Welcome to the Nerdipop Top 5 Games of 2014.
With some rather disappointing entries in the series, I was not expecting the latest Wolfenstein® to be good; much less that it would be one of my top played games of the year. Wolfenstein®: The New Order reminds me of shooters of old. There are no press f (or x) to pay respects – there is only guns and bullets flying and to top it off, it has an interesting story as well to keep your attention. Definitely one of the games to play if you enjoy a good old shooter.
Synopsis: Wolfenstein®: The New Order reignites the series that created the first-person shooter genre. Under development at Machine Games, a studio comprised of a seasoned group of developers recognized for their work creating story-driven games, Wolfenstein® offers a deep game narrative packed with action, adventure and first-person combat.
Dark Souls™ 2
The original Dark Souls™ is one of the toughest games to grace the previous generation of consoles. Dark Souls™ 2 is also fortunately following in its footsteps. Dark Souls™ 2 isn’t without its problems though – the game has a different feel from the previous entries in the souls games, with Hidetaka Miyazaki leaving Dark Souls™ 2 to work on Bloodborne. Some were worried that Dark Souls™ 2 would not capture that which made Dark Souls™ great. With great DLC in the form of the Lost Crown Trilogy and with a game of the year edition on the way with more DLC, it’s a good time to play Dark Souls™ 2.
Synopsis: Developed by FROM SOFTWARE, DARK SOULS™ II is the highly anticipated sequel to the gruelling 2011 breakout hit Dark Souls. The unique old-school action RPG experience captivated imaginations of gamers worldwide with incredible challenge and intense emotional reward.
Hearthstone
Hearthstone is a game that I heard of when it was still in beta. I have been playing it since open beta (January 21) and I is still not bored. That says something for a game, which for all purposes, is free. With the latest expansion being released (Goblins vs Gnomes) and with new content being added constantly, now’s the perfect time to create your deck and climb the ladder of Hearthstone.
Play Hearthstone today for free!
Synopsis: Sheathe your sword, draw your deck, and get ready for Hearthstone – the fast paced strategy card game that’s easy to learn and massively fun. Start a free game on Battle.net and play your cards to sling spells, summon creatures, and command the heroes of Warcraft in duels of epic strategy.
Shadow of Mordor
This is possibly one of those games that might have been a sleeper hit if it wasn’t for the nemesis system. Shadow of Mordor plays like a Batman Arkham game but is set in the world of Lord of the Rings. It would probably not have been as good as it is if it wasn’t for the nemesis system. The nemesis system allows for any random Ork (which might have tried to killed you) to become your own personal nemesis. One of the fun things of this game is to see each of the Orc and Uruk-hai titles – the Orcs and Uruk-hai’s titles range from the mundane such as Chef to more weirder ones such as Slave Lover. This is truly some of the most fun I have had playing games this year.
Synopsis: Fight through Mordor and uncover the truth of the spirit that compels you, discover the origins of the Rings of Power, build your legend and ultimately confront the evil of Sauron in this new chronicle of Middle-earth.
Alien Isolation
What else for my number one game of 2014? There are many games in my collection and I don’t always finish the games, but Alien Isolation is one I pushed through to finish. The game is severely intense, especially near the end. I know people said that it was a bit too much like a shooter for their liking near the end, but if you play this game on the hard setting, it becomes much more intense, especially with ammo being far and few between. The ending isn’t all that great but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.
Synopsis: Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.
And there you have it, my top 5 games for 2014. There are some honourable mentions such as South Park: The Stick of Truth. This was a pretty fun, although a bit buggy, RPG when it was released and Wasteland 2 – a very fun top down isometric RPG – very much in the vein of Fallout. What are your top games of 2014? Feel free to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear what you think.
