I've been somewhat immersed in a bunch of game of the year articles, videos, and podcasts the last two weeks, so I figured I should throw down a few quick words at some point. Only about half the games I played this year were from 2013, so dear god this is not a representative sample. Found some great ones though.

#5 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) -- Still pretty early in this one but it's already extremely likeable. I was a huge fan of A Link to the Past on SNES and they gave me everything I loved about that game and so much more. The music especially is a highlight.

#4 - Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) -- I didn't want hold a controller in my hands for a game that came from the folks behind Heavy Rain but I loved the simplicity of interaction in Beyond. It was a great story and the motion capture and visuals are so strong I often forgot I was playing a game, particularly thanks to Ellen Page's lead role as Jodie.

#3 - Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PS4) -- Another game I'm not yet finished with, but I would have been more than happy to call this my favorite game of the year this or any year. Sailing the seas looking for ships to plunder or islands on which to hunt for treasure is extremely relaxing, and the scope of the game is so huge I'll still be at this for a while.

#2 - Tomb Raider (PS3) -- Thank god this lived up to my own hype. I'm still not a very good shot in any game where you have to aim weapons, but this has the best 3rd person combat of any game I've ever played. Between automatic cover and weapons and skill upgrades I thought it all came together perfectly. An absolutely gorgeous game too. It'll be hard to resist the PS4 port next year.

#1 - The Last of Us (PS4) -- Those beautiful people at Naughty Dog did it again, though with a game quite different from the Uncharted series. I moved quite slowly through the game, generally out of terror, with all lights out and loved every minute of it. As much as I wanted to hold onto that love of Tomb Raider all year until a list such as this was made, the story in The Last of Us is so incredible that nothing else stood a chance. Before I would have mentioned just the Winter chapter as the source of my love but it's really the entire package leading up to the final conversation that makes this game for me.

Best game played in 2013 not released in 2013 -- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood