By: Ryan Ramakrishnan
2014 was an interesting year for my gaming experience. Since I never even owned a Wii-U, I missed out on some of 2014’s greatest experiences, which I would later get on the Switch. I also didn’t play or just didn’t love a few of the most high profile games released that year either. But with all that being said, I did find myself enjoying some titles in 2014 immensely. So let’s go back to the first full year of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
My top 4 games of 2014 are as follows:
5. Sunset Overdrive
Insomniac Games is responsible for multiple games that I have come to love. The Xbox One exclusive, “Sunset Overdrive” is no exception. This is easily one of the most fun games around thanks to its gameplay mechanics. Insomniac showed their knack for movement and unique combat with this one. It was a joy to grind rails and buildings, moving at great speeds in a smooth manner. “Sunset Overdrive” had a lot of charm too with its world and characters. It is all silly and a little ridiculous but usually in the best way. I remember really enjoying all of the crazy aspects of this title. Now I am very curious to see if a “Sunset Overdrive 2” could happen, which would also be for PS5 I should assume.
4. Watch Dogs
If it weren’t for “Watch Dogs 2” or “Legion’s” promise, the first of Ubisoft’s hacking series would stand high above many games over the past decade for me. Now that time has gone by, I have seen more of the flaws in “Watch Dogs';” however, here I am preparing my praise nonetheless. “Watch Dogs” has been criticized for its dull protagonist but Aiden Pearce never bothered me. And that is about all I’ll concern myself with as it is now time for my praise. You see, I loved the gameplay in “Watch Dogs.” This game had so many awesome moments, some scripted, some I made myself, even with my friends. “Watch Dogs” had a beautiful Chicago setting and it was very interesting to explore. It proved Ubisoft’s ability to create a visually pleasing and accurate city. I loved driving the cool; cars and changing my trench coast. These things are subtle but they made me happy. The gunplay never felt too bad and the stealth was very exciting. And hacking was pretty new to open world action games. It made for some hilarious unscripted moments and it often makes me feel very powerful over the city of Chicago. Overall, I just had a blast with the gameplay in the first “Watch Dogs.”
3. InFAMOUS: Second Son
I would say that the first two InFAMOUS games did better things than their PS4 sequel overall but I truthfully found “Second Son” to still be an awesome time. This game came out when the console was new and it really made me happy to see how good they graphically looked, mostly thanks to the art direction and color. “InFAMOUS: Second Son” had a very fun system of powers, upgrading them and varying between them. I truly adored the superpowers. They were very exciting, each feeling fresh from one another. I found myself always happy to just fly around and kill enemies. “InFAMOUS: Second Son” also had a pretty entertaining narrative and character. I liked Delsin Rowe a lot honestly. And following his personal story regarding family and his own journey to do something good with his life had me surprisingly interested. This is still a favorite PlayStation exclusive for me. “InFAMOUS” may not return for a while and if “Second Son” is the final main outing from Sucker Punch’s stellar superhero games, I am more than content with it.
2. Wolfenstein: The New Order
Simply put, I am too young to have experienced “Wolfenstein” in its classic glory. 2014’s reboot of sorts from Machine Games made me quickly call the franchise a favorite of mine though. I loved “Wolfenstein: The New Order.” I often recommend it to people. The modern take on the series, with the exception of “Youngblood” in my opinion, is excellent. “The New Order” made me uncomfortable, it made me emotional and it made me feel like a genuine badass. The game had some of the best shooting I have felt. Gunplay is awesome and very intense. There was rarely a dull moment, especially when out of cutscenes. “Wolfenstein: The New Order” made you feel powerful but it was very challenging too. And I felt very satisfied when I accomplished the challenge of taking on difficult enemies or bosses. The title also boasts a very compelling story with its alternate history. B.J. Blazkowicz is a great protagonist and those around him basically all stand out in positive ways too. Mowing down Nazis felt amazing and the story made it all the more interesting to fight through its nicely paced campaign.
I feel like I am a minority in putting “Far Cry 4” at the top of my favorite 2014 games. Most would choose other “Far Cry” games over this one too. I however still stand by this title. I really had an excellent time playing through “Far Cry 4.” I ended up putting dozens of hours into it, exploring basically everywhere the map let me and I nearly Platinumed it (something I don’t usually do) if it weren’t for the multiplayer trophies. “Far Cry 4” had a gorgeous open world that seriously made me want to visit India and Nepal. It was a wonderful time adventuring through it. Whether I was grappling up mountains, shooting down helicopters with explosive arrows, flying through the skies in tiny choppers or spraying wild life with an assault rifle, there was also fun to be had. I often reminisce about how much of a joy “Far Cry 4” proved to be for me. I had never played the series prior to this when it launched in 20914 and I was so in love with it, making “Far Cry” a fan-favorite I.P. now. I never wanted to put the controller down. I wanted to do and see everything there was in the game. It is hard to say why I chose this over many of my favorite titles of this decade when talking about pure favorites but I just love “Far Cry 4.”
Those are the five games I enjoyed the most from 2014. Which ones did you play? I know I missed some so tell me all about your own favorites.
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