{"id":1337,"date":"2014-08-06T16:26:33","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T16:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/?p=1337"},"modified":"2015-01-19T14:06:04","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T14:06:04","slug":"the-best-games-of-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/08\/06\/the-best-games-of-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Games of 2014 (So Far): Which Have You Played?"},"content":{"rendered":"

2014 has been a good year for gaming. Not only have we got 2 brilliant new consoles to play with, but we\u2019ve had a whole host of brilliant games to play too. Here\u2019s our pick of the bunch.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t had a chance to play some of the games on this list, why not sell some games to make space and cash? If you trade in selected games, you could even win an Xbox One (check out this post for more details)<\/a>!<\/p>\n

South Park: The Stick of Truth<\/h4>\n

\"South<\/a><\/p>\n

Games based on TV and movies are generally pretty rubbish, but The Stick of Truth<\/i> (much like the show that inspired it) manages to break the mould.<\/p>\n

Combining the unmistakeable humour of the TV with a genuinely brilliant RPG, The Stick of Truth<\/i> sees you guide \u201d\u02dcThe New Kid\u2019 around South Park, with the help of a few familiar faces (including Stan, Kyle, Butters and Cartman).<\/p>\n

The result is a game that is pretty much like starring in your very own episode of South Park<\/i>. Fans of the show will love it, and even non-fans might be pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n

Watch Dogs<\/h4>\n

\"Watch<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019d be lying if we said we weren\u2019t expecting more from Watch Dogs<\/i>, but that doesn\u2019t take away from the fact that it\u2019s a brilliant, ambitious game worthy of anyone\u2019s time.<\/p>\n

Plus, we\u2019re not sure that there\u2019s been a cooler experience in gaming this year than foiling baddies by controlling a whole city through l33t hacking skillz.<\/p>\n

Wolfenstein: The New Order<\/h4>\n

\"Wolfenstein\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There we were, thinking Wolfenstein: The New Order<\/i> would be nothing more than a nostalgia trip, when it actually turned out to have one of the best stories in an FPS game since Bioshock <\/i>and action every bit as thrilling as Call of Duty<\/i>. Never judge a book (or a game, for that matter) by its cover.<\/p>\n

Titanfall<\/h4>\n

\"Titanfall\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Titanfall <\/i>hasn\u2019t quite hit the heights of Call of Duty<\/i> in terms of popularity, but it\u2019s still a highly enjoyable online FPS that provides a much-needed breath of fresh air from identikit military shooters. It reminded us a bit of Crysis<\/i> too, which is always a good thing.<\/p>\n

Dark Souls 2<\/h4>\n

\"Dark<\/a><\/p>\n

Dark Souls 2 <\/i>is slightly easier than its predecessor, which some might see as a bit of a cop-out.<\/p>\n

But the difference in difficulty is akin to having to fight David Haye instead of Vladimir Klitschko: you\u2019re still going to take a massive beating.<\/p>\n

Dark Souls 2 <\/i>might be more accessible but you\u2019ll still die more lots, and you\u2019ll still get that unbeatable sense of victory when you finally overcome the tough-as-nails bosses (we hate you, Lost Sinner).<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry if you haven\u2019t played the first game either, as there\u2019s no direct connection between the two games.<\/p>\n

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes<\/h4>\n

\"ground-zeroes\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ground Zeroes <\/i>is shorter than a champion jockey but packs more quality into its few hours than most games manage in 20 hours.<\/p>\n

The reinvented gameplay, gorgeous graphics and slightly confusing storyline (we wouldn\u2019t have it any other way with MGS)<\/i> have got us very excited indeed for next year\u2019s The Phantom Pain<\/i> (to which Ground Zeroes<\/i> is a prologue).<\/p>\n

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2<\/h4>\n

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2<\/i> sees Count Dracula desperately battling to stop the resurrection of Satan. Yes, you did read that correctly.<\/p>\n

To be honest, LOS2\u2019s <\/i>gameplay is fairly standard for the Castlevania<\/i> series, with lots of platforming and slashing. But come on: it\u2019s Dracula vs. Satan!<\/p>\n

Mario Kart 8<\/h4>\n

\"mario<\/a><\/p>\n

Whoever uttered the immortal phrase \u201d\u02dcif it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u2019 must have been talking about Mario Kart<\/i>. Despite having exactly the same formula for over 20 years (Double Dash<\/i> excepted), Mario Kart<\/i> remains as brilliant as ever and 8<\/i> is a more than worthy addition to the franchise.<\/p>\n

Child of Light<\/h4>\n

\"Child<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, it looks like it\u2019s a kid\u2019s game. Yes, it\u2019s about princesses. But it\u2019s also brilliant, so suck up your masculine pride and enjoy one of the best games of the year. You know it makes sense.<\/p>\n

The Walking Dead: Season 2<\/h4>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

The Walking Dead<\/i> is ubiquitous at the moment, spanning TV, comics, books and games. Surprisingly, despite the popularity of the TV series, the best version of The Walking Dead<\/i> is undoubtedly Telltales Games point-and-click adventure (not to be confused with the awful Survival Instinct)<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Season 2 continues the story of young girl Clementine as she desperately tries to survive the zombie apocalypse. Difficult decisions have to be made, some of which will make you genuinely feel quite sad. In fact, we\u2019d recommend having a hanky nearby at all times.<\/p>\n

Which of this year\u2019s games have you enjoyed most so far? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2014 has been a good year for gaming. Not only have we got 2 brilliant new consoles to play with, but we\u2019ve had a whole host of brilliant games to play too. Here\u2019s our pick of the bunch. If you haven\u2019t had a chance to play some of the games …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[593],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1337"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3373,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1337\/revisions\/3373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}