The Best of 2013

So, 2014 is finally upon us. Happy New Year! So with that in mind, I've decided to do a post based around my favourite games, anime's and - for once - movies of 2013. Keep in mind as with all things on this blog that this is my opinion, so if you don't agree with something I say well tough titty. With all that said, let us begin the Best of 2013 post!

Best Action Game

I hadn't really played that many action games in 2013, in fact I only playedfour so the choice was fairly limited. It was a tie between Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us and the new Tomb Raider Reboot. It was a close call between MGR and Tomb Raider, but in the end Tomb Raider came out on top with it's amazing graphics, great depiction of the character of Lara Croft and some of the best gameplay that has been in any action game since Uncharted came out in 2007. It's something you should definitely play and since it has a sequel in the works, now would be the perfect time to play it. The spectacular visuals and music give the game a real cinematic feel too.

Best Simulation Game

By this I mean a game that simulates something that you can do in the real world. Again, choice was fairly limited this time between FIFA 14 and Race Driver: GRID 2. As fun as racing around the world was in GRID, FIFA kept me on my PS3 far longer than I had intended to. The Ultimate Team mode is back in full force and my God is it addicting as fuck. It's hard to get into at the start with Bronze Players, but once you get one or two Gold players you're on your way to becoming addicted to one of the best Sports games in recent memory. While the gameplay isn't a significant improvement over FIFA 13, It's still fun and challenging in it's own way.

Best Role Playing Game

Counting MMO's, I played very little 2013 RPG's. Most of the RPG's I played this year were actually PS1 Era RPG's. But, between A Realm Reborn: Final Fantasy XIV Online, Tales of Xillia and Pokemon X/Y, Namco-Bandai's Gald Collecting, Team Based and addicting as hell Tales of Xillia came out on top. Unlike most Tales games which add minor changes to gameplay, Xillia has a focus on partnership and linking together in real time for faster and more fluent battling. It may not be the best looking RPG out there, but it's anime art style lends it a real authentic JRPG feel unlike any other on the market today (even the well done Ni no Kuni couldn't beat this). It's the pinnacle Japanese RPG experience.

Best Remake/HD Remaster

Since it technically didn't come out in 2013 (as MGS HD was a 2011 game), I can't really count Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection which is a shame. Luckily, Square Enix came to my rescue with the strangely titled Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX. This collection includes Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories and the cutscenes of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Most people will probably buy this collection just for the Final Mix of the original game, which is fine, but you'll be missing out on an addicting game in the form of Re: Chain of Memories which has a card-based battle system focusing on deck building a la Yu-Gi-Oh! The package is one that's well worth it if you can find it for under €30, since it really is only 2 games plus a 3 hour movie.

Best Overall Game

So, between Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto V, Gone Home, Tales of Xillia, The Last of Us and Metal Gear Rising, which one impressed me the most? Well, it was a tough choice between Gone Home with it's amazing structure and story, Tomb Raider's gameplay and Tales of Xillia's great characters and presentation. Overall I think that no game will ever surpass Tales of Xillia in terms of sheer scope and story. As mentioned above it's a very addicting team based experience focused on linking abilities and changing things up from pervious entries. With an absolutely extraordinary Soundtrack and emotionally gripping characters, Tales of Xillia isn't just the Game of the Year, but the game of the PS3 Era.

Best Anime

It was really tough actually, since the three nominee's are actually extremely well done and hard to pick between. My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Attack on Titan and Kill la Kill all amazed me in their own way, but in the end, only one could be the victor. But of course, Attack on Titan with it's intense plot, well done characters and absolutely pitch fucking perfect presentation took the honour of best anime. The characters are brilliantly written and have fine motivations, the set up is great leading to suspense, drama and horror and the animation is amazing for Studio WIT's first ever anime. What else can I say but 2013's breakout anime sure broke all new ground.

 Best Original Video Animation (OVA)

Originally this was going to be a one choice thing since the release date for Sword Art Online: Extra Edition was unconfirmed until it randomly came out YESTERDAY OF ALL DAYS. So between that and Shingeki no Kyojin: Ilse no Techou which one was better? This was actually hard to decide since the SAO OVA is much longer than the SNK OVA (It's nearly two hours long compared to the measly 20 minutes of Ilse no Techou) but the SNK OVA has a much clearer focus and better presentation. When all is said and done, a good plot and characters is what makes these things enjoyable, and even though Extra Edition is a slight improvement over the absolutely fucking shitty diarrhoea that was the SAO anime, Ilse no Techou barely (and I mean by a fucking hair here) wins the spot of Best OVA. It gives us a nice insight on Zoe's obsession with Titans and it has Corporal Levi doing what he does best in it. It also has the anime's first intro. That alone is an amazing thing in my book.

Best Movie

Admist plenty of sequels and remakes this year I actually only saw two movies in the last 12 months that were released in 2013: Pacific Rim and Pain and Gain. One is an Action movie and one is like an acid trip with a comedy thrown in. While I laughed my ass of at Pain and Gain, Pacific Rim just amazed me more with it's amazing Special Effects, cool design and a real Attack on Titan-esque plot (They even build a damn wall to keep the monsters out). It also starts Charlie Day. That alone should get you to watch it.

So there you have it, my best of 2013 list. Thanks for reading guys and I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for me and this blog! See you guys soon!