We are finally at the end of our GOTY lists for 2013. We at Progress Bar have a treat for you with our deliberations for the best (or worst) games for 2013. In addition to the standard “Top of the Pops” lists, we have decided to create our own awards to showcase the various elements of each individual game’s quality, based on their own merits. There are 12 awards in total so take a load off and strap yourself in for this exciting GOTY experience.
The I Don’t Mind Waiting Award
Every modern game needs to load before can get the full experience, but sometimes developers put that extra effort in and this award goes to a game that makes that experience less agonising.
Grand Theft Auto V
The hype leading up to the release of GTA V was more intense than any game I can remember in recent years. So when I finally got my hands on a copy the anticipation, while my PS3 installed the hefty 8GB of data, was astronomical. But instead of getting impatient and frustrated with the wait I was instead enthralled by the artwork and music of the loading screen. The song that plays is an ambient piece that builds up slowly and has a real ethereal quality to it. It is an unusual bit of music, and very different to your normal GTA loading screen song, but it made one hell of an impression on me as I sat there, anticipation coursing through my veins, thinking about the no doubt masterful game I was about to play.
Honourable mentions: 3DS Data Transfer Screen, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Ouya Update Screen, Pokemon X/Y, Ryse: Son of Rome
The Cannot Unsee Award
Awarded to a gaming moment that we will always look back on as something that affected us for better or worse.
The Last of Us – First Scene / GTA V
TLoU: It’s amazing how much we praise The Last of Us for it’s great story but nevertheless there was no better scene in our minds than the introduction/prologue. There is no better way to set the tone of a game than to have the player control a young character, learning her fears and then coming to the soul crushing conclusion of the scene where she gets killed and there is nothing you can do about it.
Naughty Dog wanted you to know that they will kick you right in the feels, and they are going to do it hard and fast before cutting to black and continuing like nothing happened. There is no remorse and no recovery, you just live on with that experience in your mind fearful of the next.
GTA V: Sometimes a memorable moment doesn’t need to be all feels and sob stories, so when it comes to GTA V, the moments that leave a picture in your mind is on a somewhat lighter tone. Being able to create a pile of cars on a highway and take selfies while your mate flies a jet into said pile is something that isn’t easily forgotten.
The amount of depth that Rockstar Games has created purely for dicking around is immense and doesn’t restrict you in any way, shape or form. The ability to create these is entirely up to you and when Trevor isn’t with his SCOOOTER BROOOTHER he is being a pure representation of what GTAV players are all about.
Honourable mentions: Saints Row 4 – He Lives, Bioshock Infinite’s Ending Scene
The Golden Turd Award
This year of gaming has been hurt by a number of terrible games and this is awarded to the smelliest of them all.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Being one of the only people that actually finished this abhorrent steaming pile of shit, there isn’t much to be said except for the fact that there is nothing redeeming about it and shouldn’t be played by anyone sober enough to think straight. The AI is bad, the Canon was disgustingly displayed and to top it all off, it lied to the world with its terrible trailers depicting a semi-decent action game. While there were a bunch of terrible games released this year, there is nothing more deserving of this award than Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Honourable mentions: Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon because I DONT KNOW, Ride to Hell Retribution (This is just a given)
It’s finally over and we can now focus on the 2014 year of gam- Oh what’s that? We still have our GOTY podcast?