Feature: Andi's 2014 List

2014 has been a massive year, not just for gaming but for us all here at Otaku Gamers Uk, we have a healthy amount of traffic coming onto the site, a fully committed and brilliant team, our own domain and slowly building up relationships with publishers to bring you best content we can.

We have so much more to do in 2015 and I personally cannot wait to see how much the site will change in the new year!. Enough about that though here is my highlights for 2014!.

GAME OF THE YEAR - BAYONETTA 2 

Bayonetta 2, what can I say about this game that isn't already out there?, nothing much but I can tell you why it's my personal GOTY. For me Bayonetta 2 embodies everything I expect from a sequel, more of a good thing with added extras, Bayonetta 2 did this and then some, though not a massive graphical upgrade Platinum took everything from 1 and took out the stuff people didn't like and added more of the good stuff. 

Alot more 1 on 1 fights, goofy and cheesy story but with added feel factor, fantastic musical score & mind blowing set pieces! Bayonetta 2 for me is the definitive action game for any console not just the WiiU. The only let down for me was the weak last boss in comparison to the first but all in all this game stands head and shoulders above anything else released this year and rightly so! Here's to ya Cereza!. 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS! 

PERSONA Q/SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI IV 

Little bit of a cheat with this one but let me explain, anyone in Europe or familiar with SMT IV should know the huge delay on this title, Europe got the game over a year later than everyone else and as such I debated about excluding it from this list due to it technically being a 2013 game.
As it stands it's still such a good title & one I am still really enjoying that I have to give it a little nod anyways to all our European readers incase they are still on the fence, it's that good ladies and gents, my review can be read HERE.

Persona Q fortunately for this list did actually release this year and is the finest pure RPG experience released for the 3DS this year. Despite being a strange pairing of Persona & Etrian Odyssey everything about the title worked and you can see just how much was put into it. The title scratched an itch for me especially after finishing SMT IV and was well worth the wait and then some, once again you can find my review HERE if you want a little more convincing,

GUILTY GEAR XRD -SIGN-

Guilty Gear Xrd reminded me that I like fighting games, yeah that was a statement you can quote me on. Despite having a Garou tattoo on my left arm and spending alot of my earlier SNES to PS2 years battling on various SNK & Capcom fighters I'd hit a bit of a lull with the genre.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE Street Fighter IV or at least until Arcade Edition where I felt it was getting a little too much, Marvel Vs Capcom 3 for me was a let down and as good as Mortal Kombat & Injustice were I just couldn't dig them, same with the latest KoF. 

Blazblue appeared and I felt a little glimmer yet I could never really connect or bother with either the story or characters, same with Persona Arena which I only ever play at a very casual level.

Guilty Gear Xrd makes me want to train, to fight online and to spend countless hours perfecting a playstyle, from it's gripping VN/Anime story mode to it's in depth mission mode Guilty Gear for me is a brilliant reminder of the genre.

Stunning visuals, rocking soundtrack, fast action and a fantastic roster, Guilty Gear is one of those titles that will either grip you or you'll ignore it, for me it gripped me in a big way and I can't wait to spend more time with it in 2015.

Look in the future for JD's fantastic review and story write up to see just how good this game is! it doesn't get 2 nominations for one of the best games of year for nothing!

FAR CRY 4 

Another year & another UbiSoft title in my top mentions!. Far Cry 4 for me though it technically wasn't a "Next Gen" game, gave me to closest to a "Next Gen" experience as I felt I can for now. The lush scenery and the freedom were just the first indicators of what was in store, 20 hours later and I was fully satisfied by the story, the characters and the total random chaos that Far Cry 4 would deliver me.

I'm a fan of the old school style of shooters ala Doom, Duke, Shadow Warrior, Serious Sam you get the idea so for me to get totally addicted to this game really took me back a bit, it's was a genuine joy from start to finish, offered me some tense moments and some out right whacked out moments in Shangri-La & other missions I won't get into. For a game I wasn't that interested in it became my sleeper hit and deserved a mention here. 

Well those were my choices for the year, there were so many other great games that it took nearly all of December to think of it (Kingdom Hearts 2.5 coming out mid Dec really didn't help!). The outlook for 2015 looks amazing, personally speaking I cannot wait to finally get my hands on Yakuza 5 as visitors to this site will know, Persona 5 will be released and further that saga alongside hopefully Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem.
I could list off all my awaited titles but I shall stop there, it's been a fantastic year with for games & Otaku Gamers UK, I'm proud to be writing this article again one year on and would like to thank Geoff for having me here & you readers for keeping me at it and helping us run this site, without you there is no us!.