2012 was a surprising year. A year that a lot of us probably thought would be a bit of a letdown, but instead I ended up struggling more with this list than I ever had in years past. It was especially difficult determining which game I thought would be number 1, because both games were absolutely phenomenal in their own way. But, without further ado... my 2012 GOTY list!
Wow. This game flew in under the radar, very late in the year, but Far Cry 3 is the best game of 2012. Far Cry 3 captures all of the elements of an open world that make it stand out from other titles by making the world you traverse so lively. There's not a dull moment when wandering around the island 'paradise' you've landed upon, and Ubisoft only went on to tighten up the mechanics of Far Cry 2 that didn't quite work. All in all, Far Cry 3 embodies most everything I like in a video game, and executes well.
If I could assign a Co-Game of the Year award, I would. The Walking Dead is an experience that everyone should embark on, with some of the best storytelling, voice acting, and player-driven consequences ever seen in a video game. Game mechanics are simple, yet intuitive for the genre - making the player make those impulsive decisions by implementing a countdown timer on important dialog decisions, for example, only served to make the game better. The Walking Dead will invoke an emotional response in you at some point, no matter how you choose to play.
As a huge fan of the original Borderlands, I was more than glad to see Borderlands 2 release and expand upon the first game in nearly every way. As expected, there are numerous ways to play the game, depending on your class, and a seemingly endless amount of equipment to acquire for your character. However, Borderlands 2 is best played in co-op with 3 friends, an experience which ranks amongst one of the better co-op games of all time. Paired with its constant humorous writing, and memorable characters, Borderlands 2 is definitely one not to miss out on.
Out with the old, and in with the new. Halo 4 is 343 Industries' first go at the series, and they did an excellent job at continuing Master Chief's saga. The graphics have received a major bump, a new, fun enemy type was introduced, and multiplayer was improved on, all while maintaining that same Halo-esque feel to the gameplay. Halo 4 only falls short in its storytelling, opting to utilize terminals to detail significant plot points, as opposed to presenting them up front to the player. All in all, 343 exceeded expectations with their first go around at the series.
Sleeping Dogs is an interesting title. I personally fell in love with the streets of Taiwan, and the story was solid for an open-world title. The best thing about Sleeping Dogs, however, is its hand-to-hand combat. The combat system in Sleeping Dogs mirrors that of the more recent Batman games, while implementing some environmental kills as well. The game is just plain fun to play, and is a decent departure from other open-world crime games.
Dishonored is another original IP released this year that I really liked. I really appreciated the way that the game allowed players to play how they wanted to, whether it be stealthy, or to kill everything in sight that moves, or a mixture of both, all while making those mechanics work well, and has inspired me to want to come back to replay the game. Definitely one of the better games of 2012.
Forza Horizon does a great job of taking the series in an entirely different direction, by creating a larger, open world for players to drive about in. Forza still maintains its revered gameplay in doing this, while broadening the experience and making improvements overall. Horizon was a huge step up from 4, in my opinion, and while at first I was skeptical that we'd see another Forza game on the 360, this one doesn't disappoint.
I'm very conflicted with this game still, to this day. The opening set the bar high for the game, and then proceeded to drag me around in a 4-5 hour tutorial. While the opening plot twist was interesting, the long buildup to the point where players are finally playing as Connor, the Assassin deterred me at first. Afterwards, the game turned into one of the better games in the series, short of its ridiculous chase missions and bizarre ending. I really liked most of AC3, and a lot of its gameplay additions worked great, but too many others seemed half-baked, and rather useless. Still a good game, overall.
Syndicate was one of the most under appreciated games of 2012. The setting and story were interesting, and the game played well. Syndicate also carried one of the better soundtracks of 2012, in my opinion, and simply just worked. The co-op missions were challenging, yet fun, as well. It's too bad to see how poorly it sold - I would've liked to see what could have been done with future entries into the series.
I still can't believe Diablo III took as long as it did in development. The game itself was enjoyable as a dungeon crawler, integrating some much needed features inspired by Torchlight into an already solid game, but the addition of the Auction House and the constant requirement to be online while playing are things that hurt the game moreso than they helped. Diablo also probably had one of the worst video game launches that I can personally remember, which only seemed to amplify these issues. I had a good time with the game overall, though, and those thirsting for a dungeon crawler absolutely filled to the brim with loot will enjoy as well.
0 Comments