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Games I Played 2013

by bhlaab

I'm not going to forget what i played again this year

Showing 1-10 of 47 items

Dark Souls

1. Dark Souls

January, a holdover from last year. It was really really good.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

2. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City

January-February. DNF! I played Lost and Damned. It was okay. Then I played Ballad of Gay Tony about 1/5 of the way through and it made me say "FUCK THIS I am done with GTA4. DONE."

Dishonored

3. Dishonored

February. Really enjoyed it but I hope they make a sequel that fixes some problems.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

4. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

February. Blasting through this again cos I've played a ton of slow ass pondering games since like November. Skipping all cutscenes, not picking up any intel, and running past all the 'spooky' setpieces. Better than I remember!

Thief: Deadly Shadows

5. Thief: Deadly Shadows

February. DNF! I tried to play this a few years ago and was put off by the Invisible Weariness of it all. But I had just played Dishonored and thought it'd be nice to move onto a Thief game and I played the other two already. The constant and lengthy load times (especially when "quick"loading) and annoying hub levels were bad enough, but what really killed it was the clumsy controls and collision detection. I got stuck inside geometry WAY too much, especially for a precision stealth game. I would find alternate routes on thin planks only for Garrett to start vibrating wildly and then fall off. Bummer.

Saints Row 2

6. Saints Row 2

February. The PC version. A decent portion of silly fun. The only caveat was the dumbass respect meter locking off missions for some reason. The side missions that were partially mandatory because of that were mostly lame or started out cool and then got old really fast. I only found a few that I actually liked doing, which was a little bit less than what was required to win. I enjoyed it quite a bit and got attached enough to my character to jump straight into...

Saints Row: The Third

7. Saints Row: The Third

March. This game really surprised me! The only 'just fun' game in so many years that actually IS just fun and able to stand on its own two feet with only 'just fun' as its core tenant. It's not too dissimilar to SR2 and other GTA clones, though short of Saboteur it is perhaps the most well-realized and best thought out. The economy is well done, I felt myself making painful choices with my money with regards to upgrading weapons, cars, character perks, or investing into properties. They're all important and feel vital, but once the game's missions start getting difficult(ish) enough for a lack of any of the above, the game starts funneling enough cash at you to make your character a demigod and it feels cool. But it is a GTA game so bullet points: The shooting feels really good. The driving feels really good. The missions are, for the most part, really good (albeit linear). The humor is surprisingly strong and clever. I laughed more than I expected, and came away impressed by the talent behind the humor. Jokes in games tend to be shallow, Family Guy style refs, lazy 'wakka wakka's, and meme regurgitation, but there's some really good, fundamental comedy work on display here. And it's window dressing that really matters too, since so much of it permeates into the gameplay in the form of missions, mechanics, and equipment. Most of all it's just super refreshing to play a big-budget game where you can tell it was a labor of love instead of compromises and employee meat-grinding.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

March. Because why fuckin not!

Dead Island

9. Dead Island

March. DNF. This game is garbage. I'd be able to put up with its jank if there was hidden depth, but all that is hidden is a sub-par single player MMO. GO HERE, FETCH THAT, FUCK YOU. I had more fun fixing it than I did playing it.

Sonic Unleashed

10. Sonic Unleashed

March. Someone modded the levels from this into Sonic Generations and I played it. Pretty fun, but not as good as Generations!

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