(Special Article)

For those of you who are fans of The Remix Collection, you're probably thinking, "About damn time!". The Remix Collection: Volume 5 has been completed for quite some time now, but I've finally gotten around to uploading and releasing it for you guys to listen to. It's my favorite volume so far, in fact; while Volume 4 had lots of orchestral mixes, Volume 5 is loaded up with lots of rock and fast-paced remixes, and also introduces Castle Crashers, Earthbound, and Banjo-Kazooie to the franchise list! Click here to download it now! As usual, cover art is included.

(As always, the songs in the RXC are not made by me unless otherwise stated. The Remix Collection is simply a gathering of various remixes, medleys, and mashups across YouTube and Newgrounds. Every artist is given credit for their work; please go to their channel or page to congratulate them on their work if you like what you hear.)

(Special Article)

Yeah, so I've had way too much downtime (almost three months). School and the lack of motivation to keep making news articles has screwed over my usual flow of creating content for the site, but an article like this isn't something I can just ignore. 2013 had a lot of games for me (56, in fact), some decent, some fantastic, some...ugh. These are all of the games I either played for the first time this year or revisted after years of not owning them and what I thought about 'em.

Sonic the Fighters (Xbox 360)
A very simple, yet very fun fighting game. For the HD console release, I expected more to be added on to it, but oh well. I’m not a huge fanatic on fighting games, but for what it’s worth, it’s an enjoyable little title. But holy crap, those achievements are ridiculously easy to get. One even tells you exactly how to get it in its description. I 100%’d the thing in maybe a half hour?

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)
Call of Duty zombies can kiss my ass; this is what a fun zombie game is all about. Left 4 Dead 2 is crazy fun, especially with a full team of friends at your side. Cooperating together to take down a squad of zombies is the most fun I’ve had on a PC game in a while. The alternative modes are pretty cool, too.

Team Fortress 2 (PC)
Another incredibly fun PC game, Team Fortress 2 is a crazy class-based cooperative FPS. Either go team VS team or take on waves of robots in Mann VS Machine, my personal favorite mode. Plus, it looks good yet can run perfectly smooth on minimal hardware thanks to its cel-shaded art style.

Super Mario World (SNES) [Wii VC]
I’ve played this before, but thanks to Club Nintendo, I was able to download the SNES classic Super Mario World to my Wii, and it’s fantastic. Looks great, has a very catchy soundtrack, Mario controls perfectly, and there’s so much to explore and discover. However, if you’re gonna play it on the Wii VC, for the love of God, get yourself a Classic Controller. Whatever dipshit mapped the SNES VC buttons for the GameCube controller should be fired.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) [Wii VC]
Another SNES classic, yet one I don’t find as enjoyable. In similar fashion to Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past is commonly praised as the best Zelda of all time, and while I can appreciate the things it does right, like boast a massive overworld with lots to discover, it hasn’t exactly aged well in my tastes, with repetitive music and dungeon design as well as incredibly stiff combat. Perhaps I should give the GBA port a go someday to see if it controls any better, because not being able to turn around and attack on a dime really bogs down the experience.

Persona 4 (PS2) [Emulation (PC)]
After watching the anime all the way through and being thoroughly impressed, I decided to give the game a shot, and while I never got around to finishing it, I fell in love with it. The characters, the story, the gameplay, the dungeon exploration, the music, and the overall atmosphere kept me considering myself a fan of the game even after moving on to other games. With it being such a massive JRPG, it’s hard to just pick up where I left off, so maybe I’ll start again sometime in 2014 and actually complete it this time.

Persona 3 FES (PS2) [Emulation (PC)]
Persona 4’s darker and brooding older brother also boasts some really neat gameplay mechanics that were sadly stripped from Persona 4. I also never finished Persona 3, but I’m more inclined to as I don’t know how the story ends just yet. Guess I’ll have to before Persona Q comes out and before I play Persona 4 Arena. Anyway, Persona 3 has a very interesting atmosphere as well, albeit very far from the same one as Persona 4, and the gameplay, battle system, soundtrack, and Social Link mechanics are so drastically different between games that it isn’t even fair to compare the two despite the SMT fanbase being so vocal about which one they prefer. They’re both fantastic games and you should give both of them a shot.

Persona 3 Portable (PSP) [Emulation (iOS)]
In the case of Persona 3 Portable, the overworld is stripped away in favor of a simplified map, the battle system is given a major overhaul to more resemble Persona 4’s updated one, and-…okay, so Persona 3 Portable is essentially Persona 4 with a Persona 3 skin. But hey, you get to play as a female version of the main character. So that’s neat.

*cough*WipingAllOutisbetterthanMassDestruction*cough*

Infinity Blade (iOS)
As with most mobile games, there isn’t really much of a story to it, but Infinity Blade is still a fun little pass-the-time game. It also looks surprisingly nice for a mobile game, yet with the drawback that it makes my phone heat up so badly I swear I’ve gotten first-degree burns from it.

Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA) [Emulation (iOS)]
Ah, yes. The point in the year where my Metroid kick began. The first Metroid game I played was Other M, and while it had a hell of a lot of problems, I still enjoyed it for what it was. Despite that, plenty of people told me to try the “better” entries of the series, so I nabbed a Zero Mission ROM for my iPhone and was pleasantly surprised. Exploration is fun, combat is very responsive, it looks and sounds great (especially for being a GBA title), and it gives the original Metroid, what it’s a remake of, a run for its money.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/03/metroid-zero-mission.html

Metroid Fusion (GBA) [Emulation (iOS)]
Take Zero Mission, replace open-ended exploration with a story-driven one, add a couple new mechanics, and crank up the difficulty from “where the hell am I going” all the way up to “EVERYTHING IS KILLING ME”. Don’t get me wrong, Metroid Fusion is a good game; just don’t be surprised if you break a couple things in the process. I will, however, highly praise its visuals and soundtrack. They’re especially impressive for a GBA title.

Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Prime was the peak of my Metroid streak, and that’s definitely a good thing. Thanks to a $7 Amazon listing, I was able to nab a copy of Metroid Prime in pristine condition and I was so glad I did. The soundtrack is catchy yet atmospheric, the controls are incredibly precise yet unique for the FPS genre, and it’s gotta be the best-looking GameCube game I have ever seen. I swear it could’ve been mistaken for a Wii game. I’m very, very glad I was lucky enough to add this to my ol’ GameCube’s collection.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
‘Bout damn time I got a 3DS! New Super Mario Bros. 2 is very fun, but very short. After 100%’ing the game twice, I haven’t played it since, but rushing through levels as quick as I could and hunting down every last coin was a blast. I never got around to buying any of its DLC, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I ever feel like getting more out of this game. Oh, and hey, Nintendo? You could’ve at least given it its own soundtrack instead of reusing everything from New Super Mario Bros. Wii…

Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Now THIS is the Mario game the 3DS was made for. Super Mario 3D Land is my all-time favorite 3D Mario game, even topping Super Mario Sunshine, a childhood favorite. It looks great, the soundtrack is catchy, and the game is absolutely massive, packing almost 16 whole worlds. This was the first game to bring out the inner completionist in me, as I’ve 100%’d the game at least 2 and a half times already. If you own a 3DS, you have got to have this game in your library, digital or not.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/05/super-mario-3d-land.html

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
Another fantastic 3DS game, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon was practically a prequel to the Year of Luigi, and a good one at that. While relatively short and with not much payoff, it’s still a very fun game, much like the first Luigi’s Mansion. Its setup is very different from the original, yes, but for what it is, it’s still pretty awesome. This and Super Mario 3D Land are perfect examples at showcasing how the gap in quality between handheld and console games is shrinking.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/05/luigis-mansion-dark-moon.html

STARSHIP DEFENSE (DSiWare) [3DS]
This is a tower defense game for the DSi Shop that has been given out twice in the Club Nintendo rewards already, meaning if you haven’t gotten yet, you really should. It’s got about 30 or so levels, each with increasing difficulty, and an interesting simplistic art style. Wonder why a game like this didn’t get more extensive coverage back when it first launched…?

Electroplankton: Luminarrow (DSiWare) [3DS]
Fun…for about five minutes. Make some little tunes, mess around, then boom. You’re done. Put down the system and never open the game ever again.

Super Metroid (SNES) [Wii VC]
Jumping on the Metroid train one more time, I got Super Metroid from the Wii VC to try out what was called the best in the series. (What’s with you people and the SNES?) I played it for a while and actually made some decent progress, and was enjoying myself, too, when I got hopelessly lost. I gave up since then. Kinda disappointed I did, though. It’s a good game! Maybe I’ll give it another go later.

Super Mario 64 (N64) [Wii VC]
…eeeeeeeeeeeh. It’s a classic, sure, but a clunky one, with stiff camera controls and a rather loose control scheme for Mario.  Although I am glad I got it. Thanks to the Wii Virtual Console, I was able to own a game I remember enjoying as a little kid, playing it on my cousin’s N64 every chance I get. So I guess I can’t hate the thing. I will say that while the controls might not hold up, I still have to give credit to the game for having well-built worlds and a timeless soundtrack. Bob-Omb Battlefield is probably one of the best level themes to ever exist.

Scribblenauts Remix (iOS)
*vomits*

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX (GBC) [3DS VC]
Still haven’t finished it, but for what I played, I actually liked it. Unlike Oracle of Ages, it isn’t confusing or ball-bustingly difficult; it’s just classic 2D Zelda with fun dungeon puzzles and sidequests to partake in all over the overworld. I’ll crack down on it and finish it someday, and when I do, get back to me. I’ll probably have something more coherent to say.

Tetris (GB) [3DS VC]
WHAT IDIOT GAVE ME ACCESS TO MONEY AND AN ESHOP ACCOUNT I CAN’T STOP PLAYING THIS

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
I feel like Sticker Star is more hated than Super Paper Mario, and honestly, I can see why. Nintendo boasted about how it was a return to the original’s roots of being an RPG yet was anything but, with no experience system and a battle system that spits in your face if you didn’t have the right equipment for a battle you never knew you needed. But for all the things Sticker Star did poorly, it also did quite a few things exceptionally well. The dialogue is fantastic, it takes the paper style to a whole new level with the 3D of the system, and the soundtrack is one of the best ones I have ever heard. I mean, really, I can’t hate this game too much when it’s got that Gooper Blooper boss.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/06/paper-mario-sticker-star.html

Fallout 3 (PC)
Y U NO WORK
Seriously though, after I finally got Fallout 3 up and running, it turned out to be a fantastic game. Very open-ended, lots to do, lots of choices to make, and feeling like you’re in control of what happens is always a great thing. I should probably finish it at some point. …what’s with me and not finishing large games?

Tomb Raider (PC)
Y U NO WORK
Crappy computer hardware and no controller, that’s why. Missing textures and many missed jumps ahoy! Aside from my own issues that aren’t the game’s fault, Tomb Raider is a very cool game. I really like its story and characters and it’s got loads of collectables to find and tools to upgrade that I’ll probably try to get after completing the game. I’ll attempt to finish Assassin’s Creed: Lara Croft Edition when I get better graphics cards and the like so I can actually enjoy the narrative without bugs and glitches slowing me down.

Brutal Legend (PC)
Never launched it. Next.

Psychonauts (PC)
Good God, why do people like this one…I’m not a fan of its art style, and while the character controls well and kinda reminds me of an old PS1 game, I just couldn’t keep playing. Those characters’ voices just made me want to hurt something.

Costume Quest (PC)
Also never launched it. To the backlog with you! *pulls trapdoor rope*

Stacking (PC)
This is…uh…an odd game. I’m still not quite sure what the point is. The opening cutscenes bored me so much that I gave up trying to read them. Credit where credit is due, though; the gameplay is really creative. You’re one of those dolls that go inside other dolls, so you can take over dolls that are bigger than you to preform different tasks. It’s pretty fun, if a little messed up.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
I don’t care if you aren’t a Fire Emblem fan. I wasn’t either. If you own a 3DS, get this game as soon as humanly possible. It’s absolutely fantastic. There’s plenty to do and the battle system is incredibly intricate yet easily accessible. It looks and sounds amazing. It has a great story to back it all up. You play as a custom-made character. You can marry other characters and have ass-kicking babies. What more could you possibly want?! It’s also got the best cutscenes I’ve seen on the hardware yet and the nicest-looking 3D, and while they’re expensive, plenty of DLC packs are available to keep you playing. The soundtrack also deserves a mention, too; it’s got beautiful uses of strings and choirs that fit perfectly with the game’s atmosphere. Don’t pass this up if you get to the chance to add it to your library.

Featured on Recommendation of the Week: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/06/recommendation-of-the-week-060213-060813-fire-emblem-awakening.html

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) [Wii VC]
*whistles the athletic theme*
I own the original two Mario games for my NES, but I never got the third (and probably won’t because of overpricing on eBay and Amazon), so I settled for the Wii VC version. It’s actually really good, and I’m shocked at how nice it looks and sounds for a NES game. They really pushed the system to its limits with this one. Can’t wait ‘till it finally launches on 3DS so I can have a version with save states.

Borderlands 2 (PC)
Another game that was bogged down by my shitty PC hardware, Borderlands 2 is a cooperative FPS that’s a lot of fun to play with friends. You’ll just need someone to guide you through when you start; there isn’t really a tutorial system.

Terarria (PC)
It’s essentially Minecraft’s 2D cousin, but looks nicer and, to an extent, is more accessible. Another game that’s a lot to play with friends, Terarria will keep you busy for quite some time.

Warframe (PC)
Space Ninja: The Video Game – Microtransaction Edition. …okay, so you can still play it without paying any money at all, but you’ll have a hard time unless you’re playing with someone who’s shelled out some money themselves. All that aside, it looks really damn good for a free game, and has some really cool mechanics behind it.

Featured on Recommendation of the Week: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/06/recommendation-of-the-week-052513-060113-warframe.html

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
I got this back on launch day in July. I’m still playing it every day. Animal Crossing is just one of those games you fall in love with, and even if you stop playing it for a while, you’ll eventually come crawling back. There’s nothing to explore or discover or to fight, but there’s a lot to create, a lot of people to talk to, and why not go fishing while you’re at it? It’s one of those games that sticks out in an era full of games where killing is always the goal, in which you have no goal and you’re simply sitting back and enjoying yourself and doing whatever it is you feel like doing.

Featured on Recommendation of the Week: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/06/recommendation-of-the-week-060913-061513-animal-crossing-new-leaf.html

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (3DS)
Huh…nearly forgot about this one. Dunno how. It’s one of the most fun and creative puzzle games I’ve played in years. There’s a metric fuckton of levels, all of them so rewarding to complete you keep playing the game to regain that feeling over and over. It’s one of my favorite 3DS games ever because of this.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/07/mario-and-donkey-kong-minis-on-the-move.html

Mega Man 1, 2, & 3 (NES) [3DS VC]
After seeing the Mega Man reveal for Super Smash Bros. 4, I jumped on the chance to play Mega Man for the first time on my 3DS, and now I see what the big deal was. Mega Man is a fantastic series with very precise controls, open-ended completion paths, and is incredibly difficult, but the kind of difficult where you’re determined to finish it and feel proud of yourself when you do. I recommend trying out Mega Man 2. That’s my personal favorite so far.

Kirby: Squeak Squad (DS)
I have a soft spot for the little pink puffball. All of the Kirby games are fun, cheery, and somewhat challenging. Squeak Squad is all of these…except the last one. Squeak Squad is pathetically easy. But hey, it’s still loads of fun and I’ll probably play it again someday. If Triple Deluxe is anything like Squeak Squad, I know I’ll love it.

Alan Wake (PC)
A game that really should’ve just been a book, Alan Wake is a narrative-driven game about an author being attacked by shadows that are being described in pages part of a book he doesn’t remember writing but apparently did. I’ll finish this game someday because I want to see how it ends, but its clunky controls are really annoying and kinda slow down the experience when they constantly cause me to die.

Castle Crashers (PC)
Castle Crashers is a classic of mine. I used to play it with friends all the time on Xbox, and I’m glad I’m able to play it again on PC with more people. It’s one of those games that I think every gamer should play with their friends at least once at some point in their lives. It’s short, but absolutely fantastic. It looks good, can run on minimal hardware, has a really cool soundtrack, and is a load of fun, and even has a “second quest” sort of mode where everything is more difficult to beat.

Featured on Recommendation of the Week: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/07/recommendation-of-the-week-070713-071313-castle-crashers.html

Dungeons of Dreadmor (PC)
I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.

Darksiders (PC)
Computer couldn’t run it. Bummer. It looks like fun.

Scribblenauts Unlimited (PC)
This game is totally nuts, but in a good way. You solve different objectives by creating virtually anything. Gotta protect a kid from bullies? You could put the bullies in a cage, spawn a T-rex for the kid to ride, or you could be an asshole and poison the bullies. The possibilities are endless. It gets crazier with adjectives, too. Wanna fight a winged pink radioactive evil massive vampiric rabbi while riding a robot dinosaur with a jetpack while wielding a rocket launcher? You can do that!

Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA)
Being a kid raised on the GBA and GameCube as opposed to the SNES and GBC, I feel like the GBA version of Super Mario World is the superior one. The soundtrack may sound worse, but the game’s just easier to control on a Game Boy Advance. Otherwise, it’s exactly the same as the SNES version.

Oh, and it has Luigi.

FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
I normally don’t like indie games. Like, at all. I usually think that they’re too short, too buggy, and a waste of money. FTL is different, though. FTL is a spaceship management game where you’re trying to deliver cargo from one end of the solar system to the other. You recruit crew members and upgrade your ship all while managing your fuel and equipment to easier progress through the sectors. The catch is that there’s permadeath. You die, you gotta start all over. Normally that’d frustrate me, but it’s actually really fun, and the in-game goals, achievements, and unlockables keep me going back to it every once in a while.

Power Up (Xbox 360)
Another indie game that caught me by surprise, Power Up was created by a single person, and his hard work paid off. It’s incredible fun and with multiple difficulty modes and new ship colors to unlock, it’ll keep you busy for a while. It’s also heading to PC and iOS soon, so I’ll soon be able to play it without having to bypass Xbox’s bullshit DRM check for indie games. I highly recommend Power Up to anyone even remotely interested.

Review: http://generalistgamer.weebly.com/2/post/2013/09/power-up.html

Pushmo (3DS)
I kept hearing about how great Pushmo was, but maybe I heard wrong and people liked Crashmo more. Pushmo is creative, sure, but some puzzles are unfairly difficult, the gameplay feels restrictive, and holy crap, that tutorial is the worst one I have ever had to sit through in my life. At least the game is absolutely massive and since it’s a digital game I’m more inclined to play it. I’ll finish it eventually and maybe my opinion will change later.

Pokémon X & Pokémon Y (3DS)
I am a massive Pokénut. I love Pokémon so much that X and Y were the entire reason I got a 3DS in the first place (the other games just happened to be good, too). Did it live up to the expectations I had for it? More or less, yes. The beginning left me with the impression that the story was going to be lengthier than most Pokémon titles, but it sped up quickly and leaving me a bit disappointed, and while Generation V was jam-packed with post-game content (with an entire right side of the region being closed off until after beating the Champion), X and Y had very little of it. However, knowing Pokémon’s history with this sort of thing, there’s loads more to come through downloadable events and, possibly, DLC. …I hope. Aside from these things, Pokémon X and Y look amazing (being the first Pokémon game to rely entirely on 3D models instead of sprites), sound amazing (thanks to the 3DS’ improved sound card), and plenty of new mechanics were added on to spice up the Pokémon experience, such as the Fairy-type, Mega Evolutions, and other small additions. Once the Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter (finally) open, I’ll be able to build even more teams with my favorite Pokémon, too, so I’m looking forward to that.

…still not sure what’s up with the 3D being disabled through most of the game and the framerate drops, though.

Poker Night 2 (PC)
Never played poker before. I have now. And let’s just say I should never be given $20,000 worth of poker chips. This game is loads of fun, though, even if I suck at it, and the ability to unlock new felts, chips, and decks when you finally do when is a goal I’ll keep aiming for. The dialogue can get kinda repetitive, though, but at least it’s all well-written and seeing all these characters together in one room is an incentive to try out their respective series.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360)
I remember hating Assassin’s Creed III, but enjoyed it just a little bit more when I played it again, so I decided to ask for AC4 for Christmas and give the series another chance. The story kicked off quickly and hooked me in, as did the gameplay, showing me that it brought back the ability to hire groups like in the Ezio trilogy, as well as massively improving the naval combat from AC3 and making it insanely fun despite me hating the idea of having a whole game centered around it. The game does an excellent job of mixing together the feel of the Ezio trilogy while including what AC3 did right as well as introducing its own unique twists. The present day portions continue the story real nicely and does a great job of leaving you in suspense as you flip over to the pirate era. The controls got a couple tweaks as well, changing up the shooting and weapon selection mechanics to make them flow easier (and it did a very good job in both respects). The story of the game is one of the things I liked the most, as I missed having a well-written Assassin’s Creed game so much considering they’ve all been lackluster since AC2.  However, despite all the things AC4 did right, there are a couple of issues. For one, being able to climb on trees was kept but climbing on cliffsides was mostly removed and even climbing on small rocks was made worse from AC3, countering in battle has become harder to do, and the secondary objectives for main missions are ridiculously unfair and somewhat repetitive. If you can get past these problems, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a fantastic game that helps Assassin’s Creed get back on its feet.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS)
I saw some gameplay videos of the Wii version and thought it’d be fun to give the 3DS version a shot, seeing as how it had an easier mode (I don’t like hard games too much). Even on the easier mode, this game is ridiculously difficult even early on, but it’s getting easier as I’m learning the mechanics and physics. There are plenty of levels and each one has Kong letters and puzzle pieces to hunt down, and I’m told there’s a second mode after the game’s completion, so there’s plenty of content to play through. I’ll be playing this one for a while.

Mighty Switch Force (3DS)
This game is friggin’ weird, but really cool. Basically it’s a 2D shoot-em-up platformer puzzle game. It’s really hard to explain. You’ll have to try it yourself. You’ll just have to keep in mind that it’s really, really short for a $5-6 game. But hey, you’ll get to hear some cool music, even if the main character’s voice will drive you absolutely crazy.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
I didn’t expect this. Really, I didn’t. I went into 2013 fully expecting Pokémon to be my personal Game of the Year, or even Fire Emblem: Awakening, but nope. A Link Between Worlds grabbed me by the balls and I loved it like some messed-up fetish. After not enjoying my time with A Link to the Past, I was incredibly surprised to have liked A Link Between Worlds so much. The dungeons are short, yeah, but they’re really creative and really fun, and I’d rather have cool-looking short dungeons than ridiculously huge ones like in 3D Zeldas that tire me out. The wall-merging mechanic was really cool, and started to come naturally very early on, which means the game forced me to use it very frequently, and that’s a good thing. The game looks great, too, taking full advantage of the 3D by making certain attacks send enemies into the air, having Floormasters pop out at your face (*shivers*), and having a lot of puzzles and areas focus on where you are in respect to height. It sounds damn fine, too, with some areas having the music change as you progress further. The item rental system is a really cool setup that allows for non-linear progression of the game, allowing every player’s experience to be different from each other. Hyrule and Lorule are both equally expansive as well, each holding tons of secrets and places to explore, enough to last you another few hours even after completing the main story. As if it couldn’t get any better, A Link Between Worlds includes the recent Zelda tradition of having a Hero Mode, a version of the main game where the enemies deal an increased amount of damage, improving the replayability. Oh, and the story is really good, too. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is my favorite game I played this year.

Bottom line for 2013? Get a 3DS if you haven’t already. It’s got some of the best games you could ever play and Nintendo is just killing it with how many main series games they’re putting on it. And you better get one fast, because Super Smash Bros. 4, Yoshi’s New Island, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe are coming soon.

(Special Article)

Since I really don't have much else to do this summer, the fourth installment of The Remix Collection is now complete! No new franchises were included, however; in fact, some were cut in comparison to the last volume. To make up for it, though, each franchise featured has a full set of four songs each, making this the first RXC to do so, and this volume has four special mixes at the end. Check out the downloads page to nab The Remix Collection - Volume 4 and load it onto your music players!

(As always, the songs in the RXC are not made by me unless otherwise stated in the song description. The Remix Collection is simply a gathering of various remixes, medleys, and mashups across YouTube and Newgrounds. Every artist is given credit for their work; please go to their channel or page to congratulate them on their work if you like what you hear.)

(Special Article)

It's been about 6 months since I put up the The Remix Collection: Volume 2 for download, and since then about 30 of you have downloaded it and the first volume. ...yeah, okay, so it's not much, but it's a good amount for my standards. Either way, the third volume of the RXC is now available for download! Check my downloads page for the link and share it around with your friends!

This time around, this album features Persona, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokémon, Rayman, Super Mario Bros., Portal, Kirby, and Mega Man, and, for the first time, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, and Metroid enter the lineup. Enjoy!

(As always, the songs in the RXC are not made by me unless otherwise stated in the song description. The Remix Collection is simply a gathering of various remixes, medleys, and mashups across YouTube and Newgrounds. Every artist is given credit for their work; please go to their channel or page to congratulate them on their work if you like what you hear.)

(SPECIAL ARTICLE)

I personally love talking about gaming, but I can't always find the right people to talk to about it. So, I think here would be a great place to sum up what I did over the past year when it comes to gaming. I may not have had many 2012 games, but I did happen to buy and purchase a lot of older ones. Prepare for an overload of information!

(SPECIAL ARTICLE)

If you've been keeping up with me on Twitter, you probably have heard that Volume 2 of The Remix Collection was in the works. Well, it's actually been completed and is now available for download! Check the downloads page for the link to Volume 2. Hope you enjoy it, and remember to let me know what you think of it in the comments below. You can always send in remixes you come across, as well; it'll help in building future installments.

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This project may have come out of the blue, but I'm still incredibly excited for it! Click the new "Downloads" page in the header and click "Volume 1" to download the .zip file containing The Remix Collection. Make sure to send in what you thought of it in the comments below or up on Twitter!

(Please make sure to read the "readme" file upon download.)

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Why do I like tinkering around with iTunes so much? Hell if I know, but if I didn't, I wouldn't be here telling you that I've thrown together a compilation album featuring 40 different remixes, medleys, mashups, and reorchastrations of video game tracks from famous franchises, such as Pokémon, Sonic, Halo, Persona, and much, MUCH more, all spanning about two and a half hours put together. Here's the catch: only one song in the entire thing is made by me. Every other track in the album was created by various people from YouTube and Newgrounds; all I did was throw them into an album for your (and, let's face it, my) convenience and use. The songs and album artwork are fully compatible with iTunes and iOS devices, so you can listen to them on the go or at home on your computer.

This album is dubbed "The Remix Collection".

Come Saturday, January 12th, you'll find a downloads page added to this website, and you'll be able to download the .zip file from there and add it to whatever program or device you use for listening to music.

Click below for the full tracklist. (The track "Desert - 8-bit Remix", originally from Bomberman Heroes, was misspelled as "Dessert". This has been fixed since the capture of this picture.)

GET HYPE.
-The Generalist Gamer

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A few weeks back, I asked you, the readers, to send in what you thought of games released in 2012. While not many entries were received, the ones I got captured the love for certain games. I was going to have a huge introductory paragraph here, but one of the entries summed it up pretty well, so I'll let him take the reigns.

(Segments written by Nick (@Electivirus) were pulled from this blog post with permission.)

2012 was one hell of a year for gaming. Players got a new console, were treated to AAA titles that
pleased their respective legions of fans, and for the first time ever a video game soundtrack won a
Grammy. Of course, there were plenty of things to detract us from all the awesome games we were
swimming in this year. The Robert Florence “Doritos and Mt. Dew” column set the game journalism
corps to cannibalizing itself; but, important conversations were had. We continued to debate the
legitimacy of day-one DLC, we’ve argued over the potential success of failure or Nintendo’s new
console, and we suffered through the usual throngs of mediocrity one is certain to encounter throughout
an entire year of game releases.
But, as far as I am concerned, all of that pales in comparison to what 2012 did for indie gaming.
Journey, Fez, Botanicula, Awesomenauts, Mark of the Ninja, and Hotline Miami, gave gamers of all ages
something to be grateful for this year. This is the first year I have spent more time playing downloadable
indie titles from Xbox Live, PSN, or Steam than I have playing console titles put out by well-known
publishers and development studios. That, ladies and gentleman, is a big deal. -Jon Hamlin (@WordsmithJon)

FTL: Faster Than Light
[There] is one game that has carved out a place in my heart of hearts: FTL. For those that don’t
know, FTL is a point-and-click space simulation game that has the graphics of a SNES game and operates
on code that is no more complicated than what you can do with Microsoft Excel. It is brilliant good fun
and stands as a testament to the notion that you don’t need a major publisher backing you with millions
of dollars to put out a first-rate game. FTL is a simple space simulation that has provided me hours upon
hours of fun, and that’s what I appreciate about it most. More than any other game I’ve played this year
FTL is the game that has engaged me the most. It is not a passive experience, like the QTE-laden games
that infested the market this year. Every single thing you do requires you to be fully engaged with what
is going on in the game. Every point and every click is the direct result of a conscious choice made by
the player. FTL will have you keeping track of life support systems, diverting power from the engines to
weapon systems, locking down spaceship compartments and venting their unwanted occupants out into
space, all the while making sure that you have the crew to man the essential systems in the ship and the
fuel to get where you want to go. So, you’ll believe me when I say that the game’s simplicity belies only
its unfathomable and astonishing complexity.
FTL, and indeed all the other fantastic indie games that saw successful releases this year, deserve
a standing ovation, as do the gamers who decided that these games were important; in some cases,
important enough to support with their own hard-earned savings. 2012 was hugely important to the indie
game scene and I absolutely cannot wait to see what 2013 will bring for all of the rest yet-to-be-made
little-games-that-could. -Jon Hamlin (@WordsmithJon)

The Walking Dead: The Game
With The Walking Dead, I've completed the first two episodes. Currently Kenny hates me, and Clementine is disappointed in me for killing a man and stealing from a car. I'm trying to be nice, but that doesn't always work as intended. Sorry, Lee. Clearly I am the best at this game. -Sean (@Remolay)

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
It took entirely too long to get this game into my hands, but the wait was so worth it. The revamped art direction is incredible and it really makes it feel like PAPER Mario. Enemies crumple up when hit, backgrounds collapse like cardboard, etc. It’s the first in the series that I can say takes advantage of its namesake. The Paperize mechanic is incredibly fun, letting me interact with the environment in ways I couldn’t even imagine. It rings to mind Okami’s Celestial Brush, which can only be a good thing. The sticker system is quite fun, and brings a lot of strategy to battles that hadn’t been there in previous Paper Mario games. There’s much more variety in what you can do in battles and it keeps them from becoming stale. Indeed, there wasn’t a single point in the game where I ran past enemies just because I didn’t feel like getting into a fight. Battles remain fun throughout and that is a HUGE plus for a game like this. I found myself judging each individual encounter and acting accordingly rather than simply spamming Power Bounce as I would have in any other Paper Mario game. The enemy variety, while slightly lower than usual, is filled with enemies that have never seen the light of day in Mario RPGs until now. Ninjis, Podoboos, Scuttlebugs, etc. The soundtrack is amazing, filled with jazzy tunes, both original and arranged alike. It’s a pretty awesome moment when a jazzy arrangement of Waltz of the Boos, of all things, rears its beautiful head. The humor is classic Paper Mario, though more focused on visual humor this time around. The Thing stickers in particular are some of the funniest bits in any of the games. Ditto with the Sticker Museum entries. I’m already planning my second playthrough, and that’s a pretty obvious sign that this game is AWESOME. -Nick (@Electivirus)

Pokémon Black 2 Version & White 2 Version
With Pokémon Black 2 I've been having simply a series of lucky wins. I know nothing of the gyms, the region, the Pokémon, or even type match ups. I've been playing Pokémon for 7 years now and I still don't know type match-ups.
-Sean (@Remolay)

This was my most anticipated release of the year. So, I remember how ecstatic I was when I got it. I popped it in my DS and was amazed by how much the DS could process. I mean, JUST LOOK AT THOSE 3D GRAPHICS. Anyway, I started up my adventure. It was amazing. I chose an Oshawatt named Revolver. (So original right? No? Aww...) So, I was surprised by all the story elements they throw at you immediately. Especially with the meeting of Alder. I also found it interesting how you could connect with Black/White. I found it sweet how the AI such as gum leaders would mention your character from before, 2 years ago. Another thing was how many Pokemon you could obtain right from the start rather than being restricted to just Unova Pokémon like B/W. The Riolu was my 2nd Pokémon and it was not hard to find at all. WE. KICKED. ASS. HARD. -Charlie (@SonicMoonwalk)

GameFreak tried out something new and it worked wonderfully. Eschewing the usual third version for a sequel with twice the amount of content than usual was a brilliant idea. The regional Pokédex is incredibly varied (Riolu and Growlithe in the first few routes? Holy shit!) and the new interface features are decidedly convenient. Auto-replenishing repels is something that should’ve been added years ago, and the habitat system (which chronicles which Pokemon are in which area and whether or not you’ve caught them yet) makes it much easier to complete the Pokédex. The soundtrack is the best the DS has to offer with a variety of styles and some great sound quality. The new areas are expertly made (Reversal Mountain and the Pokemon World Tournament are among my favorites) and the game as a whole really comes across as an attempt to shake up the formula a bit. AND THERE’S A HARD MODE THAT’S ACTUALLY HARD, YES. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some rage to unleash. -Nick (@Electivirus)

Kid Icarus Uprising
Oh my, where to begin. Oh, I know: SAKURAI IS A FUCKING GENIUS. By far the best 3DS game on the system, and further proves that handheld games can match (or even exceed) console games in production values and content. Some of the best new characters introduced this gen, all of them overflowing with personality and life (and some great voice acting, to boot; this sure as hell ain’t Star Fox 64!). A Saturday morning cartoon story filled with increasingly AWESOME events and quite a few HOLY SHIT moments, a great sense of humor that isn’t the least bit afraid of poking fun at itself… the game is an all-around joy to experience. A deep weapon crafting system combined with TONS of collectibles (This IS a Sakurai game, of course!) kept me coming back for more, long after I’d beaten the main story. The soundtrack is also phenomenal, bringing in an all-star team to show off just what the 3DS can do in the sound department (HOLY SHIT YUZU KOSHIRO AND NORIYUKI IWADARE FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF). The game is friggin’ gorgeous as well. I had no idea the 3DS could pull off such stunning environments (Chapter 8 in particular blows me away every time I play). It uses practically everything the 3DS has to offer and then some, and it shows. This is a lovingly-crafted Sakurai game through and through, and any gamer worth their salt owes it to themselves to give it a shot. HANDHELD GOTYALLYEARS -Nick (@Electivirus)

Persona 4 Golden Alright, I will be honest. I have not completed Persona 4 Golden for the PS Vita. I am far into the game however. I feel like now is a good time for me to give my initial impressions. For starters, Persona 4 Golden is a western styled RPG, probably one of the very few RPG's us American's will see for the Vita.You start off as a high school city-boy, who was sent to rural Inaba by your parents, who went to work abroad. As you get there, strange murders start happening, and even one of your friends go missing. You and a few friends go into a television (they initially don't believe you, but you show them later) to save people before this.... thing.... kills them. That's the story in a nutshell, or at least how far I am so far.
The gameplay, as stated before, is RPG. You go through dungeons and fight various enemies and get to an area boss at the end. However, when you aren't in dungeons, your exploring Inaba and going to school or hanging out with your friends at the local stores.You can even decide if you want to be on a basketball team or be in the school band. Not only is the game a RPG, but might I say, a high school simulator as well. 
The game is actually a remake of a PS2 game, Persona 4. Some of the animations get very repetitive and some characters get very annoying (Chie.... I cannot stand her and her constant yelling). The graphics look good for the Vita, but it's nothing super spectacular. One thing that threw me off was important cutscenes are actually anime. Not the game models, but true anime. It works very well and makes for some good story telling.
 Unfortunately, I haven't beaten the game. I can't say much more, because I'm not finished. I will say I could recommend this game to anyone. Heck, I don't like RPG's and I love this game. Pick it up if your ever have the chance. -Indy (@INDiANATC)

ZombiU
Where do I begin? Well, maybe how I feel about the game: I. FUCKING. LOVE IT. I know it's not for everyone. I recommend it to anyone looking for an actual survival HORROR game. However, I feel like I should talk about why I love this game so damn much. First of all, the environment is great. You always feel like some zombie is lurking right next to you. And I also really liked the real time stuff like looting and picking locks. Spitalfield Greens has two areas where you start to pick locks and explosive hunters attack you. Never fails to scare the shit out of me. The controls feel petty good. ZL and ZR are to aim and then fire, and ZR alone pushes foes. However, now I'm starting to sound like an instruction manual, so I'll stop here. All and all, I just want to get one thing across- as much as I love ZombiU (I could probably write an entire article on that), it's not for everyone. Very slow and dark, unlike, say, CoD zombies. And the characters? Some of my favorites, the Prepper and Sondra are great characters with contrasting views on the situation, and you start to question the Prepper very soon. The controls feel great, the setting is amazing, and it features some impressive voice acting. -Nick (@AnimalCrosser53)

Resident Evil 6
RE6 is really, REALLY fun. 4 awesome campaigns, incredibly fun combat, intertwining stories, etc. I thought it was a blast to play through. Increased focus on melee combat honestly has me considering doing a melee-only run. Hell, the depth of the mechanics packed into the game is extremely impressive. Hiding behind cover to replenish stamina faster, quick shots, melee combo chains, a ton of context-specific melee attacks, sliding, spinning 180 degrees mid-slide to shoot opponents behind you, counters, etc. It’s friggin’ crazy! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Resident Evil this… mobile, but I LOVE it.  It’s an incredible feeling, dodge-jumping backwards from an enemy, shooting it mid-jump, rolling out of the dodge, quick-shotting 3 enemies in a row, and meleeing a 4th. It’s like a symphony of death. No other game has given me that feeling before. It’s incredibly difficult going back to any older RE game now, as I feel bogged down by sluggish controls after spending so much time with this. The game is packed with content (with more on the way), has some very fun boss fights, and has generally given me 25+ hours of great fun so far. Also, Ada + Sherry. Instant best RE game. I mean, come on. One of the best action games I’ve ever played. -Nick (@Electivirus)

Assassin's Creed III
While the fifth installment of the Assassin's Creed series seemed shorter than I had expected, there were several elements of this game that made it a joy to play. For instance, free running and climbing through the trees was smooth and fluent. This was an added feature, and they did it will. Also features like hunting animals and sailing gave players a new experience. Using Revolutionary War-age weapons and roaming the streets of early New York just felt awesome, especially when you'd encounter a prominent American historical figure such as Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, or George Washington. The premise of Connor Kenway's father being English and mother being Native American was also an interesting idea. The multiplayer kept many of the game modes that made it fun in Brotherhood and Revelations, while adding several new ones of its own. Also, loading games was faster.
-David Kimball (http://davidvkimball.com/)

Halo 4
Finally. Innate sprinting. Halo 4's control scheme is the best Halo control scheme yet (of any of the games). Not only does the game look beautiful, it had a compelling story line with new threats and familiar characters. Once again playing as the Master Chief was refreshing, and the new missions had a nostalgic twist. The new aliens, the "Prometheans," were an interesting addition to the Halo universe, and they were not simply a reiteration of the Covenant. The multiplayer is insanely fun as well, with an intense variety of game modes. Also Spartan Ops is a new mode, in which players can join each other online to pursue special mulitplayer missions. Soldier customization and loadout customization online feels a lot like Call of Duty, but I'd argue the games are still distinguishable from each other. 
I may be one of the few that thought the ending to Halo 4 was a bit anticlimactic as well, but a large number of reviews disagree with me. All-in-all, an outstanding rendition of the series, and I say well done, 343.
-David Kimball (http://davidvkimball.com/)

PlanetSide 2
I want to shed some light on PlanetSide 2, the Free-To-Play FPS-MMO on Steam. This game was released mid-late November and is already a popular, successful game. In this game, also referred to as PS2, you can create characters to play as for three different factions, Vanu, Terran, or New Conglomerate. Vanu focusing on technological development, Terran focusing on strict military control, and New Conglomerate focusing on the freedom of Auraxis (the planet they're fighting for). And there is no real end (atleast I don't think so) because your fighting for land on a never-ending match. Land is what shows in this game, the more you have, the more resources your faction has available for creating aircrafts, vehicles, and Max's. There are three huge continents on Auraxis; Esamir, Indar, and Amerish. Your goal is to show the other two factions who's boss and kick their ass! And like most other MMO's they do allow subscriptions, in-game "cash", and other real money opprotunities. However, you do earn points called "certification points", with those you can buy guns, well, really, pretty much just about everything. PS2 does feature squads, so you can play with friends. This game has the best graphics a game could have nowadays, the graphics are so good,  Battlefield 3 says, "When did I get a twin?".  And when you play this game, you can't help but really get into it. So if you want to try it out (which is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), don't forget Terran all the way! Also, once you spawn in, you come in a pod, and are directly taken into battle. So be prepared and take down as many enemies as you can with you! -Josh Adkins

Final Fantasy XIII-2
I had little issue with FFXIII’s linearity, but compared to that, XIII-2 is quite freeing, in more ways than one. Areas focusing more on exploration, tons of customization options, a bigger focus on sidequests/optional areas, a crystarium with far more options to build party members, etc. pretty much secure it as what  XIII should have been. An improvement over it in every way, barring a few performance issues. Noel is one of my favorite protagonists in the series; Confident, likeable, great voice acting/backstory, and some kickass battle animations.  The battle system is largely the same with only a few (very welcome) changes. The monster-raising system in particular is my favorite addition to it. I’m a huge Pokemon fan and this appealed to me in the best way. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun scouting down different colors of Chocobo to add them to my team before. The soundtrack is likely the highest point of the game. An incredible amount of variety and production values abound. From progressive rock, to trance, to electronic, to metal, there’s a lot to enjoy here. Naoshi Mizuta completely blew me away, which is something I didn’t expect at all, given his tepid track record. All in all, XIII-2 shaped up to be my favorite RPG of the year, and by far my favorite Final Fantasy game. When an RPG has me beating it 3 times in 8 months, that’s probably a sign that it’s GotY material! If Lightning Returns is even half as good, 2013 is gonna be a great year. -Nick (@Electivirus)

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And so, the year 2012 is finally dwindling to a close. Like the previous year, we had plenty of great games released this year, ranging from Paper Mario: Sticker Star on the 3DS to Halo 4 on the Xbox 360. Now, as you all know, I like to do things a bit differently from everybody else, so while IGN, GameSpot, and the like are doing reader's and editor's choice awards, I'd rather do something that isn't so subjective.

Enter: Your Year In Gaming!

Email me some small stories about your favorite moments in gaming this year, a small testimony on a game you hated or loved, or your opinions on the Wii U! I'd like for all you readers out there to spread the word and get as many people involved in this. I want to have a large article by the end of the year filled with small snippets written by you guys! No awards, no ratings, no reviews; just us gamers doing what we do best: ranting and praising like raging fanboys/girls! (Email address is [email protected].)

There are some particular games that came out this year that I'd love to have your opinions on. I'll list them below, but if you have any other games you played this year that you liked, please write about them to! No restrictions other than the game had to have come out this year.

Here are the main games I'd like to be able to focus on:

New Super Mario Bros. 2
New Super Mario Bros. U
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Kirby's Return to Dreamland
Pokémon Black 2 & White 2
Scribblenauts: Unlimited
Nintendo Land
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Assassin's Creed III
ZombiU
Far Cry 3
Resident Evil 6
Halo 4
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
The Walking Dead: The Game

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Plenty of other retail and digital games came out this year, and I want to know what you thought of them. The more you have to say, the better!

Make sure to give me a name to credit your testimony to, and, if you have one, your Twitter handle. If you wish to remain anonymous, please let me know and I'll respect that.

Hop to it, gamers! I'll get to work on an original article myself. I have some things I want to say about my own personal year of gaming!

-The Generalist Gamer

(Please note that I will not change whatever content you send me, but whatever I choose to post will be susceptible to edits for grammar. Please have good grammar from the start; it will definitely reduce my workflow. Thank you!)