With four days left in the calendar year, it's that time again, where the Internet gets choked with "best such and such of 2013" lists. It's a tradition right up there with tossing back champagne while watching the ball drop, and we're guilty of it too. No doubt there were some big names in games this year, but what about the community of fans who contribute their own little changes to games, expanding or sometimes even improving unpopular games and breaking away to become a title all its own? We're talking about mods, and this was a banner year for those as well.
ModDB, the self described "largest website dedicated to supporting independent development of games," is out with another list of top Mods of the Year." As a press release notes, "modding is all about morphing already amazing games into something different, quirky, better and all of this years winners did just that." But only one can be crowned the the 2013 Mod of the Year.
This year, after 141,000 votes, the winner is none other than the multiplayer mod for Just Cause 2. As the release noted, "it is hard to deny the universal praise the mod received," but what's astonishing is that the mod was the winner despite being released less than two weeks ago.
However, the mod was the clear choice among fans, winning the vote from fans, as well as taking home Editor's Choice.
JC2-MP, the mod's shorthand, "is a project to bring multiplayer to Just Cause 2 in all of its magnificent glory. Imagine the chaos of normal Just Cause 2, then extending it out to dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of players," reads the official summary. It even had the support of Christofer Sundberg, founder Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, and evidently, the creators of the mod came through in spades.
The multiplayer mod went up against some strong competition, eking out a win over No More Room in Hell, a Half-Life source engine mod that won 2011 "Mod of the Year" from PC Gamer magazine, and "Multiplayer Mod of the Year" by Mod DB the same year.
Taking home third was Rise of the Reds, a mod for the Zero Hour expansion for Command and Conquer: Generals. You can see the remaining winners of the top 10 list below, complete with links for anyone wishing to try them out. Personally, I quite enjoyed Fallout: Project Brazil.
10. Wyrmstooth - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
9. Fallout: Project Brazil - Fallout: New Vegas
8. A Clash of Kings - Game of Thrones
7. Crusader Kings 2: Thrones - Game of Thrones
6. Underhell - Half-Life 2
5. Project Reality - Battlefield 2
4. Brutal Doom - isn't it obvious?
3. Rise of the Reds - Command and Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
2. No More Room in Hell - Half-Life 2
1. Just Cause 2: Multiplayer - take a guess
Last year's winner was Black Mesa, the overhaul of the original Half-Life using Half-Life 2's source engine. It was recently given the green light for availability Steam, but it's not clear when gamers can expect it.