[Question] The Gamingforce Game of the Year 2012: Results now in!

The Gamingforce Game of the Year, back by (no) demand, is here once again. 2013 is just around the corner but for a few of us hardy souls at GFF now is the time to look back at the year that was 2012 and the games we played. As ever the real question is what does Gamingforce consider the best of 2012? Also you might win a game by voting - see below for the details.

As with the previous years' voting here's how this is going to work: each person has 100 points to vote for games released in 2012 (doesn't matter where, but games have to have been commercially released in 2012) and you can allocate them to as many games as you like as long as it totals 100 in the end. The only rule is that you can't award any single game more than 40 points. So you could vote two 40s and a 20, or a 40 and six 10s, or any other combination of points as long as it adds up to 100.

To vote all you have to do is post a reply with your top games of 2012, how many points you're giving each, and a brief explanation of why you feel the game deserves your points.

Example:

GAME A - 40 points
Man I loved game A because...

GAME B - 20 points
I ended up playing so much of game B that...

GAME C - 15 points
Game C gets some points because...

GAME D - 15 points
I couldn't decide between this and C, so gave both points, but D rocks because...

GAME E - 5 points
Good, but not necessarily great, but I figure E deserves some points because...

GAME F - 5 points
Like E, F gets a few points because...

REFERRED BY: x ... Who got you to come vote (prize draw related - see below)

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The GFF GotY 2012 Prize Draw

It will surprise no one to learn that the number of participants have been dwindling each year and last year's referral system didn't help matters so here's my new plan to encourage you all to try and get others involved: a prize draw for a free game. The value of the game will be equal to approximately* the number of participants, so if 30 people vote it'll be worth £30, up to a maximum of £40. Also note I used GBP there, so even more dollar dollar for you vote.

As part of the results I'll throw everyone's names into a hat and pull out a winner. I'll then co-ordinate with the appropriate party to arrange how best to acquire and deliver the game.

So there's already one good reason to get others involved, the potential prize value goes up, but wait there's more! If you can get someone else to vote and add a your name alongside the 'REFERRED BY:' text you'll get your name thrown in the pot again (up to a maximum of 4 times - so your name would be in the hat 5 times total). So bigger prize, more chance to win; hopefully this sounds appealing.

* I say approximate value because I'll be a little flexible and if there's something you wanted for just over or something then I'm not going to be an arsehole about it.

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Voting will close on Saturday 12th January at 18:00 GMT (that's Englandland time), at which point I'll add all the points together and work out GFF's top 20 games of 2012, posting the results in a new thread for discussion/people to complain about.

Get voting.

Oh, and get other people to come vote too. This year it earns you some extra voting power.

Disclaimer/Rules:
1. If you allocate any game more than 40 points your vote won't be counted.
2. If your points allocation totals more than 100 points your vote won't be counted (totals less than 100 are fine).
3. Votes for games not released in 2012 will be ignored.
4. Only official commercial releases in 2012 count.
5. No negative points. I'll point and laugh and then ignore your vote.
6. Whole integers only. Fractions and decimal places will also lead me to ignore your vote.
7. Any other such idiocy will also probably lead your vote not being counted.
8. To qualify for Prize Draw entry you must be an established GFF member (no new accounts).
8a. In order to qualify for bonus entry via referrals the referring member must also be an established GFF member.
8b. The organising party is excluded from all entries to the Prize Draw.
9. Prize Draw entries and winner decisions are final.
10. Prize Draw value does not include shipping so will have to be factored in if a free option is not available.

And as ever, I take no responsibility for Skills fucking with stuff, which if you ignore these points he almost certainly will do somehow.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Kid Icarus: Uprising (35 points)

I personally had no issues with the controls in this, but I can see if people do. But outside of that, this thing is fantastic. Humour, content, a multiplayer mode with both a high skill ceiling and dynamic gameplay, a fuckin' awesome weapon fusing system. THAT MUSIC.

Seriously, it's like a damn near flawless action game. It's an instant classic and I really wish they'd make a follow-up. Shame they already said it wasn't bloody likely.

MechWarrior Online (25 points)

When MW5 resurfaced late last year after a 30-odd month haitus since the initial reveal trailer, and then they were all "oh yeah, it's F2P. Oh yeah, it's done by an untested team. Oh yeah, they're sticking as close to tabletop stats as humanly possible."

Sort of shat my pants.

But Piranha is fantastic. They've crafted a game that's both insanely tactical and extremely granular. They've taken the most important parts of BT and faithfully reversed the trend that started with MW3 in turning MechWarrior into an arcade game. It's intelligent again and oh man. It's good.

It's still in open beta, but it's released on the open, and I think it's fantastic. Probably since I got into the closed beta right after getting back from the Meet, it's been my most played title this year. Hundreds of matches already.

Hawken (10 points)

YouTube Video

It actually looks and plays like this. UT, in robots the size of pickup trucks, deployables, items, skill trees. UE3 engine that makes the damn game look like some sort of crazy shit.

Also just recently in open beta, but from what I've seen since second alpha, shit is ridiculous and next year will be amazing for it.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (10 points)

MP was good but not as amazing as War's. Been dumbed down in many, MANY ways, and it suffers for it. Longevity for the title took a dump, and it became a lot more one sided.

That said, the SP Campaign was fantastic. No fluff, no padding, no bullshit. Just pure, unadultered joy from start to finish. Fantastic setpieces, great nostalgia runs, everything in it was spot fucking on. I can't get over how fantastic it was. The best shooter campaign of the last couple years, EASILY.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (10 points)

I like how much crap this game gets for not being TTYD 2. It's an ADVENTURE game, and once you look at it like that it becomes sublime, subtle, and clever. It's never obtuse, but it does require you to not be an idiot. It's smart, it's perfectly bite sized, and it's insanely well executed.

People who dong on it are, quite frankly, dumb.

Borderlands 2 (5 points)

It is odd giving this only 5 points. It's hilarious, it's lengthy, and it's an awesome experience with friends. But...I was expecting all that. It lived up to my high expectations for it, my excitement. I played the shit out of it too.

But the lack of a post game worth anything and the weird choices for raid bosses and balance of legendaries made it hard to give more points to, because that's arguably just as large a segment of the title as the primary campaign, and it's sort of torpedo'd by it, personally.

I look forward to playing a lot of the DLC, but I don't think I'm going to run another character through it and go to the same amount of loot whoring I did with the first one.

Persona 4: Golden (5 points)

Playing this again reminds me why this game is so. damn. good. But it's also half a decade old, so I can't really give it more points. The changes made to it for the Vita version are all SPECTACULAR, though. Several are game changing, and all for the better. The new Social Links are interesting and everything's been integrated well. Very much the definitive version.

The new VA for Chie is a huge improvement too.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The reason for varying points, the two below are obviously huge hits with me for the year. Completely something to remember and to think back fondly for years after, the rest after compares in a smaller scale and is an enjoyable game nonetheless but my list of games I've played for the year is pretty small enough as is anyway, so mentioning them isn't an issue in regards of space.

Xenoblade Chronicles 40 pts - I've played the PAL version but it counts since we got our NA copy anyway. Its totally worth double dipping. FOR MORE GLORY, there's this awesome thread I've made for it.

Dragon's Dogma 40 pts - Capcom pulling out a surprise sleeper on me, who knew this rental was gonna be awesome? This is the game I've expected from Skyrim and Fable combined and it delivered in a big way that they couldn't. It just blew me away, hooked me on it nonstop and it was more fun I've had than 400 hours worth of Skyrim. There's BEASTS in here that you could crawl onto like in Shadow of the Colossus, and you can modify your builds easily! The followers here in this game is much more smarter than your massive retarded housecarls in Skyrim. Better yet you can equip them how you see fit, and to shape their initiatives in the battle too! Heck, I ran as a little light but medium weight class and a little girl following me as an assassin/mage combo and just owned the game easily. You could be a tank warrior and your follower to be a compensatory type like assassin or mage to back up your hits. Heck you have up to 3 followers with you!

I had a blast just exploring the game and what's great is that the game is structured so well to keep you from exploring too far and powerlevel needlessly. You could count on nighttime to really fuck you up! The whole dynamic with the monsters in this game is incredibly engaging and gave this game a certain raw edge I've never felt in years with hesitation on threading just too far away from town!

There are side quests as well as engaging and amusing plot points in this game. If you say that the demo had turned you off from this game, I would actually completely understand because that DEMO IS NOT A REAL REPRESENTATIVE of this game AT ALL. IMHO its just awful. I really suggest you to get this game via rental or cheap purchases and do your own BUILD and specific follower to see where this game really shine.

Legend of Grimrock - 5pts Brilliant dungeon crawl with puzzles per a floor. The premise is that you're thrown into this prison and your main goal is to survive the trek out. As a fan of dungeon crawlers, I can tell you that you shouldn't skip over this!

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - 5pts Its a Layton game loaded with puzzles and an adorable cast of characters with charming environments, cannot expect any less. Enjoyable as always.

Journey - 5pts I've looked forward to thatgamecompany's work and this did not disappoint for me. It was pleasing to play even for just a few hours. Some of the landscapes were so gorgeous that I cannot stress that this game shouldn't be passed over for any artsy farts like me to miss.

Max Payne 3 - 5pts I've loved the previous two Max Payne games so much, I couldn't help but feel a little hesitation into this one that is made several... many years later. I hoped that they've kept several things intact what made the previous two great. In some ways they did and made it just as engaging and fun to play. Can't really see any bad in this one at all.

Honorable mentions: LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO Batman 2 because they're awesome, fun, and easy to co-op with a wife/gf/kid on a dull day!

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh hey we're doing this again? I only played a handful of games this year but it's more than enough to make a list I guess.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - 30 Points
This game. Is awesome. It's a culmination of everything that makes modern day kart racers fun with a shitton of nostalgia thrown in for good measure. If there's any question of whether Sumo Digital are the biggest fanboys in the world or not this game answers it. Every throwback to SEGA games of old is masterfully done, and the soundtrack is ace. The online is a fucking blast as well. Hands down my favorite title this year.

Borderlands 2 - 20 Points
Shootin' and lootin'. Going in with absolutely no experience with this series as I skipped over the first game. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was certainly blown away by what I got. The drop-in/drop-out online play made for hours upon hours upon hours upon hours of co-op fun with all kinds of people on my ridiculously large friends list and I never ever got bored with it. The Mechromancer character addition was greatly welcomed, and whoever they got to voice her and Tiny Tina deserve some kind of award.

PID - 20 Points
A brilliant little indie platformer with some charming visuals and engagingly fun gameplay, it's a shame it lacks online support. That's the only thing stopping this game from being truly great and I hear they're patching that in.

Asura's Wrath - 15 Points
Most accurate game title of the year. MAD AS FUCK: The Anime Game owns so ridiculously hard. They put a ton of work into make this truly something cinematic, and while people will tell you it would have worked better as something to be watched instead of played, fuck those people. AW is something you experience. I'd pay a million bucks if every game could have a fight as great as the showdown with Augus.

Spec Ops: The Line - 5 Points
Basically you should just go watch Yahtzee's take on this one because he says everything I'd say about it but better and with a funny accent.

Lollipop Chainsaw - 5 Points
Absurd, bright, sparkly, and a ton of fun. The only major downside is that it's all very short lived because once you've beaten the game there's no real desire to do it again. The magic wears off after the first playthrough. That first one though? Totally awesome.

Ridge Racer Unbounded - 5 Points
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY RIDGE- actually upon second thought it wasn't that bad after all. Much sleeker, much more streamlined, and altogether still a RR title at its core. Shame the series is on the decline.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I don't recall that I played a lot of games this year. I'm trying to remember if, this year, I finished a game where its world and characters left me aching for more. I have a vague recollection of that happening, but it is so faint that it might only have been a fantasy.

The only two games I feel worth nominating that I can remember are as follows.

Tokyo Jungle - 20 points
I want to mention this one because it was crazy fun while I played it. It was challenging and random, but with a growth mechanic such that you could eventually succeed through brute force if you lacked the competence but possessed the patience. It was an interesting world, with interesting mechanics. I'm only giving it 20 points because I do not think, years after the fact, I will still feel warm affection for it the way I do for other games, like SMT: Nocturne and Zelda II.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance - 5 points
I am mentioning this because I enjoyed it. I am only giving it five points because I know it is like candy. The fun is accessed through well worn neural pathways. There is nothing new here, little of value, and the story is mildly incoherent, but nevertheless, it was fun.

If I remember more, I'll update to include them.

Omagnus, dear friend, your rules sounds so very much like you that I can not read them in any other voice.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I played relatively few 2012 releases this year, so my list will be sparse.

Borderlands 2, 40 points - It's like they took Borderlands the first, and everything that made it so fun, and made it bigger. Then they added Tiny Tina.

Mass Effect 3, 25 points - Great gameplay, great music, great visuals, and an ok plot for the first 34 and a half hours. It is a disappointment when you stand it next to first two games, there is no denying that. Still, it is a fun game, especially when you consider how great the multiplayer is. I spent far more time on the multiplayer than on the single player campaign. For something that may have been tacked on, they did a great job there.

Forza Horizon, 25 points - The best, most fun open world racing game of the year is .... surprisingly not the one developed by Criterion. Forza Horizon managed to take the general concept of Forza, with its car customization, semi-realistic physics, and vast selection of cars and watered it all down enough to work in the open world, slightly more arcady setting. The physics are more forgiving than the main Forza games (and less irritating than Need for Speed Most Wanted), the customization is far less granular than the main Forza games (but there's more to it than NFS:MW), and the car selection is slightly off from the main Forza games, but it works. It is a poor man's Forza, set in an open world. It looks very good (and has about 99% less bloom than NFS) and has a far better soundtrack than NFS.

Torchlight 2, 10 points - Now this is a fun hack and slash with a little depth that definitely benefits from lower expectations than Diablo III. The worst part of this game was its release window. Eight months earlier, or later, and I'm sure it would have been a bigger deal. It has fun combat, a nice graphical style, and really good sound and music. Definitely worth the $20 that some Diablo III nerd put in my paypal account through DIII's real money auction house.

Other than that, it seems like 2012 was spent playing games from previous years, or playing "yearly updates". The quality of Borderlands 2 and Mass Effect 3's multiplayer make up for the lack of quantity of good games this year for me.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Looking back on the year just passed in gaming was a slightly odd experience this year as there was nothing that leapt out at me as being a real standout title. Normally there's those one or two games you just know will be at the top of your list, but not this year for me. Now it's altogether likely I have a potential amazing experience waiting for me on my shelf what with titles like XCOM, Dishonored, Far Cry 3 and Forza Horizon all sat unplayed; however, of the games I did play in 2012, especially the console titles, I find there was a lot of good games, just nothing truly amazing. There was some interesting gameplay stuff happening is in the indie/downloadable/mobile space though, which is where a number of my choices come from this time around.

As a result you'll see my nominee list is slightly larger than normal and points are spread a little thinner reflecting the nature of the year. Don't get me wrong though these are all great games just nothing that really knocked my socks off.

The Walking Dead - 20 points
It may not have knocked my socks off but The Walking Dead certainly knocked me for six. It can be hard to get excited about yet another zombie game which is why I didn't jump on this initially, but zombies are just a backdrop here it's far more about the people whose company you find yourself it. This game is brutal asking you to make tough choices and carry out tough actions. But it's never silly with it, never did I feel I was being presented two options for the sake of a tough choice, it was sensibly born of character and circumstance. All things considered this is certainly the most interesting, emotional and compelling gaming experience I had in 2012.

Super Hexagon - 15 points
This is an iOS (and now PC) game by Terry Cavanagh, who most people here might know as the creator of VVVVVV (also a great game). The game is incredibly simple with you rotating a triangle at the centre of the screen as various patterns of wall move towards you, the goal being to survive as long as possible. Sounds simple, is not so in reality. The first time you load up the easiest level (named Hard mode) you might survive a few seconds. You retry and survive a fraction more. You keep going until you start to survive into tens of seconds, starting to learn patterns and to cope with the undulating and rotating screen. Then you find half an hour has passed in the blink of an eye as you just have one more go to beat your best or the time of a friend. Then you try one of the harder levels and get your arse kicked all over again. It's a devilish little game but has such purity and clarity of design that it's really addictive and entirely fair (never once did I feel a failing was anything other than my own doing). Great design, great gameplay, great music - great game.

Borderlands 2 - 15 points
This was a definite contender for the top spot in my eyes as I easily put the most hours into Borderlands 2 compared to any other game this year. Despite pretty heavy expectations Gearbox managed to deliver a great follow-up to the original Borderlands with a more cohesive story quest line at the centre of things. The loot was perhaps a little less varied and fun this time around, but still a funny game with great co-op support (though stealing Diablo's individual loot drops might have been a good idea) and great gunplay. That said the end game is a little bare and once you're done with the second play-through there's little to pull you back in. Still a top notch game though and I look forward to jumping back into the DLC soon.

FTL - 10 points
Now this is the kind if game I bother with Kickstarter for: a great premise and solid experience delivered by a couple of guys wanting to make a good game. And boy did they. This is a roguelike game where you manage a space ship and its crew on a tactical level hoping to survive and gear up as you escape from sector to sector. Death is permanent so each encounter and choice can be crucial, and time is not on your side as you must run from the pursuing rebels. This is a great little title.

Journey - 10 points
Outside of The Walking Dead this is perhaps the game that evoked the strongest emotional response from me this year. It's a very simple game of exploration and finding a way forward, but it is hauntingly beautiful at times and the clever use of online to drop in an anonymous partner is quite something. There's a sadness when someone you lose track of someone you've been working with and after a while of searching and waiting you realise they're gone. It's a short experience but one that has definitely stuck with me and so easily deserving of a place on this list.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron - 10 points
Without a doubt one of the best single-player campaigns of the year. Not just a solid action shooter but also a great Tansformers game (which given the last few years of abuse of the franchise at then hands of Michael Bay was far more than I'd ever have expected) and one that left me genuinely excited for a sequel. I hope High Moon get the chance to make one, and if they do I'll be there day one. The only real blemish is the lacklustre multiplayer which lets the side down somewhat.

Minecraft 360 - 5 points
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the only 5 points this game gets but despite Minecraft being no new thing I've been thoroughly impressed with the Xbox edition and the support for the title so far. The only disappointing thing is that you don't have persistent servers for worlds, but otherwise this port gets everything right.

Trials Evolution - 5 points
Trials Evolution is an incredibly impressive game, and not just because it's an ace racer/platformer with some excellent bonus mini-games (though it is exactly that too). Far more impressive is the level editor, how surprisingly easy it is to work with and how powerful it is. RedLynx have created an Xbox equivalent of LittleBigPlanet without the cutesy interface. In fact in so respects what's on offer is even more powerful as demonstrated in some of the insane creations that are out there.

FEZ - 5 points
FEZ is not without issues, not least of all that Phil Fish is not the most endearing developer. But despite the bugs, terrible world map, somewhat smug puzzles and Phil Fish this is still a pretty wonderful game. There's a lot to like in the style and mechanics, and the depth involved in some of the puzzles (those you have to read about from crazy people who sat and deciphered them). I got a little frustrated at the lack of information sometimes when trying to determine if you we're failing to work something out because you we're being dumb or just didn't have the tools yet. But that didn't stop me enjoying it overall or from experiencing the wonder of exploration and discovery, and those "aha!" moments were still very satisfying. A rather flawed gem for sure.

Beat Sneak Bandit - 5 points
This place could easily be filled by Theatrhythm but I think Beat Sneak Bandit was my favourite rhythm game of the year, and a rhythm puzzle game no less. The game is full of style and plays really well, has a good learning curve and yet ramps up the challenge. If you have an iOS device and like rhythm games at all you should check this one out.

Honourable Mentions:
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy - Great rhythm game that using the Final Fantasy licence well, just not quite enough room or points to sneak it in.

Syndicate - Not an obvious choice necessarily but outside of Borderlands 2 this was easily one of the best co-op experiences of the year. It was disappointing because it wasn't the Syndicate game we wanted, but it was a solid shooter with good mechanics and great co-op.

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed - If you've ever enjoyed a kart racer and a Sega game then this is nearly a must. Some mildly frustrating AI (though only at times at times) stops this from being a knockout but the mechanics are rock solid and the love for various Sega brands is top.

Catherine - Bonkers, silly and charming character work (the kind only Japan could produce) wrapped around a solid block puzzle game that could get pretty tough.

Mass Effect 3 - The co-op was far better than it had any right to be, I'll give it that. And with the single player the core Mass Effect gameplay was there. However by necessity of the story the rush towards an end goal diminished some of the exploration and slow-paced elements that made Mass Effect special. It was a good game, no doubt, but ME2 was overall just a much better experience.

FELIPE NO

New Super Mario Bros. 2 - 30 points
This game plays just like NSMB Wii with elements added from the DS game (hold item, Mega Mushroom). Seriously, even the soundtrack is almost the same. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, I still had a lot of fun with this game. So much so that I think if I had to choose a game of the year this would be one of the top contenders. The theme of the game seems to center around coins being EVERYWHERE, so it's pretty easy to grab 100 for an extra life. The game also has DLC that can be used in the Coin Rush mode (which is a series of three random courses without losing a life and while collecting as many coins as possible). One of the DLC courses consists of past Mario 1 and 3 stages remade for this game.

If there was a must have title for the 3DS this year, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is one of them.



Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - 25 points

Here's the OTHER top contender for my game of the year and one of the other must have titles for the 3DS. This game, is straight up addictive. Mixing Guitar Hero-like gameplay with music from the Final Fantasy franchise is a pretty sweet combination. You take control of chibi creations from each main hero of the series, but you can also unlock secondary characters. You use them to either travel the fields and battle monsters, but you also go with the music on some of the mashed up videos of the past games as well. The DLC, makes this game even better adding some more of my favorite songs from the series. At 99 cents a song, even though it adds up to paying for the game again it is definitely worth it. Good move by Square-Enix on this one, I can't praise it enough.



Dead or Alive 5 - 20 points
I love this series. While not a whole lot has changed gameplay wise (the timing of the counters is now more precise so you can't be a complete counter-whore here), the graphics have definitely gotten a face lift...literally. The game also introduces sweat for the characters. Once you complete a match, you can see beads of sweat coming from the characters face. Another example to show for this is one female character named Hitomi wears a white tank top. As the match progresses on while she sweats, you can start to visibly see the black bra she's wearing underneath the shirt.

While the game includes some new fighters for the franchise, it also includes fighters from the Virtua Fighter series to be selected. They must have also taken notes from Mortal Kombat 9 because the story mode follows the same style: you play through some fights as one character, then you're switched to the next character as you progress forward.

The online mode is where this lost some points. While it seems some of the lag issues from DoA4 were fixed, some of the options from it's predecessor have been removed such as gameplay modes (Survivor and Team Battle) along with the lobbies where you can run around with your own custom avatar while watching the matches on the TV. Still a decent fighter.



Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance - 10 points
Another decent entry in the series, you take control of Sora and Riku respectively as you progress through the game. Your companions this time are Dream Eaters, cute colorful creatures who will aid you in your quest as long as you raise them right. I dunno, I kinda preferred just having Donald and Goofy. Also, while you can switch between characters whenever you want each one has a time limit with the drop meter. Once the drop meter reaches zero, it doesn't matter if you're in the middle of a fight or walking around picking your nose you will switch characters against your will. This is kind of annoying.

Soundtrack is good as usual. The story though, if it wasn't confusing before my God is it all over the place now. One good thing about this is the way they ended it, there's no way Kingdom Hearts III isn't next.



Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 5 points
Pretty much an upgrade to the Source game, just 5 bucks cheaper. Introduces it's own version of Gun Game called Arms Race and Demolition which has you level up to your next gun depending on if you got a kill in the previous round. Some of the Hostage Mission maps are still missing, I believe there are still only two currently. Why they weren't included in the final game, I can't say for sure. Still waste about an hour on this every week.



Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II - 5 points
The game isn't that bad, I think the gameplay is a little better than Episode I and the team attacks have saved my ass on several occasions. The special stages play more like Sonic 2 which is kinda neat.

However, this has some of the most EAR-PIERCING MUSIC of the series. There are some good tracks but you'll need to turn your volume down for a majority of it. Don't believe me? Go here and try to listen to this without cringing or wincing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bSROlWwPxs.



Ninja Gaiden III - 5 points
Yes, they dumbed down the difficulty and I'm okay with that. Yes, the story wasn't that great and I'm still fine with that. The game was still better than Ninja Gaiden II. Why? Because I was able to finish the game without an update causing the whole fucking game to crash in several levels where certain cutscenes played and the only way to finish it was to uninstall the updates and play the rest of it offline. Yes, I am still bitter about that bullshit.


Honorable Mentions:

New Super Mario Bros. U - Plays like NSMB Wii and NSMB2, almost the same soundtrack, still fun but not enough to make the list. It's still probably the best WiiU title out right now.

Mario Tennis Open - Plays like Mario Power Tennis from the Gamecube and also has online play. Fun tennis game, but just barely missed the cut.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I always enjoy these. Kudos to you, Omagnus, for putting up a prize to entice people. Quite generous.

Mass Effect 3 - 40 points


No doubt this game is going to be on both the best and worst lists. In a lot of ways, it's a triumph-- fantastic soundtrack, a couple really great characters, and combat that is damn fun and even further refined than in Mass Effect 2. But, of course, we've seen what's happened on account of EA's shortened development cycles and Bioware writers' questionable choices. A massive fucking deus ex machina at the beginning and an ending that ultimately doesn't give a shit about how you got there bring down the experience. The shame is that if the expanded endings had been included from the start, the fallout probably wouldn't have been quite so bad. For me though, the whole package made it one of of my favorites games, period. Very good bang for my buck. As for multiplayer, it is a Batarian hegemony.



Crimson Shroud - 40 points
Strange to nominate a game that just came out, but if it doesn't get recognition now, it never will. An absolutely brilliant one-shot tabletop adventure that isn't tabletop. Yasumi Matsuno suggested, I think rightly, to sit down in a nice chair, relax, and enjoy a fascinating short story. Or be a retard like myself and grind Archdemons into dust to get dat Destroyer +9. In any case, it screams class and charm. Buy it. And then talk with me about it :'(

Final Fantasy XIII-2 - 5 points
Can summarily be described as such:
Buttfuck retarded story and dialogue. Horrendous outfits. Excellent combat. Great music with laughable vocals thrown in. I bought it at $20, and it's well-worth admission now. Go for it.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star - 5 points
All battle themes must be composed with saxophones and accordions now. As Skills said, there's been some griping from fans about it not being a return to the traditional Paper Mario formula. Well too bad, bitches. Take your flip-flops elsewhere. Me and Skills will go play an excellent platform-adventure game.

Ys Origin - 5 points
The game's something like six years old in Japan, but who the fuck cares. Now it's in the US in English. Unadulterated Ys hack-and-slash. No towns, no cheesy dialogue or girls constantly falling for Adol. Just you and a big ol' fucking tower. Probably still on sale on Steam. You buy.

Dragon's Dogma - 5 points
ZA WEEND IS PUSHIN' MEEEE... to give this five points. Completely absurd, aughtistic Pawns for companions, and some silly design choices. This was arguably one of the most memorable games I played this year, for both good and bad reasons. If there had been actual multiplayer though? Hoo boy. Me and Tritoch would have been getting into some seriously stupid situations. Game of the forever.

Referred by: Tritoch

Most amazing jew boots

I hardly played any games that were released this year but those I did play were great!

Final Fantasy XIII-2 - 25 points

I really didn't understand all the nerd rage over FFXIII. Yes, they replaced towns with a menu and made most of the game linear but one nerd's lack of exploration and open-world is another man's (mine) cutting out of the boring bullshit and keeping the game focussed. With the sequel they sort of listened to the ranting of sweaty neckbeards and added a bit more exploration back into it but despite this, the game is still good fun. The story is retarded but then this is a FF game we're talking about, if you're going into any of them expecting a decent story then you need to stop reading kids books and up your expectations as to what is a good story. Also there's a lot of cutscenan in this but it's all relelvant to the silly story and the voice acting isn't as painful as some recent games.

Where the game excells though is the new addition, Pokemon! Now you can capture the monsters and make them your bitches and there are a fuckton of them. Plus you level them up and combine their powers and shit and it leads to hours of happy fun-times. Of course, it's all fucking pointless because this is far and away the easiest rpg I've ever played. I beat all the post-game bosses available before the end of the game during chapter 3 (Of 6) and you can over-level without trying but there is some satifsfaction in abusing the game mechanics to see just how easily you can blow through the supposedly tough fights. It does make me laugh looking at FAQs to build the ultimate team of monsters though because people are seriously suggesting spending hundreds of hours farming and levelling to do it with literally nothing to fight once you've got there.

Anyway, it's fun, it's silly and a great time sink. Stop being gay for memories of FF6 (Honestly, it wasn't that good) and play some modern stuff, especially as if you're paying more than a tenner for this then you're doing it wrong.

Xcom, Enemy Unknown - 35 points

Fuck yeah, X-com. If you played the PC original you'll know how great this game could have been. If you never poayed the PC original then you're a terrible person and you should play it. Now. Run.

And the good news is that the Xbox remake totally lives up to the original. Fun, intelligent and hard as iron bollocks (On the manly "Classic" difficulty, anything less is for kids and women), Xcom takes all the good stuff from the original, drops the pointless buying ammo micro-management and lets you take the fight to the alien scum in a beautiful way. It's not perfect of course, there are technical bugs such as the one that wouldn't let half my team in the last room of the game and for some reason, no matter what nationality your soldiers, they have a choice of 6, identical American accents but that's kinda life when it comes to vidya. If you like strategy games or those tactical rpg things then you have no excuse not to play this.

Halo 4 - 5 points

I'm nominating this because miraculously, 343 didn;t manage to completely balls it up. Sure there's no firefight and sure they took away the King of the Hill playlist for NO REASON AT ALL and the plot is a bit gay and all the new spartans look like Michael Bay Transformers but it's still Halo and Spartan Ops is ok when the lag lets you play it and they managed to add CoD unlocks without unbalancing the game too much so kudos for that.

Wreckateers - 15 points

Free download Kinect game that's basically Angry Birds but Angry Birds where you have to wave your arms around like a twat is hilarious. Sometimes the simple games are the most fun and Wreckateers is very simple and lots of fun. Best use for the Kinect yet.

Tokyo Jungle - 20 points

The only game I actually played on my PS3 this year I think. Tokyo Jungle is hilarious, both in it's subject matter and because of how completely unfair it is. Some people like using guides to get through easy games and some people like tough games that rip off your head and shit down your neck every time for a laugh. If you're the former then you need to take a good, long look at your life and join the latter group, then buy Tokyo Jungle.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

copy-pasting from my gurnal



Dishonored - 20 points

_Probably_ my favourite game of the year. Superb world building and narrative, a simple tale of vengeance, a broad range of gameplay options and player choice. As close to a modern Thief as we'll ever get.




Gravity Rush - 20 points

Also _probably_ my favourite game of the year. Also _probably_ my favourite soundtrack of the year. A vibrant, colorful world to explore with plenty of mystery and melancholy, an engaging storyline (that needs a sequel), a wonderful visual style and fun gameplay with gravity powers. The freedom of navigation is genuinely liberating.




Resident Evil: Revelations - 10 points

Probably my favourite 3DS game. A great mix of REmake slow dread exploration, and RE4 action and controls. Superb visuals, tense atmosphere and delicious 3D Jill ass. Raid mode is great too.





Botanicula - 10 points

Amanita Design succeeds once more in designing a charming, beautiful, strange and wonderful point & click adventure. Riddled with hundreds of lovable characters, minute details and slapstick, it's a journey well worth taking.




Kid Icarus: Uprising - 10 points

Pit returns in a glorious action game that's filled with breathtaking flight, imaginative design and astounding vistas. Fun fun fun with heaps of charm.




Thirty Flights of Loving - 10 points

Brendon Cheung's short, amazing sequel to the equally short and amazing Gravity Bone is over in 15 minutes, but will stay with you for much much longer. The pacing and framing are superb, the visual style just as charming as before, and it has one of the best interludes ever. Chris Remo delivers an absolutely spot-on soundtrack.




Hotline Miami - 10 points

Easier on the mind than Norrland, but no less disturbing and memorable, Cactus delivers an amazing heady mashup of Killer7 and Miami Vice. A hyper fast, brutally difficult, dark and haunting tale of madness and loss, with a memorable aesthetic and astounding soundtrack.





Spec Ops: The Line - 10 points

An engaging, heavy, harrowing journey into the heart of darkness and a broken mind, with a thing or two to say about the way videogames handle war and violence in general. It's a decent third-person shooter at best, but in terms of pacing, narrative and emotional impact, it's a trip well worth taking.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I didn't have a chance to play a lot of games this year and the games I did play were mostly for portable systems. Its only within the last few weeks I've finally managed to play some console games, but the games I did make time for are definitely very enjoyable.


Final Fantasy Theatrhythm (3DS) - 40 points

I have to admit, this game has an addictive hold on me. I have sunk so much time into trying to complete this game. This is a rhythm game that is based upon a simple concept and incorporates some of the best final fantasy music we've ever seen from the series. Granted the game can get difficult, but I've never really found any of songs to be so difficult that they were unplayable. I've downloaded every track for the 3DS version of the game, and even to this day I still pick up and play to try to fully chain all the songs. Some of my favorite tracks include:

Sunleth Dreamscape
Something to Protect
Mi'ihen Highroad

I still have a lot more left to play in this game and despite my lack of playing console games for the year this is probably my game of the year for being highly addicting and having an awesome soundtrack.


New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS) - 25 Points

A perfect example of how an original formula can still be just as enjoyable no matter how old it is. I hate to admit it but I'm not particularly fond of 3D mario games. As much praise as both super mario galaxy games yet, I'm in no rush to go out and buy them. I can certainly play them but they just don't hold my interest like a 2D mario platformer does and New Super Mario Bros 2 is definitely one of the better ones I've played in a while. Mario's newest adventure has us collecting a ton of coins which is pretty much crack for a completionist like me. I have indeed maxed out the coin counter at 9,999,999 and I enjoyed every minute of it. The level designs are great and the music is highly enjoyable, but unfortunately the only reason why this game doesn't score much higher is that its incredibly easy and when building upon a highly collectable coin mechanic, free lives are literally infinite which does not make the game challenging.


Akai Katana (360) - 15 Points

Every time I see a shoot'em up get released for a console I always smile because even though to see a shoot'em released for a console in physical form is a rare treat it is always appreciated and Rising Star games is really doing an excellent job of localizing shoot'em ups and releasing them in physical form. We have had Akai Katana and Under Defeat HD released this year alone. Akai Katana is a wonderful bullet hell shoot'em up and one game I think a lot of people missed. The colours are beautiful and soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous and it just has that perfect amount of difficulty that can either make a shoot'em up highly enjoyable or highly infuriating.

Code of Princess (3DS) - 10 Points

This game gave me high hopes, and even though I don't hate it as much as skills does I did find a lot to enjoy about the game. My biggest problem is they could of done a lot with this game, this game had a lot of hype going into it only to be let down by the end result. They could of done so much more with this game, but I felt when the game was finished it was a shadow of what it could of been. It was being hailed as a spiritual successor to guardian heroes, but in the end it didn't even come close. The graphics and music are absolutely beautiful, and it was actually nice to play a beat'em up again and the online aspect can be highly addicting.

Persona 4 Arena (PS3) - 10 points

This is a game that I literally need to spend more time playing, but its definitely been my favorite fighting game I've played so far this year. I do feel kind of guilty though because this game is my first game I've ever played from the persona series, I really need to get around to playing persona 3 and 4. This game looks absolutely stunning and its gameplay is highly addicting. I never ever thought that transitioning an rpg series into a fighting series would work, but you know if final fantasy can do it, why can't persona and what we got was a beautifully crafted fighting game with a ton of balance and some pretty insane combo's.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Bloody Q kept nagging me to make this, so fine.
All my games are from Fall, possibly because I wiped my mind of the ME3 disaster and whole Spring while I was at it.


Borderlands 2 - 25 points
Favorite game this year.
Even though it was much the same as the first, with some improvements, I enjoyed the shit out of it. Only minus I would give it is for the unnecessarily melodramatic plot pieces later on.


Dishonored - 21 points
Good game all in all, with peculiar visual style, nice combat and delicious stealth.
My only complaint about it really was the lack of secondary uses for the abilities, as stealthy non-lethal players like me had no uses for half the available tricks.


MechWarrior Online - 20 points
I'm very glad I downloaded the client after seeing Skills and Taco foam in chat about it. Game was right in my alley as I had been craving for something like this for a long time now. A nice, hulkier, slower phased "shooter" and "simulation" OF GOD DAMN GIANT ROBOS.


XCOM Enemy Unknown - 19 points
This one came almost out of the blue for me, only heard of it some months before release. The original xcom is one of my favorite games and among my most replayed titles ever, so I was pretty worried if this was going to be a consolized piece of shit.
To my pleasant suprise they did a pretty good job bringing this "remake" to this generation and the game works quite well. While it doesn't have quite a bit of the original's features, it was a enjoyable ride while it lasted.
Minus points for those repeating alien cutscenes.


Guild Wars 2 - 15 points
I'll admit I secretly hoped this to give me stuff to do for quite a bit longer than it did, because honestly the endgame just wasn't there, but still, the game was a freshest mmo-ride for long years.
I would still recommend going through it once.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Walking Dead - 40 points. Story telling hasnt been done better in any game. Ever. This was not Heavy Rain, gameplay might have been simple but that's the genius of it. Never do they try to something that would jepordize the integrity of the game. In all 5 episodes you invest heavily in the characters and their well being. It's fun, entertaining, tense and deserves all the praise it can get.

Far Cry 3 - 25 points. Surprise of the year for me, never even expected anything from it. Played it when i interviewed one of the producers and was impressed. Got the full game and had the most fun with a game that I've had for... years? Beautiful graphics, nice well rounded story (that didnt end in a stupid cliffhanger, fuck you AC3) and great gameplay.

Mass Effect 3 - 25 points. Never ever has a series changed my entire opinion of a game/show/movie in the final 5 min. I've truly enjoyed everything up until that stupid ending. I'm not crying about it like many others but it was terribly done and left a big cum stain on the franchise.

Hitman: Absolution - 10 points. Simplified and stricter? yes. But it's still fun and it's still Hitman. It lacked those big must-replay levels but the stricter format made it more polished. The fear of it being a shooter was silly and you still have plenty of choices and the story wasn't too bad. Also once again brownie points for nothing ending a stupid cliffhanger (fuck you ac3).

Random notes: Sleeping Dogs was terrific, want to give it points.. but dunno it just didnt leave that much of an impression when i beat it. Fun as shit tho.

AC3, sigh i love this series. Probably my favorite one ever. No other game has such a good universe and I really liked the game, but it was mediocre. I liked Connor, liked the new fighting but the whole game lacked a narritive. 600 people can't work on a game and make it cohesive. There was a lot to do but if the game doesn't hint of e.g. the whole assassin mini game you're gonna miss it until the end of the game. And that ending... fuck you.

no homo

Originally Posted by Not a Prius

Spec Ops: The Line - 10 points

An engaging, heavy, harrowing journey into the heart of darkness and a broken mind, with a thing or two to say about the way videogames handle war and violence in general. It's a decent third-person shooter at best, but in terms of pacing, narrative and emotional impact, it's a trip well worth taking.

I would be unsurprised to discover that at least one of the developers kept in mind this quote attributed to the late General Robert E. Lee: "It is good that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."... and if driving that point home was part of their project goals, it's safe to say they succeeded. To be fair, the Ace Combat games touch on this too; a couple of specific instances come to mind:

• Ace Combat Zero: Mission 11 - Inferno (part 1; part 2): two words: Dresden. Redux.
• Ace Combat 5: Mission 12 - Powder Keg (video): you and your squad are bombing the entrances to a massive subterranean complex... and thanks to the Enemy Chatter trope, you know exactly how bad it is for them down there.

FELIPE NO

Oh boy oh gee time to give a bunch of points to games only I played again

Botanicula -- 20 points
Dat adventure, dat slapstick, dat music, dat slapstick, dem puzzles, dem characters, dat slapstick. I just fucking love Amanita Design, you guys.

Kid Icarus: Uprising -- 20 points
Oh god I'm fighting my clone to Ace Combat Zero music, now I'm flying through a tornado, now I'm in a tank, now I'm Tony Hawk, THIS IS ALL ONE STAGE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS GAME IS AMAZING

I don't know if the controls were supposed to be better or worse with an XL than with an original 3DS, but the only problems I've had have been incompetence-related. Well, maybe except for air dashing, because that's weird as fuck, but besides that it's just me being fifty kinds of terrible at this game.

The constant magnificent visuals during flight are great, ground combat is some of the best arcade action fighting there's ever been, the banter is just... Uprising is just good, okay. Wow.

The Fool and His Money -- 15 points
Sequel to a mildly obscure puzzle game released twenty-five years ago? Sequel to one of the best puzzle games ever created. I am doing anagrams all day and all night and it is outstanding.

Corrypt -- 10 points


This is the best block-pushing game I've ever played.

Dustforce -- 10 points
NINJA JANITOR FORCE GO GO GO. This game is some severe horseshit for perfectionists, but damned if the almost puzzle-like quality of route planning isn't fun as heck. The parkour platforming engine is one of the best ever.

La-Mulana (remake) -- 10 points
This game is the reason I built a giant tractor beam and made the Moon crash into the Earth; you may have heard about that on the news, what with the world ending and all. The old school bullshitness of this game is off the charts, but so is the old school throwback awesomeness. I haven't been this lost & stumped in a game in a long time.

At the very least, if you're not going to play it, you all should help me with making Skills play it. That man is hilarious when he's enraged, and if there's one thing La-Mulana is guaranteed to make you do, it's making up swear words that have never before been spoken by a human tongue.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star -- 10 points
The battling in this game is the best and most tactical it's ever been in the Paper Mario series, which is why it's weird that getting into battles is disincentivized the way it is with extreme item management and no leveling. Quite a delightful adventure game despite this. This game ended up being much more explore-y and puzzle-y than I was expecting it to be, and that is a fabulous thing.

Pokemon Conquest -- 5 points
Nobunaga's Ambition, but the warlords battle with Pokemon. Played completely, 100% straight. I can't help but laugh every time I play this tremendously silly game. The main campaign unfortunately doesn't really require any strategy besides forming Pokemon teams, but the five trillion post-game side stories bring in all the Nobunaga's Ambition good stuff: warlord management, kingdom development, etc.


I haven't played these yet, but I have a feeling that they'd have gotten points if I had: DROD: Gunthro and the Epic Blunder, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Virtue's Last Reward

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The only game I played this year that didn't want to make me pull my hair out:

JOURNEY - 40 Points



There is nothing about JOURNEY that isn't beautiful. It's a gorgeous-looking game that doesn't hold your hand but that's because it doesn't have to. It's a concisely-constructed game without a single word of dialogue spoken throughout but tells an immense story in its sheer simplicity. The game relies purely on its visuals and music to tell a tale, but it's seamlessly done through the symbiotic relationship between its near-perfect transitions between "stages" or the way score morphs into different movements to match the atmosphere and mood. It only took me 3 hours to finish the game but it's a jaw-dropping experience you'll want to experience over and over.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I think I've waited long enough to get in on this. Actually, I may have waited too long since I didn't notice this was going by Englandland time instead of a real time zone.

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy - 40 points

I'm not usually much for rhythm games. I've gradually managed to kind of know how to play guitar in Rock Band, but otherwise I steer clear because I'm just not very good at them and can't enjoy them properly. Theatrhythm couldn't really be passed up though, and I've sunk so much time into it this year. Even now I recently dropped another $10 on DLC that I hadn't bought yet. Field songs are so easy that they can be fairly relaxing even on Ultimate, Battle is challenging without being frustrating, and the videos that play behind Event songs are usually really neat compilations. It's a fantastic tribute to the series that only fails at being perfect because of several glaring song omissions. Seriously Square, no You Are Not Alone? At least they realized that fatal flaw in the iOS version.

Borderlands 2 - 20 points

I debated for a while on how many points to give this. It didn't really live up to the expectations, and it didn't have the staying power of the first Borderlands. Regardless, I still had a blast playing this with Skills, GB, Omagnus, and a little bit with Tails. Handsome Jack was a great choice for a villain, and he has some of the greatest lines ever. From now on every bad guy should get a bag of pretzels.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - 15 points

Pretty much everyone else has already covered this one, but it deserves the points for the dialogue alone. The controls may have been iffy, but it's a beautiful game with great music.

Journey - 10 points

Journey was... interesting. When I started out I was just goofing around, jumping and playing with the scarf. I didn't know it even had multiplayer at first. Then I ran into another dude and we goofed around a bit before going our separate ways between levels. The second time I played the game I started around level 3 or 4 and stuck with, as far as I could tell, the same person for the rest of the game and it took on a very different feeling. It was the last level that made all the difference for me, and honestly without it this probably wouldn't even make honorable mention. Without spoiling anything, that last level somehow managed to instill a strong sense of camaraderie with my wordless friend. It wasn't just about reaching the end anymore. It was about making sure we both reached the end, and this mutual change developed with no means of communication except for dings and movement. A game that manages to successfully pull off that trick deserves some major props.

Crimson Shroud - 10 points

To be honest, I've only played this for about half an hour so far. It doesn't matter, though. This game had me the moment it asked if I wanted to sidestep an arrow or whirl around to parry it with my sword, and then asked me to roll a reflex save to see if I succeeded. Touchscreen dicerolls for a D&D style RPG are the best use of the DS' touchscreen since Etrian's cartography. It also helps that I instantly liked the world, the writing, the music, and the system for post-battle item distribution. The only real problem I've seen with the game so far is know how short it is, and how badly I already wish it had a full-fledged sequel rather than just being part of a compilation.

Spelunky - 5 points

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but I ended up playing the crap out of it. It's frustrating and I died every 5 seconds, but it was also beyond addictive. The boss fight at the end is very out of place with the rest, though.

Honorable Mentions:
- To the Moon
I would've given this a TON of points, but I wasn't sure that it counts as a 2012 release. It received an actual release on Steam in 2012, but came out in November 2011 on the author's website. The gameplay may be close to non-existant, but I still absolutely adored this game and played through it in 2 sittings.
- LEGO: Lord of the Rings
This is the first LEGO game since they started messing with the formulas that has really gotten the Hub world right. It feels so much more expansive than all the other LEGO games, and has really restored my feelings towards them.
- Resident Evil 6
RE6 fails in every regard that Capcom was trying to accomplish, and isn't worth full price. However, they did manage to put out a game that's so unintentionally hilarious while playing with a friend that it's definitely worth buying cheap. Every story is beyond retarded, most of the characters are idiots, and Capcom's idea of a plot-twist is that every villain will always come back to life 4-5 times before you finally kill it in some ridiculously over the top fashion. You can also roll around and butt-scoot everywhere, and those things alone nearly make up for its shortcomings.
- The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave
I don't know how many other people played this, but it's a fun little RPG. I'm giving it honorable mention mostly due to how it uses wifi. Every signal gives characters you can capture for use, and you don't have to be able to connect for it to work.

Referred by: GB

How ya doing, buddy?

Congratulations, for being idiots and trying to game the system both GB and Tritoch fail to get a second name in the hat for the Prize Draw. Be thankful I don't throw your names out entirely.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by A Cuddly Englishman

Congratulations, for being idiots and trying to game the system both GB and Tritoch fail to get a second name in the hat for the Prize Draw. Be thankful I don't throw your names out entirely.

I don't see anything in your rules that says two people can't refer each other. Have any of us really "referred" anyone, since this is a contest posted in a public place that we all visit? Sounds like someone's still sore about 1783.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - 40 points

I'm partial to rhythm games, so one that features music from some of my favorite childhood games, packaged in a slick game that doesn't feel like a cash-in is awesome. Square-Enix could have easily phoned this title in, but instead they clearly made this as a love letter to the fans (and then cashed in by making fans buy the same stuff again on iOS to get a few more songs).

Dishonored - 25 points

This one's on the short side, even if you're playing stealthy, but what a ride. The game drops you off at the beginning of each mission, and leaves it entirely up to you how you want to accomplish your goal. Want to freeze time, stick a couple of dudes with razor wire and run for it? Sure, you can do that, or you can skulk in the shadows, stacking all your sleeping enemies in the elevator together, then possess the last guy and make him walk off a cliff. Whatever you choose, it's bound to be entertaining.

Sleeping Dogs - 20 points

For a game that wasn't on my radar at all until after it came out, this one took up a lot of my time. Sure, it's derivative (sandbox world of GTA, melee combat of Batman), but it gets most things right. The story was entertaining, and nothing beats breaking up a drug ring by running everyone over repeatedly.

Journey - 10 points

There's nothing really to add here that others haven't already said. Beautiful, simple gameplay with a great soundtrack and well-integrated multiplayer.

Tokyo Jungle - 5 points

If nothing else, you have to give it to Sony for releasing this title in the US. It's such a weird game, but very amusing to run around Tokyo as a deer or a chick, tangling with bears and dinosaurs.

Referred by: Tritoch

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I mainly just wanted to see how you'd respond, Omagnus. Potentially with "dink" or even the fabled "mentally deficient."

I was speaking idiomatically.

The voting is done with for another year, and despite the potential of winning a free games the numbers dropped and given the spread of games voted on I'm pretty sure there is zero statistical significance to the outcome. Also for another year rather than a top 20 I'm keeping it to just the top 10.

So, what made it into the Gamingforce Game of the Year Top 10, well let's start with number 10 shall we:

10. Crimson Shroud
[ 3DS | Level-5 ]

---------------------------

9. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
[ Multi | Firaxis Games ]

---------------------------

8. New Super Mario Bros. 2
[ 3DS | Nintendo ]

---------------------------

7. The Walking Dead
[ Multi | Telltale Games ]

---------------------------

6. Dishonored
[ Multi | Arkane Studios ]

---------------------------

5. Journey
[ PSN | Thatgamecompany ]

---------------------------

4. Kid Icarus: Uprising
[ 3DS | Nintendo ]

---------------------------

3. Mass Effect 3
[ Multi | BioWare ]

---------------------------

2. Borderland 2
[ Multi | Gearbox Software ]

---------------------------

1. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
[ Multi | Square Enix ]

---------------------------

So there you have it, the Gamingforce Game of the Year 2012 Top 10. So what should have been there, what shouldn't have? What was too high, and what was too low? Start the discussion/bitching...

If anyone is interested in carrying this on next year let know as I think this has failed sufficiently now that I don't think I'll be doing it again.

Additional Spam:
Prize draw winner = Nutty.

Nutty sling me a PM with some idea of any games you might be interested in for £16/$25.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I think considering the lack of people who still come here, it was a success. You sparked some actual conversation in here, and that is always appreciated.

As for the competition itself, I did enjoy reading everyone's selections and opinions, and it is interesting to see the winners. You also continue to run this thing with class by offering a prize to participants. I certainly wouldn't blame you for not wanting to do it anymore, but I for one hope to see it again in December.

Anyway, a little surprised with Theatrhythm being in the top spot. I've been enjoing it on iOS lately, so perhaps it's not entirely unwarranted. Besides the Walking Dead (which I got no enjoyment out of), I think it's a pretty good list of great games from 2012. Hell of a year for video games-- definitely one of the best in recent memory.

FELIPE NO

Ben, I think the event was a total success if you ask me. Despite community involvement is pretty bare these days we still have our core group of members that is not afraid to give their opinions about specific games.

In all honesty I thought we got a lot more input this year compared to other years.

Its understandable that some of us may not be able to play video games as much as we use to just simply because as we're getting older we have a lot more responsibilities.

Its still one of the things I look forward to every year. I'm actually glad to see some games make our top ten list that are usually ignored by so called big gaming websites.

We do have some games that makes everybody's list for best games of the year such as:

Borderlands 2
Mass Effect 3
The Walking Dead

but its also good to see people recognize the greatness of other games that are often ignored by the mainstream gaming audience such as:

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Crimson Shroud

I've always appreciated the opinions that people on this forum have had towards the games they play because for one they don't sugarcoat anything and they tell it exactly how it is and there is no politics behind it. Besides I loved the biggest gaming disappointment of the year thread because any thread that gives me the ability to watch Skills, Philia, Encephalon, Omagnus rant about the horrible things with regards to gaming in 2012 is a well worth reading.

In all honesty, I hope you can continue with this, I think for the most part you'll always have the same people post their responses to it. Its one of the few gaming based things that all of us as a community can put our input in.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm glad you guys appreciate the thread and I don't disagree that it at least generates a little bit of interesting thought and comment, but so few games got multiple votes (nearly every additional person voting added a new game to the list) that I stand by my comment about the statistical significance.

Originally Posted by Angel of Light

In all honesty I thought we got a lot more input this year compared to other years.

Not true I'm afraid, the numbers have been reducing year after year since I began this:

2008 = 44 voters
2009 = 32 (27% drop from previous year)
2010 = 25 (22%)
2011 = 19 (24%)
2012 = 17 (11%)

Admittedly the drop was not huge in pure numerical terms (2), but percentage-wise it's still 11% down. Make of that what you will, but thems the numbers.

Jam it back in, in the dark.