Best (and Worst) Games of 2014, Parte Un

With every year, there comes more games. No shit. However, at the end of these years, there comes a perfect opportunity to act like we know more than we actually do by deciding the best and worst of the year.







Using our all-star judge panel of legendary developers and brilliant journalists (aka Vaughan Jones and Ash-Bit), the three of us have agreed to the winners of the year. The system we used is as follows:

For each category, we have given around 3 nominations and one winner -- a nomination is worth 0.5 points, while a winner is worth 1.5. The one with the most points is the winner of that category, and if there is a tie, the council gets together to decide an ultimate winner.

What sets this aside from every other game of the year awards? Well, it is the least viewed yet most pure of them all, with absolutely no peer pressuring involved when it comes to choosing certain games. Kind of. Promise.

So here's the point where I would assume most people would give a sort of "year in review" thing, but I'm way too lazy to do the research for that, so fuck that noise. Let's get to our first award.

BEST SOUNDTRACK OF 2014

NOMINEES

Mario Kart 8

Bayonetta 2

Shovel Knight

Super Smash Bros 4

AND THE WINNER IS...

To be honest, the soundtracks of the Mario Kart games have never really gotten to me as being anything to talk about. Certainly there are some stand out tracks, most notably Rainbow Road, but these come few and far between in releases.

MK8 changed all of that, with an OST that features not only ear-pleasing new tracks, but also brand-new remixes to old tracks that are much better than any featured before. The new Rainbow Road remix, for example, sounds fantastic -- and in the new track front, Electrodrome has all of my love. 

BEST REMASTER OF 2014

NOMINEES

Grand Theft Auto V (PS4 and XBONE)

The Last of Us: Remastered

Pokemon: Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire

AND THE WINNER IS...

Honestly I haven't been so fond of the recent trend of remastering games that were only released one or two years ago, but GTA V brought more than just another moneygrab by bringing the game to new consoles -- it innovated. There are many additions to the PS4 and XBONE versions of GTA V, the most notable being the new soundtrack and (actually working) FPS mode. Sure, it could've been Pokemon, but for us it came down to which was the better game overall, remaster aside.

BEST PARTY GAME OF 2014

NOMINEES

Mario Kart 8

Super Smash Bros 4 (Wii-U)

Towerfall Ascension

AND THE WINNER IS...

Yes, I said it. Smash is a party game, not a fighting game. It is not intended to be taken seriously, it is meant to be played with friends. Omega mode, no items, and other such things are horribly boring and honestly don't deserve a place in the game. Because it's not meant to be played like that.

That being said, Smash Bros is still a great game. A great party game.

Anyway, thats all for now. Just wait until the next two or three parts show up!

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