Game of the Year – Dragon Age: Inquisition
Right, well, er, this is a bit embarrassing, like that time Bratt and I turned up to work in matching socks. “Outrageous!”, he exclaimed, etc.
But Dragon Age: Inquisition, right, is really bloody good. Despite its painfully slow start, it stands as brilliant, wonderful, tangible proof that BioWare is back to being masters of their craft. What it is is a 150+ hour sigh of relief for those of us, myself included, who worried for the firm's creative future after that terrifying wobbly period after ME3 and DA2.
BioWare is back. Inquisition is amazing. I’ve been looking at Bratt’s screen as he writes his bit about it and that’s kinda humped my bit because he’s spot on. So, er, aye.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Shadow of Mordor could have been a non-event, a mediocre licensed action game, but Monolith smashed it. The final product is a collage of best-bits from a plethora of other games, executed well and seamlessly knitted together, and escalated to true greatness by the much-lauded (and rightly so) Nemesis System, which gave the world and the enemies within a hook, a context, that imbued Mordor with more sense of attachment than a month of cutscenes could.
If you haven’t tried it out, do it. You don’t even need to care about Lord of the Rings to love it.
Elite: Dangerous
I’ve idolised David Braben since I was nine years old. Elite: Dangerous is a game I’ve been waiting for twenty – twenty – actual whole years.
Enough said, frankly. But I wrote a very heartfelt piece about it a few months back if you want more words about why this is huge. Expect a review after Christmas!
