Welcome to the Editors Choice award for Mod of the Year 2013. Here the editors of ModDB have their say on the most prolific mods both released and unreleased to grace our presence over the past year.

Posted by TKAzA on Dec 24th, 2013

Welcome to the Awards for 2013 Mod of the year, we are also announcing the winners of

IOTY 2013 Editors Choice & AOTY 2013 Editors Choice.

Mod of the year

Editors Choice 2013

Interaction Award

One of the most important aspects of high quality modification is how your player interacts with the changes that have been made. Starship Aces takes Unreal Tournament 2004 out of the first person death match style gameplay and turns it into a spacefighter-action-game in which you fly missions with different types of spacefighters. Each starship has different armor and energy shields and can be upgraded with various lasers, cannons, missiles and power-ups during the match. Starship aces proves that we are not limited to the original interactions of the base game.

Creativity Award

You’ve fought in the jungles of vietnam, You’ve stormed the beaches of normandy now its time to command the worlds mightiest nations in one of the most brutal wars in human history. The Great War takes home the Creativity Award for building one of the most authentic representations of World War I-era tactics, strategies and general warfare within the game Napoleon Total War. Fight your way through machine gun fire, mortar barrages and toxic gas to get the jump on your enemy. Here advances are measured in metres, not in grand distances. Rule the head of any of the many countries that watched Europe become engulfed in war, lead your nation however you want in a free sandbox campaign or follow the path of history in a heavily scripted campaign. The Great war is a perfect example of the level of creativity the modding community offers. The greatest war the world has ever seen is about to begin, its time to take your place in it.

Community Award

Morrowind Rebirth is like a love letter the the Elder Scrolls III Morrowind from the community. It shows the passion and dedication the fan’s of one of the best RPG’s of all time have for the ageing game. Morrowind Rebirth enhances the third elder scrolls game in a myriad of ways. From Balance tweaks, Better Landscapes, Populated and enhanced cities, 20 new creatures to do battle with and New Events to make the world a more dangerous and interesting place. Morrowind Rebirth has worked with the community to keep this title fresh and inviting for a new generation of Role Playing Enthusiasts.

Worldly Award

The original game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat was steeped in the creepy survivalist atmosphere of the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear reactor a.k.a “The Zone”. Misery takes the original games level of difficulty and creepy factor and cranks it to 11 adding new touches to every game aspect including new sound FX, Music, Weapons, AI behavior, weather, textures and so much more. With less ammo, smarter enemies and an environment thats down right out to kill you. Misery wins the worldly award for fully immersing the player in this dark world and is a great example of survival horror at its finest.

Visuality Award

Few mods can match The Great War for the amazing level of detail the mod authors have obtained. From the wrinkles in the coats of soldiers rushing across no mans land, to the clouds of toxic gas and smoke from a barrage of artillery fire. The Great War has gone above and beyond from the smallest rifle in a private hands hunkered down in the trench line to the massive dreadnaughts battling it out in a collision of the worlds most powerful navies its cannot be denied The Great War modification for Napoleon Total War is a site to behold and must be experienced to truly understand how impressive graphically this mod truly is thats why it gets our Visuality awards for 2013.

The Ressie Award

We all wanted it, we all watch it develop for years, and years.. and years… and we where all disappointed by 2011’s release of Duke Nukem forever. But much like the games hero, one man stood up and said. “I’ve got balls of steel” and built the game we all wanted. In a mod for Duke Nukem 3D. Its everything we asked for and more, from the art style, to the sound effects this is Duke Nukem at his finest.

Best Upcoming

From Earth is one of those rare games that has a unique and creative concept that peaks your interested and conjures all kinds of adventures way before the game is even released. With a mix of puzzle solving and almost parkour movement. From Earth takes place close to the year 3,000 when one woman and one man, Zennaida and Anthony are sent to a remote alien planet. After fifty years in cold sleep you find yourself on an industrialised world being hunted by an alien government. With only your wits and athleticism you must learn how to use the alien technology and work with the local population to survive. Nothing about the alien technology is explained to the player so experimentation and exploration is key. From Earth promises to bring an almost alien experience to the Half Life 2 Modding Scene.

Best Overhaul

This years Best Overhaul mod went to the SynergiesMod for the loot fest dungeon crawler Torchlight 2 adding a massive list of changes and additions to the already stellar game. 2 new towns, 300 new legendary items, new monsters a crafting system, major balance changes upping the difficulty and a set of new dungeons gives veteran players a new unique challenge adding hours and hours to the original game. SynergiesMod even adds 3 unique classes such as the spell casting Necromancer, The holy close range paladin warrior and the Warrior mage, The Warlock into the action. If your a fan of the Torchlight series this is a mod you just can’t miss.

Best Multiplayer

What could make the chaotic action packed world of Just Cause 2 even more chaotic and action packed? Add more players! Thats just what the developers of Just Cause 2: Multiplayer setout to add multiplayer functionality to a single player game and boy did they succeed. Play with your friends in this open world sandbox game that's built around the idea of action, and mobility using your parachute and a hand grapple to navigate around with your friends, race your buddies in sports cars while your partner car surface on the hood, or have a gun fight on top of a firetruck while speeding down the highway. Gun fights and absolute mayhem is what Just Cause 2: multiplayer is all about. Its one thing to add a new multiplayer game type to an exciting multiplayer game, but to add full on multiplayer support to a single player game is an impressive feat. Thats why Just Cause 2: Multiplayer wins Best Multiplayer Modification for 2013.

Best Singleplayer

With simply superb story telling, graphical enhancements and over 3 ½ hours of dialog. Deus Ex: Nihlum takes everything the original Deus Ex got right and wraps it into a high quality package. With high quality custom music, tight gameplay and mind bending level design that turns each level into a puzzel onto itself. Nihlum wins Best Multiplayer Experience. Critics agree this mod could have been sold as an add or even sequel for the Original title. We can’t think of a better honor. This mod is a must play for Deus Ex fans.

Editors Choice Best Overall

Final 3 Countdown

3rd Place Underhell

Underhell is an Episodic Story Line Single Player Modification for the Source Engine. In Underhell, you play as Jake Hawkfield, a Special Weapons and Tactics officer who recently married and moved in with his wife. But soon after this happy event, his wife dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving only clues that suggest she committed suicide. Jake falls apart. Only his boss, mentor, and best friend Frank is there to help him get over his grief. The mod begins with a wake up call from Frank ordering Jake to come down to the station. An armed group of highly trained soldiers have taken control of a hospital and all its personnel. But Jake will soon realize that this is more than just a hostage situation.

2nd Place The Great War

The Great War mod is a total conversion modification for Napoleon: Total War. It aims to create an authentic representation of World War I-era tactics, strategies and general warfare within the game. Watch as waves of battalions advance under the cover of massed artillery barrages and deadly poison gas, or stay play it safe hidden behind their defenses. Machineguns will brutally mow down uncareful attackers and defenses are manned by thousands of troops, armed with rapid breech-loaded rifles. SMG Infantry, flamethrowers, snipers and elite Stormtroopers are a few among the many units that attempt to break the stalemate, while the sheer industrial output of all combatting nations - and the density of forces along most fronts - ensure that advances are measured in metres, not in the grand distances of earlier days.

1st Place Just Cause 2: Multiplayer

JC2-MP 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. We here at the ModDB Office really enjoyed the beautiful free roaming aspects of Just Cause mixed with the amazing mobility the game offers. Adding multiplayer to this single player experience has truly blown us away. The just cause Mp team has really impressed us with a unique and technically impressive feat of adding so many players into a game that was never built with multiplayer in mind. We award Just Cause 2 MP Editors Choice Mod of the Year.