Can you believe it is already the end of 2013? We have seen a ton of fantastic deliveries in excellence this year, with entire franchises bringing in fresh change to revitalize a namesake, as well as new titles popping up that certainly gave us a lot to talk about. 2013 had a bit of everything, with sequels, reboots, remakes, and much more being delivered in order to send off each console with a bang. That’s right folks. We are not just at the end of an era, but the end of a generation.
That said, it is time to reflect and celebrate greatness, and with that comes Capsule Computer’s 4th annual Game of the Year Awards. Below you will find all of the nominees, to which the winners will be decided by our team of dedicated writers. Which titles stood out? What made us shout for glee? Here are your nominees for the year of 2013.
 The Rules
We indeed have a very strict rule list while nominating and selecting winners for the Game of the Year awards we deliver. The first rule is that the game must have scored high enough in its review to merit a nomination compared to all other nominees. Once that is decided, we also had to go by impact, which means how much coverage we had for that said title during the year. No one title can take home two awards so that every winner is unique, and if that instance does apply, the game with the second highest number of votes will retain the prize for the lesser category. Platform awards (such as Best Xbox 360, PS3, ect) must go to titles of exclusivity at the time of release. Two podcast nominated categories will be a part of the Game of the Year awards, but are excluded from the nominations due to their unique nature. To see our original review for each title, just give the name a click for a full opinion on each.
Best Reboot
Why did we do a best reboot category? Well, we already have a remake section for these awards, but reboots are NOT remakes, and deserve a separate set of praise. These titles were made by teams trying to breathe new life into established franchises that most of us thought ran their course. Tomb Raider has been the most anticipated for a couple of years now out of the list, but DmC also shined (despite outside criticism) in its own way, taking lessons from other experiences and making one hell of a thrill ride. Rise of the Triad and Shadow Warrior didn’t make quite the impact, but certainly delivered enough to make this list as well of titles that made us remember why we loved these franchises to start with. Your nominees are as follows:
Tomb Raider
DmC
Shadow Warrior
Rise of the Triad
Best Remake
Moving right along and as mentioned, we also have a Best Remake category. Sure, we have played these gems before, but they were redone with love and gave us a chance to play old favourites without feeling the grit and darkness of age. New visuals, remastered soundtracks, you know how these games go. These five titles hit the right chord with all of us, and the nominees are:
DuckTales: Remastered
Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker HD
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS)
Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Best Original IP
Fresh off remakes, let us talk about originality. It takes a lot to create something that can be deemed truly original. This means no other experience has been done quite like the few titles you are about to see, and while some included familiar faces, these new brands were made with enough of an open door to keep us excited for a future instalment somewhere down the road. The nominees for Best Original IP are:
Tearaway
The Last of Us
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Project X Zone
The Wolf Among Us
Best PC
There was a bit of a debate if we should have a “Best Indie” category this year. Yeah, there were a ton of solid indie titles this year, but in my book, all games should be judged on the same level of production. I mean, look what happened last year when TellTale’s Walking Dead swept our own and several other publications Game of the Year ceremonies. That wasn’t quite an indie game, but it was a small studio who produced such greatness to start with. Back on topic, the PC has seen a good number of indie titles, with some of those shining over the big budget blockbusters that barely made a whimper on our radar by comparison (Sim City, I am looking at you here). Our list reflects that, and without further ado, here are the nominees for Best PC game of 2013:
Dusty Revenge
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Guncraft
Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
Aarklash: Legacy
Papers, Please
Best iOS/Mobile
In my opinion, the mobile circuit took quite a blow in 2013. With the ever-changing atmosphere of free-to-play and micro transactions running rampant, it was hard to find a quality mobile title that you could download and truly feel proud of. The iOS still delivered thanks to the same developers who built it however, and the gems that stuck around were certainly worth celebrating. Your list of Best iOS/Mobile nominees are:
Joust Legend
Badland
Dead Man’s Draw
Pure Chess
Tetris Blitz
Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf
Kamikazi Pigs
Oceanhorn
Best Xbox 360
We are already at this console as it did not pack quite the punch in 2013 in terms of exclusives. By punch, I mean a poke – as the Xbox 360 only has two nominations in that category, and even though they are both great in their own way, it really is a shock that there wasn’t more due to how little complaining we heard from the fanbase out there. Here are your nominees:
Battleblock Theater
Gears of War: Judgement
Best Wii U
The Wii U has persevered this year despite so-so sales and a library that is still quite limited. Despite that, we still got some amazing titles from Nintendo’s latest console, and they are four titles certainly worth raising a glass to. While we dream of Super Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, and X, we still have some fantastic titles to experience in the meantime. Those nominees are:
Pikmin 3
Super Mario 3D World
Toki Tori 2
Game & Wario
Best Playstation Vita
I wish I could say that the Vita will be around forever, as it is a beautiful device, full of potential. With the Playstation 4’s arrival and the PS3’s eventual exit however, there are not a lot of games that we have been able to look forward to. Thankfully, there have been a handful of top-notch productions and all of which were nominated:
Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland
Killzone: Mercenary
Tearaway
Soul Sacrifice
Best Nintendo 3DS
The 3DS had the best year of ALL TIME! Now that I let my own bias out, it goes without saying that the 3DS made for the best comeback story in years during 2013. Nearly every genre was touched by Nintendo and multiple third parties, and it was very hard to narrow down the best of the best to our maximum of six nominees. Those six that made the cut are those that remain in our 3DS, where we go back – time and time again to get an everlasting portable experience like no other. The nominees for Best Nintendo 3DS are:
Pokemon X & Y
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Fire Emblem: Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Best Playstation 3
If you are going to go out, go down with a greater impact than your arrival. The Playstation 3 went from a console with few exclusives, to a booming playground that has one of the most loyal fanbases in existence. Sure, we still got a few years with the platform, but I doubt any other year will be as big as 2013 – where we seen some huge surprises and shake-ups. The nominees are:
The Last of Us
Dragon’s Crown
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory
God of War: Ascension
Hidden Gem of the Year
Lets face it. Not every game can win an award or be nominated. It all comes down to fitting in specific categories and being scored appropriately, and that in itself makes it hard for some of our favorites to receive a nomination. Well, we at Capsule have this covered, and have one long list of nominees for one very unique prize – which is the Hidden Gem of the Year for 2013. The nominees are:
Ittle Dew
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag   Â
Mercenary Kings
BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien  Â
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance      Â
Monaco: What’s Yours Mine       Â
Defiance
Remember Me
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Kentucky Route Zero
Magrunner: Dark Pulse
Shadowrun Returns
Diablo 3
Most Anticipated
While looking back, it is also good to look forward. 2014 already looks stacked with the Xbox One and Playstation 4 on the horizon, and the Wii U even has a few tricks up its sleeve. Here our the nominees for the Most Anticipated title of 2014 (excluding delays):
Destiny
Titanfall
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Super Smash Bros
Infamous Second Son
Dark Souls II
The Witcher 3
Game of the Year
We made it to the big one. The one award that goes out the game that could very well be considered perfect. This will be a title that is going to see love for generations to come, as it left an unforgettable impression on the industry and delivered in every way imaginable. Some could be considered blockbusters, while others are simply sleeper hits. Either way, our list is quite grand and every single one of these nominees deserve a round of applause for simply making it big in one of the busiest release years in history. The 2013 Game of the Year nominations are:
Pokemon X & Y
The Last of Us
Grand Theft Auto V
Super Mario 3D World
Bioshock Infinite
Tomb Raider
And there you have it! Join us soon when we reveal the winners, and a special thanks to every single company that brought us these little masterpieces. Remember, these nominees are just our opinions, and the true Game of the Year comes down to what entertained you. See ya next week, and remember….Play Hard or Don’t Play at All!
