Well, it certainly has been a while since I've written anything on this blog. Blogs, for me, have gone the way of the Dodo and have been replaced by the constant facebook updates and posts in Social Media. Blog posts require more time, forethought, and effort into writing them. Such that it is, I have a lot more time on my hands these past few months. I worked full time at the start of 2014, after finally graduating in 2013 from UCSD. But like the transient doctrine of impermanence, things have changed. I've been laid off, and so more time to reflect and, more importantly, play.
I digress now to the top 5 games I've played in 2015.
5. Metal Gear Rising
This game came out awhile ago. But I didn't play this title until May of this year. It's action packed, punishing in all the right ways, and is incredibly sleek. It's over the top in action. And it strikes all the right buttons for me.
4. GTA V
This is a fantastic title. Funny and irreverant. Technically breathtaking. When I encountered the first lightning and thunder weather system in the game, it literally made me exclaim in astonishment. The world is completely lived in, and it's one of the best open world simulations I've ever played.
3. Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is a buggy mess. It's graphics are dated. It's open world mechanic isn't as realized as GTAV's world. And yet it beat out MGR and GTAV. Why? Because despite all of the issues it has, underneath it all it has a really captivating setting, interesting story and characters, and really fun gameplay.
2. Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void
SC2 will always be in my heart. And Protoss are my race. LOTV is my jam. So why isn't this #1? Well it's kind of cheating, but I feel like I haven't played enough of it to really give it the top spot. Mind you, I've finished the campaign on Brutal difficulty. But I haven't gotten 100% in achievements for this game. And I barely touched the ladder.
1. Shadowrun: Hong Kong
SRHK, however, is the first game I've ever gotten all the achievements for. It's a fantastic story. It's an isometric turn based RPG. It's cyberpunk. This game is fantastic. It probably isn't the strongest of the three games from Harebrained Studios in the Shadowrun CRPGs released recently --Dragonfall had a better story-- but it has better mechanics overall.
So that's my top 5 for this past year. It's been a great year for video games. Hopefully 2016 will be fantastic as well.
