There is honestly no point in making a top ten of 2012 list this year. I haven't even played enough 2012 games to occupy a top ten list! I still want to write about the few experiences I had in 2012 though, because I feel they are relevant. So here is an arbitrary awards system entirely built around an excuse to write about games! Let’s face it, most end of year write-ups are. I’m just being transparent about it.
Futility of Life Award: FML err, I mean FTL
FTL is the perfect example for the argument that video games are a big waste of time. It’s a game that gives you nothing but grief, stress, and worry. Your fuel is running low, you’re out of missiles, you’re being boarded, and you’re not even out of the 2nd sector yet. There are many gadgets and perks spread across the universe, but you’ll never have enough currency or system power to acquire them all. Too bad you’ll need ALL OF THEM to defeat the final boss. So why have I played so many hours of a game that slaps me around for 30 minutes, while knowing full well the end result will be to be effortlessly disintegrated by the most unfair final boss in the history of impossibility? To answer that requires me to answer why I play video games at all. Why even write about them? Why do anything for entertainment and stimulation? Why live?! Oh no, I feel another nervous breakdown coming on...
Best Music: Lone Survivor
I’m not trying to sound like an outsider or anything, but the Journey soundtrack didn’t really stick out to me. I’m happy it’s grammy nominated, and the game will get its due later in this piece; but the Lone Survivior soundtrack is still with me by the end of the year. That Twin Peaks sleazy jazz, with a little bit of emotional shoegaze, made this game stand out as more than “retro indie” or survival horror.
Best Online Community of 2012: WWE 13
I didn’t play WWE 13. Frankly, it doesn’t even look that fun to play. But I have watched a ton of it online. From a live stream of a video game themed Create-A-Wrestler Royal Rumble, to tear-inducingly hilarious glitch videos on youtube, to mother fucking GHOST PROBLEMS. Mentalists on the internet turn this cheap, cost-cutting, lo-production video game about a profit-driven company that plays their audience for fools into what pro wrestling should be: pure insanity.
Best Reason To Own a XBOX 360 Headset: Syndicate
It was a very brief window, but at release, the mission-based co-op portion of Syndicate was a rare pleasurable experience to discover with others online. Before the limited amount of missions became easy enough to memorize and play without communication (and the quickly proceeding drop off of nobody playing it at all); I had a great time with complete strangers. We were hashing out tactics, helping each other up, and laughing when it all fell to pieces in the end.
Most Unopened Game of 2012: SSX
“Aw Shucks, You Shouldn’t Have” Award: Alan Wake: American Nightmare
Alan Wake was my favorite game of 2010, and one of my favorites of this generation. I don’t live in a bubble though. I know some people didn’t like the storytelling, the combat, or the character models. I also know it didn’t sell as much as Remedy or Microsoft hoped. The very existence of another Alan Wake game (big or small) is enough to make my heart swell. Every little scrap of the Alan Wake franchise I get, I cherish.
Most Dissociative Experience of 2012: Dishonored
As much as I’d love to praise Dishonored for what it tries to be (SteamPunk Deus Ex? YES PLEASE), never have I been given mixed signals so strongly before. Is there such thing as an uncanny valley for gameplay? The AI lives only in the moment, and can go from scared to rabid animal, or friendly to ravenous in a split second with no context. The characters lecture me when I kill anyone, but the screen prompts, tutorials, and unlockables all tell me to do so. When I am discovered and have to fight my way back to safety, I am greeted back at my headquarters as if I’m a cold-blooded serial killer. Also, why can I still do the spyglass zoom when my mask is off?!?
Most Despicable Villain of 2012: The Cops of Need For Speed Most Wanted
I have a lot of gripes with NFS:MW’s design; but the mostly useless cops that chase you are at the top of that list. If you are driving to an event in the open world, and are spotted by the cops speeding (it may surprise you, but speeding is very easy to do) they chase you, and you cannot do anything until you ditch them. They are psychic, and know every little alley way you hide in. They teleport in front of you just when your pursuit meter is about to empty. If they catch you, you are sent back to a remote area of the map far away from where you wanted to get to in the first place. If I wanted to drive responsibly, I’d play Desert Bus!
The Fourth Annual “Two Years Late” Award: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
After MGS4 left me feeling like I never wanted to play a MGS game again, the simplicity and bit-by-bit gameplay was exactly what I needed. Also, let it be known - it was the first time I ever successfully hid in a cardboard box.
Most Innovative Game of 2012: The Unfinished Swan
While Portal is definitely a big deal, First-person video games where you don’t shoot people in the face is still a novel concept. The Unfinished Swan isn’t just a pretty looking puzzle game. Its use of environments and introducing new puzzle mechanics based entirely on them are thrilling, fun, charming, stimulating, everything I want video games to be. I don’t want to spoil anything here. You should try it yourself.
Most Regret Missing Out on: Spec Ops: The Line
As a Suda51 fan, I NEED to know just how crazy this game gets.
Best Game For Non-Gamers: The Walking Dead
I really want to finish this damn game. But I entered in a pact. I invited some friends over to play Episode 1, and it has now become a monthly tradition. The Walking Dead is getting a lot of well deserved praise, but one aspect that isn’t getting enough attention is how compelling it is to people who don’t play games. No controls to struggle with. No ridiculous mechanics. A concept and story anyone can grasp. Free from typical video game confusion, The Walking Dead tells an engrossing tale of violence and fear that (for once) makes gamers proud of their medium, not ashamed.
The Most Important Game of 2012: Journey
Like I said, I’m not gonna do GOTY, but if I was, this would be it. Journey did something with the multiplayer medium that everyone in the industry needs to pay attention to. It offered a deep significant experience with a stranger without the baggage of griefing, oppressive competition, or anything else that takes you out of the universe. I’ll never forget the journey I shared with another random PSN user; and it was all done without spotty garbled voice chat, annoying gamer tags, and needless customization (like avatars or phrases). This is what Nintendo wants to do, and always misses the mark entirely. This is what Microsoft ignores wholesale, because they know SmokexMadBluntz420 is their target market. This is relevant multiplayer gameplay that is troll-free. I never thought it was possible before.
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