This year, Games happened, and they made me laugh and cry more than usual, probably because I had to be exposed to them a lot more. Not always the good kind of crying either, the bad kind like if you’re riding on your razor scooter and fall and get a boo-boo. However there are at least ten games that did not totally suck, some might even be called “amazing.” This list includes the five I picked, and I am a sellout, though you might not have liked my artistic choices either such as Gone Home or Orteil Cookie Clicker, and would have sent me a hatemail no matter how you slice that pizza. But this is why we’ll conclude our GOTY in a poll, don’t hate, participate.
Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
While Grand Theft Auto titles have always been pioneering they’ve never exactly been perfect, with this entry it feels as though they finally managed to tighten the nuts and bolts of the core game while also still innovating. I speak of the ability to control not one, not two, but a whole entire three different protagonists. I scoffed like any smug gamer would at the idea a franchise would change a formula so drastically it’d risk breaking the game. This is what I thought of controlling those devilish angels… or angellic devils Franklin, Michael and Trevor. GTA V smacked the smugness right off my face. From a gameplay standpoint, being your own pointman, strong arm and backup all in the same mission brought a brand new level of excitement to the open world crime genre.
Each character had a different way of engaging with the city of Los Santos; the fictional plastic obsessed take on real world Los Angeles. As silk tie wearing Michael a convenience store wouldn’t realize it was being robbed until I had a chain gun stuck against someone’s nose, while as more melanin-inclined Franklin pedestrians were quick to call the cops if I even loitered. From a story standpoint, it’s rare you get to be both your own protagonist and antagonist, the men don’t always get along and at times make tough decisions that may end up throwing another character under the bus to save their own ass. They’re incredibly written, for each inhumane act they commit and action movie stunt they pulled the boys always managed to feel grounded in very real human needs. So the multiplayer left an icky, sickly taste in my mouth, among the worst I’ve ever experienced. But the singleplayer? Never dull, always cinematic, I played hours on end needing to know “What happens next?” And those heists, MAN those heists. You gotta play those.
Tomb Raider (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
I’ve been a long time Tomb Raider fan, sitting down patiently for each of the series half dozen or so reboots and usually finding a game that was playable and fun, but nothing that really struck me as a classic, always having to prepare a codpiece for the eventual kick in the balls that were some awful sequels until the next reboot. Pop in the soft reboot that is Tomb Raider 2013 and finally it feels as though the series is nearing its full potential. There were a lot of interesting, even controversial design decisions with the new Lara Croft that wound up illiciting reactions, such as the idea a gaming audience could ever “identify” with a woman, and we would have to feel the need to protect her rather than embrace her as an avatar. With a philosophy like this (which to be fair, the design team didn’t all agree on this approach) it seems almost by accident that Crystal Dynamics stumbled upon one of the best characters I’ve seen in gaming.
It was easy for me to want to “be” Lara, and when she achieved something great in game I felt a true sense of accomplishment myself. There was always that feeling that we were tackling something on Tomb Raider’s beautifully rendered LOST like island that would have been impossible for the spoiled first world archaeologist to take on hours earlier. Lara also felt “real” from a gameplay standpoint, where large enemies may look physically imposing she was always able to get an advantage on them using her own physicality, moving fast and with a mouse like agility. Tomb Raider is the classic Hero’s Journey, starting from a place of inability and mastering your environment, and for me it culminates in one of the most rewarding gameplay experiences ever, a finale that has you utilizing every last one of Lara’s acquired tools and skills. It has its flaws, it could have afforded a bit less combat, allowed more exploration and actual tomb raiding, but it’s a strong re-entry into the Tomb Raider franchise. Hopefully it’s the start of a beautiful series and I won’t have to break out the old codpiece.
Bioshock Infinite (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Columbia is beautiful, and the violence is necessary. End of story. Bioshock Infinite, like the characters we engage in and the protagonist we play as, is contradictory in nature. It’s where ugliness boils under the surface of beauty, where hypocrisy runs the world. It’s a narrative that knows the story it wants to tell and accomplishes just that. Former Pinkerton Man and Private Dick Booker DeWitt is a bad guy, what he touches turns to ash, he is a monster who does monstrous things. I found this beyond cool. He wasn’t there to question who he was or the kind of world he lived in, but to get a job done. Elizabeth, his teen grrl sidekick in this age where teen grrl sidekicks assisting brutally violent older men is the “in” thing, is as corruptible as the rest of the world and you get to watch her slow descent into something ugly, much like the city of Columbia, as an arguably direct result of spending time with Booker.
It’s a layered story, every sound design decision, every little sideshow on a map feels intentional and always neatly fits into the overall narrative. I do feel as though some of the gameplay doesn’t get enough credit, the Gear system may have been too clever for its own good, randomizing the combat advantages I got in ways so slight it actually took multiple playthroughs to realize it made encounters play out differently from the typical “grab carbine and shoot” approach to clearing rooms. Yes the game is pretty on rails, an amusement park ride, but then this has always been the Bioshock series model, where you’re getting on a carefully crafted roller coaster and every twist and turn is planned yet always undeniably fun.
Pokemon X/Y (3DS)
You always know what you’re getting into with a Pokemon title. You’re a new trainer, you need to tell the professor if you’re a boy or a girl, you’re going to set out to catch little beasties and train them in order to defeat eight gyms based on classical elements such as ‘water’ and ‘fire’ and ‘flying’. You may not be in for any real surprises, but what GameFreak can do is adjust mechanics that have been there for years and make improvements to the game you didn’t even know were needed. Leveling and EV training are tons easier, super training even presents a minigame that’s in itself fun and never a chore. Getting around, now in the form of Roller Skates, had me zipping around pulling stunts like the game’s name was Tony Hawk… Okay, not quite, but still fun.
X/Y is the first venture into 3D handheld-dom, and with it comes new things. The introduction of the new element type, Fairy, mixes up the gameplay a bit and had me taking great delight in using my ribbon and lace coated Sylveon to place the fear of god into the intimidating Dragon type mons. Plus there’s something to be said about the Parisian aesthetic, my pop-star looking trainer in neckties and floofy skirts walking around with a pokemon team that includes a tyrannosaurus Rex and a freakin’ sword. It’s got everything that makes Pokemon; Pokemon, but better. Oh, did I mention there a super sentai-esque transformation sequences related to the new MegaEvolution mechanic? There are, and I’d pose like an idiot whenever I activated it.
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
Zelda’s Lullaby is my jam, listening to it brings back instant memories of Link’s epic journey through times and worlds, forever united by fate’s hip to Princess Zelda and the great prince of Evil Ganondorf as they race for control of the triforce and therefore, control of the universe. One of the strongest things the Zelda franchise has going for it is nostalgia and familiarity, and A Link Between Worlds is a quest that builds on those memories as a direct sequel to A Link to the Past. There was a high risk of this whole thing being too direct, a world map that at first glance looks like a 3D rehash of a Link to the Past, but the “old” map comes with tons of brand new surprises and challenges.
It’s easy to fanboy-out on any Nintendo game, but this entry into the series allows someone who’s never touched the previous games to play it and love it. It’s hacking, slashing, exploring, solving puzzles, meeting the insane locals, maybe saving a few sages and a princess, it’s everything you’ve come to know of an adventure game. Yet what sets Zelda apart is the visuals, the smooth 3D world, character models and camera moves make great use of the hardware it’s on. Each Zelda game introduces new mechanics that either excite or fall flat, here it’s the former with its 2D wall merging and ability to tackle dungeons in a relatively open order. It’s orchestrated tracks, dungeons that are intimidating but not frustrating, enemies and bosses that are a threat yet never unfair, minigames to serve as a distraction and a quick way to make cash in the money starved Lorule and money hungry Hyrule. It’s a really well blended formula and a game I feel captures the nuances of game design and pushes the 3DS to realize its full potential. Plus once you meet the Thief Girl you’re not going to forget her, which is a testament to the game’s design if you’re finding memorable a character with a childish color palette who speaks entirely in bloops and bleeps.
