2014 Community Game of the Year - Results posted! Thanks for voting!

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Before we begin, a quick reminder about how things work around here. Each year, we poll our community members for their favorite games of the year, but instead of limiting it to just what released that year we open it up to any game that was new to you. We're all busy, and we can't keep up with every new thing that comes out, and sometimes what really captures us is a game that's a year, or five years, or ten years, or twenty years old.

So not everything that made our top ten for 2014 actually released in 2014. Well, technically that's not true, but... Well... You'll see.


10. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & Super Smash Bros. for 3DS

Punting Pikachu into oblivion never gets old. But punting Pikachu and fifty other Nintendo characters into oblivion in rock-solid online matches with no tripping is about the best thing since sliced bread. And having your own amiibo punt you into oblivion in match after match after match? That’s just humiliating.


9. Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 might not be the Fallout sequel we got, but if I may be so bold, it was the Fallout sequel we deserved. Gritty and darkly beautiful, Wasteland 2 was one of an embarrassment of traditional Western RPGs that finally released this year. I’m not a PC gamer anymore, nor do I play Western RPGs, but if there were any game that would pull me toward that platform and that genre, it would be this one. (Well, and our #3 pick.)

“So awesome it made me consider giving up Mario.” - ClockGN.com


8. The Last of Us Remastered & The Last of Us: Left Behind

Also a clear winner for Most Depressing Game of the Year, and perhaps still the most compelling reason to buy a PlayStation of any stripe that Sony cares about, The Last of Us earned a spot on our top ten list again this year but didn’t quite clinch the Classic Game of the Year award. (More on that a little later.)


7. South Park: The Stick of Truth

Ubisoft does what Nintendon’t, releasing a Paper Mario game that’s wildly popular with gamers. All they had to do was to lovingly cover it in a vulgar, censored-in-Europe sheen of South Park. And I’m sure it helped that Obsidian finally made a game that’s not a buggy mess.


6. Mario Kart 8

  • Console Exclusive of the Year

Imagine my surprise when I tallied the final votes this year and discovered that we had not one but two Wii U games in our community’s top ten. This is not—let’s be honest—a community that has traditionally been big fans of Nintendo platforms; our Conference Call crew have sold their Nintendo consoles or complained of them gathering dust; one poster accused the Wii U Catch-All thread of sounding like a “support group”.

And yet when Mario Kart 8 came out this summer and turned out to be the best Mario Kart game yet, you all took notice. And while the Gamers With Jobs community of Nintendo gamers is small, their passion for what was one of the most thrilling, fun, and polished experiences of 2014 earned it a spot in the top ten. In fact, Mario Kart 8 fell just one point shy of tying for fifth.


5. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls & Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition

What do you get when you drop the least popular part of your game, retool its balance to be more in line with what fans expect, add a generous helping of new content, and release gorgeous, wonderfully playable versions of four of the major consoles on the market? A lot of happy players, that’s what, and our community’s appreciation for the Diablo 3 expansion-slash-ultimate edition is evidence of that.

(And I may be alone in it, but I’ll always lament that the final release of Diablo 3 shied away from the unicorns-and-rainbows pre-release footage that got the internet in such a tizzy. I’ll pour one out for you, My Little Demon Pony.)


4. Dark Souls 2

  • The Dark Souls of the Year

SHUT UP ABOUT IT, ALREADY.

Okay, yes, it's awesome. Maybe not as awesome as Dark Souls, mind, but it's still Dark Souls so it's still awesome.


3. Divinity: Original Sin

  • Indie Game of the Year

There’s a temptation to view this year as a sort of changing of the guard. High profile games from heavy hitters like Bungie, Ubisoft, and Respawn failed to impress while indie efforts, many of which began life as Kickstarter pipe dreams, gathered hype, momentum, and genuine enthusiasm all year long. Games like Wasteland 2, Transistor, Shovel Knight, Kentucky Route Zero, The Binding of Isaac Rebirth, Endless Legend, and Banished really seemed to catch our community and carry them through the year. It felt like something special, something significant; like we’ll look back on 2014 as a signal year when it felt like things really changed.

And at the forefront of that change, catching seemingly everyone by surprise, was Divinity Original Sin, a Kickstarter-funded traditional Western RPG from Larian Studios. It seems like an instant classic, not only because it was a game in a classic style but because it was just that good. So please, don’t wait for the Steam sale; don’t hold off for the Humble Bundle where you pay $2 for this and a plastic baggie of indie diamonds. Larian Studios made something special. Reward them for it.


2. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

The storyline might have J.R.R. Tolkien spinning in his grave, but Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor was this year’s biggest surprise and suggests that between this and their success with the Arkham games, there’s something really wonderful in the water at Warner Bros. Interactive. Headlined by the novel new Nemesis system, Shadow of Mordor mined some of the same territory as strategy games like Crusader Kings 2 where an intelligent application of mechanics and just the right amount of randomization allows players to tell their own stories with their own dramatis personae of twisted characters. No one gets the same experience with Shadow of Mordor, and every nemesis is lovingly, beautifully customized by your own failure.


1. Dragon Age: Inquisition

  • Most Overall Votes
  • Most #1 Votes

There was a moment, back when I was first counting votes, that I thought that Dragon Age would lose to Shadow of Mordor. Anyone who has paid the slightest attention to the Gamers With Jobs community over the years knows that, second only to the High and Holy Valve Software, we love no developer so much as we love Bioware. But Dragon Age has been controversial with a love-it-or-hate-it second installment, and Bioware’s star has perhaps dimmed in the wake of Mass Effect 3 (but you get to choose the star’s color: red, blue, or green).

But really, nothing stood a chance. By weighted score, by total votes, and by #1 votes, Dragon Age: Inquisition dominated the polls and waltzed into the top spot, likely covered in improbable splashes of gore. My red-headed Mage Femquisitor is totally romancing this game on her next run.


Honorable Mention: Transistor

Typically, we don’t break down votes by platform, and the Wii U and 3DS releases of Super Smash Bros. are similar enough that I felt comfortable combining their votes into a single entry. However, there are other sites and publications who have felt like the slight differences in modes and maps between the two games qualified them to be counted separately. If we were to split things out in that way, the #10 game in our poll would be Transistor from Supergiant Games.


Classic Game of the Year: Super Mario 3D World

It was harder this year than in other years to figure out which game was our classic game of the year. Normally, the title is awarded to whichever game ranked highest that was released last year or earlier, but this time around things got a little … complicated. Diablo 3 released on PC in 2012 and again on consoles in 2013, but the overwhelming majority of the votes cast for it this year were for the "Reaper of Souls" expansion (or its console equivalent, the Ultimate Evil Edition) both of which released in 2014. Similarly, The Last of Us originally released in 2013, but its rank was buoyed by the 2014 "Left Behind" DLC pack and a 2014 PlayStation 4 remaster that included the new content.

Which left, somewhat awkwardly, and to my great personal pleasure, Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D World as the highest-ranked older game that didn’t get a re-release or expansion in the last year. A four-player 3D Mario game for the Wii U from the creators of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D World is a joy to play and one of the very best games in the Wii U’s small but rich catalog.


Handheld Game of the Year: Bravely Default

Lately, people have been calling Bravely Default the best Final Fantasy game of the year, but I’d argue it’s more like Final Fantasy’s darker, more retro, and almost infinitely more playable cousin. If you loved JRPGs in the SNES era but gave up on them when Squaresoft crawled up its own Nova Crystalis Rectum Pluralis in the PlayStation 2 era, then Silicon Studio has a game for you.


Mobile Game of the Year: Hearthstone

This is a bit of a stretch because Hearthstone is available on PC, as well, but reading through the comments that people posted about the game, as well as following a smattering of conversation about it here and there in IRC, it sounds like many people are playing this primarily as a mobile title. With a fair setup for monetization, intelligently streamlined CCG gameplay, and some card effects that you just couldn't get with a physical card game, Hearthstone is a great mobile game and a great card game in general.


You may view the complete voting results here.

Here are the Official Rules of the 2014 Community GOTY Voting Thread. We'll do this FAQ-style.

  • What games are eligible for voting? Anything you played for the first time in 2014. So, you Dark Souls nuts who have been salivating over that game for years now don't get to vote for it again. But if this was the first year you cracked open a classic like Chrono Trigger or Thief: The Dark Project, go ahead and stick it in your list if you loved it enough. Voting this year is open to any game on any platform from any year.
  • How do you know if I really played it for the first time this year? I don't. We're on the honor system. But what's the point of trying to rig a silly forum poll?
  • What if I didn't finish it yet? If you haven't finished a game but feel like you've played enough to know that you really love it no matter what happens in the end, go ahead and list it. Let's face it: some games are really stinking long, and you might not have been able to finish them yet but still know they're excellent.
  • Why are we doing it this way? Because we're old. This is a site packed to the brim with mature, adult gamers with jobs, family obligations, hobbies, and other things that take up our time. This is also a site packed to the brim with people who can't afford the new hotness as soon as it's released. We've all got piles, and we all play through them, but we don't often get a chance to say that we really love something even if it's old.
  • What if the top game ends up being from 2007 or something? It won't.
  • So how are votes counted? Games in the top spot on a list get ten votes, second place gets nine, et cetera, et cetera, with tenth place getting a single vote. Out of format lists (i.e., lists that aren't ranked and/or lists that go over ten) will get one vote for the first ten games mentioned.
  • Can I vote for an expansion pack? For the purposes of vote counting, votes for expansions are folded into votes for the base game. So for example, a vote for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is counted as a vote for Diablo III.
  • I played a game before, but this year I played the remastered Director's Cut with new content on a new platform. Can I vote for it? The spirit of this thread is to vote for things that were new to you this year, and replaying a game you love with spiffier graphics runs somewhat contrary to that. On the other hand, some remasters and re-releases significantly change the original game, and sometimes replaying something can feel more revelatory than playing something brand new. So, it's up to you.
  • Can I list a game multiple times so that it gets more votes? No. That's annoying cheating.
  • When does voting open? When does it close? Voting is open as of right now, so go post your list! Voting will close at midnight-ish on the 31st of December. That'll give people time to wrap up some of those late November games and also to sample whatever they might find under the Christmas tree.
  • Are you going to do anything really neat and special with the results? I'm so glad you asked, because yes! Aside from the community's top ten list and the traditional top games for each platform, the results will be sifted through for some other results like:
    • Best-Loved Game of the Year and Most Loved Game of the Year - These are given to the games with the most #1 votes and most unranked votes, respectively.
    • Classic Game of the Year - Given to the game with the most votes that wasn't released in 2014.
    • Darksiders of the Year - Given to the game that's maybe good. Better ask just to be on the safe side.
    • And more! If I think of something! Or if you think of something! Or something!
  • What if I change my mind after I posted my list? Then pretty please be sure to put up a new post that lets me know you changed your list. It'll seriously mess with my thread-tracking if you don't.

I have a .txt file that I've been adding played games to throughout the year that I feel are worthy of my GOTY list. Currently there are only 7 games on that list, so I have some "work" to do! Thankfully, I'm off work for the last 2 weeks of the year, so I'll have plenty of time to fill out my list.

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

Infamous: Second Son for me. I think it may actually be the only game I finished this year. I know it isn't a requirement but it was a great game on top of that.

Did anyone ever play Darksiders?

SixteenBlue wrote:

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

Give it a couple of days, then follow this link.

SallyNasty wrote:

Did anyone ever play Darksiders?

This should clear that up.

Jonman wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

Give it a couple of days, then follow this link.

I see what you did there.

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC)
Too easy, this game isn't perfect, but it's one of the best AAA title I've ever played. To be honest, most of the things I wish the game did or had is more tailoring to my tastes. For a game this big to be this good is doubly impressive.

2. The Long Dark (PC)
Doesn't really feel right putting an unfinished game on my list, let alone this high. But my experience with this game was very vivid, having your hopes set on the cabin you see in the distance holding the provisions you need only to find it empty. Great survival sandbox and very evocative for me. Such great mood.

3. Alien: Isolation (PC)
Overstayed its welcome for me, but not by as much as some others. Visually and audibly the best title of the year (DA:I a close second). I love horror and the Alien film, but normally I gravitate away from 'stealth' games, but I enjoyed this as a puzzle of sorts. A terrifying puzzle with an alien death machine.

4. Divinity: Original Sin (PC)
Only half way through! The experience I had with Divinity is what I hoped Wasteland 2 would be, a surprisingly polished and tight indie RPG with an almost boardgamey feel to the turn based combat. The story didn't totally hook me but the game is gorgeous and heaps of turn based fun. Will definitely be going back to finish it.

5. Lords of Waterdeep (iOS)
I'd only played the boardgame a few times but got onboard for the GWJ forum tournament, sunk a tonne of hours in and can't wait for more (need to get those expansions!) second best iOs boardgame adaptation for me (after Eclipse).

6. 80 Days (iOS)
Wonderfully original adventure game where the story is king. Hearing other talk about their story is awesome, as nobodies seems remotely close to my romp around this alternate 1870s world in 59 days (Yes, 59!) with the delightfully resourceful Passaportou and the royal pain Phineas Fogg. Great stuff!

7. XCOM: Enemy Within (iOS)
Only just got onto this for the Christmas holidays, and I'm RE-HOOKED! The iOS version is solid though I've had some horrific results from mis clicks! They need to ditch any 'double tap to confirm' option in combat! Loved Enemy Unknown and this is the same but better. Tweaked to have some less squishy enemies but is still just as hard, just more variety.

8. Legends of Grimrock 2 (PC)
Also unfinished as DA:I came along, I had bought the first game but never played it. 2 is awesome, such a great classic dungeon adventure feel with some enjoyable puzzles. Need to return to it soon!

9. Nidhogg (PC)
Late to the party, best two player vs game of all time? Possibly.

10. Defcon (PC)
Speaking of late to the party, not even sure how I came across this, may have been a reccomendation from this forum actually? Loving this, awesome stripped back real time simulation Of global nuclear tit for tat. Super tense and surprisingly moody. Can't wait to play it local vs with friends.

Honourable mention, Towerfall: Ascension. Awesome chaotic local death match. Played a tonne of this at the few LANs I got in with friends this year.

Edit: and here I was with our first born hitting one 2 months back, I didn't think I got much gaming in this year!

SixteenBlue wrote:

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in...

MeatMan wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in...

More appropriately.

Still playing Dragon Age Inquisition and very lukewarm on it so far - I hope it changes, I really want to love it as much as the previous games.
Plenty of time left in the year to play some new games too, so I'll hold off on a list for a while yet.

Like Meatman I have a txt file with 'contenders' (everything relatively new I've played) for the year to unclog my memory.
Games on the list so far: Dark Souls 2, Wolf Among Us, Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Bravely Default, Final Fantasy X & X-2, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, Transistor, Walking Dead 2, WoW: Warlords of Draenor, Civ: Beyond Earth, Banished.

Games I would like to play before years end: Dragon Age Inquisition obviously. Legends of Grimrock 2.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
MeatMan wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:

Do any websites have an awesome list of games that came out in 2014 so I can remember what I did?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in...

More appropriately.

IMAGE(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff450/AedonGawen/7.gif)

ClockworkHouse wrote:

So, you Dark Souls nuts who have been salivating over that game for years now don't get to vote for it again.

Hah, now that From has seemingly moved to a yearly release schedule there will be Dark Soul'ish games every year!

1. South Park Stick of Truth
Haven't really enjoyed South Park lately, as I feel it's starting to go the same way of the Simpsons and even get a bit too preachy about stuff, but the game was so funny and great to play. I was actually a bit shocked when I managed to finish it so quickly, as I'm probably hardwired to expect 40 hours from an RPG. But also in part because I wanted so much more from it. Played it on 360, but hoping it goes on sale on Steam for quite cheap so I can blast through it again some time.

2. Valiant Hearts
Love the Ubi art engine, and I was on a bit of a history binge at the time, so the game was perfect. Quite simple in some of its puzzles, but it's good to a see a game about World War I which was actually educational as well and wasn't a game where you just go around slaughtering as many people as possible. It is a game which actually shows that war is actually not so fun! And the ending...!

3. Thomas Was Alone
I'll admit, I'd had this lying in my Steam list for ages and was never really taken by the look of it. I pretty much completed it in a day I found it that addicting. Much like South Park, was super disappointed when I finished the game as I wanted more!

4. Bravely Default
I may be embarking on a quest to get back into it so I can finally finish it after getting burnt out with it (anyone who has played enough into it will know all about this), but it was the handheld RPG I'd always dreamed of. Great battle system and makes you really think about your tactics before every big battle. The class system always makes you think so much about how to approach each fight. So many times I've just lost battles and been happy because it told me something different that could help me refine my strategy for the next attempt.

5. The Walking Dead Season 2
Not so sure I'd say it was as good as the original, and there was one rather poor episode in there (in my opinion), but the second episode (the one with the cabin lodge...I think it's the second one!) is probably my favourite episode of the entire game. Hope season 3 builds on it even further.

6. Child of Light
Played it on the hard setting from the off and was not disappointed. Although it required a tiny bit of grinding at the end, which was slightly frustrating, the game had a cool battle system and, again, was on the great Ubi art engine! Felt like it's a good game to introduce people to the RPG genre.

7. Super Smash Bros. 3DS
Smash Bros was a game I was brought up on, and it made me so happy to be able to play it on my 3DS. Although it can get a bit hard to follow when there are lots of characters on screen (I have a regular 3DS), the game is everything I hoped it would be. I just wish I had some people to play it with!

Played some other things which I've had fun with, but this is all I care to put as my top games of the year

1. St. Vincent, by St. Vincent

In a year filled with great alb...

Oh, this is the wrong thread isn't it? Hmm. This one is going to take a while for sure. I got my top 5 for sure, but the rest I still need to work out, if only because I can't quite remember what I played this year.

Here are your past years' winners:

2006: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
2007: Portal (Valve Corporation)
2008: Fallout 3 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
2009: Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare/EA)
2010: Mass Effect 2 (BioWare/EA)
2011: Portal 2 (Valve Corporation)
2012: The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
2013: BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games)

The title has yet to be awarded to a game from outside North America. Could this be the year? Did BioWare release a game? Oh, they did? Sorry, Mario. Well, that's democracy for you.

Gravey wrote:

The title has yet to be awarded to a game from outside North America. Could this be the year? Did BioWare release a GOOD game? Oh, they did? Sorry, Mario. Well, that's democracy for you.

Added something. I'll let you figure out the tiny change I made.

According to Wikipedia, I only played five things that came out this year. I'll have to check Steam when I get home to see what else I played for the first time.

1. South Park The Stick of Truth
Raunchy, demented, hilarious, fun. It cannot be said enough: to actually make it feel like you're in an episode of South Park is an amazing accomplishment.

I finished 15 games this year--not bad! My top 10 games were:

1. Child of Light (PS3)
Pretty graphics, good story, fun characters, and interesting combat made this my favorite game of the year. Bonus points for not requiring 80 hours to finish. I'm a huge fan of the UbiArt engine. Which brings me to...

2. Rayman Legends (PS3)
Rayman has knocked Mario off the top spot for platformers in my book. I got Rayman Origins on PSN last year and was hooked. Legends was a little easier than Origins so I was able to 100% this one. Charming art style and fun new environments in this Rayman game. They can release one of these every 18 months or so and I would be happy.

3. Velocity 2X (Vita)
Split personality game with space shooting/collecting survivors along with platforming run and gun sections inside the bases. Graphics are crisp, controls are tight. I was prepared to pay full price for this game but got it free with PS+. Bonus!

4. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita)
I had heard mediocre reviews of the Vita version of Uncharted but I thought it was fun with probably the most normal story of the series. The boss battles with the swipe controls could be frustrating but I really liked this game.

5. Tomb Raider (PS3)
In terms of the action adventure games, I like Uncharted better but enjoyed the reboot of Tomb Raider. The game started strong with puzzles and exploration, showing Lara's beginnings, seeming to shy away from violence...and then turned her into the lovable murderer of hundreds like Nathan Drake. My main gripe is that this game seemed to go on just a bit too long--could have done with one less set piece maybe.

6. Lightning Returns (PS3)
I am usually more of an RPG player but only got through a couple this year. This wasn't a great Final Fantasy game but it tried something new and (mostly) succeeded. I have to give credit that this story, until the very end, made at least some sense.

7. Gravity Rush (Vita)
It took me awhile to get going on this game but once I figured out the mechanics and got over my vertigo from the Vita screen spinning, it was fun to follow Kat on her crazy journey through that world. I have heard that there is a sequel in development. If so, I hope it is released here--I'll definitely pick it up.

8. Tearaway (Vita)
This was a very cute and clever game using the Vita controls in a fun and interesting way.

9. Velocity Ultra (Vita)
Fun space shoot-em-up--get it!

10. Mutant Mudds Deluxe (Vita)
This was another fun platformer for the Vita. I'm usually not very good at these but I finished this one.

Biggest disappointments:
Persona 4 Golden - Despite all of the love for this game among friends and JRPG forum members, it just was not a game for me. If there was less downtime between dungeons when I had to relive high school cliques and have boring conversations with boring townspeople, I could have pressed on.

Thomas Was Alone - It was free on PS+ so I played it...and didn't get it. A somewhat fun two hour experience but didn't live up to the hype.

This is the first year I've tracked my completions. This made compiling my list a bit easier!

1. Borderlands 2 GOTY Edition: This game made me feel that I could stop playing everything else altogether and blow hundreds (thousands?) of hours replaying through the storyline with different characters, different builds. It's addictive in the best ways that Diablo is for me. Nevermind it's funny as hell.

2. Shovel Knight: Shovel Knight is everything I love about MegaMan games, captures all the high points of nostalgia and eliminates the gameplay issues that plagued early platformers. This game plays like I remember my favorites playing (but actually didn't).

3. Bravely Default: Sure, it has its well-publicized story flaws, but it hit so many right notes for me. The tweaks to the JRPG formula it introduces should be adapted by all.

4. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: For the same reasons as Borderlands 2, just 2014.

5. Mario Kart 8: This felt like a revolution after Mario Kart Wii.

6. Super Smash Brothers for WiiU Before this one, I played an hour of Brawl. Something about Smash WiiU totally has me hooked. And, like MK8, it's a game my wife and I are enjoying together. That makes it all the better.

Somehow, I beat 23 games this year. That's a game every 16 days! Wow, not too bad for a dad of two. Looking forward to a game-filled 2015!

They can release one of these every 18 months or so and I would be happy.

Please, no. I have loved the recent Rayman games and would hate to see Ubisoft flog that franchise into the ground. Take three or four or five years and really come up with some good ideas.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
They can release one of these every 18 months or so and I would be happy.

Please, no. I have loved the recent Rayman games and would hate to see Ubisoft flog that franchise into the ground. Take three or four or five years and really come up with some good ideas.

Origins and Legends were released about two years apart (November 2011 and August 2013). I am happy with what they did in those two years. If they keep up the creative ideas and polish of these recent games with every 18-24 month releases, sign me up. I'll crack open my release window a bit wider from the original 18 months. Basically, this is my way of begging for a PS4 Rayman game for holiday 2015 if possible (spring 2016 at the latest--please?). Ubisoft reads these forums, right?

walterqchocobo wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
They can release one of these every 18 months or so and I would be happy.

Please, no. I have loved the recent Rayman games and would hate to see Ubisoft flog that franchise into the ground. Take three or four or five years and really come up with some good ideas.

Origins and Legends were released about two years apart (November 2011 and August 2013). I am happy with what they did in those two years. If they keep up the creative ideas and polish of these recent games with every 18-24 month releases, sign me up. I'll crack open my release window a bit wider from the original 18 months. Basically, this is my way of begging for a PS4 Rayman game for holiday 2015 if possible (spring 2016 at the latest--please?). Ubisoft reads these forums, right?

I'd love a new Rayman game. I'd go as far to say Origins/Legends are my two favourite games of all time.

Watching that video, I feel like my list is going to be a bit lacking. So many great games I didn't even touch this year. Glad to see Miku get a quick inclusion in the video though. :p

Ok, let's see if I can get my list organized.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Why are we doing it this way? Because we're old.

This is my favorite rule. I've been looking forward to this thread for weeks. Heck, I even started a spreadsheet earlier this year to track my GOTY contenders. My list isn't finalized yet, but I'm getting there. It's going to be a tough call as Transistor, Journey (just finished it last night for the very first time!!) and Dragon Age: Inquisition are in a race as yet too close to call.
And yes, Clocky, I will post my list in a new post so that I don't mess with your thread tracking this year. Apologies for my previous transgressions.

Looks like I've managed to go another year without playing anything released in the current year. I do have a few fairly current titles on my backlog, guess I might get to them in 2015.

1) Persona 4: The Golden (Vita)
- Some of the additions didn’t really do it for me but this is still the best version of Persona 4 available.

2) Lumines: Electronic Symphony (Vita)
- So many great tracks, classic Lumines gameplay. The addition of specials doesn’t really add much but it doesn’t break anything either.

3) Tales of Xillia (PS3)
- Probably my equal favourite Tales game along with Vesperia. That’s quite an accolade.

4) Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f (Vita)
- My previous attempts to enjoy music rhythm games have been met with failure, including Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS) and Space Channel 5 (DC). Project DIVA, however, has enough difficulty levels to allow my to comfortably challenge myself along with devilishly catchy tunes. Plus, many of the music videos are just gorgeous.

5) XCom: Enemy Unknown (PS3)
- Finally got to see what everyone was talking about, thanks PS+!

6) Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)
- Another great PS+ freebie. Weak on the story but lots of freedom to move around and explore while still having a world that feels hand crafted. A flawed first game that begs for an improved sequel.

7) Super Stardust Delta (Vita)
- Reduces the number of elements from 3 to 2 and steals the geoms mechanic from Geometry Wars along with the incredibly addictive endless mode. Better than Super Stardust HD in pretty much every way.

8) Plants vs Zombies 2 (iOS)
- I don’t do much gaming on iOS these days but this game sucked up tens of hours. A generous free to play scheme along with lots of plants and powers to mess around with.

9) Pixel junk Monsters Ultimate HD (Vita)
- Giving you an avatar that you have to move around the map seems annoying at first but it adds a significant amount of strategy not found in most other Tower Defense games.

10) Ni no Kuni (PS3)
- Absolutely gorgeous and I’m not even a fan of Ghibli animations. The story was a bit wishy-washy but I loved spending time in this world.

1. Shadows of Mordor
2. Dark Souls 2
3. Divinity Original Sin
4. TLOU:PS4
5. WoW: Warlords of Draenor
6. Wolfenstein: New Order
7. Metro: Last Light
8. Diablo 3: Xbox one

Looking at my list, I played a lot of really good games this year. Was definitely hard to narrow down and some that I really enjoyed just didn't make the cut.

1. Shadow of Mordor - Nothing else could touch how immersive and fun this game was. Great story, excellent new game play elements, boss battles that felt respectful to the player. I just kept loading it up after I was completely done 100% just to run around and kill orcs. Soo much fun.

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition - Very close to number 1, almost a 1a. This has some amazing moments, great story, so much game to play. It also has swear at the game moments, which Mordor did not, so hence its place.

3. Child of Light - So beautiful and so much fun. If you haven't played this, you should.

4. Destiny - If you asked me at the start of the year what my game of the year was going to be, it was going to be Destiny. It definitely didn't live up to the promise, but the 200 hours I've played so far have been a lot of fun.

5. Assassins Creed: Unity - My favorite Assassins Creed game to date. They removed most of the annoying mission types from the prior games, made the combat much more fun, the co-op is amazing, and Elise! A couple crashes and some bugs push it down to number 5 though.

6. Infamous: Second Son - Such a wonderful and beautiful game that was a real joy to play,until you got to stupid gimmicky boss fights that almost ruined the game.

7. Saints Row 4 - How can a Saints Row game be this far down my list? Easy, 4 is good and a bunch of fun, but 3 was just so much better.

8. Diablo 3 - Bought this on PC and then again on the XBox One, just so much loot fest fun.

9. Terrerria - Never thought I would enjoy something with this type of graphics. So many hours of play later. Just so much fun.

10. Marvel Puzzle Quest - Something I've played every single day this year definitely has to make the list.

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