STILL NO MORE FAN MAIL (ANOTHER RINGO PARODY)

My Top 5 Video Games of 2013

#5: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

MGR:R is easily this year’s best hack and slash game and comes in at a solid #5 on my top 5 list. The game presents a spin-off story starring Raiden, the infamous cyborg ninja from Metal Gear Solid 4. It has excellent graphics, challenge and an amazing soundtrack that bears listening even when not playing the game. On top of all that, you just have to give bonus points to a game that uses it’s own made-up word in the title.

#4: The Last of Us

Is it supposed to be Ellen Page or isn’t it? Who cares, because the real star of this game is the intense survival action. The Last of Us has successfully captured the magic that the Resident Evil series has been trying to rekindle for years now, and does it while presenting a story that is legitimately engaging and heart-wrenching. This game mixes 3rd person shooter gameplay with challenging stealth sequences that will have you on the edge of your seat. One of my favorite aspects of this game is that it really doesn’t feel like a game when you are playing it. The areas and sections of the game are so seamlessly blended with the gameplay that’s its super easy to become engrossed while playing. This is a game that will continually be referenced in the ever-ongoing “Games vs. Art” debate for years to come.

#3: Bioshock Infinite

Another highly artistic yet undeniably addictive game, Bioshock Infinite brings all the high quality FPS action you’d expect from the Bioshock series and sets the game in a truly unique world environment. The game presents a fair amount of challenge but it’s the story’s constant twists and turns that are going to keep you glued to the game, all of which culminates to one of the most satisfying, thought-provoking endings in game history. This is another one to reference the next time you are debating your friends if video games are works of art. I feel like this game is generally on par with The Last of Us in terms of quality, but I had to rank Bioshock Infinite higher simply because I enjoyed the gameplay more.

#2: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

For RPG lovers, Ni No Kuni is a breath of fresh air in a console generation that has generally been lacking in Japanese-style RPGs. This game was developed as a joint venture between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli. If you’re not aware of these companies, crawl out of the rock you’ve been living under and just know that they represent the absolute best in their respective fields. This game has amazing anime-style graphics, a heart-warming story to tell and is overall just plain fun. It reminds me a lot of Dragon Quest VIII, another of my favorite RPGs. One of my favorite aspects of the game are the familiars, who are your characters’ counterparts in battle in the same vein as Pokemon. All of this combined with a rather long quest and post-game content makes for one of my favorite games of 2013.

#1: Grand Theft Auto V

Is this a surprise to anyone? I suspect that Grand Theft Auto V will be at the top of many gamers’ lists because it is simply that good of a game. GTAV takes everything you love about GTA and just gives you more. This game, set in fictional Los Santos, is massive and full of activities, random encounters and missions to complete. I literally don’t believe that any game has as much varied content to offer gamers as Grand Theft Auto V does. I feel that the story missions and heists were especially well done and had a good amount of variety to them, which is something I think has been a weakness in the GTA series in the past. The ability to play as 3 different characters is, surprisingly to me, very well done and keeps the game from getting too stale. The story is very interesting and has some real humanity to it which also surprised me. Basically, this game is flippin’ sweet and IMO is the best game released in 2013 (and I haven’t even talked about the extremely robust and fun online mode)!

Honorable Mentions:

DMC: Devil May Cry

I’ve already said a lot about this game here, but I wanted to mention it again because it really is one of the stand-out titles in 2013. In my mind it was a battle between this and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for the #5 spot on this list, but I had to give it to MGR:R due to the engaging challenges that game presented. DMC is a game that faced criticism from both fans and non-fans alike, but I think that this game showed that it can and will carry the Devil May Cry pedigree in 2013 and beyond.

Dragon’s Crown

Dragon’s Crown is an under-appreciated gem of a game lost in a sea of FPS rehashes. It harkens back to a time where side-scrolling beat ’em up games were king and is effectively a love letter to the genre. It has beautifully hand-drawn graphics and sprites, engaging gameplay and a killer online co-op mode spread across a deceptively long quest. The playable characters represent different play-styles and strategies and really serve to add variety to this game. If you’re a beat ’em up fan this game is sure to be a hit with you.

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Thanks for checking out my top 5 video games in 2013 list. Do you agree with my picks? What games did I miss? Be sure to let me know in the comments.

Haiku of the Day: Admitting Failure

Admitting Failure

No inspiration
No motivation to write
Better luck next time!

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Unfortunately I must deem this year’s ‘Haiku of the Day’ experiment a failure. Somehow I just didn’t have the same drive as last year to actually complete the 30 days. I suppose this is the risk that you take when you take on a creative project like this. Oh well, there’s always next year…