2013 certainly was a great year for gaming. For me it was the year I got a Wii U and a 3DS. As you can see from my list, the 3DS was really the standout system for me this year.
I played quite a few great games across many different systems this year, all things considered.
What can I say about this game that hasn't already been said countless times. A Link Between Worlds is the closest thing to perfect that I have played this year. The gameplay is excellent, the music is beautiful, and the look (and the 3d) is spectacular.
Now that I think about it, I was considering not getting this game. I had just picked up Ace Attorney and 3D World a week or so before, and thought that I was getting too many games too quickly. I guess I made the right decision with my money on this occasion.
Even as someone who has never played a Link to the Past, I loved this game. It was fantastic. It was amazing. And it easily made it to the top of this list. Here's hoping that the next Zelda is just as great.
Awakening is a revelation of a strategy rpg. I love the gameplay. The strategy involved can be pretty intense and thought-provoking at times, but very rewarding in the end. I love the "lineage" aspect of the game. Getting certain party members better acquainted in order to create a better version of their children is new and a very intriguing aspect of Awakening.
I haven't played many strategy rpgs in my time; and I've never played a Fire Emblem game before. With that said, it's very easy to recommend this stellar game to anyone. I really, really liked Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is easily one of the best RPG/Dungeon crawlers to come out this year. The battle system is exceptional; and the characters, while sometimes a little flat, are interesting. But, what I really came to this game for was the demon collecting. I love trying to collect and fuse the perfect party. Trying to get it just right and running around dungeons looking for the best party members is what I put most of my time into.
SMT 4 is my second favorite SMT game ever. There I said it (although I probably shouldn't lump this series in with the very different Persona series), but SMT 4 is still the best RPG that I played this year.
I never really got into Mario platformers that much over the last couple of years. Sure I played (and loved) the first Galaxy, and played a bit of the first New Super Mario game on the DS and a little of the Wii version, but haven't played one since then (including 3D Land). I can see that I was really missing out.
Super Mario 3D World is a truly magnificent game. The gameplay is completely perfect in control, the art style and general appearance of the game is fantastic and the music is terrific. This game was great and now I have to get back to those special worlds.
This game really brought me back. The last pokemon game that I got into (not counting Conquest) was Soul Silver, which was great; but this is the best iteration in the series. X brought a lot of new systems to the table that really elevated this title above other games in the series. The online components were all great; trading was easy and finding the pokemon that I really wanted was no problem. Other than that, this is just a great pokemon game. I still love collecting and battling pokemon. What more is there to say?
The Ace Attorney series has been a series that I've always really liked. The first game in the series is probably one of best games that I've played in the last five years (I came late to the party) and this release is right up there with it. The new animations and look of the game and characters are very nice; and I liked the anime cutscenes a lot. The adventure game portions are still top notch and the court cross examinations are still some of the best game sequences in the industry, in my opinion. The story was also very interesting (even with all the spelling mistakes). This was a great game all around.
I probably should have given Tri a... try when I was using my Wii. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is my first MH game. It took some time to really get into, but once I was in... I was all the way in. The game was really addictive and the gameplay was very compelling. It was hard but fair, and I really liked that about it. The only thing that I really didn't like about the game was the camera; especially during underwater battles. That was one of the reasons I put the game down after trying the Ceadeus fight a few times. I might try to go back at some point; but the game still had a lot more going for it, then against it. I had a great time with it.
I really loved Saints Row the Third. This game is not Saints Row the Third... but it's still pretty fun and funny in its own right. Some say that it's hard to go back and this game really did feel like "going back." It's felt pretty much like the expansion to Saints Row the Third that it started out being. In the end though, Saints Row 4 is just a really fun game with great gameplay and tons of funny moments. I really liked this game... even if it's not as good as the Third.
The Last of Us is a game that I really wanted to like more than I actually did. As everyone else has said, the story and the characters are both excellent. Beyond excellent. But actually playing the game wasn't quite what I wanted it to be. I don't know for sure what it was (it was probably just me) but I really struggled to get through this one, even if it wasn't too difficult.
Anyways, The Last of Us is a great game for it's story, characters and atmosphere. And it looks fantastic.
Papers, Please is... surprisingly great. I am really surprised by how much I got out of this game. I picked this up when it first came out, put an hour into it and then just moved on. I didn't really see what was so great.
But once this end of the year stuff came up, I decided to give it another look; and I've really come around on this one.
The gameplay tests you in ways that not many other games do. I got really into just doing my job as correctly as possible (which may say something about me). I played it very straight; and this game turned out to be pretty fun. I still have to put some more time into it, but I think it definitely deserves a spot on my list.
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