Jonathan's Game of the Year

Game of the Year 

(1) Grand Theft Auto V is the sheer definition of taking a risk and having it pay off. I was wary of how the game would turn out when Rockstar announced a story focusing on three separate characters, but they found a way develop interesting storylines for all three characters without leaving any one character behind. The heists and story missions are where the game truly shines, however with just a handful of them it leaves me wanting more. The online mode which was later released also has much to be desired when compared to the robustness of the single player game. The lack of heists, campaign style missions, and custom mission editing at its launch left a poor impression of what the multiplayer side of GTA V has to offer. However, even with these shortcomings, I still come away feeling that this was the most enjoyable gaming experience I’ve had this year by far.

(2) Assassin’s Creed IV is what I have been looking for in an AC release for a long time, and makes me very interested in the direction Ubisoft is taking the franchise. The character writing in Black Flag is fantastic and makes up for the main area where I believe its predecessor AC3 fell short. The concentration on naval combat and island exploration are what really gives this game a unique taste in the series. With all of these much needed changes played out so well in this game I’m really look forward to the next installment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

(3) Bioshock Infinite takes the Bioshock series in a completely new direction by bringing the dreary underwater world of rapture to the skies. The character writing in this game is phenomenal and brings a new connection to the main character that I believe the first two games were missing. The way this game ties in with the previous games give long time fans a treat, while also making the game approachable to any newcomers to the series.

(4) Ni no Kuni is a repetitive, childish, and lengthy game that makes it very difficult to play all the way through. Strangely, this game has a charm to it that just wouldn’t let me put it down. The quirky characters and magical world gave me a pleasant break from the more serious games this year and it was a treat to play despite having some of the shortcomings that still plague most JRPGs. Honestly, you know what, this game is Pokemon. You don’t like Pokemon? Doesn’t matter, play it anyways, the charm of the game may just make you enjoy the game more than you thought you would.

(5) Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is not only a good game based on an anime, it’s also an enjoyable fighting game to those that know nothing about the series. The fighting mechanics may be simplistic, and the special moves may be the same for each character, but I haven’t had this much fun with a simple fighting game since Super Smash Brothers Melee. The game features a story mode that has anime level of quality cutscenes, and even those looking to just catch up on the show can take solace in the fact that the developers did a good job in keeping true to the story without spoiling too much at the end for those currently watching the series.  

(6) The Last of Us is a beautiful example of what a post-apocalyptic world should be. It makes the PS3 look like it can hold its own against next gen graphical quality. Hell we may not need next gen after all if we can keep up the level of quality this game has. The writing and story in this game is fantastic. The way Naughty Dog captured the voice actors performances using mocap really brought the emotion they were trying to evoke from the actors into the game. I honestly wish the gameplay was a bit faster paced though. I’m not saying the gameplay isn’t good, it holds up well with the whole survivor game genre, but it always bummed me out that I had to go back to actually playing it once the cutscenes or interaction moments with Ellie were over.

(7) Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen was a fresh try at a new IP that Capcom gambled on and I’m very glad they stuck with it and released this expansion. The main game had some issues like fast travel that was such a pain in the ass it made me want to not venture far from the city to explore, which essentially defeated the purpose of a world that size and traveling so slow. Releasing all these fixes in the form of an expansion though was kind of a letdown considering the main issues the game had could be released as a patch, but the post game content they added justified it enough for me to me to go another round with the game.

(8) Saint’s Row IV might as well just be called “Fuck It: The Game”, but after playing it I’m glad they did because it seems like just the level of stupidity the series needed. The addition of super powers to the game was quite a surprise considering the games roots came from it being a GTA competitor, but God knows I can’t go back to roaming around the city without causing a fucking hurricane of destruction anymore. The game pokes fun at itself pretty often, and still maintains its level of toilet humor. Literally, you’re a toilet sometimes.

(9) Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was pretty odd for a MGS game, following pretty much none of the previous mechanics of the franchise. Well, there’s a box to hide in, so there’s that. It’s a hack’n’slash game where Raiden is the protagonist and the story revolves around Raiden’s mysterious past. The slow-mo cutting mechanic they added for Raiden’s blade is pretty neat for a while but becomes repetitive throughout the first half of the game and then pretty useless the last half except for specific boss battle moments. The ending is also probably one of the craziest endings I’ve ever seen, but I still had a laugh at the way the events unfolded and put the controller down after beating it with no real gripes against it. I probably ended up liking it as much as I did because I wanted to play a Ninja Gaiden type of game but the new one was terrible.

(10) Ah yes, Tomb Raider. This is one of the more approachable games in the entire series, and this reboot is one that I actually like more than the original. I like the new Lara character direction, despite the Nathan Drake level of survivability I keep seeing in games, but oh man the other characters were terrible. They might as well have just not been in the story, just leave Lara alone on the island and let her figure things out by herself. The game looks nice both in character detail and environments and I enjoyed the hunting system they used for crafting. Also, the game has bows. I like bows.