Some Random Comments on the Games of 2012:
I find it really, really odd that so many web-site editors found the neck-stabbing action of games like Far Cry 3 and CodBlops 2 offensive at their E3 showings, yet it's not reflected in their review scores AT. ALL.
Far Cry 3 is a really, really PRETTY, but really, really BUGGY game. It has tons to do and COULD live up to the Skyrim with Guns description so many people are throwing out there --BUT-- there's quite a few other things that are annoying as well: The cast of characters so far is REALLY, REALLY unlikeable. You, your brothers and your buddies are kinda those MTV, Real World-like, Douchey Dude-Bro types that are VERY easy to DISLIKE, yet the story FORCES CARING ABOUT THEM down your throat! Vaas is SOOOOO Crazy (he makes Scarface look like a Nun) and the Doctor seems like a VERY bad Caricature of the Walter Bishop character from Fringe, that you don't really care about THEM either. The whole thing seems kinda silly. The writing is also VERY bad. Descriptions of items, locales, plants and animals are supposed to be witty, but they tend to be of the: "I dunno what is worse, this Python or MY EX-WIFE!" types of jokes. Just. Bad.
I still am wondering about the whole this year is worse than last year thing. Could it be that we've just come to expect AAA games, that they come around so much more often, that AAA has become the "Average" now? Many of the games that came out this year, had they been released a few years earlier, WOULD HAVE been GOTY for that year!
I LOVE that Original IP's and Downloadables are still NOT ONLY relevant, but DAMN! ONE TOOK GOTY this YEAR! Show's that a good amount of people out there have GOOD TASTE! Minecraft trumps CoD for most played game on Live?! Walking Dead beats out full retail games?! Dishonored gets nominated for quite a few GOTY categories?! I like where this is going!
The incorporation of AutoLogs and Social Integration in an unobtrusive way is very, very, very COOL! What started with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit last year, and continued through SSX and into Most Wanted by EA this year, has spread to games like Far Cry 3... It's a Passive kind of Competition Inspiring tool that adds an edge to games that you CAN'T meet up with people to play in real time! For example, Homer hasn't been here in MONTHS, but he's all over my Most Wanted game, on my Billboards and Speed Cameras, I am competing with him and his scores even we he's not around!
I find it a little alarming that there's a DISTINCT LACK of Nintendo on my list this year.
phantom_leo said:Some Random Comments on the Games of 2012:
I find it really, really odd that so many web-site editors found the neck-stabbing action of games like Far Cry 3 and CodBlops 2 offensive at their E3 showings, yet it's not reflected in their review scores AT. ALL.
...
I think the outcry came at the trailers having that emphasis (and the "Hell Yeah!" response from the crowd at the MS conference).
Overall, I've been happy with the new trends in game prodcution for 2012. It may not have had the same level of games are the last few years, but perhaps that enabled smaller games with original ideas to get more attention.
My list will end up being:
- Binary Domain
- Yakuza: Dead Souls
- Mass Effect 3
- The Walking Dead
- Halo 4
Those are the only 2012 games I'll have beaten by the end of the year. At this early stage in my playthroughs it'll come down to Walking Dead or Halo 4.
phantom_leo said:I find it a little alarming that there's a DISTINCT LACK of Nintendo on my list this year.
Nintendo put out nothing that was really noteworthy, save maybe Paper Mario. As good as it is, it's no GOTY.
phantom_leo said:
I still am wondering about the whole this year is worse than last year thing. Could it be that we've just come to expect AAA games, that they come around so much more often, that AAA has become the "Average" now? Many of the games that came out this year, had they been released a few years earlier, WOULD HAVE been GOTY for that year!
YES! We are six or seven years into this gen and everyone needs to be at their absolute best cause we have basically seen everything already. Nothing surprises me anymore but everything is really good.
I want to thank you Leo because once I did my list it has given me focus on what I should play next. I am going to start knocking games off that list of potential GOTY before I play anything else. I have an insane backlog, like nothing I have ever had before. I dont know what to do sometimes. I feel like I really need to stop buying games but I must get the best deals.
Glad to service you!
...errr... Glad to be of service, I mean! 
I ---HIGHLY--- recommend Dishonored!
You, Bear and Travo can make it a new VG Press Game Club Topic!
**I'm playing it too, but it's amongst a zillion other games!**
I just ordered Walking Dead on 360 I had a 5 dollar Amazon credit I had to use or lose by tomorrow so wtf. I used a $1.31 Discover bucks too so I'm paying $23.68 for it pretty cheap considering how good it's supposed to be. Damn I have a backlog too not just unplayed, but a lot of half played stuff I got demotivated or bored of ...
[REVISED] I'll now explain why some of these are Game of the Year worthy (and some are not):
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Mass Effect 3 (360) -- Forget the ending. The ENTIRE GAME was the ending. Brilliant FPS/RPG melding meets masterful story-telling in a world where all your past decisions came back to haunt or help you!
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) -- Speaking of in another world, in another time... Pit MAY HAVE become what Samus did. The brother series to sister Metroid, it was the Greek Mythology answer to the Sci-Fi adventure released on the same day and date, way back when. Clever dialogue between Pit and Palutena and Panzer Dragoon gameplay should make gaming perfection, but was hampered a bit by the controls.
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition (360) -- Boobies! ...but seriously... Mature adventuring, an evolving storyline based on your actions and a gameplay system that let YOU decide how YOU wanted to play it. Trapper? Swordsman or Magic-User... All of the above? Yes, please!
Minecraft (360) -- How can sooo many MILLIONS of players be wrong? A CREATIVE game trumps Call of Duty on the 360?! What kind of world are we living in?! One of our own design, courtesy of Minecraft! Make your own world to invite others to play in, better yet, it keeps getting BETTER! One of the most BELOVED (non) Games of All Time!
Spelunky! (XBLA) -- Side-scrolling platformer meets Rogue game with COMPLETELY addictive results! Sooo many unique items and weapons to play with. Watch the havoc a few explosives can ignite. Thank GOD for XBLA, giving some of the world's BEST Indie developers the chance to show their labors of love to the mainstream gaming population!
Borderlands 2 (360) -- What else could I possibly say about Borderlands. Vader is most likey right, this will probably be IT, but more on that later and AFTER all the games are considered!
Dishonored (360) -- What kind of Arcane magics did Arkane Studios use to produce a game of THIS quality?! Where did they and this come from?! BioShock meets Metal Gear meets Thief meets Deus Ex all within one of the most creative Steam Punk worlds devised in QUITE a while!!
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360) -- Hold your breath as you send tiny Robio into enemy territory as he's covered by Travo the Sniper and Vader the Heavy. Part Base-Building sim, Part Turn-Based Strategy game. No other game this year sets up such a feeling of Anxiety and Suspense as you play. What a REMAKE!
Halo 4 (360) -- Bungie who? 343 has managed to keep the spirit of Halo alive and well, employing clever as ever AI and weaponry you REALLY need to consider for each situation! Such colors, such variety in the gun-play. Add to that a story-line you care about, Spartan Ops and PERFECTED online multiplayer. BlOps has not shot to tops!
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS) -- Imagine the structure of Super Mario World with Paper Mario gameplay and you get Sticker Star! There's hardly a story, but you'll hardly care! The best thing of all is the copious use of already existing Mario World enemies! Wigglers and Shy Guys, Cheep-Cheeps and BLOOBERS (the game mis-spells them Bloopers!), Snifits and Goombas; you'll stomp them all in style using stickers and THINGS you collect throughout. Simplified, but nonetheless FUN!
New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) -- For many of us, the Mario Bros. games are what got us into gaming in the first place. ANY game that recalls that childhood feeling of playing Mario 3 or World deserves a place on ANY GOTY list, but this being Mario's first entry into the world of HD... could in be THE game this year?
Darksiders II (Wii U) -- I don't want to say THQ squandered their chance to make something special for Wii U's launch with this game, but it doesn't offer much more than the PS3 version of the game, which has its own share of issues. Colors are richer here, but I haven't even cared to try out the extra functions of the Pad with the game. Great game, great series, but NOT my GOTY. Top-ten worthy? We'll see!
ZombiU (Wii U) -- Loot your friend's undead corpses! Yay! I haven't played enough of the game to make a judgement yet, but from what I have seen, it does MANY things RIGHT. Tense and gritty, THIS is the feeling a Zombie Apocalypse SHOULD convey! Dark Souls elements, a bit of Dead Island too and probably the best use of the Game Pad next to NintendoLand... The polarity of the press actually worked FOR this game in a way I've NEVER personally experienced before!
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (360) -- Yes, a Burnout Paradise by any other name IS just as sweet! Add to that game HUNDREDS of REAL WORLD cars (Muscle, Exotic and Concept), Races for EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE CARS... and Oh! That AutoLog! EA has done GREAT things with the incorporation of your Friends List into the very game itself. Drive the streets of your very own motorized play ground, searching for Billboards with your friends faces or Avatars on them and try to top their times and/or accomplishments. Sometimes you'll want to race, sometimes you'll just want to break your friend's records, but EVERY time you'll have fun, without a doubt!
Far Cry 3 (360) -- Skyrim with Guns? Appealing, but does it hold up? A HUGE Tropical Paradise to explore and SURVIVE in Equal Parts Stealth meets Gunplay Gameplay with lots of Toys to travel with, like Hang-Gliders, Jeeps and Jet Skis... Tons of Quests and Side-Quests, Animals to Hunt and Craft into usable objects... The dude-bro story meets Neck-Stabby executions meets over-the-top Psycho Vaas... could it be too much? A GREAT, GREAT game, no-doubt, but does it all work together? More later!
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Still Coming:
The Walking Dead
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Eliminated:
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Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3)
Sine Mora (XBLA)
Darksiders (PS3)
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360)
Resident Evil 6 (360)
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal our Garbage?! (3DS)
Hitman: Absolution (360)
NintendoLand (Wii U)
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phantom_leo said:Speaking of which: Has anyone actually PLAYED Minecraft on 360 lately? ALL the enhancements have been added and it's ALMOST ENTIRELY a DIFFERENT game!
And more to come, including the one announced today, "THE END".
phantom_leo said:...and I don't understand the sudden shout-outs to Bulletstorm, Crysis 2 and Bastion... (Not only by you!)
When I was playing them last year, they were mostly met with apathy around here and elsewhere...
I think my ballyhooing of Bulletstorm has won me a seat off the bandwagon and into the Grand Marshal's car.
I'd love to be able to contribute to a game of the year discussion but I played all of 7 games that were released this year and half were pretty crappy. Guess I'll have to break out Dark Robio and do another "Go to Hell" list.
My list is here (with cutom pics!).
But my real GOTY might be Hotline Miami. Most of the games I played this year were from 2011 or indie games. Sucks being broke.
This picture is perfect for the caption:
We have a serious contender for GOTY. LBP Vita is coming on strong.
I throw Farcry 3 in the same category as Dragon's Dogma; I loved the games, but certainly not because of the story. The gameplay is the shining point in regards to both games. On a similar note, The Walking Dead. I loved the story, I loved the emotions it invoked. It was very compelling, but was it a game? It felt like interactive TV episodes. A great experience, but gaming mechanics were pretty minimal.
Time to make a Top-Ten:
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Mass Effect 3 (360) -- Forget the ending. The ENTIRE GAME was the ending. Brilliant FPS/RPG melding meets masterful story-telling in a world where all your past decisions came back to haunt or help you!
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) -- I am ALL for the revival of Kid Icarus and Nintendo's past franchise games, but this game is juuust not good enough to be included on a GOTY list.
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition (360) -- Boobies! ...but seriously... Mature adventuring, an evolving storyline based on your actions and a gameplay system that let YOU decide how YOU wanted to play it. Trapper? Swordsman or Magic-User... All of the above? Yes, please!
Minecraft (XBLA) -- How can sooo many MILLIONS of players be wrong? A CREATIVE game trumps Call of Duty on the 360?! What kind of world are we living in?! One of our own design, courtesy of Minecraft! Make your own world to invite others to play in, better yet, it keeps getting BETTER! One of the most BELOVED (non) Games of All Time!
Spelunky! (XBLA) -- Side-scrolling platformer meets Rogue game with COMPLETELY addictive results! Sooo many unique items and weapons to play with. Watch the havoc a few explosives can ignite. Thank GOD for XBLA, giving some of the world's BEST Indie developers the chance to show their labors of love to the mainstream gaming population!
Borderlands 2 (360) -- What else could I possibly say about Borderlands. Vader is most likey right, this will probably be IT, but more on that later and AFTER all the games are considered!
Dishonored (360) -- What kind of Arcane magics did Arkane Studios use to produce a game of THIS quality?! Where did they and this come from?! BioShock meets Metal Gear meets Thief meets Deus Ex all within one of the most creative Steam Punk worlds devised in QUITE a while!!
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360) -- Hold your breath as you send tiny Robio into enemy territory as he's covered by Travo the Sniper and Vader the Heavy. Part Base-Building sim, Part Turn-Based Strategy game. No other game this year sets up such a feeling of Anxiety and Suspense as you play. What a REMAKE!
Halo 4 (360) -- Bungie who? 343 has managed to keep the spirit of Halo alive and well, employing clever as ever AI and weaponry you REALLY need to consider for each situation! Such colors, such variety in the gun-play. Add to that a story-line you care about, Spartan Ops and PERFECTED online multiplayer. BlOps has not shot to tops!
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS) -- I actually DO miss the story and humor of past Paper Mario games. While the Mario World structure of it is great and there are a good amount of puzzles to solve and items to find, you can't help but feel there's something missing.
New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) -- For many of us, the Mario Bros. games are what got us into gaming in the first place. ANY game that recalls that childhood feeling of playing Mario 3 or World deserves a place on ANY GOTY list, but this being Mario's first entry into the world of HD... could in be THE game this year?
Darksiders II (Wii U) -- Introducing loot elements into Darksiders was a good idea, but Death is powerful enough to begin with. Not good enough for GOTY.
ZombiU (Wii U) -- If this wasn't a Wii U launch title, it would have been considered just Average. It just stood out by being one of the few unique launch titles. Maybe ZombiU2 will improve. Maybe there'll be a Zombie Bono in it?
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (360) -- Yes, a Burnout Paradise by any other name IS just as sweet! Add to that game HUNDREDS of REAL WORLD cars (Muscle, Exotic and Concept), Races for EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE CARS... and Oh! That AutoLog! EA has done GREAT things with the incorporation of your Friends List into the very game itself. Drive the streets of your very own motorized play ground, searching for Billboards with your friends faces or Avatars on them and try to top their times and/or accomplishments. Sometimes you'll want to race, sometimes you'll just want to break your friend's records, but EVERY time you'll have fun, without a doubt!
Far Cry 3 (360) -- Escape from Douche-Bag island is a more appropriate title. Gameplay is good, stealth is sound, but the characters make me NOT want to play.
The Walking Dead - A TellTale Game Series (360) -- Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to finish this before the end of the year and don't have enough of an opinion of it yet.
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Huh? Looking back at my original list, I forgot to put Journey! That's OK, it wouldn't have made it into my Top-Ten anyway.
My "Short List" still has 24 games on it!
Truthfully though, as you can tell by some of the comments, quite a few of them will be dropping off when it comes time to make a Top-Ten!