Here are the best PC games of 2013:
Tomb Raider
Lara’s reinvention unclasped itself from old series’ hang ups and managed to avoid the pitfalls that her seventh, twelfth, thirty-fifth and seventy-third games so ungraciously fell into. Though QTE heavy and hands-free at times, Tomb Raider was undeniably a brutally cinematic triumph. An exciting and well executed return of a gaming icon. Read our Tomb Raider reviewhere.
BioShock Infinite
A little known title from obscure developer Irrational Games, BioShock Infinite is the story of a man who must infiltrate a flying city full of racists, puritans and revolutionaries in order to rescue a girl who can open rifts in space and time, thereby marrying the whitewashed, boardwalk idealism of turn of the century America to wild and subversive science-fiction. He achieves this primarily by shooting crows out of his fists. Here are some thoughts on BioShock Infinite.
Firefall
Currently in a closed beta, Firefall has been put together by Blizzard veterans at Red 5 Studios. This massively multiplayer online FPS is pocked with RPG progression features, jetpacks, player versus world elements, giant guns and deep fiction. It’s a dream combination of exploration and questing and rocket launchers.
Arma 3
It’s something of a tumultuous development process, but the early access alpha of Arma 3 shows that development hasn’t taken a hit as a result. It’s hands down the most ambitious and technically competent military simulation in history, combining on-foot operations, air and ground vehicle combat and lots of underwater exploration. We played Arma 3 wrong.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
The follow up to Far Cry 3 is this absolutely ridiculous, totally overblown 80s style sci-fi shooter. Think neon, think cyborgs, think pumping retro tunes. Does it look cheesy? Yes. Does it look like an awful lot of fun, too? Absolutely. Read our Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon preview here.
Dark Souls 2
The punishingly difficult Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition bordered on frustratingly unfair, but while Dark Souls 2 will make some concessions to accessibility, the Japanese dungeon crawling RPG refuses to dial down its challenge. Developers From Software are also promising to take more care with our PC version this time around.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
In an about turn for the best-while-urban series, the next iteration of Splinter Cell will see Sam Fisher stealthing his way around a broadly daylit Middle East, murdering brown-skinned men using all manner of weapons and technological gadgets. Creatively barren setting aside, the re-emergence of Splinter Cell’s unique brand of stealth is worth keeping an eyebrow raised over.
Grand Theft Auto V
Rockstar continue the charade of pretending that this game isn’t coming to PC, but we’re more than confident that it will. The next Grand Theft Auto game will be four billion times the size of the last one, feature a kaleidoscopic, ever-morphing cast of one thousand fully interactive protagonists, will redefine the very concept of videogames forever and lets you ride around on a bike. Possibly.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
The next Assassin’s Creed is an open world pirate game, offering a huge, seamless chunk of the Caribbean to explore and plunder as you please. It builds on the naval battles of the third game, tying the ocean-faring to the ground-based game without a loading screen in sight. An exciting progression for the series. Read our Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag preview here.
Zeno Clash 2
The original was a game about punching birds in their big dumb beaks. The sequel looks set to follow a similar path, following on from the bizarre plot of the first and keeping a firm focus first on person brawling, kinetic and tactical combat. Half-Miyazaki, half-Bosch (Heironymous, not the washing machine), Zeno Clash’s is a truly original universe.
