{"id":16634,"date":"2017-07-07T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T00:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=16634"},"modified":"2017-06-30T05:58:45","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T05:58:45","slug":"carys-best-games-of-2017-so-far-awards-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/07\/carys-best-games-of-2017-so-far-awards-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Cary’s Best Games of 2017 SO FAR Awards Show!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Can you believe this year is already half over?\u00a0 What I like to do this time of year is write about the best games of the year so far.\u00a0 Everyone is all excited over recent E3 announcements, and most of the really good titles come out during the Christmas season at the tail end of the year, and the games that come out earlier tend to be forgotten.\u00a0 So this is where those games get their due.\u00a0 Keep in mind that no outside opinions went into the making of this list.\u00a0 It\u2019s just my own picks.\u00a0 And if a game is missing from my list, it either didn\u2019t appeal to me as much, or I just simply haven\u2019t played it yet.\u00a0 Can\u2019t play all the games out there, you know!\u00a0 Luckily I have to say that this year we\u2019ve already gotten way better games than we did at this point last year, so that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 Anyway, without further ado, welcome to Cary\u2019s Best Games of 2017 SO FAR Awards Show!<\/p>\n

BEST 3-D ADVENTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

LEGO City: Undercover (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It seems that we\u2019ve had a resurgence of 3-D platforming adventures this year.\u00a0 And actually, LEGO City: Undercover isn\u2019t the best 3-D adventure this year, but that game is getting an even bigger award at the end, so you\u2019ll just have to wait and see what that is.\u00a0 But LEGO City: Undercover is still one of the better LEGO games I\u2019ve played.\u00a0 Technically it\u2019s been out for a while on the Wii U, but now that that system is dead, they\u2019ve released it on all the current consoles this year, and I played it on the PS4, so it goes on the list.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a family-friendly LEGO filled GTA title, and it\u2019s a lot of fun.\u00a0 I liked it so much I bought the 3DS prequel.<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

LEGO Worlds (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A lot of people say it\u2019s LEGO Minecraft, but I think it plays more like the Toy Box from Disney Infinity.\u00a0 But it\u2019s still a pretty creative little game and nice to see a LEGO property that\u2019s based on the toys and not a movie parody.\u00a0 I should also give props to the LEGO Dimensions packs I\u2019ve been reviewing because they\u2019re what\u2019s keeping me from unplugging my Wii U and putting it away.<\/p>\n

RIME (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This neat little 3-D puzzle platformer is similar to games like Ico and The Last Guardian, with Zelda-like dungeon puzzles.\u00a0 It also has one of the saddest endings in a video game that I\u2019ve ever played!\u00a0 Make sure you have a tissue handy before beating it!<\/p>\n

Yooka-Laylee (PS4)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It certainly isn\u2019t perfect, as it has some control, camera, and level design issues, but Yooka-Laylee is still a nice tribute to the Banjo-Kazooie games.<\/p>\n

WEIRDEST GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

1, 2 Switch (Switch)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just a mini-game collection and it should\u2019ve been a pack-in game with the Switch in the first place.\u00a0 But it\u2019s how they presented it and some of the things you must do that make it really weird.\u00a0 Like holding the controller near your mouth and moving your mouth up and down to eat a bunch of sandwiches, or rocking the Switch screen to put a baby to sleep!<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop (3DS)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Cooking Mama games have been around for a while, but I still say they\u2019re weird.\u00a0 I mean, a cooking game?\u00a0 Come on.<\/p>\n

GNOG (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This game is so weird that I don\u2019t think I could describe it well in my review.\u00a0 It\u2019s a puzzle game where you must push buttons and switches and levers in a particular order in little lunchbox like toy things that look like those baby activity centers you hook on the side of a crib.\u00a0 And it was published by Double Fine, too.<\/p>\n

BEST RPG<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am Setsuna (Switch)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Technically this came out last year on the PS4, but it came out this year on the Switch, and that\u2019s where I played it, so it goes on the list.\u00a0 It plays a LOT like Chrono Trigger in how you view the world map and battles.\u00a0 So much so that if they made a few tweaks to the story and characters here and there, it could almost be a Chrono Trigger side story.\u00a0 But because the game has classic RPG sensibilities, it held my interest all the way though, so that\u2019s why it wins this award.<\/p>\n

Runner Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stardew Valley (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if you\u2019d call a farming sim an RPG, but it does have RPG elements so it goes on the list.\u00a0 Again, this actually came out on PC last year, but this year it came out on consoles and that\u2019s where I reviewed it.\u00a0 It blew a lot of people away but it\u2019s really nothing different than a Harvest Moon game.\u00a0 But it is a very good copy of a Harvest Moon game, and there hasn\u2019t been one of those on a big console for some time, so it goes on the list.<\/p>\n

BEST SPORTS GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Sports Superstars (3DS)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This really wins by default since it was the only sports video game I played this year so far.\u00a0 But Mario sports games are good simple fun and I was surprised on how much I liked the horse racing parts.<\/p>\n

BEST CLASSIC REMAKE\/COLLECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Disney Afternoon Collection (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I just adored The Disney Afternoon cartoons as a kid.\u00a0 I even wrote a separate blog about them when I reviewed this one.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 For me, I have better memories playing Capcom\u2019s Disney games on the NES over Nintendo\u2019s originals.\u00a0 That\u2019s why most of the games on this collection interested me more than most of the titles on the NES Classic Edition!<\/p>\n

Runners Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wonder Boy: The Dragon\u2019s Trap (PS4)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Now THIS is how you do a remake.\u00a0 The Wonder Boy titles were popular in the 8- and 16-bit days, and even had ties with the Adventure Island series.\u00a0 But they\u2019ve kind of faded into obscurity and they\u2019re definitely not as popular in the US.\u00a0 It plays like an early \u201cMetroidvania\u201d where you can switch animal forms to bypass obstacles.\u00a0 If you enjoy the Shantae games, you\u2019ll definitely enjoy this one.\u00a0 I loved how they let you seamlessly change the graphics and sound from retro to modern.\u00a0 Best of all, supposedly later this year we\u2019re getting a TRUE Wonder Boy sequel!\u00a0 I played it at PAX South and it\u2019s awesome!<\/p>\n

Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders (iPad)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I may not talk about them as much, but I\u2019m a huge Taito fan.\u00a0 They have as much history behind them as Namco or Nintendo!\u00a0 I have a lot of respect for how Space Invaders impacted the arcade industry, and I have a lot of special memories playing Arkanoid as well.\u00a0 So I thought it was cool how they combined both games in this neat little mobile title.\u00a0 I especially loved how other Taito characters make cameos as power-ups!<\/p>\n

BEST PUZZLE GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bye Bye Box Boy (3DS)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

HAL Laboratory may be best known for Kirby and Smash Bros., but they\u2019re no slouch when it comes to puzzle games, too.\u00a0 Before Kirby, their \u2018mascot\u2019 was a little blue ball with eyes named Lolo that starred in his own series of block-pushing puzzle games.\u00a0 HAL still shows they have puzzle chops with the newest BoxBoy game.\u00a0 It\u2019s a 2-D platformer where you can create blocks that can be used as stepping stones or even a shield.<\/p>\n

There are a few games that have come out this year already that I haven\u2019t had a chance to play yet, but I do want to.\u00a0 One is another puzzle game called Puyo Puyo Tetris.\u00a0 I want to play it, but I don\u2019t want to pay full price either.\u00a0 Another one I haven\u2019t played yet is ARMS.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get it eventually, I just didn\u2019t feel I had to get it right away.\u00a0 When I do get it, I may have to make another category for \u2018BEST FIGHTING GAME.\u2019\u00a0 And finally, I haven\u2019t gotten Ever Oasis yet, but I want to since it was made by the game guy who did Secret of Mana.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t have time to play ALL the games out there, and money\u2019s a little tighter for me right now than it used to be anyway.\u00a0 But hopefully I can get these games soon and maybe even add them to the list when I do my Game of the Year blog at the end of this year!<\/p>\n

And now for my Best Game of the Year 2017 SO FAR.\u00a0 Taiko drum roll, please\u2026<\/p>\n

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR 2017 SO FAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah I know, big surprise here.\u00a0 Actually as far as Zelda games go, this one was not one of my favorites.\u00a0 I really prefer my Zelda games to have actual dungeons, and not have to worry about weapons breaking after using them a couple of times (and honestly my favorite Zelda games are the 2-D ones).\u00a0 And really, this wasn\u2019t even a Zelda game at all.\u00a0 Sure it had Zelda elements, but it was really another game entirely, cleverly disguised as a Zelda game.\u00a0 But I do appreciate it for trying to be different, and it still held my interest for the 60 or so hours I put into it.\u00a0 So it goes on my list.\u00a0 Can you guess my favorite character?<\/p>\n

So will Breath of the Wild keep the top spot for when I do my Game of the Year blog at the end of the year?\u00a0 Well, as good as the game is, it also easily has the potential to be overthrown by something else.\u00a0 Splatoon was my Game of the Year back in 2015, and I may like the sequel a lot as well.\u00a0 And while I would hate to give the award to a Mario game over a Zelda one, man that Mario Odyssey game looks SO GOOD!\u00a0 We\u2019ll just have to see I guess.\u00a0 One thing\u2019s for sure, there are still lots of games to look forward to by the end of the year, and that\u2019s always a good thing!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can you believe this year is already half over?\u00a0 What I like to do this time of year is write about the best games of the year so far.\u00a0 Everyone is all excited over recent E3 announcements, and most of the really good titles come out during the Christmas season at the tail end of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16634"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16636,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16634\/revisions\/16636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}