The year could end right now and we could already declare 2013 one of gaming’s greatest years. Have we ever had a first-haf as stacked as this? Let’s celebrate by having some friendly debates about which games were the best.
First, to remind you of how good it’s been, lets marvel at this horn of plenty we’ve been playing. This has been a six month period of Temple Run 2 and Ridiculous Fishing, of BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us, of Gunpoint, Antichamber, The Swapper and Monaco, of Injustice, Guacamalee, Battleblock Theater and Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon. This has been a first half of a new Animal Crossing, a very new Devil May Cry and… wait… that superb new Tomb Raider was this year too? And let’s not forget Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Hell of a first-half, people!
I’ll kick us off with some categories in the comments below. Let’s get the debate going in those. There won’t be a formal winner, but let’s see what kind of consensus builds. You’re also free to make your own categories.
Have fun!
Comments
31 responses to “The Best Games Of 2013’s Amazing First Six Months”
That’ll do pig, that’ll do.
That’s true we are entering the half way point, some fantastic games, some of my favorites being
Bioshock Infinite (I have some issues with it’s gameplay.)
Tomb Raider
The Last of Us (If this was also released on PC it would easily of done a GOTY sweep like Skyrim did in 2011, being an exclusive its hard to say now.)
Fire Emblem Awakening
P4G(Aussie release at least)
Luigi’s Mansion 2
Ni No Kuni (English release)
DmC(Same as Bioshock Infinite, I had some issues with its gameplay.)
Bioshock’s gameplay was horrible I felt – so stiff and old. I quit that game after about 3 hours because of the gameplay and for some reason it just felt familiar everything I experienced in it.
Agree.
I suspect Irrationals next game will be another FPS, with dated gameplay and boring storytelling.
Luigis Mansion 2 – So charming
Tomb Raider – Fantastic reboot
Ni No Kuni – Another charmer
The Last Of Us – Story is fantastic, the combat can get a little repetitive though
Blood Dragon – Michael Freaking Beihn!
Bioshock Infinite almost gets a pass, but I wasn’t completely sold on it.
In no particular order, Metro Last Light, Tomb Raider, Ni No Kuni, Fire Emblem Awakening, The Last of Us (though I didn’t find the game as perfect as everyone was saying it was), Bioshock Infinite (again, I didn’t find this as mindblowing as everyone else, I kept comparing it to the original Bioshock’s gameplay which I preferred). I think that pretty much sums up the games that I really enjoyed for this first half.
Yeah, I’m not convinced, especially listing Mobile games… really? Bioshock Infinite was fantastic and The Last of Us makes me want a PS3 (so late, I know). Tomb Raider is very nice, but so many disappointments in early 2013 too; Colonial Marines, Resident Evil(s)… etc… Looking forward to second half personally, especially a certain game coming out mid September, ratings pending of course 🙂
Of the ones I’ve played, tomb raider was amazing, but bioshock infinite was a massive disappointment, not a bad game, but It was a bit too “generic fps” for my taste.
“And let’s not forget Aliens: Colonial Marines.”
Uh, what?
sarcasm, motherfucker, do you know it?
Sure I do, but it’s somewhat ambiguous here.
fair call.
In order,
1. Ni No Kuni
2. The Last of Us
3. Tomb Raider
4. Bioshock
5. Animal Crossing
6. Fire Emblem – Awakening
7. Persona 4 – Golden
I’m actually stuck from here out. So I only have 7 at the moment… may come back later to add the last 3.
Also so glad Ni No Kuni is getting so many mentions! Seriously… that game is bordering on my favourite game of all time.
I agree with most of what you rate, However Ni No Kuni’s gameplay was just too boring for me, even though I’m a Ghibli fan and love RPGs I couldn’t push through more than 30 hours until it became tiresome. Bioshock’s gameplay felt old and too familiar, along with stiff controls and HUD which ruined it for me too, but mainly just feeling to familiar. Still waiting to play Persona 4 🙂
Yeah I can see how that could happen. Ni No Kuni could be a massive grind at times. I always had a massive session than a 1-2 week break and got stuck back into it again. I think that helped ease the repetitiveness of some aspects of the game. I’d never got into the first two Bioshocks, so maybe that’s why it didn’t bother me at all. Also seriously. Persona 4 confused the hell out of me for a bit however it’s an amazing game and is the sole reason I don’t regret buying a Vita. Definitely give it a shot.
I loved Bioshock Infinite. It wasn’t a game changer but it was a great ride.
Tomb Raider is a 9/10 game if there ever was one.
And playing through Last of Us now… and it is the best game I’ve played on my PS3. I think it will be the first game that I don’t end up selling after completion. This is one I’m coming back to.
Haha me too dude, The last of us is the only game apart from Mass effect series I haven’t traded in.
The only thing I don’t like is the linearity. It would’ve helped replayability if there was multiple paths through the levels. But it’s a great ride. I’m playing on hard and at first I thought it was too tough, but now I’m glad. It really adds a sense of tension and fear. Great, great zombie experience.
Y’all forgot Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate!
played the shit out of that game
I played the demo and had no idea what was going on…
How long do you think it would take to pick it up? I’m interested in it however time is not something I have excess of.
The demo was absolutely terrible. It drops you right into the deep end without any explanations :(.
I’ve briefly played Monster Hunter games before but I never really gave it a proper go until MH3U. The game doesn’t really explain much but there’s enough of an introduction with pop-up tutorials that should teach you the basics. I did have to look up some things or ask friends lots of questions but it’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. A relatively easy to pick up, hard to master sort of thing.
The game is broken up into quests which can range from gathering to hunts (where you fight the big monsters which are just like boss battles!). Each can be done relatively quickly so the game is easy to play in small bursts. However, some hunts can take a while if you’re inexperienced but there’s always a time limit on how long you have to complete the quest, which is usually 50 minutes. For example your first time fighting a Lagiacrus might take around 30 minutes since you’re learning its patterns, strengths and weaknesses and have weak equipment but future hunts might take you only 5 minutes once you know how to fight it and have better gear.
There’s an insane amount of content as well. I don’t usually spend too long playing a single game, or play a game for hours on end but I ended up playing MH3U with my friends at Kotaku for something like 7 hours a day for 4 weeks, reaching over 200 hours! While fighting the same monsters again might seem repetitive there’s always new things to mix it up a bit such as new patterns you haven’t seen before and every time you kill them you get loot which you can use for better gear. You always feel like you’re progressing!
What platform were you thinking of picking it up on? I hear they’re essentially the same except the Wii U has online and slightly better graphics whereas the 3DS has portability. I only got it on Wii U but if you do get it on 3DS, you definitely need a Circle Pad Pro. There’s enough content to play singleplayer but to do a lot of the end-game stuff you’ll definitely need to do multiplayer which is much easier with the Wii U and online.
Feel free to ask more questions 😀
Cheers heaps man! I might have to grab it and try and fit it in around uni! If I get it it will be on Wii U. I’d love a good reason to start it up. So there’s a group of Katakuans that play it? That’s pretty awesome!
There were a bunch of us playing around launch but I’m sure we wouldn’t mind getting back into it 😀 (some of us have just started recently)
To get full satisfaction out of the game you need at least 300 hours online. To get the full set of armour I wanted, I needed to fight a particular monster around 45 times and each time took about 25 – 30. there is no leveling up to make you stronger, only getting better armour and weapons which takes a while. But saying all that, it is fun and addictive, also with a friendly and helpfull community.
Cheers heaps champ! I wouldn’t be able to pour that much time into it (says the guy that just hit 400 hours in DOTA 2) but I think I’ll still give it a shot and see what happens.
I’m throwing my money behind Tomb Raider…
Candy Box
bioshock infinite and the swapper were phenomenal, it’s been a great year so far
I’ve only played one new release so far this year being Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon which is awesome.
Most of the year so far though has seen me going through 2012’s greats like Dishonored, Hitman and Borderlands 2
Intend to get Tomb Raider soon and was pumped for Bioshock until people started pointing out the drawbacks with the gameplay.
Second half of this year will be big though.
For me I absolutely love Crysis 3 I loved the story, graphics, multiplayer and most importantly the Mycrysis community if I ever had a question it would be answered straight away on that site. My second favourite for its great but long narrative Far Cry 3