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Metareview: GOTY Edition
Over the weekend the Joystiq hive mind concluded its annual hive dance and deemed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor the top dawg of 2014. Monolith's action-RPG may have hacked and slashed its way to the top of our list, but a glance at The Rest of the Internet makes one thing clear: When it comes to 2014's GOTY awards, there isn't One Game to rule them all. With that in mind, we've taken the Metareview format we use to collate other outlets' reviews and given it a GOTY paint job. As ever, it's just a sampling of all the publications out there and plenty of places have yet to dole out their awards. Nonetheless, here's a wee look at the best games of 2014 according to everyone else.
Metareview: Far Cry 4
The Far Cry series has gotten progressively more entertaining over time. Unlike Ubisoft's overextended Assassin's Creed army, its Far Cry team has had time to craft something that is beautiful and fun to play. Our review said it was "another interesting and absorbing world to fall into, shoot through, burn and then guide to new beginnings." Critical reception to the game has been positive overall.
Metareview: Assassin's Creed: Unity
As Assassin's Creed: Unity leapt down to PC, Xbox One and PS4 today, it was met with a mixed critical response. Our review of the game got hung up on plot issues and buildings, the latter in a very literal sense, with a middling score that plunged through the floor much like our hero Arno did during our time with the game. "Assassin's Creed Unity is the best and worst of Assassin's Creed," Weekend Editor Sam Prell discussed in his take on the game. "It's hard not to appreciate everything that it gets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where Unity falls tragically short." For a sampling of the varied opinions from other reviewers, head past the break.
Metareview: Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Halo again! That's either a greeting or a statement of fact, your choice. Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes four revamped Halo games in a bundle of nostalgia for Halo fans, while offering a handy jumping-in point for players new to the series. We gave The Master Chief Collection a near-perfect review, noting that a facelift can't save Halo 2's poor level design, and the new matchmaking system is fairly abysmal at the moment. However, we found the new cut scenes and gameplay upgrades to be extremely satisfying (it's still Halo, after all), and our review concludes with, "For newcomers looking to see what all the fuss is about, Halo is as vibrant now as it was a decade ago, and The Master Chief Collection is essential." Much of the online critic community seems to agree with our assessment; head below to see scores from across the web.
Metareview: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Yeah, we know. "Nobody expects the Dragon Age: Inquisition" and all that. News Content Director Alexander Sliwinski gave the game five stars, explaining that Dragon Age: Inquisition is "BioWare's reaffirmation of what it's capable of delivering," and that players in it "aren't just exploring a new world, but helping shape it at various levels of society. Inquisition sets the bar for what a blockbuster RPG should be." Other critics around the web were largely impressed by Dragon Age: Inquisition as well. Head past the break for a glimpse at other reviews. BioWare's latest will arrive on Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC next Tuesday, November 18. A six-hour trial of the game will reach Xbox One's EA Access service on Thursday.
Metareview: Call of Duty - Advanced Warfare
I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. As it turns out, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare isn't advanced enough to feature pre-frag life-flashing, but at least you get to respawn and run and bounce around its futuristic world, over and over and over. It stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... According to our four-star review, Sledgehammer's Call of Duty is an American beauty. As EIC Ludwig Kietzmann put it, "Despite the familiarity, it's been years since a Call of Duty campaign was as coherent and fast-paced as this one. Within the confines of its franchise, which has yet to make much room for a mature look at the subject matter, Advanced Warfare works with aplomb and, at the very least, plays its Big Dumb Movie card wisely. If you're running out of bad guys, borrow some from Hollywood." But what about the rest of the review universe - the reviewniverse if you will - was Advanced Warfare advanced enough for them, or did it just get lost in Spacey? Head below the break for a sampling of the early reviews.
Metareview: Sunset Overdrive
Maybe you noticed, but we really liked spending time with Sunset Overdrive. Our five-star review of Insomniac's outlandish action game based in the apocalyptic Sunset City praised its variety in elements like mission structure and weaponry. Thanks to gear like the "rapid-fire weapon that launches vinyl albums" or "handheld helicopters with pistols dangling from strings," we found Sunset Overdrive to be "an MC Escher painting of comic book violence, with physics taking a back seat to personality and fun." Don't only take our word for it, though. Head past the break for a glance at other critical looks at the "complete and purposeful" game.
Metareview: Civilization: Beyond Earth
Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski gave 2K's interstellar strategy game Civilization: Beyond Earth four stars in his review, alternately praising it as "a good game in the context of the Civilization franchise" while also framing it as "a cut-rate disappointment" compared to its inspiration, Alpha Centauri. While some feel that it comes up short compared to its predecessors, Civilization: Beyond Earth still has a lot to offer for fans of the strategy genre. Here's a small sampling of what critics are saying.
Metareview: The Evil Within
Reviews for The Evil Within are flowing like a slit throat, with scores splattered all over the walls. Our review of the survival horror/action game faulted it as a frustrating experience that "ignored its own rules." Others were similarly disappointed, but plenty of folks seem to be content with getting something new within the genre to play.
Metareview: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
We recognized Borderland: The Pre-Sequel for what it is in our review: "It's to shoot a bunch of weird, wacky enemies in the face and to shovel as much loot into our packs as we can carry." Are you looking for more Borderlands? In that bizarre style you couldn't get enough of after going through all that content available in Borderlands 2? You've come to the right place, my friend. Handsome Jack has an adventure for you!
Metareview: Bayonetta 2
Our five-star review - yup, all five stars - said Bayonetta 2 is a bit of a triumph, with Earnest "Nex" Cavalli deeming Platinum's hack-and-slash sequel one of the best games to come to Wii U. And remember, it's only on Wii U. "Bayonetta 2 is the perfect action game," wrote Nex. "It oozes style and boasts gameplay that's both refined and lacking in excess. The combat is so purely entertaining that it's easy to lose yourself in the almost-zen flow of dodging, countering and kicking enemies to death. Bayonetta 2 rewards a player's drive to look as cool as possible in combat with gameplay designed for exactly that – and with the acrobatic violence of a winking heroine who is as legitimately endearing as she is completely ludicrous." Nex wasn't the only one bewitched by Bayonetta 2's charms. As ever with Metareview, we've taken a sample of the other reviews out there, and you can peruse some choice quotes with links to the full articles below the break.
Metareview: NBA 2K15
Another year, another entry in what may be the most consistent series in sports video games. NBA 2K15 follows a critically-beloved predecessor that we described as "gorgeous," before adding that "the on-court action is every bit as engaging and hospitable as it's always been, and the visuals are more impressive than ever." Can the franchise once again live up to its already lofty standards? If history is any indicator, the answer is probably a resounding "yes," but let's find out what the critics think anyway.
Metareview: Alien: Isolation
The good news is Alien: Isolation is far from being the disaster that was Aliens: Colonial Marines. Isolation delivers plenty of what franchise and survival series fans would hope for, with the consistent criticism brought up across reviews that it just. Keeps. Going. Our 4-star review was right on the critical average mark, with our Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) saying, "Instead of completing the game, it feels more like I've escaped it and the nightmare it put me through."
Metareview: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
We handed Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS four and half stars, calling it "the most feature-complete, compelling Super Smash Bros. entry to date," and setting it right alongside Fire Emblem: Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds as a game that every 3DS owner should play. Critics around the web seem to agree that Super Smash Bros.' first outing on 3DS is worthy of high praise, though experiences with online play seem to vary across the board. Our own experience was fairly positive, depending largely on the geographical proximity of opponents. One critic notes lag issues in local multiplayer, especially in 4-player matches. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS launches in North America on October 3.
Metareview: Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor
Our five-star review of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor reassured players that an appreciation for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe isn't necessary to enjoy the deep action game. "What would have otherwise been a competent sandbox game with solid combat mechanics and an interesting twist on a known fantasy world is elevated by the Nemesis System," which greatly personalizes your experience. The game's unique systems means our Nemesis in Shadow of Mordor differed from that of other critics, yet reviews around the web are mostly positive about the game. Head past the break to get a better sense of the collective opinion on the game, which launches next Tuesday, September 30 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were delayed to November 18 earlier this month.
Metareview: Destiny
Our review of Destiny said we're in it to "slay monsters, level up and collect loot." It's an interplanetary dungeon crawler. Go into the experience with that expectation, along with some friends, you'll do just fine. But, overall, Destiny reviews have skewed toward the lower end of the acceptable game spectrum. The game has been dinged for a lack of content, a lack of story and a lack of refinement. Destiny seems to suffer from "The Lack," which is actually a perfectly acceptable name for a new Destiny villain race.
Metareview: Murdered: Soul Suspect
Murdered: Soul Suspect is proof of the old adage, "you can't keep a good cop down, even when you put roughly half a dozen slugs in his chest, because that dude will turn into a ghost that smokes ghost cigarettes." We ... may have embellished that a little bit. While flawed in execution, our review found the game to be enjoyable nonetheless, with a compelling yarn to pull players along and an interesting fiction built into the town of Salem. There's more eyewitnesses ready to testify about this phantasmal tale, however, so let's see what they have to say.
Metareview: Watch Dogs
The first installment of a new Ubisoft franchise just wouldn't be the same if it didn't create critical disagreement. Reviews for Watch Dogs were formed with all the gestational efforts and subsequent knee-jerk commenter fervor that we haven't seen since the original Assassin's Creed. Our review basically equated the Watch Dogs experience with that of being a wizard in modern times. Let's see what others downloaded from the experience ...
Metareview: Transistor
Red has red hair The Transistor is blue We decree 3.5 stars Go read our review Yes, Transistor is now out for PC and PS4, and that means it's time to see what everyone thinks. While we found that Supergiant Games' futuristic, not-quite-cyberpunk adventure "makes a great first impression," it "doesn't strike all of its intended chords" by the end. We're not the only ones attending Red's computerized concerto however, so head past the jump to see what others thought.
Metareview: Wolfenstein: The New Order
Video game villains don't get much more classic than the occult-loving Nazis of the Wolfenstein series - they've been goose-stepping and zeig heil-ing for more than 30 years. Unfortunately, the gameplay of the latest game in the series, Wolfenstein: The New Order, is anything but classic. From our three-star review: "It's almost as if there's a tug of war going between the big dumb shooter and the attempt to be subversive, with the result being a game that's not really slick enough to be an action classic, and not dramatic enough to draw you in." We're not the only ones sending the Nazis packing, though. March on past the break to see what other soldiers thought of Wolfenstein.
