OK, so 2015 ended up not being the Year of Hearthstone for me, but it was a good year of games. I spent a lot of time with Rayman Legends, actually maxed out 1000/1000 gamerscore. The end of the year saw the Xbox One working overtime with a whole lot of Halo 5 played. FIFA 16 and Forza have been sprinkled in there, and there is more Disney Infinity 3.0 to be explored. The 2DS saw a lot of game time this year as well. Almost 70 hours in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, 20 hours with Yo-Kai Watch and 19 hours in Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. While there are a number of games I missed (The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 probably topping the list), I have few gaming regrets.
I loved Rayman Origins on the 360. I was skeptical of Rayman Legends, knowing that it was originally designed as a WiiU exclusive. How does one shoehorn those controls into a game that I loved for just that - precision yet forgiving platforming? Rayman Legends did it with an added control scheme of button pushes that added complexity without sacrificing feel.
The game has great animated visuals and controls as good as any Mario game in my opinion. Platforming games can be very frustrating and I do not consider the genre as a favorite of mine. But with generous save points and a very visceral learning curve in which I recognized repetition led to skill and knowledge acquisition, Rayman continued to keep its hooks in me. Daily and Weekly Challenges kept/keep the game fresh.
Interestingly, I was fairly skeptical about Halo 5 as well. With the debacle that was the launch of Halo: Master Chief Collection, I was not completely sure what to expect with Halo in 343 Industry hands. I didn't think Halo 4 was terrible, but it certainly didn't have the legs of previous iterations. And perhaps ultimately, the same can be said of Halo 5. But I have enjoyed it much more than I thought I would in light of early descriptions of Halo's move towards updating and upgrading movement to change the combat.
The campaign was fine albeit forgettable. I only played short amounts in co-op and on Legendary, it was a downright unpleasant affair of insta-deaths. Solo on heroic seemed to hit a sweet spot of difficulty and though I did the cheat to escape the multiple Warden Eternals, I don't regret it for a second. In purest form, Halo 5 and Halo in general, to me at least, is about the competitive multiplayer and here, I find it as the series best effort since and perhaps including Halo 2.
To be fair, I played a lot of Destiny and Titanfall. But there is something so honest and fair about starting a Halo match with the same weapons and armor as your opponent. Sure, once power weapons are secured, it's a different matter, but that everything is literally earned on the field of play makes it seem like such a true test of skill. And unlike Gears of War, when I vanquished an opponent or an opponent vanquished me, I always felt like that was the proper outcome. The fear of updated movement, sprint and spartan abilities, was unfounded. In fact, the fluidity keeps the game fresh. It does not feel like I am just playing Halo 2. Balance is such key and Halo 5 Arena has it.
I was on the fence with Warzone early on. But the big change came for me when 343 included Daily Win REQ packs for Warzone and Arena victories. I have played it much more frequently and I do like that it feels less competitive. I don't like losing in it and I hate dying and waiting to respawn to run to an area only to die on the way there. I don't really save many REQs and perhaps my teammates more than me feel the consequences of such choice. Unlike my favored Arena matches where everyone starts out equally, REQs can make pretty big differences pretty quickly in Warzone. But taking the time to find out where things are, how and when to use upgrades (be it changing loadouts or adding abilities without using REQs) made the gametype tons more enjoyable.
I have been a little disappointed that Halo 5 has not seemed to catch on as I had hoped with my Xbox friends. I understand in many ways, it doesn't necessarily have the incentives to return as much as other games (e.g., updated loot system in Destiny). Yes, REQs are disposable and Arena is really only about rank. But it is fun to win.
I have been enjoying FIFA 16 and I am exploring the FIFA Ultimate Team options. I have not really done that in the past and really wasn't sure what type of "campaign" there was in the game. I have Forza to fall back on and I've heard good things about the multiplayer. I had some difficulty connecting in the past but I may revisit to change things up. I haven't played much Infinity 3.0. I do have the Rise Against the Empire playset and have enjoyed that. I also have the Toy Box playsets. I have always liked Infinity and it's one that I'm hoping will be a great place for Player 2 to cut her gaming teeth though that's probably still a bit of time away. Never too early to start thinking about it though.
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