The 2016 Player 2 Video Game Draft – Half Time Report

The Player 2 Video Game Draft has been bubbling along nicely with wins and losses coming to all those involved. We thought we would take a look at how each of the competitors is faring at the mid-season point and get their thoughts on their chances of taking the competition out in the inaugural year.

The 2016 Player 2 Video Game Draft – Half Time Report

Paul James

Put a fork in me – because I’m cooked. It’s shattering to even contemplate this, but I’m well on track to having the two best-reviewed games of the year and yet will still lose. Uncharted starred, as did Overwatch, and Dark Souls III performed exactly as I expected it would, but what I didn’t count on were delays to both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Wild, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. Both games were on track for this year, and while I could cover one loss with Gears 4 as a wildcard, I can’t possibly cover them both. So sadly I don’t foresee any scenario that would get me a win here. In short… curse you Zelda and Horizon!!

Sarah Ellen

I feel that there are a few lessons that all of us should take from this experience so far. For one, the ability to accurately chart a year’s worth of video game releases is more complex than ever, with various reasons for delays hidden within the blanket haze of “we’re doing it to make it a better game”. Most of the participants have had at least one game delayed into late 2016 or 2017, and the bigger test will be if those delays actually produce better results in the long run. Why this could almost be a longitudinal study if we were really committed.

Second, it personally humbles me to be in the presence of a community of writers who really have their finger on the pulse of good game releases. Only two of us have had a game that dips under a 70% merit score, and that is in the context of some of the harshest criticism that games can have these days – social media. The contributors and critical friends of the team at Player2.net.au are people who recognise quality, and in this contest, my literary colleagues have also given our readers a very valuable sweep of top releases for 2016, and highly anticipated games for early 2017. I am absolutely honoured to continue contributing and collaborating with these fine folk and know that I am learning a lot more about quality games in the process.

Now, what was number three … Oh yeah. Number three….

GODDAMMIT NINTENDO WHAT WAS THAT WITH STARFOX WHY DID I TRUST YOU LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO METROID OH MY GAWD WHAT WAS I ON THAT DAY?!

James Swinbanks

It’s the halfway point of this year’s draft, and if I’m being honest, things are looking alright in my neck of the woods. We took a little bit of a hit with the news that Crackdown 3 was being pushed back to 2017, which is not only disappointing in terms of my draft score, but I really want to get my hands on that game. I need some more orbs in my life.

This leaves No Mans Sky as my remaining main pick for the year, though I also have my Fifa 17 wildcard in case things go awry. All my other picks have been very solid, with The Division (80), Superhot (83) and Firewatch (81) all picking up above average Metacritic ratings. Meanwhile, a few of the others have had more than one pick drop off the radar. Forgive me if I seem like I’m just sitting here, tapping my fingers in abject delight as my compadres watch their delicate houses of cards tumble, one after the other.

And they say you should never delight in the suffering of friends. Ha!

Matt Hewson

Well, I am sitting towards the back of the pack at the moment but I am still quietly confident of winning this thing. Sure Mirror’s edge didn’t go that well with the critics but my other scores are all fairly solid so far. My advantage is the two aces I have up my sleeve. Those aces are Mafia 3 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Mafia 3 is looking more and more like a GOTY contender so it should score really well (barring an almighty disaster). Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is also certain to be a winner so that is a sure boost to my overall score. An added bonus of having NBA 2k17 as my backup is also a massive boost. The NBA 2k series always reviews well and I expect this year to be no different. That should take out the bad score of Mirror’s Edge and set me up for the win! This competition is still mine, James look out!

Adam Rorke

Have you ever looked back over a short period of your life with deep regret? Because I sure as hell have. How could I have gotten so many wrong picks here, Street Fighter V I can live with, Far Cry wasn’t a big surprise but you want to know what has really sunk me? Mighty – Number – Bloody – 9! Seriously who saw that stinker coming? Well this guy, that’s who. Fret not though, I have two picks to come and I’m damn confident they’re going to be the Video Game equivalent of fried gold. Let’s go!

Stephen del Prado

Checking in with the Player2 2016 Fantasy Draft is a trying experience for me, fraught with uncertainty. While I no doubt could have made some better choices during the initial stages, I’ve been fortunate enough that only Persona 5 has been delayed into 2017 so far, thus removing it from competition. This is good news compared to Paul who has had not one but two titles see release dates pushed back into next year. Upon further reflection, it was unwise to place my fate in the hands of Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian, both of which have had lengthy, troubled development cycles, the end result of which might divide critics and harm my chances at 90+ ratings. Influenced by pre-release marketing, my selection of Unravel hasn’t exactly driven me into top-tier territory either when compared with some of the scores other Player2 writers’ picks have been securing (does Paul have anything under a 90? Seriously!). It hasn’t been a total disappointment, however – The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine squeaked in at a 92 which relieves some of the tension. I do have my fingers crossed that my wildcard choice of NHL 17 can improve upon the 80 given to its predecessor and push past Unravels 81. To be frank, at this point I’m just praying to the gaming gods for delays and critical disasters for the rest of the Player2 crew.