Editorial: Reflections on 2016 video game reviews

Published December 15, 2016

The views contained in this article are that of the author and should not be taken as the opinion of Geek Node as a publication.

2016 has been a great year for us at Geek Node. We attracted an enviable group of writers, adding more genres, entertainment streams and general geekiness to the brand, curated a growing fanbase of passionate readers, eager to engage with our content, strengthened relationships with our partners and crystallised a writing ethos that empowered and encouraged our team to be fair, candid and thoughtful.

Modern games are equally blessed and cursed with post-release support. While it’s easy to argue that games like Super Mario 64 were polished before a single consumer held that sweet grey cartridge in their hands, games like UFC benefit from robust player feedback and recent patches have gone a long way in addressing legitimate concerns – breathing new life into a finished product. What follows below are reflections on a few games I reviewed (Click here for my latest review, Super Mario Maker for the 3DS).

I kicked off the year with the highly underrated Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 . While it won’t get a nod alongside heavyweights like Overwatch and Gears of War, I periodically return to it every two months to level up my characters and try to reclaim Zomburbia. Post-game support has been consistent (with the latest update coming in this week) and generous, with new characters, maps and modes. It may not be a sleeper hit in the way that Sleeping Dogs was, but it remains a solid game that will be worth picking up if you can find it cheap (copies are rarer than getting a platinum trophy in Super Meat Boy).

My highest-rated game for 2016 (strictly in terms of what I reviewed for Geek Node) was Ratchet and Clank . The game was a joy to play and hours would evaporate as I put on my completionist hat on and try to get every bolt, pick up every achievement and attempt to build the Ryno. Post-release support includes upgraded visuals and tweaks and balances to the unforgiving hoverboard races. I uninstalled it from my PS4 about five months ago, and I doubt i’ll play it again, but I did wring every drop of gameplay in my two playthroughs so I have no regrets with the score given.

I fanboyed a little less for Uncharted 4 . Even though the hype was real for 2016’s highest-profile title, and I was really excited to play it, I do think it was a victim of its own success. Beyond the amazing graphics and likeable characters, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was more of a spectator than in other games. I said “Story-telling is king for Uncharted, and this often means that autonomous control (or the traditional act of ‘play’) is diluted.” I still believe that to be true. The new ‘Survival’ update is out today, just in time for the holiday season, and while I will probably give it a skip (I uninstalled the game soon after finishing it) it is a title every PS4 gamer should play.

In closing I’d like to thank NiteFenix for all the hard work he has put into the website, I am very proud to write for Geek Node, Shout-out to my fellow writers and a huge thanks to everyone who read my articles. I truly appreciate the support. Catch you in the new year.

Click here to read all my Geek Node articles

MJ (@concerningmj)

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MJ Khan

Gaming / Entertainment Author at Geek Node

A veteran gamer and award-winning strategist, MJ enjoys eating chocolate eclairs and watching WWE. He completed his Masters coursework on videogame theory and enjoys writing about representation in games.