This year at No-IP, we have played our fair share of foosball in the office. But outside of work it’s all about the video games! So we decided to find out what games were most loved by our staff of semi-professional foosball players.

The answers were across all devices, from the Xbox to the iPhone. Some of the team even tried to deceive marketing into calling Game Stop and requesting a very rare game. (Ever heard of Battle Toads?) Well we weren’t fooled and have compiled the list of very real…and apparently “awesome” games of 2014.

Dan Durrer: Founder & CEO and Hailee Vance: Marketing Coordinator

Candy Crush Saga
Clearly the best game on this list, (and not just because Dan and I love it). Candy Crush is a puzzle game a lot like Bejeweled and many others before it. It is a match 3 game meaning you have have to match 3 of the same candies to get them to disappear. The goal is to get rid of all the jellies in a certain amount of moves. Match 5 in a row and get a special donut that will zap all the candies of a certain color for you. This game is addicting because each round is different that the last and with 1285 levels you will be playing for years to come.

Hailee likes it because,  “Even though this game has the potential to cause divorces and ruin lives, it is just too simple and addicting to stop playing. I knew the risk and sold me soul to the crush willingly.”

Natalie Goguen: Marketing Manager

Minion Rush
Love Despicable Me? Then Minion Rush just might be the game for you. The goal of the game is to collect enough fruit to make delicious jelly. You will be forced to jump, roll, dodge and through various levels. Every level you complete gets your closer to becoming Minion of the Year! It is fun for kids and for adults and is free on the App store!

Natalie like it because, “Minion Rush is a completely fun and addicting game. It’s easy enough for my 4 year old to play, but challenging enough for me to play too. It’s a free app with lots of tricky in-app purchases to navigate around, but once you figure them out it’s easy to continue to play for free. We love it!”

Kurt Busche: Senior Software Engineer

The Last of Us: Remastered
This game takes place 20 years after a pandemic which has caused humans to turn zombie like and essentially run wild. The goal is to rescue a young girl while trying not to get killed yourself. But resources are limited and everyone is killing everyone else for food and weapons. But unlike zombies the infected people are still alive and can die any number of ways, including strangulation.

Kurt likes it because, ” It has a better story than most movies. They give you a very limited amount of resources so you have to be creative and know when to run and when to fight. And because f*** zombies.”

Casey Kennedy: Front End Developer

Gran Turismo 6 (It came in in Dec. 2013…It still counts.)
The latest version of Gran Turismo is a vast improvement on GT5. This is a simple racing game on the surface, allowing you to race different circuits from Nürburgring to the Goodwood Hillclimb course. Select your car and race alone or challenge your friends to see who has what it takes to win. This is a game for those who love cars or just love to drive. Don’t be surprised if you careen into a wall at 200 MPH and walk away with no damage. We said it was fun, not believable.

Casey likes it because, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

David Mosher: Software Engineer

Mario Kart 8
Banana peels be damned. Mario Kart 8 packs more punch than its predecessors, making the races more about skill than luck. If you get ahead you can stay ahead and you almost always win against the computer. This is great, but sometimes you just miss the blue shells of death coming to mess with your place. And if you get stuck in the middle of the group, good luck getting out, because the weapons don’t do as much for you in this version. You can’t just throw lightning bolts at whoever is in first place anymore. You can play in split screen with up to 4 players or online with as many as 11 players, giving you the chance to show people you know…or don’t, who’s boss.

Mosher likes it because, “I have a 4 year old. My 4 year old happens to love Luigi…so any game he can play as Luigi he is very happy.”

Matt Radford: Software Engineer

Dark Souls II
“PRAISE THE SUN!” Dark Souls II is the highly anticipated sequel to 2011’s Dark Souls. In this RPG players become an undead fighter called the “Bearer of the Curse” in the ficticious world of Drangleic. The goal of the game is for the Bearer of the Curse to regain his humanity. In order to do so they must fight a number of creatures including ghouls, zombies and skeletons to gain souls. As Matt says, “It’s unrelentingly dark.”

Matt likes it because, “It’s the same great gameplay as Dark Souls 1. Which means it’s great because it’s incredibly difficult. It doesn’t match the original, but it’s still pretty great.” He also said,”Because accomplishment doesn’t come without struggle.”

Deven Reza: Support Manager

Civilization: Beyond Earth
According to Civilization’s website, “Beyond Earth is set in the future, global events have destabilized the world leading to a collapse of modern society, a new world order and an uncertain future for humanity. As the human race struggles to recover, the re-developed nations focus their resources on deep space travel to chart a new beginning for mankind.”

Deven likes it because, “Oh I have not played it because I know I would not stop playing it.” (Fair enough, though we wish he had chosen a game he has actually played.) 

Ken Hanke: Support Tech

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Saphire
According to the game description, “Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will take you on a journey like no other as you collect, battle and trade Pokémon while trying to stop a shadowy group with plans to alter the Hoenn region forever. In your adventure, you will meet Legendary Pokémon and battle against evil organizations intent on their own aims! Take a journey through the Hoenn region, where two large organizations with opposing aims are locked in struggle: Team Magma and Team Aqua.”

Ken likes it because, “It reminds me of the old Pokemon, but with new updates and better features and, if you don’t like Pokemon you are a jerk.”

Brent Peterson: Support Tech

Assassins Creed Unity
This game takes place in Paris in 1789 and the French Revolution has caused chaos around the city. One man named Arno takes it into his hands to expose the truth behind the revolution. His fight to find the truth will transform him into a “Master Assassin.” (Hence Assassins Creed.) Though it is a single player game, there is an option to make it a 2-4 player game online.  The multiplayer works alongside the single player game and allows you and your “brotherhood” to take down targets around the city. It has incredible graphics and a well thought out plot. It as Brent calls it, “A first person stabber” that shouldn’t be missed.

So there you have it from Candy Crush to Assassins Creed, No-IP has a love for all types of games. Is one of these your favorite or do you like something else more? Let us know in the comments below! And if you ever find Battle Toads, make sure to let us know!