New Years is always a time to look back and reflect on the previous year. January is the time of year when various media outlets and bloggers post “top X of 20YY”. While navigating through some of Game Informer’s “top lists” I came across a blog entry detailing the games the author played over the course of the year. It was quite a lengthy entry but it did inspire me to look back on my year and come up with a few highlights to share with you all. Since I didn’t keep a running list of everything I played throughout the year, I’ll only be discussing titles that I found noteworthy for one reason or another. Hopefully reading through this will inspire you to re-play a few games or lead you to some new titles you wouldn’t have otherwise experienced.

My wife isn’t what most people would consider an avid gamer. She has however latched on to a few series (particularly Fable) and enjoys some casual and co-op games. That being said, the release of Lego Lord of the Rings seemed like a perfect game for us to play through together. We had previously played through the Lego Star Wars and Harry Potter games but LOTR easily topped either franchise. The level design is everything you would expect from the Lego franchise however this iteration went above and beyond by faithfully recreating Middle Earth and allowing the player to freely explore as any of Tolkien’s characters, if even some are just glorified palette swaps. The ability to traverse the world map and solve puzzles independent of one another was a great gameplay addition for times when we needed a break from the story/free play modes or simply wanted to explore in our own way. It took a while but we did manage to achieve 100% completion. A great game for fans of LOTR, other Lego titles, or individuals looking for games to play with their spouse or children.

With March came the release of the Tomb Raider reboot. To put the following in proper perspective, I’m not a Tomb Raider fan. In fact, I always considered the series a thinly veiled excuse to sell a disproportionate female protagonist in short shorts to adolescent boys. That being said, I began tracking the development of the reboot as soon as I heard that the developers were scrapping the former Lara Croft character model in favor of a more realistic iteration. Learning that the plot would become a new origin story, showing Lara’s evolution from an inexperienced college student to an adventure hardened explorer only sweetened the deal. The island on which the game takes place is absolutely gorgeous. If you’ve ever wanted to play a game in the setting of “Lost” this is probably the game for you. The gameplay is equally solid, full of exploration, platforming, and larger than life action sequences. Tomb Raider was the only game I paid full price for this year and I haven’t regretted it for a second.

Summer was kind of a dry spell for games and I toiled away the warmer months playing through random titles like Halo Reach and Halo 4 that wasn’t excited enough to purchase but was happy to borrow from my brother-in-law. Aside from a few XBLA time wasters, that was it for me until the fall.

I’m not sure what possessed me to pick up Alan Wake in September but I’m certainly glad that I did. I was a little skeptical at first given that I’m not into survival or horror games but I had heard a lot of great things about the game and couldn’t pass it up when I saw a price tag under $10. After completing the game and all its DLC (including American Nightmare) I feel somewhat comfortable saying that this is really more of a thriller with some tense moments thrown in than a horror game so don’t let the genre put you off if Resident Evil isn’t your cup of tea. The plot revolves around mystery novelists, Alan Wake as he vacations in a secluded woodsy town. Things go awry and you’re left trying to solve a mystery of your own. The real treasure with this title though is the play on darkness and lighting. All enemies are protected by darkness or shadows so Alan’s arsenal is comprised of surprising items like flashlights, flashbangs and flares. It’s a very interesting take on combat and the game does a great job showcasing its lighting effects.

My other Fall title was Telltale’s The Walking Dead. I won’t get into a lot of details on this one but the short summary is that it’s a “point-and-click” style adventure game that handles action sequences with quick time events. It also sports an intriguing art style but the game’s focus is clearly on storytelling and player choice. I had a week off in October and played one episode each day and would recommend a similar play style to anyone. Needless to say, I’m very excited to see what Telltale does in 2014 with Game of Thrones and season two of The Walking Dead.

Speaking of player choice, I finished my gaming year by making another run through the Mass Effect trilogy. This was my first opportunity to create a character and play through all three entries in sequence without having to wait for the release of the next installment. It was also my first experience with the DLC. There isn’t much else to say about this series that hasn’t already been said. If you haven’t played these games yet, pick up the triple pack immediately. I’ve played through each game no less than four times and I’m not convinced that my most recent run will be my last. This is a truly fantastic series that should be experienced by everyone and it was a perfect way to close out my gaming year.

So what did you play this year? Were there any triple AAA you absolutely loved? Any diamonds in the rough? What are you looking forward to in 2014? I’ll personally be scrounging the bargain bins for good titles that I missed this generation while keeping an eye on the XBone and PS4 for any noteworthy software. As someone that only owns a 360, I’ll also be watching for people getting rid of their PS3s so I can take a shot at the Uncharted series and The Last of Us. Let us know what you’re looking forward to and your opinions on end of year lists. If you’re interested, I’ll probably post a similar article next year and would look forward to seeing something similar from you.

Honorable Mentions: The Cave, Shadowrun Returns, Megaman 1 – 8, various retro games reviewed on this site.

Travis Mountain can be reached @strayer39 on twitter or via retronick.com and is currently playing Dark Souls (360), Assassin’s Creed 3 (360) and Golden Axe: Beast Rider (360).