Game of the Year 2014

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Winner: Forza Horizon 2
Runner Up: The Last of Us Remastered

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There’s been a lot of negativity in the gaming world this year about the next-gen consoles and how they are yet to deliver and while I’ve not played anything game-changing (pun not intended) I’ve had plenty of great gaming experiences over the last 12 months including Wolfenstein, Elite: Dangerous, Monument Valley, Far Cry 4, Alien: Isolation, Diablo III, Dragon Age and Mario Kart.

However my winner and runner up stood head and shoulders above those other games with only a hair breadth between them. Forza Horizon 2 is the first time I’ve whooped and hollered while playing a driving game since Daytona in the arcade and the most satisfying since the Project Gotham series to which this feels, to me, like a spiritual successor. For me it strikes the perfect balance between arcade and simulation with a driving model that sends me into a trance like state while hours slip by. I’ve recently tucked into the Storm Island DLC and some of the tracks are incredible with masses of air and dirty rallying to go at. It all looks gorgeous too with beautiful scenery, incredible car models, and a steady framerate – it runs at 30fps but I’ve never seen it drop a beat and although I prefer racers to run at 60fps the nature of the driving means this isn’t particularly detrimental to the experience and I soon got used to it.

Despite owning a PS3 somehow I missed The Last of Us on that console and eagerly awaited it in remastered form – I was not disappointed. I can’t remember ever being so gripped by a videogames story and characters before and from beginning to end I was desperate to see what would happen next yet dreading something bad happening to Ellie and Joel. The pacing was fantastic mixing up quiet and frantic moments and the occasional scare to get the pulse going. When the game finished I was both sad to see the story finish but satisfied that the story was complete – I hope Naughty Dog doesn’t cheapen the experience by revisiting Ellie and Joel. The DLC was also fantastic and I loved the parts without combat, really pulled on the heartstrings as throughout you know where thats going. It’s a beautiful game throughout being both technically solid and visually arresting with great art direction and the gameplay was, for me, just the right balance of stealth and combat.

As I say literally only a hairs breadth seperates those two games and on another day in a different mood I could easily swap them round. I think Forza Horizon 2 just pips it because of it’s sheer scale – I’ve driven a ridiculous number of miles and am still enjoying it as much as I did when I first started with it.

Special mentions also need to go to Alien: Isolation for the sheer level of terror it generates (I still haven’t completed it due to fear and dread!) and Elite: Dangerous for being mesmerising even while in beta.

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GiottoPress by Enrique Chavez