BESTEST GAMES OF 2012 IN THE WORLD EVER

[Specially Cork]

I could rant all day about what a bollocks year this has been and how many potentially AAA games turned into disappointments , but instead I'll just name and shame them:

- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Assassin's Creed 3
- SSX
- Max Payne 3
- Hitman Absolution

All shit. Especially AC3. It was my absolute lock-in for GOTY and...nope.

Anyway, with most of the AAA stuff burning in a dumpster somewhere my eyes were opened to several surprises and I think that makes my Top 5 a bit special this year. Here we go...in reverse order!!

5) Sleeping Dogs

It's no GTA, but it had a nice setting and the melee combat was great.

4) Dragon's Dogma

Very glitchy and rough around the edges. But the online pawn system was a stand-out innovative feature and the boss-mounting combat put Skyrim's dragon fights to shame.

3) Katawa Shoujo

lol

2) Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed

Whaaaaaaaat. Massive suprise. Probably the best kart racer of all time. Driving/Flying around the Skies of Arcadia course that is gradually destroyed over 3 laps is absolutely amazing and the high-point of excellent course design across the board. The World Tour mode - with all it's extra gameplay modes (like Virtua Tennis) adds a huge amount of content that Mario Kart lacks.

1) Journey

Linear and short, but that just means I can easily replay it. Which is great, because it's a stunning experience every time.

[melancholy]

Huh. So I'm sitting here, thinking back on the last year of video games trying to come up with a top 5 game list...and I've realized that I have literally only played 5 games that have come out in 2012. I played Asura's Wrath, Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Mass Effect 3, Nintendoland and Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. And that's even considering I've bought two new consoles this year (a Vita and a Wii U). I technically have played Mario Bros Wii U, but only about 30 minutes worth. Asura's Wrath has only had about 2 hours of play, and Dream Drop Distance was quit after the first world. Also, the only Vita games I have played are Rayman Origins and Jet Set Radio, both of which are ports of earlier versions.

Honestly, the majority of my year was taken up by 3 console games: Assassin's Creed Revelations in January and February, The Mass Effect series starting in March and going until July, and Skyrim from August until most likely April of next year. I simply just don't play console games much anymore. I'm way more active with my handhelds, having played Final Fantasy 9, Chrono Trigger DS, Kingdom Hearts ReCoded, Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 (emulated on the iPad), Yoshi's Island, two Layton games...and I'm sure there were more DS games I can't think of right now. But, once again, all older games.

This year hasn't been a particularly bad year for games, but in comparison to the year before, there just wasn't anything I absolutely had to have. I still want Assassin's Creed 3 more than any other game this year, but I know until I beat Skyrim I will never touch it (and I'm only 88 hours into Skyrim, which is probably about 1/3 through it). The new Paper Mario looks great, but Layton will take me at least another 3 weeks to get through. Need for Speed Most Wanted looks amazing, but I most likely will put that off until it hits the $20 level. And I have both Xenoblade and Last Story sitting on my shelf collecting dust because I just can't motivate myself to fire up the old Wii and give them a shot.

[DaMadFiddler]

I bought very, very few games this year. Compared to the last couple of years, 2012 was practically a wasteland for gaming.

Haven't played Journey yet, and following up on Boney's post, I have heard that the Sonic racing game is shockingly good (as in "holy crap, they beat MarioKart at its own game" good). Honestly, the best (new) games I've played this year are Dark Souls and New Super Mario Bros. U, neither of which really does anything new. They're both well-done games that stick quite close to their predecessors.

Pretty much everything else I bought this year was not actually a 2012 release.

[Luriden]

Borderlands 2 and Black Ops 2 for me.

Mainly Borderlands 2 though. I've only had it since Christmas and it's topped the first game in pretty much every way, and the first was already one of my favorite games ever.

Black Ops 2. Hurray for a coherent campaign with characters that have personality and a villain with a backstory and purpose, other than "Here's the bad guy. He's a terrorist and wants to destroy your country because he's bad. Kill him." I almost felt sympathy for the villain at times. The choices you could make throughout the campaign affected the story in interesting ways; interesting enough to make me want to play through the campaign again to see how it COULD have ended. Multiplayer is the best in a CoD game yet, but it's still CoD, if you didn't like it before you won't like it now. I've never liked Zombie mode so I skipped it, but I'm sure it's good too if you're into that sort of thing.

I plan on getting Sonic Racing Transformed very soon, and though I haven't played it yet, I'll reserve a space in this post for it. I loved Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, I'm sure I'll love transformed. I actually went to Best Buy to pick it up with a gift card and they were sold out. My impatient-ass bought some MS points to get the Borderlands 2 DLC instead.

[not just souLLy now]

In no particular order:

Fez: I know it divides opinion but I loved this start to finish, the whole aesthetic, the mystery element and the discovery. Possibly my favourite game of the year.
The Walking Dead: Again I can understand people not liking this style of game, but for me this was a really pleasant surprise. Comic/TV show fans need this game.
Super Mario 3D Land: It's the closest to a Mario 64 sequel that the series has ever had.

And these count because I got them last Christmas:
Zelda Skyward Sword: Loved it as usual, I'd change a few things but one of the best in the series
Assassins Creed Revelations: I've played the same game with different packaging, what, 5 times now? Still good.
Batman Arkham City: Holy shit, incredible. Again.

*Edit also have a Wii U, but I only have Mario and it's too early to make a call on it.

[Specially Cork]

Zelda Skyward Sword: Loved it as usual, I'd change a few things but one of the best in the series

I was going to make a huge rant about it on here, but didn't bother because nobody posts anymore. So I just thought I'd slap my opinion in here seeing as you mentioned it.

I said last year how much I love this game. I think Mel said it was the best Zelda game ever - which I stopped short of because I feel it has some terrible pacing issues later in the game. But, this year I picked up a 3DS and of course picked up OoT 3D. And...I agree with Mel now. After Skyward Sword old Zelda gameplay just doesn't seem good enough anymore. I've played through Ocarina so many times, but only this time did I find myself not really enjoying it that much. We're in a brave new world, where the supposed greatest game of all time actually isn't all that anymore.

[melancholy]

So I decided I still have time to remedy this lack of 2012 games that I've played. I heard Journey is a short game, and it was on sale on PSN, so I'm going to do it. I am going to be stuck at home on New Year's Eve anyway, so that should give me the time I need to play through that game from front to back before the ball drops at midnight.

[PH3NOM]

Overall, I was happy with the new games I played through this year, If I beat the game, it means I liked it.

Games I beat this year:
-Max Payne 3
-Dishonored

Games I enjoyed, but did not have time to beat:
-Sleeping Dogs
-NBA 2k13
-Batman Arkham City
-Inversion

Games that were a big disappointment:
-Far Cry 3 ( still only played the first 20 minutes and got bored )
-Prototype 2 ( could not get into it like the first one )

[Klonoa]

Guild Wars 2
P4 Golden
Dark Souls (end of 2011 x__x)
Batman Arkham

Games I enjoyed this year

Gravity Rush
Max Payne 3
Uncharted the Golden Abyss

Disappointing

Resistance Burning Skies - (I was looking forward to it the whole game is mediocre no up to par with the other games stories.)
Sonic All Star Racing Transformed - (Menus and Loading screen music are so yawn-boring it induces sleep makes the game lose momentum)
SFxT - (Graphics are pretty bad, gems feel worthless, few stages, it doesn't feel like there's a real clash between the characters and the whole story revolves around a box. Combo system is too spammy.)

[not just souLLy now]

Zelda Skyward Sword: Loved it as usual, I'd change a few things but one of the best in the series

I was going to make a huge rant about it on here, but didn't bother because nobody posts anymore. So I just thought I'd slap my opinion in here seeing as you mentioned it.

I said last year how much I love this game. I think Mel said it was the best Zelda game ever - which I stopped short of because I feel it has some terrible pacing issues later in the game. But, this year I picked up a 3DS and of course picked up OoT 3D. And...I agree with Mel now. After Skyward Sword old Zelda gameplay just doesn't seem good enough anymore. I've played through Ocarina so many times, but only this time did I find myself not really enjoying it that much. We're in a brave new world, where the supposed greatest game of all time actually isn't all that anymore.

Tend to agree actually, what it got right far outweighs what it got wrong. My biggest issues with the game are the repeated boss sections which felt like they were unnecessarily dragging out the length of the game (short but awesome is perfectly fine with me these days, since my gaming time is limited) and Skyloft felt pretty empty, I missed the town exploring that has been a staple of the series.

[melancholy]

Beat Journey at 11:58pm. Just in time to watch guys make out in Times Square when the ball dropped. And I would call it game of the year had it not been for the random people that would appear and completely rip me out of the experience. I would be aimlessly wandering around when suddenly a cutscene happens because someone is blowing through the level solving stuff. Nothing ruins an experience more than having all the puzzles solved for you while you are trying to explore. Not to mention the annoying glow showing you where the second person is and the Navi 'Hey Listen' button that people keep pressing in hopes I would run over and charge their scarf. If I ever play this game again, I'm pulling the network cable. Then maybe I can actually enjoy this game properly.

[Specially Cork]

Beat Journey at 11:58pm. Just in time to watch guys make out in Times Square when the ball dropped. And I would call it game of the year had it not been for the random people that would appear and completely rip me out of the experience. I would be aimlessly wandering around when suddenly a cutscene happens because someone is blowing through the level solving stuff. Nothing ruins an experience more than having all the puzzles solved for you while you are trying to explore. Not to mention the annoying glow showing you where the second person is and the Navi 'Hey Listen' button that people keep pressing in hopes I would run over and charge their scarf. If I ever play this game again, I'm pulling the network cable. Then maybe I can actually enjoy this game properly.

lol. For me the game would be completely forgettable without the online component. Working through the game together with a total stranger you can't properly communicate with is what makes the game such an amazing experience.

...with that said though, I bought the game and played it at launch so have never been in a position where my online buddy has known more about the game than me.

[Jeeba Jabba]

FarCry 3 - Exceeded expectations. I think I'm finally close to beating a FarCry game.

Sleeping Dogs - Wow. What a surprise. I know that the size and scope doesn't compare to any GTA titles, but with that being said, I had more fun with this one than all of the GTA titles I've poured hundreds of hours into. The most memorable feature was the arcadey, even sticky, driving physics. At first I was alarmed... and then I was addicted.

Mass Effect 3 - Just because I'm a huge nerd for the franchise.


Those are the only titles (of 2012) I can really remember falling into last year. Most of my time is still consumed by Total War mods and such. If I remember any others, send me a PM and I'll tell you how I feel about those.

[melancholy]

Beat Journey at 11:58pm. Just in time to watch guys make out in Times Square when the ball dropped. And I would call it game of the year had it not been for the random people that would appear and completely rip me out of the experience. I would be aimlessly wandering around when suddenly a cutscene happens because someone is blowing through the level solving stuff. Nothing ruins an experience more than having all the puzzles solved for you while you are trying to explore. Not to mention the annoying glow showing you where the second person is and the Navi 'Hey Listen' button that people keep pressing in hopes I would run over and charge their scarf. If I ever play this game again, I'm pulling the network cable. Then maybe I can actually enjoy this game properly.

lol. For me the game would be completely forgettable without the online component. Working through the game together with a total stranger you can't properly communicate with is what makes the game such an amazing experience.

...with that said though, I bought the game and played it at launch so have never been in a position where my online buddy has known more about the game than me.

I had a person or two that actually was exploring just like I was, and then it was okay. I could totally understand having that sense of isolation broken by another confused sole working with you to try to make sense of the world. But more often I would get people that acted like they were trying to speedrun the game, which completely ruined some of the fun exploration.

This one level in particular where you had to rebuild a broken bridge was the worst example. I walked into the level with another person and saw one of those glowing symbols that extend your scarf just off in the distance. I decide to head for that first, but just trying to get across the level was a chore. I wouldn't get 20 feet and a cutscene would occur where a section of the bridge would appear. By the time I crossed the chasm and got the symbol, the bridge was built and the guy was gone. I have no idea how he even built the bridge.

Same thing happened towards the end of the game with that chamber that you had to fill with light to float to the top. Before I could even get my bearings, the person ahead of me had already triggered the next level of light. I was stuck a level or two below him in a hopeless race to get above the light before he would fill the room again.

If this was a big epic game, I might not have cared so much. But when you have a 3 hour game that encourages exploring everything, having another person forcing you to move faster was complete joy kill.