deanb Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 It's getting to that time of year again. What game, of all the games you've played from this year, is your top game? Usual rules apply: it came out this year. There is of course leeway on re-releases and ports though it's making quite a statement on all other games if your fave is one that originally came out a year or so prior, but you'd hardly be the last of us to do that. Try and put a bit of thought into it, more than just blasting out the title and leaving it at that. And then we'll see what we're put together in...say a week or so and put it to a vote. Incidentally feel free to go for games others have already suggested, you could have totally different reasons why it's your fave game of the year. (Heck if you're feeling you have more words left in you maybe even suggest your top game you've played this year that's not from 2014, I know more than enough of us make way through backlogs years old). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Dragon Age: Inquisition. It's just such a return to form in every way after the disappointment of DA2. I haven't actually finished it yet, but I'm ~75 hours in so I think I can judge it fairly well. I think it even exceeds DA:O, which is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. *Edit* - Shadow of Mordor and Infamous: Second Son were both strongly in contention too, but really they're both just really solid games, nothing truly amazing. Also, for the first time since AC2 I don't think I'm going to get to the yearly Assassin's Creed game before the end of the year. Weird considering AC2, Brotherhood, AC3 and Black Flag were all GOTY contenders for me in their respective years. Edited December 23, 2014 by TheMightyEthan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Man, this sure is a difficult one to tackle. Generally, I can pick one or two strong titles that clearly stand far and above the rest. This year, I'm juggling Child of Light, Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Divinity: Original Sin. I'll have to give it some thought (and finish working). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Man I just could not get in to Child of Light, as badly as I wanted to. I played like 4 hours and just lost interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 I know it takes some time to pick up, but I'm not sure where 4 hours would put you with respect to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Well, I think the first great game I played this year was Infamous Second Son. Visually, it was stunning, it had a decent story, and an interesting setting. Maybe it was a cliche that the game set in Washington State has you playing as a First Nations person, but, can something really be cliche when there's only one other game that does that is Assassin's Creed 3? The new powers were very imaginative, but, let's be honest here, neon was the one everyone used. I think what's holding the game back from being my GOTY, is the video boss fight. I understand what Sucker Punch were going for, but it wasn't fun, and in fact, was quite frustrating. The next game that could be my GOTY would be a little nugget called Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. I was expecting a generic Assassin's Creed clone. What I got was something more. First, they absolutely fucking nailed the combat, Ubisoft TAKE NOTE, you've had eight games to do this, Monolith nailed it on their first time out with one of these types of games. Anyways, yeah, combat was sweet, as was powering up Talion. The story was a little bit so-so, and I'm really fucking sick of Troy Baker in games. But what set this game apart was the nemesis system, something I hope other developers shamelessly rip off. How they managed to give each Orc name it's own chant was a great touch. However, I think what's holding Mordor back from GOTY supremacy is it's setting. In all of Middle-earth to explore, we end up in Mordor. While, eventually there are trees and greenness, there's no towns, no snow, no variety in the world. I like exploring worlds, and Shadow of Mordor gave me just enough of that to realize how boring it's world was. So, I think, my game of the year might just be....... Far Cry 4. I only hesitate because I haven't finished the main campaign (in fact, I've just finally got to the north for the first time). I mentioned previously that I enjoy exploration of open worlds, and, oh doggy, does this game have that. Beautiful mountain tops? Check. Small homesteads you wouldn't discover unless you stumble upon it? Check. Beautiful lakes with treasure at the bottom? Check. I know Far Cry 3 had all of that, but I think it's the beautiful setting that sets this apart, the tropical environment never clicked with me. Or maybe it's that I had a ton of PS3 games to play when Far Cry 3 came out, and not too many PS4 games at this point. Did I mention how great the grappling is? Or the little helicopter vehicles? Jumping off a cliff and hitting L3 to launch your wingsuit? It's all great. Other noteworthy games: South Park: The Stick of Truth Rogue Legacy Assassin's Creed Unity (even though I also hated it) Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Usual rules apply: it came out this year. There is of course leeway on re-releases and ports though it's making quite a statement on all other games if your fave is one that originally came out a year or so prior, but you'd hardly be the last of us to do that. Hahahaha OH DEAN!Overall I do think it was a very weak year. The weakest we've seen since the PS3/360 launched, easily. I don't think any of these games could beat The Last of Us, Journey, Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, Super Mario Galaxy, for GOTY. Edited December 23, 2014 by The Cowboy Poet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Dragon Age would at least be a contender with all of those. But RDR is my favorite game of all time so it would still win. *Edit* - Also, the reason Monolith got the combat right the first time out is because they just lifted it directly from the Arkham games, also published by WB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 I disagree with Dragon Age, it's good, a solid 8/10, but that's just my opinion. And yeah, you're probably right but that still doesn't excuse Ubisoft for not getting Ass Creed's combat fun and fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Overall I do think it was a very weak year. The weakest we've seen since the PS3/360 launched, easily. I don't think any of these games could beat The Last of Us, Journey, Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, Super Mario Galaxy, for GOTY. The thing is that you're comparing a gen's first year with another entire gen. Those games didn't all come out in the same year, far from it. Look at the PS3's first year and I'm sure you'll find something comparable, probably even worse. 2015 is already looking significantly better. Back on topic, are we supposed to make a list or pick a single game? Edited December 23, 2014 by FLD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 Bayonetta 2 is a strong contender that hasn't been mentioned. So is Super Smash Bros. It wasn't a very good year for games though, except for the Wii U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pojodin Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 I really didn't play much this year because there was a huge stretch with nothing that interested me. I know it was only a teaser, but P.T. is up there for me. It's probably a toss up between that, Mario Kart 8, and Smash Bros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturnine Tenshi Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) It was a difficult decision, but I think I'm going with Shadowrun: Dragonfall. Child of Light was pretty good, but it didn't have enough meat on its bones. Divinity: Original Sin was a strong contender, especially since it scratched the same itch as Dragonfall and had cooperative play. Unfortunately, the cooperative play was often a like trying to drop a hair tie down my cat's tail. They should have spent more time polishing the game before release. Its lack of polish varied from being buggy to being outright incomplete. Shadowrun: Dragonfall stands out as an extremely well-polished game that improves upon Returns (which was already super-fun) in most every way. The game and maps are less linear, some of the mission decisions are very creative and really lean toward more player freedom and agency, and the writing is by far the best of any game I've played in some time. Edited December 23, 2014 by Saturnine Tenshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 For pure enjoyment: South Park: The Stick of Truth. While a problem when considering it for GOTY, the gameplay is simplistic but engaging. Do I even have to mention the story and characters? This game is a direct movie/show to game done right and god, it survived its hype which is rare for games to do. Shadow of Mordor is great too but the lore is shaky and I personally don't like how all the collectibles are thrown into my face. Knowing my nature, I tend to go after them all and I burn out from the game. The Nemesis system is awesome, yes, but it can't sustain the game for me. I actually can't play these Arkham-like games for too long without a good hook that isn't tied to combat.. I'm sticking with my guns and going with Wolfenstein: The New Order. Absolute great gameplay. While you should go murdering the Nazi bastards in true Wolfenstein fashion but if stealth appears to be an option then you damn well got that option. Also helping the cause is the story. It just fits Wolfenstein and it kind of humanizes BJ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Besides The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season Two, I've not really played any new video games except Destiny, and though I've played it a fuckload, it doesn't feel right calling it my GOTY. On the board game side of things, it's got to be Dead of Winter, Heroes Wanted or Hyperborea (or A Study In Emerald, which released last year). Right now, I'd go with Hyperborea though the others are equally awesome (just won't see as much playtime, if any, with my close friends) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxicitizen Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 (edited) Since no one answered my question, I'll do a bit of a cross between the two and pick one indie and one major release. It always feels kinda weird to me to try and compare the two, anyway. I tend to favor high production values but there's always some great indies that I want to acknowledge and they simply can't compete in that area. Choosing one of each makes it easier for me. Looking at all the games I've beaten this year, there were a lot of games that I really loved but that I wouldn't really consider GOTY material. First off, the ports: Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Valkyria Chronicles. All three were mostly solid ports and are some of my favorite games ever. I was really happy to revisit them all on PC but picking a port/remaster as GOTY is just kinda boring. So I decided not to consider them, but they get an honorable mention because if I had then they would've dominated over almost everything else. As far as actual new releases go, I simply didn't play too many of them. Ground Zeroes was great once you really dug into the Side Ops,but the idea of picking a glorified demo as my GOTY is laughable at best. Reaper of Souls was an oustanding expansion to Diablo III but failed to keep me playing as long as the base game did. Thief was great simply by virtue of being Thief, but it was also the worst Thief and kinda buggy. That leaves only South Park and Dark Souls II. South Park was a ton of fun, very true to the show and actually felt like more than just an expanded episode. Its gameplay was simplistic but it was way better than a South Park video game had any right to be. But unfortunately for South Park, it's going up against Dark Souls. As disappointing of a sequel as it was, it's a testament to the series quality that any criticism of Dark Soul II is almost always preceded or followed by "but it's still better than 90% of what's out there". There were only two games this year that kept me hooked for almost 100 hours and Dark Souls II was one of them (the other one was actually Dark Souls I). So, Dark Souls II is my GOTY for major releases (although I reserve the right to potentially change my pick if I manage to beat The Evil Within before the end of the year ).Honorable mention: Styx: Master of Shadows. PC issues got in the way of me finishing it so it got put on hold for a little while there. I only started playing it again tonight, so I haven't finished it yet. But man, I fucking love this game. It's a bit rough around the edges but it's a very legit stealth game, much more so than Thief was. Guards will fuck you up if they spot you, it's absolutely fantastic. As a big fan of the stealth genre, games like Styx are few and far between and are something to be treasured. As for my indie pick, Shovel Knight was a very strong contender but ultimately I simply loved Transistor more. Put any form of turn-based strategy combat into a game and you're basically guaranteed that I will love it. This was more of a real-time with pause and action points hybrid but any amount of turn-based will please me greatly. The beautiful art direction, amazing soundtrack and intriguing story were all just icing on the cake. Honorable mention: Door Kickers. I only bought this one a few days ago but I've already sunk almost 10 hours into it. Again, this one is a real-time with pause kinda deal. Remember the planning phase from old-school Rainbow Six games? Expand that to an entire game and that's Door Kickers. If that sounds interesting to you then go for it, you will not be disappointed. Edited December 24, 2014 by FLD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 (edited) As for my indie pick, Shovel Knight was a very strong contender but ultimately I simply loved Transistor more. Put any form of turn-based strategy combat into a game and you're basically guaranteed that I will love it. This was more of a real-time with pause and action points hybrid but any amount of turn-based will please me greatly. The beautiful art direction, amazing soundtrack and intriguing story were all just icing on the cake. Ugh I terribly regret not picking up Transistor when it was on sale via the PSN, a few weeks ago. Curse you, past-me! Edited December 24, 2014 by The Cowboy Poet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 Man, past me is always doing shit that pisses me off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielpholt Posted December 26, 2014 Report Share Posted December 26, 2014 (edited) Honorable mention: Door Kickers. I only bought this one a few days ago but I've already sunk almost 10 hours into it. Again, this one is a real-time with pause kinda deal. Remember the planning phase from old-school Rainbow Six games? Expand that to an entire game and that's Door Kickers. If that sounds interesting to you then go for it, you will not be disappointed. Fill me with confidence as I've been meaning to play that since it went gold a few months back. As for my GOTY it's a real tough one. I don't have a stand out, and three of the games that immediately come to mind are either re-releases or games that came out in 2012/13 (GTA 5, The Last of Us, Wind Waker HD). I've probably put more time into Destiny than almost any other game this year, but I just can't make that my choice as, all things considered....I don't think I think it's a terribly good game. Addictive? Yeah, but i had serious issues with that game from start to finish. Counterspy is a fairly simplistic game, but it's got a fantastic aesthetic and really grabbed me in the time I spent with it, I'm just not comfortably attaching it to my GOTY list, it'll probably make the top 3 though. I just wish the game had more reply value aside from trying to beat your point tally. Fun though, you should definitely take a look (also available on iOS I believe). Mario Kart 8? Had some fantastic weeks with that game, even though I rarely ever played competitive multiplayer. Maybe if I had some friends to play it with it'd nab my vote, it's a fantastic little game for sure, but I've not played it in a few months (for the reason above - no one wants to play with me . ) **I've still got Bayonetta 2 to play through, and Endless Legend seems like it might appeal to me too (not played yet either). Gun to my head? My Game of the Year is GTA 5. It's been a bad year. Edited December 26, 2014 by bigdanhero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted December 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Mine is Shadow of Mordor. First game that's kinda felt like it's 8th gen material. Really liked the captain system in it, feel like it's something quite news, even if much of the game was sort of Assassins Creed meets Arknam. I'd like to see more of it in future games. Felt it did quite well with the lore of Middle Earth too, where other LotR titles I've played (Third Age being the largest offender) have been pretty fast and loose with the lore. Shadow of Mordor was pretty damn pretty, fun to play, felt like it had nice pacing between areas despite the relatively small two maps. Never really got tired with them, and then there's the collectibles and side missions which weren't massively laborious to go through, though somewhat unnecessary for the most part. Also the Branding stuff was pretty fucking sweet, and playing with the structure of the army to get your guy up near the top. Having different enemies with the different strengths n weaknesses and planning around it really helped add variety, and yeah it's all fairly procedural but you didn't mind. So yeah, my GOTY cos I'd like to see more of it applied to other games, kinda hoping other studios were paying attention. Hoping we don't get a direct sequel though. Other games I've done this year being: Ciov:BE, Watch_Dogs (which I feel was a bit rough around the edges, still quite grounded in Ubisofts AC system of game mechanics, but will likely be pretty damn sweet come the second one much like how they did with Far Cry n AC), Monument Valley which was a pretty looking game, though pretty short (it'd be even shorter if not for the overly long animations), and Thief which I never finished. Oh n Pokemone Alpha Sapphire,which I'm still working my way through and while a delight for myself, not feeling quite GOTY stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Why don't you want a direct sequel to Shadow of Mordor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 A big part of me wants to say Binding of Isaac: Rebirth simply for all the crazy moments it's given me and the sheer amount of replayability it's offered. I know some would say that a remake shouldn't be a contender, but honestly this new version is so improved that comparing it to the original is like apples and oranges. They didn't just add content or smooth it over, they completely rebuilt the game from the ground up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted December 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Why don't you want a direct sequel to Shadow of Mordor? It felt like a pretty wrapped up and completed game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Maybe not a direct sequel, but something else in Middle-earth with similar mechanics. And please have a quest where I can slaughter filthy hobitses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Give me dwarves or give me death. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 30, 2014 Report Share Posted December 30, 2014 Maybe not a direct sequel, but something else in Middle-earth with similar mechanics. And please have a quest where I can slaughter filthy hobitses. Yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking "direct" direct, but another game set in Middle Earth. I agree that we don't need another one with the same dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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