This is probably an exaggerated comment that I'm making to gain your attention in the opening statement, but FIFA 18 was my biggest surprise of the year. Hear me out though. I don't think I have ever bought a game in the same sim sports franchise two years in a row until FIFA 18. For all the crap EA deservedly got this year, they are doing something right with their sports franchises. It may not cancel out the predatory practices of Ultimate Team, but I'm genuinely invested in the story of Alex Hunter and will probably buy FIFA 19 because of it. Hell, it's so good they brought their story mode to Madden and it was a revelation over there, too.

It's not all solo sports though. We finally went online this year and took on other teams of 2 to 11 (!) players. Horrible FC lives up to its name but the competition is real, memorable, and we want to get better. Just remember to play out all the added time, Ryan. Thanks for the goals, FIFA 18.

Throughout January, the Games of 2017 will lead the way towards The 2017 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Previous years

• Games of 2016
• Games of 2015

Ryan tries to figure out what we can learn from a rag tag EA business plan. Justin drowns in the biggest release week of the year. JB changes his gamertag. Little Coop knows dinos are cool. Plus Sony thinks it's E3 again.

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley, JB Buckner, Coop

• Kinda Games: Gamecation, New gamertag, Mario is for kids, Buttons 4 and 5
• Headliner: EA's Single Player Problem - Collapse of Visceral, Wolfenstein 2 doesn't have multiplayer, Xbox says single player games are more complicated
• Supporting Acts
  • Sony’s Paris Games Week
  • EVE developers CCP pulling out of VR
  • Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris to all platforms on Dec 5th
  • Investors pour $25M into eSports team Cloud9
  • GameStop Offering Unlimited 6-Month Access To Preowned Games
  • Warner Bros. to Distribute Rocket League Physical Edition,
  • Switch Sales May Pass Wii U Total in Year One
  • Obituary: Robert Guillaume, award-winning actor and Half-Life 2 voice actor
• Headliner: Biggest Release Week of the Year
• New Releases
• Games of the Week
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
  • Destiny 2
  • Golf Story

Justin and Ryan recap the rest of the games from E3 2017 featuring the press conferences from EA, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Devolver and others. Why did this start on Saturday? How do you pronounce Ubisoft? Check a look.

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley

• Pre-E3 Hype
• A couple highs
• A couple lows
• What surprised us the most?

Links - EA, Bethesda, Devolver, Ubisoft, PC Gaming Show

FIFA 17 rewrote the book on the sports game ‘Story Mode.’ I bought the game on the chance that there might be some fun multiplayer football action during the lull in late summer, but ended up getting engrossed in Alex Hunter’s tumultuous journey into professional soccer.

Easily glanced over, but still very impressive, is how beautiful this game is. Not just the green grass, but the flow of movement through the players is so effortless, leaving no doubt that EA is at the top of their game when it comes to the world’s most popular sport. Thanks for Alex Hunter, FIFA 17.

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

I need to get something off my chest about the long-awaited sequel to Faith’s fast and futuristic parkour journey. Catalyst is a fine game.

Not a bad game nor a great game, it lives somewhere in between the lines. The Faith that I remember from the original Edge is competently mirrored here (see what I did there?), but the invisible walls that surround her are bare and claustrophobic.

It’s still an adventure I enjoyed taking. The patrolling guards are still bumbling dolts ready to get their heads punted over guard rails. Faith sprints and slides like she’s been running her entire life. To be honest, the jukebox in the Runner HQ is perhaps my favorite "character" in the whole game because it plays a made-for-the-game CHVRCHES song on loop. Thanks for the red kicks, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst.

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.