Christian’s Games of 2014

I’ve had the luxury of being able to play a lot of games this year, more so than probably any year of the past decade. Given my inability to sleep at this moment, I figured I’d share some recommendations.
My favorites in no particular order:

Wildstar – I’ve played a lot of MMOs over the years. This one is challenging but extremely rewarding. Classes are varied and combat is highly kinetic. Story is decent. Social mechanics are solid and getting better now that the megaserver is up. Server stability has been far better than most MMOs. Post launch support has been “ok”. It’s been a little slower on some content pushes than I’d like but the drops have been sizeable. This is NOT the MMO to play for casual players, but for experienced MMO folks, it’s easily one of the best I’ve played over the past 15 years. There’s no such thing as a perfect MMO (or game for that matter) but in terms of hours played, this one is probably #1 for me on the year. More people should be playing it (go Exiles!).

Sunset Overdrive – Traversal and combat takes about an hour to get used to, but man, once you have all of the movement abilities, a couple of key weapons and a few amps in place, there are very few games that “feel” as satisfying as this one. Some really great set pieces. It’s Jet Grind Radio meets Ratchet & Clank meets Armed & Dangerous (the Planet Moon one, not the John Candy one).

Middle Earth – Shadow of Mordor – Two words: Nemesis System. It’s all about decent core gameplay with compelling metagoals and character advancement in a world people care about. Probably the biggest surprise for me on the year.

Infamous Second Son – Good story, beautiful game, solid and varied mechanics. Neon at night.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare – Literally 100 hours played on XB1… then probably another 100 so far on PC. Perfect game for families. We routinely have LAN parties at the house with my daughter and her friends. Earning coins and unlocking packs is a blast. Pop Cap has done a fantastic job supporting the game with new content post-launch.

South Park – The Stick of Truth – Hard to pick a part of this I enjoyed most but there was never a shortage of “oh, my!” moments. Special shout out for the Canada sequence.

Smash Brothers Wii U – Has been played in our house to death. Will probably continue to be played for years to come.

Child of Light – As much art as game, a classic RPG that sadly, doesn’t get made too often any more.

Bravely Default – Probably the best Final Fantasy game in the last decade… and it wasn’t even really a Final Fantasy game.

Spiral Knights – This F2P MMO launched several years ago (fun fact, while at Capcom, Scot Bayless and I tried to sign it but Sega beat us to the punch and bought Three Rings) but the changes made to the game this year were significant, particularly with regard to how monetization around the energy system worked so I’m considering it “revived” in 2014. I played a ton of it (and spent a ton of money on it) this year with my daughter after several years away from it. It’s Zelda meets Bomberman meets Megaman (so skill is rewarded) in instanced, grindy fun.

Special mentions:

Far Cry 4 – not far enough in it yet to say that it makes this list but given more time to play, it could.

Trove – Alas, where Cube World faltered, Trove has picked up. Action based MMOthat I play with my daughter and nephew a lot. It’s a combination of Minecraft and Cube World and is worth playing.

League of Legends – The game (and in particular, its players) continues to enthrall and infuriate me. Another thing I play a lot with my daughter. The changes made this year to the game were significant and an improvement.

Heroes of the Storm – Consider this “one to watch” for 2015. I’ve got a fair bit of time under my belt with it and I enjoy it a ton though the changes over the course of 2014 were huge and I’m sure it will continue to evolve before it actually really launches.

Hearthstone – iPad gaming at its best. Magic made accessible but still deep. Smart compulsion loops. I need to pick up the expansion for some future trips.

GTA 5 HD – I need to revisit this. I’m waiting for the PC release in 2015.

Neverwinter – My daughter and I played a fair amount of this in 2014 (and spent a ton of cash here) as well, though again, it’s not a 2014 launch.

Transistor – Worth playing, particularly for the ending which I didn’t see coming.

Missed my Expectations:

Destiny – Put in about 15 hours. I need to revisit at some point but I’d have thought this would have grabbed me more.

Dragon Age: Inquisition – I’m a huge DA fan having finished all of the prior games/dlc, this one I’m about 25 hours into and it feels much slower and more scattershot. I like it, just not as much as I would have thought I would have given my love for the franchise and the heapings of praise it has been given from the media. Nonetheless, it will get finished.

Titanfall – Feels good to play, but for some reason, I just couldn’t keep playing.

Watchdogs – I wanted to love it and it’s a beautiful game, particularly on PC, but again I just wasn’t compelled to finish it.

Skylanders: Trap Force – We’re not done with it yet, but in spite of the new trap mechanics, it’s starting to feel formulaic and the character designs don’t feel as creative as past outings. It’s still good, but it doesn’t feel “fresh”.

That’s it. Come at me and let me know what else I should have played but missed.