The procrastination strikes again! One day I’m going to finish my list before the next year comes but for now I’m just going to pretend I got it in on time. 2014 had a lot of really cool games and it’s probably the year that surprised me the most with what I’d be enjoying. Before the year started I had definitely expected half the games on my list to either by garbage or totally mediocre only to be shocked at the amount of fun I had with them. Here’s hoping 2015 doesn’t disappoint.
Toukiden: The Age of Demons
The Vita might have a lot of Monster Hunter clones in its library but out of all the ones I’ve played Toukiden is easily the closest to the real thing. It isn’t a poor man’s Monster Hunter though, surpassing my favorite series in many ways that I wish Capcom would acknowledge and apply to future MH titles. Besides all that there’s this fantastic Japanese folklore theme thrown in which I absolutely love and with Kiwami coming soon with more stuff to do and cross-platform multiplayer, 2015 is looking pretty good.
Favorite Moment: Using the spear the pole jump into the air into a demon’s stupid face
Infamous: Second Son
I really liked Second Son even if it felt slightly unfinished with its lackluster story and side missions. The controls were tight and it just felt fun to play. Sprinting up the side of a building with the neon powers then boost jumping off to fly off in some other direction was so much fun and all the powers were great to use. I’m just hoping Sucker Punch can deliver a proper sequel now that
Favorite Moment: Getting the unlimited dash upgrade for the neon power
Strider
I’m still trying to wrap my head around how this ended up being as good as it was. Double Helix doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record but they killed it with Strider. Everything about it was just so well done and it’s one of the few games of the year where I actually blasted through it in a day or two. It was slick, stylish, controlled great, and was overall a blast to play.
Favorite Moment: The boss fights
Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
I loved Binding of Isaac and Rebirth was just more of what I already loved so I guess I double love Rebirth. Everything about it is just amazing and despite dying so many times to utter bullshit I just can’t stop playing it. Please send help.
Favorite Moment: Being blessed by the RNG gods and acquiring a stupidly overpowered build and preceding to smack every boss silly
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
If you told me a Call of Duty game would be one of my favorite games of the year I would’ve called you the fattest liar of the Big Fat Liars Club but Sledgehammer managed to rope me back into a series I never thought I’d come back to. Being able to boost in four directions and double jump is a game changer for the series and the weapons are probably at the best they’ve been in years. Being able to instantly test out a loadout in the multiplayer lobby was also pretty huge. Advanced Warfare shakes things up in such a huge way that I’m not touching another Call of Duty game if it can’t offer me the same speed and maneuverability as this game. Of course I wouldn’t mind it if Activision wanted to let Treyarch give us a proper WW2 game.
Favorite Moment: Finally “clicking” with the jetpack controls and just styling all over everyone
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
I’m pretty surprised how much I played this game considering I bought it expecting a 30 minute demo. I must have played through the main mission maybe a dozen times doing it so many different ways and slowly discovering neat little thing you can do in the game. The additional side missions were just bonuses for me and the vastly improved gameplay just gets me even more excited for Phantom Pain later this year.
Favorite Moment: Finishing the game and going online to theory talk about Phantom Pain
Far Cry 4
Yea I know it’s pretty much just Far Cry 3 with a scenery change but I really liked Far Cry 3 so I don’t really care. I really just wanted more of everything in the last game and I got it here with refined controls, more traversal options, and cooler animals. I spent hours just driving around taking outposts and hunting animals and for some reason I never got bored doing it. It also helps that tearing up an outpost with an elephant just never gets old.
Favorite Moment: Hovering in my helicopter as I rain bait down on an outpost and watching the soldiers get torn apart by honey badgers
Wolfenstein: The New Order
This was so good guys. Like, I’m still trying to tell people how good this was. MachineGames knocked it out of the ballpark by delivering a crazy fun game full of so much carnage and explosions that would make 80’s action films proud. They just got the right blend of classic and modern shooter mechanics to work perfectly and threw that in with a surprisingly solid story that I actually wanted more of. It’s easily the sleeper hit of the year and I really can’t wait to see what MachineGames gives us next.
Favorite Moment: Dual wielding shotguns and going to town on Nazi scum
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Okay I think it’s safe to say we were all really excited for this game but didn’t expect much considering its troubling development but thankfully it turned out pretty great. Obsidian took a known franchise and for some reason got the genius idea to turn it into an RPG and it worked brilliantly. It was a really solid system that was fun to play and the South Park humor just made it even better. The only bummer with this game is that there isn’t more of it to play.
Favorite Moment: Anytime anyone discussed the Taco Bell conspiracy
Divinity: Original Sin
Divinity: Original Sin is easily the best RPG I’ve played in years and more people need to play it. There’s just so much to it that makes the experience so wonderful as you slowly learn how the game works. Figuring out you can use a spell to bleed an enemy and then tossing lightning on that blood puddle to stun that enemy is just one moment of many where you realize how interactive the environment really is. Learning how to take advantage of the environment and knowing the enemy AI can do so as well just adds to the strategy in a game that has just the right amount of challenge to it. I always say the little details really make a game and this one is full of them.
Favorite Moment: Teleporting an explosive enemy on top of his buddies causing them all to die in a fiery inferno, teleporting a treasure chest out of view from a guard so I can loot it, or teleporting one of my characters to reach a spot I probably wasn’t supposed to. Shit man, teleporting in general is just awesome in this game
