Majestic Twelve - Games of 2014

Many argue 2014 was a bad year for games. And I suppose that really depends on who you ask. I found many worthwhile indie games from Hand of Fate to Shovel Knight were coming out and I couldn't even get to them all. I found the Xbone actually had games on it (though I still haven't bought the damn thing). It was a good year for Platinum as they had three different titles release this year (though one was just a PC port, still counts). Telltale had a good year with three games coming out this year as well (two having concluded and the third just starting). And this was an excellent year for Nintendo with many great games worth owning a WiiU for.

Yes, many games did get delayed into 2015, which sucks. But I actually liked that because it lessened the stress on my wallet during the holiday shopping season. And some of those titles are filling up the early spring games drought that we usually get nothing released in. It's a blessing in disguise that few are thinking ahead for (as usual). All that said, let's get to the best offerings of 2014 (As decided by me). And because I said so, these must be true and if you disagree, you're probably wrong and maybe even some kind of racist (though probably not). 

#12 – One Finger Death Punch – A review of this went up not long ago. Like I said, it’s another simple indie game that takes one of the most important aspects of an action game, timing of the attacks and efficiency of combos. The goal of the game is to teach players of fighting and action games to slow down and time attacks. It works rather well and has many enemies and stages to go through, keeping things entertaining… for a while at least.

#11 - Hand of Fate - Again, this review isn't all that old either. Hm... I wonder why I was in such a rush to get those done before this went up? If you didn't check that out yet, Hand of Fate is still an early access game that's in beta. But as far as beta's go, it's very playable and offers a lot for players to do. The game is challenging a mysterious sorcerer who uses cards to throw you into battles against minions he summons in a variety of scenarios. It's D&D meets Yu-Gi-Oh meets a lighter version of Batman Arkham. It starts off criminally easy, but once you get about halfway, expect death and expect failure due to either bad luck or just not being able to fight all the enemies being thrown at you while all the traps litter the playing field. Its a fun game that likes to shake things up, but a little more variety in the final product would go a long way. 

#10 – Hyrule Warriors – Dynasty Warriors meets Zelda in a game that I desperately tried to enjoy but could find no real excitement in beyond the fact that it was a better than average Zelda game. This doesn’t make it bad, but in a year filled with stellar action games, Hyrule Warriors was simply outclassed by many and had it come out in a year filled with Walking Dead style games based on story over gameplay, it might have taken a higher spot.

#09 – Legend of Korra – Platinum Games absolutely dominated the market this year with at least three releases that I’m aware of. Two of which were PC and one of which was based on my favorite property, Legend of Korra. The game has the Platinum Polish, but you can tell it was on a budget and wasn’t given enough time by Activision to properly back into a full-fledged Platinum Classic. But the fun combos, dodge mechanics, and action packed fun are all still there. It just takes a bit of getting used to. Visually the game looks amazing and the ability to play as the Avatar is fun. Just wish there was a bit more to it.

#08 – Mario Kart 8 – Simply put, the best Mario Kart Nintendo has to offer. Here we see their spectacular display of HD visuals, online gameplay, and polished mechanics from the long running series. Things aren’t perfect as we’re missing some characters from previous iterations in favor of a growing roster of infants. But the tracks and racing mechanics are some of the best, only outdone by Sonic All-Stars Racing (which sadly didn’t get an entry this year).

#07 – Metal Gear Rising: Revengence – The other PC release for Platinum was Metal Gear Rising: Revengence which was released last year for consoles, and this year for PC. I’m not up to date on the MGS lore, but this game tosses all the gameplay conventions out the window (stealth mechanics) in favor of high-flying action gameplay fun. The plot is still as ridiculous as most people say a Metal Gear game gets nowadays, but combined with Platinum’s over-the-top ridiculous gameplay style, it’s a match made in heaven. I assume if I enjoyed Metal Gear itself more, I’d probably be a bigger fan of this game.

#06 – Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor – I honestly wanted to rank this lower. The plot is boring. The Nemesis system, while intriguing, doesn’t really make the game that interesting to me. And the combat is ripped out of the Batman Arkham games but given a sword instead of just fists. The problem is while the game doesn’t feel at all unique or groundbreaking, everything was so competently put together, it’s hard to rank it lower on those grounds alone. That being said, its lackluster story is what keeps it from getting any higher as the rest of the games (save for one) have better story in spades.

#05 – Walking Dead Season 2 – It saddens me to rank Telltale’s return to the world of Walking Dead lower than the former series (which got first place in 2012), there are many issues plaguing the story of Season 2 that are hard to overlook. Leaving all the decisions up to a little girl when in a group of adults makes everything come off as silly more than tense. The pacing was awkward, though I get they were going for a higher tension story, it makes the first few chapters just feel out of synch. And then the ending choice felt like a sucker punch to the gut when I still don’ t feel there’s a wrong choice… except going with Jane. Because fuck her.

#04 – Wolf Among Us – But TellTale didn’t quite leave us high-and-dry this year for games. While Game of Thrones isn’t making my list (because I have yet to get it) Wolf Among Us is among some of the best games of the year. Visually, it’s beautiful in just about every way, almost like a motion-comic book. The plot is a mystery, which naturally draws players in. The downside is the mystery’s final chapter is a bit of a letdown as the villain basically expositions himself out of the problem and makes things feel rather anticlimactic. But it’s still a fun adventure that leaves me wanting more and I’m certainly looking forward to a season 2 should it exist.

#03 – Transistor – It took a while for me to get into this game, but pushing forward and sticking with it was entirely worth it. The flexibility of Functions and how it can change your gameplay entirely is the core aspect that makes me keep wanting to play. The story is bittersweet and something you don’t see in games too often, letting it stick out above the rest. And in terms of visuals and music, there are only two other titles I can think of that beat it, but they had a Nintendo-Budget-Bankroll behind them, so that’s a little unfair of a comparison. Transistor is a really fun game and worth a look, no matter what.

#02 – Smash Bros (WiiU/3DS) - First, the 3DS port feels like an incomplete game, but it is serviceable for those who refuse to buy a WiiU (for whatever reason) to get the obviously better version of the game. Not to mention portability is nice. But the WiiU version is another example of Nintendo’s dedication to improving their visual quality for all their games. I don’t think they released a bad looking game at all this year (save for Sonic Boom… looking at you Sega). Simply put, it’s the best Smash Bros in the franchise and offers up loads of amazing looking levels, game modes, music, and one of the best rosters of fighters in games I’ve ever seen. Nintendo had a great year… but there was one Nintendo offering that was simple flawless.

#01 – Bayonetta 2 – Taking the WiiU’s visuals and capabilities to a level that makes the XBone look like it’s a last-gen console with a cranial intrusion, Bayonetta 2 is one of the best looking games of the year, gorgeous on every frame. The story is a step up from the previous game in terms of coherence and aided more by having aspects that fill in holes from the previous game (sign of a good sequel right there). The gameplay is what you remember from the previous installment, but with a bit more polish, new weapons, and abilities to take advantage of new environments that were previously unexplored. It took a while for the WiiU to have amazing games to talk about, but I’m glad it finally happened with Bayonetta 2.

And there you have it. That is your definitive "Best Of " list for games of 2014. Yes, some games you may have liked are not on the list. Do keep in mind my limited budget for games, limited time to play them all, and limited devices on which I can play them. So, yes, I won't be able to literally get to them all, even some I wanted to get to had to take a miss because there just weren't enough hours in the day. But boy did I dog through as many as I could in the past month to make sure we had the most options available for this list.

If you enjoyed this article and want more like it, as always, be sure to like, subscribe, share, and comment. 2014 is coming to a close and we're almost done wrapping up the best moments of the year. Be sure to keep watching the blog for more updates on the best of 2014 and what we're looking forward to in 2015. See ya next time.