The Last of US, GTA V lead top gaming websites' best games lists for 2013

2013 was a whirlwind year for video games. With the era of current generation consoles coming to a close, game developers were doubly keen on going out with a bang and leaving a lasting mark in video gaming history. The result? Instant, bonafide classics: games that pushed the envelope of storytelling, game design, and artistry.

 

One game redefined an old favorite, swapping a gigantic polygonal bosom for and a more three-dimensional personality; at least two titles reinvented the term “sidekick” by de-wussifying your in-game companions; another perfected the already fantastic formula of sandbox crime sprees by adding two more playable hoodlums to the fold; and a certain industry veteran finally let their perpetual damsel in distress out of a tyrannical reptile’s clutches, to kick some turtle butt alongside with her usual mustachioed rescuers.

 

Everyone has their personal Game of the Year (GOTY) that they will defend with their dying breath. But what, according to the many websites and award-giving bodies devoted to our beloved hobby, were the best video games of 2013?

 

 

The Last of Us

 

It comes as no surprise that Naughty Dog’s phenomenal survival epic was at the top of everyone’s list. Though immediately familiar because of its zombie-ish apocalypse setting, The Last of Us wowed everyone with its strong mix of a moving story, engrossing gameplay, outstanding sound and visual design, and characters you could genuinely root for if not fall in love with.

 

“… The Last of Us may very well be a once-in-a-generation sort of experience, one that expertly melds together plot, gameplay, and characters into something so riveting and fun to play that it’s hard to put down,” said Colin Moriarty of IGN, which awarded The Last of Us with “Game of the Year: Overall Winner”.

The title also won IGN’s “People’s Choice Award for Best Game”, in which fans voted for their favorite game of 2013.

 

 

 

 

“The Last of Us makes every moment count. The dozen hours spread through four seasons and across the United States in the company of Joel and Ellie are spent with meaning and purpose…  The Last of Us, more than any other game this year, convinced us that what we did actually mattered,” stated GameTrailers, which also presented the GOTY award to The Last of Us.

 

“It’s the culmination of what games have been attempting to achieve throughout the entire 7th console generation… The whole experience is uncomfortably dark, save for the touching bond that forms between Joel and Ellie, two of 2013’s most profoundly believable characters. The final product is complete, cohesive, and affecting – it’s the pinnacle of intelligent, powerful, artistically-minded gaming in the triple-A sphere,” said GamesRadar about The Last of Us, also their GOTY.

 

In GamesRadar’s Community Choice Award, which is another fan vote, The Last of Us emerged “The Best Game of 2013”.

 

The Last of Us received the same honor from other websites and award ceremonies, such as Giant Bomb, Kotaku US, VideoGamer.com, Arcade Sushi, GameRevolution, Gamesbeat, Good Game, Cheat Code Central, Hardcore Gamer, Destructoid, The Escapist, and Gamereactor UK.

 

 

Grand Theft Auto V

 

Rockstar Games’ stupendously successful Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series culminated with Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV), which provided not only a bigger world to wreak havoc in, but three very different playable characters, each with his own unique motivation, personality, and methods of getting god-awful things done. And of course, what’s a GTA game without its humorous, no-holds-barred sarcasm aimed at the USA’s least desirables? GTAV took everything that made the series great up several notches, making it the clear winner in many gamers’ hearts.

 

After tallying the votes made by the general public, the Golden Joysticks Awards of the UK, also known as the People’s Choice Awards, gave the 2013 GOTY prize to GTAV.

 

 

 

 

“For its self-belief, its scale, its art, its soundtrack, its three-way character twist, its lightning-cracked skies, its churning waves, its mountain-top parachute leaps and its desperate, bodywork-mangling storm-drain escapes, it is our game of the year,” stated The Edge upon giving the award to GTAV. 

 

GTAV received the same accolades from other online gaming news outlets including Inside Gaming, Spike TV’s VGX, GamerSushi, and Nerd Reactor. Aside from these video game websites, TIME magazine also chose it as 2013’s best title.

 

 

Other winners

 

Fans of Bioshock Infinite need not worry; Irrational Games’ magnum opus received the GOTY award from Games Magazine UK, GameShampoo, Press Play, and even non-video game-centric entities, CNN and Forbes.

 

Tomb Raider, the reboot of the classic series starring Lara Croft, was Critically Sane’s 2013 pick.

 

Gone Home was Polygon’s choice for 2013 GOTY.

 

GameSpot bestowed that honor upon Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, while Eurogamer.net gave it to Super Mario 3D World.

 

 

And the overall winner is…

 

Unless otherwise stated, the websites previously mentioned only include those which, for the most part, focus on video games. There are a multitude of other such websites, however, and even more that cater to all types of entertainment news. Many of these had their own selections of 2013’s best games.

 

According to the blog, “Game of the Year Picks”, (http://gotypicks.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013-game-of-year.html) Tomb Raider received seven GOTY awards from various outlets.

 

Gone Home comes next with 10 wins, and then Super Mario 3D World at 11.

 

Bioshock Infinite is at 38 GOTY wins. 36 of those were the critics’ choices, while the remaining two were the readers’.

 

GTAV is at a whopping 139, of which 100 are the critics’ picks, and 39 the readers’.

 

The Last of Us garnered a grand total of 226 GOTY awards, with 178 critics’ choices, and 48 readers’ favorites. This makes The Last of Us the overall winner of GOTY 2013. — TJD, GMA News