Zero Punctuation: Top 5 Games of 2013

[Namechangeday]

My favourite quote in this top 5 list has to be the Assassin's Creed chat with Yahtzee because it made me want to rewatch the entire video just to hear that line again.

Cheers to a better gaming year and not one that makes you put a gun to your head!

 

[Azahul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNhwb7iuI4

Not sure if you can embed here, it's been a while, but here's a video summing up what you SHOULD have thought about Bioshit Infinite if you were actually paying attention. Yes you. To sum it up: Story's garbage, gameplay is garbage, message is garbage and Ken Levine's a moron.

Really? You're going to try and tell people the opinion they "should" have about a game? Wow. That's... the only word I can think of is arrogant.

Personally, I adored most of the games on this list (haven't played Papers, Please or Metal Gear), and would wager my Top 5 would look pretty similar. Saints Row IV was an entertaining blast, Black Flag is fantastic, and Bioshock Infinite is certainly my favourite game of the year as well. The gameplay was great, certainly way more interesting than any other FPS I played this year, the story was interesting and made me think, the characters were brilliant, and I really enjoyed puzzling out the ending with my brother.

 

[major_chaos]

that's currently a copy of Papers Please for you and SIX friends on steam

But I can't think of six people I hate enough to buy papers please for. *ba-dum-tis*.

OT: Interesting list with some surprises (didn't expect Infinite in the top slot or MGR on the list at all) and some totally predictable picks (I knew a CoD or battlefield game would be his no. 1 worst with absolute certainty, and at this point I'm fairly that not thinking Papers Please is the blessed offspring of Jesus and Gandhi is simply not allowed) but what really stuck me was that I didn't enjoy a single game on his top five list except SR:IV, which just reminds me that this was a really meh year for gaming.

 

[seditary]

Is there some kind of band that joined together to try and shout down everyone who likes and praises Bioshock Infinite? Literally everywhere I go there's some extremely overbearing people calling people stupid for liking it, linking videos to demonstrate how wrong people are for liking it and calling everything and everyone related to its creation bad in some way.

 

[Alarien]

But...bioshock infinite is a terrible half finished mess of generic shooting, shit characters and more plot holes then a novel made of Swiss Cheese. It eschews all the good parts of the first game for bland call of duty shooting, copy pasted plasmids and even less challenge. Not to mention every single e3 preview they had was full of lies and broken promises. Seriously, go look at those previews and then think back to the game you played. It is a profound disappointment.

Is that what you thought or actually regurgitated from so many other people complaining about the game, because I'm fairly certain I've seen almost this exact commentary before.

It's ok to dislike or hate Bioshock Infinite, but the comments you make are mostly ill-informed.

Call or Duty shooting and "Generic" shooting are not the same thing. Bioshock Infinite follows an older "generic" FPS style that complete ignores cover based mechanics. It allows free movement around the existing arena/corridor. It would have been called a corridor FPS back in the day. Call of Duty is the exact opposite. It is a cover based rails shooter of a style that it and Medal of Honor have pushed since 1999. Bioshock Infinite may have generic shooting, but it is most certainly not "call of duty shooting."

"Copy pasted plasmids." Yes, it's part of the story. It is the same multiverse. It's like complaining that Bioshock 2, a far worse game, was worse because it specifically re-used the plasmids of Rapture while still in Rapture. Personally, I found the vigors/plasmids to be useful enough and this is still, I believe, a Bioshock game. Why would you expect there to be a different game play element?

Plot holes. The words that we often throw around just to throw them around. Specifically, those plot holes are... which, exactly? I'm not saying that the game doesn't have any, just that it was not "swiss cheese." In fact, most of its story lines were tied up and most of its mechanics at least attempted an explanation. Without pointing specifically to plot holes that were, in fact, plot holes and not just a lack of attention to the presented dialogue, then it's not a fair comment.

I agree on the E3 comment. The game from the E3 trailers was a much different game, in many respect. Are the changes and final product bad? Well, I'm not particularly unhappy that I didn't get to walk into a bar and shotgun someone in the face, fight with Saltonstall, or have Elizabeth be more of a sorceress (without explanation) than a child effected by her own physical existence simultaneously in two different realities. I think the final product worked fine. I failed to miss the E3 stuff.

The hyperbole in your post just makes your comments suspect. It sounds like regurgitation, sour grapes or some combination of both.

 

[1337mokro]

I own BioShock Infinite and STILL haven't played it dammit. What's wrong with me? For once in my life I buy a game on the same year it's released and it turns out to be GOTY material and I haven't even played it yet.

It's not. Despite what everyone might scream at you it is far from a GOTY. Quite honestly I expected it on the number 5 of bottom 5. The amount of wasted potential in that game is amazing and the sheer drudgery that it's gameplay turns out to be is astounding for a series that had some of the most fun gameplay I have seen in a while.

Don't expect any Bioshock Infinite memes like the Bioshock Bee Hands and get ready to be disappointed when you finally do get around to playing it. I know I was disappointed but at least you don't have to face droves of people that want to convince you it's the most brilliant game ever made because like all popcorn action games everyone already forgot about it.

Is there some kind of band that joined together to try and shout down everyone who likes and praises Bioshock Infinite? Literally everywhere I go there's some extremely overbearing people calling people stupid for liking it, linking videos to demonstrate how wrong people are for liking it and calling everything and everyone related to its creation bad in some way.

It's backlash for the "unanimous" praise it was getting from every publication and reviewer for a while after it's release. Basically not liking it in the few weeks after it was released was paramount to high treason and you being an idiot for not getting "the smartest game ever made!!!!"

Of course after the initial high of the game wore of people started looking back on it less favourably and the people that still think it's a masterpiece have moved on, now only people like me remain that view Bioshock Infinite along the same lines of X-com the Bureau. It's our turn to spam you with our "correct" opinions about the game.

I despised the game so much I gave away my copy. I never do that, of all the awful games I have played I never did that. I have my old age of empire I CD's. Heck I still have games on floppy disks. However Bioshock Infnite? Gone, that's what I have to say about that game.

Happy New Year folks!

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I feel like an eagle reading the comments, itching to swoop down and shout(or rather sing at this point) IT'S A LIST, SUBJECTIVITY, TRA RA RA RA PAM PAM!

I mean honestly, this is getting repetitive.

I like the list, I agree with the list, I still think that people who label Infinite's combat as "generic" or "CoD-like" forget the last time CoD had skyhooks, vigors and weapons from 1908.

Jeez, I understand that the likes of TotalBiscuit disliked it, that's fine, but at every mention of the game, he proceeds to start talking on why he doesn't like it and why he thinks it's not a good game.

It feels less like "I have my own opinion" and more like "I want people who disagree with me to sigh in exasperation whenever this game is brought up in my presence".

Whatever, I liked the game, glad it's getting the attention it deserves, and I am damn glad that games are being written well more often.

 

[AldUK]

First the community and now Yatzhee?! Will someone please tell me which version of Papers Please everyone is playing that such a incredible game?! I must have gotten like a beta release with all the bugs, crashes, poor optimization and sticky mess instead of the epic mind-altering version everyone else got.

I don't get it either. My best guess is because it is an indy game with subject matter that could be considered controversial, Escapist hipsters eat it up, irregardless of whether it's 'fun' to them or not.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Is there some kind of band that joined together to try and shout down everyone who likes and praises Bioshock Infinite? Literally everywhere I go there's some extremely overbearing people calling people stupid for liking it, linking videos to demonstrate how wrong people are for liking it and calling everything and everyone related to its creation bad in some way.

And I actually liked the game's combat. The Skyline system makes moving around a lot more interesting, magical powers give an alternative to shooting people, and I find that the two-weapon thing means that having to run around and switch weapons on the fly (since the weapons actually do act differently) is pretty fun. And the story and characters are pretty good, though it'd have been nice if they kept up the political critique longer.

As for Papers Please... It's an art game, and that's going to turn off a lot of people out of hand, but it's an art game that doesn't sacrifice its gameplay for its message. Like Braid - that was still an interesting puzzle platformer with all the different time mechanics, though in that case the 'message' was completely incomprehensible...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I own BioShock Infinite and STILL haven't played it dammit. What's wrong with me? For once in my life I buy a game on the same year it's released and it turns out to be GOTY material and I haven't even played it yet.

It's not. Despite what everyone might scream at you it is far from a GOTY. Quite honestly I expected it on the number 5 of bottom 5.

That seems like a very lonely opinion. I'm sure I'll like it. So far I'm 100% behind every other of Yahtzee's GOTY picks.

 

[1337mokro]

First the community and now Yatzhee?! Will someone please tell me which version of Papers Please everyone is playing that such a incredible game?! I must have gotten like a beta release with all the bugs, crashes, poor optimization and sticky mess instead of the epic mind-altering version everyone else got.

I don't get it either. My best guess is because it is an indy game with subject matter that could be considered controversial, Escapist hipsters eat it up, irregardless of whether it's 'fun' to them or not.

It's a fun game. Having to manage all the papers is tense and it requires a bit of roleplaying to get in the proper moodset. You could even make this a highscore game if you wanted to. Simply put if you manage to put yourself in that zen trance of a mundane desk job and just shuffle people through the checkpoint the game achieves it's purpose.

However this game is quite literally not for everyone. I can immediately understand what turns people away from this game and any part of the gameplay can be used to critique it.

I own BioShock Infinite and STILL haven't played it dammit. What's wrong with me? For once in my life I buy a game on the same year it's released and it turns out to be GOTY material and I haven't even played it yet.

It's not. Despite what everyone might scream at you it is far from a GOTY. Quite honestly I expected it on the number 5 of bottom 5.

That seems like a very lonely opinion. I'm sure I'll like it. So far I'm 100% behind every other of Yahtzee's GOTY picks.

Try it out by all means. Why would I ever prevent someone from trying and liking a game? Go ahead and play it, if I hadn't already given away my second copy (check out error I'd never buy this game twice) you could have gotten it free of charge from me. That way you could have two copies to play it twice!

Though you will be in a tough fight if you wish to try and convince me that my opinion is wrong. It is far from a lonely opinion. It might have been a singular dissenting opinion after its release and everyone was blinded by the sunshine in Columbia after they had gotten used to the darkness in Rapture. Now it's a fairly common one, that it was a shell of what it could have been and what it ended up being was not at all worth the entry fee.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

It was a shell of what it could have been and what it ended up being was not at all worth the entry fee.

Shell of what it could have been? Yes, absolutely. Not worth the entry fee? Not at all. It was still a good game.

Captcha: click, click, click. You think it funny to click on monkey?! It nooo funny to click on monkey![footnote]Cookie for anyone who gets it.[/footnote]

 

[StriderShinryu]

First the community and now Yatzhee?! Will someone please tell me which version of Papers Please everyone is playing that such a incredible game?! I must have gotten like a beta release with all the bugs, crashes, poor optimization and sticky mess instead of the epic mind-altering version everyone else got.

I don't get it either. My best guess is because it is an indy game with subject matter that could be considered controversial, Escapist hipsters eat it up, irregardless of whether it's 'fun' to them or not.

It's a fun game. Having to manage all the papers is tense and it requires a bit of roleplaying to get in the proper moodset. You could even make this a highscore game if you wanted to. Simply put if you manage to put yourself in that zen trance of a mundane desk job and just shuffle people through the checkpoint the game achieves it's purpose.

I think this is one of the major reasons why Papers Please deserves the praise that it gets. It provides two completely different experiences within the same game. You can play it as a min maxing speed run, where you shuffle people through as quickly and accurately as you can in order to satisfy the ongoing monetary requirements, and in doing so you can have an intense almost puzzle game like experience. Or you can find yourself sucked in by the atmosphere and the stories of the people you meet. You can start making decisions based around what the potential border crosses tell you, sometimes taking penalties that threaten the well being of your family in pursuit of the greater or smaller good. You can even start with one of the above intentions and end up shifting to the other.

Put simply, unlike many other "indie art games" (and don't get me wrong I love some of them) Papers Please manages to be very compelling as both a game and as an interactive experience.

 

[likalaruku]

That particular Star Trek game had some hilarious glitches. I got some damn good laughs from Vinesauce over that thing. The little iOS Star Trek Trexels game Angry Joe was screaming about seemed much worse.

Battlefield 4: Another one with funtastic glitches. The giant soldiers were just special.

Gingerbread space station... ::chuckle::

 

[Deadcyde]

Jeez Yahtzee. Cheer up dude. You could always trade your celebrity status for sexual favors if you're really that depressed.

 

[Dragon Zero]

I feel like an eagle reading the comments, itching to swoop down and shout(or rather sing at this point) IT'S A LIST, SUBJECTIVITY, TRA RA RA RA PAM PAM!

I mean honestly, this is getting repetitive.

I like the list, I agree with the list, I still think that people who label Infinite's combat as "generic" or "CoD-like" forget the last time CoD had skyhooks, vigors and weapons from 1908.

Jeez, I understand that the likes of TotalBiscuit disliked it, that's fine, but at every mention of the game, he proceeds to start talking on why he doesn't like it and why he thinks it's not a good game.

It feels less like "I have my own opinion" and more like "I want people who disagree with me to sigh in exasperation whenever this game is brought up in my presence".

Whatever, I liked the game, glad it's getting the attention it deserves, and I am damn glad that games are being written well more often.

Yeah, to me it's getting to be like how mentioning Mass Effect 3 started shit storms all last year (2012, damn year changing), though BI hasn't nearly gotten to that level thankfully. I really hate it when the gaming community gets like this to the point that I hate the game only for all of the bullshit that comes with mentioning it.

Edit: Also for me Bioshock Infinite would be the GOTY but then again I've only bought 5 games this year that were actually released this year, so make of that what you will. The other games were Pokemon Y, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, and Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate. Not that anyone cares.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Sometimes I feel like the only person on the planet who's played Shadow Warrior. An obvious choice for the game of the year. You all know it if you've played it.

 

[AldUK]

Jeez Yahtzee. Cheer up dude. You could always trade your celebrity status for sexual favors if you're really that depressed.

It's his act. Honestly how anyone can't see that watching ZP is beyond me. Yahtzee knows what his audience expects of him and he delivers it. He doesn't mope about thinking of suicide in his daily life and he definitely doesn't hate every game that comes his way. Don't take this stuff seriously, it is light entertainment.