These are the games I started and finished this year (2013) in order of most to least enjoyed.

The Last of Us

Every aspect of The Last of Us clicked with me and this game became an instant classic. The story, the gameplay, the audio/visual all went hand in hand to provide an immersive experience I haven't had in a long time. Accomplishing that with (despite) zombies is even more impressive to me. I think I was lucky enough to be at the right place and the right time playing this game because I was simply blown away. 2 negative things, while I loved the combat, I don't like how most of the time you couldn't progress through the game without killing everyone. Secondly, I ran into couple bugs playing through.

Portal 2

I have little problem calling this a masterpiece and I'm ashamed I hadn't played it sooner. This is a product of a genius studio and right up there at the upper echelon of the generation. The way this game surprises you with the narrative, the characters, and the gameplay is just delightful. Very few games are this funny and very few games are this well designed. I'd bet this is a good game to study if you want to be a game maker. 2 negative things, too much Glados and not enough Wheatly.

Bioshock Infinite

I honestly don't know where all the hate for this game is coming from. When it was released, Bioshock Infinite was showered with praise and before I knew it, people did a complete 180. I guess that's just classic internet...For me, the first hour or so seem really pretentious (with all the religious bs) but I came around on this game quickly. Elizabeth is just a great character and the time I spent with her is something I do not regret or soon forget. I was even surprised by how much I enjoyed the combat. I wasn't too crazy with all the vigor but the skyline made the game an exhilarating fun.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Even as someone who adores the Final Fantasy series, FF13 was underwhelming in many ways. So when FF13-2 came out, it was easy for me to avoid it. Still, when a friend gave me a sealed copy of it, I wasn't crazy enough to reject it. While I don't think it tops what 13 did well, 13-2 addresses criticisms of its predecessor so comprehensively, it gave me hope for Square-Enix and the Final Fantasy franchise yet again and at the same time, made me look forward to Lightning Returns. Also, that ending...I did not expect that. What a cliffhanger, so dark, so unFinal Fantasy! Although Serah isn't that great and really the whole cast of characters are just okay and the game is surprisingly unpolished for a FF game, it's quite fun to play and I put in 50hours.

Valkyria Chronicles 2

My love for the original (as good as it is) is irrational so I was so glad to get this game for $10 on the PSN. Being in New York, this game was perfect for train rides and gave me a good reason to get some mileage out of that underused PSP. So this game is hands down inferior to the first one in almost every possible way. They've changed their anime style and unlike the first one, which was so elegant and classy, 2's more generic. Story is pretty bad and all the characters are stereotypical. Still, pretty much every playable characters have bits of story and plenty of them are likable. They've also done a great job adapting the series on to a handheld. Missions are bite sized and the game is filled to the brim with content. They've made the game more balanced and pretty much tripled the classes which is a welcome addition. The only thing that really sucks is all the grind that is required to experience all the classes. I don't remember the original being this grindy and it holds the game back because it has enough experience to not result to that. Oh well...it's VC2 and I liked playing it enough to spend 50 hours on this one as well...

Hotline Miami

Finally got to experience what everyone was talking about and it did not disappoint. This is a brilliant game. The way the sights and sounds and the gameplay fuse together to create an atmosphere that is quite frankly, pitch perfect. Man...the joy of playing this dark and sinister game feels wrong in all the right reasons. Fucking awesome though I hated the few boss fights it has...

The Unfinished Swan

Man I love this game. This small, personal, touching indie art house piece of interactive entertainment was overlooked by too many people because everyone had their minds made up when Journey came out earlier that year. This game even acknowledges that game's greatness in a little easter egg but goddamn, people need to play this game!! It's just a great package and every moment I spent in was a joy.

Saints Row: The Third

I liked this game well enough but unfortunately, the Bombcrew sorta spoiled this game for me. I wanted to love this game as much as they did but I found a lot of the humor to be nonimpactful. They weren’t laugh out loud funny and they weren’t cringe worthy bad, they just didn’t do much of anything for me. That’s not to say they weren’t moments. The game has plent of good moments and all the characters are light hearted and likable too. It was awesome when Shaundi went through that plane and my favorite moment is probably the Sublime “What I Got” gag (‘cause I use to be obessed with the band). However, what I really dug about The Third is playing it. The game is just a blast. I think it’s the best playing open world game and the chaos it encourages reminded me of why I fell in love with sandbox games in the first place in the days of GTA3 all those years ago.

Flower

This game is just stunning. The beauty of its visuals and the breathtaking and simply gameplay is like nothing else. I don’t like rollercasters but picking up mad speed and going down a valley in the middle of the night in this game felt like I was on a rollercaster I actually liked. it’s an exhilarating feeling I’ve never really felt while playing a video game. Just a special game in so many ways.

DmC: Devil May Cry

The original Devil May Cry was one of those rare games that absolutely blew my mind when I played it. I avoided DMC2 because of that reason based on the reviews and really enjoyed 3 and liked 4 too so I was one of those people that were super skeptical of this reboot of a game that birthed a genre. Still, I was gonna play it regardless and I think the result is a solid western adapation of a classic Japanese franchise. DmC has a lot going for it. I do still think and prefer the original Dante more as he is way more cocky, cheesy, funny, and just way more likable. Also, as much as there to like about the aesthetics of this game, namely the level design, there were equally, if not more time when it felt like the developers were trying way too hard to be edgy. Dante and Devil May Cry doesn’t try, it just is and that aspect made me me cringe a bunch. Still, the slower and dumb down gameplay is plent of flashy and fun to play.