This has been a damn good year for games even though a lot of the games that should have been good were really sort of rehashes/boring with subpar indie games, Ubisoft reskinning Assassin's Creed for every franchise (I'm looking at you Shadow of Mordor) and then there are all of the bland ass MMO's that looked decent but ended up sucking (Wildstar, ArcheAge). Not that they're bad, theoretically they are decent games but they just don't have the innovation or oomph.

I've NEVER spent $75.00 on a game needless to say a beta, but E:D is definitely worth it. It's my top game of the year (even in beta form). Closely followed by Divinity: Original Sin (fucking awesome RPG), Legends of Grimrock II (fucking awesome old school dungeon crawler (Ultima Underworld / Myst puzzler), Wasteland 2 (awesome Wasteland comeback) as well as Alien: Isolation (great concept, nailed the visuals & sound -- super intense). And then there was Hearthstone which I definitely spent more time playing than anything else.

But, Elite: Dangerous is stunningly brilliant, best sound I've ever heard in a game- it's so fucking good that I invested in a HOTAS & Oculus Rift (haven't gotten it yet though).

Downloading the update now - can't wait to see the changes.

ED is certainly one of the best games of the year. I got a HOTAS for it myself. Would love to have a Rift or even head tracking to support it.

Got to disagree with @shagen454 a bit on Shadow of Mordor which I liked a great deal. Wildstar was okay, but it and ESO both need to be F2P or B2P (ala GW2). AA, I dumped $150 on, and that is disappointing, though it was great at the time, I just burned myself out on it. Not as disappointing as Evil Within, my biggest regret of the video games I got this year. I agree Alien Isolation, was great, and I haven't spent enough time with Divinity to really evaluate it much. Hearthstone I can't even make it past the AI missions... lord I suck at video games.... probably shouldn't have got Lords of the Fallen given that I'm so bad at games as that game is brutal.

For others we have Gauntlet as a fun diversion, Hand of Fate, Nosgoth (been in since early beta), Road Redemption is a decent homage to Road Rash, South Park: Stick of Truth, Starbound, Zombies Monsters Robots is a fairly good F2P shooter... I can't remember if Kerbal Space Program came out this year or last... The Endless series (Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Legend)... The Evolve alphas (well, one alpha down so far, which was great and one coming this weekend, and more a next year game anyhow)... Titanfall was a great deal of fun.

At or at least near the top though is ED (I personally didn't stream it or make as many videos about it as I did others, it's still a great game). I'm glad I went with ED over Star Citizen, at least as they stand now. I seriously looked into head tracking, but it's just too pricey for me at the moment. I got a Thurstmaster X Flight HOTAS though off Craigslist for a decent price and that helped the game. I haven't updated it to Beta 3 yet, I'm sure I'll need to rebind stuff on the HOTAS and in Voice Attack... and this weekend is the Evolve alpha, so I'll probably be busy with that, especially as there is no NDA this time.

I played and met the team (David Braben too!) @ E3. It was awesome. My #1 pick of E3 2014 even I don't game much these days. You can see my details in my blog @ http://aqfl.net/node/11029 ...

Original Sin blew me away. Such an evolution of combat mechanics.

sweet jesus, bring on virtual reality headsets

*videogamedorkwetdream

And if you're feeling old school, X-Wing and TIE Fighter have just been released on GOG.com.

This makes me sad that my old thrustmaster joystick and throttle don't work on my newer computer. Together they made perfect controls for 3D gravity free 'space' flight. Playing this with keyboard control would make me frustrated.

I didn't get to try VR in E:D room at E3. Someone was hogging it. It is supported.

I almost forgot about those. I've got to go pick up a prepaid Amex card, because my freaking bank won't let me make charges to overseas sites, even if I call them to pre-authorize it. It makes buying from GOG a pain...but it's still so worth it.

Similar situation here, I've got an old Saitek X36 set that's been in mothballs ever since the last Mechwarrior game and I doubt I'd be able to get them running well under Windows 7. And there's no way I'd play this with anything less than HOTAS.

Reading this comment section, I have discovered that videosift is chock full of gaming nerds that throw massive scads of their money away on weird single-purpose user interface devices and appliances, massively overpriced consoles, and horribly over-upgraded personal computer versions. And this solely for the purpose of further enmeshing themselves in virtual forms of time-wasting entertainment at a slightly higher framerate.

*cries a little tear*

HONEY I'M HOME!

A Thrustmaster F16 FLCS/TQS combo is still resting comfortably on a shelf at home. You can smash a skull in with those and it won't even leave a dent on the base -- solid design.

I take issue with that... I don't own any over priced consoles!

Completely guilty of the rest though

And on that note, anyone got any recommendations for a good HOTAS setup? Preferably one that won't require a second mortgage (I'm looking at you, warthog!)

My recommendation, from cheaper to more expensive:

Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS, Saitek X-52 or Pro, CH Fighterstick + Throttle, Warthog.

Only the Thrustmaster (but not the Warthog) and Saitek stuff will have a twist rudder axis, which is a convenience for space sims. I hear good things about the HOTAS-X, and in the States it's only about $50 or so, so it's cheapest by far but wants a bit for buttons and HAT switches.

Personally, I'd go cheaper on the control setup if it meant you could also afford a head tracking setup like a TrackIR (ideally) or an ED Tracker.


I have a bunch of this stuff because I'm a flight sim nerd, but for Elite Dangerous I use the throttle from a Saitek X-65 and a Logitech Extreme 3D stick.

E:D. Star Citizen. Torment. Pillars of Eternity. The Mandate. Hero-U.
It is a good age for crowd funding epicness.

Your move, Star Citizen.

shagen454, Shadow of Mordor isn't from Ubisoft, though clearly in ways inspired by it and the Arkham series. IMHO it's one of the better games this year.