The consoles are done, but we’ve still got one more category to go before we announce our Game of the Year. To present the award for Best Multiplatform Game, here’s Editor Tyler Lubben.
 |
BEST MULTIPLATFORM GAME |
| Previous Winner: Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward | |
TYLER: Everyone loves a good fanboy war. Watching two (or more) people screaming at each other about how the PlayStation 4 can do this, or the Xbox One has that can be a pretty entertaining way to kill an hour. However, at the end of the day, games are what matter. Exclusive titles for specific systems are great, but those that cross the borders of different platforms – the ones that everyone can talk about on equal ground – are what connect gamers. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the Best Multiplatform Games of 2013:
The nominees are…
- BioShock Infinite
The BioShock games have always been memorable experiences that found their way to multiple platforms. After the slightly horror-centric titles that came before it, BioShock Infinite left the underwater confines of Rapture and, instead, took to the skies in the city of Arcadia. With a fantastic package of combat, music, setting and gameplay, there’s a lot to love about this first-person shooter. Probably the most memorable feature of the game, however, would be the leading lady, Elizabeth. One of the most charming characters to come out of a game in recent memory, Elizabeth made it easy for players to care about her, and playing through the game with her by your side made BioShock Infinite one of the best titles of 2013.
After the fairly disappointing showing from Assassin’s Creed III, fans were right to be wary of the next installment in the franchise, especially coming just a year after the previous title. Players braced for the worst, but Assassin’s Creed IV had one thing going for it – sailing. AC4 took the best part of its predecessor and built an entire game around it. Taking on the role of Edward Kenway, the grandfather of AC3’s star, Connor, players are given a huge expanse of the Caribbean to explore during the Golden Age of Pirates, interacting with well-known figures such as Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts and Stede Bonnet. Possibly one of the best things about the game, though, is that the tired old story of Assassins vs. Templars has been largely put on the backburner, so the game hardly even feels like a traditional Assassin’s Creed game. With a fresh story, great combat and fun sailing mechanics, AC4 is a great return to form for the franchise, and hopefully they’ll be able to keep this momentum in subsequent titles.
- Injustice: Gods Among Us
Everyone loves a good fighting game, and adding some of the most iconic super heroes in history only sweetens the deal. Injustice: Gods Among Us takes many of the most well-known DC comic book superheroes and villains—including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and The Joker—and puts them into a decidedly darker story where the lines between good and evil have blurred. Against this backdrop, the Injustice gives us a fighter with some pretty ferocious combat. With great looking 3D character models and interactive environments, it’s a great game for some classic “Who would win?” fights. Plus, the game has been released on just about every system out there, so there are plenty of ways to enjoy it.
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
The Metal Gear games have always been great stealth titles with fun gameplay, interesting characters and convoluted storylines. Ever since Metal Gear Solid 2, however, Raiden has been something of a whipping boy for the franchise. Being nowhere near as cool Solid Snake, Raiden was an unwelcome addition to the series for many fans who felt shortchanged playing through the game. However, that all changed in Metal Gear Solid 4 when Raiden burst back onto the scene in full cyborg ninja fashion with the kind of strength, speed, and agility that Snake could only dream of matching. Since then, fans (or at least I) have been clamoring for a chance to play as the new and improved Raiden. Players finally got that chance in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, which did a great job of emulating the moves that Raiden was pulling off in MGS4 with an interesting slow-motion mechanic and fun, yet non-intrusive quick-time events. And don’t worry, the story is just as convoluted as ever.
It’s been a strange ride with Rayman Legends. The game originally started out as an exclusive title on the Wii U, but a sudden announcement saw it coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as well as their next-gen counterparts, much to the chagrin of Nintendo fans. While Legends does play slightly differently on the latter systems due to a lack of anything resembling the Wii U GamePad, the core mechanics are still present no matter how you play. Players control Rayman, his friend Globox, various Teensies, and a new character, Barbara, through a series of fantastical 2D environments by running, jumping and punching their way through waves of enemies. There may be some bitterness that Legends isn’t a Wii U-exclusive, but all it means is that more people will be able to enjoy this fun and quirky game.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
The call of the cyborg ninja was just too much for it to go any other way. Revengeance is a roller coaster ride from start to finish, with the type of crazy gameplay and mechanics that you only get from someone like Platinum Games. From slicing up baddies like a hot knife through butter to effortlessly deflecting bullets to running up and down walls like the ninja you are, Metal Gear Rising is a fantastic experience that everyone with the means should play. Though Metal Gear games have usually been purely Sony ventures, Revengeance is available on PS3 and 360, as well as PC, so there are plenty of ways to enjoy this amazing game.
JEFF: Before we get to the Game of the Year, I feel like I need to apologize to some people. Last year around this part in the Awards, I took some unnecessary shots at people. And to make things worse, I sort of dressed it up like one of those Memorial things you see at something like the Oscars. I feel embarrassed about doing that and wish to apologize for that. As a matter of fact, if you’re reading this right after publication, I’m currently working on re-organizing that page to do a proper memorial.
So, instead of cheap jokes that weren’t really that funny, now is the time were we truly take time out to say goodbye once more to those that passed on…
- Normand Corbeil, Composer
Notable Gaming Credits: Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls
- Hirō Isono, Artist
Notable Gaming Credits: Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, Heroes of Mana
- Sukukiyo Kameyama, Japanese Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credit: Winnie the Pooh in Kingdom Hearts II
- Kenji Eno, Game Designer
Notable Gaming Credits: D, D2, Enemy Zero
- Goro Naya, Japanese Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credit: Otharon from Xenoblade Chronicles
- Martin Kevan, Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credit: Dr. Alec Earnhardt from Far Cry 3
- Takko Ishimori, Japanese Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Dr. Wily and Dr. Light from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Duke Bedford from Jeanne D’Arc, Bashful from Kingdom Heart: Birth By Sleep
- Kenji Utsumi, Japanese Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Space Channel 5, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- Ryan Davis, Journalist
GameSpot, Giant Bomb
- Michael Ansara, Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credit: Dr. Freeze from Batman: Vengeance
- Hiroshi Yamauchi, Third President of Nintendo
Ran Nintendo from 1949 to 2002. Brought Nintendo into the video game industry.
- Taro Ishida, Japanese Voice Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Exdeath in Dissidia: Final Fantasy, King Triton in the Kingdom Hearts series
- Yasuo Saito, a.k.a. Yakkun Sakurazuka, Japanese Voice Actor and Comedian
Notable Gaming Credit: Raiden Hijikata from Inazuma Eleven
- Marcia Wallace, Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Edna Krabappel in The Simpsons Game, The Simpsons: Road Rage, and The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield
- Joseph Ruskin, Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Oracle from Panic at the Park, Birdsong from Spycraft: The Great Game, Master Si’taan from Star Trek: Hidden Evil, and Admiral Nolotai and Vulcan Master N’Kal from Star Trek: Away Team
- James Avery, Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Br’er Frog from Splash Mountain and Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Scar from Animated Storybook: The Lion King
 |
 |
- Jack Westelman, a.k.a. Danny Wells, Actor
Notable Gaming Credits: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Evolution Worlds, Wizardry 8, Descent 3; Was also Luigi from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
