Cast Your Vote For The Escapist's Game of the Year 2012
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It's a pretty small list, really. I'm surprised Mark of the Ninja (my GOTY) made it on this list. But there's no way they'd be able to get every game. It's been an incredible year in which a wide variety of great games (most of them not AAA) were released.Skeleon said:
1st thing I thought; Why the hell isnt dark souls on this list
Then I remembered it was a 2011 game
Then I remembered it was a 2011 game
I voted for Guild Wars 2. Considering I'm still playing it and having a blast, it gets the nod from me
I enjoyed The Walking Dead and Spec Ops as experiences, not games. I feel that if you can watch a Youtube video of someone playing them and get the same enjoyment, it's not a great game
Doesn't gameplay factor into games anymore when considering the "best"?
I enjoyed The Walking Dead and Spec Ops as experiences, not games. I feel that if you can watch a Youtube video of someone playing them and get the same enjoyment, it's not a great game
Doesn't gameplay factor into games anymore when considering the "best"?
So I narrowed it down to Assassin's Creed 3, Mass Effect 3, Dishonored, The Walking Dead and Halo 4. I never beat Dishonored (haven't finished it yet) and haven't beaten The Walking Dead (only own the first episode) so that narrowed it down to Halo 4, Mass Effect 3 and Assassin's Creed 3.
I took the positives from each and compared them to one another: Graphically I felt Halo 4 was the strongest because it took the Xbox 360's graphics and pushed it to levels we haven't seen before, however I felt like Assassin's Creed 3's world was more beautiful just out of sheer scope. The gameplay for Assassin's Creed 3 was the strongest in my mind, however the protagonist was uninteresting and there were quite a few bugs with the release of the game that have yet to be fixed. Meanwhile Halo 4 had two strong protagonists however their secondary characters were weak and uninteresting. The strongest antagonist I felt was Assassin's Creed 3 in Haythem Kenway (God I loved his character) and even in Charles Lee, whereas in Halo 4 the antagonist seemed uninteresting and distant for most of the game. The ending for Assassin's Creed 3 was good for Connor (who redeemed himself to an extent at the end with his character development) but very confusing with the modern day Desmond story arc (unless if you take an in depth analysis of all the Assassin's Creed games), whereas the ending for Halo 4 seemed to be pretty solid, however was extremely depressing (for me) and left little room for a sequel (unless if I missed something).
What about Mass Effect 3? Well Mass Effect 3 won my vote in the end for a number of reasons: The protagonist and the supporting characters are all rich and complex, some of the more memorable moments in the series' history can be found here, the antagonist (or antagonists) are all pretty solid, with the dlc update the ending is a ton better, the gameplay is fun and well constructed, graphically the game is beautiful, and the scale of the game is massive in scope. I hardly see any faults in Mass Effect 3 (they are there but are few) and when compared to Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4, I believe Mass Effect 3 to be a superior game.
Unfortunately I was unable to complete Dishonored or The Walking Dead before this time so voting for either of them would of been unfair on my part, and I also haven't tried out the other games that have come out this year so perhaps there are others who are more worthy than Mass Effect 3, but my vote goes to the game that, through my experience, deserves to win.
I took the positives from each and compared them to one another: Graphically I felt Halo 4 was the strongest because it took the Xbox 360's graphics and pushed it to levels we haven't seen before, however I felt like Assassin's Creed 3's world was more beautiful just out of sheer scope. The gameplay for Assassin's Creed 3 was the strongest in my mind, however the protagonist was uninteresting and there were quite a few bugs with the release of the game that have yet to be fixed. Meanwhile Halo 4 had two strong protagonists however their secondary characters were weak and uninteresting. The strongest antagonist I felt was Assassin's Creed 3 in Haythem Kenway (God I loved his character) and even in Charles Lee, whereas in Halo 4 the antagonist seemed uninteresting and distant for most of the game. The ending for Assassin's Creed 3 was good for Connor (who redeemed himself to an extent at the end with his character development) but very confusing with the modern day Desmond story arc (unless if you take an in depth analysis of all the Assassin's Creed games), whereas the ending for Halo 4 seemed to be pretty solid, however was extremely depressing (for me) and left little room for a sequel (unless if I missed something).
What about Mass Effect 3? Well Mass Effect 3 won my vote in the end for a number of reasons: The protagonist and the supporting characters are all rich and complex, some of the more memorable moments in the series' history can be found here, the antagonist (or antagonists) are all pretty solid, with the dlc update the ending is a ton better, the gameplay is fun and well constructed, graphically the game is beautiful, and the scale of the game is massive in scope. I hardly see any faults in Mass Effect 3 (they are there but are few) and when compared to Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4, I believe Mass Effect 3 to be a superior game.
Unfortunately I was unable to complete Dishonored or The Walking Dead before this time so voting for either of them would of been unfair on my part, and I also haven't tried out the other games that have come out this year so perhaps there are others who are more worthy than Mass Effect 3, but my vote goes to the game that, through my experience, deserves to win.
I'm annoyed I have yet to be able to get around to playing Spec Ops: The Line. But I guess that's a good thing, because I'm madly torn between The Walking Dead, and Journey. Journey was a fantastic game, looked beautiful, had one of the best soundtracks ever, and the anonymous multiplayer concept was amazing. The Walking Dead had me in tears a number of times, and really made me question my actions...which is disgustingly hard to do in games these days. Or ever, really. The voice acting was top-notch, and had some of the most tense moments in video game history. Not to mention...dat Ep 5. All dem feels.
Fuck it, coin toss.
*Toss*
The Walking Dead.
Fuck it, coin toss.
*Toss*
The Walking Dead.
I was wondering how I would pick between Lollipop Chainsaw and The Walking Dead, but you made it easy for me by not having one.
Lollipop Chainsaw is the game I enjoyed playing the most this year, but Walking Dead is the game I found the most emotionally engaging and affecting. Both were good for entirely different reasons, but still both fantastic games.
Surprised no one else has mentioned LC yet this thread, oh well at least it will get a Jimquisition award tomorrow.
Lollipop Chainsaw is the game I enjoyed playing the most this year, but Walking Dead is the game I found the most emotionally engaging and affecting. Both were good for entirely different reasons, but still both fantastic games.
Surprised no one else has mentioned LC yet this thread, oh well at least it will get a Jimquisition award tomorrow.
The fact Diablo 3 is even nominated makes me ashamed to be a gamer.
I voted for Borderlands 2, but dammit if FTL wasn't neck and neck.
Of all the games I've played this year, those two have retained the best longevity.
I voted for Borderlands 2, but dammit if FTL wasn't neck and neck.
Of all the games I've played this year, those two have retained the best longevity.
I've only played about a handful of the list this year but I've got to go with The Walking Dead. I was expecting a cheap knock-off tie-in but got one of the most enjoyable story experiences I think I've ever had playing games.
My knee jerk for this one was Spec Ops, that games just insanely well crafted on all fronts to push the message/theme/generally reinforce the story of the game... and its the only game I've played I've felt bad about playing and felt like I was supposed to feel bad about, if that makes any sense
The Walking Dead, but it was a close call between that and Dishonored.
While Dishonored was brilliant in nearly ever aspect, I felt it fizzled out towards the end (not to mention it was incredibly abrupt) and I could have put at least 2 extra missions in there.
But The Walking Dead (excluding a couple of glitches) was more or less flawless to me. Again, the final episode seemed a little rushed but it was heart-breaking and that song at the end was just perfect.
No game for a very long time has ever made me feel so connected to a character and whenever I lost one of the people I cared about I felt truly sad.
It's also voiced incredibly well. Considering these are cell-shaded characters, I was very impressed with the intensity of emotion the voice actors could bring to them.
Besides these points, I loved the gameplay in general. Though you're mainly aiming the crosshairs and tapping a single button through most of the action, the situation feels urgent. Whether it's a single walker or a whole herd, you had to be quick and accurate. Even when you're relaxed and in a 'safe place' you had to stay on your toes as you could get jumped at anytime. The whole game just created a perfect atmosphere and sense of environment: in this world you were never truly safe, always thinking "Something's gonna happen sooner or later."
Overall, just a beautiful and unique experience. Not just the best of 2012, one of the best games I've played in my lifetime and I can't wait for the next season!
While Dishonored was brilliant in nearly ever aspect, I felt it fizzled out towards the end (not to mention it was incredibly abrupt) and I could have put at least 2 extra missions in there.
But The Walking Dead (excluding a couple of glitches) was more or less flawless to me. Again, the final episode seemed a little rushed but it was heart-breaking and that song at the end was just perfect.
No game for a very long time has ever made me feel so connected to a character and whenever I lost one of the people I cared about I felt truly sad.
It's also voiced incredibly well. Considering these are cell-shaded characters, I was very impressed with the intensity of emotion the voice actors could bring to them.
Besides these points, I loved the gameplay in general. Though you're mainly aiming the crosshairs and tapping a single button through most of the action, the situation feels urgent. Whether it's a single walker or a whole herd, you had to be quick and accurate. Even when you're relaxed and in a 'safe place' you had to stay on your toes as you could get jumped at anytime. The whole game just created a perfect atmosphere and sense of environment: in this world you were never truly safe, always thinking "Something's gonna happen sooner or later."
Overall, just a beautiful and unique experience. Not just the best of 2012, one of the best games I've played in my lifetime and I can't wait for the next season!
Had to go with The Walking Dead, just because, damn...
So many awesome games this year, though. Gotta play some Spec Ops when I get a chance. Also need to pick up Torchlight 2/Diablo 3 and I want to try the Secret World sometime.
When I sleep at night, I can hear my wallet crying.
So many awesome games this year, though. Gotta play some Spec Ops when I get a chance. Also need to pick up Torchlight 2/Diablo 3 and I want to try the Secret World sometime.
When I sleep at night, I can hear my wallet crying.
I don't think I've ever seen someone miss the point so completely. The game is a deconstruction of modern warfare style shooters focusing on the morale grey areas of war and the toll it takes on combatants which it accomplishes through excellent writing, pacing, and use of mechanics. I'm curious what part of it you found generic and counterintuitive towards the game's point.sethisjimmy said:
Mainly the gameplay. While I can admit the game does a few interesting things story-wise, I feel the experience as a whole is dragged way down because of it's tedious boring cover shooting we've all seen a hundred times.Austin Manning said:
As for pacing, I feel as if the game treats you like you'll turn off the game if there isn't explosions and shooting every five minutes on the dot. Every time the game slows down and begins to develop, boom, long cover shooting section.
I don't think I missed the point, I just think that as a military shooter it could have done a whole lot better than that generic gameplay, which I don't think added anything to the story and/or message they were trying to convey. I'm supposed to feel bad for these guys who are going through the hardships of war when every five minutes they're killing hundreds of faceless nameless mooks? It just doesn't work for me.
I think I missed this year ... I haven't played any of the selected games! (I was too Humble Bundle fixated...)
So from the "outside" I will go with "Journey", because I like the style!
So from the "outside" I will go with "Journey", because I like the style!