List items
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A strange pick, but hear me out. Remember how awesome Pac Man Championship Edition DX was? Of course you do. Pix the Cat is actually better than that. It's ability to be played on a PS4 for a long term Pix the Cat score-chasing binge, or on a Vita for a short burst session to experiment with different paths puts it on par with the best score chasing games made. But it's the fantastic Laboratory (where you have a limited amount of moves to complete a level) and Nostalgia modes (which has an old-timey black and white scheme that plays like a 1930's cartoon for timed missions) throws it over the top. It's the game I've constantly enjoyed every time I've turned it on, and it's my Game of the Year for 2014.
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Velocity 2X came from out of nowhere to become one of my favorite games of the year, and whether I was playing on the PS4 or the Vita, loading Velocity 2X was a time commitment, because one I'd start, I wasn't going to let go. It's not just the fantastic music and character design but a desire to do everything perfectly that drives this sometimes platformer, sometimes shmup, into the stratosphere. Velocity will begin teaching you it's myriad techniques, introduce you to it's two different playing styles, then relentlessly push you to continue mastering those techniques and styles as it jumps back and forth between the two. Kai Tana might be the best new character of the year as well, and could be exactly what Nintendo would have wanted out of Metroid: Other M.
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Frankly, the most shocking addition to my list has to be Wolfenstein: The New Order. I don't have any nostalgic fondness for the series so I went in with little expectations of it having any story worth a damn. But then again, this is Machine Games, and they're quickly proving that all of the love that a company like Bungie gets for it's ability to deliver lore in a shooter rightfully belongs to them. B.J. Blazkowicz went from a cipher to kill Nazis in fun and interesting ways to a fully fleshed out, sympathetic character, which is something I never would have expected. It's mechanics were spot on, making Wolfenstein the proper balance of engrossing story and fun gameplay that made me begin to wonder if there was something I was missing all along with the franchise.
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The things Destiny gets so wrong about progression Diablo 3's Ultimate Evil Edition gets spot on. The ability to create incremental increases that always make you feel like you're getting somewhere is a stark difference from Destiny's larger jumps. Just a little change in your DPS, a little change in your defense or healing prowess always makes you feel like you've accomplished something, however small, towards cranking up the difficulty one more level. The story is too dense compared to Destiny being too sparse, but it's ability to consistently deliver the rush of progression during your travels moves it a notch higher on the list.
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While Destiny might be a mess story wise, leaving the game's lore too firmly in the experiences of the player instead of directed by the makers of Destiny, it's moment to moment gameplay is among the best of any game I've played this year. The act of running, shooting, and jumping whether against a group of AI enemies or live players feels right, and the world is one of the most beautifully realized this year. I want to kick it off my list, I want to move it to the top of the list, so instead I'll hold it right here at the bottom of my list.
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