The anti top five for 2014

Here are what I consider some of the biggest stinkers from 2014. These aren't the worst/most broken games that came out as such, but those that failed to deliver on their promises.

Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark

This is the biggest let down of the year. I really enjoyed War for, and Fall of Cybertron, but this game decided to kill that series. It not only went the bayformers route, but the game itself lacks any flair what so ever. This is a boring, short, and uninspired remix using elements from the first 2 games with a sub par story.

Even previously established characters from the last game get a rewrite so they match up with the bloody awful film versions. What was done to Grimlock is a fine example of how little the publisher/new devs care about the subject matter (Just like Bay). This in stark contrast to the High Moon games that felt like a passion project.

Watch Dogs

I didn't have high expectations for this game, but Ubisoft did a lot worse than i could have expected. A poor pc port, with a lack lustre story, and a protagonist that frankly just isn't very likeable. 

The hacking isn't very good, and most of this game is assassins creed lite with cars. There is a lot more focus on cars, chases, combat and ambushes than actually using information/hacking in a meaningful way to achieve your goals. For me the most interesting parts are the gang hideouts, but even that gets very stale after a few.

Wayward Manor

For a game clearly billing itself as a Neil Gaiman project there was no excuse to half arse the voice overs by same. Instead he only voices a small section of the lines by his own character. This could have been a lot better with full vocals, and a bit more variety.

Assassins Creed Unity

After the rather fun Black Flag There was hope for this series, but with this abysmal instalment it is right back onto meh list. Ironically the more or less ignored Rogue is a good deal more amusing. Even so this year Ubisoft has again proven itself incapable of making good pc versions.

Elder Scrolls Online

Unlike many others I was willing to give this game a real shot. There was, and still is a hint of a decent game in there. It had issues during beta, but that is nothing new. Sadly a great many of these were not fixed by the time it went retail. 

There was no end of downtime (More or less daily), broken quests, and the cooperative play was extremely poorly implemented. No shared objectives, quest markers etc, for normal quests, and even the coop focused dungeons were not that much better.

It did not have personalized loot etc spawns, so you found yourself constantly competing with other players rather than working with them. Standing around looking to talk to an npc that had just walked off with another player for example was not uncommon.

The game also very clearly already has micro transaction hooks built in, and that is just not acceptable for a full price+monthly sub fee game.

I gave this game 3 months after launch to get its act together, but it did not manage to even make a start at doing so. That is a shame, because I like the world, characters, and even the story was actually pretty decent. 

Maybe it will be worth looking at again after going free to play, but that very much depends on how it is implemented. (I'm looking at you TOR.)

My 10 favourite games from 2014

These are the games I had the most fun with this year:

Tex Murphy Tesla Effect.

It has some flaws, but after years of waiting on a cliffhanger finally getting to progress this story I can overlook them. I hope there will be more FMV games in the future. Next time it would be nice if they put characters back into the explorable game world though. Things now felt a bit deadish.

Thief (214)

Perhaps not the sequel everyone wanted, but I had fun with this game. The stealth was pretty strong even if its hub areas, and constant back tracking let it down. (Especially with knocked out guards waking back up every time.)

Wolfenstein The New Order

I did not expect to like this game at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. The shooting is solid, and the level design offered you enough freedom to keep things interesting. You will have fun with this going in guns blazing, sneaky stabby, or a mix of both.

Kirby Triple Deluxe

I spent a lot of time playing this on 3ds xl. My only slight gripe was with their choice in locking levels behind collected sunstones. In every respect this is a good Kirby game with some new touches.

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze

A very cute looking, but hard as nails platformer that had me cursing at the the TV. This is one of those games where you might die a lot, but you know it was entirely your own fault.

Book of Unwritten tales 2

I loved the original, and the sequel was more of that goodness. If silly point and click adventure games are your thing play these games.

The Wolf Among Us

I know this started in 2013, but the game/season completed this year. It started strong with some of telltales more classic adventure roots showing. Sadly those went overboard in favour of more action/qtes near the end. Even so the story was interesting enough to hold my attention.

Threes!

This simple little puzzle game has earned a permanent spot on my phone. It is great fun, and super addictive.

Bayonetta 2

A worthy successor to the original. Any worries about this releasing on the Wii U are utterly unfounded. In fact the Nintendo touches are nice, and the touch controls are great for novice action game players. This game is an over the top fun as hell action game that you should go buy right now. While you do so be sure to also pick up the wii u version of the first bayonetta

Mario Kart 8

An stellar new entry in a really fun line of games. The new hover sections are a welcome addition to this series. Even the DLC was good value for money, and felt entirely optional. The online is also pretty damn good.

Honourable mentions:

Legend of Grimrock 2

I really liked 1, but just haven't gotten around to seriously playing this one yet.

Hyrule Warriors

I had fun playing this in coop, but would never play it solo.

Tales of Xillia 2

A very direct welcome sequel to the first.