Top 20 - my personal favourite games released and played in 2013
Showing 1-10 of 19 items
The game I enjoyed playing the most this year. Beautifully balanced strategic gameplay makes the current crop of 'clickathon' realtime strategy games look positively dumb. There is loads to do and collect beyond the main story arc, and it is a joy to spend any time in such a stunningly presented world. Even the story is well told with charm, personality and humour. It's not perfect by any means (some occasional control issues) but Pikmin 3 is my favourite game of the year.
In hindsight, this is probably the most problematic of the series so far. Once again, the world that's created is fascinating, and the time-looping story is intricate and thought-provoking. However, the violence and pacing of the game is often inconsistent, and feels tacked on or at odds with the story. I played this game mostly using Vigours and enjoyed the varied combat because of that, but had I focussed on the guns I'm not sure I would have made it to the end.
On the surface SWAP Force looks like another cash-in sequel to the Skylanders franchise, but it so much more. The gameplay has been given a complete overhaul with 8 new puzzle-game types linked to the new Swap Force characters' abilities, and the addition of the jump action has increased the variety and challenge within the game substantially. The PS4 version has also received a huge jump in animation and graphical fidelity that makes SWAP Force one of the best looking games in the launch line-up. Don't be put off with the prospect of a heavy investment - you can complete the game with just the basic set, and by adding just 5 of the SWAP Force Swappable Characters, you can unlock everything the game has to offer if you wish. The Characters are beautiful models in their own right, and feel far less a con than paying £8 for a digital unlock. Fan-bloody-tastic.
Rymdkapsel was a real revelation to me. This clever abstract strategy and resource management game that appeared on the Playstation Mobile platform initially, and was the game I played most on my Vita this year. It is both challenging and compelling yet beautifully simple - what any strategy game should be. Much like Pikmin 3, this is the way to design a modern RTS.
A technical masterclass in open-world game building; if only it wasn't a narrative mess. Los Santos, whilst lacking the charm of Vice City or Liberty City, has the scale and landscape to create a world you really feel a part of. Everything from the near-life streets, to the parodying TV shows and radio are spot on. Less welcome is the bump-up in sadistic violence and clunky story telling.
Lara's reboot is a brave and bold re-imagining of a video game icon, and is almost a complete success. The violence and obviously gamey bits are sometimes jarring and over the top, but Tomb Raider was an enjoyable roller coaster ride that sees the series create a distinct identify once again.
I'm no fan of 2D platformers. Rayman Legends on the Wii U has such a superb co-op mode - one on the pad interacts with the environment, whilst the other on the controller platforms - that it elevates it into a 2D rhythmic puzzle game.
The game is clearly best on Nintendo's Handheld. Once again my entire summer was consumed with fishing, catching, buying, selling, and paying the evil moneylender Tom - the bastard - Nook.
Brothers seems to be a polarising game, but I thought it was wonderful. More emotion is expressed, without language, in the first 60 minutes of this game, than in the entire back catalog from the likes David Cage or Kojima. Interactive storytelling at its finest and best.
I am surprised by some of the negative comments I'd read about GRID 2. I found this the most enjoyable racer of the year. I felt it really got the excitement of motorsport right. The trend over recent years has been to turn racing games into dry antiseptic car porn; full of statistics and longing sweeps over vehicle models. Whereas its the aggression, chaos and sheer thrill of wheel to wheel racing that makes motorsport such fun. GRID 2 get's it right.