Erik_Twice wrote:Best Video GameThief II: The Metal Age (Steve Pearsall, 2000 PC)
Now you should play this:
http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/FM:T2_T2X:_ ... ring_Guild
( http://www.thief2x.com/download/ )
2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
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Exhuminator
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Now you should play this:
http://thief.wikia.com/wiki/FM:T2_T2X:_ ... ring_Guild
( http://www.thief2x.com/download/ )
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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Erik_Twice
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
I already have, I even reviewed it 
Looking for a cool game? Find it in my blog!
Latest post: Often, games must be difficult
http://eriktwice.com/
Latest post: Often, games must be difficult
http://eriktwice.com/
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Exhuminator
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
I'm glad you're on top of things. (Kinda hard to keep up with what everybody posts when there's 29 boards on this forum.)
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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Erik_Twice
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Don't worry, I really appreciate it. It has been a while since I played some Thief II fan missions so I should give them a whirl again 
Looking for a cool game? Find it in my blog!
Latest post: Often, games must be difficult
http://eriktwice.com/
Latest post: Often, games must be difficult
http://eriktwice.com/
Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
All right, here it is, tell me what you all think. This is the most work I've put into a forum post in a long time. ; - ;
Best Video Game: The Witcher (PC)
To get the downsides out of the way first, the combat got a bit repetitive at times. The game reuses area's throughout multiple chapters. And the enemy variety left something to be desired. So, basically, The Witcher was repetitive during it's worse moments, and those were the moments I didn't enjoy the game. However I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. Despite feeling repetitive sometimes, I liked the combat. The main character, Geralt, feels a bit like an old school badass while still having a personality of his own. And last but by no means least the story is incredible. This is one of the few games I've ever played where the moral dilemma's that the game presents you with are actually quite thought provoking and it's hard to make a decision. By the end I was completely satisfied with The Witcher, and I can confidently say that I'll remember it fondly years from now when so many other games will be forgotten.
Worst Video Game: Fez (PC)
To be honest, I don't think I played any bad games this year. I've liked everything that I've played so far. I'm putting Fez in this spot though because, ultimately, it was rather forgettable. The platforming was solid and fun, and the open ended exploration was very welcome, but that was really all there was too it. The gameplay wasn't revolutionary in any way, and the environments weren't all that interesting. Unfortunately the story didn't catch me either, as it wen't so far into the "vague figure-it-out-for-yourself" territory that I wasn't able to get vested in it.
Most Challenging Video Game: Shadowgate (PC)
I'm by no means the smartest person ever. I don't play nearly as many point and click adventure games as I wish I did. And even by the standards of classic point and clicks, Shadowgate is revered as being one of the toughest. So it's probably not much of a surprise that I had a hard time with this game. To be honest what I'm most surprised about is that I managed to get halfway through the game before referring to a guide. On easy difficulty... Oh and to clarify, I played the 2014 remake of Shadowgate, not the original version.
Most Fun Video Game: Metal Gear Rising: Reveangence (PS3)
In terms of pure fun factor I think it's quite an easy choice. MGR was, from start to finish, a total blast to play. Now I prefer my video games to be a bit more well rounded. I like fun gameplay to be coupled in with a good story and such, so I can't possibly consider MGR as game of the year type potential personally. But if I had to base how much fun I had with a video game off of how many teeny tiny little bitty pieces that my enemies had ended up in by the end of an average fight then MGR would soar to the top with ease.
Prettiest Video Game: Race the Sun (PC)
Race the Sun was, as the old saying goes, sheer elegance in it's simplicity. Literally. The game has a very minimalist art style to it with solid colors and big blocky objects that often fall into simple shapes like squares or circles. However with the camera constantly pointing you toward the horizon, and the way the light moves over the environment, I have to say this was the best looking game I played this year. Not in terms of texture quality or resolution per se, but easily in terms of the design of everything and how it fit so perfectly together.
Biggest Disappointment: Dark Souls 2 (PS3)
I actually liked Dark Souls 2. It still had a certain level of quality that feels unique to the Souls games by From Software. But everything about Dark Souls 2 felt... strangely artificial. At least when compared to it's predecessors. The story fell on it's face a little, and the over all world design was far more "by the numbers" than previous titles, but honestly that might all be my fault. I got hyped up for Dark Souls 2 more so than absolutely any game released this year. My anticipation was so high that I wouldn't be surprised if my expectations for it were unrealistic. I'll never be able to truly tell though, because I can't really change my own feelings or see what would have happened if I had felt differently in the past.
My "Can't Justify Buying That" Game: Year Walk (PC)
An excellent little indie adventure game. The setting is a very macabre forest covered in snow, aiding to the games horror-like atmosphere. The story starts off slightly vague, but with just enough information to get you interested, and it all leads to a satisfying little twist at the end which actually makes sense and doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. Also the puzzles are very well made, requiring logic for the most part to solve. But... I haven't played the game yet. So how do I know all this? Well, unfortunately, I ended up watching Markiplier play through the whole game on Youtube. I wasn't able to stop myself from watching it to the end and got the whole story spoiled for me. Now it's in a limbo like zone where it looks like such a good game and I want to buy it, but I just can't convince myself it's worth the money since I already know what happens and it's such a story focused game.
Biggest Pride Swallow: Dragon Age: Origins (PC)
Of every game I played this year, none made me more ashamed than Dragon Age: Origins. It's not that the combat was to hard. It was that it dragged on forever. After completing two of the first major zones and being half way through a third I finally had to admit I wasn't having any fun with the combat. Regular fights against cannon fodder enemies felt like they lasted way too long, which meant the fights never held my interest through to the end. Ultimately I bumped the games difficulty down to easy, and now every fight is over in no time and I'm having a lot more fun with the game now that I get to focus more on the great story/writing.
My "I'll go back and play that again... s-someday..." Game: Shadowgate (PC)
Yes, the hardest game I played this year is also the one I want to go back and play again the most. Probably. Eventually. I have to admit I can be a glutton for punishment when the mood suits me, and Shadowgate was such a fun experience (despite my general lack of competence or confidence when playing it) that I would love to go back and do it all again. Maybe this time without going to any guides for advice, if I'm lucky. Unfortunately these days I have limited time for playing games, and with my huge backlog of over five hundred games it can be hard to justify giving any game a second run through when I've got so many other potentially amazing experiences begging for my attention. We'll see though.
Best Video Game: The Witcher (PC)
To get the downsides out of the way first, the combat got a bit repetitive at times. The game reuses area's throughout multiple chapters. And the enemy variety left something to be desired. So, basically, The Witcher was repetitive during it's worse moments, and those were the moments I didn't enjoy the game. However I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. Despite feeling repetitive sometimes, I liked the combat. The main character, Geralt, feels a bit like an old school badass while still having a personality of his own. And last but by no means least the story is incredible. This is one of the few games I've ever played where the moral dilemma's that the game presents you with are actually quite thought provoking and it's hard to make a decision. By the end I was completely satisfied with The Witcher, and I can confidently say that I'll remember it fondly years from now when so many other games will be forgotten.
Worst Video Game: Fez (PC)
To be honest, I don't think I played any bad games this year. I've liked everything that I've played so far. I'm putting Fez in this spot though because, ultimately, it was rather forgettable. The platforming was solid and fun, and the open ended exploration was very welcome, but that was really all there was too it. The gameplay wasn't revolutionary in any way, and the environments weren't all that interesting. Unfortunately the story didn't catch me either, as it wen't so far into the "vague figure-it-out-for-yourself" territory that I wasn't able to get vested in it.
Most Challenging Video Game: Shadowgate (PC)
I'm by no means the smartest person ever. I don't play nearly as many point and click adventure games as I wish I did. And even by the standards of classic point and clicks, Shadowgate is revered as being one of the toughest. So it's probably not much of a surprise that I had a hard time with this game. To be honest what I'm most surprised about is that I managed to get halfway through the game before referring to a guide. On easy difficulty... Oh and to clarify, I played the 2014 remake of Shadowgate, not the original version.
Most Fun Video Game: Metal Gear Rising: Reveangence (PS3)
In terms of pure fun factor I think it's quite an easy choice. MGR was, from start to finish, a total blast to play. Now I prefer my video games to be a bit more well rounded. I like fun gameplay to be coupled in with a good story and such, so I can't possibly consider MGR as game of the year type potential personally. But if I had to base how much fun I had with a video game off of how many teeny tiny little bitty pieces that my enemies had ended up in by the end of an average fight then MGR would soar to the top with ease.
Prettiest Video Game: Race the Sun (PC)
Race the Sun was, as the old saying goes, sheer elegance in it's simplicity. Literally. The game has a very minimalist art style to it with solid colors and big blocky objects that often fall into simple shapes like squares or circles. However with the camera constantly pointing you toward the horizon, and the way the light moves over the environment, I have to say this was the best looking game I played this year. Not in terms of texture quality or resolution per se, but easily in terms of the design of everything and how it fit so perfectly together.
Biggest Disappointment: Dark Souls 2 (PS3)
I actually liked Dark Souls 2. It still had a certain level of quality that feels unique to the Souls games by From Software. But everything about Dark Souls 2 felt... strangely artificial. At least when compared to it's predecessors. The story fell on it's face a little, and the over all world design was far more "by the numbers" than previous titles, but honestly that might all be my fault. I got hyped up for Dark Souls 2 more so than absolutely any game released this year. My anticipation was so high that I wouldn't be surprised if my expectations for it were unrealistic. I'll never be able to truly tell though, because I can't really change my own feelings or see what would have happened if I had felt differently in the past.
My "Can't Justify Buying That" Game: Year Walk (PC)
An excellent little indie adventure game. The setting is a very macabre forest covered in snow, aiding to the games horror-like atmosphere. The story starts off slightly vague, but with just enough information to get you interested, and it all leads to a satisfying little twist at the end which actually makes sense and doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. Also the puzzles are very well made, requiring logic for the most part to solve. But... I haven't played the game yet. So how do I know all this? Well, unfortunately, I ended up watching Markiplier play through the whole game on Youtube. I wasn't able to stop myself from watching it to the end and got the whole story spoiled for me. Now it's in a limbo like zone where it looks like such a good game and I want to buy it, but I just can't convince myself it's worth the money since I already know what happens and it's such a story focused game.
Biggest Pride Swallow: Dragon Age: Origins (PC)
Of every game I played this year, none made me more ashamed than Dragon Age: Origins. It's not that the combat was to hard. It was that it dragged on forever. After completing two of the first major zones and being half way through a third I finally had to admit I wasn't having any fun with the combat. Regular fights against cannon fodder enemies felt like they lasted way too long, which meant the fights never held my interest through to the end. Ultimately I bumped the games difficulty down to easy, and now every fight is over in no time and I'm having a lot more fun with the game now that I get to focus more on the great story/writing.
My "I'll go back and play that again... s-someday..." Game: Shadowgate (PC)
Yes, the hardest game I played this year is also the one I want to go back and play again the most. Probably. Eventually. I have to admit I can be a glutton for punishment when the mood suits me, and Shadowgate was such a fun experience (despite my general lack of competence or confidence when playing it) that I would love to go back and do it all again. Maybe this time without going to any guides for advice, if I'm lucky. Unfortunately these days I have limited time for playing games, and with my huge backlog of over five hundred games it can be hard to justify giving any game a second run through when I've got so many other potentially amazing experiences begging for my attention. We'll see though.
I feel old when talking to anyone my age yet too inexperienced to effectively talk to anyone older. Life is grand that way.
My twitter handle is @EckoExplores
My twitter handle is @EckoExplores
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Gamerforlife
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Best:
Shadow of Mordor
Deception IV - This one was pissing me off for a while but I came back around to liking it again
Worst:
Sunset Overdrive - Been playing the past couple of days on my new Xbox One. People say it starts out bad but eventually gets really good if you stick with. I've put some 20 hours into it now. It still hasn't gotten all that great yet. I'm not saying it sucks, but it's below standard for an Insomniac game. At least it's funny, most of the time anyway, but it plays like shit. The trick based stuff feels very forced and doesn't work to the game's advantage. This game feels like disparate genres clashing together. Who put ketchup in my apple pie? Why is my open world shooter trying to be a Tony Hark game? And failing at it?
Most Challenging:
Surprisingly, Hyrule Warriors with some of its Adventure Maps, particularly some of the really annoying DLC ones like the Twilight Map. It also takes a lot of patience to deal with what a huge grindfest the game is.
Most Fun:
South Park Stick of Truth - As funny as Sunset Overdrive, minus the crappy gameplay
Prettiest
I don't know. I hardly pay attention to graphics anymore in my games. I care about gameplay above all else. With the type of hardware games run on now is it even all that much of a feat anymore to make a game look good?
Most Surprising:
I've played a little bit of Lords of Shadow 2, and it's been pretty good so far.
Shadow of Mordor
Deception IV - This one was pissing me off for a while but I came back around to liking it again
Worst:
Sunset Overdrive - Been playing the past couple of days on my new Xbox One. People say it starts out bad but eventually gets really good if you stick with. I've put some 20 hours into it now. It still hasn't gotten all that great yet. I'm not saying it sucks, but it's below standard for an Insomniac game. At least it's funny, most of the time anyway, but it plays like shit. The trick based stuff feels very forced and doesn't work to the game's advantage. This game feels like disparate genres clashing together. Who put ketchup in my apple pie? Why is my open world shooter trying to be a Tony Hark game? And failing at it?
Most Challenging:
Surprisingly, Hyrule Warriors with some of its Adventure Maps, particularly some of the really annoying DLC ones like the Twilight Map. It also takes a lot of patience to deal with what a huge grindfest the game is.
Most Fun:
South Park Stick of Truth - As funny as Sunset Overdrive, minus the crappy gameplay
Prettiest
I don't know. I hardly pay attention to graphics anymore in my games. I care about gameplay above all else. With the type of hardware games run on now is it even all that much of a feat anymore to make a game look good?
Most Surprising:
I've played a little bit of Lords of Shadow 2, and it's been pretty good so far.
RyaNtheSlayA wrote:
Seriously. Screw you Shao Kahn I'm gonna play Animal Crossing.
Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Interesting list, MrEco.
Thy ban hammer shalt strike 
Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Games beaten:
This was probably one of my biggest gaming years in a long time. Finished 64 games and still might have time to put one or two more on there.
Best Video Game - Like I said in the 2014 thread, it's probably a toss up between both Dark Souls 2 and Alien Isolation. But since we're including all games on this list, this year was also the first time I finally completed Dark Souls. There are definitely things about that one I'd put above 2, but 2 was still simply more Dark Souls and I couldn't complain (plus I probably still like Demon's the most honestly). Alien Isolation was a major surprise and felt like System Shock 3 or something, minus crazy AI's. The game was more than just hide and seek with the alien, there was combat, androids, other crazy people on the ship, and the the whole thing drenched in atmosphere. It was an amazing experience and a lengthy game for its type that I wanted to be even longer. Topped off with an incredible art direction and unique aesthetics, this one will be very memorable.
Worst Video Game - I'll go with Lightning Returns here. I was really excited even though I went in hating Lightning to the bone, but the gameplay and everything else looked cool. But, I was so very wrong. I might try again with the Japanese dub or something, but yeah. The abysmal writing, dialogue, and uninteresting story made this one an insanely boring chore, and I thought the combat in the first two games was cooler being able to control a full party. Dropped.
Most Challenging Video Game - The Dark Souls games have nothing on Zelda II: Adventure of Link. Finally, after so many long years I finally finished this game for the first time. In the past I would either get stuck or get completely lost without knowing how to progress through its weird oftentimes archaic design. I've always been a big fan though and loved the challenge.
Goofiest Most Unique Game - The quirkiest game I got through this year would be by far Deadly Premonition. I don't think this is something I could ever replay again, but I'll always look back on it very fondly. It's outstanding to see that this game even exists, it's just so funny. The main character was legitimately one of the coolest and most standout characters I've seen in a long time though. Awesome story and characters.
Prettiest Video Game - I would say Far Cry 4 by a long shot. It's making some other PS4 stuff I've checked out look fairly embarrassing in comparison.
Best Wii/U Game - Figured I'd break things down a bit more, since I hit up a lot per a few systems. Last year Super Mario 3D World would probably get my vote, but this year I hit up both Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. I am always very picky about modern sidescrolling platformers often because of the looks and aesthetics. A lot of stuff like Sonic Generations (sorry) looks so incredibly "busy" that it's hard to even tell what's going or for the levels to be something I can visualize from memory. That thankfully was not the issue with the DKCR games as they both looked beautiful and played amazingly well. The challenge was high at times too which was very welcoming and unexpected. I would not put these above the SNES games, but who could? Still, by far some of the best platformers I've played since the 16bit era for sure.
Best PS4 Game - Maybe not the most popular opinion, but I'll probably go with The Evil Within here. The Last of Us had some standout moments and was awesome, but gameplay wise TEW was far better in my book, with way more variety in the enemies and level design. I liked it enough and its zany story to run through it a second time on NG+. Far Cry 4 and GTA5 were fun, but TEW stands out as one I could go back and replay, so it might stand the test of time more than others.
Best Classic Replay - This year I ran through the Doom Classic Complete collection which included just about every official Doom release ever, Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, Plutonia, TNT, Doom 2 Master Levels, and the newer XBLA map pack No Rest for the Living. I beat everything and got 100% for the trophies and had a blast. Doom is quite possibly top 5 material for me in general, it's a timeless comfort game that never bores me. My favorite episode of the bunch? I might say Plutonia this time around, even though I think the texturing sucks in that one fairly often (tons of brown), it was the most challenging by far and had more consistent level design. Good stuff.
Half-Life 2 and the episodes are probably a runner up. It's insane how well this game ages.
Best DLC - Not a DLC fan in general, but going by the few I've checked out I would say the Bioshock games have hands down the best DLC I've probably ever played. Bioshock 2's Minerva's Den and Infinite's episodes of Burial at Sea were just icing on the cake on top of the already incredible base games. I feel that Infinite is fairly fine stand alone, but the Burial chapters took things a bit further in the craziest ways and didn't really ruin anything for me. You could still tell Ken Levine had a huge hand in it.
Best Video Game - Like I said in the 2014 thread, it's probably a toss up between both Dark Souls 2 and Alien Isolation. But since we're including all games on this list, this year was also the first time I finally completed Dark Souls. There are definitely things about that one I'd put above 2, but 2 was still simply more Dark Souls and I couldn't complain (plus I probably still like Demon's the most honestly). Alien Isolation was a major surprise and felt like System Shock 3 or something, minus crazy AI's. The game was more than just hide and seek with the alien, there was combat, androids, other crazy people on the ship, and the the whole thing drenched in atmosphere. It was an amazing experience and a lengthy game for its type that I wanted to be even longer. Topped off with an incredible art direction and unique aesthetics, this one will be very memorable.
Worst Video Game - I'll go with Lightning Returns here. I was really excited even though I went in hating Lightning to the bone, but the gameplay and everything else looked cool. But, I was so very wrong. I might try again with the Japanese dub or something, but yeah. The abysmal writing, dialogue, and uninteresting story made this one an insanely boring chore, and I thought the combat in the first two games was cooler being able to control a full party. Dropped.
Most Challenging Video Game - The Dark Souls games have nothing on Zelda II: Adventure of Link. Finally, after so many long years I finally finished this game for the first time. In the past I would either get stuck or get completely lost without knowing how to progress through its weird oftentimes archaic design. I've always been a big fan though and loved the challenge.
Goofiest Most Unique Game - The quirkiest game I got through this year would be by far Deadly Premonition. I don't think this is something I could ever replay again, but I'll always look back on it very fondly. It's outstanding to see that this game even exists, it's just so funny. The main character was legitimately one of the coolest and most standout characters I've seen in a long time though. Awesome story and characters.
Prettiest Video Game - I would say Far Cry 4 by a long shot. It's making some other PS4 stuff I've checked out look fairly embarrassing in comparison.
Best Wii/U Game - Figured I'd break things down a bit more, since I hit up a lot per a few systems. Last year Super Mario 3D World would probably get my vote, but this year I hit up both Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze. I am always very picky about modern sidescrolling platformers often because of the looks and aesthetics. A lot of stuff like Sonic Generations (sorry) looks so incredibly "busy" that it's hard to even tell what's going or for the levels to be something I can visualize from memory. That thankfully was not the issue with the DKCR games as they both looked beautiful and played amazingly well. The challenge was high at times too which was very welcoming and unexpected. I would not put these above the SNES games, but who could? Still, by far some of the best platformers I've played since the 16bit era for sure.
Best PS4 Game - Maybe not the most popular opinion, but I'll probably go with The Evil Within here. The Last of Us had some standout moments and was awesome, but gameplay wise TEW was far better in my book, with way more variety in the enemies and level design. I liked it enough and its zany story to run through it a second time on NG+. Far Cry 4 and GTA5 were fun, but TEW stands out as one I could go back and replay, so it might stand the test of time more than others.
Best Classic Replay - This year I ran through the Doom Classic Complete collection which included just about every official Doom release ever, Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, Plutonia, TNT, Doom 2 Master Levels, and the newer XBLA map pack No Rest for the Living. I beat everything and got 100% for the trophies and had a blast. Doom is quite possibly top 5 material for me in general, it's a timeless comfort game that never bores me. My favorite episode of the bunch? I might say Plutonia this time around, even though I think the texturing sucks in that one fairly often (tons of brown), it was the most challenging by far and had more consistent level design. Good stuff.
Half-Life 2 and the episodes are probably a runner up. It's insane how well this game ages.
Best DLC - Not a DLC fan in general, but going by the few I've checked out I would say the Bioshock games have hands down the best DLC I've probably ever played. Bioshock 2's Minerva's Den and Infinite's episodes of Burial at Sea were just icing on the cake on top of the already incredible base games. I feel that Infinite is fairly fine stand alone, but the Burial chapters took things a bit further in the craziest ways and didn't really ruin anything for me. You could still tell Ken Levine had a huge hand in it.
Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Xeogred, have you watched Twin Peaks? There are an alarming number of similarities between Deadly Premonition and Twin Peaks.
My contributions to the Racketboy site:
Browser Games ... Free PC Games ... Mixtapes ... Doujin Games ... SotC Poetry
Browser Games ... Free PC Games ... Mixtapes ... Doujin Games ... SotC Poetry
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: 2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!
Once I learned the mechanics I didn't find Zelda II to be nearly as hard as I anticipated. It's certainly easier than Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Mega Man, Ghosts n Goblins...