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2014 game that most lived up to the hype

GHG

GHG

Gold Member
Forza Horizon 2 is the only one for me really.

If Driveclub had released it's current state then that would have as well.

I've enjoyed mostly the under hyped games this year and remasters don't count.
 
G

Griss

Member
Mario Kart 8 - I was worried I'd overhyped myself but the game delivered better than I ever imagined.

GTA V (PS4) - Game is blowing my mind right now. Can't believe I was able to wait a year for this amazing experience, and that I have somehow avoided being spoiled about anything.
 
H

Hibiki Kurosawa

Member
Personally? Quite a good number of them, but instead of saying them all, I'm just going to mention my 3 GOTYs because they all lived up to my expectations and gave me the best experiences of the year (so far because backlog). The three games are Persona Q, D4, and Tales of Hearts R. Three phenomenal games!
 
M

majik13

Member
MK8 and Smash U for me.

Most other games I was looking forward to either got delayed or bombed out the gate. I still enjoy playing Destiny though.
 
J

Joey Ravn

Banned
Mario Kart 8
Bayonetta 2
Pokémon ORAS
Dragon Age: Inquisition

Massive year for Nintendo. They put everyone else to shame, as far as I'm concerned.
 
A

Askherserenity

Member
random25 said:
Just too many choices, but you can't go wrong either way with these:

Shovel Knight
Bayonetta 2
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS
Mario Kart 8

Now, I don't know how much hype it got, but they pretty much met my expectations, and they were high to begin with:

Bravely Default
Persona Q
Click to expand...

This.
 
C

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
Trigonometrize. said:
Danganronpa 2
Click to expand...

Yup. I had no idea how it could top the first, even though I heard it was better. My most anticipated game after playing 1 and it blew away all of my expectations. (I just wish more people could get to experience this awesome franchise!)
 
S

Scott32020

Member
Madden 15 - Madden 25 was disappointing with poor graphics, par for the course presentation/gameplay for PS4. I was not expecting much different this year, but the graphics were much better and the gameplay seemed smoother as well (I did know part of this from reviews, but the improvements weren't as marginal as I expected). Probably the most I have played a sports game in awhile (played NBA2K14 last year about...half as much?)

Rise of Nations: Extended Edition - While the initial game was great, the graphical improvements and online experience were better than expected in this re-release (well - much better than the life support after the GameSpy servers went down). I was expecting a rushed port with not much support, but they fixed some of the initial online connectivity problems in patches, as well as making other features work better than before (scenarios, workshop for mods, etc.) Great game.
 
R

REMEMBER CITADEL

Banned
Forza Horizon 2 was everything I expected it to be, a worthy sequel to one of the best racing games I've ever played. It delivered 100%.

Meanwhile, both D4 and Sunset Overdrive shattered my expectations, they're amazing new IPs, and I'm anxious for more.
 
n0razi

n0razi

Member
forza horizon 2
last of us remastered
bayonetta 2
ssb 3ds
danganronpa 2
elite dangerous beta

my picks
 
J

Jabba

Banned
I was excited for Dragon Age: Inquisition and Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Both delivered for myself.
 
Solidsoul

Solidsoul

Banned
Below are the games I had a level of hype for and how they were met:

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

My favorite universe is the Middle-Earth universe, my favorite films are Peter Jackson's LOTR and Hobbit films. Unsurprisingly, I was hyped to the high heavens for this game. I probably had not been this excited for a game since Halo 3.

As you can imagine, with so much hype behind an unproven franchise by a developer who I'd never played a game from, i was bound to be disappointed, and I was. Part of me blames myself, the other part blames the developer. All in all it was a great game, and definitely the best Middle-Earth game to date but I expected much more from what i feel is the prime interesting aspect in the Tolkien-verse and that is story.

Fantastic gameplay, awesome art style and graphics, good sound and overall great production values soured by a really weak story. But I have to be fair and say my hype was unreasonable and that Shadow of Mordor was actually a great game. Here's hoping for a better story in the sequel!
Click to expand...

Hype = Underwhelmed, but greatly my own doing.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

I could never get into the series, so in the final months leading up to Inquisition I played through the first two games and their DLC's to prepare myself. I ultimately found enjoyment in both titles but never felt that "attachment" i get from certain franchises, I was hoping Inquisition would create that for me.

So far I am over halfway through the game, and while i respect the engine, graphics, characters, story, sound, controls and combat I am still unable to find that attachment. This game by far has the best combat of the 3, but it's not as enjoyable as other games combat and I think that limits my love for the series, not to mention many of the quests are the worst kind of quests. (MMO-esque)
Click to expand...

Hype = I'd say the game is above expectations, but overall I'm still not attached.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

As soon as i saw this game I had a hunch it would be good, but I thought it would just be good, boy was I wrong. Everything about this game soared over my expectations. The characters, story, level design, gameplay and style were everything I wanted in a Wolfenstein. It's now become a franchise i look forward to future installments for. Machine Games did a fantastic job.
Click to expand...

Hype = Far surpassed.

Alien: Isolation

The biggest surprise of the year by far for me. I was expecting a slightly above average Alien-skinned Outlast or Amnesia but what i got was the exact Alien game I have always wanted plus more. The game was a non-stop thrill from beginning to end and I didn't want to put the controller down. I don't read to much into reviews but I think IGN's 5.9 is just wrong, I don't see how anyone could arrive at the score fairly. This should have been mentioned at The Game Awards.
Click to expand...

Hype = Far surpassed, biggest surprise of the year.
 
J

.J.

Banned
I've not had the chance to play Bayo2 or Dragon Age yet, but threads like this make me want them as soon as humanly possible.

For me, I'd say that Shadows of Mordor exceeded my expectations in ways that I couldn't have imagined. So far, the same goes for Far Cry 4.

Tropical Freeze was great, but I expected as much.
 
B

Beboh13

Banned
Forza Horizon 2 - I never played the first Horizon game on 360 and I bought FH2 purely based on hype. It turned out to be my favorite racing game of all time.

Ryse- Everyone expected it to be bad and the reviews were mediocre, but it turned out to be a solid 8/10 game with the best visuals so far this generation.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
I'm pretty hyped for Wolfenstein, still need to play it (I actually bought it for PC, but legitimately can't run it lol).

Bayonetta 2 fully lived up to the hype I had for it. Aside from the final chapter not being as crazy, I have just about no qualms with it.

Didn't know they did a relaunch of Rise of Nations...
 
T

TheOhrenberger.

Banned
I was insanely hyped for Hearthstone when it was in beta last year and since if fully released this year it has lived up to every expectation I set. Also Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros Wii U lived up to my expectations.
 
D

DownGrader

Member
Mario Kart 8 and Hyrule Warriors - and, surprisingly even for me, their DLCs. The best games and pieces of content to be sunk into for months.

Scott32020 said:
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
Click to expand...

Whoa, when did I miss it? Rise of Nations, alongside with Blitzkrieg, is my favourite RTS ever! Oh gosh, with Wolfenstein: The New Order, Civ: Beyond Earth and now this game I really need to go back to PC gaming.
 
G

GamerJM

Banned
There wasn't a ton of hype for them, but I personally was pretty hyped for the DanganRonpa games and they met/exceeded my expectations, so that.

Smash fell short of my expectations by a slight amount, but it was still incredible and my GotY.

Destiny was good from what I played but then I got distracted by more captivating games and never returned to it, so I've only played a couple hours. And everyone says that it's apparently really obviously repetitive and grindy and lacking in substance once you dive into it so I'll wager that it didn't meet my expectations at all, though I still want to get back to it eventually.

Those were the only games I really "hyped" though I played a lot more games. I was also kinda hyped for Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney which was a massive disappointment, and Guilty Gear Xrd which I have yet to play still.
 
G

Gonzo The Great

Banned
Anth0ny said:
Bayo 2 and Donkey Kong for me.

Smash U didn't, but I don't think a Smash game will ever reach expectations for me again. Evil Within was disappointing, too.

Those were the only games I really hyped up this year.
Click to expand...
I agree with this post. I was slightly disappointed by Mario Kart 8 at first, but the DLC redeemed it.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
The two games I was excited about were terrible: Destiny and Halo MCC. But there's been tons of games I wasn't particularly excited about before hand that I bought and loved. Mostly Wii U stuff. DKC:TF and MK8 especially. I'm also the type of person who doesn't get really hyped for games pre-release, though. Only Zelda and Halo get me super pumped.
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
10 hours into Far Cry 4 and it's exactly what I expected.

TLOU: R was a real treat and blew away what I expected from the port.

Only 1/3 through Alien Isolation but it also completely lived up to my expectations.

Mannn do I have to choose 1 game? :(
 
B

Bjoern the Smexy

Member
Mario Kart 8, Smash U and Bayonetta 2 all lived up to the hype they produced for me.

Also Alien Isolation lived up to and surpassed any kind of hype I could've had for it prior to playing it. My god, this is such an awesome game. It's close to being my GOTY 2014. But well, Smash happened. And Mario Kart. And Bayo2. And Dark Souls 2. And Binding of Isaac Rebirth. And DKC TF.

2014 was an awesome gaming year for me.
 
T

T.O.P

Banned
Exceeded my hype

-Forza Horizon 2
-Sunset Overdrive
-Dragon Age Inquisition

Lived to the hype

-Smash U
-Bayonetta 2
-Driveclub

Way below my expectations

-Infamous SS
-The Evil Within
-Destiny
 
S

spekkeh

Banned
Mario Kart 8.

There was some hype because it's Mario Kart, but that's an eight behind it. It's a mix of Super Mario Kart and F-Zero GX; both excellent but ancient. But holy shit did they knock it out of the park. It's not only the best Mario Kart, but by that metric also one of the best games ever.
 
I

IdreamofHIME

Member
Shadow of Mordor

A great LOTR game has been a long time coming. I always get too excited for them and then feel so let down when theyre just middle of the road like War in the North.

But Monolith met all my expectations and delivered my GOTY.
 
R

RulkezX

Member
Dragon Age Inquisition is the only game this year that fits the bill for me.

Notable mention to the Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
 
M

Mr_Antimatter

Member
Bayonetta 2: pretty much everything we hoped for.

Hyrule Warriors: I'm not normally a DW fan, but holy hell this makes me want a wii u.

Oddworld new and tasty: Bugs aside, the game looked and played better then I expected.

Binding of Isaac Rebirth: Stand out classic, nothing else to say. They nailed pretty much everything I could have asked for.

Dragon Age: Well damn. I had no hope for this after DA2, but so far, it's greatly exceeded my expectations. Already looking forward to my second playthough. and I still have about another 15-20 hours to go!

Diablo I UEE: I bought vanilla on pc, and hated it. But this? This killed any free time I had for months. It was hella good, probably my favorite coop game all year.

Tex Murphy: Cheesy, and gloriously old school.

Wasteland 2: A game that kicks you in the teeth and has you coming back for more.
 
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