What the fuck 2013?

So we're almost half-way through the year and I haven't played a single 2013 game (ok, lol candy box!) that would go on my Coint + Plick ballot. I glanced through some most anticipated lists and they're mostly a wasteland of sequels/franchise updates (God of War, Gears of War, Dead Space, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear, Crysis, Bioshock, Bayonetta); in fact the only two games on the lists that I'm anticipating are also sequels! (GTA + SimCity). Is this bc we're at the end of the console generation? Where are all the fucking games? Are they being saved up for holiday season???

I'm actually forcing myself to buy no new games in 2013 so I have a chance to clear my backlog (though 5 months in I've barely dented it). So the only 2013 games I've had access to are those few that have popped up as part of PS+, and Bioshock Infinite (which I preordered last september in a cheap-preorders-from-sainsbury's deal then forgot about until it arrived on my doorstep). Of those I've enjoyed...yeah, none massively. Maybe Thomas Was Alone.

Oh and I got to play the new Star Trek game because I live with a Star Trek fan who wanted to co-op, but it's so fucking awful that I won't be able to bring myself to vote for it even if I end up only playing 3 games all year.

tomb raider is a pretty dope 'franchise update'

and i really liked The Cave.

curious about the new Metro 2033 game, and eventually the new Batman game i guess. and a bunch of indies (Kentucky Route Zero, Monaco, etc), i just don't really play games on pc right now.

i've been avoiding the new tomb raider - did they jettison the whole rape thing?

I really, really enjoyed The Cave, to the point where having to replay it three times to see all of the stories didn't bother me in the slightest

ok cool - i actually have the cave sitting on my hd and i haven't tried it yet. i'll pencil that in for next.

The only 2013 game I've played is Injustice: Gods Among Us, which I am still greatly enjoying

ooh yeah I look forward to the price drop on that one, the demo is dooooooooope

i recommend not playing videogames for five year periods, when you get back to it videogames are much more exciting

Oh yeah, the cave is on my allowed-to-play list too, should get round to it.

did they jettison the whole rape thing?

i think this may have been overstated, because i was ready to cringe and then was like "oh, was that it?" basically a dude grabs her and then she kills him (or he kills her if you don't press the quick-time button).

yes it was a little overstated in the initial hype that a rape or attempted rape was a core part of the new LC character's backstory & motivation. but it is clear that the threat of sexual violence is there on an island with an crazy all-male cult. though nothing like that scene occurs again, iirc

Is this bc we're at the end of the console generation? Where are all the fucking games?

Mordy, it's because you're old now.

Seriously though, it has been the longest generation. Hopefully new consoles will mean we will see some new, interesting games. That's the best time for publishers to introduce new IP and try new things.

However, I still think there are some interesting things coming out, even if they're sequels (open world Metal Gear(?), online enabled Mario Golf, new Tempest game designed by Jeff Minter, Binding of Isaac de-make, new DoDonPachi, Luftrausers, portable Spelunky, Last of Us).

Like JimD though, I also feel like I have an endless backlog (compared to time to play games), so if things have been a little slow for new releases, I can't say I've noticed... also I'm old too.

i considered that it might be bc i'm old but i didn't age that much since last year, which i think was really a stellar year for gaming (ftl, hexagon, spelunky)!

It's weird, but I do think you can kind of burn-out really quick, almost overnight. You wake up one day and realize you want to do different things with your time.

I think there's still a lot of year left for games though, so I wouldn't give up hope just yet. Remember, Spelunky came out last July and both FTL and Super Hexagon came out in September...

has this really been the longest generation? in my head all the others are longer. to be fair i spent more time playing games in all of them.

also i recommend this list of the 30 most anticipated games in japan, of which five aren't sequels/spinoffs/remakes. of that five the number based on an original ('original') concept remains pretty debatable also

http://kotaku.com/5982367/here-are-the-top-30-games-japanese-gamers-are-looking-forward-to-in-2013

tbf i may end up buying a 3ds for the dragon quest remake so i guess i am part of the problem

eh between Fire Emblem & Monster Hunter 2013 has been killing it for me personally, loads more to come as well.

how is fire emblem? felt the last gba one was incredible but the ds one was awful

right up there with the gamecube one imo, probably even better. ds one was a crappy remake mess.

I haven't played a single game released this year. Mildly intrigued by Last Of Us or whatever it's called. Begged off Tomb Raider because what I liked about the series was the tombs and puzzles and platforming and not shooting tons of shit.

Tomb Raider was awesome, but its marketing was fuuuuucked

Also: FC3: Blood Dragon proving to be a memorable release this year, seeing as how it's reportedly sold like 5x what they expected

Worth bearing in mind that, for me at least, ftl, hexagon and spelunky (and dear esther actually, which was my goty) were all games which just appeared out of the blue and were great. There was no massive pre-release hype or anything for those. So maybe it just the kind of games that appear on "most anticipated" lists that we're burnt out on, still plenty of potential for pleasant surprises.

new consoles

has this really been the longest generation? in my head all the others are longer. to be fair i spent more time playing games in all of them.

Playstation 1994, PS2 2000, PS3 2006, so we're a little behind, if the PS4 comes out at the end of this year. I'd mentally snapped them to a divisible-by-five pattern (in fairness Playstation didn't make it outside of Japan until 1995) so it felt longer to me as well.

kind of want to claim that 'generations' usually last longer than 'until the release date of the next console' but i dunno. (the 16-bit generation lasts from the release of phantasy star ii until that of final fantasy vii.) anywhere, huh, there's a ps4 by the end of this year? i can get a ps3 soon then i guess

Yeah, PSX was 95. I don't remember it at all until that summer/fall b/c that's when they started running tv adverts for Battle Arena: Toshiden at the beginning of sophomore year.

lol battle arena toshinden

http://www.fightersgeneration.com/np5/gm/tosh-s3.jpg

Didn't Spelunky come out like 3 years ago?

touche (360 version came out last year)

There's a few good 2013 non-sequels so far ... Ni No Kuni is probably the best of them. Excited for that Watch Dogs thing although I'll probably just rent it.

How many good games came out by May last year? Or ranked games anyway? I feel not that many but I could be wrong.

ni no kuni is nice... excited to try FC3 blood dragon. bioshock is whatever i guess a game. also, monaco!!!

it's a holiday heavy industry

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_small/8/87790/2331106-box_eu4.png

i have no idea what the fuck that is but it obviously sucks

and now suddenly too many games! i just beat rogue legacy a bunch (it's great) and ordered saints row 4 for 360. now i'm trying to convince myself to wait for steam sale before picking up: expeditions conquistador, sir you are being hunted, papers please, bioshock infinite (just out for the mac), don't starve, monoco, not to mention gta in like a minute.