As for what I can't cover:
BIG TITLES I DIDN'T PLAY
The Darkness 2
Twisted Metal
Max Payne 3
Dragon's Dogma
Lollipop Chainsaw
Resident Evil 6
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
INDIE TITLES I DIDN'T PLAY
Shank 2
I Am Alive
Mark of the Ninja
Unfinished Swan
So with that, let's get on to the important stuff!
INDIE TITLES
Stacking
This puzzler from Double Fine (makers of Psychonauts, Brtual Legend) puts you in the shoes of a tiny russian nesting doll who loses his family to an evil Baron and must set about rescuing them by nesting inside of other dolls and using their unique abilities to solve puzzles. It's incredibly unique, and has a rather charming and distinct steampunkish aesthetic, but Double Fine's humor unfortunately dips into the very childish here with dolls that fart and throw up as their special abilities, and even their good humor falls flat since it's delivered via text cards like a silent movie. The puzzles are quite inventive, but the story and humor simply don't hold them up as they should.
Binding of Isaac
This rather twisted gem is reminiscent of old Zelda top-down adventures except that the main protagonist is an abused child who uses his tears as weapons against the deadly denizens hiding in his basement. From the same maker of Super Meat Boy, this game relishes in its difficulty and randomly generated dungeons. You will die, a lot, and you will discover many twisted things lurking in this game, but for its fast-paced arcade quality it's actually quite enjoyable as long as you're not averse to grotesque imagery.
FTL: Faster Than Light
Beware this game, oh my brothers and sisters. You think it is simple. It lures you in with promises of new weapons and spare parts at every little dot you advance, but that's all just to lead you to that one unsuspecting dot you jump to where you get ambushed by a heavy cruiser that beams 4 enemies aboard while blasting you with missles and forcing you to put out fires and try to attack the enemies on board and on the other ship at the same time and before you know it BOOM. Sorry, try again from the very beginning. FTL is an addictive little bugger that uses the principle of variable reinforcement better than most other games to keep you constantly coming back for more despite it slapping you in the face with its difficulty over and over again. It's highly strategic while relying on a heavy amount of randomization and luck. It's a deadly combination that makes FTL a truly infuriatingly satisfying game.
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery LP
This rather strange pixellated title tells the story of a young warrior and his dog who travel to the top of a mountain, accidentally awaken a looming shadow creature, and then set about to make things right. The game is unique in that several plot-essential parts depend on what day of the month you're playing it on. There are workarounds both in and out of game (yes, it will know you cheated if you adjust your computer's clock but it won't penalize you for it), but it's certainly an interesting way to approach things. The entire game has a very unique, surreal, dreamlike quality to it, and while it may not be for everyone I enjoyed my time with it.
Torchlight 2
As you will see further down, I didn't have a good experience with Diablo 3. Which is why I feel supremely confidant saying that Torchlight 2 kicks Diablo 3's ass. Torchlight 2 is what Diablo 3 should've been. Is it basically a Diablo 2 clone? Yes. Does that matter? No. It improves on many things in Diablo 2 while keeping the core elements the same. If you were disappointed by Diablo 3, get this game and realize what you were missing.
Journey
I already posted a review of Journey so I'll sum it up here.
Journey is a magical piece of art, and is an easy contender for my game of the year. If you haven't played it, go buy it now and do so. Thank me later.
The Walking Dead: Episodes 1-5
This game at the very least ties with, if not slightly surpasses, Journey as my favorite game this year. Placed in the Walking Dead universe but having nothing to do with the TV show, this game is the best possible example of a choose-your-own-adventure style game where your choices actually do really matter. The gameplay is simple, consisting really of nothing more than dialogue choices and quick-time events, but what makes this game truly unique is the story. I don't think I have ever been so invested in the characters in a game. It pulls no punches, and makes you feel for better or worse the impact of every single choice you make, each person you choose to trust. By the end I was in tears, and wanting to go back and immediately replay it again with different choices. It also somehow manages to have a cliffhanger ending that at once resolves the story arc of this first "season", while setting up and leaving you in desperate anticipation for the second. Just as with Journey, if you haven't played this game yet, do yourself a favor and buy it now.
BIG TITLES
Sleeping Dogs
In case you were wondering, this was what GTA IV should've been. Originally part of the True Crime series before that developer went under, Sleeping Dogs was picked up by Square Enix and released to understandably great acclaim. This game actually mostly does away with guns in favor of a martial arts style of combat that, while difficult to master (especially with the PC control scheme), eventually becomes a lot of fun. The story is quite gripping, as an undercover cop balancing abiding by the questionable orders of your superiors with sticking by your Triad family. Unfortunately, there are some gaps in the story where it seems fairly obvious a mission was supposed to be that was simply never made because of the shift in developers, but nonetheless Sleeping Dogs remains a suprisingly well-built title that easily stands with among its GTA-style brethren.
Guild Wars 2
As with any MMO, it's hard to boil everything down as there's just so damn much in it. Especially with Guild Wars 2 for me in particular because I can't for the life of me explain why it is that this is the greatest and most addictive MMO I've played. Is it the combat? While it is certainly more responsive than the typical swing-until-it-dies WoW approach, it's still got a hotbar of skills and for the most part you are still just swinging at something until it dies, you just move around it a bit more and can dodge. Well is it the story then? I've only gotten part-way into the Norn Guardian storyline but it's certainly nothing special. The graphics and locales? Admittedly these are GORGEOUS and full of interesting nooks and crannies with collectables hidden away. Is it the group events that you can stumble across and join in? The movesets based on what type of weapon you have equipped? The insane amounts of collectables? I DON'T KNOW. What I can tell you is that it all adds up to a supremely engaging experience that I won't be putting down anytime soon.
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Final Fantasy XIII was a...divisive title to say the least. A 25 hour tutorial, constant linear hallways, a complicated and somewhat non-sensical story, and the best/most open part of the game is a ripoff of the hunting system from FFXII. And then there were people who liked it. I admit, despite my ragings against it, I have played through it twice and while it is a bore most of the way through I still found myself somewhat enjoying it.
So when they announced that they would address everyone's complaints with FFXIII-2, I was optimistic. Bigger maps, no more linearity, a tighter battle system, and even a Pokemon-esque capture-then-use monster system all sounded pretty damn cool. And it turns out...it is. For the most part. There's still a non-sensical story on top (made even more non-sensical by introducing time travel as a main mechanic), but they did what they promised. The battle system is faster and more responsive, the maps are lovely and wide open (sometimes even verging on too big), and the monster capture/leveling system is actually pretty cool. That isn't to say it's a great game, it still has its issues, but to me it was far more enjoyable than XIII. It actually reminded me a lot of X-2 in how it certainly isn't for everyone, but if you give it the chance you can have a lot of fun with it.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
The game that could've been. In what was certainly one of the biggest controversies in gaming this year, new developer 38 Studios put a lot of money and effort into this game (and planning a follow-up MMO), only to lose everything by not being able to pay back its employees or their outstanding loans. From what I understand the state of Rhode Island now actually owns this IP. As for the game itself...
Reckoning suffers from being built as an MMO, and then turned into a single-player experience. It plays out almost exactly like World of Warcraft. Same style, colors, quest system, etc. What Amalur did differently, and by all accounts did well, was the combat. Oh boy was combat fun. Not only that, but if you didn't like the way you were playing, it was a simple trip to a "Fateweaver" and you could change all your skills to something more to your liking, encouraging massive amount of experimentation in finding the right play style for you. Unfortunately, with the mass of generic enemies in front of you, there was never much incentive to play with a ton of skills because CHAKRAMS ARE AWESOME AND DEVASTATE EVERYTHING. It was also supposed to be this world and story built by R. A. Salvatore, but unfortunately the dialogue and story are so boring you will quickly find yourself skipping almost everything every character has to say.
In short, with time and a refocus on not trying to be an MMO, the sequel might have been an amazing experience. Unfortunately, it appears that will never happen.
Alan Wake
An interesting take on the survival horror genre, Alan Wake is about Stephan King...*ahem*...excuse me, a horror writer named Alan Wake who has the misfortune of starting to live through the book he is writing. He gets attacked by these shadow-possessed people who can only be damaged once they've been exposed to enough light and makes his way through a very Twin Peaks-like town battling them and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
It's actually a pretty solid suspense/horror game, though the combat can often leave you frustrated. The ending too is a big disappointment in that it basically just screams "What really happened? Find out in the sequel!" The rest of the game, though, exudes a crazy creepy atmosphere and tells its story in a very interesting way that will make you want to play through all the way to the very end just to figure out what's in store for poor Alan next.
Mass Effect 3
Considering I've already written a great deal about this one, I'll sum things up here and you can check out my full review for more.
THE ENDING SUCKED. Then people complained so they added to the ending. Then it was better and made more sense. However, it still didn't address the issue that you spend this entire game being told it's vitally important to build up this ambiguous point total that in the end only determines what happens in a portion of a cutscene. Nonetheless, the rest of the game is amazing.
Prototype 2
The first Prototype had its issues. A strange story layered on top of brutal violence with some of the best traversal in an open world game that had been seen to date. Combat was finnicky, but nonetheless it was a fun game despite its flaws.
So the sequel came along with a new protagonist in the form of James Heller, new powers, etc. Once again the story was strange and a bit incoherent, but once again the rest of the game made up for its flaws. It's fun. Most of the joy of it comes in just leaping around smashing stuff like you're the Incredible Hulk (which makes sense because this studio designed an open world Hulk game). The combat has issues (especially with targeting), but when it works, it really works.
Diablo 3
I've been dreading writing about Diablo 3, likely because I payed $60 for it and have barely touched it past the first couple weeks it came out. By far my biggest gaming disappointment of 2012, Diablo 3 took everything I loved about 2, threw it out the window, and then redesigned it for the loot-hoarding/reselling hardcore player. The story is by far the weakest of the 3, which is saying something considering most of 1 there isn't much of a story to speak of. Second, it's short. Dreadfully short. Third, progression means practically nothing anymore. You get access to new skills, but you never get the sense that your character is progressing that much except for having a bigger level number. By making stat allocation dependent on the gear you're wearing and limiting your skill choices, they took away nearly all personalization of your character. Diablo 3 managed to make me feel something I've never felt before in a Diablo game: the grind. It was all about grinding through the enemies and bosses for loot, instead of actually enjoying the experience of smashing through monsters. And finally, the always-online requirement. I have only one thing to say to this effect: my single player game should not lag. The giant money-grabbing hand of Activistion could be felt everywhere throughout this long-awaited travesty.
Darksiders 2
I played this on PC, which I could immediately tell was the wrong thing to do. Darksiders 2 is a game meant for consoles, and should be played that way. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the crap out of this game. I loved the original Darksiders despite it's unoriginality and tricky controls, and the sequel addressed my concerns. While you can still feel the heavy influence of Zelda and God of War, Death plays so much more slickly than War that he really stands more on his own as a legitimate 3rd person action hack-and-slasher. You'll still have your tricky/buggy platforming moments, and targeting is still a chore, but by speeding up combat, introducing loot and RPG mechanics, and expanding the world what feels like tenfold they managed to make a thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish. It does seem like as the game goes on the areas get smaller and smaller (aka rushed to finish on time) which is a shame, but for the most part I couldn't help but enjoy this game.
Borderlands 2
How do you top the original Borderlands? Interesting monsters, tons of guns, great characters and humor, and amazing post-game launch support with hours worth of DLC content? Well, you give more of the same and impressively make it better. There's little more to be said of Borderlands 2. If you loved the first (and who didn't), the second will give you more of the same plus just plain more. More monsters, more guns, more classes, more customizability, bigger bosses, a better storyline, and more laugh-out-loud moments than you can count. In every way Borderlands 2 is an improvement on the first, and while you still get the sense that single-player wasn't that highly emphasized, it's still a joy to play through with each of the new classes.
Dishonored
In my E3 discussions I labeled this as one of my most anticipated games of the year. Did it live up to the hype? Yes and no.
The world they built is frankly amazing. Not only are you incentivized to explore every little nook and cranny with items hidden away, but the detail in this world is so incredible I wanted to explore just for the sake of exploring. This is a brand new realm that feels so wonderfully different from anything that comes before it it's hard not to love the game just for that. In a very rare way I actually wished there was more exposition. I wanted more than just excerpts from books. I wanted a freaking whale-boat level damnit.
Which actually leads me to the rest of the story. It was crap. Pure crap. Especially the ending. They really had a chance to do some narratively interesting/challeging things with this game, and they just threw that all out the window. You're framed for an assassination, so to solve it you go around assassinating people. Oh, and the whole time there's this mysterious supernatural "Outsider" who gave you powers just to see what you'd do with them, and then literally plays no part in the story except to show up creepily every so often and to narrate the ending. WHAT. I honestly felt cheated that the originality of the story didn't match the originality of the world.
Then there's the stealth vs. combat. They give you 5 powers that you can gain/level up along with some supplementary abilities, but only about 3 of them are any use to you in a stealth playthrough, which is what the game pushes you towards by telling you things get harder the more people you kill. You also get a ton of weapons, but again, you'll really only need one of them if you're stealthing. If you're not, well then you better be inventive because you're also not that strong and will often be rushed by a group of guards trying to sword fight you up front and shoot you from the back.
What it comes down to is that, yes, it's a really fun game. But it also needs some improvement in the story department and a greater balance between powers for stealth and powers for combat. In short, I cannot wait for the sequel.
Assassin's Creed 3
I have such a love/hate relationship with the Assassin's Creed series. This time last year I was deriding the yearly iterations for providing me with the mess that was Revelations, yet hopeful for AC3 which was from separate teams that had been working on it since 2. And it shows, in both good and bad ways.
The story is back to being good again with Connor, and provides an interesting look into the Revolutionary War. The story is also bad in the modern day Desmond sections, including the horrifyingly space magic-filled, "no we're not going to answer any questions" ending that leaves a giant gaping hole for the inevitable future expansions.
The setting is lackluster. It was a good idea to include the frontier as well as the problematically smaller-than-normal cities of Boston and New York, but it's so big and often so difficult to traverse that its glamour quickly fades. Viewpoints are a joke, revealing such a small part of the map that they're hardly worthwhile. And the underground sections which unlock fast travel points around the city, while initially interesting, quickly become tiresome when you have to track down every single one just in order to make getting around the cities easier.
Assassin recruits are highly improved, and have their own distinct personalities! They are also almost completely unneccessary and often forgotten. There is also the issue that once you've done enough sidequests to get the recruit on your side, they move to a different location than where they normally are, which won't show up on your map if you haven't uncovered that area yet. This gets very frustrating when literally the only way to uncover parts of the map is to directly walk through the pixel containing where that person is standing. Which brings me to the cumbersome map that doesn't show nearly enough and is a chore to navigate through.
Combat took a few steps back. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to make targeting dependent on a zoomed reticle should be shot. It's imprecise, and in the middle of combat entirely impractical. Combat has also reverted to 2's state of waiting for an enemy to attack, counter, next enemy attacks, counter, etc. All the speed and innovation made in Brotherhood and Revelations is gone. Also gone, one hit kills with the assassin's blade. Why do I have an assassin's blade if I can't make assassinations with it? In trailers it looked like it would be a blade that could become a knife. Instead, it's just a knife, and an ineffective one at that.
Stealth is laughable, finnicky (especially when crouching in bushes), and has reverted to 1's awful system of basically every guard being alerted to you (even if you're not doing anything you can suddenly find yourself being chased). Except here, there's no option to press a button to stealth yourself. You can still hide between people, sit on benches, etc., but it's all so much more spread out than it was in previous games that it becomes an easier option to just kill any guard alerted to you than to run and try to hide.
Speaking of running, the staple of the AC series is its freerunning component, which many people have complained about for one reason or another over the years. In response they simplified the controls and added tree-running and rock climbing. While this may satisfy most, I actually found that by simplifying the controls it also took away a good deal of my control over what I wanted Connor to do. This would leave me with inevitable situations where Connor would get stuck on a part of the building, and if I had been able to tell him to jump up it would've been fine, but with the simplified controls it simply wouldn't read it right and I'd have to approach from a different angle or figure out a workaround that I previously wouldn't have had to in other games. Tree-running is awesome...when you can do it. However, once you're on the ground it's pretty damn hard to find those trees that the developers decided were the ones they want you to climb instead of just normal trees. As such it's often faster to just run. Oh, and forget about trying to use a horse. They're completely useless unless you're on a clear road, which won't happen very often.
As for the inevitable, and often dreaded, new addition to the series (Da Vinci's weapons in Brotherhood, tower defense in Revelations), naval warfare is a surprisingly amazing addition to the game. It's far more fun than you think it would be to captain a ship and take on enemies on the high seas. I, and others, would argue that there wasn't nearly enough of it. Others complained about the Homestead side missions, where you find people in the cities that you can recruit into your own little town and then help them out to watch your town grow. I, however, found the change of pace and the story contained within this long string of missions to be quite welcome. It is unfortunate that the main benefits from doing these missions comes in the form of new crafting equipment, which is for the most part utterly useless, but I thought the story was really its own reward.
I know I've ragged on this game, more so than I think I did for Revelations, but yet I still had fun with it. At its heart it's still an Assassin's Creed game, and the core of what makes those games great is still there. You just feel the absence of the progress made in Brotherhood and Revelations, and the disparity that comes from 20 different studios trying to come together to make one game. Here, I actually do hope for a Brotherhood-type spinoff where they can improve, because it feels like everything that you need for an amazing game is there, they just didn't tie all of it together very well.
And since this basically turned into a full fledged review:
Assassin's Creed 3 gets a 7.5/10.
Far Cry 3
See new post for review.
And that's my 2012 in games! If you like awards here's a few:
Biggest Disappointment: Diablo 3
-runner up: Assassin's Creed 3
Best Flawed Masterpiece: Dishonored
-runner up: Prototype 2
Best Sequel: Borderlands 2
-runner up: Darksiders 2
Best Original (not based off anything) Game: Journey
-runner up: Dishonored
GAME OF THE YEAR: The Walking Dead
-runner up: Journey
-Best Big Title: Borderlands 2
Most Anticipated in 2013: Bioshock Infinite
-runner up: Dead Space 3
