Something went wrong. Try again later

Giant Bomb News

95 Comments

Jeff Green's Top 10 Games of 2012

Everyone's favorite gaming dad comes home for the holidays with 10 games he loves more than he'll ever love you.

No Caption Provided

Jeff Green has been writing about games since you were in short pants, having worked at magazine publisher Ziff Davis for 17 years, starting as an associate editor for Computer Gaming World and ending as the editor-in-chief of PC content for 1UP.com. After a brief stint at EA, where he worked on The Sims franchise in various capacities, Jeff is now the Director of Editorial and Social Media for PopCap Games, whatever the hell that means.

First, some disclaimers, so you don’t think I’m a total a-hole or moron with this list. I mean, I may in fact be both of those things, but I don’t think my Game of the Year list should determine that. If you want reasons why I’m a total a-hole or moron, please consult with my wife.

Anyway, so here’s the deal. I don't get to play every game I want to because:

1. I have to pay for most of them myself, unlike the elite snobs of the gaming press, like the 1-percenters at Giant Bomb.

2. I'm super busy with my job tweeting about PopCap games, which, as you might imagine, is exhausting and super stressful. (It’s listed as third (3) in the American Society of Sociologists (ASS) chart of most stressful jobs, right after airline pilot and fluffer for Justin Bieber).

3. I'm old and fall asleep early now, instead of gaming all night like I used to. Which I don’t have a joke for. It’s just sad and true. I’ll tell you this, though: Don’t get old. It fucking blows.

Anyway, those are my excuses for not playing some of the games that other people are going to say are one of the 10 best. Maybe they are. I don’t know because I didn’t play them. So if I’m wrong, or missed one of your favorites, go ahead and sue me. Try it. I have a team of lawyers so powerful and Jewish, they’ll countersue you back into the Stone Age, where the only games you’ll have to play are with rocks and sticks and animal carcasses. We clear? Great. So here are some of the games I never got to at all in 2012, which may or may not be awesome, who the hell knows: Mass Effect 3 (sorry!), Assassin's Creed III, Guild Wars 2 (sorry again!) Far Cry 3 (even sorrier!), Max Payne 3, and Black Ops II. I unfortunately also didn’t get as far enough into Halo 4 as I would have liked, though I did play enough of Spartan Ops to think it was super cool. But… can’t put in on the list with a clean conscience.

Okay, enough yammering. Here’s the list. In reverse order to build suspense because god knows I’m as gripped as you are right here.

10. Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings

Firaxis Games’ big achievement in 2012 comes way later on this list, and, I suppose technically this is “just” an expansion, but it’s such a goddang great one that it totally elevates the original to the point where you realize all this stuff should have just been there in the first place. But that’s not a knock against Firaxis. It can’t be easy shepherding the most legendary and beloved strategy series in PC gaming, and yet, here they are, keeping it solid and invigorating and addictive as hell over 20 years since the first game came out. I’d actually gone back to Civ IV before Gods & Kings. This one brought me back into the fold, a believer again, and I’m happy to be back.

9. Triple Town

Okay, technically it came out before 2012 on Kindle, Facebook, and Google+, but we’re not counting that because nobody does. It came out in 2012 for iOS and Steam, and it is by far the best “Match Three” game outside of the one that puts my kid through college. The geniuses at Spry Fox took an overly familiar concept and crafted something wholly and surprisingly new: A Match Three that is also a city builder. Match three grass to make a bush, match three bushes to make a tree, match three trees to make a house… and so on. So ridiculously addictive that it’s the first game in years to give me Tetris Dream Syndrome… where I’m matching pieces in my dreams. Don’t be a snooty “I don’t play casual games” loser. Just slum it with the rest of us and thank me later.

8. Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Since I haven’t played Mass Effect 3 yet, the pressure was on: How do I get an EA game on this list so I can keep my job in 2013? Thankfully, Criterion came to the rescue, as they usually do, with this fantastic edition to the creaky-yet-still-kicking old franchise. To be totally honest, I tend to prefer their Burnout games, since I’m better at crashing than racing, but this is just a stupendous achievement, especially in the way it lets you compete against your friends online without actually, ya know, having to socialize with them. The open-world city is huge and full of challenges, surprises, and Easter eggs, and there was never a minute playing this when I was not totally happy. And if this isn’t enough to keep me employed, fuck it. It’s still a great game.

7. Borderlands 2

I resisted Borderlands 1, mostly because it seemed, at the time, too much like Diablo Wsith guns. And I already loved Diablo. But since Diablo III was ultimately a big disappointment for me (sorry!), this was the year in which Diablo With Guns 2 actually worked for me. Maybe it was the dialog, which was funnier than ever, or the graphics, which reminded me yet again why I love cel-shaded games so much more than those with “realistic” graphics. But, nah, it was the sheer organic tomfoolery of the whole enterprise. As with Criterion, you get the sense that Gearbox makes games because they actually enjoy them. And they put things in games just so you can have fun. Which seems simple and obvious--except so many companies don’t do this.

6. Dishonored

The last game I finished in 2012 turned out to be one of the best. Enough has been said about Arkane Studios/Bethesda’s new IP that you don’t really need me blathering about it, but, yeah, what they said. The amount of freedom and choice in this (relatively) open-world stealth game is astounding. How they play-balanced this thing gives me a headache just to think about, and yet it is balanced. There isn’t one single way--stealthy, magical, shoot-everything-that-moves--that will get you through the game in a way that feels like “cheating.” I love the world they created here, but also wish they’d have done more with it. Since Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite novel of all time, I’m a-okay with revenge stories, but in the end the story felt a little more linear--and thus the world was a lot smaller--than I ultimately expected. Still, a great achievement, and super heartening to see such stellar new IP. Now hoping for an even better Dishonored 2.

5. Mark of the Ninja

My other favorite stealth game of the year. And, hey, before Dishonored and this one, I didn’t even think I liked stealth games anymore! Like Dishonored, Klei Entertainment's 2D side-scroller/platformer excels in offering multiple solutions to every challenge in the game. It’s just a big playground of toys and tools and powers, and I loved it to pieces. What was especially well done was the extensive alert system, one of the best I’ve ever seen in a game--with both visual and audio clues guiding you without ever making it too easy. There’s been a lot of hoohah the last couple years about “retro” games, but most of those, I have to admit, have left me a bit cold, feeling more like intellectual exercises than anything else. Mark of the Ninja knocks it out of the park where it matters most--gameplay--and holds its own against all the big budget games of this year.

4. Journey

Yeah, yeah, I know: “It’s not a game.” There’s one other on this list that has been accused of the same thing. But whatever. Fuck you. Like that other game, this was a thoroughly moving affair from start to finish--one of the most weirdly, profoundly uplifting experiences I’ve ever had in front of a game console. Thatgamecompany somehow, without a word of dialog or much in the way of actual “game”, still managed to craft a suspenseful, gripping experience that, I think, is all about how much you put into it. Play it dispassionately, waiting to be entertained, and you’re likely to be underwhelmed. But in the right mood, and with the right emotional investment, Journey can hit you, as the kids say, “right in the feels.” God I hate that expression. But that’s what it did for me.

3. FTL: Faster Than Light

Look at me, putting all these indie games on my list! I’m so hip that way! Someone buy me a $5 free-trade coffee to spill on my retro typewriter! But hey, it was that kind of year. I didn’t even get to FTL until last month, but once I did, good lord, did it have its way with me. FTL thoroughly seduced and used me, and I yet I kept (keep) coming back for more, gladly. This devious little strategy game from Subset Games is, when you get right down to it, little more than an Excel spreadsheet with (bad) graphics, and yet, for strategy fans, it’s a tiny little holy grail of awesome, demanding repeated play to understand and master (hah!) the moves, tactics, and decisions that will finally let you beat that feshtunken rebel flagship, my overall pick for Villain of the Year. Yes, it is occasionally totally unfair (sun flare and intruders on my second jump in Sector One--yeah, fuck you too, FTL!), but that actually just added to the charm for me. FTL had the balls to be hard, even obnoxiously so, and for that I give it my middle finger salute and high place on this list. Rock on.

2. The Walking Dead

The most emotionally gripping game of this year and, seriously, possibly ever--and that will only feel like an exaggeration if you haven't played it yet. I'd agree with many folks that it's more "interactive fiction" than "game," but only if such distinctions really matter to you (and I don’t know why they should) is this anything to get butt-hurt about. The truth is, the “game” part was all about decision-making, and the decisions you had to make in The Walking Dead were never easy, always brutal, and never quite "rewarding" in the way gamers are used to. That is, unlike other games that pretend to offer choice, there wasn't a "good" or "bad" path to take here. Most choices were between the lesser of two evils. And even choices that may have seemed "good" in the moment--like giving a revolting character a break--might come to bite you in the ass later on, when you learn you maybe you should have just killed him in the first place. It’s just never easy. Telltale Games has made many good games before, but nothing even remotely like this. This is a true breakthrough, not just for them, but for interactive storytelling and, maybe even more important, episodic gaming in general. Telltale proved you can divide a game up, release it in episodes, and have each episode be so great that fans were clamoring for and anticipating each new release, just like the best TV shows. Perhaps most important, The Walking Dead made it clear how important good writing can be in a game, and revealed just how terrible most of it is. Give people real, complex characters to identify with – not stereotypes, not bulleted-lists of characteristics - and they will respond. I went back and forth on whether to make this my #1 Game of the Year, and it really does deserve it. If I did “ties,” it would be with this one, but ya know, that would be cheating. So, as in the game, I had to make a tough, thankless call here. I can’t wait for Season Two.

1. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

My number one pick for the year, in the end, really had to be this, if only because this was the game that obsessed me like no other in 2012. I have hundreds of hours invested already, and I’m not done. Not by a long shot. I suppose there might be some nostalgia involved here, as Firaxis Games’ reboot of the beloved 90s strategy series is, if nothing else, a paean to those classics. But, if that’s all XCOM was, it would have gotten boring fast. What Firaxis did instead, quite remarkably, is stay utterly faithful to the spirit of the old games while also expertly bringing it into the 21st century, making this hardcore PC strategy game about an alien invasion of Earth accessible to newer audiences, even on consoles--which would have been unheard of back in the day. I love what Firaxis has done with all aspects of the user experience--the interface, graphics, controls, menus, all of it, make a thoroughly complex game surprisingly easy to comprehend, while retaining the underlying difficulty of the experience. (And if you’re naïve enough to think you’ve “mastered” it, you can bump up the difficulty level to feel like a bumbling chump all over again.) PC gamers had been dying for an XCOM reboot for years, but even while doing so, I think there was great trepidation as to whether the magic could be recaptured. I think most of us thought that it would probably just suck. Firaxis not only made a game that doesn’t suck, but did tremendous honor to the original without being stuck in the past either. Yeah, I know there are a few flaws--night missions would have been great, the reliance on cover feels a little forced and Gears of War-y. But in the end, that amounted to very little for me. I loved it. I don’t think XCOM was the most profound or groundbreaking game of the year--that honor goes to The Walking Dead--but, in the end, it gets my vote if for just one simple reason--and fact--alone: for weeks straight, I actually set my alarm so that I could wake up early and play it before going to work. That’s how addicted I was. And that’s about as good a definition of a Game of the Year as I can think of.

95 Comments

Avatar image for paulunga
paulunga

3517

Forum Posts

176

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

Edited By paulunga

Jeff Green is the best.

Avatar image for shingro
Shingro

324

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Shingro

Jeff Green is one of the Top Men of gaming, keep on truckin' man, we all approve of you

Avatar image for nephrahim
Nephrahim

1265

Forum Posts

3

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By Nephrahim

Jeff Green!

Also XCOM! Man that game is amazing and I'm glad everyone else knows it .

Avatar image for huzzabari
Huzzabari

41

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By Huzzabari

Love me some Green!

Avatar image for birchman
birchman

853

Forum Posts

7695

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 9

Edited By birchman

Jeff Green might be the best person in the world.

Avatar image for ripelivejam
ripelivejam

13572

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By ripelivejam

SNORTIN THEM SNAXX

Avatar image for theht
TheHT

15998

Forum Posts

1562

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 9

Edited By TheHT

FUCKING SELL OUT.

Ruffles+CanadaDry4Lyfe

Avatar image for erunamo
Erunamo

27

Forum Posts

12

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Erunamo

@skyebaron: That site is amazing, thanks for the link. So many years of content from various podcasts to catch up on, no way I would listen to all episodes individually. Nice to get a selection of great moments.

Avatar image for clush
clush

760

Forum Posts

43

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 3

Edited By clush

If people made a top10 list of top10 lists, this one would take the cake.

Besides this list I have now read the oldtimer's entire blog. All I can say is you should probably do the same.

Avatar image for mumrik
Mumrik

1136

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Mumrik

I feel like that Jeff Green picture is trying to tell me something. I just can't quite put my finger on it... ... ...

Avatar image for satelliteoflove
SatelliteOfLove

1379

Forum Posts

2315

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 8

Edited By SatelliteOfLove

BLEHCK DREHGON.

Avatar image for the_official_japanese_teabag
the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG

4312

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

GOAT Top 10 list

Avatar image for hunter5024
Hunter5024

6708

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 9

Edited By Hunter5024

I hate that I'm craving Doritos right now. Good list.

Avatar image for boobtank
Boobtank

42

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Boobtank

Where do you go when you want more Jeff Green?

Giantbomb!, buy this man out... ;)

Avatar image for yothatlimp
YoThatLimp

2545

Forum Posts

329

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 6

Edited By YoThatLimp

Man, I love Jeff Green.

Avatar image for basketsnake
BasketSnake

1821

Forum Posts

48

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By BasketSnake

I have 4 mill on zen mode. That's a few hours of zen.

Avatar image for enns
Enns

401

Forum Posts

2919

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 1

Edited By Enns

@ExiledVip3r said:

YOU'RE NOT THE LORD OF THE RINGS

God damn I miss that cast.

Avatar image for humanity
Humanity

21858

Forum Posts

5738

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 40

User Lists: 16

Edited By Humanity

Really like his down to earth writing style.

Avatar image for dropabombonit
dropabombonit

1543

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By dropabombonit

Dad knows best

Avatar image for baal_sagoth
Baal_Sagoth

1644

Forum Posts

80

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 10

Edited By Baal_Sagoth

That was an absolute joy to read. Great list. Makes me really miss having your insight into games more regularly or generally reading your writing more often. Well done!

Avatar image for nyhus
Nyhus

140

Forum Posts

8

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Nyhus

X-com wins again, like it should. I like that DIshonored and FTL is on here also.

Avatar image for sithtoast
SithToast

193

Forum Posts

484

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Edited By SithToast

JEFF GREEN'S DORITOGATE

Awesome article, Jeff!

Avatar image for gregomasta
Gregomasta

1599

Forum Posts

438

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By Gregomasta

@buckybit said:

Jeff Green just wrote my biography - not the part about CopPap or his wife - the other thing, about being old and sleep ... and Justin Bieber's fluffer.

Although - does the Biebs even need a fluffer - he's still so young? "Back in MY days ...

No see, I think the joke is that justin beiber likes men, and since his concert is full of milfs and their daughters, justin needs the extra help to keep the masses happy.

Avatar image for confideration
confideration

607

Forum Posts

7

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By confideration

Jeff, from one dad to another - (sorry!)

Avatar image for meatsim
MeatSim

11201

Forum Posts

150

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 23

Edited By MeatSim

Inject the Dew straight into my veins and let me snort that Dorito dust!

Avatar image for p00rdevil
p00rdevil

163

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By p00rdevil

"Look at me, putting all these indie games on my list! I’m so hip that way! Someone buy me a $5 free-trade coffee to spill on my retro typewriter!"

Jeff Greene! haven't heard from him since Computer Games magazine folded. It was better than PC Gamer by a long shot. Among the best writers in gaming journalism, 'ol Jeff is.

Avatar image for little_socrates
Little_Socrates

5847

Forum Posts

1570

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 16

User Lists: 23

Edited By Little_Socrates

Jeff Green, great list!

Avatar image for thor_molecules
Thor_Molecules

792

Forum Posts

10

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Thor_Molecules

Raddest dad in video games.

Avatar image for christaran
ChrisTaran

2054

Forum Posts

-1

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 9

Edited By ChrisTaran

Jeff is the best. More on camera/on mic Jeff please! Just make up some random Popcap PR tour... that only includes GB.

Avatar image for anamanaman
anamanaman

70

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 2

Edited By anamanaman

Love that picture. Please get that guy back on the podcast soon!

Avatar image for younglink
YOUNGLINK

641

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By YOUNGLINK

HOLY SHIT! They make 1.5 liter mountain dew? Everything has changed.

Avatar image for ronald
Ronald

1578

Forum Posts

28

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 8

Edited By Ronald

Ha, I remember when Jeff grabbed those from the side after the Tested crew got bored of it during Octoberkast this year. His face really sold it. Jeff Green is a part of so many great podcast moments.

Also, great list.

Avatar image for npfeifer
NPfeifer

239

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By NPfeifer

Do you know what Jeff Green reminds me of?

Everything I ever wish I could achieve as a human.

Avatar image for monetarydread
monetarydread

2898

Forum Posts

92

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 2

Edited By monetarydread

God Damn I miss Jeff Green as a gaming journalist.

There should be a kickstarter with the goal of getting Jeff Green to work on staff at Giantbomb.

Edit: I'd pay $200 for that.

Avatar image for getbentthevideogame
GetBentTheVideoGame

268

Forum Posts

20

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

Yes! Fuck detente. #itsinthegame

Avatar image for sub_o
sub_o

1261

Forum Posts

38

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 8

Edited By sub_o

@NPfeifer said:

Do you know what Jeff Green reminds me of?

Everything I ever wish I could achieve as a human.

Weirdly he reminds me of a bong. A skull bong.

Avatar image for mezmero
Mezmero

4107

Forum Posts

420

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 16

Edited By Mezmero

Jeff Green is the man. Long live the Brodeo.

Avatar image for deakor
Deakor

44

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Deakor

Any chance to read Jeff Green's writing is most appreciated.

Avatar image for penguindust
penguindust

13129

Forum Posts

22

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 3

Edited By penguindust

Don't get old? Now you tell me.

Anyway, good list I guess. I haven't played as many games this year as I would like for similar reasons (work most of the time, fall asleep early, etc...)

Justin Bieber has a fluffer? Life's been tough for Selina since she left Disney, eh?

Avatar image for gaspower
GaspoweR

4904

Forum Posts

272

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 2

Edited By GaspoweR

@sub_o said:

@NPfeifer said:

Do you know what Jeff Green reminds me of?

Everything I ever wish I could achieve as a human.

Weirdly he reminds me of a bong. A skull bong.

TESTED

Avatar image for vikg
VikG

159

Forum Posts

2052

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By VikG

Woohoo Jeff Green Content!!!!! Thanks Jeff

Avatar image for nickscorner
NicksCorner

569

Forum Posts

5

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 1

Edited By NicksCorner

Really entertaining read, thanks.

Avatar image for cassus
cassus

401

Forum Posts

2

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

Edited By cassus

That shirt is amazing.

Avatar image for drdarkstryfe
DrDarkStryfe

2563

Forum Posts

1672

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 2

Edited By DrDarkStryfe

Jeff Green's hour on Oktobercast was my personal favorite hour.

Avatar image for skuski
skuski

242

Forum Posts

207

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 20

I love revisiting these lists!