Before the game list I’d like to say the obvious – I’ve been really busy being a dad and running a business (http://inthepin.es) and that has left me with little time to play or make games this year. I’ve have done a TON of iOS development and a good bit of web dev and am about to release a small puzzle game for iPhone/iPad soon – will post about that when I do. With that out of the way –
A new year is upon us. Again. So what games were awesome in 2013 for me?
Natural Selection 2 – naturalselection2.com
I spent a good bit of time playing this, mostly because I don’t have enough time to commit to an MMO and I like to be able to jump into a quick game and out. The dev team has also been putting out some impressive updates to the game that have kept it interesting and fun. Also, the e-sport aspect of this game is immensely entertaining as well, and the matches have made appearances on twitch.tv front page often for good reason.
Mass Effect 1 – 3 – masseffect.bioware.com
This game was the most compelling single player game that I played in 2013 – I had to buy it after it went on sale and after hearing how much the ending upset so many people. Load of fun and graphics are pretty good. If and when this franchise continues I will be watching to see if I want to continue my characters.
Minecraft – minecraft.net
My 4 year old son loves this game and because of that I have gone through the hell that is minecraft mod setup on multiple machines and servers. It has been worth it though, and has provided us a ton of fun multiplayer gaming and I would even say it has taught my son how to use a mouse and keyboard.
Civilization V – civilization5.com
This game has remained on my favorites list because it is so casual and addictive and sometimes I don’t want to get my heart rate up trying to shoot things in a twitched based game. For casual and still awesome I recommend Civilization.
As for honorable mentions, I also tried Borderlands, various X3 expansions and a few mobile games, but nothing really kept my attention for long except those listed above. Hopefully I’ll have more to post soon after releasing this mobile puzzle game I have in the oven.