Josh Jackson’s Top 15 Gaming Moments Of 2013!

2013 was a great year to be a gamer, wasn’t it? While we all look ahead to 2014, let’s take a look at some of the best gaming moments of this past year.

There are definitely spoilers below, so proceed with caution!

15. Rayman Legends music stages.

There were few moments this year that put a bigger smile on my face than Rayman Legends‘ music stages. Combining rhythm with platforming, these stages had you jumping and punching to the beat of some very strange song choices. What better way to reach your goal than by doing it to a mariachi version of Eye of the Tiger?

14. Saints of Rage.

Since Saints Row 2, the open world crime game has had no problem referencing other video games. For example, the not so subtle Mass Effect spoof that lets your character romance every member of your team sans Keith David, (he doesn’t want to ruin the dynamic between crime boss and awesome actor/Vice President you see.) But those pale in comparison to Saints of Rage, a three stage side scrolling throwback to the classic Sega brawler where your character and Johnny Gat relive the latter’s biggest nightmares in 16-bit form. It’s incredible stuff.

13. Disney Infinity Intro

Disney Infinity promised a world of limitless imagination rivaling the films that put the studio on the map. If all of the advertisements didn’t wow you, the developers at Avalanche made sure to do so in the first 15 minutes of the game. Initially controlling a “spark” of imagination, players are treated to a beautiful, ever changing world led by characters such as Rapunzel, Ralph, Vanelope, Anna, Elsa and most importantly, Mickey Mouse. The scene has to be seen to believe, and is one of the most gorgeous moments of any game this year.

12. Cat Bowser

Do you ever wonder why Bowser never uses the power ups Mario comes across? I guess he started to wonder too. In the final encounter of the main campaign in Super Mario 3D World, Bowser finally wisens up and uses the Cat Bell, transforming into one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen with Cat Bowser. To make things worse, this new, furry, more agile version of Mario’s greatest foe comes across the double cherry too, having multiple Cat Bowsers trying to take you out at once. Reminiscent of the excellent end sequence from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it’s a mad dash to the top, and one of the most exciting stages in a while.

11. Louie’s an Asshole

In Pikmin 2, it was shown that Olimar’s lazy sidekick, Louie, was the one responsible for all the hardships the duo had to go through. Not one to pass up a great opportunity to attempt to murder a group of strangers, Louie takes his douchebaggery to a whole ‘nother level by stealing the new protagonist’s reserve food with about a quarter of the game left. Keep in mind that not only have you gathered this food for hours at this point, but this food is needed for your characters to survive. The worst part is that he’s not even sorry when he gets caught! Yeah, I hope he’s in the next Smash Bros. just so I can pay him back Falcon Punch style.

10. DmC: Dante Fights a Fetus.

DmC was full of controversial moments, but none of which come close to when Dante tries to get Mundus’ attention by killing his unborn son. Little doesn he know that the mother and baby have a bit of a… let’s say symbiotic relationship. The fetus would grow large and drag the mother around while she barked orders at him to kill their foe, all while electronic music played in the backround in a dance floor arena. Yeah… it was weird, but it was awesome. And I sure as hell will never forget it.

9. Lysandre’s “Death” in Pokemon X and Y

Early Pokemon games never shyed from violence. Red and Blue led to Team Rocket killing a Pokemon and Gold and Silver had them cutting off Slowpoke tales and selling them as a delicacy. Since then, the games got much softer, but that changed with Lysandre, Team Flare’s boss and the primary antagonist of Pokemon X and Y. His ultimate plan is to use an ancient weapon to kill most humans and ALL Pokemon in order to reshape this “rotten” world into the perfect image. After going all Doctor Octopus on the protagonists, he is defeated, only to pull a last ditch effor to either use Xerneas’ power to force eternal life on himself and everyone in the building, or bring upon death with the power of Yviltal, depending on the version. Either way, the building collapses and Lysandre is seemingly killed, becoming the first main character in a Pokemon game to die. What makes it worse is that Pokemon X implies that he received eternal life before the building collapsed on him, implying that he’s still alive after being maimed and crushed in the explosion. Harsh…

8. Michael Getting Drugged

Grand Theft Auto V had tons of moments that stood out. Maybe it was the hipster conversation between Michael and Trevor. Maybe it was the much talked about torture scene. But for me? It was when Michael, who was doing his best to repair his broken family and trying to bond with his son, Jimmy, is drugged by his own son. After waking up from his drug trip, Michael finds himself clothesless, carless, and wifeless as his family ends up leaving him after his wife finds out that he was “doing drugs.” If that wasn’t a big enough middle finger, Jimmy keeps the car. Out of all the scumbags that reside in the world of GTA, this solidified Jimmy as the biggest scumbag of them all, which was hard to do considering I grew up with Pete and Pete and Danny “Little Pete” Tamberelli plays him. Ugh… what a bastard.

7. That Bioshock Infinite Ending

It’s been months since I finished Bioshock Infinite, yet the ending still feels fresh in my mind. After finally finishing off Comstock and escaping Songbird once and for all, Booker was ready to end it, making sure that Columbia and the horrors surrounding it would never come to fruition. Using her powers to traverse across alternate dimensions, Elizabeth shows Booker that there will always be a “Columbia.” There will always be a “Booker” and there will always be a “Comstock.” The universe is full of infinite realities, but with similar events unfolding in each one. It is at this point that Elizabeth from multiple dimensions converge on Booker and grant his wish, ending his stay in Columbia as it began with a baptism that washes him of his sins. After his death, each Elizabeth slowly fades away, seemingly erasing their realities and freeing Booker of his crimes by making sure they never happen. It’s incredible stuff.

6. Dying (Tomb Raider/The Last of Us)

Games as of late are striving for more and more realism, so it’s no wonder that this would eventually translate into the way characters die. With The Last of Us and Tomb Raider, they made sure to test this theory as much as possible. Glass through the throat, pikes through the skull, having your throat ripped out, getting your face ripped off… it was the kind of stuff that would make the most hardened gamers cringe. Worst of all? It made it so I couldn’t help but fail QTE’s on purpose just to see how far they would take it. Big, big mistake…

5. AZ (Pokemon X and Y)

Remember that ultimate weapon that Lysandre tried to use? You should, I just talked about it in entry number nine. Anyway, that weapon was made by AZ, an incredibly tall, incredibly dirty and probably incredibly smelly transient that is spotted multiple times throughout the game. It turns out that AZ was a king who lived with Pokemon hundreds of years ago and fought in a great war that cost the lives of humans and Pokemon alike. One of the Pokemon that was killed in battle was his best friend, a Floette that he treasured like no other. In his grief, he harnessed the power of Xerneas to grant himself and Floette eternal life while using the weapon, (presumably with Yviltal’s power,) to wipe out most of his kingdom. Ashamed and grief stricken, his Floette couldn’t live with being the reason for such destruction, so it left AZ, never to be seen again. After a very Return of the Jedi-esque award ceremony where you and your friends receive awards for saving the world, AZ appears and challenges you to a battle, claiming that your passion has helped him see the good in people again. After the battle is over, Floette senses the good in AZ’s heart return and is reunited with its friend, destined to live together for the rest of eternity. This is POKEMON GUYS! And it was one of the most touching, heart felt moments I’ve experienced in a game this year. And I won’t lie, a manly tear almost fell down my cheek. Almost.

4. Ravio’s Reveal (The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)

Did anyone like Ravio throughout A Link Between Worlds? He barges in your house, forces you to let him live there rent free, then has the audacity to charge you huge amounts of rupees for weapons necessary for your quest. But Ravio had an ulterior motive, one that surfaces at the closing moments of the game. He reveals himself as Lorule’s Link, a protector who was too cowardly to fight for his kingdom, which eventually fell to darkness. Knowing that his Hyrule counterpart would hold the courage he lacked, he snuck off and supported Link in secret, hoping that he could save both kingdoms. After the Triforce is restored, Link and Zelda wish for Lorule’s restoration, creating another touching moment that rewards Ravio’s hopes for him and his kingdom. Plus, he made enough Rupees to retire, so there’s that…

3. The Reveal of The Phantom (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies)

Over the course of the series, Phoenix Wright and his friends have had to go up against some of the most shocking foes the legal system has ever seen. In Dual Destinies, the big bad is an international spy who is a master of disguise, a person who has long forgotten his own face. But when it’s revealed that the spy is really Detective Fullbright, the bumbling detective that’s been present through most of the game, that’s when it really hits the fan. Apparently killing the real Fullbright months before, The Phantom takes the identity to keep a close eye on Prosecutor Blackquill, the prisoner who potentially held the secret that could blow his cover. When he’s finally cornered, an unseen sniper silences him for the rest of the game, all in the shadows to the pont where we never see his face. This was one of the most rewarding endings of a Phoenix Wright game yet, which is a tall order considering how amazing the stories typically are. I just finished it two months ago and I already can’t wait until the inevitable sixth entry. At least I’ll have Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney to hold me over.

http://youtu.be/HeuU2sZQV-o

2. Beyond: Two Souls Revenge Scene

I’m sure we’ve all wanted to go Carrie on a group of insufferable douchebags at some point in our lives, and thanks to Beyond: Two Souls, we finally get the chance. Early in the game, Jodie, the protagonist of the game, recalls a time where she was sent to a birthday party to try and get used to interacting with kids her age. As many an 80’s movie has taught us, these kids decided to bully her, including burning her with a cigarette and locking her into a closet. The moral of the story? You don’t mess with girls who might have psychic powers. The game gives you the option to unlock the closet and leave, but that’s no fun. Choosing to take revenge against the kids escalates as far as the player wants it to, which includes knocking them out with furnature, stabbing the would be boyfriend through the shoulder with a kitchen knife and setting the whole damn house on fire. The best part? Jodie just kind of sulks out of the house and rides home with The Green Goblin. Like a boss.

1. The Last of Us Intro

The Last of Us is a game full of memorable moments, from Tess to Joel’s interactions with Ellie and especially the controversial ending. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING came close to the opening moments of the game. After fighting through mass panic when the in game outbreak is first reaching critical levels, Joel attempts to escape the city with his daughter. It’s not until he comes across a lone soldier that is ordered to kill anyone on site in an attempt to quell the virus, that Joel tries to escape. He gets shot right before his brother kills the soldier, but not before realizing his daugther was fatally shot in his arms. Her cries of pain and fear while tears stream down both of their eyes is haunting, until she stops breathing, leaving Joel in a hysterical panic. And this is all in the intro.

I chose this moment because not only was it powerful, but it set the tone of the narritive and for Joel’s motivations throughout the game, making every distasteful choice he makes throughout the campaign feel somewhat relatable. He’s broken. He’s cold. And why shouldn’t he be? It’s not until he bonds with Ellie that he starts to open back up, which is where the heart of the game lies. But that heart wouldn’t be there without those pivital opening moments. This is why without question, I feel that the introduction of The Last of Us is the best gaming moment of 2013.