Top 10 Video Games of 2014 - Part Two

As in years past, I’ve compiled a list of the best games I played in 2014. While some might say 2014 was a slump year for gaming, I felt the case was quite the opposite – granted, some of the titles on this list were not released in this year, but a large chunk of the titles I played this year were released in a window between late 2013 through 2014. In each year prior to this one, I narrowed my ‘games of the year’ down to a select five. However, I felt that doing so this year would serve a great injustice to many of the titles I found to be simply exceptional this year. As such, this year’s list will consist of the ten best games I played in 2014, and will be split into two parts. Keep in mind that the order of these games on this list is not necessarily representative of the score I gave each of them in my reviews, rather a ranking based on which games were the most enjoyable and impressed me the most.

#5) Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U: As a pair, these two new Smash Bros. titles might just be my new favorites in Nintendo’s all-star fighting franchise. The Wii U version offers a wider variety of game modes, many of them fast-paced, and while the 3DS’ controls might hold a little less appeal in the longterm, the handheld version’s classic mode is more in line with that of previous Smash installments. The roster includes some curious characters, each of whom makes use of highly inventive movesets and feels right at home with the veteran characters. Coupling that with the intelligent repurposing of final smashes, these two latest titles offer up the most balanced fighting frenzy Smash Bros. has seen since its N64 debut.

#4) Bayonetta 2: One of the smoothest-playing action games I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting my hands on, Bayonetta 2 is equally impressive in its visual presentation. It’s easily one of the most graphically impressive games on the market right now, and the polar opposite designs of statuesque Angels and mechanical Demons provides a great variety of designs to coincide with their various attack and defense patterns. Bayonetta 2 is thoroughly unapologetic, in both its demanding combo system of close encounters and pinpoint-accuracy dodging, as well as its sense of flash and flair, which, much like its very vocal and very confident protagonist, it owns and flaunts in every possible angle.

#3) Skullgirls Encore: I’ve never been one to claim I’m particularly skilled at popular combo-heavy fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, but Skullgirls was something of a game-changer for me. It is designed with the hardcore fighting game crowd in mind, but somehow opens up to a wider audience with tutorials and combo chains that prove far more intuitive than heavyweights of the genre typically offer. While the default character roster may be smaller than in most fighting games, each character is designed with a very specific play style in mind, and with more DLC characters on the way, fights are bound to push forth more complex team strategies and fast-paced action as they are added to the lineup. The hand-drawn character models are absolutely gorgeous, and a further testament to the love of labor that the creative team behind Skullgirls has poured into this magnificent creation.

#2) Killer7: It’s no secret that I love the utterly bizarre creations of Suda51 and the team at Grasshopper Manufacture, and Killer7 is no exception. Polar opposite in themes and presentation to No More Heroes, Killer7 is a dark and serious tale, albeit an incredibly weird one, that weaves political intrigue, a terrorist organization that mutates its loyalists into walking time-bombs, the personas of multiple assassins given corporeal form, and heavily cel-shaded graphics into one effectively perfect gaming experience. Of all the aspects of Killer7 I found myself simply in awe of, it was the fact that – despite its unorthodox combination of on-rails progression, third-person action, first-person shooting, and character-specific puzzles – I was unable to find any noteworthy flaws in the design or mechanics of this game.

#1) Shovel Knight: Shovel Knight is a case of David holding his own with the Goliaths of the gaming industry, an indie title that shows as much love and polish, if not more, than most of its AAA-title competitors. It’s a love song to NES-era icons like Mega Man, Zelda, Castlevania, and Final Fantasy, and yet is able to craft its own identity that feels right at home in the company of Nintendo’s long-since-famous mascots. Shovel Knight is not a cakewalk of a game, by any means, but its smooth controls and wacky items prove a wonderful pairing to the game’s 8-bit aesthetic. Shovel Knight is great for its classic fantasy vibe, its comedic cast, and its addictive gameplay that is great for both brief sessions on the go, or a long haul of taking down the nefarious Order of No Quarter.

XBLA review: Skullgirls Encore

Fighting games have never been my specialty, which is a bit of a shame, considering how cool I find many of the character designs in series like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. It’s simply been the case that, much as enjoy watching others play fighting games, I’ve never been particularly skilled at the genre, save for a few oddball exceptions like Street Fighter III: Third Strike and the Smash Bros. series (the latter of which I hardly consider to be a traditional fighting game). Skullgirls was brought to my attention a couple of years back when the gang over at Two Best Friends Play talked it up as one of the most bold undertakings from a small studio – a fighting game developed for those who love fighting games, but with artwork that was entirely hand-drawn.

Skullgirls Encore fits the bill of a fighting game designed for the most hardcore fans of the genre, with character motions that are arguably some of the most fluid in its class, and a high degree of mobility for nearly all eleven of its playable fighters. While that number may not seem a particularly impressive representation for a fighting game roster, it provides the most balanced roster I’ve personally come across in the genre. Each character has varying range and offensive power in their attacks, but they also have effective means of countering each of their fellow fighters.

For example, Big Band, one of the latest additions thanks to the extra Indiegogo funding, is a massive half-man, half-band wearing a trenchcoat. He takes up an insane amount of space on the screen, and is, by default, a large target. He’s not particularly fast, but can take hits like a champ and can deal out some decent damage via hits from the trombone slides, cymbals, and timpani drums concealed beneath his coat. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Frankenstein-esque cat girl Ms. Fortune lands rapid-fire claw strikes from both the ground and air, and can launch her head from her shoulders as a projectile. She ranks among the most fast and agile of all the playable fighters, but is appropriately not the most durable.

Stages such as a dimly-lit research lab, a calm neighborhood street, and an eerie chapel will be revisited a number of times over the course of each character’s story mode. And while none of the stories last particularly long, each of the cast members is provided ample time to develop into someone interesting and given a reasonable motive for either seeking out the Skull Heart for their own ends or attempting to destroy it. As they all converge toward this one key artifact, the characters of the Skullgirls universe will cross paths with mobsters, mad scientists, and – most importantly – one another. The endgame is surprisingly deep for such a game, however, and with three more playable characters on the way, there are no doubt many more surprises in store for this one-of-kind world.

In truth, the art style does wonders for Skullgirls. It not only sets the game apart from the competition, it reinforces a degree of dedication to shaping the overall quality of the game rarely seen from studios these days. While larger studios map their launch plans around paid DLC release schedules, Skullgirls has opted to offer these first two new fighters free of charge, and they feel like they have had just as much time in playtesting as all the rest – in short, they feel like they were designed as part of the core cast from the outset, despite the fact that this was obviously not the case. The bright cartoony visages of Cerebella, Squigly, and Valentine are a breath of fresh air in the modern era of video gaming, and the soundtrack being heavy on America jazz influences doesn’t hurt either.

Skullgirls is a game that is equal parts form and function, and it excels at both. It is one of the most polished fighting games I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, while also proving easy to access for those not long-since devoted to the genre, thanks to its intuitive control scheme and intelligently laid-out tutorial mode. The degrees of difficulty maintain a very natural progression, while the classic horror film-inspired characters squaring off in art deco environments proves an utterly bizarre but entirely welcome hybrid. Skullgirls Encore plays fast, plays smooth, and does surprisingly well in outshining giants of its field in more ways than one.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)