The Top 10 Games of Christmas 2014
Honorable Mention
The number is 10, and 10 is the number. No more, no less. Our list could only contain 10.
That said, there were two games that really need to be acknowledged - but for their past performance in terms of entertainment and the impressive manner in which they have been rebooted. Because these two games would have been on last year's list - not the list for this year!
The games we are talking about are Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition and Grand Theft Auto V Remastered - two very strong, and very entertaining titles indeed.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
ESRB Rating: M (for Mature)
Price: $59.99
Originally developed by United Front Games and Square Enix London, Sleeping Dogs was released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on 14 August 2012 as the next best thing in open-world gangstah action-adventure and shooter fusion.
When SD originally released it had its fans - but it also had its detractors - gamers who realized that any game in this particular genre that chose to release around the same time as the next GTA Title were basically asking to get a bloody nose! And they did.
That said though, the decision to not only re-release this title but to release it as a Definitive Edition was nothing short of brilliant, and not just because the package includes all the DLC expansion content for the game.
Launched on October 14, 2014 for Xbox One, PS4 and Windows PC (Steam), the Definitive Edition was created from the ground up as a revamped and retooled reboot. Its graphical world and details got a serious polishing, and along the way that process managed to hook into a vibe that the original somehow missed.
Put it this way - when the original game out on Xbox 360 and PS3 we did not like it. We cannot say it any fairer than that - but we also cannot explain why we did not like it. We just didn't.
But this rebooted Definitive Edition? Yeah, this we like! We still are not sure precisely what they changed or did different to make it a better game but they did something because hey, it's a better and much more entertaining play this time.
The story that Sleeping Dogs tells is inspired by the intentional fusion of classic Hong Kong / Hollywood style of gangland combat-style of police/detective story that the Asian film makers are really genuinely good at telling. And that legacy shines through nicely in the game and its Definitive Edition.
Its plot - and its anti-hero protagonist - tell a very gritty and homegrown story using an open-world map that is packed with a lot to do. In fact that may have originally been part of the problem with the first version gaining acceptance - because there was so much to do across so wide a spectrum of activity that it was difficult to maintain the forward-driving force that is the story.
There is still a lot to do - and the game still enjoys its signature fighting style - but its setting in the vibrant city of Hong Kong combined with the intelligent re-working of the story -- and perhaps of more significance, how that story is told through game play - makes all the difference in the world.
Sleeping Dogs: DE takes the player on a wild ride as the definitive undercover infiltrator-cop when they take on the role of Wei Shen, a cop who cut his teeth on the mean streets of San Francisco and its Asian Tongs communities.
After establishing solid cred with the HK Triads - and more important with an elder of the ruling council of the Triads - Wei Shen ends up accomplishing far more than he originally set out to make happen.
Of course in the process of obtaining what can only be described as a once-in-a-lifetime law enforcement coup, he also walks right up to and straddles the line between good and evil - and it really is uncertain whether Officer Wei Shen can find the path back to the good side - or that he even wants to?
That is as far as we are comfortable going without really crossing the line in terms of potential spoilers because, if you have not yet experienced this one, it would be a shame to ruin it for you. Especially as it is one of the most entertaining Asian-themed crime stories to come out in a very long time.
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is definitely worth gifting - and being gifted with this Christmas.
Grand Theft Auto V Remastered
ESRB Rating: M (for Mature)
Price: $59.99
Here is the two-ton elephant in the room: the game that at least partially caused the object failure of a number of other games in the open-world shooter/crime genres - including the other honorable mention above, Sleeping Dogs: DE!
When GTA 5 arrived on Xbox 360 and PS3 in September 2013 it was both a long time coming and worth the extended wait. It genuinely hit all of the high-water marks, and once again a GTA game set the stage for where to aim and just how high. Once again.
When it only released on the 360 and PS3 there was a lot of grumbling from the PC gamer community because - and let us be honest here, they had a point - they felt robbed.
For its part, Rockstar was not communicating either its plans, its thinking, or its reasoning, and that made the entire process of deciding on a position next to impossible to maintain.
When rumors began to circulate that, not only did they plan a PC edition, but that they would be directing a re-mastering of the game for the next generation of games consoles we frankly found that whole motion impossible to believe!
After all if you are going to go for the PC community the odds are as a publisher you are going to treat that side of the field with the same (or greater) reverence as you do the primary consoles (at the time) - and clearly Rockstar chose not to...
When the second part of the rumors turned out to be true - with a next gen console release date in November of 2014, it was widely accepted that the first part was probably also true. So the tentative release date for the PC version of January 27 2015 is pretty much an accepted fact.
Was this new remastered and revamped edition for the next gen consoles new? Well, yeah, it was.
Is it worthy of all of the fuss that has been made about it? Absolutely! We are making part of that fuss right here, right now, aren't we?!
Following the very well established traditions at Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V arrived as an open world, action-adventure video game with all of the earmarks of an awesome GTA-Class story.
Packed with brilliantly executed and acted characters that was more than equal to standing up to the quality in entertainment value demanded by the series and its legacy, GTA V delivered. In spades.
Developed by Rockstar North, published by Rockstar Games, the only shortcomings are its failure to appease the Gods of the Next Generation and PC of course. But hey, they've even managed most of that by now!
It is very difficult to believe that an active gamer today - particularly an active Console Gamer - has not yet experienced the GTA V adventure. But if they truly have not then GTA V is the ideal Christmas present for them.
The true beauty though is this: even IF the gamer has actually experienced the original GTA V release on the last gen hardware, there is so much new and exciting to be found in GTA V Remastered that it is STILL a worthy gift to both give and receive!
We cannot say it any fairer than that.
Conclusions
Our annual SuperCheats Top Ten Games of Christmas is created as a service to our community, offering our unique take on the current crop of video games with an eye towards making them our go-to gifting solution for this rapidly approaching holiday season.
Before we explain about how you can help to contribute to this process, there is something we really do need to cover, and that is game availability.
When we assembled this list it was not with the intention of drafting a Top Ten Games or Game of the Year list - we assure you that that list is very different than the one contained here. This one is just what we said it is: a guide to the games you can gift for the holiday season.
The selection of those games was based upon their entertainment value. The thing is, we are not the only ones who know about the entertainment value of these games. The consequences of that are pretty obvious and simple: these are the games that a lot of gamers - and grandparents, parents, siblings, and other human-type people who give gifts for the holidays will be gifting.
We are not the exclusive source for this wisdom - but we have chosen the best games to fit this criteria and we hope you will appreciate that...
In the process though, one of the last things that we did in the preparation of this list was to visit our local game stores, as well as big box stores, to check on prices and availability of the titles that made our list, and discovered something troubling: there are distribution issues for some of the games.
Specifically we found that obtaining certain titles was not as simple as it should be. Examples include the Pokemon games - while we were able to find copies of Pokemon Omega Ruby relatively easily, copies of Alpha Sapphire were a bit more difficult to find.
Most of the others were on the shelf, but two were not - and they were not at both of the stores we visited, which was a GameStop and a Walmart - the two being Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Assassin's Creed: Unity. Another disturbance in the force was found with Far Cry 4, the Xbox One slot for which was empty.
What we are saying here is simple: you may want to do your shopping early this year. It is not entirely clear whether retailers are simply carrying a smaller inventory or the market demand is the source but either way not getting the games we set out to gift would be a terrible thing.
How You Can Help!
We have no doubts that, while you are going to agree with a lot of our choices, there are some titles you are going to be wondering just how it is that they failed to make this list?!
To be blunt the answer is quite simple: our criteria was entertainment value and not all of the other usual factors. The important thing to remember here is that entertainment value is the most subjective of all of the choices we could have made.
We mention that so that we can say - with force - please do disagree with us!
Just please don't do the classic drive-by disagreement where you say “Your list sucked!” or “Where was Game X?!” and try to leave it at that.
No, if you are going to disagree with our choices - and we are inviting you to - we would really prefer it if you went on-the-record with your disagreement.
No, we are not saying you have to create an account and ID yourself - when we say OTR we mean tell us WHY you disagree and, at the bare minimum, present us with YOUR list of games that should have made our list!.
That's right, we are asking you to use the comments system at the bottom of the page and share your personal list of the Top 10 Games for Christmas 2014 - and why they are more entertaining than the ones we chose. The “why” bit is rather important. So please - please - please DO disagree!
Just do so in a constructive manner and share your thoughts and opinions with the SC Community.
That nicely wraps up our Annual SuperCheats Top 10 Games of Christmas Feature Piece. We hope that this has served to help you in deciding what to ask for in terms of gifts - and more important, what to give the gamers in your life this holiday season! Merry Christmas!
destiny as a top 10 game...?!?!?![i][/i]