Written By: Tyler Selig
These are my Miscellaneous
Awards, where I give awards based on things such as music, multiplayer, etc.
You’ll notice that there’s not a lot in terms of negative awards, and that’s
mostly because I believe end of the year awards should celebrate the good
because the bad makes me want to kill myself. With that said, I will cheat
death again and include a couple negative awards.
This
will be a long post, and yes I may have a lot of “Other Nominees,” but this is
my blog and the end of the year is important to me so there you have it. It
also only includes games I’ve played so, sorry, no Battlefield 4 – from what I
hear, nobody can play it anyway – or Grand Theft Auto 5.
Winners are in bold, let's do this.
Best Soundtrack – Starbound
Other Nominees
The Last of
Us
Bioshock:
Infinite
Animal
Crossing
Super Mario
World 3D World
Beyond: Two
Souls
Monaco
Ni no Kuni:
Wrath of the White Witch
Starbound
wasn’t technically released this year, so maybe it shouldn’t count, but the
soundtrack was given out to people who pre-ordered it. And let me tell you
something, this soundtrack is special. It’s so emotional and beautiful that it
hurts. Try listening to Mira and not feel something. The Starbound soundtrack
will be even better in context of the game, but even solo it’s incredible.
If you
don’t want to count Starbound, then I’d give it to The Last of Us, which is
brilliant enough by itself with songs such as Vanishing Grace… but when you see
the game in action combined with the music it’s a whole different ball game.
Bioshock
returned with another great soundtrack of old tunes and original content.
Animal Crossing is a completely different type
of OST compared to the others, but it isn’t any less effective in creating tone
and mood. It’s just not something I listen to a lot of outside of the game,
outside of a song or two, which isn’t a criticism so much as a comment on how
ingrained in the game it is.
Meanwhile, Super Mario 3D World
had some of the finest music Mario has ever had, with a mixture of original
content and remixes/remade versions of the songs we know and love.
Beyond: Two Souls had a wonderful
OST that compliments the themes and storylines of the game perfectly.
Austin Wintory can add this to
his list of achievements. After almost winning a Grammy for his work on
Journey, he released another great soundtrack – that isn’t quite as good as
Journey – that perfectly fits being a thief.
It’s hard to argue with Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch from a
musical standpoint, because it is quite an accomplishment. You’ll see this
nominated on most sites that do these awards, and there’s a reason for that
because it’s one of the better RPG soundtracks of recent years.
Best Multiplayer – Killzone: Shadow
Fall
Other Nominees
Super Mario
3D World
Path of
Exile
Anarchy
Reigns
Bombermine
Killzone wins because it’s my online shooter. It’s the same as a
Call of Duty fan giving the award to Call of Duty. Whenever one of these games
come out, I absolutely adore it. It doesn’t do a whole lot new, except having
shields and whatnot, but it’s another amazing Killzone experience.
Super Mario 3D World is a great game by itself, but it becomes even
more fun and chaotic when you introduce another player or three. It gets nuts,
and for that, the game should be praised.
Path of Exile isn’t anything
new, I just like playing the ARPG genre with a friend.
Anarchy Reigns is probably the
more original of all the nominees, offering a brawler experience combined with
things such as death match, capture the flag or even a rugby mode. Except you
fight, y’know. Unfortunately the online community is probably non-existent at
this point, but it does allow you to use bots.
Bombermine is Bomberman but on a
large scale. I’ve always considered Bomberman as one of the amazing multiplayer
games, and it’s nice to see it so big.
Most Memorable Moment – Dat Moirai
Ending
Other Nominees
The Last Of
Us – The giraffes
Year Walk –
The “Fake” Ending
Bioshock:
Infinite – The end part where everything ties together
Admittedly I often forget great
scenes in things I like, so it’s kind of a poor showing on my part here, but
these are the four that popped into my head.
Some may scoff that I chose Moirai over heavyweights like The Last of
Us and Bioshock: Infinite, and believe me… it was a difficult choice. I chose
Moirai because – spoiler alert – when you find out that the conversation you
previously had was impacted by the player before you, that’s a “holy shit
that’s cool” moment. It’s not that emotional, it’s not complicated, it’s just
really, really neat and plays with
the medium in interesting ways. I chose it at number one for that reason and
that reason only, even though all of the other nominees are more powerful and
conventionally memorable.
That’s not to say that the other
nominees aren’t also fantastic, because the giraffe scene in The Last of Us was
the prettiest, saddest, most beautiful moment of the year. I just sat there and
watched them walk as Vanishing Grace played over it. It’s such a simple moment
that ends up being so much more.
Year Walk had a fake ending, and
when “I don’t love you anymore” flashes up on the screen, that’s an incredibly
melancholy and tragic moment as well.
The whole last bit of Bioshock:
Infinite is memorable because up until that point, you’re playing a great FPS,
but it’s not much different than the others in the series. Then, all of a
sudden, things start getting messed up and weird, and somehow all three games
are connected. It goes from fun to mindfuck pretty quick.
Best Character – Peck from Animal
Crossing
Other Nominees
Bioshock:
Infinite – Elizabeth
Bioshock:
Infinite – The Lutece Twins
The Last of
Us – Ellie and Joel
Batman: Arkham
Origins -- Batman
Beyond: Two
Souls - Jodie
Killer Is
Dead – Mondo Zappa
I
like when award shows/articles have their own identity, and I like to think
mine often do. That’s not to say every pick of mine is original by any means,
as there are a bunch of awards that I need to follow the grain. However, the
joy of doing these are discovering your own oddball choices, and Peck is
probably one you won’t see anywhere else (unless maybe on an Animal Crossing
forum or something).
I love
Peck because I cared deeply about Peck. I cared about all my townspeople, but I
was sad when I was away from Animal Crossing for a while and when I came back
he was gone. He made me laugh, and he gave me a picture to remember him by.
Animal Crossing is great because even though they’re all AI, you build a bond
with them. There was no one else in the game that I built a bigger bond with
than Peck.
The
more I do these awards, the more I realize that Bioshock: Infinite is a
complete and utter mammoth when it comes to everything plot or character wise,
so that’s why I put both Elizabeth and the Lutece Twins in here. Elizabeth is
obviously a more straight-forward important part of the game, but the Lutece
Twins swoop in there in their own little way and end up being memorable… just
more confusingly so.
Ellie
and Joel are one person to be in context of these awards because they are so
important to one another. Joel is the grieving father, Ellie is a young girl in
need of guidance and support. They fulfill the needs of each other (ew, I
didn’t mean that way fanfic writers).
Batman
is on here because regardless of how many times he shows up, he’s still fucking
Batman.
It’s
a good thing that Jodie from Beyond: Two Souls is a good character because the
game is so story-based and Jodie is obviously the center piece for it. Also,
Ellen Page gives a powerhouse performance and brings the character to life in
ways most games can’t.
Mondo
Zappa isn’t complex, but I have a thing for weird badasses, and Suda51 often
populates his games with interesting characters in that sense. Like Asura from
Asura’s Wrath in years past, he’s just fucking cool and that’s why I pick him.
Not every character worth remembering has to have incredible depth.
Best Story – Beyond: Two Souls
Other Nominees
Bioshock:
infinite
Shin Megami
Tensei IV
The Last of
Us
The Wolf
Among Us Episode 1 -- Faith
Beyond:
Two Souls is focused on story, and it succeeds. There are a few moments where
it gets off the rails a bit, but ultimately it ends up being an extremely
satisfying paranormal story.
A good story isn’t just about the
pacing and depth of the plot, the characters and their relationship are a
crucial aspect of it sometimes. Nowhere this year is that more apparent than in
The Last of Us. It’s a simplistic, but well told story.
Or do I
go for the more confusing, intriguing tale that you get in Bioshock: Infinite?
Yes, Bioshock has that mindfuck element to it that appeals to me, and it does
create a world that’s fun to explore and learn about.
Shin
Megami Tensei IV gets a nod here because I like how it mixes a bunch of
different elements and genre to make an experience that isn’t unique, but is
different from the other games this year. Samurais in the modern world, with the
supernatural? It’s told well.
Faith
is also focused on story, and being able to change how it goes a little bit
definitely made me consider it. It goes for similar things that Beyond: Two
Souls does, but I just think Beyond: Two Souls is more emotional and well done.
Best Visuals – Killzone: Shadow Fall
Other Nominees
Super Mario
3D World
The
Wonderful 101
The Night of
the Rabbit
Crysis 3
It’s important to note here that when I say visuals, I don’t just mean
what is the best from a pure, technical, graphics standpoint. A game like that
can certainly win, but I am more biased towards interesting art-styles and
visual design.
Killzone has an interesting
world and the technical prowess to back it up. Normally I tend to go towards
more original art-designs, but I’ve always loved how Killzone looks, and the
fact that it’s a little more colourful sets this apart from other games in the
series.
Super Mario 3D World is the
first of two Wii U games. I know the Wii U can’t manage some of the more
technically demanding games on the levels that other systems can, but tell me
that this isn’t beautiful Mario. It’s good looking in a different way because
it nails the art-style so perfectly.
Which is the same for The
Wonderful 101. It does a fantastic job of offering a silly, colourful comic
book/superhero world. It accomplishes what it sets out to do.
The Night of the Rabbit is the
only game on this list I haven’t played, but have watched, and I really enjoy
the style.
Crysis 3 would probably win had
I been able to play it on a high-end PC. I couldn’t, I had to play it on 360,
so that’s why Killzone beats it (though to be fair, I enjoy the art-design more
in KZ than Crysis anyway).
Biggest Disappointment – Ni No Kuni
Other Nominees
Sacred
Citadel
Dust 514
Dead Island:
Riptide
Fuse
Project X
Zone
I’m not sure if there’s a game
that has pained me so much to be disappointed by. I’m not even saying it’s a
terrible game, because it’s not. I rate it a 7 or a 7.5, so you may be
wondering, “then what the hell? How are you disappointed?”
I’m a
JRPG guy, always have been, and this was supposed to be an insta-classic,
basically, but I just couldn’t get as into it as I wanted to. I went into it
expecting to sing its praises, and there are great things about it, but I just
don’t think the game stands-up to my own expectations, even if I didn’t give it
a crappy rating.
Sacred
Citadel almost won because I love Sacred, but I also knew that it wasn’t Sacred
3 and it was a different experience so while I expected quite a bit, my
expectations were tempered a bit. Now, if Sacred 3 ends up being average? That
could easily win this.
Dust
514 is an interesting case for me. The first day I played it I thought it was a
9, but then the game started to fall apart. It’s a disappointment because
within the first twenty-four hours, it was going to be one of the games of the
year. I had heard of Eve Online and loved the idea, and this game has so much
potential it hurts. The fact that it ended up being a 4.5 for me is a tragedy.
The only reason this doesn’t beat Ni No Kuni is because the FPS is not near and
dear to my heart like the JRPG.
Dead
Island: Riptide is an okay game. The first one wasn’t a masterpiece but it was
a helluvalot of fun, yet flawed. All they had to do was polish the first game,
add a few things, and Riptide could have been awesome. But they didn’t. It has
the same flaws and bugs. Why???
Fuse is
a disappointment because even though it just looked like a third-person
shooter, I love the developers and their penchant for giving us odd and crazy
guns. There is an interesting gun or two here, but while Fuse is a solid game,
it should have been more.
Project
X Zone is a game that has gotten great reviews, and with the crossover appeal I
should have loved it. Unfortunately it is the only RPG that I played on 3DS
this year that didn’t leave me in awe.
Best Rehash of a Game Year Over Year
– DRAW!!! CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ASSASSINS CREED 4: BLACK FLAG
This is the only co-Award I
give out. My brother and I each picked a game – I picked CoD and he picked
Assassin’s Creed – and so this is the first ever Draw in the few years I’ve
been doing this.
These
games don’t change. They’re yearly and you know what to expect. It’s kind of a
complaint but it’s kind of not. You know what to expect.
Best Free-To-Play Game – Path of
Exile
Other Nominees
Neverwinter
Sluggish
Morrs: A Delicate Time in History
Will You
Ever Return: in da hood
Resogun*
Path of
Exile is an accomplishment in the free-to-play world. It’s legitimately an
awesome game, and it’s not pay-to-win. Some of the prices are ridiculous, but
they’ve crafted such a wonderful game for free… it’s hard to hate on it.
Neverwinter
may just be an MMO, but the idea of making your own quests for people to do is
what makes me like the game as much as I do. It’s got issues, and I’m not a
huge MMO guy, but it’s one of the better ones I’ve played.
Sluggish
Morrs: A Delicate Time in History is a short freeware game, and it’s one of the
best free games of the year, period, if you want a quick, weird, surreal, odd
adventure.
Will You Ever Return: in da hood
is the same type of deal. I’ve loved the other WYERs, and this is great too.
Resogun was/is (I haven’t
checked) free if you get Playstation Plus, which you have to if you want to
play online anyway. It won’t be free, but when I played it, it was still free
so I’m including it here. It’s a wonderful, beautiful action-packed
side-scrolling shooter.
Biggest Surprise – Anarchy Reigns
Other Nominees
The
Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Fire Emblem:
Awakening
Shin Megami
Tensei 4
Shadowrun:
Returns
Anarchy Reigns is not the best
game in this category, but it’s the biggest surprise to me because I had no
idea what to expect and actually got a game that will end up being in the
discussion of “most underrated games” for years to come.
Van Helsing was a game I expected to suck for whatever reason, but it
ended up being a solid action RPG.
Fire Emblem: Awakening is only a
surprise to me because I never actually played one before so I was blown away
by how good it is. The reason it doesn’t win Biggest Surprise is because it’s
not the type of game that comes out of nowhere like Anarchy Reigns did. It may
be a better game, but not a bigger surprise.
Same with Shin Megami Tensei 4.
I managed to try out two cult-classic series that I only knew existed, and I
loved both.
Shadowrun: Returns is on here
because I’m surprised it even got made. It’s not as good as the SNES classic,
but after a disastrous foray into the first-person shooter world, Shadowrun
has, um, returned to goodness.
The Official 'Don't Play This Game, It sucks... You Suck" Award For The 5 Worst Games of 2013
5: Dust 514
– There isn’t a game I’ve thought about this year more than Dust. It just… it
sucks. It isn’t there yet. Maybe someday it will be, but not now.
4:
Apocalypse One – I hate picking on indie games, especially when they were
quickly made but this just wasn’t fun at all and was buggy.
3: One Night
at the Space Opera – This is a decent idea that didn’t pan out.
2: Tekken
Revolution – This just reeks of bad free-to-play. This is the reason people
hate that term.
1: Dark –
Should have been great considering it’s a stealth game where you play as a
vampire, but nothing about it works.
Best System – 3DS
I won’t
list all the other nominees because obviously it includes every other system in
existence. The 3DS wins because during the year it has amassed a great
collection of games – especially RPGs – and it really wowed me.
If you
want a first-person shooter, I wouldn’t go here. If you are an RPG nut, this
machine is a monster. It has other great games in other genres, but I used it
mostly as a way to play great RPGs (and Animal Crossing).
The
Xbox One and PS4 aren’t on here because they just launched so they haven’t had
enough time to build their libraries. The Wii U has started on the comeback
trail but it’s not there yet, and the PC had another solid year… but nothing
impressed me as much as the 3DS.
And that's it for these awards. Next year, if Gamecepticon is around, I may try adding more of a comic flair to these awards and at least give them funny names, but the end of the year came up on me pretty quickly (may have been the drugs, I dunno).
Starting probably tomorrow, or at the very least the next day, I will be counting down my Top 40 Games of 2013, then I will disappear into the darkness where I came from.
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