20 Video Games That Will Make 2013 An Awesome Year For Gamers

14. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkWXAJjavJY The Castlevania franchise continues its tradition of staying true to its side scrolling legacy on Nintendo portables when Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate releases on the Nintendo 3DS. Set to be a spin off of the console title Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and its upcoming sequel, the game will allow players to choose between several different playable characters of the Belmont clan, each with different abilities that can be passed on to others within the family. Why it will be awesome: Ever since the Castlevania entered the realm of three dimensional game worlds back in the Nintendo 64 era, the various incarnations of 3D Casltlevania games have been a mixed bag. On the contrary, the two dimensional Castlevania side scrolling games have continued to be as excellent as they were back in the NES days, particularly on Nintendo's handheld consoles. An excellent trilogy of games was released for the Game Boy Advance (check out Harmony of Dissonance, a favorite of this author), and an even better trilogy of games later followed on the Nintendo DS (see Dawn of Sorrow, arguably the best Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night). Given this rich pedigree of consistency and excellence, it is unlikely that Mirror of Fate will disappoint 3DS owners in 2013. Using the system's 3D effect in a side scrolling Castlevania game should really augment the rich environments that the series is famous for. While the gaming press will most likely be giving more attention to Lords of Shadow 2 next year, Mirror of Fate is the one to watch, and the one to get excited for.