Best/Worst games of 2013

[Cold_Mac]

Topic says it all - what was your most enjoyable gaming experience of 2013...and what game did you hate playing? List only games you've bought.

Lets talk about DLC's too, as they are very much a part of the industry with varying qualities & prices.

Oh, and merry christmas to everyone.

[Inhuman One]

I liked GTA V and Injustice: Gods amongst us.

Very much disappointed in Rome 2 total war. Only played it 56 hours since release. For a total war game thats very little, havent touched it anymore since 14 november.
Kind of waiting for mods to bring some immersion to the game because theres none provided by CA.

GTA V is definatly the best GTA game so far. Up to san andreas they didnt have a game engine yet that could truly handle what they wanted to do, and liberty city was a bit grey and dull. Didnt like Niko much either.
So its great to have a GTA in a nicer setting with much more variation in weapons, vehicles and landscape.

Injustice is a game I didnt really look forward to or even knew much about untill it was out. But I really like what they did with the superheroes, its a great game and it truly is well made. Theres so many details in the levels, each character having a unique intro and outro, as well as playing very different. And I am really not that much a fan of superheroes.

[.Mitch.]

Best Overall Game: Arma 3
Endless modding. Unparalleled graphics. The most immersive MP experience I've ever had. HUGE scope. Great TWC community to play with.

Biggest Turnaround: Rome 2: Total War
I was a solid member of the disappointed group to start with. Mods and patches have now made it my #2 most played game. 4 months down the line it feels like an amazing game to sink hours into.

Biggest disappointment: X-Rebirth
Promised everything I'd ever want out of a 4X game, delivered none of it. One of the buggiest game I've ever played. Rotten to the core un-fixable gameplay.

My top #5 of 2013:
1) Arma 3
2) Rome 2
3) GTA 5
4) Crysis 3
5) Farcry 3 Blood Dragon

[The Despondent Mind]

X-Rebirth and RTW2 hands down biggest failures .


I like Arkham Origins and Injustice , AC IV looks way more fun then the other games in the series .

Ghosts disappointed me slightly , I really thought there would be " change" .

Crysis 3 is ok .

I rarely play new games so I can't say much so far .

[Nemesis_Maximus]

Hey there and Merry Christmas!!!

My best game of 2013: State of Decay. Its buggy, glitchy, but it has atmosphere, its "something different", and on top of that its a indie game. I never really buy indie games, but this could easily have been sold as a triple AAA title.

My biggest disappointments:

I was so stoked in September. I had Rome 2 and GTA5 coming out, so looking forward to it. (I should have got EU4 instead)

GTA5: Definitely my biggest disappointment. Yes it is a good game, it has a fantastic story and is very well put together. Then again it does not have a proper atmosphere. The world is vast, beautifully created, but at the same time (for me) the free roam bit of the game is just dull. The trailers never lied about the game, but there was a lot of things that are said in the trailers which gave the impression of something different than what we got. The game does not have mini games and proper interaction mini games like the earlier ones. To me it seems like the game is made by really talented graphic designers, not game designers.

The ambivalence of the game also shows that making a game like GTA needs a proper focus. GTA5 gives me the impression that nobody really knew if they should prioritize online or single player, hence the beautiful shallowness of it all.

On top of all that the soundtrack blows for the most part. Kenny Loggins? Really?

Rome 2: Was a disappointment, but not even close to GTA5.

[Ciciro]

Best Game:EU IV

Worst Game:Ride to Hell

[TheDarkKnight]

GTA V
Assassin's Creed IV (if only for the pure enjoyment it provides)
Bioshock Infinite (Haven't beaten it...not even close..but damn is it fun)

[leviath]

Best game : War Thunder definitely. I've spent hundred of hours in this game and still want to play it hours daily which for me is very very very rare.
EU IV is also great and I'm waiting for the random america DLC.
AC IV is also surprisingly good once you forget that there is Assassin's Creed written over the box. Still not finished because of University but I enjoyed the first 6 sequences.

Worst game : Rome 2 was not such of a disappointment, the failure of the release made the modders even more motivated so we can expect great things coming in the year to come. World of Warplanes was a huge disappointment, 0 stars is already a too good rating for this crappy messy game.

[brandbll]

Best game : War Thunder definitely. I've spent hundred of hours in this game and still want to play it hours daily which for me is very very very rare.
EU IV is also great and I'm waiting for the random america DLC.
AC IV is also surprisingly good once you forget that there is Assassin's Creed written over the box. Still not finished because of University but I enjoyed the first 6 sequences.

Worst game : Rome 2 was not such of a disappointment, the failure of the release made the modders even more motivated so we can expect great things coming in the year to come. World of Warplanes was a huge disappointment, 0 stars is already a too good rating for this crappy messy game.

How can World of Warplanes be the biggest disappointment? I get that it is absolute garbage but come on, it's free...

[leviath]

Well I usually play games that I'm sure I will enjoy so it's hard to be disappointed. World of Warplanes promised me hours of fun, but it was just terribad. The fact that this is free doesn't make it less disappointing, something is disappointing when it doesn't meet your expectations which it's the case of WoWp.

[The Despondent Mind]

Company of Heroes 2 isn't disappointing but to meh , you get one faction and winter mechanic , other then that it feels like I'm playing a big dlc nothing else .

People also seem disappointment in Dead Space 3 , so far from the footage I've seen it seems barely different from the first one .
Most of these rants consists of it turned from a horror game to a survival shooter . So ?

First of all the first game isn't scary , second of all how can you be scarred if you played the two previous games , the developers would have to figure out a completely different setting and game each time to get you scarred . And third , if you play with the same character in the all three games it would seem rather stupid that he is completely surprised and unprepared every time the monsters attack a ship his inside . It would make sense that he turned into a sort of specialized necromorph exterminator .

[IZob]

Best games of 2013? Well idk about that. But of the new games I have played in 2013 I can give you my opinions.

• EU4: Disappointing. Although it is still a really good game (in MP). I really expected much more, especially from the solid base EU3 provided. Future expansions will hopefully re-energize this game.
• EVE Online: Disappointing, but then at times, very engaging. The videos and images advertised about the game are mostly fake or CGI crap. The reality is much more shallow. But PVP and working with friends makes it worth while. The huge player population is unique and the constant continuity of the game is addictive.
• Rome Totalwar 2: Enjoyable, Nostalgic. I've only recently begun to play the game so I avoided the hugely unfair prices and under-performing game/gameplay. But it has areas that it could improve on still, like battle mechanics. And faction DLC is very repulsive.
• Kerbal Space Program: Very challenging, to a point that it can get frustrating. Also very satisfying when everything goes to plan. So it's worth getting.
• Planetary Annihilation: Somewhat disappoint. First impressions were not impressive. I haven't played a lot of the game since.

[Aanker]

1. Kerbal Space Program
There's not much to say, KSP has only been getting better - especially with the new Career Mode - and with the developers' sights on multiplayer, I expect it to remain a cornerstone of my games library in the future. It is challenging without ever feeling unfair (it can't be! Any errors are always your fault!), an achievement few games can match.

2. War Thunder
What a blast! The variation in modes, planes and battle types yielded a strong contender for the best game of 2013 - but alas - War Thunder will have to settle for an entirely admirable second place. There are still pretty major imbalances in terms of tiering and economy, as well as a few (still) broken flight models, but overall this game keeps you coming back, even after a series of miserable outcomes.

3. Bioshock Infinite
Only placed 3rd by virtue of less accumulated playing time and sometimes somewhat repetitive gameplay, Bioshock Infinite offered the strongest and most clever plot of the year. One of a precious few games whose story also has a theme.

(That's my top three, I haven't really made any disappointing purchases this year because Iwaited for the reviews and general opinions before buying or not )

[Musthavename]

It's funny. I actually can't think of that many games I've been that occupied with playing this year. Most of the games I have been pre-occupied playing have all been on portable systems (as I've bought both a Vita and a 3DS this year), or were games that I've missed from previous years. Note that a couple of my "favourites" were Euro 2013 releases and were released last year in other regions.

- Persona 4 Golden: Loved the original and the improvements made a fantastic game even better.
- Europa Universalis IV: I was incredibly disappointed by this on release, but the game has grown on me, and the content coming up in the new year is looking great.
- Fire Emblem Awakening: I've never got into a Fire Emblem game before, but this was a great game.
- Civilization V: Brave New World: A fantastic expansion pack, which really rounds of Civ V as a great strategy game. The vanilla game was lacking severely in all non-combat areas, but having played a game of Civ IV recently, it's now a better game than it's predecessor.

As for disappointments, the only one I'd put up there would be Bioshock Infinite. It's not a bad game by a long margin, but the story takes a nonsensical nose dive half way through into a collection of paradoxes and the shooting gameplay is mediocre at best.

There's a few games this year that I've had to hold out judgement for, for only getting them yesterday. Namely the new 3DS Zelda (A Link Between Worlds), Gran Turismo 6 and The Last of Us.

[Cold_Mac]

Far Cry 3 wasn't released in 2013, was it? I'll make it 3 personal choces for each.

Favourites:
1. Shadow Warrior
I loved the hell out of thisgame. Direct, quick FPS with genuine level design (does anyone under 30 remembers hidden areas...?) and notable difference between the weapons. The katana steals the show and is better handled than in Chivalry: DW. Story feels like a good 80's flick, too. With its low sell numbers & critic ratings its destined for a Dredd 3D-cult status. Nothing special but, along Nr. 2, miles better than any other FPS I've played.

2. Metro: Last Light
Short, but awesome. The best graphical displays of a rotting post-apocalyptic scenery, mixed with engrossing atmosphere and surprisingly original monsters. Has its scary moments, too.

3. Stanley Parable
Not much of a game but captivating and original.

The in-betweeners: Not bad, but certainly not convincing too.
Rome II, Batman: Arkham Origins & Bioshock: Infinite have all good points and are worthy purchases when on sale - while inevitably going down the route 08/15 (Origins)/were let down by extrordinary buggy releases (Rome II)/are very limited in terms of gameplay and interaction (Bioshock: Infinite)

Disappointments:
The Wolve among Us
Caught me on surprise. Telltale did a magnificient job in The Walking Dead and it seemed plausible to get into another of their interesting adventures with moral-choice focus. Its just not that. It might be, but after 2 hours of insipid play-time full of grimly! grimlier!!-grimliest!!!-characters I ditched it.

Tomb Raider
After the raving reviews of Angry Joe & others, I purchased this and, admittedly, the first two hours are great. You feel vulnerable, you feel insecure - you don't know what to do and where to go. Once this has passed however, you stroll through it like going on a walk. You'll find tons of ammunition, its impossible to jump to your death and the quick-time events are just happening way too often. Still a nice story, though.

As for DLC's ....
Best: Mass Effect 3 Citadel
For all the outrageous criticism at ME 3 & its ending, this was a much more rewarding here's to you, Shepard!-feeling. Good dialogue, surprisingly well done plot & antagonist adding worthy 20 hours to the gameplay. This wasn't for the ME2 hipsters, this was for anybody that played ME 1 and have a better good-bye to the veteran-friends than previously.

Worst: Skyrim Dragonborn
I don't know why I bought this. Expected improvements in almost all areas - especially when only mods made the vanilla game remotly interesting as gameplay, immersion and plots prior to Dawnguard were copy/past level. You can butcher the whole Battle-Born clan during a quest; and the patriarch talks to you like to a stranger?
What we got was rieklings and the same deus ex machina spiritual world that deals with every major quest in Skyrim. It seems impossible to have the default world change in-game.... so lets do all the interesting stuff in a linear, annoying soul cairn/oblivion plane. Dawnguard at least had additional weapons, a good two-sided plot with the most immersive part of all of Skyrim - the Snow-Elfs and their chantry of Auri-El. They showed they are able to make it interesting....Rant over.

[Manco]

Honestly, looking back at the past year, this was a pretty uneventful one.

Bio Inf, BF4, Metro LL, EUIV, R2TW,COH2, SR4... none of them really bad, but none of them made me go WOW. Half of them even became a chore to play through, which resulted in me cutting down gaming time pretty drastically this year.


Add a few disasters like Simcity 4 and the new X game, and my final judgement is... meh.

[Cold_Mac]

Still better than 2012 - Mass Effect 3, the action railroad Resident Evil games, the two Game of Thrones abominations, Risen 2....

Well, we've had the apparently gobsmacking GTA V, basically everyone went AWOL for weeks, with the sad pc-gamer masterrace excluded. Its time to steal the PS3 from my girlfriend.

By the by - what aspects did you dislike in Metro LL?

[Arbitrary Crusader]

Worst Game:Ride to Hell

You actually brought it?

[Cold_Mac]

There was immediate reaction to the awful quality of Ride to Hell. On a lot of "worst game of all time"-lists.

Unlikely anybody could have been duped by it.

[Aanker]

Well, if you don't ever play bad games, you'll never know what a bad game is.

Same thing with movies really.