm really not happy about some of the lore being locked behind the DLC.

In a year with so many stand-out games, the fifth Souls title still manages to climb above most releases. I wish the world was a bit more interconnected and there wasn't such a ridiculous emphasis on nostalgia, but those are pretty small complaints for such a masterfully-crafted game.

Number Three - Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

Vanillaware makes good games. Some of those games aren't quite as good as others--which is why the venerated developers saw fit to correct one of their first titles, the side-scrolling action RPG Odin Sphere, and recreate it to what I assume can only be their original ambition. And god almighty was the original vision for this game a beautiful work of art.

Taking the original game and turning the level design into a bit more of a level-based Metroidvania, Vanillaware went a step further and implemented a combat system that even surpasses their Wii and Vita masterpiece, Muramasa.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir contains some of the most frantic, insane combat ever seen in a 2D game and ratchets it up to a ridiculous pitch, allowing players to customize each character so specifically that even fighting game inputs are available for real-time actions. The flow of combat is seriously one of the best in the industry and I never got tired of just sitting down and playing it.

The story is intentionally convoluted, each character going through their own story that eventually intertwines and escalates to one of the most jaw-dropping climaxes in video game history. Luckily, an in-game menu allows players to not only view each story chapter, but to also compare when every chapter takes place concurrently. There's even an option to view every single cutscene in the game, and I'd definitely recommend doing so when the game's dozens of characters begin weaving complex plots against each other all leading to the finale.

In short, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is a work of art, a complex narrative interwoven into some of the most satisfying gameplay in the business. I was enraptured in every single minutiae of the game and would recommend it to anybody.

Number Two - Another Metroid 2 Remake

Please allow me to explain. In my first run of this list I went down the Wikipedia entry for games released this year and deliberated on my top ten like normal. As I've since gotten a new PC and it's somehow not listed on Wikipedia, I had completely forgotten about one of the best games of the year, AM2R or Another Metroid 2 Remake. Metroid 2 is one of the more contentious games in the series, but over the last few years a dedicated individual completely recreated the archaic Game Boy entry in the vein of the superb Game Boy Advance title Metroid Zero Mission.

AM2R, like its original incarnation, places the famed bounty hunter Samus Aran on an alien planet to exterminate the titular Metroid race on Planet SR388. Rather than exploring a maze of tunnels and alien ruins, Samus must instead hunt for each of the dozens of Metroids individually. With the additions to game flow, including new areas and additional features seen in the more recent Metroid games, these changes help create one of the most open games in the series, allowing for both sequence breaking and multiple branching paths.

A lesser developer would have allowed a remake of this scale to fall into indulgent tinkering--in fact, when approaching my first playthrough I had some trepidation that the game would become bogged down in hardcore challenges aimed exclusively for the dedicated Metroid speedrunning community. What I found instead was a meticulously crafted game that I feel not even Nintendo could have produced. The game even includes a detailed log of story events, enemies, items, and whatever else players discover along the way. Forget AM2R simply supplanting Metroid 2 as the ideal version of the game; this might be the finest game in the Metroid franchise.

AM2R is side-scrolling exploration perfection, taking on the likes of Symphony of the Night and Shadow Complex effortlessly. The multiple instances of censorship in other games from Nintendo this year might have irked me, but the widespread DMCA takedown of AM2R is absolutely repugnant behavior. Nintendo should have looked at Sega's example with the upcoming Sonic Mania and reached out to the developers to canonize this remake, if not at least utilize it as a base for a major release. I'd gladly pay whatever price Nintendo would offer, and that's no exaggeration. I adore this game and I demand you go track down the 1.01 release, Nintendo crybabies be damned. If not for the near-religious experience I had with the top game on my list, AM2R would easily have reigned supreme. A masterpiece.

Number One - Titanfall 2

Big year for first-person shooters, huh? Titanfall 2 isn't just that. In fact, I'm not sure what to call Titanfall, other than "eminent." Or perhaps "perfection." I got my first taste of Titanfall 2 during the November free weekend, and within one match I was hooked. Not just casually entertained, but enraptured. I picked up the game as soon as possible and have been pretty much playing the multiplayer nonstop; the game mechanics are completely impeccable, allowing players to run across walls, dash at ridiculous speeds, and pick off targets without batting an eye using some of the crunchiest aiming in the business. And of course, once you hit a certain threshold players can drop their Titan, giant bipedal mechs that completely change the flow of battles. A single Titan can stomp across human players effortlessly, and fights between Titans are full of tension, each player desperate to hold onto their incredibly valuable mech. Even with my pitiful ISP, which can range between a ping of 30 to upwards of 500, the netcode constantly sharp and responsive. I'd go so far as to say this is what Vanquish would feel like in first-person atmosphere, barring the slowdown mechanics. But hey, Vanquish didn't let you stomp around with big robot feet.

Sometimes you go too fast.

I could gush over Titanfall 2's multiplayer forever, but it simply doesn't compare to playing it yourself. If you have a chance to play a free weekend, or if you're looking for a new multiplayer shooter, please do yourself a favor and give this game a shot.

Oh, and I'd be a terribly poor reviewer if I didn't give props to the single player campaign. While maybe not as long or full of as much enemy variety as Doom, the campaign never wears out its welcome, offering a simple buddy story between a guy and his robot. Unlike stinkers like Bioshock Infinite, Cooper rarely opens his mouth, diverting player control to dialogue options in specific moments. And unlike trends in shooters to neglect boss fights, Titanfall 2 instead introduces a Titan-piloting band of mercenaries, all of whom stand in Cooper's path for exhilarating boss battles. The story wraps up in one of the most emotionally draining endings I've seen in a mainstream shooter like this, and I'll definitely be buying Titanfall 3 just for a continuation of the story. Oh who am I kidding, I won't be able to drop the multiplayer.

Both the single player and multiplayer components of Titanfall 2 are transcendent. This is video game gold, lightning in a bottle the likes of which Western AAA games should look up to, even if the sales figures left a lot to be desired. If you have to play a single game this year, make it Titanfall 2. I seriously cannot think of a single complaint toward the game at all, and considering how much I love to complain, that's pretty massive praise.

Thank you all for reading my top ten list, if a game you liked didn't make the cut then shoot me a comment and I may read it. I didn't get to play as many games as I'd like this year, but I feel the ones that made the list, even the honorable mentions I wasn't too crazy about, were pretty special. Enjoy your 2017!

[Rant] Should video game journalists be good at video games? (uh, yeah.)

With Polygon once again embarrassing themselves with a simple gameplay preview, it's time once more to ask if video game journalists should, in fact, be good at the only job they have to do. You know, a job requiring literally no credentials or bars for entry. Being good at a hobby is hard!

Game Journalists Have One Job.

When the Gamergate controversy began to grow in size, I wasn't exactly first in line to shout down game journalists as if they were horrible monsters. Fact of the matter is, the only reason I ever use any video game-centric website is to check and see if I've missed any big information or release dates. Video game websites are a mere intermediary between big publishers and me, and their only job is to sell crap and stay relevant by being drip-fed information hours before the public is aware of it.

As you have probably been able to tell, I don't care at all about the shallow navel-gazing these publications are known for. What could possibly motivate me to read about why The Witcher 2 was so good half a decade after I played the thing? Furthermore, why should I care at all about what some brainless Yes-Man says about people who don't like the ending to Mass Effect 3?

These types of pedantic and rather silly articles only really serve as filler while waiting on publishers to send them out as criers for when the next big thing is coming out, but anyone with a functioning brain has probably considered the contents of said articles in their own time. I'm not terribly concerned with the role of women in video games because some of my favorite games are written by women and many of my favorites feature female protagonists. You get the idea.

If this article seems hypocritical, I feel it necessary to remind you I do this for fun in my free time. I'm not sitting on a paycheck with the thought in mind to create content for your dumb brain to think; these are just the musings of someone who likes video games. If you want to click out of this right now, that's just fine. If you've got something out of it, that's wonderful! The point is, video game journalism should be relegated to the recommendations and telling me when something I'm interested in will be released. I don't need you digging up secret pre-release information like some kind of fat spy, just tell me what you know and be done with it. If I could be on the same drip-fed publisher list, I would never, ever bother with any of these pathetic websites.

So imagine my complete and utter surprise when Polygon released possibly the most hilarious gameplay preview of the new Doom with the dexterity of a man with no limbs. I don't understand why they turned off likes and dislikes, I gave that video a big ole' like and favorite for turning me into a shrill laughbeast for a full half hour after the video ended. Of course Polygon can't play video games, they're too busy blubbering about Bayonetta's confident sexiness to actually take the time to--pfft--play video games. What are you, a loser? A babyman? A virgin?

What's really maddening about this whole situation is that I adore video games. I want to "get good" at a video game to appreciate the experience all the more. Let's be honest, I'm pretty good at the vidya. Just like everything else. So the audacity of journalists, particularly with articles such as the one from RPS linked above, to decry the need to have some level of experience and aptitude in their field of work is simply appalling.

I won't say where or go into specifics, but I work with database systems. I have to make sure everything I input is perfect and go hands-on with physical components, and I never, ever complain. I don't go to my boss and whine about it being too hard and I don't demand an easier workload. I get paid to do a job and I want to do it to the best of my ability. Let's not even tackle the absurdity of journalists actually complaining about having to play video games, because that should go without saying. You have a dream job and you want nothing more than to do it with as little effort as possible.

Of course, as I mentioned in the preamble, Polygon is still up to the same stuff. Months after the release of Doom, this publication is still pushing out "preview videos" featuring gameplay that I can only now assume is a joke. I'm astounded by this complete refusal to be competent and actually put time and care into your work.

That's about it. I don't have much to say on the issue but it burns me up that game journalists are recoiling in disgust over the very notion that they should be required to have some form competency for their job. If these are the people who are going to plaster their websites with ads then shouldn't they at least attempt to sell that product without seeming inept? If I were a developer I'd balk at the idea that my product was going to be displayed in its worst capacity because some idiot reviewer doesn't know how to hold a controller.

I mentioned it in my last rant, but these factors are part of the perfect storm that's causing the general public to abandon outlets such as Polygon. More than a handful of seemingly indestructible websites have been completely obliterated by the complete disinterest in this heavy-handed approach to video games and how exactly they should be discussed. You want to know why game-related Youtube channels are flourishing? Because those people have a passion for what they're doing. They love the craft, they love their fans, and the general public in turn shows them respect.

I'm not about to wave the Gamergate banner. I think it's pretty stupid to wrap yourself up in a cause that's really only related to your hobby, but I do agree with the notion that game journalists should be held to some sort of standard. Furthermore, these are the same people who have turned the word "ethics" into some sort of vague punchline. Do you really trust these people to peddle products at you when they clearly do not respect you?

I respect you. Validate me.

E3 2016 Day One Wrap Up: EA and Bethesda

E3 is like a game enthusiast's second Christmas. A week-long Christmas full of frustration and hope. The stars aligned and somehow the two conferences I was looking forward to the least started the week off, meaning that--hopefully--it can only get better from here.

EA

I care very little for EA Games. While they're far less offensive in their activities these days, far better than the miserable two years they deservedly won the esteemed Worst Company of the Year award, they're still churning out terrible reboots and killing studios just like in their heyday. That said, their E3 conference this year wasn't so bad.

I'll say up front that I have no love for sports. They're just not for me, although I'll quickly show my derision for the knuckle-draggers that think they're so clever using the term "sportsball." I get it, you're an ignorant moron. Good job broadcasting it to the world. I'll also say that my opinion on EA was soured even further particularly because of their FIFA line of games and, more specifically, the microtransaction "FIFA Points" implemented in the game. Earlier in the year my PSN account was hacked, and the hacker changed my email address to his own. If not for my genius intellect and quick thinking I'd have probably lost that account forever, but against all odds I got it back. A few months later that hack ended up getting my PSN account banned, and the ensuing chaos caused directly by that hack was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. And it's all because EA and their scammy microtransactions. So when I see how proud they are of the story mode implemented in their latest FIFA game and all the money they're pouring into their yearly lineup of low-quality sports games, I think I'm deservedly a little bitter.

So naturally, about half of their E3 conference was sports. Sports that I just don't care about, so by extension at least half of this show was stupid. However, they did make a point to say Respawn gained a brain and Titanfall 2 will be shipping with an actual single-player campaign this time around. I haven't bought a Call of Duty game in a while, but as far as I can tell those games haven't had nearly the innovations in parkour mechanics that the original Titanfall brought. Oh yeah, and mechs. I love mechs and so should you. If they're actually going to put money into that single player campaign I'll eat that game up, but since it's EA I'm sure it'll be stupid.

Speaking of stupid, Battlefield 1 is a stupid title. Why not Battlefield 1919 or something? It fits more in line with Battlefield's past naming scheme and doesn't look dumb. Pass.

Mass Effect 3 was the closest I ever want to get to having a crap taken on my chest, and even then I can tell you I wanted the experience to end as soon as possible. Terrible partners, RPG elements all but stripped away, very little exploration, and the most contrived plot twist to crop up in modern science fiction since LOST made for a game that can eternally burn in a dumpster fire. However, something about Mass Effect Andromeda piqued my interest. The returning premise of humanity being the new species among alien life, a concept almost entirely thrown out with the second game, could make for an interesting conflict. Moreover, unexplored worlds and exploration featuring the series whipping boy, the Mako, convinced me that maybe Bioware isn't entirely dead. I mean, it's been dead since Dragon Age II, but maybe this will be a return to form. Doubt it, but I'm optimistic.

Star Wars, because of course. A sequel to Battlefront was announced before the first game had its DLC finished, and I would wager it'll end up being either an annual series or take turns with Battlefield for EA's premiere cash grab. But wait--Amy Hennig and Jade Raymond are both working on a third-person action game with Visceral? Teasing us with Mos Eisley, too? Guys, I don't want to make this statement too early but my eye is very keenly focused on this new game. I don't care at all about any of this other crap, just please let me see much more of Visceral's Star Wars. It's the most I've been hyped about the series since 1313 was unfairly canned.

Wrapping the show up, EA announced several games being the focus of a charity drive. That's cool, I'm sure it'll be very helpful to the charities involved considering EA's player base. Other than that, EA announced EA Originals, an Indie development platform that reeks of following a trend. I'd love to see EA throwing open its massive coffers to support independent development, but you'll excuse me if I'm reticent of their good will considering all the developers they've bought only to shut their doors when sales were low.

Overall the games shown gave me a little bit of hope for EA, but with all the sports and prior knowledge of their business practices I have to wonder how much they'll actually deliver.

Bethesda

Someone once told me Skyrim is the best Action RPG of all time, and I laughed at him so hard he turned into a tree. Like EA, I don't care for the direction Bethesda's flagship series are taking; I still haven't picked up Fallout 4 and I don't particularly care to, either. This isn't a review of Bethesda games, but I wanted to make it clear that I didn't come into this show with any interest in Elder Scrolls or Nu-Fallout.

While Dishonored 2 shows promise, I never cared to finish the original game. It seems interesting and much better than the new Thief game as a successor to that series--although that's still not saying much. Hearing that this game will come with a voucher for a digital copy of the original game perked me right up though, so I might just pick this one up if only to get a two-game experience out of it. If it's exclusive to the Collector's Edition, which I'm sure it probably is, then there goes my interest.

Prey is about what I expected from the reveal, if only for the fact that it's a reboot. The original Prey came out years ago and dropping a sequel to a sleeper hit like that seems like a bad idea, so merely rebooting it and retooling gameplay ideas from the canned sequel might just be the way to go. I like the premise and setting, but then I also liked the original game. However, we got no gameplay out of it unless you consider "cinematic" representations to be gameplay. I need to see more, but it has potential.

I don't care at all about Fallout, but I'm a bit disappointed in the direction for Quake: Champions. I was hoping for another glorious reboot like Wolfenstein and Doom, and if this turns out to simply be a hero-based arena shooter a la Team Fortress 2 or Overwatch then I just don't care. I also don't care about Elder Scrolls Online or its card game, and Skyrim Special Edition is the most obvious remaster in history. That said, I lost interest in the original release so I might pick this one up. It's just a prettier version of the game on PC with mod support, but that might be alright. So long as it's at a reasonable price, at least. Then again I got bored of it so quickly that I can see it happening this time around as well.

Finally, I'm disappointed that Doom had no Single Player content confirmed, but I'm glad they're opening Snapmap to be more like custom .wads from the original games. It'll give players plenty to do for some time in the future, so let us have it.

Overall, I went into Bethesda's conference with my hopes very low and came away with a bit of information that I didn't entirely hate. The remastered games are annoying, but Prey and Snapmap options are very welcome.

Stay tuned this week for my feelings on the rest of the conferences!