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The Official RLLMUK Awards 2012 - Vote Thread

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revlob

revlob

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Posted

Only use this thread for casting votes!

Use Smitty's category thread for any discussion.

Please make my job easier and observe the following rules:

Rules

  1. Use the ballot slips below to cast your votes. If you make a mistake, or want to change your votes, edit your existing post or make a new one. Only your last post in this thread will be counted.
  2. You have five votes per category, except GOTY which has ten. You don't have to use all of your votes, and you don't have to vote in every category.
  3. The vote thread will be closed on January 28th, 2013.

How to Vote

  1. Disable WYSIWYG posting. Press the leftmost button above the reply box, which looks like a light switch: post-9333-0-78185000-1356212685.png The other buttons should grey out if WYSIWYG is disabled.
  2. Choose one of the spoilered ballot slips below.
  3. Copy the entire block of BBCode within, and paste it into your reply box.
  4. Input your votes inside the [ b ]bold[ /b ] tags under each category heading. Everything outside of the bold tags is considered comment.
  5. Optional: delete the [ * ] lines of any unused votes, or entire [ list ] blocks for any categories you don't wish to vote in.

Example


[b]Game of the Year[/b]
[list=1]
[*] [b]Super Mario X[/b] I thought it was super awesome
[*] [b]Super Mario Y[/b] I thought it was awesome
[*] [b]Super Mario Z[/b] I thought it was pretty good
[*] [b]Super Mario EX[/b] I thought it was alright
[*] [b]Super Mario EX-Alpha[/b] Edge 8/10
[/list]

2012 Categories

  • Game of the Year
  • Most Wanted Game of 2013
  • Hall of Shame
  • Best Technical Achievement
  • Best Online Experience
  • Best Audio
  • Most Surprising
  • Best 3DS Game
  • Best Mobile Game (iOS/Android)
  • Best PC Game
  • Best PS3 Game
  • Best PS Vita Game
  • Best Xbox 360 Game
  • Best Wii U Game
  • Best Download-only Game (Wii/DSiWare, XBLA, PSN, Indie)

Ballot Slip (GOTY Only)

Use this slip if you want to vote only in the GOTY category:


[b]Game of the Year[/b]
[list=1]
[*] [b][/b]
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[/list]

Ballot Slip (All Categories)

Use this slip if you want to vote in all the categories:


[b]Game of the Year[/b]
[list=1]
[*] [b][/b]
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[/list]
[b]Most Wanted Game of 2013[/b]
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[/list]
[b]Hall of Shame[/b]
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[b]Best Technical Achievement[/b]
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[b]Best Online Experience[/b]
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[b]Best Audio[/b]
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[b]Most Surprising[/b]
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[b]Best 3DS Game[/b]
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[b]Most Surprising[/b]
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[b]Best PC Game[/b]
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[b]Best PS3 Game[/b]
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[b]Best PS Vita Game[/b]
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[b]Best Xbox 360 Game[/b]
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[b]Best Wii U Game[/b]
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[b]Best Download-only Game[/b]
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[*] [b][/b]
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[/list]

6
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bradigor

bradigor

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Trials Evolution - Simply blew me away, I loved Trials HD, but the addition of track sharing just turned this into a new beast. I cannot find fault and the fact the the developers still support with new DLC, despite the constant wave of UGC is just outstanding.
  2. Sound Shapes - Only reason this didn't beat Trials to number 1, is because it came to me very late in the year. However it is a very simple platformer, but the way it create music based on your progress is breathtaking, it makes it very hard to put down, even when you mess up, you really don't mind going back.
  3. Far Cry 3 - Of all the so called 'BIG' blockbusters to come out this year, this is the one that I had most fun with and will into next year too. It has so many WTF moments and is just presented very, very well. For an open world game, I found that there were a lot less bugs than other games of the same type.
  4. Gravity Rush - I was torn on this when I first started, but as you level up, you are sucked in and just end up becoming engrossed, the story is a little poor, but the characters themselves are rather memorable, especially Kat. It showcases the Vita controls really well too, to the point where you cannot really suggest an alternative method.
  5. Dust An Elysian Tail - Beautiful, I had so much fun with this and loved my time with it. People will complain about the 'Furries' but if that really affected their ability to enjoy the game, then maybe they need look at themselves. I understand why some didn't find it as good to actually play as I did. However I could not find a personal fault with it.
  6. Stranger's Wrath HD (Vita) - More Vita love, to see this game released on a handheld, without any compromise is nothing short of amazing. The original 2005 release was excellent, I played it to completion (one of the only games I did back then) and I am in the process of doing so again, in glorious HD on my Vita.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Persona 4 Golden
  2. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
  3. Bioshock Infinite
  4. Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Stranger's Wrath HD - As mentioned in my GOTY post, when handhelds first upped their game, it was seeing games like this that was the dream. The fact this has been realised by Just Add Water is just wonderful to see. I played the PC version which looks stunning and jumping into the Vita version, it feels like I can pick up where I left off, it should be a game to completely showcase what this system is capable of.

Best Audio

  1. Sound Shapes - The more you play, the better the audio becomes. It has the most joyful sound of any game this year. Starting from the opening level of near silence, through to the crescendo at the end, makes a journey of sound unlike anything else.

Most Surprising

  1. PS Vita - This is a personal choice, I was expecting to be hugely let down by the Vita, having heard the "It has no games" line trotted out. However since getting it, my other systems have taken somewhat of a back seat. The game library for the opening year, is for me the best I have ever seen. Everything is covered and whilst I would like to see a few more PSN games ported over, purely because the system would be perfect for them. I cannot be happier with what I got.

Best PS3 Game

  1. Tokyo Jungle
  2. Stranger's Wrath HD
  3. Unfinished Swan

Best PS Vita Game

  1. Sound Shapes
  2. Everybody's Golf
  3. Gravity Rush
  4. escapeVektor
  5. LittleBigPlanet Vita

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Trials Evolution
  2. Far Cry 3
  3. Dust: An Elysian Tail

Best Download-only Game

  1. Trials Evolution
  2. Sound Shapes
  3. Dust: An Elysian Tail
  4. escapeVektor

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Uzi

Uzi

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. The Walking Dead- Ok, let me make one thing clear. I haven't included other games in my list. The reasons are not that there were no other great games for me this year. There were plenty. I can see them in other peoples lists. Lots of nice games. Sure. It also isn't because I'm too lazy to list them and because I don't think the other categories are worth having titles voted for. I'm sure there are. My list only has one game simply because this game has gone so far above and beyond in its genre, and videogames narrative in general that when I try and think about other games I just come out with a vague blur. I see other games and I see the Walking Dead. That is the distinction in my mind. They don't even come close. I won't go into a lot of detail of why The Walking Dead is so amazing. Nor should you go into the Walking Dead thread due to spoilers. See the game fresh. The first episode will be free on Xmas day for Xbox live gold members. Download it. Play it. Keep an open mind. What it lacks in varied gameplay it makes up for in narrative, story telling, characterisation and the fact that despite watching a zillion zombie movies and playing a zillion zombie games that I could predict nothing in this game Nothing. I had various moments where I had to pause to take a breath. It literally left me breathless. Don't watch any trailers. Don't read any reviews. Just play it.

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Qazimod

Qazimod

Posted
Posted

In-progress...

Game of the Year

  1. Borderlands 2 - I can't recall the last time an action game had so many good jokes, or such memorable characters, or such epic battles. On your own, it's a brutal game of survival where you're constantly managing the chaos and trying to stay alive. With friends, it's an unstoppable riot with everything getting blown up and everyone laughing. So much fun.
  2. Hotline Miami - I had been a fan of cactus' older games for a while so I was looking forward to trying this, especially after one or two of the Eurogamer Expo peeps wouldn't stop going on about it, but it's perfect one-more-go ultraviolence with the one shot kills and responsive enemies ensuring that a mission rarely plays out as you first expect.
  3. Gravity Rush - This had been hyped as one of PS Vita's biggest games, although I had largely ignored it before it was released. When I finally got around to it I was amazed at how beautiful, exhilerating and downright fun it was. The characters are all likeable, the soundtrack is glorious and the locations have some variety between them. And it rips off Crackdown's orb-hunting, which isn't a bad thing to rip off. :)
  4. Catherine - This had been on my Most Wanted list for the Rllmuk Awards of the past couple of years, as it slipped from late 2011 to February of this year, and even when it was released I had a hell of a hard time getting hold of it. When I finally got around to playing it, I found a curious blend of arcade puzzling, moral quizzing and NPC conversations wrapped up in a story that's both intriguing and barmy. Whilst the depiction of Vincent's relationship troubles sometimes seems a bit "soap opera", it at least has the courage to make a story that's a bit different from the usual fare.
  5. Velocity - I still haven't got all of the gold medals, but Velocity is an incredible time-attack puzzle-shooter with clever design, a nice minimalist aesthetic and some excellent music to accompany the action. Each new mechanic is introduced effortlessly and you never feel too overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you have to think about; even little things like dropping telepods at split paths is helped by visual cues on the border, and it leaves you free to hone your twitch-gaming skills
  6. NiGHTS HD - after a PS2 remake that we didn't get over here and a few cameos here and there, it's great to see NiGHTS into dreams make a return to mainstream consoles. Sure, the game doesn't control quite as you remember (although that has since been patched, right?) but the pure score-attack gameplay is still there. Meanwhile, the sweeping camera of the 2.5D world, together with the wonderful animation of NiGHTS himself - makes exploring the worlds as enjoyable as ever.
  7. Sound Shapes - a straightforward collect 'em up platformer with infinite lives might sound like the most boring thing ever, but it's the way in which the soundtrack grows and evolves that makes this such an endearing game. In a weird way it kind of reminds me of Rez, as you add elements to the soundtrack through your actions, and they later get layered onto the background music, but it's still inventive enough in it's own right, and the Beck album is a brilliant closing act.
  8. Street Fighter X Tekken - it's got glitchy sound, there's random unblockable nonsense to put up with, there are a few easy exploits, a number of bugs that break the game... Street Fighter X Tekken shouldn't really be on this list, but the Pair Play mode - a match where four players can play online in teams of two a side - was quite an entertaining highlight of this year, as teammates were frequently encouraging each other and then swiftly blaming each other for losing the game. :P
  9. Tony Hawk's HD - okay, it's another HD remake, but the first THPS games were classics back in the day, and I would have been happy if the re-release simply added online scoreboards and combined courses from the older games, but it's much more than that. Okay, the physics can be a bit suspect and the soundtrack is missing some of your faviurite tunes, but Tony Hawk's HD gets enough things right to make it worth a look, even if my own scores are still pretty rubbish. :(
  10. WipEout 2048 - as with the PS1, Wipeout has once again provided a great showcase for new Sony technology, and it still looks very impressive ten months on. There's so much going on in each race that it's hard not to be impressed when you see it flying past you at insane speeds. Mechanics such as item absorption and trick boosts keep things interesting without ruining the core experience, and it seems a little fairer than the early games, allowing you to be slowed rather than halted.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. GTA V - I think that historically I've been a bit rubbish at GTA games, as I always seem to reach some kind of sticking point where there are just too many things shooting at me for me to be able to stay alive, but they're still amazingly fun sandboxes, and the idea of taking San Andreas' scope whilst implementing GTA IV's eye for detail seems too good to be true. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.
  2. Bioshock Infinite - This isn't the first time this has been on my Most Wanted list, but even though it missed 2012 I'm still quite interested in the gameworld, the characters and the story of this new Bioshock. Columbia is an excellent contrast from Rapture, and characters like Booker, Elizabeth and Songbird will hopefully add some tension and emotion to the unfolding events. Oh, and the skyhook stuff looks great as well.
  3. Persona 4 Golden - The only reason this isn't higher up is because I've actually imported this and completed it, but it still deserves a place here because it's so good. The PS2 original was already a smartly-designed and charming JRPG in its own right, but Golden adds enough new content to make it worth a second look. The game shines on the Vita screen and the new features make it feel like more than just a lazy port. An early contender in the 2013 award thread :)


Hall of Shame

  1. Dorito-gate




Best Technical Achievement

  1. Borderlands 2 - my memory of the first game was that it was some big brown dustbowl where you hunted skags for hours and didn't really escape those samey scenarios, but Borderlands 2 has so much going on and a large variety of locations that it's hard not to appreciate the work gone into creating the world, its inhabitants, even all of the stats behind the guns. Meanwhile, the solid co-op play never fails to entertain, and as a whole it feels like terrific value for money.
  2. Gravity Rush - Japan Studio's wonderful Vita game is always keen to impress and show off the host hardware, incorporating gyro and touch controls if you don't want to use the analogue sticks, providing glorious backdrops to fly around in, and even shying away from loading screens as you fly between the four main districts. If you want to show off your Vita to someone who's sitting on the fence, this is definitely one of the games that you might want to start with...
  3. WipEout 2048 - ...and yes, this is the other. Studio Liverpool's Vita racer has plenty of jawdropping moments, from playing Sol for the first time to flying down that massive drop in Altima - everything zips along at a decent framerate and you're just hanging on for dear life, amazed that something like this is playable on a handheld. It also has a go at making the analogue sticks look good after PSP's weird slidey thing and countless D-Pads and things.


Best Online Experience

  1. Borderlands 2 - I always enjoy the times in the year when everyone in a big gaming community gets hold of a big new online game and you jump in and out of various friends' games for weeks, but I haven't enjoyed that experience in many of this year's games. Borderlands 2 offers this though, and even though I had raced through my first campaign playthrough on my own, it wasn't long before I was coming back to see what everyone else was up to - it's a game where everyone can join in and enjoy themselves. :)
  2. Everybody's Golf Vita - there are a few Vita games I could mention here, but I really just want to highlight the way in which Vita's online games have felt much more immediate and accessible after the PSP's disappointing selection of online games. Everybody's Golf has all the charm and immediacy you'd expect from the series, and it's got one of the most entertaining pre-game lobbies of 2012, with golfers running around, climbing things and trying to find obscene words to use in chat messages. :P
  3. Catherine - okay, so I might be grasping a bit for this entry, but I enjoyed the moments in the confessionals where you're asked binary moral questions and later get to see how other players answered on their first go; it's a neat way of generating discussion between players in a game that's largely a solo adventure. Persona 4 Golden also employs a similar trick with it's "Voice" system which is just as good, although I might end up mentioning that next year.


Best Audio

  1. Sound Shapes - on the one hand, you're not really influencing the soundtrack; you're just filling in blanks and letting predefined loops play, but the music and sound effects still help to make the world of Sound Shapes come alive, and the variation in musical styles gives you the same kind of thrill you got when unlocking a new area in Rez or a new song in Frequency. Being able to make your own ditties in a limited but accessible level editor is also a nice extra.
  2. Hotline Miami - any game that has me going onto iTunes to buy music from Sun Araw has got to be good, but aside from that excellent theme for the level intros, there are loads of good themes for the stages themselves and they always match the tension and action that unfolds on each floor. There are also some great sound effects as well, from the splatter as you beat someone's head in to the viscious blasts of the auto-shotgun.
  3. Catherine - maybe I have a bit of a thing for Shōji Meguro thanks to his work on the Persona games, but the effortlessly cool themes in the quieter Stray Sheep moments really suit the atmosphere, whilst the contrasting tunes in the Nightmares effectively increase the tension and drama as you scramble to climb the shit out of those fucking blocks. ;)
  4. Gravity Rush - if only because it has one of the best "flying" themes to come out of gaming for a while, in the form of the main battle theme "Resistance and Extermination"; it's hard not to break into a grin when that tune reaches it's crescendo just as your gauge refills and you soar back into the air again. But really, there are loads of other interesting and atmospheric tunes to recommend, and the audio cues during gameplay are always useful.

Most Surprising

  1. Gravity Rush - as mentioned in my game of the year list, I really hadn't been following the previews of Gravity Rush that much and I was taking more interest in Persona 4's progress, despite the fact that Gravity Rush was one of the key original releases in the Vita library. I guess I felt obliged to get hold of it because everyone was talking about it, but when I finally played through it, the simple satisfaction of the gravity powers was enough to keep me playing through the story, although the game is polished in loads of other places too, from the music to the visuals and the characters...
  2. Hotline Miami - even though I missed Eurogamer, I was expecting good things with cactus on board, but the game still managed to surpass my expectations with it's incredibly tense and exciting gameplay. The "rules" of the gameworld are easy to understand after a short while and the gameplay is satisfying enough to carry you through the missions without having to throw in too many gimmicks. Lots of big-budget full-price games were shunned in favour of another session on this game, which is perhaps what makes it such a surprise.
  3. Sound Shapes - as with Gravity Rush, I had hardly been following news on the game; I didn't really know what kind of genre it was for a while because I had only seen a few abstract screenshots, but after watching one or two gameplay videos I couldn't help but download it when it was released. The shift in visual themes and soundtracks keeps you playing to the end just to see what the next world is like, and the final few stages left quite an impression on me after they were completed.
  4. Velocity
  5. Borderlands 2

Best PC Game

  1. Hotline Miami




Best PS Vita Game

  1. Gravity Rush
  2. Velocity
  3. Sound Shapes
  4. WipEout 2048
  5. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Borderlands 2
  2. Catherine
  3. NiGHTS HD
  4. Street Fighter X Tekken
  5. Tony Hawk's HD

Best Download-only Game

  1. Hotline Miami
  2. Velocity
  3. NiGHTS HD
  4. Sound Shapes

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Takizawa

Takizawa

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Dragon's Dogma
  2. Mass Effect 3
  3. Borderlands 2
  4. Sleeping Dogs
  5. The Walking Dead
  6. Assassins Creed 3
  7. Journey
  8. Lego LOTR
  9. Gravity Rush
  10. Everybody's Golf Vita

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Ni No Kuni

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Borderlands 2

Best Online Experience

  1. Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan

Best Audio

  1. Mass Effect 3

Most Surprising

  1. Dragon's Dogma

Best PC Game

  1. Borderlands 2

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Dragon's Dogma

Best Download-only Game

  1. Journey

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deerokus

deerokus

Posted
Posted

Kind of difficult this. So many excellent games across so many different genres that it's hard to compare them. Those who complain that games were rubbish this year only played the hyped, rubbish ones. I think there will be a very wide spread of results, here.

Non-final list: One or two games that I've not played enough might yet sneak on here.

PS: There are two 'Best Online Experience' categories!

Game of the Year

  1. The Walking Dead
  2. Crusader Kings II A perfect fusion of medieval grand strategy and The Sims.
  3. Mark of The Ninja Aside from everything else good about this game, the game controls really nicely and satsifyingly, in that way Nintendo games always did before the Wii.
  4. Max Payne 3
  5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  6. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
  7. Hotline Miami Top-down Bonanza Bros. crossed with Drive.
  8. Sleeping Dogs
  9. FTL
  10. Waking Mars

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. The Cave
  2. The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise
  3. Watch Dogs
  4. Rome 2: Total War
  5. Clockwork Empires

Hall of Shame

  1. Dorito-gate
  2. Mass Effect 3 90% of it is good, all of it undone by the last ten being mind-bogglingly poor.
  3. Publishers releasing buggy, unfinished games with barely playable framerates onto the consoles
  4. The War Z
  5. Free-to-play purchase models in games which cost money to buy. Egregious examples being Mass Effect 3 and War Z. I fear this will become a trend.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Max Payne 3 - looks incredible on 360. The animation system is miles ahead of anything else, and revitalises the gameplay.

Best Online Experience

  1. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
  2. Mount & Blade Warband: Napoleonic Wars (DLC)
  3. COD: Black Ops II
  4. Blacklight: Retribution

Best Audio

  1. Max Payne 3 Superb soundtrack.
  2. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - some of the most convincing and blood-curdling death sound effects I've ever heard.
  3. Hotline: Miami Another brilliant, atmospheric, moody soundtrack.
  4. FTL And yet another great soundtrack.

Most Surprising

  1. Sleeping Dogs
  2. Binary Domain
  3. Dragon's Dogma

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Mr. Gerbik

Mr. Gerbik

Posted
Posted

Why is there no PS Vita category? Was there even a PSP game released in 2012? :P

Game of the Year

  1. Mark of the Ninja Not only a 2D stealth game that works, but also one of the best stealth games ever made. Klei have managed to produce a stealth game that is so good, with such perfect controls and mechanics, that it doesn't matter whether you even like stealth games or not - you'll love Mark of the Ninja regardless. And if you do like the stealth genre like I do, then you'll be amazed at how they made a 2D stealth game in 2012 which compares favourably with such timeless stealth classics as Thief. One of the very few games I can call flawless.
  2. Legend of Grimrock One of many reasons I'm glad I got into PC gaming at the end of this generation. Not because of the nicer graphics (which are always a welcome bonus) but because I would have missed so many great games otherwise. Three PC exclusives from small indie teams are in my GotY list of 2012, many more are just below the top 10 and practically my entire Most Wanted 2013 list consists of PC indie games. Anyway, Grimrock is fucking great and made by just four dudes. I'm eagerly awaiting what they do next!
  3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown And I don't even like strategy games! I loved this one though. No idea if it's considered good by fans of the genre as I didn't even bother wandering into the thread here, but I had a lot of fun with XCOM and I'm definitely going to play it a lot more in 2013.
  4. FTL A rogue-ish game that boldly goes where games have gone before but never like this and never so well. Controlling and maintaining your spaceship and its crew while exploring unknown sectors in spaaaace is incredibly tense as anything can happen. At your next FTL jump you might stumble across a bad situation which leaves you completely fucked or you might get some free much-needed supplies from friendly folks. Ordering the crew around various sections of the ship is great, especially if you've seen at least one episode of Star Trek. Horribly addictive.
  5. Dishonored Terrible stealth game, but thankfully it's more than the sum of its parts. I love the setting and the different ways of completing the sanbox-y levels. Thankfully you can turn all the hints and notifications and objective markers off, or else I wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much. But having to explore the environments myself was a real fun way of playing the game and it deserves a place on my GotY list.
  6. Torchlight 2 Diablo 3? Pfffft don't make me laugh. Rather than a glorified Real Money Auction House interface with a token game lazily attached to it, Torchlight 2 is actually a great and addictive ARPG. My favourite loot 'em up of 2012.
  7. Hotline Miami Just amazing. Another reason I'm glad I don't miss out on PC games anymore. Made by two dudes, this 'top-down fuck 'em up' is mesmerizing and funny in a very disturbing way.
  8. Okami HD Just a HD remake but what a remake and what a game. Along with the first Darksiders, this proves that I'm not tired of the Zelda formula but that Nintendo just lost it.
  9. Tokyo Jungle Survival simulator that takes places in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo without humans. You play as an animal as you try to survive as long as possible by eating, shitting and fucking your way through different generations while unlocking bigger and meaner beasts.
  10. Gravity Rush When a Vita game doesn't try to replicate a console game or isn't just a port of some DS or iOS game, the Vita is at its best as Gravity Rush proves. A lovely artstyle complements even lovelier gameplay with just the right amount of confusion about which way is up.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Wasteland 2 Project Eternity would have been number one by far, but that isn't out until 2014. Wasteland 2 is the next best thing, being made by what is basically the old Black Isle team working together again.
  2. Grim Dawn Made by the same devs who made Titan Quest, my favourite ARPG of all time. WANT
  3. Shadowrun Returns I fucking loved Shadowrun on the SNES so I'm hoping this is just as great even if it isn't the promised sequel I'm still waiting for. The first screenshots / concept screens look all kinds of amazing
  4. Dead State Made by former Troika devs. it may be yet another zombie game, but this is a zombie survival RPG made by dudes responsible for Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines. And since I've recently started watching the Walking Dead, I'm looking forward to Dead State even more.
  5. South Park: the Stick of Truth The only console game on this list, which probably says something about all the really interesting stuff being held back for next-gen announcements. But more than that, it also shows how goddamn promising and amazing the indie scene / smaller dev studio suff is on PC at the moment. Usually The Last of Us and Metro: Last Light would be on here. Maybe even the new Bioshock. To be brutally honest, even if the next-gen games were already known, my top 4 most anticipated games would have been exactly the same.

Hall of Shame

  1. Hitman: Absolution You can argue that it's a decent action-stealth third-person shooter type game with token cover mechanics, sure. I think it's a shit stealth game compared to most other stealth games, but whatever. The problem is that Hitman was its own unique genre, a game series unlike any other. A sandbox puzzle game about being a professional assassin. Even if you enjoyed Absolution for what it is, is it worth killing an entire genre, one the few current game series that was still totally unlike any other, just to make Absolution more like every other game out there? Just to make yet another stealth-shooter hybrid, albeit one with pretty graphics? Blood Money was brilliant, but it was far from perfect. There was still so much potential and so much room for improvement within its sandbox puzzling ways. And yet IO chose to make us wait six years for a game that threw all that potential and ambition right out of the window in hopes of appealing to a bigger crowd. They probably succeeded too, but goddammit at what cost.
  2. Assassin's Creed 3 Please let the Brotherhood team make the next AC game kthanksbye
  3. Mas Effect 3 People who still refuse to accept that BioWare has been EA-ified to death are incorrigible optimists. Mass Effect 3 was rushed out the door without a proper ending but with a multiplayer mode hanging out its arse instead for crying out loud.
  4. Doritos These delicious doritos are making me thirsty! Luckily I have nice cold Mountain Dew to wash it all down. Hmm, great stuff. 9 out of 10
  5. The War Z shameless bunch of fucks tricking people into buying a crap product with outright lies and by copying one of the best mods of 2012. Should have never been released on Steam in the first place.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Halo 4 holy shit, is the 360 really producing those graphics and vistas?
  2. Gravity Rush arguably the only game showcasing the potential of the Vita
  3. Mark of the Ninja perfect controls, very advanced but perfectly balanced stealth mechanics which encompass audio, lights/shadow and line of sight in 2D, and on top of all that perfectly placed checkpoints which don't penalize the player in a frustrating manner for either trying a different tactic or accidentally fucking up. You take it for granted when you're playing it, but when you think about it...

Best Audio

  1. Hotline Miami with that soundtrack there is no contest.

Most Surprising

  1. Mark of the Ninja I really wasn't expecting it to be this good. I was just hoping for decent XBLA game to keep me occupied for a few hours before moving on.
  2. Sleeping Dogs I'm not the biggest fan of GTA-style games so I'm still kinda suprised at how much fun I had with Sleeping Dogs. The combat and the gunplay really help.
  3. Hitman: Absolution Okay, maybe it would turn out to be a bad Hitman game, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so shit - surprise!
  4. Far Cry 3 thought it looked a bit meh all the way up to the release, but as it turns out it's the best thing Ubisoft put out in 2012, which I really wasn't expecting. Made by the Brotherhood team apparently, maybe they should put them back on AC.

Best PC Game

  1. Legend of Grimrock I'm going to stick to exclusives for these categories. Just because.
  2. FTL
  3. Torchlight 2
  4. Hotline Miami
  5. To the Moon

Best PS3 Game

  1. Okami HD
  2. Tokyo Jungle

Best PSP/PSV Game

  1. Gravity Rush

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Halo 4

Best Wii U Game

  1. New Super Mario Wii U

Best Download-only Game

  1. Mark of the Ninja what is this category I don't even
  2. Legend of Grimrock you realize that even games like Borderlands 2 and Dishonored are download-only when you play them on PC, because they're Steamworks, you add them to your digital Steam library
  3. FTL never mind that the difference between what is download-only and retail has practically disappeared by now
  4. Torchlight 2 especially since the best games of 2012 are so-called download-only games
  5. Hotline Miami so why even bother with a separate category. Unless you also add a retail-only category. Which would make more sense since retail-exclusive games are becoming rare as fuck, they actually need the extra attention

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Vemsie

Vemsie

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Posted

Great read so far, especially from those who motivate their choices. I plan to +1 all of these.
:)

Reading through this thread shows that it's been a great year for games, with tons of variety. It also tells me that I have a massive backlog and a few games that I really want to play but haven't bought as yet. Without further ado:

Game of the Year
  1. Velocity – Never thought a PSN Mini would be my GotY, but here you go. Best described as a combination of shooter and puzzle game, it’s both a workout for your fingers as well as your brain. It’s a near flawless combination of interesting mechanics, a massive amount of content, a perfectly pitched difficulty level (try to go for a Perfect on every level) and some of the best music of any game this year. A full PSN version is in the works, so this could be the game of 2013 as well.
  2. Super Hexagon – The best example of in the zone gaming of any release this year. A ridiculously simple concept, but brilliantly realized. Edge described it best when they said that playing this iOS game makes you feel like Neo in The Matrix, but instead of dodging bullets, you’re dodging shapes. Chipzel’s pounding chiptunes are the icing on the cake. I had to stop playing after topping my friends list, breaking the 100 second mark and completing Hexagon in Hyper mode as it was just too addictive. Brilliant.
  3. Mark of the Ninja – Another brilliant downloadable. I know lots of people have The Walking Dead as GotY and while that game did a great job of pushing narrative, I rather have a game pushing gameplay. This did exactly that. A masterful stealth game that combines razor sharp level design with lots of options. Want to be a ghost who reaches the end of the level without killing anyone? You can. But you can also be a stealthy killing machine or a sadistic trap laying bastard. Klei’s masterpiece.
  4. Borderlands 2 – Probably my favorite AAA game this year. It’s a game that keeps on giving. Massive, with tons of worlds, characters, quests and loot. Everything works. The shooting is fun, it’s a blast in co-op, it looks phenomenal on my PC, the soundtrack (with Jesper Kyd contributing some stellar work) is awesome and it’s probably the funniest game of the year. The Shooty McFace and Claptrap’s birthday party quests were particular hoots. Superb.
  5. Max Payne 3 – It’s not a perfect game by any means, but damn did I dig it. Completed it on all difficulties, which meant at last three playthroughs, not many games manage that these days. As a big John Woo fan, this is probably the best game to capture that feeling of being an utter badass with one or more guns. Cinematic gaming is almost a dirty word to some these days, but here you were choreographing your own action movie, supported by the excellent Euphoria engine. Oh, and HEALTH’s soundtrack was probably the best of the year.
  6. Hotline Miami – Another fine example of a videogame at its purest. It ultimately boils down to ‘kill or be killed’, but with excellent level design that rewards both planning and improvisation. And like most games on this list it has a killer soundtrack. Also, how many games let you wear animal masks? Unmissable.
  7. ZombiU- Probably the most tense and atmospheric game of the year. Think survival horror is dead? You obviously haven’t played this. The way it smartly utilizes the GamePad is part of its appeal. A very clever game.
  8. Far Cry 3 – Could’ve been a GotY contender if they cut back on the hand holding, but as it stands it’s still a ridiculously fun game. Taking over camps any way you see fit is an utter joy, the wildlife makes for some excellent emergent gameplay and the actual mechanics are solid as a rock.
  9. Dishonored – A new IP that rewards player experimentation is something that should be applauded. Being a supernatural assassin is fun enough, but the excellent art direction and highly customizable HUD elevate it to one of the best games of this year.
  10. Super Mario Bros U – Yes, it’s another Mario. But probably the best 2D Mario since Yoshi’s Island. Excellent level design makes this one of the best platform games in ages and while Rayman Legends is easily a better looking and sounding game, it will have to be very good if it wants to top the gameplay of the plumber’s latest outing.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. The Last of Us – The game that swept the E3 awards is also my number 1 pick for next year. It looks to combine the emotional depth of The Walking Dead with excellent gameplay that rewards different playstyles. From the AI to the graphics and music, it looks like Naughty Dog’s masterpiece.
  2. The Wonderful 101 – It’s the new game from Hideki Kamiya, arguably the most talented designer in the world of gaming right now. A very colourful distinct art style goes hand in hand with highly stylish gameplay. Another Platinum masterpiece in the making. Speaking of which…
  3. Metal Gear Rising – Fast 60 fps action goodness. I love good combat systems and with Platinum behind the wheel this will probably end up as being one of the best action games of the year and perhaps ever. Blade mode not only allows you to cut up your enemies in style, but to shred the environment as well.
  4. Bayonetta 2 – Platinum is taking this category by storm. It’s the sequel to the best action game of this generation, so of course I’m excited for it. Bless Nintendo for making this possible.
  5. Watch_Dogs – The game that made the biggest impression at E3. It just screams potential. As much as I’m looking forward to GTA V, the potential of an open world sci-fi game made by some of the people that brought us Splinter Cell Chaos Theory is quite something. If it’s really as open as Ubisoft wants us to believe, it could well beat Rockstar’s latest.

Hall of Shame

  1. Doritogate – Rab Florence excellent EG column struck a chord. An utter shame then that he lost his column because of it. Luckily we can still read his work in other places.
  2. Peter Molyneux – Curiosity was bad enough, but add a lackluster final Fable game and his rather pitiful Kickstarter plea and it’s clear that he deserves a place in this list.
  3. Microsoft – Not just because their exclusives are drying up fast, but mainly because I get so little for my buck when compared to PS+. Step up, Microsoft.
  4. Assassin’s Creed 3 – Because it could and should’ve been so much more.
  5. Hitman Absolution – See above.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Journey – Never before has a downloadable game looked this beautiful. The sand surfing scene will probably go down as the single most impressive moment of any game this year and the wonderful voiceless online co-op works perfectly.
    This is that moment:
    iKG39HGma6wZe.gif
  2. Max Payne 3 – Damn, that Euphoria engine is something else. In the hands of Rockstar at least. Animation aside, the varied locations, character models and effects all impress and not just on PC.
  3. Halo 4 – It’s probably the 360’s Uncharted. Absolutely gorgeous in places.
  4. Gravity Rush – It’s really impressive to see such a visually striking game running on a handheld. One of the most charming games of the year.
  5. ZombiU – It’s not nearly as beautiful as say Sleeping Dogs or Far Cry 3 on a high-end PC, but it makes great use of new technology in the way it turns your GamePad in your survival kit.

Best Online Experience

  1. Borderlands 2
  2. Journey



Best Audio

  1. Max Payne 3 - All of the games in this list have amazing soundtracks, but HEALTH wins. From the haunting track Pain to the excellently used song Tears, this soundtrack perfectly captured the mood of a wrecked man’s mission. Amazing.
  2. Hotline Miami
  3. Velocity
  4. Super Hexagon
  5. Journey

Most Surprising

  1. Velocity – Came out of nowhere. I bought it after reading the Edge review and loved it to bits. The game that put Futurlab on the map.
  2. Attack from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack – Another game that came out of nowhere for me, but one of the smartest platform games in a long time.
  3. ZombiU – Awful title that could’ve been Ubisoft launch filler. Instead we got one of the best survival horror games in ages.
  4. Mark of the Ninja – I quite like the Shank games, but who would’ve thought they were able to create one of the best stealth games of this generation?
  5. Assassin’s Creed 3 – I adore Brotherhood and had high hopes for this. It looked so utterly promising, yet failed to deliver on many of them.

Best PC Game

  1. Mark of the Ninja
  2. Borderlands 2
  3. Max Payne 3
  4. Hotline Miami
  5. Far Cry 3

Best PS3 Game

  1. Velocity (PSN)
  2. Borderlands 2
  3. Max Payne 3
  4. Far Cry 3
  5. Dishonored

Best PSP/Vita Game

  1. Velocity
  2. Attack from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
  3. Wipeout 2048
  4. Gravity Rush
  5. Unit 13

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Mark of the Ninja
  2. Borderlands 2
  3. Max Payne 3
  4. Far Cry 3
  5. Dishonored

Best Wii U Game

  1. ZombiU
  2. Super Mario Bros U



Best Download-only Game

  1. Velocity
  2. Super Hexagon
  3. Mark of the Ninja
  4. Hotline Miami
  5. Journey

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Nespresso

Nespresso

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Game of the Year

  1. Dishonored
    Loved every second of this and while flawed the art direction and attention to detail is what made this my GOTY. If there was only one game I could play in 2012 this would be it. I can't wait to see where this is going next!
  2. The Walking Dead
    Regarding the debate whether or not this even constitutes as a 'game' at all... I show you exhibit #8. I rest my case.
  3. Binary Domain
    Just started my second playthrough of this and from the moment I finished it I knew it deserved a place in my top 10 list of 2012. It's very ambitious in its scope and while it does not quite reach its potential, it's certainly the best third-person shooter released this year. It does away with all of the bullshit conventions and invites you to simply have fun. Get it!
  4. Miami Hotline
    Take a brilliant soundtrack, some excellent gameplay, gore as far as the eye can see and an 80s inspired setting; put all of that in a blender and you get Miami Hotline. Pure gaming bliss.
  5. Kid Icarus: Uprising
    My wait for a new Starfox game ended when KI:U showed up. Boy did this deliver. This title will justify any 3DS purchase for years to come. It boggles the mind how they managed to pack that much content on such a small cartridge. Oh and there’s some brilliant writing in there. Just a bit though. Just a bit.
  6. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
    Even though I'm far from finished and only put in 15 hours; XCOM took me back to a time when PC games were pure and uncompromising. Sure most die hard XCOM fans will disagree but as someone who has never played the original this has come as a pleasant surprise.
  7. Far Cry 3
    Go do this sidequest he said. Will only take a few minutes he said. Then… 3AM.
    VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!
  8. Max Payne 3
    As a huge Max Payne fanboy I thought the latest entry into the series was enjoyable yet disappointing. It's a side of Max we haven't seen before and for better or worse this puts both Max and the player at unease. If this is a glimpse of what's to come though I'd rather them just leave it at that. Oh and the unskippable cutscenes make this already linear experience a one-timer. From a pure gameplay perspective this title is probably the most far removed interactive experience released in 2012. Negativity aside, this is a game that puts the fight back into firefight (or whatever that means). What I'm saying is that as far as gun combat goes Max Payne 3 goes a long way to be as authentic as possible, therefore it deserves a spot in this list. Plus there's "Tears". 'Nuff said.
  9. Spec Ops: The Line
    While standard in terms of gameplay and not as original when it comes to story or character design, it manages to captivate throughout. It genuinely leaves the player questioning his actions and tackles the subject matter in a very adult and thoughtful manner. Mowing down endless battalions of enemies suddenly didn't seem so mindless at all.
  10. Halo 4
    An fun filled campaign for the entire family! It’s good-looking to!

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Half-Life 3
    Surely.
  2. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
    It will be the best game.
  3. The Last of Us
    PS3's swansong. *wipes a tear away
  4. SimCity
    Please let this be good please let this be good please let this be good.
  5. Metro: Last Light
    Maybe I will be able to run it this time? Fingers crossed! My PC is ready...

Hall of Shame

  1. Hitman: Absolution

  2. NFS: Most Wanted
    I loved the original Most Wanted. This however was a Burnout reskin. Please give me my Most Wanted 2005 back.
  3. SSX
    Ultimately not what it had lived up to be. For (Hall of) shame.
  4. MGS3 Snake Eater 3D
    Returning to my favourite entry of the MGS saga was a lot less triumphant than I had hoped. Plagued by horrible controls and a framerate that would make FC3 on consoles look like The Hobbit, it's a horrible experience. Snake at his worst right there folks.
  5. Wrecked: Revenge Revisited
    The original game wasn't that big of a feature filled extravaganza but man was this an utter disappointment when me and my mates found out that one of our favourite party games retained almost nothing of Mashed's appeal. Yikes.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Halo 4
  2. Dear Esther
  3. Far Cry 3
  4. Resident Evil: Revelations
  5. Planetside 2

Best Online Experience

  1. Battlefield 3: Aftermath
    Hah found a way to shoehorn my 'most-played-game-of-2012-yet-not-released-in-the-same-year' in a category.
  2. Gotham City Impostors
    A severely overlooked multiplayer-only game which blows all latest efforts by CoD out of the water.
  3. Planetside 2
    I need more time.

Best Audio

  1. 1.Halo 4
    And suddenly we have an orchestral score that O'Donnell could only dream of.
  2. 2.Miami Hotline
    Moving your head back and forth while dispatching death in the most gruesome manner. Instant satisfaction.
  3. 3.Max Payne 3
    When "Tears" comes in during the airport scene... it simply does not get any better than that.

Most Surprising

  1. Hotline Miami
  2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  3. Binary Domain
  4. Dear Esther
  5. Mark of the Ninja

Best PC Game

  1. Dishonored
  2. Hotline Miami
  3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  4. Dear Esther
  5. Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Halo 4
    Halo 4 had me dust off the ol' 360. Its amazing visuals, grand scale and incredible soundtrack show that the 360 still has some juice in it. That and 343i shits all over Bungie's previous efforts. Honestly, what have they been doing all these years? Can't wait to see the next instalment by 343i!

Best Download-only Game

  1. The Walking Dead
  2. Miami Hotline
  3. Counter Strike: Global Offensive
  4. Dear Esther
  5. Thirty Flights of Loving

Wow, while making this list it dawned on me I have barely touched any of my consoles at all! For shame as I missed out on such great titles as The Unfinished Swan, Journey, Tokyo Jungle and Catherine. Oh well, there's always next year for that!

*and the pile of shame grows larger

DISCLAIMER: I didn't put Don't Starve in any of the categories as it is not officially out yet. I reckon we'll see that show up in a lot of top 10 lists come 2013 though.

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mdn2

mdn2

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Posted (edited)

Game of the Year

  1. Dishonored - In what I would call a very disappointing year all round, this stood head and shoulders over everything. I loved everything - the freedom, the artstyle, the story. It was amazing.
  2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Not completed it yet, but this is a great return of turn based strategy. It's got that 'one more go' thing down.
  3. Binary Domain - Hugely silly, and a lot of fun. I preferred it to most of the other po-faced third person shooters released this year.
  4. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - A great - if clichéd - western fantasy RPG. It held my interest for far too long at the beginning of the year.
  5. Asuras Wrath - Mental. I can't really recommend it because it is essentially one long cutscene with loads of QTE's - but it's amazing.
  6. Game of Thrones - Well, I liked it, but I did read all the books and watch both series of the TV show in the last year, so I admit I was slightly on a GoT kick at one point.

MostWantedGame of 2013

  1. Dark Souls II
  2. Pikmin 3
  3. Animal Crossing 3DS
  4. Persona 4 Vita
  5. The Last Guardian - I can dream, can't I?

Hall of Shame

  1. Hitman: Absolution
  2. Mass Effect 3
  3. Zone Of Enders HD Collection
  4. Resident Evil 6
  5. Tony Hawks Pro Skater HD

BestTechnicalAchievement

  1. Halo 4 - The game did nothing for me, but it sure was pretty to look at.

MostSurprising

  1. Asuras Wrath

Best3DSGame

  1. Bit Trip Saga
  2. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

Best PSP/Vita Game

  1. Touch My Katamari
  2. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
  3. Velocity
  4. Gravity Rush

BestXbox360Game

  1. Dishonored
  2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  3. Binary Domain
  4. Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

Edited by revlob
Fixed your formatting - don't forget to disable WYSIWYG posting first
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Uncle Mike

Uncle Mike

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Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Prototype 2
  2. Sleeping Dogs
  3. Lumines: Electronic Symphony
  4. MotorStorm RC
  5. Gravity Rush
  6. Dragon's Dogma
  7. Super Stardust Delta
  8. Everybody's Golf Vita
  9. Driver San Francisco
  10. Okami HD

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Thief 4
  2. Warrior's Lair
  3. Soul Sacrifice

Hall of Shame

  1. SSX

Most Surprising

  1. Sleeping Dogs

Best PS3 Game

  1. Prototype 2
  2. Dragon's Dogma
  3. Driver San Francisco
  4. Sleeping Dogs

Best PS Vita Game

  1. Lumines
  2. MotorStorm RC
  3. Everybody's Golf
  4. Gravity Rush
  5. Super Stardust Delta

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Rudi von Starnberg

Rudi von Starnberg

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Posted

May well edit more into this later, but this will do for now.

Game of the Year

  1. The Walking Dead - I'm sure everyone knows what I'll say about this. Writing, voice acting, storyline, player engagement - this game is a masterclass in all of that. And I have precisely zero time for anyone who tries to say it's not a real game. The only game ever to have made me cry actual, real tears - and that's a rare effect for any piece of media to have on me.
  2. Spec Ops: The Line - A damning indictment of the usual approach taken by military shooters, starting from a purposefully generic opening and scaling up the critique and exploration of the themes as it goes. Contrary to what many people seemed to feel about the game, I would contend that its shooting mechanics are not 'mediocre', or at least no more than any other third-person cover shooter you care to name. They're solid, satisfying, and punchy, and they are the framework on which a very affecting and powerful storyline is hung. Nolan North's performance as the central character, Martin Walker, is fantastic too.
  3. Dota 2 - Easily my most-played game this year. Easily. I'd always scoffed at the original Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients and its knock-offs; I'd heard the horror stories about the community and knew I didn't want to get involved with that. The knock-offs looked even worse, with horrible male-gazey art design (and calling them 'art' is being charitable) and the like. I resisted Dota 2 for a while, too, even when offered invites to the beta by friends. Finally, I succumbed, and it turned out I'd been wrong about Dota. The knock-offs are still terrible - I've since tried them just to see what the difference is, and my god they're shit - but Dota is a finely-honed, complex, extremely deep game of teamwork and tactics and skill where each match lasts between 30-60 minutes. Just the right length. The Valve coat of polish on Dota 2 gives it an extra dimension - the game has a lot of personality, with hundreds of recorded voice lines for each hero and multiple announcers and a clean, pleasant art style. I've even found myself watching a couple of pro matches and enjoying it as a spectator thing. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME? I have no idea. But I love it.
  4. Max Payne 3 - A worthy successor to the previous games, and better than both of them. Excellent slow-motion gunfighting that somehow also works as a character study of a broken human being who can't do anything right except kill, and the killing just makes things worse. Rockstar's best game since Bully.
  5. Crusader Kings 2 - Like a map-based medieval version of the Sims where instead of falling into the pool and dying you instead fall into the oubliette of your liege's dungeon, where you were put after being captured in a battle that was part of a failed bid for independence that you embarked on after your lustful syphilitic king fathered a bastard child with your wife and then didn't legitimise the bastard. Compelling and completely mental.
  6. Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai - Technically an expansion pack rather than a full new game, but it's as much its own thing as the original Shogun 2 was. Total War games work best when there's cultural conflict and technological progress on which to centre the whole thing, and the Japanese civil war of the late 19th century is a perfect choice for this. A glorious fusion of sword-wielding samurai, archers, muskets, rifled cannons, and Gatling guns, with European and American adventurers strutting about and steam trains puffing their way across Japan. Starting to feel like a broken record saying this, but Creative Assembly keep outdoing themselves. Bodes well for Rome 2 if they keep this up.
  7. FTL: Faster Than Light - A game so simple and well-formed that I was amazed no-one had thought of it before. I couldn't tear myself away from it for a couple of weeks, and in the end it was only frustration at being unable to unlock the Crystal Ship due to its bullshit required random events that made me put it down. Definitely has its limitations and areas which could do with expansion (the random events for sure), and it could almost use more panic (things are usually smooth sailing until they go catastrophically wrong), but it's still great.
  8. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Now this game gets the 'constant panic' thing right. The tension in combat is absolutely spot-on. As a very affectionate remake of the original game that was nonetheless unafraid to make fairly significant changes to the structure and gameplay to update it. On the whole, a roaring success, I think. It's its own beast, while retaining much of the mood and feel of the original game. My criticisms would be that the metagame is too linear and unexciting to hold much attraction on subsequent playthroughs (although it's compelling as all hell first time round, right up to the point where you run out of things to research) and that it could use maybe a few more mission types and more frequent special missions like the civilian-rescuing terror missions. That aside, I enjoyed it an awful lot. Shame the DLC direction they're going in is a pretty boring one.
  9. Mass Effect 3 - Yeah. Yeaaaaaah. I'm not going to say anything about the ending here, or about Kai Leng, or the rest of that shit. Suffice to say that the rest of the game was great and I was absorbed almost from start to finish (oh, god, that finish). Great multiplayer too, which held my attention long after I finished the storyline.
  10. Hotline Miami - A game I found truly disturbing. The entire aesthetic unsettled me, but I couldn't put it down - the high-speed bursts of ultraviolence and one-wrong-move-fucks-you-over gameplay grabbed me and wouldn't let go. And that music. That music.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Total War: Rome 2 - Creative Assembly building on what's gone before and apparently experimenting with new aspects for a Total War game. Very promising from all that's been shown so far.
  2. The Walking Dead Season 2 - We know nothing of this except that it's been greenlighted (ever since August, if I remember rightly). It might not even hit until 2014, we know that little about it. But I'll be there day 1 for this.
  3. Project Eternity - Fuck the South Park RPG, all the interesting Obsidian people are working on this. Being made with an eye to what worked and was compelling about old Infinity Engine RPGs, but the developers also seem unafraid to update things and implement new stuff that they think will work. It's also being made with a fuck of a lot more subtlety and nuance than basically any other fantasy setting in gaming has had given to it - nice to have people with Correct opinions making games for a change instead of proto-fascists.
  4. Thief 4 - I have a lot of faith in the studio after their involvement with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. More than anything I'm just holding on hope that it'll be an equally respectful update of the gameplay.

Hall of Shame

  1. Hitman: Absolution - Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
  2. The Spike TV Video Game Awards - For being a total farce and yet somehow the most 'respectable' awards show gaming has.
  3. Doritos and Games Journalism - The Doritos were the telling flashpoint, but games journalism as a whole is awful. Like, almost everyone involved with it. You're all awful. Except you, yes you, you're pretty good.
  4. Mac Walters and Casey Hudson - For being talent-starved hack megalomaniacs who think they're God's gift to games writing and storytelling.
  5. Spec Ops: The Line multiplayer - Tacked on by order of the publisher, by a separate developer, and completely at odds with the themes and tone of the main game. Yager were angry about the inclusion of multiplayer with their game and they were right to be.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Far Cry 3 - Climb a radio tower and look out on the entire island - anything you can see, you can go to, pretty much. No game's done that so well, I think. Better implementation than Skyrim for my money, and it looks better and runs better to boot.
  2. Assassin's Creed 3 - Utterly gorgeous stuff. Especially all the naval missions.
  3. Max Payne 3 - A lot of smoke-and-mirrors involved in making this game's environments totally convincing - it's purely linear so they can afford to pull all kinds of level-of-detail tricks on the expansive vistas that you won't actually get to visit (unlike Far Cry 3), but man. What a stunning looking game. Points docked for the ersatz 'still loading' messages not letting you skip cutscenes, though.
  4. Halo 4 - I no longer have access to a 360 to actually play this and pass comment on the game itself, but I've seen it running on a friend's and holy shit it looks good for the 360.

Best Online Experience

  1. Dota 2 - See above.
  2. Mass Effect 3 - Decided to try the multiplayer of this on a whim in the demo, after being thoroughly unimpressed by the singleplayer portion on offer. Turned out to be a very good addition to the game and not the complete cash-in waste of time I was expecting. In fact, with the amount of post-release support Bioware have given it, adding loads of content for precisely no charge whatsoever, it's arguably less of a cash-in than some of the singleplayer DLC for the game. ME3 made the combat fluid and satisfying and tactical, and the multiplayer accentuates that and plays with the best elements of it. Making it co-op only was definitely the right choice.
  3. The Secret World - MMORPG combat is as boring as ever in this game, but it does something no other online game has done in my experience. The investigation missions are perfectly pitched puzzle solving when done co-op with a friend, and the feeling of satisfaction from working out some of those solutions is just great.


Best Audio

  1. Hotline Miami - That soundtrack. That... soundtrack. My God. I was listening to Hydrogen by MOON for weeks after playing the game. Good gym music, in fact.
  2. Max Payne 3 - The guns sound like God having a coughing fit - in a good way - and the fact that the entire soundtrack was provided by HEALTH really made a difference. I hope more games go down that route in future - the mood provided by HEALTH's music was second to none, and not just when TEARS kicks in at that bit near the end.
  3. Spec Ops: The Line - Another great use of music, both licenced and original. The diegetic music in the game is perfectly-chosen and a great homage to the Vietnam films that influenced the writers, and the non-diegetic stuff works just as well. Fighting through a huge multi-level building with Mogwai's Glasgow Mega Snake blaring over the gunfire is a grim delight.


Most Surprising

  1. Spec Ops: The Line - Before I played this game, nothing I saw of it made me think it would be any good. 'Oh we're making a shooter inspired by Heart of Darkness', said the developers. The inspiration didn't seem to go beyond 'mad colonel sets up private fiefdom', and calling him 'Konrad' as the thinnest of thinly-veiled references. I didn't think it'd be worthwhile at all. Boy, was I wrong.
  2. Mass Effect 3 - For the multiplayer, specifically. The ending is a whole different kind of surprise.
  3. The Walking Dead - My first post in the game's thread on here should say it all. I expected Telltale to chuck out a cash-in licenced game again, trading on the name rather than actual quality. Just like with Spec Ops, I couldn't have been more wrong.


Best PC Game

  1. Dota 2
  2. Max Payne 3
  3. Crusader Kings 2
  4. Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai
  5. Hotline Miami

Best Download-only Game

  1. The Walking Dead
  2. FTL: Faster Than Light
  3. Hotline Miami


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Roblet

Roblet

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. The Walking Dead My GOTY choice even though I'm not exactly as loopy about it as some, and I just can't get alongside some of the more hyperbolic gushing in the Rllmuk thread. No, in my opinion it isn't perfect. For one thing, it could do with excising those vestigial adventure-game puzzles completely. Also, I just couldn't shake a certain disappointment in its lack of story divergence: events play out identically regardless of your choices to a degree that I often found deflating, up to and including the final episode, which was particularly disappointing seeing as they presumably wouldn't have had to worry about incorporating the various possible final game states into future episodes. And I think even the writing could be better: some of the dialogue clanks, the characters swear too much and unconvincingly, a couple of the dilemmas are contrived and artificial, and at least one scene that should have had a huge impact is spoiled by a bemusing lack of logic. I certainly don't think it's as well-written as, to take some completely random examples, Fallout: New Vegas, Portal, or Monkey Island 2. But its focus on dialogue, characters and relationships, and its unflinchingly bleak and brutal tone, still make it an experience of singular power. It feels new and groundbreaking: it is genuinely a piece of “interactive fiction”, in a much purer and more confident way than any other game that has come before (David Cage's clueless and vain efforts possibly excepted). Rough around the edges, but ultimately very successful and hugely exciting. More like this please.
  2. Max Payne 3 This was basically the slo-mo gun-porn game that I've wanted since the day I started playing games. It's a technical marvel that looks and plays unbelievably well on both Xbox and PC. Gunfights are dynamic and tactical and they look spectacular. It has physics and exit wounds and shit shattering and flying everywhere and Euphoria-powered death-throes. The plot is pathetic but irrelevant, and the game instead provides a dark, bizarre and surprisingly moving character study of a completely tragic and self-loathing man for whom being an indestructible badass is a black curse that has emptied him out but still won't let him die. And it has an impossibly good musical score that must have earned Health about a bajillion new fans this year, myself included.
  3. Xcom: Enemy Unknown An extremely well-designed game and one that is so murderously compulsive that it wrecked my life for an entire month, becoming in that short time my most-played game on Steam alongside Skyrim. I haven't played the original, but I can appreciate that streamlining has gone on, though most of it seems like the smart kind. Ironman modes and permadeath are something that I would like to see more of outside of their current indie-roguelike ghetto, and the Xcom is simply made to be experienced without the safety-net of multiple saves. The game uses a simple algorithm to create unique soldiers that, to me at least, had at least as much individuality and character as, say, the marines out of Aliens, and it broke my heart when I got them killed, just like it made me punch the air on the occasions when I managed to get my assault guy a medevac, rally the rest of the squad and still win the day with no casualties. It's not quite the game of the forever though: Normal mode is too easy and Classic mode is too hard, which I think is the principal reason why my playtime is ~100hrs instead of 200 or 300 and counting. Incorporate some fine-tuning into a full-fledged expansion, or even better a Vice City/New Vegas style standalone sequel, and the outside world will never see me again.
  4. Mass Effect 3 You know, I really don't think it was just the ending (though the ending was what made it a disaster rather than a disappointment). Mass Effect 3 feels weird for much of its length, for quite a few reasons. Shepard talks without me telling her what to say; the story has a nonsensical, focus-grouped emphasis on TAKING BACK EARTH that is rather at odds with the universe's past depiction of a cosmopolitan galactic civilization; the overarching storyline was straining at the seams in ME2, and in ME3 it just flies apart in a deadly shrapnel of illogic, contradiction and retcon. At their worst, these factors result in a slightly uncanny, body-snatchers feeling of wrongness, not at all helpful when the game should be paying off all those valued relationships and tough decisions from the first two instalments. But when things all come together (particularly during the Rannoch and Tuchanka arcs), the game is at least the equal of the heights of ME and ME2. And SHOCKING too: whereas the previous two games were pretty coy about killing, or allowing the player to kill, beloved characters, in ME3 all bets are decidedly off. In that respect at least, ME3 delivered on my expectations, and the story of my conflicted renegade became every bit the operatic bloodbath that I had hoped. Also, it did what not even TWD did, which was made me cry... but I'm not typing THAT up again, so those interested can read about it here: http://www.rllmukfor...30#entry8973741

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Dead State
  2. Double Fine Adventure
  3. Wasteland 2
  4. Metro: Last Light

Hall of Shame

  1. Mass Effect 3's ending I think everyone knows the score by now. I've typed and talked people's ears off in real life about this plenty already.
  2. Hitman: Absolution No, I haven't played it, but I've seen enough and read enough from 'mukkers that I know I don't want to.

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Max Payne 3 It's so polished it makes my eyes water, and the Xbox version is brilliant.
  2. Far Cry 3 See it. Go there.

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poppa_f

poppa_f

Posted
Posted

Gutted I didn't play Dark Souls in 2011, feels weird omitting it from my 2012 GotY list now, as probably my favourite game of all-time now, but I was a fool and left it a year after release to play it!

Game of the Year

  1. FTL Was completely addicted for a couple of weeks. Brutally difficult (I've only managed to complete it once on Normal, with the Kestrel), but all the better for it. Amazing how quickly you could go from having a perfect run, to complete disaster, in a matter of minutes. Personal low-lights: Forgetting to turn the O2 back on and whole crew dying, having a whole 4-man away team killed on a boarding action, because the enemy ship blew up from flame-damage, having the final boss almost killed, but then auto-losing as didn't realise how close he was to the base :facepalm:
  2. Mass Effect 3 Single-player campaign wasn't as fun as ME2, despite having better combat, but sections of the story were amazing (Thane's Cameo probably my fav). Multi-player was unexpectedly brilliant. I'd have a sunk a lot more hours in to this game if it wasn't for discovering Dark Souls
  3. Legend of Grimrock Was very late to the party on this (purchased at launch, but only started playing a week ago), but have already seen enough for it to make my GotY list. It's Dungeon Master, but with HD graphics, what more could you want?
  4. Dishonored The stealth element felt fiddly and frustrating in places, but once I'd settled in to a rhythm of "attempt stealth/mess it up/ah fuck it, kill them all", it was good fun. Blinking around one-shotting people with the insta-kills and adrenalin perk never grew old
  5. Candy Crush Saga Feels odd putting a casual game on this list, but I've been addicted to the Android version for the past couple of weeks and it really is an excellent little puzzle game; reminiscent of Clash of Heroes, in that it takes a "match 3" mechanic and riffs on it. Some levels are annoyingly grindy, but in most cases you can work out an optimum strategy, even if it then takes several attempts to successfully execute

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Dark Souls 2 please don't fuck it up, From
  2. Left4Dead 3 L4D #1 was the first game I played on 360 and one of my most-loved. Would love to get the old crew together for one last big job
  3. Bioshock Infinite I wasn't a huge fan of the original, but have read and seen enough to have high hopes for this
  4. Dragon Age 3 I was in the tiny minority that liked DA2. I think if they can combine the combat of #2 with the epic-ness of #1, then it could be pretty special
  5. Chaos Reborn The tablet market is crying out for a proper PvP A-sync turn-based-strategy game, hoping this can be the one

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ZOK

ZOK

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Far Cry 3
  2. Extreme Roadtrip 2

Those are the only ones worthy of note that I played this year. The only other one I can really remember is The Walking Dead, and that is more memorable to me because the hype about it in the thread made me expect something transcending the medium of games, rather than the fairly mediocre experience it actually is.

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smithstock

smithstock

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Borderlands 2 - Great co-op, fun characters and brilliant homages. Superb sequel that improved on everything in every way.
  2. Max Payne 3 - Polished, slick gameplay and shooting in slow motion never gets old. Online simulation speed change is also a thing of magnificence.
  3. Hotline Miami - Simple, brutal and based on the 80s. One of the best games I have played since Arkham City.
  4. The Walking Dead - Picked this up late, most overated franchise around but this experience is fantastic. Decisions made are genuinely gut wrenching and emotional.
  5. Black Ops 2 - Strange choice but a fair one, much like the gameplay. Gone are the overpowered killstreaks from previous games, in comes balance and refinement. Best online gameplay since CoD4, all skills no frills.
  6. Spelunky - Another one I came to late, deceptively simple and challenging. Alex Kidd meets Minecraft.
  7. Mark of the Ninja - Tenchu in 2D. Does what most stealth games now avoid, allows you to make smart choices and feel like a ninja in execution.
  8. Lego Batman 2 - Best Lego game in the franchise. Brilliant co-op, superb use and abuse of Superman and a hint at open world Lego games in future.
  9. Far Cry 3 - Take the best parts of Creed and Red Dead then set it in a jungle full of terrorists. Addictive gameplay loops mixed with island exploration = cool.
  10. Super Hexagon - Graphics? What graphics? Simple mechanics that should only be attempted by the brave in Willy Wonka's pocked sized swirling rainbow world.

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womblingfree

womblingfree

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. The Walking Dead - Got everything right that so many other games get completely wrong. Excellent script and excellent use of episodic, downloadable gaming. The game itself while mechanically simple drags you into its world like no other this year.
  2. Mass Effect 3 - The combat's sublime and it was great to see my Shep back in action. The ending was way better than Pyjamarama, which is one of my favourite games of all time.
  3. Xcom - Great to see this updated and available on console.
  4. Dragon's Dogma - This got so much right and had a sense of exploration you rarely get these days. I thought it totally perfected action rpg combat as well. Can't wait for a sequel.
  5. Journey - Stunning.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. The Last of us - If this can be Uncharted 2 with some real horror and without the buddy-buddy nonsense then it's a possible game of forever.
  2. GTAV - Didn't like the last one but can't wait to see how far they've come in the intervening years.
  3. The Last Guardian - Well we can dream.

Hall of Shame

  1. Resi 6 -Fucks sake Capcom.

Most Surprising

  1. The Walking Dead

Best PS3 Game

  1. Journey

Best Download-only Game

  1. The Walking Dead
  2. Journey

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Wiper

Wiper

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. To The Moon
  2. Virtue's Last Reward
  3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  4. Dishonored
  5. Gravity Rush
  6. Mark of the Ninja
  7. Spec Ops: The Line
  8. Far Cry 3
  9. FTL
  10. Resonance

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Shadowrun Returns - initially had Project Eternity here, then realised it's not out until 2014. So, this! Which probably won't be out next year anyway. But yes, this is the follow up to a game I loved, in a universe I enjoy, part of a theme (cyberpunk) I am enamoured with. Bit of a no-brainer, really.
  2. The Banner Saga - I love strategy RPGs. The artwork is gorgeous. I don't have strong feelings about vikings, but I am very happy to see an RPG choosing a relatively unusual setting.
  3. Star Command - on PC, obviously. I just hope it lives up to its promises.
  4. Thief 4 - there hasn't been a Thief game I've not enjoyed to date. Hopefully Squeenix's team will be able to maintain that track record.
  5. Wasteland 2 - a long way to go before I'll have full confidence in this, but the team and heritage give me some faith.

Hall of Shame

  1. Hitman: Absolution
  2. Games journalism scandals/Doritosgate etc.
  3. Blizzard
  4. Zone of the Enders HD
  5. Mass Effect 3

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Gravity Rush - a vast, vertical environment to explore freely; brilliantly thought out controls; a unique, gorgeous environment; lovely tilt-sensor-manoeuvrable comic-book cutscenes - and all on a handheld. It's quite the thing.
  2. Far Cry 3 - just an incredible level of fidelity. Gives even Crysis a run for its money, even as it recreates an entire archipelago. Quite the thing. Kept from the top spot by one thing - poor sound design. Horrible, reverb-filled menu sound effects compounded by the idiotic decision to have some in-game music (e.g. music in a night club) linked to the ambient game music sound option, so you can't get rid of the ambience-ruining music in the middle of the island, without also removing it from areas which should have music.
  3. Sleeping Dogs - shows just how much can be done with solid art direction and high quality textures. No game has done soaked neon environments quite so well. If they ever make a new Blade Runner game, this would be the engine I'd look to.
  4. Jet Set Radio HD - it may not look world-beating any more, but this is SEGA showing how to make the perfect HD port: crisp graphics, perfect performance, and controls tweaked for modern audiences (with options available to restore the original system for purists). Considering the awful ports other companies are so happy to put out, this was a real breath of fresh air.

Best Audio

  1. Spec Ops: The Line
  2. Jet Set Radio HD
  3. To The Moon


Most Surprising

  1. PS Vita - so much bad press, so many negative comments. I automatically wrote the machine off for 'having no games'. Then PS+ came around, and I thought I'd look into one. And discovered that, for a console of less than one year, it's packed to the gills with brilliant games. Its continuing sales freefall is a travesty.
  2. Spec Ops: The Line - expected nothing of it, until the day it came out. And then it turned out that Spec Ops really did have a story to tell (and wasn't a bad shooter, either)
  3. Jet Set Radio HD - simply the best HD remake I've yet come across. Updates the controls, looks as gorgeous as you remember, and is particularly amazing on Vita. Love.
  4. Binary Domain - yeah, a good year for third-person shooters. Cruelly overlooked, the branching narrative based on your performance in game is actually pretty entertaining, but the combat itself (and your absurd teammates) is the real star of the show. Fantastic little game.
  5. Sleeping Dogs - like Spec Ops, I completely ignored this up until release. I'm glad I looked into it at that point, as otherwise I'd have missed one of the prettiest, most satsifying sandbox games around.

Best PC Game

  1. To The Moon
  2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  3. Dishonored
  4. Spec Ops: The Line
  5. Far Cry 3

Best PS3 Game

  1. Dishonored
  2. Binary Domain
  3. Sleeping Dogs
  4. Tokyo Story
  5. Jet Set Radio HD

Best PS Vita Game - a note on this list; I've had the Vita for little under two months, and have spent most of that pumping time into Tactics Ogre (a PSP adaptation from 2011, so not relevant to the list). There are an absolute ton of games from this year I have yet to play, one of which I'm certain I'll love (Everybody's Golf), many about which I'm very hopeful (Persona 4 Portable, Disgaea 3, Shinobido 2...), but I can't put them in here until I've played them.

  1. Virtue's Last Reward
  2. Gravity Rush
  3. Wipeout 2048
  4. Jet Set Radio HD
  5. Velocity

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Dishonored
  2. Mark of the Ninja
  3. Binary Domain
  4. Sleeping Dogs
  5. Jet Set Radio HD

Best Download-only Game

  1. To The Moon
  2. Mark of the Ninja
  3. FTL
  4. Resonance
  5. The Walking Dead

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James Ape

James Ape

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Day Z Do mod's count? Awesome game, A Great take on survival horror, I don't think any game has created such tension when two strangers meet. It's created more memorable moments that any scripted game in recent memory. I wish i had more time to play it.
  2. Planetside 2 I think this will become a new battlefield for me when more of my friends start playing.
  3. Kerbal Space Program - Do alpha's count? A nice mix of Nuts&Bolts and a Maxis Sim game (hopefully)
  4. NFS: Most Wanted
  5. Dark Souls Prepare To Die Edition already played it on the PS3, and it's a joy to play again with a decent framerate

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Arma 3
  2. Simcity
  3. GTA V
  4. Day Z
  5. Kerbal Space Program

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RubberJohnny

RubberJohnny

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Hotline Miami - This was a real surprise. Excellent.
  2. MGS HD Collection - Peace Walker specifically. Worth the sticker price alone.
  3. Dishonoured - Solid mechanics, great level design, wonderful world and art design.
  4. Fez - Some of the best exploration in a game. Enjoyed it a lot, even though I got stuck before the end.
  5. Black Mesa - An amateur mod team made something that outdid most commercial efforts, although it helps they hand a fantastic template to work on.

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. GTA V - Lets see if they can fix the problems with IV and deliver a proper successor to San Andreas.
  2. Bioshock Infinite - I'm intrigued.
  3. Space Base - If it happens. Dwarf Fortress by the Idle Thumbs guys yeah!
  4. Europa - Incredibly impressive, considering it's made by one man.
  5. Clockwork Empires - Dwarf Fortress, but playable? Sign me up.

Hall of Shame

  1. PS Vita - can anything else take the #1 spot?
  2. Endless "why isn't next gen here yet" complaining - full of spurious bullshit. Another year of this will be hell.
  3. Mass Effect 3 - Awful Day 1 DLC of stuff cut from the game, plus forced multiplayer and the ending and general Bioware-not-at-their-best stuff make this a shoe-in for this list. Plus everything about the ending, including people asking for it to be changed, internet commentators shouting down anyone who didn't like it as someone who wanted it to get changed for spurious "just wanted a heroes journey" bullshit reasons and Bioware for conceding to both groups and making a changed happier ending that doesn't actually deal with the actual thematic complaints.
  4. Hitman: Absolution - Another unique franchise watered down into mediocre action shite.
  5. Contentless nostalgic kickstarters - A shame there hasn't been a high profile failure yet to set an example of what not to do.

I know nothing of how to evaluate music beyond what I like.

Best Audio

  1. Hotline Miami Fantastic
  2. Fez Lovely
  3. Jet Set Radio HD Collection Great

Most Surprising

  1. Kickstarter - who predicted this being a thing, taking off and being significant to the industry last year?
  2. The Return of Idle Thumbs - Videogames!
  3. Day Z - 2012s sort of Minecraft grassroots success story thing.

Best PC Game

  1. Hotline Miami
  2. Dishonoured
  3. Black Mesa
  4. Walking Dead
  5. Planetside 2

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Metal Gear HD Collection
  2. Fez

Best Download-only Game

  1. Hotline Miami
  2. Fez
  3. Mark of the Ninja
  4. Walking Dead - I haven't finished this yet, but it's pretty good.
  5. Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 - don't buy this, it'll get you too.

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The Fox

The Fox

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Dishonored
  2. The Walking Dead
  3. Journey
  4. Binary Domain
  5. Gravity Rush
  6. Halo 4
  7. Virtua Tennis 4 Vita
  8. Diablo III
  9. Sleeping Dogs
  10. Far Cry 3

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Bioshock Infinite
  2. The Last Of Us

Hall of Shame

  1. Dorito Gate
  2. Blizzard/Activision for Diablo III's 'Always Online' requirements, causing people to be unable to play their single-player game for hours on end due to server issues
  3. People using Kickstarter to get money for stuff they should be paying for themselves

Best Technical Achievement

  1. Halo 4

Best Audio

  1. Journey

Most Surprising

  1. The Walking Dead

Best PC Game

  1. Diablo III

Best PS3 Game

  1. Journey

Best PS Vita Game

  1. Gravity Rush

Best Xbox 360 Game

  1. Halo 4

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MrHendo

MrHendo

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Rocksmith - Not without its faults, but a fantastic way of getting me back into guitar playing and forcing me to break some old habits.
  2. Call of Duty : Black Ops II - A shame that so many people look down their noses on Call of Duty but it really is the best at what it does and after being disappointed with World at War and the last two Modern Warfare games, this is back to being my shooter of choice.
  3. Trials Evolution - It's Trials gone even crazier, what more do you need? Plus fantastic multiplayer.
  4. The Walking Dead - I've been playing on iOS so I haven't had any save bugs and it's been a brilliant experience so far, just need to do the last two episodes.
  5. Far Cry 3 - I'm barely in it to be fair, found about 3 of Jason's friends but I've spent most time doing side quests and hunting. A brilliant game and isn't completely different to Far Cry 2, though different enough.
  6. Rock Band Blitz - Took me a while to figure out what the hell I was doing but gave my massive Rock Band DLC collection a new lease of life.
  7. Binary Domain - Finished this last night, not perfect but lots of fun and sadly overlooked.
  8. The Darkness II - But not as overlooked as this one. I really enjoyed The Darkness II and never played the first one, bar the demo. I love the art style, reminds me of XIII.
  9. Knights of Pen & Paper - Played the shit out of this, mostly when I should've been working. A really interesting take on doing an RPG.
  10. Hero Academy - I haven't been back to it for a while as the games with friends dried up and the only person left just continually passed me my bottom but while it lasted it was up there with the best asynchronous games on iOS, of which there are many.

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The Bag

The Bag

Posted
Posted

Game of the Year

  1. Dragon's Dogma
  2. The Walking Dead
  3. Sleeping Dogs
  4. XCOM
  5. Dishonored
  6. Spec Ops: The Line
  7. Far Cry 3
  8. FTL
  9. Journey
  10. Mass Effect 3

Most Wanted Game of 2013

  1. Persona 5 I can dream dammit
  2. Last Guardian
  3. GTA V
  4. Simcity
  5. Mew-Genics

Hall of Shame

  1. Games Journalism
  2. The reaction to 'Tropes Against Women' and the offensive comments and inappropriate behaviour is just part of the fight game community crap. Too many gamers this year seem determined that games should be a bastion for socially retarded males and no one else.
  3. Bioware changing Mass Effect 3's ending. Yes, their ending sucked but have some authorial integrity and stick by your ending.
  4. Mass Effect 3's ending. What a load of crap, rushed and badly written.
  5. Assassin's Creed 3 just disappointing.

Best Online Experience

  1. Dragon's Dogma
  2. Journey

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