January 11, 2014 by Paul Curtin
2013 was yet another great year for gamers. It was a year packed with heavy-hitting triple-A titles, most of which were cranked out in order to either beat or accompany the launch of next-gen systems. But while there were a ton of hits, one game easily stood out from the rest as not only the best of the year, but the best of a generation.
- The Last of Us
- Grand Theft Auto V
- BioShock Infinite
- Tomb Raider
- Dota 2
- Super Mario 3D World
Similar to 2009’s Game of the Year, Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog’s newest IP, The Last of Us, didn’t really didn’t do anything new… but what it did do, it merged together perfectly and did better than any game this year, or this generation. This year Naughty Dog once again topped not only the rest of the industry, but themselves, and as a result have created yet another masterpiece that’s in a league of its own.
The Last of Us is the PlayStation 3′s black swan song that will be used for many years to come as an example of how to pull everything together to make for the perfect viewing and gaming experience that at times even rivals the movies it was inspired by. It’s a game that’s not only fun to play but itself plays with gamers’ emotions in a way no other game has ever been able to do before with both serious tactical single and multiplayer gameplay and thought-provoking mature storytelling.
Described as the Citizen Kane of games that has changed how we’ll view games forever, The Last of Us will be used as the new industry standard and will be the game to beat in not only 2014, but likely 2015 too. There’s no reason why any current PlayStation 3 owner shouldn’t play it, and it’s a great reason for anybody who doesn’t own the system to pick up one just to play it — even with the PlayStation 4 now in stores.
The Last of Us is a once-in-a-generation game and made 2013’s Game of the Year award a very easy choice in a year filled with very tough competition. Winner of MediaStinger’s 2013 Game of the Year: The Last of Us
