Grand Theft Auto V
Developer(s): Rock star North[a]
Publisher(s): Rock star Games
Distributor(s):
Take-Two Interactive
Producer(s):
Leslie Benzies, Imran Sarwar
Designer(s):
Leslie Benzies, Imran Sarwar
Programmer(s):
Adam Fowler
Artist(s):
Aaron Garbut
Writer(s):
Dan Houser, Rupert Humphries
Platform(s):
Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Mode(s):
Single-player, multiplayer
It’s
as irresistible to play as it is to admire, a super-sized version of the
already super-sized Grand Theft Auto
IV with the best parts
intact and all the impurities leeched out. It’s the most refined game Rock
star’s ever published: the vehicle physics are immaculate and the driving
controls are superb; the interface is stripped and clean; the gunplay and
tactical cover system are perfected; and the expertly paced missions are honed
to a fine, felonious edge.
Assassin's Creed IV
Developer(s):
Ubisoft Montreal
Additional
work by:[show]
Publisher(s):
Ubisoft
Director(s):
Ashraf Ismail, Jean
Guesdon
Producer(s):
Sylvain Trottier
Writer(s):
Darby McDevitt, (Head writer and story), Corey May(Story)
Composer(s): Brian Tyler, Olivier Deriviere (Freedom Cry)
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation
4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Mode(s):
Single-player, multiplayer
Imagine the game play breakthroughs of Assassin’s
Creed III in a bigger
sandbox, playing as a buccaneer scraping by during the early 18th century
so-called Golden Age of Piracy and all of that rendered in exquisite detail.
Pokemon
X and Y
Developer(s): Game
Freak
Publisher(s): Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
Director(s): Junichi Masuda
Producer(s): Junichi Masuda, Hitoshi Yamagami, Shusaku
Egami, Takato Utsunomiya
Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
The 3DS versions of
Nintendo’s celebrated role-playing franchise don’t revolutionize the
exploration-focused, turn-based critter-battling series so much as refine it,
rendering the game world in beautiful 3D while iterating combat features that
allow your Pokémon to assume temporary “ultimate” personas and battle in the
sky as well as on the ground.
Gone
Home
Developer(s): The Full bright Company
Publisher(s): Midnight City (Wii U)[1]
Designer(s): Steve Gaynor
Composer(s): Chris Remo
Engine: Unity
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Wii
U
Mode(s): Single-player
We’ve all had that feeling: the uneasiness of being alone in the dark,
of being spooked by the sound of our own house settling, of bounding upstairs
just a tiny bit faster after we’ve turned off the downstairs lights for the
night. Without having to shoot or stab anything along the way, it turns out
that rummaging for important items in a video game is pretty enjoyable when
handled properly. The game’s empty, ever-groaning manor provides the suspense,
which you relieve by moving from room to room, turning on the lights, examining
every corner for clues and gradually becoming familiar with your new home. You
might even call it therapeutic.
Animal
Crossing
Developer(s): Nintendo
EAD Group No. 2, Development
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Director(s): Isao Moro, Aya Kyogoku
Producer(s): Katsuya Eguchi
Writer(s): Makoto Wada
Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS
Mode(s): Single-player
The Animal
Crossing games are about
turning mundane activities into rewarding activities while interacting with
cute little human-like animals (in other words, The
Sims imagined by Richard Scary). Animal Crossing: New Leaf takes that idea and lets you play as
mayor of the town for a change.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us
Developer(s): Naughty
Dog
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s): Bruce Straley, Neil Druckmann
Designer(s): Jacob Mink off
Programmer(s): Travis McIntosh, Jason Gregory
Platform(s): PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
With The Last of Us, developer Naughty Dog
crafted a survival-horror game that sounds like a pitch for an uncharted spinoff with zombies: third-person
exploration, an A.I. companion and cover-based gunplay. But the game manages to
fold in a clever stealth system, much-improved (and terrifying) enemy A.I. and
above all else, storytelling that elevates the medium.
Pikmin
3
Developer(s): Nintendo
EAD Group No. 4, Development
Assistance: Monolith Soft
Director(s): Shigefumi Hino, Yuki Kando
Writer(s): Kunio Watanabe, Makoto Wada
Platform(s): Wii U
Mode(s): Single-player, Multiplayer
Platform(s): Wii U
Mode(s): Single-player, Multiplayer
Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s Pikmin always deserved a broader audience,
but that’s usually the case with quirky games. Pikmin 3 rebuilds its game play from the ground
up to be easier for novices while retaining the depth longtime fans expect.
Otherwise it’s still the same cute little real-time puzzler, where you lead a
group of creatures (the eponymous Pikmin) through crazy-scrapes, working your
way around impediments and battling goofy, colorful creatures.
BioShock Infinite
Developer(s): Irrational Games
BioShock Infinite
Developer(s): Irrational Games
Publisher(s): 2K Games
Director(s): Ken Levine
Programmer(s): Christopher Kline
Writer(s): Ken Levine
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox
360, OS X
Mode(s): Single-player
BioShock Infinite isn’t formulaic. It’s a game that’s
prompted more smart commentary than most games will ever see. It has a
reputation for being that kind of game — the one you approach intellectually,
despite its grisly facade of smashed skulls, burnt bodies and cartoonish gore.
The same was true with the original BioShock and with the spiritually-related System
Shock series.
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3
Developer(s): Ubisoft
Montreal
Additional work by: [show]
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Director(s): Patrick Plourde, Patrik Methe
Producer(s): Dan Hay
Additional work by: [show]
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Director(s): Patrick Plourde, Patrik Methe
Producer(s): Dan Hay
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox
360
Mode(s): Single-player, multiplayer
This standalone expansion of Ubisoft’s popular sandbox shooter is a
throwback to the testosterone-driven films of the ’80s and early ’90s, before
we demanded deep thoughts from our action films. The protagonist, Sergeant Rex
Power Colt, is a gravel-voiced cyborg with a metallic arm and glowing red eye.
Tired clichés, cringe-worthy double entendres and references to decades-old pop
culture saturate every line of dialog. Basically, it’s like modern video games,
only gloriously aware of its silliness.
Skylanders
Skylanders
Developers: Toys for Bob, Vicarious Visions, Frima
Studio, N-Space, Beenox
Publishers: Activision
If you’re no fan of collectible toy-based games with pricey upgrade
trajectories, just move along, nothing to see here. Otherwise the series that
inspired copycats like Disney Infinity celebrates its
three-quel with Skylanders: Swap Force, a
much-refined version of the prior two plat formers with new characters you can
split in half, separating legs from torsos, then mix and match to unlock
different abilities.
