My Favorite 2013 gaming experiences

With the end of this year closing in I look back at my best 2013 gaming experiences and make a neat top 5 of them.

PS3

1. The Last of Us (2013)

It's my favourite game of 2013 so yeah its easy to put it as my number one of the PS3 gaming experiences of 2013.

The Last of Us gave me a great story and an addictive multiplayer that feels new and refreshing compared to all those multiplayers we already have.

My Multiplayer Review

2. Beyond: Two Souls (2013)

You can hate or love this game.
I loved it,  and enjoyed every bit of the story even when the game felt less dynamic than Heavy Rain.

3. God of War: Ascension (2013)

Not as great as God of War 3 but still a good experience.
Really liked the story but was not that interested in the Multiplayer that was new to the God of War games.
Looking forward to God of War Ascension
God of War Experience

4. Borderlands 2 (2013)

A good successor to the first game and another reason to put too much hours in just shooting shit.

5. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2012)

Originally came out at in the 4th quarter of 2012 but I still play this game occasionally when i have a few friends at my home.

PlayStation All Stars Battle Royal

PSVita

1. Tearaway (2013)

I recently shared my opinion on this game here -> Review
But in short, I find this a must have for any Vita user.

2. Guacamelee! (2013)

Another game i find a must have.
Guacamelee delivered me a fun save the princess platformer that used allot of easter eggs in a mexican style.
Guacamelee DLC Review
GUACAMELEE! the experience

3. Killzone: Mercenary (2013)

The Console FPS experience on the go who would want that.
And Killzone Mercenary delivers what Modern Warfare and Resistance fail to do.
Killzone Mercenary Multiplayer Experience

4. Persona 4 Golden (2013)

This remake on the PS2 version came a little later to Europe but was worth the wait for me.
I really love this japanese toned RPG with socializing elements.

5. Dokuro (2013)

This puzzle platformer gave me nice challenge and fun experience.

PS+ (All PlayStation games i have gotten for free)
I made this category because I felt that the soooo many games we get for free with our PS+ subscription deserve a little attention.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3 (PSVita) (2012)

This game comes with Metal Gear Solid HD pack.
Weird but really interesting story.

2. Spec Ops: The Line (PS3) (2012)

Sadly never had the time to get this myself and have forgotten about it so was happy that this came with PS+.
Spec Ops is a fun 3de person shooter with an interestingly dark story.

3. Batman: Arkham City (PS3) (2012)

Only three words I AM BATMAN.
No seriously this is one of the few open world games that I recently played and i really enjoyed.

4. Stealth Inc. (PSVita) (2013)

This mobile game that came to the Vita brought me a serious challenging puzzle platformer.
Loved playing through this game trying to beat all levels and succeed.

5. LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) (2012)

While I know that this game is practically ModNation Racers with a LittleBigPlanet skin i still really like this game and have spend a nice amount of time with it.
Also check out my levels

Other Games (PC, Web and Mobile)
I originally wanted separate categories for all none PlayStation games but as I was making this list I noticed that i haven't played much PC, Web and mobile games this year, so i combined all of them in one list.

1. StarCraft2 (PC)

One of the best RTS games out there.
Have been hooked to StarCraft since the first game and love how strategically this RTS is.

2. Super Sync Sports! (Web)

This is a fun internet game made by google that allows one or more players to play a mini game on a PC and use their mobile device as an controller.
My Review 
Play it (need a PC + mobile device)

3. Angry Birds Seasons (SmartPhone)

I find any Angry Birds game fun to play when I have a few seconds to spare but I find Angry Birds Seasons always entertaining because of the themed levels.

4. Rayman Jungle Run (SmartPhone)

This game may be short but i really enjoyed this because it felt and looked like Rayman Origins.

5. Nexus (Chrome app)

This simple puzzle game is perfect when I need to kill some time and challenge my mind.
Download free for Chrome 

Hope you all liked my top list, also what is your top of 2013?

Tearaway Review

Tearaway o Tearaway what have you done to me.
I am so addicted to you that I can't let go of you

MediaMolecule the minds behind the cute and brave sackboy have brought us a new game that is this time set in the world of Tearaway.
It takes the player through this world with new controls that feel at home on the vita.
And while the controls are the major plus point to the game I found that the best thing about Tearaway is that the world becomes slowly a little bit unique to me.
A good example is the face of an character will look like this for the rest of the game for me.

The message at the end will turn unique to you and me depending how we painted our world of Tearaway.

This makes the ending a blast, but I won't spoil the game for you because thats your journey to take.

For all my Photos of Tearaway visit my Me page here -> http://tearaway.me/u/GrimLink

Now as to the controls they are introduced to any Tearaway player in a way so that it doesn't feel like a tutorial.

Hell hack the option to jump is introduced in chapter 2 and thats late but in a good way for this game.

Because of this I had reason to replay the game to see areas that couldn't visit last time.

As so far for the story Tearaway did a great job.

It's not too straightforward by giving it some nice spins but it is a little bit predictable at least.

None the less the world of Tearaway sucked me in making me crave for more.

The combat in the game felt nice but sometimes a little bit too much killing the fib of the exploring.

The  way I can Fight the scrapes evolved a I played but the combat felt the same none the less.

I did hope to see more backtouch combat instead of the dodge and throw tacktick.

Another nice but more gimmicky thing is that you and me can collect actual papercraft models of Tearaway via its photo system and build them via your ME page

Example: http://tearaway.me/u/GrimLink

I love Tearaway and for this reason i will alway advice any gamer to give this a game a spin.

Now I won't give scores to game in the future for this blog, starting with this game.

I think a verdict and a good and bad will do the trick much better to give you the reader a better impression.

THE VERDICT

Tearaway succeeded in what it was bould for. making me interested in building my own paper crafts. exploring a world that felt unforgettable. riding pigs. and allowing me to customize the world so that it is a little bit mine.

+ Good
Fun to explore
Lovely Art
Makinging the world a little bit yours.
- Bad
Too short
Sometimes a little bit too much combat

PS4 out in EU but what now?

The PS4 has been officially released for the EU PlayStation region last night in the UK on 0:00 via a live video that I and many more viewed on YouTube.

Great but does this mean the life cycle of the PS3 ended?
Nope there is still so much left for the PS3 in 2014 and there is no reason to sell or box in your PS3.
Down here is an example what to expect for 2014;

• The Last of Us Single player DLC
• Persona 5
• Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Part 2
• More The Wolf Among Us Episodes

And many more to come but what can we play now.

One thing is new Sound Shapes DLC that is out for all 3 PS devices, now thats awesome.

The other is all the great stuff that is already out.

Because there is not a chance that you completed the entire PS3 library.

There is still enough to do on this current gen console.

Me?

I have still to catch up on allot of PSplus games i own but have not yet played.

The Vita also received at this special release day a game that is already yours if you own the PS3 version.
I am talking about Flower.
Now i personally really like this on the Vita but I am looking more forward playing Flower on the PS4 when i get my PS4.
Sadley I won't own one at launch.

Also heads-up to all fellow PSplus users.
The PS4 Plus deals are yours even if you don't own a PS4 yet.
Go to the Web version of the PSN (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/)  Log-In go to the PS4 games section search for 2 free games named Resogun and Contrast download them and there yours forever till you stop with PSplus.

Also What will you do when your done with the PS3?
Sell or Keep.

Intro to my Favorite 2013 games

With the end of the 2013 closing in I thought why not share my favorite 2013 gaming experiences very soon.
Of course my list is a bit full of PlayStation games but i will try to also add some other console and mobile games.
Expect to this list go live on the 6th of December with a top 5 of;

• PlayStation3 games
• PlayStation Vita games
• PlayStation+ games
• PC games
• Web games
• Mobile games

I also want to take a looks at 1 or maybe more games from my past that are seen by the gaming community as classic's.

Censors and all that other Chitchat

With lately so many talk about for an example;

• Censors in The Last of Us and other games. 
• Female characters in games are stereotype.

I decided to share my opinion on this stupid talk.

Now before i start i want to point out this is my opinion so if you don't agree good but don't bitch about it here.

First i want to start on Censors, are the bad or good and how much should we care about their existence.

So some time back there was a discussion on the censor of the EU The Last of Us multiplayer in which the EU version did not have dismemberment and exploding heads, unlike it's US version.
Now when i read this i felt that it was stupid since the game still looks freaking gori in the singleplayer.
So why should the multiplayer not have the same fgore level and why can't we choose the level of gore ourselves.
But at the other hand i was not bothered too much about it unlike most comments i read where people went ape-shit and cryde like baby's (pardon my language :P)
There was not really much reason to any way because the game is still that same and i still freaking love it.
The fun the multiplayer gave me did not get less fun because the gore level.

But there is one thing i do wish and that is that PlayStation will let us choose our own gore level.
Like the parent control function we have as an example.

Do i find censors bad?
Yes i hate censors, there is more gore on a modern horror movie than most games have.
Also germany is great country but there censor rules are fucked up.
We do get to gut centaurs (GoW:ascension) or shoot a crowd of innocent people (COD:MW2) but we can't have exploding heads and body parts flying around us.
That just makes no sense.

Thats mine!!

Now for the 2de topic stereotypes.

As we all know in every country there is a small group of people that complain about something so much that is blown up.

We here in the Netherlands now have this stupid group of people complaining about our traditional festival Sinterklaas.

No idea what i am talking about google it.

Now in the game world we have the discussion about stereotype female characters.

Both Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us had also some mixed comments on this topic.
One GameSpot editor was even was talking how Elie from The Last of Us was stereotype and she managed to piss of allot of people including me for spiting horsshit and trying to justify it.

Now i do agree that most of our female game character are stereotype but i don't care one tiny bit about it.
Is it because i am male?
No, that's just stupid.

Also look at the average female gamers, the don't play my little pony or hannah montana.
The play the same games male gamers play and the probably don't care like the rest of us.
And also probably even find games like my little pony or hannah montana more insulting to female gamers.

It's always that small group that is bothered by stereotype female characters and is crying so hard that it looks like a world topic.
There are even some people that complain about games that try to set both male and female character in more realistic sunlight instead making them stereotype.

Now should female characters be less stereotype?
Yes, but games with stereotype characters should also exist in my opinion.

Now with this all shared what is your opinion?
Share it in the comments below.

Killzone Mercenary Multiplayer Experience

Boom Headshot!!

A console experience on the go, who wouldn't want that.
Even better who wouldn't want a First-Person-Shooter on on the go.
And so after 2 mediocre FPS's on the Vita, Guerilla delivered us a fine and almost console like experience on the go.
And so was my Killzone Mercenary experiences.

I really enjoyed the campaign and how the story linked to Killzone 1 and Killzone 2.
But what kept me the most busy is the Multiplayer of Killzone Mercenary and not because I want the trophies for multiplayer but because I really enjoy playing the multiplayer.

(I do want the trophies btw)

It's weird how my normal play style changed because of this multiplayer.
I started to be more direct and I have adopted the smg/assault rifle as my primary weapon.
It's funny since I act more sneaky and sniper like in Killzone 2 and Killzone 3's multiplayer.
A 4vs4 match is a bit smaller and requires a bit more independence so that you can defend yourself when alone.
Although my overall experience has been great, i do hate it when i join a unbalanced match or a match with only one team.

A major plus point for Killzone Mercenary is the weapon system.
I love how the weapon loadout is the same in the multiplayer and single-player.
So if you're stuck in the single-player for example, you can easily get some cash by playing some matches in the multiplayer and vice versa.
The only difference is that in the single-player you change your gun with a blackjack weapon box and in the multiplayer you get loadout slots to set before getting in a match.

My preferred loadout in Killzone Mercenary is seen below in this image as an example.

And yes it is made for a warzone player, which is my prefered killzone multiplayer type.

For those unknown to killzone, the multiplayer of killzone features mission based team deathmatch (warzone) and normal team deathmatch (guerrilla warfare).

Killzone mercenary also features a normal deathmatch (mercenary warfare) which is new to the Killzone universe.

But back to my loadout, why this choice for a loadout.
Well i like to act strategically to every situation during a match.
The armour is in combination with my van-guard to control the map and force enamay player to hide so that my team can kill them in there own made box.
I choose the STA-52se for more assault like combat and is easy to use for a panic situation.
M80 is my anti air support and anti sniper rivel users gun because it's easy to use its lock-on.
M133 PROX is for those nasty moments to kill people in unexpected moments and can be used for defensive moments as well.
But  even with this nice loadout i am still trying to get used to my old love the STA-14, which i use primarily in Killzone 3.

Overall the match length is good but too long for travel.
I really need to sit down for around 20 to 30 minutes to play one match.
This is not bad but just to long for a normal bus trip.

In the end this is a great experience on the Vita, that any FPS fan should play.

Before i end this Blog article i want to point out that there is a FREE art book of killzone mercenary out on the Vita, so get it now!

One year PSplus the experience

I have been with PSplus for more than a year and never felt displeased with my subscription.
But in my opinion there is no reason to be displeased with PSplus since the stuff coming with this subscription is sooo much that i often wonder that am stealing from PlayStation.
Three PS3, two Vita games for free!
Thats just awesome and not even everything that you would get for PSplus.

Interested to know more what you get with PSplus take a look at the end of this blog article for a full list.

Now this all great, but has my experience with PSplus has been also that great?
The answer is yes, i haven't found something to complain about.
We all know that the PSN isn't the greatest network but PlayStation's subscription works as it should.
And i really hope that i can keep this experience on PS4.

The games i have gotten thx to PSplus kept me so busy that i don't even have time to play all my free games.
And thats sad but also a good thing since i am in no need to get the feeling that i have no games to play, in the contrary i have choice.

It's also funny that when i meet someone that isn't a PSplus subscriber and i tell them about PSplus the look at me like i am telling a story that is too good to be true.

My year with plus has been great and i have no doubt that my next years will be the same.
And i would advise anyone, even none PlayStation gamers should get a Playstation product to get PSplus just for the free games.

Down here is a list of everything you get for just €50 a year.

• Free games
• 1GB Cloud Storage per console
• Automatic updates (more then none subscribers)
• 10% discount on games in the PSN
• Early access to Beta programs
• Exclusive content (avatars and themes)

As with all subscriptions this is all yours as long you're a member of PSplus.

Update blog (Pulse Elite)

For those wondering why my Pulse Elite review isn't here yet.
Its because i find really hard to put my thoughts on digital paper.
So because of that, I have decided to pause my review for few other blog articles that I really want write first so that I can fully put my attention on my Pulse Elite Review.

I am planing to write first a small article about PS+
in which I would like to share my opinion of a year Plus and why everyone on any PlayStation device should have Plus.

Besides that there are 3 other article coming after this one;

• Killzone Mercenary Multiplayer Experience
• Censorers for Games Bad or Good
• Intro to my fav/must play games

GamesCom 2013

As you might know gamescom was this month and i have also attended this major event for 2 days, i wanted to share my experience visiting that great event daily here in my blog.
Sadly this plan went into the garbage can when my hotel was forcing me to pay (a lot) for poor quality WiFi.
So i am posting my experience of gamescom here a few days later after the great time there.

 Day1 (Friday) 

After a long drive from Meppen (Germany) i arrived at Cologne (Koln) around 10:30 i was dropped near the Messe so i had to walk not far and it took me only a few minutes to get there.

Although Cologne is a big city, it was easy to get there thanks to the printed google map and the many signs that told me go this direction to gamescom.

I had more problems getting in, thank to the stupid bar code on my ticket that was not working.
But after waiting in line with many that had the same problem it was fixed by printing me a new one.

Once in, i was startled by the size of this game event, even with the map of gamescom i had no idea where to start, so started to make my way to the first hall i entered.

Hall 9 that was filled half with PC and Nintendo games and the other half with T-shirts and other goody's.

It was funny to see so much anime clothing and fully dressed game statues were there even a few nice t-shirts of the game one-piece, which i would totally love to wear if i had not seen some other things i wanted even more.

But I decided to not buy anything yet since i could easily do so later when it was less crowded at that corner of hall 9.

After a small walk i arrived at hall seven aka playstation heaven, i first entered the  PS Vita stand to play Killzone Mercenary and wow this game feels really just like Killzone3 and that's amazing.

I only played it for say 15 minutes but damn after that i felt like that this is a must buy for any fps fan :p

Next to the PS Vita stand were a few nice indie games for PS3, i played doki doki universe for a few minutes and then I decided to step in line for the PS4 stand.

So a 4 hour wait only to have a go at the PS4 surely is a bad idea but nonetheless i wanted to try it so much that I kept my patience and once I was in it felt like it was all worth it.

I did not get to play Killzone Shadow Fall or Infamous Second Son but did get the chance to play a few PS4 games including Drive Club.

Now I was not too impressed with Drive Club, since it feels like most other race games but it sure is a piece of art, wow that color and lighting.

The PS4 controller is in one word awesome, I felt really comfortable holding the PS4 controller because the hold area is made rough and the weight is almost perfect, the triggers are great for shooters and shaped really well around my fingers.

Now the live presentation of Watch Dogs was done really nice, compared to Killzone or Infamous, the people doing the presentation, interacted great with the audience while showing us the game.

This was a first look at the online multiplayer for Watch Dogs so it appeared.

After that I continued on through a few halls taking a quick look at few stands and made way back to hall 9 to buy some goodies, this was a good idea it was less crowded now making it easier to see allot of T-shirt, hoodies and other geeky stuff.

I bought this Sackboy Plushie, a Starcraft Terran symbol T-shirt and a One Piece Hoody.

After that I made my way to hall 10 and to the exit to head to my hotel,  my last photo for the day was of my gypsy schnitzel with fries dinner, I didn't eat at all, it was just too much.

snitchel o yeah :D

 Day 2 (Saturday) 

With only a few halls left to see i first wanted to play a few games before checking them out, so i made my way to hall 9 thinking that i could play the Witcher 3.

Sadly there was no possibility to play it but I did get a nice t-shirt and a photo.

A few steps away was the Bethesda stand with three of their games,
I stepped in freaking long line that cost me a hour to play a nice 30min of Elder Scrolls online.

Way too short for me but damn those controls felt smooth, the game is really similar to Skyrim, O wait its based on skyrim that makes sense ;-)

After that stepped in my second Bethesda line to play Wolfenstein on a Xbox360 (sorry for that)

As Playstation fan i was not happy to be forced to play on Xbox360 but nonetheless Wolfenstein was awesome and that was all that counts.

I do feel sorry and slightly insulted at the same time because one of the Wolfenstein guys tried to help me, hey come on, the person next to me needed it waaaay more than me ;-) , I just told him i was okay but still felt bad, asking him to not help me even when it is his job.

After a quick spin through the rest of the halls i didn't visit on Day 1, I went to hall 7 again to play a few Playstation titles i did not play the day before.

From these titles Rain stood out the most to me because it feels mysterious and is a little bit like the Unfinished Swan.

The smartest move I made on Day 2 was to eat my lunch in front of the Starcraft Tournament that was held in hall 8, the online games hall.

It was really nice to see 2 matches in front 2 major screens left and right with commentary in english and I was even lucky enough to be sitting in a chair.

I closed my journey of this years Gamescom in hall 10 with the small sections they had there, a mobile section,  a media section and a old school section, that had some neat board games based on games and also the Cosplay Village was in this hall.

I have seen some nice Cosplay in the other halls but this was great and crazy, some girls looked really sexy in their outfits.

After the Cosplay Village i headed to the exit closing gamescom 2013 for me, I closed day 2 with some nice traditional food and a beer (Kölsch) tour visiting the breweries (Brauhauser) of Cologne.

Thank you for reading and if you have also been there share little time to tell me your highlights in the comment section.

Even more photos made by me from gamescom can be found here

And all are found on my Flickr Photoset.