Top 10 Games of 2017 (I know I am late, sorry)

2017 had some amazing games and was one of the best years in gaming. This is my personal top 10 list of 2017. I apologize for the delayed post by several months, but now is the time to get back into the swing of things. Lots more content coming your way! Please enjoy and tell me what YOUR favorite games of 2017 were.

10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2

9. Metroid: Samus Returns

8. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

7. Fire Emblem Warriors

6. Splatoon 2

5. Cuphead

4. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

3. Super Mario Odyssey

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

1. Steamworld Dig 2

Honorable Mentions:

Prey

Snipperclips

Mario and Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Injustice 2

Resident Evil 7

Top 10 Games of 2016!

10. Enter the Gungeon

9. Starbound

8. Bravely Second: End Layer

7. Titanfall 2

6. Battlefield One

5. Pokemon Sun/Moon

4. Overwatch

3. World of Warcraft: Legion

2. Fire Emblem Fates

1. Doom

Honorable Mentions:

Dead Rising 4

Gears of War 4

Far Cry Primal

Pokken Tournament

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Dragonball Xenoverse 2

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Genre: Fighting

Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Platform Reviewed On: Xbox One

Date Reviewed: November 23, 2016

       Dragonball Xenoverse 2 is the second game set in the Xenoverse universe. Xenoverse 2 offers a new player hub, improved visuals, improved mechanics overall and adds in some new types of side quests, expert missions and equipment. The major hub is much bigger than Toki Toki City from the first one with the ability to ride a hover craft around the city. As you progress futher into the game you gain the ability to fly which is much better. While exploring the major hub there are many things to explore. From random items, to mentor training, to even talking with interesting NPC's or simply delivering milk for TP Coins. TP coins are a new type of currency which can be used on special vendors only accessible on the weekends or using it as main currency.

Tons of Characters

      Although Xenoverse 2 is a good game overall the game lacks a lot of copy and paste. You will notice that a lot of the mission are actually from the first game, literally exactly the same. The customization has not really been improved from the first game with very little to offer the player to create a unique character. However, they did add more clothing options and the ability to use a new equipment slow called QQ Bang. You can use these as a way to increase your stats without having the clothes affect your stats so you can customize your outfit completely.

       The combat has been improved as well as the visuals. Although the combat may be better, the combos are not really any different. Each race has their very own combo attacks but they are the same for every person. The downside to that is the online battles. People are constantly using the same combo's to acquire quick and cheap wins. If you are not the type of person to research and practice multiple combos then the game can easily be beaten with just mashing the punch button. However, if you perform different combos they can be very rewarding and fun to pull off.

Interesting Characters.

       There is a new type of mission you can play called Expert Missions. These are 6 player co-op mission where the objective is to take down one single enemy. These enemies all have abilities to mind control other players and cause massive damage if you do not break them free. When a player is mind controlled their body is fighting against you but what the player sees is a completely new area where you have to fight yourself. If your team manages to deafest you then you come back or if you are able to defeat yourself in your mind you can also come back that was as well. Although fighting yourself might take a little bit longer.

       Overall, Xenoverse 2 is actually a very fun game just like the first one but it feels more of an expansion opposed to a sequel. If you are not really a DBZ fan then maybe wait for a price drop. But if you are a huge fan and loved the first one then try it out and if you like it, pick it up. I personally am enjoying the game very much.

Good!

7.5/10

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Nintendo Switch Event.

This post is just my general reactions and opinions on the Nintendo Switch event on January 12, 2017. 

Overall I fell the reveal was pretty good and well received. About half way through they showed some of the "filler games". They have announced a new Mario game known as Super Mario: Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, Splatoon 2, and some new IP's. After the presentation they added more to the website with pricing of accessories and other games that were not announced. The Nintendo Switch launches on March 3rd, 2017 at the retail price of $299.99. 

Nintendo Switch needs to have a huge and successful launch in order to be successful because I don't think a lot of people have much left to give Nintendo. They did not show a whole lot of launch titles but the Nintendo website is being updated with a ton of information that was not in the live stream presentation. There were some very exciting games shown like Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, Fire Emblem, etc... 

The most exciting news from the live stream was the final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with the launch date of March 3, 2017 which is huge. Fans have been waiting a huge amount of time for this game to finally come out. This is what will help the Nintendo Switch tremendously and Nintendo knows that. I have really high hopes for this game and this console. 

For other releases and information please visit Nintendo's Website. This will include prices, accessories, games, releases, etc....

ReCore

Release Date: September 13, 2016

Genre: Platformer

Platforms: Xbox One, Windows 10.

Platform Reviewed On: Xbox One, Windows 10.

Date Reviewed: October 2, 2016

       ReCore is a pretty fun game overall. This is the first game in the Xbox Play Anywhere program where you buy the game and you are able to play on PC as well. ReCore introduces some really cool mechanics but falls short on executing them in a way that makes it exciting. The world is just way to big for all of the back tracking that the player has to do. It wouldn't be so bad if there was a lot more to explore and do in this huge open world but there is not. The prismatic core system is fine at first but gets really dull very quickly due to the fact that you need a certain amount in order to even progress through the story and finish the game. I kept running into problems where I would hit a wall because i did not have enough cores, mainly because the leveling progress is kind of slow so some of the dungeon you would just ignore because you were not the required level.

Open World Combat.

      
       There are some positives overall with the game though. It has new and interesting mechanics that you never see in a video game. Like the ability to change your ammo type based on the color of the enemy. You match it with their color and it will do more damage overall. When an enemy is weakened you are able to extract it's core with you use to power up your companions, Or you can choose to kill them regularly and get the materials you need to upgrade your companions armor. The customization is pretty good overall and if you craft a set for one of your mechanics then you will get a bonus to that character. It might be finding more loot and making on of their attacks stronger. The platform mechanics are very well done as well and feels like a fast paced 3D platformer. The companion system is good with full customization between four different bots and three different cores. Each companion has their own special techniques. Seth can crawl up rails, Mack can find items hidden in the ground, Duncan is able to smash through rocks and the FL1-R is able to fly you over longer distances and use vents to get boosted up in the air.

Great customization.

       ReCore suffers from a lot of problems from glitches and the dreadful load times. It is a bit better on the PC overall but still has the same glitches in the console version. Load times and visuals are superior on the PC version but doesn't help it very much at all. Overall ReCore is a a good game and with just a bit more development time this game could have shined.

**UPDATE** ReCore received a patch update and the load times are now better. Still not very quick but better than it was.

Good Game:
7.5/10 

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Overwatch

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platforms: Xbox One, PC, PS4

Platform Reviewed On: PC

Date Reviewed: August 11, 2016

Overwatch is Blizzard's new and very different IP. Overwatch is an FPS team objective game similar to Team Fortress 2. At the time of this review there are 26 playable characters with Ana being the newest edition to the games roster. Blizzard has said they will be releases a lot more characters in the future all for free. Overwatch is one of Blizzards most anticipated game with over 15 million players worldwide and beating the top game League of Legends in Korean cafe's. First time in years.

Overwatch is a team based game where you do one of two objective modes. Capture the nodes or escort the payload. Both modes rely heavily on team communication and the right heroes for the job. The different characters in Overwatch are broken down into specific roles and each are very unique. There are attackers, defense, tanks and support. Each playing a crucial role in winning. When you join a new match you will be either attacking or defending which also changes which heroes will be good to use. At the character selection screen it will also notify you if you have to much of one type, to much of the same character, if you need a support, etc... Which is handy in picking your team with a bunch of random people. Adds some coordination to it.

There are currently 5 options to play. Quick Play which jumps you into a match right away with other people. Play with A.I allows you to play with a team of humans versus a team of A.I controlled characters. Custom Games which allows you to invite friends and create your own games. Competitive Mode which was just recently added and allows you to play a more serious version of the game. Weekly Brawls which changes every single week and is never the same (so far).

Competitive Mode allows you to increase your ranking, earn competitive points which can be used for golden weapons, and to show off your true skill. In Competitive you are only able to select one of each character which makes it so you won't be up against a team of Winstons. The matches in competitive mode are a little bit longer due to the scoring system which makes it that much more competitive.

Weekly Brawls are special modes that changes every Tuesday. This could be Hanzo and Genji's only. Tanks only. Support only. Special rules, over the top regeneration, etc... During the Summe Olympics in Rio, Overwatch introduced a new set of loot crates and a new type of game mode in the weekly brawl called Lucio Ball. The point of Lucia Ball is exactly like Rocket League where you need to get the ball into the opposite goal to score points.

Overwatch does have a leveling system where every level you receive a loot crate. These loot crates have a chance to drop commons, rares, epics, and legendaries. These may include emblems, coins, skins, character intros, etc... There is also an option to purchase loot crates with real money. Loot crates do not effect the gameplay whatsoever, it's purely cosmetic. As soon as you hit a certain level the XP caps at 22,000. The max level in Overwatch is 1890 and every 10 or so levels you unlock a brand new portrait. Every 100 levels you unlock a "prestige" like star.

Blizzard has done something truly special with Overwatch. Deep hidden story, amazing cinematics, fast paced FPS, etc.... Overwatch will only get bigger and better from here on out. The really only negative thing I have to say about Overwatch is it's price point. $60 for a full game or the basic version on PC for $40. At the time there just wasn't enough content to justify that price point. But no with all of these updates it certainly will be worth it. Even now, it's a great ton of fun.

Great!

9.5/10

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Mini Review: Good Knight Story.

Knight Story is a puzzle RPG game for mobile. It is similar to Puzzle and Dragons in away except you are a knight trying to rescue the princess. As of right now there is 125 different levels to complete. As of this review I am on 113. Knight Story has am average story but the humor is what this game makes up in. Some of the lines from the Knight and monsters are generally pretty fun while some are "roll your eyes" funny. A lot of the bosses are unique and also have their own dialogue. Knight Story involves you matching up different colored orbs to perform that elements attack. There is also an element guide on the top of the battle screen to tell you which element is strong against each other.

During your puzzle adventure you meet a lot of decent characters, find weapons and new spells to help you on your way. If you play often enough without waiting to collect your daily gold reward you will get overpowered very quickly. There is the option of buying in game currency but it shouldn't be dependent on it so much. A lot of the battles I was finding myself losing very often until I waited the set amount of hours, several times and gathered enough gold to upgrade my weapons so I would have a chance.

The levels in Knight Story are not all the same though. Some have you collecting items while trying to stay alive against a large enemy or the normal slaying your enemies to progress. It doesn't look like they will be adding any more levels, it's been several months with no updates which is kind of disappointing. Overall Knight Story is a good, quick pass time and recommend if you're into puzzle RPG's.


Good
7.0/10
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