- Wolverfrog
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- Fabled Legendary Member
Trying to think of the games I actually bought this year.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (5/10): Solid gameplay that improved vastly on its predecessor, but an absolute abomination of a story which completely ruined the wonderful experience of XIII (it was my favourite FF) for me. I wish it had never been made. Hopefully Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be better, but the damage is done.
Mass Effect 3 (8/10): Dat ending. Hated it, hated it, hated it. Much of the rest of the game was flawed too, but had moments of utter brilliance that balanced it out. Would have been a 7/10 but the Extended Cut bumped it up a notch. Still the worst in the trilogy by far.
Kid Icarus: Uprising (8/10): My second-favourite 3DS game. It's rare that Nintendo actually does something new, so this was a real surprise to me; not so much a reboot of a franchise as a reinvention. Wonderful dialogue, tight gameplay perfectly suited to the handheld, lovely graphics and a musical score that's utterly divine (bad pun.)
Kingdom Hearts 3D (9/10): Huge fan of the series, this was a brilliant addition to the franchise and story. Best gameplay to date, some brilliant music, gorgeous graphics and although the story plodded along for most of the game, the last four hours were utterly incredible. Didn't hurt that Riku's the main protagonist; he's a much better character than Sora.
Assassin's Creed 3 (8/10): A flawed gem if I've ever played one. The story of the revolution was perfect, full of thematic depth and emotion. The modern-day story was awful, and completely ruined a plot I'd loved since AC1. Gameplay was a mixed bag; combat's more challenging but ultimately I felt like my options were limited compared to the other games. Naval battles were incredible, Ubisoft should make a pirate game.
Halo 4 (9/10): Probably my game of the year out of all I've played. Best story in the series, wonderful characterisation and gorgeous graphics. Full of content that'll keep me playing for ages too. Gameplay's solid, and only just falls short of that quintessential Bungie magic - I thought CE had some flawes too, where they came into their own with Halo 2. Hopefully 343i will do the same with Halo 5.
That's it. Not nearly as hardcore a gamer as you, clearly, but I get by. No 10/10 for me this year. 2009 had AC2, 2010 had ME2 and 2011 had Deus Ex: HR and Skyrim. Ah well. Here's to 2013 and the inevitable next-generation.