Top ten games I completed in 2014 (Pt 1)

It's that time of year again when normally I count down the top ten games that I completed in the previous year. Last year however due to time constraints and electronic issues I only managed to complete eleven and all of them were on the DS. It's just enough to compile the list but sadly it won't be as varied or as strong a line-up as previous years.

So here are my top ten (DS) games that I completed in 2014.

10.Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)

Ah Wario, how I loved Wario World on the GameCube. For your DS outing though I just couldn't muster the same enthusiasm which was a shame as Master of Disguise isn't a terrible game, it's not even a bad game, it's just not a fun game.

As it is with Wario the plot involves trying to become rich but it involves entering a TV to find a talking cane who helps you track down parts of a wish stone that other people are looking for. It's all a little bizarre to be honest and by the end not something that you are really taking much notice of as you are too busy just trying to finish the game.

The graphics are good and the music is OK if a little annoying in places. The game play though is a mixed bag which is a shame as the concept is good with Wario being able to use different costumes to solve puzzles and to find secrets but the actual puzzles and game play is just too repetitive and at times annoying. Master of Disguise had potential but just falls short of being a good game.


9. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS)

If I remember correctly Lego Star Wars is the first game to appear on the top ten lists that I have previously completed as for the past couple of years I've only tried to play games that I hadn't played before. It's one that I try and play every Christmas as that was when I first played it and also because it's a fun game like the rest of the Lego games.

After all this time and all of these Lego releases is there that much that I can say about the game. It's fun (so fun that I can bare to play through the Phantom Menace levels) and ridiculous, it makes you smile and sometimes even laugh and the graphics and game play are solid. It gives you a lot of characters to use and a lot of secrets to find as well as providing mini games to play if you want a really quick blast on the game.

Overall I still find LSW to be an enjoyable game and one that I like to play over and over again.

8. 42 All-time Classics (DS)

I'm not going to lie, if I had completed more games throughout the year there would be a good chance that this would not be on the list never mind at number eight. Truth be told though I do like these kind of games on the DS as they make for nice short games that you can have a play on between the lengthier games that are available for the system.

42 All-time Classics features, wait for it, 42 games of various types such as card games, board games and 'action' games. The action games being things like bowling and darts. It is a little bit of a cheat calling it 42 All-time Classics as the majority of them are just card games, which don't get me wrong I like card games but not all of them could be considered as classics. It may have something to do with the rights or the like but it would have been nice to see more of a selection outside of the card games.

For a few quid 42 All-time Classics is worth picking up as it does pass the time and with the stamp mode where you have to get certain wins to progress it can feel like an actual game rather than just a cartridge full of mini-games. Just a shame that there are so many card games on it.


7. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (DS)

A little sneak peek of the rest of the list, all three of the original Sonic trilogy games appear with number three being the lowest rated. Before I completed them all last year I had never completed any of them despite owning all three on the Mega Drive. I'm kind of glad that I waited as I think that I appreciated them just a little bit more.

Like the first two games I really enjoyed Sonic 3 and found it to be a good game despite the difficulty increase near the end (I'll admit that I struggled a little on the last couple of levels).

Sonic 3 continues on from the end of the second game and introduces the character of Knuckles to the Sonic canon, like most things in these circumstances everything is misunderstood (due to Eggman/Robotnik) and Knuckles ends up going against Sonic, including blowing up a building that Sonic is in. Like previous Sonic games the stages are varied and the bosses interesting (and some a right pain in the...) and overall it's a worthy conclusion to the original trilogy.


6. Colour Cross (DS)

Unlike 42 All-time Classics Colour Cross may have made it onto list if I had completed more games as I found it to be really enjoyable.Again it's one of those games that you can pick up cheap and play in small doses or in my case rather a lot.

Colour Cross is a variation on Picross where you have a blank grid and must fill in the blanks based on how many blocks should be filled in. For example there may be four blocks that need to be coloured green in a row and three that need to be coloured red. The same may apply for a column and you must figure out which blocks to colour which green or red. It's actually simpler than it sounds and is enjoyable when you figure out how to play it properly.

There are 150 puzzles to complete of varying difficulties over ten categories including the likes of horror, romance and science fiction and whilst some of the later grids (like the 20x20) can fall on the difficult side they can still be enjoyable to fill in.

Come back tomorrow for numbers five to one.