Article by Stewart Smith ssmith@tylerpaper.com

Every year seems to be an interesting year for video games as the industry continues to evolve and whittle out its spot in the popular culture. The big games keep getting bigger (both in scope/scale and budget) while indie games continue to gain a more significant presence.

So with that in mind, how did 2013 fare? It was the last year that “current gen” systems would lead the way as “next gen” consoles came out with the arrival of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. What swan songs did they offer? I lay out what stuck with and impressed me the most below.

10. “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD”

I can’t decide if the placement of “Wind Waker HD” on this list says more about the current state of the industry or the game’s lasting appeal. Whatever the case, this HD rerelease of a GameCube game from 2003 is stellar. The bright, colorful, cartoony art style looks phenomenal when upgraded to run in high definition (to where this old game looks almost on-par with “next gen” games) and the game itself has been tweaked to gloss over a few of its lasting imperfections. The end result is proof that “The Wind Waker” is a true classic, every bit as charming and engrossing as it was a decade ago and provides a template for how HD remakes should be done from here on out.

9. “Injustice: Gods Among Us”

I’m a huge fan of fighting games, so their resurgence over the past few years has warmed my heart immensely and “Injustice” hit all the right notes for me as a fan of genre. “Injustice” is the kind of game that my high school friends and I would have stayed up until the wee hours of the morning playing. It’s accessible (even my non-gamer wife loves to jump in on occasion), has a rock-solid fighting engine and makes fun (if slightly overwrought) use of the DC Comics license. If you’ve ever wondered who would win in a fight between Batman and Green Lantern or Superman and Wonder Woman, this is the game for you. It’s far from the year’s most complex or involving game, but it’s one that I had some of the most fun playing.

8. “Tomb Raider”

This reboot came under no small amount of scourge from critics and players alike, as it both presented a fairly drastic departure from the “Tomb Raider” games of yore and (according to its detractors) couldn’t decide if it wanted to show protagonist Lara Croft as a scared, inexperienced damsel in peril or a strong, desperate-to-survive woman who defies the odds. Those points are correct in their own way, but I found the ensuing game to be a smartly designed, engrossing and memorable action/adventure that redefined its iconic (for video games) heroine in a way that felt genuine and earned. The shift to focus on action more than exploring never bothered me as I was never a fan of the original games. What I got with this “Tomb Raider” reboot was a game that was both a heck of a lot of fun to play and a redefined lead character whom I would enjoy joining on further adventures. Not sure I could ask for more.

7. “Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara”

Yes, this is another (technically) old game. Capcom’s classic arcade brawlers, “Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom” and its sequel “Shadow Over Mystara,” first came out in the mid-1990s. “Mystara” in particular has long been one of my all-time favorite games, yet I had resigned myself to never being able to play it at home (or ever again thanks to the extinction of arcades and seeing as how the games were rare to begin with). So when Capcom announced the digital release of both these games as “Chronicles of Mystara,” I was ecstatic. Perhaps nostalgia is clogging my vision, but I don’t care. These are still two of the greatest arcade games of all time, and now I have access to them in a way I couldn’t have dreamed of two decades ago. Yes, Atlus’ “Dragon’s Crown” is a spiritual sequel to “Mystara” and improves over it in every way, but that’s not the game I fell in love with back in the arcade. This is. And I still love every inch of it.

6. “BioShock Infinite”

This is a flawed game, there is no denying. The shooting mechanics, while solid, often feel wildly out place and there’s no shortage of dissonance that arises between the story being told and the actions you’re forced to carry out as the player. And yet it deserves a (relatively high) spot on this list because it’s also one of the year’s most ambitious games that still gets a lot right. Yes, it feels like creative director Ken Levine was forced to make “Infinite” a first-person shooter because that’s the genre that sells these days, but the world he crafts and the themes he’s working around here are unlike anything else seen in video games these days. The medium is striving for greatness, to rise above mere pieces of digital entertainment and to say things that have resonance and meaning. “BioShock Infinite” tries harder than most games to do that, so its failings stand out more than most. But even despite its faults, there’s so much about the game that is memorable and so much that it does get right (including its wild, thought-provoking and mind-bending ending) that it very much earns its right to be called one of the year’s best.

5. “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance”

Baffling subtitle aside (it’s a real word, believe it or not), Platinum Games delivers one of the most delightfully over-the-top action games of the year with this spinoff of the “Metal Gear Solid” series. Despite having been in development limbo for nearly half a decade, “MGR” is about as solid as action games come. Blisteringly fast-paced and sporting a combat engine that favors precision over panache, the team at Platinum continues to prove they are some of the best in the biz when it comes to putting out exhilarating action games. With a decent sense of humor and razor-sharp gameplay, this was some of the most fun I had with a controller all year.

4. “Bit.Trip Presents Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien”

Again, ignore the baffling title. All you need to know is that this is the year’s most addictive video game. I can’t remember the last time I was so obsessed with perfecting a run through a level, but musical platformer got its hooks in me deep. There’s something uniquely satisfying about not only nailing each and every obstacle a level throws at you, but at hearing your progress and victory reflected in the delightful music that flourishes as a result.

3. “Guacamelee”

“Guacamelee” is the best action/adventure side-scroller based on Dia de los Muertos and Mexican folklore that I never knew I wanted. Brimming with a unique personality (thanks to its blocky art style and flavorful setting) and with play mechanics fine tuned to utter perfection, “Guacamelee” is proof positive that indie developers are just as capable (if not moreso) as AAA developers at putting out some of the best games available. “Guacamelee” could often be maddeningly difficult (some moments required an absurd amount of precision), and yet I kept coming back for more. This was one of the year’s biggest surprises (because who really expects a game about a luchador with superpowers) and one of its biggest delights.

2. “DmC: Devil May Cry”

This one makes me sad. The “Devil May Cry” games have long been personal favorites of mine, and Ninja Theory somehow managed to make a game that came close to being the best in the series. With an intriguing take on the story of Dante (the cocky, demon-hunting protagonist) and his twin brother Vergil, the best art design in the series’ history and a combat engine that favored improvisation and experimentation (resulting in some gloriously stylish fight scenes), “DmC” was a game that hooked me from moment one and didn’t let me go for dozens of hours. If I were to rank these games solely by the amount of time sunk into them, “DmC” would win by a mile, as I must have dedicated close to 60 hours when all was said and done. Not everyone felt the same way, though. “DmC” has plenty of detractors. It’s just too bad most of them are caught up in minutiae to appreciate what’s been accomplished. The only disappointing thing about Ninja Theory’s best game is that we’ll likely never get a sequel.

1. “The Last of Us”/”Super Mario 3D World”

I may be cheating here with a tie for the No. 1 spot, but I don’t care. These games were both amazing and I found it more or less impossible to choose between them for which was the year’s “best.” When it comes down to it, “The Last of Us” will certainly go down as the bigger accomplishment, not just of the year but of the generation. “The Last of Us” tells one of the best stories of the year (and that includes all entertainment mediums, not just games) and it shows that, with the right people at the helm a video game can be something much greater than killstreaks, high scores and flashy cinematics. The gameplay can be a true extension of the story and characters presented and be something other than a cathartic, entertaining release. Joel and Ellie are much more than just player avatars, they felt real to me in a way that video game characters never before have. This felt like a milestone.

“Super Mario 3D World,” on the other hand, represents the best of what video games have to offer, but from a different approach. Where “The Last of Us” epitomizes the unique way games can immerse us in a world and story, “3D World” is a reminder of the pure joy that can be had from a video game made by masters. There is no other game that I had more fun with, or that caused a bigger smile to stay on face while playing. The “Mario” games are a staple of the industry now, but this is proof positive that the mascot is far from worn out.

Honorable mentions: “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag,” “Resogun,” “The Wolf Among Us,” “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,” “Dragon’s Crown” and “DuckTales: Remastered.”