Best Video Games of 2013 Montage

Here’s a very cool montage of some of gaming’s best moments from 2013.  Though a landmark year in terms of heralding in the next generation, the actual quality of games this year was a sharp dip from the previous few.  That’s in large part due to the generation switch and from the odd lack of blockbuster launch titles on either the Xbox One or Playstation 4.  To me, Bioshock Infinite is Game of the Year, hands down.  It’s not only one of the best games of 2013; it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played.  Here’s some thoughts from the video’s creator: Malcolm Klock.  What was your favorite game this year?

Xbox One out Friday (Sadly Without Me…)

Friday marks a big day for Xboxers all over the states as the Xbox One will ship and the next generation gets underway (yes, Sony people, I know the Playstation 4 shipped November 14th).  I had planned and had pre-ordered a Day One Edition console since it was announced and I stuck through all the Microsoft song and dance as they slowly backpeddled the console into pretty much what I wanted it to be in the first place (I still think backwards compatibility will be achieved through the cloud at some point in the future).  I thought it would be most cool to be on the ground floor with a console from the first day.  I’ve loved my Xbox 360 so much and I wanted to be a part of Xbone from the ground up.  Sadly, I had to cancel my pre-order this weekend.  Not because of game delays or because really if you don’t like Dead Rising or Forza (which I don’t particularly) there’s no console-exclusive launch game that got me excited…except Peggle 2.  But that’s ok.  I was going to get Assassin’s Creed IV and Lego Marvel for it and enjoy the community and arcade titles until the big guns like Destiny, Titanfall, Final Fantasy XV, etc.  come out next year.  Really all it boiled down to is I can’t afford it.  And that’s not a win for Sony because I couldn’t afford their console either at this point in my life.  I’m bummed.  I really am.  The next generation of gaming after this will be probably 10 years off and then I will be decrepit and pawing at my controller with my hook hands (I’m projecting some kind of industrial accident or bear attack).  I’ve done a lot of articles on XBOX One leading up to launch and I was hoping to keep those going, but I just can’t make it happen.  We here at KT are paid in cookies (which a frustrated Microsoft Ambassador refused to convert into points or currency) so no Xbox One for us (insert sympathetic text hug).  If anyone is participating in the launch in the KT community, please let us know how things are going.  I’ll have to live vicariously though you.

 

Trailer Time: Destiny “Out in the Wild” ViDoc (2014)

I’ve gotten to a point where I’m excited about the next gen consoles. It’s a very different transition than past generations. I plan to keep and be playing games on my Xbox 360 for years while concurrently running an Xbox One. I’m curious as to how Xbox Live will work across the two platforms. If I’m on One and my friend is on a 360, will I see that? Gamerscore is completely porting to the new console, but if I’m moving back and forth, will Xbox One achievements show up on the 360? Who knows? Microsoft probably doesn’t know. They have had, undoubtedly, the worst marketing launch to a major electronics product that I’ve ever seen. The cool thing is that since the horrid original rules, we’ve been receiving another rollback from the Xbox team almost weekly. They’re moonwalking this thing into the console I wanted…just without backward compatability. One criticism that can be fairly leveled is that their launch title list is thin. If you don’t like Dead Rising or Forza…there is not a game for you with tremendous buzz that is exclusively XBO. The newest thing that I’ve heard is that in order to try to make the $100 price gap between it and the Playstation 4, Microsoft is going to bundle a game with launch consoles. In Europe, it’ll be FIFA. I have nothing firm on North America, but I’ve heard Ryse (which would be cool since it’s the only “day one” game that interests me).

None of that has anything to do with Destiny, which is what I think of when I think next gen gaming. Destiny is going to move systems. A lot of them. These video documentaries that Bungie is releasing about the world building, weapons and character classes are fantastic. This is going to be the Xbox World of Warcraft (yeah, it’s on PS4 too, but I’m branded with an X). 2014 will see a lot of cool games hit stores as the developers get comfortable with the software, but Destiny looks like it could be as big a landmark as any game in this generation. I’ll keep these coming as Bungie keeps posting them; this one “Out in the Wild” looks at weaponry and the focus on building large, varying environments. It also puts to rest any fear that this is just a multiplayer game. There will be storyline quests you can do on your own. You can completely control to what extent people pop in and out of your experience. I’m psyched (and caffeinated if you couldn’t tell). Destiny will release in 2014 for Playstation 4 and Xbox One.