#5. DuckTales Remastered
DuckTales Remastered may be the most perfect enhanced remake of all time. Wayforward had some great source material but they made it better. The graphics look exactly like the cartoon. They added voice-overs from the original animated voice actors. The controls were modified just a bit to cater to modern day audiences, but not too much. The music was better than ever. A few new levels added that much more fun. And they even added some extras for the fan who wanted to keep playing and unlock more. Aside from a final final moment that jacked the difficulty level into the stratosphere I really have no complaints about this game. It's a blueprint on how all other 8-bit remakes should be handled.
#4. Rayman Legends
Even as pissed off as I was by Ubisoft's decision to delay Rayman Legends I could stay mad at them long enough to not buy this game as soon as it came out. And it's a damn good thing that I did, because it was the best 2-D platformer that came out this year, and one of the best since the golden age of 2-D platformers. It really squeezed out a lot variety in 2-D gaming too. Speed runs, stealth missions, exploration and collecting. It's all there, and done phenominally well. The game was a bit on the easy-side though, and it's story was so bare that it made the average Mario story look like something out of Final Fantasy. That's a minor gripe though. The gameplay and level design are it's strength and it was designed to play to that. Plus, Castle Rock may be the greatest level in platforming gaming history.
#3. SteamWorld Dig
SteamWorld Dig is a reminder of why I love gaming so much. It snuck up on everyone. No one saw this coming. Even Nintendo barely paid attention to it. And it turned out to be pure addictive fun. Plus you're a robot in the wild west! The game is very simple, but everything it does is polished to perfection. Dig in a mine, gather gems and metals, and in turn sell those for more enhancements that will allow you to dig deeper. Along the way you find new parts and abilities that allow you to go into areas you couldn't enter before all in an attempt to get to the bottom and find out what happened to your uncle. Again, it's all simple, but it hits all the right chords and makes for an incredible experience. Hopefully this is the start to an amazing new series.
#2. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
The only reason Monster Hunter 3U wasn't my game of the year was because I couldn't quite justify an enhanced version of a game that had only been released a few years earlier. But man oh man, all the extra polish, the slight adjustments, and extra weapons they included made a world of a difference. Monster Hunter Tri was a good enough game, but it never clicked with me. MH3U on the other hand..... well it kept me around for over 110 hours. And really the only reason I stopped playing was that I forced myself in order to finally try some other games. It was challenging, but never felt unfair. Monsters behave almost like real animals. It's all amazing, and despite being as far in as the series is, it's amazing we don't have more clones (in the West).
#1. Super Mario 3-D World
I've never given my GOTY to a Mario game, but I suppose it's time to make an exception. 3-D World almost feels like a Mario's greatest hits. It takes the good stuff from many of the earlier games (even Mario Kart), and throws it all into this one. The level design features some of the most creative ideas I've ever seen, and for a franchise that's 30 years old that's pretty remarkable. I really couldn't find a reason not to love this game. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing that was missing was the Hammer Brothers suit. It was fun, beautiful, and addictive enough to keep my ass on the couch until I had it beaten.
I should give Monster Hunter U a try one of these days.
EDIT: I forgot that I had downloaded the demo on U a while back. I just killed my first monster on the "Easy" quest. I kinda felt bad for it when it started limping around, though. 
Yeah, it's easy to feel guilty because they really do a good job of making the monsters look like they're in pain during their deaththroes. The later monsters are so nasty and so big you just don't care though.
I just attempted the water dragon. Kicked my ass so hard my character fainted, lol. The demo has a time limit on each battle. Is it the same in the full version?
If I recall I fared the same way when I fought it in the demo too. Despite giving you pretty good armor and weapons for the fight, you just don't have the gameplay skills down yet to try something like that. It's fun to see how nasty the monsters can get though.
And yes there are time limits. Each mission has about a 50 minute time length. It's very easy to run out of time when you don't know the area or the monster you're fighting. Often they'll run away after you've done some damage to them, and you can end up completely unable to find them if you haven't thrown a paint pellet at them (that'll let you track them on the map). But after a few attempts you start figuring it out, and when they run away you know where to find them.
The demo is 20 minutes for each quest, which is very challenging. I am enjoying it, though.
Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart, and Target are all sold out. Target had the best price: $29.99. I'll have to try at one of my local used stores later this week. I'd rather not buy it digitally since it's still full price, but I might have to.
You shouldn't have too hard of a problem findining it. I've seen it all over the place ever since the price drop happened. It's not a small download if I recall so you're definitely better off getting a physical copy.
Which ones made it into your top 28?
And hooray for Steamworld Dig, patna!
Why does Robio only have five? Because the man wouldn't let him have ten, that's why!
That's just how Robio rolls.
travo said:Why does Robio only have five? Because the man wouldn't let him have ten, that's why!
The other 5 are for Dark Robio.
Foolz said:Which ones made it into your top 28?
And hooray for Steamworld Dig, patna!
I was referring to that top 28 (29 because I can't count) list that I did at the beginning of last year. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
And all of those are very good reasons why I only have 5.
Aside from those, I beat 13 games that were made in 2013. Actually 14 if you count Phoenix Wright, which I finished this morning. However, several of those were really average games, and just didn't belong on any "best of" or "Top 10" list. I figured I'd just stick with a Top 5 rather than a Top 8 or a Top 10 (with 2 games that with two games that didn't entirely suck).
Cool list, you need to play some of the big games of this year though.
Great list.
2013 was a hell of a year overall. At least what I played of games released this year. At some point I need to check out the Last of Us, Tomb Raider, GTAV, and a few of the other high profile releases and even a few of the smaller ones like Papers Please. And there definitely some let downs from games I really had my hopes set high for. Anarchy Reigns, Hometown Story, and Injustice failed to deliver the experience I had hoped. But what I did play I enjoyed. A few games may even make it onto my top 28 of all time list. So what was good? Well allow me to show you.