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The Otaku’s Study Video Game of the Year 2014 – Award Winners

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gameoftheyear2014-nominees

As it is now New Year’s Eve and all minor awards have been given out, it is time for both major awards in the annual “The Otaku’s Study End of the Year Awards” event to be handed out. These two awards: “Australian Anime Release of the Year 2014” and “Video Game of the Year 2014”, cover the two main topics on The Otaku’s Study during this year.

With the Australian Anime Release of the Year 2014 awarded earlier today, it is time to wrap up this year with one final award: Video Game of the Year 2014. With a grand total of sixteen nominees, this was the most in-demand category this year. Over the last week I have gone through all sixteen of these games for a second time, and after much deliberation have come up with my top three; with a Gold, Silver and Bronze award set to be handed out.

As some of the nominees were major AAA titles and others were targeted towards more niche audiences, simply being the best game out there won’t suffice for an award. Instead, all three awards will be handed out based on how a game manages to stand out in its particular genre and/or contribute to it. Therefore, if a hypothetical RPG A is great but incredibly similar to RPG B and C, then it might not have enough to earn itself an award.

As always, let’s keep the anticipation up by going over the rules I set for this award:

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Requirements to be Eligible for Video Game of the Year 2014

 

  1. The game MUST have been published in 2014.
  2. The game MUST have been published in Australia, PAL Regions and/or North America. The Australian day of launch is dominant if the US or PAL release date falls in 2013 or before.
  3. This game must be a brand new title, and not a HD remake or port.
  4. Must have received at least an A- grade when reviewed OR received an A+ score in either Storyline and/or Gameplay review subcategories.
  5. The game must not have won any awards in previous years.
  6. Due to severe time restraints in the latter half of this year, there will be some titles listed that have yet to receive a full review on The Otaku’s Study. While the score may not have been published, I have assigned all playtested games a full score (As you would expect to see in any regular review). These titles, alongside others, will be receiving mini graded reviews in the next couple of weeks.

Rule #6 will likely be exclusive to 2014, as my time should be much freer in 2015. All other rules will likely carry over to 2015 and beyond.

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The winners of either Gold, Silver or Bronze awards in 2014 will be joining the below winners in The Otaku’s Study Hall of Fame from previous years:

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The Otaku’s Study Video Game of the Year Awards // Previous Winners

2010

  1. Alan Wake (Xbox360)

2011

  1. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten (PlayStation 3)
  2. Catherine (PlayStation 3 / Xbox360)
  3. Rayman Origins (Multi-platform)

2012

  1. Persona 4 Golden (PlayStation Vita)
  2. Assassin’s Creed III (Multi-platform)
  3. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (Nintendo DS)

2013

  1. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
  2. BEYOND: Two Souls
  3. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy

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SuperSmashBros

bronzetrophy Bronze Award: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS from Nintendo et al.

Nintendo have surprised me this year with a number of incredibly satisfying first-party releases, with none being more satisfying than the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U editions of Super Smash Bros. Both editions, released approximtely two months apart, bring new innovations to one of Nintendo’s most renown franchises.

While similar in many ways to earlier instalments, the Nintendo 3DS edition delivered portability to a franchise that has always required players to sit infront of and share a television monitor. Being able to go with your mates anywhere and enjoy the Smash Bros. experience anywhere you like is a major draw to this release. The Wii U edition on the other hand introduces a number of other features including amiibo support, eight-player fighting and numerous other new features that make an already competent fighting experience even better. Although, it would have been nice of Nintendo to stock enough Gamecube Controller adapters to meet demand.

These edition-exclusive perks were in addition to a number of new features across both games which seek to appeal to not only a casual market but also competitive play. Some of these features included ‘Ω form stages’ which converts any stage into a themed replication of Final Destination (Which is popular in competitive play), the ability to customize each character with equipment, new skills etc and many new items to name a few.

These features when combined with the usual level of Super Smash Bros. quality make Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS a worthy winner of Video Game of the Year (Bronze).

SunsetOverdrive

silvertrophy Silver Award: Sunset Overdrive from Microsoft Studios / Insomniac Games

For many years now, Insomniac Games have partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment to deliver a number of exclusive video game franchises which includes Ratchet & Clank and Resistance. For a change of pace, Insomniac decided to team up with Microsoft to deliver an open-world action adventure by the name of Sunset Overdrive exclusively on the Xbox One.

The resulting product was an incredibly entertaining experience that still provided in terms of both gameplay and plot. The storyline is structured yet incredibly quirky, the visually appeasing open world begs you to explore every corner of it and the gameplay is less complex but still offers plenty of challenge.

Both Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft entered the current generation of video game consoles almost simultaneously. Therefore with many multiplatform games on the market, they would be looking at not only working with pre-existing IP’s but also brand new ones to give them an edge over one another. Sunset Overdrive delivered a fantastic start to something which will hopefully become more than a standalone game, with Creative Director Marcus Smith stating in an interview that he always “looked at Sunset Overdrive as a franchise”.

danganronpa

goldtrophy Gold Award: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

With the exception of titles they localize and publish from their parent company Nippon Ichi Software, Spike Chunsoft’s Danganronpa series seems to have been one of the best acquisitions made by Nippon Ichi Software America in recent years. Following their release of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc in February which was met with a strong reception, NIS America pushed ahead with the sequel at a rapid pace, localizing and publishing Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair internationally in September 2014. It is the sequel that I have decided is The Otaku’s Study Video Game of the Year 2014.

The mystery genre has always been fairly popular in the video game industry, and Danganronpa has managed to deliver its own revolutionary way of having players figure out who’dunnit through its ‘Class Trial’ system. The characters being goaded on by a killer teddy bear and being faced with murders that don’t always fall into “Murder Mystery” cliches only enhanced the experience. Coupled with some solid visuals, an over-arching storyline which I won’t detail for spoiler reasons, a mood-inducing soundtrack  and an overall enticing concept; both Danganronpa games stand out. What made Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair just that little bit better was its longer and more complex class trials. For more information on both games, check out my reviews of them HERE and HERE.

Honestly, I am not questioning if NIS America will be acquiring the rights to Danganronpa: Another Episode, I am curious of WHEN they will be announcing it.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.
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