Reviews of the Year 2014 | GameSided Recap

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The Wolf Among Us Episode 5: “There is no doubt in my mind that The Wolf Among Us provides amicable thematic closure into the prequel series of events that surround the Fables comic series.”
The Wolf Among Us (Entire Season): “There are few games to have tackled the role of government in crime as effectively as The Wolf Among Us in asking the right questions without harping on what are the outcomes of improper of poorly coordinated governance.”
The Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 4 Review: “Amid The Ruins serves as a wonderfully dark penultimate chapter, one that is par for the course in The Walking Dead Season 2.”

August

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: “Delve beyond the surface and you’ll find a series of challenging puzzles interspersed amongst an engaging tale that’s very well paced and masterfully executed.”
Dark Souls II – Crown of the Sunken King DLC: “There was never a time I felt that the game dragged along, as Crown of the Sunken King will ebb and flow with an expert craft.”
Dark Souls II – Crown of the Old Iron King DLC: “It’s a frustration that equals jubilation and a sense of accomplishment, one that only a Dark Souls game can provide.”
The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 5: “Could [Telltale Games] finally be showing signs of being stretched too thin? Seeing how this all ended, I would argue that they have.”
The Walking Dead Season 2 (Full Season): “Play this game for the story and the journey, and bawl your eyes out at the end. It’s worth it.”
Lethal League: “Lethal League is an excellent, creative game that deserves the attention of competitive gamers everywhere.”

September

The Sims 4: “As a standalone game, the Sims 4 is rather flat and limited…at least for now.”
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call: “It’s a love letter to any and all Final Fantasy fans and is easily one of the finest, most feature-packed, endlessly playable rhythm games available.”
Depression Quest: “The game has no stakes, because there’s no way you can fail to finish it, and a good chunk of your choices actually make no difference, which means there was no reason to program them in at all.”
Destiny: “Destiny tries to do a couple things very well and that is to create a compelling, intense, variety of worlds to share with friends. It succeeds at three out of the four. “
Hyrule Warriors (Japan, No Score): “I would forgive all of Hyrule Warrior’s flaws, even down to the pornographic noises they call voice acting, because it is still addictingly fun.”
Hyrule Warriors: “Hyrule Warriors falls to the same problems most Dynasty Warriors games do and that’s a shame because I think with a little fine tuning & tweaking it could’ve been pretty special.”
Forza Horizon 2: “Forza Horizon 2 is a highly addicting adrenaline rush that never lets off the gas.”
Super Smash Bros. 3DS (Overall + Competitive Metagame): “Smash Bros 3DS is a game that will keep me occupied for years to come.”
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments: “The heart of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work is at the core of Crimes and Punishments, and Sherlock Holmes stays true to his namesake.”

October

Dark Souls II – Crown of the Ivory King DLC: “Dark Souls II wraps up their DLC trilogy with a bang, as Crown of the Ivory King is some of From Software’s best work yet.”
Bayonetta 2 Review (Japan, No Score): “Bayonetta 2 is a good game. A very good game. Not life changing, by any stretch, but certainly a whole lot of fun.”
Bayonetta 2: “Bayonetta 2 is what character action games should strive to be.”
NBA 2K15: “NBA 2K15 offers so much to the basketball game fan that I can without a doubt call it the most intriguing single player sports venture since 2K12’s legendary combination of old and new.”
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition: “PC users definitely get the better value, but the game is expansive enough where PS4 and Xbox One users should still consider Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition.”
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor: “I think it is safe to say that Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor is going to be the first entry in a great new gaming franchise.”
Pokemon Art Academy: “With low-pressure lessons and easy sharing capabilities, Pokemon Art Academy is a good game for all ages to combine two normally unrelated activities (art and Pokemon) in a fun way.”
Fantasy Life: “Some might deride this game as tedious, rote or mindless, but for me, Fantasy Life is pure bliss.”
Legend of Korra: “Given the pedigree of Platinum games and the opportunity to prove that even downloadable licensed games can be great, it’s a major disappointment in terms of both gameplay & presentation.”
Sunset Overdrive: “Its humor-based story and character development starts off well enough. That is, before relying too much on aiming to be meta or referring to every piece of pop culture from the past decade.”
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!: “Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! is both a waste of consumers precious time and hard earned money.”
The Evil Within: “It gives you an abundance of thrills, that leave your heart racing and yearning to see how it ends.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s: “It’s a marriage of A+ style with C- substance, and while that’s a combination that horror games can survive, it’s not one that they should aspire to.”
Neverending Nightmares: “Neverending Nightmares is a perfect aesthetic experience hampered by mediocre gameplay and a lack of direction and motivation in its plot.”

November

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Single Player): “Halo: The Master Chief Collection (for its single-player aspects) is a must-buy for FPS lovers.”
Tales of Hearts R: “On a system filled with top-quality RPG’s, it might be a little hard for Tales of Hearts R to stand out.”
Civilization: Beyond Earth: “Civilization: Beyond Earth is a dense, challenging, and rewarding game.”
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Multiplayer): “Whether it be matchmaking difficulties, reliance on spotty peer-hosting as an ever-constant fallback, or reduced playlists and game-specific lack of functionality, the multiplayer aspects of Halo: The Master Chief Collection have been totally abysmal.”
Pokemon ORAS: “Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire are beautiful love letters to the original games.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2: “This is the game that the original and disturbing premise of ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ was really waiting for.”
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: “Super Smash Bros is easily the greatest game the Wii U has produced to date.”
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Japan, No Score): “At its lower than average price for a AAA game, it’s worth picking up, and despite being single player, the complexity of the puzzles will allow everyone to join in with solutions.”

December

Dragon Age: Inquisition: “Dragon Age: Inquisition manages to be the most impressive entry in the series yet with a great battle system, and a massive and fun world to explore that could easily take over 100 hours to complete, and is easily the best console RPG this year.”
WWE 2K15: “If you love WWE, you may be satisfied with what this game brings to the table, but otherwise I think it best to wait until Visual Concepts builds upon this solid foundation a bit more and see what it holds next year.”
Game of Thrones Episode 1: “The first episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones is largely a setup for what I’m sure will be an excellent series.”
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: “I had a really great time playing Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris while it lasted, but it didn’t last that long and by the end I was ready to move on.”
Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1: “I definitely came away from playing this wanting more, and will be excited for the next episode when it is released.”
Assassin’s Creed: Rogue: “Altogether, this may just be among my favorite entries in Assassin’s Creed lore.”

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