Showing 1-10 of 32 items
I knew within a few days of starting Dark Souls II I'd be hard pressed to find a better game this year. Prior to DSII, I'd played a less than four hours between Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1. I decided to go into Dark Souls II completely blind. I avoided every screenshot and trailer for the game. Well, aside from the announcement video that, er, Jessica Alba presented at the VGAs a few years back. Huh, that was kinda weird eh? The world and atmosphere of Dark Souls II grabbed me like few other games before it. Shadow of the Colossus and Journey are the only ones that come to mind. And while the game prides itself on its difficult combat, it always felt (mostly) fair. The game also gets my vote for best fitness/dance game of 2014. Every time I finally vanquished a boss that took me a good hour or two to beat I would instinctively jump up from my couch and started a celebratory dance. Very infectious. And since I game with my girlfriend knitting beside me at almost all times, I was surprised to see her so engrossed in a game that has so little "story" to tell. In a year when Dragon Age Inquisition came out (a series we've always enjoyed together), Dark Souls II has taught us incidental, environment-based storytelling can be much more meaningful and long lasting. My plans for 2015 are definitely souls-filled, what with Bloodborne and Dark Souls II arriving on PS4 in the first half of the year. I would love to get around to Dark Souls 1 and Demon's Souls as well. Dark Souls II gets my highest of recommendations. One of my favourite games of all time. Five Stars.
D4 is the game Deadly Premonition wanted to be. Cutting out all the bloat that almost ruined Deadly Premonition, and doubling down on all that makes a "Swery" game great: intrigue, memorable characters, absurd comedy. The game's tragically short first season is but a paltry three episodes long, with each one a little bit weaker than the last. At this point, D4 feels wholly incomplete and way too short. The game is an odd value proposition for some, and considerting Microsoft has done an awful job at marketing the game I'm worried it won't find its audience. That would be quite unfortunate. D4 is stupendous. Its irreverent, comical characters still come across as grounded and important in this weird world that Swery has created. It feels earnest and emotional and stupid. And isn't that what we're all looking for in a game? Five Stars
It feels like cheating putting this game so high up on my list. This is essentially the first Theatrhythm game, re-released with a whole lot more songs and features. There is nothing particularly new or exciting about "Curtain Call" that wasn't present in the original. That said, it is the be all, end all rhythm game for me. No game will ever have a better soundtrack. Ever. And that's not even counting the incoming Bravely Default and Chrono Trigger DLC... When the console's lifespan is over, I am sure Theathrythm Curtain Call will have my longest play time on the 3DS by a long shot. Five Stars (or no stars if you don't care about Final Fantasy music -- who ARE you??)
Okay, yup! Bayonetta 2 delivers. I don't know why I doubted it. Five Stars
Mario Kart 8 abides by the now typical Nintendo mantra of: evolution and iteration over revolution and risk taking. The result is a predictably excellent, nearly perfect video game. It is incredibly difficult to find fault with the game, from its "next-gen" look, class act soundtrack and refined controls. It is almost with a certain sense of disappointment that I claim this to be the best made game of 2014, and certainly one of my favourites. I think most telling of the game's masterful design is that there isn't really an Options menu. This struck me as odd at first ("why can't I turn the music up and the sfx off??"). But I've come to terms with this and see it now as such a strong sign of confidence. This sort of assurance (some might say arrogance) in Nintendo shows you just how strong the game is. It's a weird touch. Or rather lack of touch. Immaculate. Yes, that's the word for it. Mario Kart 8 is immaculate. Oh, but if there were a single chink in its armour, it'd be the exclusion of letting player 2 use the Gamepad's screen, removing the split screen during 2-player multiplayer matches. Hah! You're doomed, Nintendo. Zero stars. No. Five Stars.
In a year where most of the West's big budget games fell flat, Sunset Overdrive soar. Marrying the trick and style-based approach of the Tony Hawk series with a colourful, gorgeous open world, Sunset Overdrive dared to look and play different from its peers. The humour was grating and the soundtrack extremely repetitive (two categories that can often mean the kiss of death), but the game was just so much fun to play. It takes its time to get going, but once you've unlocked all of your basic traversal options (the Air Dash, in particular), Sunset Overdrive comes into its own. I can think of few games that feel better than this one to just move around in. I have never been a huge Insomniac Games fan, but in their first outing exclusively for Microsoft(!), they've managed to make both the inFamous and Saint's Row series feel pretty flat and obsolete. Consistently playful and creative mission and level designs, gorgeous world and characters, the Xbox One has its KILLER APP that likely won't be topped til the inevitable Sunset Overdrive 2. Five Stars
This came out last year, but I've only really sunk my teeth in it now on the PS4. Eorzea is the first MMO who's world I've felt at home in. The world is fun to explore and the music is great. What's not to like? I feel like I'm still scratching the surface of the game. Raiding and joining large parties seems way too intimidating for me but I've found plenty of enjoyment finding a quiet spot to fish, getting the right coloured dyes to match my clothes, or just monster hunting. Five Stars (after thirty hours of play)
Another JRPG that I started and didn't finish in 2014. What a breath of fresh air! Bravely Default nails the look and feel of Final Fantasy IX, perhaps my favourite Final Fantasy. Revo's soundtrack is great and feels important accomplishment. The combat system plays around with JRPG fundamentals just enough to feel instantly recognizable while still feeling fresh and new. And yet, I stopped playing it. I can't say why exactly. I was enjoying it immensely and was often cackling to myself while playing it. "They've made the perfect game for me", I'd cheer. But then I stopped playing. Curious. I've heard the quality takes a huge nosedive near the end, with a Groundhog Day-esque section that needs to be repeated multiple times. But I didn't get that far into the game so that's not why I stopped. It feels weird that this isn't even in my top five of 2014, since early on while playing it I was convinced it would be my game of the year. Game of the year! In 2015, perhaps once I'm done Fantasy Life and Persona Q, I'll return to Bravely Default. Start it from scratch. Figure out what happened exactly. Four Stars (after twenty hours of play)
My feelings for Super Smash Bros for Wii U are very similar to those I have for Mario Kart 8. Another great iteration on a classic Nintendo license. Though, more than Mario Kart 8, I feel like there's a great valley when comparing the game's quality single player versus multiplayer. While Mario Kart 8 is still a ton of fun to play alone, I can't say I've put much time playing Smash by myself. But I haven't been hooked on a Smash game this much since the original. I've got a feeling this game'll have even longer legs than Mario Kart 8. Another home run for the little console that could. Five Stars (after ten hours of play)
Like Destiny, Lightning Returns is a game of peaks and valleys. The game's, lovely, open world invites the player to explore it -- a concept lost in the original FFXIII and beginning to be recovered in XIII-2. The combat system is the logical evolution of Final Fantasy XIII's turn-based cinematic, flashy "big picture" job stratagies, mixed with Kingdom Hearts' more tactile, reactive real time combat. The game brings something I've always loved in games that the Final Fantasy has largely skipped -- a plethora of customizable outfits! Masashi Hamauzu and co produce a staggering four-disc soundtrack that ranks among the series' best (and certainly my favourite album of 2014) But on the flip side, we're stuck with a largely indecipherable storyline with technobabble in place of strong characters and depth. It's worse offender, and the reason I've yet to finish Lightning Returns (yet), is the endless "doom clock" that lingers over you at all times. There is a day/night cycle and you have a finite amount of time to complete all your quests. This timer appears very liberal and I'm yet to find myself hurting for time, but its inclusion affects my enjoyment and the way I play the game. This isn't a world to soak in and enjoy. This is one you rush through. Every run is a speed run. It's awful. Were it not for this countdown I'm sure this game would rank much higher on this list. I enjoyed what I played, but the dread caused by the countdown will forever ruin my experience with the game. Three Stars (after twenty hours of play)