We’re almost at the finish line of 2014, and it’s time to look back, tally the titles and pick the best of the lot. This week, we’ll start with portable games, then move on to offerings that flew under the radar before finishing with my top games of the year.
On handheld games, smart phones made a jump, bringing the quality of games closer to that of consoles. On traditional portables, the Nintendo 3DS had another outstanding year, while indie titles and “Freedom Wars” kept the PlayStation Vita from collecting dust. Here — in no particular order — are my favorite handheld games this year.
“Threes!” (iOS and Android): Although the clone “2048” may have stolen some of its thunder, this remains one of the most original and addictive puzzle titles to come out in years. The premise is simple: Players slide numbered tiles to create larger and larger multiples of three. The difficulty rises as new tiles are added and players must combine larger figures. It’s one of the best puzzle games since “Tetris” and is a must-buy for your smartphone.
“Vainglory” (iOS): If you’ve been meaning to get into multiplayer online battle arenas, look no further than this title from Super Evil Megacorp. It pares down the MOBA formula for the small screen. The teams are smaller in this handheld, along with the map and other elements. But at its core, the game is similar to “League of Legends” and it will satisfy that itch to march down a lane, destroy rivals’ towers and blow up their Vain crystal.
“Monster Hunter Freedom Unite” (iOS): Showing how smart phones are closing the graphics gap, this entry from the PlayStation Portable classic works decently with the touch-screen but excels with a Bluetooth controller. It has everything you’d expect from a core title, including the online play that the original lacked.
“XCOM: Enemy Within” (iOS): Yes, a version of this was released last year, but this update with content from the expansion pack rounds out an already fantastic game with deeper gameplay systems. “Enemy Within” adds new types of soldiers, a new human enemy faction, more missions and multiplayer. Plus, it works well on the bigger screen of the iPhone 6 Plus.
“Freedom Wars” (PlayStation Vita): Mix the anime series “Attack on Titan,” add in a heavy dose of “Monster Hunter” and a dash of science fiction and you get this great game. As an amnesiac sinner, players are sentenced to a million years behind bars. Luckily, they can lower the prison time by doing missions, where they battle giant robots called Abductors, which try to steal fellow citizens. Although the story moves at a glacial place, the rich universe and gameplay more than compensate for it, making this one of the best games on Sony’s handheld.
“Fantasy Life” (Nintendo 3DS): If you have one game to play on Nintendo’s handheld system this year, it should be this one. This Level-5 action role playing game lets players take on 12 jobs. Fans can treat it like a “Zelda” title, where they slay monsters, but where “Fantasy Life” gets interesting is that they can also be cooks, miners or blacksmiths. They can mine minerals and use that material to make their own armor. It’s a premise that’s enthralling as players try to figure out the mystery behind the Doomstones that fall from the sky.
“Bravely Default” (Nintendo 3DS): Those yearning for an old-school Japanese role-playing game, look no further. This offering from Square Enix is reminiscent of the “Final Fantasy” titles of yesteryear as players control a team of four heroes who have to cleanse crystals tainted by a mysterious force. The job system is good, but it’s the battle system, with the option to store turns or use them up that adds a deep and refreshing layer of strategy.
“Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” (Nintendo 3DS): For years, these were the heroes for gamers who using brain over brawn. Although the two titles differ in gameplay and art style, Capcom and Level-5 somehow bring the disparate sides together with a compelling story that keeps raising the stakes before hitting a surprising climax.
“Shovel Knight” (Nintendo 3DS): I backed this Kickstarter project because I liked its retro style. It comes across as a lost classic of the NES generation. The gameplay is reminiscent of “Duck Tales” and requires pinpoint platforming. Despite its roots, “Shovel Knight” retains some modern tricks that makes the campaign accessible for most.
“Super Smash Bros.” (Nintendo 3DS): It’s bigger brother may get all the headlines, but the venerable fighting game is still a blast on the small screen. It’s every bit as chaotic and fun with a huge roster mined from Nintendo and other companies’ games. At the very least, the portable version can act a training ground on the road and an extra controller for the Wii U version when at home.
Reach Gieson Cacho at 510-735-7076 or gcacho@bayareanewsgroup.com. Read his blog at http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei.
