Game of the Month: November 2014

2014's busiest month has come and gone, leaving us with heated debates over what should win our coveted Game of the Month award. With blockbusters abound and plenty of great games leaving lasting impressions, it was always going to be a tough one, but at the end of the day, only the final staff vote counts. So, which title took the crown for November? Did an indie conquer the month of giants, or did a big budget seize the day? Five nominees enter the voting process, but only one comes out on top.

Fifth Place: Minutes

Review (9/10)

November's best indie was perhaps one of its least known. Only discovering its existence at EGX 2014, editor Sammy Barker was certain that Minutes was something special – and as usual when it comes to our plucky head honcho, he was right. "Simple like a classic Swatch watch, it’s Minutes’ exceptional mechanics that make this indie worth your time," he concluded in our review, before adding: "Clean, colourful, and effortlessly cool, this is a reminder that you don’t need a million dollars to make something special." A poignant reminder of how an extremely well realised concept can trump almost anything, then.

Fourth Place: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Review (8/10)

This year's Call of Duty instalment is an important one, as it tries to freshen things up a little after 2013's disappointing effort. Fortunately, the inclusion of mechanical combat suits and a great campaign means that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the best shooter that the franchise has seen in years. "Punchy, futuristic weapons, even faster gameplay, and additional agility make Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare a joy to play, both offline and online," wrote this particular author. We said that the single player offering features "several spectacular scenarios", while the multiplayer is "incredibly moreish". Also, it has Kevin Spacey – what more could you want?

Third Place: LittleBigPlanet 3

Review (8/10)

Sackboy's first foray on the PlayStation 4 went down a storm with us, thanks to a handful of new playable plushies and some superb level design. "If variety is the spice of life, then LittleBigPlanet 3 should come with three chilli peppers printed on its box," wrote a fulfilled Sammy Barker. "With a string of new tools on offer, creator curators will have a blast exploring all of the possibilities available here – and while you’ll certainly need dedication to get the best out of them, the lazy among you will more than get your fill via the output of more industrious players over time," he summarised, praising the game's impressively robust creation systems.

Second Place: Far Cry 4

Review (9/10)

Ubisoft's latest open world outing takes us to the mountainous Kyrat, where chaos and carnage is the order of the day due to some devilishly fun sandbox gameplay. After braving the viscous attacks of many a small mammal, Reviewer Alex Stinton called it "the finest open world first-person shooter", and heaped praise on its "sublime sandbox gameplay". And, even though Far Cry 4's narrative fell short of expectations, we still loved the fact that elements of player choice had been injected into the plot. Plus, it looks as pretty as a painting, especially when you're tumbling down the side of a mountain after you realise that your grappling skills aren't quite up to snuff.

First Place: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Review (9/10)

The PlayStation 4's been starved of epic fantasy RPGs, but good things come to those who wait, and fortunately, Dragon Age: Inquisition is beyond good. BioWare's gigantic effort blew us away with its "engrossing, engaging narrative" and "vast, explorable world". The colossal creation took us over 100 hours to fully complete, and we're still not sure that we even made the right key choices in the end. We dubbed the release "one of the studio's greatest achievements" because of its fantastic mix of "superb writing and rewarding gameplay", before concluding that "Dragon Age: Inquisition offers just about everything that you could want from a genre that's been sorely missed on the PS4". Role-playing just doesn't get much better than this.

Do you agree with our winner, or even our nominees? Remember to vote for your favourite game of November in our poll, and tell us your reasoning in the comments section below.

[ Thanks to LordBagardo for the header image ]