Lol wait, the Winnie the Pooh game is eligible?

...BRB

1. Bioshock Infinite ; Nothing else like it. Loved the story, art and gameplay. Despite all the hate the shooting got, I found the sky hooks, combat and AI to be some of the best ever.
2. Killer Instinct ; I haven't played a fighting game this l long since Mortal Kombat 2. It only came out a month ago and I've played 68 hours of it!
3. Kerbal Space Program ; Never thought I'd like this game, but it's such a cool chill experience but very challenging.
4. Gone Home ; This game had me guessing to what was going on the entire time, and all the while I was expecting something else at the end... 5. The Last of Us ; I've felt like I've played this game before, gameplay, settings, graphics, zombies, story... but I still got to the end and loved the last 20 minutes.
6. Papers, Please ; Just got this a week ago and have put 9 hours into it, a gem.
7. The Swapper ; Loved this one too, although haven't put enough time into it, really wish it have controller support.
8. Ryse: Son of Rome ; Yup Ryse, played through the entire game in about 3 days. Hoping the sequel adds more mechanics to the solid combat.
9. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; Yet another GTA that I haven't finished, but still appreciate what it does.
10. Resogun ; Very cool shooter.
2012. FTL ; we need more games like this!

Atilac said:

I don't need a write-up for each ranking do I?

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Just one tiny little blurb for one game at the least, and it's something I wanted to highlight a little since I've spoken to people who have actually been deterred from posting a list because they feel like you -have- to write tons and tons of text for every single game they've played and listed.

If you want to vote, vote. Just follow the OP's rules of adding one little blurb for one game. Don't feel pressured to write reams of text about all or most of the games you've played.

The point of GotY is to have fun with your list. Don't feel deterred from posting if you don't have time or don't feel like it's necessary to super-justify your choices like everyone else. It's certainly nice that people are doing it and it's something I enjoy reading, but at the same time, don't feel excluded if you just can't do it. No one is going to penalize you for not waxing poetic about games you've played for paragraphs.

1. Bioshock Infinite ; The game I found myself wanting to play again and do research about as soon as I was done with it, the game that stuck with me the longest after beating it and, ultimately, the one I had the most fun with this year. Yes I do see the limitations of the core gameplay and, like others, I feel a world as fully realized as Columbia would have been more fitting for a RPG rather than a straight up shooter and yes, I do see the inconsistency in the plot, such as the unexplained introduction of vigors/plasmids, but I still feel the merits of BI far outweigh its faults. The world building is fantastic, the writing is quality throughout, plot and storytelling are amongst the best in the medium and for all the complaints the gameplay gets, I thought it was just plain fun, an old school shooter with a nice twist provided by the various vigors. Simply a great game from all points of view.

2. The Stanley Parable ; This came out of nowhere for me. I didn't know anything about it until the glowing scores and impressions started to pop up all over the internet. I decided to try it out for myself and it was a revelation. Funny, clever but never pretentious, an experimental game that plays around game tropes and ditches most gameplay mechanics while still managing to be enjoyable and approachable. A total success.

3. The Last of us ; Were I writing this list for publication on a gaming website, I would probably put this on top of it. Arguably the most important game of the year and simply masterfully executed in all its parts. If it were a movie, it would be easy to criticize the somewhat predictable plotline, with most twists and major points visible from miles away, while praising the smart dialogues, the beautifully realized setting and the believable and ever-evolving relationship between the two main characters, up to the controversial ending. TLOU is not a movie though, it's a game and a damn good one at that, and within gaming it's simply a triumph.

4. Grand Theft Auto V ; I hadn't been this hyped for a game since Skyward Sword and I have to say, GTA V mostly lived up to the high expectations I had about it. While the core mechanics (shooting, driving, character movement) still leave a lot of room for improvement, the soundtrack - always a big part of GTA games - is ultimately disappointing and the humour and writing fall flat on a few occasions, the first step of Los Santos and the surrounding county in HD is one to remember: in spite of the hardware limitations (evident in the shaky framerate and sometimes hideous aliasing), the world is vibrant, rich, atmospheric and, at times, poetic (especially by night, when the aliased and sunny roads of LS are replaced by astounding vistas, made all the more impressive by the glorious lighting system) and the new mission structure allows for a whole new level of quality in them, at least within the genre. Easily the best in the series.

5. Gone Home ; This one really grew on me over time. I was kinda underwhelmed at first, perhaps confused by the somewhat anticlimatic resolution, but I have to give Fullbright Company the credit they deserve, they told a story, whether it really needed to be told or not, in such a way that is only possible through exploration and interaction, and thus through the videogame medium. Add to that the extremely polished presentation, and you have a great little gem, one that is not to be missed especially at the discounted price is going for at the moment.

6. Guacamelee! ; Metroidvania done right in 2013. With charming graphics and music, a rather deep and yet simple fighting system, good writing and humour and tight controls, what's not to like? A great ride.

7. Rayman Legends ; A great platformer with a beautiful artstyle, inventive level design and plenty of content. Easily one of my favourite 2D platformers ever.

8. Gunpoint ; A ridiculously cool filmnoire-inspired stealth game. The hacking system absolutely needs to be expanded on a larger scale, Watch Dogs could do just that (or not. Perhaps dumbing it down 10 times). If you love spy stories, stealth and creative new ways to combine these elements in a game, give it a shot.

9. Papers, Please ; Even though I was quite apathetic towards it the first time I tried to play it, the game eventually clicked with me when I picked it up a second time and I found myself playing for four hours straight to completion. And then playing through it again to get a more satisfying end, up to the point I was too tired to go on and just had to go to sleep. Before doing that though, I made sure to edit my GAF GOTY list in order to include it, which I'm doing now. It's that good, a unique, powerful and strangely addictive game.

10. The Entertainment ; I debated whether to consider the first two acts of Kentucky Route Zero for my list and, in the end, I decided against it as it's simply not a finished package as of yet (edit: and apparently, according to the rules, it wouldn't have been eligible anyway). The Entertainment, a spin-off released for free by developer Cardboard Computer, is conversely a complete product and a really bizarre and singular at that. In a few words, it's a chunk of a fictitious play written by a fictitious playwright seen through the eyes of a silent actor, it's a brief story about unfulfilled desires, ambition, debt, ... and stuff. It's also a critique of the ultralinearity in many AAA games nowadays, where the player is not much more than an actor, or a puppet even. Well, maybe. Whatever, who's edgy now, RPS? A cool little thing and well worth the admission ticket.

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1. Rocksmith 2014 ; This is the Rockband 3 of the Rocksmith series — except this one will actually get you laid teach you to play a real guitar (IF you can afford one). Everything is improved from Rocksmith and the menus are blazing fast (on PC at least).

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2. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ; Where this game's going we don't need formulae. Tends to go off rails during the ending and It's an awesome and unexpected experience from an AAA game. Surprise of the Year.

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3. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; Haunting OST (Aaaaa- risen~) and orgasmic game play. If you're playing as Assassin and you're not using reset+masterful kill you're bad person. Thanks PS+!
4. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; Very good game design with a lot of replay value and a fitting OST .
5. The Last of Us ; Full of brilliant moments and gameplay sections. My favourite ones: .
6. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; You don't immediately recognize this as a Final Fantasy because of the slow pacing of the story but don't be deceived by its MMO disguise: It's probably the only good FF that came out since FFX.
7. BioShock Infinite ; Intriguing story but the gameplay ruins everything. And It's pretty funny considering System Shock 2 can still be enjoyed today for its game design alone.
8. Remember Me ; French developers have been on fire these years. Gorgeous art and so-so combat mechanics.
9. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing ; I'm still waiting for Diablo 3 to hit PS+, in the meanwhile this is a good diversion.
10. Guacamelee ; Man, after having bought a PS Vita I can't enjoy platforms on PCs nor consoles. That little rascal is perfect for games like this. Thanks PS+!
x. Dota 2 ; Can't get to bed without my daily fix. Actually I'm lying, haven't played a game since early December. Those anonymous meetings are doing wonders.
x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut ; Should be played for the Developer's Commentary alone.
2012. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning ; Really surprised about this one. Fun to play and who knows a different pricing model might haved saved 38Studios.

Dusky said:

This is the second time today I've seen you having failed to read the OP. I'm almost starting to think you're doing this on purpose.

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edited. How you like it now?

A Huge Battleship said:

I must play more games next year.
I must play more games next year.
I must play more games next year.
I must play more games-

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Well shit.

1. Monster Girl Quest Chapter 3 ; I REGRET NOTHING.
2. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds ; One day the penny will drop and side-scrolling beat 'em up fans in their thousands will flock to buy this game. In the meantime, its glorious aesthetics (retro-style graphics and chiptune soundtrack), remarkably deep mechanics and 4-player online co-op/VS will go ignored and unappreciated by the masses. Shame, because it really deserved more attention.

3. Dynasty Warriors 8 ; A respectable improvement from the disappointing 7, introducing enough new mechanics to (partially) reinvigorate the weary combat. The wide variety of characters and stages ensured that, as usual, I sank more hours into it than a majority of other games I played this year. A better designed secondary mode and/or increased variety in the battles would've held my attention for even longer.

4. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse ; Successful re-imagining of one of my favourite Mega Drive platformers. Credit due to the developers for keeping to the spirit of the original without shoehorning in any significant unwarranted gameplay elements.

5. DuckTales Remastered ; Less inspirational than the CoI remake, but still an enjoyable experience with some excellently remixed bosses and a fantastic OST.

2012. The Witch's House ; My favourite freeware game I've played to date. Vastly superior to other similar RPGM offerings, largely for the enthralling tension that the titular house instils in you through its foreboding atmosphere and wide variety of unorthodox methods for snuffing out your existence. The 'true' ending was one of the most affecting moments in gaming memory for me and is still affixed to my consciousness 11 months later.

The Witch's House didn't appear on the nominations list for 2012 (as per the OP) but it's a game from 2012 so I'm mentioning it irrespective of whether it's counted.

1. Super Mario 3D World ; Haven't completed it yet, but I didn't play an enormous amount of 2013 games (mostly caught up on older games this year) and this is the best one. EDIT working on the post-game content now. Great great game. Should've had online multi though.

2. Splinter Cell Blacklist ; Best Splinter Cell I've played (skipped conviction); was great throughout. Probably my favorite stealth game I've every played.

3. Pikmin 3 ; Wonderful game. Anybody with a Wii U that has not played it is doing themselves a disservice, even if they think it's not for them. At least give it a rent.

4. Lego City Undercover ; Best lego game I've played. Lots to do, and great sense of humor.

5. Beyond Two Souls ; I haven't played Heavy Rain yet, but can't wait to do so after playing this. Not totally in love with the gameplay, but for the most part everything was well executed.

6. Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag ; Might like 3 more than 4, and I haven't finished 4 yet, but very fun so far with only a few minor complaints.

7. The Last of Us ; Very good game. Might like UC2 better (UC1 is close, and haven't played UC3 yet). Grossly grossly overrated imho, but still good stuff.

x. Call of Duty Ghosts ; Well, I played it a decent amount so thought I'd mention it without awarding it points. But they're not really moving the series forward at this point...

x. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; I'll mention it (with zero points) because I appreciate what Rockstar has accomplished, even though I don't like the game, and it bored me to tears.

2012. Assassin's Creed 3 ; I'm way off from the gaf consensus with this one. I enjoyed it immensely, largely because I'm a huge sucker for U.S. history related stuff, especially the American Revolution.


Not much else I feel to be worth mentioning. Didn't play some of the 'favorites' yet e.g. TLoU (EDIT: Now I have; listed above) and Bioshock Infinite or any handheld games.

Other games I played predominantly in 2013 that I liked a lot: Alpha Protocol, KOTOR2 (with restoration mod), Uncharted 2 (first Uncharted was decent, but not nearly as good), and a couple older-ish PC games I'm probably forgetting.

1. Super Mario 3D World ; Really loved the level design, music, visuals, everything really. I really wish they ramped up the difficulty a lot more, but it had enough challenging moments, and the platforming just felt perfect.
2. Legend of Zelda ALBW ; I wasn't expecting this game to be so good, but it really surprised me. I love the open design, and the visuals were actually really nice (love that 60 fps!). But what really pushed it so high for me was the music. Simply incredible.
3. Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed ; got the steam version, so it's from this year. Favorite racing game since F-Zero GX, and best kart racer I've played. Really well done.
4. Ace attorney Dual Destinies ; It had been a while since I played one of these, and this made me remember why I liked the DS games so much. But I think it went beyond that, and actually had some of the best cases in the series. There were very few moments which made me say "well that was obvious" or "well that was just dumb," which were all too common in the earlier games.
5. Pikmin 3 ; Didn't blow me away like I hoped, but a very enjoyable Pikmin simulator.
6. Shin Megami Tensei IV ; Spent the most time with this of any game on the list. A really solid RPG. I think the first 5 or 10 hours were just superb; but it sort of got less and less enjoyable all the way through the end.
7. Legend of Zelda WWHD ; Normally wouldn't put a "remaster" on the list, but the added features actually improved the experience a lot for me. Very well done remaster, this should be an example for the way these sorts of re-releases are done.
8. Fire Emblem Awakening ; I really did like this game, but honestly there was too much RPGage (i.e., being able to grind essentially) such that it devalued what I really enjoy about the series. But it was certainly enjoyable, though the challenge was all but gone even on the hardest difficulty.
9. Animal Crossing New Leaf ; spent over 50 hours with this and enjoyed most of them. I'd only played the GC game, so it was nice revisiting this series, but by the end I felt like I could go another ten years before playing another one.

Ended up being a really Nintendo-heavy list this year, but guess that's just how it turned out for me. Honestly not a great year from my perspective; other than the top two games on the list, nothing really blew me away. Played a good number of other games from this year, but none of them were good enough to make the list. Still got a few weeks though, I may check out Guacamelee. Here's to next year, and hoping Dark Souls 2 delivers!

1) Zelda ALBW - this was it for me. Right from the jump I knew I was entering something special. Amazing
2) Super Mario 3D World
3) GTA V
4) Wind Waker HD
5) Last of Us
6)Bioshock Infinite

1. Last of Us
2. Rayman Legends
3. GTA V
4. Mario 3D world
5. AC 4
6. DMC
7. God of War

I get enjoyment out of people not formatting their list right if I disagree with their choices.

Another year I can't participate because I've played not enough of the candidates. :-(

Cosmozone said:

Another year I can't participate because I've played not enough of the candidates. :-(

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Some people are only voting for one game, so it's okay if you haven't played a lot. You still have until the 18th of January to play some if you haven't felt like you have.

If AniHawk were still running the show, he'd probably make the minimum 3 games (in fact, I think it was like that when he used to do the GotY threads), but he's not, so I think you can get away with just one.

I've made it more than halfway through Fire Emblem so I've updated my list to reflect that.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94154101&postcount=390

1. Grand Theft Auto V ; After being disappointed with GTA IV, this was a great return to form.
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD ; The first Zelda game I played to completion.
3. Super Mario 3D World ; Its highs are high.
4. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch ; Battle AI aside, I loved it. Great world, excellent presentation.
5. Hotline Miami ; Released on Linux this year which is what I played it on.
6. Toki Tori 2 ; Excellent puzzle game with a great sense of discovery.
7. The Last of Us ; The reason it's not higher is I got tired of the combat, as with Uncharted games.
8. Bravely Default
9. Tearaway
10. Lego City Undercover ; Few games are as fun to explore, with so many secrets to find.

Can we steal images from other posters? Some of those logos are nice... ^^

How are you guys dealing with episodic games? Are they gonna be eligible for voting in the year the final episode is released, even if they're spread over multiple years?

Morrigan Targaryen said:

Can we steal images from other posters? Some of those logos are nice... ^^

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You're welcome to use mine, but they're, uh, kind of obscure.

1. The Last of Us; It blew away my expectations. It is an incredible technical achievement considering the age of the hardware it was on and on top of that the game played beautifully. The game has an incredible story; one that was so good that it didn't even have to rely on ridiculous theatrics nor did it start using cliches to keep you invested and interested. It took cover based gameplay and turned it on its head with its smooth, flowing cover system and organic combat. Makes going back to other cover based shooters really tough now. It had superb A.I that was always surprising and doing pretty amazing things. There wasn't anything else I played this year that came close to what Naughty Dog crafted. It also helps that the multiplayer mode was actually fantastic and really, really well made. Overall, I can't help but think it was the best game of the year.

All of my favorite PC games were either released last year (Planetside 2), are in alpha/beta (Planetary Annihilation, Starbound, Wasteland 2, Gnomoria, Maia), or are HD releases (Baldur's Gate EE).

Oh well.

Silly me made a topic, not knowing about this one, so I'm just basically gonna copy my list from that one, and post it on here. Here's a top ten list I made for this year ^_^

#10: Project X Zone (Nintendo 3DS)
Sadly I actually did not beat this game. I had to sell my 3DS for funds before I was able to see it through to completion. That being said, I still put a lot of time in this game, and I really enjoyed in my time with it. The combat starts out easy enough, and progressively got more challenging later in the game at a pace that I found comfortable as someone who doesn't play a ton of SRPGs. The story is complete nonsense, but I still found the dialogue humorous, and it's fun seeing so many characters from different franchises interact.

#9: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Nintendo Wii U)
I had never been able to get into a Monster Hunter game previously. The games localized on the PSP suffered to me from having horrible controls, and the previous version of Monster Hunter 3 did not feel nearly as easy to sink myself into as the Wii U version. I felt like the series was finally able to live up to its potential a bit by finally being made available on an HD console. The art style looks gorgeous, and has never been able to shine on a handheld, or SD system. It took a long time for the game's mechanics to finally sink in for someone so unfamiliar with this style of game, but once I got into it, it really became a blast to play. I would love to play more with people online, but sadly no one I consider a close friend has a Wii U.

#8: Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn (Sony Playstation 3, and PC)
This was a bit of a surprise for me, because I didn't think this game could be fixed. I bought the original version of Final Fantasy XIV when it came out, and just felt ripped off, and didn't want anything to do with it anymore. When this 2.0 version of the game was preparing for release this year, I still had little interest in it. Since I was an owner of the original game though, I was technically an owner of ARR as well, so I thought I would give it a try. It took a while, but I really started to see the appeal. The game looks and runs beautifully, the combat is fun, and some of the systems in play to get players to work together are really fun. As far as content goes, I'm sure it could use some more, but the foundation is there for it to be a great MMO. I eventually picked up the PS3 version as well, and I was blown away by how well it ran on the system. I felt like the frame rate was really solid, and it just looked beautiful on the system, even if it wasn't as high res as the PC version.

#7: Lost Planet 3 (PC)
This game may have been the biggest surprise for me this year. I was never a huge fan of the first two Lost Planet games, and I was so ready to just overlook this game after hearing who the developer was. It wasn't until I saw some footage of the game via Giantbomb's quick look of it that I started to become intrigued. I decided to just take a chance and got the PC version, and what I played was a huge pleasant surprise. Maybe not revolutionary from a gameplay and design perspective, but it was very well made. It looked gorgeous at times on my PC that I was always taking screenshots. Not only that, but the story kept me very interested, with very well written and performed characters. It's sad that this game probably didn't sell well, or will never get the recognition it deserves, but it will at least be on my list as one of my favorites of the year.

#6: Papers, Please (PC)
I have a hard time explaining this game to people who don't play the same type of games as I do, because it's such a unique game concept, and you don't really understand that it works as well as it does until you see it. The game concept alone would've been enough for me to want to rate this game so high, but there are additional pieces like the intriguing story, the music, and unique visual style that make it all so great in my opinion.

#5: Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo Wii U)
Anyone who's played this game, it's not surprising to see it somewhere on their top ten list. It's the HD Mario game I feel I've been waiting for, and I hope we see more of it on the Wii U. While some folks might be disappointed we didn't get the next iteration in the Super Mario Galaxy style of Mario game for the Wii U, I am personally happy and prefer a game like 3D world with its world and level design. It's one of the most refined, and visually appealing Mario games I've played, and it's just a blast to replay the levels over and over. I am so happy to finally see the return of the Super Mario Bros 2 style of character choices in a Mario game again as well.

#4: Bioshock Infinite (Sony Playstation 3)
It's not surprising to also see this game on a lot of top ten lists this year, but for me personally, I am a little surprised that I have a game with Bioshock in the title in my top ten, because I was never as big a fan of the first game as many people were. I enjoyed the first Bioshock, but I find it's story to be a little lacking, and hard to follow since so much of it was hidden away in voice logs. A lot of that is still the case in Bioshock Infinite, but everything else is just done so well in the game. It was such a more interesting city to explore to me, and the characters were so much more engaging. Unlike Rapture, Columbia looked like a city that was lived in to me. Combat may have been a little lacking in the game, but it was still a blast to play at the time and I thought the story was such a great concept that I don't really see enough in video games.

#3: Tomb Raider (PC)
I feel like this game gets a lot of undeserved shit, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it's too similar to Uncharted, maybe the upgrade system isn't deep enough for people...but this game was just so damn fun to play for me, that I don't see what the problem was. People say it's a lot like Uncharted, and I won't deny that completely, but I'd like to say it takes ideas from Uncharted, and does them better. I personally didn't even like Uncharted 2 or 3, and I never liked any previous Tomb Raider games, but I had so much fun playing this, that I can't express my joy with it enough. If I was also to give an award for best looking game, Tomb Raider would also win for me, because there were so many moments when I was playing that I just said to myself "Wow, this looks awesome."

#2: Saints Row IV (Sony Playstation 3, and PC)
I actually did not finish Saints Row The Third until right before I started playing Saints Row IV. However, I did play The Third when it came out, and I did like what I had played at that time. Saints Row IV may not be as unique or stand out as much because it's so similar to The Third in some ways, but I still think Volition managed to find a way of taking their concepts to the next level with SRIV. This feels like the first open world game to finally give the player all the freedom they could possibly want, without any restrictions, or boundaries, and still keep it fun all the way through. A lot of times when games try to remove the chains like that, it can get boring fast, but the basic mechanics, and just running around the city in SRIV never ceases to be fun. The humor of the series remains intact also, with some of the funniest writing in any game. As off the wall, and crazy the Saints Row series has become, I still find it so crazy that they still manage to have these characters that I find myself invested in as well, and as silly as their universe is, they stick to their timeline very well too. Great game, but I find myself wondering what the possible future could be for this series after this game. I hope it's not the end.

#1: Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)
The fact that this game is my number 1 would be a shock to me a year ago. Not to say anything bad about the quality of any of the Fire Emblem games, but I have never been able to get very far in strategy games before, because I was never very good at them. Fire Emblem on the 3DS was a very welcoming entry in the series for newcomers like myself, by having elements I enjoy from other games like building strong character relationships, but then also introducing me to strategy elements of this series at a comfortable pace. I found myself wanted to replay some missions just to try out new strategies. I also really just loved the look of the game. The character designs were great, and I liked the look of the sprites were looking at the map. It has a good mix of old visual style, and new I feel. I find myself eager to play another Fire Emblem game since this one, but have been sad that I can't seem to afford a copy of the GameCube entry. Hopefully Nintendo doesn't take too long to bring the series to Wii U.

Edit: Yeah, sadly I didn't get around to playing games like The Last of Us, and Zelda ALBW yet this year =/, but I can only rate what I've played

Just a FYI, there are a few rules for your ballot to count in the OP, although all your extended thoughts are encouraged!

1. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ; Edward's story was much more compelling and interesting than Connor's. The exploration and naval gameplay is jawdropping. I've never experienced a game with such immersive elements and functions that keep me entertained doing random stuff for hours since Red Dead Redemption, which is my Game of the Generation.
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us ; The first fighting game that I could ever really get into. Not only did it make fighting games fun for me, but it also had a pretty good story as well. Felt like a DC Animated Movie, which is great. Hearing familiar voices behind the characters swelled the nostalgia in me.
3. Killzone: Mercenary ; The first good FPS on the Vita. Good story and addicting online. Much better than Shadow Fall.
4. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon ; It so accurately captured the '80s nostalgia feel. Plus the amazing gameplay of Far Cry 3 was still there and the '80s retro-futuristic weapons were fun as hell to use.
2012. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron ; High Moon took the framework that they laid with War for Cybertron and drastically improved upon it. Not only was the story top-notch but the multiplayer was addictive and fun.

My top 3 4 only:


1. Dragon's Crown ; I had high hopes for this game, and it delivered. Despite the objectionable character art which I do feel kind of strongly about, the rest of the game's art is absolutely stunning, the best-looking 2D game I have ever seen, and the combat is fluid, tight, fast-paced, precise and just plain fun, with each class having significant differences in playstyles, making the game fresh all over again when you start with a new class. The loot system is well done and adds depth to an otherwise simplistic arcade style of gameplay. Add a superb soundtrack by Sakimoto, excellent patch support despite Vanillaware being a small dev, a fun couch coop experience, a 2D underdog that hardly anyone will vote for, and a game in which I already have nearly 200 hours of gameplay, and you have my GoTY 2013.


2. The Last of Us ; I don't think anything else needs to be said. Some of the best writing in a game, top notch production values, but with compelling gameplay and atmosphere to back it up, and one of the best endings in gaming memory. Naughty Dog really set the bar high with this game. It blew my expectations, which were fairly high, and the only reason it's not #1 is because I have more hours played for Dragon's Crown, really.


3. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; the Bitterblack Isle content was well worth exploring, especially for free (thanks PS+), and was Dragon's Dogma at its best, really. Capcom has a worthwhile IP here but no doubt they'll blow it by not having a sequel or having some crap on iOS again (yeah, I'm bitter about BoF6, what gave it away?).


4. Valdis Story: Abyssal City ; Just discovered this awesome Metroidvania thanks to the Steam sale. For a measly $3.74, I was treated to a great action RPG with fluid, challenging and dynamic combat, tight platforming, rewarding exploration, simple but effective RPG mechanics (my favourite kind of RPG mechanics, not a fan of overly complex stuff honestly), beautiful 2D art, and a fantastic soundtrack. One of those hidden indie gems that I hope will get GAF's attention, but I think it has, because everyone in the Steam threads were talking about it.

LTTP:


2012. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning ; I thought it looked generic and boring, but I checked it out on PS+ and was pleasantly surprised... even though it was kinda generic in terms of fantasy setting, and the game is way too easy, the combat is fun and addictive and the world is fun enough to explore and loot. I spent far more hours on that game than I ever expected. It has a certain number of flaws, but it's probably the best game from 2012 that I played in 2013, so it has my LTTP vote.

(Hope I formatted all of that correctly...! >_>)

Santiako said:

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Hahaha those are great, nicely done.

1. The Last of Us; my game of the generation, no question. The world is absolutely one of the best realized that I've had the pleasure to experience. The animations, characters, pacing... everything was top notch. The small moments of interaction between Joel and Ellie further cemented the incredibly well executed characterization throughout the journey. It's a game that, once completed, made it hard for me to pick another game for a few days. That's never happened before. Not trying to sound cheesy or anything, but I couldn't bring myself to play anything else for about a week, simply because I didn't feel like the game would compare favorably while TLoU was so fresh in my mind. I overcame this by playing Rogue Legacy, my number two.
2. Rogue Legacy
More to come.

Reposting from the "Personal GOTY" thread because I forgot this thread exists:

1. The Last of Us ; What is there to say that hasn't already been said? It's a wonderfully structured game with great characters, strong gameplay and an engrossing world.
2. Guacamelee ; Has to be one of the most addictive games I've played all year. It's been so long since I've just sat with a game and played it for hours on end. Great humour packed in there as well.
3. Bit.trip Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien ; Played this game for hours. The game is tight and challenging, offering new gameplay mechanics that help shake up the formula. Also, it looks so pretty.
4. Beyond: Two Souls ; I wasn't a fan of Heavy Rain. I could appreciate what David Cage was trying to do with it, but I felt the story was marred by too many inconsistencies. Beyond was different, however. Ellen Page and Willem Dafaoe were great, the gameplay, while still a bit janky, was an improvement over Heavy Rain in every way. And the story, the most important part, managed to pull on my heartstrings more than Heavy Rain ever could. Sure, it's not perfect, but it got a reaction out of me and for that it makes my list.
5. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse ; This game basically oozed charm. Everything about it, from the game worlds to Mickey himself managed to keep a smile on my face during the whole game. Sully narrating was just icing on the cake.
6. Metro: Last Light ; A great follow up to one of my favourite shooters. Gameplay and stealth were improved and while I thought the story wasn't as strong as 2033, it was still an engrossing enough experience that I just loved it.

Question: can you vote for a game that came out for a new platform this year, if it was on your list last year for a different platform and you criminally underrated it?

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ; Enjoyed every single second of the 15 hour adventure, zero fluff indeed. They finally nailed the overworld, it's as if each square tile is a point of interest, there's none of the pointless empty space seen in previous entries. Dungeons are both familiar and unique due to the combination of old item + wall merging mechanic that spawned interesting ideas.
2. Super Mario 3D World ; A 3D platformer with no shooter or story elements, just pure obstacle course style platforming. The cat suit impacted level design more deeply than I imagined. The creativity and variety is staggering.

3. The Wonderful 101 ; Deep gameplay systems and oozes style.
4. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; Deep gameplay systems and oozes style.
5. Pikmin 3
6. Fire Emblem: Awakening
7. Pokémon X/Y ; Need to praise GF for a perfect transition to polygons.
8. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
9. New Super Luigi U ; Modern day SMB2 JP version.
10. Lego City: Undercover ; Filled with humor. Fun overworld to explore with its thoughtfully hidden collectibles.

Note that I did not get the chance to explore indie gaming this year due to being stacked on Steam games from previous years. I'm sure there is a hidden gem out there that would find its way into my list.

1. The Last of Us ; Best Experience of the Year
2. Fire Emblem Awakening ; My first Fire Emblem game, but awesome at the same time
3. The Stanley Parable ; Same reasons as when it originally came out.
4. Tearaway ; Another Great Experience
5. Resogun ; Pure fun
6. Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies ; Another entry into this fun and tense franchise
7. Papers Please ; Unique and Hard Hitting
8. Pokemon X/Y ; Specifically Y, because Yveltal for the win.
9. Gone Home ; Short, Mildly interesting story with great and unique execution
10. Sly Cooper Thieves in Time ; It was great getting back into this world

1. GTA V
2. The Last of US
3. Super Mario 3D World
4. Bioshock Infinite
5. Tomb Raider

Haven't played enough Zelda ALBW to qualify but I'm sure it could at least take #5

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1. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; Only GTA can hype me up for so long and end up meeting my expectations. The three main character switch mechanic was a nice way to add some freshness to the series. All played excellently by their respective actors. I hope Rockstar keeps the dynamic for future GTA's. With the return of San Andreas meant the return of many of features I loved in GTA San Andreas RPG elements, purchasing property, mission and weapon variety, diverse landscapes to explore. A lot of improvements to the gameplay mechanics driving, shooting, flight. Many may have been disappointed by the online but I'm constantly having fun with my friends and my crew doing missions and just screwing around.

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2. The Last of Us ; If GTA didn't come out this year this would have been my first choice. Naughty Dog topped Uncharted 2 taking their love for cinematic storytelling and exciting action set pieces and set it in a survival apocalyptic setting. The two main characters are some of my favorites in all of gaming due largely from the actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. The levels are well designed providing a great balance between linearity and providing space to explore the areas. Combat was very effective in displaying the brutality used to survive in a world where humanity is deteriorating especially the melee. The online is also a welcomed surprise taking the survival combat mechanics of single player and applying it in a competitive nature.

Haven't played many games this year but...

1. Civilization 5: Brave New World ; Civilization 5 is my favorite game released in the past 5 or so years and a game I constantly go back to. A lot of welcome additions and better balancing of the game. Might end up qualifying as my favorite game of all time at this point.

2. Bioshock Infinite ; bland gameplay is saved by extraordinary art direction and a better than average story. It's a beautiful game no doubt.

3. Kerbal Space Program ; Frustrating and fun. A relatively simple goal: Get into space has a lot hidden underneath. Nothing is more satisfying than getting your first satellite into orbit sucessfully

4. Papers, Please ; An interesting take on the mundane where you're a border guard in an authoritarian country. Somehow extremely stressful at times. GLORY TO ARSTOTZKA

5. Payday 2 ; Nothin' like good ol' heisting with friends. Best 4 player co-op game since Left 4 Dead 2.

1. The Last of Us ; Only game that snatched my wig this year, the rest of the games just tugged a bit so I wont bother listing them

1. The Stanley Parable; For my money, this was the most interesting, most entertaining, and most engaging game of the year. Some of the titles on my list represent the pinnacles of craftsmanship for traditional gameplay, but The Stanley Parable takes the top spot because it pushes into new places and asks serious questions while also being unfailingly hilarious. I've always been into meta-stuff, and this is one of the most meta-games I've ever played. Kevin Brighting gives the performance of the year as the narrator.

2. Super Mario 3D World; Distilled joy. A work of pure creativity rendered in toybox colors. Only one other game this year gave SM3DW a run for its money in terms of transporting me back to childhood (see no. 5). Kicking soundtrack to boot.

3. Fire Emblem Awakening; My surprise of the year. It's rare that I put more than 10-20 hours into a game, but my time with FE:A clocked in at over 60. I absolutely love the way that this game manages to be about companionship at every level, from the battle mechanics to the relationship system to the narrative--it's all of a piece, and it happens to be incredibly compelling.

4. Papo & Yo; I played it on PC. The critical reception to this game did it a great disservice. It was widely docked for a lack of polish, but the game on display is beautiful, inventive, and deeply affecting, and I feel it deserves far more recognition that it gets. Like one other game on my list (see no. 10), it really nails the feeling of magical realism. I'm looking forward to seeing what Minority does next.

5. The Wonderful 101; Seems to have been the kind of title that either clicked with you or didn't, and for me it clicked in a big way. I was engrossed by the combat system, but it was only one facet of a game that constantly threw new things at the player. I regularly felt like a kid parked in front of his favorite Saturday morning TV show.

6. Gone Home; I wasn't aware of this game until it was already a cause celebre among the gaming cognoscenti, and I can say that it mostly deserved the attention. I love it for its attention to detail and storytelling by implication. In an era (and a genre) where bombast is the order of the day, a quietly detailed character study like Gone Home is tremendously refreshing. It fits into the same boundary-pushing box as The Stanley Parable, but goes about it in an entirely different and tremendously self-assured way.

7. Runner 2; Runner was my favorite game of the BIT.TRIP series, and Runner 2 expands the core of that entry while also making it more accessible, adding additional incentives to replay levels, and pulling off an unpredictable yet pitch-perfect aesthetic shift. I spent the duration of my time with it entranced. I fear that its early release date has dulled some people's memories of just how synaesthetically pleasing Runner 2 was.

8. Steamworld Dig; What a lovely little thing. I played on 3DS, but I expect to double-dip during a future Steam sale to grab it on PC, because this is a game that bears replaying. I don't want to over-sell it, because Steamworld Dig is not an Earth-shattering revelation. It's simply a very, very well-made exploration platformer.

9. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger; A nice-looking, well designed aracade-style FPS with a few neat ideas, a fantastic narrative framing device, and a refreshing lack of pretension. This Gunslinger keeps its sights squarely on fun, and its aim is true.

10. Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale; Another quiet triumph. I finished this game in a few evenings while curled up under a blanket sipping tea. I absolutely adore the lived-in feeling of the world and the depth of the characters. It manages to be a small, personal story about some larger-than-life things. I didn't live in small-town Japan in the 70s, but for a few hours, I might have thought I did.

x. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies; Deserves an honorable mention for bringing the series back in style. Handled the transition from 2D to 3D in admirable fashion, and introduced a load of memorable new characters.

2012. Dear Esther; Games as literature. I revisited this game several times throughout the year, and I felt just as strongly about it after the nth time through. If the designers of the big shooters want to talk about "interactive experiences," they had better be going to Dear Esther as a primary source.

1. The Last of Us ; The insane attention to detail made this world come alive for me. Some of the best characters I can remember in a game, as well. Also it features one of the least cliche endings that I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
2. Super Mario 3D World ; This game convinced me to buy a WiiU. Something about the advertisements just took me back to how I felt playing Super Mario Bros. for the first time oh so long ago. So incredibly charming and fun.
3. Ni No Kuni ; Was out sick for a week the same week this game was released. Made for a fun marathon session! The monster capturing aspect of the game is what originally sold me on it. Everything else, from the great art direction, to the amazing score was just a bunch of cherries on top.
4. Ace Attorney 5: Dual Destinies ; A great continuation of a great series. I loved the way they brought Phoenix back, but managed to make Apollo more respectable in the process.
5. MLB The Show 13 ; The best baseball game on the planet! Until next year's.
6. The Stanley Parable ; It's not very often games make me laugh as much as the Stanley Parable managed to do. But it also made me think quite a bit. Mostly about how it must be really difficult to make games.
7. BIT.TRIP Runner 2 ; The addictive nature of the gameplay alone would have qualified this for my list, but the slick presentation helps a bunch too. I just love that everytime you die you're immediately right back in it, able to make just a little more progress. Eventually getting to the point where you can perfect or triple perfect a level is really gratifying.
8. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle ; 100% pure fan service, but really entertaining none the less. The gameplay itself favors button mashing to a certain degree, but I was won over by the presentation, and ridiculousness that's so very prevalent in the Jojo universe.
9. Attack of the Friday Monsters ; A late addition to my year of gaming, but an incredibly welcome one. Having never played a Boku no Natsu Yasumi game before, I treated this like a sort of introductory course. Everything about this game was so very heart warming.
10. Gone Home ; Tells a great story - I wasn't sure what to expect going into the game (I thought I was playing a horror game for the first half hour) but was pretty satisfied in the end.

x. Final Fantasy XI: Seeker's of Adoulin
x. Project Diva f

'Twas a great year for games! There's so many I didn't get to play that most of you seemed to love. Papers, Please and Tearaway come to mind!

EDIT: Kentucky Route Zero is ineligible!? There goes my # 3!

1. Pikmin 3 ; Never really got into the first two but I was blown away by the third game in the series, one of Miyamoto's finest ever games and reason enough to own a WiiU.
2. GTA V ; Simply one of the best virtual Worlds ever created with a great cast, story, setting and almost unlimited things to do, it was well worth the wait.
3. The Last of Us ; One of the greatest stories in a video game ever with deep characters in a truly immersive World.
4. The Wonderful 101 ; Amazingly deep combat wrapped in a great Universe of crazy over the top characters and sublime visuals. Take a bow Kamiya.
5. Super Mario 3D World ; Quite a bit short of the sublime Galaxy games in my humble opinion but still a great game overall.
6. Battlefield 4 ; Is my pick for the multi player portion alone. The game feels truly epic with 64 players all at war on massive maps with great performance and visuals.
7. Resogun ; One of the most addictive games ever made, a real surprise and one of the best reasons to own a PS4.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD ; Incredible remake of one of the best looking games ever made.
9. Killzone: Shadow Fall ; A solid start to next gen PS4 exclusives with some of the most jaw dropping visuals available.
10. Path of Exile ; A great dungeon crawler that proves indie developers can hang with the largest studios on the planet.
2012. Farcry 3 ; An amazing open World FPS, so glad I gave it a second chance to 'click' after not enjoying it at release.

1. The Legend of Zelda : A Link Between Worlds - The first game was my favourite game of all time, and this game really brought back all the memories.


2. The Last of Us
3. Pikmin 3
4. Super Mario 3D World
5. Ni No Kuni
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Tomb Raider
8. Soul Sacrifice
9. Luigi's Mansion : Dark Moon
10. Fire Emblem : Awakening

x. Tearaway ; Actually I have yet to play it, but the video I saw I am sure I will love it.

2012. Puzzle & Dragons ; This has got to be my Game of the Decade. The addictive gameplay and monster collecting, with so many strategy evolved, along with the constant updating to the game, just keep me hook and addicted like crack. Too bad I started playing it around this time last year so it didn't get nominated.

1. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; While several of the big N's titles were great this year, this is the one that went far beyond my expectations.
2. Rayman Legends ; What I dreamed Mario games would be like as a kid. Fast, gorgeous and challenging from the start.
3. Brothers ; Like an interactive fairy tale, but one that doesn't take your intelligence for granted and through it's play tells a simple but affecting story.
4. Lego Marvel Super Heroes ; Sheer fan service. Joins the ranks of Smash Bros Brawl and UMVC3 as games made by people totally in love with their subject matter.
5. Saints Row 4 ; Does what SR3 did with the GTA style to superhero games: fills them with insane characters and situations and makes gameplay out of chaos.
6. Assassin's Creed 4 ; Wan't super surprised since this was lead by the Brotherhood team, but this still excels at making an open world game where every activity is captivating.
7. Super Mario 3D World ; One of the finest Mario titles ever made.
8. DmC: Devil May Cry ; I'm a huge DMC fan that went into this a bit skeptical but was won over with the presentation, feel and streamlined gameplay. Loved it.
9. Divekick ; Another great fan service game that's as funny as addicting and easy to play. Wonderful handheld game, too.
10. Motorbike ; This game is awful. But it's also unintentionally just about the funniest game to play with someone.
x. Dead Rising 3 ; Went in with expectations low and found a great open world game, a great launch game and the best game in the DR series to date.
x. Zelda: ALBW ; Super tight, well designed game I blew through in a few sittings. Loved every second of it, but haven't thought of it much since.
2012. Hotline Miami ; I played this on the Vita/PS3 and in my opinion it's the best game on the Vita. The PS3 version was fun to pass and play with friends though. A delightful murder sim/puzzler/hallucination with a great soundtrack.

Other mentions- Mount Your Friends, Super Mario 3D World, Far Cry Blood Dragon, Call of Juarez Gunslinger, Donkey Kong CR 3DS, Shin Megami Tensei 4, Need For Speed Rivals, Injustice, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Wonderful101, Pikmin 3, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us, Metal Gear Rising, Earth Defense Force 2025, Grand Theft Auto 5, Diablo 3 console, Dragon's Crown, Steamworld Dig, Beyond Two Souls, Tearaway, XCOM: Enemy Within, NES Remix, Killer Instinct, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, Cloudberry Kingdom, Y's MoC

1. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; A highly replayable, highly flexible game which is extremely addictive. It has moments that made me laugh as well as moments that made me cry. I grew to care for the characters and enjoyed all their little quirks in combat as well as outside of it. There is a lot of content here and I felt encouraged to replay it to explore the different combat possibilities as well as support conversations and the relationship system. Plus waifus, so many waifus.
2. Super Mario 3D World ; There's just something about this game that's so magical. Just as competent played alone as it is played with friends. Starts out extremely easy but by the end it's one of the hardest games of the year. Beautiful visuals, and brilliant level design that kept my friends and myself amazed level after level.
3. Wonderful 101 ; Kamiya has done it again. While the combat didn't captivate me the way Bayonetta or DMC3 did, I still loved it enough to play through it three times. The story and combat is surprisingly entertaining and the game manages to keep one-upping each scenario and boss fight until its ridiculously out of this world awesome by the end. Just wish there were more weapons and perhaps more unlockables.
4. Pikmin 3 ; Beautiful game. Relaxing yet stressful. There's just something about the little Pikmin and the beautiful world you're thrown into that I couldn't help but keep going back for more. Best played with a Wii remote + nunchuk combination and there is a lot of content here for both single player as well as two players.
5. Metal Gear Rising ; While the combat isn't as deep or varied as Bayonetta, it is still extremely entertaining and the Blade mode mechanic is immensely satisfying even after dozens of hours. Add in some memorable bosses, an amazing soundtrack, and it is a worthy addition to the character action genre.
6. Metro: Last Light ; The best post-apocalyptic survival game this year. Lots of beautifully haunting areas to explore, enemy variety, actual boss fights, a TON of attention and care put into every little detail. Stand still for a few minutes and you still might not hear the entire conversation between two random NPCs you will never see again. Satisfying gunplay as well as the potential for stealth, a story that makes you question your/mankind's morals and more.
7. Rayman Legends ; Hard to believe Ubisoft would top Origins but they did it again. An even more gorgeous artstyle, even more creative levels, as well as the Murphy levels which can be divisive but they're fun on the Wii U with friends.
8. Splinter Cell: Blacklist ; Amazing stealth game that is just as competent played as a straight-forward shooter. Lots of varied missions, elaborate level design that rewards exploration and a ton of customization in weapons/gadgets to suit the player's playstyle. Story is a bit nonsensical but the villain grabs your attention when he appears. Add in a varity of co-op missions which can be played splitscreen and an online mode which is highly addictive, this is easily one of the most jam-packed games of the year.
9. Soul Sacrifice ; Good combat topped with amazing lore. Reading about the exploits of the sorcerer you play as and his travels with Sortiara and Magusar are haunting. The writing is beautiful. There's just something about the story which kept me pushing on to find out more.
10. Tomb Raider ; The story is nothing to write home about, the shootouts aren't anything special. Where this game really excels is the environments and the exploration that goes with it. It made collectathons fun.

1. Dragon's Crown ; I can't believe that at one point I was starting to doubt this would be amazing pre-release. Absolutely the best game of the year, with post-launch support that puts just about every other game out there to shame. A total gem and probably the best side-scrolling beat 'em up of all time.

2. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F ; We don't get nearly enough Japanese rhythm games in the US, but we got this, and fortunately it's one of the best in recent memory.

3. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; This changed my stance on MMOs from "I don't care for them" to "When I'm not playing FFXIV, I'm thinking about playing FFXIV". It's pretty damn good.

4. Spelunky ; Came out in 2012 originally, but I didn't play it until the PS3 port in 2013, so it's eligible. One of the most addictive games I've ever played, without a doubt.

5. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 ; One of the best musou games ever, and absolutely the best of the anime spin-offs. And I'm not even a huge One Piece fan!

6. The Guided Fate Paradox ; Fun, difficult, yet accessible roguelike by Nippon Ichi. Super fun.

7. Dynasty Warriors 8 ; The best mainline DW to date, brought down only by a confusing and grindy weapon system.

8. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; Only about halfway through the new content, but it's more of my GOTY 2012, so hey, I can't not put it here.

9. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate ; Placing this fairly low on my list 'cause I'm just not as into MonHun as I used to be, but it's still a wonderful game.

10. Senran Kagura Burst ; IT'S JUST LIKE ONE OF MY JAPANESE ANIMES.

x. Kamen Rider Battride War ; Is it a good game? Not really. Is it a good Kamen Rider game? Absolutely.

1. Tearaway ; I was expecting something cute and something of relatively high quality, sure. It's Media Molecule, after all; even if I couldn't finish LittleBigPlanet because I suck at platformers, I could at least recognize it was a good game. What I didn't expect was a game that managed to integrate nearly every Vita feature so naturally into its design. I didn't expect Media Molecule to find a way to bake their Play, Create, Share ethos into Tearaway's story. And I definitely didn't expect the ending of the game to touch my heart like it did. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to cut some onions in the corner over here.

2. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; Fire Emblem is the first Nintendo game I've ever finished, which is an accomplishment in itself, seeing as how I've never really gotten into any of the big N's franchises until now. But seeing as how Valkyria Chronicles is one of my favourite RPGs of all time, I suppose it should have been obvious that I would also love its granddaddy. I got to know nearly all of my recruits, got wrapped up in their side stories, watched them get married. I wondered if it was really wise to let Virion charm the insecure Olivia, saw Sully save her beau Chrom on several occasions from a wayward lance, laughed at how goofy a couple Miriel and Stahl made. (I know, I know, you're probably thinking I made all the wrong decisions. Well, it's MY game, so buzz off.) And in the middle of all that, the core mechanics--pairing up units, the rock-paper-scissors fundamentals, the class upgrade system, the random battles--were all horrifically addictive.

3. Gone Home ; I don't think I can tell you anything about this game you haven't already heard, and you've probably already decided if you love it or hate it. All I can tell you is as someone who's wandered around in their own dark and lonely house at night during a storm, there's plenty of fright to be had even if there aren't any skeletons in the closets, and there are quite a few in this game (though maybe not of the kind you're thinking of). The story may seem Hallmark movie-ish, but piecing together the puzzle on your own with nothing but the artifacts of the house as a guide drew me into the plot, and by the time it was over I felt like I was Katie, wondering what happened to her sister, fearing the worst but hoping for the best. I'm man enough to admit it, GAF; I teared up a bit at the end.

4. Antichamber ; It throws you into a world where you think you know all the rules but you don't. You then have to figure out how the world actually works. And then, by the end of the game, you've internalized the crazy, barely consistent logic of the world and come up with equally crazy solutions to get what you want--solutions you never thought would work, and don't at first, but only require one or two missing pieces to execute them perfectly. Antichamber confounded me, and I loved it for that, and then it made me feel like a genius, and I loved it for that too.

5. Saints Row IV ; It's not that different from Saints Row the Third--most of the same characters are back, you're still in Steelport, you've got many of the same dumb-fun (or just plain dumb) side missions. But it's also very different from Saints Row the Third--you have superpowers, which completely changes your relationship to the city, and if anything IV is even wackier in tone than the Third. But what holds everything together is Volition's core appreciation for the Saints Row franchise. It's an appreciation that leads them to reconcile the old Shaundi from Saints Row 2 and the new Shaundi from Saints Row the Third in a way that's self-referential and hilarious, but also sympathetic to its characters. It's an appreciation that leads them to throw in substantial references to the first Saints Row, even though no one would've thought twice if Volition decided to ignore the game altogether. Saints Row IV ties everything together with a neat, dildo-shaped bow.

6. Atelier Ayesha ; Ayesha's the start of a new trilogy, which means a fresh slate: new alchemy mechanics, new universe, new characters, and less gratuitous fan service (though it's in there if you really want it). The gameplay's been streamlined in all the right places, making this the easiest Atelier game to jump into for beginners, and it's just as addictive as all the others too.

7. Battlefield 4 ; I managed to largely escape the plague of crashes, bugs and disconnections that many other people have faced when trying to play Battlefield, so I understand if very few people end up putting BF4 on their list. But I got more into the multiplayer than any other game I can think of in the past five years, and that has to count for something. There still aren't very many games where you can drive a motorbike rigged with C4 into a tank and live to tell the tale; one day, if I'm good enough, maybe I'll have that chance.

8. The Last of Us ; The game was grueling at times, and not just because of the story, which pulls very few punches. At times, I must have died twenty or thirty times in a row in quick succession, which just makes me think Joel and Ellie should have died long ago. But when I'm not being bludgeoned to death by waves of the infected or jumped by a clicker, there's a lot to appreciate about the game. Joel and Ellie have one of the most realistically depicted relationships in a video game that I can remember, and the horrors they have to go through are very grounded and real. And though I still intensely dislike the ending for almost irrational reasons, I still appreciate that Naughty Dog have crafted a game so compelling that it can trigger such strong emotions.

9. Remember Me ; It's not a game to everyone's taste (as many, many people have pointed out to me with rather more conviction that I expected), but I still loved Remember Me. It's one of the best looking games of the year, thanks to the fantastically realized designs of Neo-Paris. It's got a great protagonist in Nilin. And the memory remixes are a novel new mechanic to throw into amongst the fighting and jumping that feel bland by comparison (or possibly just generally, though I liked the combat system enough).

10. Metro: Last Light ; It's a bigger, better Metro game, which means it's great. What else do you need to know?

2012. Euro Truck Simulator 2 ; It doesn't make sense that I like this game. It should be boring as hell. Instead, driving through the heart of Germany at night on a windy two-lane road, BBC 6Music on the radio, I found a sort of inner peace. Well, not really, but it was really quite relaxing.

man, i've got ys memories of celceta and wonderful 101 to go but even right now i don't think most of the earlier-year stuff will make it to my top ten list, including one really big game everyone loves. and it's almost all because of one game.

1. Etrian Odyssey IV: legend of the Titans ; the best EO to date and one of the best series to come out of the original DS, it's sad that is will not land anywhere near the top 10 list in this thread.

2. The Legend of Zelda : A Link Between Worlds ; runner up for the 1st stop, a lot of fun and a much needed change coming from those rather subpar DS games

1. The Last of us; This game did everything well, which ended up providing an epic overall experience that really was amazing and transcended just being a game. It was an experience...

2. Bioshock Infinite

3. Super Mario 3D World

4. GTA V

5. Wonderful 101

Going nice and simple. Loved a lot of games this year but i'm going with my clear GOTY.

1. The Last of Us ; Story, atmosphere, gameplay, music etc. The game has everything I can ask for. If GAF does GOTG , damn good chance i'll pick it for that too.

1. The Last Of Us ; Amazing characters, easily the best writing ever, fantastic gameplay... voice acting...animations....lightning...multiplayer...ending...music...length...replay value...sound effects...DAT opening and so on and on and on. One of the most emotional gaming experiences of my life. Naughty Dog made the three best games last generation, hell, of any generation. They are just that good at the moment, no other company comes close with making something similar.

2. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; Rockstar made GTA fun again after the fourth one that just took itself to serious. Such an amazing world to experience, I could just drive for hours and hours and never be bored. Didn't really care for the story or many of the missions though.

3. Beyond Two Souls ; It's a polished and well acted Heavy Rain! The most visual impressive PS3 game ever and just an wonderful ride. It's not without flaws of course, and it falls short of topping heavy rain gameplay wise.

Played a lot of great games this year, but those three stands easily at the top so I think I should just stop here.

AniHawk said:

man, i've got ys memories of celceta and wonderful 101 to go but even right now i don't think most of the earlier-year stuff will make it to my top ten list, including one really big game everyone loves. and it's almost all because of one game.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Dota 2.

Haunted said:

Thanks, Dota 2.

Click to expand...

my laptop from 2008 barely runs the game before i have to shut everything down so... no, it isn't dota 2. it's gone home.

it's only been a day though. we'll see what happens with time and a few games in between.

1. The Last of Us; The best game I have ever played. The ending left me breathless. Great story, great characters, great gameplay.
2. Saint’s Row 4; What I wanted Crackdown 2 to be. Pure zany fun.
3. Tomb Raider; Gorgeous graphics , fun gameplay in a highly detailed world.
4. Injustice Gods Amoung US; Tons of characters. Great SP mode.
5. Battlefield 4; Yes it launched in a terrible state, but when it works nothing compares to 64 player conquest with vehicles and destruction.