Best (and Worst) Games of 2014, Part Trois

Part 1
Part 2

As our GOTY coverage winds down, we end with some of the more important awards.

BEST INDIE OF 2014

NOMINEES

Shovel Knight

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Towerfall Ascension

Broken Age

AND THE WINNER IS...

Many were both curiously optimistic and decidedly skeptic about the kickstarter for Shovel Knight, whose studio boasted members primarily of the well known (larger) independent studio, Wayforward. However, not only did the game come quickly, it also was a critical success -- proving that there's still hope in the kickstarter.

BEST MOBILE/HANDHELD OF 2014

NOMINEES

Bravely Default

Smash for 3DS

Hearthstone

Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

AND THE WINNER IS

It's undeniable that Hearthstone was already addicting, but bringing it to iPad brought along a whole new mobility. I'm the type of person who, if a game is has a handheld version, I'll take it (probably because I sit at my computer long enough) so the idea of mobile card-flinging struck my fancy. 

WORST DEVELOPER OF 2014

NOMINEES

Ubisoft Montreal

Bioware

Bungie

BigRedButton

AND THE WINNER IS...

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I may be stretching here -- signs of Bioware's decay have been noticeable for years now. The blandness of Mass Effect 3, and now Dragon Age Inquisition, is potent; not something that could be seen. Blame EA, Bioware's own incompetence, or simply the act of getting old -- the golden age of Bioware is quickly dissipating. 

BEST DEVELOPER OF 2014

NOMINEES

Blizzard Entertainment

Nintendo EAD

Yacht Club Games

Platinum Games

AND THE WINNER IS...

Nintendo's quality as both a publisher and a developer is irrefutable, but their recent efforts should be put out in the light as exceptional. Community interaction, long awaited titles, and smart financial decisions made their way out of Nintendo this year in the wake of a long time of misfortune.

THE WORST GAME OF 2014 

NOMINEES

Depression Quest

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Assassin's Creed Unity

Watch_Dogs

AND THE WINNER IS...

A long time ago, there was a game called Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis. It was the first, and only good game in a franchise that somehow continued to progress as a series that was notoriously awful. The latest game in this steamy shit library is Sonic Boom, and BOY is it steamy.

No, really. I can't actually put this in words, you need to see how bad this game is. Really.






Before we take it to our final and most important award, it's important to remember our history. Though this is the first time doing this on this blog, we've done GOTY since 2010. Before we get to 2014's winner, let's check out previous winners of the prestigious title.

2010 - Red Dead Redemption/Mass Effect 2 (tie)
2011 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2012 - Guild Wars 2
2013 - The Last of Us/GTA V (tie)

Now, for our nominees.

BEST GAME OF 2014

NOMINEES

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Shovel Knight

Bayonetta 2

Super Smash Bros for Wii-U

AND THE WINNER IS...

Character action games aren't very popular to critics and the public, and for good reason -- for years the genre had been lacking a good basic entry point, and could only be enjoyed by highly skilled players.

That is, until Bayonetta 2 came around.

Take in mind, Bayo 2 is by no means a casual or easy game -- it instead works like Super Mario, the first levels are fairly easy to go through but for those who want the extra challenge, the rest of the game is as hard as you'd expect. In this case it makes Bayonetta 2 the best game of 2014. 

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