2014: Your year in gaming

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A retrospective look at your year in gaming.

Post your game of the year, flop of the year, or any other game of note. A rating rundown of all, most or some of the games you played. Your overall feeling on gaming, or whatever. All in one thread for posterity :)

Games don't need to be 2014 releases - this is about what you've been playing

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Cheesyboy's 2014 in gaming
Overview:
Built a new entry-level gaming PC at the end of 2013, having had my previous rig for over 11 years (!). I'd obviously not been doing a lot of gaming on my PC previously, and hadn't gamed much at all since about 2010 when my son was born (played a bit of x360 for a couple of years before that). I only get around 10-15 hours per month of gaming time, so like to choose reasonably carefully what I'll be playing.

I've not paid much attention to new releases, as I've got quite a backlog of games to play from so many years of inactivity, and I'm loving Humble Bundles and suchlike for grabbing loads of great games for peanuts :) . In fact, I've only played one game this year which was released in 2014 (Gauntlet)

Onto the games:

Game of the Year - FTL
Just superb. Great atmosphere, incredible replay-ability (just one more go...), and fiendishly difficult - after more than 25 hours of playing, I've still not beaten it on Normal mode.
10/10

Honorable mention - Gauntlet
Played the original on C64, thought this looked like it retained the spirit of the original, and wasn't disappointed. It's perhaps a little light on content (playing multiplayer, you'll probably beat it in less than 5 hours), but is an absolute blast to play. Really enjoyed myself with it, and still play from time to time. Content is still being added by the devs.
9/10

Disappointment of the year - Dust: an Elysian Tale
My disappointment of the year. I like the artwork, thought I would like the gameplay, but didn't. Just didn't get into it at all - gave up after 1.5 hours or so. Lots of other people like it, it's not a bad game, but it's just not for me.
4/10

Other games I played:
Limbo 9/10
Started on my old PC, which crashed a lot. so returned with the new rig. Brilliant game, so atmospheric, and just the right length (4-5 hours) to leave you satisfied but wanting more. Completed

Dustforce 8/10
Really fun, challenging, time-attack platformer. I like this a lot, but it hurts my thumbs :) . Still in-progress.

Mark of the Ninja 8/10
Superb stealth game. Really tight controls, great scope for different playstyles, nice artwork. I liked it a lot. Completed.

FEAR 8/10
Excellent, atmospheric horror FPS. I don't handle scary games very well, but this was more creepy than jumpy, so I coped. Bored in the middle section, but loved it by the end. Completed.

FEAR: Extraction Point 7/10
More of the same, but Alma is less scary, the plot is barely existent, and the AI is a bit tougher. Still good, and had a couple of great set-pieces, but less good. Completed.

Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes 7/10
Point and click adventure. Straightforward puzzles, but a fun story, and humorous dialogue. Nice art style too. Enjoyed myself here. Completed.

Trine 2 6/10
Played Co-op with my 4-yr old (it's taken us 3/4 months to put 12 hours in, and we're still going!). He loved it, I found it OK, but a little tedious. A beautiful game, though, certainly the best looking game I've seen. Completed main mission.

Fez 6/10
Quite fun, reminded me of Nebulus on the C64. Got bored before the end, and wished I'd been on board when the game was new and the internet was working on solving the mysteries. Stopped playing incomplete.

Brutal Legend 6/10
Started early in the year, but found keyboard/mouse controls uncomfortable. Returned recently with x360 controller - much better. Starts great, gets worse with the open-world, not got to the RTS stuff yet. In-progress.

Scribblenauts Unlimited 5/10
Looked a fun concept, played for a few hours and enjoyed it but lost interest when I started to realise how pointless it is to be creative - just do the obvious and you get the same result. My son likes it, and it's handy for his spelling. Approx 50% complete.

8-Bit Commando 4/10
Low-rent Contra clone. Quite enjoyed it, very short, it was ok. Completed

Odd Planet 4/10
A limbo clone. Short, unfinished, but has potential if it ever gets done. Enjoyed the 1 hr of gameplay, but needs work. Completed.

Also played:
Shadow Warrior (2013) demo: Very impressed, will definitely buy later
Mini-Motor Racing Evo: pretty ordinary micro-machines type thing.
Super SF IV: Good game, I'm terrible at it.
Team Fortress 2: I enjoyed it more on X360!
Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed: Mario Kart-type. Not played much, seems ok
 
GOTY - Path of Exile - kept me coming back again and again.

Honorable mention - Shadow of Mordor, for being so much more than it looks on the surface.

Disappointment of the year - Me, for not making enough time for gaming! In game terms I think I've had a lucky year - not bought preorders, not bought blind, haven't been disappointed too much.
 
It has definitely been the best year for PC gaming !!

Game of the Year - Alien Isolation - Nothing has come close to re-creating the tension and fear you would expect to have if confronted by the Alien. Stunning visuals and sound effects all wrapped up in a brilliant setting. This wasn't just GOTY, this was Game of the Decade.

Honorable mention - Shadow of Mordor - take the best parts of AssCreed/Splinter Cell/Batman improve on them and add the superb Nemesis system and you have a winner.

Flop of the year - Impossible to pick just one so I will split it between the dreadful Elder Scrolls Online and Archeage both epic fails.
 
I've had two full runs of Wolfenstein: New Order and thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly given varieties in storylines from key decisions.

Other than that I've been almost exclusively playing Dishonored, can't get enough of it!

Bought several more throughout the year but haven't had the time to play so wouldn't have enough contenders to cover categories above. Wolfenstein definitely GOTY for me.

I was particularly looking forward to the new Tomb Raider game so hopefully get onto that over Christmas.
 
Devrij's 2014 in gaming

Game of the Year - Alien Isolation
This was an incredibly close call between this and DA:I, but Alien took it because it is just a wonderfully polished product, incredible atmosphere and trouser soiling tension.
10/10

Honorable mention - Dragon Age Inquisition
I have put over 80hrs into this, and I plan on playing it through again with a different class. The only reason I couldn't give this GOTY was that it just doesn't feel as polished as Alien with a few bugs and issues on launch. Still, very much the most fun game I played this year. Beautiful to look at, engrossing, fun combat.
9/10

Disappointment of the year - Sim City (the new one)
I bought this one this year after they decided to allow offline play. It had a huge amount of potential, and I did enjoy it to a point, but the city size limitations and only one traffic entry point to the city just forced you into a premature end game situation with gridlocked cities. It basically forces you to stop playing and start over.
5/10

Other Games I highly recommend from this year's gaming

1. Brothers - a tale of two sons.
Just an amazing game with a touching story and wonderful to look at too. Short, but so so worth playing.

2. XCom Enemy Unknown
I only discovered this recently when it was gifted to me, and by god it is addictive. The crushing pain of losing a squad member you levelled up, and the constant tension of knowing that your decisions are final in ironman mode. Very good for short blasts for the strategically minded.

3. Payday 2
I put nearly 200hrs after picking this up in the sales. If you get a good crew it's just a great game. I loved the concept, loved the different ways you could approach the heists, and it was just fun and technical at the same time. The teamwork aspect was the most rewarding though, as it really does require tight group play or you're buggered.

4. Shadow of Mordor
Good game with really fun combat, and the nemesis system is great as well. Loved the personality of the enemy NPCs. It feel a bit like Assassins creed meets Batman in terms of gameplay (similar stealth and missions to AC, but great combat like Batman), meets LOTR. Just good craic. You haven't lived until you ride a graug into an enemy camp.

5. Borderlands Pre sequel.
It's Borderlands, and more of the same really. A good formula, and you can't go wrong with dialogue like "He's called Captain Poopdeck, because that's how much arse he gets!". Good game to play with the lads.

6. Gauntlet
Another great laugh with mates, and they have added a new hero so you have a choice even if you join in last. Polished and fun.
 
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GOTY - This goes to ARMA 3. So many great mods out there and so many hours spent playing. Battle Royale is the pick of the bunch for me but Epoch is great too. 9/10

Disappointment - Uhh really this is true of the genre in general. MMOs. Pretty bad year all in. If I have to pick 1 it's definitely ArcheAge, rarely see a game with so much promise crash and burn so badly. Only one that's halfway decent is Landmark and even then it's difficult to sink hours into. Hope for EQ Next at least.

Honorable mentions

Rimworld - Pretty confident this would've taken GOTY if I'd have bought it earlier. Sucks you in like very few other games. It's early days in terms of development but still, hours just melt. 9/10

Hearthstone - Good fun and kills time, though if you want to get competitive you have to drop major hours or open your wallet. 8/10

CSGO - Great fun even if 64 tick is the devils work. Avoid playing with randoms at all costs. 8/10

Prison Architect - Very good, though lacks a little depth. 7/10

Speedrunners - Pick up and play, doesn't get much more fun than this. 9/10
 
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GOTY - Command Modern Naval/Air Operations

Honourable Mentions - Wargame: Red Dragon, Panzer Corps, Hearts of Iron 3, Eve Online, Arma 3.

Disappointment - Rome 2
 
Two games of the year for me, they are very different but they are close to perfection: Europa Universalis IV and Dark Souls 2.

Honorable mention: Divinity Original Sin


Other games I enjoyed:
FTL 9/10
Euro Truck Simulator 8/10
CS:GO 9/10
Mount&Blade Warband(mods) 8/10
Chivalry Medieval Warfare 8/10
Hearthstone 7/10
Insurgency 8/10
Age of Wonders III 8/10
This War of Mine 8/10

Biggest dissapointment:
Risen 3
 
Quietest year of gaming for me since the 80s, as my first child was born last year and I recently switched jobs to a 5hr commute, meaning very little time for it in 2014. In fact my position is very similar to the OP (10-15hrs of gaming a month average is probably not far off).

Had a quick look and pretty sure I've only played 5 games on PC this year (none of which were released in 2014 except for Carma which was essentially a demo):

-CoD:G - ok, nothing special
-AC4:BF - only played a couple of hours so far, seems good but too early to tell
-Carma:R - played an hour or so of the alpha/beta/whatever it is called back in March, shows some promise but didn't seem massively better than the original
-AOE3 - probably the best game I've played this year, my kind of RTS
-Quakeworld - bit of FFA from time to time, my standard (only) multiplayer fix

Priority for me in 2015 will be a throwback to 2003 when I resurrected my single-player gaming career, being much more careful with how I spend time on my PC (less foruming for starters!)

Perhaps the most worrying thing is I have probably bought at least 50 games this year, holding this illusion that somehow I will magically find the time to play them all.
 
Game(s) of the Year - Alien Isolation, The Evil Within, Dark Souls 2

Honorable Mention(s) - Gauntlet 2014, Ryse Son Of Rome, Wolfenstein The New Order, Lara Croft & The Temple Of Osiris, Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate HD, Middle Earth Shadow Of Mordor

Disappointment(s) of the year - Lords Of The Fallen, The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Castlevania Lords Of Shadows2, COD Advanced Warfare. All shovelware titles to me I regret buying them all at least I got a refund from Steam for Lords Of The Fallen!
 
It has definitely been the best year for PC gaming !!

Game of the Year - Alien Isolation - Nothing has come close to re-creating the tension and fear you would expect to have if confronted by the Alien. Stunning visuals and sound effects all wrapped up in a brilliant setting. This wasn't just GOTY, this was Game of the Decade.

Honorable mention - Shadow of Mordor - take the best parts of AssCreed/Splinter Cell/Batman improve on them and add the superb Nemesis system and you have a winner.

Flop of the year - Impossible to pick just one so I will split it between the dreadful Elder Scrolls Online and Archeage both epic fails.

Neither ESO or Archeage have been flops and ESO is supposedly very good now and has a healthy player base.
 
GOTY: Alien Isolation has to be up there - atmospheric, scary as hell, I wouldn't play it again - mainly because of it's scare factor!

Mentions: Risk of Rain - tiny little game, hard as nails but very, very fun. Takes me back to the 8 bit era. Legend of Grimrock 2 - shame about the crap spell system - take a leaf out of Dungeon Masters book to improve this (may as well as they nicked nigh on everything else out of - not that it's a bad thing!)

Years gone by mentions: Since the beginning of me ever having a PC I've always gone back to these. Skyrim, Virtual Pool 3, Asherons Call. Still play Kick Off 2, SWoS, Dungeon Master and Turrican 2 as well on the amassed Amigas I have!

Not a particularly awe inspiring year though I will get Elite: Dangerous if they add an offline mode and / or make it cheaper.


M.
 
GOTY

1st. Alien Isolation by far. Can't fault it on anything.


2nd. South Park: The Stick of Truth. Absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly deep game
3rd. Dark Souls 2 with DLC. Released last year on consoles, but the PC version was worth the wait, and the dlc is highly regarded, though I haven't done it all myself yet.
4th. Divinity: Original Sin. Very good Old school RPG
5th. Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall. Amazing story and a great improvement over the far too basic Dead Man's Switch.
6th. Dragon Age Inquisition. A step in the right direction.


Disappointment of the year

Wasteland 2. Really not a very good game at all. My hopes were high, but it is like they went out of their way to make a game as boring as possible.


Honorable Mentions.



Dragon Age Inquisition.Whilst certainly a step forward for Bioware in many ways, it also goes backwards in quite a few as well. The lack of attention to detail in the game, some truly baffling design decisions and the use of filler quests made the game ultimately nowhere near as good as it should have been.

Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes- Its Metal Gear back on PC!...a port of the console version, but a very good one, and a really promising game that makes me very excited for Phantom Pain.

I only played Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons a few months back as well. It is truly stunning and would give Alien Isolation a run for it's money if it was released this year for me.
 
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GOTY : Middle Earth : Shadow of Mordor - really enjoyed this game, great production values, visceral combat ... and most importantly, fun to play despite my concerns that the game might prove a bit one dimensional.

Honourable mentions : Endless Legend - really great addition to the turn based strategy genre. Trumps Civilisation Beyond Earth by a wide margin.

Age of Wonders 3 : really great fantasy turn based strategy game, good production values, and excellent support and attention to detail from the devs.

Wasteland 2 : I actually liked it a lot. It was quite buggy when it first came out, but has been extensively patched since. Found it catered to my sensibilities more than Divinity : Original Sin ( which is a good game in its own right ... but the humour and controls didn't resonate with me quite so well ).

Elite : Dangerous - barebones & shallow at the moment, but a tremendous platform for the future. For those of us that grew up playing the original Elite this iteration is a welcome return to childhood memories.

Disappointment of the Year : absolutely no question of doubt that it has to be the MMO genre as a whole.
 
Neither ESO or Archeage have been flops and ESO is supposedly very good now and has a healthy player base.

post YOUR experiences and keep on topic.

2014: Your year in gaming

A retrospective look at your year in gaming.

Post your game of the year, flop of the year, or any other game of note. A rating rundown of all, most or some of the games you played. Your overall feeling on gaming, or whatever. All in one thread for posterity :)
 
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