I decided to make a list of some of the games that have made a big impression on me in several categories this year.
I'd be interested to see what other people think should be in each category.
BEST NEW CONCEPT: This War of Mine
BEST EARLY ACCESS: Invisible Inc.
FRANCHISE RE-ANIMATOR: Assassin's Creed: Unity
BIGGEST FRANCHISE DISAPPOINTMENT: Civilisation: Beyond Earth
I'd like to comment but I don't think I've played many games released in 2014 besides Dark Souls II. All I really did was play older games that I only just discovered. I do have some input though:
BEST NEW CONCEPT: Robocraft
I had a blast with this over the summer. I'd platoon with my brother and his roommate. It's not a totally new concept (combination of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and World of Tanks / War Thunder) but the combination itself is new and it's quite fun to design a vehicle and laugh as it destroys other peoples'
BIGGEST FRANCHISE DISAPPOINTMENT: Sniper Elite v3
Now, I haven't played this one. I've played the first two games in this franchise, and I was rather disappointed at how linear the second installment was compared to the first. This has apparently been addressed to some extent.
What hasn't been addressed are the ballistics. They were great in the original game IIRC... but in v2 the effects of wind and gravity were greatly exaggerated. You need to aim 1-2 feet high at 250m with "Realistic Ballistics" which is silly. This 'design decision' has stuck around.
The gory X-Ray camera seems to be the selling point now. It's cool and all... but a bit much I think.
Also, there's no modding whatsoever (the developers conflated modders with cheaters at one point.) That rubbed me the wrong way
Especially when you discover the cost of the game and all of it's shortly released DLCs will cost you over $120
