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2006

I'm sure everyone knows this year in gaming as being the year that the notorious Sonic 06 was released, and don't you worry, I won't be talking about that one, either ironically or unironically. I've seen enough of that game throughout the years to the point that I don't feel like it's even close to being worth my time. Besides, we're here to talk about my favorites, so I'm gonna do that. Unfortunately, 2006 also seems to be a year where yeah, we had a lot of great releases, but nothing too crazy or ones that standout too much. Though, that's not to say we didn't get anything of quality. And although I didn't play the game that I'm going to talk about until a few years after it released, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the only one I really feel comfortable talking about as it's the one I have the most time with as far as the other games are concerned.

It's a great game, and whether it has aged well throughout the years is really up to the person playing it. I think the game still holds up regardless of how it looks because the gameplay is the part that I tend to have the most fun with in these games. Not to mention how broken this game is and how quickly you can become an overpowered powerhouse. Either that, or you'll find yourself launching yourself halfway across the map at full speed. It's the broken-ness of this game that allows it to stick around as long as it has. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim had the same thing with the addition of mod support. Allowed the game to live on far longer than it otherwise would have. And I think it's really cool to see that even in this day and age, these games will still stick out to players as being its own unique rich experience.

I think what was really helpful for my enjoyment of this game is that I did play it much later, so a lot of the glitches and mods etc were already available, so it was not only fun to go through the game on its own, but then to be able to try out the "breaks" that make the game really fun. I usually have a good time with these types of games in general which is why Bethesda is still up there as far as favorite developers, though they haven't really done a lot in recent years that gets me too overly excited. I'm just waiting for the next Skyrim, or the next Fallout, and hopefully either if not both will be great.

The other part of why I've always loved these types of games like Fallout and Oblivion, is because whether you have a few minues or a few hours, you can always feel like you're accomplishing something whether it's just reorganizing your inventory or exploring to the next town. These games allow for a lot of open ended gameplay and that's certainly another big reason for why they have still managed to stay relevant. And hell, I would certainly recommend even today to play through Oblivion if you haven't yet. Especially if you have already played Skyrim. Both are great for different reasons, and both are still worth playing today. But...gimme Elder Scrolls 6 please.

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2007

There are quite a few games from this year that are worth talking about, but I'm going to touch on one that changed my whole perspective of online gaming in general, for good and bad. This was a pretty good year for gaming in general with titles like Bioshock and Mass Effect, but I probably spent a majority of my time or at least more time than I have with the other titles with Team Fortress 2. This is one of those games where I consider it to be a staple in my development of understanding games as a whole as well as getting into playing online more than I had been prior.

I've never been the biggest fan of online first person shooters because they all feel the same to me. And unfortunately, given that I don't really have quick reflexes, I've never been able to get very good at them. That's where Team Fortress 2 differs for me and I'm sure a lot of people. It was a place where I could feel like I could enjoy playing a first person shooter while also enjoying the absurdity that happens in the game, regardless of which class you choose. I always have enjoyed playing either scout because their quick, and with the baseball bat and guillotin combo, you're basically unstoppable. Or playing as the archer but instead using the bow and arrow. Yeah that weapon was pretty cheap and people didn't think it was skillful to use it, but it was fun. And that's the more important aspect for me is that "am I having fun?" Mix that up with a lot of fun game modes like payload or team deathmatch, you'll always find some way to enjoy your time in this game.

A lot of servers allow you to do things that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do in the normal game like shoot thousands of rockets at once, or fly in the air at ridiculous levels of speed. These servers were always fun to play when you kind of just wanted to chill out and have a good time without the stress of the main game. As much as I played this game back in the day, I have not even touched it in recent years. I have thought about going back and playing a little bit, but I worry that there won't be as many people playing as their once was. But, there's really only one way to find out if that's true or not. Hell I may decide to just boot it up tonight and play. Could be a fun time.

Like I said, at least for me, Team Fortress 2 was a way for me to sort of just submerse myself into the gameplay without really feeling the stress of having to be amazing at the game, because in some cases, you'll find yourself in servers where everyone is either really bad or is just there to be funny and annoying while also pretending to be really bad. I've had times where I'll spend hours in one server because everyone in the server decided to do something different than what was the objective at hand. And the servers that gave no time limit on rounds or just stayed on one level allowed for more hilarious things to ensue. Sometimes it's those moments or craziness and insanity that really made this game standout amongst the rest.

I do think that if I decide to jump back in, i'll probably have as much fun if not more fun playing. And hell, it could be fun to relive old times and allow the nostalgia to take over.

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2008

Honestly, I'm just going to copy and paste a previous review of the game I'm talking about here because I went further in depth in that review than I could possible do here. My opinions of the game have not changed which is precisely why I'm choosing to put it here for 2008. Other games just don't even come close, except for maybe Fable II. So, here's part 1 of 4 of my in depth look at Fallout 3. If you'd like to read parts 2, 3 and 4, just continue reading from the point of this quoted post and you'll see the next few parts:

https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...ml#post2040090

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2009

I'm going to talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine today because I honestly have not thought about this game since I played it originally back in 2009. And I remember really enjoying my time with it because not only was it pretty accessible being a hack n slash, but it was also a pretty good game if I remember correctly. Some of my memories of it will evidently be faded as I again have not played this game in over 10 years, it feels like.

If you know of the film by the same game, you basically get the jist of what the game is going for so I won't really go through the story very much. The strong point of the game in my opinion is the choice to go hack n slash style. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is heavily influenced by the gameplay of God of War and Devil May Cry with it being in the third person perspective. And honestly, it's great. I don't really remember getting terribly frustrated with this game because the gameplay was so much fun that it didn't really matter much. It was one of those games where you as the player felt like a total badass, with a variety of moves and combos to perform on enemies. It's that same feeling of thrill you get from the combat in games like God of War, or Dante's Inferno, etc etc.

As long as it has been since I've played this game, it's also been a long time since I've seen the movie. But again, much like this game, I remember enjoying the movie. More than most, I'm sure. But i'm must easier to please with movies than I am with video games. Not to say either are bad, but they definitely are not bad. I would honestly recommend both if you've not seen or played either one. I don't really know how easy it is to find a copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but for a game that released this long ago, I gotta say, going by the images I'm looking at, it still holds up. Hell, I'm sure I'd have even more fun playing it now that I've gotten more used to games like this.

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2010

As soon as this year came up during this journal discussion, I already knew right away that I wanted to talk about Halo: Reach, and there are so many reasons for that. I'll do my best to go over as many of those reasons as I can considering even when comparing this to other Halo games before it and released since then, I can still say without a doubt that Halo: Reach is my favorite Halo game. And I know I'm not alone in thinking that. Hell, I think there are a lot more people that choose this or Halo ODST as their favorites given that, from what I can tell, both games offered something different enough in both respects to give the player exactly what they wanted out of the game. And unfortunately for me, I did not enjoy Halo ODST nearly as much, but not a bad game in its own right. Halo: Reach just hit all the right notes with me. It reminds me of what I played through the campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops and just absolutely loving it. I felt much the same when going through the campaign of Halo: Reach. Everything about it is great, and really feels like Halo at its best.

As I mentioned, I think a lot of people along with myself would definitely agree that the series definitely was at one of its highest peaks when this and ODST came out. I just remember only hearing about Halo for years on end, and while that sentiment is still very much the same today, the series is nowhere near what it used to be. Halo Infinite was just a complete disappointing despite me putting it as my favorite game of that year. Though, I regret to inform you that that is no longer the case. At the time, it felt fitting. But as I continued on playing, my hate for the game just grew more and more. Halo: Reach on the other hand did much the opposite. From when I started playing the game for the first time to the minute I finally put it down, I honestly can't think of a time where I hated the game for something it did. Hell, it actually improved the series as a whole by bringing in a story that is once again, really interesting and fun to play through. The original Halo, Halo 2 and even Halo did this well, by not only giving fun gameplay, but a really good story to top it all off. I don't think Halo has really been the same since then. And again, we all thought they would redeem themselves with Halo Infinite, but they only dug themselves deeper.

Halo: Reach from what I remember is a prequel of sorts to the events that eventually took place in Halo. I have always enjoyed the ideas of prequels for games, because it opens up a whole world of possibilities that the creators can find themselves on. And while some games may not do it as well *cough* Borderlands The Pre-Sequel *cough*, I'm happy to say that Halo: Reach definitely did it well. I can also easily say that I would play through this game again and again even today. And I remember playing through this game at least 3 times back when it originally released. I just liked the overall feel of the gameplay and the great story.

Now, what I will say is that although Halo: Reach is my favorite Halo game of all time, I have to give credit to the Master Chief Collection which not only gives you tons of Halo content to play through, but also does so by providing you with a remastered version of all of them. And man, playing through Halo and Halo 2 in its remastered glory is truly breathtaking. I thought the games looked great back in the day much like I felt about Fable. But I have nothing against someone putting a fresh coat of paint on a game especially if it improves it. And the Master Chief Collection achieves that, and more.

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2011

What a wonderful year full of games, one of which I never thought i'd get as much out of as I did when I played it. Basically went in with no expectations and found myself playing hours upon hours of it trying to just do everything I possibly could. I got to a point in the game where it started to feel a little stale which prompted me to stop playing. But it's a game I find myself wanting to go back to more and more as time goes on, especially since the next one in the series, granted it is pretty insane, didn't give me the same feeling as this one did. I'm talking about Saints Row: The Third.

Saints Row: The Third is often seen as the "poor GTA clone" however, I would actually be more inclined to say that Saints Row: The Third is definitely more on the crazier side than GTA, and that's not to say that GTA is bad necessarily. Hell, GTA V imo is still one of the best games ever made. But despite Saints Row: The Third wearing it's inspiration on it's sleeve, it still manages to standout as it's own thing without feeling like it's inspiration too much other than the obvious stuff you'll see when you play. You basically are free to roam around the city doing tasks for people and buying property. One of my favorite things was just the amount of customization there is for whatever you're doing. You can have different style motorcycles, cars, and the driving actually feels really nice. I often times found myself wanting to just keep driving when doing a task or something because it felt very free and easy to maneuver. The driving in GTA is something I've never really been able to get good at, but Saints Row: The Third was certainly easier to get used to, as it handled a lot easier. I'd even be inclined to say that it drives better than GTA, but my experience in that department is heavily one sided as I've not played a lot of GTA to form enough of an opinion. This is yet another reason why I think Saints Row: The Third was so impactful not just for my own experience but for others. I think a lot of people resonated with how the game felt enough like GTA that they didn't feel like they were getting cheated by not being able to play the current GTA at the time. Like I said though, for me, I actually kind of prefer Saints Row: The Third and the series in general given that it's not afraid to just go completely insane. And isn't afraid to make jokes at its own expense.

This and Saints Row IV are both great games, however if you ask me, Saints Row: The Third hits all the right notes, for all the reasons.

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2012

Dishonored is one of those games where every time I find myself talking about it, I get excited. Not just simply for the fact that it's one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time, but also it's just a great game. I could say a million things I like about this game, and I still don't think I'd have said enough about it. I actually think this was one of the first times if not the first time I've ever jumped into a stealth style game. And man, it was a joy to play from the minute I started, to the minute I stopped.

This is certainly one of those cases where I wish I had a time machine and I could go back before I played this game, mostly because I just remember enjoying the progression of the game along with the different tactics you could proceed with. I did a few playthroughs of this game but I remember specifically doing a full stealth run and a full brute strength run. Both came with their own rewards and strategies and I urge anyone who hasn't done a full stealth run of this game, to do it. I enjoyed sneaking through each level making sure I went undetected, and sometimes it seemed impossible to do so. And on the rare occasion, if I messed up, it meant restarting the whole mission entirely. And honestly, with how great the levels are structured, it never felt like a bother to go through them again. And with the different tactics at your disposal, each playthrough felt different and unique. Hell, I'm sure if I went back to play it now I'd enjoy it immensely. But nothing will ever be as satisfying as approaching a level for the first time and trying to figure out how to progress depending on your play style.

Dishonored also does a really good job at wanting you to progress. Sometimes a game will start to feel stale after a little while or the tactics you use to progress start to feeling the same and unexciting. I never felt that when I played through this on any of the plathroughs. It always felt fun and exciting because even though the levels were all the same, the variety allowed for a lot of creativity and sometimes you'd even surprise yourself with the kinds of things you can do to progress. It just all flowed together so nicely and the story on top of it all wasn't bad. The dialogue between characters and everything else was also cool and all the characters were fun and memorable. The first instance of this is obviously when you get to the base of operations at the beginning of the game. You meet a lot of characters whom you will converse with throughout the game, and again, never feels stale. I enjoyed each time I'd finish a mission because I knew something new and exciting and fun.

In recent years, I just haven't found myself going back to this game despite really enjoying it each time I play it. We've had so many other games come out since then and this one was really fun the first few times through, but I honestly just wish I could go back and replay it without knowing anything. I'm sure I'd still enjoy the hell out of it now, but at this point, I'd just like a reboot of some kind. The sequel was god awful and I don't think I'll ever go back to it. Dishonored on the other hand is fantastic. Through and through.

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2013

Yet another game where I wish I could reverse time and play again for the first time. It's one of those cases where I was so blown away with the game as a whole that it has continued to be one of my all time favorite games ever released. Much like Dishonored, I remember just going through the game for the first time taking everything in and enjoying every minute of it. As much as I'd like to say that I enjoyed both Bioshock 1 and 2, I just simply don't have as much experience with those games as I do with the one we're talking about today - Bioshock Infinite.

Fun gameplay mixed with abilities that make you feel badass, Bioshock Infinite has pretty much everything it needs to not only make a great story throughout, but a game that is an absolute blast to play. It is a first person shooter in the same style as the other Bioshock games, or Outer Worlds, or Fallout, or whatever. Point is, I always really enjoy these types of games because they all generally focus on one thing, making it fun. And I generally rank my enjoyment of a game by how much fun the game is to play and does everything work together to create a rich and fun experience. In this case, it hits every note it needs to hit.

I think I've only really played through Bioshock Infinite one time, and maybe started another playthrough at some point. I always forget and am reminded of how beautiful the game is and how it continues to be so as you go along. Of course, any game that focuses on an utopia in the sky is generally going to be pretty. But, there's also that sinister side to it that doesn't always make the game seem like it is on the cover. Many surprises unfold as you play and it's still to this day one of my favorite stories in a game - ever.

I would highly recommend that if you haven't checked this out, do so knowing as little as possible. I purposefully didn't go into the story too much because it's worth more to your experience to see things unfold on your own. It's a great story with great gameplay throughout and still remains as one of my favorite of all time.

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2014

2014 is another one of those years where I would consider some of my favorite games being released this year, one of them being Elder Scrolls Online. Over the years, I have spent many many hours growing my character more and more and getting myself happy with the build or builds that I want my character to have, and finally, after many years of this game being out, I have gotten my character to a point where I feel good about jumping in from time to time to just continue that progression.

MMO's for me tend to be a little difficult to get into since they all seem to follow the same formula. Starting area is filled with easy quests and monsters and as you go, you level up and make your character stronger. Some games like World of Warcraft and even Runescape to a degree give you an enormous world to play in, and you play it the way you so choose. Elder Scrolls Online also does this, but in a way that I appreciate a lot more than other MMO's. And as I continue to play it, I appreciate what it does more and more.

It should go without saying that regardless of what MMO you decide to play, there will more than likely be an endless supply of things to do, whether you're going out on a quest, or just making your character look as badass as possible. Elder Scrolls Online does this, but the reason why I enjoy progressing in this game more than other MMO's is simply due to the way the zones work. You have a list of zones ranging from areas found in Elder Scrolls lore, and you can basically choose where you want to start. You can start in Glenumbra, or any of the other surrounding islands on the map. After that point, you can complete quests and do some side missions to clear out the map, then once you're done, you set your sights on a different zone and continue your path. As much as I'd like to say it feels unique, it's not really too unique. You're got the typical run from one quest to the next and finish it or continue with it to completion. You've got fetch quests, combat quests, quests that bring you to other cities and towns, and just tons and tons of things to do. If you'd much rather just stay in town and work on your other levels like smithing etc, you can do that too. There have been many times when I went online and teleported to one of the main cities, and there's just tons of people sitting around either looking for groups for quests, or just wanting to chat and have a good time. I even at one point was running through the city and someone had Last Resort by Papa Roach playing, and while it was only for a few seconds, I stopped and chuckled then continue on my way. It's online, so you never know what you're going to find.

As far as longevity goes, throughout the years they have added more content to the game, and a lot of it is worth doing. It's one of those games where you will feel like you want to do everything all at once and gather all the quests you can, but the best way to play I've seen is to just take things slow and enjoy your journey. The content is not going anywhere, and it's going to take you a long time to do everything anyway, so no reason to rush. It's one of those games you'll want to have ready to go when you don't feel like playing much else. I've had sessions where I'll play and just do a few things, but it's still a lot of fun. Sometimes I don't even really do anything.

Elder Scrolls Online. A great game if you have time for an MMO, but you're not missing too much other than the Elder Scrolls specific lore, which is good. I think even this many years later, it's still worth playing. Especially with how accessible it is. I play solely on console but I've heard the experience with console and PC are not different enough to make people stray from one to the other. It's good on both, imo.

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2015

We are starting to get into the years where it gets more and more difficult to choose a favorite, and I don't even think I chose the right game, but I am still happy to talk about it in such a way. In a world where we have games like Path of Exile, Grim Dawn, Diablo, Divinity Original Sin I and II, it can be pretty difficult to decide how to take on this genre of games, and my personal opinion of it is that it has to have something to grab onto and enjoy the whole way through. All the games mentioned here are ones I would consider to be the best of the genre, but the one I left out is only left out because I'm choosing to talk about it now. Pillars of Eternity is that game.

I knew about the existence of this game early on, probably around the time I started to really get into this genre, starting with Diablo III. Pretty quickly, once I got into the genre a little bit more, I decided to try my hands at Pillars of Eternity, and I don't know if I just wasn't acclimated enough to the genre to enjoy it, but it definitely didn't hit right the first time. Now, fast forward a few years, I decide to jump in again given that I have a lot more experience with the genre, and man, what a difference. I spent many hours playing the game when I picked it up again, and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. However, given how big the game is, I never actually got around to finishing it. But, the nice thing about these kinds of games is that the adventure will be there no matter what, it just depends on when you feel like jumping in. And honestly, I've wanted to jump back into Pillars of Eternity again for a while, though other games are taking up my attention right now.

I really really enjoy the D&D style games that we have been getting a lot of in recent years, I'm all for it. I think it's one of the most enjoyable playstyles to go through because it takes more than just knowing how to swing an axe. Every move you make has to be calculated and even sometimes, you won't succeed. But that's when you learn and learn and figure out strategies to carry you forward. Along with the memorably characters and it being in a top down perspective, you can really enjoy the depth of the game while learning the game simultaneously. Divinity Original Sin II did this excellently and it was very balanced between gameplay and story, and made the entire experience fun and unique. Hell I have probably played through Divinity Original Sin II at least 3 times at this point. Each time being its own thing. Pillars of Eternity does this very well as well, and even the sequel was fantastic. Hell, either one of them would be worth playing, and I strongly suggest both of them if you're a fan of this particular genre.