DL Awards 2015 Nominees: Best Games
PUBLISHED ONDecember 19, 2014 3:36 AM
Best Overall Game
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Beyond Earth takes fans of the 21-year-old strategy franchise to new frontiers. Gamers must stick to the same winning formula of building a strong economy while raising a technologically superior army. You have to learn new tricks to deal with the more powerful aliens and can expect to spend hours trying to make sense of the game's new "technology web". There are also new combat units to master.
Destiny
Despite being criticised for its repetitiveness and weak plot, this game has hooked many gamers. Creator Bungie Studios has successfully built the closest successor to the hit World Of Warcraft series, by combining the addictive elements of the massively multiplayer online game genre with the easy-to-jump-in style of a shooter. With its longevity assured given its US$500 million (S$656.3 million) budget over 10 years, this is just the beginning of a long journey.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
You cannot go wrong with might, magic and dragons. The third iteration of the Dragon Age series transports the player to a world with vast lands to explore, thousands of battles to fight, new characters to romance, a new storyline, inspiring music, witty conversations and epic dragon-slaying experiences. You will spend hours customising the skills and gear of your team, as well as scouring the lands to unite a world torn apart by demons and bitter rivalries of the defenders of the realm.
InFamous: Second Son
Whether you make this game's protagonist Delsin Rowe the hero or the villain, be prepared to be mesmerised by his raw power. Delsin is all fire and fury as he controls the element of fire to wreak havoc upon his enemies. He can recharge his powers by absorbing smoke, teleport from the bottom to the top of a building via smoke vents and take out enemies with his flames.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor
This action combat game combines great graphics, heart-pounding combat and an unusual plot. You play Talion, a Gondorian ranger killed in battle when the evil Sauron returns to the world by assaulting the human stronghold Mordor.
However, Talion is revived in another form when his body is melded with the spirit of an elf lord.
He must then avenge his death, as well as the elf lord's, and face off against a seemingly endless horde of orcs and goblins.
Best Shooter
Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Hell hath no fury like a soldier armed with advanced warfare technology. In this game, you get to take out enemies with wall-piercing bullets and homing grenades. You can slow down time to land multiple headshots on your enemies. In addition, you get to wear jump boots which propel you to blast away foes with your arsenal of guns. Besides the non-stop action, there is also the treat of the superb voice-acting from House Of Cards star Kevin Spacey.
Destiny
Created by the original makers of Halo, this epic multiplayer online shooter features names of guns such as Icebreaker, The Last Word and Thorn. The controls are fluid and they are as good as if not better than the legendary Halo series.
Every gun is different and as you customise each gun's stability, range, impact, rate of fire and other attributes, you will feel the difference with your tweaks.
Far Cry 4
In arguably the best Far Cry game in the series, you are transported to the mountains of the Himalayas to disperse the ashes of your mother, only to discover your heritage and destiny as a freedom fighter.
However, this is not another one of those gun-and-grenade shooters. In this game, you can bait wild bears with meat and use them to attack enemies. You can also shoot grenades from a helicopter and even ride an elephant into battle.
Sunset Overdrive
Only in Sunset Overdrive do your enemies explode in a splash of cheery orange instead of gory red. This game takes you through zany non-stop action. You swoop through the city on zip lines to deliver death with crazy weapons designed to overload the senses with bright psychedelic rainbow colours. Forget sanity - just laugh and shoot everything in sight.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
With multiplayer gameplay being the norm these days, this game stands out for being brave enough to focus only on a single-player campaign.
The New Order is the modern makeover of Wolfenstein 3D, the 3-D shooter game which started it all and inspired classics such as Doom and Quake. It sees the return of hero William "BJ" Blazkowicz, who is back to battle the evil Nazi. It has gorgeous graphics and pounding action, which see bullets ripping into troopers, rabid dogs and giant robots.
Next: Best Action-Adventure Game
Best Action-Adventure Game
Assassin's Creed: Unity
With a game world set in Paris during the French Revolution, this latest entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise brings several new features to the series, such as character customisation, cooperative multiplayer and a reworked combat system.
Alien: Isolation
Inspired by the first Alien film rather than James Cameron's swashbuckling follow-up, this survival-horror game is characterised by its eerie atmosphere. Players must avoid making too much noise in order to escape the Alien, which relentlessly stalks the main character.
InFamous: Second Son
The latest InFamous game stars Delsin, a new protagonist with different superpowers. Instead of having the ability to control electricity, Delsin can manipulate smoke, neon, video and concrete, putting a new twist on the series.
Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe will enjoy this open-world action role-playing game. It takes place during the period between The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. Aside from the main story, players are free to pursue side quests and explore Mordor as they wish.
Watch Dogs
First revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2012, this open-world action game has such jaw-dropping graphics and innovative gameplay that many saw it as a shape of things to come.
It has an innovative gameplay mechanic which lets the player manipulate traffic lights, traffic bollards and other aspects of the city's infrastructure.
Next: Best Sports / Racing Game
Best Sports/Racing Game
DriveClub (Sony)
Many driving games give you plenty of options to tweak suspensions and perform different types of upgrades, but DriveClub just wants you to focus on driving.
Its driving mechanics sits between arcade and simulation, so it will suit both driving game beginners and veterans. You can race solo against the computer or online racers. You can also join a racing club to take on challenges as a group.
Fifa 15 (Electronic Arts)
It is customary to see the Fifa football simulation game get an upgrade each year. This round, it has focused on players' emotions.
More than 600 new emotions have been worked into the game. A striker will now grimace when he misses a chance to score and a goalkeeper will shout at his defenders during corners. It just gets more realistic every year.
Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft)
Driving along the French Riviera in an Italian supercar is a gearhead's dream and Forza Horizon 2 lets him do so virtually. It takes gamers from southern France to northern Italy across wide-open realistically rendered environments and provides plenty of exotic cars for them to drive.
NBA 2K15 (Take 2)
NBA 2K14 was named Editor's Choice for Best Sports/Racing Game in this year's Digital Life Awards. The NBA 2K15 is a contender again.
One highlight is that you can use a game console camera to scan your face to use as your in-game avatar. It also has more than 6,000 new on-court animations. Plus, new defensive artificial intelligence and shooting systems make this game more realistic.
World Football: Winning Eleven 2015 (Konami)
The competition in football simulation games may have gotten more intense, but the long-standing Winning Eleven is still the de facto standard for many fans of this genre.
This year's edition has better graphics and a smarter artificial intelligence. There is also more realism as players' performance can be affected by the atmosphere and supporters in a stadium. Gameplay is also improved with more realistic passing and shooting.
Best Role-Playing Game
Wasteland 2 (InXile Entertainment)
It has been a 26-year wait, but the sequel to the cult classic role-playing game Wasteland is finally here.
This Kickstarter-funded game retains the style of its predecessor, with its turn-based combat, abundant conversations and multitude of quests to solve. It is a nice walk down memory lane for many gamers.
Dragon Age: Inquisition (Electronic Arts)
The highly anticipated third instalment of the Dragon Age role-playing franchise puts gamers in charge of restoring peace to a fractured world.
A big plus of the game is the sheer expansiveness of the world, which can take up to 100 hours to explore. The game has terrific graphics, a solid storyline and offers tough moral choices, making it a must-try for role-playing game fans.
Divinity: Original Sin (Larian Studios)
This game will excite fans of classic role-playing games such as Ultima and Baldur's Gate. It has an open and reactive world with turn-based combat, and gamers get to solve interesting quests in many possible ways. Its immersive and addictive gameplay will keep gamers coming back for more.
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (Blizzard)
Many gamers may consider Diablo to be the best and most accessible action role-playing game ever made. The Ultimate Evil Edition contains the game and its expansion, Reaper Of Souls, along with a new Adventure mode.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One controls work splendidly and match those found on the PC version.
Dark Souls II (Bandai Namco)
One of the most challenging role-playing games is back to torment gamers.
It looks as gorgeous as its predecessor and the game is still incredibly hard to beat. That is because combat is not just mindless hack-and-slash. It requires patient observations of enemy attacks as gamers need to master the skill of dodging before striking at the enemies.
Next: Best Made-in-Singapore Games
Best Made-in-Singapore Games
Ghost Recon Phantoms (Ubisoft Singapore)
This PC shooter for the thinking man is the first fully developed game to come out of the French gaming giant's 300-strong Singapore studio.
A free-to-play multiplayer team game, it requires teamwork, tactical nous, and attacking with a diverse team comprising assault, recon and specialist classes to succeed. Expect plenty of futuristic technologies, including EMP blackouts, cloaking and anti-ballistic shields.
One Upon Light (SUTD Game Lab)
This PlayStation puzzle game, with its hand-drawn black-and-white art and soulful music, may look like just another hipster game, but it packs both substance and style.
You wake up in a crumbling lab and have to find a way out. As stepping into the lighted areas will kill you, you have to move in the darkened areas. This well-designed game will force you to think and to keep trying different ways to get out of tight spots.
Super Awesome Quest (Boomzap Fight Club)
You control three heroes - paladin, valkyrie and mage - as you battle undeads, kobolds and other nasties in this mobile game.
While it treads on familiar ground, this game shines with its easy gameplay.
The battlefield consists of a 5 x 5 grid. Each square is an ability that you can use, by touching them one at a time.
Abilities include weapon attacks, powerful spells and healing buffs.
Autumn Dynasty Warlords (Touch Dimensions)
The mobile game feels a lot like the classic PC strategy game Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. But instead of using a mouse and keyboard, you move your units around by drawing out their paths with your finger.
This overcomes the typical limitation of strategy games on the touchscreen, which is that complex controls over units are hard to execute. Play as one of the nine warlords, each with his or her unique strengths and units.
Big Hero 6 - Bot Fight (Gumi Asia)
Control characters from Disney's latest animated feature Big Hero 6 as you swipe your way through hundreds of match-three levels.
Bot Fight puts you in command of bots categorised into five colours. Line up three to five cells of the same colour to activate an attack by bots of that colour.
There are also special attacks that can be unleashed by Hiro and the other stars of Big Hero 6.
Mighty Monsters: Rise Of The Minions (Mosscube)
This mobile adaptation of the Stratego board game lets you control 12 cutesy minions, each of which carries either a rock, a roll of paper or a pair of scissors. The aim is to discover and kill the enemy's general, by pitting your minions against your opponent's minions in games of rock, paper and scissors.
You need guile to win as bluffing forms a key strategy. As the game progresses, you will unlock special attacks, such as bombs, to wipe out nearby enemy minions.
Devil's Dare (Secret Base)
Inspired by side-scrolling classics, such as Final Fight and Golden Axe, this beat-em-up PC game transports a player back to the late 1980s and 1990s, when video-game arcades ruled the roost.
You play as one of four heroes trapped in a game convention as zombies attack. Each has his own unique combat style, as well as special moves ripped from games of that era. For example, the speedy and dagger-wielding Jackson is inspired by Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while Kingston wields a golden axe, just like the hero in the Golden Axe arcade game.
Hide and Seek - Jewels Of The Seven Seas (Lewenhart Studios)
Like other hidden-object games, you are presented with a setting filled with objects and must find all the specified items before time runs out.
Each completed level brings upon tougher levels and more objects to find. Challenges such as rain, which obscures the player's vision, are thrown in.
Where this mobile game is unique is in its player versus player mode. In this mode, players create their own hidden-object puzzles for their opponents to solve.
Romans In My Carpet! (Witching Hour Studios)
This turn-based strategy game feels like the mobile developer's previous Ravenmark games, except that Romans feels more streamlined and light-hearted with its cute 16-bit pixel-art style. There is much wacky humour to savour in this single-player game.
You control mite-sized Roman soldiers called "Romites" and battle bug-sized barbarians called "Breetles". All of this takes place in your bedroom.
Konbini Story (Gamenami)
This cutesy match-three game puts you in the shoes of a Japanese "konbini" convenience store owner. You have to match onigiri (rice cake), cup ramen and other food items.
Clearing items lets you earn coins, which you can use to upgrade your food items and buy spiffier uniforms for your cashier. Upgraded food items drop more coins when you clear them, while uniforms offer perks, such as giving you more moves at every level.
All reports by Oo Gin Lee, Sherwin Loh, Trevor Tan, Vincent Chang, Ebel Tang and Joshua Chen. For a chance to win and to vote, go to www.straitstimes.com/2015DigitalLifeAwards
This article was first published on Dec 17, 2014.
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