This time of year the internet is flooded with Game of the Year lists.  Many mainstream media outlets end up with lists full of heavy hitters like Smash Bros and Call of Duty.  Lots of smaller sites try to show you how hip(ster) they are with lists full of decent but forgettable Indie titles.  By the way, Mountain isn't a game.  For a long time, I avoided most of these lists because I honestly couldn't care less about some stranger's opinion on what the best games were.  More often than not, I would just get frustrated that they liked a game that I thought was bad or didn't like a game that I knew to be great.  As I've grown older, I like to think I've matured a bit (like a fine dark Belgian Ale left in a dry 50 degree cellar) and I look at these lists differently now.  I now read lists like these to discover games that I may have missed out on.  That is my hope with this list, that someone will realize how great one of these games is and give it a try.



Some of these games may not have been released in 2014, they are just the best games that I played this year.

Broken Age
I guess I should say "Broken Age Act 1" as the second half of the game hasn't been released yet.  As disappointed as I am that the game is taking so long to complete (as of Dec 2012 we are 2 years and 2 months beyond the original estimated completion date) Broken Age Act 1 is unbelievably good.  It is exactly what every person who backed the Kickstarter wanted.  It is a Tim Schafer Adventure game.  So, what does that mean?  It means the writing is excellent, the puzzles are excellent, the voice acting is excellent, and the story is unforgettable.  If you have ever been the least bit curious about adventure games, this is the one to try.  At 5 hours, Act 1 is not terribly long but every moment is enjoyable and there is a huge reveal at the end that makes the wait for Act 2 even more unbearable.


Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth
Even though we all know that the haters gon' hate (hate, hate, hate, hate), Civ Beyond Earth is far from just a re-skin of Civ V.  The game will feel familiar to anyone who has played a few turns of Civ V, but there is a ton that is new and different here.  From the myriad of options and decisions that the player has to make before the game even starts, to making moral decisions about killing indigenous life on your new planet, Beyond Earth is definitely its own game.  I bought a copy for my father in law for Christmas, for like $15 less than I got my copy for but at least I'll have someone to play with now.


Far Cry 4
If you made me choose a game as my absolute favorite of the year, this is it.  I loved Far Cry 3.  I really thought that it was close to perfect for the type of game that it is.  Far Cry 4 improves on almost every aspect of Far Cry 3, even the ones that you didn't think needed any tweaking.  Everything is more interesting, more varied, and just flat out better.  I haven't had the time to 100% the game yet like Duke, but I certainly will be doing so as soon as I can.  The coop is also a blast.  Only complaint is that it's only 2 player coop, but that's a small gripe that we can live with.  Adding coop for 3-4 would require re-balancing the game so that it doesn't feel too easy.

I fired up Far Cry 4 to get a nice screenshot for this article and I came across a Bear fighting a Yak.  Enjoy.


Battleblock Theater
Anyone familiar with The Behemoth will recognize their signature art style. From Alien Hominid to Castle Crashers, they have always shown great care for art style and humor and Battleblock Theater is no different.  In a nutshell, you and your best friend Hatty Hattington get shipwrecked on an island, Hatty tries on a hat and becomes evil and puts you in prison.  The gameplay is 2D platforming where you have to find the crystals in a level and reach the exit as quickly as possible.  Lots of unlockable costumes, weapons, and levels.  Great coop fun.


Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix
While I haven't played through the entirety of the collection yet, It's still a no-brainer for me.  I love Kingdom Hearts 2.  Except for the "way too long intro," it's one of my top 10 games of all time.  I played 1/3 of Birth by Sleep on the PSP.  Once I heard about the HD collection, I stopped so that I could play the Final Mix version.  The additions to KH2 Final Mix HD are very well done.  My only minor complaint is with the packaging.  The packaging for the limited edition of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix was outstanding.  The packaging for Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is a joke.


Here are a couple of comparison shots of the HD Remix packaging so you can see what I'm talking about.  Warning, the end of this post is pic heavy.


Sorry about that.  Odd that a co-host of the RFGeneration Collectorcast would go off on on a random tangent.  I don't think that there are any big surprises on my list.  I didn't play a ton of games this year with how busy I was with the rest of life, but what I played I really enjoyed.  Maybe things will calm down for a few months so that I can catch up on some Kingdom Hearts II.5 and Far Cry 4 before the wave of 2015 games hit.  Thanks for reading!  If you think I'm right, comment below, if you disagree with my list, compose a thorough email to me explaining why you think I'm not right and then save it as a draft.

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