The year-end VG awards of 2013

[Gare]

I don't even remember what I played this year but here we go anyway! This is now kinda-sorta an annual tradition so why not.

There are a bunch of questions, and you answer them. It is all very simple, really. As usual, the "rules" are:

#1 - Your answers need not be limited to games released this year. It just has to be a game you played this year, preferably for the first time.

#2 - No flame wars. This isn't a "my favorite game is better than yours" sort of thread.


The best games you've played this year?
Your overall game of the year?
Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
Biggest surprise of the year?
Biggest disappointment of the year?
Most memorable VG character of the year?
The game you sank the most hours into this year?
The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?

[Inferno.]

The best games you've played this year?
That's quite a tough one. I've enjoyed a lot of games this year.
The ones that pop into my head straight away are: The Walking Dead and Minecraft. Both for completely different reasons. One purely for its story, and the other for its sheer ability to suck up nearly 200 hours of my life. And I have 0 regrets about that too!

Your overall game of the year?
The Walking Dead
I really didn't think I'd get so engrossed in this game's story, and care so much about a certain character.

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Rockstar, they really do never fail to deliver fantastic games.

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
That's probably tied between the PS3 and the Vita. I really stopped being a 360 fan boy very early on into the year, and got a Vita in the Spring and I've loved them both since, mainly thanks to PS+.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.

Biggest surprise of the year?

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Aliens Colonial Marines - This was released in 2013, right?
I'm not even a fan of Aliens, I was just expecting a semi enjoyable FPS. What you do get is a broken, boring and ugly mess of a game. One that had so much promise, too. (According to Alien fans anyway. )

Most memorable VG character of the year?
That would probably be Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2 or Trevor from GTA V.

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
That goes to Minecraft easily. I spent nearly 200 hours on this with a friend, who I've grown very close to because of Minecraft.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Infamous Second Son, Drive Club, WatchDogs, Thief 4 are the ones I know are releasing early into next year, and I'm most excited for them right now because they'll give me something to play on my shiny new PS4.

[FlavaFlave]

The best games you've played this year?
The Last of Us, GTA5, Persona 4 Golden, Ni No Kuni, Tokyo Jungle, Bioshock Infinite

Your overall game of the year?
The Last of Us

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
GTA, Bioshock

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Rockstar, Naughty Dog

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PS3 - Like Inferno I pretty much gave up on the 360 back in March when I finally got a PS+ membership. I don't even have the system hooked up anymore

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
Bioshock Infinite - the original score was very good, but the remixes of some classic tunes like the Beach Boys and others really did it for me. GTA5 comes in a close second though - some great tunes in that game as well.

Biggest surprise of the year?
Persona 4 Golden - I'm not a big fan of anime stuff in general, so I've avoided this series completely..... loved P4 though.

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Borderlands 2, RE6 (was that even this year? I can't remember... I just know I hated every minute of it), and Aliens CM just for good measure. That game was fuck all pathetic

Most memorable VG character of the year?
Easily Trevor from GTA5

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Either P4 or Ni No Kuni - I know I clocked over 100 hours in P4 over the course of a few months, and the same can be said about Ni No Kuni.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Infamous Second Son, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes, Destiny, and whatever Naughty Dog comes up with.

[Drageuth]

The best games you've played this year? Rayman Origins, Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Duck Tales Remastered, Skylanders Giants, Rainbow Moon (I finished it last December, so I'm counting it because I did really love that game), possinly A Link Between Worlds (haven't started it yet, but something tells me it'll be on the list)

Your overall game of the year? At the moment, Duck Tales Remastered

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year? Ratchet & Clank

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?

Your most beloved gaming platform this year? PS3, still. Although now that I have a Vita, it's going to have to vie for my attention

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Rayman Origins. I simply love this soundtrack. (The last link is my favourite)

Biggest surprise of the year? Guacamelee! I bought it on a whim 'cause I thought it sounded funny. Proceeded to have an absolute blast (although I could have gone without the meme references and Internet pop culture stuffs)

Biggest disappointment of the year? Tomb Raider. It was... okay. Great looking game, fun to play, but the story was okay at best and the end game left a lot to be desired in terms of exploration. The tomb puzzles were wwwaaaaayyyy too easy, and there weren't enough of them. I like the general atmosphere of the game and the baseline they've set for themselves, and hope that the sequel addresses some of the misses.

Most memorable VG character of the year? Elizabeth, Bioshock Infinite. Although I haven't finished the game yet, she's about the only character I can think of that I actively care for while I'm playing. She has a fully realized personality about her, and the dialogue between her and Booker is entertaining. Diggin' it so far.

The game you sank the most hours into this year? Skylanders Giants. My kid loves it, and quite honestly I do as well. We've beaten the game... eight times now? Something like that.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year? Watch Dogs, Drakengard 3, Rainbow Skies, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, the rest of The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones (Telltale), and possibly a bunch of Vita titles that I'll have to look into now that I have a Vita.

[crusher]

The best games you've played this year?
Final Fantasy XIV, The Last of US, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Walking Dead, Duck Tales Remastered, METAL GEAR RISING

Your overall game of the year?
Final Fantasy XIV

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
The Legend of Zelda

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Even though FFXIV is great I just can't put SE here. Like no way in hell! Nintendo gets the win this year.

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
Definitely PS3 with 3DS close behind.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
Final Fantasy XIV had so many amazing tracks. Especially the city themes are great. Also all the boss themes from Metal Gear Rising are awesome!

Biggest surprise of the year?
How good A Link Between Worlds turned out to be. I thought it looked bad in the very first trailer and felt so-so about reusing the world from ALTTP but it surpassed my expectations.

Biggest disappointment of the year?
GTA Online. It's fun but Rockstar fucked up badly. STILL no heists and the monetization is horrible.

Most memorable VG character of the year?
Clementine from the Walking Dead and Ellie + Joel from The Last of Us. And also Trevor from GTAV. SCOOOOTER BROTHERS! Edit: Oh holy fuck I forgot about SENATOR STEVEN ARMSTRONG!

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Probably GTAV or maybe Peace Walker. Played quite a few hours of PW with Flava. But FFXIV might just become my most played game before this year ends...

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Metal Gear Solid V, duh!

[Gare]

The best games you've played this year?

A bunch of visual novels.
Bioshock Infinite
Darksiders 2
Mass Effect 3
Tales of Graces second playthrough (in co-op + hardest difficulty).
RE6 + RE: Revelations (yeah I liked them, shut up!)

Your overall game of the year?

Bioshock Infinite
MuvLuv Alternative (inb4 "not a game")

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?

Uh, I dunno. MuvLuv?

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?

Take a guess.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.

Biggest surprise of the year?

Bioshock Infinite.

Biggest disappointment of the year?

Final Fantasy Type-0, hands down. BLEH.

Runners-up: Castlevania Lords of Shadow, Assassin's Creed 3, Tomb Raider (2013), Gone Home, Outlast

This was the year of letdowns, I suppose.

Most memorable VG character of the year?

Does a VN character count? If so, Mercurius in Dies irae. Otherwise, I dunno. Marauder Shields?

The game you sank the most hours into this year?

Tera Online.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?

Thief 4, Witcher 3, Dragon Age 3, Dark Souls 2, Broken Age, SOMA, Routine, Lords of Shadow 2 not being shit (please please please), Project Eternity, Tides of Numenera (early 2015 actually, but still), Titanfall (sorta), Gabriel Knight remake

I'm excited about EVERYTHING.

[Pokemongenius]

The best games you've played this year?
Gee idk Tales of Xillia and Blazblue
Your overall game of the year?
Blazblue
Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
probably still Blazblue
Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Arc System Works
Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PSP and Wii
Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
Tales of Xillia or Blazblue XD
Biggest surprise of the year?
That I found myself not playing the game I always wanted too: Dissidia Final Fantasy
Biggest disappointment of the year?
Idk maybe that Metroid Prime was fairly boring
Most memorable VG character of the year?
Either Ragna or Rowen Illbert (that guy is hilarious XD)
The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Metroid Prime or No More Heroes
The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 and Smash Bros 4.

[Zaladane]

The best games you've played this year?

XCOM
DC Universe
Street Fighter 4
Hitman Absolution
Bunch of FF games
Candy Crush
Sleeping Dogs

Your overall game of the year?

If I had to pick a fave it would probably have to be Hitman: Absolution. I just had so much fun with it!

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?

Let's say Final Fantasy because why not

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?

Umm Square? Sure let's go with Square!

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?

I loved my PS3 (yeah it's long gone ) But let's go with something different and say Android. Sure I've mostly been emulating on it but having a blast doing so and learning a lot about it!!! Help threads here I come!!!!

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.

Bleh.

Biggest surprise of the year?

XCOM. Pretty simple looking game at first and didn't think I'd like it but had a great time with it!!!

Also Sleeping Dogs. I hate UFG (I was posted there sometimes when I did the security guard thing) and they're freaking assholes. Saw the game getting made too when it was supposed to be a Streets game and then came the moment it was scrapped and then redone a bit to become a new game. Wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Oh well got it for "free" of PS+ and platted the bitch in 4 days

Biggest disappointment of the year?

Deus X Human Revolution. Started off liking it but just fizzled out and died for me. It was too much like Hitman and it just got really boring for me for some reason. Oh well one day..

Also all of those Indie titles I got of PSN. I would say "oh how cute" or "this is kinda fun" but lost interest super fast and never ended up playing any for more than a couple minutes. Maybe that's just me and not the games fault though????


Most memorable VG character of the year?

Crap dunno. Agent 47? Yeah let's go with baldy!!!

The game you sank the most hours into this year?

Hitman and Xcom!!!!

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?

FFX HD!!!!!

[meganova]

The best games you've played this year?
Plant Vs Zombie 2(?), XCOM : Enemy Unknown, Persona 4 Arena, The Last of Us, Ni No Kuni : Warth of the White Witch, Bioshock Infinite,
Metro : Last Light, GTA V, Dragon's Crown, and Disgaea D2 (Probably more, but I forgot the rest)

Your overall game of the year?
The Last of Us

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
Bioshock

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Atlus

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PS3

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
Ni No Kuni : Wrath of the White Witch - Pieces of Broken Heart

Biggest surprise of the year?
XCOM : Enemy Unknown

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Alien : Colonial Marines(Wtf is this? same reasons with Inferno ) , Lost Planet 3(Duh! booringg), Watch Dogs(what? next year!? nvm)

Most memorable VG character of the year?
Ellie(The Last of Us)

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Ni No Kuni : Wrath of the White Witch (Oh yeahhh, getting Platinum in this game is a very tiring, but fun at the same time)

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Dragon Age : Inquisition, The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt, Infamous Second Son, MGSV : Ground Zeroes, Thief, Castlevania Lord of Shadow 2,
Final Fantasy XV(?), Dark Soul 2, Tales of Xillia 2, Kingdom Hearts 3, Persona 5(if it released next year) andddd... Watch Dogs

[Ace Ventura]

The best games you've played this year?
Battlefield 4, although it's buggy at times, still great.
Assassin's Creed IV.
Rogue Legacy
Knack
GTAV
Super Mario 3D World
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Your overall game of the year?
Rogue legacy. Sure it's an indie game, but it's a great game. The controls, the gameplay. It's all around amazing.

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
Not entirely sure...I'd have to say Assassin's Cree and Killzone.

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Cellardoor games, they made Rogue Legacy. Can't wait to see what they do next!

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PS4 and PC.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-O-78QLLWg

Biggest surprise of the year?
Super Mario 3D World.

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Battlefield 4's launch.

Most memorable VG character of the year?
Edward Kenway.

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Terraria. I know it's not a 2013 title, but I spent a lot of time in it.

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
InFamous: Second Son, WatchDogs, Dark Souls 2, Kingdom Hearts 3, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors, Kirby Triple Deluxe.

[Nemkoon]

The best games you've played this year? God Hand, Super Robot Wars Alpha 2, Whatever else I played that didn't suck ass
Your overall game of the year? GOD. HAND.
Your most beloved franchise(s) this year? Shin Megami Tensei and Super Robot Wars
Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year? Atlus and Banpresto
Your most beloved gaming platform this year? PS2
Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it. Super Robot Wars
Biggest surprise of the year? Me not going over 200 continues in God Hand
Biggest disappointment of the year? Me frying one of my hard drives
Most memorable VG character of the year? Ibis Douglas
The game you sank the most hours into this year? SRW Alpha 2, with Baldur's Gate EE being second probably.
The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year? Icewind Dale EE, Planescape Torment EE, God Hand's sequel if it ever comes into existence,

[treos]

on average i skip around through so many different games these days (some i finish in 1 session, some i play and either delete out of general dislike or just put off as "i might finish it later") that i can't answer all of these questions...that and i hardly even bother with new console games so...yeah anywho, i'll give this a shot.

The best games you've played this year?
i see no exact date specified on this one but, uh if mmo's count then i suppose warframe as its a 1st-person (3rd-person in the dojo/clan halls) shooter with ninja gaiden moves added to the mix

Your overall game of the year?
i honestly don't know

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
probably blizzard again when we order my christmas present, diablo 3. oh, diablo, always one of my faves. (oh the chaos that multiplayer can create ^.^)

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
see previous question

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
*sigh* when is it not pc?

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
dunno

Biggest surprise of the year?
...no comment

Biggest disappointment of the year?
mmo's, pay-to-win market, 'nuff said


Most memorable VG character of the year?
dunno

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
dunno, never really keep track of this unless its on a save file but given that i tend to leave the console running through the day/night sometimes i would say FFXIII. i know its only around 40 hours long but the game in general just ticks me off and so i force myselfto play it (it bugs me to own a part of that franchise and not beat it...um, exculding some spinoff games )

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
now this is a easy one. Starbound, Mighty no.9, and...i can probably think of a few more later.

:/ least i tried answering them, i do still game a lot but as i said in 1 of the above answers, i tend to hop from game to game a lot these days and the least likely thing for me to go to (not counting emulators) are console games though i did recently beat true vault hunter mode on borderlands 2 (haven't gone after terramorphus yet) and started on darksiders 2 again. shame i can't do the on-disc DLC (friggin... *sigh*) arena, no xbox live and i prefer getting it free like most things i find and/or want online. probably spent a few k $ over the years on gaming, anime, music, and movies...or i would have if i didn't know how to get it free like roms here.

[Ikusagami]

The best games you've played this year?
Top 10, order disputable
Skyrim
Last Remnant
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Dragon Age II
Dragon's Dogma
The Last Story
The Last of Us
Lagoon
Ruruli Ra Rura


Your overall game of the year?
Skyrim

Your most beloved franchise(s) this year?
Ys, but that goes for every year.

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
Monolith and Falcom. Every year.

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PS3 got the most attention, but the time I spent collecting hundreds of PC-98 games gives it the advantage.

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year?
Ys Seven

Biggest surprise of the year?
MGR: Revengeance. It looked good, but I never expected it to be my favorite action game, even over God Hand and ZoE 2. Best tameshigiri simulator ever.

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Pandora's Tower. It was the one Project Rainfall game I actually bought, and I was glad to have gotten it before the inevitable price increase.
Couldn't get rid of it soon enough, and hardly had it in me to finish it.

Most memorable VG character of the year?
The Arishok

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Skyrim or Last Remnant

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
I'm really eager to play the Ryuuki Denshou Trilogy, if I can ever find the last damn game.
(screw current gen )

[Kool Aid Man]

The only current system I have is a Wii and my PC is not powerful enough to run current games, so these are the retro ones I never played until this year.

The best games you've played this year?
Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, House of Dead: Overkill, Last Express, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Paper Mario

Your overall game of the year?
Paper Mario (N64)

Your most beloved gaming company/companies this year?
GOG.com

Your most beloved gaming platform this year?
PC Engine

Best soundtrack/video game music of the year? Feel free to post Youtube vids of the selected piece if you can find it.
19XX - Thunders Outer Limits

Biggest surprise of the year?
Last Express - I never really cared for point & click games but this was very good. Loved the story and art direction

Biggest disappointment of the year?
Ys Book 1 & 2 - the battle areas were such a pain to navigate

The game you sank the most hours into this year?
Street Fighter 2 - played it casually in the 90s but this year finally decided to master my favorite characters Balrog & Honda

The game(s) you're looking forward to the most next year?
Castle of Illusion HD
Cuphead - A fighter/run 'n gun with 1930s inspired art style
Witcher 3