2013 "Of the Year" awards Part 2

2013 Worst Ending to a Trilogy

Dead Space 3 grinds the thrills of its predecessor into a microtransactioned mess that abandons the entire horror aspect of the franchise to become a straight third person action game. The first half is strong, as Isaac finds himself stranded in orbit amongst a ruined fleet of ships, recreating the isolated feel of the first two games. Once the second half forces the player to the planet surface the story spirals down a toilet of repetition and insanity resulting in a hilarious ending that only has meaning if one is familiar with Scientology.

2013 Best Franchise Reboot

Tomb Raider(2013) suffers from the compressed nature of games, where player vulnerability must be reduced as quickly as possible. Starting with a young Lara Croft, stranded, injured and afraid who must learn to become the action heroine we all know and love. Stunning graphics are combined with tight combat mechanics to refresh the series and humanize Lara in a way she has never been seen before.








2013 Best Moar Betterer

Saints Row IV is a triumph of insanity. Escaping the open world tropes of gated traversal and leveling, SR IV immediately fulfils player power fantasy and then overwhems it. As a super-power gangsta trapped inside of computer simulation it is one of the most satisfying games ever and easily the best sequel ever made.












2013's 2011 GOTY I never finished

All of the emergent stuff I love in Far Cry 3 exists in Skyrim, or so I am told. After 15 hours of meandering from town to town I have seen precious little of the living world, and too much of dungeons and castles. I fear like Oblivion, this game may simply one day disappear from my collection.

Its saving grace has been the endless mods that allow me to remove the annoyances that rob the game of joy (encumbrance) and improve on what exists (visual tweaks). It is a visually stunning game with some truly terrible melee combat.

2013 Game That Was Better On PC

Metro Last Light is a claustrophobic sequel to Metro 2033 that continues the aesthetic of desolation and survival.

Already gorgeous in lighting and texture on consoles, it become a HD ultra immersive world on PC. It achieves the long stated goal of Gears of War's "beautiful destruction"



2013 Game of the Year

While The Last of Us suffers from a slow burn, it represents the pinnacle of narrative in video games, pulling mechanics, performance capture, animation and technical direction into a single purpose. Raw and unforgiving in its relentless depiction of a world waiting to die, Joel and Ellie's growth as characters in nearly unprecedented in gaming. This is a gorgeous game that builds to an emotional peak that resonates long after the game has finished. Combined with a complete and living world, The Last of Us cements Naughty Dog's position as a pre-eminent developer.