A year has passed since my Best of 2012 list and as usual I wanted to create a new list because I have played alot of other games released in 2012. In my opinion 2012 wasn't the greatest year of video games but of course there are some great titles that you should give a chance if you haven't already. Let's check out my list for the best games released in 2012
I waited on Journey, I had heard alot of praise for the game so when I finally managed to get my hands on it my expectations were sky high. It's unbelievable to say that Journey met my expectations but even exceeded them. The game moved me, and I was completely stunned. I really felt part of the game, from the exhausting heat in the desert to the freezing cold in the snow I was feeling it along with my character. Journey is a stunning piece of art and also a brilliant game. I had to think hard before I decided Journey was my pick for the best game of the year because it was so short but nevertheless this short but excellent experience deserves this honor. I for one like to take breaks during gameplay but I played through Journey in one sitting without even pausing the game once. It's going to be very hard to look at video games the same after Journey, you simply have to play this game. Hats off to Sony to have the balls to give the greenlight for a game like this.
I adore Max Payne 1 and 2 so I was extremely excited to see what Rockstar would do with Max Payne 3 after 9 years of waiting. The initial response from me was mixed but when I got into the game I just loved it to death. Amazing gameplay, brilliant story and so on. Max Payne 3 is everything I want from a AAA action game with a huge single player story which is captivating and engaging. If you can get past the initial hurdle of the games gameplay you will love this game.
I followed Sound Shapes but I never really understood why people thought it was this brilliant and amazing. When I began playing it I immediately understood why. This easy to play hard to master rhythm platformer is a piece of magic. I simply couldn't let my controller go until I had cleared every challenge the game had to offer (not counting the user offerings) and loved every minute of it. Sound Shapes is a game I would recommend to everyone, do yourself a favor and play it! And again, great work Sony to see the brilliance in Sound Shapes and bringing it to us.
I haven't read the comics or seen the TV shows, I don't even enjoy point and click adventure games so I really didn't expect to enjoy The Walking Dead. Everything from the characters, the story, music and each and every choice you have to make come together into this magical experience. The Walking Dead is an extremely important game for further progress of video gaming. You should definitely not miss out on this fantastic game
Rhythm Heaven Fever is a strange strange game from Japan. I didn't have a clue what I was watching when I first saw glimpses of this game but I was intrigued. I decided to pick it up and haven't looked back since. This crazy rhythm game has stolen so many hours from my life, from just trying to figure out what the hell was going on in each mini game to mastering it and getting a Perfect medal for each one. I love taking Rhythm Heaven Fever out and letting friends and family experience it, with the ease of 2 button controls the only challenge is to trust your rhythm instincts, and yes the challenge is extremely high! Just pick it up already.
Fez is a wonderful unique game that has some magic touch that I have a hard time explaining. Fez is a 2D puzzle platformer in a 3D world and has this great gimmick of you being able to change perspective. The feeling of "cheating" the game by manipulating the perspective change to get to an area which seems out of reach is always great. And I just simply can't stop listening to the breathtaking soundtrack of Fez, its simply that good. Fez is a fantastic game and one of the very best indie games of all time.
Super Hexagon doesn't feel like a modern release. It has so much in common with the old arcade games which are based on simple gameplay, high difficulty and having the player constantly restarting the game. It's really difficult to make a good fresh game based on these features but Super Hexagon is simply put amazing. Somehow despite being as difficult as it is the game never gets frustrating. The soundtrack is also very simple but does much more than simply get the job done. The game is super cheap and there is no reason not to pick it up
How can you go wrong with a 2D Mario game? Maybe by putting out too many similar games in a few years. I agree with that to a certain degree but I love 2D Mario just too much to have a big issue with it. Not everybody likes New Super Mario Bros. 2 but I have to say that I was a big fan of it. With having the player aiming to get as many coins as possible the game is really fresh and the gameplay is very different because of it. No longer is your goal just to get to the flagpole but you really want to spend each and every second you have in each level to collect all the coins available. I can get behind Nintendo making more Mario games in the coming years if they can build on this fresh title
Hotline Miami is a fantastic game, extremely fast paced action which requires your full attention all the time and tight controls that let you feel in full control over this frantic action. Hotline Miami is a very simple game but done so well that it gets to you. The soundtrack is also amazing, the retro style themes that haunt you are so good that they stick with you, it's not often that indie games have this polished original soundtrack. The game is short but very sweet and I just can't recommend Hotline Miami enough for you.
There is something special about ZombiU (along with its bad name) and that is just how atmospheric and brutal it is. The fact that you are extremely vulnerable and with just one silly mistake you can die, and death really means something it's not just a restart at the last checkpoint, keeps you on your toes and many times just plain out scared of continuing. With ZombiU I have hope that the struggling survival horror genre can still thrive despite what Capcom tries to tell us with Resident Evil. ZombiU has some technical problems which do hamper the game a bit but there is no denying that its a solid game.
The Uncharted series on the PS3 has been pretty much perfect and Naughty Dog is an amazing developer. Putting the series in the hands of Sony Bend and putting it on the Vita definitely lowered my expectations of the game. Golden Abyss is pretty similar to the first game and it doesn't pack all the big action moments of the second and third installments but it certainly is a good game. I can't believe just how beautiful the game is on the Vita and it's hard to not recommend the game but of course it can't reach the 3 main games in terms of quality but was anyone really expecting it to?
I'm a huge Tekken fan but I had my doubts about the series after being let down big time by Tekken 6. However Tekken Tag Tournament 2 really brings Tekken back and is probably the best game in the series. With pick up and play controls but extremely hard to master, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has something for everyone. I really don't know how to describe my love for this game, but all I can say is that Tekken is back and in full force!
A groundbreaking launch game is something that New Super Mario Bros. U definitely isn't but if you take a realistic look at it, it's exactly what you want from a game like this. The main gameplay is rock solid as always in 2D Mario, however the gamepad touch play really feels tacked on for the main campaign. But the challenges where one player uses the gamepad and other player controls Mario are magnificent. I have spent countless hours of setting up strategies and trying to master each co-op challenge and it's a lot of fun. There is maybe a certain lack of magic but you really can't go wrong with Mario
The Resident Evil series is in a strange place, by going from its survival horror roots into the action genre the series has fallen off its high horse. Resident Evil 6 was simply a mess of a game and it's hard to see what's next for the series. But Revelations, this excellent 3DS title, gives me hope that Capcom will realize what we want from the series. By bringing back some of the gameplay from the first 2 titles I have to admit I was very pleased with Revelations. This is simply a game that every Resident Evil fan has to experience.
Rayman Origins was one of the best games of 2011, the tight controls in this challenging 2D platformer really grasped me and I really wanted another Rayman fix. I wouldn't believe it beforehand that an Android/iOS game would satisfy my needs. Rayman: Jungle Run is the best game I have played on Android/iOS and for a good reason. It's clearly a labor of love and is a fantastic extension of the great Rayman Origins. The only downfall of the game is that it really needs more levels, hopefully we will get alot of new content for this game in the future.
I'm not the biggest First Person Shooter fan out there but I have alot of respect for the original Counter-Strike. I had some doubts when I heard of CS: Global Offensive but when I got to play it my doubts dissapeared right away. Although Global Offensive is really just an upgrade for the old Counter-Strike it's a really good product and keeps Counter-Strike important in todays gaming. If you have enjoyed Counter-Strike some time in your life you will get a kick out of Global Offensive. And I just love the new Arms Race mode, it's just fantastic!
FIFA 12 revolutionized the FIFA series when the series had become a little stale. FIFA 13 builds on the brilliance that FIFA 12 was but does very little new. It's clearly the best football game out there but it is also a very safe release by EA Sports. Fantastic game that would have been higher on my list if they had done more new things. Not much to say other than that every football fan will probably love it.
I'm a huge GTA fan but there are very few other open world games that I can get myself to play and enjoy. Sleeping Dogs is a good game that tries to combine features from multiple games and to a certain point succeeds greatly. In the beginning I really enjoyed the game and it had some memorable moments but it didn't keep me interested in the long run and I stopped playing. But the game certainly has some charm and on the PC the game is magnificent to look at.
Closure is one of the gems that made its debut on the PS3 this year. Closure is really unique 2D puzzle platformer that has this wonderfull idea for its gameplay. It takes some time getting into the game and mastering the concept of that if you don't see it, it doesn't exist. It worries me that this game didn't get more attention because it's brilliant and deserves to be played. If you like 2D puzzle platformers Closure is a must play. And even if you normally don't like those kind of games, the concept of Closure will probably fix that for you.
I don't know what to say about McPixel other than that it's one of the funniest games I have ever played. It's really simple point and click game which is based on you having to do one thing to solve a problem. The obvious solution is almost never the correct way and it can be pretty funny to see what happens when you click on one of the multiple solutions available. McPixel is a short but really enjoyable experience that I will always remember fondly
Vessel is a stunning game, from game makers that wanted out of the EA world were graphics are everything. Instead of using the CPU power for the graphics Vessel uses it for its gameplay. This 2D puzzle platformer oozes and charm and simply took me by surprise. The soundtrack is brilliant and really helps to setup the mood. Some of the puzzles are amazing and it's great to see just how smart the developers really are, give Vessel a go.
I really want to play a successor to Burnout Paradise and I'm not the only one. EA knows that but somehow thinks that their games need to have the Need for Speed name. In 2010 I bought NFS: Hot Pursuit because it looked good and EA promised that it was like Burnout. I was disappointed with the game, it was fine but not what I was hoping. Now with Most Wanted EA again promises Burnout action and it's more like Burnout this time around but I really wanted to love this game more than I did, Most Wanted is a quality title but please just give me a proper Burnout title next time
I have never been much of a fan of the FIFA Street series, always found them pretty shallow and not engaging at all. By scrapping the series and starting again from scratch EA has finally gotten to me. Although FIFA Street does in no way reach the main FIFA series in case of depth or controls, it's a completely different experience and really shows you that by combining assets of simulation and arcade football games you can have a brilliant time, especially with friends. FIFA Street is definitely not perfect or one of the best sports games but it's a really good time when it shines.
The original MegaMan series is one of my all time best games, very challenging 2D action platformers that require your dedication and are full of depth. They Bleed Pixels is also a very challenging 2D action platformer and packs a hell of a lot of fun. Although the game isn't very deep it does some interesting things like only using 1 button for combat but having a number of cool moves depending on how you use the combat button. I recommend They Bleed Pixels to any retro gamer any day, from the graphics to the core challenge itself, They Bleed Pixels is a great experience.
Games that play with gravity are some of my favourite games ever, I find it just so clever and cool when logic that you are accustomed to are thrown around and played with. This Japanese game which includes a gravity cat is a pretty strange one and has a lot of character. I wanted to love Gravity Rush so much but looking past the fantastic gravity shifting gimmick the game doesn't do a lot for me. I fully understand why some people worship this game but unfortunately I just can't do the same.
Kart racing games are something I love to play from time to time and I enjoyed Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing although it wasn't perfect. So I was very excited to play Transformed after hearing some fantastic things about it from reviews. But somehow I never really got into the game and I felt it was a bit of a mess. The constant changes to the racetrack and the cars just meant chaos and for me that was a turnoff. I had some fun with the game but I was hoping for more
As a retro gamer (especially NES) and a huge GTA fan I had been waiting for Grand Theftendo with lots of excitement. When the project went silent I really felt bad but seeing it return as Retro City Rampage just made me more excited for it. Maybe I had hopes that the game would never be able to reach but despite the game being pretty fun and having lots of references to retro games the game wasn't good enough
I followed Quantum Conundrum very closely since I loved Portal and had some great times with Portal 2. First things first, Quantum Conundrum is brilliant in some ways but a big let down other ways. The environment just feels empty and the characters aren't very memorable. On the other hand some of the puzzles the game has to offer are fantastic and really clever. I recommend you to give Quantum Conundrum a chance, just don't expect it to be the next Portal and you'll like it.
The Resident Evil series is all over the place at the moment. Back in the day it was one of the best around, today you simply can't take anything too seriously what Capcom tells you. Revelations was in a way throwback to the old days but Resident Evil 6 has a huge identity crisis. It tries to make everybody happy by mixing RE 4 with Call of Duty. The story is a huge mess and the game (before it was patched) was unplayable in some parts. I did enjoy some minor parts of it but it can't be denied that another game like RE 6 will probably kill the series all together. Capcom please just listen to the fans and make another survival horror game
