The driving category was pretty weak this year, however, we did have a vast variety on nearly every platform. From racing simulators to arcade racers; there was something here for everyone.
Mario Kart 8
Yes, I am aware this is the eighth installment, and yes I am aware that it’s a Nintendo game. However, that doesn’t make it bad. Mario Kart 8 not only looks fantastic and controls well, but it appeals to fans of every age due to the vast amounts of tracks from every Mario Kart since the SNES. The new power-ups, online play, and addition of flight only make it that much more exciting.
2014 showed a wide and wast range of RPG from Japanese traditional to hardcore Western to dungeon crawling. It was a hard choice this year and was probably one of the strongest categories.
Inquisition shows that a series can really be improved on and evolve immensely. Not only is Inquisition one of the best-looking games to date, but it is also the most involved and deep RPG available on next-gen consoles. What could have been a half-baked update to Dragon Age IIbecame a completely new game more in line with Origins. A fantastic story, great characters, and seemingly endless amounts of dialogue pushed it ahead.
Platformers were a little sparse this year, but what was released was very solid. We saw a drizzle of platformers from nearly every system and variety.
Shovel Knight
What made Shovel Knight so great was its personality. While it brought back the long lost platforming days of yesteryear, it also infused a little bit of current gaming quality into the mix. With tight controls, funny dialog, and fantastic level design, Shovel Knight is the just-right amount of hard that keeps you coming back for more.
The shooter genre is sometimes the most overrated, and often times, the most disappointing. It gets a lot of scrutinies from the industry and from gamers alike but they can still weave a fantastic story and break new grounds. While none of them happened this year we still had some awesome shooters.
Far Cry 4 steals the show by improving its own formula so well. While the characters are pretty weak this time around everything else that started making this series dull has immensely improved. Side quests are fun, the world is gorgeous, and the entire ecosystem of the world is just better. It’s not often that a series can improve upon itself after four sequels.
Call of Duty has come a long way since 2003. From World War II to the Afghan War, there’s a lot going on with this series. While it has had its ups and many downs, Ghosts seems to have picked the series up a little bit, and the transition to next-gen consoles may have helped that.
The story in Ghosts is actually quite interesting and probably the only story in the series that’s even somewhat memorable. This is a huge feat for the series in itself. You play as a ghost named Logan, who is following his brother Hesh around trying to stop a global crisis. I think the reason the story is so great is because it’s fictional. This is a made-up apocalyptic scenario that seems too close to being real. A former ghost named Rorke is using a satellite weapon that can destroy entire continents in minutes. The game starts out with Logan and Hesh talking with their father when these missiles start hitting. Later on, you learn more about ghosts in flashback missions and then eventually become one yourself. The voice acting and character modeling are fantastic and help hold the story together and keep you interested.
One of the many reasons why Ghosts‘ campaign is so interesting is that each mission is completely different. Sure, you are always shooting bad guys, but the entire campaign is constantly turned up, whether you’re driving a tank, mounting a mini-gun in a helo, or fighting underwater. New ideas and better pacing are brought to Ghosts, which is exactly what this series needed. One addition is the dog, Riley. You would think this would get overused, but he’s used it just right. He’s only available for maybe 5 missions through the whole game, but that’s the way he’s used. New gameplay elements are introduced to Riley with each mission, and after the first third of the game, he’s mostly absent, which is a good thing. This makes you care for Riley and really appreciate his role as a soldier.
With that said, the shooting itself is solid, which is expected from any Call of Duty. The guns feel heavy and have weight to them, and the sound and action on-screen are crisp and really pull you into the drama going on. There’s a good mix of stealth and action as a whole, along with the other change-ups the game throws at you. There are quite a few memorable scenes, such as the firefight in outer space towards the end and the underwater level as well. However, we are still missing an organic feel that a slower, more deliberate pace would bring out. The game is still the same at its core. There still isn’t any gore, the enemy AI is still off, and everything still feels rushed and too in your face. Call of Duty can be more intellectual and less ham-fisted with macho violence and action.
With that said, multiplayer is nothing short of fun and has the same core suite as Modern Warfare. The biggest addition is being able to play a female character and customize the clothing. Of course, the customization for weapons is even deeper than before with balance tweaks and menu changes, but if you have played Call of Duty in the last 5 years, you know what to expect. I feel that the maps are a little better than past CoD games, but I have yet to play any that are as great as Modern Warfare 2.
With all that said, Ghosts is a fine shooter and was given a little too much harsh criticism. The visuals are fantastic, and the campaign is a huge step in the right direction toward pulling the series out of the stereotypical rut that it has been in for years.
2014 wasn’t the strongest year for strategy games, but there were still a few good gems out there. With the power of handheld devices growing better strategy games are capable on those devices thus we are seeing them creep up on the PC in terms of sheer quality and complexity.
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Beyond Earth may not have wowed everyone like Civ V did, but what was here was a great change from the normal Civ formula. Having quests and an overall streamlined formula to the Civilization series is just amazing here. This is Civilization almost at its finest, but not quite the amazing spectacle past games have been.
The puzzler genre is always overlooked and seen as geeky or boring. Puzzle games have proven to be some of the most memorable such as Portal and Professor Layton. Puzzle games can bring out the more intellectual side of us and can almost be therapeutic and relaxing.
I could get a lot of backlash for this but Monument Valley was one of the most enchanting puzzle games I have ever played. Yes it was extremely short, but it’s a short and sweet memory that I will never forget. It feels like Journey meets Echochrome in this gorgeous game that overloads the senses and puts a smile on your face. There are very few games out there like that (in fact the last one was Journey).
While there haven’t been really any heavy-hitting fighting games like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter (a new Street Fighter anyway) there were a lot of great lesser-known fighters this year.
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that SSB won this year. While the other fighters are great they are more of what we have seen from those franchises already. SSB continues to improve on the already loved formula with more characters and tons of recognizable content that re-ignites memories from our childhood and past and nothing can top that feeling.
The Wii U may be the weakest link in terms of sheer content, but Nintendo proved one thing. Its core franchises are running stronger than ever on the system. Call the Wii U a Nintendo only machine if you must, there were some heavy hitters this year.
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Super Smash Bros. remains one of the best fighters around. It is the only fighting game with nearly every character recognizable by almost any gamer. The Wii U update adds more characters, better graphics, and overall a better-balanced game. The Wii U had a few solid games this year, but this one takes it home.
Reissue and HD collections are becoming a normal thing now, but they are a good thing. We can play our favorite games with better graphics, added content, and with nearly every bug fixed. This year was the best for reissues and shows how older games are turning into almost completely new ones. A lot of time and effort is going into them thanks to their popularity.
Grand Theft Auto V was already a fantastic game but suffered from the lack of power of last generation consoles. GTA V isn’t just a simple sloppy port. The game is completely transformed with next-generation technology, added content, and better multiplayer. There is even a first-person mode added. This helps immerse the player even more into this realistic world and shows how reissues are done right.
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Try multiplayer. A lot of fun !