Monday, December 15, 2014

2014 "Of The Year" Awards Part II


2014 Worst Entry to a Franchise

Assassin's Creed: Unity

Assassin's Creed is my favorite franchise and it has completely gone off the rails with Unity. Telling a smaller in scope story than previous entries, it follows a young man (Arno) who is orphaned as child and taken in by a powerful man and his family during the French Revolution. Creating a literal interpretation of Romeo and Juliet that skirts the outside of the French Revolution rather than embedding in historical fact a la Assassin's Creed III, the narrative is thin but has some emotional connection. Broken in every, Unity continues to be buggy months after release and multiple patches. Unfortunately the common issues that have affected the franchise, ie jumping off a roof to your death and other mechanics are still present, diminishing the series further. Hopefully Ubisoft takes the horrible launch and fiscal ramifications of this game to heart and rethinks their current design by committee methodology.

2014 "Of The Year" Awards Part 1

2014's 2013 Game finished in 2014

XCOM: The Bureau/Enemy Within


 XCOM: The Bureau is slow slow burn but once the AI teammates have leveled up enough to stay alive it becomes a Mass Effect-esque romp through XCOM's past. If you can stave off the frustration of micromanaging the survival of your team The Bureau is a perfectly entertaining game.

XCOM: Enemy Within presents as a glorified expansion pack to Enemy Unknown but is so much more. Layering on new mechanics and new enemies over the original EU campaign improves on excellence and makes one wonder if this is the game they originally wanted to make.