I was complaining the other day about how 2012 wasn't a very good year for games - until I attempted to write this list and found I had eighteen games, not ten.

2012's 2011 Game of the year

Dark Souls - While this (In hindsight) was easily my favourite game of last year, the (admittedly not-great-until-you-mod-it) PC port made me obsess all over again. Dangerous.

2012's game I wish I had played more

FTL and Legend of Grimrock - while I immediately became obsessed with FTL, it came at a bad time and I unfortunately forgot about it - same for Grimrock. Both games that appeal to me immensely but I just haven't had time to sit down and play properly.

10) Dishonored

Proof that companies haven't forgotten how to make great games like Thief and System Shock - Last year we had Deus Ex, this year we have this.

09) XCom: Enemy Unknown

I never thought it would happen that in 2012, there would be two games in my top ten list that reminded me of PC gaming in the 90's. But it's happened, and it's amazing. When I heard that this game was coming out on consoles, I feared it would be a streamlined (Dumbed down) version of a great series - but instead we got a great game with an annoying interface. A sacrifice I'm willing to make for a game of this quality.

08) Fez

I was honestly expecting a bad game. What was shown about the game was a simple premise that I didn't think would work for a full length game - but somehow he managed to hide all the craziness the game contained. I hadn't seen the internet band together to solve a game's puzzles ever, and it reminded me of being stuck in adventure games at school and everyone discussing how to solve them.

07) Journey

Even being told at the end of the game that someone named "XxSephiroth720GokuxX" had helped me could ruin the tone of this game. Although it's short, it's the only game this year I sat down and played it all the way through in one sitting, and wasn't bored at all. And I still listen to the soundtrack occasionally.

06) Torchlight II

More Torchlight, except now with friends, more loot, achievements THAT I MUST GET and cuter pets than the first game.

05) Hotline: Miami

The most violent game of the year, and it's 16-bit graphics. The combination of the story, graphics and music makes me think this should be called Acid Trip: The Game.

04) Far Cry 3

Where did this come from? After the invisible helicopters of Far Cry, and the CONSTANT RESPAWNING ENEMIES of Far Cry 2, I had no interest in this game whatsoever. Then this happened. Burning down weed fields to bad dubstep (redundant?), lighting komodo dragons on fire, jumping off a hang-glider on top of a dude and stabbing him in the throat - more games need to be like this. Except with a better story.

03) Sleepy Dogs

Again, where did this come from?? I completely ignored this game, and once again was completely surprised. I was actually interested in the characters, and while most will probably disagree, it has the best soundtrack since Vice City.

02) Persona 4: Golden

Is this cheating? I considered leaving this off the list but it makes so many improvements on the original that I CANNOT STOP PLAYING. While I'm typing this, I'm annoyed that I'm not playing Persona 4. Fsteak.

01) The Walking Dead

Dear video game companies,

Please steal Telltale's writers. Please learn how they made characters that people will care about, and take lessons from them that BLOOM and MOTION BLUR and WHOA BROS HIGH FIVING EACH OTHER AFTER HEADSHOTTING AN ALIEN don't automatically make your game cool. Don't be afraid of killing main characters for emotional effect. Please, see that not every game needs a perfect ending. Life is sometimes depressing, so why shouldn't games?

And please learn that GOOD OR EVIL!?!? aren't moral choices if you aren't invested in the characters and if they're just another thinly veiled character progression mechanic. People are shitheads, get over it, and make games dealing with it.