We’re at that point of the year a gain where three months ago, it was like March and now it’s 7 weeks until 2018! Like seriously where did this year go? I for one haven’t ticked everything off the list of things I wanted to do in 2017 but one thing I have done is put in some quality time on the old PlayStation4 (A massive thankyou to the incredible and amazing Renee <3) and I tell you something, what a bloody good year it has been.
You could call it the “Golden Age of Gaming” as 2017, has arguably been the greatest year for gamers everywhere! But more on that later.
There’s been some years of good to great gaming, some years of not much really happening in the gaming industry, but consider some of the previous years that have shaped the gaming landscape and how it set us as gamers up for modern day success.
So, let me take you on a little journey through time to have a look at how we got here.
According to Wikipedia, “the golden age of arcade video games was the era of greatest popularity and technological innovation for arcade video games. The exact time period is disputed, but key moments include the release of Space Invaders in 1978 and the introduction of vector display technology in 1979”. Personally, I wasn’t around in that era. My very first game console as a kid was something called the Vetrex, google it. By no means was it ground breaking but it was the spark that ignited a 25 year plus love of gaming.
Fast forward some 20 years and cast your mind back to 1998. The gaming world had left the arcades and found its place in our homes. I was a fresh faced, awkward 14-year-old trying to figure out what games deserved the precious space on the original PlayStation memory card. The gaming line up back then was massive with some hall of fame games released over the year. How’s this for a list of releases? Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Starcraft, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Resident Evil 2, Fallout 2, Baldur’s Gate, Grim Fandango, Pokemon Red/Blue, Xenogears, Suikoden 2, Marvel vs Capcom, Final Fantasy Tactics, Unreal, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Mega Man Legends, Oddworld Abe’s Exoddus and Spyro the Dragon. Some of my fondest gaming memories have come from that list, it really was a spectacular year for gamers everywhere.
It took a fair while for another year of major game releases but 2004 started to bring back the goods. It was more quality over quantity but still holds its own against other years. Half life 2, World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Doom3, Fable, Halo 2, Metal gear 3, Jak 3, Ninja Gaiden, Far Cry, Star Wars – Knights of the Republic 2, Need for Speed Underground 2 and Unreal Tournament
2007 and 2008 had some influential titles. Over that 24-month period we were blessed with beauties such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Assassins Creed, Halo 3, The Witcher, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros, Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto 4.
The previous 6 years going back to 2011 were the years where gamers were probably thinking to themselves how good have we got it? (Insert year here) has been the best year of games ever!!!
- 2011 Game of The Year candidates – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Portal 2 and Uncharted 3.
- 2012 Game of The Year candidates – Mass Effect 3, Journey, Far Cry 3 and Dishonored.
- 2013 Game of The Year candidates – Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite.
- 2014 Game of The Year candidates – Dragon Age: Inquisition, Hearthstone, Mario Kart 8 and Destiny
- 2015 Game of The Year candidates – Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid 5, Halo 5 and Mario Maker
- 2016 Game of The Year candidates – Overwatch, Uncharted 4, Final Fantasy 15, Dark Souls 3, Persona 5, Xcom 2, Farcry Primal, Pokemon Go, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Civilization 6, Street Fighter 5 and The Last Guardian. (We also got the ground-breaking NES Mini)
See what I mean about “20xx is the best year of gaming ever”? Well guess what? They haven’t got a thing when talking about this year in games…….
Now as I was saying earlier 2017 has hands down been the best year of gaming ever!!! And how the major gaming websites or magazines choose what this year’s Game of The Year have one hell of a job in front of them! But as gamers the biggest job we’ve had is choosing what game to play because let’s be honest we just bloody love gaming! And how could we not with releases like this:
- Zelda – Breath of The Wild
- Mario Odyssey
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Assassins Creed: Origins
- Middle Earth: Shadow of War
- Cuphead
- Destiny 2
- Wolfenstein 2
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands
- Nioh
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Persona 5
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole
- For Honour
- Injustice 2
- Tekken 7
- Call of Duty: World War II
- U.B.G
- Fortnite
- Gran Turismo Sport
- Forza 7
- Little Nightmares
- Nier: Automata
- Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Sonic Forces
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Prey
- Okami HD
- The Evil Within 2
Oh, and there was a little thing called the SNES Mini just for good measure.
And you know what the scary thing about this Golden Age? 2018 and beyond, has the potential to be even better than 2017 with titles like Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us Part 2, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Spiderman, Anthem, Far Cry 5, Shadow of The Colossus, Days Gone, A Way Out, Kirby, Yoshi, System Shock, Psychonauts 2, Sea of Thieves, State of Decay2, Monster Hunter World, Crackdown 3, Code Vein, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Detroit: Become Human, Vampr, Shenmue 3, The Last Night and Death Stranding all in the pipeline.
So, what’s been your favourite game released so far in 2017? And what title in the future are you super hyped for?
The Golden Age, how good have we got it?
