Here is my 2013 Top Ten list, for better or worse.  I’ve got to say, it’s been a great year for gamers.  I played several games by the end of March that I could have sworn would’ve made number one. Of course, deep down, I knew that would change as the year progressed.

10.)  Batman: Arkham Origins- Damn, this game is way better than I ever anticipated.  It brings me so much joy to be flying through the air again as Batman.  It even improves on some aspects of the previous Arkham games, especially detective mode and the story.  But it is really a copy of the previous Batman games.  That’s what holds it back, it’s too similar in most ways.

9.) Grand Theft Auto V- I really saw this as being much higher on my list.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s technically good, just falls a little flat to me.  I just want to tell Rockstar, “It’s not you, it’s me.”  I’ve changed, my life has changed dramatically since GTA IV was released.  When IV was released, I had all the time in the world to play. With V, my time was limited to the nighttime, sometimes on the weekend.  I never had time to sit back and really enjoy this game, playing small chunks at a time.   The dialogue and humor never grabbed me, sometimes feeling a little far-fetched and juvenile. Maybe I’ve changed too much to enjoy GTA games like I used to.

8.) Super Mario 3D World- Boy, did this game fool us all.  It looked like total crap, when first revealed.  It’s just so much darn fun to play.  It’s best when experienced with a group of friends or family members because it really is meant to be this crazy, all out adventure.

7.) Pikmin 3- I love the Pikmin universe.  I love how it’s equal parts adorable and frightening at the same time.  It’s the only RTS game series that I’ll even touch, much less complete.  Yet I’ve got this urge, every time I play, I must collect every single item or even finish a day sooner than before.  That’s how addictive the Pikmin series is to me.

6.) Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon-  This game improves on the original in so many ways.  It has that “Nintendo Quality” all over it, cool gameplay mechanics, memorable music, colorful graphics, mulitiered bosses.  This is a Nintendo game through and through, only it was developed by Next level Games instead.

5.) Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag-I never expected to enjoy this so much. I shrugged when this was first announced, swearing not to play it until it reached a hobo price. I was sure it was going to be the same rehashed Assassin’s Creed and I’m so proud to be so wrong.  It’s such a refreshing change, being a pirate, sailing the blue seas, taking over forts, plundering villages. It’s addictive to play, sometimes playing at four hour stretches.  Oh yeah, you’re also an assassin too!

4.) Bioshock Infinite- I’m not sure what I expected from this.  I love being immersed into the Bioshock universe.  Ken Levine and company create an atmosphere in their games that are really unparalleled.  The gameplay/ combat is fun, varied,  but it’s the story that truly is moving to me.  It’s such a complex and mysterious plot, very satisfying to watch from start to finish.  I love seeing Booker and Elizabeth interact together, get to know each other, help each other, care for one another.

3.) Tomb Raider- I admit, I was a Tomb raider virgin before this game.  Yep, I managed to skip every other TR game, save for ten minutes that I spent with the PSP version one time.  I’m kind of glad I did go into this fresh because that way I had no preconceived ideas on what a TR game should be.  This was a incredibly fun adventure from start to finish.  I love watching Lara progress from the unsure girl who fighting to survive to the mass murderer we all know and love.

2.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds- The most fun, best paced Zelda in ages.  At first, it all seems a little too familiar with the same map, recycled from two decades ago, but the painting mechanic and ability to rent items at any time changes things.  It’s so fun to explore at your own pace, enter any dungeon at any time you’d like.  The game doesn’t dictate when you finish a dungeon, you do.  It’s not a recycled LTTP sequel, but a tribute of sorts to the SNES classic.

1.) The Last of Us- This game had me at the opening cinematic, haunting me until the end credits.  If you are a parent like me, who worries about their children, the first fifteen minutes will certainly hit home.  After that scene, I was with Joel a hundred percent. I understand the distance that he intentionally kept between Ellie and himself.  I understood why he pushed her away, initially, to keep from getting attached and maybe even hurt.  This is Naughty Dog’s finest story and they have proven to be great storytellers.                                                                                                                            

   The Last of Us is no slacker in the gameplay department either, slowly pulling you in with elementary gameplay. Gameplay that takes so long to ramp up that you wonder if you made a mistake buying this game.  But it’s a false sense of security, because when things hit the fan, TLoU rarely takes time to come up for breath.  Like Vader so jokingly said back when this was first released, “Winter is coming!”

   I think it would be foolish not to mention the multiplayer, the best multiplayer game of 2013 and one of the best ever.  It’s special because it’s completely different from what I’ve experienced before.  Don’t you dare even consider running and gunning.  You’ll lose, very quickly.  Stick with your friends, coordinate your attacks, help each other.  It’s really quite unique and so hard, it’s hard to put down.                                                    

The Last of Us is hard to top, all of it’s parts, gameplay, storytelling, visuals, multiplayer, equal on heck of a whole.  It’s not an experience that I can easily forget.

Foolz said:

Do people still play Lastivus online?

I'm sure they do.  It was pretty popular.  Speaking of multipayer, I need to return to it.

Nice list, I think I've only played 10 games this year.

Yeah we need to have a TLOU game night again, the best multiplayer experience this year for me.

edgecrusher said:

This list gave me an erection.

A breeze gives you an erection.

Dvader said:

edgecrusher said:

This list gave me an erection.

A breeze gives you an erection.

Funny..my girlfriend says that to me all the time. You think like a woman.

gamingeek said:

Then stop blowing on his cock.

LOL

I thought for sure Arkham would have been higher on your list.

travo said:

I loved it, but when I assessed the other games that I played this year, it just wasn't quite as good.  Maybe it should've ranked higher than gta, but that might've been it.

Yeah, GTAV was a pretty amazing accomplishment, so it would be hard to bounce it for Arkham.

Couldn't have said it better.  I love how different all of our gaming choices are.