I might change/add a few things later, but I think this is just about it. I hope I got the voting format right too. Pretty good gaming year overall. First some random awards I felt like giving out for stuff I wont be mentioning in my top 10/honourable mentions:
Peter Molyneux Award for Least Realized Game Design based on Promises and Hype
SimCity Really, no one should be surprised that I thought this the most disappointing game of the year. The first real SimCity game in a decade, with seemingly significant resources spent, a bunch of good design ideas, what seemed to be a complex new simulation engine that promised deep and rewarding gameplay, and so on. You might be expecting me to say now that it was the server issues at launch that ruined things for me, but they didnt. The server issues were something that was annoying for a few days; the fundamental design flaws, countless game-breaking bugs, tiny maps and lacking features on the other hand were problems that absolutely killed the game. A group of us gave it several tries, establishing regions and cooperating, and it was always fun enough as multiplayer games usually are, but invariably some (or all) of us would run into some bug that would kill the game for us, or some of us would simply run out of space after only a short time with nothing else to do after that. Dont think that patches have fixed all the bugs or issues other than scale either, far from it. SimCity is still plagued by game-breaking issues, some of which only appeared in later versions, whilst others have been present since launch. I think with this instalment, despite its significant sales, EA might have killed the franchise for the fans once and for all. An absolute embarrassment.
Worst Advertising Downloadable Content
SimCity
The Nissan Leaf DLC. Not just for being essentially pointless in-game, but also for arriving at a time when players were hoping to see actual improvements to the game coming from Maxis.
The Obsidian Award for releasing with more Bugs than you can Shake a Stick at
SimCity Yes, that. And as I noted earlier, patches have done some to alleviate the plethora of bugs, but the game is still riddled with game-breaking bugs.
Best Downloadable Content
Mass Effect 3: Citadel The year wasnt all bad for Electronic Arts, the release of Mass Effect 3s Citadel downloadable content pack, the final single-player content for the last-gen trilogy was great. Citadel was to Mass Effect what the episode
200 was to Stargate SG-1. Something that poked light-hearted fun at the whole thing and proved to be a much better send-off to the characters and universe players/viewers had spent so many hours with than the actual endings proved to be.
Most Insane Future War Scenario:
Call of Duty: Ghosts - I havent even played the game but have only read about it and seen bits on YouTube, nonetheless wow. I dont think well see this topped until the release of Homefront 2 to be honest, because stuff like Battlefield 4 just cant compete with this. My hat is off to you Infinity Ward.
The Ron Paul 2016 award for most Unlikely Electoral Scenario
Democracy 3 My popularity in a game as the USA I did. See
here
Ubisoft award for bar-fillingest Game of the Year
Cookie Clicker You produce cookies, to buy upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, and then you reset for heavenly chips, and then you produce cookies, to buy upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies, to buy more upgrades, to produce more cookies
I hate myself for actually finding this somewhat compelling for a day.
Okay, to preface the actual vote, I will say that when I include ratings, I use a scale where 6 is an above average game that I would recommend, a 7 is a good game and so on. A 10/10 is not a perfect game, but it is an instant classic, and represents my belief that the game is amongst the best in its genre.
1. Europa Universalis IV ; Anyone who knows me here on GAF probably saw this one coming from a mile away, but I think its a very worthy game to pick as game of the year. For those not familiar, in Europa Universalis IV (EU4) the player takes control over any nation in the world from 1444 and guides them through the centuries until the game ends in 1821. As the fourth entry in the grand strategy franchise, EU4 does not stand out as a radical departure from its predecessors, but rather a more refined, more polished and more balanced experience. EU4 finds a balance between the freeform nature of EU3 and the more historical approach of EU2. Its a far more appealing product as a result, as it leads to a somewhat more plausible world without the player feeling like he isnt much affecting the world as it is taking shape outside his borders. As a result of this, its far easier to identify with your nation similar to how people identify with the scheming of their ruler in Crusader Kings II, which makes it a far more compelling game.
Perhaps even more importantly, the fundamental game mechanics are now far clearer and more accessible to the player, there is still some room for improvement in this area (and that is coming), but its far easier for players to grasp what theyre doing and what consequences it will have. Various mechanics have also been changed to be more sensible and fit better in the logic of the game. Players are now curtailed in their expansionist tendencies by the formation of coalitions against them when nations feel threatened by conquests in their vicinity. Replacing the old global infamy value in this fashion has created a more natural deterrent to expansion, and also serves as a far more effective way of preventing one nation from becoming effectively invulnerable to enemy action as was the case in EU3. The aggressive expansion mechanic that means to simulate internal instability as a result of conquests however could still use some work, but Im confident that will eventually be adjusted for the better.
Praise is also due for the way the game deals with achievements, which is perhaps a strange thing to say (and it wont even be the last time I do so on this list), but forcing the player to play in ironman mode if he wants to gain achievements was a stroke of genius, as it encourages playing the game in a manner far more in keeping with the intentions of the design. Many of the achievements offer interesting goals to pursue and are absolutely worth attaining, but where one in a normal game might for instance save a game before starting a major war, here that is no longer possible. The game saves after virtually every event that happens or decision the players takes, and does so by overwriting a single cloud save, this leads to history in the game becoming far less of an inevitable trend towards greatness. A foolish decision to enter a war can lead to significant territorial losses, which makes the whole decision making process in the game remarkably different. After having put hours into a single game, just quitting isnt really an option, so you consider your options more carefully and perhaps think a little more on how you are going to approach things.
The most fun you can have in EU4 however is not had in single-player, but in multiplayer, and I believe this to be one of the finest multiplayer games ever made. Ive played a whole bunch of EU4 multiplayer games already, both with friends and with a group of GAFers, and in all cases its been an incredibly rewarding and entertaining experience. Scheming together with or against other players, trying to ascertain what the others plans are and how best to deal with them, and of course simply seeing how you stack up against other players. (For the record, in my case, not that well, but its fun regardless)
I could really go on and on about EU4, because it really is just that good. It clearly shows the huge progress Paradox has made as a studio over the past few years, for one thing, the game was perfectly playable at launch. For those who remember the state in which EU3 launched, thats remarkable in and of itself, and not unlike its predecessor, EU4 will undoubtedly receive a great many expansions that add to and improve the games mechanics and content, the first of which is out this January actually. In closing, this is not only my Game of the Year, but one of my favourite games of the past few years. It represents the very best in the grand strategy genre, and I encourage anyone even remotely interested in that genre to give EU4 a try.
(10/10)
2. The Stanley Parable ; Back in 2011, I named the original mod this is based on as one of my favourite games of the year, and I was thus excited when they announced an HD version. I was pleasantly surprised that rather than just overhaul the graphics, theyd also bothered to completely redesign the game, only hanging on to a handful of things from the original. Happily, the redesign was a great success, and this HD version is much better than the original. I could go on at length about various things that I loved about it, but I really think people should go into this game blind, I wouldnt want to spoil it for any of the three people reading this post in its entirety if they havent played the game yet. Suffice it to say, its an incredibly entertaining take on choice in games and its easily the funniest game Ive ever played.
(9/10)
3. Gone Home ; Gone Home is a game that came absolutely out of nowhere for me, I had never heard of it before I bought it, and I really enjoyed it. Its rare to play a game where characters especially ones you cant even see actually act like real people. I also loved the way Gone Home plays with your expectations, and offers exactly the things you dont expect. However, as with the Stanley Parable, this is another game where people really should be going in as blind as possible, so saying all that much more on it is probably not wise. Trust me however when I say that this is really something special.
(8.5/10)
4. Papers, Please ; I still cant quite believe that a satirical game in which you play an Eastern European bureaucrat turned out to be one of my favourite games of the year. In Papers, Please you man a border checkpoint for entry into the fictional totalitarian state of Arstotzka. At its core, the gameplay consists of checking the documents of people seeking entry into Arstotzka for validity. It is important you process enough entrants every day, as your pay depends on the number processed, and at the end of every day you incur expenses for housing and feeding your family. While early on this doesnt pose too much of a challenge, as the game progresses you find it becomes progressively harder to make ends meet due to ever more numerous and complex rules and documents, and this is where much of the games brilliance lies. Continuing to make ends meet whilst being an upstanding and loyal member of Arstotzkan society becomes incredibly hard, youll quickly find yourself taking bribes from entrants, denying people with invalid documents despite pressing reasons for entry, or even supporting rebels that seek to overthrow the regime.
(Award for Excellence)
5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ; Brothers takes you to a beautiful fairytale world where two brothers must go on a great quest to find a cure for their fathers illness after having already lost their mother before. Its a game where death plays a major role, but it isnt about death, its about a bond between brothers. The entire game is played with you controlling both brothers at the same time, and to get to the end, they have to work together at every stage, helping each other navigate through the many distinct and beautiful environments. There is no dialogue here, but during the three hours or so the game is long, you become more attached to the characters than you do in most games, which makes the experience a lot more engaging than it otherwise might have been. I absolutely loved this game from beginning to end, and thought several moments in it were some of the most memorable in any game this year.
(8.5/10)
6. Reus ; I bought Reus a few months ago and didnt really get into it the first time, I thought it was fun, but for some reason it didnt really click for me. Having gone back to it now though, I really like it a lot. For those not familiar, Reus is a god game in which you exercise your godly powers via four giants, who can create and improve resources for the humans to use.
You progress in the game by facilitating human development as best as possible, by providing them with enough resources for their towns to grow and for them to complete great projects. Early on this is fairly easy, but as you progress further in the game, achieving higher levels of development becomes more of a challenge as you really have to ensure you make the optimal use of the limited space towns have available. Its progression and gradual difficulty curve is probably the best thing about Reus, it gradually ramps up in complexity and scale, going from fairly easy 30 minute sessions to challenging two hour sessions. The way in which you progress is great too, its not about completing pre-set levels, because Reus is effectively a sandbox game. The way you progress is by unlocking achievements. Unlock a certain number of achievements, and you unlock new resources for you to use in the next game. Its a brilliant system, because it so perfectly marries the sandbox nature of the game with a goal-oriented progression.
Of course there should be some pushback to your progression, and there is. As a god, you find out that human free will can lead to some seriously unwanted consequences. Make a town grow too quickly without them sufficiently respecting your power or without the presence of danger in their environment, and the people will turn greedy, and will be eager to conquer neighbouring towns. They might also turn on your giants if they feel you arent giving them enough resources, and send raiding parties against them to try and bring them down.
Lastly, I should absolutely mention the brilliant presentation of the game. Reus has an amazing art style and is certainly one of the most visually pleasing games Ive played this year. Its also probably overall the best game ever developed in the Netherlands.
(8/10)
7. BioShock Infinite ; I fully understand why BioShock Infinite is as divisive as it is, because on the one hand there is so much to love in the setting, the story, some of the characters and so forth, but at the same time, the moment to moment gameplay isnt nearly as good as it should be. There are two main issues in the moment-to-moment gameplay: poor pacing and an excess of uninteresting combat encounters. The two are of course very much connected, with the uninteresting combat usually keeping you from progressing further through a staggeringly beautiful and interesting world, and experiencing more of the story. At times you almost feel like the gameplay is intruding on the experience you want to have with this game. For me though, looking back on the experience, its the games world and the story that stuck with me most, not its flaws. Its a game that should have been a lot better than it was, but despite that was still a hell of a lot better than most games that came out this year.
(8/10)
8. Victoria II: Heart of Darkness ; This second expansion for Victoria II refines what is already an absolutely brilliant strategy game even further. Victoria II, a grand strategy game that predominantly takes place during the 19th century, sets itself apart by putting the people front and centre. As leader of your nation, you dont have absolute control over its actions, but instead feel the pressure of the people pushing you in certain directions. Another important element is the interplay between the various great powers in the world, as no single nation was a hegemon such as the United States is today. It is in this area where, in my opinion, the most significant improvement of Heart of Darkness (HoD) lies. The add-on adds a new crisis system, which allows nations to effectively align on separate sides in a conflict before it eventually starts (if it ever does at all).
Of course the title of the add-on points to a focus on Africa, and indeed the colonization of Africa is a major part of this add-on. Mechanics surrounding it are completely reworked, and cause the colonization of Africa to be a more competitive affair than it was before. Its a far better approximation of the scramble for Africa that happened during the late 19th and early 20th century than systems that were present before. In tandem with the colonial system they also changed the naval mechanics, improving them considerably and making them actually interesting.
Overall, this add-on isnt earth-shattering, and in my eyes not as significant an upgrade as last years A House Divided, but it is a good upgrade to an already excellent game, and a great reason to get back into it.
(8/10)
9. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag ; Assassins Creed IV (AC4) continues the franchises recovery, after last years Assassins Creed III already did quite a bit to make up for Revelations. AC4 shines where previous games in the series were never really all that strong, at least not until AC3, its best when youre just roaming around the vast and beautifully rendered world exploring, looting the occasional merchant ship, filling lots and lots of bars and fulfilling the odd assassination or naval contract. The actual missions arent bad, but arent especially compelling, mainly because the story just isnt very engaging, and the characters generally arent very interesting. I did however like the parts of the game outside the animus, where youre just walking around offices and can hack computers to find exposition stuff. I would have liked it more however if there had been more active gameplay there, I would have preferred something closer to the undercover sections of Splinter Cell: Double Agent (sue me, I liked those parts of SC
A), where youre trying to avoid detection as youre snooping around. Overall though, this is a solid game, and I hope the 2014 Assassins Creed improves on it further.
(7/10)
10. The Raven Legacy of a Master Thief ; I have to admit that I was hoping the Raven would be better than it eventually ended up being. I absolutely loved the Book of Unwritten Tales by the same studio, and the 1960s detective setting of the Raven appeals to me far more than TBoUTs fantasy setting ever did. The writing here however just isnt quite as sharp as it was there, even if its still better than what you will find in most point & click adventures, much like the voice acting is. I guess my favourite part of the Raven would be a huge spoiler if I actually explicitly mentioned it, but there is a story mechanic about midway through the game that I really liked. It was an interesting way to tell the story, as vague as that is. I also loved the general aesthetics of the game, particularly those in the first episode. Overall, this is an enjoyable game, its not incredible by any means, but if you like point & click adventures, you will probably like the Raven.
(7/10)
x. Papo & Yo ; Im rather torn on Papo & Yo. On the one hand, I enjoyed it as an experience and support someone trying to make a game about a difficult theme like child abuse and alcoholism, but on the other hand the actual gameplay of the game is not as interesting as it should be due to a very low difficulty level and rather simple design. A bit of a mixed bag, but overall still worth it for me.
(6/10)
x. Tomb Raider ; I was never a huge fan of Tomb Raider before, I dont think I ever lasted more than a level or two before getting bored and quitting, me actually finishing this game was a pretty huge step forward. I liked quite a few aspects of the game, its very polished, it has a good length without overstaying its welcome, the visuals are great, and I respect them for trying to take the character and story in a new direction for the franchise. That said, the end result is still a fairly unremarkable and typical AAA experience. Its all a bit linear and scripted, QTE-heavy and in general just burdened by a whole ton of extremely tired AAA-tropes for me. I do think this rebooted franchise has potential though if they try to be a bit more ambitious and give the player some truly open environments to explore. Also, maybe torture your main character a
little less next time around. (6/10)
2012. The Walking Dead ; I hate zombies, I think theyre just about the worst theme in gaming, film, TV and what not. That said, given the dreadful premise of surviving a zombie apocalypse , Telltale has done an amazing job with the Walking Dead due to some excellent writing and character stuff, save maybe for the fairly weak fourth chapter. More than that, I find it amazing that theyve made what is essentially a very linear game come across (to me at least) as being a fairly non-linear experience with meaningful choices. Not until I started talking about the game with others did I realize just how linear an experience it is, and by now weve probably all seen the very narrow flowchart of decisions. (8/10)
As far as 2013 games go, I would have liked to have checked out Saints Row IV, but Im holding off for a full package type version, games that will get massive amounts of DLC usually deter me from buying them before such a time. Grand Theft Auto V I hope to check out on PC in 2014, if it does show up there, I didnt feel like playing a game on 360 in 2013.