by willin
I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think this was a very good year in gaming. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of great games that came out this year but there was a lot of bullshit as well. Not just in the games themselves but on the outer edges of this hobby and to me it brought everything down. Still I managed to find ten games which I find extremely enjoyable.
Apologies to Shadows of Mordor, Dragon Age Inquisition, Shovel Knight and Watchdogs for not playing you this year. It's not you, it's money.
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They got me. I honestly thought I was done. Cataclysm was so terrible that I didn't even get the extra 5 levels to hit the cap. Even after Cataclysm I thought Blizzard had lost me when they made Mists of Pandaria; A game based on a joke from Warcraft 3. But then came Warlords of Draenor... Instead of adding another new unbalanced class or two more unnecessary races they actually add something completely new and interesting: Garrisons. Instead of making a new uninteresting landmass we go back in time to a place dripping with history: Draenor. Instead of boring cardboard cut out characters no one cares about they give us DOZENS of historically important characters with more depth than Blackrock: The Warlords. I don't know what Blizzard were doing after Mists of Pandaria but someone gave them a well warranted kick in the ass and pumped out the best expansion pack since Wrath of the Lich King. It is well worth my time, subscription and title for my personal Game of the Year.
Jazzpunk had no expectations. You cannot have expectations for Jazzpunk because no matter how outlandish or insane or weird those expectations are Jazzpunk will meet them, surpass them and destroy future expectations. Talking at length about Jazzpunk is a disservice to the game because you need to go into Jazzpunk completely oblivious to what you are getting yourself into. I don't want to say anymore then that. Go play Jazzpunk.
I didn't think Nintendo had it in them. The cynic inside me looked at Mario Kart 8 and thought "Well, the Wii version sold like 30 million units. I'm sure they don't even need to try to make this good and it will probably sell despite itself". Now I look at Mario Kart 8 and think "Well, the certainly proved me wrong". Nintendo didn't even need to do this but someone or something clicked so they went and make the best damn Mario Kart ever. Fantastic tracks, great music and mind melting graphics that appear to be achieved by witchcraft. Mario Kart 8 is something every Wii U owner needs to own.
It's hard to comprehend that a Metal Gear Solid game that you can finish in 20 minutes is sitting right behind Metal Gear Solid 3 as the best game in the series but here we are. Seriously, this game franchise has once again perfected stealth. Not only has it improved the way you play Metal Gear Solid games but all stealth games. The action is so fluid and the game both looks and runs fantastic. It might just be a teaser but it is one hell of the teaser. I cannot wait for the Phantom Pain.
This is a really stupid game and I love it. The developers of Goat Simulator knew exactly what they were making. A dumb physics sandbox with a goat. There are a million little physics games like that. But what makes Goat Simulator different and much, MUCH better than all the rest is what's around it. Sure, you can just go around headbutting things but you can also find the golden statues, you can collect the costumes and power ups, you can find all the little secrets. There is actually stuff to do and not only that almost all of it is worth doing. The world is your oyster and the only thing stopping you is your imagination and the skybox.
Alright, I can admit it. I am a Persona Fanboy. I love these god damn video games and I don't think anything is going to stop it. Persona Q is a very interesting game and on paper sounds terrible. They're taken the combat of the other Persona games to embellish with map-creating and labyrinths while at the same time almost completely removing the famous social interactions. But that embellish breathes new life into a somewhat aging combat system and what social interaction is there is right there with the best stuff from 3 and 4. It's the greatest fan service and I'm enjoying the hell out of it.
Prepare to Die Again. Dark Souls 2 takes absolutely no punches with it's brutality both in it's gameplay and it's world. It's difficult but fair. It punishes mistakes swiftly with no remorse. It's world is full with monsters and locations that will make you both giddy with excitement and dread the unknown. Even though it fell slightly short of the original it is still an exceptional game.
Perhaps the greatest TV show based video game of all time, South Park: The Stick of Truth brings the hardcore, cutting edge, nothing is scared comedy of the TV show and blends it's with RPG mechanics and a unique combat system. Great scenarios and a plethora of South Park references, Matt Stone and Trey Parker have set the bar for what TV show video games should be.
If Blizzard knows anything it's how to grab you and never let go. Hearthstone is the perfect casual game. By that I mean you can do something else while also playing Hearthstone. Watch wrestling, chat to friends, listen to a podcast. Almost anything that doesn't need your full attention can be supplemented with Hearthstone and that is what makes it so great. It's both simple and complex enough to cater to almost anyone. Once the mobile phone versions are released you can expect productivity across the world to go down.
The Walking Dead does something that no other game does with a near perfect execution and that is convey negative emotions like dread, fear, doubt and regret. Season 2 continues the emotional roller coaster by adding new characters, bring back old characters and fleshing out Clementine to become of the strongest female leads in years. While Season 2 did lose some momentum on the last few episodes it left me with wanting more and has me excited for Season 3.
