2017 has been a year of many great, less great and complete and utter rubbish things happening in the gaming world. From the launch of the most powerful gaming console ever known to mankind, to the EA micro transaction-lootbox scandal ( sorry too soon?).
Many new titles have come along some of them amazing some of them having extremely large hype and not being able to hold true to all the hope and promises made by the developers. We at Early Axes have certainly not played all the 2017 releases but we have certainly played a good few. So we thought it to be a good idea to give you all a little insight as to which titles we would pick as our personal top 5 games of 2017.
Please take note that these are all opinions and even though many of you might not agree with all of these choices, we just wanted to share what we have- , and enjoyed playing during the course of 2017. Some games might not make the list due to them not being available at the time of compiling this article.
So without further ado, lets get into it!
EliteJediGamer1 ( Richard Roth)
2017 has been a rather busy year for me, I will rather not disclose the amount of games that I have bought during 2017 (upwards of 130, but who is counting right?) Having a very large library of games to choose from, some of them not being launched during 2017, I have decided to only mention the ones that are from 2017, so here goes.
There seems to be a trend among my top 5 from the wide open areas, huge cliffs and beautiful vistas of Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Sneaking around the jungle. Holding your breath, and waiting for the precise moment to pull the trigger on that 1 perfectly placed shot to take out the target that is over a kilometer away in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3.
When not playing them I found myself drawn to the brutal yet beautiful The Surge, with its Dark Souls-esque fighting style where one wrong step will lead to your untimely, yet countless, death.
Once you get the hang of it though it is a amazing and satisfying game to play! Keeping to the trend of beauty mixed with some gun-play Call of Duty: WW2 grabbed me and pulled me into the muddy and blood-soaked trenches where it delivered one of the most stellar single player stories that I have experienced. It had me caring for me wanting to enlist! Until I felt how heavy those rifles are, as well as how terrible the food is!
Top game for 2017:
WOLFENSTEIN 2: The New Colossus
Easily my favorite title for 2017 must be the new and better than before Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, takes everything that made the previous game so great and dials it up to 11! The cast is instantly likeable characters, outrageous weapons, bone-chilling villains that all give emotional context to the high-tech uprising against the Nazi’s! A definite must-have for anyone who is a fan of Wolfenstein and to new-comers as well!
CptJack2308 (Rudi Cronje)
2017 has been quite the mixed bag for me, I have made a couple of terrible purchases which I would rather not mention but I have also made many fantastic purchases! I have had a eye on one of my favorite Action-RPG games since it was announced that it is coming to the Xbox One. Path of Exile, it takes what we have learned to love from the Diablo games and rolled it into a epic grind! Fun alone, even better with a friend! When getting tired of grinding through awesomeness I like to jump into the Nomad and blast into the Mass Effect Andromeda universe, grab some of my crew and save the universe.
Sticking to the space theme, saving the universe is not always done by simply chatting to the enemy sometimes you need to grab a gun and do it for the Puppies (Destiny reference)! Always fun grabbing a few mates and having a dance off, hitting the crucible or taking on a strike for some epic exotic loot! Destiny 2 is one of my all time favorites! As I am writing this I realize that I am a slave to the grind, isn’t that from a song?
Anyway, this game was very nearly my favorite of 2017, from a small production team, it is not perfect but they have given us one of the best European-RPG’s I have ever played, Elex. Elex has swallowed up so many hours of my second half of 2017 and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon!
Top game for 2017:
Call of Duty: WW2
I have never been a big Call of Duty fanboy, but without any convincing WW2 caught my attention, grabbed me, pulled me into the trenches and onto the beaches of Normandy and blasted me with a tremendous campaign and a intoxicating multiplayer, if ever there is a game that will make me forget to shower or eat, THIS IS IT!
AXG Jaczerdio( Jacques Coetzer)
2017 has been a variety year for me, I have enjoyed a wide variety of genres and it has been great! I have dared to enter Ardennes forest with my fellow soldier. No mission too Difficult, no sacrifice too great! Call of Duty WW2 has me coming back to it time and time again. On a lighter note I love jumping into my pimped out car of choice and heading into the outback for a Australian adventure, meeting up with my mates and cruising the beaches in Forza Horizon 3! Did someone say Goliath run?!
After a few relaxing drives along the Australian coast it is time to strap on my blades, grab a stick and start body checking the hell out of anyone who gets close to the puck. Yes I am a South African but NHL 18 is simply bone-crunching poetry in motion and it is addictive! Swapping my stick for a cape and a mask gets me into some superhero and super-villain combat of Injustice 2… Who doesn’t enjoy being Batman?
Top game for 2017:
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Yes yes I don’t have to say anything I can see you all nodding your head in approval! PUBG is simply amazing. Every gun shot and swing of a frying pan brings pure childlike delight! I am sure most of you are either already playing this or have pre-ordered and are patiently waiting for launch day! See you on the Battlegrounds! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!
Ghost86 ( Adriaan v Niekerk)
I know I know Call of Duty WW2 , trenches, Normandy, epic story even better multiplayer but hey what can I say its a awesome game! Moving on swiftly, Ghost Recon Wildlands has also been listed before but I am pretty sure they have mapped the whole of Bolivia, no jokes, the map is practically endless, there are numerous things to do and partying up with 3 friends make it so much more satisfying.
Real time strategy games rarely find their home on console, and at the same time the name Halo is synonymous with the Xbox… Put them together and you find the masterpiece that is Halo Wars 2! Lots of time was spent drumming my opponents into submission and it was all worth it! Switching over to the awe-inspiring Forza Motorsport 7, I am not capable of words to describe what an amazing racing title this truly is. This is the closest I have come to driving, without the risk of being hijacked or hitting a pothole.
Top game for 2017:
Assassins Creed: Origins
After a couple of rather lackluster outings from the once mighty Assassins Creed franchise the delivered, and boy oh boy did they deliver. Slaves building a large city from sandstone and sand as far as the eye can see has never looked this good! Not to mention the fighting and parkour system we have come to love and expect from the franchise. Partner that with a new protagonist and amazing story telling and you have my favorite game of 2017!
MaxRager1990(Aiden Markus)
2017 has been not only epic on a gaming front but on a personal note as well. Shoutout to my newly wedded wife 😉 Like many others my picks have been partially influenced by my fellow EAX admin and moderators. 2017 saw me jumping into a foxhole with my mates and literally trying to stop the acts of the Walking Dead literally with the zombie mode of Call of Duty WW2. I am only realizing it now but 2017 has seen me trying to save many people, factions and even the world. After tearing up some Nazi-zombies in COD I spent immense amounts of time trying to stop more Nazi’s, the not-zombie kind, with the help of trusty BJ Blazkowicz and his merry band of rebels kicking ass and taking names in Wolfenstein 2: the New Colossus!
Like I mentioned above I am saving EVERYONE! With the help of some orcs and goblins that I may, or may not have, bullied into helping me, I was defending Middle-Earth from the evil clutches of Sauron and his ever increasing army! Talion and Celebrimbor had my slicing and dicing my way through countless enemies making me feel like a true warrior of the realm in Shadow of War! These dreams of being a glorious and legendary warrior was soon crushed by a quick slice of a katana, and my greatness was cut down and I was left to face the steep, yet oh so satisfying learning curve of the brutal For Honor.
Top game for 2017:
Cuphead
Cuphead had me all giddy inside for the simple fact that I was expecting to be taken back to my childhood of gaming. Oh how wrong I was! Cuphead seems like a child-like game on the outside with its exquisite design, look and feel. But what lurks under the pleasant exterior is a truly curse-word-extracting run and gun game. Defeating a boss or getting past that level that has had you contemplating throwing your controller against the wall is so extremely satisfying that it makes this game my favorite title of 2017, after my wife changing her title from ms to Mrs that is 😉
BigJapester11 (JP du Preez)
2017 has brought with it many surprises, some of them good and some of them bad but on a gaming front games need to be seriously bad to be considered bad, and in 2017 I did not experience one of those games! In no particular order I have been pummeled by so many Viking warriors and embarrassed by countless Samurais but yet For Honor keeps drawing me in! There is something about the art of swinging a weapon at your opponent while shouting profanities over a mic that excites me! Almost the same way that destroying an opposing teams’ will to play Call of Duty WW2 by racking up the killstreaks does.
But I am also a sucker for beautiful graphics, with sprawling environments that ooze authenticity, couple that with a soundtrack and sound effects that takes you back to the movies and Battlefront 2 had me awe struck by its shear beauty ,and a actual campaign, skip past the loot crate-gambling saga and some less than stellar matchmaking preferences and still it is a amazing game in my opinion. On the topic of beauty, I don’t think one can mention gaming-beauty without Final Fantasy XV. Being the franchise that got me into console gaming with FF8 which i raked in upwards of 180 hours on, I was very excited to jump back into the Final Fantasy-verse and I was not dissapointed. Mixing the best of the old with the best of the new to create a masterpiece!
;)
Top game for 2017:
Sea of Thieves (alpha)
Yes yes technically it has not launched yet, but this is my article and I am in charge! I spotted this game when it was first announced. I kept a keen eye on it and when the chance came to sign up for the technical alpha I jumped at it. A couple of months in and I have been part of every single play session and the improvements per session that is being made is phenomenal. I have been a pirate for so long now that I am called a pioneer in their eyes, maybe in some other peoples eyes as well with my eye patch, peg leg and parrot riding shotgun on my shoulder. I suppose the smell of rum on my breath doesn’t help either (hic). Sea of Thieves is setting itself up to be an amazing game to either go it alone or join a few mates, have a few canisters of grog and sail the seven seas, plundering ships and looting islands!
Voxfan (Pierre Wheeler)
This year I have not had too much time for gaming, but yet I find myself grabbing my controller and heading into the outback whether it is for a quick hoon session or just a casual drive along the coast, don’t forget a epic session of cops&robbers with my SAPD livery. Forza Horizon 3 is always my go-to game to blow off some steam! When all the steam is blown off, I take my cars onto the track and try my best to post some respectable lap times without leaving most of my hard worked designs are imprinted into the barrier around the courses of Forza Motorsport 7.
After receiving some banter from my fellow drivers I like to jump into the trenches, like all my fellow EAX members seem to do, and play some Call of Duty WW2. I might sound like a stuck record but for anyone who has not had the privilege to play this game, do yourself a favor and make a plan to get it, it is amazing!
Top game of 2017:
Assasins Creed: Origins
Again, this is not the first time this game features on this list with good reason. I don’t know what I enjoy more about Origins, if its the satisfying battle mechanic that allows you to feel like a real assassin as you silently dispose of your target. Or is it the overwhelming attention to detail that Ubisoft has so lovingly crafted into this game. From the water details to the sand blowing in the direction of the wind. This game is majestic and deserves to be one of the best titles of 2017
mR fUnKtAsTiC33 (Alex Pfoss)
2017 has been rather underwhelming in my opinion but sometimes we just have to push through and make the most of what there is on offer. Overwatch had the attention for most of my evenings whether I was solo queuing or hitting it up with my buddy MaxRager1990 it always provided good competition and I would recommend this to all multiplayer enthusiasts. Sticking to the competitive scene I found myself revisiting a game that was really broken at launch but has since seen lots of work done to improve it, For Honor! It looks like a hack and slash style of game from the outside but like its Ubisoft brother, R6 Siege, it has a steep learning curve and crushing an opponent is so extremely satisfying.
Call of Duty WW2 makes another appearance, as it has with nearly everyone of us. Same old COD magic, I can’t quite put my finger on what makes it so addictive but it just eats away at any free time you thought you had. Moving away from the competitive style games another of my favorites for 2017 is the side scrolling platformer that hides its Dark Souls-like difficulty behind brightly coloured levels… Cuphead! I loved and hated this game at the same time giving me many nights where I simply pondered my existence and also, how to beat that damn boss!
Top Game of 2017:
Fortnite Battle Royale
Much can be said about the Battle Royale genre at the moment, PUBG announced it and brought it to the foreground but Fortnite was clever by making the Battle Royale section of its game free to everyone it captured the hearts and controllers of many PUBG-awaiting players, including me. Hiding in a bush as a unsuspecting cartoon-style character comes running past you and then blowing him to kingdom-come with your over-sized shotgun never gets old!
Before anyone gets upset and annoyed with our choices, as you can see we all play very different games and we do not get sponsored any games to test, so the games we mentioned are the ones that we have bought personally and tried out. We may have missed some that you like, why not tell us about them in the comments!
To all the Axers who are still reading this, a very special thanks to all of you who have made this project worthwhile. We strive to create the best content possible and deliver top quality content as often as possible.
Here is to 2017! Lets make 2018 a even bigger and better EAX filled year!
See you on the flipside!
