Category Archives: Video Games

Top 10 Games of 2014

Posted by defectivepixeltest on

Okay, first things first: this list is incredibly late. I am aware. But, I’d still rather put it out late, after I’ve played the stuff I wanted to get to, than not at all. Secondly, there are a couple of notable omissions I wanted to call out up front. Basically, these are the games that I couldn’t get to for one one reason or another, that could have potentially made this top 10 list were I able to get around to playing them. For 2014, these are (in no particular order):

Divinity: Original Sin
Mario Kart 8
Bayonetta 2
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (I dunno, I heard this one was pretty good)

So now, with those out of the way, I’d like to do a few honorable mentions. These 2014 games are not part of the list, but ones I’ve played, really enjoyed, and I think you should consider checking out:

Honorable Mentions:

Neverending Nightmares
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Titanfall
The Evil Within

Finally, and without further stalling, here is my personal Top 10 Games of 2014 list:

 

  1. Threes – Sirvo

Threes_iOS

One of the saddest things in gaming this year is that most people likely played 2048 instead of Sirvo’s Threes. This dead simple and deviously addictive puzzle game for iOS and Android was the best thing to hit phones in 2014. It’s at once irresistible, between its joyous music and adorable anthropomorphic number blocks. Threes is a great example of perfect gameplay loop. I can’t even quite put it into words. Something about it just scratches a part of my brain that, on some subconscious level, needs to double large numbers divisible by three. Seriously, hang on one second. I almost have a 768… Continue reading →

Top 15 Games of 2013

Posted by defectivepixeltest on

2013 was a very strange year for gaming, albeit, in my opinion, a fantastic one. As the console generation entered its transitional period, many big budget games of the year were met with disappointment, sequel fatigue, or some combination of both. As such, and more so than any year previous, I found myself drawn to dozens of remarkably clever and well designed indie games. For fans of smaller, riskier, and more personal games, 2013 was a continual treasure trove.

What follows is a ranked list of my top 15 games of 2013. I had done a top 10, but realized I just played way too many excellent things, so I felt the need to loosen the belt, so to speak.

For people out there who are as big of soundtrack junkies as I am, I paired each title with one of my personal favorite tracks from its score. I embedded the tracks from YouTube, so apologies if this bogs down the load time of this article.

There were two games who’s soundtracks were not on YouTube, so, regrettably, I could not feature them here. But they are two of my favorites, so definitely look them up.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my list of my 15 favorite games from 2013. Enjoy.[[MORE]]

15. Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine – Pocketwatch Games

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Music: Monaco – Title Theme

I won’t lie: the first time I played “Monaco,” I got so frustrated with it that I never wanted to pick it up again. I learned later what I had been doing wrong. As a “stealth purist” of sorts, I assumed that getting caught, tripping an alarm, or otherwise not executing perfect playthroughs was grounds for a level restart.

“Monaco” is not that kind of game. It’s level evaluation isn’t concerned with kills, KOs, alarms, or getting detected. It’s simply about how fast you completed the level and how many coins you managed to collect along the way. This form of open ended stealth, combined with the special abilities of each class, make for tons of viable options for approaching game’s dozens of maps. Pick The Lookout and you can swiftly retreat to vents like a mouse running off with a cheese cube in its mouth. Pick The Hacker, and have a string of viruses traveling just in front of you, disabling lights, lasers, and even alarms, all from the moment you enter a room. Or pick The Cleaner, if you simply prefer to knock out every guard that gets in your way.

Combining all these options with other players cooperatively can lead to even greater strategic depth and more elaborate heists. Or an even bigger shitstorm when everything goes completely south. But it’s all part of “Monaco.” The clever sneaking, the strategic planning, and even the chaotic dash for hiding spots as you set off every alarm in the entire building, it’s all fair game amongst thieves. Continue reading →