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We Got This Covered’s Top 10 Video Games Of 2013

With new iterations in Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon and a rebooted Tomb Raider cramming up the figurative calendar, 2013 could well stand alongside 2007 as one of the most fruitful and indeed successful years in gaming history. What’s more, it will also go down as the year of Microsoft’s bold and abrupt u-turn back in June, which saw the company reverse all DRM facets of the Xbox One — including the mandatory Internet connection and game sharing — in the wake of a passionate backlash from the community.

[h2]3) Grand Theft Auto V[/h2]

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Tethered with a massive development budget, Grand Theft Auto V released back in September to seemingly unanimous approval. Having experienced a four month delay earlier in 2013, the fifth numerical entry in Rockstar’s crime opus was a long time coming. Even still, there are few, if any, franchises in the video games industry that elicit a hype on par with GTA, and the criminal trifecta of Michael, Trevor and Franklin took the controversial series to dizzying new heights.

Purely on a design level, Grand Theft Auto V is awe-inspiring. Los Santos and its surrounding areas feel alive and buzzing with interactive NPCs and a plethora of random events — from impromptu robberies to drunk drivers, the game is brimming with spontaneity. With a powerful narrative at its core and excellent voice acting to match — Steven Ogg’s Trevor in particular — Rockstar’s latest balances bombastic style and true, engaging substance rather masterfully.

Releasing off the back of a four-year development process, GTA V undeniably pushed the current, eight year-old hardware to the brink, and represented a philosophy that encompasses the studio’s prestigious track record; particularly Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption.

Rockstar’s own billion dollar baby will resonate in the hearts and minds of gamers for a long time to come. 2013 didn’t just deliver the fifth numerical iteration of Grand Theft Auto, it gave us Rockstar’s magnum opus of the last console generation.