Hey guys,

It has been a while since I last wrote up something about video games and I have been wanting to get back into it. Since I am done school now, I will have more time to play and write about the games that I have been playing. For this return back to blogging, I thought that I should write about some of the games that I have played this year that did not come out this year. I have played quite a lot of games this year (to see a full list: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/noobsauceg7/lists/games-i-have-beatenplayed-2013/82089), so I will be highlighting my 5 games that I really liked from the previous years. Thanks for reading and please enjoy!

Sleeping Dogs

This game I played early this year after watching all of the quick looks and hearing all the praise that the game was getting. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to get a whole lot of recognition from other places besides Giant Bomb, but everything I saw of the game made it look really fun. Plus, I really like the Hong Kong, cop acting like a gang member setting. Everything about this game is awesome. The combat is fun, the hand to hand really has an impact and you get enough moves and abilities without feeling too powerful. The shooting and driving also feel good. The gameplay was exactly what I wanted from an open world game, since the driving in GTA4 was pretty bad (it almost made me want to stop playing the game completely) and Saints Row 3 just didn't hook me in like Sleeping Dogs did. The story too felt real and made me feel attached to the characters and want to know more about them. Overall, if you have not played this game yet, you probably should. I thought I just didn't like urban open world games that much after GTA4 and Saints Row 3, but this is exactly what I want from the genre.

Pokemon Soulsilver (Nuzlocke)

Pokemon Silver was and still is my favorite Pokemon game in the franchise. I was at that perfect age where all of my friends were playing it, watching the tv show, the movies, reading the manga. I have played all of the main Pokemon games, but I decided to do a Nuzlocke run of Pokemon Soulsilver with my brother who did it in Heartgold. For those who don't know what Nuzlocke is, you can only catch the first pokemon you see in a new area (if you kill it, you can't get another one) and if a pokemon faints, you have to release it. It is a great challenge that makes you play very carefully and even more strategically. I did do a Firered nuzlocke before, but this time was much more fun since I was playing along with someone else so we would compare what Pokemon we would catch at each route and how we defeated each gym leader. The loses are also devastating when you lose a team member who was with you from the beginning and have to train up a new pokemon to their level. It is very much like Fire Emblem in this aspect. This is really fun to do by yourself or to play along with a friend since it adds a new level of difficulty to a game that I have played a ton out of.

Banjo-Tooie

I played a whole lot of Banjo-Tooie as a kid, but I never beat it. I would play the first few levels and get stuck, but still loved the game. BT is much different from the original BK. Everything is a lot more connected and in order to get a lot of the jiggies, you need to go to other worlds and do a few things to effect something in another world. BK was a lot more straight forward and had the Super Mario 64 philosophy of everything you needed was right in front of you. This made BT a much more complicated game, especially today where you are not used to a lot of backtracking in video games. This game is full of atmosphere and every little thing has so much detail. All the characters are funny and the music is awesome. It makes me miss the days of Rare in the past. Even though I did like BK Nuts and Bolts, there is just something about the originals BK games that grabs as a game that is like "Let's go on an adventure!"

Metal Gear Solid (The Franchise)

While some people spend their Spring Breaks at the beach or visiting relatives, I spent mine playing the Metal Gear Solid series. I played through all of the numbered franchises for the first time. Each of those games are so vastly different and incredible games in their own way. The first one of just being a raw stealth game with really intense cutscenes (I imagine at the time they were like nothing else). The second one just being one huge "HOLY ****" moment, one after the other. The third one being a really interesting game with the camo elements and sneaking around. The fourth one wrapping everything up and just might be the craziest of them all. I know that I am being vague but you just don't know how crazy and awesome this franchise is if you have never experienced it and I don't want to spoil it for any one. All of the cutscenes in the games are really good and the story is so crazy and fun that it makes every other story look boring in comparison. I am glad I played through these games and am super pumped for all the the MGSV games coming out soon!

Kingdom Hearts 2

I played through Kingdom Hearts 2 when it first came out and really loved it but last year I played Kingdom Hearts 1 again after all these years I didn't think it was as amazing as I remembered it. But playing through KH2 again has reminded me how great this franchise can be. You should play KH if you want to play KH2 since it adds a lot to the story, even if the gameplay is not as good as the second one. It is a little sad seeing Square Enix now compared to what they used to do since no one is makes games like the KH games. I am honestly not even that big of a Disney or Final Fantasy fan, but I like the story and the world of the KH games and I feel that they do a great job of keeping a balance between both Disney and FF in each of the world making it an interesting universe to be a part of. It is interesting playing through KH2 knowing that there are so many spin offs after this and that they kind of wrap up the story pretty nicely in it's own way. I do want them to make a KH3 and would absolutely play it, but I can also see them just keep making these side games and never getting me back into the series. I hope that is not what they do, but they have dropped the ball this generation so whatever.

Thanks for reading! I hope you guys liked it and hopefully I will continue this and get better as I do this!