Fear’s Top 10 of 2018
I know, I know this list is incredibly late, we are in February and I’m just dropping my top 10 of 2018? If you read my Welcome Back post I was slightly distracted this year, but now I’m back and can’t wait to drop this list for you. So as always, this list will reflect the games I played in 2018, not just the games that released in 2018. As a working man, father, and husband, some games sit in a backlog for a while before I get to them (if my plans play out like I picture for this year, next year’s list will be an almost retro trip), so not all games will be 2018 releases. Also I included a review score that I consider a “look back score”. What that means is the score could have changed from when I first played the game, rather it was on a post here on the Day Two Update podcast I was on (check it out on SoundCloud, those guys are pumping out some great content). So with that, let’s jump in!
I also just have to say that 2018 may have been my best gaming year. It was difficult to pick just 10 games, where in some years I barely had 10 games that I wanted to be on a best of list. Also as some gee wiz info, all the pics are shots I've taken.
10) Hitman 2 – So let me jump right out of the gates with one of the finest sequels in a very long time. If you have read my top game of 2016 you will know Hitman 2016 was my number 1 game that year. Honestly Hitman 2 not only fine tunes what was in Hitman 2016, but also makes sure it stays true to the dark humor roots of the franchise. The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because I didn’t get the game until late December and sadly I’ve only managed to get through 2 levels. But the game is so good in those 2 levels I had to include it on this list. It’s also worth mentioning that from my understanding this game is not selling well, please, please, please try out the free prologue on PSN/Xbox Marketplace! This game is fantastic! For a Look Back Score I have to stress I’ve only played the 1st 2 missions, but based on JUST those 2 missions, I give them a strong 8.25.
9) WWE 2K18 – I’ve said it before on these list and I will say it again; another top 10 and another WWE game on it. But here’s the thing, I truly love these games. I’m a huge wrestling fan and the Universe mode is like my personal playground. On this blog you can find my notes on some previous Universe years, and I’ll probably upload more soon. This version of the gameplay and roster was amazing and Universe mode was a fun as always. The creative WWE fan in me got over 70 hours out of this game this year so it definitely deserves a spot on this list. I will say, next year WWE 2K19 will have some competition on this list as I have started playing Fire Pro Wrestling World and I’m loving it, however I didn’t play enough in 2018 for it to be included in this year’s list. For a Look Back Score this game is 8.25. A lot of fun in Universe but the Mycareer mode still needs work.
8) South Park: The Fractured But Whole – The game with the best title of all time may also be the funniest game I’ve ever played. This game is an almost non-stop laugh-a-thon. Look I never thought I would like it due to some belief that I have held on to for years that I wouldn’t like turn based combat. Well here’s the thing, I loved the combat in this game! Then you mix that with the humor, the story, the design, (most of) the boss battles, ability to constantly change your character’s look, and you have a recipe for a great game. I am definitely excited to go back this year and play Stick of Truth. Look Back Score is a strong 8.25.
7) Uncharted: Lost Legacy – So this is in an odd expansion/DLC/its own thing category, but this game is just fantastic. The beginning is a normal Uncharted style level but then the game opens up to 2 different hub style worlds that I loved. Plus I was a fan of Chloe in Uncharted 2 and she was excellent in the story so I was excited to play as her here. I have to give huge props to Naughty Dog because I did not like Nadine in Uncharted 4’s story, and I mean that in the way of her being a great villain. But here she is really fleshed out and I loved her and Chloe’s relationship. The world was stunning, graphics were beautiful, gameplay was perfect, and the simple fun factor of it all was extremely high. Look Back Score here is a solid 9. If you enjoyed the Uncharted games at all, you NEED to play this. Not only did I feel like it ended the series on a high note, it also left me believing that if they wanted to continue the series, Chloe and Nadine would be a great staring pair.
6) Far Cry 5 – So I’ve mentioned fun factor and honestly this game screams FUN FACTOR! What is fun factor? Well fun factor is the part of the game that has you smiling the whole time you are playing it. Far Cry 5 was not just an open world “sandbox” style game, it really was your own sandbox to play in. I had so much fun in this game, it really was a non-stop thrill ride with great humor and amazing action and controls, except when trying to fly a plane and shoot. But the kicker is the story was really impressive. I loved the Seed Family. Each member was not only different, but their areas were also different and if you spent time looking and searching, you got to understand the characters even more. Let me tell you, I am a big fan of a game with a good story and I really enjoyed this game and my word…that ending. Wow. Look Back Score is an 8.5.
5) Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Here is where the list is getting tough! This game is truly amazing, as is the entire rebooted trilogy starting with 2013’s Tomb Raider, and of course my 2017 GOTY Rise of the Tomb Raider. This game improves on everything from the controls, platforming, my word the graphics are mind blowing, and the setting. What I really enjoyed was the world was fleshed out with side stories set in these hub worlds involving the people themselves. Now I can’t say there is anything wrong with the world but I preferred the woods setting than the jungle setting. Also my biggest knock on the game would be the villain and how he related to the larger story they have set up and built to in this trilogy. While he is a strong character and has a really well done backstory, I felt like he wasn’t quite big enough to be the head of Trinity. If the game had not built this up as the final battle of Laura vs Trinity and that was saved for the next game I don’t think I would have had a problem. But this villain and his reasons for what he was doing, just didn’t feel big enough for what Trinity was set up to be. Some people may not have that problem with the game, but for me it made it seem somewhat anti-climactic. Look Back Score is 9.25. This is truly a great game from a great series.
4) Assassin’s Creed Origins – This was the last game I reviewed on this blog and I still have to say this is just an amazing game. Look I was starting to feel the franchise fatigue of the last few years, but thanks to Rogue and Syndicate I was still enjoying the games. When Origins dropped I had no idea what to expect, it looked really good but it also was a huge change from what had come before. Would it feel like an Assassin’s Creed game with the new controls? Would the new abilities fit the game? Would there be a present days section that was as interesting as what we had pre-Black Flag? I can honestly say yes to all of those questions and add in that Bayek is one of the best assassins of the series. I loved the way the Brotherhood formed, from small details like not having families to how the symbol came about. The new controls felt so well done and gave combat a breath of fresh air. Yes, I still prefer the faster pace of say AC3, but what is here is really well done. The world of ancient Egypt is stunning and way more varied than I would have ever thought. The present day isn’t as interesting as what we had in the original games, but it was a huge leap from what we had in the last 4 games. But the real stand out to me in this game is the side missions. From the not quite cooked enough Paris missions in Unity to these multi-layered missions in Origins is an amazing transformation. These missions are not only well done from a gameplay perspective, but they add so much depth to Bayek and the greater world. Look Back Score is 9.5. This is a great game for new and older fans. I can also say The Hidden Ones DLC is very well done also.
3) God of War – True story, when I was deciding between if I wanted to get either a PS4 or an Xbox 1 going into this generation, the thought of not being able to play a God of War game again help push me back to the PS side. And here’s the thing, this game wasn’t even announced yet! I am a huge fan of the series from the combat to the mythology. So going into this game I had high expectations for the new combat and the setting. And while those were definitely amazing, what I didn’t expect was the story to be so well done and more importantly the characters of Kratos and his son Atreus told a story that was just amazing. Story and characters get me every time and here it was so well done. I mean the beginning of the game has you chopping wood to burn your wife’s body and just looking at Kratos’ pain as he chops the wood, to his look of being lost as he has to rewrap his scared forearms just lets you know you are in for a great story. While the main villain in the game wasn’t a well done as past games, you still wanted to smash his face in and the overall story sets up the sequel very nice. There is nothing about this game I think I would change. Look Back Score 9.5.
2) Spider-Man – You know it seems like every generation we get a superhero game that truly elevates the genre that can be stagnant or filled with games that are merely “meh”. In the last generation we got the Batman Arkham games that really showed just how amazing this genre can be. For this generation we have Spider-Man. Right off the bat the controls use the same blueprint that have been used before but they are so fine-tuned it feels brand new. The web swinging is something that I could do all day. The more moves you unlock the more fun it becomes. The amount of Easter Eggs and nod to the comics in this game is mind blowing and then you add the almost 30 suits ranging from the lesser known Spider-Punk to the classic suit of the Sam Rami movies. My personal favorite was the original design for this game. The suit just looked so cool and a nice mix of new and classic. What is really cool about the suits is each suit has its own power tied to it. However instead of being forced to decide if you want a certain power or look, once you unlock a suit you can equip its power to any suit you want.
But honestly why does this game get to the number 2 spot? Sure all that I mentioned is a big reason, and the fun factor is off the charts, but seriously it’s the story here that got me. This version of Spider-Man is an original story, not tied to any previous iteration. Insomniac did a great job of really bringing out Peter Parker’s character and really making you care for everyone involved. No this is the greatest story of any Spider-Man, but it’s true to the character and it packs a lot of heart. Look Back Score is a 9.25. I love they world they built here and I can’t wait to jump back in!
1) Red Dead Redemption 2 – So back in 2004 I played Metal Gear Solid 3 and when I was finished I proclaimed it as my favorite game of all time for many reasons. Why is that important here? Because for the next 14 years no matter how many games I played, some may have even been better games, but none could unseat MGS3 as my favorite…Until RDR2. I won’t go too deep into it because I have a review coming soon and more about this game, but RDR2 has become my favorite game. The world is top notch and absolutely filled with interesting items to come across. The missions are consistently some of Rockstar’s best, and the graphics are top notch as well. I loved being about to mold Arthur’s look to how I liked it from his hair to his wardrobe. Personally after a few hours I had 0 issues with any of the controls, though I know that some people didn’t like the amount of input required to do even the simple tasks, and I can understand that. The amount of time it takes to loot 20 killed enemies with the animations the game goes through can take a lot of time compared to something like AC Origins where a simple tap of the button grabs the loot for you, can be huge.
The game isn’t perfect, but here’s the thing, the story and characters are the strongest I have seen in gaming. Dutch, who we only knew from about 12 minutes of RDR1 is fleshed out here and his character ark is so amazing and fascinating to me. If the days of the outlaw are over, where does that leave Dutch? When we found out we would see John Marston in the game I was very confused at how Rockstar expected us to have him in our gang but not be able to play as one of the most loved protagonist of any Rockstar game. Let me just say Rockstar handles that perfectly with John not quite being the John we knew from RDR1 and with Arthur being such a strong character you don’t really want to be John. I’ll even give a shout out to Abigail here because in RDR1 due to my fondness of Bonnie I didn’t really like Abigail, but here she is more fleshed out and becomes a great character in her own right.
But of course Arthur is the star of the show and his character and story is just so damn good it has stayed with since I’ve beaten the game. This may have affected me more than a lot of people because there is a key moment in the later chapters that the story takes an unexpected turn. This moment is so big and well written it completely changed the way I played as Arthur. For the most part I played with slightly good honor, but I had no issues killing and robbing. But the story changed that and I felt the urge to play honorably and I honestly feel like it made the story and the character of Arthur even better.
I know I have written a lot but I haven’t covered hardly anything about the game, but that’s the thing, it is so good I could just keep writing about it (which I plan to in future posts). But for now I will end it with its Look Back Score and give it the perfect 10 it truly deserves.
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