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I had a long internal debate of whether Spelunky belongs on this list, since it's not really a new game. Then I thought back on all those hours I spent obsessively playing it and said "of course it does!". There's enough new things and polish in XBLA Spelunky to make it feel like a new game. Every time I turn on my 360 to check something, I end up playing Spelunky instead. I can't recall the last time a game had such a hold on me and that's gotta speak for something, doesn't it? I don't think I'll ever beat the final boss, but who cares? There's so much more to find in this game that it doesn't even matter.
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Upon finishing XCOM: Enemy Unknown I immediately recalled a quote from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: "It's over, but the sacrifice was great". Cheesy as it may be, it felt very appropriate, as I realised how attached I had grown to my squad of veterans over the course of the game. Every time one of them got capped by a stray shot or bled out inside a downed UFO, I felt like the worst commander in the world. Conversely, I felt like a tactical genius every time my carefully planned flanking manouver against a Sectopod clicked. Sid Meier once said "Games are a series of interesting decisions" and that philosophy is very much alive in XCOM, whether or not the consequences of said decisions turn out well for you. I could go on and on about the creepy atmosphere, the charming alien designs, the stirring music, but I think that above all else XCOM: Enemy Unknown stands as a shining example of streamlining done right.
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Nordic Game of the Year, people! You know, I was kinda afraid for a while that Hotline Miami would be nothing more than speculative crap, but I quickly realised there was more to it than that. This is, after all, a game by cactus, Sweden's most prolific and weirdest designer. There's the surprisingly deep combat encounters, which can play out in wildly different ways depending on your weapon of choice. There's the fantastic soundtrack, which always fits the action perfectly. And then there's the brilliantly sparse "show, don't tell" approach to storytelling. It's stylish, disturbingly fun and surprisingly moving. Best mask? Tony. Best weapon? Probably the katana. Best track? Knock Knock (also the most disturbing level in the game).
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Oh God. If Mass Effect 3 had me sobbing like a baby many times, Telltale's The Walking Dead left me an emotional wreck. I played episode 2 and 3 back to back, which was a terrible fucking mistake. I won't spoil anything, but those who've played it probably know what I'm referring to as That Scene in episode 3. There's also the food distribution sequence and the gruelling final decision in episode 5, just to name a few. That what amounts to an animated Choose Your Own Adventure book could have such devastating effects on me is nothing short of amazing. Nice to see more studios using Alpha Protocol's dialogue timer!
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Second best surprise of 2012 goes to Klei's excellent Mark of the Ninja. While I always enjoyed their art style, the Shank games never grabbed me gameplay-wise. Mark of the Ninja is a whole different story, with smart design choices that eliminate the more frustrating elements of the stealth genre. It is genuinely satisfying to draw an enemy out, lure him into an empty room, cut his throat and then hide his body just before his buddies show up. Good ninja games aren't exactly dime a dozen, so I salute you, Klei Entertainment!
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Seeing Commander Shepard's quest for the galaxy come to an end after all these years was as bittersweet an experience as you can get in gaming. While the side missions felt uninspired, the greater story beats contain some of the best sequences and moments in the whole series. Finally resolving the Geth/Quarian situation on Rannoch might even be my favorite moment in the series, period. I know offering From Ashes as DLC was a bad decision, but believe me; you have not played Mass Effect 3 properly until you've been to Thessia with both Javik (Sidekick of the Year) and Liara in your party. It is simply stunning. For me, it spoke volumes that Mass Effect 3 could have a less than stellar ending* and still be a great conclusion to this brilliant series.
*I actually thought it was totally OK.
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Every time a new horror game comes out and scares the crap out of everyone else, I feel like I'm missing something. They just haven't affected me the way Silent Hill 2 had me shivering a decade ago. Not until Jasper Byrne's side-scrolling love letter to that series showed up, that is. Whether you try to sneak past or confront the undead monsters of Lone Survivor's world, it never ceases to make every encounter absolutely harrowing. Having your light source go out is equally terrifying and claustrophobic. And in how many games do you feel genuine joy when you discover a piece of ham instead of crackers and pre-sliced cheese? My only regret was that I never found the tools needed to cook said ham.
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Even though Far Cry 2 ultimately was a rather dull game, it had so much going for it that I hoped someone would take the good parts and then make a great game out of. Ladies and gentlemen, Far Cry 3 is that game, with a lot of emergent mayhem added. This game can have you carefully staking out an enemy base to find the most optimal way to conquer it, only to have you laughing your ass off as a tiger suddenly shows up and does your dirty work for you moments later. Then you look up and realise the whole place is on fire. What amazes me the most about Far Cry 3 is how it (save for some story stuff) accomplishes everything it sets out to do. When it wants to be a balls-out shooter, it succeeds. When it tries to do first-person platforming, it succeeds. When it attempts to be Uncharted/Tomb Raider in FPS clothing, it succeeds. When it dabbles with RPG elements, it succeeds. Truly remarkable. And finally, it manages to be a great stealth game when you want it to. I have to applaud the writers, animators and actors for creating such compelling characters. Vaas might be the first video game villain who genuinely scared me and that, my friends, is a gargantuan accomplishment.
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