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

Nert

Member
i'm not going to list anything i didn't enjoy. i've played 11 games from 2012, and only nine of them were things i found myself liking so far (me3 and kid icarus miss the grade). i still want to tackle walking dead and journey, but man... i don't think i've had such a hard time coming up with ten games since 2008. of course, i used to buy a lot more, too.

I agree with this general sentiment. I played Diablo III this year, and I don't really feel like giving it any points (even though I don't have 10 other games locked for the list yet). It wasn't terrible, but it was easily one of the least interesting things that I've played this year.
 

ced

Member
Journey - Beautiful, emotional and really cool multiplayer.

Dishonored should be on the list as the runner up.
 

Atilac

Member
1.- Journey ; A religious experience that transcends the digital medium and actively restored my faith in God, a tremendous achievement in art.
2.- The Walking Dead
3.- Xcom
4.- Sleeping Dogs
5.- Torchlight 2
6.- FTL: Faster than light
7.- Counter Strike: GO
8.- Hotline Miami
9.- Mark of the Ninja
10.- Intrusion 2
 
Love reading through this topic. I thought it was a great year for games, with lots of variety, and this thread is testament to that.

As for my own contribution:

1. Velocity; Never thought a PSN Mini would be my GotY, but here you go. Best described as a combination of shooter and puzzle game, it’s both a workout for your fingers as well as your brain. It’s a near flawless combination of interesting mechanics, a massive amount of content, a perfectly pitched difficulty level (try to go for a Perfect on every level) and some of the best music of any game this year. A full PSN version is in the works, so this could be the game of 2013 as well.
2. Super Hexagon; The best example of in the zone gaming of any release this year. A ridiculously simple concept, but brilliantly realized. Edge described it best when they said that playing this iOS game makes you feel like Neo in The Matrix, but instead of dodging bullets, you’re dodging shapes. Chipzel’s pounding chiptunes are the icing on the cake. I had to stop playing after topping my friends list, breaking the 100 second mark and completing Hexagon in Hyper mode as it was just too addictive. Brilliant.
3. Mark of the Ninja; Another brilliant downloadable. I know lots of people have The Walking Dead as GotY and while that game did a great job of pushing narrative, I rather have a game pushing gameplay. This did exactly that. A masterful stealth game that combines razor sharp level design with lots of options. Want to be a ghost who reaches the end of the level without killing anyone? You can. But you can also be a stealthy killing machine or a sadistic trap laying bastard. Klei’s masterpiece.
4. Borderlands 2; Probably my favorite AAA game this year. It’s a game that keeps on giving. Massive, with tons of worlds, characters, quests and loot. Everything works. The shooting is fun, it’s a blast in co-op, it looks phenomenal on my PC, the soundtrack (with Jesper Kyd contributing some stellar work) is awesome and it’s probably the funniest game of the year. The Shooty McFace and Claptrap’s birthday party quests were particular hoots. Superb.
5. Max Payne 3; It’s not a perfect game by any means, but damn did I dig it. Completed it on all difficulties, which meant at last three playthroughs, not many games manage that these days. As a big John Woo fan, this is probably the best game to capture that feeling of being an utter badass with one or more guns. Cinematic gaming is almost a dirty word to some these days, but here you were choreographing your own action movie, supported by the excellent Euphoria engine. Oh, and HEALTH’s soundtrack was probably the best of the year.
6. Hotline Miami; Another fine example of a videogame at its purest. It ultimately boils down to ‘kill or be killed’, but with excellent level design that rewards both planning and improvisation. And like most games on this list it has a killer soundtrack. Also, how many games let you wear animal masks? Unmissable.
7. ZombiU; Probably the most tense and atmospheric game of the year. Think survival horror is dead? You obviously haven’t played this. The way it smartly utilizes the GamePad is part of its appeal. A very clever game.
8. Far Cry 3; Could’ve been a GotY contender if they cut back on the hand holding, but as it stands it’s still a ridiculously fun game. Taking over camps any way you see fit is an utter joy, the wildlife makes for some excellent emergent gameplay and the actual mechanics are solid as a rock.
9. Dishonored; A new IP that rewards player experimentation is something that should be applauded. Being a supernatural assassin is fun enough, but the excellent art direction and highly customizable HUD elevate it to one of the best games of this year. And Blink is just a brilliant power.
10. Super Mario Bros U; Yes, it’s another Mario. But probably the best 2D Mario since Yoshi’s Island. Excellent level design makes this one of the best platform games in ages and while Rayman Legends is easily a better looking and sounding game, it will have to be very good if it wants to top the gameplay of the plumber’s latest outing.
 
Very quiet year for me in gaming - mostly backlog stuff, so plenty out this year I never played.

1. Halo 4; easily the most fun and best game I've played this year (including backlog games) and barring a few missteps (mos notably disappearing weapons!) the franchise is in good hands with 343.

2. Dishonored; a cross between Thief and Bioshock that I really enjoyed playing, but as yet have had no urge to revisit; I blame the poor narrative execution here.

3. Mass Effect 3; Whilst I don't think the story and endings were anywhere as bad as the furore would have us believe, the game itself left me pretty nonplussed, and both ME 1 and to a lesser extent 2 are among my favourite games this gen. I enjoyed it but not that much.

To be honest, I am finding less and less time AND inclination to play games these days, maybe it's end of gen weariness ;)
 
1. Xenoblade Chronicles; Amazing, simply amazing. It isn't just the expansive world, the fact that you get rewarded just for exploring or the incredible music, but the little conveniences that make playing this game a treat. Quick travel and the fact that the game loads your character and the basic geometry first, before bothering with extraneous things like the HUD, your teammates or enemies means that you're never just waiting for things to happen.

Plus, it's just packed full of content, so there's always stuff to do, but there's always the temptation to just find a place with a good view of the sky and sit and watch the view change.

This is the direction I expected JRPGs to have headed this decade and it'll be one of the games I remember from this generation.

2. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy; Addictive and lots of fun. The unlock system leaves something to be desired (I don't WANT another option on my Streetpass Card thingy! Give me new songs or a new video!), but I can't ever complain that I've run out of stuff to do.

So far, I've been running through the game as a stoic (no items, no abilities) and it's pretty close to the experience I want. Apparently, to get the most out of Dark Notes though, I'm going to need to look at the RPG side of things as well. Same with Ultimate scores, of which I've only completed one or two.

3. New Super Mario Bros. 2; It's Mario. The levels are a lot of fun (especially the cannon levels), but I'm disappointed that they didn't shake up the visuals and most of all, the music. The music's the biggest shame. It made each game distinctive. As it is, this game makes me feel like I'm still playing the original NSMB in slightly higher resolution.

Also, terrible use of 3D.

4. Tales of the Abyss; There's a lot of content in this one (it's a LOOONG game), but it does suffer quite a bit in terms of pacing. Also, damn, does everyone treat Luke like a piece of crap all the time. Everyone except Guy, that is.

----

I haven't played a lot of new games this year, apparently.
 

djtiesto

is beloved, despite what anyone might say
1. Xenoblade ; quite simply the finest game I've played this past gen and perhaps the best RPG since DQ8. The world is oozing with imagination, storyline and music are great, and there's so much content here. One of the few games you can totally get lost in.

2. Ys Origin ; one of the finest action RPGs ever made, the boss battles are glorious and the gameplay is pure dungeon crawler perfection. Great music too. I dare say this is my favorite out of all the Ys 6 engine games. As soon as I beat it with one of the characters, I went back to play again right away... very few games make me want to do that.

3. Growlanser IV ; great character design and that awesome hybrid RTS/SRPG battle system that the Growlanser series is known for. an excellent swan song for the PSP in the US.

4. Tokyo Jungle ; such a creative concept pared up with a really challenging, almost arcadey, game. love the soundtrack. it's a shame that many of the animals are locked at the outset...

5. Akai Katana ; probably the best Cave title since Futari.

6. Final Fantasy XIII-2 ; was disappointed with the original XIII, but for some reason, this game became one of my favorite FF titles in years. love the music, and the mindfuck nonsense storyline. it has its flaws, like some rather weak quests, and repetitive-looking areas, but the whole game turned out much better than expected.

7. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy ; I'm pretty picky with music games - because their base gameplay is usually a bit simplistic, it's all up to the soundtracks and I can be quite picky with those... luckily, what we have here are tons of songs from the history of the FF series, in their original, non-remixed versions (thankfully!). Game has somewhat of a cheesy aesthetic, and I hate how much DLC there is, but I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

8. New Super Mario Bros U ; I love my 2D platformers, and this is the most challenging NSMB title yet, and also the first NSMB with decent art... too bad about the terrible soundtrack. BAP BAP!

9. Botanicula ; charming indie game that doesn't get enough love. A point-and-click at its core, with a unique aesthetic and soundtrack.

10. FTL ; another great indie title that proves indies can be something other than gimmicky shitty 2D platformers with artistic pretensions (*cough*Fez*cough). it's challenging, oozing with risk-reward, and doesn't hold your hand at all.

2011. Super Mario 3D Land ; got it along with my 3DS XL, it's perhaps my favorite 3D Mario. Levels may be very short but each is brimming with new ideas, not to mention it removed all the stuff I find annoying in your typical 3D Mario (annoying NPCs, boring hub worlds, camera manipulation)

Haven't played Atelier Meruru, Asura's Wraith, Binary Domain, or Tales of Graces f yet. Also just started a playthrough of the PS2 version of P4 for my first time... so no Golden.
 

Teenage Riot

Neo Member
1. Journey
2. The Darkness II
3. Mass Effect 3
4. Pokemon Black & White 2
5. 10000000 ; got my first smartphone this year, and this was my first favorite game on it, a nice take on the standard puzzle gimmicks
6. Sound Shapes
7. New Super Mario Bros. 2
8. Diablo 3
9. Xenoblade Chronicles
10. Torchlight II

2011. Dark Souls
 
1.- Journey ; A religious experience that transcends the digital medium and actively restored my faith in God, a tremendous achievement in art.

It doesn't transcend God, it IS God. It is the spirit of joy, made digital. Or was joy digital all along, and only when Journey is played does the true soul of mankind take flight?
 
1. XCOM: Enemy Unkown ; In a year characterized by the return of classic PC genres, XCOM exemplifies 2012's focus on the unexpected and niche.
2. The Walking Dead ; Telltale has experience in keeping the adventure genre alive, but Walking Dead took the ambitious formula of Heavy Rain and salvaged it by adding what it needed most: an engaging story.
3. FTL: Faster Than Light ; The only game that I played more this year than XCOM. I followed the game on Kickstarter from day one and have loved every second I've played.
4. Sleeping Dogs ; After hating GTA IV and being moderately disappointed in Saints Row: The Third, I wasn't expecting to get totally drawn in by an open world game again. Sleeping Dogs draws from the best parts of San Andreas and Saints Row 2 to create a fantastic city roaming experience with lots to do and a great story.
5. Journey ; Another downloadable game, I don't think there's anything that really needs to be said about Journey, because the game itself says it all.
6. Hotline Miami ; I didn't really know what to expect going into this game. I doubt anyone did. The game's visual language and music convey within minutes what the game is about, but it continues to surprise and confound you throughout the short couple of hours it takes to clear the story once.
7. Dishonored ; A great Thief-like game that doesn't quite live up to its pedigree. I feel like I'm giving it props merely for being a stealth game in a time such games seem rare, though.
8. Halo 4 ; Like Dishonored, I'm including it despite my disappointment with the overall package, but also like Dishonored the core gameplay is so much fun I couldn't not mention it. Definitely worth buying for the couple of weeks of solid multiplayer fun you'll have.
9. Mark of the Ninja ; Extremely good design, another downloadable game that blows away most retail titles this year.
10. Legend of Grimrock ; A criminally overlooked game. I adore its old school sensibilities.
2011. Catherine ; I played mostly games from 2011 this year, but Catherine was the one I played most recently. There were certainly games I enjoyed more, but for some reason this game had a massive calming effect on me despite the frantic nature of the puzzles and story.

x. Torchlight II ; I felt the need to mention this game because I didn't get enough play time to include it on my list, but from what I did play it is a truly excellent game.
 
1. Persona 4: Golden; Until I beat this game a couple of days ago, I figured Journey would stay at the top of my list. But I've realized that Persona 4 has taken over my Winter Break; I think about this game all the time even after finishing it. There's no game that has had a grip on me like this game. It has a beautifully told story, an memorable cast of characters, and a fun, old-school combat system. Persona 4 is my favorite video game in a long time, and quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites. Next up is playing Persona 3, but I just have to decide which version to play.
2. Journey
3. Borderlands 2
4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
5. Dust: An Elysian Tail
6. Super Hexagon; Fun, addictive game. Just got the PC version thanks to a fellow GAF member.
7. Gravity Rush
8. Assassin's Creed 3
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2; I don't like the multiplayer, but the campaign is the best since 4. Treyarch has finally made a decent campaign!
10. Dishonored

2011. Zelda: Skyward Sword

Sidenote: If I could give negative points to a game like in one of the voting threads (can't remember which one), it would be Halo 4. While I liked campaign, the multiplayer has become everything I hate about modern multiplayer games. It's the most disappointed I've ever been in a video game.
 
1. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition ; Dark Souls should have won GOTY last year, clearly, and with the PC port one of the best games ever has got just that little bit better. Everything that made the original version so perfect is so intact, but this time you have a great resolution, framerate, and a cool new bonus area which maintains the quality of the main game. I know it won’t win this year, but it’s my number 1 for a second year in a row. It’s that good.

2. Borderlands 2 ; It’s easy to say that Borderlands 2 is more of the same because, well, in most respects it is. You still do mainly what you did in the first game, but it still feels as fresh as ever to me. I love what they did with the story and creating the original characters into fleshed out parts of it, the humour is still top notch (Tiny Tina is great, you heathens) and in split screen co-op it’s some of the most addictive action you can have. My girlfriend and I probably sunk 40 hours into it in a few days.

3. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
; If ever there’s a dark horse for this year, it’s this. Whilst I enjoyed the original game, this has really blown me away and has proven to be the gem of the Wii U launch. The Diddy Kong Racing-esque gimmick of using different vehicles is taken to a new extreme by switching between them over an evolving race track, the career mode is fleshed out with great influences from the likes of Project Gotham Racing, there’s a huge variety of characters and tracks and, perhaps best of all, you can do everything in local split screen with one person on the pad and the other on the TV. If Borderlands 2 is the game my girlfriend and I were obsessed with most this year, this is a close second. Underrated game of the year BY FAR. Please play this game!

4. Dishonored ; Whilst not a perfect game, Dishonored really scratched that Deus Ex itch this year and very few things have been as memorable as playing through each level trying to ghost it without killing a soul. The blink ability was perfect for me as someone who has always appreciated vertical traversal and stealth and it seemed like no matter how many times I played a level I was always finding a new approach. The story was a letdown, but this is the most promising new IP of the year.

5. The Walking Dead
; Whereas the TV show struggles to barely keep its head above drowning in its own mediocrity, the game provides you with a cast of well-written characters you love, hate and everything in between. Although the last episode let the season down a bit, TWD was a game full of fantastic moments that really made you feel emotions that games seldom, if ever, evoke. It’s not quite as groundbreaking or amazing as some seem to hail it as, but it is really goddamn good. If I can’t have another Monkey Island game, this is a good consolation.

6. Forza Horizon
; I’ll preface this by saying I only got it for Chrirstmas yesterday, however so far it’s absolutely brilliant. The Forza series was getting a bit stale for me, being (an admittedly better) Gran Turismo-esque game that didn’t really change much over time. Not bad, of course, but I had no reason to upgrade from 3 to 4. This game is so fresh it hurts – great style, great graphics, great soundtrack, great open world, great friend integration, great progression system. It’s just... great. In a world where Project CARS exists on PC for my sim itch, the only Forza games I’ll be buying in future are in this branch of the series.

7. Max Payne 3 ; The first two games were good for their time, but having replayed them this year haven’t aged all too gracefully. I understand why some people might not like what Rockstar did to the franchise, but for me they elevated it to greatness. The insane production values, the great engine, the (albeit cliché) story and characters and the absolutely crazy gunplay made this the best action experience of the year for me. I was gripped from start to finish and it blew away all of my expectations. Some fans can complain all they want, I want more of this.

8. Sleeping Dogs ; First of all, HOLY SHIT does this game look amazing on PC. Seriously, if you played this anywhere else I feel sorry for you. This True Crime abortion basically wasn’t on my radar until a few days prior to release and, hilariously bad driving mechanics aside, it blew me away. Great setting, interesting story, wonderful production values, fun action that stayed away from guns for the most part...

9. Far Cry 3
; Although flawed in many design choices, nothing beats running through the jungle, being attacked by a group of guys, having a tiger randomly appear and start mauling everyone before turning on you as you frantically try and shoot an arrow in to its forehead. I’ve not done much of the story missions yet, but Far Cry 3 is in many ways the game where I just go to explore and see what open world craziness happens.

10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 ; This game had no right to be good. Treyarch have always been in the shadow of the (real, pre-MW3) Infinity Ward, but this game is up there with the best the series has to offer. The SP is slightly lacklustre when it’s not in the future setting, but the MP was as addictive as ever. If the Nuketown 2025 playlist was still in this would probably be a top 5 game for me, but it’s not, so fuck them.

Honourable Mentions:

Mark of the Ninja
XCOM
Halo 4
Journey
Mass Effect 3
New Super Mario Bros. U

Not yet played:
Hotline Miami
ZombiU
Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Overrated games of the year:
Spec-Ops
Binary Domain

Most disappointing game of the year:
Darksiders 2
 

The Jer

Member
1. Journey ; I played this near the front end of the year. I had a feeling it would be my GOTY after I played through it the first time. Not only because the game was a really great experience. But, also because I figured the new games that came out this year wouldn't be that spectacular. I was right.

2. The Unfinished Swan ; Entertaining and well done. I enjoy these small games with an interesting mechanic that feels "different."

3. Rock Band Blitz ; Not the greatest thing in the world. But, any game that allows access to my entire Rock Band library and adds several more games to my library for cheap is awesome!! I still play Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock on a consistent basis and probably will for a long, long time. I probably won't do the same with this game. But, it is a good game and purchasing this game is a no-brainer.

____________________________

I played a few other games that were well done. But, nothing I would put on a GOTY list. I had more fun playing HD remakes and replaying old games than with new games. 2011 was an amazing year for new games. 2012 was an amazing year for replaying older games or playing older games for the first time.
 

Shantom

Member
1. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward; A worthy sequel to 999. The plot twists are again amazing, making this the best video game story since Nier in 2010 and the puzzle rooms are difficult but only rarely become annoying with the puzzles themselves feeling a lot more varied than the ones in 999.
2. Crusader Kings II
3. FTL
4. Sleeping Dogs
5. Resident Evil: Revelations
6. Dishonoured
7. Ys Origin
8. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (360)
9. Borderlands 2
10. ZombiU

2011: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
 

ctrayne

Member
1. Dishonored ; Just what I needed.
2. Hotline Miami ; Lovely soundtrack.
3. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition ; Thanks, Durante.
4. Spec Ops: The Line ; Interesting storytelling.
 

jonno394

Member
1. Max Payne 3 ; I had been anticipating this for a long time, and although it did not feel as close to the atmosphere of the first two games, the superb set pieces, gunplay, writing, acting and music elevated it above everything else this year.

2. Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D ; The best Metal Gear is also the best game on 3DS imo. This was the first time i played MGS 3, and i was absorbed from the get go. Great story, acting and gameplay that even clunky controls and low framerate cannot ruin..

3. Rayman Origins ; Completely vindicated my decision to buy a Vita. Looked sounded and played gloriously. I cannot wait for Legends
.
4. Darksiders 2

5. New Super Mario Bros. U

6. ZombiU

7. Resident Evil: Revelations

8. Nintendoland

9. FIFA 13
 

anddo0

Member
1. Journey: I knew this was my game of the year before credits rolled. An experience like no other.. Engrossing world, art and soundtrack... Dat soundtrack!
2. Persona 4
3. The Walking Dead
4. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
5. LittleBigPlanet Vita
6. The Unfinished Swan
7. Hotline Miami
8. Gravity Rush
9. Far Cry 3
10. Max Payne 3

2011: Dark Souls
 
1. Journey; I mean wow... this game is an experience like no other, you truly feel like you're in a journey towards a long wanted goal, it has multiple environments, great graphics , amazing soundtrack and arguably the best co-op experience I ever had, subtle things like unable to communicate except for simple chimes and healing each other by touching each other is a work of a genius.

2. X-Com: Enemy Unknown; You think games today are too easy ? pick-up Xcom and truly experice the taste of fair challenge, this game is a thinking game rather than a straight up action game, which is extremely rare these days seeing how developers aiming for lowest common denominator, X-com rewards for thinking and using your own strategy to win battles and for that it's on #2.

3. Fez;Rotating the levels is a mechanic that opened so many possibilities that it's hard to predict what each level have in store for you , it's a platforming/puzzle game that is like no other, and it has one of the best soundtracks I've heard this entire year.

4. Guild Wars 2; It's an MMO that innovates rather than imitating what wow does, convenient things like starting the quest as soon as you enter an area without talking to the NPC, sharing the killing of a monster regardless of level, real-time world events and an amazing art design makes this an MMO that stands tall among others.

5. Halo 4;
It's by no means as good as the previous Halo games, the single player campain was short with only 3 new enemies, multiplayer took cues from COD where it didn't need to be, taking out campaign theater, Spartan Ops being a great idea with terrible execution because of badly designed maps, however it is still Halo with a lot of the old Halo gameplay, which alone puts it above 90% of FPS games.

6. Lolipop Chainsaw; It's the embodiment of a "Dumb fun" game, it's has a ridiculous storyline that doesn't take itself seriously which makes it compelling it's own way, likable lead character, genuinely funny moments, and the combat the really fun, too bad the game was short, too easy and filled with half finished mini-games.

7. Resident Evil: Revelations;
The reason I bought a 3DS, it has a great atmosphere, excellent level design, great amount of content and makes good use of the 3DS 3D gimmick.

8. Dust: An Elysian Tale; A cool Metroidvania style game with varied environments, good combat and an attractive art style, sadly though, it could've been a lot better, like if it had a deeper combat and a more fleshed-out story, but I'll still put it on this list because it is still an enjoyable game.
 

oktarb

Member
1. Guild Wars 2; Gorgeous with a ton to do. Broke so many MMO standards that it boggled my mine. Great vets and perfect for somebody looking to get into an MMO without all the garbage.
2. Borderland 2; Great classes, well implemented campaign and addictive gun play.
3. Walking Dead; perfection in a new gaming vibe. A game that wants you to feel something and makes no qualms about dragging you down that path kicking and screaming.
4. Xcom: Enemy Unknown; A perfect resurrection of a beloved game. Addictive play and solid graphics. A must play for some turn based, squad building alien play.
5. Max Payne 3; Superbly well written. Gunplay is fantastic and the graphics are top notch. Nothing really not to like in this game.
6. Halo 4; Stunning graphics. Decent campaign. Fun multiplayer. But above all the episodic missions are fantastic.
7. Mas Effect 3; Conclusion to an epic space opera. Well-crafted and fun to boot.
8. Diablo 3; Fun in small stints but the contact item grinding gets old.
9. Legend of Grimlock; Fun dungeon crawler. Wish it was turn based as the moving mechanics during fights gets distracting.
10. The Secret World; Coulda been a contender but after the first ‘area’ it went downhill for me. Plus the going to free to play model doesn’t bode well.

x. EVE: Retribution; A game I’ve been playing for almost ten years now and this expansion does wonderful things. The game isn’t for most but those it does vibe with live in a wonderfully cruel world.
 

Wallach

Member
Not enough time in the year for me anymore. Definitely won't be voting until the last week to try and get some last minute stuff I know I need to play in there, like X-COM and Hotline Miami.

Glad to see the rules change leading to a lot more ideas being put forward in the thread this year.
 

Panda Rin

Member
1. The Walking Dead - One of the best experiences I've had with gaming in a very long time
2. Dishonored - beautiful world and stealth is really satisfying
3. Journey - Nothing else like it
4. Guild Wars 2 - Beautiful and has one of the most friendly communities around
5. Hotline Miami - Only recently picked this up, but it is really satisfying when you get into a rhythm. Great soundtrack and unique style.
6. Mass Effect 3 - Didn't mind the ending. Although not as good as ME2, still an amazing game from beginning to end.
7. Far Cry 3 - Best open world game since Just Cause 2. Amazing scenery and gun-play
8. Tales of Graces f - Always been a Tales of fan, so this game has a warm spot in my heart.
9. Xenoblade Chronicles - Beautiful vistas hampered by graphical limitations, but still has an amazing storyline
10. Specs Ops: The Line - Was my surprise of the year. Not many shooters with an interesting storyline.
 
1. Journey ;
I don't have to explain journey , you just have to play it .. BUt playing journey is not like other games ..you need to have an open mind and cast aside your competitive spirit ..
If you do , your journey toward the top of that mountain will be filled with encounters,allies and ennemies and should end in a way i can 't describe with words .
That was your first journey ..you can try again and as long as your PS3 is connected to the net ,and your experience will surely different each time.

2. Dragon dogma ;
"Arisen ! The entire legion of pawn is yours to command !"
Dragon dogma is a badly flawed game..the performance issues are all over the place..it's almost painfull..BUT BUT the sense of adventure is there and the fact that you have to exploring on foot by your own means is only a good point IMO because even in familliar territory; you might still have discoveries for you .. the battle system of dragon dogma however is the most innovative ever ..because it feel fresh when it isn't ..but everything works so well you're in the magic when you've found your class. The story is badly presented but who cares ? i'm slaying this gigantic dragon and this 8 head hydra want me dead ..man this game does a very good job at making you feel badass..i can't wait for the extension.

3. Gravity rush ;
Gravity rush is a marvel so let's get something out of the way : the story could have been better presented and the game could have used a less difficult curve BUT other than that it's incredible.. the different locales, the VERY AWESOME music make the world to explore such a good experience.i have no other complains really..the game is just "that" good.
A sequel is badly needed.

4. Final fantasy XIII-2 ;
Final fantasy XIII-2 is a rpg that did many things right and corrected alsmot all teh flaw his prequel game had..it resulted in a very enjoyable experience.My only complains are the dlcs and the academia 500AF area ..but other than that exploring the historia crux was enjoyable from start to finish.

5. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward ;
If you've played 9,9,9 then you know ..you need to pick this game and try to figure what's going on.
I couldn't put this game down untill i've reach both final endings, that's how great this game is ..A very fitting and good sequel for an universe many are enjoying. VLR was very good in his execution...to the point where it deserve to appear on my list . Anything else would be spoilers ..

6. Tales of Xillia 2 (Import) Country : [ France] ;
This game is flawed ..maybe because it was done in a hurry , maybe because they didn't have a real choice. But regardless this game is filled with content and the battle system is really good..i'm having fun and that's all matters.Xillia was great and they improved on it .. So this game on my list is to be expected.

7. Tekken tag tournament 2 ;
This game deserves a mention because it did mostly everything right , from how it dealed with dlc to the online support .. With so many characters , strategies and customisation available there is just too much to do .. and i'm loving it

8. Assasin creed : lady liberty ( vita) ;
For some reason i'm having more fun in new orleans than in new york or boston .. why ? i dunno. maybe because aveline is more intresting ? maybe because this game has very good idea for the creed universe ( whip ) , persona system for example.maybe because this game is a worthwhile entry into the creed franchise that should keep fan intrigued untill they good all of the citizen E ? regardless this game is very good .

9. Project diva F ;
i think crypton did many things right with this game and i still can't put it down yet after 4 months so i guess this deserve a mention ..MIKU FANS UNITE !

10. Ashura wrath ;
AW is not a game , it's an interractive adventure .. There are many things wrong ( so many QTE ) but cyberconnect managed to mold all of this into a very good adventure.Yeah it could have been deep ..but it's not and sometimes it's good to forget about deep fighting mecanics and scream " you'll pay for this ! " and crushing planets in 2..

x. Katawa Shoujo ( Honorable mention ) ;I wasn't expecting this game to be that good .. and it was.
4leaf studios did a very well done job on this.


2011. Radiant historia.
 

rouken

Member
1. Borderlands 2 - Fun to play, single player or coop. much richer world to play around and great characters. if you have fun playing something it should be your goty. :)
2. The Walking Dead - great story and great characters. it just makes you wanting more so it will always be goty in everyone's list.
3. Halo 4
4. Sleeping Dogs
5. Torchlight 2
6. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
7. New Super Mario Bros. U
8. Dishonored
9. Max Payne 3
10. Far Cry 3
 
1. Fez - Just the best video game experience I had this year. The only reasons I could come up with for not putting this on my top spot like "it's just an indie game" were ultimately dumb. It was definitely the one that sucked me in the most with all it's weird mystery and atmosphere. Great and coherant world
Figuring out the whole hidden alphabet and numbers and tetris piece business was one of the high points of gaming in the recent years for me
2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Deserves a spot this high on the list for managing to get me to play a game that isn't just you controlling a dude through stuff
3. Mass Effect 3 - Isn't higher up because of the dumb resolution to the story, other than that it's more good Mass Effect
4. Spec Ops: The Line - a game that went new places in terms of video game storytelling
5. Halo 4*
6. Borderlands 2*
7. Hotline Miami - Had an incredibly big impact at first, but kinda didn't stick with me at all or leave a lasting impression which is why it's not higher up on the list. If this list was made after it just came out I'd probably would have even thought about putting it at No. 1 or 2
8. Trials Evolution*
9. Diablo 3 - Best way to get through podcasts
10. Max Payne 3 - Great framework of a game, that probably could have been higher up with a better save system and less annoying combat later on

*these games are more of the same but better

x. Honorable mention: Dark Souls Artorias of the Abyss DLC was great and would have been one of my favorite bits had it been included in the main game

I also didn't play that many more games other than this list so that's why a couple of negative points are bleeding into this.
 
1. The Walking Dead ; Decision making is one of my favorite mechanics in gaming, and it is one that is rarely done well. Even if consequences were minor, The Walking Dead did a fantastic job of making decisions feel significant, which is what matters. Also impressive is how being episodic almost seemed to enhance the experience of The Walking Dead, rather than hinder it. This game feels like an achievement, and I'm glad I didn't let my disinterest in zombies or The Walking Dead keep me from playing it.

2. Mass Effect 3 ; The game as a whole served as a fantastic send off to the series, even if its own ending fell flat on its face. If anything, it went too far with its fan service, which I appreciate, but don't necessarily respect. Still, Mass Effect, for all its faults, is the franchise of the generation for me, and this game was successful in my eyes despite itself.

3. Diablo III ; Another one that disappointed a lot of people due to expectations, but did not fail to execute. I played this game for 10 weeks, and while that pales in comparison to the 10 year lifespan Diablo II had for some, it is very significant. Diablo III had its issues at its very beginning (nightmarish launch night) and very end (the terrible unrewarding auction house grind), but the middle can stand up to any other game this year in terms of length and quality.

4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; If this game had anything resembling a story or personality, something, anything for me to connect with, it might be number one. Mechanically, it's by far the most robust and addictive game for my particular tastes, but in the end, I felt oddly disconnected from the game, keeping me from enjoying it even more than I already do.

5. Mark of the Ninja ; This game just plays and feels practically perfect. There's just a certain beauty that only games that come together this well have, and I could sense that the moment I started playing Mark of the Ninja. It just does what it sets out to do remarkably well.

6. Dishonored ; Much like Mark of the Ninja, this is a game that shines because it does almost everything right and almost nothing wrong. I particularly liked the world they set the game in and some of the subtlety of its storytelling and presentation--things that I would have never known about without reading it on a wiki, but appreciate the existence of. Possibly my favorite 3D stealth action game at this point.

7. FTL: Faster Than Light ; My first and only experience with Rogue-likes (or Rogue-like-likes) was Shiren the Wanderer, which I found impenetrable and took as a sign that Rogue-likes aren't for me. Despite this, the prospect of an accessible space sim was far too tantalizing for me to pass up, and I'm determined to finally defeat that busted battleship on Normal.

8. Sleeping Dogs ; I generally don't consider myself a fan of open world games (despite including three of them in this top ten), but I didn't play Sleeping Dogs as one. The story is just good, dumb fun. I wasn't blown away by the game, but it had my solidly hooked while playing it.

9. Far Cry 3 ; I tend to avoid shooters, but the E3 trailer had me interested enough to keep Far Cry 3 on my radar. While the story and characters failed to deliver in any meaningful way, the open world elements were there to save the day. Something about climbing towers and liberating outposts and being rewarded for it just resonates with me, I guess.

10. Assassin's Creed III ; The more I think about this game, the more I don't want to have it in the top 10 at all, because it really doesn't deserve it, but at the end of the day, it has enough elements of what I loved about Assassin's Creed II that I was able to enjoy playing it despite how hard they tried to screw this game up, and putting Scribblenauts or Hitman here wouldn't feel quite right either.

2011. Orcs Must Die! ; I generally don't consider myself a level completionist or perfectionist, or a fan of tower defense games, but I couldn't help but play Orcs Must Die! and make sure I got full skulls before moving on to the next stage.


DID NOT RANK (because context is everything):

x. Xenoblade ; A bit overrated by most, but for a good reason. There simply aren't that many Japanese roleplaying games that almost anyone can enjoy.
x. Tales of Graces f ; There are certainly worse JRPGs out there, especially for fans of Tales of Vesperia.
x. Asura's Wrath ; Basically a QTE driven anime series minus the filler. Interesting enough to get me through the 5 or so hours of game, but the gameplay felt almost like a chore to be done to trigger some next scene. That and the "true" ending being DLC was enough to convince me I'd rather Youtube the end rather than pay and play through it.
x. Hitman: Absolution ; A solid stealth game with Hitman elements, but there are better stealth games and not enough Hitman elements.
x. Darksiders II ; There's very little wrong with this game (other than the shooting sections being awful), but nothing stood out about it, either. Competent, it didn't reach out and grab me.
x. Scribblenauts: Unlimited ; I got 100% in this game less than 24 hours after buying it, but I got 100% in this game less than 24 hours after buying it. I feel confident in saying that this is the definitive version of Scribblenauts despite not playing the original much, or Super Sribblenauts at all.
x. Torchlight II ; For many, coming after Diablo III was a boon for this game. Not for me. I had had enough and while I played through once and started another character, I played this for about 30 hours compared to the 300 I spent on Diablo III.
x. Hotline Miami ; I didn't expect to like this very much, but I had a good enough time with it, and the soundtrack is amazing.
x. To the Moon ; A sweet story, but the "game" parts of it were just plain bad, and its references are painfully awkward.
x. Fez ; I wish I had fallen into this rabbit hole, but I didn't, and without that experience, what's left is a puzzle platformer with a lot of charm, but mediocre gameplay.
x. Journey ; Beautiful, but did not affect me on the level it clearly affected the majority of other people.
x. Guild Wars 2 ; The only game I'll mention that I did not finish. To me, nothing can match the experience of playing World of Warcraft with a group of people who I've played with for 5+ years, and were damned good at it. Guild Wars 2 could be great, but I couldn't shake the feeling of how alone I was and question what I was even playing for, so I stopped at level 30.
 
1. Natural Selection 2
2. Dishonored
3. Endless Space
4. Mark of the Ninja

Those were all the stand-out games I played of 2012. All very unique and amazing in different ways.
 

RPGamer92

Banned
My list:
1. Journey- As already said countless times, great at evoking emotions and is one of the most artistically beautiful games I've ever played.
2. Kid Icarus- A successful unique revival for a franchise whose last installment was 20 years ago made its way back in the limelight impressively.
3. Persona 4 Golden- One of the best JRPGs ever made even better and deserves mad credit for boosting Vita interest among hardcore gamers.
4. Mass Effect 3- Imo, the ending wasn't as bad as people made it out to be and the multiplayer was much better than I expected it to be.
5. 2012's 2011 GOTY- Skyrim for me, didn't start playing it until this year so it's 2011 GOTY in 2012 for me
 

mace999

Neo Member
1. Far Cry 3 ; Wasn't expecting much after part 2 but it blew me away, ended up doing every side mission, every collectible just because the world was so fun.

2. Dragons Dogma ; Again totally surprised by this one, had a corrupt save game 30 hours in but that didn't stop me starting again and loving it again.

3. Rayman Origins ; Huge platforming fan in the Super NES & Megadrive days, and this was a blast from the past, gorgeous graphics, and perfect co-op play with the wife.

4. The Walking Dead ; Not a lot of gameplay but it made up for it with the amazing storyline, really made me want to go and buy the comic books, and I never read comic books.

5. Max Payne 3 ; Real down and gritty storyline, had me hooked from the 1st chapter.

6. Virtua Tennis Vita ; Best looking game on the Vita, great gameplay my favourite Vita game for sure.

7. Darksiders 2 ; Don't understand the hate for this game, I had a blast with it, and just improved on the 1st game.

8. Mass Effect 3 : After never playing a Mass Effect game before I was blown away, and then had to go back to play the other 2 .... I ended up playing them in reverse order.

9. Resident Evil 6 : Again don't understand the hate for this game, for me it was way better than 5 .... Tho I think you have to play it in co-op, I played with the wife and we had a great time.

10. Persona 4 Golden : Haven't finished it yet, but I love Persona games and this is the best one yet.

Over rated game of the year for me : Journey, I know it must be good but I just don't get it, beautiful graphics but boring as hell for me ... I liked Flower but this was just bleurghh
 

Screaming_Gremlin

My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
1. The Walking Dead ; Going into this year I never would have imagined this would have been my favorite game of the year. I don’t like The Walking Dead TV show and only find the comics decent, and in general have become tired of the whole zombie craze (although I am looking forward to Dead State). But TellTale just nailed it out of the park with this one. The writing and plotting is just such a step above everything else you see in video games (with the exception of BI/Troika/Obsidian and maybe Valve). You actually care about the characters. Hell, it is the only time that I can think that I actually liked a child character, much less two of them. There are just so many fantastic and shocking moments (both good and bad) throughout the series. And as I detailed in the spoiler thread, this is the only game that I can think of that has actually brought a tear to my eye. So congrats TellTale, I can’t wait for Season 2.

2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; I am still amazed a game like this actually was actually released, much less given a decent sized budget. It seems like every time a classic franchise is revived, it is going to be turned into some sort of horribly derivative shooter. That or a Facebook game. XCOM managed to update and streamline almost all of the game play and systems that made the original game amazing. There is nothing quite like loading up a terror mission, just to have your rookie panic, shooting and killing your highest ranked squad member. All you can really do is sit back and say, “That’s XCOM!”

3. FTL: Faster Than Light ; I haven’t really got too much into roguelike-likes before, but if they are anything like FTL, they are incredibly addicting. For a game that seems so simple on the surface, there is a lot of depth. Also, I can’t think of many other games this year that got my heart pumping like this could. And that is despite having an active pause system.

4. Endless Space ; Endless Space is my favorite 4X space game since Galactic Civilizations II. Although to be fair, the only competition I can think of off the top of my head was Sword of Stars II and that was a broken piece of shit. Endless Space seems well balanced and has some really interesting gameplay systems, which is about all I can ask for with this type of game. The only thing holding it back as of now is it really seems to lack any sort of personality. Hopefully that isn’t something they can fix in the expansions (GC2 really didn’t get this down until the 2nd expansion). Also, add the ability to raze planets.

5. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare ; I probably haven’t had this much fun with a multiplayer team based game since Team Fortress 2. Even if can be a bit mindless, it is extremely satisfying to stab and kill three people at once with a single spear thrust. Or to have your head get chopped off and have it roll down a hill, all from a first person perspective.

6. Dishonored ; I had a lot of fun with this game. I went for a low chaos run, although I would kill people if I felt I needed to do so. It started a bit slow, but once I got blink (and upgraded blink) I felt the game really opened up. Teleporting around a map as a blink lord, while choking out enemy guards was really satisfying. I give props to Arkane, since they nailed the camera. I know that sounds goofy for a first person game, but weight and movement in first person was perfect and it feels like the camera is actually attached to a body and isn’t just a disembodied camera like a lot of FPS games. While technically, the game is nothing special, I thought the art was great as well.

7. Civilization V: Gods & Kings ; I like this expansion if for no other reason that it added religion back into game, which was a concept whose absence I still find baffling from the base game. The combat AI is still terrible and the espionage system seems a bit half baked, but the game is still miles better than it was at launch. Hopefully it gets another expansion that will do the same thing to Civ V that Beyond the Sword did to Civ IV.

8. Spec Ops: The Line ; This might have been my biggest surprise of the year, solely due to the story. It had some very bold themes and very ambitious. Unfortunately the gameplay portion of Spec Ops is very ho-hum. I have never really been a fan of wave based combat and this game had wave after wave. Also, I have no idea why they would drag out the “Spec Ops” license for this game. It probably scared more people away who remember the old budget PSX games than any positive attention it brought.

9. Super Hexagon ; This is probably my favorite iOS game since GameDev Story. For something so simple, it is surprisingly addicting. The music is fantastic as well and probably helps push the “addicting” aspect of the game. Now if only I wasn’t terrible at the game.

10. Orcs Must Die 2 ; I felt the first Orcs Must Die held a lot of promise and the sequel finally met that. The inclusion of co-op was a sorely need feature that really helped to drive my enjoyment.

x. Hotline Miami ; My 2012 murder simulator of the year. The soundtrack is beyond amazing and pretty much pushed me into playing through this entire game in a single sitting.

x. Scribblenauts Unlimited ; This game is such a huge improvement over the original game (I never played Super Scribblenauts). I really enjoyed that it moved to a more puzzle based game from the platform/action sequences of the first one. I think it also helps that I find spelling words much less annoying on my keyboard than I did with the DS screen. Finally, the game gets bonus points for making excellent use of Steam Workshop.

x. Frog Fractions ; I can’t say I have ever really found browser flash games to be that interesting, but I loved Frog Fractions. There was an amusing mix of genres and any rough edges were sanded away by the humor. Bonus points for getting me to play through a text adventure as well, which I haven’t done in years.
The West Wing opening followed by the DDR minigame had me busting up. Then being able to run a bug porn production company as the president of Bug Mars just upped the ante (even if I sucked at it).

x. Diablo 3 ; The patches to this game after launch is what saved it from being on my disappointing games of the year list. They really did a lot to save this game. I also really liked the new skill system over the talent trees of Diablo 2. This was reinforced after Torchlight 2 released and I remembered how much I dislike dropping 10 points into a single skill just to get incremental improvements. Now if Blizzard would just give up on trying to tell stories in their games (even if they are shippable).

x. Thirty Flights of Loving ; I don’t feel that I am capable of actually describing this game outside of it being one of the more interesting experiences I have had this year.

_____________________________________________________________________

The most disappointing games I played this year. Note, this does not mean that I think they are bad games, just that I found them lacking based on the expectations I had going into them. Congrats to Ubisoft I guess…

Assassin’s Creed III ; I had a lot of hope for this game, but I think this series peaked at Brotherhood for me. Ubisoft really seemed to go for a quantity over quality approach. There was a ton of side content, but it seemed like they didn’t have time to really integrate all of the systems, so they never really meshed. That and several aspects (especially some of the collect-a-thons) felt like they existed only because they did in previous games. I will say that I enjoyed the naval combat section, so I guess they get credit for that. Graphically it was probably the best looking the game has been, at least on the PC. The story in this series has also been terrible, but this was a special breed of crap. Also, they should have kept Hayden as the main character. He was better written, had better motivations, and a better voice actor.

Far Cry 3 ; I have really weird feelings about Far Cry 3. They fixed a lot of things from FC2 that I disliked (largely, the ridiculous guard post respawning), but in the process might have went too far in the other direction. Taking over guard posts made the game pretty boring in the end, since now there is very little left to do. The fire spreading mechanic also seemed very toned down from the second game, which is disappointing, since that was one of my favorite aspects of that game. As far as new systems and mechanics, I did enjoy the wildlife and the affect they could have in battles, but that was about it. I didn’t find the hunting missions particularly fun and I wish I could have just bought upgrades instead of hunting down animals. Finally, I noticed several people in the official thread seemed to enjoy it, but I thought the story was just terrible. What few interesting aspects (and characters) there were ended up being squandered in the end. Also the “bad” ending was the most hilariously stupid thing I think I have seen in a videogame this year.

Games I didn’t play in 2012: Max Payne 3, Borderlands 2, Mark of the Ninja, Halo 4
 
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
2. The Walking Dead ; A big surprise for me since I don't care for the TV show and have never been into adventure games.
3. Mass Effect 3 ; The ending sucked, but I enjoyed the rest of the single player. This game also has the only horde multiplayer I've ever enjoyed besides Gears 3.
4. Mark of the Ninja
5. Borderlands 2
6. NBA 2K13 ; basketball reasons
7. Assassin's Creed III
8. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
9. Dragon's Dogma
10. Dust: An Elysian Tail
x. SSX
x. Dishonored
x. Trials Evolution
 

AkuMifune

Banned
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; I was 15 hours into my first XCOM campaign when I realized three things, #1. This game is really awesome. #2. I need to start over. #3. I hope I know what I'm doing now. No other game since maybe since Fallout 3 have I so happily started over. Even more, starting the game over was more exciting than the first time around since I was now armed with crucial skills and knowledge that were essential for survival. I have never really liked a strategy game before and now am curious what I've been missing out on. That plus the fact that Classic Ironman is kicking my ass and yet I continue forward are all surprises of 2012 for me. XCOM has made me it's bitch. But I will make XCOM my bitch someday. Someday.

2. Mass Effect 3 ; Just a month ago this game sat at #8 on this list. But it's been just enough time, and other games have become worse disappointments that ME3 has been creeping it's way back up. YES; ME3 is the worst in the series, by far. It failed to deliver on any of the promises of the first game, it failed to generate any sense of momentum by forcing you to "Get the band back together" every single freakin game, it's the most combat focused of any ME3, it's got the dumbest plot and sense of progression and the worst side missions. It may be an even bigger disappointment than Dragon Age 2 and yet still it's a great game. And now that the dust has settled, it's the least disappointing of all the AAA games released this year that saw most of them fall flat on their face for one reason or another.

3. Borderlands 2 ; Simply the most fun I had all year. Borderlands 2 is just more borderlands, essentially...and that's all I really ever wanted. I don't think the handsome jack stuff is nearly as clever as Gearbox seems to think it is, but the personality oozing from every pore of this game with drop-in drop-out co-op and fun moment to moment gameplay always had me searching for the next orange weapon. Now raise the damn level cap already, christ.

4. The Walking Dead ; There was a long time I thought this would be number one. I was the first in line, the loudest supporter of the game from episode one. But the lack of any real gameplay branch, the lack of any real player agency makes it fall short of what I originally considered the worlds first choose-your-own-adventure zombie survival horror game. Instead it let you kind of shape the story as it unfolded, but without any different endings or game over screens. An amazing step forward for dialogue, NPC interaction and writing in games, but too much smoke and mirrors to break through the top 3. You have your work cut out for you in season 2 Vanaman, give me liberty or give me death.

5. Persona 4: Golden ; The game I bought a Vita for justified the purchase of a system I have been thoroughly disappointed in otherwise. That alone should propel it almost to #1. The best RPG of the year and I get to play it on the shitter at work and sitting in my hammock, and no one can ruin the fun by calling me on it. Take that iPhone.

6. Assassin's Creed III ; The ship combat alone is worth the price of admission. The rest of the game fails, giving us too much to do without any benefit, whole sections of gameplay that don't fold back into the game proper in any meaningful way makes all that stuff meaningless.

7. Sleeping Dogs ; Crappy driving. NPC AI is garbage. But the best story in an open world crime game combined with the best hand-to-hand combat in the genre work together beautifully. Wei Shen!

8. Trials Evolution ; The most fun I've ever had existing in a state of frustration for an extended period of time. I'm 2nd or 3rd in all of the races, but no one will ever beat the javelin skill game score which propelled my guy off of the map somehow. Take that Daigoro!

9. Dragon's Dogma ; Weird amalgamation of J/WRPG. Liked my time with it a lot. Wonder how Roadkill is doing? I'm sure he's accumulated a ton of money for me. Good job, weirdly prostituted NPC Wizard.

10. Silent Hill: Downpour ; This is a good game. Screw you Patrick for adopting the hive mind mentality without giving it a fair shake. The side mission stuff which I can see from your achievement list you never bothered with is the best part of any Silent Hill game since the decent into madness at the end of #2. Creepy, atmospheric, well-written stuff. More of that, please.

I Also Really Liked:
Alan Wake: American Nightmare, CS:GO, Fez, Asura's Wrath, Spec Ops: The Line.

Biggest Disappointments:
Dishonored. So overrated. Not worthy of the Thief name. Stealth + Superhuman abilities that do not mesh, confusing narrative, poor structure and not enough actual creative freedom. Wows critics and people who don't want to invest enough to (or don't have the time to) discover how shallow it really is. Far Cry 3. Horrible story, partitions you off from tackling objectives in any creative way, wastes a ton of great ideas by not committing to any of them. Halo 4: More of the same was not good enough when the same has been slipping. The change in Master Chief's character arc, plus the new enemies and the whorification of Cortana prove you have no idea what to do with the weight of the mythos dropped on you 343.
 

Piano

Banned
1. Rhythm Heaven Fever; An absolute joy to play, challenging yet never unfair with a style that's pure fun. Loved it!
2. Hotline Miami; The first game in a while that I 'talked about' in that way with a couple of friends who were playing it at the same time - telling stories, hyping up later levels to one another, all fueling my desire to sit down with the game again and see what it could throw at me.
3. The Walking Dead
4. Fez

2011: Rayman Origins. The gift that keeps on giving. LOVE IT.

Spent most of the year playing games from 2011 so that's all I've got. Oh and Halo 4...but that doesn't deserve a top 10 spot. It was good but not great.
 

Riposte

Member
Doing a top 20 would be too excessive right? Making two posts is probably too excessive to begin with.

Man, does no one list their games in order of rank, 10 - 1?

Last year I did a countdown list full of details which was formatted in a way so it wouldn't be counted, then put a brief list after it.
 

megalowho

Member
1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
2. The Walking Dead; A big surprise for me since I don't care for the TV show and have never been into adventure games.
3. Mass Effect 3; The ending sucked, but I enjoyed the rest of the single player. This game also has the only horde multiplayer I've ever enjoyed besides Gears 3.
4. Mark of the Ninja
5. Borderlands 2
6. NBA 2K13; basketball reasons
7. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
8. Dragon's Dogma
9. Dust: An Elysian Tail
10. Trials Evolution
x. SSX
x. Journey

Nice.

Stern-mugger-306x436.jpg
 

CzarTim

Member
1. Journey ; As close to a perfect gaming experience as I've had, thatgamecompany opted for a spectacular 90 minutes rather than long, droning 40 hours.
2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; I wanted to put this way further down the list due to game-breaking bugs, but it's a testament to how much fun XCOM is that I feel comfortable putting it up here.
3. Summoner Wars ; Fantastic iOS version of the boardgame that puts Hero Academy to shame.
4. Awesomenauts - Fixes every problem I have with MOBA games. The matches aren't too long, the systems aren't overwrought, and there is little-to-no downtime. All of this and it still provides for those strong emotional turns that MOBAs excel at.
5. Chivalry : Medieval Warfare ; First person head removal simulator with amazing combat and unique objective modes.
6. FTL: Faster Than Light ; Dammit *closes FTL* *immediately reopens FTL*
7. Planetside 2; The first 3 hours of this game are not fun, and there are long stretches of the game that are boring. That said, nothing beats the feeling of rushing up a hill with your comrades, planes crashing down, tank shells landing next to you, and snipers taking ai--
8. Blacklight: Retribution ; Came out of nowhere for me, but surprisingly amazing FPS.
9. Legend of Grimlock ; Is it possible to have nostalgia for games your are to young to have played? Refreshing to have a game that requires trial and error.
10. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ; Nostalgia am get.
x. Warlock: Master of the Arcane ; More like a fantasy Galactic Civ than anything, the spell system alone makes this Civ V clone more than fun enough on it's own. Don't want to build boats? Cast a spell, make a land bridge. Oh, sorry, now there's a volcano in the middle of your territory. Don't worry though, I just revived the killer bunny and it's now tearing through everything.

2011. Star Wars: The Old Republic ; Best instanced PVP I've played in an MMO that kept me coming back despite lolEA.
 

emag

Member
1. Dragon's Dogma; somewhat flawed, but stands head-and-shoulders above all other [action]RPGs.

Honestly, there's not much else I've played from this year that even deserves a mention, but:

x. Civilization V: Gods and Kings
x. Mass Effect 3
x. Punch Quest
x. Sleeping Dogs
x. The Walking Dead
 

vall03

Member
1. Katawa Shoujo (PC) ; I myself can't believe that Im choosing a Visual Novel as a GOTY. The writing is nothing short of spectacular and its very well-written. The emotional dialogue, the great characterization and also being able to relate to the main character. Surprisingly, the music is great too which is one of the aspects I really liked in the game.

2. Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (PS3) ; My RPGOTY, its very rare for me to suddenly take interest in a new series I have little to no knowledge of. The main reason I checked out the series is because of the music. Everything else was a big surprise to me, the alchemy and item synthesis, the lighthearted story and the character interactions all appeal to me.

3. Persona 4: Golden (PSVita) ; Would be my GOTY if this was the first time I played the game, but even after playing the game several times before, Its still as brilliant as I remembered when I played it on the PS2. Also love the new additions and features in the game. Wheres Persona 5 Atlus?!

4. Persona 4: Arena (PS3/Xbox360) ; As a fan of the Persona series, I simply can't pass this up even though Im not into fighting games. The system is quite simple and easy to understand which is perfect for newcomers.

5. Akai Katana (Xbox360) ; Im new to the genre and I tried out as many games as I possibly can, and thanks to CAVE shmups, it brought life back to my 360. There were really only a few games in the genre released this year but this one was the best one I played thanks to the mechanics of Slash Mode.

6. Pokemon Black 2/White 2 (DS) ; Pokemon is one the series I stopped asking why Im still playing and just let myself play the latest games everytime. While theres nothing really that differentiates the game from the previous one, the little new additions more than makes up for the its shortcomings and its Pokemon. Its always a guaranteed timesink and very enjoyable for me even after all these years.

7. Tales of Graces f (PS3) ; Best battle system in any Tales game for me. The game falls short on some aspects like the story but the gameplay is still the strong point of the game.

8. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS) ; Loved the Devil Survivor series and Devil Survivor 2, I find better than the first game on most aspects. However, the game felt like Devil Survivor 1.5 with a new setting and a new cast with little to no changes in the gameplay.

9. Bug Princess 2 (iOS) ; One of the finest shmups from Cave I've played this year, dont know how I would compare it to the console/arcade counterparts but I really loved the iOS port and it was a steal getting the game for cheap when it was released.

10. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS/PSVita) ; As expected from the sequel to 999. The tension, the new characters, the twists in the story, the non-repetitive puzzles and story progression. Sadly, I still find the 999 to be better than this game.


x. Ys Origin (PC) ; Big Falcom fan here, however, I played the shit out of Ys Origin last year which kinda soured me on its release on Steam. Bought it for support for more Falcom games (maybe?) on Steam.

x. Analogue: A Hate Story (PC) ; Another visual novel on my GOTY list, really love the style used in the game. Reading logs felt different and gives you a unique feel of interaction in the game.

x. To The Moon (PC) ; One of the best stories from any game Ive played. The music even helps in adding more emotional impact on the game. My only complaint in the game is whether the rpg top-down style the best way to express and tell the story because there some annoying parts because of it.

x. Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (PC) ; As a big fan of the Persona series, I can't recommend this game enough. Social Links + time management is already good for me. The game however, is very short. The music is very catchy though.

x. Fairy Bloom Freesia (PC) ; A 2D beat-em-up, this game really surprised me since it reminded me of Tales games, and theres also the customization aspect. The game is short but theres a lot of stuff to do like replaying the game on higher difficulty, trying out new combos and the Guardian mode.

x. Ether Vapor Remaster (PC) ; One of the shmups I really liked, the switching between different weapons depending on the situation was great. Very different from the usual bullet-hell games Im used to.

x. eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package (PC) ; OUt of the three games on the eXceed collection, this is the one I prefer the most since it feels more polished than the other two. eXceed 2nd is still great but Im having trouble with polarity shmups

x. Dodonpachi Maximum (WP7/iOS) ; Caves first mobile shmup. The game feels more of a score attack game but its perfect for mobile gaming.


2011. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (PS3) ; I can't stress enough how I fucking loved the series. Im also glad that I played it this year because theres a chance I would've hated the game last year considering how busy I was due to my thesis. Gust is now one of my top developers thanks to the Arland trilogy.
 

GhaleonQ

Member
I still haven't read the topic, but

1. Katawa Shoujo (PC)

x. Analogue: A Hate Story (PC) ; Another visual novel on my GOTY list, really love the style used in the game. Reading logs felt different and gives you a unique feel of interaction in the game.

x. Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (PC) ; As a big fan of the Persona series, I can't recommend this game enough. Social Links + time management is already good for me. The game however, is very short. The music is very catchy though.

x. Fairy Bloom Freesia (PC) ; A 2D beat-em-up, this game really surprised me since it reminded me of Tales games, and theres also the customization aspect. The game is short but theres a lot of stuff to do like replaying the game on higher difficulty, trying out new combos and the Guardian mode.

x. Ether Vapor Remaster (PC) ; One of the shmups I really liked, the switching between different weapons depending on the situation was great. Very different from the usual bullet-hell games Im used to.

x. eXceed 3rd - Jade Penetrate Black Package (PC) ; OUt of the three games on the eXceed collection, this is the one I prefer the most since it feels more polished than the other two. eXceed 2nd is still great but Im having trouble with polarity shmups

Very interesting. Any thoughts on Kisou Ryohei/Machine Suit Huntsman Gunhound E.X.? Would you suggest any other modern dojin games?
 

Mar

Member
1. Fez ; Beautiful. Every pixel and tune is as close to perfect as it gets. I lost myself in this world until I had completed everything.

2. The Pinball Arcade ; This was my year for pinball, and it's all because of this game. Because I started playing this on iPad, and because I got into one of the tables (Theatre of Magic), I found a real Theatre of Magic, got to know the number 2 ranked pinball player in Australia, was convinced to join a local Sydney tournament, and fell down the rabbit hole of pinball. Previously, I never cared for it. Now, perhaps 8 months on, I have come 5th in one of these tournaments (beating the aforementioned 2nd ranked player as well as the 1st!), have met a bunch of really cool people, and had a complete blast. I may have played more pinball this year than video games. I also still play a lot of Pinball Arcade as, even if it isn't the same as the real thing (the level of control in a real pinball table is beyond anything that could be emulated right now), it's still fantastic for learning the tables ins and outs and then applying them to the real thing. I also love that they are keeping pinball alive by replicating all of the awesome (and not so awesome) tables that are out there. It was a tough choice between this and Fez for number 1 game, but in the end, Pinball Arcade introduced me to something that isn't strictly a video game so I could not in good conscience make it number 1.

3. Super Crate Box ; The first game I played in 2012 and I had a feeling it was going to take best game of the year. It still managed to stay in the top 3 which isn't so bad.

4. Gridrunner ; Jeff Minter is a mad genius, and the new Gridrunner on iOS is an example of that genius.

5. Lollipop Chainsaw ; A genuinely funny game. The writing in this is some of the best I have ever seen applied to the medium and the characters are all fantastic. It's not the most exciting game to 'play', but one of the best in every other respect.

6. Forza Horizon ; I've never cared for Forza as I don't care for sim racers. This is not a sim racer and, unlike Need for Speed Most Wanted, has a great selection of cars and I really enjoyed it. I have criticisms of this game however, such as the poor audio mix, and the world feels far too small. But it's still great to cruise around, participate in the events, and the feel of the driving is very well done. It never clicked with me until I completely turned off the driving line mind you... I don't understand how following a green line is at all interesting.

7. Super Ox Wars ; Another Jeff Minter game. I didn't get into it until a few guys on my Game Centre friends list were swapping high scores (hi Gaz and Robert Ashley!). An enjoyable shooter with the classic Minter addiction feeling of 'just one more game'.

8. Carmageddon ; Newly released on iOS and the controls are beautiful. I was reminded why I loved this game back in the old days and it still holds up just as well. One of the best racers released this year.

9. Need for Speed Most Wanted ; I need to try and think of positive things to say about this game before I criticise it... I guess, in the end, I still loved driving around the world and looping around the freeways weaving in and out of traffic like I did in Burnout Paradise. But, I was really, deeply disappointed with this game. I was expecting it to be a sequel to my favourite game of all time (the previously mentioned Burnout Paradise), but it failed in almost every respect. The car selection was too small and the cars themselves a strange mix of boring cars (too many concepts), the co-operative and friendly multiplayer of Burnout Paradise was thrown out the window and replaced with a competitive smash fest that became infuriating. People are rewarded for taking out other competitors while they are just trying to complete a task and that ruins the entire multiplayer for me. I made so many online friends in Burnout Paradise because people were encouraged to help each other and teach each other how to do things. This is reversed in NFS Most Wanted. Also, the swapping back and forth of cars between multiplayer events was frustrating and you couldn't switch half the time without A: losing points by taking time to switch or B: getting taken out whilst trying to switch. The audio mix was horrible with the cop radio being far too loud and repetitive and never ending. The police events were frustrating and not fun, and could last forever. This game comes in at number 9 for me whilst at the same time being my most disappointing game of 2012.

10. Bastion ; Newly released on iOS this year and I had not played it before. Finished it last night and while my initial thoughts as I started playing was that the game was fantastic and might break top 5 of this list, as the game went on I found the mechanics and art a bit repetitive. Great music though.
 

Clunker

Member
1. The Walking Dead ; The heartwrenching and absolutely stunning vanguard of how narrative, writing, and characterization can - and should - be handled in an interactive medium. TWD captures the essence of what I think zombie media truly needs: the horrific, inhuman reality of regular people forced to make fucked-up decisions in a fucked-up world and then live with them. It's not the gore, but the dread. The zombies are kind of incidental to the human drama. I adored the game as an episodic experience, and the passage of time both in-game and in my own life added to the compounding nature of the game's effect on me. The writing and characterization are superb; Lee stands out as a genuinely good guy trying to do what he feels is right, and the relationship that develops between Lee and Clem is simple, honest, and one of the most emotionally affecting relationships I've borne witness to in a game. I played the last 10 minutes of the final episode with tears welling up in my eyes, and the way the conclusion wraps back around to the beginning thematically was beautifully conceived and executed. I don't care that it's linear, has janky action sequences, and doesn't really alter its plot based on character choices - what the player has true agency over is character interaction and motivation, which is far more important to me and also goes a lot further toward giving the player the opportunity to feel invested in the game.

2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ; This is sort of the anti-Walking Dead. XCOM gripped me right away with its systems, mechanical gameplay, and intricacy, and tapped into what I love most about strategy games and RPGs. Though, oddly, what XCOM and TWD both have in common is a purity of focus on consequence. Every choice you make is one that needs to be deliberate and decisive - and in XCOM's case, every choice you make means there are two or three other choices you're not making. Ironman mode is the only way to go: even a routine abduction mission can go pear-shaped with one wrong move or one unexpected turn, so you're always on your toes, and the satisfaction of nailing a low-percent shot -- or simply shotgunning a charging Chrysallid in its ugly alien face -- makes it worth it. Every. Single. Time.

3. Journey ; I'm listening to the soundtrack right now as I write this. It might have earned a nod for its amazing score alone - Austin Wintory's work is stunning - but the lush visuals and environments make it unforgettable. It's hard to use "an experience" and not have it sound douchey or pretentious, but I consider Journey as the closest a game has ever come (even moreso than Flower, which I adored) to a painting, both visually and in the sense of how a piece of art can have the power to evoke an emotional response in its audience. It doesn't really "tell a story" in the narrative sense so much as it allows the player to layer his or her own interpretation on top of it and then see what it looks like. It deals in emotions, not plot points: wonder, joy, loss, and - above all - triumph. The final two segments are raw in their respective emotions, though they do both take a backseat to that jaw-dropping (literally, in my case - I couldn't believe I actually dropped my mouth open for a few minutes) sand surfing section.

4. Fez ; I went in to this fairly blind, which is apparently the best possible way to play this. It's a labor of love from a small studio, and it shows - though all of the insane, intricate detail of the world, the devious puzzles, the hidden secrets, and the simply magical soundtrack. I think the Glitch and Sync levels were two of my favorite gaming moments of the year, if not the generation. And I have to give credit to Polytron for not spilling the beans about what Fez is really about before release - discovering the game's extra dimensions, pardon the pun, is what makes it so enjoyable.

5. Mark of the Ninja ; The best stealth game I've ever played. It shares DNA with Arkham Asylum/City in that it's the rare stealth game that makes you feel powerful rather than weak.

6. Spec Ops: The Line ; A mediocre shooter that masks a powerful narrative. I applaud the writer and devs for having the balls to criticize the very audience that buys their games. Also wins my Best Loading Screens award.

7. Super Hexagon ; Again. Again. Again. Again.

8. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP ; I think either Superbrothers or Capybara referred to this as "an album you can hang out in," and I can't think of a better description. Other than perhaps the game's own suggestion: "Sword & Sworcery is a link to the past."

9. Mass Effect 3 ; As disappointing as this game was to me on a narrative and character level - and this isn't just the ending, but just the overall sloppy, checklisted approach to wrapping up the franchise's loose ends - it was mechanically enjoyable and the multiplayer was a genuine surprise and delight.

10. Hotline Miami ; I honestly haven't played enough of this game to make a good judgment on its gameplay, but what little I have played is pretty awesome. Though honestly, I'm putting it on the list solely due to its soundtrack.

x. FTL
x. Dust: An Elysian Tail
x. Trials Evolution

With these last three, I really love them but haven't put in nearly enough time to make any kind of evaluative judgement.
 

ohlawd

Member
1. Xenoblade Chronicles ; One of the few console games this gen to give me them feels. You know that feel you get when you're like "yes this is why I'm still playing video games"... this is one of those games. Monolith Soft nailed this motherfucker; great cast, an out-of-this-world setting and fascinating music.

2. Kid Icarus: Uprising ; To think I was gonna pass on this.... lol @ me. This game is so cheesy it puts the cheesiest pizza in existence to shame. The script is definitely top tier.

3. Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland ; More alchemy stuff and boy is it addicting as ever. Meruru is just so cute <3

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 ; lol Daichi. That is all.

5. Katawa Shoujo ; Been a long time coming since the first demo was released a while back. The wait was absolutely worth it. More than anything, I was very impressed with the quality of the music. The team managed to hit a nice balance here. The routes delivered too no doubt.

6. Pokemon Black/White 2 ; The best mainline Pokemon game since.... Pokemon Black/White. When will capturing monsters and beating the crap out of those same monsters stop being so entertaining?

7. Resident Evil Revelaitons ; Good on Capcom for making a decent RE since 4. I spent a long time playing Raid Mode and those hours of fun were not wasted at all.

8. Paper Mario: Sticker Star ; This game is an absolute blast when you aren't stuck and that happened to me like 3 times. Oh mah gawd the music. I wish I played this sooner could have voted for this in the Music of the Year thread.

9. Final Fantasy XIII-2 ; Shame about less Lightning.

10. Code of Princess ; This is where I'm supposed to poke fun at Solange's outfit too right?

Haven't played much either lol. No way in hell I'm putting in Tales of Graces F and New Super Mario Bros. 2 even though I had loads of fun with the latter.

Gonna leave it there for now, will update later.... still haven't played ZombiU, Persona 4: Golden, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Virtue's Last Reward, Kingdom Hearts DDD, Prof Layton 5... and I'm still finishing up The Last Story and Lollipop Chainsaw. And my refusal to play Mass Effect 3, Sleeping Dogs, Borderlands 2, etc on anything other than a PC puts a damper on things so I won't get to play those by January.

final edit: well fuck I totally messed up. At least I got Lollipop Chainsaw and Sticker Star out of the way. Two days left now so I'm absolutely boned in what games I can or cannot finish. Overall I'm very happy with 2012 and the games with it.
 
Wow. Looking at the list of games I finished this year, 9 of them are from 2012. I can't even make a top 10 list...and a top 9 list would only be about the order of the games and would require no cuts.

Top 3 it is then!


1. Hotline Miami ; Oh man, the everything in this game. This was already GOTY, but then I learned that the actual way to play this game is by not stopping ever and it became exponentially more awesome.

Also, you can't write about Hotline Miami without going "SOUNDTRACK!!" at some point, so here: THAT SOUUUUNDTRAAACKKK...!!

2. Spec Ops: The Line ; "Wow, you're actually gonna go there?" - Me while playing chapter 8
"Nah son, I'm only getting started here" - Spec Ops

3. Thomas Was Alone ; My love for The Lost Vikings is what made me play this game (...and like it way more than makes sense), but I can't not give props to a game that takes basic geometric shapes and makes them all into separate unique characters.

Also, the narration in this game did everything I wanted Bastion's narration to do.

Also also, this song.


---
BONUS AWARDS!!

The January 1st award for the game that would be at or near the top of the list but the year ran out before I got around to it - The Walking Dead

The "Oh god, not only does this exist, but some people bought it and some of them probably even enjoyed it" award for things that make me hate all of gaming - Medal of Honor: Warfighter

The "60$ lol" award for best game I played all year that wasn't released anywhere near 2012 -Thief 2
 

Kangi

Member
1. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
2. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
3. Kid Icarus: Uprising ; Criminally underrated. Superb online multiplayer, tons and tons of content, great gameplay and controls.
4. Resident Evil: Revelations ; Gorgeous graphics, great gameplay and near-perfect pacing. Online is fun, too.
5. Paper Mario: Sticker Star ; Not quite as good as the previous installments, but it's still unique and fun.
6. Diablo III ; Very addicting and immersive game with a lot of fun to be had.
7. New Super Mario Bros. U
8. Trine 2: Director's Cut
9. Nintendoland ; Addictingly fun multiplayer and decent amount of single player content.
10. Mario Party 9

2011: Kirby's Return to Dream Land
 
I made a list of 20, Top 10 + 10 honourable mentions. But I've kept the statements for the honourable mentions very brief.

I commented on every game I finished this year because, even though this isn't really a discussion thread, I think it's important to know what the ten are being picked from.
 
1. Hotline Miami ; the blood, the killing, the stabbing, the shooting, it's all so cool.

2. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (PC) ; I absolutely love this game, the atmosphere is the best since Super Metroid, so oppressive, the tension is unmatched.

3. Far Cry 3 ; Best-designed open world game I've ever played, always something fun to do - the first time I've seen pacing used well in open-world game design.

4. SSX ; a really fun game, slick presentation and great trick system. Oh, and the soundtrack is so cool!

5. Max Payne 3 ; cutscenes are a bit nuts, but the gunplay is superb, PC version was a brilliant port that gave me no issues, graphics are incredible, the airport shootout with Health's Tears was super-cool.
 

codhand

Member
1. Spec Ops ; - The first game I've ever played that gets better the more times you beat it, has some really lame gameplay like those charging-knife-guys, but this experience was transcendent due to its stellar story.

2. Binary Domain ; Warning, game may contain actual character development, on top of fun third person shooter gameplay
3. Trials Evolution ; Like a Christmas stocking overflowing with goodies
4. Kid Icarus Uprising ; Ow, my hand
5. Walking Dead ; I've never seen a game that more Non-video-game people love.
6. Journey ; Sublime, like taking a nap outdoors under a tree
7. Max Payne 3 ; Really amazing shooting mechanics (maybe best ever), coupled with pulpy noir quotes
8. Borderlands 2 ; Everything I wanted in a sequel to a game I sunk 100+ hours into
9. Tokyo Jungle ; Everything I wanted in a game.
10. Mass Effect 3 I liked the existential ending, and death of the main protagonist. I'm in the boat that feels the entire game is like an ending. The sniper competition on the Citadel with Garrus, was one of many small but memorable vignettes. Hated that giant boss fight part that's why it sits at my #10 and not because of the overblown ending hoopla.
x. Hotline Miami ; Still in a protective newness bubble
x. XCOM ; haven't played enough, but so far so good.
x. Far Cry 3 ; haven't played enough, but so far so good.
2011 - Driver;
Awesome physics, awesome story, awesome cars.
 
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