The 2019 Player 2 Video Games Draft
The Player 2 Video Games Draft for 2019 is finally here. The results of last years were only just recently unveiled, so be sure to check them out, but now it’s time to make some selections. The rules are shown below.
With a draft order randomly determined for each of the five rounds, and following a school-yard pick model, 40 video games were selected, but only one person and their five games can come out on top. Remakes are okay, as are DLC expansions, but last-gen remasters do not count. Some more kinks are in the tail this year but those will be announced at a later stage in the year.
Some Facts & Figures
- In the three years of the Fantasy Draft, nobody who has ever had the first pick has gone on to win. Past losers, in order, have been Paul James (2016), Sarah Ellen(2017) and Jason Imms (2018). Can this years first pick scorer (Shaun Nicholls) be the one to break the curse
- Nobody who has ever had their first pick in the Top 5 has gone on to win. Past winners didn’t have their first pick until Pick 6 (Stephen Del Prado, 2016), Pick 9 (Stevie McDonald, 2017) and Pick 10, (Adam Rorke, 2018)
- No previous winner has won with less than a full complement of games at their disposal, ie. they’ve never had a 0 score that wasn’t covered by a wildcard
- 90+ scores aren’t common. Out of last year’s 60 selections, only 5 of them cracked a 90+ score!
- Indies win you the crown. Every winner has had at least one indie game up their sleeve that has scored well enough to assist them in taking the crown. These out of the box selections have contributed on average 85.5 points to the victor’s total. A good indie selection could make the difference!
THE DRAFT
Players are listed in the order that they placed their first selection
Shaun Nicholls
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Cyberpunk 2077
- The Division 2
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
- Trials Rising (Wildcard)
He said:
“Having been lucky enough to score the number one pick I made sure to grab Mortal Kombat 11 before Matt did. Overall I feel pretty good with the state of my picks, all of the games I picked were on my original list and no hasty internet research was needed. I feel I am going out on a limb with The Division 2, hoping that they have learned their lessons from the first instalment. I just hope that Cyberpunk 2077 get released at some point in the back half of the year. It is a big risk, but with the wonder that was The Witcher III, it could score me some big points. I think I’ll have to keep an eye on Christopher though. With Anthem, Kingdom Hearts 3 and The Last of Us Part 2 it could be a tall order to beat him to the number one spot”
Paul James
- Sekiro: Shadow’s Die Twice
- DOOM Eternal
- Gears of War 5
- The Outer Worlds
- NBA 2K20 (Wildcard)
He said:
“After far too many years of being the bridesmaid, or close to it, I think this year might be the year I get to stand on the podium and be crowned champion of Player 2. Beginning with pick 2 I thought it’d be a given that Shaun would take Sekiro before me, the souls’ games are walk-up 90s these days, and yet it was somehow available so I quickly lapped it up. From there I went a little low-risk selecting DOOM Eternal, Gears 5, The Outer Worlds and NBA 2K20 from the pack, each of those will at least pocket 80+ scores you would think, so the only thing I have to rely on is that no more than one of them gets bumped into 2020. The stars are finally aligning, but there’s still some serious competition out there with some folks drafting incredibly well IMO. Look out for Chris if The Last of Us Part II does, in fact, make 2019, Shaun for the same reason if Cyberpunk 2077 lands this year, and as always Matt because he’s always there or thereabouts.
I think this year might be my year though!”
Adam Rorke
- Resident Evil 2 Remake
- Rage 2
- Dead or Alive 6
- GTFO (Yes, the game)
- Ace Combat 7 (Wildcard)
He said:
“This is easily the hardest draft year I’ve seen since Paul started this whole thing. All my picks were gone before the second round was even finished. Am I confident? Hell no! Indeed my cocky attitude and demeanour are being thrown by the wayside this year. I’m hoping for RE2 and GTFO to be mega-hits this year and for them to drag me over the line! And a special thumbs up to Glen for once again going with FF7 remake … That takes balls man. “
Anna Rorke
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
- In the Valley of Gods
- Jump Force
- No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again (Wildcard)
She Said:
“Overall I’m happy with my picks for this year. I am at least confident that I’ll get more scores on the board than last year. I think everyone has some really strong prospects but it will be tough to beat the experience of Matt, Paul, and Adam in particular but I think I’m in with a chance this year. “
Matthew Hewson
- Metro Exodus
- Biomutant
- Devil May Cry 5
- Psychonauts 2
- Far Cry: New Dawn (Wildcard)
He said:
“This, this is my year. I went for 100% confirmed releases for this year, no guesses, and in my mind, they are all going to be bangers. Metro is shaping up to be my GOTY (I love me some depressing Russian fallout fiction), DMC 5 and Psychonauts 2 are just about a lock for that 80+ score and jagging Far Cry: New Dawn as my wildcard is something I am super happy with. In fact, my only risky proposition is Biomutant, which is an unknown quantity, but with the early word being super positive, I am hopeful it does well.
Looking at the other selections I think both Stephen and Chris are the people to beat, both have some safe bets that are likely to do well. It isn’t about getting the best scoring game, it is about getting 4 good scoring ones, and these two seem have that locked down. Paul is probably going to be up there as well, but we all know 2nd is his spot so I am not worried.”
Christopher Button
- Anthem
- Kingdom Hearts III
- The Last of Us Part II
- Judgement
- Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Wildcard)
He said:
“Making my draft debut, I was unsure of how I’d go, but I’m quietly thrilled with the team of games I assembled. I took a risk with Anthem as my first pick to ensure I had at least one triple-A title that will definitely release in 2019, regardless of rocky reception Bioware’s previous game, Mass Effect Andromeda, received. Considering sentiments towards Anthem’s hands-on previews have been largely positive, I’m hoping for at least an 80.
Kingdom Hearts III should review well and Judgement will likely see positive press especially in light of the west’s newfound appetite for all things Yakuza. My biggest gamble was picking The Last of Us Part 2 despite no guarantee it will release in 2019. If it does, I would expect a 90-something score and to get close to winning the competition overall. If not, I’m banking on the western release of Dragon Quest Builders 2 to be a capable wildcard backup.
One Stephen Del Prado is who I’m eyeing off as the man to beat, largely due to his high proportion of games that were on my draft shortlist. Animal Crossing and the 2019 Pokemon game we still know very little about are going to be surefire hits for the Switch, and the Ori follow-up will be a critical darling. Long story short, Stephen stole these games from me – I have been wronged!
All the best to my fellow competitors, and may the best team (mine) win.“
Stephen Del Prado
- Ori & The Will of the Wisps
- Animal Crossing
- Pokemon 2019
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
- Wasteland 3 (Wildcard)
He said:
“Looking at my draft picks, I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking I was some kind of Nintendo ‘fan boi’ – after all, more than half of my picks are first-party Nintendo franchises. The truth is much more calculated; Nintendo First Party titles often score very well in reviews, and the rabid Switch fanbase hungry for content could help inflate some of these scores. I’m not proud, but based on previous drafts it’s becoming harder and harder to pick what will take a 90+ score (there were only 5 out of the 60 selected titles in the 2018 Draft) while a full suite of 80+’s with no delays could be enough to take the podium.
2018 winner Adam Rorke was the only entrant to have every game he selected make its release date which was enough to secure him first place. In looking at who I think most likely to win in 2019, I have to stick to this line of argument and say whoever has all of their selections see the light of day will reign supreme. After all, with 23 of the 60 selected 2018 missing release, the Draft has become as much about dreading delay announcements as it is awaiting review scores.“
Glen Gugliotti
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Skull & Bones
- Code Vein
- Battletoads
- Medievil (Wildcard)
He said:
“2019, The year of remakes it seems. Don’t get me wrong there is certainly a heap of new games and IP coming out this year, but I have chosen to focus on the good old rose coloured glasses bonus that comes from nostalgia related games. If 2017 was the year of Luigi, 2019 is definitely the year of Nostalgia. It burned me something fierce in the draft last year, but this year I have a great feeling about the Final Fantasy 7 remake finally seeing the light of day. To follow up on this powerhouse of a game, we have the Ridiculously charismatic Medievil, which is, of course, a remake of the PS1 game of the same name. I honestly can’t wait to hack and slash Sir Daniel through a whole new bevvy of monsters and levels. (hopefully with the same tongue in cheek humour that was present in the first game) Sea of Thieves showed us that Pirate games are definitely in at the moment, so hopefully Skull and Bones can keelhaul the competition and haul some decent scores, plunder and booty. Originally I thought Code Vein was being developed by my favourite game dev company FROM Software, but it seems like that its a Namco Bandai studios production. I have no idea what the game is about, is set, or even what you do, as I thought it was a FROM game (and with FROM games, you go in blind, so as to not ruin the experience). So let’s hope it will be awesome (and hard) – Classic Barry here people… Do your research! To round out the final piece of nostalgia trip is the one, the only, Battletoads. Nothing has been released for this game yet, only that it’s being remade, so there’s no denying its a long shot… Let’s see if it paid off, god knows my 2018 long shots didn’t.”
