What is your personal game of the year!!!?... that wasn’t released this year?

Resident evil 7, Nioh, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, ZELDA!!!, Hellblade, The Evil Within 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The lost legacy, Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein 2 and a whole bevy of other top name GOTY contenders littered the calendar this year (and still more to come.).

It seems with a list so robust and differing in nature that one would hardly have time to keep up with every “must play” title that stumbled across their path on what seemed like a continuous, if not at the very least, monthly basis. Still, even with release after release vying for gamers attention and hard earned dollars there has been some “down time” from the next “big release”.

Luckily I’ve been able to dive into my own personal backlog on more than one occasion throughout the duration of the year, something that has actually been a good thing as there were a few games I had been meaning to check out but for whatever reason (shakes fist at new releases.) wasn’t able to get to when they were fresh off the presses.

-Fresh off the presses, Ninja? What year is it?-

Even though I and many others in a similar situation missed out on all the excitement and hype when these games were making waves during their respective releases in some cases it actually worked out even better as many of the titles on sale months (or even in some cases years.) after their respective releases were heavily discounted, released as GOTY editions with all their extra content, or in many cases both.

Games like Fallout 4, Rise of the Tomb raider, alien isolation, and a few others rounded out my own personal list of games vying for my attention in what was already a jam packed year thanks to all the hot new releases being dropped on what seemed like a never ending basis. But there was one that stuck out in my mind over the rest. One that I didn’t think I was going to enjoy as much as I did thanks mostly in part due its classification of not technically being a full game like the others.

It’s here where I must somewhat break with my own question of “What’s your game of the year… that wasn’t released this year?” in order to give my answer.

-Can’t even stick to your own rules, huh Ninja?-

My game of the year that wasn’t released this year wasn’t technically a full game… it was DLC.

-Say what, Ninja?-

That’s right. The DLC I’m talking about is none other than The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone.

-Oh, darn it, Ninja! A technicality… I hate it when people do that!-

As much as I enjoyed myself with the main game I found myself gravitating to the events that unfolded in The Witcher 3 DLC that came bundled with my “complete edition” in a way that I had not only not anticipated but in truth enjoyed even more than the events of the main entry itself.

-But… but… BUT IT’S NOT THE MAIN GAME NINJA!!!-

I completely understand why some may scoff at such a claim and it goes just to further prove my point that it was something I don’t think I had ever anticipated. After all, how many pieces of DLC out there can it be arguedare actually better than the main game they are meant to compliment?

-Wait... wait, Ninja. So you’re saying you didn’t like the main game? (grabs pitch fork.)-

Not at all. While I did enjoy the main game itself there were a few issues I had with the story and overall pacing that did not seem to present themselves in the same manner in both DLCs offered. As for why I chose the hearts of stone over the blood and wine, well... I just found the events and mystery surrounding the man of mirrors more stimulating and engaging.

-But Ninja, how can you like the DLC more than the main game?! Blasphemy!!!-

Lower your pitch forks and torches everyone. There were a few main reasons for my gravitating towards the DLC over the main game.

1: More friendly to people who are new to the series.

I have to admit, the first few hours of The Witcher 3 I found it very hard to care about anyone or understand half of the seemingly random jargon thrown about so casually. Add in the fact that we are dealing with a title where you are engaged in dialogue for probably half of the game (I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.) and I can understand how some newbies might be completely turned off.

To be completely fair this is not the games fault. This is the main problem most people have when jumping directly into some sort of sequel without having played any of the other entries in the series (which was my scenario.). To help combat this effect I watched 2 one hour videos of the events of the 1st and 2^nd game. Even with this aid it did very little to help me understand what was going on for those first few hours of the Wild Hunt. Names of places, kingdoms, enemies, characters, etc... all went through one ear and out the other (-Not surprising, Ninja.-) but at the very least it helped me understand who the main players were as well as what the overall theme of the world I was about to dive into was all about.

Still, even going in with that somewhat limited knowledge I didn’t start “connecting” with characters as well as motivations for certain actions until a good 7 to 10 hours in. The same couldn’t be said of the Hearts of Stone DLC.

-WHOA, WHOA, WHOA Ninja! That’s not fair.-

You’re absolutely right. It’s not. I started playing the DLC right after I finished the main game and as such I had a firm grasp of the characters, events, and motivations of certain individuals. Geralt, Chloe, Yennifer, names I had heard in those first few hours and not really resonated with were suddenly names that brought with them fond memories.

However, even with all of that in mind during my playthrough of the DLC I kept that in the back of my head. Having completed it I came to the conclusion that while having played the main game would definitely be a huge advantage in knowing the world you would soon be traveling through the truth is that one could have played the DLC with very basic knowledge. In a sense the DLC could have been another separate entry in the Witcher series altogether (which technically I think it was.). Personally I think this was why it was so much easier to get into than the main game.

The player wasn’t tied down with unnecessary baggage from previous decisions in prior entries and similarly previous knowledge about characters and scenarios were not the driving motivator behind the events unfolding in this installment.

2: Fewer pacing issues/more direct path to main goal.

Unlike the main game the focus of the narrative and the events that unfolded surrounding certain characters/events in the DLC seemed first and foremost the main focus driving the game forward. While you could go off and explore and investigate to your “hearts” content (-I see what you did there, Ninja.-) it was very hard to lose sight of the main task at hand. In a sense it felt more structured than the overlapping “main missions” present in the full game.

To that end it also seemed that although the main game had an overall theme and main goal (find you know who ;) ) it was quite easy for that task to be put to the back of one’s mind with all the other missions. While it’s somewhat true that at the end of the day most of those “where is this going” missions helped cumulate in rounding out the overall narrative it still in the moment made it very easy to lose sight of the importance and weight of just what the main reason for Geralt heading out on this journey was to begin with.

-What, Ninja? That makes no sense.-

Let me put it this way…

It wasn’t uncommon for me to boot up the main game day after day and say to myself “So… what am I doing again?” while when the same scenario unfolded with the DLC I didn’t have to rely on the various load screen texts (which were very nice by the way.) to know what it was I was doing or trying to achieve again.

To that end I personally felt the tale being weaved was a more coherent and direct one.

-Unlike your ramblings, huh Ninja?-

3: Less forced procrastination.

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. We’ve all been there before. You’re playing a game (usually an open world game.) and when things are just getting good and you can’t wait to see what happens next the developers pull the old “you have to complete some trivial/meaningless task(s)” in order to advance the plot. It’s almost analogous to when you were in school and the teachers gave you “busy work” in an attempt to keep you quiet(-In your case Ninja you must have been doing busy work all day-).

It’s been a while since I played The Witcher 3 so I can’t remember every instance of this scenario but one that does stick out in my mind (forgive me for not remembering character names or places.) was when I had to collect enough funds to convince a captain of a ship to set sail for my supposed new destination.

I’m pretty good at collecting and holding onto things in games (my 1000 items of the same thing cause you never know, I may need them all can attest to that ;) ) so I was expecting to maybe spend another 10 minutes or so collecting the required amount of money I needed to convince this stubborn drunkard (the captain.) to set sail. Needless to say that’s not how it panned out at all. I must have spent a good 2 hours running around the city engaging in extra trivial encounters such as street fights and the occasional random Witcher contract in an attempt to gain as much money as possible.

While doing all that extra stuff can be seen as a form of incentive on the developers part to help open up and expose the player to new things in the environment it’s a double edged sword (at least for me.) as it abruptly halts the flow of the narrative. Suddenly all that excitement and build up turned to the same kind of “enthusiasm” one would have towards doing some kind of repetitive chore (-like reading all your posts, Ninja? Ah, gotcha.).

From my time playing Hearts of Stone (and Blood and wine.) those hang ups were far and few if there were any at all. The main focus of the story seemed unmarred by these trivial “side quests” (technically they are not side quests but you get my drift.) and as such I rarely if ever found myself rolling my eyes that I had to busy myself with some meaningless and time consuming task just in an effort to see what was ahead.

4: A mystery.

This last point (-Thank goodness, Ninja. We would be here all day.-) is more a personal preference than an actual criticism of design or flow.

While the main games’ focus surrounded finding a certain someone Hearts of Stone surrounded the events of a mysterious traveller. As more was revealed about this individual (and his nature.) the more my curiosity peaked in uncovering what lay beneath the surface. Discovering why you were doing what you were doing (the tasks.) as well as unraveling information from those who had some kind of knowledge of just who you were dealing with added another layer of intrigue to an already tantalizing mystery.

Due to the insane amount of love this game has garnered over the years I once again feel it necessary to stress that while I preferred the DLC that in no way is somehow insinuating the main game wasn’t a great game in and of itself.

-Still going to crucify you, Ninja.-

I really enjoyed my time with the Witcher 3 and in hindsight I’m glad I held out for so long on giving it a shot as it gave me a chance to experience the DLC; something that if I had bought the regular game I probably wouldn’t have spent the extra cash to get as I would have thought it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as the main game.

So Gamespot community, you’ve heard my thoughts (-more like rants, Ninja.-)…

So the question stands…

What is your game of the year that wasn’t released this year?

-VIDEOGAME RAMBLER APPROVED-

@kangarbloodyroo: Those bunnies. Can't help it.

-HUGH WOULD BE PROUD NINJA APPROVED-

As a long-time Metal Gear Solid fan I actually regret not getting that arm. Sure it was insanely overpriced but it being a fully adjustable arm was pretty neat.

-PHANTOM REGRET NINJA APPROVED-

For the love of Miyamoto, how could anyone ever forget that beast. I can't remember the exact price it went for but I think it was close to $1000. Like you I also remember the games being ridiculously expensive but I don't recall them being $300. I'm probably wrong but for some reason I always thought they were more like $150. Even if they were only what I thought that was still an insanely high price to pay for a single game back in the early 90's. I can honestly say I didn't know ANYONE who owned a Neo Geo growing up. It's not hard to understand why.

-REAL PREMIUM PRICING NINJA APPROVED-

Like the thread title says…

What’s the most you have ever spent on a game or have personally known or witnessed someone else spend on a game?

I know this question is highly variable considering nowadays before a game even launches we are bombarded by press release after press release of how many different editions and collectors bundles “we need” in order to have the developer’s true vision or ultimate “gaming experience” (-That’s right, Ninja. Without that ultimate super limited rare special collector’s edition you are nothing.).

Jeez, that last line would make Capcom jealous. Any-who, back to the topic.

We now live in a gaming age where it’s not uncommon for a slightly upgraded version of the base game to border on the $100 price tag realm. It goes without saying that going beyond this point one can soon venture into exponentially higher price points all in the name of collector memorabilia or limited runs of things. However, it wasn’t always like this; or at least not to the extent it is today. Back in the 80’s, 90’s, and even early 2000’s such editions were usually reserved for highly sought after and critically acclaimed games; if that. It was virtually unheard of to walk by a wall of games at your local gaming store or Blockbuster (-what’s a Blockbuster, Ninja?-) and see a collector’s edition or a special edition for your every day run of the mill game. Same would go for your local gaming store. Now it seems like it’s a prerequisite before a developer even launches a game.

Now with all that being said I’m well aware that there are those out there that have probably traded in their first born child for some of the truly unbelievable and rare collectors pieces of gaming memorabilia out there so in addition to the question posed by this thread topic this thread perhaps can also serve as an outlet for those out there to show off their wares for those pieces of gaming history etched into each of our minds. Things like autographed copies of games or rare pieces like the first Donkey Kong arcade cabinet are expected to “fetch a high price, stranger” (-Who let that merchant in hear, Ninja?-) so I wouldn’t put them in the same category as some of the examples I gave earlier but still I think it would be interesting to see just what pieces of gaming history people have huddled away in their “gamer caves”.

While I admire and respect all those out there who have taken the initiative to track down and purchase such elusive pieces of gaming’s past I myself never caught on to this craze. I’m sure the main reason was financial restraints but at the same time I’ve never been one to find myself seeking out old and rare retro vintage gaming memorabilia. Y’never know though. That could change in the future. After all, there are some pretty cool pieces out there. No, my gaming purchases have for the most part have primarily been with things are relatively new in terms of their release. As such my numbers may seem like “peanuts” compared to some of the figures out there I’m sure will fill this thread but still I feel it’s only necessary I give my 2 cents so to speak considering I’m the one asking the question.

The most I’ve ever spent on a game…hmmm. If we’re talking about myself personally (-who else would you be talking about, Ninja!?-) I would have to say it was around 170$USD for a single copy of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception… the base model/game. What?! $170 for Uncharted 3, Ninja? You got taken to the cleaners! You think I don’t know that? I may be a little slow (-a little, Ninja?-) but I wasn’t born yesterday.

-Dang Ninja, you should re-title this thread “what was the most you ever got ripped off.”-

Around Fall 2011 the big thing was the launch of Uncharted 3, at least for the PS3 crowd. It was the highly hyped game to the even more highly acclaimed sequel Uncharted 2 that pretty much put Naughty dog’s beloved franchise on the map and in the common vocabulary of many avid gamers. As such I was excited to get my hands on it day 1. So why then did I end up paying almost triple what it normally went for retail? Well, you see at the time I was living on an island in the Caribbean. It was a small little speck of dust on the map, one so tiny that any kind of storm had the potential to completely wipe it out; something that happened numerous times before I got there fortunately. Being such a small place they didn’t have many of the accommodations and luxuries more “advanced” places like North America or certain parts of Europe had (They didn’t even have a McDonalds just to give you an idea; funny enough they had a restaurant named MacDonalds though, no joke… cue the movie coming to America.).

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise then that their gaming selection was limited as well.

So then how did people get their games then you ask? (-Ugh, no we didn’t, Ninja. But anyway…-). The simple truth is that most people would either purchase games that were years old at ridiculous prices ($80 USD for a Xbox360 launch title like Perfect Dark Zero or Project Gotham Racing in 2011!) or do what I did, namely visit another country (in my case were I was originally from.) and buy a stack of games and bring them down. I managed to utilize this strategy for most of my time there as I wasn’t too concerned with whether or not I missed out day one when a game dropped but when Uncharted 3 was about to launch (a game I wanted day one so as not to run into issues of spoilers on the internet.) I realized I would have to figure out another method.

I searched around for quite some time until a friend tipped me off that there was a place on the island that actually pre-ordered games and delivered them day one. Great, I thought. I can play Uncharted 3 day one! I eventually went to this place, an old Blockbuster video but only in name. Remember, this was 2011. Blockbuster was pretty much dead if not a few years in the ground already but this place somehow retained the rights to the franchise fees, or so I was told. As such they pretty much ran like a Blockbuster from back in the day, complete with all the movie and game cases on display.

Being the enthusiastic ninja I am (-Umm… sure, Ninja. Whatever.-) I walked into the place and asked the lady at the front desk (technically the clerk, staff, manager, and owner all rolled in one.) if I could pre-order my copy of Naughty dogs soon to be epic, Uncharted 3.

Upon hearing my request she took out a long sheet of paper and began writing down each letter on a list I happened to glance contained a multitude of other notable name games (lot of sports ones too for some reason). She then smiled at me and asked me when it would come out. Luckily I remembered thanks to the catchy trailers Naughty Dog had put out; 11/1/11 (November 11, 2011.). This made it easy to mentally keep its launch date fresh in my mind. I figured even though everything was crude compared to what one might expect (being asked when it was coming out, no kind of computer list, etc..) it didn’t matter as long as come 11/1/11 I would get my beloved Uncharted 3.

I was feeling pretty good… until she looked at me and told me the price.

$170 USD!!!

That’s right, $170 bucks! This was the normal everyday base model/game too I might add. To say all that enthusiasm and excitement inside of me just prior to hearing that was suddenly let out of my head like the air escaping out of a balloon would be a gross understatement (-Perfect analogy, Ninja. After all, you are an air-head.-).

“$170 dollars?!” I said out loud in disbelief as a multitude of reasons and subsequent objections raced to the center of my head. Before I could utter another word her eyes greeted mine and she said “That’s the price of living on an island.”

I should make mention that that phrase was a common one on that island. Every time I would go to pay the electric bill (they didn’t do it electronically so I had to physically go there every month.) I would more often than not hear someone complaining about their bill being $1,000 for electricity alone (This is USD I might add.). Sometimes people would complain in the grocery store over things like the price of milk (almost 8$ for a 4L jug.) or at restaurants for the absurd price of an appetizer. Like some kind of sick joke it was almost an assured thing that there would be someone there, just waiting to say that unforgettable phrase, the same one ringing in my ears at that moment…

“That’s the price of living on an island.”

Seeing as how this would more than likely be the one and only time I engaged in this merciless ritual I reluctantly agreed. I asked her if the price was so high due to the shipping costs and she quite honestly said the reason was due to the simple fact that it was she herself that would hop on a plane, go to the mainland (America.), purchase all the games on her list, hop on another plane, and head back. In a sense she was the buyer, the shipper, the… well everything. She would compile a huge list of pretty much anyone on the island who wanted a new or relatively new game and when she had enough business to covers her costs as well as make it worth her time financially speaking she would jump on a plane to Miami for the day, fill up a few suit cases worth of games and head back. Like I said before, that system is essentially what I utilized myself but the issue of playing a game day one when it launched threw a monkey wrench in that plan of attack for the common islander.

As I mentioned before (-So why are you repeating yourself, Ninja!?-) I reluctantly accepted the price and payed a small fee/down payment (around $10.).

Yeah, I got hustled. Yeah, I felt gouged. But what other option was there at the time? None. Not unless I wanted to wait almost 3 months or so after Uncharted 3 dropped. Figuring this would be the first and last time I let it slide but on a positive note I did manage to get the game 2 days before its release date (No idea how that worked out, but hey I wasn’t complaining.).

So yeah, I was the envy of all my friends back home in North America and Europe when they saw that Uncharted 3 logo pop up under my PSN name 2 days before they could get their hands on it. Yeeeaaahhhh…. don’t think they would be too envious if they knew just how much of a difference in price I paid though.

:/

Shhh… they don’t need to know.

So Gamespot community, what’s the most you’ve ever paid for a game?

-TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS NINJA APPROVED-

Thanks. Helped a bit but there's only so much you can get across in 5 minutes. I checked out another video after that was a more in depth retelling (about 40 minutes.) and even though it did a fairly good job it was still hard figuring out who was who and what certain individual's motivations/reasons for doing things were. It was also hard trying to keep up with all the strange sounding names everyone has, lol. Guess I had to have played it, right?

;)

I noticed when I started the game it asked if I wanted to have pre-selected events from the previous games or not so I chose the former. Hopefully this makes the game a little easier on someone like myself who is venturing into this world for the first time.

-INFO OVERLOAD NINJA APPROVED-

Unfortunately I probably won't have that opportunity. Would watching one of those "Here's what happened in the Witcher 1 & 2" Youtube videos suffice or would it just generate more questions before my Witcher 3 playthrough?

-MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS? NINJA APPROVED-

What game does everyone keep telling you “you absolutely must play”?

“You haven’t played it yet?”

“It’s only the best game ever made.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

With possibly the exception of that last one (I hear that one all the time :/ ) all these phrases and more are not uncommon to the ears of one who plays videogames regularly. It’s not surprising really (The other part, well… I guess both parts :/. ). It seems to be more of a psychological trait imbedded into each of us that when one experiences something gratifying or that impresses them they want others to share in their own wonderment. In a way it is almost as if they get a sense of satisfaction in being the ones who recommended it.

The gaming world is no different in that respect. Not only are recommendations like these commonplace from friends and peers but you have an added layer of influence from the gaming media at large, one that prides itself on telling gamers what “they should be looking into” in the form of review scores and lengthy write-ups. Scenarios like these can have an even greater impact when awards for particular games are given out or big titles like GOTY scrawled on the boxes of games emerge.

With that said there has been one game that I have consistently avoided since its release despite hearing how amazing it is in addition to the aforementioned cliché’ comments that usually comprise of one’s disbelieve upon hearing my voluntary exclusion of said game (What the hell did we just read, Ninja? English… ENGLISH!!!). That game is none other than… okay, are you ready for this?

The Witcher 3! (Du du duuuummmm!)

-Wait… what?! But how, Ninja? It’s only like the best game ever made!-

That’s right. A game that has been talked about to death ad nauseam by almost every person on every gaming board, forum, website and one that has been repeatedly toted as one of the finest examples of gaming in the modern era by every credible gaming journalist, “youtuber”, and reviewer/industry critic has not even remotely been on my radar… until now (better late than never, right?). How is that even possible you may ask (-Uh, no we really weren’t asking Ninja, but…-)

Like everything in life it’s not just one thing but a conglomeration of many pieces assembled together (-rubs eyes- “can never be simple with you, huh Ninja?”).

1: Preference:

Probably the biggest factor into whether one will even look into something. I have never been a huge fan of the, not sure what it is technically called, mythical/fantasy genre (?). While I certainly respect and admire what certain forms of entertainment have achieved, like LOTR, I find myself never being fully engaged in that setting or the usual clichés associated with those narratives across all forms of mediums (Surprisingly the anime/manga Berserk is the only one that seems to captivate my interest for more than 2 seconds. I have no idea why this is.).

2: Recommendations or lack thereof:

A good friend of mine (Friend, Ninja? Now we know you’re lying.), whose opinion I actually respect immensely when it comes to games, and is usually dead on about most things in the gaming world, told me that the game was completely overhyped. One of his biggest complaints was the “terrible” and “sloppy” mechanics that comprised of the gameplay portion of the game. He gave it a fair chance too I might add, even going so far as to try to replay the game on 3 separate occasions at different points in the year. Needless to say he didn’t progress far. In his own words “I really wanted to like it, I did. But I just couldn’t get into it.” No doubt his persistence to keep trying was, similar to myself, due to all the buzz he had heard about this game from every corner of the earth but his reluctance to keep moving forward was impacted greatly by bad gameplay mechanics.

3: Game genre:

From what I understand, and everything I’ve heard and read, this is an open world/RPG type of game (please correct me if I am wrong.).

Once again the genre of game someone likes/dislikes is almost completely personal and from what I know about my gaming experience in the past I know I don’t jive too well with these types of games. I find that open world games, while providing the gamer with a bevy of resources, distractions, and extraneous things to do can more often than not inhibit the flow and main focus of the narrative as it pertains to characterization and other storytelling elements. C’mon, how many times have we played one of these games only to find ourselves in a time sensitive situation as it relates to the main plot but then go off a do some mindless side-quest that has nothing to do with the main goal of the game (ex: Character X is being held hostage at such and such location and villain Z is going to kill them unless you get there. “Guess I better hurry... right after I go herd some sheep, collect all pieces of trinket F in town D, and help a frail old granny find her lost pet.”).

Even though those moments are mostly choice driven it can be sometimes too enticing to pass up when the option to engage in them suddenly pops up on the map. For people like myself who have the attention span of a goat… whoa, a butterfly…. something like this can easily disrupt the overall flow, pace, and atmosphere of a game.

Then there are open world games that “force” these side quests on you, locking the main story/path until a certain amount of these extraneous missions have been completed even though (once again.) their significance has no bearing on the overall main focus of the story. Yeah, don’t even get me started on those. Once again, I feel it is necessary to stress that this is not how all open world games operate but I think it’s more than fair to say that more abide by this blueprint than not.

4: 3rd entry in a series:

This one is personally one of those interesting quirks that we all have in some capacity or another. It may seem like a rather odd pet peeve (like reading your comments, Ninja?) but this one ranks big on my list as it pertains to whether I engage in a game or not. It’s probably one of, if not, THE biggest reason as to why I didn’t immediately jump to playing this game earlier.

If a game is highly praised and I do have more than a moderate amount of interest in it than something as “trivial” as it not being the first game in a series or a numbered entry after ones I have missed can totally put me off; within reason of course (I’m not going to suddenly swear off a new Super Mario game for example because perhaps I missed the first game; which I didn’t for the record!).

Which begs the question… will I be completely lost and hung out to dry for the Witcher 3 having no previous experience/knowledge about any of the other prior games let alone the lore? I’ve heard from some that even those who have played all 3 games are still lost to the characters and setting due to the first game not starting at the origin of the series (I’ve heard there were books before the games.).

With all of that in mind, at this very moment I hold a copy of this highly acclaimed game in the palm of my hand right now (That’s right, I typed all this out with one hand. It’s clear I’m crazy as hell so just trust me when I say I’m not making this up.) – But then how can we trust you, Ninja? And how does typing with one hand make someone crazy?-

Touche’!

Part of the reason why was due to curiosity finally getting the better of me; everyone saying it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (no joke, sliced bread is good. Very convenient.). Finally, and more than likely the culprit that made me pull the trigger, was that I purchased the Complete Edition with all the extra DLC for a whopping $30. I figured you can’t beat that price, might as well take a chance.

Listen, there’s always going to be tons of games that we miss for whatever reason, whether they be due to financial constraints, hardware limitations, a general lack of interest, or heck even something as trivial as our own stubbornness (Ex: “I refuse to play game X cause everyone else says it’s the best. What do they know.”). But still, the question still stands…

What game does everyone keep telling you “you absolutely must play”?

I understand that this kind of a conversation has the potential to get quite heated so hopefully we can keep things civil.

P.S: I genuinely hope I enjoy the Witcher 3.

-WITCHER 3 BOUND NINJA APPROVED-

In terms of ranking them from most (1) to least (6) liked...

1: Sony. (Could have flipped a coin with Nintendo; felt both had equal strengths and weaknesses.)

2: Nintendo

3: Bethesda

4: Microsoft

5: Ubisoft

6: EA

Definitely one of the weaker E3 showings.

-RANK 'EM NINJA APPROVED-

@Desmonic: Sorry about that, lol.

-RIGHT BOARD NOW NINJA APPROVED-