Generation's Greatest

The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) - Do I really need to explain it? It's that good! Fine, the story is so well written, you actually feel for the characters, and although this game doesn't focus on any action at all, the story makes up for it. This game is my favorite game of all time, and that ending, oh man that ending! Whoever played it knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Honorable Mention: Silent Hill 2 (Because it isn't released after 2005)

Gonna throw another vote in for The Last of Us. I still haven't finished it yet but it's certainly the best game I've bought and played for about 2 or 3 years now. Everything about it is polished to perfection - the world is very believable and immersive, and the characterization is excellent. As far as I'm concerned it's almost exactly how 'survival' horror should be done nowadays.

Borderlands 2 (2012)

Great game. Didn't play the first, but it was intense. I couldn't believe it came out September of last year, it really is addictive, the fact that I'm off of it surprised me. The game has excellent art direction, the gameplay made me believe in first person shooters again, and the quirky jokes that reference pop culture actually grew onto me. It deserves at least one playthrough with friends.

Lone Survivor

It is a simple side scroller of 2012. It is actually a very fun survival horror game though. It reminds me much of Silent Hill. It is really cheap on Steam and worth every penny. It involves all of the good aspects of survival horror; atmosphere, puzzes, fight or flight, limited supplies, mystery, and player choices that effect the ending. Simple but great game.

Vandal wrote:

Borderlands 2 (2012)

Great game. Didn't play the first, but it was intense. I couldn't believe it came out September of last year, it really is addictive, the fact that I'm off of it surprised me. The game has excellent art direction, the gameplay made me believe in first person shooters again, and the quirky jokes that reference pop culture actually grew onto me. It deserves at least one playthrough with friends.

I myself didn't like the first one, but everyone keeps telling me that it's better the second time through.

You really do need to play with people. I never played the first game, so I wouldn't call it necessary.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The game that started it all. Christ, it changed the game industry from staying in World War 2 to deciding to go into modern combat. Now nearly every brown modern shooter in some way shape or form takes from the game. I personally didn't enjoy it most of the time because things would get samey and monotonous, but the epic ending felt like it was worth it. I did like shooting that one guy's arm off, it was the first time I've ever seen that in a video game. I can't ignore that this game stood out from other first person shooters at the time.

Ssplain wrote:

Lone Survivor

It is a simple side scroller of 2012. It is actually a very fun survival horror game though. It reminds me much of Silent Hill. It is really cheap on Steam and worth every penny. It involves all of the good aspects of survival horror; atmosphere, puzzes, fight or flight, limited supplies, mystery, and player choices that effect the ending. Simple but great game.

Ooh, that's an interesting choice! I like it, though the game wasn't all that good for my tastes. I did make a Let's Play of it, which is something I need to finish when I get my computer working again.

It's between Dark Souls, The Last of Us, Arkham City and Uncharted 2 for me (No I don't want to pick just one!). These are the games that I didn't sleep until I beat them and made me both ecstatic and angry when I ran out of things to do. I could see a really good argument for CoD4 as well, but this is just my opinion and I don't really care for games like that....

You know what… I've been struggling with myself whether or not I like GTAV's campaign enough. The story was alright, the characters were kind of meh, and I'm not too sure I had any really memorable moments in the game. I enjoy the multiplayer, but I feel that I could have liked it a whole lot more than I should have.

If anything, it gets an honorable mention from me, but I can't say it was better than a game that has both the factor of fun, gameplay and story.

Vandal wrote:

You know what… I've been struggling with myself whether or not I like GTAV's campaign enough. The story was alright, the characters were kind of meh, and I'm not too sure I had any really memorable moments in the game. I enjoy the multiplayer, but I feel that I could have liked it a whole lot more than I should have.

If anything, it gets an honorable mention from me, but I can't say it was better than a game that has both the factor of fun, gameplay and story.

Dude did you effin' play the heists?

00biohazard wrote:

Vandal wrote:

You know what… I've been struggling with myself whether or not I like GTAV's campaign enough. The story was alright, the characters were kind of meh, and I'm not too sure I had any really memorable moments in the game. I enjoy the multiplayer, but I feel that I could have liked it a whole lot more than I should have.

If anything, it gets an honorable mention from me, but I can't say it was better than a game that has both the factor of fun, gameplay and story.

Dude did you effin' play the heists?

Yeah, but it just seemed that we would lose the police too easily, and it kind of bummed me out. There were some high octain momnets, but none that had any lasting appeal. They were so few and so spread out with little reward other than in game money rather than new skills, jobs, or even real character development.

Vandal wrote:

Bioshock: Infinite (2013)

Not only the best game I've played this year, but definitely the game that most deserves to be played. From the foundations of the game, everything was done right about this game. The story, the sound design, the art direction, the graphics, the music, the gameplay, every aspect of this game is, if not perfect, respectable. The entire experience doesn't need the prior titles to understand what is going on in the story--which is the absolute main aspect of the game. 

I can say with confidence, that this has the best story this gaming generation has to offer. Confusing? Very confusing, but by the end it feels like a Sherlock Holmes story, and everything gets woven together without any loose ends. It's by far the game that took my breath away.

I have got to agree with pretty much all of this, including the "best game of the year" part. I just finished the game and was blown away. The story really is incredible. Not sure if I consider it the best, but definitely up there.

When I think back to all the stories I've played through, none of them has really shocked me or had as much emotional weight I personally invested in the game.

I even remember at one point, I was getting chased down by a Handy-Man right before Fitzroy's last scene, and I was out of both shotgun shells and sniper rounds. I was jumping around the sky rails and trying to find some corpses that possibly had something I didn't yet loot from them, and just when the Handy-Man caught up with me, Elizabeth throws a shotgun at me saying "Booker, catch!" I then physically said "Thanks." Lizzy became so real to me, and I was so immersed, I actually felt the need to be polite.

The only time I ever did that was in Resident Evil 5: I called my friend who was playing next to me "Sheva."

Mcghie wrote:

No game this generation even comes close to Call of Duty: Ghosts.
None !

Oh yes, clearly.

Nah, Ghost was a bit of a let down. Heck, they even tried to rip-off the infamous zombies mode.

Insert Sarcasm.

Vandal wrote:

Insert Sarcasm.

REALISTIC PWN DOES NOT APPROVE

Ghost was way overrated.

ZombiePrincess wrote:

Ghost was way overrated.

In a way, you could say any game is overrated, even when it has ridiculously low reviews. Superman 64 was overrated because no review will ever be low enough to be accurate. But yeah, Ghosts was a letdown.

PWNERX wrote:

ZombiePrincess wrote:

Ghost was way overrated.

In a way, you could say any game is overrated, even when it has ridiculously low reviews. Superman 64 was overrated because  no review will ever be low enough to be accurate. But yeah, Ghosts was a letdown.

The Angry Video Game Nerd tossed the cartridge into the sun. I don't agree with you about any game being overrated.

Well, my idea was that in some cases a game can be overrated despite reviews being high or low. You could also say that some games are waaay too underrated. To me, I feel as though Goldeneye should've been 12/10.

PWNERX wrote:

Well, my idea was that in some cases a game can be overrated despite reviews being high or low. You could also say that some games are waaay too underrated. To me, I feel as though Goldeneye should've been 12/10.

I suppose we just have two different views on what overrated and underrated mean. That or you're wrong.

@Vandal: Yeah, Elizabeth was a fantastic character. In terms of story, how helpful she was as an AI partner and just how likable she was.

MINOR THE LAST OF US SPOILERS:
Talking about overrated games, The Last of Us stands out this generation to me. The story was decent, the characters were great (especially Ellie was awesome), the graphics weren't that special but the gameplay... the gameplay was incredibly dull and boring. It lacks variety, depth and just fun. It was just looking for supplies 90% of the game and the combat wasn't really satisfying. People are saying the story is amazing, but to me it barely even had story until the last 5 hours. I also really fail to see how this game is so emotional. People are saying it's at least as emotional as Journey but for me personally, just no. The only somewhat sad scene I remember was the beginning.

Spoiler:

I just don't get the insane hype, people calling it the best game ever and stuff. Heck, it beats GTA5 (which I loved, but a 9,7 average?) as most overrated game of the year to me.

Might be the wrong thread but just as a reply to people voting for The last of us as one of the best games of the generation.