Introduction:
I’m pretty stunned to look back and realise that I played and beat 60 console games this year, the most I have ever gotten though in 12 months. Some of which, like Fire Emblem and Pokemon, required well over 100 hours each. Welp! Approaching 30 years old and there’s no sign of gaming fatigue here, gents! And thank you to PS+, without whom this would have been pretty impossible. More than 60% of the games I played were released prior to 2013, so I didn’t actually have a huge amount of games to choose from for this particular list. Luckily, I’m a picky gamer and I feel like a solid half of the games I picked up this year are worthy of GOTY consideration. If it’s on the list, I played it and beat it, naturally.
NOTE: If we can't go in reverse order let me know with a reply or a PM. I believe I read that we could, but I'm just a simple-minded junior, after all.



10. Luigi’s Mansion 2; This is the spot I struggled with. I don’t really believe that Luigi’s Mansion 2 is a proper game of the year contender like the 9 games below, but it’s a good game that’s worthy of praise, so here it is. The level design is the star here, with each mansion having simply ingenious paths plotted out for you in each ‘level’. Every room has some interesting puzzle to be solved or secret to be found without fail, and finding secrets and interacting with a game world has never been so tactile and fun. No mini-map pointing to the next lame collectible here. The core mechanic of catching ghosts is wonderfully elastic, too, with the highlight being the boss fights, which are probably the best in any game I played this year.

My only complaint with the game is that it exhausts its box of tricks by the halfway stage, and from then on you’re seeing the same elements repeated again and again, with a surplus of needless fetch-quests. The recurring dog-chase sequences are a particularly egregious example of this. Some of the non-Luigi animations are a bit janky, E Gadd is completely insufferable, the main menu is a bit of a disaster, and I didn't find the soundtrack all that memorable. Despite all of that, the core experience of finding your way through each mansion is typical Nintendo gold, so it comes highly recommended. The highlight of the Year of Luigi.




9. Pokemon X; It’s more of the same, as always, and in some ways it’s disappointing. The game is a technical disaster - the frame rate is awful; 3D is disabled most of the time; the world itself looks fairly unimpressive for a 3DS title; and the less said about trying to navigate Lumiose City, the better. Somehow despite all of these issues it remains a magnificent Pokemon game, worthy of being considered the true step forward the series required. Why? Well, in a game that wants you to care for your monsters, it’s hard to underestimate the importance of the 3D cell-shaded models. The animations of each monster simply burst with character, both in battle and in Pokemon-Amie, to the extent that you desperate to see the next new one, or catch a glimpse of a returning favourite.

The game is snappy, too - the devs know that a game this long can’t afford to have slow battle systems or menus anymore. The pacing might be a little off, taking about 10 hours to get to the next gym, but the level design of each route is excellent, with a stunning amount of monsters to catch from the very start of the game, leading to wonderful team diversity and a feeling that your team is unique. The online features are flawless - I made a bunch of (temporary) online friends battling and trading, and was finally able to say I completed a pokedex by using the GTS for those final uncatchable few. The only real disappointment was the terrible ‘friend safari’ which felt like it should have been much more than it was, but that’s a minor blemish on a wonderful RPG. And hey, I caught my first ever shiny after a decade and a half, so there's that!




8. Pikmin 3; Not only worth the wait, but worth buying a Wii U for. Everything is polished to an impossible sheen, you have all the control options you could ever want, and the variety of environments and levels is superb. The HD presentation really makes a difference in a game about 100 little creatures, as they're now clearly visible and defined. The Rock and Flying Pikmin are brilliant additions to the series, and far better at allowing new gameplay than the purple and lamentable white Pikmin ever were. The game is expertly paced, and the series' laid-back humour continues. The boss battles make for wonderful punctuation marks after days of exploration.

Pikmin really shouldn't exist. The concept is ridiculous and I don't know who the market for this game is supposed to be. I'm just thankful that it does exist, because by melding sci-fi and RTS
with classic Nintendo whimsy they've hit on something that feels like it was designed exclusively for me.




7. Animal Crossing: New Leaf; The tragedy of Animal Crossing is that you must get tired of it eventually, lest you be a slave to the game until the day you die. One day you’ll turn the game off for the last time, you’ll leave your village behind and your lonely villagers will never see their friend and mayor ever again. It’s the same in every one, and it’s a bit depressing.

But no Animal Crossing game has ever kept me playng for anything like as long as this one, the best in the series so far. Making the player into the mayor was the inspired move here. Where I used to tire of setting up my house quite quickly - that holds little interest for me - I got massive enjoyment of setting up my little town exactly the way I wanted it, including placing a fire pit outside of the front door of “that neighbour”, hoping he might fall in. Yeah, everyone gets one of those jackasses, but it’s the good one’s I’ll remember, like laid-back comedian Bob the cat or the cheerful and shy Sydney the koala. Throw in some wonderful online modes, solid dialogue, and the tropical island and this game kept me entertained for months.




6. Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate; Ah, the laughing stock of a game that’s maligned by feminists and fighting game fans alike. Well, for my money, this is the best fighter I’ve ever played, and a significant improvement over DoA4 and Dimensions. In many ways, I consider DoA the ‘Mario Kart’ of fighters. No other fighting game is this accessible, no other fighting game keeps the difference between a new player, a casual player and an expert this close, while ensuring that the more skilled player will win 90% of the time. The focus here is never on performing impossible inputs or memorizing long combos (though you can do that if you want). The focus is entirely on outthinking your opponent, and reacting quicker to what you see on the screen. And what you see on the screen is a gloriously beautiful game, with flashy animations, beautiful characters, wonderful costume design and some great stages.

Did you notice where I said 'for my money' earlier? Well, I also need to mention the free to play version of this game. In a year where F2P has become a hateful acronym, this game above any others I saw on consoles was an example of how to do it right. There’s no waiting to play; no regenerating ‘battle tokens’ a la Tekken Revolution; no modes except for Story are locked behind a paywall and they are extremely generous with unlocking fighters for two-week trial periods so you can find out who suits your play style. I bought the full game, but the F2P version is fantastic. Team Ninja really missed a trick not having Core Fighters at launch on PS4 in 1080p - it would have been a surefire hit.




5. Bioshock Infinite; Based on gameplay alone, this game would get nowhere near this list or any other save ‘biggest disappointment of the year’. Based on the first hour and the last two, however, it could have been number one. No other game this year affected me emotionally as much as Infinite. No other game had me so totally engaged in its story (including Last of Us). Yes, I was bothered at them dropping the racism angle halfway through. Yes, the Vox Populi were handled terribly throughout. Yes, the time travel elements stand up to little scrutiny beyond the ‘constants are magic so infinite worlds don't work like they should’ plot device Levine shoehorns in to make it all work. Yes, the Lutece twins were two of the most irritating characters ever to be burned to Blu-ray. Yes, it had the worst boss fight of the year, terrible enemy AI and encounter design and yes, audio logs need to die a quick death.

I just don’t care. The journey of Booker and Elizabeth themselves is what matters here, and it ended with as affecting an emotional payoff as I could have ever hoped for. Columbia itself was a joy to look around, so long as you didn’t stare too closely at the animatronics on Levine’s magnificent amusement ride. Listening to a barbershop quartet sing ‘God Only Knows’ as I walked around Columbia for the first time in utter awe at the setting will be one of my enduring memories of this gaming year.




4. Resogun; The kind of pure gaming experience I sometimes forget I need in my life, Resogun was and is pure bliss. I’m not sure I’ve ever played a game with a difficulty curve this finely balanced. The various gameplay mechanics - releasing humans; keeping your multiplier up; charging your overdrive; not letting enemies ‘evolve’; revenge bullets etc - combine perfectly into an experience where you zone out and act purely on instinct. When you succeed you feel like a genius. When you fail it’s always fair, and you always learn from your errors. The fact that it was ‘free’ on PS+ was the icing on the cake. I gave serious consideration to putting Resogun at number one, as unlike my top 2 games, I see no flaws in Resogun. It may be small, but it is as close to perfect as any game I’ve ever played.

Like the 360 and Galaxy Wars, when I think back to the PS4’s launch I will always remember the brilliance of Resogun.




3. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag; I didn’t believe that AC4 was an open world game when it was announced. Not a ‘real one’, anyway. I couldn’t allow myself to believe it. I’d wanted an open world pirate game my entire life, - with the crucial element being that you could sail around the Carribean looking for treasure and skirmishes at sea or on land without ever seeing a load time - and I wasn’t going to set myself up for disappointment after the disaster that was AC3. How wrong I was.

That an annualised franchise like AC delivered on this long-held dream is astonishing to me. Sailing up to an island, releasing the wheel and simply diving overboard into the azure waters, fighting some guards, stealing some treasure and hightailing it back to your ship as half the island follows in pursuit - it simply never gets old, and brought me right back to being a child when the simplest things in gaming could just make me sit and smile. Yes, there are still some annoying AC holdover missions such as evesdropping and a bit of modern-day nonsense, but for the most part Ubisoft stripped the bulk of assassin’s creed stuff away in favour of letting you spend your time at sea or exploring islands. (Turn the HUD off and craft the Whaling Outfit for the authentic pirate experience.) The story, which is based on the true lives of a famous gang of pirates in the golden age of piracy is as interesting as Ubisoft have managed in the AC era, and I was interested in seeing what happened to Blackbeard, Calico Jack et al until the end. The voice acting was almost uniformly fantastic, and as an Irishman it warmed my heart to hear real Irish and Welsh accents from real Irish and Welsh voice actors. My abiding memory, though, will be sailing the seas at night, looking for Man’o’wars while my crew belted out Lowlands Away over the noise of the ocean. This needs to be its own franchise from here on out.




2. The Last of Us; As pretty much the pinnacle of what triple-A blockbuster narrative games have been trying to achieve for this entire generation, TLoU will probably take game of the year honours here and in many other places. It might not be my personal number one, but it’s still very hard for me to disagree. The game is a masterpiece.

Where to begin? The pacing of this game was simply stunning, and evoked Resident Evil 4 in its capacity to keep you moving from one interesting place or set-piece to another with just the right amount of down-time to keep you fresh and hungry to progress. The writing and voice acting was the best I have heard in a game to date, and phenomenally daring in that it asked to you play as a character you probably won’t like much and may very well end up hating. The ending was similarly daring in its willing to be subtle and leave you to work out the moral dilemmas it presented on your own. We’ve never really seen that from a blockbuster game before, and god knows Hollywood would not have greenlit that last hour. My problem was that I found that ending somewhat deflating, and it didn’t resonate with me emotionally as much as I would have liked. I appreciated its brilliance, yes, and I debated the morality of what had transpired for days upon days afterwards… but it didn’t make me feel. As for the gameplay, I found avoiding clickers to be pretty exhilarting, and the gunplay felt meaty and real - when Joel staggers back after taking a bullet you really feel it. The winter sequence was the highlight of the year in narrative gaming for me, and I’d imagine many others. Interactive storytelling at its best from the current masters of the craft.




1. Fire Emblem: Awakening; If last year was the year of indies, this year has been the year of the 3ds. The little wonder provided most of my candidates for the list this year, but despite that, in the end it wasn’t a tough decision. There was no game I enjoyed playing more in 2013 than Fire Emblem Awakening. It had everything you could ever want from an entry in the franchise - a surplus of new mechanics; ridiculous amounts of content; a great class system; interesting characters; the best support system thus far; and of course, wonderful map design. Moreover, everything from the HUD to the menus to the map screen was polished to a glittering sheen, making a very complicated game extremely user friendly and most importantly, fast. The story was a bit ‘anime’ for my liking, with a terribly cliched antagonists and a ridiculously melodramatic moment at the heart of the story. Support conversations were often weak, as was much of the writing and dialogue in general; but pairing characters up either by personality or to genetically engineer the ultimate child solider was addictive fun that made the characters seem worthwhile. It’s not without it’s flaws, certainly, but for my money it’s the best Fire Emblem ever.


x. Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies;
Translated the wacky character animations to 3D perfectly, and then backed that up with some wonderfully memorable characters. Case 3 is as good as any non-ending case in the series, but case 2 is weak, and the game tends towards melodrama far too much for my own liking. Combined with awful anime sequences and an ending that falls completely flat in much the same way as AA4, and you have a good game, but not a great one, and not one that troubles the quality of the original trilogy. Also, it needed more .

x. Super Mario 3D World;
A great game, without doubt. Just one that failed to grab me. It's a game that felt less than the sum of its parts to me. The visuals are outstanding, the soundtrack is a funky brass celebration, the controls are as tight as ever and there's plenty of content. And yet, and yet...

I think I was spoiled by the two Galaxy's, and burned out by playing 3D Land earlier this year. This game does not touch the genius of the former, and the level designs here never really attempt to. On the other hand comparisons to the 3DS game are well founded, yet I felt 3D world had even less precision platforming sections than 3D Land did. The emphasis on multi-player is felt in the level design which is somewhat safer and more open than we're used to, with the camera almost always in a fixed position that makes it difficult to position yourself in 3D space. It's the first time I've ever had that problem with a 3D Mario. The difficulty isn't there for much of the game, until a ludicrous spike right at the very end. And it didn't grip me emotionally until I heard the Mario Galaxy music call-backs. It seems even Nintendo's own designers were still looking back at the masterpiece they made so many years ago. I don't blame them. Galaxy was impossible to top. And they didn't.

x. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds;
Smooth, snappy, and nothing but pure gameplay. It's also kind of a bland retread of Link to the Past, my least favourite Zelda game. I don't have much to say about it, as there's not much to say. It is what it is, a good Zelda, but a completely unmemorable one. Great soundtrack though.


2012. Virtue’s Last Reward;
See any one of the nine hundred and ninety nine LTTP’s for this game if you want to find out why it’s so good.

1. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; Pure over the top action that just feels good. Yes the game has flaws, but I'm willing to look over that. Everything feels so satisfying, slicing and dicing the baddies like it's nothing, fabulous.

2. Persona 4: Golden ; Hard for me to describe why I like Persona so much, it's just very stylish.

3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between worlds ; The 60fps is so smooth. That's how I would summarize this game: smooth. It just feels good to play it.

4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies ; Stellar game. Lives up to the original trilogy.

5. Bioshock Infinite ; I love the enviroment design of this game it truely is experiencing an other world. I feel like they could have done a lot more with this game, because after wave no. 38 it started to get boring.

6. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; Solid game, but in the end felt like a dumbed down Fire Emblem to me. It tried to introduce some new things, some succeeded, some didn't. What it succeeded was putting a lot more heart into the game. I felt like every character was unique and fun to talk with. A thing that did not succeed were the choices, I don't even know why they added them, since they all resulted in the same thing, no impact what so ever. The overal mechanics were fine, as they should be, but the maps felt very dull and unoriginal. The only map that really stuck with me was the one where you the rest of the maps were either ideas already used in other fire emblems or giant squares. I still like it a lot, but in the end it was a dissapointment to me.

It was a great year for games, but for some reason not for me. I see a lot of people praise the 3DS this year, but my overall playtime with it is almost half of 2011 and 2012.

W1SSY said:

5. Fire Emblem Awakening; This was my first experience with a Fire Emblem game and I have really enjoyed my experience with it. First starting out I quickly learned at how tactical I needed to be because the fact of how fast characters can die. With death actually being permanent that forces you to think things out more and make smarter decisions.

Click to expand...

Fire Emblem Awakening doesn't have permanent death even on higher difficultes. Whenever a character dies the game automatically activates the home button and reloads the last save file

I rank the year that marks the new generation the best year of the last generation. 2013 has brought some of the leading and defining games of the generation. Like SotC, RE4 and GoW2, there is just something about games late in the generation when developers feel most comfortable and confident in bringing their ambitions to life.



1. Dota 2 ; 1679 hours and counting. Dota 2 is frustrating and sometimes even jarring to play, but in the end I don't think I have played a more satisfying multiplayer game than Dota 2.

Dota is not for everyone. Valve hasn't changed much from the first Dota and some things remained the same; the basic play mechanics haven't been tinkered much, the community can be assholes and the learning curve remained steep. When you get over that though, you will discover that the game does not let you go. I knew I was hooked when all I can think about when I woke up was to get my Dota fix. This is competitive gaming at its finest. It's about going hard and claim your hard earned victory, but always learning while doing so and improve your play mechanically.

Deceptively simple on first play sessions, the metagame is immense if you dare dive into the countless heroes, complex team mechanics and thoughtfully calculated strategies and hero builds. Valve have made this game out of the love and enjoyment they experienced playing the Warcraft III mod. This is truly a game made for gamers by gamers. You can see it in the way they communicate with the players and investing significant time in E-sport with the International. Valve have brought Dota into the open light and it will be around for some time.

2. The Last of Us ; What Dota 2 does for competitive gaming, The Last of Us does within the genus of storytelling and characterization. The survival horror felt as profound and intense as when I played Silent Hill 2. Yea it's that good. But beyond that game, The Last of Us explores depth unprecedented in games.

Joel and Ellie are characters far exceeding those what we used to know in videogames. Naughty Dog have brought us convincingly voiced characters, their characterization and their story. The characters are complex, but always felt subtle. Naughty Dog carefully constructed these characters and their motivations and relationships are not only believable, but goes straight for the heart aswell. A first for me in this genre of entertainment, is how convincingly Naughty Dog have portrayed The Last of Us.

Joel's uncompromising actions are shaped by his past with the outbreak and the years of living in a world filled with an unshakable dread. Ellie on the other hand was born into this world; she laughs at the stories Joel tells her of the old world and is awestruck when she leaves the confines of the quarantine zone. The story is fleshed out in visually the most convincing videogame ever made. Naughty Dog have delivered a complete package. Unlike last years the Walking Dead you can actually see the emotional strife and confusion the characters endure, you can see it in their faces. These images will resonate years after you have put down the controller. This is a story done right and it really makes me anxious to see how far video games can go in the next cycle.

3. Eve Online: Rubicon ; What can be said about Eve. A MMO with the the largest economy, PVP fleets that seem to have no boundaries, a spaceship enthusiast dream, a no rules or etiquette world filled with space pirates, greedy mining corporations, grievers, and trade tycoons. I have played this game for almost a year now and I feel I have barely scratched the surface.

I lost 3 billion ISK while I wasn't paying attention for a minute. Eve does not hold your hand, it punishes you for being complacent and you can bid your life savings farewell in a blink of an eye. It can also make you a rich pilot if you jump in the opportunities the world is bountifull of for those who know how to look for it. What drive me towards the world of Eve is exactly this element of dangers and freedoms it offers. CCP is just the caretaker, what drives the world of Eve are the players themselves, each creating their own experiences and playing by their own pace and philosophies.

4. GTAV ; GTAV is the game that GTAIV should have been. I was severely suffering from franchise fatigue with GTAIV. This new generation did not brought what I was expecting in the evolution of GTA.

With GTAV Rockstar managed to overcome that stumbling block. Playing and switching between three characters is a game changer. Euphoria shines through and with that GTAV's open world is this generation's definitive playground. When gliding like an eagle on a parachute I noticed small dots on a small mountain track. On closer inspection, they were bikers racing down the mountain. The mountain lions prowl while the sun sets, emitting a red orange glow behind the mountain. At these moments, GTAV is at its best. There are problems though and the gameplay elements remain mostly the same, but Rockstar have refreshed my believe in GTA and I cannot wait what Rockstar will do with the new generation and expand on their formula.

5. Company of Heroes 2 ; I have put all 50 hours in the 4v4 and 5v5 multiplayer part of the game. The warfare is RTS mayhem, visceral, loud and exciting. I'm heartbroken that the game has severe lag and matchmaking problems. Otherwise it could have taken some playtime off Dota 2 and been higher on my list.

6. Bioshock Infinite ; This deserves to be on the list, because Irrational have done an amazing job of bringing Columbia to life. The setting of a new Eden of political and religious ideals, high above in the skies, is remarkable.

2013 was a great year and a fitting end to this generation. I hope the new generation brings games with this quality.

1. Grand Theft Auto: V ; In short, it made me regret defending Grand Theft Auto IV. All the colour, absurd attention to detail, improved mechanics, wonderful variation and kinetic energy on display made me realize this is what I truly wanted in a GTA game, and in my opinion, it's the best one yet.


2. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; An exhilarating, memorable, confident action game that only makes the idea of a sequel without the messy development history an exciting prospect. The fantastic soundtrack kicking in during pivotal boss fight moments is genius.


3. The Last of Us ; Sure the story, acting, gameplay, art direction, pacing, graphics, music, atmosphere and overall design are all awesome, but just as equally compelling for listing this as Game of the Year is the surprisngly great online componant. I haven't enjoyed strategicly tense multiplayer this good since the original Gears of War.


4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf ; A time sink, but a rewarding and refreshing one. 400 hours in and I'm still finding new things to enjoy about this game.


5. Resogun ; Deceptively simple, addictingly deep. Housemarque just nails that classic shmup itch.


6. Thomas was Alone ; I don't know what impressed me more, the clever use of such easy to understand mechanics, or the well crafted characters that were represented as nothing more than blocks.


7. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX ; I discovered enough new sides and additions to one of my favourite games of all time, Kingdom Hearts 1, to give this the recognition it deserves. Even though I know it's successor, 2.5 will easily dethrone it.


x. Bioshock Infinite ; Sublime art direction and a (mostly) captivating story can't hide poor core gameplay. A game shouldn't make you dread it's gaming portions, but for me, this did exactly that. The ending, with it's endless probabilities and possibilities to wrap things up felt very disappointing and a step back from the original Bioshock's multiple ending offerings.


2012. Virtues Last Reward ; Thought provoking throughout like it's predecessor, this game fires up all those dormant lateral regions of your mind to create a wholly unique and heart pounding narrative.

I had a really hard time putting these in order, but here ya go...

1. Saints Row IV ; It was a tough decision, but I think Saints Row came out tops for me this year. It's just such a gleefully self-aware videogame, I loved pretty much every minute of it. It looked janky at times and there were a few bugs but that somehow made it more endearing.
2. Grand Theft Auto V ; A true successor to San Andreas and a massive improvement over IV. The story was a thrill, much more pared down than previous games in the series and a lot better for it, and the online mode... well, the online mode is fucking great. I think the only reason this game doesn't have first place on my list is because I haven't played it that much with my friends yet. There's a part of me that's pretty sure that when I get my whole crew together it'll be fuckin magical.
3. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; The best Fire Emblem game since the first one released in the West. On top of being great in terms of the gameplay the rest of the game was pure fanservice and Nintendo's best use of DLC that I can think of.
4. Devil Survivor: Overclocked ; Well, Europe got it two years late but this is definitely a case of better late than never. Thank you, Based Atlus. In terms of gameplay it's a brilliant fusion of Final Fantasy Tactics and SMT with a classic SMT plot structure. What more could a guy like me ask for?
5. Persona 4 Arena ; My favourite fighting game of the year, and the only one that I'm potentially the best at out of my friends. It helps that ArcSys are my favourite fighting game developers and Persona 4 is possibly my favourite RPG of all time.
6. The Last of Us ; One of the best written video games I've ever played and fun to play throughout. Not much I can really say that hasn't been said before.
7. Bioshock Infinite ; Same with The Last of Us, but with less consistently engaging gameplay. It was a beautiful ride.
8. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance ; Pure unadulterated Platinum goodness. The final boss alone makes the game worth playing.
9. Persona 4 Golden ; The best RPG of all time (well, possibly) got a remake. It's only so low on the list because of all the great new games that came out this year. I'd feel kind of bad making it my game of the year, but it definitely deserves a spot.
10. XCOM: Enemy Within ; It's XCOM: Enemy Unknown but with mutants and robot suits. WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

x. Hotline Miami ; The Vita port was just perfect, the only version of the game that I've managed to complete. Fuck a mouse and keyboard.
x. Total War: Rome II ; Yeeup. Dat timesink. Not much else to say, really.
x. Papers, Please ; I always wanted to be an Eastern European border control dude in the Cold War era. This year I got to live that dream.
x. Poker Night 2 ; You get to play poker with Brock Samson. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT? But seriously, I really enjoyed this game. The dialogue is pretty funny and it's a fun way to refresh yourself on the rules of poker if it's been a while since you've played (what hand beats what, etc.). A damn good distraction.

FullMetalx117 said:

I don't know why I couldn't take The Last of Us seriously. For me it was a giant cheesefest with some technical issues that really took away form the game.

Click to expand...

Cool story... nothing to do with this thread though.

1. The Last of Us ; Nothing came close. The Story had me from the beginning and the ending didn't leave me for weeks. Absolute gaming perfection. Easily deserves to win.

2. Grand Theft Auto V ; Better than IV but easily forgettable. I can't remember most of the game.

3. Assassins Creed IV ; It's a great game and I loved sailing the open world. Story is really bad and brought down the experience. The modern day stuff was painful.

1. Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag; Absolute nails the perfect blend of Assassin’s gameplay and naval combat. There is so much to do and see in this game. It took me by surprise, after not enjoying ACIII at all.

2. Tearaway; The most essential game on Vita. I love how it completely breaks the 4th wall.

3. The Last of Us; Incredible game with the best written story and characters in any video game. A great mix of gameplay types.

4. Fire Emblem Awakening; I’ve never put so much time into a single game before, but I invested so many hours and money with all the DLC. The game is easily my favourite 3DS game.

5. Metal Gear Rising Revengance; Devil May Cry x Metal Gear Solid = one of the most crazy and satisfying games of the generation. Despite the fast paced gameplay it still retains the core feeling of a Metal Gear game. Dat soundtrack too <3

6. Sly Cooper Thieves in Time; Brilliant return for my favourite Sony mascot platform hero. I loved how I could play on PS3 and then carry on with Vita. Can&#8217;t wait for Sly 5.

7. Gran Turismo 6; I wasn&#8217;t a fan of GT5, to be honest I haven&#8217;t liked a game in the series since GT3. This feels so much more modern than the previous entry. The driving is simply delicious.

8. Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch; Classic JRPG that harks back to my PlayStation days. Beautiful visuals and a lovely story.

9. Grand Theft Auto V; Much like GT6 I haven&#8217;t like a game in the series since the PS2 days. This game is absolutely brilliant though. I loved the three characters too. I felt sad when the story was over.

10. Batman Arkham Origins; I am a huge Batman fan and have enjoyed the Arkham series. Origins to me is better than City, I preferred the story and the game felt tighter.

1. The Last of Us ; Naughty Dog gave us what will remain as one of the defining games for the seventh generation of consoles, a future classic. An engaging story, tight gameplay, some great characters and a technical tour de force. I was so absorbed by the experience that it took me some time to play another game. Many seemed shallow and bland in comparison. My game of the year AND my game of the generation.

2. Guacamelee ; a gem made of tight gameplay, funny world and great challenges. Guacamelee is so good I platinumed it, something I usually do not bother with but the challenges are so smartly designed you feel like a god of platforming games when you win them. A great, great platformer mixed with a beat&#8217;em all. I want more!

3. Hotline Miami Vita ; I got it first on PC but it did not click. I tried it on Vita and, bam, it clicked and it was fantastic. The music, the violence, the difficulty, the weirdness, everything blends perfectly and shines on dat OLED screen. One of the games that convinced me the Vita was a fantastic device for independent games.

4. Tomb Raider ; a very good game with great gameplay and technique. A bit silly in the disconnection between the weak Lara from the cutscenes and the beast that storms every levels in the game. But it plays well and that&#8217;s what&#8217;s more important. Maybe Eidos shouldn&#8217;t have made this game a Tomb Raider/Lara Croft game, maybe not. I&#8217;m not a fan of the license, I easily accept this new Lara Croft as long as the game is good. And it really is.

5. Killzone Shadow Fall ; a FPS that does not consider the player as an idiot. It doesn&#8217;t play for you, you won&#8217;t be guided like a kid in the level. Don&#8217;t be fooled by the look of the game, it&#8217;s not a corridor shooter, you&#8217;ll have to find the way that best suit your style. You&#8217;ll have to listen for the radio communications too because you&#8217;re in enemy territory and you&#8217;ll die quickly. The game has some flaws like a story that is weakly told but it&#8217;s gorgeous, has great gameplay (using the OWL is a big plus and helps a lot to survive, the game can be quite brutal at times) and the multiplayer part is unanimously considered as very good. A great launch game but you may have to check if it&#8217;s for you, play it like your average Call of Duty and you&#8217;ll leave frustrated.

6. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon ; a standalone spinoff of last year&#8217;s Far Cry 3 set in a future as seen in the eighties. And it&#8217;s great! The music, the flashy graphics, the typical « direct to VHS » movie one liners, the cutscenes, everything in this game is spot on. A great mix of Terminator, Robocop and all these 80s flicks with the solid underlying gameplay from Far Cry 3. Well done Ubisoft!

7. Resogun ; the new shooter from Housemarque, another well designed, technical masterpiece that plays superbly. It&#8217;s great but you&#8217;ll have to pull some serious skills to keep your multiplier high and beat the highest scores. ***Human lost&#8230;*** Noooooooo!

8. Tearaway ; not completed yet but it&#8217;s charming and the game is full of new ideas that make use of every aspects of the Playstation Vita. That should have been the game to demo the console. It&#8217;s fun, it&#8217;s beautiful, it makes you go « Awwww&#8230; » every 5 minutes, it&#8217;s Tearaway.

9. Asphalt 8 ; a F2P mobile game, OMG! I&#8217;m a casual gamer now! I tried it out of boredom and, like many mobile games before, I did not expect much&#8230; How wrong I was. The game is great, the controls with gyro are so good I wonder why Sony could never achieve that with their DS3. Gameloft succeeds were Namco failed, Asphalt 8 is a lesson in arcade racing. The paywall is not too present but it&#8217;s here and the game require some grinding.

1. The Last of Us; Bittersweet start to finish, what a journey. It took a while before the core gameplay clicked with me, but then I loved the back and forth of stealth and combat. Each encounter was thrilling and nerve wrecking. The character development and interwoven conversational story telling probably the best I've ever seen in a videogame, top notch, yet so effortless. Same goes for the presentation, urban decay porn, unbelievable texture work and lighting. It seems like Naughty Dog finally squeezed the last bit of performance out of the trusty old PS3.

2. Resogun; Awesome neo-retro arcade shooter, easy to pick up, hard to master. They went all out with their crazy voxel engine. It never impacts the gameplay or framerate negatively even when the screen is insanely busy. Instant classic!

3. Dragon's Crown; Stunning fantasy RPG beat'em up and such a VanillaWare game: beautiful animation, magnificent art and polished gameplay.

4. Puppeteer; Puppeteer is really a triple A platformer, over 12h long with no filler, orchestral soundtrack, insane presentation, completely over-saturated with details and charm. It could easily pass for an early next gen game since they dumped the complete power of the PS3 into single screens and very small, theater like stages. I was so ready to write off JAPAN Studios and there they are, standing tall with the rest of WWS.

5. DmC Devil May Cry; Incredible action game with outstanding presentation! Amazing facial mo-cap, acting and a story, that for once, made sense. I really liked the political commentary, how Dante was outlawed as terrorist by their satire likeness of Fox News.

6. Rogue Legacy; Got so badly hooked on this roguelike, platformer, RPG ... mashup. Masterful combination of all these genres, a bit of a grind but always fun.

7. Outlast; Bloody hell (pun intended), genuinely terrifying and gnarly. What they did with lightning, lighting, darkness and night vision is a work of art. Buckets of horror and suspense.

8. Volgarr the Viking; This game reminded me heavily of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts on the SNES, proper 16bit nostalgia flashback!

9. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons; Great experience and beautiful visuals, the game didn't had the same emotional impact as ICO or Journey on me though.

(I finished 74 games in 2013, mostly backlog though. I still have to play a few 2013 games, so I might make changes before the voting ends.)

1. The Last of Us ; My Game of the Generation. It is truly a masterpiece. The opening sequence is the most powerful thing I've witnessed this year in any form of media or book. it especially hit close to home for me. I felt like I was about to break the sticks on my DS3 from pushing them so hard during it. It easily has the most well realized characters of any video game ever made. Joel is just flat out awesome and features some superb voice work. Loved that accent. The game itself is gripping and haunting while boasting some of the most beautiful and serene moments I can ever remember seeing in any game I've ever played.

2. Dead Rising 3 ; Worth the price of admission. This is by far the best next gen game out right now. Easily an Xbox One system seller. I was never worried about the direction of this game, and it turned out exactly as great as I thought it would be. It's Dead Rising through and through. Almost every thing you love from this series is present along with some quality of life changes that I think are all positives. I do however feel a little of the intimacy of the other games is lost with the move to a more open world and the introduction of combo vehicles. Driving back and forth from each section of the city wasn't nearly as fun as planning your route through the mall with a bunch of survivors in tow.

3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ; Extreme minority opinion ahoy! I love AC. It's one of my favorite franchises, and I love that I get a new one every year. I am one of the few who absolutely adored AC 3. It was my GotY last year. On the other hand AC 4 has been a letdown comparatively for me. One of my least favorite parts of 3 was the ship battles and they went and made an AC with a heavy reliance on that. Like I said I know I'm in the minority here and I'm not finished so my mind may change a little before it's over. Regardless it's still an AC game, and I love it despite being a step back for me.

4. State of Decay ; For some reason I usually love janky games. Not only because they often have systems that are a little loftier than your run of the mill game (often to the game's own detriment since most of the work gets spent there) but because of the potential I see in them. At the same time I can't help but rate something lower when it isn't the complete package like The Last of Us is. Rummaging for supplies in an upstairs room while you see a horde of zombies march along the street below you from the window while praying you didn't make enough noise for them to hear you is just one of many different moments I've always longed for in a zombie game that State of Decay provides. It's definitely janky though. If only this game had better production values, a little more fleshed out RPG and stealth mechanic it could've possibly been my Game of All Time.

5. Dark ; I'm sure this won't be on anyone else's list but I really loved Dark. It's another janky ass game I couldn't help but fall in love with. It feels like a love letter written to old school stealth gamers such as myself. Stealth RPG is my favorite genre so I'm unashamedly biased here. The gameplay is a great mix of two of my favorite games--Alpha Protocol and Mass Effect. Once you start leveling up the game becomes a joy. I love breaking games and finding un(?)intended shortcuts, and this game gave me plenty of opportunities to do so. It comes complete with a teleport ripped out of Dishonored (along with an arrow for ease of vertical movements) that allowed me to bypass almost an entire boss stage right up to the boss. Just writing about it is making me want to play it again.

6. Lego: Marvel Super Heroes ; I hate Lego games. I’m not even a big comic book guy and I can’t believe how good this game is. I’m totally addicted to its unlockables. I’ve dropped over 50 hours into this already and decided to get a platinum trophy while I’m at it. This is definitely the surprise of the year for me. I remember when I saw this announced (at E3 I think) and just rolled my eyes. It still has the simplistic controls of the prior Lego games, but I think the mix of powers really added that needed layer of depth that prior Lego games were missing.

7. BioShock Infinite ; I thought parts of this game were amazing. The gameplay (while mechanically better) I found a step down from BioShock 1. I felt 1 gave me a lot more options in how I wanted to play. I played 1 on the hardest difficulty as a stealthy wrench assassin using turrets and cameras to take out what I couldn't stealth kill. Infinite felt more like a meat and potatoes shooter with a power cooldown for flavor.

8. Tomb Raider ; As a fan of Tomb Raider since the original on PC I was skeptical about this game from the start. I was (mostly) pleasantly surprised with this game. Graphics and gameplay were great. Loved Lara as well. Double dipping for the PS4 version.

9. DmC: Devil May Cry ; Amazing game with a cool story and characters. Showing Platinum up in action games this year surprisingly. Love the direction Ninja Theory are taking this series and I hope for sequels.

10. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist ; Great stealth game. Hard to go back to old SC games after this and the last one.

x. Batman: Arkham Origins ; Still a great game and better than City. It gets unfairly dinged for being a last gen game for me. Had this released earlier it might've cracked my top 10. By the time it came out I wanted all new releases on PS4.
x. Minecraft ; Finally getting around to see what the fuss was about with this game. I dabbled a little on PC and 360 but I'm really digging in and enjoying it immensely. Guess Terraria was my gateway drug. It would probably make my list, but I had enough issues with it to knock it out of my top 10. Like Terraria (but worse), I found combat terrible. Had this game had a good combat system it would've been so amazing. I also find the character models terrible. I understand the game isn't supposed to be a looker, but come on.
x. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; Only making it an honorable mention due to being a repackage with more content. The game is amazing and would probably be my #2 had I not wanted the new releases to get more due.
x. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut ; Same as Dragon's Dogma. Making room on my list for new games.
2012. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; Not sure where this would've ended up on my list had I spent more time on it last year, but it would've at least made an honorable mention. Once I started ranking up my guys and getting things like Ghost Armor, XCOM really started to get its teeth in me. After finishing I immediately wanted to start another play through with the knowledge I had learned from the previous play through.

Most Disappointing Game of the Year: Tie between: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance- I don't get the MGR love whatsoever. I found the game fairly terrible. It had some of the worst level design I've seen. It felt like a bunch of demos made for E3 duct taped together with some neat boss fights trying to save it from mediocrity. I didn't care for the parry system either. I don't care how little time they had. I still think it was a huge let down after Bayonetta and Vanquish. Grand Theft Auto V- I've never been a big GTA fan but this one looked promising. I admit it is leagues better than IV, especially in the mechanics department. I also really liked the three protagonists. Trevor was one of my favorite characters this year. The main reason that this made my Disappointment List was because I hit a game breaking bug and am still not able to progress any further in the story despite various internet suggestions. I didn't enjoy it enough to start all over and will possibly pick it back up if they release a PS4 version.

1. Super Mario 3D World ; Hey guys Nintendo made a good Mario game! Who would've thought it. Stupid sarcasm aside 3D World is what keeps me playing games. It's pure joy wrapped up in brilliant mechanics and some genuinely stunning visuals. Nintendo managed to create something that was equal parts frivolous and brimming with content, keeping me playing just to see what the hell they'd think of for the next level. And it's damn fun. And that's what should count most.



2. Tomb Raider ; At the start of the year someone reminded me a new Tomb Raider game was coming out. "Oh great, an Uncharted clone." I scoffed. Then the reviews came in. And then people began effusing about the game. And suddenly I was playing and being amazed that I had even thought to write this game off. Yeah, the story is guff and you could probably cut 90% of the characters without negatively affecting what little narrative there is. But I love Tomb Raider for it's mechanics. It rewards discovery and exploration and feels like a nod to Metroid-style games without being a simple case of 'You can't get behind this red door without the red key'. Also the bow in this game is amazing.



3. Bioshock Infinite ; I remember my first steps into Columbia. As cliched as it is, my mouth was slightly open. The atmosphere and cohesiveness of the world is perhaps one of the finest I've seen in a game ever. It's unfortunate that when you break it down, Infinite is basically a set of combat arenas stitched together with story, but the combat had enough variation, and the narrative enough of a hook to keep me enjoying the whole package.



4. Rayman Legends ; Rayman Legends takes what its predecessor did - fantastic visuals and great platforming - and perfects upon both. It's just a lovely, tight experience with plenty of challenge and many, many unlocks.



5. Pikmin 3 ; Before this year I'd mostly ignored the Pikmin franchise purely because I've never gotten on with the RTS genre. 3 games later I've come to realise what a dumb assumption that was. Pikmin 3 is a gorgeous game with brilliant mechanics, and is genuinely one that uses the Gamepad in an interesting, useful way.



6. Papers, Please ; The term 'indie game' has become something of a stereotype of sorts, typically insinuating simple graphics mixed with interesting mechanics that few big titles would even think to use. So, yeah, I guess Papers, Please is an indie game. A really great, strangely tragic indie game that uses limited tools to create a fantastically engaging experience.



7. Guacamelee! ; There are times when I hate Guacamelee with a passion. But I keep playing. Which is a testament both to its level of challenge and game design. But boy are the 'jokes' dumb.



8. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch ; I'll say up front the A.I. in this game sucks. It sucks bad. But Ni No Kuni makes up for it in being a thoroughly enjoyable RPG with fantastic visuals. But boy does that A.I. suck.



x. The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker HD ; I didn't put this one in my list because it's my favourite game. Weird, I know, but it seems odd to put something I've loved for years into a list of best games of this year. In spite of this, this is a fantastic remake and made me fall in love all over again.



2012. Far Cry 3 ; I really like those plants. They look pretty. And, ya know, the game's pretty great too.

1. Dota 2 ; Have been playing Dota for years and it really deserves any praise it gets.
2. The Last of Us ; Too bad it was released the same year as Dota 2.
3. Grand Theft Auto V ;
4. Bioshock Infinite ;
5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag ;
6. Tearaway ;
7. Beyond: Two Souls ;
8. Batman: Arkham Origins ;
9. Resogun ;

1. The Wonderful 101 ; This is one of the best games I've played in years and true testament to Platinum and Kamiya's ability to create ever so creative and imaginative combat systems in games. This game has a lot of variety when it comes to combat, level design and boss fights. And it is a pretty much a skill focused games which is a rarity in these days of hand-holding 5 hour tutorials. You have a lot of characters to play as, each has their own unique fighting style and you can switch them on the fly. It all adds up to a very delightful experience that I am glad I got the Wii U for.

2. Metro: Last Light ; This game has one of the best atmospheres I had ever experienced in years. All thanks to the brilliant art direction and sound design. you truly feel like you're inside an post-apocalyptic world instead of a game level. It does a very good job in establishing who you are and what are you fighting for which makes care to what happens in the end of it all. The game itself is linear but has a lot of room for exploration and it's really rewarding to explore various places in the metro. Plus, it is one of the best looking games I've played and I cannot wait until I get a decent PC so I could play it on high settings to experience it's graphics in their full glory.

3 Rayman Legends ; The level design is quite a marvel in this game. I never felt bored, tired or wanting to put the controller down for one bit. It has great art direction and music to make sure that you're on a ride you will not forget. It is one of the happiest games I ever played and I am not saying that lightly because I had a constant smile on my face every time I played it. If you're looking for game that's all about pure and imaginative fun, this is where you should look.

4. The Last of Us ; While a couple of points in the game really annoyed me and dropped it to the #4 spot, it is still a great and well craft video game. I am not a zombie fan at all but this game had so many hand crafted and unique segments in that it really grabbed me like no other Naughty Dog title ever did. Of all the games I've played, this had one of the best environments I've ever wandered through this year and possibly the past generation. The attention to detail in terms of collapsed buildings. rusty cars, and the vegetation that took over the world makes for a great image that invokes the feeling of nature taking over humanity which is why we should protect all that was left and thus the title of the games comes to mind.

5. Grand Theft Auto V ; While I thought this game was great fun and the production values were superb, the writing really is a huge step-down from GTA IV which I liked a lot, which I realize I am a small minority on this.Gone were the likable and believable characters and replaced with three badly written, irredeemable assholes with no likable qualities at all. Still, this has great sandbox fun that is hard to top. I loved the city and the heist missions add a bit of a freshness to the tired formula even if it had little variety.

6. Fire Emblem : Awakening ; Never played a Fire Emblem game before and oh boy I was missing out on something special ! It is a great strategy game with lots of depth in terms of mechanics, classes, maps and really compelling combat I never wanted to put down my 3DS! I even put the 3DS on the charger and kept playing, that's how good this game is. While the story is nothing special it does have a good moment here and there and loved the interaction between some of them. And even the DLC is very compelling too even it was on the short side of things.The 3Ds had one hell of a year but I think this is the best game on the system so far.

7. DmC : Devil May Cry ; Okay, this is probably the most controversial game on my list. This game rebooted the classic action franchise and took it into a new direction with Ninja Theory in the helm of development.Despite all the hate it received from fans of the original games and how much I enjoyed the old ones myself, I thought it was a very compelling action game that's fun and challenging at times, even if it not as challenging as the old games. In the age of games such as Ninja Gaiden 3 and Lords of Shadow, this game is a breath of fresh air to be a game about master combos and not quick-time events.

8. Luigi's Mansion 2 ; Luigi is my favorite Nintendo character so I was surely wasn't going to miss this game. and It is a great ghost hunting fun to have on the go with well made ,mechanics and great level design. And the multiplayer was quite fun as well and I hope see more Luigi games in the future.

9 . Assassn's Creed IV ; Black Flag ; AC3 left a very bad taste on my mouth and I almost wanted to skip this game because I thought it was going to suck since I highly doubted that Ubisoft would change or add anything that would draw me in again to the series, boy how wrong I was. This game's naval battles were gratifying and going on to hunt ships and upgrade the Jackdaw was one of the best experiences I had with the AC series and I hope the next game will have a fun mechanic to mix up the gameplay as well.

x. Bioshock Infinite ; I really wanted love this game, I really did. The original Biosock is one of my all time favorite games and Rapture was one of my favorite settings. I hoped Infinite would carry on the great legacy left by it's predecessor but fell short in almost every way. Very dull shooting coupled with uninteresting level design brought the game down significantly for me. And the story isn't compelling at the slightest. It doesn't have any compelling character, not even the so beloved Elizabeth. However the art direction is amazing so I give it that.

It's amazing how almost every single post about AC4 is the same. I really hope Ubisoft is getting this feedback.

A full month to edit one's vote? Good, I have a little catching up to do.


1. Super Mario 3D World ; This game kept a smile on my face the whole way through. This one had tight controls, great level design, some really fun new power-ups, gorgeous visuals, and a shockingly good soundtrack. Between this and my second-place choice, I feel that my choice to pick up a Wii U has been completely justified.


2. The Wonderful 101 ; I won't lie, the camera is often a pain in the ass, and some of the levels and boss battles drag themselves out for a little too long. However, the combat system is a blast, most of the other gameplay styles are a lot of fun (especially the Punch-Out-style segments), and the writing is pretty good, too. Probably the best value of any game I've played this year, and it's a shame that it bombed.


3. Papers, Please ; Who thought that playing as a border-patrol bureaucrat would actually be pretty damn fun? Yeah, looking for those discrepancies in all of that paper work was pretty damn. Trying to budget myself to keep alive was really tense as well, even though only myself, my wife, and my son made it. At the time of writing, this is my SteamGAF GOTY as well.


4. Pokemon X & Y ; Another problematic game, with its frequent framerate problems, bad writing, and annoying hub city. With all of that aside, though, this is probably the best installment of the series, and the first that I would actually call a GOTY candidate. The Fairy type provides some much-needed balance to the type system, the new Pokemon models and animations are fantastic, the online features make it feel like an MMO at times, and the regional Pokedex is the best in series, by virtue of being the very largest and having the widest variety of Pokemon. It's still Pokemon, though, so those who don't like the formula aren't going to find anything different.


5. Skullgirls ; (PC port) I'm not much of a fighting game fan, but man, this game is so fun. Between the PC version's beta and the full release, probably the only fighting I've played more has been UMvC3. It's good stuff.


6. BioShock Infinite ; This game gets so much hate here on GAF, mainly due to the writing and the combat system. I love both. The gunplay, the vigors, the skylines, and everything that Elizabeth can spawn make for some really exhilarating gameplay, and the writing kept me fully engaged the whole time. This was actually my GOTY until October, too.


7. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed ; (PC port) Aside from Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Awesomenauts, this is my most-played game of this year. Great track design, great power-ups, and a great sense of speed. This game is so much fun, man.


8. Spelunky ; (PC port of the Xbox Live remake) This is one of the best Roguelites on the market. One has to tread carefully, but beating a world feels so good. The controls are very tight as well, and it's one of those games where just have to try one more time every time you die.


9. Guacamelee! ; Man, this was just a fun one. The basic combat is fun, and so is the dimension-shifting mechanic. Then you have the special moves, and the enemies wearing armor that only breaks with special moves, and the enemies that can only be hurt in certain dimensions, and all of that platforming and exploring goodness. Top of with a unique art style and some good music, and you have a great game.


10. Gunpoint ; Gunpoint gives you a great set of tools with which to carry out your espionage. Manipulating circuits, climbing all over the walls, jumping at great heights, and kicking doors off their hinges. Throw in some witty writing, and you're golden.

x. Saints Row IV ; The powers were a lot of fun to play with. The collectibles are a lot of fun to collect. The writing is pretty damn funny. Loved this game.

x. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ; The gunplay is a ton of fun. They do some really clever things with the whole "guy telling stories in a bar" framing device. Good art style. Doesn't outstay its welcome. Fifteen dollars. Goddamn.

x. Rogue Legacy ; It's a fun game with some fun combat and good room design, but I did not feel comfortable putting it on the list. It gets way too grindy for its own good. Still, I definitely recommend it.

2012. Crusader Kings II ; I bought this one in November, and only now have I sat down to get familiar. Man, this game is addicting. Pulling off plots in order to lay claim to someone else's demesne or ensure that your heir of choice reaches the throne with most of your titles in tact is so satisfying. If I had played this last year, it'd be in my top three, guaranteed.

I started playing Eve in 2013, I was wondering if I can list Eve Online: Odyssey or Rubicon.

1. The Last of Us ; Last of us delivered everything I was expecting, which is rare for a game to do. I loved every piece of dialogue in the game and by the end I simply did not want to say goodbye to these characters.
2. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch ; Visuals played a big part here, but this game was overflowing with charm.
3. Batman: Arkham Origins ; I'm a huge batman fan and I was really pleased with the boss battles in this one.
4. Duck Tales Remastered
5. Ys: Memories of Celceta
6. Soul Sacrifice
7. Guacamelee
8. Resogun
9. Killzone: Shadowfall
10. NHL 14
2012: Sleeping Dogs

Just want to check before I post my list. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is definitely eligible, right?

1. Tearaway ; Made me smile a lot. I enjoyed every minute I played that little game. This game kept me more interested that anything else I've played this year

2. GTA 5 ; The first GTA game I ever finished. The story was interesting and some of the missions were hilarious. MP was a good blast too (when it worked)

3. The Last of Us ; Good story, great characters and fine gameplay mechanics / graphics. It captured the dark atmosphere extremely well. MP was surprisingly addictive.

4. Bioshock Infinite ; I haven't finished this yet but it seems to have captured some of the Bioshock 1 sauce. The world is very interesting and the characters are good. Looking forward to putting more time into it.

5. Wind Waker HD ; Having missed the CG version I was keen to try this. I was not disappointed. Classic Zelda wrapped up in a lovely cell shaded package

6. Fire Emblem Awakening ; having never tried a fire emblem game before I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out I should have expected a brilliant strategy game, cos that what I got

7. Killzone Mercernary ; Stunning graphics, decent SP and solid MP. Great all rounder

8. Tomb Raider ; I enjoyed the SP, it looked great and the shooting was fun. By far the best TR game i've played but I was never a fan of any of the other ones (except Guardian of Light)

2012. Borderlands 2 ; Great characters, great sense of humor, great co-op and addictive gun collecting.

1. The Last of Us ; Probably the game of the generation. It didn't feel like a game at all - more like an interactive movie. The presentation was the best I've ever seen - the acting, pacing, story and DAT ENDING stuck with me longer after I finished it. As as many have already said....that Winter chapter...jesus. The Last of Us is truly the most mature game I've ever played (and is exactly the type of game I have always wanted to see come out of the medium). Nothing else even comes close to the tour de force experience this game is this year.

2. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ; would have been my GOTY if not for the The Last of Us. Best ARPG I have ever played. The world is alive, the nighttime can be scary as hell and Wolves hunt in packs! I really liked the pawn system and the combat.....my god the combat was incredible. Just wish is the game scaled the difficulty as you went along.

3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ; Finally, Ubisoft went back to the roots of what made the AC games great. This is the best one since 2/BroHood and it shows. The time period is near and dear to my heart and being able to virtually walk around Nassau during the Golden Age of Piracy was a dream. The navel combat is excellent and I really liked Edward Kenway - they nailed the pirate life perfectly and what it did to people.

4. Muramasa Rebirth ; This game took me by surprise. The art direction, style and overall combat was incredible on the Vita. I wish the long promised DLC would have been released (soon apparently) but overall this was probably the best game I played on Vita this year (I haven't touched KZ:M or Tearaway yet and I think that this is better the Ys: Tales of Celceta).

5. Grand Theft Auto V ; Best GTA game since Vice City even though I haven't finished it yet. It's amazing how Rockstar manages to pack sooo much stuff into a game.

haikira said:

Just want to check before I post my list. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is definitely eligible, right?

Click to expand...

It's on the spreadsheet of eligible games, so it should be.

1. The Last of Us; Couldn't give it to anything else. Just an amazing game which balances awesome visuals with an amazing story and solid to very good gameplay mechanics.

2. Bioshock Infinite; LOU beat this by a hair, as far as I'm concerned. Another amazing game with INCREDIBLE visuals, a mindfuckery story and solid gameplay.

3. GTA V; Another amazing game, but for me, really forgettable. I guess I was soured by the somewhat lazy ending to the main storyline. Visuals were nice but suffered greatly from previous gen limitations which dragged the experience as a whole down.

4. Guacamelee; Didn't expect to see a Vita game in my top 5, considering how late into the year I bought one. Just a very pleasant little platformer that sucked time away from my life. The biggest drawback being the somewhat hamfisted Luchador theme is a testament to the quality of the rest of the game.

5. Resogun; I didn't expect myself to like this. Watching trailers leading up to launch, I felt like my lack of hype for this game confirmed that I was just over Arcadey games forever. I'm glad I was wrong. I'm not playing this every night pursuing high scores but while I was platinuming it, it was a fun experience.

x. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag; Gave this an honorable mention because while I am enjoying it, I am getting the sense that once the main storyline is over, that typical AssCreed "been here, done this" boredom will set in that EVERY game in the franchise has. Ubisoft need to learn how to make their open worlds more interesting.

2012. Persona 4 Golden; I have played about 20 hours of this thing and already know I'm going to love it. Atlus quality control is just magnificent in every regard. You wouldn't know it was a game from the PS2 era with a HD facelift. Only gripes are the english voice acting, which is average at best and the dungeons, which are seriously lacking some originality. Everything else, awesome.

That's really all for me this year. Anything else I played was probably way too forgettable to mention, therefore not worth mentioning.

Actually, I need to check if Everybody's Golf is applicable. I don't see it on the spreadsheet, and it's pretty much a port of a Vita game from 2012, with a couple new courses included. However you can get those courses as DLC for the Vita, I believe. It was called Hot Shots Gold: World Invitational in the US, if it doesn't ring a bell.

Ref, we need a ruling over here!
It's not, is it... Oh well, I need a slot for the Zelda game I'll be playing over christmas anyway.

I've spent most of this year playing through last years backlog so only played 4 titles from this year so heres my 4

Last of Us ; Outstanding game in every category and 2nd best game on PS3 right behind the Souls series

Ni No Kuni ; Over half way through the game at the moment and love it, the music, art style and battles are great.

Tomb Raider ; Good game that turned out better than i expected, beautiful environments with nice set pieces. Story was weak and it was too easy though.

GOW Ascension ; I'm putting this here since i'm a big GOW fan but game was poor when compared to the trilogy and the boss fights, sound track, levels etc were very disappointing.

I'm guessing Pandora's Tower is a LTTP due to it's release in EU last year right?
Since if it's not I want to put it on my main list. Was one of my favorite titles released this year in NA.

1. Tearaway ; Unadulterated fun, visually stunning and a heart-warming story. The kind of game you don't want to put down. As a bonus, it actually uses the Vita's features to perfection and proves that using the touchpads, camera, etc. does not have to be a gimmick. As someone else said, this is gaming's version of a Pixar film, and it is every bit as good as their best.

2. Grand Theft Auto V ; San Andreas but larger, more polished gameplay and great storytelling. Would've been my GOTY if Tearaway hadn't captured my heart.

3. Bioshock Infinite ; Excellent storytelling, fun and varied gameplay and again, visually striking.

4. The Last of Us ; High tension, tight controls and gameplay, great storytelling.

5. Dota 2 ; I've sunk a few hours into this, not nearly as much as most, but this is balanced and perfected competitive gaming. Nuanced and infinitely replayable. Looks great too.

6. Tomb Raider ; A 1080p 120fps version of an Uncharted game. Fun, non-stop blockbuster game.

7. Killzone: Mercenary ; The greatest handheld FPS in the history of gaming. Mind bogglingly good graphics for a handheld game.

8. The Swapper ; Innovative, unique and challenging puzzler.

9. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ; Best Assassins' Creed since Brotherhood. Naval warfare has been perfected and I love the setting.

10. Guacamelee! ; Strikes a balance between platforming and combat with some great boss battles in the mix too.

Jawmuncher said:

I'm guessing Pandora's Tower is a LTTP due to it's release in EU last year right?
Since if it's not I want to put it on my main list. Was one of my favorite titles released this year in NA.

Click to expand...

Any games that were released in your region for the first time this year are eligible, as per the rules.

1. Fire Emblem Awakening ; A Highly addictive title with a great story and characters
2. Last of Us ; Really enjoyed the emotional pieces in the game
3. Pandora's Tower ; A great ending to the wii in NA
4. Project X Zone ; Such an enjoyable handheld expierence
5. DmC ; A great retooling of the franchise
6. Metal Gear Rising ; A neat spinoff of the franchise.
2012. Kid Icarus Uprising ; A title I can't believe I missed in 2012.

rjc571 said:

Any games that were released in your region for the first time this year are eligible, as per the rules.

Click to expand...

Thansks! Wasn't entirely sure when reading the rules!

Oh man, my favorite part of the year! I was waiting for this to happen again, as I love reading everyone's thoughts about games from the year (I've never really cared about the rankings). Time to start crunching out my own though. This is going to take right up until the deadline

ViewtifulJC said:

shit

guess I better get writing

uh what's the character limit for posts again

Click to expand...

Writing? Shit I best get playing. Unless I'm going to put in a reduced entry I don't think I've even finished 10 games from 2013.

Damn you backlog!

It's a shame that Hotline Miami already got a large part of its votes last year but if it can make the top 10 again that would be awesome.

We usually have a list of all the released games in the year. Is that going up as well?

Lime said:

We usually have a list of all the released games in the year. Is that going up as well?

Click to expand...

Read the op? Or the post after the op?

1. The last of us ; Naughty dog proves again they are the best in business.
2. Assassins creed IV ; my favorite AC to date, huge improvement over III
3. Gran theft auto V ; Great main story, favorite 3d gta after vice city.
4. Luigis mansion ; this game really brings back nintendo charm
5. Ni no kuni ; Just can not resist the ghibli charm, little bit to easy though
6. Fire emblem awakening ; best entry in the series yet
7. Tomb raider ; my first tomb raider, and i loved it
8. Far cry 3 ; a return to form after the horrible 2nd game
9. Bioshock infinite ; could be better, but still great
10. Puppeteer ; more game like this have to be made, so thats why its on my list

honorable mentions
x zelda link between worlds ; planning to play soon, im sure i will love it
x ace attorney dual destinies ; my favorite series, but i hate to buy digital so have not done yet.
x beyond, i liked the game but has it faults

1. Europa Universalis IV ; The king returns. Slightly more accessible but still with the complexity the series is known for.Essentially EU 3.5 which is a great thing because EU3 was so good.

2. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; Addictive srpg with a nice difficulty level and fun story.

3. Mechwarrior Online ; I believe this lanched finally. I did all my playing in the beta. A fun game that at least triees to remain true to the simulation core of MW.

4. Shadowrun Returns ; I won't gush with hyperbole on a game that is just good, but I include it in this list because it is a good kickstarter game, and the first one that I have backed to actually release something.

5. Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 ; No idea if this is the right title to use in this thread. I enjoy these games every year as it does just enough to scratch the itch for card games without delving too deep into Magic which I frankly don't have time for.

2012. Dishonored ; Great game if you focus on the blink power during gameplay.

1. Super Mario 3D World ; I was one of the fools that whined about this game looking like a step back from Galaxy when it was first revealed, but it won me over with its laser-focused platforming, beautiful diorama worlds and swinging soundtrack.

2. The Last of Us ; the presentation has no peer in the medium and the stealth action was involving and dynamic and probably the most intense since Manhunt. Considering its timing and quality, it really was the RE4 of this gen.

3. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time ; Sanzaru came out of nowhere and delivered a big, beautiful, charismatic and totally worthy sequel. Can't wait to see what they do next.

4. Splinter Cell: Blacklist ; a fine return to form and a surprisingly great stealth game.

5. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; 250 million well spent, the love and attention to detail poured into creating this world is inspiring. Seriously, they didn't need to make so many unique assets and points of interest, but they did, and it's so fun just to drive through it. And they got the story right with suitably psychopathic characters.

6. Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus ; a solid installment of the ageless R&C recipe with the usual fun new mechanics sprinkled in. 30fps was offputting at first but this is honestly one of the best looking games of this gen.

7. Spelunky ; I'd lie in bed and my brain would randomly generate maps and loot and I'd play it in my head like I used to do with Tetris, that's how addictive this was.

8. Tearaway ; sent to die but it made an extremely beautiful corpse

9. Gunpoint ; great little noir puzzler that allows for some freeform solutions. Really clever mechanically and aesthetically.

10. Outlast ; it had me at "insane asylum". Nothing special in the gameplay department, and the story stumbles, but this game is all about atmosphere and sense of place, it's fun just to be there.

Games I haven't played yet but plan on playing by the deadline- Dragon's Dogma, Shadowrun Returns, Luigi's Mansion, Resogun, Wonderful 101

Due to not owning the likes of the Wii U or 3DS, I can't make a top ten list this year. I just know for a fact if I'd played Mario3D world or if I'd finished ALBW then both those would easily be in my top ten. I still haven't got around to NI No Kuni or Tales of Xillia either.

A lot of Nintendo on my list, but their output this year has been top notch, and I've been attached to my 3DS for most of the year so I gotta give them some shine!

1. Super Mario 3D World ; A truly masterful experience. I feel like a kid again everytime I play this game. One of my favorite Mario games. Period. Perfect controls, level design, and mechanics. GOTY!

2. Pokemon X and Y ; Pokemon's seamless transition to 3D is what really made this game a whole lot better, the world and monsters all have so much life now and the mechanics have been refined almost to perfection. One of the best Pokemon games.

3. Fire Emblem Awakening ; Best FE in the series. IS went all out with this one and packed as much as they could into it and it payed off. The characters, gameplay, music, everything is top notch.

4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf ; I've poured countless hours into this amazing game and will continue to do so. Best in the series.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD ; I've played this game so many times, but this was the first time I collected everything. This is an amazing remake which makes the game a lot better.

6. Pikmin 3 ; So. Much. Fun. I think the Pikmin formula has been mastered with this game. Lots of replayability and the mechanics have been perfected to provide maximum enjoyment.

7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ; Not finished with this game quite yet, but what I've played so far is so well designed that I'm constantly amazed by it.

8. Grand Theft Auto V ; The first GTA game I've played in a while and wow, it's amazing. Still have to finish this one, but I can say that it's a huge effort on Rockstar's part and deserves a spot on my list.

9. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon ; Great and worthy sequel to the first Luigi's Mansion, the exploration and gameplay is top notch.

10. The Wonderful 101 ; Very action packed and high paced game, the controls take time to get used to but it's a very tight game in terms of design.

Hindle said:

Due to not owning the likes of the Wii U or 3DS, I can't make a top ten list this year. I just know for a fact if I'd played Mario3D world or if I'd finished ALBW then both those would easily be in my top ten. I still haven't got around to NI No Kuni or Tales of Xillia either.

Click to expand...

And you didn't play 10 games that you liked this year?

Gonna restrict myself to games I've actually played this year....... which is only 24. :/

1. Pokemon X/Y ; It's Pokemon. My most anticipated game of the year. Lived up to all the hype, perfectly transitioned into a 3D world. Oh god it's Pokemon. Just writing this makes me want to pick it up again.

2. Tomb Raider ; Old Franchise getting an amazing reboot.

3. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag ; Probably the most enjoyable AC game in a long, long time. Also, shanties.

4. BioShock Infinite ; Gameplay was meh, Game Design was the best of any game this year. Brilliant storytelling/world.

5. Grand Theft Auto V ; Not as "engaging" as I wanted it to be, but still a huge and beautiful looking game.

6. Civilization V: Brave New World ; Civ is my most played game of all time, the expansion added a ton of content, further improving the game. Enough said.

7. Fire Emblem Awakening ; My first FE game, and I'm embarrassed about not having finished it yet. Was a ton of fun, and pretty unique gameplay.

8. Shin Megami Tensei IV ; Demon JRPG, also my first of the franchise. Ridiculously long, but also a ton of fun. Potential to spend countless hours collecting stuff...

9. Resogun ; Oddly enough, probably the most visually impressive PS4 game so far. Tons of fun, tons of frustration too.

10. Super Hexagon ; Didn't even realize this came out this year too. Was contemplating restricting my list to 9, but it's just such a sweet little time killer you can get REALLY caught up with that I had to add it.



Honorable Mention: SimCity can go screw itself.



Short list, missing basically all PS3 titles (cause I don't have a PS3) and a ton of other games I wish I'd played... but I procrastinate, hoard games and don't have unlimited time either... oh wells.

1. Zelda a Link between Worlds ; my childhood brought back and enhanced
2. Mario 3DWorld ; I don't like Mario plateformers, but the 3D series changed that
3. Wonderful 101 ; Kamiya, marry me
4. The Last of Us ; ND is BIG
5. Metal Gear Rising ; I don't play guitar yet still felt like getting laid
6. Bioschock Infinite ; I liked the world and playing a FPS story for more than 5hrs.
7. Tomb Raider ; first TR I enjoyed
8. Anarchy Reigns ; once I "got it" I enjoyed everything about it
9. NES Remix ; throwing money at WiiU's screens ends up paying
10. Ryse ; gave me an excuse to pick a X1.

Killer Instinct as honorable mention. no SP means I won't touch it much alas.

Kentucky Route Zero might be my favorite game of the year, but it's not "done" yet so maybe next year. Only an hour into Tearaway, so it might end up on the list once I finish it. Same with AC4. Numbers 1 and 2 really are a toss up.


1. Gone Home ; I've always been a fan of stories about the struggles of young adults so I was always going to love the subject matter. What makes Gone Home more than just a cool idea though is how it plays on what you expect from games and narratives. It takes the best narrative lessons learned from games like Bioshock and throws out everything unnecessary for the story to be told. Nothing else this year made had me caring this much about what I was doing, and the fact that Gone Home does it without and characters models or cutscenes at all says a lot. Finally it's refreshing to get a game that's both honest and hopeful in this medium. A medium that often resorts to childish wishful thinking or thoughtless nihilism.


2. The Last of Us ; The story and characters are of course fantastic and the ending is the best in any video game ever. The way it's both a characters story and a commentary on violence is brilliant, but everyone knows this. The more controversial gameplay however is what sells the game for me. Going into an encounter with the intention of not being seen only to have all hell break loose is something you must embrace. When I did that gameplay, story, and tone all came together. There is nothing like barely scraping by in a fight to the death and ending it all with a 2x4 to the face of the final guy. The biggest surprise of the year though has to be that I loved the multiplayer.


3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ; The only Zelda game i've managed to play through since Twilight Princess. Streamlined is a key word for me with this game. The story is brief, character conversations are rare and last a couple text boxes. Navigating the map is quick and rewarding. Being able to tackle the dungeons in whichever order you want does something to my brain and the sticking to walls mechanic is no gimmick.


4. The Swapper ; Great puzzles, fantastic art and an intro philosophy course all rolled into one! One of the few games with a choice that actually matters. A choice that says something about the player.


5. The Stanley Parable ; While Gone Home takes the extremely subtle route in deconstructing first person tropes The Stanley Parable confronts it head on. Featuring a hilarious narrator that never gets old (fuck you Puppeteer) I played through the whole thing in one sitting. Trying to squeeze every bit of content out of it. Towards the end I decided to try and get every achievement. If you've played the game one of these achievements pretty much sums up my compulsion to do everything...


6. Tomb Raider ; The story is pretty much garbage and it contains an unfortunate stereotypical character, but the gameplay was a big surprise. It was just a ton of fun. You've seen similar mechanics before, but the combat and traversal was just so well put together. It kind of reminded me of Zelda in that way. I even had fun collecting everything! Also the games that tend to be most memorable for me are often the ones that grab me so hard I event up finishing them in marathon sessions. Like every game on this list Tomb Raider was one of those.


7. Candy Box! ; There is something about the discovery in games like Candy Box and Frog Fractions that attracts me. It certainly helps that they are silly as fuck. Not knowing anything about the twists and turns is key to these things. I mean the gameplay sort of devolves into a Facebook game


8. AntiChamber ; Dark Souls meets Portal?

9. Paper's Please ; Paper's Please isn't fun. Putting the player in the shoes of someone who has to make hard choices isn't sexy like other choice games. Most bad people aren't making the renegade choice. They are a product of their environment, and making that environment a totalitarian regime who is basically holding a gun to your families head makes for a unique and punishing gameplay experience. Paper's Please has a ton of choice and player expression, but like in real life sometimes there is really only one way to go.


10. Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch ; Before Ni No Kuni I hadn't played a traditional console JRPG I even remotely enjoyed since Lost Odyssey 4 years ago, and I haven't loved one since Final Fantasy XII 6 years ago. Traditional world map, "airships", and Pokemon style creature capturing made this immediately appealing for me. It also helps that the game opens with Harry Potter style world building, great writing, voice acting, and an interesting turn of events that sends you on the journey. Of course by the end it delves into a bunch of bullshit, but I never got bored of the universe or what beautiful location I would go to next. I fucking got a platinum for this game!


x. Saint's Row IV

x. Pokemon X

x. Dead Rising 3


2012. Little Inferno ; 2013 for me was the year of the deconstruction I guess. Another weird little game. Where CandyBox embraces Facebook/Mobile games Little Inferno sets them ablaze.

1. Dota 2 - This game has some of the highest highs and lowest lows I've ever experienced in gaming. Yet it's the one game I spend by far the most hours on this year. I normally don't like competitive online gaming that much, but dota 2 has sucked me right back in
2. A Link Between Worlds - Nintendo did exactly what everyone wanted them to do, make it quick to get started and completeable in any order. It's probably one of the closest games I've played recently that is 100% polished.
3. Bioshock Infinite - There's so much to say about this game, but what blew me away the most was the art design, the music and the story. It has probably the best art direction of any game I can remember. Those moments where you climb a precipice and behold the amazing composed sights before you left my jaw on the floor.
4. Fire Emblem Awakening - Probably one of my favourite series, and this may be my favourite entry in it.
5. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
6. Pokemon X
7. The Last of Us
8. Wonderful 101
9. 2012 Guild Wars 2
10. The Stanley Parable

Remember folks, a vote for The Wonderful 101 is a vote for The Last of Us*


*Paid for and authorized by the The Metal Gear Rising for GotY committee.

1. Dota 2 ; Infinite replayability, amazingly high skill ceiling (PC)
2. The Last of Us ; Fantastic story and art direction (PS3)
3. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; Dat Trevor (PS3)
4. Tearaway ; Bleeds charm (PSV)
5. Hotline Miami ; Bleeds (PSV)
6. Saints Row 4 ; Janky but fun as hell (PC)
7. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag ; What would you do with a drunkin' sailor? (PS4)
8. The Stanley Parable ; WTF (PC)
9. Battlefield 4 ; Dat Multiplayer (PS4)
10. Brothers ; Touching. (PC)

1. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag ; (PS4) The Assassins Creed game I've been waiting for. I think the reason why this is number one on my list, is that there is no way I would have thought I would enjoy this game as much as I do, based on my experiences last year with Assassins Creed 3. Maybe it was a matter of the technology finally catching up with Ubisofts vision for the franchise, maybe it was pirate theme with a Caribbean setting that fit so well with the sailing and combat mechanics that have essentially been perfected, maybe it was the lack of a nonsensical Desmond storyline, but I feel it is really a combination of all of these elements that makes this Assassins Creed, not only the best game in the series, but my personal GOTY for 2013.

2. Bioshock Infinite ; (360) Never before has a video game story left the kind of impact on me that Bioshock Infinite did. The world of Columbia was so fresh, exciting and beautifully constructed that it was just begging me to explore each and every nook and cranny, and within each of those was some form of detail that added to the story. The entire ending of the game completely changed my view of what can really be done with narrative structure in video games and I think Ken and the team at Irrational deserve full marks for creating such an impactful experience.

3. The Last of Us ; (PS3) Let's face it, Naughty Dog are world class artists, programmers, designers and story-tellers. The attention to detail and performance truly sets them apart from the pack. My only real problem with The Last of Us is the post-apocalyptic zombie shooter tropes that it relies so heavily on. The interaction between Joel and Ellie was so unlike anything I've experienced in a video game that it's a real shame it has to be set in such a generic zombie world.

4. The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Wolrds ; (3DS) The Zelda game I've been waiting for all my life. Ever since ALTTP, I've always wanted a proper sequel, and Nintendo finally delivered. Not only is this my favorite portable game this year, I think it is the best 3DS game period, and one that every 3DS owner should own.

5. Grand Theft Auto V ; (360) Rockstar are brilliant game designers. The open world of Los Santos is alive and exciting and just technologically marvelous. While I much preferred the stories in the last couple proper Rockstar releases (Max Payne 3/Red Dead), I think it was bold introducing three playable characters and the way it worked mechanically as well made for a different experience than GTA IV.

6. Gone Home ; (PC) I've played through works of "interactive fiction" before, be it Dear Esther, Heavy Rain, Corpse Party, and so forth, but the issues those games all have is that the stories aren't good enough to have built an entire game upon. Gone Home bucks that trend by being some of the most earnest and intimate story telling I've ever experienced in a game. So much of the story is subtly told through crumpled up notes and pieces of paper lying around, but the core story of a sister coming home to find her parents house in disarray and trying to discover what happened, had me completely enthralled for the 90 minutes it took to play through.

7. Saints Row IV ; (360) Speaking of bucking trends, Saints Row IV, took everything that series had been building towards and decided to crank everything up to 11 and let 'er rip. It went from being a mock-crime siumulator with some funny, outlandish, even sci-fi settings to a completely over the top, "save-the-planet-destroy-the-aliens" superhero simulator. There are performance issues that held this game back from being nearer the top of my list, but in terms of games that I just had a ridiculous amount of fun playing this year, Saints Row is in a league of its own.

8. Tearaway ; (Vita) Cute, charming, creative, fun. All words that describe the essence of what Media Molecule was going for with Tearaway. I felt the combat was a little less than interesting and the game involves almost zero challenge, but for a game that seemed on the surface to be a Vita tech demo, they did right with that game and that platform.

9. Tomb Raider ; (360) This is the first Tomb Raider game that I feel I've ever really truly enjoyed. The combat, the puzzles, the traversal are all the best the series has ever offered up. The story leaves quite a bit to be desired, but if they can hone that in on that next installment and maybe make me care about any of the characters other than Lara, they might have a real GOTY contender on their hands. I guess they kind of do anyway.

10. Animal Crossing - New Leaf ; (3DS) This is my first Animal Crossing since the Gamecube version many moons ago. It was like slipping into an old pair of shoes. While, I don't feel I put the countless hours into this version that I did with the Gamecube one, it certainly brought back a lot of memories and I really had a good time with all virtual Animal Crossing friends this past year.

x. Hotline Miami ; (Vita) It was a really close toss up between Animal Crossing or this game, and they could not be at further ends of the spectrum despite the fact that they are both perfect handheld experiences. The weapons, the masks, the over the top violence and one of the best video game soundtracks I've ever heard definitely make this worth an honorable mention.

x. Papers, Please ; (PC) After having heard about this game all year, I finally decided to pick it up during the Black Friday sales over at humblebundle.com. I don't know if I had "fun" playing Papers, Please, but it was certainly a memorable experience from start to, completely depressing finish. I only ever got one ending, and this is a game that I really want to go back to eventually, which makes this another honorable mention.

2012. Persona 4: Golden ; (Vita) I started playing this game right around Christmas last year, and managed to finish it a couple days before Bioshock Infinite came out in the spring. This game was my obsession for almost three months this year, and in terms of games I played this year is really my overall GOTY for 2013. It is the first JRPG I've beaten since Super Mario RPG almost 20 years ago. Everything about this game is amazing, but the Social Links were what really set this over and above any JRPG ever imho. Every character was so interesting and every event so impactful. The highlight for me was when the gang went to the beach and at that same time I was down in the Dominican Republic and playing this on the beach and somehow it made both experiences better.

1. The Last of Us ; I have nothing substantial to add to the discussion, I feel everything that could be said about the game has already been said. But for what its wort, its probably the best blend of cinematic action/stealth gameplay and story any AAA game has ever achieved. Its not the most creative, or imaginary game out there, but one of the most polished and well thought out releases as far as big budget titles go. It fixed alot of problems the uncharted games had in the story and gameplay departments and simply makes one well rounded experience.

2. Bioshock Infinite ; Ok, to get one thing right out of the way. Yes, combat wasnt all that great, even the original Bioshock had much more to offer. Infinite is a step back, I'll have to admit that. Also, certain parts of the story fall flat, due to dissonance between induced player behavior and story. Unfortunately certain parts of the game start falling apart when you look to close, but that being said, the first time I played it, I was blown away. Even more so compared to TLoU, which holds first place because of better gameplay and a story that might not be as creative, but holds up better if you think about it.
Still, the world of BI drew me in and I was completely immersed in the Columbia they build. It was a journey I do not forget and it was well worth the price of admission. Like the original Bioshock, it had the potential of being one of the best games ever made (imho), but fell short, because of some odd design decisions.

3. Papers Please ; I bought it because of the novelty factor and I thought it would end up like card life, a game with a message that tries to convey this message with some dull, but appropriate game mechanics. And suprisingly I was wrong. I had sort of fun playing it. I mean these weird kind of fun. It kept me going. Handling all these documents and dozens of information under time pressure, trying not to make any mistakes, thats surprisingly engaging. The game has a great atmosphere and even manages to slip in a small but interesting story and just shows what difference interactivity can make when telling a fairly standard story in a game.

4. Gone Home ; Probably the game I have posted the most about this year. So I'm not going into great detail here, post history etc. for the interested. Its a small tale with a refined take on environmental storytelling and it pulls it of quite nicely. It engaged me in its fairly simple main story and made me feel for the characters, something a movie or book with the same story would probably have troubles with. And I find that quite an accomplishment.

5. GTA V ; Its GTA V, come on, what else do you want to hear. One of the better stories told in a GTA yet, great sandbox, surprisingly good graphics and an overall all very polished game from beginning to end. The reason I put it so "low" is probably because its lacking the novelty factor. Its great for what it is, but its still basically GTA as we know it.

6. The Stanley Parable ; Played the mod back in the days and loved it. This game is the more refined version of it. While I dont think it improves alot on the old formula, it is a stellar commentary on game mechanics, narrative and game design. Its suprising, fun and sometimes makes you stop to think. Would probably rate it even higher if I didnt play the mod, again lack of novelty, but great nonetheless.

7. DMC ; Its the first Devil May Cry game I've ever played and I was amazed how much fun it was. I really didnt expect much, but yeah, its fast, its challenging and its over top action. Even the jump and run parts are decent and fun. Definitely better than GoW: Ascension. Plus I had more fun with DMC than with Revengance, but thats very subjective. DMC simply felt better for me.

8. Rayman Legends ; Improves upon all the things its predecessor already did right. Super fluid controls, great level design and a really good use of music.

2012. Sleeping Dogs ; Got it at a steam sale this year. The combat in this game is really good, I enjoyed it more than Batman Arkham Origns, even though it basically rips of the original Batman Arkham Asylum. But then again, I'm tired of Batmen, give the bat a rest for a few years, please. The setting made it unique and more interesting compared to a GTA game. It lacked in variety and the story could have been better towards the end, but was greatly entertained. I hope they'll make a sequel for next gen and improve upon their work, then they'll have the chance of making a really breakthrough hit.

1. The Last of Us ; Naughty Dog's latest masterpiece took everything I love about gaming and brought it together in a single, cohesive package. Jaw-dropping graphics, sublime acting, incredible story, fully immersive atmosphere, top-notch stealth gameplay (despite what some may tell you)...The Last of Us has it all. I knew immediately after finishing that I had experienced something very special. At the end of the day, there's really no higher recommendation I can give than to say that every adult who considers him/herself a gamer should play this game. It's uncomfortable and even hard to play at times. You'll laugh. You'll smile. You may even shed a tear. One thing, however, is certain: you will never forget playing The Last of Us.



2. Resogun ; This one took me by surprise and I certainly never expected it to be Game of the Year material. Gorgeous and addicting, I'll likely be playing Resogun throughout the PS4's life cycle.



3. Tomb Raider ; No doubt that Crystal Dynamics borrowed a number of mechanics from other recent high-profile titles, but Tomb Raider stands as on its own as an amazing title that breathes new life into an age-old franchise. They did a fantastic job making me care about Lara again.



4. Bioshock Infinite ; The story ended up a in strange place that I didn't expect...but I could not stop playing Infinite. There was a constant urge to see what twist awaited behind the next corner. I found the gameplay somewhat repetitive at times, but never bad. The plot was enough to keep me going and, oh what a story it told.



5. Tearaway ; Wow...not sure I've ever played a game more charming. I smiled more during my playthrough of Tearaway than probably any other game on this list. The art style and graphics are truly unmatched. Love how they used the Vita in so many different ways that never felt forced or inconvenient.



6. Grand Theft Auto V ; GTA didn't really reinvent the wheel (pardon the terrible pun), but Rockstar didn't need to. GTA V is pure fun from start to finish. There's a ton to see and do, but the story left me wanting more. The heist missions were great. In fact, I wish there had been more of them.



7. Guacamelee ; Drinkbox Studios nailed it yet again. Guacamelee was one of the games from 2013 to provide a significant challenge, requiring a familiarity with each of the game's many mechanics.



8. Rayman Legends ; Just pure fun. Gorgeous art, near-perfect controls, and fantastic music. I could have done without the Murphy levels.



9. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD ; Loved the original, but didn't remember it being this good. The art style and cel shading is unmatched even to this day.

x. Super Mario 3D World ; Still need to play before year's end. Anticipate it moving up.