We as a team decided to look back at the high’s and low’s of 2013. We decided to keep things fairly simple and discuss what our favourite game and our biggest letdown of 2013 was.
FAVOURITE GAME GTA V – The amount of things you can do and find even after completing the main story as well as online with the promise of added content over the next year is massive and I can’t seem to put it down.
BIGGEST LET DOWN BATTLEFIELD 4 – Although I’ve only played it on current gen, it just seems like a rehash of the previous installment and just doesn’t seem to capture any interest from me whatsoever.
FAVOURITE GAME THE LAST OF US – Never has a game gripped me so emotionally right from the word “go” that I became absolutely intent on seeing this game through. Outstanding voice acting, flawless visual presentation, slick soundtrack and innovative gameplay, is the best way I could sum it up. This game has not only cemented itself as one of the greatest games of 2013 but without a shadow of a doubt has become one of the greatest games of all time. I couldn’t recommend it more.
BIGGEST LET DOWN DEADPOOL -The Merc with a Mouth is the only character I whole heartedly enjoy from Marvel Comics line up, so anyone could imagine my excitement leading up to release of his very own game. Hilarious trailers with his characteristic crude humour were in abundance. Alas, I was immensely disheartened when I had sunk a solid amount of game time into Deadpool. The story was dry, enemies and locations were used over and over excessively. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the humour and Nolan North done fantastic job voice acting but the actual gameplay left a lot to be desired.
FAVOURITE GAME BIOSHOCK INFINITE – Really a cross between this and The Last of Us in terms of pure narrative, Bioshock claims the edge with an intriguing premise, a wonderful execution and one of the most awe-inspiring settings I’ve seen in gaming. It’s a shame the gameplay is so utterly pedestrian, as it holds back the potential that should have been realized. Regardless, the incredibly lofty ambitions the story brings is executed to near perfection. I haven’t been floored so heavily in a game since Spec Ops: The Line. The game is showered with praise and has suffered from a backlash of somewhat, but I still realize Bioshock’s true potential. GOTY.
BIGGEST LET DOWN BEYOND TWO SOULS– A Quantic Dream production, from the makers of Heavy Rain (one of my favorite PS3 games) and starring Ellen Page, one of my favorite actresses? Where did it go wrong? For one, the script written by showrunner David Cage was pathetically bad, cliche ridden and completely uninteresting, despite the interesting premise. The potential to explore deep and uncommon themes was completely wasted, as Cage did nothing more then rely on repetitive scenarios and racial stereotypes. Heavy Rain, despite it’s flaws, was brilliant. Beyond was just wasted.
FAVOURITE GAME GTA V – The game provided one of the most massive sandbox worlds that we have seen. You can complete the game and still find things to do. To top it off you have the Online version which has to be one of the most fun multiplayer experiences i have had this year.
BIGGEST LET DOWN COMPANY OF HEROES 2 – it’s not the amazing RTS i thought it was going to be, instead it was well… go play it and you will see.
FAVOURITE GAME NI NO KUNI – JRPG’s are my bread and butter and Ni No Kuni did everything right for the genre. An overworld better then most classic RPG’s, dungeons were more then just monster pits, Joe Hisashi did the music, and studio Ghibli did the visuals. It’s the shot in the arm that the JRPG genre needed, hopefully others follow it’s footsteps.
BIGGEST LET DOWN KILLER IS DEAD – This one is easy for me, Killer is Dead. I love Suda 51 and his previous works, sure they weren’t the best games ever, but I always loved the off the wall style and I had fun with the gameplay of his previous titles. Killer is dead on the other hand, well. The crazy as hell style returns, but it was just a chore to play, that’s all I can say about it. It was a chore.
FAVOURITE GAME TOMB RADIER – This reboot was just the thing that the series needed. A lot of people felt that it completely tried to rip off the Uncharted series but I felt that it added another dimension to it. Whilst the story was quite generic and predictable, the addition of being able to change skill sets really added a depth that the Uncharted series have never had. Using that bow was so damn satisfying.
BIGGEST LET DOWN GAME AND WARIO – For me the Warioware series has always been one of Nintendo’s most inventive. You can usually expect a lot of craziness that you just can’t find anywhere else. This entry on the Wii U was the complete opposite. it felt forced and uninspired and genuinely couldn’t hold my interest for more than a few hours. This game should’ve gone above and beyond what previous games had done due to the Wii U gamepad but it simply didn’t.
