Welcome back to the best(as in most drawn out) Game of the Year blog series on Giantbomb.com. If you've missed any of the other entries in this series, click on the links below:

#5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10 and HM

Forza Horizon 2

The top 4 of my list begins with Forza Horizon 2. Do you like racing games? Do you like arcadey racers that are just enough of a sim to make you work for it? Do you like easily spinning brodies and not doing anything else? If you answered any, if not all, of these questions yes then you will love this game. Let's dive into it.

Let's start off talking about how this game looks. I'm not someone who really cares about how a game looks. For me, its all about how it plays and if it looks great that is just an added bonus. This game and it's look are truly amazing. When it first booted up this game, I went "Now this is a truly next-gen looking game." The way the sun shines and looks like it really is shining. The way the rain looks on your windshield as you drive in first person mode. The cars look almost realistic as you are driving around the countryside. The work that Playground and Turn 10 did to make this game look as amazing as it does is truly wonderful. I can't wait to see if there is another FH, and if so, how it improves the look of this game because I'm not sure that it can be done.

However, any racing game is only as good as how well the cars drive. Fortunately, this one is maybe one of the best handling games I have ever played. The only game that is on the same level as this one is Burnout Paradise, my favorite racing game of all time. One of the things in games that have cars of all types is that the cars all seem to handle the same which really brings you out of the fantasy of driving in a game. FH2 does an amazing job of making each car and class feel different. When you are driving an SUV like a Cadillac Escalade, it really sucks because it handles just like you would think it would feel. As you move up and through the various classes, the changes are very different and make you have to learn how to drive that class perfectly, just as you did for the various classes before. Having to learn how to drive a certain class and car for the first time is both frustrating and rewarding. It's frustrating because you have to find out what exactly you can do and get away with versus what you will always fail to do if you try it. It's rewarding because once you learn how to drive each car, the game truly opens up and you always can push the car to the limit without going over that limit.

Now, lets talk about how the game is set up. As you go from championship to championship, you are always being brought through the idea of four races and then I get to road trip to a new location. After three of these championships I then get to return to the main hub and then leave from there to start the road trip all over again. This is a wonderful way to set up the game because you can do an entire championship in about 20-30 minutes, depending on what races you have to do in the championship. Once you finish it, you can set it down and come back later. As you play through the game and know what each championship has in it in terms of events, you can further hone your play time to make sure you can play as much of it as you are able to. I feel this is super smart and something that other racers should probably take a look at and consider putting into their game.

Now, lets talk about the music in the game. This is the biggest disappointment for me. Of the 6 radio stations in the game, I only listened to one(the classical music station). It wasn't a huge deal since this became my podcast/music game after I finished Diablo 3. That, however, was the only problem as I was playing this game.

With this entry coming to a close, thanks for reading. Come back tomorrow to see the #3 game and learn about how the Titan falls.

HT101

Welcome back to my countdown to the Game of the Year in 2014. If you've missed any of my entries, click on the links right here:

#6, #7, #8, #9, #10 and HM

Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition

The tale for me playing Guacamelee is a simple one: I had just gotten my Xbox One and was in need of games to play. This game was coming out and I was very excited to play it because the Quick Look was very promising, I enjoy games in the MetroidVania category and watching professional wrestling is also a hobby of mine.

My time starting up the game and starting it was a lot of fun. Instead of giving you an abilitease, like so many of these games do, you start out as a big loser who can't do anything. You are then killed by the villain of the game and then resurrected with the powers of a lucha libre wrestler. As you move through the game you get new moves that not only aid in combat but also assist you in moving around the world. The combat in this game is really well done and super fun to engage in. The way you have to use the various abilities you learn to make it through combat are really well done and it allows you to work them to your advantage. I will say that if you are color blind in any way, you may have some problem since the various moves you learn are color coded(yellow, blue, red, green and purple) so be aware of this as you start the game.

The other part of the game is the platforming. When you make your way through the game, each new move adds another level of complexity to the game. When you mess up doing one of the platforming sections, you know that it's your fault and you try and figure out how to fix it so you make it through the next time. When you finally make it through, you get a burst of pride from the knowledge that you were able to complete the various moves perfectly so you can make it through. The part where you are moving through the mountain was an amazingly well done section and one that was a lot of fun to move through.

The game is one that is fun and well worth your time, so find a way to play this game. I don't have anything that held me back from loving this game, but all of the games above this one were just more fun to play.

One thing to add: if you have the option, please play the Super Turbo Championship Edition. You get two new areas and the challenge arenas in El Infierno will reward you for being perfect with every move in your arsenal.

Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow when we drive toward the horizon for a second time.

With today's entry, we are taking a look at the funniest game of the year, South Park: The Stick of Truth. To make this a little bit easier for myself, it will be called South Park: TSoT from now on. Once more, if you've missed any of my other posts for Game of the Year, check them out at these links:

#7, #8, #9, #10 and HM

South Park: The Stick of Truth

South Park is one of the best TV shows on right now. With their ability to make fun of anyone and everyone, it's a show that I really love. When this game was announced, I wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, Matt and Trey were both involved with this game. On the other hand, most South Park games have been hugely disliked and just seemed to be terrible games. Fortunately, this game was both hilarious and fun to play.

Let's talk about the story first. As you may have noticed, most of these games on my list have been praised for having a great story and this one is no different. From the start where you meet Cartman and gang and then moving onto the various things like meeting Al Gore and trying to find ManBearPig, being abducted by aliens, being shrunk and scarred for life, to the ending, this game played like a 20 hour South Park episode and nothing seemed to drag the story down. Everything that happened was wonderfully presented and the best part of the game, your trip to Canada, was an amazing suprise. There are so many terrific moments in this game but I don't want to spoil any of them because they are all hilarious and many of them are shocking.

Now, let's talk about how it plays. If you have played any of the Paper Mario games and enjoyed them, you will love playing this game. From having to direct Cartman when he lights his farts to just timing the shots of the arrows from Kyle(I think), it keeps you invested in the game and always keeps you coming back to play more. The idea of having the battles be ones you can avoid if you want to and gain the upper hand in are also great. It gives you the power to truly determine how the fights play out. The various boss fights are really fun and force you to use all of your powers and abilities to your advantage. Even walking around the world is fun because you are running into various characters from the South Park universe and they normally always have something hilarious to say.

Unfortunately, there was one thing in the game that kept me from having it higher on my list. The first one is that since this is a South Park game and they love to push the envelope, they sometimes went too far in my mind. There were two parts that made me somewhat uncomfortable and, while I loved this game and felt it was super well made and very funny, it kept this game from being any higher on my list.

I'm now halfway through my list so come back tomorrow to see what will make the top five of my list. Be prepared for a fight that also involves a delicious Mexican dish. Thanks for reading.

HT101

This is the last game on my list that is a part of a franchise that I had never played before. Now, let's take a deeper look why it's on my list. If you've missed any of my other blogs for Game of the Year, check them out here:

#8, #9, #10 and HM

Tomb Raider

This game was one of the best surprises of the past year for me. As I was going through the story, I could see Lara become more and more confident as I was playing. The best part was once again having characters that you care about and seeing how things branch out from there. The openness of the game was very surprising for me and it was fun to try and work my way around as stealthily as possible. Like Wolfenstein, when you messed up the stealth approach, you could then move around and shoot dudes in a way that made you feel it works, no matter how you play it.

The gameplay itself was very well done and made you feel like you were learning alongside of Lara. The bow was the weapon that I used the most during the game, especially when I was sneaking around. The climbing also felt good, especially when I had been playing Black Flag before this, which still suffered from the problems of climbing and moving around the series has had. The tombs were amazing and a lot of fun when you were trying to traverse your way around to get the treasure. I went out of my way to find and play through all of them because I loved the puzzle aspect of them. When you had to shoot, the guns felt good and the enemies didn't feel like they were super bullet spongey.

Some of my problems with the game, and what kept it from being higher are few but are pretty big in my mind. The first one is the very beginning of the game where you are fleeing from the creepy raper dude. That part could have been done where he was just chasing you and not trying to act like he was going to violate you once he caught you. That part really rubbed me the wrong way, but fortunately, it was at the very beginning so I could forget about it pretty fast. The other problem I had was that it seemed to take too long for the story to get going, even though the characters were really well done. Then, the story fell into the trap of "Who doesn't love supernatural stories?" when the answer to this, especially dealing with games like this and the Uncharted series, is NEVER.

This one was a little shorter but stay tuned for tomorrow's entry and thanks for reading. Tomorrow's will hopefully tell you the truth about sticks.

It's now time for my 8th best game of the year. Wolfenstein: The New Order is up but if you missed any of my other blogs about my games of the year, you can check them out at these links:

#9, #10 and HM

Wolfenstein: The New Order

My Game of the Year list so far this year includes games in franchises that I have never played before. This trend continues today and will actually finish tomorrow. The Wolfenstein franchise has been one that has always intrigued me because it seemed to start off as just another WW2 shooter that transformed into something that was a huge part of the multiplayer growth on PC. I never had a PC that was capable of playing games besides the random games that came already installed on it. I had heard of Wolfenstein but hadn't actually been exposed to it until I came to Giant Bomb. I never actually decided to play my way through any of the games until this one though.

The Quick Look for this game really got in interested in because it had a cool look and when they mentioned that it didn't have MP, I decided to pick this game up, especially if it went on sale. I started the game and was immediately drawn in by the story. It was written so well and the voice actors did a great job of conveying the emotion of the game. The main villain was so well written as well. The actual animations and rendering of the characters was some of the best this year and really helped to bring me into truly being BJ.

All of this praise for the voice work, characters, animations and everything else would mean nothing if it didn't have great gameplay. Fortunately, this game has terrific gameplay. When I learned that you could go through this game in a stealthy manner and if you messed that up then it became a great shooter, I was super excited. The stealth was done really well and was a lot of fun to do. The stealth kills in the game are super brutal and at times freaked me out a little bit because I was enjoying myself a little too much. The somewhat open areas that let you wander around and do your own thing to accomplish the mission objectives are truly great. It has been something that I've not experienced much and especially when you find it in a first person shooter. The shooting was truly great and the sounds of the various guns were also truly great. The normal machine gun has maybe the greatest sound design of any gun that I've used in a game before.

Now, for this game to be here, there were some things that I didn't really enjoy. The first thing that bothered me was that while the game itself was fun, I wasn't truly loving my time when I was playing it. I sometimes wanted to be playing other games because I was getting burned out when playing it. This may have been because my sessions playing this game were over 2 hours long, which is definitely a deal breaker when you are playing a shooter. The other thing is that some of the stuff that happened during the times you were at the base were really dumb. The random sex scene in the game was totally gratuitous and unneeded because I already cared about the characters.

That is all for #8. Since this was supposed to go up yesterday but didn't, look out for #7 later today. It'll be time to raid some tombs at that time. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time.

HT101

It is now Day 3 of my GotY blogs, with today being all about my 9th best game of the year, Dead Rising 3. Let's get to it.

If you missed #10 or my Honorable Mentions, just click on the links.

Dead Rising 3

My history with this series is also one where this is the first one that I played. I did try out Dead Rising but not enough to truly decide if I liked it or not. I can say that I really enjoyed this game though. The time I was playing this game was during the summer and this is a perfect summer game. I am a teacher so I have plenty of time during that time of year and this game has plenty of things for you to do. The various weapons challenges are really fun to mess around in, the escort missions with survivors are so well done in that they follow you safely and are able to fight and not be babysat. If any game companies are thinking of doing escort missions, please look to this game to see how to do them well.

Now, let's talk about the story. This game has a truly good story from my point of view. You actually care about the characters and know that they knew each other before everything went to hell. My favorite character is the mob bodyguard who you learn is looking for his wife and wanting to fix things up with her. She is actually the woman who has been with you the entire game and their reunion was one that actually affected me. Nick is a great character who never seems to get to that crazy badass phase that characters in games like this arrive at. He always stays grounded and is always a little freaked out about what is going on. It's great to see how they bring characters from the other games into this one and it is also well done.

One of the other things that I really enjoyed about this game are the crazy weapons. The Ultimate Grim Reaper that was shown on UPF after the game came out is amazing and so much fun to use. The other weapons, like the chainsaw/sledgehammer combo weapon was wonderful as well. You were encouraged to use them all to try and figure out which ones you liked the best, which most games do not actually do. I did find about 4 or 5 that I was consistently rolling with throughout the game but when I found a new one, I would always try it out for a period of time to see if I liked it or not.

While I really liked this game, there are a some reasons that kept it from being higher on this list. The first thing is that the movement in the game feels very floaty and it feels like I'm fighting against them every once in a while. When I'm running around and trying to jump from car to car, I have to stop and think about when I'm going to jump and how I'm going to move. I think that when you're in an open world game you should know exactly where you want to move and believe that you'll make that jump every time.

Another thing that bothers me is that once you get some of the better weapons in the game, the challenge disappears. When you fight any of the psychopaths, if you have a great weapon, it is super easy to make it through the encounter. The psychopaths are there for a reason but when you can annihilate them in about two minutes because the weapon you have is amazing, then the challenge is sucked out of it and it becomes something you do and not something you want to do. This has been a problem for awhile with games of all kinds and I hope that someone in the future figures out how to make boss fights better.

Thanks once again for reading. It's time to finish for today and get ready for tomorrow. I hope the wolves don't come and start a new order before then.

HT101

Here we go. The main event is starting now. These blogs will feature one game per day with my thoughts about the game, why I enjoyed it and hopefully get across why it is one of my Top 10 games of the year. So, without any more delay, my Game of the Year blogs continue with #10:

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition

Some background is in order to start off this entry. I had not played any Diablo game until I played Diablo 3 on 360. I loved the hell out of that game and really enjoyed playing it. I played it for at least 40 hours(if not longer) as I leveled up 3 different classes to the maximum level. When they announced that this version was coming to the new consoles, I felt like buying it to both try out the Crusader class and also to see how the expansion fits into the story and what happens in it.

When I started a new game, I played through as a Crusader. I watched and read all of the story stuff(more on this later) since it had been a while after I had originally played the game. I then played through at leveled the character up to 70. I then decided to level each and every class up to 70. I even did a hardcore character that got up to level 70. My time with the game was mostly solo with only a small amount of my total play time being done with others. This game became my podcast/music game since once you watch and listen to the story the first time you don't need to see or hear it again.

My time playing this game again was an amazing time but it was an old game. It's fitting that this game is the only disc based game that was originally last gen that made my list this year. The thing that really dragged this game down is it's story. Now, most people would put that word in quotes, but I feel they did their best so I won't ridicule them for it. The other thing that really bothered me was how loot on the higher difficulties worked themselves out. When you are trying to get better loot at levels 60-70, you don't get as much of an upgrade as you might think you should. Now, some might say that's the point because they want you to keep playing, but I would have liked for it to be a little quicker or have better items drop more often. However, they kept me playing the game for around 50 hours or so and I can't complain that much.

Thanks for reading and tomorrow will feature my #9 game of the year. You had better hope the dead don't rise if you want to see it.

HT

So, this year was the year where I actually played more than 10 games throughout the year. I'm limiting this to my Top 10 as well as 5 Honorable Mentions. This post will be about the 5 HMs and then each day going forward will be about one game on my list. All of these games were played either in an Xbox 360 or an Xbox One. The version will be specified next to the title. Since these are games that are in my HMs, they will be in alphabetical order. So, without further ado, here are my 5 Honorable Mentions from 2014 that did not make my Top 10 List:

1. Marvel Lego Super Heroes (Xbox One): This is a great Lego game. The story is great, the gameplay is classic Lego game but it is also just a Lego game. The way they use the different powers for the various characters makes them fun to use and play around with. The Deadpool challenge levels are all really well done in making you be creative with all of the powers. The music is well done, especially the music that plays when you jump off the Helicarrier. The voice work is well done, with many of the actors who have played these characters in the various animated series voicing them in this game. If you like Lego games and haven't played one in a while, definitely pick this game up. If you like Marvel, this is also a must play.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Xbox One): First things first: I had never played an MGS game until this one. One reason is I was never that interested in the series and the other reason was that I didn't have a Playstation growing up. I got this game for free when I ordered two games from Microsoft since they were doing a special deal. I only played through the main story mission while playing the game but I have been meaning to get back to it when I had the opportunity. I really enjoyed the gameplay and all of the different mechanics that the game had going on. There were some parts where it seemed like it wanted me to not be stealthy because of the way the area was set up even though I was trying to have a stealthy playthrough. I will play some more and try to figure out exactly how to be stealthy all the way through but it will have to wait until after I finish Inquisition.

3. Ryse (Xbox One): This is an interesting game for me. The gameplay is very Batman-like in that it's all about countering and then exploiting that moment to get your combos in. It's also like Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden in that it's all a series of arena battles that move you from area to area. However, the story is one that I really enjoyed experiencing and the game itself is maybe the best looking game that I played all this year. When everything is layed out in a row, the game was one that I enjoyed and would recommend to others if they were looking for a good 3rd Person Action game.

4. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Xbox One): When this game first came out a couple of years ago, I loved playing it and the setting was one that was not shown in games up until that point. When this version was announced, I felt that I wasn't going to buy it because I didn't really feel like I needed to play it again. However, when I saw that a lot of the games that I was interested in weren't turning out so well, I felt alright purchasing this game again. The story was just as great and I had forgotten enough of the story that I didn't fully remember how it played out. I was especially blown away by being reminded that the Lady Triad leader found out you were a cop but didn't do anything about it because I had put the Triad first. I also hadn't played any of the DLC and really enjoyed the kung-fu movie styled one. I haven't played Nightmare at North Point or Year of the Snake yet but I know this game wouldn't make my true Top 10 list anyway. If you haven't played Sleeping Dogs yet, do so right now.

5. WWE All Stars (Xbox 360): And now, it's time for the WTF Honorable Mention of 2014. This game came out in 2011 and I just played this game this year. When I saw the Quick Look for this game when it first came out, I knew that I wanted to own this game. It only took me 3 years to do so. I really enjoyed playing this game however. The system for fighting is very simple but it's well worth learning. I played this game for about 2 weeks in May and got all of the achievements that don't require online, which is shut down and no longer working. The roster is a good one even if some of the pairings that they came up with were really weird. Drew McIntyre? Really!?!?!?!?!?!? Anyway, the video packages for the pairings were all excellent and working on the achievements was really fun.

Well, there are my honorable mentions for this year of 2014. Thanks for reading all of this and come back tomorrow when number 10 is revealed. It'll be one hell of a time.

HT101

Top 10 Games of the Year 2012

So, it's time to finally put my top 10 list together after the new year is over a week old. I wish I could have done this last year but I did not have the time to do it until now. So, without further ado, here is my top 10 games from 2012, listed in order from 1 to 10. One more thing: The Walking Dead is not on this list because I did not start playing it until the beginning of 2013.

	1. Rock Band Blitz So, a downloadable game based on a franchise that has been somewhat tapped it is my number one game of the year? Yes and I don't care who knows about it. I have always come back to play this game since it was released and any game that does that will most definitely earn itself the top spot in my GOTY list. Plus, it's just way too much fun to play through the tracks, no matter how many times I've played some of them. I love me some music games.
	2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown I'm a fan of strategy games but I'm not a die hard fan of them. When I heard about this game, I dismissed it because it didn't seem like it would be a game that would appeal to me. The QL proved me wrong and when I finally bought it, I started to name my characters after Harry Potter characters. I stopped doing it after awhile but my heavy Rubeus Hagrid and my Sniper Hermoine Granger are still killing it and there have been times when I reloaded a save when it looked like I would lose them. If that doesn't make it one of the best games of this year, I don't know what does.
	3. Halo 4 343 Studios took one of the most beloved franchises on the Xbox and made it their own while still paying homage to what Bungie did before them. The campaign was a blast to play through on Heroic alone and the multiplayer is even more fun with the loadout options you now have. This may be a Halo ass Halo game, but it's one that is still a lot of fun to play.
	4. Mark of the Ninja When I heard that there was a game that was coming out that allowed you to be a ninja and that it came from the guys who made the Shank games, I was a little apprehensive since the Shank games were not a big draw for me. When I saw the QL EX that the guys did, however, I knew that I would be getting this game for sure because the action, gameplay and systems put into place were all so well done that I knew it would be an awesome game. And lo and behold, it was the second best arcade game that I played this year.
	5. Trials Evolution So, the sequel to one of the toughest XBLA games comes out and it is more accessible for people who weren't any good at the first one but still made it hard enough to make us try and get a perfect run on each track? I'd call that an amazing success and worthy of being a top 10 game of last year. Plus, the intro songs were enough to make it into the top 10 alone. Vroom, vroom, I'm ready to go indeed.
	6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted While the single player component of this game was not the greatest, it did a well enough job of introducing you to what the game was about and helped to prepare you for the excellent multiplayer that Criterion created. With their integration of competitive, cooperative and forcing you to be a big jerk no matter which type of objective they set before you, they took one of the best parts of Burnout Paradise and improved on it. Now we just need Burnout Paradise 2 to come out now.
	7. Borderlands 2 The game of ridiculous guns and even more ridiculous characters is once more a success, but for me not as successful as the first. I have not actually beat it but the time that I was playing this game was still a really enjoyable time. I will finish it but other games, both above it and below it, got in the way of my finishing this game. I also have all of the DLC to play through so once I get back to the Borderlands, I will not want for things to do.
	8. Sleeping Dogs This game really caught me by surprise. I had heard that it was an excellent game but I didn't begin to play it until the end of last year. I didn't play it for very long last year but I've continued playing it in the new year and I knew that it would be on my year end list. The melee combat is a lot of fun and I never tire of breaking dudes legs and then kicking them in the face. The story is excellent, the voice acting is great and the game controls really well, and all of the ways they have taken the open world gameplay and turned them toward the better makes me hopeful that other studios that make this type of game take notes and put them into their game, especially when it comes to collectibles.
	9. Assassin's Creed III This was a game that came at the end of the year but was kind of like Mass Effect 3 in that the journey to the end was more enjoyable than the actual ending. Some of the things that happened in this game stuck with me more than things that happened in ME3 so that's why it is at 9.
	10. Mass Effect 3 While the ending of the game was a weird thing for me, I loved the actual journey there, from reuniting my Shepherd with Ashley after cheating on her with Miranda in ME2, seeing the genophage fixed, the arc of Mordin, how the Geth and Quarian conflict was settled, the Asari stuff, the Turian stuff and everything else that happened, this game was a fun and enjoyable ride for me even if the ending was not what I thought it should have been. It was a great way to start off the year and the year only got better.

At this moment, I am downloading League of Legends right now and I feel that I will either play this game for a long time or just play it for a day and then quit. I have been interested in LoL and DoTA and other games like that for a while but I didn't know how I would get into them. Since it's free to play, I felt that it would be a good thing to at least try and then delete it if I don't like it. I'm not sure what my username will be, but I'll add it once I decide on one. If you play the game and don't mind having someone new play with them and won't kill me for messing up, hit me up for a game sometime once I start playing it.

EDIT: My username is thejuice24 on LoL.