2014 was an interesting year to be sure. The Xbox One and PS4 are now finally starting to pick up steam, the Wii U has made quite a comeback since last year with arguably the best Christmas lineup of the all three the consoles and PC gaming continues to trot along as strong as ever.
And now were at that time of the year where we can all look back, reflect and ponder what lies ahead. First though, as is tradition around here, we need to crown our favorite games of the year. Here’s the ITF staff’s personal games of the year.
Darryl’s list
Dragon Age: Inquisition – GOTY 2014
Nothing pleases me more when Electronic Arts and Bioware come together and develop and publish a title that is not a colossal disaster, but more of a master-piece of epic proportion. Out of every title I have had the pleasure of playing in 2014, Dragon Age: Inquisition has most probably left the biggest impression on me. Not only is this title a great open-world RPG, but it offers up an immense amount of gameplay time as well a beautiful designed world that draws the player in from beginning to end. Dragon Age Inquisition is hands down my GOTY for 2014.
Bayonetta 2
While I was slightly worried about Bayonetta 2 being a Wii U exclusive, it has definitely found a new home on Nintendo’s Wii U. Overall, Bayonetta 2 can be summed up as roller coaster ride of epic proportion, which not only brings an iconic video game character back to life – but also offers thrilling gameplay from start to finish.
The Last of Us Remastered
The Last of Us was quite honestly one of the greatest titles to ever grace the PlayStation 3… Fast forward to 2014, and developer Naughty Dog has taken an absolutely amazing title and ported it over to the PlayStation 4. The result, one of gaming’s finest achievements. The Last of Us Remastered is the best way to experience one of the best games that the PlayStation 3 had to offer on the PlayStation 4.
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition
Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition gives console gamers the opportunity to experience a polished and more refined version of Diablo 3. This can be seen in the innovative use of the controls and the fact that nothing was cut out from the original game in order to get it to get it to run at maximum capacity on the latest consoles. Overall, Blizzard has done a great job porting this title over to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Far Cry 4
Ubisoft has a habit of churning out games at a faster rate than most developers. However, this can cause quite a few issues… especially when it comes to the end product. Thankfully, the team at Ubisoft have been taking their time with the Far Cry series, which goes to show that a more concentrated effort has gone into the series.
While Far Cry 4 has its ups and downs, it is still a fantastic title that deserves to be on my list for Games of the Year.
Brady’s list
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Ever since Dragon Age: Origins, the series has done nothing but keep me hooked on its gameplay, narrative and the ability to move the story in the direction of my choosing. Thankfully Dragon Age: Inquisition is a great entry for the series and improves on the formula. Every time I started a session, I was excited to see how the story would progress and what possible moral dilemmas would await me.
Far Cry 4
Anyone who knows me will know that I absolutely adored Far Cry 3. Far Cry 4 takes the mechanics of its predecessor and successfully builds upon it. While the characters are a little dull, the missions and addictive open-world gameplay make this a great contender in the first-person shooter category. Additionally, Kyrat is a beautiful land that I never seem to tire of exploring.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
One of 2014’s new IP’s, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was probably the game that took me by surprise the most. I wasn’t expecting much out of it but I admit that the game is brilliant, mixing gameplay elements from the Assassin’s Creed and Batman: Arkham series; it’s even a little more challenging and features some brutal combat executions that I love seeing over and over again.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
So this game had its fair share of bugs, but I really enjoyed my time with Unity. During my playthrough, I didn’t really encounter any graphical glitches except for the framerate dropping here and there. I loved exploring all of 18th century Paris, its people and of course the famous landmarks which Ubisoft illustrated brilliantly. It’ll be a good blueprint for any future Assassin’s Creed titles on PC and new-gen systems.
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty
When I heard about an HD remake of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, I was ecstatic as it was one of my favourite games from the PSX/PSOne era. Upon playing it though, I discovered that developers Just Add Water actually completely remade the game but while still keeping most of the layouts from the game’s various levels. It was an awesome nostalgia trip and looked really great in HD. Fans of the original will love it and newcomers are sure to have a blast too!
Sam’s List
Transistor
Of everything I played this year, nothing had me as transfixed in the first few hours like Transistor. Astoundingly gorgeous visuals, fantastic music and phenomenally deep gameplay work in tandem to deliver one of the most heartbreaking stories of the I’ve ever seen. I really cant give it a strong enough recommendation.
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Going into it I was very fearful that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor would fail to deliver on all of its potential, but my fears were thankfully left unrealized. This new foray into Middle-Earth proved to be an exceptionally wonderful game and the Nemsis system is without a doubt the best new gameplay mechanic of the year. While I wasn’t so hot on the story it still managed to show off some of the more interesting parts of the lore that haven’t been explored yet and the sequel setup at the end spells a bright future for this series.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Even after the main plot had wrapped up I found myself returning to Inquisition very often. The jaw dropping, incredibly realized scope of its world, fantastic combat system and fantastic cast of characters makes it a place I don’t want to become a stranger to. In a genre that has some very steep competition this year, Inquisition manages to stand above the rest.
Dark Souls II
Dark Souls 2 proved to be the biggest time-sink of my year and I love it for that. The hours and hours I’ve spent picking apart its boss fights, lore, secrets and combat are ones I wont regret soon. Its hands down my favorite multiplayer game of the year as the fantastic PvP elements of the original have been masterfully expanded upon to create one of the most brilliant and varied competitive modes you’ll find in any RPG.
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight is worth mentioning just because of how authentic of an antique it is. I mean that with the greatest of love though, whhen so many games try to be “retro” and just fail completely at grasping what made older classics so memorable, Shovel Knight comes along to be perhaps the best modern incarnation of those game design principles yet. The art, the music and the gameplay are all just lovely and the game is brimming with so much charm that it still brings a smile to my face months down the line.
Marco’s List
Bayonetta 2
There have been very few games that I have played and reviewed with a perfect score,but when Bayonetta 2 came along it was no doubt the best game I played during 2014. Its a jewel with perfect everything, it wasn’t trying too hard to be anything else but what is was, a kick ass action game with so much personality.
Dragon Age Inquisition
One of the most ambitious games of the year, I was let down by Dragon Age II given its terrible turn from its predecessor. But I knew that Dragon Age Inquisition would redeem the franchise, I was not wrong. Bioware crafted a masterwork of story telling and action RPG gameplay, Well done!
Sunset Overdrive
Sunset Overdrive was the reason I went out and got an Xbox One, and should be the only reason why you should too. Its fantastic spin on the Apocalypse and its great humor and arsenal of weapons all merge into one huge storm of wonderful chaos.
Assassin’s Creed Unity
So what if it had a few bugs? Assassin’s Creed Unity is the greatest thing to happen to the series. Gripping story line, fantastic script, and the biggest and most gorgeous city every created in a video game. It has set the bar for the future of the series and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
The Evil Within
It was so nice to finally have a survival horror worth playing. The Evil Within took the genre back its its roots and revived a genre we all thought was overrun by cover systems and cheesy screams. The Evil Within is the definition of horror video games and developers should tread lightly around the genre from now on.
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