Your GOTY's of 2013

[TitanWarlord93]

The Last Of Us (PlayStation 3)

 

Naughty Dog has certainly delivered a true masterpiece with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in 2009 and they have done it again with this survival horror title. It was also the very first survival horror game I've played in my life and it was a very good one too.

 

I enjoyed every single minute of it. The gameplay was brilliant and they pulled off the story really well. Graphics is realistic and the whole presentation was just spot on.

 

I can't think of anything else to say about this game. It may not be exactly 10/10 but it is almost perfect and it is enough to become my personal GOTY and if you guys haven't bought this shit then buy and do that shit.

 

Bioshock Infinite (PlayStation 3)

 

Ever since the first Bioshock game come out, I was not a fan. However, with this next title in the franchise it grew an interest in me after watching trailers, gameplay videos and even TV ads. That is when I had decided to give this game a go.

 

Everything I had witnessed on the screen totally blew me away. I pretty much enjoyed every single action sequence from hang grinding on rails to shooting of all the enemies with guns or vigors. The settings and environment were stunning and that is one of my reasons to make it enjoyable.

 

I also loved the interaction between the two major characters Booker and Elizabeth and the storyline was well written, especially for each character's point of view. The twists and turns have certainly got me on the edge of my seat and any video games that bring an emotional effect to players must mean it's a good game and it's worth buying.

[Mr Loopone]

If this was 7 years ago, I would have put The Godfather and OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (have that game on all 3 systems) without any doubt however it is pretty hard this year since a lot of games that I have played this year are from the past whether it was a couple of years ago or 10/11 years ago such as Max Payne. Another thing was that last year it was also easier since Sleeping Dogs, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, New Super Mario Bros. U and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed were all released, all enjoyed from start to finish plus many other games but many from this year didn't seem like my type of games at all so it is going to be a little different. So no Bioshock Infinite, no GTA V, no FIFA 14, no Last of Us, no Rayman Legends, no Tomb Raider, no Call of Duty: Ghosts or Battlefield 4, not even Persona 5 Golden, all titles depending on the person would be their games of the year and can understand why someone likes or even loves these games.

 

PS3/Vita:Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Ever since playing Sly Cooper 1, I got to really like the series and when I heard that there was a 4th one on the PS3 with a portable Vita version, I was over the moon. It was meant to come out last year so it was delayed, then delayed again in Europe for a month and got it the day when it was released, also beaten both the PS3 and the Vita versions, the latter started and finished on vacations. Sure it doesn't seem like a GOTY and one many people wouldn't choose, however it is a personal one. Basically it was a contination of the story from Sly 3 and you get to play as Sly's ancestors all with their unique characteristics. Graphically it looked pretty good for both systems (PS3 with its detail, the Vita version looking more closer in line with the PS2 games but still look quite good) and enjoyed both the story and the stages. Even though both versions are crash prone, it didn't damper too much from the experience. To me, it was like getting the best bits of the previous 3 games and add some toppings on top.

 

Wii U: Sonic Lost World

Go home Don Corleone, you're drunk. Sonic Lost World doesn't deserve to be a GOTY at all due to Marmiteness of the mixed reactions and many people didn't enjoy the game either. Honestly, these are this year's games that I have and many of them are ports/emulations of older games, one of them is a remake so there wasn't much choice. Anyway, I have really enjoyed the game from the cutscenes and graphics to the stages and the gameplay to the charm of the game, the controls aren't perfect even when looking however there have been games that controlled worser than this. Due to unable to play SM3DW (see below), it was a toss up between this and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Now I've enjoyed Splinter Cell due to the graphics and the gameplay apart from them helicopter missions and the long loading times (can't be helped) so hmmm...

 

3DS: Luigi's Mansion 2

This is more like it, this was the game that I got on the 3DS and like the other games have really enjoyed it. The personalities of Luigi, Prof. E. Gadd and the ghosts are shown (since the characters don't talk much like most Nintendo games, mainly grunts and a few woo-hoos). The graphics are really good on the 3DS and the 3D effect works really well on this game (this and Super Mario 3D Land are the two games that I keep the 3D effect on). The stage layout while seem simple at first have secrets in them and neat little touches throughout the game plus the controls work quite well with only tilting the 3DS not quite right. It even references the DS and plays a remixed tune of the original game. Mario? Mario??

 

I would have also put Super Mario 3D World and Tearaway on the list easily however I only just got them (the Mario game today and it was hard to find but to play after December) and had no time to play on the games, Tearaway will be played soon enough though just have to wait until Sony fix PSN first. Mario & Luigi hasn't been played yet plus have yet to get World Rally Championship 4 so it really was limited this year. Also it is a case of wait and see for Gran Turismo 6 since I've heard about the microtransaction business and depends on how bad it gets.

 

Also would have put Muramasa Rebirth however since it is a port, I don't think it counts (even though I completely agree on what Tmsp said)...

[Vec]

For me it has to be GTAV. It was a great experience that has no comparison with previous GTAs. I've bought other games this year but this was the one I enjoyed most

[Gabz Girl]

Ohhh, got quite a few GOTY's so I'll list em on all the consoles I own.

 

For the 3DS! Fire Emblem: Awakening. First Fire Emblem game I ever played and I loved it! Great characters, great story, really good gameplay (I'm not keen on SRPG but this was surprisingly fun) and the music is amaaaazing. I hope the next game in the series will be just as good or better!

 

For the XBox360! Bioshock Infinite. Yeah yeah I have problems with it like the annoying FPS segments and the weaker second half of the game but the visuals are gorgeous, the story is unbelievably good (shocking twist at the end there!) and Columbia itself is a beautiful setting. It's totally different from Rapture, but I still think it's a nice place.

 

For the PS3! Last of Us. Now this is one of the best game I have played in a long time. The story is incredible, maybe even better than Infinite! Full of drama and epic moments like

the giraffes <3

and the visuals are fantastic and really push the PS3 to its limits. I think the only minor problems I have with LoU is that the gameplay isn't that special. Just feels a bit slow to me. That's only minor though, as I love the stealth segments. The other is...no female hunters! Yeah, I always thought that was weird.

 

For the Wii U! Super Mario 3D World, hands down. In fact this is my top choice for GOTY 2013 overall. Even just talking about the game makes me happy, as corny as it sounds. Great music, great level design, cool new power ups and a ton of other things makes this my favourite out of all the other games I've played and enjoyed this year. Plus it's a huge improvement over Super Mario 3D Land which was already a really good game.

 

Mario ftw! =D

 

 

Oh forgot to add some honourable mentions! Animal Crossing New Leaf, Mario & Luigi Dream Team and Pokemon Y. You could say the 3DS has been an amazing handheld this year!

[Recolour]

Rayman Legends by a landslide

 

The controls are very responsive, smooth and tight. The platforming and levels are very challenging but also very fair because it gives you room for error and checkpoints are plentiful. The art and the style are the best I've ever seen in a videogame. There's a so much more levels than there was in Rayman Origins. There's so many characters to play as (even though most of them are skins for other characters). The music is so varied and catchy that I rivals (IMO) some Sonic games' soundtracks. There's just so much you can do in this game because of the challenges and replay value! I actually can't name one fault in the game! I'm being serious. This is the best game I've played in a very long time.

 

- This is the best game of the year

- This is the best game of this generation

- This is the best Rayman game ever made

- This is most probably, the best game I've ever played.

[SilentDoom]

As much as I love Super Mario 3D World and think it's a game full of wonder and joy, my pick would have to go to The Wonderful 101.  Let me copy and paste my post from a while back reviewing this game because they still perfectly reflect my sentiments towards the game.

 

I feel at the moment this game is a real example of gaming injustice. It deserves so much more praise and recognition than it's getting because it is a truly remarkable game.

First of all, let me get the negatives out the way. There were a few moments of sheer frustration, particularly with a couple of points where the game shifts to the Gamepad. However most of the moments of frustration I had were due to me not timing something correctly or me just not being quite good at the game and the aforementioned moments were few and far between. The control scheme takes quite a while to adjust to, and at points it felt a little finicky. However, despite what some may say I think this is a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. I stand by the view that if controls are a little awkward or finicky, but the game at its core is super fun and worth investing my time in, I can try my best get over any control issues (for example with Kid Icarus Uprising). This is Speer of like a fighting game. You could opt for drawing the shapes on the Gamepad, but whilst it's easier it's also slower kind of like a Simple mode in a fighting game. Learn to use the second stick however, and it becomes more intuitive. Like trying to perfect your dragon punch motion of a fight stick. It's about mastering controls and developing the muscle memory.

The most notable complaint I have with the game is that there are some mechanics in the game it doesn't do a particularly great job of teaching you. Wonder Build for example, whilst it doesn't come up too often, is really poorly explained (namely the point where it requires ALL your characters to be a part of the Morph) and to some it may feel like it throws you in the deep end a little too early.

Though honestly that's where the significant negatives end for me.

This game is just bursting with charm. From its zany characters, location and enemy designs (it was pretty amazing how every enemy looked very distinct and was wicked memorable despite the fact that they all used the same black colour scheme), the dialogue and interactions, the wealth of hidden content and extras and of course the super bright art style that achieves a comic feel despite the fact that it isn't cel-shaded and for the most part lacks the visual onomatopoeia that you see in a game such as Viewtiful Joe. Not to mention the various references made not only to games in Platinum's past history but also a couple of Nintendo's (namely Starfox and one other that I shan't explicitly say in the post as I want to keep it spoiler free but it made me fangasm).
Then there's the incredibly robust battle system. As I said before, I can look past control niggles if the game is at its core worth investing time into, and this game most certainly is. Once elements finally start to click, you start tying together your combos, start learning the enemy types and which Unite Morph is most efficient for taking them down as well. In addition to this there's various elements such as learning when to time your Unite Guts to counter attacks (and which attacks can be countered), making proper use of the Climb Attack and targetting system and proper distribution of Battery Charge to add yet another layer to strategizing your battle plan. Anyone who thinks this game is repetitive evidently is playing it incorrectly. There's an incredible amount of variety in this game.

Though the biggest thing for me that made me love it so much was just how much it empowers the player and how much genuine hype it generates, much like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance released earlier this year. A large element of this is in the boss battles, which serve as (in my opinion) the highlights of the game. They're so grandiose and insane in design and are incredibly heart-pumping and each one gets progressively more insane than the last. The game not only makes the player feel like a super hero, but truly a whole collective of heroes. The whole concept of strength in numbers, and how this carries through both the story and gameplay really helps to accentuate times of strength and weakness throughout the game (right to the final boss, which serves as the most potent example of this). The occasional moment where you're stuck by yourself to tackle a mission/part of a mission feel almost incorrect. Not only does your character become rather feeble but the way they control in general feels almost off. And yet this isn't a bad thing, as it only really help drive the aforementioned point and theme home.

It's a real shame this game has been selling poorly. A real travesty. The gaming industry more studios like Platinum games. Truly daring developers willing to experiment with insane ideas whilst keeping the fundamentals of what constitute to an incredible game with so much depth. Whilst inexcessible, The Wonderful 101 is truly a masterclass game and definitely my favourite game this year.

 

[MegaMonster54]

1. The Last of Us.

Fun gameplay, and a scary as all hell atmosphere. Is that creak a Zombie? Or is it your imagination? Who knows. This game also succeeds with its characters and strong story. First 15 minuets into this game I was crying real tear. TEARS my friends, TEARS! I won't spoil anything, but the ending ;~;... 

4.5/5 stars

2. Pokemon  X/Y.

This game is what made me rethink what the Pokemon franchise could do. This game has a bigger emphasis on... Well... Just how big it is. You can explore and interact with a whole plethora of things. It's fun, and it puts a bigger emphasis on exploration and Pokemon/Human interactions rather than just Gym battles and Legendary Pokemon. It still has its story problems, but if this is where Pokemon is going... Damn

4.5/5 stars

3. Sonic Lost World

This is by far the best Sonic game that I have played in a long time. It just feels... Right. Smooth controls, fast gameplay, bright colors, amazing graphics. Also, CONTINUITY! THANK GOD! I always said I don't play sonic for the story, but it is nice to see other characters again.

4/5 stars

4. DMC Devil may Cry.

Fuck you, this is awesome. It's an amazing Hack and Slash game, I don't care if its a reboot DMC4 sucked. Switching between Demon and Angle powers is fun and exciting and the story is tons better than in the original DMC games. So if you don't like it, OK, but give me a ligament reason on why you hate it instead of "IT SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S A REBOOTHFDNDJFMF!!!!!!!".

4/5 stars

[Sean]

Dual Destinies.

Best game in the series and well worth the hype; it salvages all of AA4's good elements and throws away the bad. It's a fantastic game and I can't gush over it enough.

[Remynaka]

 The Last of Us.... only game this year that wowed me in any sense of the word. It did everything perfectly, and is still the only game I play again after beating it. RE6 isn't this year but Last of Us tops over that.. and yeah. This year... Last of Us, with Uncharted 3 right behind it.

[Marcello]

Dual Destinies.

Best game in the series and well worth the hype; it salvages all of AA4's good elements and throws away the bad. It's a fantastic game and I can't gush over it enough.

Ooh, cool. I haven't played 5 yet, but so far my favorite is 3. It just all pieces together so well and ends epically. Plus Godot and his theme song are awesome. I actually use his theme as my ring tone.

 

Though, going by it's demo, being able to go through text faster is a godsend.

 

I should say that I will be getting 5 at the end of the week with the DLC trial. Should I play the DLC first? I hear it takes place before the rest of the game, but that doesn't mean it can't give me information that's usually not found out until later, so I'm not sure and I don't want to go into the topic and accidentally see spoilers.

[Sean]

You can play the DLC case either after you complete the game or after case 2, which is where it chronologically takes place. The case flat out assumes the player may not have played the entire game and so it still delves into tutorial-ish dialogue such as telling you about the notes tab or how to use the Mood Matrix in court.

[Solkia]

Does this mean games released in 2013 or games bought in 2013? The only new game I bought was Pokemon X. I don't count Tales of Xillia.

[Chaos Warp]

Does this mean games released in 2013 or games bought in 2013? The only new game I bought was Pokemon X. I don't count Tales of Xillia.

You could use games you bought in 2013 as honourable mentions, but if it's actually on the list then yeah I'd say it has to have come out this year.

[Solkia]

I don't want to feel like I can ony do rants and not praise, so I'll go ahead and mention one of the best games from the last generation I've played so far.

 

 

(yes I realize I'm extremely late to the party, shut up >:U)

 

Holy fuck this game is great, unlike other Batman games I actually feel like Batman when I play this.

 

Incapacitating armed enemies by sneaking up on them, sneaking past snipers and grapling up to their towers, taking down Bane and several goons all at the same time without getting touched, fuck yes I'm the goddamn Batman.

 

There's two things that make this make me feel like Batman.

 

1. The atmosphere

 

Say what you will about grey and brown games; when it works, it works. And it really fucking works here.

 

2. the combat

 

You know what I love about Batman? He can take on a horde of enemies and not get scratched. He is a fucking badass grown man who can rock the goofiest idea for a superhero persona ever.

 

Good luck letting the goons touch you when you take on a horde. I've rarely gotten hit in horde encounters because of the counter methods.

 

 

 

 

Also exploding goo. exploding goo.

 

I haven't beaten it yet, I think I'm only 7% in actually, and it's already one of my top 10. I hope it stays that way.

[Winston]

Bioshock: Infinite - #1

This game has given me the most feels I've ever had in any videogame ever. The story is just so fucking great, you get really close to Elizabeth and you really don't want to see her go back to the tower and you want to take her away from Comstock and all the bad things that lie in Columbia. The soundtrack is great, I especially love the way they put in songs such as Girls just wanna have fun by Cyndi Lauper and Everybody wants to Rule the World, it was just a really sweet easter egg, and they make the songs sound great. The gameplay is the only thing I think is a little flawed, but it's not awful at all, I can play it and I have enjoyment out of it, I just find they could have done things better. I also came into this never even playing a BioShock game, wow, what a way to get me into this series, as soon as I got it I went back to the original BioShock and fell in love with it as well. This is highly recommended by me, especially get the PS3 version, which comes with the original BioShock, incase you have never played the original.

 

Super Mario 3D World - #2

Super Mario 3D World takes Super Mario 3D Land and makes it ten times better. The level design is fantastic, the multiplayer is great fun, and the graphics are fucking amazing. Mario has never looked, played, or felt this good before. You can play as five different characters, the fifth which I won't reveal because of spoilers, but the four playable from the start each have different abilities which seperate the characters, Mario is basically the all-around guy, Luigi can jump high, Peach can float, and Toad is really fast. Which really shakes things up and you learn how to use each character and in which situation they would be great in. Now, the best part of the game HAS to be the SOUNDTRACK, oh yeah, I bolded, slanted and underlined that. The soundtrack is the greatest thing to come out of this game, it's all performed with live instruments, and it's just fucking amazing, I love listening to it almost as much as I love playing the game, which is something really surprising because I fucking love this game.

 

Grand Theft Auto V - #3

Now, I've never really gotten any of the other Grand Theft Auto titles, despite playing them before at my cousins and/or friends house sometimes, which I had great fun with. This game is just, wow, it's amazing, as not being a very big GTA fan, I saw how much praise this was getting and I had to get it, little did I know it would take so much time away from me. I got this game, and I couldn't put it down, I played it all fucking day, it was just so addicting. The story is nothing great, but the gameplay and exploration alone make this game something worthy to own, killing people, stealing cars, and doing even more illegal things is just so much. I love games like this, it's all the bad things your parents and family tell you not to do, but it doesn't matter because it's a videogame so you can do it as much as you want. This game is just really fantastic, I recommend it with all my heart, what are you still doing here? Go get it, right now, you hear me?

 

 

The End~

[RK64]

Now that I played more of some the new games I picked up recently, I'm going to change my GOTY's .

 

1) Tearaway: My god, this game is by far one of the best game's I've ever played. I've haven't been so attached to a game since I was little and the creativity on display here is so consistent that it reminds me of the wonder the Banjo tittles and the Mario Galaxy series have. The story...man, it feels like a wonderful children book come to life with loveable characters, vivid colors popping off the Vita's screen and a main character who is so dam adorable. It takes me back to my childhood, and no game I have ever played took me there before, so I have to commend Media Molicure and Sony for making such a wonderful game. If people truly want a clear reason to pick up a PlayStation Vita, well here it is; the game that is the what Mario 64 was to the N64, Pokemon was to the GameBoy, Mario 3 was to the NES, and Wii Sports was to the Wii.

 

2) Rayman Legends: While the game isn't as good as Rayman Origins, it is dam close to being such as good. We all know this games story; being the Wii U exclusive that showcased its features than anything else on the platform but was moved to every other system known to man after a very long delay. It may have sucked for the game to succumb to this story, the end result is something that does a lot of small things that make its core package a very solid whole. The gameplay feels tighter with it being even faster than Origins, when with that games very tight controls, that is very impressive. The visuals also feel better, with the animations having a more...Disney-like look to them and the levels themselves look a very creative (the underwater spy world notably). And the music, as in all Rayman games is wonderful, with it covering a greater verity of styles compared to Origins. It also helps that the game feels endless with all the content it has; the five main worlds plus the bonus post-game world, forty Origins stages, the challenge mode, the Kung-Foot mini game give the game so much replayablity. Its just a shame the game doesn't feel nearly as connected as Origins was (the levels are all scattered and there is little to no story), but the game is an overall joy and my runner-up game of the year .

[Kimaray]

#3 Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
 
I am a huge Ratchet & Clank fan. I've played all of them on the PS2 and PS3. When they announced Into the Nexus I was bouncing off the walls in excitement and anticipation. The went back to their original direction and didn't do anything weird and different like they did with the past two games. The game looks gorgeous, and they kept their habit of including awesome hilarious weapons to use at your disposal. The story was great, although short. Which is why it's #3 on my list of GOTY.
 
#2 Tales of Xillia 
 
Tales of Xillia was released in Japan in 2011, but came to NA in 2013, so I feel that it's justified in putting it in this list because of that. I've played other JRPG games like Final Fantasy and Ni No Kuni. But Tales of Xillia really stands out to me. The combat is fast, fluid and gives you tons of possible play styles with the different characters. Characters have different skills, and you can link with others to change how things go. I really enjoyed the story, I got really into it at times and it gave me lots of feels. The voice acting was top notch. However I felt that the split storylines between the two main characters was a bit of a letdown, they were virtually the same and that was a disapointment for me. It falls just short of my GOTY by a bit.
 
#1 Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

 

I fucking love this game. This is the best game I have played of this year. Especially since it's a spinoff of one of my favorite franchises about my favourite character out of any video game I've played. I absolutely love the sword fighting action in it. I have never played a game that lets me kill enemies with such precision, or just slice them into ribbons. I loved the brutality that came with it, slice people in half and rip out their spine? Yes please. Oh, and the boss fights, gotta love those. The boss fights in this game are just so amazing, they're fast, fun and totally badass. And the kickass soundtracks make the badass boss fights even more badass. Despite what people said about the story and characters, I quite liked it. I found that they did a good job with the characters. I actually grew to really hate one of them, and it was really satisfying just shredding him into mince meat. This has to be one of my favourite games of all time, let alone all year it was fucking amazing,

[Danj86]

Sorry I'm late, I've been really busy. So busy that I've not been able to draw lately, that's kinda annoying but the sooner I finish, the sooner I can draw again.

 

I could make my GOTY Ace Attorney 5, but I've still not completed it yet. Super Mario 3D World, but I completed it too quickly. Or Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but it lacked the replay value that my top choice had.

 

3DS: Fire Emblem: Awakening -

To be honest, I've always had a soft spot for JRPGs so it seems natural that one would be my top game. While I also enjoy an RPG more if the game lets you take on the form of the main character, rather then control a pre-existing character who gets into a world saving role by accident. Even better if you can edit your characters appearance and choose which supporting characters to bond with.

This game does all of that, while being wrapped in glorious gameplay, magnificent art, spectacular music and a unique and gorgeous CG cutscene style.

 

*spoilers are below, read at your own cost*

The story is also brilliant and possibility extremely confusing if your not paying attention. Time travel tends to do that. But it also had a freakin' amazing plot twist that adds to the confusion, but doesn't really matter as there's something poetic about battling your inner demons in a literal sense. The sacrifice ending trope is one of the most annoying ones in my opinion, but when I made it to that battle, I knew what I wanted to do. The game made me care so much about the characters, that I wanted to ensure the peaceful future they deserved, rather then risk further turmoil in generations to come. The future children characters also helped make this choice.

 

It's pretty impressive to me that a game could make me choose the trope I loaved above all else.