My Top 10 Games of 2014!

G'day there guys and gals!

We near the end of another year full of gaming; there were some definite ups and downs this year (admittedly mostly downs!) but this leads to the question; which games fizzled and which soared into the sky with praise by all.
Note worthy also; this is my list! All the games on said list are my personal choice and lists will vary person to person. Let me know your picks down below.

To start it off, some honourary mentions; While definitely worth a look at, these are the titles I found just too lacking, among the many remakes of this year or simply incomplete
Murdered Soul Suspect, Thief, Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition, Assassin's Creed Rogue, GTA 5, Halo Master Chief Collection, Telltales Game of Thrones Episode 1 and lastly, Watch Dogs.

NUMBER 10:
Fable Anniversary
Buggy, glitchy and often broken, Fable Anniversary wasn't a great start to the year of 2014 and would pretty much be the first mark the Next Gen Leapers would make on our wallets overall. Although it had many technical issues, there's no doubt that Lionhead had definitely put in a lot of time into the development of the game, completely redoing the textures, gameplay and feel of the title overall, while still keeping that ritzy, dry humour fans have come to expect. Although the App feature was a total bust at first (many gamers complaining of its non-functionality), the game was still enjoyable nonetheless; the timeless story, brilliant gameplay and beautiful musical score.
While definitely the lowest scoring on my list, if you're a fan it's definitely worth the struggle. If not, now would be a decent time to check it out as the price-tag would be plummeting.

NUMBER 9:
Wolfenstein The New Order
Admittedly I have never played a Wolfenstein game before this one, the classic barely into my own time and with very few memories of my siblings and their friends playing the title. But this is the beauty of Wolfenstein TNO; Engaging gameplay with a fresh storyline.
Despite originally being a sequel to the 2009 release, the rehash of the game received much more attention and love by fans than its predecessor due to the overwhelmingly great gameplay, jaw-dropping graphics, its exceedingly long campaign and abundance of fan service, Easter Eggs and more. Although slightly glitchy and the choices made in game pretty much pointless except for the first, the game itself has plenty of replay value and much to be enjoy by old fans and new. 
Stealth or loud, young or old, the choices are there and they should be made for any gamer looking for an old school styled First Person Shooter.

NUMBER 8:
Titanfall
This title did see a lot of backlash from the community over its god awful campaign; only there to fill in a checkpoint and to unlock different Titans for you to play around with, not even to mention the only difference between multiplayer and it are 60 seconds of dialogue and perhaps a small cutscene. 
BUT does that make it a bad game? Definitely not! Titanfall is surprisingly refreshing to the FPS scene and with developers from Call of Duty behind it, that's not surprising. Extensive parkour meets giant robots? That was enough to sucker in many gamers but the gameplay, musical score and multiplayer was enough to keep fans coming back months after its release, a huge fanbase still around to this day. While some have moved on, the massive maps and continued upgrades to both player and Titan alike has kept Titanfall around for much longer than many expected. As a gamer, even talking about it now makes me want to play, this is the calling card of a good game. 
Irrefutably worth your time. 

NUMBER 7:
South Park The Stick of Truth
In full honestly, I want to kick my own arse for not having this game closer to #1 on the list, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. Controversy out of brilliance; this has always been the calling card of the creators of South Park and The Stick Of Truth brings that ten fold. With MASSIVE censorship in Europe and my home land Australia, The Stick Of Truth is agreed by many fans alike to be almost a extended season of the show itself. Many titles of games that made the jump from television or movies tend to be god awful and a stain on their brand's name. But that is not the case here.
Gameplay based from classic RPGs, beautiful scenery of the entire town of South Park coming to life and extensive customisation and storyline, if you make any purchase of an RPG in the final days of 2014, make it this one. For fans who will squeal in delight over Fast Travel TIMMY!! or newbies fresh to the experience, there is something for everyone in this game.

NUMBER 6:
Assassin's Creed Unity
Over the last month, AC Unity has copped a lot of hatred from the community over its bugs and issues. But does that make it a bad game? Not by a long shot. Even as a fan of the AC series, I can admit that many of its issues, like its often flat dialogue and cheesy love interest can be intolerable. But the gameplay, free-roam and missions are by far enough to keep even a casual gamer entertained for well over 30 hours. Never before Unity did I feel compelled to play the story line, but with side missions such as Murder Mystery, the Assassin Guild tasks and more, each mission had multiple ways of execution, especially main Assassination missions in the storyline. Don't pay too much attention or the beginning of the game will ruin AC Rogue for you but if you want a game where you can do most anything from fighting in medieval France freeing trapped Assassins to finding clues to solve the murder of a teacher (not to mention the unbelievably huge customisation like never before), Assassin's Creed Unity would be a great start into the series as a whole.

NUMBER 5:
Middle Earth - Shadow Of Mordor
Buying on a whim seems to have the best results in gaming these days as I went into SoM with very little hopes, only to meet a massive sandbox world filled with an abundance of creatures and Orcs to shoot, stab and behead at my whim. Storyline wise is well fleshed out, even if a tad cliche, but can keep you rooted to the spot for hours. Add onto that the incredible gameplay and you have a game to waste multiple hours hunting down the Orc that has killed you twice now to your heart's content. Riding the many beasts of Mordor, controlling the creatures to your whims and murdering your way to the top to avenge your family members, all of that and more await you in Shadow of Mordor. There isn't much customisation as the earlier titles mentioned but the mass amount of lore and gameplay here is enough for a second or third walkthrough.

NUMBER 4:
Transistor
Unbelievably, this amazing second title from the angels of SuperGiant games (Responsible for the astounding hit Bastion) has been overlooked by many gamers and that right there is a huge shame. My one and only PC only choice on this list, Transistor brings all the charm of a SuperGiant game into a fresh new scenario with a brand new character. HUGE lore, extensive storyline and utterly sublime voice acting and musical score, for such a low asking price it would be an absolute shame if any gamer missed this brilliant piece of artwork that is this game. I cannot sing the praise of this game more than I can right now. Casual or hardcore, give this revolutionary game a chance to move you and you will not regret it.

NUMBER 3: 
Telltale's The Walking Dead Season Two
Despite a single part of this game was released in 2013, I am counting this game in this list due to the majority of this game being released in 2014 and the full retail release as well. 
Fans were utterly delighted to return to Clementine in Telltale's now main runner game, The Walking Dead and many fans were not disappointed with the result. 
Upgraded gameplay and graphics and a continuing storyline of Clementine's struggle to survive as the Walkers engulf the world transfixed fans and newbies alike. If you're wondering why this made so close to #1, there is only only natural reply; storyline. The incredibly dynamic storyline, the simplistic yet excellent use of Point and Click gameplay, the voice acting, the sound track, every small little part to this game makes up the incredible game that Telltale has built up over the years, and with its completion leaving many fans waiting impatiently for Season Three.
If you're after a series to laugh, cry and grow with the character, this is by far for you.

NUMBER 2:
Sunset Overdrive
As a reviewer, I have said on the occasion "random does not always equal funny", but with Sunset Overdrive, this is barely the case. Well written jokes and references, random sequences and a brilliant dialogue definitely make up for most of the lackluster performance many other random titles *coughsaintsrow4coughcough* and outshine them all.
A non-realistic zombie outbreak and an overpowered hero was all the combination needed to make Sunset Overdrive a definite standout in the Zombie genre. Insane parkour and gameplay, an abundance of customisation of weaponry and character alike, witty dialogue and a decently made storyline not to mention the huge amount of jokes and puns made often, Sunset Overdrive has something to appeal to every gamer and even those who hate the standard zombie scene. While still relatively pricey, this game makes it to number 2 on the point alone of utter brilliance of the game's mechanic overall. While there were some small issues with multiplayer aspect at first, all have since disappeared. This is a must own for any self respecting gamer.

and finally!
NUMBER 1:
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
It has been so saddening to see such little response from the gaming community over this absolute ge of a game since its launch. A puzzler, the game plays out with multiple characters and different storylines all interlinked by the set of one of the largest events of the 20th century: The War To End All Wars aka WW1. What makes this game #1 is for it's incredible lore and realism with a ton of collectables with facts about the war and its events, the simplistic gameplay made difficult with puzzles and codes to be solve and the unbelievably incredible storyline and soundtrack. I would die a happy man if the last thing I heard on this earth was the main tune to Valiant Hearts.
For $15, I promise this game will set you back days in its gameplay, with a huge replay value to tip the iceberg so to speak.
Everything about this game is damn near perfection and it is a shame to see it fade away into the dust. If you play any game in the next 10 years, give this one a chance!

And as always, have fun and game on! See you all in 2015!