This year, I've decided to forego naming my favourite games of genres and platforms, and I've decided to just recount the highs and lows of my year in gaming instead. So let's reminisce, shall we?
To be honest, there were a lot of sequels this year. Not that that's a bad thing, but a little originality never hurt. Games that spring to mind when you say "Good Sequel" include The Darkness 2, Max Payne 3, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Black Ops 2. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved games like Mass Effect 3, but that game in particular didn't add a whole lot in the gameplay department. Story-wise, it's brilliant (apart from THAT unpleasantness.), but the gameplay department sort of meandered.
Assassin's Creed 3 strikes me as another great sequel, with gameplay that has taken a significant leap since the last numbered sequel in the series. Max Payne 3 utilized Rockstar's Euphoria engine to evolve the games dive-y, shoot-y bullet time gameplay into something more. It's setting may have taken it to one of the most colourful locales on the planet, but this game's story is as Noir as they come.
Lego Batman 2 improved upon the original by expanding the cast, as well as introducing something brand new to the series, voiced characters. Previously, Lego games were all slapstick and pantomime; and while that was adequate, having voice actors in the product helps make the games even funnier.
Games like Prototype 2 and New Super Mario Bros. 2 however show very little evolution in their respective franchises, let alone and changes to the formulas at all. Now, while Mass Effect 3 didn't change much gameplay wise, it at least had a great story with fantastic characters. NSMBU and Prototype 2 don't quite have that leg to stand on.
Now, even with the good and not so good sequels that came out, there was still a surprising amount of new IPs hitting store shelves. From Catherine to Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning, to Dragon's Dogma and Lollipop Chainsaw. Now, certain games didn't get the sales that they needed, and chances of seeing a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are next to none. That's a shame, because I really felt the world and it's mythology have a lot of potential. Plus, it's such a bright visual style, it seems a shame to be wasted.
Speaking of bright visual styles, Lollipop Chainsaw certainly provided just that. It gave us some offbeat characters in a world that was more than just a little messed up, and if it had only had the gameplay to back it up, it could have been something great. Unfortunately it's gameplay often felt repetitive, and when it did try to change things up, it fell back on boring, or frustrating minigames.
Fortunately, there were some real winners in the New IP fold, and Dragon's Dogma was one of them. It gave players an interesting world, with gigantic beasts to fight, and their own hand-made Pawn to fight alongside. It also brought some interesting multiplayer ideas to the table, with other users' pawns being able to be drafted into your fold.
Last year was also a good year for some more Niche titles. Catherine, for example was a puzzle game that had you climbing a tower to survive the protagonists increasingly messed up dreams. While often frustrating, the game never felt impossible, and it's unusual story about a commitment-phobe and a crazy love triangle kept me pushing on into the early hours of the morning.
Also making it's way into the spotlight was the small squad-based Strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's imaginative enemies, tactical freedom, and surprising difficulty made it impossible to put down. And it's a fantastic game when it comes to emergent stories. I'll never forget when my girlfriend, Lt. Lauren Annette was gunned down in cold blood. Her sacrifice was not made in vain, however, as my force of soldiers named after close friends annihilated the enemy in retaliation.
Now, I have trouble calling any game inherently bad, but there are definitely some that aren't worth your hard earned money. Medal of Honor Warfighter provided a barebones campaign, filled with glitches and very little else. At the end of the day, I had to recommend you not buy it. Same goes for Asura's Wrath and Lollipop Chainsaw, but at least give those a rental.
I'd like to cap off this post with my favourite games of 2012, and while some that I've already mentioned were great to play, these ones in particular stay vivid in my mind.
FAR CRY 3
People have been calling this Skyrim with guns, and despite having fewer side quests, that's a fairly apt description. Upgradable skills take the form of a tribal tattoo, you hunt to gather materials to make holsters and rucksacks, you can upgrade your arsenal and hold a varied assortment of weapons at any given time. Far Cry 3 gives you the choice on how you want to play, and it's one of the only games that makes any approach seem feasable.
Shotgun running through a stronghold to take out enemies? No worries. Stealthy knife kills to empty an entire camp without raising an alarm. Sure thing. You can even release captive wildlife to set it lose on your enemies. It'd be enough to be given a game where stealth actually works, but Far Cry 3 lets you adequately handle the situation if you mess up.
Add to this, the cast of colourful characters, and you've got one of my favourites of 2012.
SPEC OPS: THE LINE
On the surface, Spec Ops: The Line looks and feels like your average third person military shooter. It's mechanics work well enough, and it's visuals are pretty average. It's the game's story elements, the destroyed remains of Dubai, the rogue american forces, the increasing weariness of your companion's, it all comes to a head and it's an ending that shocked me. It makes me wish I had done things differently, but I doubt things would have been much different.
By the end, you feel as run down as the main characters, and you just want to know if you'll make it out alive. And if you do, will you be the same?
DISHONORED
After seeing alot of the trailers for Dishonored, you'd be excused for thinking it's all about killing people with a big knife. In all honesty, it's the first game I completed without killing a single person. If you pay attention, chances are you've picked up that I'm a fan of both Stealth, and Choice, something another game in my favourites group has as well.
Even if it didn't have such great stealth elements, the world and visual style of Dishonored would still force me to highly recommend this game. But as it turns out, everything it has to offer is stellar. The only complaint I can level about it is that it's too damn short.
So those were my three favourite games of 2012. What were yours? And what are we most looking forward to this year? See you next time!
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