Well it's that time of the year again, where boys and girls of the video gaming world decide which games of the past year have stood out and been their favourites. I thought that this year I would go ahead and document my personal top 3 games of 2012. So without further ado, let's get to it.

3. Assassin's Creed III

In 2006/2007 a new IP by Ubisoft was announced called Assassin's Creed. I was excited ever since I saw it's debut trailer when I was 15 years old or so. This was somewhat of a important event in my life as it was the first time I saw a game trailer that tricked my brain into thinking it was a movie trailer, and from that moment on I got more involved in what its like to follow a game during development, to learn how they're made and go from (for lack of a better phrase) a 'Casual Gamer' to 'Hardcore Gamer'. That game came out 5 years ago and crafted a story and setting I fell in love with right from the moment I watched that trailer and played the finished title. Now in 2012 we have the end to this climatic trilogy, that had me excited to see how the story would play out and the vast improvements that were being touted. I found the conclusion to the story intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying and game design that was good in some ways but not particularly focused in others, I still had a blast with this chapter to a franchise I hold very dear.

While I did find some story elements leaving me wanting and the conclusion unsatisfying, gameplay mechanics being buried and ultimately useless and therefore left unused. It was the gorgeous, engrossing world and setting, the conflicting yet similar ideals of the Templars and Assassins, the now streamlined free running, brutal, fluid combat, breathtaking naval combat, interesting characters and the mysterious, somewhat vague world of the present day stuff (can you believe that part of the story being the near future in 2007 is now technically in the past?!?) finally getting significant development and closure, and finally the amount of optional side missions to do, which is especially interesting for me because I never do side stuff in games unless story is involved. I easily spent 30+ hours saving the world one Templar at a time. Assassin's Creed III is an obvious choice to be on my list.

2. The Walking Dead

Well what can I say about The Walking Dead? The fact that I have to say something about why I like it so much is that there is the possibility that some of you who are reading this haven't played this masterpiece in storytelling and therefore, I say 'Shame on you!’ The Walking Dead is special. When zombies became tiresome for me around 2009, all that fatigue washed away when I watched The Walking Dead TV Series because it was less about the zombies and more about ordinary people having to do sinful acts and in the process lose a bit of their humanity to preserve their own lives as well as their fellow survivors and loved ones.

When I played the game back in April 2012, it became clear the this was one of the most incredible consequence filled, character dramas I have ever witnessed in any medium whether it be TV, Film or Video Game, The Walking Dead is a must for anyone who likes storytelling especially when it's influenced by you. Sure the gameplay maybe a little light especially in episode 5 and the consoles are plagued with performance issues, it's the fact that my heart pounded like a drum whenever a character (especially Clementine) was in peril or I had to make difficult choices (believe me they are difficult and grim), and I felt like I needed a shower straight after playing episode 3 (boy was it a doozy!), it's an unflinching, dark, brutal, tense journey being Lee, when surviving hell on earth. Go play it if you haven't.

1. Max Payne 3

Having been in a personal dark place myself seeking absolution/redemption (which I'm just now hoping to achieve) when I played Max Payne on the PC for the first time in November 2011. I was hooked to everything about it. So much so that after the credits rolled I immediately bought Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne on Steam and played through it within a weekend. Max Payne was such and still is a relatable character that I now hold dear in my heart. His suffering of depression, regret and seeking inner peace and absolution himself, I eagerly anticipated his modern day return in Max Payne 3, and I was well and truly satisfied and beyond. It's safe to say that Rockstar Games are my favourite developers, I thought they would be a perfect choice to carry on the Max Payne series, and while they did go with their own tone and style with the game, they crafted something more mature and just cool as the graphic novel presentation in past games. Not only that Max Payne 3 has incredible production values, great voice acting, fun gameplay, detailed animation, decent visuals, sound, music, engrossing dialogue and story. And I have barely touched the multiplayer!

Considering Max Payne 3 is now in my favourite games list and the fact that I'm on my 3rd playthrough as I am typing this, makes Max Payne 3 a no brainer for the number 1 slot. If I have to level any criticisms at the game, it has some harsh checkpointing and doesn't quite nail that balance between animation and functionality in its shooting controls, but these are mere blemishes on what is otherwise an incredible game, and alarmingly underrated since I'm not seeing it mentioned in other people's GOTY lists!?!? So if they won't, then I will, so here's to you Max Payne 3. You're my favourite game of 2012.

- UKSamwise

(If you like to follow me on Twitter: @uksamwise or Tumblr: uksamwise.tumblr.com)

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!! LET'S MAKE 2013 A GOOD ONE!

This morning I came across a forum topic that asked a question that I've been asking since 2008 but many more people have been asking since 2006: 'Where is the sequel to Bully?' This got me thinking about other games that either deserved a sequel or maybe could use a sequel to "Get it right" the second time. So without further ado, I present my personal list of of game that should have a sequel.

1. Bully/Canis Canem Edit

Back in 2008 the PS2 title Bully managed to get a HD re-release in the form of Bully: Scholarship Edition for the XBOX360 and Wii. I had never play the original but Jeff Gerstmann's Gamespot review and the fact the game utilised the same amazing combat mechanics as The Warriors, I was onboard to play it on the 360. What I discovered when I put the disc in the tray and opened the doors to Bullworth Academy was how the interactions of NPCs (which the GTA series has used to bring the various cities to life) were applied in a school environment, to my amazement I immediatly saw a bully run up to a girl and smack her testbook out her hands for her to then run away crying, a prefect then went in pursuit of the bully and a kid got thrown into a bin. Over the next 15-20 hours, I wedgied bullies, put fire crackers in the toilets, bunny hopped on my bike, hid in lockers, befriended the various cliques and my personal favourite; throwing marbles in front of the dormentory doors, pulling the fire alarm and letting mayhem ensue. This game in one word is delightful (although that can't be said about some of the characters you come across) it oozed with charm, humour and mischief and I haven't even mentioned the gadgets you recieve, the seasonal changes, the town area and the INCREDIBLE soundtrackjust play it if you haven't and if have then keep on asking that question "Where's the sequel?!?"

2. Mirror's Edge

Now I'm not going to lie I didn't enjoy Mirror's Edge as much as most people did but I did see the one great thing about Mirror's Edge, the exhilarating sense of speed and movement; chase sequences have never been more thrilling but a couple of big issues got in the way of enjoyment mainly because they cut up the momentum. This includes the terrible, clumsy, frustrating combat to the mediocre story that didn't really give me a "carrot on a stick" incentive but the parkour movement from a first person view was like nothing you had ever played before especially when I was running to the tip of a crane to then leaping and sliding down another in a facist, squeaky-clean world to escape pursuers was just, well, exhilarting. It's the only word to describe it, I was hopeful that a sequel would improve things although that seems to look extremely doubtful at this stage it's just the potential was there, it's a real shame (as with any video game) that the execution was not.

3. Prince of Persia

In 2008 we saw a the reboot for the current generation of consoles of probably my favourite trilogy of the last gen, Prince of Persia. The reboot would sport an all new Prince, love interest/sidekick, new combat mechanics, gorgeous visuals but the same unforgettable platforming and all this was met upon by critical success. Most reviewers did agree that it was too easy, it was still a great game in it's own right with likeable protagonists, interesting combat and in my mind a great way to start this rebooted series. It's been three years now and apart from DLC released shortly after launch acting as an epilogue, we have yet to get even a smidgen of news of the prince's continuing adventures. More troubling is the fact the team went on to design a movie tie-in (understandable) to the Prince of Persia movie but weirdly enough they used the Prince from the last generation fitting it into the timeline of the previous trilogy. It just seems messy to end a trilogy on the last gen consoles to then put effort into making a successful reboot, to then go back to the old trilogy for a movie tie-in to then not even follow the story of the film, (although I think it's smart not to follow the films plot and try to go for a completely different story) why did they not use the new prince? Better still why did they not make a sequel to the 2008 Prince of Persia and market it with the film? I just feels messy and bewildering to me but hey, maybe one day we'll see this reboot get the sequel that will make it an interesting and hopefully successful trilogy.

So these are just 3 games that I hope will get sequels one day and if you have any games you wish had sequels tell me which and why in the comments.

-UKSamwise

Today I finally managed to get my teeth into the Mortal Kombat demo which recently became available on Playstation Network. After putting in a week or so of casual Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 playtime on the Xbox 360, I was anxious to see the whole "What's old is new" aesthetic that is the main driving force for the gameplay in the new Mortal Kombat and boy did it exceed that.
 
In the demo you are able to play half of the "Ladder mode" which seems to be the classic fighting game campaign mode and local two player 1v1 match. There are a choice of 4 characters: Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Mileena and Johnny Cage at your disposal and 2 classic stages returning The Pit and The Living Forest but enough about the demo details it's how the game plays that you want to know. Earlier I mentioned the "What's old is new" aesthetic and what I mean by that or rather the developers is that Mortal Kombat is now gone back to it's roots of the early 90s to 2D fighting much like Street Fighter IV, and having come from playing UMK3, you can definitely get the same "feel" from the old days although more responsive and in turn more accesible to even new players prone to button mashing. 
 
From what I got from the demo casual players will have fun and so will veteran players especially now thanks to game giving you the option to look at the command list for button combinations on fatalities (something that pleases me especially now that I won't have to peruse the internet on how to pull them off and unsuccessfully being able to do so) including the usual move set. Another new feature is a new meter at the bottom of the screen containing three tiers, first tier is the "Enhanced" move (which are more commonly known as EX moves to Street Fighter players) which basically gives your special moves an extra kick or in this case a punch or two. Next is the "Kombo Breaker" returning from MK vs DC Universe which at any time you opponent is wailing on you, you can pull block button mid-combo and break out of being juggled in the air, which can be devishly handy against experience players who maybe are able to perform 80% combos. Lastly is the new and brutal "X-ray" move which when activated by pull both L2 and R2 (or both the triggers I presume on 360 when the demo finally come to the Marketplace) you will see you fighter punches, kicks and stabs actually cracking bone and piercing organs as well as dealing an inordinate amount of damage.
 
I can't say enough at how great the game plays, admittedly I was half button mashing (but with some thought at what I was pressing) and I was still having fun but no doubt with some more time with demo and I will be ready to "Test my Might" when the game releases on the 19th April in the North America and the following friday in Europe. This is definitly a game which many of you are already looking forward to and some of you who are intimidated at getting into fighting games, well keep a lookout because this very well maybe your ticket to brawling heaven.
 
-UKSamwise
 
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