Number 10: Wind Waker HD
Kickstarting the list with one of my
all time favourite Zelda games. Above any other game in the
franchises, this was the one that truely captured my desire to
adventure. The Great Sea is often a fairly polarizing part to gamers,
but I love it. Dotted along the massive ocean are unique islands that
always harbour some kind of treasure or upgrade that makes it
worthwhile to just forget about the main quest for a little bit to
indulge in your inner Columbus. This game was excellent 11 years ago
and It's only been improved in this HD port, bringing a host of
welcome new features like the swift sail and real time item
management along with the breath-taking new visuals. The first time
you visit a great fairy, prepare to get you socks knocked off.
Number 9: Guacamelee
Metroidvania gameplay done very right
indeed. With a constantly evolving combat system and unique artstyle,
this game is as satisfying to watch as it is to play. Every move your
luchador collects becomes another tool for secret scavengering. Every
corner of this realized world is bursting with a personality that'll
make you grin giddily. Me and a friend even endure the poorly
implimented multipayer mode just to share the fun and find all the
secrets together. Oh and you can turn into a chicken.
Number 8: Fire Emblem Awakening
This was officially my 'bedside game'
for a very long time. That game you'd boot up just before bed to kill
a little bit of time before you settle in. before you know it
though, several hours have gone by and you wonder why your still
awake. Then you tell yourself it's because the game is awesome. I
have never played a Fire Emblem game before but this really
captivated me. A deep and highly enjoyable strategy game, often
requiring you to make a series of tough choices in order to achieve
victory. But it's the distinct and lovable characters that give this
game its wings via the inclusion of relationship mechanic. Your units
can get married and have children (through a bizarre and brilliant
means) who become the most powerful allies in battle later on. If
this were a book, I’d call it a page turner, instead I'd call this
an hour burner.
Number 7: Animal Crossing New Leaf
Speaking of hour burners, this game
would be the epitome of the mini genre I just came up with. I bought
this back in Summer and it's still dragging me back for more. You
just cannot resist the urge to collect every fish, infinitely
re-model your home and beautify your town; a responsibility which has
now been handed down to you in this new instalment. While being the
mayor is nice, it's still the countless number of whimsical villagers
that is the main reason to return to this game months later. You want
to see how Cube the penguin's house looks now you mailed him that new
sofa and you lose sleep over that one time you hit Muffy the ram with
a shovel and got mad. You oddly care about these critters and your
own town and you'll keep coming back to them over the next few years
of your life.
Number 6: Paper's Please
An hour into Paper's Please a man comes
up to you. He says 'What a wonderful day to be moving into glorious
Arstotzka!' He hands you his passport and identification papers just
like the countless hundreds before him. You sceptically glance over
the papers because usually anyone who is nice to you in your
checkpoint is either a human trafficker or a terrorist. A short while
later, to your surprise you find that all his papers are in order –
he is just a genuinely nice guy, excited to move into a new home with
his wife who is behind him in the queue. When she approaches, she
hands over nothing. She has no papers. She tells you she didn't tell
her husband because she didn't want him to worry and pleads with you
for entry to your country. This is illegal. You will be fined
whatever little money you have you saved to keep your own family
housed and fed by granting her visa. I was presented with a moral
choice I wasn’t expecting to make in a game about checking
passports. For that reason, it gets on my list.
Number 5: Stanley Parable
Of all the entry’s on this list, this
is possibly the hardest one to call an actual game. There are no
princesses to save, no enemies to smite, no power-ups or even a way
to get points. You just play as an everyman who is anxious about the
sudden disappearance of his work colleges, yet after just a few
minutes of play you begin to realize that the game will never truly
resolve that conundrum. And it's all the better for it. The Stanley
Parable is a parody of game design, by design. Your choices are
seemingly inconsequential but have a massive impact on what ending
you get, and with writing as witty as this, it is a genuine delight
to hunt them all down. The experience never really ends either. After
you turn off the game one of two things happen: You turn it back on,
or it invades your every waking thought as your mind tries to wriggle
coherence to it's plot. Best tip to any newcomer for this parable?
Just go with it. You'll be glad you did.
Number 4: Rayman Legends
I played the demo for this game more
than any other game I've ever played. I couldn't get enough of it's
breakneck platforming and utterly gorgeous graphics. When it came
out, I was in my element. This is one of the most fluid
side-scrollers ever. Everything has a real momentum and dynamic to it
that makes it so irresistible. Whenever a level ends, you are
overwhelmed with satisfaction and a burning desire to immediately
re-play it to once again experience the bliss this game offers.
Throw in a smattering of music themed
levels, including one where you time your jumps to a Spanish guitar
version of 'Eye of the Tiger,' and you know you've got yourself a
winner.
Number 3: Super Mario 3D World
When the first trailer for this game
came out I thought Nintendo were dead to me. 'Oh yay, a bare-bones 3D
Mario game with a gimmicky inclusion of a cat suit power-up, can't
wait for the next REAL Mario game to come along.' How wrong I was...
This is some of the most fun I've had with friends in a very long
time. The colours and visuals really excite and inspire throughout
all of it's worlds. New power ups are inventively implemented within
every one of it's expertly crafted levels. And man, that cat suit.
When playing with friends, blood is spilt trying to get it.
Number 2: Brother's – A Tale of Two
Sons
This game is an absolute gem. I played
it all in one sitting that lasted the same length as your average
film and it left a huge impression on me. Ironically more-so than
most films I saw this year. Set in a mildly twisted fantasy world,
you play as a pair of brothers who must embark on a quest to find a
cure for their Father's illness. Together you solve some light
co-operative puzzles as you venture across it's world, facing it's
many dangers and delights. Some of the later areas of the game are
some of the most unique and brilliant areas I have ever been to in a
game world that left my eyes and my jaw wide open. In fact, the final
puzzle of the game provided one of the most insightful thrills I've
had all year, in a way that only a video game can deliver.
Number 1: Bioshock Infinite
First Person Shooters are now becoming
the most intellectually devoid genre in gaming. Games like Call of
Duty are glorified shooting galleries that provide cheap thrills and
entertainment, they are the tic-tac's of the gaming form. Bioshock
Infinite is a Roast Dinner cooked by Heston Blumenthal;
it raises the bar for story-telling in games in so many ways,
a true revaluation of its own form. At the heart of the floating city
of Colmbia lies a girl in need of rescue. Her capture will wipe away
your debt. This is all the story you are given when you first boot up
the game and the perfect excuse to board the flying city in one of
the best game opening sequences of all time. From then on, you're
hooked. Fire-fights are spontaneous and sporadic as challenge
organically ramps up until the games final moments which will be
burnt into your mind eternally.
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