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Game of Another Year 2012

waypoetic

Banned
I have no idea. I haven't bought that many games this year.

Journey i only played once. I still have it, but yeah : once. WipEout 2048 got some hours but i haven't played on the Vita for awhile. I haven't played Max Payne 3 yet... And i've played halfway through episode 1 of The Walking Dead (on iOS).

GOTY 2012 : i dunno.

... But here's to 2013!
 

Randdalf

Member
1. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
I started playing this on my 3DS (through the ambassador program)... I hadn't touched Fire Emblem in years, but this game is incredibly enjoyable and addictive. I even dug out my old GB Micro and started the original GBA Fire Emblem on that as well. I think the original is meant to be the superior game in terms of challenge, but it was this game that got me to play it again in the first place.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I've been playing this on and off all year, and it's starting to get really good now. The art and mechanical design is astonishingly good, the only downside is my inadequacy with the motion sword fighting (my horizontal slashs always seems to translate into diagonals). I think a lot more people would have liked this if it was a traditional buttons-and-thumbsticks game, they've changed quite a lot from the normal Zelda formula and it feels quite different. The difference sprinting makes is larger than I thought it would be.

3. Stacking
What a wonderful game! It hit me half an hour in that it's literally an old school adventure game, just packaged in a nice new format. I only bought it 2 hours ago, but it's already made such an impact on me that it deserves a spot here.

Shoutout to...

Football Manager 2010/2012
The only reason I keep on loading up my old laptop is to play the FM10 save I have on there... 2012 is similarly compulsive at times.

Disappointment of Another Year 2012

1. Assassin's Creed: Revelations
A total yawnfest. The plot was uninteresting, Ezio didn't do hardly anything that resembled assassinating, you could see the plot coming from a mile away (except the ending). The Altair bits were cool but didn't justify the rest of the game. I liked the cave city briefly... but that's about all I liked about this game.

2. Team Fortress 2
I'm starting to real rather jaded about my favourite game of all time. Hats and cosmetics further extended their dominance other the future path of TF2 this year, which is mightily depressing. Mann vs Machine was exciting for a week during the build-up and launch but turned out to be a kind of dull bot slugfest. I'm starting to yearn for the old TF2 where the majority of people actually cared about playing the game.

3. Tales of the Abyss
Got this for 3DS to play on holiday... the story is incomprehensible at times and completely boring. The main character is stupid, the battle system isn't fun, interesting or engaging in any way at all. I can't see myself playing this again as much as I wanted to enjoy it.
 

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
Quake for me. I finally got it up and running, and boy, how did I miss this gem?

Close runner up is Fighting Vipers. My first experience with this game was with the XBLA port, and it's so '90s it's awesome.
 

ZZMitch

Member
1. Europa Universalis 3: Devine Wind
2. Saints Row: The Third
3. Skyrim
4. Mass Effect
5. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

All pretty amazing games that I put many hours into this year! I continue to put hours into Skyrim.
 
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It's magnificent, one of the finest gaming experiences I've ever had.
 
The ENTIRE METAL GEAR SOLID FRANCHISE

More specifically, MGS1. I never thought I would like an older game more than most of the recent games I've played.

Trucking through Rogue Galaxy for the first time in about 5 years, and I have to say that it's main character is far less annoying than 90% of the main protags in recent JRPGs. (Asbel, Lightning, Sarah, ect.)

Saints Row the Third is another great title that I'm surprised I'm having waaayy more fun playing than GTAIV. But that might just be due to the campaign Co-Op

Alice Madness Returns, other than being one of the best 3D platforming games I've played on HD consoles, has the best damn hair tech I've ever seen.
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Well, for me, pretty much just PC games.

1. Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines: A game that I skipped many times due to the content I expected to find, I was really, really surprised how good this one was. Well written and really interesting.
2. Tropico 3/4: Having not liked the newer Sim games, I didn't expect to like this tropical twist on the city building genre but it just works for me for some reason.
3. Galactic Civilizations II: My first taste of 4X games outside of Civ and man is it fun, if a little brutal and somewhat hard to understand at times.
4. Recettear: Capitalism, ho!
5. Spectromancer: An unexpectedly great card game. Still play it on occasion.
 
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One of the Wii's best. I finally bought a copy this year and loved the game to pieces. excellent use of the Wii's controls and a thoroughly enjoyable story. Shattered Memories instantly became one of my favourite games from this gen.
 
Hmm, let's see...

1. Deadly Premonition: My GOTG. Crappy gameplay, tons of flaws and graphics below average. But. The most amazing characters, atmosphere and story. Never has a game given me a better experience in these aspects and shaken me up emotionally more than this one did.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Finally played it and was a big surprise with how much it already had of the Zelda ingredients, like found in later entries like OoT or ALttP, despite being a quite simple game. Was a good change as well without giving too many hints or straight out telling where to go next, but instead forcing the player to try and find out different stuff to make progress. Partly also quite hard, which is always good.

3. Mushihime-sama Futari: Bought this after the localized Cave games and cemented my love for bullet hell shooters. Really crazy gameplay in beautifully coloured and thematically diverse environments. A lot of modes that will provide tough challenges for a very long time.
 
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - First Deus Ex game I've ever played and I absolutely loved it. I'd put in my top 5 games I've played this generation.

2. Resistance 3 - Such a shame that most people ignored it; it's a fantastic single-player experience (unlike R2).

3. Gears of War - It's aged pretty well considering it's six years old now. So much more enjoyable than 3 was.

Honourable mention goes to Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7.
 

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker- I never thought I would like another metal gear after 4 but I was wrong. One of the best games I played this year.

Mine, too. Game is amazing.

that and Deus Ex Human Revolution. Enjoyed it immensely.
 

Staal

Member
Saints Row: The Third and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The first one was a loads of ridiculous fun. Deus Ex, besides the boss fights, created a whole world to think about. Really liked both of them.
 

persongr

Member
Besides PGR4, which i replayed a month ago and poured over 30 hours in it, I think the greatest older game which I enjoyed in 2012 was MGS3: Snake Eater. Although remastered for PSVita, it was just brilliant.
 

deroli

Member
Most of the games I play are a bit older, so this list is basically my game of the year list :)

1: Super Mario 3D Land. I've never enjoyed a platformer more than SM3DL. Perfect controls, great level design and it offers so much replay value. The only thing I missed was a bit more variety of the bosses.

2: Portal 2. I did not play Portal 1, so the whole first person puzzle concept was new to me and it worksreally well. Plus the game has very good writing, GlaDOS and Wheatley are brilliant characters. A very memorable experience.

Those two games were the standout titles to me. To make it a top 3 list, I'll also nominate Bully. I found it quite boring at the beginning, but the game got better and better the more I played it. Just like any Rockstar title, Bully benefits greatly from the presentation and atmosphere.
 
amazingly good 'other year' for me (tho all were replays):

final fantasy xii
shin megami tensei: nocturne
metal gear solid 2&3
okami
yakuza...

all as much fun as any 2012 games i've played :) ...
 
1. Dragon Quest V: Holy moly what a story. Most enjoyable JRPG story I've ever played.

2. Persona 4: Really fun, really addictive, really long!

3. Ace Attorney Investigations
4. Apollo Justice Ace Attorney: People really didn't like these games? I found them just as fun as the original AA trilogy, but I guess I don't care as much about Phoenix Wright as I do about solving the cases.
Capcom AAI2 please.

5. Yakuza 3: My favorite Yakuza game to date, mechanics wise (haven't played 4 yet). Orphanage part didn't bother me as much as it did others, but I can understand the complaints.

6. Ghost Trick: Interesting visual presentation, great animation, decent story but really great characters.

7. Terraria: I'm not very imaginitive so I couldn't get as much out of this game as others, but just by following the guides I had a lot of fun with it.
 

Chunky

Member
Persona 3 Portable
Yeah, this for me too. Been playing virtually non-stop since I got it, which is sad because I'll probably go straight to girl-mode when I'm done :¬|

Actually, saying P3P reminds me that I got my PSP earlier this year, so... that.
Off the top of my head:
-DJ Max Portable
-MHP3rd
-Lumines
-Every Extend Extra
-Corpse Party
-Kingdom Hearts
-Tactics Ogre (<3)
-P3P
-Ys OiF

... and a lot more. PSP definitely exceeded my expectations of 'Monster hunter/Kingdom Hearts machine'.

Oh, and I'm forcing myself to leave it alone 'till I finish Xenoblade, but the first couple hours of FFXII have left me very optimistic.
 

The Hermit

Member
Too much to count: Fire Emblem Sacred Stones (first FE game, and I am loving it), Dark Souls (its as hard and as awesome as people claimed), Super Mario Land 2 ( enough said ).

Also since I bought a GTX670 I managed to play a TON of games I wanted but couldn't ( Borderlands, Witcher 2, Crysis, Deus EX: HR etc)
 

Yerolo

Member
I've only played the 360 version so far, but I'll double dip to get the Collector's Edition content.

The PC version is pretty fab, they did an excellent port and the higher res / textures makes it all worth the effort. Plus it just runs at a much higher framerate. I also double dipped and glad I did.

I Didn't vote for the pc version in the goty though, I made it my 2010 goty so I figured new games deserved their place more.
 

Qurupeke

Member
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

I played this for the first time this January... So much awesomeness... Great story, great dungeons, great characters. I love it.
 

Wix

Member
1. Portal 2: A friend wanted this for Christmas so I decided to buy a double pack so that we could play it together. Wow. This truly exceeds Portal 1 in every way... and what an ending, hahah. Is this why everyone here is so passionate about Valve?

2. Bayonetta: Damn. Will pick up Wii U for the successor.
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I played a bunch of old stuff that I ended up loving this year. Not in any order, but I think...

Assassin's Creed II (PS360)

This is probably my favourite Game of Another Year 2012. Prior to playing Assassin's Creed II (and getting a major push to finally play it from many different corners of GAF, so thanks to those who got me to finally play it), I'd only played the portable games and Assassin's Creed I. Those don't feel necessarily representative of the other AC games at all, because the Ezio console games made a lot of strides into making the games better (well, outside of some aspects of Revelations). AC1 and the handheld games felt clunky. But AC2 felt like a completely different beast. Killing people felt better, handling felt better, the NPC AI was so much better, swimming was nice, and Eagle Vision was nice. You may now disarm enemies, and counter. Combat is certainly not AC's strength, but it was nice that at least some strides were made.

I liked several things about AC2. The first of which was Ezio. A lot of people don't really like Ezio. Heck, even I didn't at first. But seeing the guy grow up and mature over the course of three games (and even through AC2) made me begin to consider him as a genuinely good character with decent development... or... as decent as possible. Going from a womanizing rich boy lech who beats people up because reasons to a guy who had to fill a leadership role and build things from the ground up and lay foundations for certain causes was interesting to see. Even if his mission was borne out of revenge, it's just nice to see his interactions with different people as he grew up (even in just AC2).

I loved the linguistic influence in AC2. I finally get what Dunan was telling me about. Even if some of the phrases and words were inserted into the English dialogue as if they were loanwords, the score and some of the different language options provided the player with a window into which dialects the speakers were using, whether any Latin seeped into the game audio, and whether or not the linguistics were remaining true to the time era. For a lot of it, Ubi actually did a decent job. I'm kind of surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be. This is something that happens to be consistent throughout the Ezio trilogy, and in AC3:L. I haven't played AC3 yet, but I suspect it's going to be rather similar. I have to applaud the AC games for this attention to detail, because it makes me feel all giddy.

The soundtrack. This soundtrack is one of my favourite soundtracks of the generation. From beautiful tracks with choral, guitar and strings like Ezio's Family to percussion-driven themes like Approaching the Target 3 to string pedal themes like Sanctuary... this is the soundtrack I'll throw at anyone who says that western game composition is bland, because this soundtrack is proof that it certainly isn't.

The structural architecture. Seeing real world structures imported into AC2 and being able to experience them "up close" due to being able to climb them with Ezio was fantastic. Everything was rather gorgeous and felt faithful to their original designs. Despite the game having framerate hiccups or having weird textures in some places, I liked how the structures looked a lot.

Also, I associate AC2 with marshmallow-flavoured birthday cake because I played it close to my birthday. >.>​

Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki SC (PSP ver)

Whenever I don't seem to be digging a game, I generally restart it, or it takes me a while to get through it. I did that with Trails in the Sky FC. Narrative didn't get interesting until the last few bits, and the music is probably my least favourite out of all of the Kiseki games. Sora no Kiseki SC, despite having to restart it, is a better game (though the restart happened because I felt like I needed to play through the chapters in very few sittings as opposed to playing the game in bursts). The narrative flows much better and there's more stuff going on. Sometimes the pacing isn't as great as the beginning or the end, but the payoff at the very end is wonderful. The ending of Chapter 8 was so darn interesting, and it made up for all of the waffling around it made you do. Your party distribution felt a lot better than FC's too.

And the soundtrack? Much better than the first's.​

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS360)

This game is better gameplay-wise than its predecessor. The addition of the Brotherhood concept and adding the recruit system was a nice move for some variance. What I loved the most about this game, though? You know how I love Suikoden? I fucking love the townbuilding and renovation aspect of Brotherhood. I think it's incredibly fun, and the fact that it influences your total earnings more than it did in AC2 was welcome. Unlike Revelations, your notoriety doesn't increase when you renovate a building, so you can do it haphazardly because you're trying to get the Roman people on your side. You're passively conquering the city! Even waiting until you destroyed the Borgia towers was a good mechanic because it truly gave the player a sense that you were liberating a portion of the town. Setting different objectives for the player to meet for perfect synch was a good addition as well.​

Atelier Totori (PS3)

I don't think Atelier Rorona jived with me like I wanted it to. I didn't like a lot of the mechanics, and I felt like it wasn't as flexible as I wanted it to be. Totori feels like a generational leap over Rorona. The battle system feels better, gathering and time constraints feel better, and alchemy feels more streamlined. I also feel like Totori's English and Japanese voices were right for her. They both have nice characteristics which help make the character who she is. And the score and art direction in the game are wonderful to experience.​

Edit: Holy shit I forgot about Soul Bubbles. Reading AniHawk's posts about it made me import the Japanese version which I heard was stylistically different from the western version. Regardless, it's a pretty darn good platformer. I'm rather impressed with it.
 

Myriadis

Member
I didn't participated in the GOTY list because the only 2012 game I plyaed was Final Fantasy XIII-2.
All the others I bought are older.
Maybe I shouldn't even number them, as many of them are really equally liked, for different reasons.

1. Mystical Ninja: Goemons Great Adventure (N64)
Really challenging 2.5D platformer. But I love it that you can choose multiple paths, some even leading to new levels, and that the towns are quite big and have some sidequests. The day-night mechanic is absolutely great, makes you rethink sometimes. Oh, and the soundtrack is simply amazing.

2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution(360)
I love it that it shares some stuff with Metal Gear, like getting through the game without killing any enemies (you have to kill the bosses, though) and explorable areas. The story is actually nice and I love the dialogue fights, which can have some consequences later. Huge game, too. Surely took me around 30 hours to finish it.

3. Wario Land 2(GB)
Love it. Ther levels are not as versatile as the ones in Super Mario, and the levels are not filled with secrets like WL4, but it is an absolutely great game. I love it that there are 5 optional stories that lead to 5 optional endings, giving you 25 optional levels. Now trying to find WL3...

Other mentions:
Oracle of Seasons: Not as good as Ages, but still very good.
Resonance of Fate: One of the best RPGs I know.
Red Dead Redemption: Even though I'm not completely a fan of that mission structure, I think that this game is the best one from Rockstar.
 

Joe Lee

Member
Vanquish

All hail Platinum.

EDIT: Although, technically, since it originally came out in 2010, I should be saying Xenoblade Chronicles, but since it didn't get released here until last April, I'll still count it as this year.
 

dralla

Member
Deus Ex HR for me as well, it seems like a popular choice in here. What a great game, if not for crap boss fights and ending, it would be one of the best games of this gen. I picked up the DLC on sale a few weeks back which I hear is good, still need to play through that.
 

Kinosen

Neo Member
0NDTe.jpg


I'll start with my honorable mention, Alpha Protocol.

It's not a game I can recommend without serious reservation because of how frustrating I found some of the enemy/boss encounters to be, but if you're interested in a spy-themed RPG where player choices have a tangible impact on the story, AP is definitely worth looking into.

Besides my Game of Another Year, the following aren't in a particular order.

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Famicom Detective Club Part II

Quoting an earlier post:
This was great. It was a fairly well told mystery story with twists, turns, and several unsettling moments. It's interesting to see not only how far the Super Famicom could go in terms of narrative presentation, but also how far Nintendo would go in content.

I'll add that it's actually a prequel to Part I (which was never remade for the Super Famicom, nor has it been fan-translated) and doesn't require playing the first to understand.

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Sin and Punishment: Star Successor

A great pointer-based rail shooter that takes you through sometimes wacky scenarios (in a good way), and really tests your reflexes.

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ICO HD

A beautiful game (at 1080p) with a minimal atmosphere unlike almost anything else. The combat is pretty mediocre, but the game overall does a great job of using its mechanics to evoke the intended emotions.

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Metal Gear Solid 2 HD

Playing this for the first time years after its original release, not only did I not find the twist offensive, I actually really appreciate how this game, from its promotion to its story progression, all ties into the theme of digital manipulation, and some of the points made in this game are even more relevant today because of Facebook and Twitter. Here's a great article by 1up's Jeremy Parish on that note. If it didn't happen already with MGS1, this game cements Hideo Kojima as one of the few auteurs of gaming, for better for worse. It plays pretty well too!

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Heavy Rain

Coming into this game I already expected poor voice acting, a story riddled with plot holes and silly stuff like "Press X to Jason". While a lot of that stuff is there (though I played with French voices and subtitles), as a big-budget adventure game, I still really enjoyed it and would consider one of the better PS3 exclusive experiences. Even if the story's nothing special, the variety in scenarios and the controller friendly interface make for something unique.

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Flower

A mostly relaxing and colorful experience, but by the end,
also thrilling, I mean, it's literally Flower Power!
. It's just really cool when a game can empower a player through nonviolent mechanics.

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Shadow of the Colossus HD

From the art and music, to the unreal scale of the Colossi, the way that Agro the horse controls and animates, and how each of the Colossi fall, there's really no other game quite like this. The improved framerate is also a plus.

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Valkyria Chronicles

I don't play a lot of strategy RPGs, but the way the map transitions to third person unit control is really intuitive, and the pencil artstyle is nothing to sneeze at either. Just a well-made game all around.

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Game of Another Year 2012

Metal Gear Solid 3 HD

Plain and simple, KojiPro's masterpiece made even better. In addition to the Subsistence camera and 60fps framerate, you have the atmosphere of a Bond-Rambo mismash that has no business working but does, really engaging characters, and some downright nutty boss battles. All of that on top of really tense stealth situations and an incredible endgame make this the best game I've played this year, period.
 
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