AGR's 2014 Game of the Year Awards

Watch Dogs.    

 Hello and welcome to the AGR 2014 Game Of The Year Awards, where this year's games are awarded. 2014 was a good year for games, some didn't live up to their hype while other were hyped to death and didn't live up to their hype. However, it was a major turning point for Nintendo and its Wii U.The console has seen its share of first-party exclusives such as Bayonetta 2, Mario Kart 8, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has also saw their share of exclusives (Infamous: Second Son for PS4 and Sunset Overdrive on Xbox One) and sales, but Nintendo takes this year's cake.

 It was also a weird year for gaming; many anticipated games such as Watch Dogs, Destiny, Titanfall, and Assassin's Creed Unity were met with massive disappointment (I was too) which further showed that developers are rushing their game without testing it for any errors or glitches.Before we head to the awards, here's a quick recap of the major events that happened in 2014:

• Irrational Games, creator of the BioShock series, was disbanded.
• Naughty Dog, creator of the Crash Bandicoot and Uncharted series, celebrates its 30th anniversary.
• The Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion.
• Nintendo announces the newest iteration of the 3DS, "New" Nintendo 3DS XL, which will be arriving next year.
• Microsoft acquires Minecraft developer, Mojang, for a staggering $2.5 billion.
•  Live streaming service, Twitch, was acquired by Amazon for $970 million.
• Ralph H. Baer, inventor of video games and known as "The father of Video Games", has passed away.
• Square Enix announced that the PC port of Final Fantasy VII will be coming to PS4... no remake :(

         GAME OF THE YEAR AWARDS


BEST NARRATIVE

Sheriff of the year, Bigby Wolf.

The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games)- While the first couple of episodes took its time, the later one really picked up on the story and characters of the game. Fabletown sheriff, Bigby Wolf, must solve the mystery of the occurring murders in the Fable-filled town. What's more interesting is how the narrative changes depending on the choices you take and YOUR Bigby Wolf's actions throughout the episodes. Telltale truly created a suspenseful, Walking Dead-like engaging experience.


BEST CHARACTER      
  
 Monokuma (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair) 

Bear of the Year, Monokuma!

 Don't let his looks fool you, this crazy bear is not to be messed with. Monokuma is the complete opposite of Persona 4's Teddie; he's ruthless, violent, cold, and rarely nice. He has a habit of watching high school students give in to despair and start killing each other, which is the main theme of the games. In conclusion, Monokuma is one bear that you wouldn't be around with, if you value your life!



BEST ACTION 

Witch of the Year, Bayonetta.

Bayonetta 2 (Nintendo)- Platinum Games and Bayonetta on the Wii U, need I say more? This year was a great year for the Wii U; two first-party exclusives that were fun for everyone, except for Bayonetta 2. Being the sequel to one of the best hack-and-slash games developer Platinum Games made, its no surprise that everyone was excited for the sequel.

 Bayonetta 2 took everything great about the first, added in some refinements, gave Bayonetta a new look, and added more profanity and violence. Immediately, the game went on being one of the best action games of all-time (even beating the original). And most notably, its on a Nintendo console, and its rated M... for Mature.

BEST ADVENTURE 

MORE-DOOR!

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)- Taking place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Shadow of Mordor feature a new protagonist, Talion.The game is open-world, which offers interesting side-quests and Uruk killing (which I enjoy).Throughout the game, you can customize Talion with wrath-like abilities.Its undeniably a 2014 must-play, along with the rest of great game, of course. 

BEST SHOOTER

The year's best, but overlooked shooter.

Wolfenstein: The New Order (Bathesda)- Without a doubt, one of the year's overlooked shooter. Unlike Advanced Warfare and Destiny, I found genuine enjoyment with Wolfenstein: The New Order. William "BJ" Blazkowicz is an awesome protagonist, as well as his huge arsenal of weapons at his disposal. I could go on-and-on why it deserves recognition, but to keep it short; go play and enjoy it.

BEST VISUALS

Most visually stunning,
Infamous Second Son.

Infamous: Second Son (Sony Computer Entertainment)- Developer Sucker Punch's latest installment in the Infamous series, Second Son, is a showcase for the PlayStation 4's visual power. The city of Seattle is beautifully diverse, especially the amount detailed that put into it. The lighting and particle effects really gives the game a dynamic open-world, which suits it well.Personally, I can't wait for what Sucker Punch has in store next.

BEST SOUND

 Best score of the Year, Destiny.

Destiny (Activision)- While it wasn't the game most were expecting, Destiny was a good game. Despite the severely shallow story and repetitive campaign missions, its  visuals and outstanding score are the main attraction. Seriously, I really enjoyed listing to the soundtrack while I was playing, which shows shows how much effort was put into production values.


BEST FIGHTER

Smash of the Year,
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Nintendo)- The long awaited Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (also for 3DS) finally arrived and it was a smash (pun intended). Whether its with friends or online, Smash Wii U is definitely a blast. Also, with over 50 characters to choose from and the inclusion of 8-player battles as well as building your own stage, its going to be a huge smash (pun intended). However, if all that sounds overwhelming to you, fear not, the game is easily accessible for everyone, training mode is a great place to start if you're new to the series.

BEST RACER 

Best racing game, Mario Kart 8!

Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo)- Mario Kart 8 was among the year's best racing games, especially with friends. Despite the weak Battle Mode, MK8 is blast to play with friends. The HD visuals are stunning and vibrant, the core mechanics of the series has been expanded, thanks to new anti-gravity feature that turns familiar and new courses upside down, and adds more wackiness. Unlike most racers this year, MK8 plays and looks great without any issues.


BEST INDIE

Most faced-paced indie, Velocity 2X.

Velocity 2X (FuturLab)- I enjoyed playing the remake of the original Velocity, Velocity Ultra; when I learned of a sequel with platforming elements, I was eager to play it. After finishing my playthrough of 50 levels, some of which were a bit tricky, I ended up playing it again for better scores and medals, which added more hours to the fun. The stylish art-style and faced-paced gameplay are major highlights for Velocity 2X,
Shovel Knight which is also an excellent indie, was close to being 'Best Indie', but personally, I'm a sucker for faced-paced action.

BEST PLATFORMER

Best platformer game goes to,
The Kongs.

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo)- Demanding constant reflexes and precise timing, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze is the year's enjoyable platformer.The Kongs find themselves again in a crazy adventure where they must reclaim DK island back from the Snowmads.Developer Retro Studios did a great job with the presentation and the level design, considering how challenging and fun it is. 

PERSONAL CATEGORIES


MOST PLAYED

Sneakiest Man of the Year, Snake.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Konami)- The first part of the MGSV experience, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, was released earlier this year.While it was panned for being short and a cliffhanger for The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes was a great look at the Fox Engine's capabilities and what the series has to offer.Some may call it a "demo", but I call it a nice warm up for The Phantom Pain.

MOST ADDICTING 

Making you feel like a badass,
Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (Electronic Arts)- While I can't say much about Dragon Age: Inquisition, its  good fun. I was immediately addicted, the areas and characters you meet along the way are interesting and diverse. The gameplay is great and were a major improvement over Dragon Age II, which wasn't great compared to Origins. 

MOST REWARDING

Patience shall be rewarded.

Dark Souls II- What Dark Souls II is, not just hard, but IS punishing (mainly, because there is no "Easy" or "Normal" modes in the game). Unlike most RPGs, there is no tutorials that help you, no regenerating health, and even your armor won't protect you from the brutal bosses. Yes, I made it sound super unforgiving (which truly is), but Dark Souls II is a great and enjoyable experience, if you're patient, that is.

MOST UNDERRATED

Underrated Survival-Horror game of
the Year, The Evil Within.

The Evil Within (Bethesda)- Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami's last video-game, The Evil Within, may not have reached the massive popularity of the Resident Evil series, but I found it to be a thrilling game. Yes, despite the mixed reception, the game was a success.

 According to the NPD's Top 10 Software Lists for October, The Evil Within placed 3rd on all five systems (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC), behind NBA 2K15 and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. However, many who played the game didn't fully enjoy it; yes the story IS confusing and the game doesn't hand-hold during the boss fights, but deep down, its enjoyable.

 Personally, after finishing it for the first time, I immediately went back and started to collect green gels that I missed so that I can improve my weapons, as well as finding the goddess  statues, which contains key to unlocking items. Not to mention trying to master those brutal boss fights. Also, for those confused about the story, the upcoming DLCs will explain it a bit more, hopefully.


MOST DISAPPOINTING  

Most disappointing band of assassins.

Assassin's Creed Unity (Ubisoft)- As a huge Assassin's Creed fan, I was disappointed when playing Unity.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was Excellent, I enjoyed exploring the seas, destroying and looting other ships, and upgrading my own ship.Unity feels off, the unstable frame-rate and glitchy cutscenes got in the way of paying attention to the story as well as the controls. Personally, Paris wasn't all that great, its uninteresting and linear. I was climbing all tall building, trying to reach a synchronization point, where suddenly our protagonist Arno, decided to jump off and fall to his death, which just shows how poorly implemented the controls are. Fortunately, Ubisoft heard feedback and are releasing update to fix the game, which is a bit late considering how the numerous bugs affected my experience.

Maybe someday,
I'll finish it...

BIGGEST TROLLS

A remake confirmed?

Square Enix (Final Fantasy VII on PS4)-In this month's PlayStation Experience event, Final Fantasy fans were excited for a FFVII remake on PS4. However, Square Enix pulled a stunt on everyone and announced that its the PC port of the game, not a remake! Well... that went well, right? 

Here's some Internet memes expressing the disappointment:

A picture worth a thousand words.

Or,

What if?

But hey,

"Please be excited"

And we've saved the best for last.

GAME OF THE YEAR 2014

Super Smash Bros., ruining
friendships since 1999.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U- Quite literally the most fun I had this year. I enjoyed playing Super Smash in high definition visuals with up to 8-players. Although Bayonetta 2 was close, playing with friends and watching them throw their controllers at the wall due to multiple rages really put a smile on my face. Personally, I could spend the next five years playing both Smash on the 3DS and Wii U, without getting bored. This just shows how much effort director Masahiro Sakurai, Sora Ltd., and Bandai Namco Games put into making the latest installments (Smash 3DS included) in the series. Game of the Year, everyone.


 This concludes the year's awards.Comparing it to last year's GotY, there were many new additions and refinements to this year, and hopefully you liked them. Sorry that some of the games didn't get their reviews up, just that its been overwhelming with all of the games and lack of time; still there's room for more improvements in 2015. Finally, whats your Game of the Year? Until next time!

--Update: 01/11/2015--

- Yes, its been a while since I posted the GOTY awards, but I completely forgot something."Best Shooter" and "Best Adventure" categories have been added with their respective games, sorry for taking a while to realize this.