In looking over the landscape of the video game industry in 2014, the only real takeaway I have is this: I did not play that many games. Despite working for a games journalism website - or perhaps because of - the time spent engaged actually playing the games was woefully small compared to my time spent writing about them.
Clash Of Clans Winter Update Increases Level Of Gold And Elixir Collectors; Other Changes
Now, when I say ‘Games’ (with a capital G) the default is ‘Sony or Microsoft’s AAA FPS sequel’. I don’t know when that became the standard for what a ‘Game’ is, but somewhere along the way it did. So, no, I did not play many Games in 2014, but I did play many “games”. My schedule is such that the best time for me to play anything was in-between the other matters of my life, be it work, school or commuting. It is amazing what you can do when you don’t have to drive a car to get work.
Yes, friends, my name is Steve and I am a filthy casual. I spend my time Clashing Clans or Rushing Kingdoms. I play at five minute intervals. My preferred color palette skews to the bright and cartoonish, as opposed to the brown and post-apocalyptic. I could make a top 10 or top 25 of the games I didn’t play this year (Assassin’s Creed, Wolfenstein, Dark Souls II, Shadow of Mordor and on and on). But we could talk of hypotheticals until the cows come home. Here is my list of the Ten Best Games This Year.
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9. World Of Tanks Blitz (App Store / Google Play) - Wargaming managed to successfully translate its immense and, at times, intimidating World of Tanks into a fun, deceptively simple mobile title with an insane amount of depth to it. Players can get as deep or as shallow as they want, and the gameplay remains the same. Spend money or don't, play a lot or a little, but rest assured, you will be playing this; while the steady stream of updates featuring new tanks, maps and bonus rewards ensure that you will be playing it for a long time to come.
8. Hitman GO - (App Store / Google Play) the Hitman series has always been fun for its copious violence and strategic elements. What Hitman GO does is do away with the violence almost altogether - characters are ‘knocked’ off the board, but there is no blood - and instead reimagines everyone’s favorite bald assassin as the main piece in a an isometric game of strategy and planning. Recently, games have been becoming more like movies, telling dense stories backed with history and characters; Hitman GO, though clothed in a modern polish, is decidedly un-modern. The objective of every map, be it elimination, escape or recon, is immaterial. The path you choose to get there is what matters.
1. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) - forget Halo, Destiny, GTA V or any other game with multiplayer support. When my friends and I get together, the choice of what to play could not be more obvious. Nintendo might not make the most “mature” games or the “grittiest” games, but Mario Kart 8 is case and point that they make the most fun games. The game practically single-handedly saved the Wii U and with Nintendo’s commitment to DLC this generation, adding new tracks, karts and racers, expect your buddies to fire this up at every opportunity. And I’ll be right there, ready to take you down with a red shell.
I look forward to spending 2015 catching up on all the games I missed in 2014. Got some words about the list? Am I too lacking in major releases? Does this whole thing strike you as #collusion? Tell us below.
See you next year.
