Best of 2012

Going to quickly throw this together.

My general sentiment this year is that my most anticipated games ultimately disappointed me, and I played few other games that I felt were special. It's hard for me not to look back at 2011 and 2010, comparing this year to the best games of those years, and not feel that this was an overall bad year in gaming.

Also, for the time being, I'm abbreviating this list to my Top 5. I don't like honoring games that I haven't finished, and I've lost interest in most of the games I've purchased this year long before seeing the ending.

That said, I fully plan on revisiting this list after I finish some games from my backlog.

List items

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  1. Mass Effect 3

  While the game unfortunately did undeniably fumble its ending, Mass Effect 3 is still overall a great game. Teaming up for one more adventure with my favorite ensemble of sidekicks is something I'd never trade up. Full of poignant moments, heavy decisions, and first class shooter gameplay, Mass Effect 3 adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Tack on an expertly designed multiplayer (that's actually super fun, and is supported by frequent, free content updates and weekend events), and you have my GotY.

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  2. World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

  Mists of Pandaria set my WoW addiction back into full swing. It's easily the best content they've ever made for the game (and I'm qualified to make that statement), and it only further increases the quality gap between itself and every other WoW-wannabe that so often tries to kill it.

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

  Gods & Kings adds enough to the Civilization V formula to make returning to the base game impossible. The new Civs, spies, and religion systems are neat, but the underlying balance changes, like unit health, is what makes this expansion so great. Hundreds of hours yet again were lost enjoying this fantastic strategy game.

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  4. Syndicate

  A cyberpunk shooter from the minds behind The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness? YES PLEASE. Hey general public: you're stupid for not buying this.

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  5. Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

  I played around a bit with SoaSE several years ago but never got into it. Rebellion I spent more time with. It's both a great game and a bargain ($40 MSRP, often though on sale for less). Quickly moving around the galaxy, settling planets, and waging war across the stars is a sight to behold. Best of all: it's easy to learn.