December at last, which means it is that time again. Here are my top games of 2013!
1. Assassins
Creed IV : Black Flag
2. Crusader
Kings II : The Old Gods
3. Civilisation
V : A Brave New World
4. Fallen
Enchantress : Legendary Heroes
5. Europa
Universalis IV
The Breakdown
Looking back on it, this has been the year of expansions
finally making games become worthy of their promise. It’s been a fantastic year
for strategy but rather mediocre shooters and RPGs.
Assassins Creed was the surprise hit for 2013, much like
Crusader Kings II was last year. Being
such a console centric game, I had intended to give it a miss but thanks to
getting it as a freebie with a new graphics card, I decided to give it a go –
and I am so glad that I did! Fantastic graphics, good storyline, interesting
mechanics, high level of polish and a good port to PC all combine to make a
great game. It was marred only by a slightly repetitive nature (caused in no
small part by the lack of different ship types to fight).
9/10
Crusader Kings II was already game of 2012, but The Old Gods
added so much that it might as well have been an entirely new release. A new
map, with all new factions, new raiding mechanics, new faiths (and mechanics to
make them unique), the ability for Norse nations to sail up rivers all leant
itself very well to an already deep game. The only downside is with the
extended timeline, it can become a little too easy to become massively dominant
in the latter years.
9/10
A Brave New World made Civilisation V into the game is
really should have been from release, and finally made it a real addition to
the excellent legacy left by Civilisation IV. Trade, new very interesting
nations (Venice!), tourism, culture, widespread rebalance of the economy. I would
have rated Civ V at about 4/10, but this expansion easily boosts it to the new
score. It finally just makes the game feel complete and for the first time,
actually fun.
8/10
After the travesty that was Elemental : War of Magic,
Stardock finally got their act together with the 3rd rendition of
the game. Legendary Heroes added many things, including a far more intuitive
hero skill line, far better balanced skills and powers, new units and
technologies, massively improved AI, and most importantly virtually rebuilt the
combat system from the ground up so that it became a real asset to the game rather
than something to just autoplay through.
This game just edged EU4 and State of Decay to the spot because it is
also an example of good business practice. Stardock gave all the subsequent
updates to the awful core game (Fallen Enchantress and Legendary Heroes) to
owners of Elemental for free. They acknowledged their mistake, rejigged the
team behind it, appointed a new design lead, expended significant resources to
improve it, and then rewarded those who had stood by the concept of the game. I
can’t but help think that other developers would have just let it quietly die
out.
8/10
The fifth in my chart clings to the spot rather tenuously,
though I have great hope that with some future DLC (like Crusader Kings II and
EU3 got) will really make its potential to shine. It does itself justice as a
good successor to the loved EU3, especially with the emphasis on national
identity (each nation now gets unique boni). It is marred in some areas though,
most especially in the monarch points being so arbitrarily awarded and based
entirely on a random number generator. Having more control over such a core
mechanic would go a long way to improving it. There are also something of a
shortage of national ideas with which to really flesh a nation out with, but
these are things that should be easily added to. I am also really excited about
the upcoming Conquest of Paradise expansion which adds a randomly generated New
World – so the Player cannot just go directly for New York!
7/10
Notable Mention
This is a game I struggled to place, as it is a strong
contender with EU4 and Fallen Enchantress for the 4th / 5th
spot.
State of Decay kind of came out of no-where but it instantly
impressed. With a higher focus on the actual survival of a Zombie incursion and
the stresses it places on the community than most bland Zombie games really
gave it an edge. Add into that emergent character development, GTA-style
driving, and an interesting world to explore and exploit made it into a
must-try. There are some downsides in that it is clearly made by quite a small
studio and it does get repetitive. Zombies are not much of a threat (except the
“specials”), and the AI can sometimes do really stupid things. Game also
continues while you are not playing and this can kill off beloved characters
which I really dislike (you have no power over this happening). Note, I have
only played this on the console and not PC. I do own the PC version, but I’ve
just not had the chance to try yet so cannot comment on how well it’s been
ported.
7/10
Honourable Mentions
The honourable mentions go to games which I know to have
great potential, and which I do own – i’ve just not had a chance to play them
yet. It is quite possible that they get added to my top games list in hindsight
as they were released this year.
X-Com : Enemy Within
Victoria II : Heart of Darkness
Skyrim : Dragonborn
Possible Contenders
These are games which I have heard rated very highly, but
are either not out on PC, or that I do not own.
Grand Theft Auto V
Bioshock Infinite
Dishonoured
Saints Row IV
Wolf Among Us
Last of Us
Titles to look out for
These are games announced or otherwise showcased this year
which could well be contenders for next year’s top spot. As always though, I am
sure some surprises will come through and shine!
7 Days to Die – Minecraft meets hardcore Zombies. This is
survival mode as it was meant to be; an actual challenge to survive. Locate and
upgrade a base, scavenge for materials, and then cower in fear when night falls,
and hope that all your spike traps hold the horde at bay.
ARMA III - Yes, it was released this year but it works in a
similar way to Mount and Blade. They release a fantastic though rather
barebones game, then rely on modders to really bring flesh to the very powerful
foundation. We just need to wait for some mods to come through now!
Project Eternity + Wasteland 2 – Considering the lack of good RPGs this
year, there will be a lot of pressure on these games to deliver!
