What the best game of 2013 (and a half)?

It's hard to believe, but 2013 is more than halfway over now. These past six months have been extremely generous to us gamers and have given us some truly incredible experiences.

Before we head into the second half of the year, and go full-force into the next generation of consoles, it's time to look back and appreciate what we've been playing since 2013 began.

What game do you believe deserves Game of the Year, at least up to this point? Which titles stand tall or which have disappointed you?

I’ve listed below a few games that I believe could be worthy of the Game of the Year award. After you read over them, let me know what you think!

BioShock Infinite

There are very few games that have as much of an impact as BioShock Infinite does on a gamer. The story of Booker, and his ‘side-kick’ Elizabeth is an incredible journey and will stay with you for ages after the credits roll. I still bring up the ending with friends and would list this in my top 5 games of the generation.

The real star of the show, however, is the city in the sky known as Columbia. Irrational Games create wonderful worlds for you to explore but moving on from Rapture was a hard step for many players , at least until they walked the streets of this beautiful floating world.

Levine’s design choices are strong and the made a world so beautiful and immersive that you get lost in its wonder and grandeur. You can spend hours just walking in the world and pretending you are one of its citizens without ever taking off on the quest you are handed at the beginning of the game.

It’s a different approach from the dilapidated underwater world of the previous titles. Columbia is still very much alive with characters and shows of the true nature of the citizens.

BioShock Infinite is something that’s magical to behold and makes playing your next title that much harder – as you seek the same gaming ‘hit’ that you experienced through the cloudy world above.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

It’s very difficult to explain how brilliant this little handheld title is to someone who has no experience with the franchise. It’s one of those titles that runs into your real day -to-day schedule as you have to complete tasks at the correct point in real time. The title allows you to craft a town, populated with humanoid animals, obscure activities and more. The aim is to build something you love while keeping your citizens happy. Yes this might look like a kids game – due to its cartoon characters and bright pallet – but it’s so much more.

The joy of seeing a flower grow or opening a fortune cookie to reveal a host of Nintendo inspired items is more additive than your first steps through Viridian Forest. It is such a well thought-out design that it makes you feel as if you truly are a part of it. There is always something to be done, and usually, the reason you start playing ends up being taken over by tons of other activities that spring up all the time. New leaf also introduced multiplayer which allows you to visit your friend’s towns.

Tomb Raider

In a world where reboots are a standard affair (especially recent years), one in particular has stood tall above the rest. This game was Tomb Raider, which took the iconic Lara Croft model and made her a vulnerable hero. She is constantly beaten, bruised, defeated; all in an attempt to save those she cared about.

Its brutal title that feels more like an adventure than any other. The enemies are realistic and their AI is challenging. Lara is very vulnerable too – playing through the majority of the game with only a hand-crafted Bow for protection.

You genuinely see a transformation from the innocent, young woman on the ship to the deadly, tomb-raiding (Don’t excuse the pun, I meant it) heroine we all know and love. Match that with a fairly open world and a fantastic upgrade system, Tomb Raider is just a pure joy to play. If you’re a collectables fan then this is a must buy.

The team at Crystal Dynamics crafted an exciting world really feels alive. There is always something to do and plenty of collectables to find, bringing you back to the island even after the story was complete. Its multiplayer is a bit lacking – in my opinion – but that’s not why we play Tomb Raider anyway.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Perhaps the least known game on this list, Ni no Kuni, that captures your heart from the very beginning. Whether it’s the beautiful hand-drawn cutscenes or the great cast of characters, this truly shows us the golden age of the JRPG’s again.

In an age where every game coming out seems to be a shooter or take place in a gritty, dark world, it is a nice change of pace to lose yourself for hundreds of hours in a world that is not only gorgeous, but full of charm and charisma.

To top that off, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch has a familiar creature system that is a little like Pokémon. This added to the tremendous value and length of the title and shows how deep games can be compared to the standard campaigns of the often used released FPS’s.

 

The Last of Us

I know if this wasn’t on the list they’d be uproar but the new title from Naughty Dog has left both fans and developers with a massive whole in their hearts once the title has been completed.

There is an undeniable allure and fascination with the post-apocalyptic genre – especially of late. We  have had so many chances to experience dilapidated worlds that many writers had called for an end to this genre, at least for the time being – that it until their got their grip on The Last of Us.

Naughty Dog's take on the apocalypse has become the standard to which all others should be judged. The attention to detail, the focus on the characters, the survival and the scavenging, all fit perfectly with the atmosphere that the game gives off. The story is as engrossing as you’d expect from the Uncharted developer and the world is beautiful and brutal all at the same time.

This is not a happy tale. It goes to some very dark places, yet that's the reality of these impossible situations. This is why it resonates with the gamer long after the credits have rolls and also why it garnered such critical acclaim. It has set a new benchmark for storytelling in Video Games.

Here's some oldies to remember what is the benchmark!

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Assassins Creed III - A Credit Sequence to kill your enjoyment...

I don’t often rant about games, as I like to think that there is someone out there who enjoys every title in existence, even if I don’t. However, I feel this gripe is something that affects us all and my heart goes out to anyone playing through Assassin’s Creed III.

 

For those of you still playing the game stop reading now – there be spoiler ahead.

 

I must have failed the last mission around 10 times before finally nailing it as the direction of the chase is confusing and badly put together. As frustrating as it was, though, I have to disagree that it’s the worst thing about Assassin’s Creed III. The worst thing comes shortly afterwards.

 

I’m talking about the game’s credit sequence.

 

If you want to know what it looks like when over two billion are involved in making a video game, look no further than the end of Assassin’s Creed III. You are going to find out each individual person that worked on the game, everyone they thanks for support and all the babies that were born during the production time.

 

The credits sequence goes for nearly 20 minutes which would be a moot point if you could skip them, but you can’t. You’re left sitting there wondering if there’s going to be any story revelations during the credits – perhaps that’s why the 20 point achievement comes after sitting through the blasted things.

 

Actually that’s not entirely correct as I managed to play a few android games, start up my PC, make a sarnie and a coffee before the thing even came a close. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the credit given to the employees - credits are important - it’s just that you shouldn’t force me to endure them.

 

This is especially prominent as every cutscene in the game, which I am interested in watching, has a “PRESS B TO SKIP” prompt hovering over the screen.

 

(On a side note it also irked me that Connor is always dressed in the standard garment during these segments, even if you change the colour of his costume – breaking the immersion)

 

The reason I’m picking on this, and not some of the game’s more obvious shortcomings, is that it perfectly encapsulates the disregard the game has for the player’s time. It has a tutorial that spans five chapters totalling 4-6 hours, which pissed me off so much that I stopped playing the damn thing several time. And then there is a conclusion that’s padded to the extent you feel genuinely exhausted by the game’s end, rather than jubilant for your success. How many people enjoy taking 3 minutes to walk 100 yards due to injuries?

 

Most people either, take an interest in the credit (and therefore choose to watch them) or couldn’t give a damn (and therefore skip them at the earliest opportunity). I for one am a bit blasé about the whole credit sequences but find myself annoyed that the option to skip them isn’t there at all. It feels shitty to have to say that the most symbolic failure of a game, which itself is far from perfect, is the part where hundreds of people are being thanked for their hard work.

 

It’s a sad irony that, for a series that should be about open-ended design and expression in play-style is held back but a large quantity of short comings and some completely unplayable sections. If Black Flags is marred by the same problems then I won’t be touching the next title – which is even more of a shame when I loved the previous entries so much.

 

 

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Is there adventure to be had in 'A Link Between Worlds'?

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, the overworld is exactly the same as the one from A Link to the Past – right down to the trees and buildings. Or at least it seems that way from the E3 2013 demo. The demo itself gave people the chance to play outside dungeons for the first time and showed off the 3D range for this top-down adventure.

It makes sense too really, since A Link Between Worlds is a direct sequel to the 1993 Super NES game. If ALTTP is one of your favourite games of all time then you’ll probably want to pick up a 3DS as soon as possible. Other than the 3D graphics the world has been left relatively untouched (expect for the obvious puzzle changes.

In the short time since its original announcement, ALBW has been pondered to consider whether a gamer who knows their way around will find the same thrill as a first timer. The goal of the recent demo’s has been to complete the first dungeon, marked at the eastern edge of an otherwise clouded overworld map. There have been various items implemented to block alternative paths and reduce the playing area. Otherwise it’s located in the same place as the 1992 game.

The videos have shown areas outside of the dungeon near Links house, the ‘blocked’ drawbridge to Hyrule Castle and various encounters with Oktoroks and Moblins.

Interestingly the dungeon itself though has been revamped and the monkey security guard has been disbanded – at least in the demo.

A major part of The Legend of Zelda's appeal, to me, is the sense of wonder and adventure you get from exploring the boundaries of an unfamiliar map. In the original NES game you could wander all around the map and as you got closer to the edges the enemies got harder, often stopping you from making it to the edge of an area - it was worth the risk just to see what was out there though. My biggest worry for this instalment though – what happens when you already know your way around?

Then again, most of the map was obscured in the demos shown - nothing has been shown of the "Dark World," the alternate reality that effectively doubled A Link to the Past's explorable area, which has been confirmed for a return in A Link Between Worlds. It's entirely possible that there are new areas, or that the initial area is just a small part of a much larger map, similar to Zelda II's incorporation of the original The Legend of Zelda's map.

If the overworld in A Link Between Worlds is the same as before then there is still potential for Link's new ability to allow you to explore it in a unique way. For those of you that don’t know - Link can now flatten himself against a wall, turning into a flat, 2D, cartoon-like representation of himself. This 'Toon Link' can only move along walls (where he is safe from enemies). You can use this in the overworld and, when you do, the camera follows you around corners, revealing much of the overworld you cannot see from the classic angle.

It's a nice new feature, but it's not a substitute for a new world map. Nintendo has barely shown us anything in A Link Between Worlds so we'll surely see more before its rapidly approaching release date sometime at the end of 2013. Until then I’ll be worried about the known world, but as with everything Nintendo release, you can expect something remarkable is up their sleeves.

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