2013: The Buys, the Waits, the Avoids

On 07/20/2013 at 11:58 PM by Casey Curran

First off, let me just say how insane 2013 looks. This is one of the craziest Falls I have seen in a long time, for me at least. So I thought I'd put the games that look at least good enough to pick up around day one for now for the rest of the year.

The Buys

Pikmin 3 is the game that starts the rest of the gaming year off in my opinion and looks like a lot of fun. I enjoyed 2 a lot and am excited to see what they'll do with the gamepad for it. Planning to trade a few games in tomorrow to pay it off while GS offers extra store credit.

Saints Row 4 looks absolutely insane and worth a day one buy just for the Merica Weapon. It feels like Volition is taking the things that I always want to show up in a sequel, but know no one in their right mind would put it in. Yet here they are adding super powers to fight aliens with 4 player co-op. And I dig that.

I don't get how there are people not excited for this.

Rayman Legends joins Saints Row 4 as another sequel to an awesome game from Fall 2011 that I wasn't expecting much from and blew me away. The Black Betty level looks like one of the most fun things I have seen in a while from a platformer and can't wait to see what else they have in store.

I'm not exactly sure what The Wonderful 101 is, just that it's from Platinum Games and looks crazy and fun as hell. And that's good enough for me.

Ten bucks if you can explain what's happening here.

I promised someone I would pick up Beyond Two Souls as part of a deal I made with him, so I'll get that. It looks interesting, but something I would normally avoid. I'll probably plow through it and trade it in while I can still get $40 for it. Which will pay off...

Pokemon X and Y looks fucking amazing. Fairy type could be just the change the series needs after Diamond and Pearl fixed my last remaining problems with the mechanics.

Wind Waker HD is half the reason I got a Wii U. Love that game so much and it's the one I wanted in HD the most.

I do plan getting a PS4 at launch and out of the games surprisingly Killzone: Shadow Fall looks like the most fun. There are few FPS campaigns I thought are as bad as Killzone 2's, but getting to see what the multiplayer's all about and that the campaign is making the changes I wanted sold me on it. From what I heard it's about putting you in a reasonably sized area, giving you a list of objectives, and letting you figure out the rest which I love in shooters.

Then there's South Park: The Stick of Truth. Game looks so good it may actually give Pokemon some competition for RPG of the Year for me. I would pick that up day one, but it comes out three days before my birthday so I'll ask for it then along with Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus. A back to basics R&C just sounds wonderful right about now.

I'm hoping that Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies being downloadable only puts it around the $20 price range but will get it regardless. Just saw it has teenage Pearl which is enough to get me on board. Really curious to see what happened to her and Maya after the end of Trials and Tribulations.

Seriously, Pearl is awesome.

Dead State is something I backed on Kickstarter so I'll be getting a free copy of that.

The Waits

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team is a game I would normally pick up, but I'm already probably getting too much and something's got to get cut. I have a soft spot for the Mario and Luigi games though, Superstar Saga is one of my favorite GBA games and I enjoyed Partners in Time and really loved Bowser's Inside Story, so I expect a good game from it. I'll get it next year probably.

Pikmin, 101, now this. Nintendo's going all out with controlling a hundred characters at once.

Super Mario 3D World will probably be top notch and I love the different characters, but this just screams to wait for Christmas. Same goes for Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

Both Batman: Arkham Origins and Blackgate are waits for me. Arkham Asylum is one of my favorite games and City was pretty good too, but I'm not sold on these yet. Waiting for your guys' opinions before I take the plunge. Cause I know quite a few people here will be getting them.

Wasteland 2 is a PC game therefore I will wait for a Steam sale. Same goes for any PSN games and PS + sales.

Game still looks pretty great.

Diablo 3 for PS4 is something I can see myself getting somewhere down the line because I actually enjoyed the game when it worked on PC. The problem was 90% of my playtime had terrible lag from the always online and I didn't want to put up with that.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is looking very likely to be a wait since I want a little more time until I'm ready for another one of these. I loved DKC Returns, but don't want more of that just yet. Eventually though.

Sonic and The Lost World I am very cautious on, but want to believe it's Sega getting Sonic in 3D right. They're actually making changes that fix my issues with 3D Sonics this time, and not just werehog or bad camera, but stuff like how you lose momentum too easily and that stops the fun. Here's hoping.

Tearaway looks fun and Killzone: Mercenary could be a cool little FPS on Vita. See them plummetting in price pretty soon into next year though, especially since I believe the Vita's dying at some point soon and will take advantage of the cheap games then.

Avoids

Grand Theft Auto V is something I will rent next year then see if I really want to buy. I hated IV, but love a nice heist like the one the trailer showed off. I need a better control scheme though, IV's was terrible and Red Dead Redemption's was bearly passable in my eyes.

Assassin's Creed IV is something which will never be in my consoles.

I know a lot of people are excited for it and am glad to see a new IP with an interesting idea, but Watchdogs looks boring in my opinion. It looks like it's falling in the Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Ops 2 mold where variety is more important than fun. I remember that E3 trailer where you're telling a guy when it's safe to move and it just looked boring. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm also waiting on this series because Ubisoft is making it a franchise and they do a terrible job milking them. I'm waiting until it hits rock bottom and picking up only the good ones.

Yahtzee said it best: It's unique, but so is a bacon and asbestos sandwich.

Xbox One goes here as well. I do see myself getting one down the line, but I'm talking, years from now, possibly when people are talking about the 9th gen consoles.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

07/21/2013 at 12:55 AM

Diablo 3 on PS4 has no always on requirement, and no real money shop, so the games economy will have quite an overhaul to make it work. The systems in place look like they'd work quite well on a console, and I think overall, this seems like it would be much better on PS4 than it was on PC.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

07/21/2013 at 07:38 PM

I hope it works well. Would be nice if they got the controls down well on a controller.

07/21/2013 at 07:55 PM

I see no reason why they wouldn't. It's so streamlined that you really wouldn't need a lot of buttons to play it. Like all you'd need is Inventory, attack, spell, health potion, mana potion, and walk. Realistically. I mean there are other things they could use, but as long as they don't fuck that up they should be fine.

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/21/2013 at 02:10 AM

Yeah, I'm wondering about Watchdog's actual execution as well. It does sound like it could get boring.

Wind Waker HD looks soooo good.

07/21/2013 at 07:39 PM

WW is the one game I wanted more than any other to go to HD. Even more than Kotor, my favorite game ever. Though now Kotor's my most wanted in HD.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

07/21/2013 at 08:43 AM

Agreed on Watch_Dogs. When we first saw it, I was pumped, but every time I see more about it I lose more and more interest. Mainly because it looks like a few boring tasks (like you say) mixed with the same old stuff.

07/21/2013 at 07:40 PM

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Interested to see what people think of it.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

07/21/2013 at 08:55 AM

damn, you're right, this fall is insane! I agree with most of your picks, but I will pick up GTA when it comes out because I'm in the mood for one again. I loved San Andreas, and was okay with IV, so I'm hoping this one is pretty good.

I'll also be getting BAtman when it comes out, even if I'm a little way about it. I loved the first two games and will let u know how I feel about it.

07/21/2013 at 07:41 PM

San Andreas was great, but Rockstar hasn't made a single game this gen that I really enjoyed. I'd actually say they're the most overrated developer right now.

07/21/2013 at 08:14 PM

I loved San Andreas. I loved flying the plane around, and I'm excited they have planes again.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

07/21/2013 at 01:06 PM

Totally on board with your buys and waits. GTA V and Watch_Dogs are day one purchases for me, though. Watch_Dogs is actually one of the games I'm for sure buying with my PS4. Having never played any of the Assassin's Creed games, IV looks interesting to me, simply because I haven't burned myself out on the series, so it's all new to me. That's probably why I enjoyed Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 2 so much, because they were my first two COD games.

07/21/2013 at 07:42 PM

You know, AC2 is free if you have Gold. At this point though, AC is just about putting in a bunch of random minigames to mask how basic the core gameplay is rather than making really good missions like 2 did which actually would hide it well and make a fun game.

Captain N

07/21/2013 at 09:13 PM

Yeah I'm probably going to bump Mario and the 3DS Zelda for christmas and my bro is getting Pikmin 3 for xmas as well, though WW HD and Pokemon will be day 1 buys. Not sure on Batman though, I want to get it but may take a wait and see thing.

transmet2033

07/21/2013 at 09:41 PM

This is a list of all of the games that intrigue me, except for the open world games that you are avoiding. I am curious about watch_dogs, but will probably pass because of the fact that I have a lot of difficulty spending more than a couple of hours on those types of games.

The one game that I am looking forward to the most, the bureau, I did not see on your list. I think that my desire to play that game is because it is being developed by 2k marin, and I loved Bioshock 2.

As far as next-gen, I have no idea what I am going to get for my ps4.

Chris Yarger Community Manager

07/22/2013 at 07:33 AM

I thought last year was big for games, but this year is doing pretty nicely as well.

As for the must haves, I think I'll be able to hold out until Dark Souls II comes out next year. Overall, there's really not too much that is coming out this year that I must have right away.

TripOpt55

07/22/2013 at 04:21 PM

Surprised you'll be waiting on Mario. In fact, I think we should revisit this blog at year's end. You have a tendency to say you don't want something right away and then get it anyway!

My buys are probably Rayman, Tearaway, Puppeteer, Ratchet, Watch Dogs, and Zelda 3DS (assuming I get a 3DS). Waits... I don't know whatever other stuff I'm thinking of getting.

07/22/2013 at 06:24 PM

The only reason I put Mario there is because he's coming out in December. Any sooner and he's day one.

Alex-C25

07/22/2013 at 10:29 PM

I'm pretty excited to see how Watch_Dogs and GTAV turn out as i'm very interested in playing them. Same for Sonic: Lost World, Super Mario 3D World and Wind Waker HD.

NSonic79

07/24/2013 at 12:24 AM

sounds like you've planned yourself well. I'm with you on the Xbox One, despite the pull back I don't see myself getting one anytime soon. Now if a new Halo game comes along I'll be hard pressed to say no. We'll see...

PixlBit