noiseredux vs.

Posted on Dec 29th 2013 at 04:04:31 PM by (noiseredux)
Posted under List

What a crazy year it was for me and gaming! After buying our house, I decided to scale back the obsessive Sega collecting, eventually branched out to PC gaming and found that the 3DS is my favorite portable in a long time. So with all this in mind, let's take a look at my Favorite Games of 2013:



1. XCOM: Enemy Within
Some of you (or at least one of you) might consider it lame to award an expansion for a 2012 game (Enemy Unknown) with my 2013 GOTY. But as my list is based solely on how much enjoyment I got out of 2013 releases, it would be an outright lie for me to not give Enemy Unknown this title. Moreover, Enemy Within is so much more than just some new maps and missions. It is an entirely new experience encompassing new maps, enemies, weapons, upgrades - and perhaps most import - mechanics. Indeed the additions of Bio- or Mecha- research for your own troops strips your squad of their earthly limitations while new human EXALT enemies pose a different kind of threat than EU had delivered. Add to this new covert missions and base defense missions which further add variety to even the sorts of missions you might encounter. Not to mention the addition of MELD which virtually turns the “slow and safe” approach to taking turns on its head and instead pushes you to march ahead with oftentimes poorly judged urgency. In a sense, calling Enemy Within “just an expansion” is doing it a huge injustice. It is far closer to an entirely new game built on EU’s engine than just a batch of DLC to expand upon the original, and I’d urge anyone who played Unknown to be sure they’ve experienced Within.




2. Bioshock Infinite
Now here’s a game that really took me by surprise. Bioshock Infinite was a game that I decided to play solely based on how pretty I thought it looked. And other than the prettiness of screenshots, I mostly went into it knowing nothing. A dozen hours later I walked away with an emotional experience on par with some of my favorite games of recent years like Shadow of the Colossus and Heavy Rain. Infinite is a staggeringly gorgeous game that incorporates various bits of history, theology, literature, architecture and much else as bits and pieces weaved together like a fever dream. That the FPS mechanics are so strong certainly propels everything else forward effortlessly. Add to this that the majority of the game is pretty much an escort mission, but one done so well that it begs the question “who was escorting who?”




3. Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
As an adult have you ever gone back to your elementary school’s playground? That’s pretty much A Link Between Worlds. For those of us in a certain age bracket, Link To The Past pretty much remains the pinnacle of gaming. It’s that 16-bit Hyrule that I know the best, because that was the last time I spent so much time exploring every last nook and cranny of a game world. I can vividly remember staying up to ridiculous hours every weekend as I made my way through A Link To The Past, spending hours on stupid things like archery mini-games and feeling like that world was so vast, it could never possibly end. The idea of a sequel to my favorite game of all time was certainly something I felt optimistically nervous about. But it’s within that first hour that it all comes rushing back - the overworld, the music, the weapons and faces both friend and foe. There’s so much familiarity and yet you know you’re playing an all new adventure. And though I haven’t beaten it yet (as I just got it for Christmas), I’m thrilled to be re-visiting my youth in such an exciting way.




4. Tomb Raider
Before the Crystal Dynamics ‘reboot’ of Tomb Raider, I considered myself a casual fan of the series. Starting with my exposure to the first game on PS1, I had always just cherry-picked certain games throughout the series to pay any attention to. Often I’d like the games. But that’s as far as it went. I liked them. They would keep me interested for a while. Then I’d move on to something else. But the 2013 Tomb Raider delivered to me the game that I had always wanted TR to be. It’s something bold, exciting and even a bit scary at times. From the opening hour of having Lara kill a deer to eat, to the next hour where she must kill a man to prevent her own demise, the game is a non-stop thrillride that kept my heart pumping and my eyes impressed by the ridiculously detailed environments. And while it was a prequel, Crystal Dynamics was able to successfully show us the heck that Lara had to go through before becoming the total badass she would soon become. Although by the end of the game she’s all guns-a-blazin’ she also spends a dozen or so hours looking like girl who just barely survives to the last reel of a slasher film. If any of you with even a passing interest in the franchise missed this one, go ahead and rectify that. Chances are you’ll end up looking further into the other Crystal Dynamics-developed titles in the series as well.




5. Shin Megami Tensei IV
When SMT IV was first released there was a lot of hubbub about it costing $10 more than most 3DS games. Yet one look at the wonderful artbook/strategy guide, soundtrack and box containing it all seemed to instantly justify the extra premium. In truth this was a game so awesome it demanded attention in a way that no puny 3DS game case could pull off. And in fairness that strategy guide really did come in handy! SMT IV was no joke. Sure, it offered up the option to drop its difficulty down to an easier setting - but this was only after you had been demeaned by Charon, the ferryman at the River Styx. While SMT IV was one of those RPG’s that just seemed to get everything right. The music, the animation, the settings, the demons, the conversations with the demons, the story, the difficulty, the morality, the weight of your decisions, and most importantly the ridiculously fun battle system.




6. Fire Emblem: Awakening
There’s something to be said for the ‘if it ain’t broke” philosophy of Awakening. Perhaps it’s because handheld consoles seem so inviting for retro throwbacks, but what makes this new Fire Emblem great is the minimal additions of unnecessary bells & whistles. Oh sure there’s a story, though the cut-scenes of footless squads are all skippable. Admittedly, they’re also really great and you probably won’t bother doing so. And sure there’s a deep as heck system of leveling your characters, pairing them up and even spawning babies to go on and kill for you. But at its heart Awakening does best what all the best Fire Emblem games do best - it offers you the ability to recruit soldiers, get attached to them, and then feel awful when you allow them murdered. While the game offers you a more casual mode of play where you’re troops aren’t permanently killed off after a battle, it’s the Classic Mode that makes this game so compelling. It’s the perfect portable strategy game. One where you might spend months on a single battle - picking it up and failing after 20 minutes, throwing the 3DS aside until your next small chunk of downtime.




7. Alien: Colonial Marines
Snicker if you want, but I’m just keeping it real. Although I am a fan of the Alien franchise, it was the overwhelmingly poor reviews of Colonial Marines that made this one a must-play for me. And while I expected a “so bad it’s good” experience, instead I just got a “hey this is a hell of a lot of fun” experience instead. There’s nothing ground-breaking here. In fact there’s really nothing exceptional. Although there are brief moments of almost-brilliance - hinting, I suppose, that a far better game was possible. But none of that ultimately matters. What matters with games - and any form of entertainment for that matter - is that it entertains you. And I can honestly say I was fully entertained for the whole of the single player campaign. And yeah, I’m looking forward to Alien: Isolation.




8. Sturmwind
The novelty of new games appearing on old consoles is always fun. But as is the nature of novelty, it can also soon wear off. What makes Sturmwind so special is that it’s not just a great shoot-em-up, it also pushes the Dreamcast to the absolute threshold of its capabilities and proves that to a certain degree this failed hardware from 1999 could still make brilliant 2D arcade games worthy of competing with the current generation. The appearance of Sturmwind is incredible - and viewed through the DC’s VGA output rivals any indie shmup released this year on more competent technology. The art-direction itself is fantastic, with brightly colored bullets, insanely detailed backgrounds, and memorable boss battles. Even the power-up system was an interesting take on an old formula. Add to this a bevy of extras from online leaderboards, to unlockable ‘achievements’ and even the capability to save replays to a 3rd party SD card adapter and you’ve got a serious argument that the true death-year of the Dreamcast is still anyone’s guess.




9. The Typing of the Dead: Overkill
Speaking of Sega hardware, if there was a Dreamcast 2 it would certainly be home to Typing of the Dead: Overkill. This was a pleasant surprise that popped up on the Steam Store on Halloween week. Much like how the original Typing of the Dead took House of the Dead 2 and mashed it up with a typing tutor, Overkill has HOTD: Overkill re-imagined via Mavis Beacon. The fact that Sega gave us a sequel to the cult-classic completely out of the blue is awesome enough, but the addition of online co-op and the stream of DLC that they’ve been releasing since October (some of it free, even) is an even better gift to longtime Sega fans. Next time you think that Sega is a horrible beast that is dead-set on destroying any lingering love you had for the Sonic series, try to remember that they’re all still a little crazy in an awesome way as made evident with TOTD: Overkill.




10. Castlevania: Mirror of Fate
Here’s one I was a little nervous about. The GBA and DS Castlevania games have had a long history of sticking to the 2D Symphony of the Night style, so hearing about a sequel to a 3D Castlevania game coming to a portable that’s pushing the angle of its 3D capabilities sounded like bad news. But what we got was a really cool 2.5D adventure that I think probably went fairly overlooked this year. The series had gone in a similar direction on the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood. However that was a true 2D classic that had been retrofitted into a 2.5D mold. As such, it suffered. Mirror of Fate fares far better. The controls are great, the level-structure is fun to explore and the boss battles are brutally punishing making for a challenging experience for series fanatics.


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Comments
 
Very nice list you've compiled here, Noise!  I'm completely with you on about half of them.  My main exceptions:

I own but have yet to put real time into XCom, SMT IV, (and soon Zelda: Link Between Worlds), so I can't rightly say about these yet, but it is safe to assume you're correct. Smiley )

I just couldn't get into Castlevania: Mirror of Fate.  I have both the 3DS and HD 360 version, and the pacing and clunky (IMO) controls just made it a slog I didn't enjoy.  (I did buy the soundtrack, the best part to me.)  Sad thing is, I'm very much a fan of the Castlevania series, and I did enjoy Lords of Shadow, despite it's issues.  Dunno, just didn't grab me like every other Castlevania game.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a game I enjoyed, and played through twice (one SP, one co-op) and while the MP was fun and I enjoyed the game overall much more than it got credit for, I can't honestly put it in my top list for the year.  Had fun with it though.

HOTD: OverKill (the Lightgun game) was the first in the series that was just too raunchy for me.  Until this game my beloved and I had played this series to undeath, but between the (admittedly humorous) constant swearing and OTT nonsense, we just lost interest in Overkill.  Don't know if the Typing variant is also too much.  We've played through the original Typing of the Dead on DC many times, though.

Games I totally agree about:

I was thrilled with how well the Tomb Raider reboot turned out.  It was a series I had all but written off, and I thoroughly enjoyed the new one this year.

As for Bioshock Infinite, I have immensely enjoyed every game in the Bioshock universe, and despite this last one not playing as well as Bioshock 2, everything else made it an excellent experience I played through twice (rare for me unless it's a co-op game.)

Sturmwind is in the running for GOTY in my book, and close to the best on the Dreamcast.  A true shmup fan/collector/DC retro gamer's gem, and I'm all of those!

Other favorite games this last year for me:

Dead Space 3
Popularly hated or outright dismissed, I know I'm in a minority over this one.  Yet I felt like I connected with exactly what the design team was doing with this, and as a fan of the trilogy I really liked where they took it.  The atmosphere, art style, concept, sound design, weapon customization, world and enemy design, everything just hit the right note for me and I felt it end-capped a series where each game had outstanding individual strengths.  Another game I completed both SP and co-op, and felt it was great both times. 

Etrian Odyssey IV
The best game yet in one of my favorite modern series.  Lotsa grindy fun, and it did a great job of refining the gameplay without losing the old-school charm and challenge the EO games are notorious for.

Puppeteer
Wow.  Just wow.  A real creative triumph, and a fascinating game design and art style.  Everyone should really look into this one.

Beyond: Two Souls
I didn't really know what to expect, but my beloved and I played through this like binge-watching a favorite TV show.  Some trouble spots, and oddly I loved one main ending and did not like another at all, but the experience was superb.  Beyond: Two Souls emotionally tugged at places few games ever touched, and we just stared at the screen for several minutes as the credits rolled, wrapped up in that 'wow' moment.

Ducktales Remastered 
Old-school redone right.  Way-Forward doesn't always hit, but when they do it's a home run, and here I thought they did almost everything right.  A real treat.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
The SMT games always interested me, I'm an old-school Saturn fan, I enjoy cyberpunk, and this game was never officially translated until now.  I was not in the least disappointed with this 3DS release, which stayed in my system while other great games sat on the shelf waiting impatiently.

Need for Speed: Rivals
I would not have expected this to get more playtime on our PS4 over Battlefield 4, but even not counting the many technical issues with BF4, Need for Speed: Rivals has become my favorite racer since Burnout3: Takedown.  It's not perfect by a longshot, but man is it ever fun to play.  Anecdotally, playing this while doing my daily six miles on the stationary bike, I suddenly started shaving upwards of seven minutes off my best time, attesting to how much I was getting into the races.  Proof that you don't have to have a perfect game to have a great time.

So, those are my favorites for the year.  Thanks for the excellent article again, Noise!


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