Top 14 Games of 2014!

14. Gauntlet: 

Gauntlet is a remake of the original for the PC. This game got a lot of negative reviews because there wasn't enough to the game. I personally really enjoyed this version of the game. It's difficult, fast paced, great co-op, and very rewarding in the end. 

13. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is on this list because I have always loved TCG games. I am a huge Warcraft fan, mix that with cards and we have a winner. Tons of cards, free to play, ranked mode, free in game rewards, and excellent strategy is what got me hooked on this game.

12. Smite.

Smite is also on this top 14 list because out of all of the MOBAS (next to Heroes of the Storm, it's still in alpha) Smite is the only one I enjoy playing. You play as gods in a third person view which makes the game a lot more interesting in the long run. Tons of great gods, costumes, game modes, etc.... and this makes for an excellent MOBA. Oh...and it is also free to play. It was recently announced for the Xbox One.

11. Hyrule Warriors.

Hyrule Warriors takes place in the style of the Dynasty Warriors series but set in the Zelda universe. Hyrule Warriors in on my top 14 list because it is loaded with content and fun. The story is abysmal, graphics and frame rate are fantastic, co-op is fun, story mode is fun but what made the game was the Adventure Mode. Tons to do, if you're a Zelda fan or Dynasty Warriors fan this is the game for you.

10. Bravely Default.

Bravely Default is a step back to how Final Fantasy used to be. There is so much to do and explore in this game. Tons of different jobs to choose and master from as well as a decent story. The music is to heaven to your ears and the visuals are beautiful on the 3DS! Fan of classic RPG's? Get this.

9. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Captain Toad is a character from the game Super Mario 3D World. He was given his own game due to his popularity in the game. Captain Toad takes place before the events in Super Mario 3D World and is a fun 3D puzzle platforming game. Highly recommended and very fun to play. Has a Nintendo charm that keeps making you smile.

8. Mario Kart 8.

Mario Kart is also on this list! I have been a huge fan of the Mario Kart series ever since the original one. Mario Kart 8 upped that ante again! Anti-gravity mechanics, beautiful graphics, great soundtrack and competitive online play. Mario Kart 8 also offers very well priced DLC where you can even race as Link!

7. Chariot.

Chariot is a platformer with an interesting mechanic. You need to pull, push and grapple and Chariot along the way collection as much treasure as possible and going through each level. Each time you beat a level you get to unlock additional modes for that same level adding more gameplay. Chariot is one of the most fun co-op games I have played in a long time. Give it a try!

6. Shovel Knight.

Shovel Knight is a game that a lot of people have been excited for. It is a 2D platformer set in the NES era. The gameplay is phenomenal and don't even get me started with the music. Fun, fast, and addictive gameplay. Mixes Mega Man, Castlevania and Mario all into one beautiful game.

5. Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. is another obvious pick for this list. A fan of the series since the beginning and now they have improved it once again in so many ways. Obviously the Wii U version is superior in graphics and smoothness but the 3DS version is still fun as ever. Great addition tot the smash family.

4. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire.

Pokemon ORAS is a remake of the original Ruby and Sapphire version of the game on the Gameboy Advance. My personal favorite in the series. This version offers a somewhat new story, new mega evolution's, Hoenn Remade in HD, and tons of new features. Another fantastic entry in the series.

3. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor is another entry in the Lord of the Rings series. You play as Talion who is seeking revenge after seeing his family and himself slaughtered by Sauron's army. Shadow of Mordor has a familiar feeling to it. It is like Assassins Creed but a much better improvement of it. The nemesis system is an amazing system in the game as well as the huge open world you can explore.

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best in the series so far. Takes a lot of great things from the first game and improves it drastically. The game is huge, beautiful and has a great story. Very addicting and easily can consume 100+ hours into this diverse world. Dragon Age is highly recommended even if you are just a fan of RPG's.

1. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

Yes, my number one goes to the flawless World of Warcraft expansion. The big reason is because Blizzard has outdone themselves with this one. This expansion alone brought back 3 million players. The telling of the lore has been greatly improved, the garrisons is one of the best features ever added to this game, the new raid Highmaul is a blast, and it brings back a lot from The Burning Crusade. This is a must buy. This is Cody's Reviews #1 game of 2014.

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Super Smash Bros. 3DS

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Fighting

Release Date: October 3rd, 2014

Date Reviewed: October 17th, 2014

       The latest Super Smash Bros for the 3DS is the 4th entry in the series and a very popular and high demand video game. This version brings another huge roster as well as plenty of new characters to the game. The 3DS version brings a bunch of new modes which really extends the life of the game as we wait for the Wii U version. You have your classic mode where you fight random characters. This version you get to choose which patch you want to go. For example if you choose the red path the entire time it will be harder. Blue is easy and green is normal difficulty. The higher the difficulty the more coins and rewards you will get. Some of these rewards offer coins, new customizable moves, costumes, and trophies. The next mode is All Star mode which has been in the previous games. In order to experience the entire All Star mode you will need to have unlocked every single character. This mode takes you through the years of Nintendo characters like in the previous ones. Multi-man melee makes a return as well but instead of wire frame enemies you face a bunch of Mii characters. Home Run mode is back where you see how far you can hit the sand bag with the home run bat for each character. A new mode added is target blast. In this mode you have 10 seconds to launch a bomb from the platform and blow up as much targets as possible. Sort of like angry birds. You also have trophy rush mode where you are able to get a ton of coins and trophies. You also have a challenge mode. This really isn't a mode it's more like an achievement system where you complete certain challenges and unlock new stages, trophies, costumes and skills. Then you have your typical online mode where you can fight for glory or for fun. For glory is just a battle mode where every map is a final destination mode and no items are allowed. For fun is all default maps and all items are allowed and enabled. The last mode I want to cover is Smash Run. Now Smash Run would be a lot better if it was allowed to be played online but do not think will work well due to the lag. You start smash run in a huge dungeon where you complete objective and kill as much enemies as you can to power up your stats. At the end of the run you fight with 3 others and see who comes out on top. You can be climbing to the top the fastest, have a basic smash battle, or even race to see who wins and who uses their stats wisely.

Tortimer Island!

       Super Smash Bros. also has a fantastic soundtrack with a lot of returning tracks as well as brand new ones. A lot of the new ones are remixes like Dr. Wiley's Castle which is just great. The entire game runs at 60FPS with some pretty nice visuals which is very impressive for the Nintendo 3DS. However the animations for each of the assist trophies are at 30FPS which is completely fine. The Nintendo 3DS can only handle so much. Since the 3DS is much smaller than a TV each character as a dark border around them to see them much easier which can also be customized to make it thicker or thinner. Another cool feature is you can use your Mii characters as fighters and completely customize their abilities, stats and their costumes. There are three different types of fighting styles that the Mii's can use. They vary from swordfighter, fist fighter and gun fighter. You can even unlock badges and equipment to improve your Mii's stats so if you want to stack speed or power you can. Only thing is you cannot use these stats or customization options when you are fighting other players online. On top of that you are able use different skills for current characters which again you can use online against other players but is a great addition to the game to try the different abilities and combos.

Little Mac makes and Appearance.

       Overall in Super Smash Bros. 3DS there are a ton of features that will keep you occupied for hours on end. Tons of modes, options, unlockables, customization and decent online multiplayer. Super Smash Bros. is a must own game for all Nintendo fans and current fans of the series. This makes me even more excited to purchase the Wii U version which is set to release on November 21, 2014. The Wii U version will offer even mor modes and options apart from the 3DS, will have the same characters, different levels, and much higher visual quality. Great work Nintendo.

Fantastic Game!
9/10

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Pokemon X/Y

Console: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: RPG

Release Date: October 12th, 2013

Date Reviewed: November 10th, 2013

Gameplay:

Finally! A 3D styled Pokemon game. We have been waiting for this for a very long time. Pokemon X and Y and the newest instalment in the Pokemon series. The route they went with is a fantastic one! 3D Pokemon! Something everyone has wanted. The gameplay for X and Y is the exact same as the previous titles. Where you collect 8 badges and challenge the elite 4. Like with every other Pokemon game you also have a rival, and an antagonist. In X and Y it is Team Flare. These guys are basically trying to destroy all of Kalos to get rid of all the selfish people in the world, and yes it would effect the Pokemon as well. Basically there is this machine hiding underground in one of the towns. This machine was built 1000 years ago by a man. He originally used this machine to revive his lost Pokemon Floette who died during the war 1000 years ago. Once the man succeeded he was filled up with rage of what happened. So he turned this machine into a death machine essentially and wiped out a big chunk of the Kalos region in order to stop and war and get revenge. This resulted in killing innocent Pokemon. Floette was very sad at what she had saw and left the man. To this day he has no idea where she is and is very sad. I will not go into any more detail without spoiling it. 

The new Pokemon Starters.

X and Y has the same model that we still love to this date. The Kalos region has 68 brand new Pokemon for you to catch. As soon as you enter the world of Pokemon you notice a huge difference. Everything is in glorious 3D! You start out by picking one of the three Pokemon starters to adventure with you. There are three new starters and they are Froakie, Fennekin, and Chespin. When you pick your Pokemon your adventure begins. I love the transition between the badges. You don`t fight the first gym leader until your Pokemon are in their 20's. In this new 3D world there is a lot more areas to explore. Each battle is unique because the Pokemon now have animations as they are in 3D. The moves all also animated making it feel much more interactive. There are also a ton of Pokemon to catch right from the start. You can catch Pokemon from all previous generations. What I love most about this game is the exploration. Since the world map is a lot bigger than previous Pokemon games there are a lot more areas to explore. Probably one of the biggest features that I like the most is EXP Share. EXP share is now a key item. When you turn it on, the Pokemon that you are using will get the full amount of experience (not half) and all of your Pokemon in your party will get half of that experience. So levelling if much easier and quicker. 

Pokemon Y Legendary

X and Y offers a ton of new features such as a way to interact with your Pokemon one on one. You need to use this if you want to evolve Eevee into Sylveon. If you use this on your Pokemon it will increase their happiness, and other stats. If they are maxed out that Pokemon will get bonuses such as more exp per battle, chance to get rid off status's like poison and sleep on it's own. Another cool feature is new new Wi-Fi features. When you are at home and say have a lot of friend on your 3DS using the friend code system. You can turn on the Wi-Fi within the game and immediately begin interacting with all of your friends. You can give a shout out, edit your personal profile so they can all see, view their videos, battle, trade, and even voice chat with them. On top of that you will see passerby's. This means when someone in the world is in the exact same location you are, you are able to see them and trade, battle, or interact with them. The other spot is for you acquaintances. You get these people on your list if you trade or battle someone randomly in the world or use the wonder trade system. The Wonder trade system is fantastic. You put up a random Pokemon and it will randomly find someone in the world to trade with. Now you both do not know what Pokemon you each put up for trade. So you don't ever know what you will get. They did the same thing with the battle spot option. Battle a random person around the world. 

Another cool option to use is the trainer. You can train your Pokemon by playing games with them. There is a different game for each stat. If you successfully complete these games your Pokemon will get a small stat increase as well as an item. You can even win stones. This is basically an easy way of EV training. With X and Y you can finally customise your personal trainer. You can give them hats, accessories, facial hair, and new clothing. Each clothing store has it's own unique items that you can buy to customise your trainer. It has a lot of different options. With all of the new things added you will be easily putting 100 hours into this game if not more. A brand new feature added to X and Y are Mega Evolutions. There are 26 Pokemon that can use this new feature. In order to use it you much have their mega stone. These are activated during battles and only last for the duration of each battle. Each mega evolution has it's own unique look and gets a nice stat increase to help turn the battle around. 

Some of the Mega Evolutions!

They are adding a new feature which comes out on December 27th, 2013. It is called Pokemon Box. It is a paid service but only costs $5 per year. What it does is stores your Pokemon onto a server so you never lose them. With this you can transfer pokemon from Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heartgold, Soulsilver, Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 into this storage system. This will allow you to then transfer them into your X and Y versions of the game. They also included this because X and Y have a limited amount of storage space in game for your Pokemon. There is roughly 13 boxes, so if you want to catch them all you might want to buy this service. Overall there is so much to do and explore in the Kalos region. You can even ride Pokemon like Gogoat or Rhyhorn! You also get a pair of roller bladed which automatically activates when you use your joystiq. Lots to do and is to much to do that I can't fit it all in my review.

Graphics:

As I said earlier X and Y are now in glorious 3D. It runs very smoothly with no frame issues. As soon as you leave your house into the Kalos region it plays a little cut scene which is perfectly done because it gives you the sense of the 3D. All of the battles are in 3D. All Pokemon are 3D animated and every move has it's own unique animation as well. Every time you walk into a new area it is different. You can see the lush and colourful environments and even see the grass blowing with the wind. The fly and surf animations look incredible as well. There are a lot of cut scenes in the game as well. They are all very well done and look incredible to watch. Even using the 3D option on the 3DS makes the game pop out. I can't say much more without you experiencing it for yourself. 

Pokemon in 3D!

Sound:

The soundtrack is great in X and Y. The Pokemon centres have new music. The soundtrack for this game is great and you can tell a lot of time was put into it. The battle sounds are great when you use a move and the Pokemon cries are all awesome. My personal favourite is when you battle a Pikachu. Pikachu will do it's cry from the show "Pika!". One of my favourites has always been the battle music when you are fighting legendaries, or the final person in the Elite 4. Again, they are pure awesome. 

Conclusion:

X and Y are here. These games are fantastic. There is so much to do, so much to experience. So much nostalgia. Any fan of Pokemon or RPG games in general will love this game. It is a must buy. Go experience this great new world of Pokemon. Go catch those legendaries. Gotta catch em' all!

Overall Score:

9.5/10

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Pokemon Black and White 2 (DSi)

Console: Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS

Genre:  Adventure RPG

Release Date: October 7, 2012

Reviewed: November 1, 2012

Gameplay:

Pokemon Black and White 2 is basically the same as all previous pokemon games for the handheld systems. You collect your 8 badges, fight the elite four, the end. But with Black and White 2 they have added so much more to that concept.

Yes, the point of the game is still the same as it always has been but with BW2 they make it so much more dynamic. The game overall will take you over 30 hours to beat if you do not rush the game and explore the new and improved Unova region. The story in BW2 is very well done. It makes you feel so involved with what is going on in the game and has some really epic and memorable moments. 

So you start in Aspertia City which is a new city added to the game. There are a bunch of new locations added to the Unova region. For the first time in Pokemon history you start in a big city not a town. You still get the same starters from the original BW games but you don't get it from Professor Juniper in this game. BW2 takes place two years after the events of BW. As mentioned the Unova region changes significantly. New locations are accessible in the southwest and northwest of the region. There are a few locations that are not accessible anymore such as the challenger's cave. There are new gyms and new gym leaders. The Unova pokedex is expanded to include Pokemon foreign to the region. The player is able to choose to play as the boy Nate, or the girl Rosa, as they travel across the region against their rival, Hugh. There are several changes to the game which makes it feel like a new adventure, not just a sequel to BW. You start off with new characters, the HP and EXP bar for pokemon has been redesigned and looks much better. New location have been added to the game such as Aspertia City, Virbank City, Floccesy Town, Lentimas Town, and Humilau City. Some of the new characters include Hugh, Colress, Roxie, Marlon and Benga. Older characters like Cheren, Bianca, Elesa, Ghetsis and Iris all receive redesigns. All Unova gyms have redesigns. There have been several changes made to existing locations, such as Driftveil City and Nimbasa City. Every trainer has their own fully animated sprite. They are much smoother. Several attacks have received new battle animations. The C-Gear has been redesigned. The Unova Pokedex has been expanded tremendously to accommodate older Pokemon. All returning gym leaders and champions receive new sprites. Route 4 has changed and also differs between BW2. Victory Road has been changed as well. The Cold Storage is now gone and has been replaced with the Pokemon Tournament. These are just some of the new features and changes to the game.

Unova has been expanded!

One of my most favorite features with the new pokedex is the habitat list. What that does is if your on route 4 for example and you are wondering what pokemon you can get from that area, just simply turn on your habitat mode for route 4 and it will show you all of the pokemom on the route. I found this feature extremely handy. A lot of pokemon are now catchable in BW2. One example of this would be Eevee. You are now able to catch them in the wild grass, and as much as you want! BW2 seems like a very polished game compared to BW. They expanded the world tremendously, they made the story more interactive and interesting. The new gym leaders are all extremely fun and all of the gyms are redesigned with new puzzles to get to the gym leaders. Another great feature that was added to BW2 was Join Avenue. Basically it's a little place that you can recruit NPC's to open their own shops to buy rare items. Now when you first get an NPC to join with their shops they start out at rank 1 and sell not so useful stuff. When you recommend and NPC to one of the stores it will gain popularity and when it does your shops will be upgraded once you hit the popularity target. When that happens they will start to sell better and more rare items for you. Overall I was extremely impressed with BW2 and yes it is a direct sequel to the originals. I feel that they are completetly new games and a whole new experience. Worth every penny.

So much more to explore.

Graphics:

The graphics in BW2 have also been improved. One of the biggest improvement to it are the sprite animations for the pokemon, trainers, gym leaders and moves. All have received a graphical update as well as more frames so that the animations are much smoother looking. Each trainer now has their very own sprite animation as well as all of the pokemon in the game. The game runs a lot smoother than BW ever did. The battles are extremely smooth and run quickly. The movement in the environment is smoother as well. The environment received an upgrade as well. When you are battling a pokemon the grass around the pokemon also moves with the air during the battle. A lot of the pokemon moves have also received an overhaul. The pokemon moves has also received an update. The moves all look smoother and better. Overall I was extremely impressed with the overall quality of the game.

Great moment.

Audio:

I have always enjoyed the audio in all of the pokemon games especially in BW2. Most of the Black and White music has been slightly remixed, in addition to the Gym Leader and Champion music from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. The remixes are very well done. My favorite music within BW2 is when you fight one of the three legendaries reaming around. All of the audio in BW2 has also received a slight upgrade in quality. Overall same great audio that we have all loved with some new ones!

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed BW2. IGN gave it a 9.6. A pokemon game hasn't hit that high in score for awhile now. You can tell Gamefreak put a lot more time and effort into the sequel and it's paid off. The new storyline will keep you interested and wanting to learn more about it. The expanded pokedex is great giving you the ability to find older pokemon as soon as you begin your adventures. The habitat list is a fantastic addition and hope to see it in future pokemon games as well. The animations have vastly improved as well as the moves. Unova is much bigger and has a lot to explore. The play time is over 30 hours if not rushed. When you beat the elite 4 for the first time there is so much more to do in the game. I recommend pokemon fans, and RPG fans to go pick up this game. You will not be dissapointed I promise.

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Pokemon Black/White Review!

Yes it is finally here! The review I said I was working on and never posted it!

Gameplay: 
So the gameplay pretty much plays the same as in all of the other pokemon games. What I love about these versions is they updated the graphics and added nice little 3D effects within the game. I will explain that more in the Graphics part. Anyway you get to choose from 3 starters like in all of the other pokemon games. The 3 starters are all new pokemon you have your fire, water and grass types. You may choose from Snivy (Grass), Oshawat (Water), and Tepig (Fire). Each pokemon are as good as you want them to be, also depends which type you like the best, for me it was Tepig then secondly Oshawat who I am not a big fan of personally. You go on a quest to get all 8 badges in this region then go on to face off the elite 4. These versions have new villians than the previous games. These villians are known as Team Plasma and are much more evil than the other teams. I am not going to explain what their roll is because it has a nice twist at the end, especially after you fight the elite four the first time. The game provides a nice challenge for newbies and there are tons more and new pokemon to catch. The gameplay is pretty long which is great. If you play and don't try and rush through it (even if you do) you are looking at at least 30 hours or more of gameplay. Plus there is a lot more to do when you complete the game. What I also enjoy about this version is your not just rushing to get the 8 badges and thats it. The story is so much more in this version. After almost every badge you have to do little side quests along your journey. Which allows you to explore the new areas a lot more. In Black and White they also introduced a new environmental feature. They added seasons to the game which means at the beginning of every month the season changes to winter, fall, summer, or spring. Each of these season offer new pokemon in certain areas. Winter can grant you access to secret areas to explore and grab awesome items. In Twist mountain when it is Winter the mountain is covered and snow and you can walk up snow hills and get to areas you cannot get to in other seasons. In this version they added two brand new battle styles. Rotation battles allow you to have 3 pokemon in battle at once. The only difference is that you only fight with one and you choose wether to rotate them or not to your other pokemon. This is a great battle mode if you are a strategic person. The other mode is Triple battle. Which is well, you guessed it, 3 vs 3. Overall they are nicely added except the triple battles can kind of get crowded and last a long time. Overall Black and White are one of the best in the series.

Rating: 9/10

Graphics:
Gamefreak has finally given the pokemon series and well needed graphical update. The environments are more colorful and a lot more detailed. They even made use of the DS and added 3D enviornments. Not a lot but it is still a nice touch. What I mean by 3D is when you are walking up the loooooooooooooong bridge (they love bridges apparently) you can see the camera rotate with you as your walking up the bridge and when your on the overpass you can see vehicles drive underneath you. There are other 3D areas but you can see them for yourselves. Don't want to ruin the exploration aspect of the game. The pokemon now are constantly moving during battle which is pretty neat. The moves used by pokemon also received an update as in they are more colorful and look nice. The only graphical issue I can really think of is when you use certain moves the camera zooms into your pokemon and it gets very pixelated. But other than that it is a nice update.

Rating: 8.5/10

Audio:

Audio is the same as always. The only difference is the new pokemon cries and the new music in the background. All of the audio does sound crisp and clear and the music in the game is nice and suits the game very much. The elite four music is awesome as always and when you fight the champion or Ghetsis the music is good to. My favorite music during the game would be when you find a rare and legendary pokemon, it gets you pumped up to catch them. The epic music also suits with how huge and fierceful the legendaries look.

Rating: 8.5/10

Conclusion:
If you are a pokemon fan or even a generic RPG fan, you will love this game. For all of you collecters out there (including myself), there is a ton of new pokemon and legendaries to catch and collect. The story is basically the same but is one of the better stories. Team Plasma are much more evil than the other teams and the gameplay is nice and long, over 30 hours! There is even tons to do after you beat the game like White Forest and Black City. Obviously White Forest is for the White version and Black City is for the Black version. Each offering new opportunites to discover and catch the older generation of pokemon. They also added a lot more wireless options such as visiting a friends world and helping them out, catching new pokemon in dream world (off of the website) and tons more. I promise you will all not be dissapointed.

Overall Rating: 9/10