Game of the Year 2012 Poll [VOTE HERE]

Rear Admiral Choco

My list here, in order

1. Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
2. Hotline Miami (PC)
3. Sleeping Dogs (360, PC, PS3)
4. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360, PC, PS3)
6. The Secret World (PC)
7. FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
8. Spec Ops: The Line (360, PC, PS3)
9. Penny Arcade OTRSPOD 3 (360*, Android, PC, iPhone,)
10. Max Payne 3 (360, PC, PS3)
11. Dungeon Village (Android, iOS)
12. Mass Effect: Infiltrator (Android, iOS)
13. Diablo 3 (PC)

Diablo should totally have been 11, actually, but it isn't like I remembered well enough to correct it.

mxmarks

Here's my Top 20.

It made me realize a lot of this year, for me was, ho-hum. After pick #5, 6-15 were all "it was good!", which is fine, but nothing agonizing like the years of choosing between Alan Wake and Red Dead.

That said though, I know 2013's poll will be filled with "Wait - Sleeping Dogs/Far Cry 3/Gravity Rush/Dishonored came out LAST year?! Dammit!"

1. The Walking Dead (iOS, 360, PC, PS3)
2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360, PC, PS3)
3. SSX (360, PS3)
4. Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360*, PC)
5. Assassin's Creed 3 (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
6. Lumines: Electronic Symphony (Vita)
7. Mark of the Ninja (PC, 360)
8. Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation (Vita)
9. Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack! (Vita, PC)
10. LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (Vita)
11. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS, Vita)
12. Sound Shapes (PS3*, Vita*)
13. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita)
14. Rock Band Blitz (360, PS3)
15. Dance Central 3 (360)
16. Touch My Katamari (Vita)
17. Wipeout 2048 (Vita)
18. Fez (360*)
19. Wreckattear (360*)
20. Angry Birds Space (Android, BlackBerry, iOS, PC)

AaronKI

Mr_Grinch wrote: »

All you people (everyone) that didn't play or vote for Knytt Underground are horrible, horrible people.

In their defense, it came out a week before the new year and has a pretty obscure release on PC at the moment. I really want this game to be greenlit so it gets more attention.

After finishing it last night, 100%ing the map, and finding every labeled collectible on the map (still missing two) I wish I had bumped it up to my #1 spot. I was sorely tempted to make it #1 while voting, but held off because I'm always biased towards whatever games I'm currently played. Should have went with my gut feeling!

Mr_Grinch

Did you find:

The hidden figure rooms at the bottom which are insanely difficult? Also the secret ending? And the sandwich recipe?

I loved the dialogue, the controls and the entire sense of discovery I felt throughout the entire game.

But yeah, I get why people didn't vote for it, it's just a shame.

Mr_Grinch

Oh also, have you found all 60 save points? If you do you can press triangle on any of them and there are "mini-stories" you can play. They're short, largely unrelated stories. One's about a hero and a princess.

The game fucking rocks.

Captain Marcus

Hotline Miami, Crusader Kings II, Spec Ops: The Line, Endless Space, Cook Serve Delicious!, Qasir Al-Wasat, and Frog Fractions. My laptop doesn't like graphics-intensive stuff (I had to play Spec Ops on the lowest setting) so 2012 wasn't a buy-new-games kind of year.

Also WHAT THERE IS A NEW KNYTT??
Hooray! Time to buy it. If any of you haven't played Knytt, any of them, do so at once. They're pretty great little point-and-click adventures.

cooljammer00

Man, that took longer than I thought it would. And I'm still not 100% sure of my list.

Thanks! You voted for:
Journey (PS3*)
Double Dragon Neon (360, PS3)
10000000 (iOS, PC)
FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
Hotline Miami (PC)
Frog Fractions (Browser)
WWE '13 (360, PS3, Wii)
Max Payne 3 (360, PC, PS3)
Penny Arcade OTRSPOD 3 (360*, Android, PC, iPhone,)
McPixel (PC, Android, iOS)
Thirty Flights of Loving (PC)
They Bleed Pixels (PC)
Syndicate (Xbox 360, PC, PS3)
Dustforce (PC)
Curiousity: What's in the Cube (iOS)
Letterpress (iOS)
Tokyo Jungle (PS3)
Mark of the Ninja (PC, 360)
Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World (Browser)

The Fourth Estate

Thanks! You voted for:

The Walking Dead (iOS, 360, PC, PS3)
Crusader Kings II (PC)
Hotline Miami (PC)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360, PC, PS3)
FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
Tribes: Ascend (PC)
Hexagon / Super Hexagon (Android, Browser, iOS, PC)
Dustforce (PC)
Frog Fractions (Browser)
Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
Slave of God (PC)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
PlanetSide 2 (PC)
I Am Alive (360*, PC, PS3*)

I played a lot less this year than last.

CarbonFire

My top games of 2012

1. Dishonored (PC)
   This game caught be by surprise. I mean, I knew I'd probably like it (Bioshock + Deus Ex + Steampunk? sign me up!), but I simply devoured this game. 2 full playthroughs back to back, relished every minute both times. I think it comes down to control - the movement and abilities felt like they were dialed in just right. I always felt like I could do what I needed to when I needed to. The AI was occasionally a little temperamental, especially during my Ghost playthrough, and the awesome setting felt a little too much like window dressing at times. Overall though, a very rewarding game, and I hope they do another.
   
2. PlanetSide 2 (PC)
   It's the multiplayer game I've always wanted battlefield games to be. REAL big battles, Huge maps, and a shifting, dynamic battlefield. I'll probably be playing this game well into 2013, if not longer. Mostly in my Scythe raining down hot plasma death of course ;-)
3. The Walking Dead (PC)
   An amazing, emotional experience. Not the best game around, but as an interactive narrative, simply unmatched by just about anything else this year. Many feels were had.
4. Hotline Miami (PC)
   Best word I can use to describe Hotline:Miami? Sublime. Its setting, gameplay, narrative, graphics and music (easily best soundtrack OTY) are so expertly and tightly intertwined, I simply can't imagine it being any better. A trippy, adrenaline-fueled rush that I'm glad I got to experience (as I don't plan on dropping acid and going on a killing spree in real life anytime soon :P).
5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC)
   Enjoyed the old school tactics and deep strategy involved in getting through the game. The lack of truly random levels and a small laundry list of debilitating bugs are the only thing keeping XCOM from being higher on my list. Played through the game 1.5 times, and felt like I was kind of done with it. More maps (or truly randomized ones) and mod tools would definitely bring me back.
6. Borderlands 2 (PC)
   More Borderlands, what more can be said? Still have to get back and go through all the DLC, just got caught up in other *cough*PS2*cough* games. I think I might be tiring of the formula a bit, but it's still a great game.
7. Mass Effect 3 (PC)
   This is on my list as much for the multiplayer as it is for what Bioware got right in the story (which is still plenty). Won't rehash the ending debate, I'll just say that while I'm still interested in more Mass Effect, I sincerely hope we get an entirely new setting and cast of characters.
8. Journey (PS3*)
   Another amazing experience. The way the gameplay informed the narrative, and having an unknown partner along for the ride, really made this unique and unforgettable. I'm glad I got to play it, though once was probably enough for me.
9. Mark of the Ninja (PC)
   Another fun game with super tight controls. Haven't played a lot of it, but I liked what I did play. It'd probably be higher on my list had I played more.
10. Sleeping Dogs (PC)
    Decent open world game with the usual trappings and a fun combat system (at least the H2H stuff). A little too "generic open world" for my taste in places, but overall it's fun to run around as Wei Shen beating up dudes and running over pedestrians.
11. Dear Esther (PC)
    Less interactive narrative, and more Interactive 3D Painting. Another very interesting take on storytelling in games, this one leaves a lot of interpretation up to the "player" (which I suppose is what good art tends to do ;-) ). Gorgeous visuals, especially for Source Engine.
12. FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
    This one barely made my list. It has a lot of elements that I really liked, but getting passed all the random BS that always crops up wore on my a bit (yes I know that's supposed to be "the point"). Almost seems like it was designed to be as much a "story generator" as it is a game. Still, had fun most of the time when I played it.
13. Spelltower (iOS)
    I didn't play many iPad/handheld games this year, but when I did, it was usually Spelltower.

DISHonorable Mentions
Diablo 3 - It took me leveling 2 characters to 60 over 80 or so hours to realize it's not a very interesting or rewarding game. Well actually, I realized that much sooner than 80 hours, but I guess I kept holding out hope that it'd get better soon. It's got to, right? It's DIABLO! ...It just never did. Easily the biggest disappointment of the year. Also TEAR-ROAR!!!

Deadlight - This game should have been good. All the pieces were there. It's not hard. Zombies + exploration + 2.5d side scrolling, sounds like a recipe for awesome. But they DID screw it up, badly. Meh story, some pretty awful voice acting, terrible floaty controls (so much animation priority), tedious platforming sections that required precision timing (made worse by the terrible controls), no real inventory, and gameplay that more resembles Dragon's Lair in places than anything fun. I guess it is hard after all.


Wall of Shame (yeah yeah, I'll get to it)
MW:O (I'll get back to it I swear guys!)
Far Cry 3
Spec Ops: The Line
Fez
Syndicate
Max Payne 3

BRING ON THE 2013 GAMES!!!
and thanks to @mcc as always for all your hard work! :^:

Skull2185

CarbonFire wrote: »

Deadlight - This game should have been good. All the pieces were there. It's not hard. Zombies + exploration + 2.5d side scrolling, sounds like a recipe for awesome. But they DID screw it up, badly. Meh story, some pretty awful voice acting, terrible floaty controls (so much animation priority), tedious platforming sections that required precision timing (made worse by the terrible controls), no real inventory, and gameplay that more resembles Dragon's Lair in places than anything fun. I guess it is hard after all.

Yes to all this.

I was soooo hyped for this game, and it was a dud. The first act was tolerable, as it was at least aesthetically pleasing, but once you get to the Rat Man's tunnels? All down hill from there.

Fig-D

I wish I had remembered to put Frog Fractions in my Top 20. The game deserves mention.

GnomeTank

@CarbonFire: Haha, our lasting impressions of Dishonored are basically exactly the same. Holy SHITE did that game control well.

The fact that it was also an interesting story and setting just made it that much sweeter.

e: Though you're a horrible goose for your opinion of Diablo 3...screw all of you, I loved D3! There, I said it. Proud of it even!

CarbonFire

GnomeTank wrote: »

@CarbonFire: Haha, our lasting impressions of Dishonored are basically exactly the same. Holy SHITE did that game control well.

The fact that it was also an interesting story and setting just made it that much sweeter.

e: Though you're a horrible goose for your opinion of Diablo 3...screw all of you, I loved D3! There, I said it. Proud of it even!

What pushed Dishonored even higher for me was playing Crysis 2 right afterward. That game feels almost ponderous by comparison (it certainly didn't help that you couldn't bind each weapon to a separate key).

And I wanted to love Diablo 3, which is why I hung around as long as I did. It just didn't want to love me back.
I was stuck in the Diablo 3 friend-zone while it kept sleeping with that whore "Auction House" :P

darkwarriorva

Wow. I've played even less new games in 2012 than I did in 2011. Could only come up with 7 games. I....might need to turn in my gamer card....

Litany

When the results come out, I'm not only the guy that has The Last Story over Xenoblade, but I'm also the guy that picked it as their Game of the Year 2012.

The Last Story (Wii)

Simply put, The Last Story entertained me from start to finish. At no point during the game did I have to "get to the good parts" or have to put in time to get a return on that investment. This is exceedingly rare for me. The entire thing played out like a simple but effective "guilty pleasure" that did what I expect out of my entertainment. Chiefly, to entertain me.

Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)

With Resident Evil 4 being one of my absolute favourite games, having what feels like a love letter to that game was of course going to rate high. With how badly Resident Evil 6 disappointed (and quite frankly, insulted me) it's amazing that something so good came from the franchise this year. With the console ports even more get to play it. Win Win.

Spec Ops: The Line (360, PC, PS3)

'Nuff said.

ZombiU (WiiU)
Penny Arcade OTRSPOD 3 (360*, Android, PC, iPhone,)
New Super Mario Bros U (WiiU)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Skullgirls (360*, PC, PS3*)
Nintendo Land (WiiU)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
Orcs Must Die! 2 (PC)
Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
Endless Space (PC)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (360, PC, PS3)
Persona 4 Arena (360*, PS3*)
Diablo 3 (PC)
Resident Evil 6 (360, PC, PS3)
Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360*, PC)

Looking over it now, my PS3 sat virtually untouched this year with the exception of my arcade stick remaining a staple on my coffee table and my Wii was on an awful lot (Skyward Sword was between Xenoblade and The Last Story). I think they both have the same amount of dust on them. I'm not too thorough on that.

Chen

Thanks! You voted for:
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
Diablo 3 (PC)
Pokemon Black and White 2 (DS)
New Super Mario Bros U (WiiU)
Pokemon Conquest (DS)
Nintendo Land (WiiU)

Wow! Seven games this year! Must be a new record!

Technically, I played Xenoblade in 2011, but I forgot to include The Last Story (there are a lot of games starting with 'the'), so it evens out. (Sorry, The Last Story!)

edit: Oh no! I also forgot Rhythm Heaven! In my defense, it's 5am.

Aegeri

For a game that sold 6 million copies, Diablo 3 is not getting a whole lot of recognition based on the lists people are posting. I am really curious to see where it ends up overall.

Dhalphir

Aegeri wrote: »

For a game that sold 6 million copies, Diablo 3 is not getting a whole lot of recognition based on the lists people are posting. I am really curious to see where it ends up overall.

thats because people who bought it and played it for any significant amount of time ended up realizing it is basically World of Diablocraft

PurpleMonkey

Is there anywhere you still can play Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World? I can't seem to find it on the Old Spice website

UnbreakableVow

Nope, it's gone

It's a bummer

SoundsPlush

Supposedly they're working on putting out a downloadable version.

darleysam

Oh pissflaps! I completely forgot to nominate Apple Jack 2. That is some balls.

GnomeTank

Aegeri wrote: »

For a game that sold 6 million copies, Diablo 3 is not getting a whole lot of recognition based on the lists people are posting. I am really curious to see where it ends up overall.

It's a very polarizing game. I think more people liked it than are letting on, but the zeitgeist has pretty much taken hold.

Themadcow

I bought D3. I played it, I enjoyed the first playthrough and a half. Then I was kind of left feeling nothing for it afterwards - no real desire to (re)play more or continue the grind through the difficulty levels.

At the opposite end of that, I really can't get enough of FTL. It has all the emotion and soul that Diablo 3 lacks.

Drake

I think it's going to take a hell of an ARPG to drag me away from Din's Curse or Depths of Peril. Devs like Soldak are quietly pushing the genre forward while I feel like I don't even know who Blizzard is anymore.

Daebunz

I had to give #1 to xenoblade

that game moved me the same way gurren lagaan does but with more swords and less drills

Corehealer

1. The Secret World (PC)
2. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
3. Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC)
5. Planetside 2 (PC)
6. Mount & Blade Warband: Napoleonic Wars (PC)
7. Guild Wars 2 (PC)
8. Endless Space (PC)
9. Crusader Kings II (PC)

My list is not long, distinguished, surprising or heavy on details, but I did play all these games and more this last year and still play some of them now and loved them each in their own ways. They got heart and some of them made me cry and feel things for both the characters, the plot and the devs responsible for their creation. And in the case of Planetside, allowed me to re-experience a redefining of a genre while also drop-pod killing a Liberator and then crashing to desktop ten minutes later.

I hope to add more long term MMOs, base building reviving TBS/RTS games, sim games of all kinds, Myst/Riven/Gabriel Knight style adventure games and more high class RPGs to this list in coming years, and to remember that you G&T folks actually do this list thing and to post a list more promptly for your consumption.

cj iwakura

Thanks! You voted for:

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS, Vita)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
Tokyo Jungle (PS3)
La Mulana (PC, Wii*)
Legend of Grimrock (PC)
Persona 4 Arena (360*, PS3*)
Spec Ops: The Line (360, PC, PS3)
Analogue: A Hate Story (PC)
Katawa Shoujo (PC)
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Double Dragon Neon (360, PS3)
Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)
Hatoful Boyfriend (PC)
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (3DS)

Wait, Last Story was there? Would've been in my top 5.


Frosteey's the only other person besides me on the internet who played Growlanser IV apparently.


Crap, I forgot Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. My #3.

(Was that even nominated?)

DodgeBlan

Fig-D wrote: »

5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

I never played much of the old X-Com games. I tried to fire one up about a decade after it came out and just got lost before it could grab me. I was big into PSOne era SRPGs like Tactics Orge and Final Fantasy Tactics and that's really what XCOM: Enemy Unknown feels like to me. I don't play on Classic, because I don't like that the game fudges with the numbers behind the curtain, but I really enjoy the experience that the game provides for me on Normal.

Classic is actually the only difficulty where the percentages are accurate :P

LoveIsUnity

cj iwakura wrote: »

Thanks! You voted for:

Katawa Shoujo (PC)

Hooray! Someone else voted for Katawa Shoujo.

Undead Scottsman

I think Diablo 3 sold based on the brand, the company and the initial gameplay.

Most of the complaints I've seen only crop up once you've put a significant amount of time into the game; and at that point it's too late for word of mouth to impact the sales that much.

Maz-

Blackbeard7 wrote: »

I had to give #1 to xenoblade

that game moved me the same way gurren lagaan does but with more swords and less drills

Given the trailer for the sequel, we just might be getting that. Surely one of those robots you can ride will have a drill (to pierce the heavens)?

Aegeri

What are the problems with diablo 3 anyway? All I remember was the hilarious DRM fucking everyone over at first and people finding inferno too difficult outside of some broken builds.

reVerse

Journey (PS3*)
The Walking Dead (iOS, 360, PC, PS3)
Max Payne 3 (360, PC, PS3)

Thems my top three. They all did interesting stuff with stories in video games, all of 'em in different ways. Max Payne 3 also has great fun deathmatch. Oh how I love deathmatch. Team game modes can go die in a fire, free-for-all deathmatch is all a man needs. That they managed to get the bullet time working in a multiplayer setting is also pretty incredible.

In the spoilers is the rest of 'em I voted.

Darksiders 2 (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
Resident Evil 6 (360, PC, PS3)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (360, PC, PS3)
Guild Wars 2 (PC)
Ninja Gaiden 3 (360, PS3)
PlanetSide 2 (PC)
Street Fighter X Tekken (360, iOS, PS3, PC, Vita)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3/360/PC)
The Secret World (PC)
Diablo 3 (PC)
Lollipop Chainsaw (360, PS3)
Dead or Alive 5 (360, PS3)
Double Dragon Neon (360, PS3)

Monger

Aegeri wrote: »

What are the problems with diablo 3 anyway? All I remember was the hilarious DRM fucking everyone over at first and people finding inferno too difficult outside of some broken builds.

Monger wrote: »

Diablo 3's story is so bad. Oh my God. It's so bad.

If Diablo 3's story was a baby, I would pat it on its head, turn to its mother, smile, and say "you sure have one ugly fucking baby." Then walk away. I would just walk away.

The greater problem for me, though, is that it's just not any fun. There are a lot of reasons for that, but the end result is that I spent a decent amount of time playing it and waiting for the part where it gets fun or interesting in any way, and it just never comes. The game has no soul. Whereas I can boot up Torchlight 2 or Path of Exile and be engaged by the mechanics and having fun within minutes.

Alternately, this guy's opinion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I22Ivb8ELzQ

Undead Scottsman

Aegeri wrote: »

What are the problems with diablo 3 anyway? All I remember was the hilarious DRM fucking everyone over at first and people finding inferno too difficult outside of some broken builds.

According to my friend, who played Diablo II for years and years, he didn't like how they turned the endgame into a gear grind, wherein you need farm some seriously powerful items in order to progress through Inferno content.

Darlan

Aegeri wrote: »

What are the problems with diablo 3 anyway? All I remember was the hilarious DRM fucking everyone over at first and people finding inferno too difficult outside of some broken builds.

I thought it was a pretty good game, but there are plenty of legitimate complaints to be had: the real money auction house kind of lends the proceedings a "pay to win" flavor that prevents you from wanting to get too deep into it, and it has Blizzard's awful post-WoW "Bad guys are thataway, Hero!" writing and dialogue, but not in a fun, whimsical WoW/Torchlight kind of way that matches the world...it's just plain bad.

Also, the DRM-fuck ups weren't limited to the launch period...I bought it months later on sale and wasn't able to play at all my first day because of server maintenance. I just wanted to play single player.

reVerse

"Our enemy is the lord of lies and deceit. He'll use trickery to deceive us."
"Oh hi there, I'm a new character introduced in this chapter, let me help you for no reason whatsoever."

Can you figure out the stunning twist at the end of the chapter?

edit: Wait, they introduced two new characters in that chapter, and the one that isn't the lord of lies and deceit is actually the one who tricks you. That's weird, right?

Monger

A major character in Diablo 3 gets kidnapped.

Fucking kidnapped.

Twice.

cj iwakura

Thoughts and such:

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)
Growlanser II is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. This(IV) pales in comparison, but it is still a fantastic game, chock full of depth, unique gameplay, difficulty to spare, awesome art, and too much replay value.

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS, Vita)
Storytelling at its finest, and some fine VA work too. Can't wait for the third.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
It's not as good as DS1 in terms of story and atmosphere, but the gameplay is even better, and the plot's good as well.

Tokyo Jungle (PS3)
Unique, innovative, fun, and a story that just might make you think.

La Mulana (PC, Wii*)
So much to do, so little time. Awesome music, and a great send-off for Wiiware.

Legend of Grimrock (PC)
Also unique, and one heck of an experience. Wish it had more story, but ah well.

Persona 4 Arena (360*, PS3*)
The P4 story was underwhelming, but the fantastic gameplay and P3 content(Lizzie!) made up for it in spades.

Spec Ops: The Line (360, PC, PS3)
As an FPS, its decent. As a storytelling medium, it raises the bar.

Analogue: A Hate Story (PC)
Couldn't put it down until I finished it. It can certainly induce some painful cringing, too.

Katawa Shoujo (PC)
I didn't know much about the backstory, I just know I love a good VN, and this is a damn good one.
Fantastic love story too, which is bonus.

Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh6LajQJ1MY