As much as I hate the tired way of describing something in equation form ("It's like Jaws, but in space!"), there's really no easier way to summarize Terraria than by saying that it's the child of Metroid and Minecraft. Anyone familiar with the PC game knows that it blew up when it hit Steam back in 2011, creating a massive following that prefer its 2D, retro take on Mojang's design philosophy. Two years later, console gamers are going to be able to soon experience what it would be like if Notch was making games in the early '90s.

From the second you pick up the controller, Terraria screams its 8 and 16-bit influences at you. The visuals seem grounded in some strange dimension in between the NES and SNES...let's call it 12-bit. The enemies are ripped from our medium's fantasy bibles of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. The melee combat harkens back to the days of spelunking as a Belmont, and yet, there's something very modern about Terraria. It looks and feels like Metroid or Castlevania, but the core mechanics at work are decidedly similar to Minecraft. Everything you pick at, chop or dig through in the environment gives you ingredients that can be used to craft any manner of weapons, armor, potions and even fortifications. There is no central narrative in the game, only the ongoing desire to carve your personal signature into the world. Want to create a massive castle filled with all manner of shops? With the right materials, you can do it. Want to dig an elaborate picture into the ground? Just grab a pickaxe. Like Minecraft, Terraria is all about giving you a suite of tools and mechanics, and letting you run wild in the world.

We're only a few days into 2013, but I think I may have already found one of my favorite games of the year. Kentucky Route Zero, an adventure game from Cardboard Computer, doesn't feel the need to teach you how to play. It doesn't hold your hand, guide you to where you need to go, or really care if you get lost. But honestly, that's kinda the point. You want to get lost in this adventure game, because it's in those moments of the unknown where you find some of the most remarkable characters, locations, and scenes that you'll experience all year.

I only became aware of the game's existence a few days ago when the nominees for the 2013 Independent Games Festival were announced. Alongside games we've already praised like Thirty Flights of Loving, Gone Home, and FTL stood a title that was completely foreign to me. And yet, this unknown quantity called Kentucky Route Zero appeared as a nominee in nearly every single category. Intrigued, I searched a bit further and discovered that the first of five acts is currently available for purchase. I suggest that anyone who loves a well-told story that trusts and respects the player to do what I did and set aside 90 minutes to experience what is sure to be one of the most memorable games of 2013.

Let there be no question about it: Unless you play it on the optional easy mode, the latest entry in Nintendo's long-running Fire Emblem series -- Awakening -- features the series' much-vaunted permanent death feature. Lose an ally (besides one of the handful of characters who play a load-bearing role for the plot) in combat and they're gone forever. Let the protagonist die and it's an instant game over. Fire Emblem offers no quarter unless you opt for mercy.

1UP COVER STORY

1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JANUARY 7 | ODDS 'N ENDS

Why StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm's Story Might Not Be Good, and Why It Probably Won't Matter

Cover Story: Can Blizzard still deliver a narrative that makes amends for the decade-long wait?

E

veryone complains about waiting a year to find out what happens next in serialized television shows like Mad Men and Game of Thrones. Try waiting for 12.

That was roughly how long I waited following StarCraft: Brood War's bitter conclusion, which ended with the Zerg Queen of Blades vanquishing all of her rivals and becoming the dominant power in the Korpulu Sector. I knew there would be more. There had to be more. I just didn't realize I would have to wait more than a decade to get it.

Well folks, what you just witnessed was Nintendo's atomic bomb. Not only are they releasing a new Pokemon generation for the Nintendo 3DS, but they are doing it within a year of the initial announcement. And it will receive a simultaneous worldwide release at that. For Nintendo, this couldn't come at a better time. The 3DS has managed to establish itself in both the U.S. and Japan, but it faces more competition than ever before. Pokemon is their trump card. Even more so than Mario, it's the one franchise with the power to trump the iPad and sell people on the idea of shelling out $200 for a dedicated handheld.

Knowing the stakes, it's not surprising to see that Game Freak has opted to go all out on this version. In the battles at least, the new 3D graphics look quite impressive. The cel shading in particular looks great and is a natural fit for a franchise defined as much by the anime (which is still going!) as the games. In a lot of ways, this is the fully-animated console Pokemon that people were pining for back in the days of the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube. The new graphics, however, probably won't bring with them a new format. Game Freak reps have told me in the past that they are comfortable with the 8 Gym/Elite 4 format as a way to gate progress and teach newcomers the basics. So in that, I expect Pokemon X and Y to be business as usual.

Marty Sliva: With Gears of War: Judgment, the 4th installment in one of this generation's biggest new franchises set to release in a few months, fans think they know what to expect. We know Gears is going to deliver action that looks and feels as good as it gets. Epic redefined third-person gunplay, and People Can Fly proved to be maestros of over-the-top violence in Bulletstorm. Of course you'll still be chainsawing fools and roadie running to your next playground, but there's surprisingly more than that, specifically in the way that Judgment attempts to tell a war story. We're in a post-Spec Ops and Black Ops II world. A shooter that tells a lazy story in 2013 is going to stand out, and not in a good way. Thankfully, Gears of War: Judgment seems to understand this perfectly, and is set to deliver narrative via an exciting suite of interesting ideas.

Bob Mackey: When 2011's Corpse Party hit the PSP just as the final nail had been driven into its tiny coffin, American publisher XSEED's 20-dollar, digital-only release struck many as a ballsy move -- especially on a system notorious for being plagued by rampant piracy. Though its graphics didn't look much better than a b-list Super Nintendo RPG, Team GrisGris' relentlessly dark visual novel struck a chord with PSP owners looking for the strange-but-compelling experiences that tend to pop up as a piece of hardware slips into a state of complete irrelevance.

There was never any question God of War III would not mark the end of the God of War franchise. Even when Sony persisted in referring to that game as the end of the trilogy, it was silly to think of it as one -- although there may only be two numbered sequels, we've already seen five games (six, if you count a mobile title) released centering around Kratos and his story. Prequels have been used to delve into Kratos' history, and with Ascension, Santa Monica Studios is taking us even further back in time to a point when Kratos possessed a shred of compassion.

Chronologically, Ascension is the first game in the series. Like all the others, it takes places after Kratos was duped into killing his own wife and daughter by Ares. Being set only six months after this event occurred, however, means Kratos has not yet reached the level of madness that we're accustomed to seeing him at. That's reflected in one scene where, after seeing two innocents killed, he saves a third from the same fate. Though he doesn't go too far out of his way to do so, it's still miles away from the Kratos we're used to seeing who wouldn't hesitate to kill innocent bystanders if they were in his way. It's unusual to see the hero's morality evolve in this manner only by going back in time, but perhaps his reluctance to slaughter everyone will make Kratos a more sympathetic character this time around.

David Oxford: War. They say war never changes, but that isn't true. Wars do change, Star Wars in particular.

Jeremy Parish: In my first hour with the import version of the latest Animal Crossing -- which will go by the subtitle "New Leaf" whenever Nintendo finally gets around to publishing it in the U.S. -- I had a remarkably lively time. I came to town, met the town hall's administrative assistant, and stumbled into accepting the position of mayor. I presided over the planting of a symbolic new tree in the town square, met people, sold enough salvage to buy a fishing pole and shovel and begin stocking the local museum with fish and fossil finds, and accidentally created a creepy-looking snowman who gave me a bingo card that I get to punch through a lottery that plays out through his eyeballs once a day.

Marty Sliva: It's hard for me to pin down the exact reason that I'm excited for The Witness. Part of it stems from my love of a game that trusts me with the freedom to explore an environment at whatever pace I desire. If I want to wander off the beaten path, don't punish me with a fail screen. Couple that with The Witness' island setting rife with mysterious architecture and ingenious puzzles that can be solved in a very fluid order, and that freedom becomes even more appetizing. Of course, there's also the small detail that the game is the next effort from Jonathan Blow, the creator of Braid, which just so happens to be my favorite game of 2008. But I really do believe that the main reason that The Witness is one of my most anticipated games of 2013 lies in the small details that can be gleaned from reading its development blog.

Matt Clark: Deadly Premonition was a cult-hit video game, wrapped within heavy references to a cult-hit television show, wrapped in some seriously divisive critical reviews. But frustrating controls and save points aside, Deadly Premonition was also one of the most captivatingly weird experiences of the past couple years. Thankfully, designer Hidetaka "SWERY" Seuhiro is heading back to the creepy drawing board with Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut.

Chris Pereira: As the first proper sequel to one of the finest real-time strategy games in recent years, there is very good to look forward to Company of Heroes 2 (and keep an eye on that whole THQ mess). As fun as it is to ponder what other wars future games in the series could tackle, the vastness of World War II still presents Relic with a great deal of material to work with.

Unlike its predecessor (and accompanying expansions) that centered around the Western Front's battle between the Americans/British and the Germans, Company of Heroes 2 focuses on WWII's Eastern Front, primarily fought between the European Axis forces and Soviets. It's a side of the war that gets less attention, particularly from videogames set in WWII, which immediately gives the game an edge by offering something different from what we're used to. Not every WWII game needs to make Normandy a central component.

Jose Otero: As a proud Monster Hunter player, I've always looked over at the success of Dark Souls and Demon's Souls with a little envy. I don't pretend to have an agenda against From Software's finely-tuned action RPGs -- I actually admire both games -- but I always wished Capcom's equally challenging and sometimes obtuse hunting series would earn a similar following. I've tried to make this argument before. Twice. But it's a hard sell because both games tackle the action RPG from different perspectives -- one involves a formidable gauntlet of zones and bosses, while the other focuses purely on the thrill of hunting large prey. But I'd say both games deliver a satisfying payoff after a player overcomes a large obstacle. A brief moment or elation or celebration before you head off toward the next challenge.

David Oxford: Is there anyone who doesn't adore SimCity (put your hand down)? There's a reason why the series has retained so many fans even though it's nearly a quarter-century old: Inside every single one of us burns the desire to play God, and SimCity has been our outlet since 1989.