2014 - Best Video Game You Played This Year!

[Xeogred]

Xeogred, have you watched Twin Peaks? There are an alarming number of similarities between Deadly Premonition and Twin Peaks.

Only the pilot. I liked Alan Wake a lot too. So yeah, I definitely need to watch the whole thing sometime. Sounds awesome.

[alienjesus]

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...

Definitely easier than Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania and GnG, but Mega Man? None of the games in that series are that difficult, and I actually find the first to be one of the easier ones.

[Xeogred]

I really don't think Megaman games are hard. But I played more Megaman as a kid than Mario back in the day, so that probably says it all. (I got Mr Perfect in MM10 hehe).

That said, MM1 is definitely the toughest.

[alienjesus]

I really don't think Megaman games are hard. But I played more Megaman as a kid than Mario back in the day, so that probably says it all. (I got Mr Perfect in MM10 hehe).

That said, MM1 is definitely the toughest.

No way, MM3 is hardest of the NES games

[alienjesus]

My top 10 12 for the year and some special mentions.

Special mentions:
These games didn't quite make it: Professor Layton & The Azran Legacy, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney, Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, Metal Gear Solid 2, Mario Kart 8, Kirby Triple Deluxe. Some of these games are probably better than the games on my actual list, but they didn't grip me or stay as memorable to me as the ones I chose.

12. Final Fantasy X HD Remaster - Vita

This was my first time through this game, and I wasn't disappointed. The characters are memorable and likeable on the whole, combat is fast paced and designed around using all of your party instead of just a few, and the story is packed with cliches, but is nicely compelling nonetheless. I also beat Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy VII this year, but this one was easily the best of the bunch. It's not a patch on IX or V though.

11. Pokémon Alpha Sapphire - 3DS

This ones quite low down for a few reasons - it's a remake of a game I've played to death before, and I've not finished it yet (I should have by the time the year is out though!). The new additions add to the game as a whole, the 3DS graphics engine is still lovely and the game holds up through the test of time. Good stuff.

10. Muramasa Rebirth - Vita

A kind of unexpected entry on my list, especially as I didn't play any of the new DLC content. I've played through this before on the Wii, but this time I played more and didn't move on as soon as I was done. It was the perfect holiday game, fast paced and fun, and I played this a bunch over the summer. Another one that's lower on the list because I've played it before on another system.

9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - 3DS

Some people might think this one is a bit low, and I understand why - I enjoyed every second I spent with this game, and it's a very high quality entry in the series. I did however find it to be very easy and it could have used harder puzzles and bosses than it had. A big improvement over the DS games though.

8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - Wii U

This is the highest entry on the list for a game I've beaten a previous version of,but it's well deserved. Wind Waker is one of the best Zelda games, and this HD remake improves on it enough to make it the definitive version. It could probably have used a bit more new content imo, but the original game is so damn good it's no huge loss. I 100% finished this game this time round - every chest, chart, island, upgrade etc - all on hero mode. Worth every second.

7. Hyrule Warriors - Wii U

The highest rated 'Zelda' game on my list. It's definitely a worse game than the two real Zelda games on my list, but it was the freshest to me, being my first time playing a Warriors series game. Combat is as simple as it looked, but it became clear quickly that the difficulty of the series lay in controlling the battlefield and multitasking, rather than the danger of the enemy attacks. An absolute ton to do in this one means I'll be at it for some time yet.

6. Gravity Rush - Vita

I heard very mixed stuff about this game, but the general consensus seems to be that 'it was OK, I guess'. I absolutely loved it. The 'flying' (falling - with style!) mechanics take a little time to adjust to, but are incredibly fun to use, and whilst the game could use mroe variety in mission objectives, it was about the right length to not outstay it's welcome. The story was cliche and predictable, and the ending is alarmingly open for a game I doubt will be recieving a sequel, but I'm glad I ignored the consensus and gave this one a go. It's pretty great.

5. Super Mario 3D World - Wii U

This is the best 3D Mario game. I loved Mario 64, I adored sunshine and I enjoyed both Galaxy games. This is the best 3D Mario game though. It's fast paced, it constantly invents fun new level mechanics, it has multiplayer that actually works and is fun to play (unlike the awful multiplayer in the New Super Mario Bros games) and it uses Mario 2's character mechanics. The new power ups are great too (The Double Cherry is the best power up in a Mario game ever). I might like some of the other 3D games a bit more (either from nostalgia or from the more complex controls that let you make new paths), but I still rate this as the best. And you know what - probably the best (but not my favourite) Mario game altogether.

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PSP

It came as quite a shock to me that this is the only game in my top 12 to not be on one of my 3 current gen consoles (Vita/3DS/Wii U). Admittedly, a lot of the others are ports or remakes of games on other consoles, but still, that's decidely unusual for my end of year lists. Castlevania: SotN lives up to the hype. The gameplay is fast and fun, the music is amazing, the secrets are fun to find (especially the spells) and overall the game is polished to a fine sheen. It's not the best Metroidvania game (that's still Super Metroid imo), and it's not even my favourite castlevania game (Order of Ecclesia wins there), but it's held up well, and warrants it's place as a defining game of the genre.

3. Atelier Totori Plus: The Adventurer of Arland - Vita

Atelier Totori is the middle of a trilogy (at the time I played, the first part wasn't available on Vita). Atelier Totori is packed full of the absolute worst and most predictable anime and JRPG tropes. Atelier Totori stars a cute girl going on a magical adventure. And yet, Atelier Totori is completely playable with no prior knowledge of the series, is refreshingly different in the games main objective (saving the world is not the goal here!), and manages to avoid going overboard with fanservice - if anything, it probably has less than most popular RPGs. The mechanics are novel and the characters are lovable. The time management system is more significant than the combat or exploration. Atelier Totori is good because it manages to give you a lot of what you expect, but mixes it in a unique way which makes it feel fresh and novel. Perhaps not if you buy the yearly entries in the series though XD

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - Wii U/3DS

The biggest shock of this list, to me, is that this isn't number 1. Super Smash Bros. is my all-time favourite game series, and these new entries in the series are probably the best ones yet. Both games are pretty similar (hence them being bundled together), but the Wii U entry is clearly the preferred one here. It's prettier, has a lot more content, plays smoother, hasd better challenges and more difficult AI. The new characters in the game control well, and a lot of them feel very unique in how they play. The new stages are a ton of fun aswell. I'm sad about the amount of reused content - nearly half the staghes and more than half of the soundtrack is straight out of brawl, but with the amount of stuff in general, I can forgive it. I'll be playing these for years to come.

1. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f/ Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f 2nd - Vita

There wasn't really any doubt in my mind on this one. I picked up DIVA f on Vita in February this year and was immediately addicted. I adore rhythm games, and I'd be more than happy to proclaim these as the greatest rhythm games ever. The note charts are wonderfully challenging, and fit perfectly to the music. The layout of the game where notes appear all over the screen keeps you on your toes, and the music videos behind have a lot more life and energy than most boringly static rhythm games, even if they can be a bit distracting sometimes. The music is perfect for the game - fast paced, intricate note patterns - it works better than a lot of the licensed music did in Rock Band or Guitar Hero.

Between the 2 games, I've put in well over 100 hours so far, and I've played to the point where I'm starting to get perfects on the hardest difficulty. I also put quite some time into the PSP games - DIVA 2nd and DIVA Extend - which are good, but not a patch on the newest ones. You can call me a convert. I thought the gameplay looked to simple and the digital voices of the singers would annoy me. Instead, the gameplay was wodnerful and challenging and the music was generally high quality and enjoyable. I look forward to picking up Project Mirai on 3DS when it comes out next year.

[Sload Soap]

I doubt I'll beat any more games by thursday so here is my top ten. First though some honourable mentions to Diablo 3, Rayman Legends, Curtain, Exhumed, Sonic Pocket Adventure and Desert Strike. All fantastic games, all worthy of your time.

10. Destiny

Destiny also featured on my top ten worst as it is a very flawed game but it also the game I've both spent the most time with this year and the first game since GTAV that my friends and I really got into.

Before the grind sets in Destiny is a compulsive and sleek experience doing a lot of things right in its quest to marry traditional FPS mechanics with Diablo style dungeon crawling and lite MMO'ing. Crucially though I don't feel my time was wasted on Destiny despite its flaws. The actual FPS part of the game is very strong and I think the PvP is one of the more interesting I've played in years. It is a slick product and if you can get two buddies together for an extended period you can have lots of fun looting and shooting. Most of what you've heard about Destiny is true, but it's not a totally bad game by any means. Far from it.

9: Nights Into Dreams...

This game had bemused me for more than ten years before I finally beat it for the summer games challenge. Honestly I can see why people wouldn't like Nights but for me after I warmed up to it I found a game that just bursts with creativity and joy.

Like Outrun, there isn't really anything like Nights, nothing so distinctive both in look and feel. And like Outrun once you beat Nights, beating it again and again only increases your understanding and appreciation of the work. Nights also contains my personal favourite individual moment in gaming this year with the beautiful simplicity of its final level.

8. Doom 64

This game kind of blindsided me. I knew beforehand that Doom 64 was a different beast to previous Dooms but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so intense an experience. While it looks like Doom and plays like Doom, the addition of a more atmospheric and ethereal soundtrack pushes it close to being a survival horror title.

The added power of the N64 also allowed Midway to design levels with more height and deformablility than previous entries. It's a bit of curio overall, placed somewhere between Doom 2 and Quake but it kept me enthralled from start to finish.

7. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

This is just pure adventure from start to finish. After the anaconda like restrictiveness of AC3, Black Flag is almost an apology from Ubisoft, letting the player cut loose and explore. The ship to ship battles somehow always remain epic and the sidequests actually feel worthwhile.

The Caribbean setting is beautiful and leads itself well to an open world, while the story is less concerned with the ridiculous Desmond/Juno nonsense of previous entries. Indeed, I actually enjoyed the sections outside of the animus for once due to some rather amusing and quite meta digs at the franchise. It's a big, epic blockbuster gaming done right.

6. Shovel Knight

The newest game on the list but one that thoroughly deserves its place. Shovel Knight is close to perfect in its genre, with excellent graphics, sound, difficulty, pacing and gameplay as close to the NES classics as I've seen in a retro styled game like this.

It might not be the most original game of the year but despite it cribbing aspects from so many well known games it still manages to feel fresh. I never once felt the game was cheap or unfair and it always kept me smiling. The worst thing I can say about Shovel Knight is it kept me up all night playing it and I had a pretty rough day at work after.

5. Final Fantasy IX

I have a bit of a strange relationship with Final Fantasy games. They either grab me straight away and I love them or they bore me quickly and I don't return to them. This year Final Fantasy XII bored me (for real, it almost sent me to sleep) but Final Fantasy IX absorbed me from beginning to end.

During FFIX I came to realise how much I love world maps, pre-rendered backgrounds and sweeping Uematsu scores. What FFIX does well is keep asking the player "what's round the next corner?". When you combine that drive with a sturdy battle system, exemplary world building and some of the PS1's best music and graphics you have an astonishingly compelling game. For me, the last great Final Fantasy.

4. Panzer Dragoon Orta

Orta is basically a distillation of all the best aspects of every Panzer Dragoon game, even Saga, and some parts borrowed from other rail-shooters. Orta is also one of the Xbox's best exclusive games and is top of the list of fantasy HD remasters.

What Orta does so well is to keep the player constantly engaged in the action. It can be a hard game and at times it can seems like an unfair one but Sega have given players all the tools they need to progress and left it up to them to decide how to use them. While Dragoon 1 and Zwei kept you in a single form and set speed, Orta allows you to boost and brake freely, to alter your form between slow moving but powerful and fast but weak while adding perfect risk/reward aspects to each form.

It's pure gameplay but on top of that it has that brilliant aesthetic from the Saturn games. This game could only have been done on Xbox at the time as it both looks and runs exceptionally well. The best game in a excellent series of games and up there with the best rail-shooters ever. Immense.

3. Rocket Knight Adventures

Another summer games challenge game, another absolute knock out. I said at the time this was Mega Man X levels of 16-bit goodness and I still stand by that. Like Shovel Knight, Rocket Knight is almost perfect in every department it is necessary to be perfect in for a 2D action platformer, while also throwing in a few ideas of its own.

It's rare I'll beat a game and then go back to it straight away, but with Rocket Knight, it was so good I beat it and then beat it straight away after just for the kicks. It goes without saying that it's jumped up pretty high as one of my favourite Mega Drive games.

2. Super Mario Bros 3

To my shame I had never beat Super Mario Bros 3 before this year. Sure, I'd played it here and there, but I'd never sat down and decided to finish it. Now that I have I can see why people would still place this as their favourite Mario.

This is basically the DNA of all the Mario games that followed it and since some of those games happen to also be some of my favourite games ever it was a joy seeing where it all came from.

I think, somewhat paradoxically, Mario 3 is more influential than the original Super Mario Bros. It's hard sometimes to remember that SMB3 is an 8-bit game, so far ahead of its contemporaries as it is creatively. It's always throwing something new at you, some interesting or unique challenge. SMB3 could be released tomorrow and still be considered fresh, exciting and brilliant. Why the fuck did I wait so long to beat it?

1. Mass Effect Trilogy

A bit of a double cheat here. For one, I've already beaten the Mass Effect games before. For two, yeah I couldn't decide which one I preferred so I wussed out and combined them into one entry.

The reason they are all here and at the top of my list is that whereas previously I liked Mass Effect now I love the series. As a whole, I can't really think of something that compares to the trilogy in gaming, only being able to compare it to films like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in terms of the vast scale and scope of the storytelling. Even then, Mass Effect is generally a more subtle and character driven adventure than those two luminaries.

What I found so great this time round was how complete a world Bioware made with Mass Effect. Plot points from the first game are resolved as late as the closing moments of the third, no person or organisation is mentioned in an off hand way and unlike say Harry Potter, rarely does the plot resort to coincidence or contrivance to keep things moving.

I also feel that while each game in the trilogy has its own strengths and weaknesses none are greater than the others. Whether by accident or design, as Bioware altered the formula from game to game they also painted the world in more detail. As such the relatively relaxed first installment allowing more exploration contrasts well with ME3 which is almost a shooter with some RPG elements to reflect its focused story of intergalatic war.

So I can't really separate one game from the others as I feel they have to be taken as a whole. I can't imagine just playing one of the three in isolation anymore. While individually you could poke holes in various aspects of each game (and I can) together they add up to something truly outstanding. I could gush about them all day but I'll stop here. I thought for years Morrowind would remain my favourite game ever but now...now I'm having second thoughts.

[Damm64]

So now for the most "serious" list. I wanted to add a few more games to my beaten list but maybe this will be it.

Worst Video Game: Resident Evil Operation Racoon city
Got it for cheap and played about 2 hours of this boring uncomplete third person shooter. I can get why some people might like it but i don't get why other people will called "a great game" or "you don't like it because you don't know resident evil" (yes someone actually said that to me) but yeah... the game is lame i was not able to force myself to finish it so i traded in for demon souls i had a blast since.

Most Challenging Game: Demon's Souls

Again another game i haven't finished but this is a enjoyable series. For some reason each time i get one of these games i play like 20 hours reach a certain point and never go back to it. I hope next year i'll beat this or Dark Souls.

Most Fun Game: Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

There's no way i could put any other game in this place. This game is over the top non stop action and i love it. Probably being a metal gear game hold it a bit, the cutscene with the final boss... 15 minutes long... wow, but the zandatzu, or the cuttin mechanic, it's so cool and fun to use there's no reason to stop.

Prettiest Game: Bioshock Infinite

If there's one thing i really like about this game is it's visuals. In a world where every shooter is bland and brown seeing this one is a breath of fresh air... sadly that's where i stop my compliments on the game. I already went on why is not the greatest thing to ever exist in other threats so just read those

Best Game:

Well this one is really hard... i think i should say is a tie between Darkness 2 and Red Dead Redemtion. Darkness 2 could be my favorite shooter so far and RDR is just everything i wanted in a western game after i first played GUN years back is here a bigger world, random encounters in said world, lots of weapons that you can carry at the same time and horses... many horses. There's also a bunch of other games i have played this year that i could consider them "best game" but i always remember these two the most on this year.

My list of beaten games:

1- Metroid Confrontation
2- Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
3- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (PS3)
4- Bayonetta (PS3)
5- Doom 1 (Ps3) (BFG Edition)
6- The Last of Us (Ps3)
7- Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3)
8- Resident Evil: Revelations (Ps3)
9- King of Dragons (PSP)
10- Mercs (PSP)
11- Silent Hill: Downpour (PS3)
12- Dead Space (PS3)
13- Thief Gold (PC)
14- Crysis 3 (PS3)
15- Silent Hill Homecoming (Ps3)
16- Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS)
17- Pokemon Y (3DS)
18- Dead or Alive: Dimensions (3DS)
19- Mario & Luigi: Bower's inside story (DS)
20- Siren: New Translation (PS3)
21- Super Princess Peach (Ds)
22- Warhammer 40.000: Space Marine (Ps3)
23- X-men Origins: Wolverine (PS3)
24- The Darkness (Ps3)
25- Bioshock (PS3)*
26- Metal Gear Rising Revengence (PS3)
27- New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
28- The Darkness 2 (PS3)
29- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
30- Shadows of the Danmed (PS3)
31- Alice Madness Returns (PS3)
32- FarCry 3 (PS3)
33- God of War Chains of Olympus(PS3)*
34- God of War Ghost of Sparta (PS3)*
35- Bioshock Infinite (PS3)
36- Portal (PS3)
37- Half life 2 (PS3)
38- Half Life 2: Episode 1 (PS3)
39- Ocarina of time 3D (3DS)
40- Half Life 2: Episode 2 (PS3)

Also special mention to Siren i also love that game... but so many great games this year.

[Violent By Design]

Zelda II easier than Megaman?!?

[SonicGamer74]

Best:
Rayman Legends (Wii U)
Words can't describe how much I loved this game. It took everything that made Origins so great, and redefined it. Only thing that mildly urked me were the Murfy sections in Single-Player, but overall, I just loved it.

Worst:
Bubsy 3D (PS1)
I don't even think I need to describe why this one is so terrible. To everyone that thinks Superman 64, Sonic '06, heck, even Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is the worst game they've ever played, just play Bubsy 3D. Your mind will be changed forever.

Most Challenging:
Sonic Lost World (Wii U)
I'm literally only putting this one here, because the game wasn't specific on what I was supposed to do on the second-to-last level in the game. How the heck was I supposed to know I was supposed to use the Bounce attack on the blocks to defeat Zavok?

Most Fun:
Punch-Out!! (NES)
I hadn't played this game, until late 2014. God, it's so fun. I have no words for it.

Prettiest:
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (360)
Not only is this a pretty solid fighter, but it's also one of the prettiest looking Anime-ish games I've played. I almost put Rayman Legends here again, but I decided to keep things from being repetitive.

[KayJay]

Best: Uncharted 2. Simply perfect in every single way. I have no cons to this game. A close runner up is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Worst: Parappa 2. So, so disappointing. I loved the original, and seeing what it had been reduced to was heartbreaking. The songs were boring, the story was even more insane than the original (to the point where it lost it's charm) the "Cool" mode was screwed up, and a lot of other issues cause me to give this game a 4/10.

Most Challenging: Dragon Quest 8. I love the game to pieces, but it requires a LOT of grinding to actually kill anything. I still haven't finished the game due to all the grinding i have to do. It's still amazing, and one of my favorite RPG's, but it it difficult.

Most Fun video game:Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. I had so much fun playing this game. The writing is funny and makes you feel great, the combat is entertaining, and there is plenty to do in the game.

Prettiest Video Game: Uncharted 2. It is still one of the best looking games i'll ever play, and a testament to the power of the PS3. The art direction is great too, and has a very realistic, but enjoyable feel to it. Runner up's are Dragon Quest 8, Paper Mario TTYD, And the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.


Misc:

Favorite Platformer: Thomas Was Alone. It's short, yes, but it is pretty challenging and, somehow, makes me care about shapes. It has a gripping narrative, and is highly worth checking out.

Favorite Overall Series: The Legend Of Zelda. I played all of the 3D titles over the summer, and i love these games. They are SO much fun. I'm pretty sure most of you know what the games are like, so i'm not gonna describe them.