There are a lot of games that get described as "walking simulators" to their detractors. The excuse is that the game is not a game because you don't do anything in it. In The Vanishing of Ethan Carter yes, you do walk around. But you are also exploring the mind of a young child and how real imagination is to children. The game offers basic puzzles that are easy to solve, with some dark storylines thrown in to keep you interested throughout. What happened to Ethan Carter?

This game is gorgeous. The grass is the best you will find in a game, not flat textures that fall over when you near them as in most games. The lighting is magical and you can feel the world come alive as you play. Character models have a cartoony quality to them, but that helps to keep the game from getting too dark, as with more photo realistic characters some of the scenes would be a bit too dark.

The story is engrossing throughout, although like most "walking simulators" nothing is always as it seems. And if you do happen to skip over a puzzle you cannot finish the game without going back and playing that puzzle. Which would be fine but some of the puzzles are hidden pretty well, and while you can fast travel to the puzzles, you then get to walk back to the end of the game. For the end of the game this can get frustrating, especially since I encountered an area that slows your movement down and if you try to go back you continue to walk at that reduced speed. So, I had to skip the puzzle before that section and then run back to the end after fast travelling to it in order to finish the game.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a great game. And while it might not be the best game released in 2014, it does make a good case for being in the top ten.

I have not played Dragon Age Inquisition. I mention this because it looks like the kind of game that would eliminate another game from my top ten list. However, I knew I would not have the time for it and have not been in the mood for a long RPG after putting so many hours into Divinity this year. I also put far too many hours into Destiny. If only the work day could be about 10 hours less and I could have about 30 more hours in the week on top of that.

The second issue is I do not own a Wii U, so the great Wii U games that come out, like Bayonetta 2, I have not played. I wish I had a Wii U but I spent the money I could have spent on one on a GTX 980 instead. Over the last year since buying a computer dedicated to gaming I have moved more into PC gaming. I do plan on getting a Wii U this next year, I already own everything else.

I also feel the need to say I have not played Shovel Knight yet.

Now that is out of the way, onto the idea of the list. One game a day, until the new year. Hopefully I don't get too lazy before the end to finish. Let's start this ride!

Panel 1: Gamer playing video game on his TV, computer beside him. He has been killed in game and a large "Press X to Respawn" is on the TV.

Panel 2: Side angle showing the computer screen. Gamer looks at the computer screen. On the screen is a picture of Ryan Davis with a RIP under it. The TV with the "Press X to Respawn" image is still visible.

Panel 3: Closer on the Gamer and the computer. Gamer points the controller at the computer and presses the X button.

Panel 4: Gamer with shoulders hunched over, head bowed. No change on the computer screen.

"Dedicated to Taswell"

As the year winds down best of lists will begin popping up soon. So, in order to think of what my list will be before actually making the list I decided to go back and revisit what games I have played from this year. These are in alphabetical order and will not be representative of quality. (I am also doing them as a blog instead of a list since I need to blog some more.)
 
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - OK, this game might represent quality. It has a very fun story with a great, large open world to play in. And the multiplayer is awesome as long as you know how to be stealthy instead of running around. With no Batman or Uncharted around, can the newest AC take the top slot? 
 
Call of Duty Black Ops - Balls to the wall action. There were a lot of questions regarding how Treyarch's next CoD game would be after the falling apart of Infinity Ward. They improved much of IW's multiplayer aspects and made a fun game. 
 
Comic Jumper - This game is an ode to the past. From 50s comics to 80s comics to 90s action movies it has it all. But it doesn't really make for a top ten game. Still surprises could happen. 
 
Costume Quest - An adorable little game. Maybe not one of the best games, but it is still fun to play and so adorable. It could squeak out a high number slot. 
 
Dance Central -  Dance Central is a lot of fun. 
 
Dead Rising 2 - Dead Rising 2 is a great game, that changes a lot of what was wrong with the original while keeping the game close enough to the spirit of the original. Having followers with assault rifles mowing down zombies for you is much more fun than them dying almost instantly. And the multiplayer, while slight can still provide for some fun times.
 
Game Room - While the games are good, the experience sucks.
 
God of War 3 - This is a great finale to the God of War saga. The boss fights are bigger and more insane. The story gets crazier. And the violence is turned up a notch.
 
Heavy Rain -  Great game.
 
Ilomilo -  This is a cute puzzler. But there may not be enough to it.
 
Just Cause 2 - Is what Crackdown 2 wishes it was. While the story leaves a lot to be desired, it has the open world do anything style that makes the game fun to keep playing.
 
 Kane and Lynch 2 Dog Days - Not the best game. I rented it on OnLive and that was the perfect place for it.
 
Kinect Adventures - Fun but not going to win anything here.
 
Kinect Sports -  Another fun game, moreso than Adventures, but still not best game material.
 
Limbo -  Limbo is great.
 
MAG - MAG is fun for a multiplayer game. But there are enough problems with it that it can't be considered a top game. 
 
Pinball FX 2 - Pinball can be fun. Especially with the new Marvel tables released. 
 
Red Dead Redemption - May be Rockstar's best game. The story has a slow burn that leads to a killer conclusion while telling the redemption of a man in the old west.  
 
Rock Band 3 - The best of the series. The improvements make this game worthwhile.  
 
Scott Pilgrim Vs the World The Game - Fun as a beat em up. But it's got far too much stiff competition.  
 
Splinter Cell Conviction - Strong entry in the series with a fun control scheme.  
 
Split/Second - Very fun, fast paced racing game.
 
StarCraft 2 - Of course its going to sit somewhere in the top ten. 
 
Super Meat Boy - Frustrating, and yest satisfying. Super Meat Boy is a great platformer.  
 
Super Scribblenauts - So much better than the original. 
 
There are some notable games missing here, such as Alan Wake. But this is the list I will have to use to decide which games I think are the best. I may look more in depth at some of these as the days go by.

Part of me hopes to find my old video game systems (given out to my brother, sister, and her children) and take them back. My goal is to build a classic gaming center somewhere in the house. I have an idea of where this entertainment center will go. I have not yet decided how to set up a TV and the systems, but the biggest hurdle is one of the earliest. I found the NES, the 2600, and the Genesis boxed up in the attic. The NES was fine, works, and I played some games on it on the 46" HDTV. The 2600 met me with equal results. The back up NES and 2600 had some issues. But then there was the Genesis.
 
The Genesis was in the box. There was one three button controller boxed up with it. And there was a Ms. Pac-Man. But where was the power cord? Not in the box. Where was the TV connector? It was in the box, but the wires have been stripped off of it. So, the question becomes, why was the Genesis packed up without the power cable? Who had that bright idea? If it was up to me I would never have boxed any of the systems up. I enjoyed pulling the games out and playing them every once in a while. But I had an old TV at the time without multiple inputs and the house was getting cluttered. So, rather than the game systems being sold off they were packed up in the attic for when I would get my own house.  Since then, I have bought my own house and transferred all of my boxes over here. And since then I have unpacked every box and sorted through everything. And what I found was the Genesis without the necessary components to use the system. Of course, I am sure the cord is still somewhere, either packed up at my mother's house or mixed into another power cable. 
 
But still, the first part of my plan has hit a huge stumbling block. I did have the idea to MAME everything through a computer, but only using the games and the systems I possess, but I would still like to have a working version of the system. Until then, I can't play Ms Pac-Man, since every other game for the system is also still missing. But then, I don't remember owning that many games for the system not named Sonic. We had the Sega Channel for the majority of the system's life cycle and so never bothered buying that many games for it. 
 
I did find the Menacer, though.