Your GOTY so far...

[Strangelove]

 

Since we're 6 months into the year and not a lot of new high profile games will come out til the holiday season, I thought it was a good time to review the games that will probably be forgotten and eclipsed by the holiday blockbusters for GOTY next year.

I also think this is a good way to get the newer members to post here. Consider it a sort of initiation without the ass paddling.

 

So let's do some mini-reviews and try to narrow it to 5 games or less if you can. Even if you feel that you haven't played any games that are GOTY material, feel free to name some of the games you enjoyed this year. And go!

Edited June 29, 2012 by Strangelove

[Luftwaffles]

It's between SSX, Diablo 3, and Journey for me. I'll try and do a quick writeup of them, I guess.

 

SSX: This is partly out of nostalgia, but this was probably the game that took me the most by surprise this year. I expected them to try something edgy and terrible with their "deadly descent" marketing of old, but it actually ended up being really really fun, which is really all I wanted out of an SSX game. I'm a little disappointed that there's no Split Screen or "true" online multiplayer, but the asymmetrical leaderboard system ala NFS Autolog ended up working perfectly for the game. I'm assuming I'll write up a longer post for the PXOD GOTY later unless something else comes along and takes me by surprise, but SSX is it right now and I'm sure I'll talk about it later.

 

Diablo 3 is probably second. This one is also a bit rooted in nostalgia, and there's tons of controversy about the game already, but even SSX didn't hook me like D3 did this year. Stripped down to the bare game, as hard as that is, the Diablo formula is still there, and I really really don't mind the streamlining that went on. The new skill tree is fantastic, the combat feels worlds better than D2, and once again Blizzard has managed to make "just clicking" interesting enough to play multiple times through. It's a shame the online is so borked and the DRM is so prevalent, but honestly, none of that got in my way enough to have D3 not on this list. (NOT TRYING TO ARGUE FOR THE DRM OR AGAINST IT)

 

Journey is probably 3rd on the list just because it took me by surprise, sort of like SSX. I can safely say it's probably the most innovative game I've played this year, and it's actually the first game that's ever been hailed as "art" that I didn't think was a steaming pile of garbage. That's all I really have to say about it, honestly. It's amazing and you should all play it, I guess.

[Nipah]

Mass Effect 3

Sure, the ending [controversial argument here], but I enjoyed the game quite a bit, especially with the extended ending.

Being able to finally end my Shepard's story was pretty cool overall... though I'm curious to see how they'll end up "expanding" (milking?) the series from here on out.

And the multiplayer... That keeps me coming back again and again.

 

Dragon's Dogma

I have my problems with this game, and that is no lie. From overly chatty pawns, incredibly slow saving, wonky item drops (what's with all the freaking maces?!), and a fairly weak story, the game wasn't exactly 100% fantastic.

However, what it did get right (combat, class skills, weapons/armor choices, upgrading items, giant freaking monsters, character customization, challenge) more than eclipses the shortcomings.

 

... and that would be the only games I've played that could be considered new. I'm just holding out for Guild Wars 2 and Borderlands 2 this year, and that's about it.

 

edit: Oh, I completely forgot about Diablo III... Um... while I enjoyed it, I really only played it for about 2 weeks before burning out on it (though I did play it A LOT during those 2 weeks). With the server problems, the super ramped up difficulty in the later difficulty levels, and the imbalanced characters + stupid champion monster abilities, I can safely say I was 50% enjoying it and 50% cursing its name to the heavens.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Nipah

[deanb]

Oh god. Apart from the Torchlight II beta (Which was neat) I don't think I've played any games from this year. Oh wait I guess ME3 and FFXIII-2. Rayman Origins a 2012 game? I'm actually writing up a bunch of mini-reviews for my personal blog on games I've played of late but a lot are older catch ups through backlog or LoveFilm. The fact I've forgotten games suggests this year hasn't been overly memorable for me up to now.

[TheMightyEthan]

Holy crap, assuming this list is fairly comprehensive I've only played 5 of the games that have come out this year. I was on a bit of a slump for a while, but beyond that I think I've mostly been playing games from last year. Anyway, here are the 5 I've played:

 

 

Mass Effect 3

Journey

Civilization V: Gods & Kings

Quantum Conundrum

Endless Space Beta

 

Mass Effect 3 - Despite the controversy I thought this game was overall fantastic, even before the Extended Cut, and I think Bioware nailed that so this is definitely a contender for my GOTY for the whole year.

 

Journey - Great experience, played through the whole thing in one sitting with the same guy from almost the very beginning. I'm not sure good it is as a "game", but I liked it a lot anyway.

 

Civ V: Gods & Kings - I was kind of disappointed with how little this expansion changed the game, but I do like the religion and espionage mechanics. Probably not really a GOTY contender though.

 

Quantum Conundrum - Good game, I'd even say comparably good to Portal in terms of gameplay only, but it's overall vision wasn't as strong. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the DLC (I got the season pass), but it's not the best thing ever.

 

Endless Space Beta - I'm not sure if this should even count since the final code doesn't release until next Wednesday, but I've been playing the beta for about the last month and I really like it. 4X in space has always appealed to me but I could never really get in to Sins because it was real time, and GalCiv was just so damned overwhelming. This game is great and it's the only thing to really challenge ME3 for my first-half GOTY.

 

Ultimately though I'd have to say my 2012.5 GOTY would have to be ME3.

 

Gravity Rush - Holy crap this game is amazing. Played it at my wife's grandparents' house this past week and freaking loved it. Now I can't decide whether this or ME3 is my GOTY...

Edited July 8, 2012 by TheMightyEthan

[TCP]

Honestly, I've spent most of 2012 catching up with 2011 games, 2011 was an amazing year, I don't think 2012 will come close to equaling it. That said....

 

Final Fantasy XIII-2 improved upon everything that made the original (IMHO) so awesome. Except for maybe the characters, I am not crazy about Serah and Noel was a wimpier version of Snow. Oh, also the music was kind of mixed. The gameplay was great, especially with the battle system being tweaked to fix a few of XIII's problems. Running into Noel, Sazh, and Snow were great moments. What really made the game for me was the more open level design. I liked XIII's level design for that game, but mixing it up for XIII-2 was the right call.

Journey was an awesome 2 hours. In fact, I am hesitant to even go back to it, because I enjoyed my first play though so much.

Kingdoms of Amalur was one of those games that was fun, I enjoyed it, but not enough to download the DLC or go get some more of those trophies, but it did make an enjoyable 20-hour hack and slash through the main game.

Mass Effect 3 might be my favorite game of 2012, so far. It was pretty much everything I had hoped it to be (though it did feel a tad short). I wasn't pissed about the ending like some people. It seems like everyone had very different experiences based on what they chose in the previous games, so they did a great job of incorporating all of that. The writing was superb, Garrus and Tali especially, with their scene together at the end of the game, as well as drunk Tali and Garrus' "this is my favourite place on the Citadel".

 

2012 games I'm working on right now: Gravity Rush and Sorcery. Both are promising, and should probably bump Amalur off my shortlist.

[Strangelove]

Mass Effect 3 - Unlike the rest of the internet, I'm not one to toss around the word "epic" when describing something, but Mass Effect 3 was epic to me. In a way, I still prefer ME2 for it's closer more character driven story, but ME3's gameplay is truly better. It's smooth as butter and a lot of fun. This is also the only game where I've played the multiplayer for over 30 minutes. I actually put in over 10 hours. Im not an online gamer at all, but ME3's multiplayer was awesome. And then to top it all off, the scenarios youre thrust into were all amazing for the most part. It's one of those games that tries to outdo itself every single minute and tries to make your adrenaline run throughout the entire game. It kind of reminded me of the first time I played Uncharted 2.

 

Resident Evil: Revelations - For my money, the best game on the 3DS so far. Yes, Super Mario 3D Land was great because it's a return to form for the Mario series, but Revelations is easily the second best RE game ever only behind RE4. It had a great story mode AND a great optional mode called Raid Mode that was also really addictive. Not only that, but it brought back some of the "horror" to the series by putting you in some very tight situations. They brought back that ominous mood RE5 left behind(and RE4 to a certain extent).The addition of aiming and walking seems almost silly to point out, but it's a big deal for the RE series. It makes this game the best playing RE so far. Plus, Jill in a very tight suit. Come on.

 

Gravity Rush - This game took me by complete surprise. I only heard about it about a week or 2 before release, but it turned out better than I ever expected. It's not only beautiful in it's graphics, but in it's gameplay and grace. It's one of only a handful of games that made me feel truly free and kind of made me feel like a kid again. Flying in the game is hypnotizing. Add in an amazing and huge city, great music, and some really grounded and down to earth characters, and this is easily the best game on the Vita. This is the kind of game I expect and hope to get more of on this machine.

 

Journey - It's a fucking work of art. It's an emotional experience, it's beautiful, it's like the first time I listened to the Beatles.

 

Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Im actually one of the few people who enjoyed FFXIII. The battle system more than made up for all of it's shortcomings. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of my favorite rpg battle system ever, FFX-2. FFXIII-2 does everything FFXIII did, but better. Lots of content, lots of story, lots of places to visit, and a new monster catching gimmick makes the game a lot of fun to play. Plus, the awesome dlc it had. It really had some great dlc. Though a bit overpriced.

[SuperNewb]

Wow, just thinking about it is a bit depressing, isn't it?

 

It's been a pretty bland first half...

 

Games I've played:

 

Dragon's Dogma - I'll preface this by saying I'm not usually that into open world RPGs and I thought this game would potentially change that from playing the demo and seeing the combat system. And... well... it fell short for me. It was awfully hard, and I liked that but sometimes the challenge came in the wrong ways. Buggy teammate AI in the pawn system, the inability to force pawns to eat food to heal themselves (I can't express how annoying this was, I'd give them berries while they were at half health and they'd just stare at me before we went into a huge boss fight and they died instantly), the awful screen tearing on 360 (screen tearing has never really bothered me before but it's in practically every frame in the 360 version of DD), the brutally long travel times, and the lackluster story all left me wanting more. I praise Capcom for trying to change up the formula for the future of open-world combat and I think they've blazed a trail for future development but in the end DD isn't a GotY contender for me.

 

Journey - If a GotY is allowed to be only 2 1/2 hours long than this is it so far for me. Bastion was my GotY 2011 (if I have to have one) and it was only six or so hours long. The thing about Journey is for me it's provided a lot of replay-ability in those 2 1/2 hours... Every time you play the game your partner changes your experience. The game is a work of art, plain and simple. It elevates itself to the level of the paintings of Van Gogh and the symphonies of Schumann without being too pretentious like several of the other artsy indie games out there. Can't wait to see what That Games Company throws at us next!

 

Honorable mention: Legends of Grimrock

 

Waiting to play: GW2, Darksiders 2, Quantum Conundrum, Borderlands 2, Epic Mickey 2

[Connorrrr]

Max Payne 3. Great game, lots of style, good shooting... I guess that's all there is to be said!

 

Close runner ups: Diablo 3, Civ V G&K.

[ShadowflareXIII]

Dragon's Dogma - This is my personal GOTY. Its just what I've always wanted...I just wish there was more of it. Co-op couldn't hurt either, but you gotta crawl before ya walk I guess....not to mention no one can ever swim until the sequel.

 

Outside of this, can't wait until Borderlands 2....and that's the rest of my year.

Edited June 29, 2012 by ShadowflareXIII

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Max Payne 3. Great game, lots of style, good shooting... I guess that's all there is to be said!

 

Close runner ups: Diablo 3, Civ V G&K.

 

MP3 is shit. It's the only game I've played this year and the shooting (when it rarely occurs) is the only redeeming quality. The story is terrible, the dialogue is terrible (it went from an enjoyable cheesiness to a very forced feeling cheesiness with the change of writers) and it's purposefully grimdark as fuck instead of doing anything interesting. Things happen too randomly and unnaturally.

[Eleven]

Okay!

 

Mass Effect 3

I agree with Strangelove that this game is epic. It's really a good word to describe it. The mechanics that made ME2 so fun to play has been improved a lot which made it even more fun to play. The story, while rather simple (gather everyone and build this thingamajig!), was presented really well, and it really made kept me at the edge of my seat during those cutscenes and many conversations the game had, eagerly anticipating what's in store for me next. Being the end of a trilogy, there is so much story behind all the events that happened here I really think that contributed a lot to how I felt playing this game. Also, the extended cut endings made me love the game even more.

 

FFXIII-2

I liked FFXIII. It really wasn't the Final Fantasy I was expecting, but it doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. Then came FFXIII-2 which "fixed" a lot of things that FFXIII "did wrong". I liked the time-hopping premise. I love the battle system. It's so satisfying figuring out the right strategy for a boss/arena battle, after having your ass handed to you. I liked the (availability) of alternate costumes. The arena battles were satisfying, capturing monsters, especially capturing Lightning in the Arena, was fun as well. I like the story too, especially Serah and Lightning's drama. (My single, most favorite part was when Lightning said "One thing at a time" when Serah asked if <insert SPOILER HERE!>. Just made me sad, in a good way).

 

Does Witcher 2 count? I guess it should, since some of us only got it for the 360.

[Vecha]

I wouldn't mind seeing Diablo III win...but after their online system ruined several of my characters kits(deleted all my items/gold) and then they basically said "tough shit" I can't agree with it being GOTY.

 

Just like I didn't think FONV should have won anything the year it came out(even though I enjoyed my time with it extensively).

 

GOTY contenders should not have game breaking bugs...Though, I can understand those feeling it should if it didn't happen to them :/

 

/endrant

 

 

I haven't played alot of games from this year yet, that I think should get GOTY. I want to get Dragon's Dogma...I feel it would be a great GOTY contender.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Legend of Grimrock, actually... I haven't really played much new this year.

[Chewblaha]

The Witcher 2 came out on the 360. So that gets my vote.

[danielpholt]

I'd probably give it to Mass Effect 3. I spent 50 or so hours on that game, inside a 7 day period. And as someone that at most spends 2-3 hours playing a game on any given day, thats pretty impressive. I couldn't put it down. Yes the ending was poor, but the overal ride was fantastic.

 

Honourable mentions to The Witcher 2, which took me a while to get into but eventually proved to be just as good as i had heard. Rayman Origins for Vita was and still is my favourite Vita title. I'm not a massive fan of platformers, but i really enjoyed that. It looks, sounds and plays fantastic. Had it had Online Co-Op it might have pushed Mass Effect 3. The Walking Dead? I know its technically not a full game, but i'm counting episodes 1 and 2 in. Both games have left me wanting more. I kind of wish i had waited until the full season was out.

[excel_excel]

God I actually haven't played that many games released in 2012 this year. Its mostly been games released in 2011, like Witcher 2 and Xenoblade and Skyward Sword.

 

Best game I've been playing that was released this year......Spelunky! on XBLA arcade is devilishly addictive. Its randomly generated levels are always different but always feel like real designed level that makes sense. Like, there is never a part of a level that doesn't make sense or a hole in a level that contains nothing. Its probably the best random level generator game I've ever played.

Edited July 6, 2012 by excel_excel

[TheMightyEthan]

Edited my post to replace Gods and Kings with Gravity Rush.

[Chewblaha]

actually... I haven't really played much new this year.

 

Same for me.

[Hot Heart]

I think I've only played two new games. Honestly, the year always starts slow and then ME3 and life kinda bummed me out for a while. Having said that...

 

Mass Effect 3

Ultimately, I think it's a great game. While I wasn't happy with the general direction of things (boring squadmates, Crucible, space nazis), it did have some really great moments; a lot of which is bolstered by the past and having your own 'experience', that is unique to Mass Effect. The latter half (Thessia onwards) is incredibly weak, and the final section (the whole Earth bit) is still probably one of the most terrible things I've seen, but, with the EC, I have to admit that I 'appreciate' what they were trying to create with the endings, at least. I think, as with Arkham City, I actually got hooked to the general gameplay more than the weaknesses in the story. Multiplayer is definitely a lot of fun and I still play it to this day. I do wish they'd do something like Episodes From Liberty City with some of the other characters made playable, since they already have a lot of the groundwork.

 

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Hadn't touched a LEGO game since the last Batman one, so this one probably benefits from being a little 'fresh' for me. Not that it's something you can really play for more than an hour. I like a lot of the new things they've introduced, and it's fun to play as Superman (even if flying in the open-world is absolute pants), but I did like the first one's switch between playing the heroes and the villains. Can't say I've played enough of the story but I guess it's alright. There's just too much 'Batman and Robin/Batman and Superman go after The Joker and Lex Luthor. Then something happens, and they get away. Rinse, repeat, etc.' Definitely not GOTY-material, but a fun enough little distraction every now and then.

Edited July 8, 2012 by Hot Heart

[toxicitizen]

Most games I've played this year so far were older titles. Only three new releases that I can think of so far:

 

Mass Effect 3

Diablo 3

Max Payne 3

 

Personally, ME3 was good but nowhere near being a GOTY contender. Max Payne 3 was a stellar shooter but really didn't get the feel of the series right.

So that leaves Diablo 3. It's flawed but it's a strong contender, imho.

 

Honorable mention to Alan Wake. Doesn't count as a 2012 game since the 360 version came out two years ago but it's definitely my favorite title this year so far. And now that I think of it, American Nightmare actually is a 2012 title but it's really not on the same level.

Edited July 8, 2012 by FLD

[Sloopydrew]

If it was exclusively released in 2012 and I hadn't played it on the PC, I'd go for Witcher 2.

 

What else came out this year?

 

I've mostly been catching up on games. Probably the most fun has been InFamous 1 & 2, back to back. But I just played those this year (I started InFamous in 2009, but didn't finish 'til 2012), they weren't released.

 

Wow. I'm wondering if Witcher 2 on the 360 is the only 2012 game I've played? I want to say Journey, but I think that was 2011. So I guess I'll just have to say InFamous 1 & 2 back to back.

[Luftwaffles]

I want to say Journey, but I think that was 2011.

 

I'm pretty sure Journey was 2012?

[Strangelove]

Journey is a 2012 game.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, it was March. I remember because it was either the same day or the day after Mass Effect 3 released, so it was about a week before I actually played it.