Another year is over and boy oh boy has this year been a good one for gaming, arguably one of the best. Fun fact, it was so hard to chose my top 3 that this list you see here has gone under 5 revisions since its original form. So with the second season of Telltale's The Walking Dead releasing next year its safe to say that hasn't already won, so read on to find out my favourite 10 games of the past year! (This list contains no re-releases or remakes. Separate story expansions have been considered however story continuations or standard DLC packs have not)
#10) Dead Space 3 – February (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Dead Space 3, for many, was abysmal; the worst in the series, the one that did next to nothing right. For me however, the brilliant story and excellent environment made up for what was an otherwise disappointing game.
Yes the combat was broken, yes the co-op was shit, yes it was cliché but Dead Space 3 had one of the years best villains, arguably the best story in the trilogy and was drop dead gorgeous.
#9) Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – May (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Far Cry 3 was undoubtedly one of 2012's best games, so when Unbosoft made an April Fools joke of an 80's action spoof titled Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon the world cried with laughter...then it was released much to the surprise of pretty much everyone.
Blood Dragon however took everything that was awesome about 3 and everything that was awesome about 80's action flicks and combined them into a human-robot hybrid named Rex Power Colt for one of the best game expansions I have ever played.
Great action, visually stunning and one of the most hilarious jokes gaming has ever pulled off.
#8 Gears of War: Judgment – March (Xbox 360)
Though Judgment was shunned by many long time gears fans, I personally found it to be one of the best in the franchise. Following the story of Baird & Cole pre-Gears of War 1, it shows the early days of the human-locust conflict.
With perhaps the best story in the series, the best visuals and some great tweaks to the control scheme, Judgment was a game no Gears fan should pass up.
#7 Ratchet & Clank: Nexus – November (PS3, PS Vita)
Its been 4 years since A Crack in Time but the dynamic duo finally got another proper entry in the R&C series. Designed as an epilogue to the 'Future' trilogy, Nexus continues soon after the finale to Crack in Time and follows the duo hunting down the Prog twins, Vendra and Neftin in hopes of stopping them from using a makeshift Dimensionator to open a rift between their dimension and the mysterious Netherworld.
Nexus features the best gameplay in a R&C game to date along with visuals that give Pixar a run for their money. Though a little on the short side, Nexus is an excellent and fitting end to our favourite Lombax & robot friends adventures on the Playstation 3.
#6 Bioshock Infinite – March (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Infinite was a Marmite game through and through. You either loved everything about it, or you disliked it confusing plot, repetitive gameplay and its whole stance on women on box art.
Infinite had the best story and gameplay in a Bioshock game to date, though it got repetitive and took a bit of a fumble in the middle due to the lack of story and over reliance on combat to pad the game out it was overall a brilliant experience and one of this years best games.
The only reasons it didn't get higher on this list is because of that frankly dull middle section, the over reliance of player knowledge of real life events and lack of re-playability beyond wanting to relive the awesome story of Booker & Elizabeth.
