My 2013 Games of the Year

Only a few days left in 2013, and what a year it was for gamers. For this list, I picked 9 games from across all current gaming platforms. Although it was very difficult to pick only 9 games from this year, there are plenty of games that I haven't even tried yet (GTAV, AC4, Gone Home) which just goes to show how great of a year it was. This list is simply meant to highlight 9 of the very, very best games that came out in 2013 that I played...so you won't see a ===BEST RACER=== or a ===BEST SPORTS GAME=== category since I haven't played any notable games in those genres this year. There won't be any rotten tomatoes or "Very worst..." sort of awards. It's nothing but sunshine and positivity here.

In no particular order...

===BEST "Artsy" GAME OF 2013===

Tearaway

While "Best Platformer" was awarded to a different title, Tearaway was most certainly a winner in the art department. The game is full of charm and style and polish. While lacking in difficulty, what surprised me was the utter lack of...bullcrap. Despite using nearly every Vita hardware feature available, not once did I sit back and mutter "Sheesh, this really is annoying. You want me to rub my fingers on the screen AGAIN?"

Taking pictures was fun, but I think the best part of Tearaway is how self-aware it is. I mean, it literally knows you're playing it. You are an integral part of the game and the story centers around you and your Messenger. While this might have come across as cheesy or pretentious in another game, Media Molecule manages to keep it down-to-earth and entertaining.

This is a very well-crafted game. It's certainly not the longest nor the most replayable game, but its charm and quality are nearly unmatched.

===BEST STRATEGY-RPG OF 2013===

Fire Emblem: Awakening

For many Fire Emblem fans, Awakening was a disappointment. It didn't have as much diversity in the battle types. The games was...*gasp*...easier than previous instalments. The storyline wasn't as "epic" according to some.

But for me? It was a phenomenal game. I've wanted to get into the FE series for quite a while now. I played and beat Fire Emblem on the GBA. I tried to invest time into the Gamecube and Wii entries, but neither game could hold my attention for longer than a handful of hours. I think what they lacked was a good hook, and Awakening has many such hooks. Whether it's the addictive class-upgrade system, the replayable battles, or the intricate "dating sim" mechanics of pairing off your warriors, I was completely engrossed in Awakening.

And when I beat it 50 hours later? I started it all over again.

(Honorable Mention goes to The Banner Saga. The pre-release portion called Factions came out this year, and the full campaign version - the part I'm looking forward to - comes out in 2014)

===BEST OPEN-WORLD GAME OF 2013===

Starbound

I remember buying a pre-release key for Minecraft many years ago. The Survival mode had just released and Mojang announced they'd finally hit the 1 Million sales mark. Since then, I've had my eye on many of the new Minecraft clones coming out (it seems like a new one comes out every month).

Terraria was a cool distraction, but it still felt a bit...lacking. Starbound - however - is the complete package. It's everything that Terraria aspired to be and more. There isn't any one thing that makes me love Starbound. It's a whole bunch of things. The survival aspects are more in-depth. The world-crafting is more nuanced and customizable. The enemies and combat are actually fun (unlike Terraria). The world is much more than a world: it's a galaxy, with hundreds of randomly-generated planets to explore. To top it all off, you can play it online with your friends with an interface that is much easier to utilize than either Terraria or Minecraft.

===BEST PLATFORMER OF 2013===

Rayman Legends

If there's one thing that the sidescrolling-platformer lacks, it's content. Sure, there are more and more 2d and 2.5d platformers coming out these days, but they always seem to be rather short. Rayman Legends bucks that trend with dozen and dozens of levels and challenges and races and obstacle courses to test your mettle.

The butter-smooth animation and controls from Rayman Origins are intact and the neurotic "gotta collect 'em all" mechanics are cranked up to 11 in this installment. There's so much stuff to do. You can spend your hours doing perfect runs of each level to find all the Teensies and get a Gold Trophy (based on the Lums you find). But you'll gradually unlock speed-based levels that require you to run a gauntlet while being chased by a wall of fire. There are daily and weekly challenges where you can compete against strangers for more points. There's a running "Awesomeness" tally and minigames and oh? What's this? A ton of levels from Rayman Origins? Yeah, those are in there, too. Plus, there's co-op to keep you entertained.

===BEST 4x STRATEGY GAME OF 2013===

Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension

I was very disappointed with Rome II: Total War, but thankfully Illwinter stepped in and gave me a 4x strategy game to fill the void. I played Dominions 3 a while ago and sunk an inordinate number of hours into it. If you've never played a Dominions game, the best way to describe it would be "The Dwarf Fortress of Strategy Games". The interface is confusing. There are hundreds of units and thousands of items and spells. You can have epic campaigns with a dozen nations involved, and a play-by-email game between friends can take months to complete.

Dominions 4 is rough around the edges, but the amount of content included in this game is staggering. There's too much for any one person to see, and what makes it all the more impressive is that the nations are very well balanced against one another. Illwinter did away with the rudimentary "rock paper scissors" mechanics so frequently used by similar games and instead allows you to explore the intricate stats and abilities of your units to find what works best.

The graphics looks like crap, but don't let that fool you. Ascension is a game for the Big Kids and if you take the opportunity to learn the game's nuances, you'll be rewarded.

===BEST SHOOTER OF 2013===

ARMA III

My "worth mentioning" award in this category goes to KZ: Mercenary, but ARMA III is truly a step forward for the FPS genre. It would be a shame to lump ARMA III in with all the other "shooters" of the year because it's much more than a shooter. Call it a simulation, I suppose. Call it an RPG if you want. You'll be doing just as much sneaking, map-reading, vehicle-driving, and mission-prep as you'll be shooting. You'll be learning the nooks and crannies of the land. If you decide to operate a vehicle, it's not a simply matter of jumping in and zooming around the map. Each vehicle offers a complicated symphony of commands and you can lose yourself in the process of learning.

I think what really stands out with ARMA III is that everything is just so dang detailed. The controls are incredibly dense, but you can do some very specific things like holding down the Alt key to turn your head but not your body/firearm. The graphics? Phenomenal. The physics? Stunning. The enemy AI? Pretty mediocre in some circumstances, but what makes this game tick is the multiplayer, which can host quite a lot of people at once.

===BEST RPG OF 2013===

Wasteland 2

This was a very tough pick. Between several excellent console RPGs, a ton of fantastic handheld RPGs, plus plenty more PC RPGs to catch up on, there was definitely a lot to play.

Although the current release of Wasteland 2 is a beta, the game has already impressed me. It's a return to the intricate, complicated, verbose PC RPGs of yesteryear. It harkens back to a time when the distinction "cRPG" actually meant something. There are plenty of tactics to be had in the combat, but what makes Wasteland 2 so special is that it gives you the free-form roleplaying sandbox that so many games have forgotten. You can build your team completely from scratch and tackle the world in any way you see fit. Ammo is scarce. Water is scarce. Dangers are aplenty.

To top it all off, the music is sublime.

===BEST BEAT 'EM UP OF 2013===

Dragon's Crown

This game is beautiful. It really is. The art just...pops. But Dragon's Crown is more than just beauty. It's a fun, content-packed game. It's pretty much the biggest ode to arcade beat 'em ups of the '90s, up to and including a super-cheesy cast of heroes with physiques that would even make a hentai artist blush.

Dragon's Crown had a simple premise: revive the sidescrolling beat 'em up genre. In my opinion, it did that and more. Not only is this a great button-mashing beat 'em up, but beneath the surface is a game that requires more than just button mashing. You have to level up, improve your gear, and learn your combos if you want to survive the higher difficulties. I bought this game at launch in August and I haven't stopped playing it since then. Whether it's diving into the newly-added randomized Tower of Mirages, trying to find better loot, starting a new character (still haven't beat the game as Wizard or Elf yet) or levelling up my characters to the new level cap of 255, there's plenty more for me to do.

===Dedicated's GAME OF THE YEAR 2013===

The Last of Us

Much has been said about The Last of Us. Plenty of people praise the storyline, the voice acting, the graphics, the animation, and the music. Yes, all of those things are praiseworthy. Yes, I truly fell in love with the characters and the plot.

But in the end, The Last of Us was also one of 2013's most enjoyable games. I loved sneaking around, trying to completely avoid enemies without being detected. It was also fun going guns-blazing and taking out my hapless targets from a distance with a fully-upgraded rifle. I have replayed it multiple times and I haven't even touched the multiplayer yet.

For those reasons, I simply must give The Last of Us my 2013 Game of the Year.

And that's it. Please feel free to share your own Best of 2013 in the comment section below. Feel free to tell me why my choices were idiotic or wonderful. Don't be shy!

[s45gr32]

Starbound and Wasteland 2 are unfinished games. I am enjoying Ni No Kuni and one of my favorite games happens to be Dust An Elysian Tail, Primordia, and the first episode of the wolf among us. Curse you Steam for falling for every bloody sale (^_-)

[HammadTheBeast]

I'd even give Artsy award to Puppeteer, it's just not gotten the recognition it deserves.

Nice List tho.

[thorstein]

Great list! I encourage you to play TLOU MP though, I need some noobs to kill.. lulz. You can't just go COD on it. One of the best moments (wished I had streamed it) was when I used stealth to take out an opponent, looked up and saw the rest of my team take out their team the same way.

Anyway, good list and I will have to look into Starbound.