Nukid101's Top 10 Games Of 2014: 5 - 1

5) inFAMOUS: Second Son

When I first bought my PS4 inFAMOUS: Second Son was the first game that I bought. As soon as it was set up it was the first game that I popped in, and frankly it was a damn fine game to start with. Second Son is by no means a perfect game, but it earns my number 5 spot for pleasing that super powered sandbox genre sweetspot.

When it comes to the sandbox genre – particularly the super powered subgenre – my enjoyment can of them can be very influenced by how fun it to simply traverse the setting. Games like Saints Row IV and Spiderman 2 are personal favourites of mine because of fun it is just to traverse from place to place. They don’t treat it as a means to get to point A to point B, but as one of the core pleasures of the game.

This was something the first two inFAMOUS games really didn’t do very well. I do like them overall, but going from place to place was an absolute chore, so it is with great relief that this is the biggest improvement Second Son makes. All four of Delsin’s powers are not only fun to use but they made for much flowing traversing. It’s not on par with Saints Row IV or Spiderman 2, but I’d say that it was as good as Batman: Arkham City.

That is of course not the only thing Second Son improves over its predecessors. With it being a new start for the series we are now given with a much, much better protagonist in the form of Delsin, which admittedly isn’t saying much because Cole had the personality of a rubber duck. Delsin on the other hand is friendly, cheerful, cocky but not insufferable and unlike most characters given superpowers utterly embraces them and the chance to fight back for his and other Conduits freedom, a theme which encapsulates the entire game with its authoritarian enemies and the rebellious punk style throughout the game.

While the setting is smaller and the story is shorter I honestly thought that it was for the best. The first two inFAMOUS games overstayed their welcome halfway through so I appreciate the brevity of this game a lot more. I will always take something short but sweet over something long and drawn out. Naturally combat is a massive step up though admittedly the variety in enemies was a little be disappointing, but it doesn’t ruin the game. Finally the game has the series infamously bad morality system but the game wisely tones down its use to the point where it’s only occasionally irritating.

Some may disagree, but this is the best inFAMOUS game by far, and one of my favourite super powered sandbox games. Would certainly love a sequel!



4) South Park: The Stick Of Truth

Much like my number 9 entry I freely acknowledge that my love for this game isn’t based solely in its own quality and rather what it gives me personally. I can acknowledge that the games combat lacks challenge and that some of its video games jokes are hardly edgy, new stuff. I can also understand grievances with some of it glitches – though I experienced none of these – and agree that some design choices were questionable.

I can also say that I don’t care about any of that.

People, I love South Park. I adore South Park. Some may think I’m in denial but I don’t think the show has lost steam yet, so naturally a fully realised, fully explorable and completely immersive venture into the world of South Park is like a dream come true to me. Playing this game was the same joy I got when I play Simpsons Hit & Run; another game that , while not a masterpiece, is so good at letting you revel in the joy of exploring Springfield.

Even if you dislike this game or the series you simply have to respect just how far the game goes to look and feel like the show. One could easily mistake it for being an actual episode from the show, and the creators were very involved in every about his game. Like One Piece Unlimited World RED the game isn’t amazing because it’s some massive gameplay achievement, but because it goes above and beyond what would’ve been expected of it by many, especially considering previous attempts at a South Park.

In fact the game goes so far to feel like the show that I must agree with Yahtzee Crowshaw when he says that the game ISN’T an adaptation; it’s a continuation of the series on a different medium, and that in itself is a cheery thought. It shows that the barriers between mediums are breaking down, and this game shows what can happen when a show’s creators get very involved in the games creation.

It’s not the most polished game or the most challenging, but it is the South Park game that I always craved, and I love every second of it.



3) Dragon Age: Inquisition

I know, I’m surprised that it’s not at number 1 too.

This was easily the game I was most looking forward to the most in 2014 due to my obsession with this franchise. I think Dragon Age: Origins is the single best game Bioware has ever made, and despite some legit problems I will defend Dragon Age II as being a great game. It’s one of my favourite video game franchises and in the days leading to its release I was bubbling with excitement!

Having now spent over a 100 hours playing and eventually completing the game, I can safely say that the game did not disappoint. Inquisition was an absolute joy to play and I was once again overcome with a overwhelming addiction to play more and more of this game, much like what its prequels did to me. It retained the same brilliant writing and great characterisation from the first two games but added a sense of scale and grandiose to it that its prequels didn’t quite have. On a technical level alone it’s Biowares finest game.

I do love that this series loves to change it up significantly with every instalment. I personally welcomed the smaller, more personal scale of Dragon Age II, but I cannot deny that it was fun being able to explore so much of the world of Thedas in this game while simultaneously send my forces on missions through the war table. Combat is shaken as well and is actually quite harder at first than the previous games, but once you get used to it becomes fun and tight. Of course one personal thing that I love returned and that is the Party Banter! Once again Dragon Age nails it out of the park; having these variously unique and quirky characters interact and work off of each other never gets old you learn a lot about the characters from them alone.

So as you can see I just adored this game...so why is it at number 3? Well largely due to how great my top 2 were, but honestly...I do have a few beefs with this game and some of its new design choices.

I said before that I had spent over a 100 hours playing this game, and 90 of them were an absolute blast...but I can’t admit that about 10 of it was me trekking boringly across each location map. The first map – the Hinterlands – was especially bad since it feels like the side missions will just never stop. In fact the entire game has a more...MMORPG feel to it, and this is largely due to the fact that you’re tracing around large map areas doing sidequest that are...often rather dry and basic, and are more there to level you up than tell interesting stories about the world. Origins and II did sidequests better in my opinion. Origins was naturally a smaller game but it’s a case of quality over quantity, and almost every side quest in Origins felt meaty and interesting for its own addition to the lore. II admittedly had menial fetch quests, but say what you will about the smaller maps, but it at least made trekking back and forth less of a pain.

Besides that, the game made some...bizarre choices that did put some dents in my enjoyment. For starters certain parts on map are only accessible...through jump puzzles, and badly done jump puzzles at that. Really got on my nerves more often than not. Finally Bioware decided that Mages will have little to no healing spells making you totally reliant on potions, which again got to a pain in the ass several times. I admit these are arguably the nitpicks of a zealous Dragon Age fan, and I know a lot of people who didn’t care much for its prequels adored this one, but those are my qualms with it.

Besides those issues though, Inquisition was an absolute blast to play and I love it to death. Honestly I kinda wish they didn’t have hints at a sequel because really the game ends the Dragon Age story rather perfectly, tying a lot of loose ends from Origins and II. Of course I won’t complain for more Dragon Age, but I do wonder just where the franchise can go after this. It’s that Super Mario Galaxy problem where once you’ve gone this grand it’s hard to figure out where to go next. Still, Bioware have my trust when it comes to this series, so I’ll eagerly await what comes next.

As it stands Inquistion is better than Dragon Age II, and again I’m a guy who adored that game. I would still regard Dragon Age: Origins as the best of the series, but Inquisition is a close 2nd, and it’s my 3rd favourite game of 2014.



2) Valiant Hearts: The Great War

On the 28th of July 1914 World War 1 officially began. It was one of the bloodiest and tragic wars in all of history, and its horrors are still remembered through the stories, diaries and letters written by soldiers during the war, preserving it forever. Then, on June 28th 2014 – almost the century anniversary of the war - Ubisoft took several real life accounts of the tragic war and created a small, indie-like game called Valiant Hearts: The Great War, and it is number 2 on my list today.

This year has been an interesting year for games based around 20th and 21st century warfare. We’ve already talked about Wolfenstein: The New Orders approach to reigniting our hatred for the Nazi’s, but last year we saw Call Of Duty move away from the jingoism and ultra-patriotism that had defined the modern warfare games with its sillier and more fun Advanced Warfare title, and we also got the small but beloved game This War Of Mine which looks at war from the perspective of civilians caught in the middle of it all and the way these atrocities affect us and break us.

It’s all great stuff, but my favourite this year was definitely Valiant Hearts. A large part of that is due to the setting and all of collectables you find aound the game hat each come with a small history lesson about WWI and give you a better understanding of what life was like during the war. More importantly however the game is a lot like This War Of Mine in that the story is about the characters and the actual conflict is treated as a vague, massive monster looming over the characters that our heroes must try to survive. It doesn’t present war as something to win, but something to survive, but and I love both games for doing that, but Valiant Hearts won me over through its Herge-like art design and the actual way it portrays people in war.

You see This War Of Mine is all about people more or less doing horrible things to each other and making hard choices just to survive, which is engaging when done right. Valiant Hearts however is about people trapped in the middle of war trying to do the right thing no matter how hard it got. It’s very notable that at no point does any of the character pick up a gun or start shooting at enemies, but instead much of the game is helping other people –soldiers and civilians – survive the chaos of war. Frankly I found this to be a lot more engaging and I was constantly immersed in these characters plights, even though there was little to no dialogue throughout the game.

Furthermore This War Of Mine constantly pushes on the depression and sadness of it all, which again works well for it, but I love that Valiant Hearts isn’t so po-faced that it feels the need to be sad all the time. Characters have moments of hope, there are moments of laughter and happiness and helping those around in danger feels like a damn good thing. With this and it’s cartoonish look Valiant Hearts is a game that portrays the horror and pointlessness of war, but it is bold enough to say that even in such hell moments of light can shine through.

It’s true that the actual gameplay is pretty damn easy, but who frankly who gives a shit? Challenge is no longer needed to make a great game, not when it makes up for it through engaging story and characters, and Valiant Hearts characters and their plights were constantly that. It had its hiccups, Freddie’s moments in particular felt a bit our place at times, but none it detracted from the overall experience.

Ubisoft, you did not have a good year in 2014...but for this one amazing game? I still have respect for you, so please stop fucking up and become one of the good guys again.



1) Bayonetta 2

I imagine some people smiling at this choice.

Now I know the original Bayonetta is regarded by many as the best Platinum Games...game, but personally...I really liked the game, but I didn’t love it. For me later Platinum Games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and The Wonderful 101 for me were massive improvements and much more fun games to play. I definitely enjoyed Bayonetta, but maybe I just came in too late for it because I was slightly underwhelmed by it too.

Then this year I played Bayonetta 2......OHGODTHISGAMEWASSOMUCHFUN!!

I completed this game in a week, which as a man who has a full time job, has to go to work almost straight away after waking up, gets home fairly late, and has a lot of TV shows to watch everyday, that’s quite the accomplishment, but Bayonetta 2 is the kind of game that sinks its juicy teeth into you from start to finish and won’t let go. Suffices to say it was a massive improvement over the first game and damn near perfect as a spectacle fighter.

My favourite game of 2013 was Saints Row IV, and much like that game Bayonetta 2 is a welcoming experience who wants your  experience to be a party and a thrill ride, and as life becomes harder and harder these excellent excursions into funville are more and more appreciated. On a side note I’d even say the games story is a marked improvement over the first game. It’s certainly less directionless and more personal  to Bayonetta, though it too is often mindless and near impossible to fully understand, but you know what? Doesn’t matter this time. Bayonetta 2 may be more convoluted than Kingdom Hearts, but the game never stops being funny, silly, joyful and passionate, so in the case I can let it slide.

And yes, I can’t help but love Bayonetta as a character. I respect and understand why some see her a negative portrayal of a female character in gaming – certainly those tasteless cleavage shots don’t help much – but ultimately I side with those who say she’s a positive representation of women in gaming. Bayonetta is strong, independent, fully in control of herself and what she does in life and is clearly having more fun than anybody else in the game. She does everything with such intimidating confidence and with her every actions seems to say that if you’re gonna do something...well, do it with style.

As far as I’m concerned we need more games on the Wii U like this. Not just the next iteration of Smash Bros. or Mario Kart or any series that are pretty much the same every time, but something like Bayonetta 2 that gives an unforgettable and unique experience. Is it better than Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance or The Wonderful 101? Hard to say, I’ll have to play them back to back one day to find out, but with three such amazing games and more Platinum Games are one of the best studios around and I love them to death.

So there you have it my friends. That’s my 10 favourite games of 2014 and The LEGO Movie, Avatar: The Legend of Korra & Bayonetta 2 are my favourites of the year. Those are my countdowns done and I hope 2015 has films, TV shows and games that are just as good as them. Thanks for reading and I hope you all look out for my future endeavours!