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GAF Games of the Year 2012 - Voting Thread, now closed. Thanks for all the fish.

jufonuk

not tag worthy
1, I am going to go with Kid Icarus Uprising,
sure Revelations was a great game, but Kid Icarus, woah my supprise game of the year, fantastic story, amazing gameplay (I havent really played the online part too much) but replay value is immense in this game,

at first the control scheme did not gel with me but after a few tweaks and just playing the game for a bit, it clicked.

it's a great handheld game full of great set peices, levels to explore and some great boss fights. also when you increase the difficulty it almost becomes a completely new game to play.

having traded up to a 3DSXL and being a leftie, I am desperatly waiting for the CPPXL to be sold in EU land, come on Nintendo do it.
 
It does since it was released on PC this year.

Keep in mind that if you voted for the game last year/previously you cannot vote for it again.

Cold, there goes the top 2 games I played this year. Wait, I don't think I officially voted last year but I guess voting for The Witcher 2: EE (PC) and Dark Souls (PC) would go against the spirit of the poll.
 

Feindflug

Member
It does since it was released on PC this year.

Keep in mind that if you voted for the game last year/previously you cannot vote for it again.

What about the console versions of Dark Souls: PTDE? I didn't vote for this masterpiece last year (haven't played it yet back then) and I want to put this on my list. :(

edit: I guess I'll probably vote it as my 2011 LTTP pick.
 
1. Persona 4 Golden; The reason to own a Vita. JRPG of the generation. Whatever you want to call it, Persona 4 is a special game, one that doesn't come around too often. This version has enough new tweaks and changes to make it worth it for those who have played it and streamlined enough to make it easy for newcomers to jump in. If you have a Vita and do not own this game, what are you doing? Go get it!

2. Journey; What other game has taken such a close look at what it means to have an anonymous interaction with another player? To execute on that concept so flawlessly, while delivering an emotional story, made Journey my game of the year...until I started playing Persona 4 Golden. That game is frickin' rad!

3. The Walking Dead

4. Hotline Miami

5. Dishonored

6. Spec Ops: The Line

7. FTL: Faster Than Light

8. Mark of the Ninja

9. Xenoblade Chronicles; Mainly for that amazing soundtrack.

10. Sleeping Dogs

x. Kid Icarus: Uprising

x. The Last Story

2011. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky; This. Game. Damn XSEED.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
1. Halo 4; While flawed, it is still the game I've had by far the most fun with this year. The single player was solid and the MP is a ton of fun. With some tweaking the game will be even better.

2. The Walking Dead; If you would have told me this game would be my #2 game of the year at the end of 2011 I would have laughed. A Walking Dead (series I'd never read), adventure game (genre I never play), by Telltale (lols after Jurassic Park). The game knocked it out of the park. Voice acting and story are amazing.

3. Mass Effect 3; Besides the ending I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the trilogy finale. Wrapping up all the loose ends was satisfying and the gun play has never been better.

4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

5. Max Payne 3; It's not quite Remedy's Max, but Rockstar made the series their own with amazing acting and music. The gunplay is still fun, and I liked the story quite a bit.

6. Sleeping Dogs; Sleeper hit. The game is the definition of fun and had a solid story to boot.

7. Dishonored; Great stealth gameplay.

8. Assassin's Creed 3
9. Borderlands 2; One of the best co-op games I've played. Great art, solid story, and awesome voice acting.
10. Forza Horizon
 
1. The Walking Dead; Still haven't played the final episode, but this game blew me away with it's storytelling and characters.
2. Guild Wars 2; Playing WvWvW in GW2 is some of the most fun multiplayer gaming I've had in years.

This thread made me realize how many of this years games I own, yet how few I've actually completed...
 
1. The Sea Will Claim Everything ; As far as adventure games go, there isn't much to this one. It revolves around collecting items and giving them to the right person so you can get another item for something else, as well as quite a bit of exploring. But the area the game really shines is in its story. Debt, foreclosure, and socialism are just some of the subjects that the game is about. The characters are wonderful and really feel alive despite being made up of fantasy creatures, for the most part. A lot of them are relatable and I really felt like I understood what they were going through, probably because the story and what everyone is going through is supposed to mirror our own reality in some ways. It's just an overall touching game to me. One of the few games where I've really cared about the characters and their well-being. Another aspect of it that I adore is how on each screen there's always things to click on to get a funny description or sound effect. Oh, and it has fantastic visuals and music. A lot of love and attention to detail was put into this game and I appreciated every bit of it.

2. Sound Shapes
3. Botanicula
4. Fez
5. Lone Survivor
6. Swift Stitch
7. Thomas Was Alone
8. Beat Sneak Bandit
9. Hotline Miami
10. Super Hexagon
 

Sadist

Member
It was really hard to think of a top 10. 2012 was a bit boring.

1. The Walking Dead; my unexpected game of the year 2012. You know, I kind of plunged in the deep with the season pass, but man I’m glad I did. After completing the first episode I was stoked because of the presentation. Telltale didn’t have the best track record but they nailed the TWD vibe from the comics. It’s a world where your life could end any second and to trust someone is very difficult. The best part of the game are the characters. I can’t remember the last time I actually cared about characters making it out alive and what happens to them next. Lee is extremely likable (well, as much as you want him to be) and together with Clementine they make a great duo. Ah, you read it all before right? Good writing for a videogame, powerful voice acting... it’s all there! Thanks for the ride Telltale. I’m up for a season 2 pass.

2. Virtue’s Last Reward; A game of betrayal, trust issues, secrets, weird puzzles and some damn rabbit explaining some rules. It’s the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. It’s a fantastic visual novel with so many twist and turns it made my head spin. In a good way. I can’t explain because you need to play this game for yourself, but if you like mindfucks this is one of the early 3DS classics.

3. Kid Icarus Uprising; those damn controls! Oh wait, I can handle them with some practice. Wait... this game is awesome! Brimming with fun you glide and run across the levels shooting up baddies. With great levels and loads of content, the game just keeps on giving. Zany level design, awesome bossbattles... and a lot of dialogue between Pitt, Palutena and others. Especially that one guy, you know. The best Nintendo villain in years.

4. Resident Evil Revelations; it wasn’t the best of years for the RE franchise. Well, the fans I suppose. The best game wearing the RE name was on a handheld. I’ll take it! Sure, the enemy design isn’t great and the chapters with Keith and Quint are out of place, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the game is awesome. Jill’s tour of the Queen Zenobia had a very classic RE feeling at times and that’s why I appreciate it. Plus Raid mode is great. Fantastic bonus mode and I think I prefer it over the Mercenaries.

5. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy; most addicting game this year. The combination seems to be a no-brainer. But I never expected it to be this fun. Just one more song. Okay, one more. Nah, one more. And before you know it, two hours went up in smoke. It has a great selection of songs like Man with the Machinegun, Jenova, Battle at the Bridge and many many more which will please any Final Fantasy fan.

6. Transformers Fall of Cybertron; most underrated third person action game available. A great campaign with a lot of variety and more importantly, fun. Plus Combaticons, Bruticus, Starscream, Jazz en Grimlock. ME GRIMLOCK NO BOZO ME KING.

7. Project Zero 2 Wii Edition; Japan and PAL only release, but oh man Nintendo of Europe is awesome. It’s one of the scariest games ever made, but now with a new lick of paint and more. One of the few games who scares the living crap out of me. Deserves a spot in my top ten.

8. Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2; my first SMT game and I loved it. Great SRPG with challenging missions and I love the demon system.

9. Paper Mario Sticker Star; Completed and well, not everyone might agree with the choices made by Nintendo but I love Intelligent Systems for all the experiments with the franchise. The battle system is still a lot of fun and I like the sticker system. The dialogue isn't as good compared to earlier games, but there are several funny moments.

10. Binary Domain; Just entered my top ten! A great third person shooter with quirky designs.

Honourable mention; Spec Ops the Line. The game itself might have been a standard third person shooter, but the story was pretty amazing.
 
2. Virtue’s Last Reward; A game of betrayal, trust issues, secrets, weird puzzles and some damn rabbit explaining some rules. It’s the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. It’s a fantastic visual novel with so many twist and turns it made my head spin. In a good way. I can’t explain because you need to play this game for yourself, but if you like mindfucks this is one of the early 3DS classics.


Man, I wish I had time to get to Virtue's Last Reward. I still need to play 999, though...
 

Hindle

Banned
Dishonoured: A fantastic return to what gaming should be about, explorative and layered level design basically. Many ways through each level, combined with the powers made the game awesome.

XCOM Enemy Unknown: A game that shows you don't need scripted moments to create emotion. When you're squad is all wiped out within ten min then you'll know emotion. A brilliant game that finally does stratgety right on consoles.

The Walking Dead: I'm uneasy putting this here as Id say it's more interactive novel then game. Even though the gameplay is limited, the times when you can explore are a joy, like you're literally exploring in the comic book. That's the reason I put this here, not because of the story.
 

Deadman

Member
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown; A game that makes you care about the characters more than the vast majority of games, but crucially does it through gameplay and not though cutscenes.
2. Magic 2013
3. Quantum Conundrum
4. Sleeping Dogs
5. Halo 4
 
1. gravity rush ; open-world steampunk handheld awesome. loved the characters, story, & music, but the stylized graphics, & design aesthetics, stole the show. &, tho i likely would've gone along with any kind of gameplay in such a setting, i thought the gravity-based mechanics were clever, perfectly appropriate, &, all things considered, pretty damn well done...
2. sleeping dogs
3. dragon's dogma
4. uncharted: golden abyss
5. zero escape: virtue's last reward
6. persona 4: golden
7. shin megami tensei: devil survivor 2
8. yakuza: dead souls
9. journey
10. walking dead

my 2012 was, to a large extent, 'the year of the replay'. games included were yakuza, ffxii, smt: nocturne, mgs 2&3, & okami - all of which were, to me, still as impressive as any of the games mentioned above :) ...
 

Jintor

Member
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; Playing on ironman, at least. I'm not sure if I would've liked it so much on normal but experiences like meeting a Berserker for the first time and having him tear apart all my best guys in a turn, sending me right back to the start, was great.
2. Spec Ops: The Line
3. FTL: Faster Than Light
4. Hotline Miami
5. The Walking Dead
6. Journey
7. Black Mesa
8. Rayman Origins
9. Botanicula
10. Dishonored

2011. Avadon: The Black Fortress

You played so many games this year you jerk!
 

Idioteque

Member
1.Mark of the Ninja - A perfect blend of my two favorite genres, stealth and 2D action games.
2.Journey - unforgettable experience
3.Far Cry 3- Just love all the random shit that happens in this game.
4.Diablo III - Most time I put into a game this year.
5.The Walking Dead
6.Sound Shapes
7.FIFA 13
8.The Unfinished Swan
9.Super Hexagon
10.10,000,000
 

Jucksalbe

Banned
1. Persona 4: Golden; I wasn't sure at first if I should even put it on the list since it's basically a port. But it's an excellent one, and I never finished the original game, so most of it was (and is, I'm still not finished) new for me. The base game itself already stands at one of the best RPGs of all time, but this port still improves on a lot of thing. Plus with the clear colors, this game looks a lot better on the Vita screen. And I really, really, liked the bonuses they put in the game, like the concert clips and the explanations of Jungian psychology. And as another nice bonus, the new music is great, I even love the new intro.

2. Ys Origin ; Some reviews described this as an arcade-like RPG and that's what it is. It's stripped of anything that could drag it down and therefore plays faster than any other Ys. Boss battles are great and Adol isn't really missed. Wonderful.

3. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward ; A great story that may have some small problems here and there, but overall it's a ride you won't forget. And it has some very much needed improvements over 999 (like the flowchart). I love how this game doesn't treat you like an idiot and doesn't shy away from complicated scientific topics.

4. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f ; I just loved (almost) every aspect of this. The music's great and interesting enough that I went to YouTube afterwards to look up the translations, the music videos are fun and it's easy enough that even I can enjoy it. It could have done without the DIVA rooms, though.

5. Tokyo Jungle ; What a great idea! And it's actually a great game, too. Nothing beats hunting lions with a Pomeranian. The story mode is surprisingly well done, too.

6. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ; A perfect anniversary game. The first playthrough is a flush of nostalgia, but after that you will see how well thought out the RPG elements in this are. The only downside is that the Chaos Shrine mode really needs more content. And if you care about your 3DS, buy screen protectors before you play this game.

7. Tales of the Abyss 3DS ; I never really played the PS2 version, so this was almost completely new for me on the 3DS and I loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the story and I especially loved all the background information you can get about the world. It's the details that make it great. It has its faults, but I didn't really care much. The port seems to be done well as far as I can tell.

8. Gravity Rush ; Finally a unique game for the Vita. And very well done, too. First and foremost, you just have to love the main character. But even beyond that, there's a nice soundtrack, an interesting world and the gravity shifting mechanics work really well once you get used to them. The only problem is that you can sometimes lose orientation during boss fights and then get hit by stuff you didn't even see.

9. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing ; A big step up from the first game. Handling is great, courses a varied and fun and finally a game that demands a bit of skill from the players. I also love the exclusive features of the Wii U version.

10. Final Fantasy XIII-2 ; Actually it's a bit of a surprise that this even made the list. XIII was a bit of a letdown and therefore expectations weren't very high for XIII-2. But it really improved on XIII in almost every way possible. The linear gameplay is gone, characters and even returning characters are much more likable this time and catching monsters is a nice distraction. I had a lot of fun with the side stories that occur if you're really looking for all the fragments in the game. And the soundtrack is excellent, Noel's theme sung by KOKIA is my personal highlight. Sure, it has its faults, and some of those are the reason this isn't higher on the list, but still I had a lot of fun with it. It doesn't deserve the hate it gets from a lot of people around here.

x. Atelier Meruru ; Maybe a bit of a letdown after Totori, but still a wonderful game. There's the occasional and usual annoying humor, but other than there's not much to complain about. The battle system is fun, exploring is interesting and the alchemy is demanding enough to make the time system important. Oh yeah, and it uses colors, something you have to mention these days.

x. The Pinball Arcade ; I love pinball and I love this game, but I couldn't bring myself to include it on the actual list, because of how Farsight has been handling this game. There were just too many delays and bugs.

x. Akai Katana ; It takes a while to understand the scoring mechanics which makes this less accessible than say Mushihimesama Futari, but when you finally understand it, it's a lot of fun.

x. Project Zero 2 Wii; Very well done remake, but I haven't played it far enough to include it on the actual list. Maybe I was just too scared.

x. Sega Vintage Collection ; Sorry for all the extra honorable mentions (I hope there isn't a limit), but I just wanted to highlight how well done this collection is. They look great, they play great and there's a lot of options. Thank you, M2!

2011. To The Moon ; Not much gameplay and the puzzle sections are pointless, but the story's really great. And for this type of game that's what counts.


Edit: Since it's important because of the year: I'm from Europe, but I imported Tales of the Abyss from the US, so it's a 2012 game for me.
 

Pein

Banned
1. Persona 4; the golden: never played the PS2 version and makes the vita worth owning
2. Halo 4; Loved this damn game, such a return to form from the miserable reach.
3. Dishonored; Sleeper hit for me didn't even know what it was about until a week before release.
4. Gravity rush; what a neat and imaginative game, really wish scej would turn out more games.
5. Sleeping Dogs; Wei Shen is my hero.
6. Naruto Shippuden; Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations- my most played game this year, still has some of the best graphics ever.
7. Assassins Creed 3; loads of fun and it has a great setting.
8. Tales of graces f; Slow to start and the story is kinda crap but that combat is awesome.
9. Final Fantasy XIII-2; best thing about Final Fantasy XIII was the battle system, same thing is good about the sequel.
10. Resident evil 6; flawed as hell but I still love cast of characters and the shooting mechanics once you get used to it.
 

xenist

Member
1. The Walking Dead; THE best written game since Planescape. The first game in my 30 years of gaming that actually caused a honest, high level emotional response.
2. XCOM; Gaming royalty taking the task of reviving one of the most revered titles in gaming history and introducing it to a new audience. Firaxis managing to serve both the big majority of old school fans and making new ones is damn miraculous.
3. Dishonored; One of the very few games that had the balls to acknowledge that games like Deus Ex and Thief had actually been made in the past.
4. Far Cry 3; Better shooting than the CODs of this year. Better graphics than anything. Better stealthy assassinations than fucking Assassin's Creed. The definition of a gaming smorgasboard.
5. Diablo 3; The hardcore consensus says no. Two hundred hours plus of gaming say yes. Perfect? Not by a long shot. But its combat absolutely shames each and every one of its competitors.
6. Spec Ops: The Line; The best surprise of the year. Mechanically unsound but thematically brilliant.
7. Borderlands 2; The funnest game of the year.
8. Mark Of The Ninja; Beautiful to look at. Unabashedly gamey.
9. Hotline Miami; Its soundtrack alone would have it here. The rest of the package being so good didn't hurt either. Another thematically interesting game.
10. Sleeping Dogs; The second big surprise of the year. First game of the type I honestly loved since Vice City.
 

iNvid02

Member
WEHBG.jpg


1. The Walking Dead ; evoked emotions i'd never experienced with video games and took the art of crafting a narrative in the medium to the next level, by embracing what makes it unique. an incredibly memorable experience.

2. Far Cry 3
3. Hitman: Absolution
4. Journey
5. Mass Effect 3
6. Max Payne 3
7. Assassin's Creed 3
8. Alan Wake
9. Sleeping Dogs
10. Dishonored

x. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
x. I Am Alive
x. Dear Esther

2011. Dark Souls ; being lttp ended up being a wise decision, not only was i able to get the assistance i so desperately needed at times from adept fans, but thanks to durante i experienced the game with better visual quality on pc.
every moment i had with dark souls was nothing short of electrifying. it would have ranked very highly on my goty list last year if i had played it in time.
 

Kaldea

Member
1. Journey ; This game left the biggest impact on me. Everything about this game is beautiful and no matter how many times I play it, I never get sick of it. Some of the most beautiful music and art design I've ever seen/heard.
3. Gravity Rush
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
4. Borderlands 2
5. Far Cry 3
6. Max Payne 3
7. Tokyo Jungle
8. Persona 4: Golden
9. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
10. Xenoblade Chronicles
 

linko9

Member
1. Rhythm Heaven Fever; My favorite in the series, and probably my favorite rhythm game ever. Not too long of a game, but I loved every second of it. This game is just masterful.
2. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy; But this game gives RHF a run for its money. I've spent almost 100 hours on it so far, and that number will be sure to at least double in the future. I love all of the music in this game, and the RPG trappings are really smart. Gameplay is standard-ish, for a rhythm game, but does the job.
3. Final Fantasy XIII-2; I really enjoyed this game. I think everything about it except the music and visuals are a huge step up from XIII (which I enjoyed), including the story, which I actually thought was alright. But the freedom the game gives you is what I really love. The game is extremely non-linear, and there's a great degree of character customization. DLC was dumb.
4. Super Hexagon; I was going to say I've only played this a few hours, but steam tells me I've spent over 14 (edit: now 40). I hit a wall early on, but since then it's been constant improvement, and it feels great. This is exactly the sort of game I'm looking for when I just need to unwind and my mind is worn out.
5. New Super Mario Bros. U; It really is almost better than SMW. But not quite. Either way, it's a really good Mario game and a great 2D platformer, and I'm always down for that. Squirrel suit was a really good suit, and the Miiverse integration was fun.
6. Nintendo Land; I expected to hate this game, but I ended up really enjoying it. DK, F-Zero, Pikmin, and Octo-dance are my favorites, and all together make a really fun package with great arcady gameplay.
6. Dragon's Dogma; I don't really know what to think about this game. I'm pretty sure I liked it a lot, but sometimes I think it's garbage. It's a really rough game in some respects. They should not have gone all Elder Scrolls and left tons of meaningless items everywhere. The interaction with NPCs is sort of crummy. The storyline is just dumb, and I didn't much like the world. But the combat system is great, the character progression is good, and the pawn system is surprisingly well-done. I don't think I ever want to play this again, but I was really addicted to it while I was playing.
7. Kid Icarus Uprising; I expected to love this game and was for the most part disappointed. The ground segments are just not good. That said, it's overall a good game, and the Sakurai collectable nature makes you want to keep playing. Should have been a Wii game.
8. Hotline Miami; Gave me a real killer 7 vibe. Gameplay got way too easy way too fast, but was fun enough. Might be higher if not for the glitches.


x. Dark Souls PTDE; If I were judging the game as a whole, it would be GOTY by a landslide. But since the game really came out last year, I'm just judging the DLC, which honestly wasn't all that good. But if this were my first experience with the game, it would be a shoe-in for my #1 spot.

I'll be getting a lot of time for games in these coming weeks, so this list is bound to change. Also, I didn't like Journey. Boom, dropping bombs.

edit: played some more games, list remains unchanged except for adding hotline miami. Walking dead did not impress.
 
1. Journey; An unmatched experience. The multiplayer aspect of this game reintroduces the concept of human communication in a way that can make you realize the beauty of our ability to share experiences with one another.
2. Borderlands 2; Fun, funny, and more polished in every way than its predecessor. Everything you could want in a sequel.
3. Assassin's Creed III; This entry introduced us to an amazing new character (not Connor) as well as ship battles, RDR-esque open world hunting, and a flawed but earnest story set against the backdrop of the American Revolution.
4. Diablo III; This game is like a rollercoaster that ends in a pit of fire. 90% of the ride is fantastic, but then you hit that last peak and realizing you're headed straight for an inferno of suffering and the antithesis of fun.
5. Forza Horizon; 100% pure fun. It does a fantastic job of mimicking a sim racer while providing the less challenging entertainment of an arcade racer. It strikes the line down the middle well.
6. Torchlight II; Torchlight:Diablo::Torchlight II:Diablo II
7. FTL: Faster Than Light: Space Trader and Battlestar Galactica had some rough sex last night and gave birth to this punishing, yet entertaining survival game amongst the stars.
8. Need for Speed: Most Wanted; The urban equivalent to Forza Horizon. Faster and more furious than its cousin, but also strapped with a few flaws that can sometimes cause aggravation. The multiplayer is fun as hell though.
9. The Walking Dead; A modern day revival of point-and-click adventure titles. Good pacing, good characters, troubled by a few flaws in the scenarios but overall enjoyable.
10. Dishonored; It's 2012 and someone was brave enough to make a new IP. Kudos. The gameplay was entertaining and truly open-ended, reminiscent of Deus Ex in a good way, but other aspects of the game weren't as polished. A sequel could be truly masterful.
 

VALIS

Member
1. The Pinball Arcade ; For all the little problems here and there, it's by far the best video emulation of pinball ever made, already has about 20 legendary tables under its belt and the future is hopefully limitless. I've probably put 100 hours towards it this year.

2. Dishonored ; For a lack of time at the moment, the quick, easy thing for me to say is it's steampunk Bioshock and all the good things that implies (for me anyway!).

3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; A throwback to the days when PC gaming used to be much different than console gaming, especially on the harder levels.

4. Mark of the Ninja ; Smart, stylish and extremely replayable.

5. Hotline Miami ; One of the few times that video games didn't feel like music's dorky younger brother.

6. Far Cry 3 ; Doesn't really do anything terribly new in the long line of open world adventure/FPS games of the last decade, but unlike those games, there's very little it does poorly.

7. FTL: Faster Than Light ; (need to think about this more, will fill in later)

8. Fez ; The Braid comparisons are hard to get away from, but I consider that a great compliment, not a knock.

9. Trials Evolution ; Very few games make me lean and yell and squirm in my seat like this one.

10. Spelunky HD XBLA ; The legendary roguelike, cleaned up and beefed up. My wife has put over 60 hrs. into it, that's how perfectly addictive it is.


Honorable mentions:

x. Borderlands 2 ; A great sequel to one of my favorite games of the generation, it's just too "1.5-ish" to make my top 10.

x. Orcs Must Die 2 ; See above.

x. Spec Ops: The Line ; Eye popping art direction but a fairly standard if well done shooter. Definitely worth your time.

x. Diablo III ; Neither hate it nor love it.


Most Overrated:

Sleeping Dogs
Really, GAF? If the story was typical gangsta or mafia instead of kung fu movie I think a lot of you would hate this sloppy game.


Notable 2012 games I want to play but haven't gotten to yet: Endless Space, Ass Creed 3, Halo 4, Hitman Whatever, Max Payne 3, Syndicate, Mass Effect 3, Kingdoms of Amalur
 

Himself

Member
1. Dishonored ;
2. Journey ;
3. Akai Katana ;
4. Gravity Rush ;
5. Sine Mora ;
6. Fez ;
7. Super Stardust Delta ;
8. Tokyo Jungle ;
9. Lollipop Chainsaw ; thus concludes my list
 

bede-x

Member
1. Fez; This deserves a special mention because of how it made me act while playing it. After being done with it I had many pictures on my phone and several pages full of notes that had taken me to the end. Usually, I hate it if a game forces me to do that. Fez didn't, I just chose to. When was the last time one could relish taking notes?

Another thing is experiencing how the community acted as collective whole to brute force the solution to one particular puzzle and the talk, chatter, educated guesses and rumours that preceded it. A singleplayer game somehow inexplicably making people experience it together. At this point it doesn't matter if it's ported to other platforms, in some ways it's already to late to experience it like that again. You had to be there.

Different, heartwarming, memorable, meant for one and shared among many, how much more could one demand? A few blemishes in the form of bugs doesn't change that this is already a classic, one for those shared moments as much as for the ages, and it is the one experience this year I'm certain will still be an exhilarating memory many years from now.

2. Journey
3. Mutant Mudds
4. New Super Mario Bros U
5. New Super Mario Bros 2
6. Gravity Rush

2011. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars: Got really caught up in this some months back. It's doesn't do anything new and is not balanced particularly well. It "just" gets the basics right to such an extend, that it becomes a very compelling game, when you really get into it. Oh, and the 3D is suprisingly good. It's an ugly uncharmingly dull game, but for some reason when viewing it with 3D on, it's like you're looking through a window into a small boardgame world. It makes you wanna move the pieces and manipulate the viewpoint. Give it a chance, as it's better than you'd expect.
 

Corto

Member
I'm screwed. I've sketched a quick short(lol)list of my GOTY candidates and I have 18 games on there... I need to ruminate on this a bit more.
 

ironcreed

Banned
1. Journey ; This game left the biggest impact on me. Everything about this game is beautiful and no matter how many times I play it, I never get sick of it. Some of the most beautiful music and art design I've ever seen/heard.

The more I narrow down my choices, the more this one stands out in my mind. Take that, "games are to blame for murder" people.
 

XPE

Member
Resident Evil Revelations, A good FUN game, nice atmosphere, good controls, it was just a fun game.

Planetside 2, this is what BF3 should have been like, so far I have had over 24 hours of fun with it and not spent a penny!
 

Tymerend

Member
1: The Walking Dead; Such great characters and some wonderfully emotional choices.
2: Torchlight 2
3:Journey; Only played it once, but that's all I needed. Beautiful.
4: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria; Brought me back in after over a year of being away.
5: Darksiders 2; Yeah, I'm the guy that likes it.
 
1. The Walking Dead ; An excellent attempt to bring adventure games back to the mainstream audience. Immersed me like nothing else this year.
2. Binary Domain ; A blast; great [and cheesy] narrative and competent gunplay - it was Vanquish's art meets Gears of War's style of TPS gameplay and it was brilliant.
3. Sleeping Dogs ; The game I wanted GTA IV to be.
4. Guild Wars 2 ; I've fluctuated this game around on my list because I can't make up my mind if it's a vapid theme park or a fantastic attempt to captivate the solo MMO player [which I am]. In the end I decided it's a bit of both; but it's tailor-made for me so it gets 4th.
5. Crusader Kings 2 ; A Game of Thrones : The Videogame. Grand Strategy streamlined without the loss of depth you see in most genres [or in Sengoku for that matter].
6. Spec Ops : The Line ; A superb narrative with gameplay that is more enjoyable than the 'average' comments would lead you to believe. A bit too overt in its themes for my liking.
7. The Darkness 2 ; A fun linear shooter with an interesting narrative.
8. Endless Space ; Lacks a little depth, but still an addictive 4X.

2011 LttP: To the Moon
 

Hindle

Banned
To the guy who does the counting, I heavily edited my comment to add more choices, please take that into account.
 
1. Borderlands 2
2. Halo 4
3. Assassins Creed 3
4. Guild Wars 2
5. Far Cry 3
6. Tales of Graces f (PS3)
7. Dishonored
8. Diablo 3
9. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
10. Marvins Mittens
 
1. Journey; An outstanding experience, excels in every single aspect, wonderful and memorable.
2. Gravity Rush; Unique and thrilling, quirky and different, truly shows off the Vita's potential.
3. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward; Full of twists and turns, and a wealth of content, keeps you hooked.
4. Final Fantasy XIII-2; Almost a return to form for Square Enix, a great adventure with a lot of content and an awesome cliff hanger ending.

2011.
Xenoblade Chronicles; Game of the generation.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Between journey and walking dead getting a ton of votes, it's a good year for "non games". I'm sure certain people on here are thrilled by this :p
 

Prinny

Member
1. Persona 4 Golden
2. Diablo 3; It's awful compared to D2 but it's still better than every Diablo clones.
3. New Super Mario Bros. U; It's my new favorite 2D Mario, thanks to the challenge mode.
4. Kid Icarus: Uprising
5. Atelier Meruru
6. Kingdom Hearts 3D
7. Tales of Graces F; Awesome battle system.
8. Final Fantasy XIII-2
9. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
10. Persona 4 Arena

x. Okami HD
x. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
x. Paper Mario: Sticker Star
x. Guild Wars 2
x. Dust: An Elysian Tail
x. Torchlight 2
 

Shaffield

Member
1. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ; Elite Beat Agents meets Final Fantasy. Glorious. Theatrhythm is a rhythm game with some genius RPG elements, adorable artwork, and wonderful fan-service. But even looking past all this beautiful wrapping, it is an extremely deep and difficult rhythm game with a system that rewards serious challenges with very satisfying rewards. Earning SSS ranks on every song is so daunting, but feels so nice to chip away at. And of course, on top of all that, is the fact that the tracks are taken from a game series legendary for its soundtracks. The cartridge comes with quite a few tracks to begin with, and with the DLC that was added at the rate of 4 songs each month, the library of available songs to play was incredible. I was struggling to decide my #1 favorite between each of my top 5, but Theatrhythm just barely wins out. God damn, what a great year for rhythm.
2. Crashmo
3. Kid Icarus: Uprising
4. Xenoblade Chronicles
5. Rhythm Heaven Fever
6. Mass Effect 3
7. Paper Mario: Sticker Star
8. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
9. Persona 4 Arena
10. Journey

Honorable Mentions:

x. The Last Story
x. Wizorb
x. Frog Fractions

2011: Dark Souls
 

Yuterald

Member
1. Crimson Shroud; Mini-Vagrant Story. The closest game we are going to get to a sequel to one of the greatest games of all time (aside from Dragon Quarter). It's a short, polished, and well crafted portable RPG with new game+ additions for replay incentives. Awesome characters, cool setting/world, great story with an amazing reveal.

2. Binary Domain
3. Paper Mario: Sticker Star
4. Pandora's Tower
5. Ys Origin
6. Gravity Rush
7. Tokyo Jungle
8. Asura's Wrath
9. Dragon's Dogma
10. Yakuza: Dead Souls
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
1. Borderlands 2 - Takes everything the first one did well and does it better.
2. Sonic 4 Episode 2 - The best/first sonic game I've played in a long time. Really enjoyed it.
3. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Lots of fun and all the characters you could want!
 

Pakkidis

Member
Borderlands 2; Great variety with characters, enemies and story.
Witcher 2 (360); Easily one of the best looking and playing RPG's on the system.
Binary Domain; Very Satisfying shooting mechanics and great boss battles.
Max Payne 3; Fantastic gameplay and graphics and they nailed the character of Max Payne
Spec Ops: The Line; Great character development
 

Jintor

Member
1. The Walking Dead ; A perfectly crafted illusion that I invested so much of myself into, I felt drained and empty when it was complete.

2. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward ; Mind-blowing plot twists up the wazoo. I stayed up for three nights in a row until 3am to beat this game.

3. Sleeping Dogs ; Somehow greater than the sum of its parts - and the sum of its parts are already pretty bloody good! Next time I hope they include an all-canto voice track, though.

4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; Firaxis did good.

5. Katawa Shoujo ; If you had told me a free visual novel based around dating disabled girls developed by people from 4chan would be one of my most enjoyed games this year, I would have told you to suck on a lemon. But it is.

6. Kid Icarus Uprising ; Nintendo going all out with a novel if divisive control scheme, fully-fledged multiplayer, and stuffed full of humour, extra content, actual normal content, a stupidly complex and large-scale weapon fusion game, and not to mention a completely excellent soundtrack.

7. FTL ; I spent close to a hundred hours trying to beat this game, and the rush of Euphoria when I finally did was like Dark Souls times five.

8. Binary Domain ; Surprisingly likable characters and a villain where I actually kind of agreed with its motivations. Just an all out good time from the Yakuza Team. But if you added it toVanquish...

9. Hotline Miami ; I've never really felt sick when playing a videogame before, but Hotline Miami comes pretty close to making me want to throw up, like in the aftermath of a scene of carnage wrought by your own hands.

10. Mark of the Ninja ; The leaps and bounds this game takes in regards to information provision to the player, and ease of controls/execution, is unmatched. An excellent, excellent game, even if I didn't give much of a crap about the story.


Honourable Mentions

x. Spec Ops: The Line ; I felt genuinely uncomfortable as we neared the end-game, even if I didn't think the twist was that mindblowing. But I knew what had to be done...

x. Planetside 2 ; There is nothing in gaming quite like taking part in a sweeping Liberator bombardment of a rolling tank column, only to be ambushed by a squadron of co-ordinated Mosquitos as drop pods rain from the skies. Needs more work on the metagame, though.

x. Persona 4 The Golden ; A 2008 game is the best game of 2012 but i didn't really feel comfortable putting it legit on my list. Still, 121 hours in over less than 12 days.



2011: Dark Souls (PC) ; I didn't feel like booting anything genuinely released in 2012 off the list for a game that got its props last year, but jesus christ, what a game.
 

Myzer

Member
1. Guild Wars 2; A fantastic example of an MMO done correctly. More than any other, this was the game that at the end of the day I would load up and play and enjoy more than any other.
2. Civilization V: Gods and Kings
3. FTL: Faster Than Light
4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
5. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
6. The Walking Dead
7. Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
8. Journey
9. Mark of the Ninja
10. Sleeping Dogs
 

ironcreed

Banned
Between journey and walking dead getting a ton of votes, it's a good year for "non games". I'm sure certain people on here are thrilled by this :p

Journey is a hell of a 'game' for me, regardless of the non-complexity of the gameplay. As it did not need that at all in order to deliver what was intended, which was it's message. That is the beauty of it and the beauty of our hobby in general. Gaming does not exist in some pre-defined bubble, and it takes on many forms. We are all the better for that as well.
 
This whole betas can't be included thing is so sad to see. Dota 2 and DayZ are games that you can play today with your computers and you know, have fun with. But they're exempt because they're not packaged goods. It's as absurd as the British Academy snubbing Radiohead because they gave away In Rainbows instead of selling it in a store. /rant. I guess I can kind of understand why it is this way, but I doubt I will have the flame still to vote for them next year when they truly deserve it.

I'll have to have a think, hopefully I can get time to play some Dishonored and stuff before voting ends.
 

iNvid02

Member
No. As per the rules: "Multiple votes for the same title will disqualify your entire ballot."

ok. i decided to put down dark souls as my 2011 lttp pick only, moving dishonored onto the list and leaving me room for one more honourable mention
 
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