I could understand open beta, because people can actually play it if they want to. Closed beta NDA or not is still closed, which means people who want to play it can't. Many games spend a long time in open beta so I agree with this part, because then at least people who want to play it can. But closed beta? Really?
Edited, Dec 18th 2013 7:26pm by bombardj
ZAM Game of the Year Awards (Part One)
We honor our favorite PC and console games of 2013 in part one of our awards.
The staff at ZAM has spent many hours debating which games we’ve played over the past year were most deserving of an award. In several cases the votes were neck-and-neck while others had an overwhelming victory. We had so much love to spread around that we expanded our voting categories from six to twelve this year.
Congratulations to the first six winners and runners up of 2013!
Winner: Warframe by Digital Extremes
Warframe, the free-to-play Sci-Fi action game focused on co-op play, smashed into the scene earlier this year and has continued to improve and expand. As a newly awoken Tenno warrior you are thrust into a warring universe and armed with the ancient Warframe armor that only you can operate. Players can join the war and play solo or in squads of four, customizing and upgrading their Warframe and weapons.
Dive into Warframe now on the PC or PlayStation 4!
Honorable Mentions: BioShock Infinite by 2K Games and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag by Ubisoft Entertainment
Winner: Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment
Hearthstone is a fast-paced strategy card game that is dubbed geared “for everyone.” While this game is still in closed beta, it has no NDA and has become very popular among its testers and those following videos and streams of the game. It is free-to-play with its players choosing one of nine epic Warcraft heroes as their avatar, and then taking turns playing cards against their opponent with a customized deck. The learning curve for Hearthstone is designed so that anyone can jump into the game.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be available on the PC, Mac, iOS and Android. Players can currently opt-in on their battle.net accounts to apply for beta.
Honorable Mentions: Civilization V: Brave New World by Firaxis Games and Total War: Rome II by The Creative Assembly
Winner: League of Legends by Riot Games
In League of Legends players are pitted against each other in two teams of five, with well over 100 champions diversifying team builds. This free-to-play MOBA continues to grow in popularity every year and has its own dedicated eSports event. The preseason for Season 4 is currently underway and Riot has already laid out its game plan for balance changes and other refinements.
League of Legends is available on the PC and Mac.
Honorable Mentions: Dota 2 by Valve and SMITE by Hi-Rez Studios
Continue to page 2 for more awards, including the results of the ZAM Readers’ Choice voting!
