Another 12 months have passed and it has been a great one for games. Some big name contenders such as Assassins Creed III and Call of Duty Black Ops II have had their yearly instalment with games like Hitman Absolution and Halo 4 being thrown into the limelight again after a few years break. Indie titles and downloadable games have also played a big part this year with games such as Minecraft reaching over 10 million sales and the cult phenomena Slenderman getting a flash game of his own that took the internet by storm. So here is my top 10 games of the past 12 months (Jan – December, games that I have played)
10.Slender (PC)
After years of circulating the internet on sites like Tumblr and Reddit, Slenderman got his own game in the form of a free flash title. The game though simplistic in look and gameplay too the internet by storm with its extremely scary atmosphere and addictive premise. To complete the game you must collect all 8 pages stuck to various surfaces in the game world, each time one is collected the Slenderman closes in on you a little more until he will finally get you. The atmosphere is what makes the game plus the excellent modding community plus the promise of more maps (such as the Sanatorium map) and other official free content makes Slender a tough game to pass up...unless you have a nervous disposition.
9.DOOM 3 BFG Edition (360, PS3, PC)
Its not often that I see a HD remake as something exciting or overly worthwhile, however the BFG edition of DOOM 3 seemed worth the £25 release price tag. Containing both DOOM 1 & 2 with all their expansions was a nice extra alongside a HD remastered version of DOOM 3, plus a remastered version of the Resurrection of Evil expansion and 8 new missions. DOOM 3 BFG is one of the best HD remasters I have seen in terms of content plus getting 3 of the best FPS's of all time in 1 bundle is a hard offer to pass up.
8.Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (360, PS3, PC)
The first proper Counter Strike game landed this year with CS:GO. CS:GO takes the simple premise of the Half-Life mod from 1998, puts it in the newest version of the Source engine and gives us the best looking CS game ever. New models, guns, maps and modes come as standard but no other online only shooter comes close to CS:GO.
7.Black Mesa (PC)
After 8 years in development the Source engine mod with a bigger fanbase than most of the games on this list finally landed. Black Mesa is a re-imagining of Valve's 1998 Half-Life, given a new life in the Source engine and even redesigning parts of the game as not to feel so old gave the game a new audience to pander to, and even better is its free!
6.Minecraft XBLA (360)
Minecraft makes its way to consoles. With a much improved multiplayer system and a great new crafting system, Minecraft XBLA will never live up to the PC versions standards but it is still a great game. With the promise of being as good as the PC version one day plus the easy to use multiplayer makes Minecraft XBLA a must own for console gamers who didn’t get to try out the PC version.
5.Trials Evolution (360)
Making it halfway on my list is Trials Evolution, the sequel to 2009's Trials HD and the fourth entry in the franchise. The premise of Trials is to get your motorbike from one side of the map to the other in the shortest time and with the fewest faults, however the tracks don’t make it easy with explosions going off, buildings collapsing on you and even setting you on fire halfway through the course. Trials Evo is a £40 game with a £10 price tag, plus the Evolution of Pain DLC for only £3 gives the game even more hours of mayhem.
4.Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
Just missing out on the top 3 is the final instalment of the Mass Effect trilogy. With the Reapers invading Earth and several other planets throughout the galaxy its up to Shepard and his team to ready the galaxy for war and fight for the survival of every organic life form in the galaxy. The game fell short of 3rd place due to its underwhelming ending and failure to live up to the heights of Mass Effect 2 but was still one of the best RPG's this year.
3.Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
The 2009 smash hit Borderlands took the world by surprise with its co-op focused shoot & loot gameplay and striking art style. Now 3 years later Gearbox is back with a bigger, better and more badass sequel. Hyperion has taken over Pandora and is in search of a second Vault, when they find said Vault it is up to you and the 3 their new Vault Hunters to stop Hyperion from controlling the fate of the planet and possibly the galaxy. With more guns, a heart wrenching story, a fantastic art direction and of course more Wub Wub makes Borderlands 2 this years number 3.
2.Halo 4 (360)
Halo 4 just missed out on the top spot but it was still the best FPS this year. Chief and Cortana are back and have landed on a Forerunner planet named Requiem, when an ancient evil awakens and threatens Humanities safety its up to them to save the world...again. A touching performance by Jen Taylor as Cortana makes it a must play game for the story alone but the hugley revamped gameplay, graphics and multiplayer make Halo 4 the best xbox exclusive this year. A must own for FPS fans.
And so the time has come for this years #1 game. It has been a close one and took much debating on my behalf as to award #1 to Halo 4 or this game, but this game had something different, something much more on offer than Halo.
1.The Walking Dead (360, PS3, PC)
Based on the award winning and critically acclaimed comic books by Robert Kirkman; The Walking Dead tells the story of Lee Everett, a convict on his way to prison for committing a murder. When the police cruiser crashes and he awakes to find the dead have risen. After being saved by a little girl named Clementine, Lee agrees to travel with her to Savannah to find her parents. Along the way they meet other survivors and make new bonds with unlikely people, they learn how to live day by day and they learn the full extent of human survival.
The Walking Dead is a masterpiece, nothing has told such an engaging story or heart pounding edge of your seat action as well as TWD in years. Developed by acclaimed Adventure games developers Telltale, TWD resides in a niche market pandering only to those who enjoy point & clicks, adventure games and story driven experiences.
The Walking Dead is my Game of the Year for 2012, it has been a good year and there were many more great games that I either did not mention or get round to playing. Who will be GOTY 2013? With games such as GTA V, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, Gears of War Judgement, Watch Dogs and my one to watch Beyond: Two Souls, plus the hope of games like Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3, Mirrors Edge 2 and The Walking Dead Season 2 makes next year a very close one indeed.
