Another year has passed and, as many do, I like to look back
and take stock of the year that was. 2012 was, in many ways, a year of major
events that continue to shape the world in ways we may not yet even realize.
Chief among these was continuing innovation in the field of Digital Gaming.
Yes, video games are by and large the most important topic I, or anyone really,
can write about. Thankfully, 2012 was an excellent year when it came to new and
interesting video game releases. Here’s a look at some of the best.
10. Awesomenauts
Beginning with the Warcraft 3 mod Defense of the Ancients, MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games have been exclusively PC experience. Awesomenauts aims to flip that idea on its side…literally. Taking what was once a top-down, 3D battlefield, Awesomenauts employs the same ideas as a 2D side scrolling platformer, making gameplay accessible on most any console. The gameplay holds up, even with the loss of the third dimension. Characters of all shapes and sizes fight for control of a multi-tiered map against their opponents’ team. The action can be fast and fun with games of 3 vs. 3 lasting around 20 minutes. Hopefully this will be the first in a long line of games to take steps toward a more accessible play style.
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
The Call of Duty franchise is literally the largest
entertainment property in existence. Though some might argue that it has lost
its luster over that past few releases, Black Ops 2 does what it can to shake
that stigma. It combines a ridiculous, over-the-top single player campaign with
some interesting cooperative modes and one of the best multiplayer suites in
the industry. Some areas, like the arduous strike force missions and the mostly
arbitrary branching narrative, fall flat, but the crux of the game revolves
around COD’s always stellar shooting and controls. This is still the case in
Black Ops 2. Whether you’re escaping from
8. FTL (Faster Than Light)
A Roguelike is a game part of a sub-genre of
RPG’s (role playing games) characterized by random level generation and
permanent death. It’s a genre where anything can happen at anytime.
Traditionally, this tough as nails genre can be seen as frustrating. While
that’s sometimes still the case with FTL (You can get jettisoned into SPACE
Mantis-men.), the game does a lot to mitigate that feeling. Most of the time
the events that befall you, tragic though they may be, are just too interesting
to be mad at. The feeling of ordering your crew around to put out fires, fixing
the life support system before everyone suffocates, and fighting off boarding parties
feels great and, in a weird way, opens up a door into letting you create the
story. The events that occur in your game are absolutely unique and play well
into talking about the game later with friends. It’s the most social non-social
game I remember playing.
7. Mass Effect 3
The thrilling conclusion to the Mass Effect
Trilogy finally hit store shelves and people…were…pissed. Sure, the ending was
weak, but that doesn’t tarnish the stellar storytelling of the first 40 hours,
the massive amounts of time spent leveling up cool psychic space Jedi skills,
or the time we spent with characters that were genuinely cool and interesting.
This epic space RPG had been 5 years in the making and, while the original
conclusion (it has since been updated via a patch) lacked the length that the
property deserved, it was still a great ride. A newly introduced cooperative
mode also gave the game some legs after launch. With three teammates by your
side, you can take on the galaxies worst, playing as more diverse races and
variations of the established classes from the single player campaign. With
constant DLC (downloadable content) support, ME3 is an ever changing world that
is a sight to behold, as well as experience.
6. Halo 4
Originally developed by Bungie, the Halo series grew to be some of the highest rated and most played games on the Xbox, and its successor, the Xbox 360. Lauded for its tight controls, impressive visuals and well though out multiplayer modes, Bungie has always poured their heart into their work. Then, the unthinkable happened. In an effort to expand their purview of work, Bungie announced they would no longer be developing the Halo franchise. The series was then passed to 343 Indstries, a subsidiary of Microsoft, a brand new development studio, staffed by several new faces as well as former Bungie employees. Thankfully, the game was very successful and managed to keep many of the elements that fans of the franchise have grown to love. Through an epic campaign and excellent co-op and multiplayer modes, 343 has shown that they are deserving of the franchise that helped shape the face of modern console shooters.
5. Dishonored
With most games opting to pursue a more “cinematic”
experience, Dishonored relishes giving the player freedom of choice. Playing as
Corvo, an assassin that has been wrongfully accused of murdering the empress, the
player must fight to clear Corvo’s name in a number of missions that let them
decide which play style suits them best. Want to be stealthy and conniving? You
can be. Want to blow through the game shooting everything in the face? You can.
Dishonored wants to let you play and doesn’t bother holding your hand or
getting in the way. Although the morality system feels a bit tacked on, there’s
a lot to love in this game, beyond what most other games can offer. Also, it
helps that the game is stunningly beautiful.
4. Borderlands 2
4 Player co-op? Check. Vast, open and
interesting environments to explore? Check. A writer who can competently put
together a story without having a brain aneurism right before the end of the
game? Check. An awesome antagonist who has horses made out of diamonds? Check.
870 Gajillion guns? Check. Borderlands 2 outdid the first game in almost every
way possible. The lack luster ending of the first led Gearbox to hire Anthony
Burch (Hey Ash! Whatcha Playin?) to pen the script, and boy does it show.
Characters are outrageous while simultaneously sympathetic. The events are
still hilariously outlandish but still fit the theme very well. Then there’s
the loot. From shields to mods, from relics to guns, all of Borderlands 2’s
loot is procedurally generated. This means that most anything you find will
have been created for you, from a specific set of rules, at that very moment. Throw
in the fact that you can play with up to three friends at any time, and this
romp through the Borderlands is well worth the price of admission.
3. Hotline Miami
2. The Walking Dead
