GNamer Fantasy Games League (And your Year Four winner is...)

Well I've got my last game I can get as I've used my drop as well (0 points for me on Forza then based on rumours), so all my money went on The Last of Us Part I because this is Naughty Dog's record since The Last of Us

TLoUPII 93
TLoUR 94
TLoU 95
Lost Legacy 85
Uncharted 4 93
Uncharted Collection 86
Uncharted Legacy 88

That's an avg score of 90.5, of course I can see reviews saying not much has changed in TLoUPI that it doesn't score 94.5 like it did on PS3/4. Yet if the core game is still as great, then going of another PlayStation game to get released three times in a row Shadow of the Colossus which has PS2 OG 91 (TLoU in this case), PS3 remaster 92 (TLoUR in this case, and reviews did include ICO mind), PS4 remake 91 (TLoUPI in this case) stayed about the same.

Then we've got GTAV, Skyrim etc that have come out three times in a row and have done well each time with reviews, with those also being mostly remasters compared to a remake.

This has to be the safest pickup and something that may get close to Elden Ring.

Bayonetta 3 getting announced for October. Absolute scenes when I romp to a third league win in a row. It’ll be like Manchester United in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, but with less David May and more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

XC3 has got me sitting pretty in first, but I'm definitely not counting any chickens before they've hatched here as I think Mas with his TLOU pick could do very well indeed. Muss is also in with a shout if Ragnarok comes out this year and you can never rule out Cappa.

Speaking of, he's going to be picking up a fair few points for Two Point Campus which is going to hump Treesmurf, who counterpicked it.

Didn't Ragnarok get a date for this year or have I made that up?

Yeah it's out 8th (might be 9th) of November.

My problem even if Part I does super well, is my few zeroes I'll get. Tad like Jas even though has Elden Ring, it's the rest of them the issue.

I don't think I'm impossibly out of it but yeh a chunk of my picks didn't get into the double figure scores that I thought they would.

I’d seen that Freedom Planet 2 was hoovered up recently. I’d mentally stashed that away in case I need to drop any of my games, thinking that I’d always be able sneak in with a £1 bid whenever I liked. Acht well.

I think JayMoyles will still be sitting prettily in first at the end of this league. I don’t think Muss or I will be far off the top though – and who knows, even just one exceptional pick for either of us between now and the end of the year might sway the momentum from JayMoyles.

Think Cult of Lamb might get me 16 points, puts me on 83ish with basically two games left (Open Roads isn't coming out) which I could see those getting me 30+ points but can't see 110ish being enough come the end.

I'll be super annoyed if KoFXV costs me the win, as I know I should have gone for Midnight Sun's as a counter and it has now been delayed again, that 0 might have been super handy.

To confirm, had it not been delayed, you still definitely will be wrong to have picked Midnight Suns...

You say that but I thought it looked dreadful at E3 2021, since been delayed twice to make the game the best possible experience.

So if had not been delayed then likely not the best possible experience and a bad game, like it looked like.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I’d seen that Freedom Planet 2 was hoovered up recently. I’d mentally stashed that away in case I need to drop any of my games, thinking that I’d always be able sneak in with a £1 bid whenever I liked. Acht well.

I think JayMoyles will still be sitting prettily in first at the end of this league. I don’t think Muss or I will be far off the top though – and who knows, even just one exceptional pick for either of us between now and the end of the year might sway the momentum from JayMoyles.

Aye, I was needing something to round out my roster and that looked like the most promising game that had a confirmed release date. I've been humped by Metal Slug Tactics falling into next year and I'm not confident about Somerville releasing this year either.

My money is on Muss - God of War will take it home for him, I think. Still, I think any of me, Jas, Muss, Mas or Cappa could be in the running come year end. Andy's been humped by a lot of games not releasing this year and Smurf got obliterated by that Two Point Campus counterpick. It's shaping up to be a close one!

Unfortunate timing for me here, as Hogwarts Legacy is delayed until February 2023 at the same time as A Highland Song announce that they’re looking for a level designer (suggesting to me that the game won’t magically be ready in the next four-and-a-bit months). Looks like I’ve got a dud zero point pick.

Freedom Planet 2 would have been my answer to one of those problems, but that’s away. Kirby’s Dream Buffet would have been my next choice, but the reviews will be out by the time my bid can go in.

It's all going tits up for The Defending Champ And His Games

I am currently in the lead with 105 points, as we know this total can still change between now and Dec 31st.

Yet that is me done for the season, as I'm assuming Open Roads won't be coming out anytime soon.

This means how it all stands:

Jas would need 23 points from two games or 11.5 per game for 106 points

Crisis Core I think will do well, just will it come out in December? Then your pickup might be anything.

Cheatsmurf would need 34 points from three games or 11.34 per game for 106 points

Oxenfree 2 is it even coming this year as been no news for a while? Same goes for Little Devil Inside. I can see Monkey Island doing well, though.

Jay needs 17 points from three games or 5.34 per game for 106 points

A Plague Tale Requiem, I could see being in the mid 80s. Somerville is going to be like my Open Roads a no show. Freedom Planet 2 will be getting reviews in a few weeks. That I can see you easily passing me and be on 112ish at the end.

Muss needs 30 from three games or 10 points per game for 106 points

I could see Muss winning this, as he still has God of War Ragnarök is what an 88 at the worst that's a bunch of points there. Darktide I don't think looks that impressive, maybe a 74 like Evil Dead. That the last pickup might need to score like a 79 to win.  

Andy needs 54 points from six games or 9 points per game for 106 points

Silksong isn't coming out and neither is Midnight Suns, that Andy only really has four games that need to score 83 each which is possible though looking at those three he has at the moment.

Cappa needs 55 points from seven games or 7.9 per game for 106 points

Maybe I jumped the gun with Muss maybe winning this or Jay, as six of those seven games Cappa has have dates and they're good games like Bayonetta 3 as well.

I'm not expecting Oxenfree II and if Little Devil Inside releases I'll eat a copy of the game. Monkey Island does have a date however and if that doesn't score 150 then I'm calling shenanigans.

That’s helpful that you’d typed up a current standings. There’s still a lot of folk in the running for it this year.

I’d decided to use my final pick and the last of my budget on Shovel Knight Dig. I’m not sure about it to be honest. The preview videos don’t look like anything amazing and there’s not a lot of hype for it. Then again, it’s been in development for years and it’s from two developers with a good track record. All the same, I needed something with a solid 2022 release date and I had to get rid of the Harry Potter game.

Splatoon 3 is sitting at 83/100 as I type, and that’s pretty much what I’d expected. I’d hope that Bayonetta 3, Mario & Rabbids and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet score around or above that, but I’m sitting dangerously with a counter-pick that I know nothing about. Anyway, now I play the waiting game.

Good write-up Mas, appreciated! It's exciting to see there's a fair few of us still realistically in the running as we approach the finish. We've had a couple of one or two horse races which meant the latter half was a bit dull for some of the field, but that doesn't seem to be the case this year.

JayMoyles wrote:

Good write-up Mas, appreciated! It's exciting to see there's a fair few of us still realistically in the running as we approach the finish. We've had a couple of one or two horse races which meant the latter half was a bit dull for some of the field, but that doesn't seem to be the case this year.

Last year’s one horse race was amazing, it’s a hugely underrated part of GNamer Forum lore. Great memories!

Catching up with what’s been happening for me, Taiko no Tatsujin and Sparks of Hope got pretty much the critical response and points total I’d expected, though I thought Bayonetta 3 might creep into the 90s. There was a time where Shovel Knight Dig was scored 86, so to see it five points down is a bit mince. I’ve still got Pokemon and Dragon Quest Treasures to come.

There’s still a few folk who could theoretically win this, but to me it looks like a shootout between Muss and I. I think the outstanding questions are about how good God of War is going to be, and how good Warhammer 40,000 is going to be (and how many points it’ll lose me, as a counter-picked it).

Yeah looking Jay does now have Somerville coming out which is from a bunch of people from Playdead (Limbo & Inside), that I can see that dojng well. Freedom Planet 2 though has no reviews it seems, so closet I could even suggest for a score is the 71 user score on Metacritic.

Muss might get lucky with Darktide being PC only this year, I believe.

masofdas wrote:

Yeah looking Jay does now have Somerville coming out which is from a bunch of people from Playdead (Limbo & Inside), that I can see that dojng well. Freedom Planet 2 though has no reviews it seems, so closet I could even suggest for a score is the 71 user score on Metacritic.

Ah, nice, I didn't expect Somerville out this year. Here's hoping it's a sleeper hit. Also, very gutted nobody seems to be reviewing Freedom Planet 2.

Freedom Planet 2 Review

Shit Game for Wankers

3/10.

I'm afraid I've not seen Smurf's Reviewz on Opencritic, so that'll count for nowt.

They hold more weight than some of the dross reviews I've seen on there.

Take the 1 point I suggested and don't listen to cheatsmurf.