[Question] The Gamingforce Game of the Year 2013: Heigh-ho it's off to Vote we go

The Last of Us 30

I was having a hard time with which game to raise the highest this year. I decided to go with Naughty Dog's newest venture. Much of this game is completely enjoyable, starting from the beautiful scenery and Santaolalla's subtle music. The mood is just completely out of this world, something not even many sci-fi films can create.

Some of the enemies' AI and detection is completely illogical, and therefore you can just slow walk through the whole game, basically. (case in point: the clickers should have noticed you from any movement, if they did use ultrasound) Usually I found myself trying to figure out a faster route, which made for a fun side puzzle. Ally AI was completely stupid too, making all sneaking seem counter-intuitive since the enemy doesn't see them AT ALL.

I could go on about the gameplay flaws, but the fact is it's a brilliantly acted and craftily told out story that gives the more story-oriented games a run for their money (see: my bubbling under section).

Assassin's Creed IV: The Black Flag (PS4) 25

It's been a while since an Assassin's Creed game was fun to play. A lot of the silly ship management and even the micro-advancements through assassin contracts is surprisingly fun to play, something I got really bored of in the previous installments. I'm always against useless collecting, which is now very truculent in practically every game. In Black Flag some of it was alright, namely the treasure map hunts and sinking value ships. On a side note, this is the prettiest game of the new generation starter set, not just a sloppy port.

Ninokuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3) 25

It was very refreshing to play a balanced j-style RPG, since god knows how long ago. I stopped playing them altogether after the horrible FFXII. Even the story, even though coated in candy cotton, was amazing, and at points truly dramatic. While in play it also felt like the side missions weren't all completely pointless, though retrospect dictates it was all for the money.

Resogun 10

Most fun I've had this year. The relentless arcade feel and the amazing new-gen graphics create a wonderful explosion of different thematics.

Grand Theft Auto V (PS3) 5

Deserves a mention on being an enthralling and well-acted script, albeit a bit on the short side. The gameplay itself was buried deep in completely pointless, interrupting side activities, which I ended up doing not much at all, to be able to enjoy the story. The online version was fun, but it didn't feel like being online. It was like playing against a completely sporadic and ADHD'd AI.

Ratchet & Clank: (Into the) Nexus 5

This would have gotten far more points were it a full game, instead of this four-world adventure that we got. I replayed Crack in Time after this, and everything is simply more balanced in this last Ratchet Future -game.

Bubbling under:

Spoiler:

Killzone: Shadow Fall

A really nice, and interesting, though a bit too chapter-delivered story. I was intrigued by the world, and even having not played the previous installments, I didn't feel left out from anything at all. That's an achievement. The problem is, this game shouldn't have been an fps looking from the storytelling perspective. Pretty as hell.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

I was thoroughly disappointed to hear Sucker Punch jumped ship on this series. Surprisingly not much damage was done and it feels like a continuation. Much of that is thanks to McConnell. This series could have easily gone down the Spyro drain. Many things WERE a bit off, like the clue bottle locations being illogical compared to previous installments. That, and other small details like it kept me from being immersed at any point.

Beyond: Two Souls

Not really a game, but I'll still put it here. A really gripping story, with this year's best (voice) acting. Nothing you do truly affects the story or anything in fact, which is a total letdown - you just see everything unfold.

Tomb Raider (PS3)

A nice revision of Uncharted. Nothing new under the adventure sun, but enjoyable enough to play through.

Jam it back in, in the dark.