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10 Tweaks That Would Make 10 Great Games Greater
It's easy to play armchair quarterback, which is why we all do it. Few things approach perfection (except possibly the concept of cheeseburgers) and gaming is no different. There were plenty of great titles released in 2014, but even the best had a few weird issues or things that we believe would have made them better. With that in mind, here are 10 tweaks that we think would have improved on what was already pretty darned good.
Bayonetta 2
Platinum Games' Wii U exclusive is fantastic, except for one minor detail. Actually, make that one minor character: Loki. He is an annoying presence who pops up with a disappointing frequency. He makes the game's not-Joe Pesci bearable in comparison, which is saying something. Replace him with nearly anyone (or anything else), and you would have a better game. A grumpy assassin? The ghost of Dom's wife Maria from Gears of War? A rapping sandwich? Yes, yes, and yes.
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Obsidian absolutely nailed what people like about South Park. The look, feel, and humor from the show made it into the game intact, ending what's been a long streak of middling adaptations. I'm probably in the minority here, but I would have loved the option to bleep out the cursing. Now, don't take this the wrong way; anyone who knows me is aware that about two-thirds of my vocabulary consists of various curse words. I do, however, think that South Park is actually funnier when the curses are obscured. I know that painstakingly going over the entire audio would have been a tremendous hassle, but it would have made Cartman's rants even better.
Super Smash Bros.
The new Smash Bros. game was easily one of my favorite games of 2014, but it broke my heart. How? When you're in the character-selection area, you can no longer tilt the screen with the C-stick. It's an incredibly minor thing, but what are you supposed to do once you pick your character? Wait patiently? Nope! You blew it, Sora Ltd.
Dark Souls II
From Software and its legions of fans delight in Dark Souls' arcane systems and hidden gameplay features. The sequel added co-op with friends, but players had to jump through a few silly hoops involving a special ring. The game supports co-op, so why not dispense with the pretense? If players want to join their friends and stomp on some monsters together, let them. And if they don't, they don't have to.
Dragon Age Inquisition
BioWare delivered an impressively large world with Inquisition, including a starting area so large that the studio had to plead with players to explore the rest of the game's locations. Perhaps they spent so much time working on the environments that they forgot about inventory management. At least, that's how it seems. Sorting your items is an unnecessarily big hassle, compounded by a lack of inventory space. Even worse, your home base lacks any kind of shared storage chest. Considering the amount of loot distributed in dungeons, on enemies, and doled out as quest rewards, it's clear that BioWare wants players to care about equipment upgrades. They just didn't give players the tools to deal with any of it effectively. Skyhold is a massive castle. There's room for a chest.
Tales from the Borderlands: Episode One - Zer0 Sum
Nobody plays Telltale's games for their riveting action sequences. We play them for their stories and characters, and to see how our decisions ripple from episode to episode. Everyone seems to know that – except for Telltale. For some reason, they're still holding on to button-mashing sections and quick-time events. Puzzles have basically gone by the wayside, so why are these still intact? I don't want to press X until a circle fills up, especially the times when I can tell I'm predestined to fail. Is that supposed to add drama? It doesn't, especially when failing just kicks players out to the last checkpoint.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
The nemesis system is great, but if you see an orc's head explode into mist, they probably shouldn't come back seeking revenge.
Far Cry 4
Those black eagles are just the worst. You're walking around, minding your own business or killing people and destroying wildlife and setting everything on fire, when CAW, you're being gripped by an eagle. I would pay $1.5 million of in-game currency to eradicate those flying pests from Kyrat. Maybe relocate them to the Rook Islands? I'm done with that place.
Hearthstone
One of the most satisfying parts about Hearthstone is experimenting with new decks and trying out new strategies and card combinations. Players have room for nine decks, which sounds like a lot. And it is, until it isn't. Give us more slots, and we'll be happy. Or, at least we will be for a while.
Nintendo
You guys didn't make enough Amiibos. You didn't make enough GameCube controller adapters for Wii U. Make more stuff next time. Seriously.
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