Turn to the person to your left and ask them what the best year in gaming was. Ok, that's a stuffed animal. Ask anyone online what the best year in gaming was. “1998!” they scream in unison. Banjo-Kazooie, Starcraft, Half-life, Baldur's Gate, Ocarina of Time, and Metal Gear Solid forever immortalize this year as one of the greatest gaming has ever seen.
It's hard to imagine anything better. Until 2015, that is.
Sunday night, the embargo dropped on the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain reviews, and they are glorious. It sounds like another home run for Kojima, even if it's his last swinging for Konami. But it's a grand slam for gaming in 2015, as this year has given us some of the best games this side of the late nineties. In fact, some of the best games of 2015 closely mirror the best of 1998. This has provided a unique opportunity to measure them back to back, and see which year truly stacks up as the best.
Bloodborne
Current Metacritic Score: 92
1998 Equivalent: Resident Evil 2 (89 Metacritic score)
Back in 1998, Resident Evil 2 perfected what made the original so great, creating a constant state of dread for the player as they roamed the halls of Raccoon City police department. Bloodborne, in much the same way, is a refinement of the series that came before it. If Resident Evil 2 is the George Romero of video games, Bloodborne is Dark Souls as written by Charles Dickens and H.P. Lovecraft. Bloodborne's Hunter is essentially a Victorian Leon Kennedy, trying to make sense of the chaos while also trying to survive it. While Resident Evil 2 favored hitting you over the head with its story, The story in Bloodborne is purposely vague. I still don't know what those little messenger guys are up to.
Pillars of Eternity
Current Metacritic Score: 89
1998 Equivalent: Baldur's Gate (89 Metacritic Score)
Kickstarter has been a boon for independent game developers and the resurgence of older, more classical styles of gameplay. Yooka-Laylee looks to bring back the cute-mascot-platformer, Bloodstained is Castlevania in everything but name, and Broken Age gave us another Tim Schafer adventure game with celebrity voice talent (including Jack Black, for better or worse). Kickstarter is the Doctor Frankenstein trying to bring 1998 back to life. Heresy as it might be, without it we wouldn't have Pillars of Eternity, an isometric RPG from Obsidian Entertainment. For fans of the original Baldur's Gate on the PC, this is a dream come true. Unlike Frankenstein's monster, nothing is lost in bringing this beloved (if somewhat niche) genre back to life. A well-crafted, original story with gameplay that is both timeless and innovative, Pillars of Eternity is a must play if you missed the fuss the first time around.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Current Metacritic Score: 92
1998 Equivalent: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (99 Metacritic Score)
Blasphemous cries can already be heard as any game cannot hope to be compared to the juggernaut that is Ocarina of Time. Revolutionary in 1998 with influences still felt today, Ocarina of Time gave us an open world of fantasy and danger to explore. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a lot like that timeless classic, except with boobs.
Typically, when a game is hit with numerous delays it is a sign that gamers may be boarding a sinking ship. In The Witcher 3's case, however, CD Projekt Red was merely preparing the booze cruise of 2015. If Assassin's Creed: Unity was a middle finger to the gaming community, The Witcher 3 was a hug. Free DLC that included missions, character costumes and weapons. Fast, continuous support that reflected the fan's grievances with controls and performance. The Witcher 3 truly rewards people who love to play games, much like a little guy in a green suit did seventeen years ago.
Heroes Of The Storm
Current Metacritic Score: 85
1998 Equivalent: StarCraft (88 Metacritic Score)
I remember loading up StarCraft for the first time on my father's iMac, excited to play what was essentially Starship Troopers: The Video Game. The excitement quickly stalled as I realized, I don't know how to play this game. Seventeen years later, I still don't know how the story unfolds. I do know, however, that I can boot up Heroes of the Storm and play as Jim Raynor any time I want. If your Blizzard fandom was born in the nineties, Heroes of the Storm is for you. The game is essentially an RTS without all of the worry of micromanagement, letting you focus on the good stuff, like shooting those silly Warcraft Orcs in the face.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Metacritic Score: 87
1998 equivalent: Banjo-Kazooie (92 Metacritic Score)
While these seem like two different games, it is surprising how alike they actually are. An open world where you can fly around, collect objects and solve puzzles while unlocking new abilities. Which game am I talking about?
Exactly.
While the bear did it first and with unique humor, the Bat made it better, and the Arkham Knight is the best of Rocksteady's trilogy. Combat is fluid and satisfying, stealth never feels like a chore, and the addition of the Batmobile is engaging, if sometimes tacked-on. Banjo-Kazooie made waves in 1998 as a platform game that rivaled Nintendo's own mascot. Batman set and subsequently raised the bar for comic book games, third-person open world games and storytelling at the same time.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metacritic Score: 95
1998 equivalent: Metal Gear Solid (94 Metacritic Score)
No game defined 1998 more than Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid. There's a reason why everyone has a friend with a Foxhound logo tattooed on their body somewhere. The original MGS is wholly deserving of its praise as it gave birth to a franchise that continued to buck the trends of the video game landscape. With Metal Gear's (and Kojima's) swan song arriving September 1st, we are reminded that games are meant to be played and enjoyed and talked about. Kojima bids a fond farewell with an entry to the series that is both familiar and innovative. An open-world Metal Gear? Controls that are on par with modern third-person shooters? Hideo Kojima is a video game Santa Claus, giving us the perfect Metal Gear Solid before winking away (hopefully away from coal factory that is Konami).
Now to take a look at the raw figures. Stacked up back to back, will 1998 continue to dominate as the collective Best Year in Gaming? Averaging the scores of the six games of 1998, coupled with their 2015 counterparts, carry the 6…
Mathematically, 1998 reigns with an average Metacritic score of 92, with 2015 only two points behind at 90. But those are just numbers and figures. With Rise of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3, Halo 5: Guardians, Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, and others yet to release this year, I think it's safe to say 2015 will be remembered as one of the best years in gaming.
