Decades have come and gone without an entry in the Zelda franchise reaching the heights of A Link Between Worlds. While such an accomplishment warms the heart of anyone who has dutifully stood by Link during his ups and down, it has little bearing on this prestigious award.
Just for a second, remove the nostalgic tingle of exploring a familiar version of Hyrule. Forget any sentimental attachment you may have for hookshots and bottled fairies. A Link Between Worlds is fantastic in its own right. It frees you of any tutorial shackles and sets you loose in a bustling world with only your own curiosity to guide you. Such unrestrained exploration is empowering. And when the many puzzles stumped us, it was all the more satisfying to figure out a solution using our own ingenuity.
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The Last of Us is one I haven't played yet, and I'm not really sure why I've waited. Maybe the hype got on my nerves, Naughty Dog hype to be more specific. I thought Uncharted 1 was fun, and that Uncharted 2 was amazing. And then Uncharted 3 was just great. So long story short, I don't think the franchise has enthralled me the way that it has for so many others. When I think of the Last of Us, I think great production quality, solid gameplay, and good story. So expect a great game when I actually play it, so the jury is still out on that one.
GTA V was a blast from the beginning, but as I got further and further along, the feeling I got from it was that there was a just a well crafted huge world, but why did there feel like there was so much emptiness in it. The game failed to capture the "wonder" that Vice City and San Andreas did for me, and it proved once again that bigger isn't always better. I loved how the environment looked, but it was the atmosphere that was lacking. I give the game props for moving in the right direction (away from GTAIV that is...), and crafting a fun approach to the story, and gameplay. However, this game will always lack that extra "something" that really has a lasting impression on you.
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is easily my most anticipated 2013 game that I have yet to play (maybe with ACIV being the only exception). Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game by far. To me, it exemplifies what a game takes to be a timeless classic... meaning when I bought the game again on Gameboy advance it sucked me right back in its charming game world. It's those game where you know the story may not be engaging per say , but much like the case of Fire Emblem Awaking, you can be reminded how much an impact a game can have when it's quite simply just "fun". The game is just challenging enough to fell "right" and it had many fun options like exploring and looking for pieces of hearts or new items. Remember the first time you went in that secret waterfall, threw in your boomerang, and got the improved red boomerang? Yeah... that was awesome. I can't wait to play this game, so even before playing it, if it's anything like it's predecessor, I can see why it's game of the year.
Bioshock Infinite is my game of the year thus far. I've already typed enough so I'll keep it short and simple. This game had the most insane sense of atmosphere. The game world was so engaging, and had so much subtle touches that I've never played through a game so slow. I spent so much time just exploring every nook in cranny, listening to the recordings, and just trying to soak in as much of the game world as I could. Oh, and that story *goosebumps*, what a trip. The twist was so much fun to dive into that I feel like some players forgot how much of a blast the journey was. There are still very few games quite like Bioshock Infinite, which is the hurdle of the game industry. I don't just want a sense of good gameplay or story... I want an experience.
I would have went with The Last of Us, but Zelda is still a really good game. If Mario won I would have been fine too. Nintendo makes fine games. Although i really do think The Last of Us should have won (huge fan.)
I still have to get link between worlds. I did not play the game it is based off but luckily I got it last month for in November I have not played it yet but I will soon. Then after that I am getting this game. GTA 5 is probably my got. I loved last of us but gta 5 was just pure fun. But I know I am the only one who loves both games single players and multiplayer parts. So unlike some of you who are having meltdowns on this I will respect their choice.
The only 2 things that A Link Between Worlds doesn't "come close to the likes of" is the graphics (although art style is great) and story, thankfully gaming is far more than that and A Link Between Worlds absolutely excels at everything else it does, which is why GameSpot gave it GOTY while many other sites nominated it, it nearly won GameTrailers's GOTY.
<< LINK REMOVED >> it takes more than pixels to make a game great even though the games you mentioned are great. Sometimes it just goes down to peoples opinion. And you can still pick your own game of the year. So stop losing it and respect the winner.
I'm fairly certain now, that GameSpot is run by a bunch idiots sitting around a table, soiling themselves everytime a Zelda game gets released... And from what my friend told me, a bad Zelda game at that.
<< LINK REMOVED >> I'm completely certain that your brain is run by a bunch of idiotic micro-organisms who automatically calls an M-rated game "good" and thinks an E-rated game as "kiddy". Oh, and what if your friend told you to jump off a cliff, would you listen?
"It's a terrible game, I've been told because everything I hear is absolute fact."
Last I checked, Skyward Sword got a 7.5 from GameSpot, totally sounds like "soiling themselves everytime a Zelda game gets released." seriously, the idiotic statements the community comes up with.
<< LINK REMOVED >> A Link Between Worlds is the best Zelda game since Windwaker on the Gamecube. Better then Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, am I missing any? don't think so...Anyway Zelda is my favorite franchise in gaming it was an amazing game and it is amazing that Gamespot of all places gave Nintendo a win.
<< LINK REMOVED >> Your friend is extremely wrong. A Link Between Worlds is truly amazing. A masterpiece. My favorite Zelda game and one of my favorite games of all time. Unless you don't like challenging games, then I could understand why someone wouldn't like the game.
Next year, if possible, please bring back the special achievement awards (the original ones, not the last year's fiasco). They're fun, I'm sure lot of people like to read them and also compare results with previous years (i.e. best technical/artistic graphics, story, music, design, use of license etc.).
<< LINK REMOVED >> Yeah totally agree~ By the way I love reading "Best game no one play" and "Worst game everyone play" section, it's really interesting~!
I remembered the "Best game no one played" and that's a great one to have since it shows the community some hidden gems out there, something I'm always willing to support.
Wonderful year for games. I remember when Red Dead Redemption came out, it was pretty obvious that it would win. Compare that to this year, when with each new great game that comes out, you think, "Oh, THIS one will win GOTY." And in the end, Gamespot picked one kinda out of the blue for everyone - another top-notch game (I'm assuming; I haven't played it) that nobody paid much attention to because there were just so many top-notch games. Yay for 2013!
I love how the "M" rating is taking so literally, to the point that people would actually use it to validate themselves, yet the "E" rating gets interpreted, when that rating should be the one taken literally. I've found WAY more "E" and "T" rated games to be more "mature" than most "M" rated games, it's why I want the ESRB rating to be like the PEGI system, where it's just numbers, not terms.
What exactly is wrong with the majority of games on a system being rated E? It's E for "Everyone," after all; shouldn't that be a good sign rather than the majority of games being rated M or something? It's not a MAXIMUM age limit...
<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> Yeah, and people have told me the Twilight series is a literary revolution for the vampire/werewolf genre.
Sorry, but Link looks like a child; it's on a platform geared towards younger audience; the overwhelming majority of the games for said platform are rated E or E10.How can I think anything but a child’s game with this?This reminds me of the people trying to convince me to pick up the Pokeman games.
<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >>If you think that Zelda games are just for kids, then you really don't know what you're talking about. I suggest picking up Twilight Princess.
I wanted Bioshock Infinite to win... I love the Zelda series, but seriously, how can I buy the GotY edition of Bioshock if it doesn't win any GotY award?
I have nothing against Zelda, but they chose this game simply because choosing either GTAV or TLOU would make them too generic. What's more, it would pour more oil on an already universal war.
<< LINK REMOVED >>I haven't played GTA5, but aLBW is easily on par with tLoU, and right now I'd give aLBW the edge, but then I have played it more recently.
ahhh, the game of the year comments. where haters come to hate and fanboys love to fawn. seriously, have these people played even a third of these games they don't like? because just about every single one of them is awesome. way to express love for the hobby you supposedly enjoy, with searing unfounded criticism... i weep for humanity.
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