EWB GOTY 2013 - The Results

[Plubby]

#13

WWE 2K14

First released: October 29 2013

On: Mobile, PS3, Xbox360

Weighted Score:

196

4 Nominations, 7 Points per Vote.

Despite the wonderful community. deep in all our hearts, we're still hanging on a wrestling board so of course this was going to make a strong appearance. And it has The Rock on it! BUY IT! It was 2K's first offering in the series after the Game Studio Formerly Known as THQ lost it and they put forth a solid if not spectacular first effort.

Next time: We enter the top half!

[Plubby]

#12

Papers, Please

First released: August 8 2013

On: PC (Available on Steam)

Weighted Score:

206.2857

7 Nominations, 5.4285 Points per Vote.

Let's pause the countdown a moment while you go and buy the game. The link's between the spoiler doobly-doo and the image above. I'll wait. Now play it some.

You back? Good.

HOW GOOD WAS IT, HUH?! The sheer addictiveness of what amounts to a paperwork simulator boggles the mind. I've seen talk recently of how crazy it is for a cook/chef to play Cook, Serve, Delicious and it's equally stupendous that a career office-based public servant like myself comes home at night and plays his job. BUY IT~!

Next time: We see what just missed the top 10!

[Sam]

I just got my 3DS and have started to play Zelda on it, have to say I love it so far! Familiar yet different. I won't complete it in time for it to be my game of the year but can see how it would be.

Also Animal Crossing was the first portable game on the list

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Animal crossing isnt portable, its only played while on the toilet for three hours.

[Noah]

I'd have bothered to vote but my game pile is so extensive, I'm still working on 2011.

[Plubby]

I just got my 3DS and have started to play Zelda on it, have to say I love it so far! Familiar yet different. I won't complete it in time for it to be my game of the year but can see how it would be.

Also Animal Crossing was the first portable game on the list

Oh good pickup - on looking back I got my Wii U/3DS titles mixed up. Not that anyone voted for Plaza so that's inexcusable.

[Plubby]

#11

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

First released: November 22 2013

On: 3DS

Weighted Score:

225.3333r

3 Nominations, 8.6667 Points per Vote.

Our first dedicated portable game if i'm not mistaken, this is yet another game where the average critic rating and average EWB rating are within .5/10 of each other. Which I guess just goes to show how brainy we all are. This iteration of the venerable Nintendo franchise is set between Link's Awakening and the original The Legend of Zelda so it neatly connects the present of the Zelda franchise to it's beloved past.

Next time: IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN~! We kick the top 10 into gear!

[TKz]

To be fair, the first release was on DS rather than PS3 and was super different, so it's not really the same thing. Ni no Kuni was probably my GOTY without Tomb Raider, sucks that it didn't even break the top 10.

[Plubby]

The first PS3 release was in 2011

[Dan]

Well, that's a little odd to see.

And you forgot, it's on everything but PC and Wii U.

FIFA 14 is on PC : https://www.origin.com/en-gb/store/buy/fifa-14-ANW.html

[Skummy]

I haven't played any of the Saints Row games - I basically saw them as an antidote for how serious GTA IV got, but then GTA V was quite silly again, so Saints Row IV had to go absolutely batshit mental. It doesn't really appeal.

I don't know what The Stanley Parable is. Haven't played Injustice. Haven't played WWE 2K14 yet, or Link Between Worlds.

Ni No Kuni is bloody brilliant, though. It's a bit childish and silly in places, and actually wasn't quite as Studio Ghibli as I'd hoped, but it's nice and fun, and has a few unexpected twists and turns. A really bloody good JRPG, in a year that actually gave us quite a few of them.

[TKz]

The first PS3 release was in 2011

Well... I may or may not have known that! Still, Japan so it doesn't count! If we stuck to original release dates then no Japanese games would ever be able to place ever. >_>

[Plubby]

IMPORTANT NOTE: I COUNTED A FIRST-PLACE VOTE TWICE FOR WHAT WAS MEANT TO BE THE #10 GAME. A RECALCULATION HAS SEEN THE #10 GAME MOVE TO #12 AND THE PREVIOUS #12 AND #11 HAVE JUMPED A SPOT EACH.

#10

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

First released: January 22 2013

On: PS3

Weighted Score:

264.1428

7 Nominations, 6.1428 Points per Vote.

Another game of sneaky eligibility, as this is 3 (!) years old based on first release. But basically only Hamster among us could have played that version. Having received critical plaudits throughout its many ( ) releases, it made its way to western shores via the PS3, where it was beloved once again and now beloved by all of you. Being dubbed "the second coming of 16-bit RPG classics" should be enough to convince you to give it a shot, as ought its mid-tier price point i've seen around online.

Next time: We move into #9 and into our third (I think ) purely portable game.

[Plubby]

#9

Fire Emblem Awakening

First released: February 4 2013

On: 3DS

Weighted Score:

320

5 Nominations, 8 Points per Vote.

Fire Emblem has been a lesser known stalwart Nintendo franchise - an upper-midcard Nintendo title if you will - for some time now. Arguably the franchise reached its pinnacle with Awakening. It earned rave reviews from the critics and didn't poll any lower than 5th on your votes. Yoob fave Sousa chimes in below with why this was his game of the year.

EWB TALKS (In which an EWB'er who rated this game 10/10 shares his/her thoughts): "More than any other game before it, Fire Emblem: Awakening was the game that made the 3DS worth having. While the strategy series has existed since 1990, it's only been ported overseas over the past decade, and Awakening is the best jumping-on point yet. A fairly simple tactical system opens up with a wide variety of skills and options, from special abilities to building relationships between the stable of brilliant characters. And in the second half, when your relationships pay off as your party's CHILDREN join you? Yes, you need this game."

- Sousa

Next time: A perennial EWB favourite gets even better with age, and an update to keep it fresh.

[Sousa]

also

CHOP CHOP SHOVEL

[TKz]

I'll be picking up Awakening at some point, but first I need to finish Bravely Default and start Link Between Worlds.

[Herr Matzat]

While Persona 4 is the reason i would like to have a VITA Fire Emblem is the reason why i would like to have a 3ds. Sadly these two games are not enough to actualy go for each system right now.

[gunnar hendershow]

Hahaha translations are hilarious. Especially from such a pun-heavy language like Japanese.

[Benji]

Oops, wrong list.

EDIT : Ni No Kuni made it!

[Sousa]

Fire Emblem is surprisingly well-translated. They do have an inordinate fascination with the word "dastard" though.