2014 Games of the Year

With 2014 about to hit the rear view mirror at the end of today, we thought it was time to take a look back at the year in gaming and examine our favorite titles over the last twelve months. We have had a range of games on every console and of course with a team as diverse as ours, there are a lot of different opinions - but we had a few of the same ones as well. Usual suspects like Dark Souls II and Dragon Age: Inquisition meet less likely candidates such as Samurai Warriors 4 and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Here is our list of the top games of 2014.

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Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer - Xbox One Preview

You would be hard-pressed to find a gamer that is not at least familiar with the Halo franchise. A juggernaut in console FPS gaming, the Halo franchise started back in November of 2001 and changed the genre forever. Folks will argue that Goldeneye, for the Nintendo 64, was what really pioneered the genre on the home console and I would agree. But I would argue that while Goldeneye's multiplayer component was excellent, its single-player campaign felt lacking, empty even. When Bungie released Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox in 2001 there was a massive shift in console gaming. Bungie effectively proved that console FPS games could be beautiful, engaging, and carry a story.

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Halo 5: Guardians Pre-Order Details Released, Multiplayer Beta Has Begun

Halo 5: Guardians has already kicked off the multiplayer beta, but now some of the pre-order details have been shared out as well.

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Elite Dangerous - PC Review

In recent years we have seen an uptick in space-based games, from 4X titles like Endless Space and Civilizations: Beyond Earth, to space simulators like Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous, to titles like Kerbal Space Program and Space Engineers. Starting in the early 80's and flourishing through the 90's, video games based on/in/around space were numerous, providing players with all manner of entertainment and excitement. From the original Elite to games like Wing Commander, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, and Descent Freespace, up until the early 00's, any fan of high technology could find something that would sate their thirst and then it all sort of disappeared.

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Game of Thrones: Episode One - Iron From Ice - Xbox 360 Review

Game of Thrones (or, as the series is called, A Song of Ice and Fire) by George R.R. Martin has become something of a media juggernaut in recent years, going from a massively popular book series to an ever more popular HBO series. In this day an age, as popularity increases, it is a near guarantee that a video game will be released to capitalize on the success of the other media types; Game of Thrones has not escaped this fate. To fans of the series' dismay, a number of fairly abysmal games have been released under the property, to the point where the best game is not actually a game, but rather a total conversion mod for Crusader Kings II.

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Alphadia Genesis to arrive shortly - with screens and assets below

It is great seeing so many RPG titles and this one looks like a classically styled one exclusive to Steam - and arriving very shortly!

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Hell - PC Review

The concept that Hell overflows and demons rush forth to the realm of humanity, feasting upon the defenseless population is as old as time itself. Stories conjured up as warnings for bad behavior or early versions of entertainment have depicted the demons of Hell rising forth and laying waste to lands that were previously powerful yet corrupt communities only to be protected by selfless heroes that turn the tides of war back in their favor. Hell, a turn-based strategy skirmish game that is developed by Hunted Cow Studios and brought to us by Slitherine, tells the story of the demons of Hell ransacking a mystical world full of swords and sorcery and it is up to you to take command and turn the tides back on those demonic forces.

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Rollers of the Realm - PC Review

This game is more about taking chances than anything else. Not necessarily you the player, but the development team that decided to blend two very different gaming genres together into one title. Billed as an RPG/pinball hybrid, there are plenty of puzzle elements to be had here as well. Some of the ideas here work better than others, but Rollers of the Realm is a welcome change of pace during a gaming season that sees so many titles rehashing familiar territory.

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Merry Christmas - 2014

Whether you celebrate Christmas, observe some other holiday or simply go about your wintery business as usual, we here at Chalgyr's Game Room want to wish you all a safe upcoming weekend!

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Grand Theft Auto V - PS4 Review

Grand Theft Auto V can only be described as an overwhelming violent tour de force. Things blow up. People get killed. Accidents happen - and quite often the bad things that happen are more sinister than accidents. However, to simply describe the latest Grand Theft Auto as nothing more than rampant chaos would sell short what Rockstar has done here. They have created a living city in Los Santos that is a technical marvel in and of itself, and the power of the PlayStation 4 really makes the most of the updated visuals that give newcomers and experienced players alike a reason to come back (at least) one more time.

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NIS America has some great stuff coming in 2015

2014 was probably the best year for NIS America to date in my experience. They had a number of outstanding releases, from the usual suspects like Disgaea to surprises like Danganronpa. Already some of the release plans for 2015 and getting announced, and it looks promising for fans of the company.

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Flyhunter Origins - PS Vita Review

Welcome to Zak's life. He is a lovable enough, but incredibly clumsy one-eyed alien who dreams of being a Flyunter. Unfortunately as he acts out a scene, he accidentally jettisons the cargo he is escorting to a nearby planet where everything is larger than life - or at least larger than Zak. The entire premise reminded me of Oddworld (though considerably less dark) as it sets up Zak's adventure to reclaim his precious cargo.

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Final Fantasy XIII-2 - PC Review

Final Fantasy XIII-2 released some time ago, but the series is getting some new life now on the PC format. Promising enhanced resolution and framerate and the inclusion of most (not all) of the DLC from the console versions, Final Fantasy XIII-2 receives a second chance to be played by more people. Does it deserve that chance? I believe so - I was very keen on this title when it first came out and that has not changed in getting to play this title again for the first time in over two years.

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Dying Light's Intro Reveals the Origin of the Harran Crisis

There has been a lot of good Dying Light content coming out lately, so let's take a look at the two most recent items.

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Dragon Age: Inquisition - PS4 Review

Interestingly my game of the year landed just before the end of the year. Talk about going out on a high note. There have been a number of really good RPG games over the last couple of years, but Dragon Age: Inquisition with its massive world, interesting story that grows better over time and plentiful choices that feel impactful make this a game that is easy to lose hundreds of hours in. I realized that about seventy hours in I had only done about half of what Dragon Age: Inquisition had to offer - and I was already wondering how events might play out differently if I had been using a different character who made vastly different choices.

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Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - Xbox 360 Review

I first picked up Chivalry a couple of years ago when it released on the PC. I enjoyed it well enough despite some flaws and always felt like this was a title that would perform well on a console. Certainly using a controller felt more natural than a mouse and keyboard and the title was never such a visual powerhouse that it needed state-of-the-art technology to succeed. The good news is, the game I enjoyed on the PC has been faithfully ported over to the Xbox 360. I just wish a bit more time had gone into improving upon the formula from over two years ago, because not doing so feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

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Sean Bean bringing his voice talents to the upcoming game Kholat

Having enjoyed a good deal of Sean Bean's work over the years, I am rather pleased by this announcement. This, on top of what we have already seen about the upcoming game, looks incredibly promising.

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Blackguards 2 - PC Preview

I enjoyed the first Blackguards game, which proved to be fairly deep RPG/strategy hybrid that used the rule set from The Dark Eye tabletop RPG series. In the first game, there was a ton to learn - the curve was a steep one due to the (at least to me) fairly unfamiliar gaming system behind it. Blackguards 2 looks as though it is going to account for that, with a streamline (perhaps too streamline) character advancement system while returning a very similar visual style mixed with the same kind of turn-based strategic combat as its predecessor.

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Bayonetta 2 - Wii U Review

For those who say Nintendo is only interested in being a family-friendly console, I present Bayonetta 2. The first game took a lot of people by surprise (myself included) with its mix of over-the-top action, religious references and a lead character who is quite sexualized. For those who missed the first game? Relax, it is part of the package here (and also updated for the Wii U), but the real treat is in the sequel which offers a more refined experience this time around.

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Bloodbowl 2 coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC next year

I really wanted to like the original Bloodbowl game, initially picturing it as something of a modern day Mutant League Football. It just never really clicked with me, but that does not mean I cannot be excited for Bloodbowl 2, which I find myself hoping can fix some of the earlier issues and deliver a good game.

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Xbox One Review

Sledgehammer Games had the unenviable task of trying to 'do something different' with a series that is often derided for its lack of originality. FPS is my genre. I have spent more times playing shooters than probably all others combined. I got hooked back during Modern Warfare 2 and was loyal to the genre and the Call of Duty series ever sense. However, my sense of loyalty has waned over the last few years. Modern Warfare 3 was alright, but not my favorite. Black Ops II failed to tickle my interest in the same way the first Black Ops did. Then came Ghosts, which I got to play on the PlayStation 4. I figured the new console would make everything better.

It didn't.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare had been reduced to line noise over the last year. Then I had a chance to play it and realized that there were still legs left in this series, and Sledgehammer Games managed to do what I thought was impossible: make me love Call of Duty again.

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Tales from the Borderlands: Episode One - Zero Sum - Xbox 360 Review

You got a cel shaded action game into my adventure game engine! You got your episodic story game into my gear driven shooter! Delicious. Tales from the Borderlands takes the two great tastes of Telltale’s renowned adventure game style and Gearbox’s Borderlands franchise and crafts a completely new experience. With Telltale really hitting their groove and releasing a number of 5-part games over various properties and Borderlands coming off of the latest Pre-Sequel release in the franchise, both parts of the equation are big right now. But is Episode One of Tales from the Borderlands an odd arranged marriage to capitalize on the hot trends, or a worthy evolution of the adventure game genre and a success in its own right?

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Zoink Games announces Zombie Vikings for PS4 and Steam

Zoink Games, the creators behind Stick It to The Man! have announced they are working on a new title for next summer.

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Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions - Xbox One Review

Twin stick shooters have been around forever, so coming up with new ways to iterate on the genre can be a challenge. Often they wrap around some sort of leaderboard where you fight through endless waves of enemies and try to score better than your buddies. Others have a sort of story or progression (Smash TV springs to mind) that you are trying to work through. No matter the theme wrapped around it, the basic game is still the same: move with one stick, shoot with the other and stave off hoards of enemies that are trying to kill you. After that, it becomes largely about execution, and on that front Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions does an excellent job.

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Diablo II - Retro Reflections

When it first came out Diablo 2 was a slight disappointment. The graphics were mediocre, lacking in detail, variety and colors. Moreover, the save system was not practical: if you saved you had to exit the game and when you returned all enemies has respawned, even bosses. Despite these flaws, the more you played the more you discovered the game’s depth. I set as a life goal to finish it with the amazon (I had completed the first Diablo with the amazon too, who was called rogue then) and after many years I did it.

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Thomas Was Alone - Xbox One Review

At first glance, Thomas Was Alone does not impress due to its minimalistic presentation, but clever level design and puzzles complimented by witty writing help to offset the lesser visuals and occasionally frustrating controls to create a memorable experience.

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An early look at the recently announced Banner Saga 2

Banner Saga was one of the best surprises in gaming recently, so it is with a great deal of pleasure I get to share out the press release, trailer and some early assets for the forthcoming sequel.

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Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered - PC Review

While the Lone Wolf series might not be familiar to everyone, these were among my first roleplaying experiences as a kid more than twenty years ago. Given that I am a fan of RPGs and visual novels, the blending of the two genres into a video game made perfect sense to me. This PC port began as a mobile game, but with an emphasis on storytelling, the transition is actually a very smooth one. Lone Wolf offers about a dozen hours of gameplay as this HD remaster pulls together all of the mobile stories into a single game that crafts a fairly unique experience.

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Project Nimbus - PC Preview

Project Nimbus is a game after my own heart; take giant mechas called "BattleFrames", giant floating cities, the ability to target multiple bad guys at once, and then let slip the dogs of war. First, I am a massive mecha fan and I grew up on Robotech / Macross, Mobile Suit Gundam, Transformers, and any other giant robotic machines (man, I miss ExoSquad...). GameCrafter Team is an independent game studio based out of Thailand that is currently Project Nimbus and they have worked on previous titles like HyperSonic 4 and Smash Cat. While they are admittedly a young team, developing for the local market since 2008 and the global market since 2012, their dedication to providing a fast, action-packed, and most importantly fun, game is in full effect with Project Nimbus.

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Several bits of Saints Row: Gat out of Hell info

Saints Row is one of those ridiculous, over-the-top titles that you either love or hate. We have a few guys on the team who fall into that 'love' category and they have been pumped about any and all new information that has come out for the upcoming title.

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Dungeon Defenders II - PC Preview

The first Dungeon Defenders was a game that caught me by surprise when it released. It reminded me of the Orcs Must Die! games with a spectacular blend of strategy and action. It was fresh and exciting and I spent more hours playing it than I even care to admit. Which made the Dungeon Defenders Eternity release last year so disappointing for a lot of gamers, including one of our reviewers. The good news is, the early returns on Dungeon Defenders II are quite positive, which is currently in Early Access.

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Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - 3DS Review

Most of the time when multiple game genres are mixed into a melding pot or alchemic cauldron to synthesize something new I'm rather wary. When Atlus announced that it would be performing a fusion of the cast of Personas 3 and 4 into an Etrian Odyssey dungeon crawling game style I was curious to say the least. My biggest worry was that I was afraid that the stellar casts would be lost to the more mechanics based game type. Having yet to play Millennium Girl (as it continues to stare me down from across the room on the shelf dedicated to my DS library) I wasn't quite sure what to expect when adding a Persona like story to the Dungeon Crawl. Knowing Atlus I should have known better, as there was nothing to worry about.

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A new trailer for Elite Dangerous

As we creep closer and closer to the full release of Elite Dangerous, I thought it only fitting to show off the recent trailer and talk a bit about the pres release that came with it.

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PDP Afterglow Karga Xbox One Headset - Hardware Review

With all of the excellent headsets that PDP designs for home consoles, I was eagerly anticipating the release of an Xbox One headset. When I caught wind of the Karga I was overjoyed at the prospect and needed to get my hands on one as soon as possible. In truth, I think about a bazillion other Xbox One gamers felt the same since it took some time to get a hold of, given it is one of the most affordable Xbox One headsets from a brand that has been putting out high-quality console peripherals for years now. When I came in to the shiny new package, I was absolutely pumped, stoked, excited, and could barely wait to get into the box to pull the headset out and plugged in and ready to go (if you could not tell, I was a bit excited for the headset).

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Soul Saga - PC Preview

Soul Saga is a title that I came to find was important to me. It firstly has the honor of being the reason that I created a Kickstarter account to back it, and secondly of the backed projects it is the first that I've had the pleasure of being able to see something from.

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Freespace Tactics tabletop game announced on Kickstarter

We have been covering a handful of tabletop games lately around here, and this Kickstarter has a rather interesting pedigree behind it.

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Robowars - PC Review

Robots? Mechs? Do we really need anything more than that? Maybe coffee, but aside from that not really. Robowars is a recent release in the Tower Defense spectrum of gaming that takes the Plants vs Zombies approach at lane defense with lots more explosions and much less plant munching.

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Far Cry 4 - PS4 Review

Far Cry 4 qualifies as a sequel, despite the fact it draws so much inspiration directly from the last game in the series. An open world with a ton of quests? Over-the-top psychotic villain? A leveling system to compliment first-person action and stealth? A trio of 'checks' there. Far Cry 3 was a great game and it definitely serves as an outstanding building block. It would have been nice to see Far Cry 4 take a few more chances along the way, but the end product delivers.

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More screens and the opening video for Hyperdevotion Noire

The closer we come to seeing this game come out, the more excited I am for the mix of strategy and RPG elements. Here are some fresh assets for the upcoming title.

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Sony PlayStation TV - Hardware Review

I'll be honest that I was rather jealous when the Vita TV was being released in Japan with no plans for the rest of the globe. Considering that the cable that allowed the PSP video output wasn't part of the Vita's design, to finally be able to play Vita games on the TV was going to be awesome. But it is a portable system. Why hook it up to the TV? Because even my portable gaming is mostly done at home, and there's more of an enjoyment to sit back than hunch over for that many hours. Fast forward a year and it was released to the rest of the globe! Just under a different name.

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Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Xbox 360 Review

I enjoyed Persona 4 Golden when I had a chance to play it on the Vita, and that was my entry point into the world of Persona. I know Nick has played several other games in the series, dating back to the PlayStation original years ago, but for me this was the entry point. I have to admit that when Persona 4 Arena came out, I was highly skeptical of taking a popular RPG franchise and trying to make it into a fighting game. Needless to say, I was convinced in short order that the strange combination would be a hit. Apparently it was popular enough, because Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has since come out, and it is even better than the last offering.

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Decay - The Mare announced by Daedalic Entertainment

Usually when I think of Daedalic Entertainment, my mind wanders to brightly colored visuals and adventure games. While Decay - The Mare certainly is an adventure title, this horror-themed game feels like a far  cry from what we usually see out of the team.

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Fritz Chess 14: Deep Fritz 14 DLC - PC Review

Fritz Chess 14 is a title I have spent a great deal of time with over the last several months. I had a chance to review it when it first came out, and I found it to be a game that offered an incredibly deep, intelligent collection of chess strategies that serves not only as a challenge, but as a teacher.

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Assassin's Creed Unity - Xbox One Review

Assassin's Creed: Unity is Ubisoft's first foray into next generation-only territory with the Assassin's Creed franchise and while it has been met with plenty of criticism, their push into next-gen territory is not a wholly unpleasant experience. Following the steps of Arno during the French Revolution, you will take on your old nemesis the Knights Templar through a memory-diving device called Animus created by Abstergo Industries. As you go "back in time," you will be tasked with preventing (or accomplishing) the bad guys from doing bad things, which is pretty typical. For those new to the series, which would be no small feat, you will be free-running through a densely populated Versailles and Paris, brushing up against dozens upon dozens of people as you work to chase down targets or escape the ever-present and extremely vigilant guardsmen. Putting aside the initials troubles that Unity had which were largely addressed by a nearly-1GB patch.

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A release date and compatability announcement for Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2

Well, this title has been one we have followed for some time. And wouldn't you know it? It is going to release right around the corner from now.

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Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Wii U Review

The Wii U got off to a rough start when it released, with a good number of people passing it over in favor of waiting for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases. A strange thing has happened since the release of Mario Kart 8 earlier this year, however. The Wii U seems to have found its stride. While both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has had some exclusives, the Wii U has managed to differentiate itself from those two consoles because of games like Super Smash Bros., which cannot be found on other platforms. Super Smash Bros. offers a robust roster, tons of features and modes and plenty of reason to pick it up and battle it out online or with friends and family in the living room.

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2014 Holiday Gaming Must-Haves - Gaming Thoughts

Over the last few months I have been wanting to put together a holiday have-to-have guide for gamers that would cover various items and games that we have covered (or, maybe we had been interested in). This is more of a list of things that I, as a gamer, would want to see in every gamer's hands or on their desks. It is less of a "Best of 2014" article and more of a "you should certainly pick this up this holiday season" article. While some of the things here may come up in a top ten list or something of the like, there is no rhyme or reason to this article other than my personal thoughts on some of this years best, or underrated, games, peripherals, or consoles. Without further ado, here are my list of things that gamers all over should look into picking up. I will apologize up front for the sheer number of links that I will be assaulting your eyeballs with, but if you know what is good for you, you will visit (and try) each and every one of them.

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New character screens for Hyperdevotion Noire

I am so looking forward to this strategy/RPG hybrid (plus Noire is my favorite Hyper character). We have some more screens and information about the upcoming game!

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Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed - PS4 Review

Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed feels like it tries to take a few chances - I just wish they had taken even more. The idea that you are stripping enemies so they can be exposed to sunlight (think of them as scientifically engineered vampires) and thereby destroyed is certainly going to be off-putting for some people (though in fairness this combat tactic is used on men and women alike). Most of the characters fall neatly into clichéd stereotypes (though some are more charming than others). There is a real effort to make the city feel like a digitized version of Akihabara, with plenty of neon signs, shop and busy streets. Akiba's trip does lots of things decently, but few of them amazingly well in the end.

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Distant Star: Revenant Fleet - PC Preview

I first caught wind of Distant Star: Revenant Fleet back in September when some teasing images were released along with a basic synopsis of what the development studio, Blazing Griffin, was trying to do with it. Given that it is a space-based game, I immediately wanted to get my hands on it, on account of my (un)healthy obsession with all things space and see if it could turn around my intense and well-founded dislike of all things rogue-like. My recent review of Dungeon of the Endless, a well-made game, explained that there was just too much going on and that the way that the game felt overall, simply turned me off of the genre. Lo-and-behold a small development studio is looking to change my opinion of the genre by placing a rogue-like in the one environment that I cannot get enough of: space.

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