Your top 5 games of 2014

[bug_of_war]

Dragon Age: Inquisition was a whole lot of nothing, as in 'a whole lot of content that resulted in nothing in particular'.

And then to top it all off there was The Evil Within, and I don't think more needs to be said about that fucking abomination.

I agree so damn much with your opinion on DA:I, yet at the same time I could not disagree with you more on The Evil Within. Funny that.


OT: Best games in no real order:

Shadow of Mordor - It's fuckin' good!

Assassin's Creed Rogue - It's like the unwanted child for Ubisoft (if you see how it was waay less promoted than Unity) but for everyone else it's a cool guy.

Wolfenstein - BJ's hatred of Nazi's kept his body from atrophy for something like 13 years. Yeah! YEAH!

Broforce - It's fuckin' good!

The Evil Within - It's Resident Evil 4.5 the brutal edition.

Worst

Assassin's Creed Unity - So many issues, so little time...

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Got the game on Xbox 360 to port over my save file, couldn't do it, then found out that the 9 months it took to make Dragon Age 2 ended up being better than the 4 year wait for this mass of fuckin' average.

Sniper Elite 3 - A Sniper game where in which shooting the silent pistol is the only way to get through the game.

South Park: Stick of Truth - Just really REALLY couldn't get through it, not even for the humour.

And I guess The Elder Scrolls Online...though I only ever played the demo so I guess it may be an unfair judgement, but that game just really seemed poor.

 

[Windcaler]

1. Divinity original sin. RPGs are probably my favorite genre of video game so I love just about all RPGs that come out. However when a game innovates to the point where it feels like its pushing a genre forward I really take notice. Divinity original sin did just that, it took the old isometric formula of games like icewind dale and Neverwinter nights 2 and innovated on every front that I can think of. In many ways I think it evolved RPGs to the point where I consider it a new standard to which all future RPGs must be held. It wasnt just a token story either, it had stories within stories and quests that you would never expect from AAA games like Dragon age inquisition. Thats why its earned a place as my personal game of the year

2. Banished. Banished is a detailed city builder. Thats it. The reason why its my second choice is because what it does it does really well. Ive always like city/civilization building games like civilization, sim city, and now banished however sometimes I dont want to get into the war and/or diplomacy aspects of games like Age of wonders or civilization. Sometimes I just want the city/civilization aspect without all the other stuff and banished gives me that but its the fact that it does it so well that I consider it such a great game.

3. The last federation. When you think of grand strategy games you usually think of Crusader kings 2, hearts or iron 3, or Europa universalis 4. Basicly a paradox game with massive amounts of historical backing to draw from. What you dont think of is a game about being the last space hydra in existence and forming a federation of planets where everyone can get along. Yet the last federation is in every way a grand strategy game but its also got a soul to it. Its not a historical retelling of events but a fictional setting where random things happen and the player has to deal with it while getting 8 races to work together. As a final note I havnt heard a game with such an eargasmly amazing soundtrack since frozen synapse

4. The banner saga. What happens when 2 ex-bioware employees split off to make their own game? The banner saga, thats what. I struggle to put banner saga in a genre, its a bit RPG, a bit strategy, and a bit rogue-lite thrown together but at the end of the day its a great experience. Much like Dragon age origins your decisions actually matter. Sometimes you will get people killed, other times youll unlock new characters, other times youll watch your caravan slowly starve to death as you retreat from a horde of stone golem killers that seem hell bent on the genocide of two races. Like every good story about tragedy the banner saga will leave you with scars but it will also give you a look at the nature of humanity and what we do in the worst of times. Of every game on my list I consider it the most deserving of the title Art

5. Blackguards. The reception for blackguards for the entire year has been mostly mixed but I quite like the game. Its a very very detailed system that lets you customize each character to be what you want them to be. Plus its got interesting characters like the lecherous mage, the questionably sane dwarven warrior, and a drug abusing ranger. None of the characters are good people but theyre still interesting in their own right. Its also got a dark story to it and some dark side quests as well but what really draws me in is the hand crafted battle maps and attention to detail.

That is now 3 years running where a AAA game didnt get my personal game of the year award or even into my top 3. Come on AAA you can do better then this

Honorable mentions

1. Kerbal space program. A simple concept thats to my knowledge not been done before. All it is is you running a space program and while it tecnhically didnt come out this year due to early access its still worth a look.

2. Shadowrun Dragonfall. The game that fixed my major problems with Shadowrun returns but by itself Dragon fall is still a really good RPG, especially if you like cyberpunk and/or shadowrun

3. Lords of the fallen. Everyone I know thought this would be a controversial game for me. What would I say when someone took the formula of Dark souls, made it a little easier, and called it something else? Well what I ended up saying is its Dark souls light and its a pretty good game. Shocking right? Not really. When it comes to dark souls Im a purist, not an elitest. Ive always said if they wanted to make an easier to understand or easier to play dark souls they could and I just wanted it to be called something else. They did that so Im happy people can get the experience they want as long as I get to keep the artistic masterpiece that is dark souls. Everybody wins that way. Now if Deck 13 could solve the crashing problems on PC

4. Dark souls 2. I dont think Im ready to give an opinion on dark souls 2 quite yet. Much like God of war 2 you can see a definite difference with the change in directors. By itself its a good game but its also a game that I need more time with to really give a detailed opinion of when I compare it to dark souls. Its by no means a step up from the masterpiece that was dark souls but Im not yet sure how far of a step down it is to really form a detailed opinion of it.

5. Watch dogs. For all its problems watch dogs is still a good game. I think they really missed an opportunity to redefine what crime is in the cyber sense without going full on cyberpunk and distopian society. Aiden piece is bland as bland can be (I still dont get why we couldnt design our own character in that game) and the story follows textbook ubisoft story points that constantly get you into gunfights and car chases despite the player performing a mission perfectly just for the sake of spectacle. That said, I thought it was still a good game in the sense of being a vigilante fighting crime in your own way and because I didnt really follow the hype thats what I expected it to be.

 

[regalphantom]

1. Super Smash Bros (WiiU)
2. Dark Souls 2
3. Dragon Age: Inquisition
4. Transistor
5. South Park: Stick of Truth

Honourable Mentions: Pokemon ORAS, Wolfenstien: NO, Far Cry 4, The Wolf Among Us

 

[Super Cyborg]

Do the games have to be from this year only? If so, then I can't even make a full top five. I'll just go for games I've played for the first time this year.

1. Radiant Historia: A game much more superior compared to Chrono Trigger. Great Story, had some good characters, and liked the art style. The limitations of the DS couldn't have made the timeline stuff as interesting as it could've been, but quite good with what it had.

2. Ys: Memories of Celceta: Loved this series since I played through all of it about 2 years ago. While the ending was not that great, the gameplay was solid. Add in the awesome music, along with the cool bosses, it was a great experience.

3. Gravity Rush. Took a while to get used to the controls and mechanics, but the gameplay was really fun. The story was very interesting, and I really look forward to the sequel when it comes out.

4. Sly Cooper 2. Expanded well from the first one, adding an open world element, and being able to play as the whole team. Story is solid, and each area is cool and unique. Big problems is some of the minny games, especially the RC ones, as they are very annoying.

5. Tales of Xillia 2. Quite good for a sequel. Main reasons for being lower compared to others is that the debt system gets really annoying later on, and when doing the main story, you are stuck with certain characters for the chapter, which can lead to problems. Backtracking is hard, especially considering that I only finished the first game earlier this year. Put this one over the first as I felt the story was overall better, and the character stuff was a bit more interesting. Either way, more Alvin was great.

 

[Prince of Ales]

Struggling to think of 5. I tend to go for games with a really long play time.

My number 1 has to be Hearthstone. I've been playing it since beta but it's technically a 2014 release. It's a game without any real story or dialogue but is oozing with drama. There's those games you thought you were going to win but you lost, those games you thought you were going to lose but ended up winning. These matches stick in you mind. You can lose when no conventionally run card would ever beat you, but there's this one random obscure card and your opponent happens to have it. Everybody that plays this game will have some memorable matches they can point to. And the best thing of all, it's a great spectator sport; this isn't my most played game of this year, but it's without a doubt my most watched game of this year. People like Trump and Amaz and all the other YouTubers and streamers absolutely made this game for me.

Other's worth talking about:

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls. It's amazing how the things they changed from vanilla were so subtle and yet it transformed the game to the point of being absolutely worth playing. It just makes you wonder how on earth they got it so wrong at first when the core mechanics were evidently spot on. Worth looking at.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. I'm not going to apologise for this. It's the worst Borderlands game. But I happen to really like the series, to the point where a slightly worse version of more-of-the-same is totally worth it for me.

 

[Hero of Lime]

In no particular order...

1. Super Smash Bros. U/3DS. Definitely my new favorite Smash Bros. I always grappled with whether I preferred Melee or Brawl, but Smash U beat both by far.

2. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Gamefreak proves once again they are the best when it comes to remakes. ORAS is probably my second favorite duo of Pokemon games after Black and White.

3. Hyrule Warriors. I played this game for a month straight. That almost never happens to me nowadays. The Zelda theme is obviously what made me get it, but I genuinely had so much fun that I kept playing. It's not an amazing game, but after doing all the challenges, I can say that it's more than just a mindless button masher.

4. Mario Kart 8. The Mario Kart that finally destroyed my nostalgic love of Mario Kart 64! Easily the best Mario Kart for me, no question about it.

5. Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker. A LOT more fun than I thought it would be. Been a while since a pure puzzle game gave me such a good time. It also helps that it was only $40 rather than the usual 60 for Wii U games.

Maybe it's boring to have only Nintendo games on this list, but I only had a Wii U and 3DS for most of the year as far as new consoles go. Though it's hard to deny they had a really good year.

Honorable mentions: Kirby Triple Deluxe, Master Chief Collection, and Killzone: Shadow Fall.

Just as another special mention, even though it came out in 2013, I played Fire Emblem Awakening this year, and it's one of my all time favorite games now. I won't count it in the main 5, but I feel like I had to mention it. >.>

 

[Novakingway]

1) League of Legends. Still playing it
2) Super Smash Bros Wii U. Almost perfect fighitng game
3) Halo MCC

That's it really.

 

[Adultratedhydra]

5.Stick of truth: Breath of fresh air in a medium thats started taking itself way too seriously.

4.Divinity: one of two good solid CRPG's that actually came out this year.

3.Wasteland 2: The other Solid CRPG.

2.Dark souls 2: Combat may have been overall weaker but the atmosphere and story were still there.

1.Shadow of Mordor: Original concept? Probably not, Original systems in place? The nemesis system puts Shadow of mordor in its own league.

Dishonorable mention goes to Dragon Age inquisition for crashing 10 times before i even clicked new game, would freeze if i was alt tabbed for too long and then after 30 hours, multiple crashes to desktop with no warning (That only got more frequent as time went on.) and saves in multiple slots decided that all of those saves needed to corrupt at the same time for no forseeable reason.

Honorable mention goes to DF2014 for continuing to exist and provide endless amounts of !!FUN!!.


Heres hoping we get something good in 2015 because if its anything like this year then bring on the next industry crash.

 

[LaoJim]

1. Geometry Wars 3

That is all.

Actually seriously, the only other games from 2014 I've bought so far have been the HD releases of Far Cry 1, AC Liberation, GTA San Andreas and Pac-man Museum. It's not I'm setting out to be retro, it's just these are the only console titles to get deep discounts so far. That's the thing with these threads, I never get round to playing games until at least a year after release. Actually thinking about it, I might just pop off and create a thread about the best 2013 games.

 

[gorfias]

Wow. I"m seeing a lot of Stick of Truth. My buddy has a PS3 copy and is loving it too. I'm sure I'll have to get around to buying it myself. During sales, its been under $20 on Steam. An issue with Steam is that I get great sales on older games. Keeping to 2014

5) Infamous 2nd Son
4) Super Smash Brothers.
3) COD Advanced Warfighter
2) Titanfall
1) Mario Kart 8

 

[Brotha Desmond]

1: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
2: Persona Q: Shadow of the labyrinth
3: Mario Kart 8
4: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PS4)
5: Super Smash Bros Wii U

I know that technically FF XIV came out last year, but I'm sure some version came out this year, so I'm counting that.

 

[Amaror]

1. Shadow of Mordor
2. This War of Mine
3. Transistor
4. Far Cry 4
5. Watch Dogs

Honorable mention goes to Dragon Age Inquisition. I was sure i was going to place it in my top 5 this year, but i just got bored after a while and have currently no interest in playing the game whatsoever. And if that happens before i come even close to finishing the game it doesn't speak well for the game in question.
And yes, i know that Watch Dogs didn't look as good as advertised. And i know that Ubisoft acted like a d**k restricting the graphics options to make it look worse on pc. But i don't care. The gameplay is solid, it's fun to play around with the various hacking abilities and items both in firefights and in the car. They make the chasing sequences, which are usual the worst part of these open world games for me actually fun and tense to play. Even with graphical issues and somewhat botched controls it's just fun and that's what counts.

 

[Launcelot111]

5. Divinity Original Sin
4. Smash Bros
3. Binding of Isaac Rebirth
2. Wolf Among Us
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1.Lego Marvel Superheroes

I find this game endlessly captivating for reasons I can't really articulate. I guess it's got flair

 

[G00N3R7883]

1) Shadow of Mordor - amazing combat, nemesis system gives the orcs alot of personality and the player gets lots of freedom to plan their own solutions to quest objectives.

2) Walking Dead season 2 - excellent story, characters and dialogue with some tough moral choices (just don't look at a wiki to find out what happens if you make a different choice because it will kill the illusion).

3) Wolfenstein - great FPS combat and a surprisingly good story. I was impressed with BJ's character depth, not just your typical dumb FPS grunt.

4) Shadowrun Dragonfall - excellent story and characters with some nice tactical combat.

5) Wolf Among Us - pretty much what I said about Walking Dead, just a different setting.

Notes

* I am currently 33 hours through Dragon Age Inquisition so I can't rank it yet. Origins is my favourite game of all time so I was hoping Inquisition would take my #1 spot. So far I like the story and the characters and there is a ton of quests to do ... but the combat is kind of crap. Its somehow even less tactical than DA2. I think DA:I will probably finish behind Wolfenstein on my list.

* I haven't started Far Cry 4 yet so again I can't rank it. I loved FC3, and if FC4 is equal quality, it probably would be competing for the #1 spot on this list.

 

[TristanBelmont]

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Smash 3DS, and Dragon Age: Inqusition in no particular order.

This has not been a great year for video games.

Still need to play Shovel Knight.

 

[Tanis]

A Story About My Uncle:
Spider-Man + Myst + Puzzles = Amazing.

Shadow Of Mordor:
AC: LOTR, but that's fine by me.

Divinity Original Sin:
A once solid series returns great.

Child of Light:
JRPG makes me feel like a kid again.

Endless Legend:
Lovely 4X game that feels like a better 'Beyond: Earth' than the actual, B:E.

 

[McMarbles]

Y'know, I don't think I even played five games this year.

1. Fantasy Life
2. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright
3. Bravely Default

Was Ace Attorney 5 this year or last? I know Zelda: ALBW was last year.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I haven't played very many 2014 games but I have had a chance to try out 5 so hey, looks like I can cobble together a list after all!

5 - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. This isn't a game I've played too much of yet but what I have played has been delightful and fun. I love how clever the puzzles are, I love Captain Toad as a character, the boss fights are clever...I just can't wait to get back into this game. I kind want to know how my Amiibo will be utilized in this game though...

4 - Hyrule Warriors. This is the most fun I've had with a Warriors game since Hokuto Musou (Kens' Rage 1). I love playing Dynasty Warrior games in general since they offer up a lot of cathartic potential. There's something satisfying about taking a half-hour out of the day to just lay waste to a thousand or so enemy minions and maybe a King Dodongo.

3 - Super Smash Bros for the Wii U. It's Smash! I love Smash! I love being able to beat the Hell out of Jigglypuff but this is the first time I can take on 7 of them at the same time...as Little Mac...and they're all handicapped with 300% damage and thus easily launched because catharsis! This is a great looking Wii U game in general but the huge roster also makes this game great. Add in Amiibo support and now it's even easier to grind for trophies, collectibles, buffs, etc...

2 - Shovel Knight. This isn't a game I funded because I'm poor but I've followed it for a while and once it finally launched, I couldn't wait to download it. This game was a delight to play through; it was extremely well presented, the music was fantastic but most importantly, the gameplay was more tight than early-2000's slang. Unlike some of the games that inspired it, Shovel Knight is tough but it isn't discouragingly difficult. It's the kind of game I can just jump into whenever I want to.

1 - Super Smash Bros for the 3DS. This is a portable game that walks taller than Brawl and Melee. It's absolutely jam packed for a portable game and while it's challenging, the difficulty isn't nearly as crushing as the Wii U version which is great. This is the 2014 game I've put the most time into this year and I know that when I finish Pokemon Omega Ruby I'm probably going to go back into Smash if only to try and complete my challenge panel and trophy collection, something I'm not even close to doing in the other Smash Bros titles I own.

There are a lot of 2014 games I really wish I could have played but I'll likely have to wait until I get a PS4 and/or the prices drop, games such as;

Alien: Isolation
Bravely Default
Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn
Far Cry 4
Guilty Gear Xrd
inFamous: Second Son
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle
Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Senran Kagura: Bon Apitite
Shadow Warrior
Shante and the Pirate's Curse
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (It'll be a fun $5 game)
Tengami
Teslagrad
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy Curtain Call
Thief
Watch_Dogs (which will be great for $20)
Wolfenstein: The New One

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

In decreasing order of excellence:

1. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments
2. Risen 3
3. Legend of Grimrock 2
4. Costume Quest 2
5. Kentucky Route Zero

Honorable mentions:
Dragon Age Inquisitor - Initially fun but gets tiring after about 20 hours and not nearly as deep as it appears to be at first. Gameplay too MMO-ish for my tastes.
Stick of Truth - at least it was funny, unlike the last 10 or so years of the show. The combat wore on me after a few hours.
Dragonfall - Was this really 2014? Huh. It's good but since it's only a new story of a remake I can't give it too much credit.
Valiant Hearts - Okay the gameplay isn't thrilling but it gives us a taste of the emotional gravity of trench warfare, and that's something.