Topic: OW's Game of the Year 2014

[PyroMenace]

No these won't be games that came out in 2014, its really any game that generated the most buzz on the boards for this year. Those are the four I could find after thinking back and skimming through the gaming threads. If there is another you think should be there let me know.

Also feel free to mention and talk about any other games you played and really enjoyed this year.
My notable mentions are:

Last of Us - Gameplay was a little frustrating at first, but really came into its own after that initial learning hump. It has the best story in terms of its characters and voice acting I've ever seen, also one of the best looking as well.

Battlefield 4 - Rough launch and continues to have issues, but looks great and plays fantastic when everything is working right and I honestly didn't have that much issues compared to lots of others.

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor - It's just more WoW honestly, but if you like that sort of thing, it has honestly been one of their better expansions.

[Cobra951]

AC4 for me.  No surprise, I'm sure.  GTA V would be my 2nd on that list.

[idolminds]

Yeah I think I'd have to go with AC4 as well. Hearthstone keeps me entertained and will keep me entertained for a while longer, but AC4 was such a great experience.

[gpw11]

I went GTAV.  I was really really impressed with Black Flag, but I also felt like GTA5 was more of an experience for me.  It may have been because I spent a lot of the time in GTAV with my old roommate and Black Flag alone, but I felt like I just wanted to spend more time with it as well.

Black Flag was highly engrossing - to the point where I had to stop playing.  That's great, but it also felt kind of "cut and paste".  Giant world that was amazingly fun to sail around in, and a ton to do, but a lot of those things were the same or very similar.  A ton of towns that were all the same, a ton of forts that were pretty much all the same, harpooning only had like 4 different types of sea creatures.  It was a great mix of these things, but it hit a point for me where it was just more of the same (although that was still very fun and addictive).

GTA V - fuck. There was just so much cool shit to experience while playing and even after finishing I felt like I hadn't really scratched the surface of the world. 

[MysterD]

Expect this list to get updated and whatnot, as I figure out more.

This is going to be heavily based off this list of what I've actually finished in 2014 + some things I have played in 2014 but not finished:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post79

MysterD's Best PC Games Played in 2014 Awards

PC Game Of The Year -> Still debating it.

Best In Genre
Best Hybrid Game -> Still debating.
Best RPG, Not JRPG -> Shadowrun Returns
Best JRPG -> Final Fantasy XIII
Best Action Game -> Still debating this.
Best Shooter -> Metro: Last Light
Best Stealth Game -> Splinter Cell: BlackList
Best Fighter -> Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate Edition
Best "Pure" Adventure Game -> Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Season One
Best Racing Game -> Need For Speed: Rivals

Best Online Games
Best Online Game, Overall -> Still debating it.
Best Online Game, Competitive -> Still debating it.
Best Online Game, Co-Op -> Still debating it.

Best DLC's + Expansions
Best Expansion Pack -> Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
Best DLC -> The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard

Best Specific Elements
Best Graphics, Artistic -> Final Fantasy XIII
Best Graphics, Technical -> Still debating it.
Best Sound Effects -> Still debating it.
Best Music, Traditional Score -> Still debating
Best Licensed Soundtrack -> Still debating
Best Story -> Still debating it.
Best Character -> Still debating it.
Funniest Game -> Saints Row IV

Franchise / IP Awards
Best New IP -> Watch Dogs.
Most Improved Iteration in a Series -> Far Cry 3
Most Underrated Game Played in 2014 -> Thief (2014)
Most Anticipated New Game For 2015 -> The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Most Anticipated PC Port in 2015 -> Grand Theft Auto V

Miscellaneous Game Awards
Most Unique Game -> Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut
Best Game To Not Win An Award, But Actually Deserved An Award For Something -> Still debating.

People Awards
Best YouTuber -> TotalBiscuit
Best PC Gaming Modder, Technical -> Durante for GeDoSaTo and the numerous PC games he's fixed + improved (including Final Fantasy XIII, Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut).

Negative Awards
Biggest Overall Disappointment -> Still debating this.
Most Disappointing Story & Character Development -> Watch Dogs
Worst PC Port, Technical -> Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut
Biggest Launch Disaster, Technical -> Assassin's Creed: Unity
Most Ridiculous PC System Requirements -> Assassin's Creed: Unity
Worst New DRM -> Denuvo.
Worst New Trend -> Rise of major AAA titles being online-only games (The Crew, Titanfall, Destiny on consoles, etc.)
Most Annoying New Trend -> First-time games released on PC not supporting higher-resolution at launch (Final Fantasy XIII + Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut)

[gpw11]

HOLY SHIT

[MysterD]

HOLY SHIT

Just wait until I actually finish the list + maybe even add a few categories...

[TheOtherBelmont]

I picked Dark Souls 2 because it is the only one I played on that list, but Bravely Default might be my game of the year.

[iPPi]

Somebody gave it too much thought. 

[Cobra951]

You think?

[Quemaqua]

I have no interest in Hearthstone so haven't played it. I liked GTAV, but it was really just more GTA. The effect wore off before much time had gone by, which disappointed me because I wanted to spend more time with it. But the formula is stale for me. It's still fun, it's just very easy to sort of slip into a weird sleepy space where I feel like ... you know, I have done all this before countless times.

AC4 I really wanted to like, and I did on a lot of levels, but the more AC-style gameplay took up more of my time initially than it should have. Like I wanted to explore the towns and stuff, which is always a lot of fun, but then you see all the things there are to pick up and find so you start doing that, then it becomes an OCD thing, like I need to go do it all ... but then I fall into this AC-coma of boredom because while none of it is bad, it's just all extremely samey, and it blurs together very very quickly. I think AC4 is an excellent game, though, and most of my reason for not getting into it was my own fault. I really should have done more stuff on the open sea, and peppered that with a little of the other here and there when I needed a break. I did it the other way around and shot myself in the foot. Can't say how well that would have helped me, as I don't think I could ever get into it the way idol or Cobra did, but I'm sure I'd have gotten a lot more out of it than I did.

So yeah, Dark Souls 2 for me, obviously. Which I'd say is accurate of the games I actually did play this year, even with other things to choose from. I didn't finish it because my Japanese studies seriously sidetracked me from doing any English-language gaming, and now that the new next-gen edition has been announced, I'm sort of wondering if I shouldn't just say fuck it and wait. Kinda wish I hadn't invested in the DLC at this point.

That unfortunate negative aside, the game was immensely compelling, and while different in some respects from the first game, it was a very worthy sequel with tons of cool stuff in it, great start style, all that. It was very, very addictive, and I sunk a good number of hours into it. I have zero doubt that had I not JUST played through Demon's Souls and Dark Souls plus its expansion right before jumping into DS2, I would have finished DS2 regardless of whatever else was going on in my life.

[scottws]

Of the games on the list, I only played GTAV and gave it my vote.  Great game, though I'd say The Last of Us is better.

AC4 I really wanted to like, and I did on a lot of levels, but the more AC-style gameplay took up more of my time initially than it should have. Like I wanted to explore the towns and stuff, which is always a lot of fun, but then you see all the things there are to pick up and find so you start doing that, then it becomes an OCD thing, like I need to go do it all ... but then I fall into this AC-coma of boredom because while none of it is bad, it's just all extremely samey, and it blurs together very very quickly.

This was exactly my problem with the Baldur's Gate games.  I sunk tons of time into both of them, but never got out of the first acts.  I spend all of my time on the various side quests.  Eventually, after like 30 hours with a journal full of incomplete quests I sort of got tired of it and just stopped playing.