EoFF Gaming List- 2013

[Hollycat]

What are your top 5 favorite and most disappointing games that came out this year?
EoFF wants to know!
Feel free to add new categories as you please.
Got a top 10 funniest games list? Post it!
Got a top 5 scariest games list? Post it!

HC's Top 5 Best Games of 2013:

1. The Last of Us- Terrific gameplay, Beautiful settings, and an ending that will twist your soul, The Last of Us is my Game of the Year. I came into it expecting Uncharted, and I left with a much better game, and a much deeper story than Uncharted has ever had.

2. Assassins Creed 4- To be blunt, the story is barely better than Revalations and 3, but the gameplay is far more satisfying than it has ever been in Assassin's Creed. The naval battles are great fun, if a little underwhelming, and the monetary system and shipping missions finally have a point other than increasing your wealth. No regret on this purchase.

3. Grand Theft Auto 5- I don't feel any need to justify this game. It's hd GTA, with a free online system, enough said.

4. Guacamelee- I bought this simply because I was bored and ended up playing it to completion without ever switching to another game. Despite the rather bland enemies, the deep gameplay and odd humor of this game make it one of the best indies to come out in years.

5. Rayman Legends- The only reason this game isn't higher on the list is because I don't like the murphy missions. A beautiful game that proves platforming isn't dead, Rayman Legends should be in everyone's library. The musical levels are a treat.



HC's Top 5 most disappointing games of 2013:

1. Remember me- Beautiful graphics can't compensate for extremely linear gameplay that tries, and completely fails, to capture the combat from the Arkham series. Plagued also by a bland story and a non interactive world, Remember me will soon be forgot.

2. Dynasty Warriors 8- From the gameplay to the graphics to the level design, Dynasty Warriors 8 adds absolutely nothing to the series beyond DW7.

3. Ratchet and Clank, Full Frontal Assault- A very short, and very repetitive entry into the Ratchet and Clank series. The Vita version is nigh unplayable. The only good thing about this game is that early adopters were given a free copy of deadlocked HD

4. Contrast- An interesting puzzle concept that fails to live up to the expectations. Short, repetitive, and with bland puzzles. Contrast wont leave an imprint on your mind. At least it's free right?

5. Dead Island Riptide- If it weren't for slightly better textures and a few new weapons, DIR would be next to DW8 on this list, for it adds nothing to the franchise that couldn't have been accomplished by a story DLC.

[Loony BoB]

1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - I... I think it's the only game I purchased this year. xD

EDIT: Oh, wait, Tomb Raider. Did XIII-2 come out this year or last? Geez, it all seems like distant memories. Either way, yeah, those games were pretty crackin'. I can't justify making a list, though.

[Hollycat]

1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - I... I think it's the only game I purchased this year. xD

EDIT: Oh, wait, Tomb Raider. Did XIII-2 come out this year or last? Geez, it all seems like distant memories. Either way, yeah, those games were pretty crackin'. I can't justify making a list, though.

Seems like a pretty solid list to me.

[Del Murder]

I only played a couple of games that actually came out this year. Here they are:

1. The Last of Us - Pretty amazing, almost perfect, game. Visuals were among the best I have ever seen. I am very excited to see what Naughty Dog does with the PS4 hardware.

2. Pokemon Y - Probably the best pokemon game ever, even better than the untouchable Gold/Silver entries.

3. Fire Emblem: Awakening - This is a great tactical RPG with a lot of depth to it. I still haven't finished it since with all the side quests and leveling the game is pretty massive, but it's been awesome so far.

4. Duck Tales Remastered - Play this if you liked the original Duck Tales game for nostalgia, or if you like some old school platforming. It was fun though not a lot to it.

5. The Walking Dead: 400 Days - I didn't really like this expansion. I know it was just DLC, but I was expecting more. I did like all the connections between the stories though.

[Spuuky]

2. Dynasty Warriors 8- From the gameplay to the graphics to the level design, Dynasty Warriors 8 adds absolutely nothing to the series beyond DW7.

Pretty much couldn't agree with this less. Even if you don't like the actual mechanical changes like the weapon affinities and storm rushes and things, being able to play multiplayer in the actual campaign is a massive upgrade.

[Elskidor]

2. Dynasty Warriors 8- From the gameplay to the graphics to the level design, Dynasty Warriors 8 adds absolutely nothing to the series beyond DW7.

Pretty much couldn't agree with this less. Even if you don't like the actual mechanical changes like the weapon affinities and storm rushes and things, being able to play multiplayer in the actual campaign is a massive upgrade.

Oh, I forgot about this series. Where would you rank it compared to DW3? Or DW4 for some? I really loved the series around the time 3 and 4 came out, but 5 bored me, 6 wasn't much different and 7 was the same old same old.

[Spuuky]

Oh, I forgot about this series. Where would you rank it compared to DW3? Or DW4 for some? I really loved the series around the time 3 and 4 came out, but 5 bored me, 6 wasn't much different and 7 was the same old same old.

I think DW8 is the best game in the series overall at this point. The older games have so many draw distance issues and things like that, and the more modern games that aren't 8 have flaws that are hard to forgive.

[Hollycat]

2. Dynasty Warriors 8- From the gameplay to the graphics to the level design, Dynasty Warriors 8 adds absolutely nothing to the series beyond DW7.

Pretty much couldn't agree with this less. Even if you don't like the actual mechanical changes like the weapon affinities and storm rushes and things, being able to play multiplayer in the actual campaign is a massive upgrade.

Weapon Affinities have been around for a long time, and Story multiplayer has been around since at least the 4th game.

[Elskidor]

As an old DW fan I'll just have to try it out to see for myself.

[Spuuky]

Weapon Affinities have been around for a long time, and Story multiplayer has been around since at least the 4th game.

Story multiplayer wasn't in DW7, in any form. Weapon affinities function completely differently in previous games than they do in DW8. They have literally nothing in common with previous version of weapon affinities.

[Ayen]

I haven't played any games that came out this year. The Last of Us is on my list of games to get if and when I get my hands on a PS3. I was going to say Game Dev Tycoon but that came out in 2012. You lot are making me feel old.

[NeoCracker]

The only games I need to play before I can make a difinitive list is Red Shirt, 99 Spirits, and Long Live the Queen, though I guess I can always retro-actively edit my list. I have some free time to write my descriptions anyway.

[Bolivar]

Zelda just came out days ago! I need a few days to at least get my bearings on some rankings. I'm kinda glad Hypo jumped the gun on Neo since this might be the first year I don't have 10...

[NeoCracker]

This year sees me 28! Not counting games I played for the first time this year from previous years (Working on a thread now for that soon. ), or the three I haven't bought yet (Waiting for Steam Sale on 99 Spirits, Avadon 2 (I'll play the first one first), and Redshirt). So I'll probably edit in the other three later.

Anyway, my actual list!

28. Time And Eternity
Oh god, this is one of the worst games I have ever played in my life. I mean holy trout. Camera is terrible, Dialogue is both clique and horribly unwitty, and combat that is dull as smurf. I feel the low reviews this game got were to generous.
27. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
The game had some this going for it, but in the end it failed to deliver on all fronts. The combat, while servicable, become more of a chore to overcome it's god aweful AI then overcoming your opponents. That said it's not really challanging at all. The characters are running almost entirely on the fact the game is charming, though past that it's pretty dull.
26. Sonic: Lost Worlds
You know, I shouldn't be surprised this game sucked, but I expected at least a little more. I would go into more detail, but I'm pretty sure everyones heard of how bad this is by now. The only thing saving it from being lower then Ni No Kuni is that the sidescrolling sections were actually pretty fun.
25. Killzone: Shadow Fall
Welp, it's Killzone alright. You like Killzone and FPS's? Then this is your thing. I was never to into either of those things, but picked this up anyway just to give it a shot. My opinion on Killzone really shouldn't matter to you if you like this style of game anyway.
24. Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
...Well, this game is pretty damn stupid. It's a game that had potential, which is pretty obvious given is Shin Megami behind it. However there are problems with this game that became to bothersome to continue. The Negotiations with Demons doesn't really feel like you are dealing with strange and abnormal creatures, it's just random and mood breaking. Keeping your demon party happy by using the attacks they want to, or they will leave, is a terrible Idea, and the alternative of boozing them up is just time wasting micro-managment I want no part of. Throw in my dislike of the tunnel vision dungeon crawling and I have nothing in this game for me.
23. contrast
It's pretty and a great Idea. It's held back by a bit of a disjointed narrative and extremely simple puzzles that don't challange, kind of a deal breaker for a puzzlegame.
22. Fire Emblem: Awakening
You know, I should like this game. It's well made, characters are good, and there aren't any problems mechanically. it comes down to the combat system itself just feels boring to me, and considering the time span of an SRPG's battles, this becomes nothing short of agonizing.
21. Guided Fate Paradox
This game was great for the first couple hours. Though the main plot is dull and uninteresting, the first story arc is absolutely wonderful. The writing is in rapid decline after that, however, with the same few running jokes dominating the dialogue. Everything the succubus says is blatantly sexual, the one Angel has a long list of second names that are senseless, ect.

It get's grindy as hell, which isn't bad, but the combat is only pretty decent, and the game pretty easy. So when you do any kind of grinding, in no time at all the game becomes insanely repetitive. Only play this if you are hard core into grinding, and even then I suggest waiting for a price drop.
20. Killer is Dead
I really wish this game had more to it. It tried to add subweapons to shake the usual gameplay, but they are so circumstantial in use they won't see much screen time. And with a lack of dodge mechanic, the combat becomes the most repetitive of Grasshoppers games yet. Also compared to others, this game just doesn't have the style and flare Suda usually brings, which may be explained by him not being the director this time, and only writer.

Still though, it is a unique experience, and there are a lot of gold moments
in the story.

...Oh, and there are missions where you stare at a chicks boobs for five minutes
and you get sex and weapons. Yeah, if anyone knows me, you know I think a lot of the times people call sexist I think they are being silly, but yeah. These
bits of the game are pretty smurfing sexist. It feels massively uncomfortable
just playing those segments.
19. Anarchy Reigns
Well, gameplay is slightly improved over Mad World, so nothing great but stylish
and smooth running. Nothing special, but serviceable. Story isn't bad either.Only
real negative is it's pretty short, and the multi-player isn't really good enough
to make up for lack of story. Still though, pleasant enough.
18. Knack
It's good. Not amazing, but a fun story with good characters. Pretty good platforming, though like the last entry nothing special, just the devs showing off
the amount of on screen crap. Nothing to get over hyped about, but a decent
start to the system none the less.
17. Resogun
...It's a bitchin' version of Gradius. Enough said.
16. Remember Me
Even if Remember Me doesn't live up to the promise it has, I think people give it a bit to much crap. The characters are very well written, and the combo lab is fun to use, even if you quickly get to a point the combos you use never change. And the environments and atmosphere are wonderful, and the remixing segmens very fun, just limited in number.
Rarely is there a game this in need of a sequel, so it could have the chance to fully realize are the potential it has.
15. Batman: Arkham Origins
It's a less interesting Arkham City. That's it. Really sad the just used the
Joker as the main Villain as I feel he has been the driving force of the
Arkham games to much. Batman has other villains guys.
14. Saints Row 4
Given a bit of time, I retract my statement that I might enjoy it more then Saints Row 2. While it had wonderful moments, the writing of the games peaked with 2, and that was one of the games biggest draws for me is a GTA game in which I could, in this really bizarre way, take the plot seriously. Still, running around with super powers is fun as hell, and it's a great ride to just enjoy for all it's ridiculous splendor.
13. Dragons Crown
A bit over ratted, but still a great Side scrolling beat em up. The PC's lack
the usual charm of Vannilawares aesthetics, but the environments and monsters aren't to far off. Those all look great. Combat is smooth and fun, and there are plenty of customization options that are a blast. Best played with friends.
12. Dynasty Warriors 8
Well, it's Dynasty Warriors. Don't really know what else to tell you. Minor
changes to combat, though a big change to weapon affinities, but it's not a
title that will sway you on the series. You enjoy DW? Well that's what you
are getting.
11. Kingdom Hearts 1.5
...Okay, this is happening to much on this list. It's Kingdom Hearts. You
all know Kingdom Hearts. It's that. And it's wonderful for it.
10. Sweet Fuse: At Your Side
I did not expect the game to be this good. As a Visual Novel, it's pertty much guided soley one element, how good the story and characters are. And Asside from the additional character you meet the second play through, it's great. I like the different characters, though have only seen two endings, each ending corresponds with the different characters you can build a relationship with (Not always Romantic I hope, that would make a couple of them really awkward.)

9. Sly Cooper: Theives in Time
I was happy this game was fun now. I worried now that Sucker PUnch no longer
manned the helm, though the new guys showed them up. This is the best Sly cooper game to date. Collecting things has been fun as ever, the added mechanics and toys are great, as is playing as members of the COoper Clan from different periods of history. Simply put it didn't really add anything too new to the formula, but it did everything better.

8. Penny Arcades On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 4
Most of you probably know penny arcade by now, and if you like there humor these games are up your alley. You are basically collecting various creatures that have come up in PA to use in a battle, attempting to create a new world after the last one was rather destroyed in 3. There are a fixed number of encounters, which I didn't like, but the game is challanging and forces you to think in order to progress the fights. It has some clear stables of Zyboid games in their combat, so if you enjoyed Breath of Death VII or Cthullu Saves the World, You'll probably get a great time out of this like I did.
7. Beyond: Two Souls
Easily the best writing Quantim Dreams has done yet. Ellen Paige absolutely
kills her role in this game, as does Willem Dafoe. True, there isn't really
a way to lose this game. You are basically going through an interactive movie,
though there is something to seeing how the minor things you effect play out,
and there's something to know that any death along the way or any injuries Jody faces are pretty much on you. So you may not be able to lose, but there still feels as if there is some weight to the mistakes you make.

Also the sections you control Aiden are freaking awesome.
6. Rune Factory 4
Pretty much a step back from RF 3, but still a good game in it's own right. A lot
of well written characters, smooth and fun, though simplistic, Action RPG combat, and a solid enough farming aspect. Just don't expect 3 quality writing and you'll walk away happy.
5. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
GOD DAMMIT AGAIN! Alright, It's a lot like Link to the Past. Like that game? THis one is great. The only thing to mention Mechanically is that renting your items is pretty smurfing stupid. Now where this games shines is the story, oddly enough. It doesn't really shine until the end, but the games Villains and plan are actually pretty damn unique to the Zelda series, though since it's all at the end I wont' spoil it here. Game is fun enough you don't need to worry about getting bored waiting for it. I will say the boss's are to easy though, but a lot of the puzzles are fun and do require some thought and creativity.
4. Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker HD
...Okay I swear, the rest of the games on this list I can actually say something
about that is not redundant. It's Windwaker but prettier. Nothing about this game will change your opinion on Windwaker though.
3. Project X Zone
This game wins out over so many for being insanely awesome. Really, that is all.
I've got Megaman, Kos-Mos, Heihachi Mishima, some character from a game based off Bruce Willis, Ken and Ryu, Dante, and smurfing Arthur from Ghosts and Goblins all kicking ass.

Oh, and VIle from Megaman, through shenanagins of the 'FeyDoom' creating some dimension attracting spirits full of hate, WILLS HIMSELF BACK INTO EXISTENCE THROUGH SPITE! That is smurfing hard core.
2. Shin Megami Tensai IV
This game is the trout. Best RPG combat to be had on the 3DS, and stands to be the biggest reason to own the system. There are a lot of ways to play by controlling your leads stats and abilities and recruiting a variety of Demons along the way, and in negotiation that truly puts SOul Hackers to shame. Also there are some pretty damn hilarious meta-jokes to be had, like one demon going on a rant about Jack Frost's popularity.

The only real complaint is the game does not give you trout for directions, and it
is ridiculously easy to get lost finding out where you actually need to go. While this can get frustrating, it's worth sticking around to see all the fun twists, great combat, and different endings.
1. Last of Us
This was a pretty easy game to see coming as my number one pick of the year. The games story, atmosphere, and characters have been praised to death both here and anywhere on the internet that discusses games, and for good reason. Now, I have some problems with it that prevent me from rating as high as others, such as a few to many moments were the games AI just goes insanely dumb (Not a lot, but just enough notice it), enemies not reacting to seeing Ellie when she is right in front of them (I KNow why this was done, but it doesn't make it any less silly when you see it), and the ending feeling a bit rushed and sloppily put together (Even if the ending itself was still pretty damn good.)

I won't go on more about it, since again you've heard it all before I'm sure, but
that was my favorite game to play this year.

[Pike]

My favorite game that came out this year is Europa Universalis 4 because it took everything that EU3 did and made it better.

My second favorite game that came out this year was Pokemon X/Y because I haven't had that much fun with a Pokemon game in like ten years.

Did I play any other new games this year? Can't recall. I think I spent most of the year playing Morrowind, Deus Ex (both the original and HR) and Fallout. I'll get back to you guys.