Thursday, 2 January 2014

Top 10 games of 2013!

Happy New Year everybody. As promised, here is my (belated) top 10 games of the last year list! Because I don't own an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 I have not yet had the chance to play The Last of Us or Grand Theft Auto 5, both are games I am desperate to play, but for practical reasons I have not had a chance to play them.

Number 10: Wind Waker HD



Kickstarting the list with one of my all time favourite Zelda games. Above any other game in the franchises, this was the one that truely captured my desire to adventure. The Great Sea is often a fairly polarizing part to gamers, but I love it. Dotted along the massive ocean are unique islands that always harbour some kind of treasure or upgrade that makes it worthwhile to just forget about the main quest for a little bit to indulge in your inner Columbus. This game was excellent 11 years ago and It's only been improved in this HD port, bringing a host of welcome new features like the swift sail and real time item management along with the breath-taking new visuals. The first time you visit a great fairy, prepare to get you socks knocked off.

Number 9: Guacamelee



Metroidvania gameplay done very right indeed. With a constantly evolving combat system and unique artstyle, this game is as satisfying to watch as it is to play. Every move your luchador collects becomes another tool for secret scavengering. Every corner of this realized world is bursting with a personality that'll make you grin giddily. Me and a friend even endure the poorly implimented multipayer mode just to share the fun and find all the secrets together. Oh and you can turn into a chicken.

Number 8: Fire Emblem Awakening



This was officially my 'bedside game' for a very long time. That game you'd boot up just before bed to kill a little bit of time before you settle in. before you know it though, several hours have gone by and you wonder why your still awake. Then you tell yourself it's because the game is awesome. I have never played a Fire Emblem game before but this really captivated me. A deep and highly enjoyable strategy game, often requiring you to make a series of tough choices in order to achieve victory. But it's the distinct and lovable characters that give this game its wings via the inclusion of relationship mechanic. Your units can get married and have children (through a bizarre and brilliant means) who become the most powerful allies in battle later on. If this were a book, I’d call it a page turner, instead I'd call this an hour burner.

Number 7: Animal Crossing New Leaf



Speaking of hour burners, this game would be the epitome of the mini genre I just came up with. I bought this back in Summer and it's still dragging me back for more. You just cannot resist the urge to collect every fish, infinitely re-model your home and beautify your town; a responsibility which has now been handed down to you in this new instalment. While being the mayor is nice, it's still the countless number of whimsical villagers that is the main reason to return to this game months later. You want to see how Cube the penguin's house looks now you mailed him that new sofa and you lose sleep over that one time you hit Muffy the ram with a shovel and got mad. You oddly care about these critters and your own town and you'll keep coming back to them over the next few years of your life.

Number 6: Paper's Please



An hour into Paper's Please a man comes up to you. He says 'What a wonderful day to be moving into glorious Arstotzka!' He hands you his passport and identification papers just like the countless hundreds before him. You sceptically glance over the papers because usually anyone who is nice to you in your checkpoint is either a human trafficker or a terrorist. A short while later, to your surprise you find that all his papers are in order – he is just a genuinely nice guy, excited to move into a new home with his wife who is behind him in the queue. When she approaches, she hands over nothing. She has no papers. She tells you she didn't tell her husband because she didn't want him to worry and pleads with you for entry to your country. This is illegal. You will be fined whatever little money you have you saved to keep your own family housed and fed by granting her visa. I was presented with a moral choice I wasn’t expecting to make in a game about checking passports. For that reason, it gets on my list.

Number 5: Stanley Parable



Of all the entry’s on this list, this is possibly the hardest one to call an actual game. There are no princesses to save, no enemies to smite, no power-ups or even a way to get points. You just play as an everyman who is anxious about the sudden disappearance of his work colleges, yet after just a few minutes of play you begin to realize that the game will never truly resolve that conundrum. And it's all the better for it. The Stanley Parable is a parody of game design, by design. Your choices are seemingly inconsequential but have a massive impact on what ending you get, and with writing as witty as this, it is a genuine delight to hunt them all down. The experience never really ends either. After you turn off the game one of two things happen: You turn it back on, or it invades your every waking thought as your mind tries to wriggle coherence to it's plot. Best tip to any newcomer for this parable? Just go with it. You'll be glad you did.

Number 4: Rayman Legends



I played the demo for this game more than any other game I've ever played. I couldn't get enough of it's breakneck platforming and utterly gorgeous graphics. When it came out, I was in my element. This is one of the most fluid side-scrollers ever. Everything has a real momentum and dynamic to it that makes it so irresistible. Whenever a level ends, you are overwhelmed with satisfaction and a burning desire to immediately re-play it to once again experience the bliss this game offers.
Throw in a smattering of music themed levels, including one where you time your jumps to a Spanish guitar version of 'Eye of the Tiger,' and you know you've got yourself a winner.

Number 3: Super Mario 3D World



When the first trailer for this game came out I thought Nintendo were dead to me. 'Oh yay, a bare-bones 3D Mario game with a gimmicky inclusion of a cat suit power-up, can't wait for the next REAL Mario game to come along.' How wrong I was... This is some of the most fun I've had with friends in a very long time. The colours and visuals really excite and inspire throughout all of it's worlds. New power ups are inventively implemented within every one of it's expertly crafted levels. And man, that cat suit. When playing with friends, blood is spilt trying to get it.

Number 2: Brother's – A Tale of Two Sons



This game is an absolute gem. I played it all in one sitting that lasted the same length as your average film and it left a huge impression on me. Ironically more-so than most films I saw this year. Set in a mildly twisted fantasy world, you play as a pair of brothers who must embark on a quest to find a cure for their Father's illness. Together you solve some light co-operative puzzles as you venture across it's world, facing it's many dangers and delights. Some of the later areas of the game are some of the most unique and brilliant areas I have ever been to in a game world that left my eyes and my jaw wide open. In fact, the final puzzle of the game provided one of the most insightful thrills I've had all year, in a way that only a video game can deliver.

Number 1: Bioshock Infinite




First Person Shooters are now becoming the most intellectually devoid genre in gaming. Games like Call of Duty are glorified shooting galleries that provide cheap thrills and entertainment, they are the tic-tac's of the gaming form. Bioshock Infinite is a Roast Dinner cooked by Heston Blumenthal; it raises the bar for story-telling in games in so many ways, a true revaluation of its own form. At the heart of the floating city of Colmbia lies a girl in need of rescue. Her capture will wipe away your debt. This is all the story you are given when you first boot up the game and the perfect excuse to board the flying city in one of the best game opening sequences of all time. From then on, you're hooked. Fire-fights are spontaneous and sporadic as challenge organically ramps up until the games final moments which will be burnt into your mind eternally.

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