2017 will go down as one of gaming's best years.

Just like any media, sometimes gaming has good years and bad years. Like 2014. That was eh right through, with tons of AAA disappointments like Destiny and Watch Dogs. But 2017 though.

2017 has barely reached 1/4 of the way done, and we've already received or can expect:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Hugely positive previews)
• Nioh (87 MC)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn (88 MC)
• Halo Wars 2 (79 MC)
• Resident Evil 7 (86 MC)
• Yakuza 0 (84 MC)
• Tales of Berseria (79 MC)
• For Honor (78 MC and Ubisoft not gargling balls for once)
• Mass Effect Andromeda (@TheEroica's wet dream)
• Persona 5 (@charizard1605's wettest dream)
• NeiR: Automata
• Yoshi and Poochy's Wooly World (78 MC)
• Gravity Rush 2 (81 MC)
• Yooka-Laylee

This, plus a major hardware launch that has a lot of people very excited. 2017 has already been tremendous. Just yuge. We haven't even seen the later half of the year yet, but of course we can look forward to the heavy hitters like Call of Duty, returns like Marvel VS Capcom Infinite.

Of course, the question is will it stand beside some other great years like 2007? The two years seem pretty similar. 2007 saw the introduction of some of the largest franchises in the industry today such as Assassin's Creed, BioShock, CoD4 and Portal, while still supplying great sequels like Halo 3, and God of War 2.

Some other noteworthy years:

• 1998 (Pokemon Red/Blue, Zelda OoT, StarCraft, MGS, Half Life, Fallout 2)
• 1996 (Mario 64, Resident Evil, Crash Bandicoot, Tekken 2, DKC3, Diablo)
• 1994 (Super Metroid, Sonic 3, Doom 2, Final Fantasy VI, Killer Instinct)
• 2011 (Batman Arkham City, Skyrim, Dark Souls, Rayman Origins, InFamous 2)

Has your 2017 already been too packed to deal with, SW? or are you somehow underwhelmed. Discuss I guess.

Don't forget 2005 as a GOAT year, too.

2017 so far looks to be fucking nuts. I'm not complaining, but it will take me a long time to be able to play through everything of note that releases this year.

2011 is so overrated on this forum. It had like 2 actual great games.

2016 better

Are you ever not shit

@charizard1605: 2017 is almost char's wettest dream: P5 is still on PS4/PS3 and not a Switch game. But there's still time/hope.

@Basinboy: I don't even necessarily need it on Switch, I just need it on a portable. Any portable.

No it won't.

@Blabadon: 2016 was decent. DOOM, Uncharted 4, Dark souls 3. All great.

@uninspiredcup:sure it will

Definitely a contender for best gaming year ever. In order to clinch it though, both Shenmue 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 need to stay on track for 2017.

Currently my personal favorite year in gaming is 2009 as both Uncharted 2 and Resident Evil 5 released. I hold both of them as two of the best games from last gen. Glad to have added them to my PS4 collection.

1994 is my favorite year ever, but basically anything from 1991-2004, I think was excellent, and 2006, '10, and '11 were memorable too.

This year is stacked though: Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Nioh, Zelda, Sonic Mania, Yakuza Kiwami, Mass Effect 4, Nier, Quake Champions, etc.

Torment: Tides of Numenera comes out in a few days and I'm really excited for it. Then we have Mass Effect in March and Persona 5 in April. It's shaping up to be a great year, even if some expected releases like Original Sin 2 slip into 2018.

However, 2014 not only wasn't a bad year, it was an amazing year: Shadowrun Dragonfall, Divinity Original Sin, Dark Souls 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Broken Age and that's including only games I've played.

Doom

Hitman

Uncharted 4

Dark Souls 3

Ratchet and Clank

Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human

Deus Ex

The Last Guardian

Overwatch

Titanfall 2

SuperHot

Could go on.

It is looking pretty good for sure, but TBH Mass Effect is going to dominate my playtime this year.

2007 was also a great year halo 3, orange box, rock band, mario galaxy, bioshock, CoD4 MW, Mass Effect, god of war 2

Definitely an awesome year ahead... for me - Mass Effect, RDR 2, Forza 7, Prey, Yooka-Laylee, Tacoma, Crackdown 3 (hopefully), Agents of Mayhem, RIME etc are the standouts. Plus more I don't know about I'm sure.

Plus Scorpio of course.

Yeah, for sure. 2016 was really good too. I didn't say otherwise. There was also Zero Time Dilemma, FF15, and Odin Sphere off the top of my head.

@Blabadon: Yet none of them are game changers.

1994, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2015 had game changers.

Overwatch isn't a game changer?

lol, ok

@darkspineslayer: You forgot 2000.....Baldur's Gate II, Majora's Mask, FFIX, The Sims, Deus Ex, Thief II, Banjo Tooie.

Isn't Overwatch a direct product (like many) of Team Fortress 2?

The difference seems to be the gaming media (console users) didn't jump on Team Fortress 2. Now some paid critics are claiming Overwatch was innovative in using "Street Fighter" characters in an FPS.

Very disgusting.

@texasgoldrush: man **** off, you have god awful taste in everything. I bet you an ass guy.

It looks like it's going to be an amazing year for gamers. From your list I have already bought RE7, preordered Horizon Zero Dawn and Mass Effect Andromeda all absolutely 'must have' titles, also Nier I'm keeping an eye on waiting for reviews, Torment will be day one if reviews are good, Persona 5 day one and also Prey which you haven't mentioned which I think will be an amazing game from a really talented developer.

This brings me up to May lol, and whatever else is still to come for the rest of the year which will include Detroit, Divinity 2, another COD (I like COD, bring the hate I don't care), Final Fantasy XII remaster which I've wanted for the longest time, Ni No Kuni 2 is that coming this year? A new Dragon Quest main entry as well.

There's going to be more great games this year than we'll have time to play. Excellent.

Because its basically Team Fortress 2 with more character types.

Game changers don't do something new anymore, they shift paradigms. Nothing The Witcher 3 did was new. Nothing Dark Souls did was new. nothing Skyrim did was new. Nothing Modern Warfare did was new. All these games did was make what had already existed more palatable to the masses, and cause a shift in paradigms as a result. Overwatch is absolutely a game changer.

This would make a good case for 2016 as the most disappointing year rather than as a good one.

I'm still happy that it concluded at all. But it wasn't all it could have been.

No it isn't. Overwatch basically is Team Fortress. There is no denying this.

The Witcher 3 is the first game to actually blend in Bioware's cinematic style RPG style (which TW1 and TW2 fall into) and Bethesda style open world game design. It also set the bar in how to handle side quests to where other RPG companies now have to take notice. It is a game changer and so was Rocket League and Life is Strange last year.

Life Is Strange is a game changer but Overwatch is not.

We have reached that point which we always do every time I decide to engage you in conversation where I laugh hysterically and check out. Feel free to say whatever else you wish to say now.

No it's not, jesus, play literally either game.

And when was the last time we got a TF game as it is?

@charizard1605: Because it is the first to actually blend different types of adventure games into one package and was one of the first games to address real life issues directly and sell like a near AAA game.

For its genre, it definitely is a game changer.

Overwatch is not overall....the only thing that really stands out as new is the diverse character design. Other than that, it plays like a Team Fortress game. It doesn't do much new.

man, you just shot the goal posts to another planet, get off this train before it goes more south.

Then name me one game that not only addressed real issues directly (not just through fantasy), but sold very well.

The thing is that 2016 is a weaker year of gaming, and sales do show this. It was a down year.

Witcher 3 the Bioware killer is a HUGE lol for me. It had excellent side quests, great graphics, AWFUL combat, a terrible main plot that felt like they got bored with it as soon as they started it but felt compelled to finish it, a world that's completely empty no lore nothing interesting in the wilderness you were pointed at all the really good sidequests along the way.

Pointless loot, two fucking swords as your massive choice of weapons in combat, a couple of signs to mess around with that passed as options for character development, level progression that they didn't give a second's thought too so you could outlevel the entire game just by playing content in the first continent.

Witcher 3 changed literally nothing there is zero to learn from it. You could even argue that the excellent side quests... yeah that's great so why was your main quest so shit? They have a bit of game changing to do for themselves before their next game. They could start by playing the fucking thing before release, IMO, of course.

Console gamers consoling :P

Civ VI

XCOM2

Stellaris

Total War Warhammer

Darkest Dungeon

Planet Coaster

Tyranny

Sure I'm forgetting loads off the top of my head plus the launch of VR

Not including some cracking DLC for a mound of games

2016 was bonkers and smashes 2017's list.

I'm done with Civ, it's becoming the AC of strategy games, same shit, different day :)

XCOM 2 is probably the best game I've played in the last five years. I thought I would hate the turns timer but it never bothered me. They need to announce XCOM 3 I don't care how long it takes to make they can have my money now.

@blueinheaven: The main quest was great, better than most RPGs. Many of the standout TW3 quests come from the main quest including the bloody baron, and you have side quests that impact the main quest. The main plot is good as well, revolving around Geralt reuniting with Ciri. TW3 is tops when it comes to main quests as well. The overall plot does bog down at points, but overall it is good.

The two swords aspect comes straight from its source material as is his sign usage. So playing a more limited character works here. He has a specific fighting style. And alchemy gives you a lot more options than any other build and rivals most RPGs skill trees.

Bioware was "killed'. They mentioned for MEA, they were looking at TW3, which proves my point as TW3 being a game changer.

This year is going to be sick, I actually have to pick and choose what games I want to play this year since there's so many great ones. Persona 5, Zelda, Yooka-Laylee, Xenoblade 2, and Mario Odyssey are just a few of the games that pique my interest.

The main quest was just awful. He's chasing Ciri round the place, who apart from you gives a shit? **** the source material I'm playing a videogame. If I have to read a series of books to be happy being stuck with two swords for the ENTIRE game I will feel shortchanged, to say the very least.

Bioware specifically mentioned side quests which is the one thing apart from aesthetics that W3 excelled in. They realised side quests should be more important, that's good. They should have returned the favour by explaining to CDPR that the MAIN quest should be something more than a complete snoozefest, bit of give and take.

@blueinheaven: The main quest of TW3 is also well regarded, for example, the Bloody Baron section won a Golden Joystick for best moment of the year. Outside of his final quest, he is main plot. And who cares about Ciri? Not only all of Geralt's friends, but the main bad guy......It seems you have not paid attention to the story at all.

But it would not be a Witcher game without those two swords, get over it.

And TW3's main quest is miles above ME1, ME2, and all DA game's main quests. So CDPR doesn't really have to learn from Bioware in that area.

I think it could very well be an amazing year.

- Zelda BotW

- Mass Effect Andromeda

- Xenoblade 2

- Red Dead Redemption 2

- Marvel vs Capcom Infinity

- Forza 7

- the Switch

- Scorpio

Yeah this year looks great!

BoW

Ghost Recon Wildlands

Mass Effect Andromeda

Red Dead Redemption 2

Crackdown 3(if it releases this year)

Sea of Thieves

Mario Odyssey

Splatoon 2

These are all the ones I am going to buy, and plus all the PS4 exclusives which I don't know much about.

2016 was definitely the best year for multiplayer shooters.

Zelda

Mario

RDR2

Splatoon 2

Mass Effect

Xenoblade 2

Crackdown

Cuphead

Below

Marvel v Capcom

Injustice 2

Sea of Thieves

Switch

Scorpio

Along with what's been released thus far...yeah 2017 will be up there with 1998

And PS4 is packing the stable of the already barn bursting amount of world class, high scoring excluvies already available, it's lunacy that SONY is giving us this many true exclusives and its only February.

You guys are arguing if 2016 or 2017 is better and I'm still working on my dam backlog from 2015.

Champ is our lord and savior, ergo not shit. But Mems apologizing for 2011 is all the proof anyone needs yah gas up a totally aight year at best.

Great beginning of the year for sure. But if ME:A doesn't deliver, the year is gonna be ruined.

@jg4xchamp: tell me more gamer Jesus