The 2013 Vidya Gaem Awards

AC III was crap. No one thought AC IV was going to be any good. We were wrong. It's basically Sid Meiers Pirates with less dancing and more stabbing people for their doubloons, giving Assassin's Creed a hot fresh breath of life.

Runner 2 advances the ever colorful and eye-popping visuals of Bit.Trip Runner with new moves, dancing that make you and your side scrolling ventures feel one with the music. Runner 2 feels like a natural progression, a step to next level, and a delight overall.

Why is this even here? It's DOTA with prettier graphics and ongoing balance changes, plus a cash shop. Also they removed the Slayers reference. What, I have to say something nice? Fuck, I don't know, it's managed to surpass the original and compete with League of Legends so they must have done something right.

It says "Remastered" straight in the title. Open and shut case.

Far Cry 2 was a game that promised you fun and instead gave you malaria and endless supply of angry Africans. Probably because you stole their malaria. Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon gives you neon soaked fun, and plenty of it.

Fire Emblem said "do or die" this time around, and they did a whole lot of the former. Or both if you played it that badly. Fire Emblem Awakening bolsters characters with stronger presence and is all things Fire Emblem for your 3DS.

Dude is called Lo Wang. Wait that's not the IP twist? That was in the original? Ah man that's fucking great. Lo Wang. Classic

A Link Between Worlds follows up on a well beloved classic and remixes it quite nicely. Implementing rental systems that allow one to proceed with a degree of non-linearity for a Zelda title, spinning the musical tunes we've all come to know ad nauseum, A Link Between Worlds is a lovingly crafted entry in the Zelda series that furthers its mechanics to boot.

Taking Tomb Raider, a game about steadily counting the amount of squares you can jump with two back steps and a run up, and turning it in Uncharted must have go someone a promotion. Because it actually manages to be pretty good fun with all the elements it borrowed from everywhere. Certainly the sum of its parts.

A perfect example of how to streamline a game experience without removing the core challenge and dynamics which made the originals so rewarding. You don't know pain until you've lost your best squad member.