Hello gamers. It’s about that time again—time that we take a look back at the year that was 2012. E3’s biggest news was of the brand new action-adventure game Watch Dogs, Nintendo unleashed the Wii U onto the world, and of course we have games… many, many of games. So I thought I’d take the time out and put up my personal top 5 list of 2012. These were the games that I played, reviewed, and occasionally still come back to playing if I have free time. Also, as a disclaimer, this list doesn’t reflect the other staff’s favourites or the those of the official NewGamerNation Top 5 of 2012. Here it is:
Jose’s Top 5 of 2012
5) WWE ‘13
Why do I always go back to playing WWE ’13? Two words: Character creation. I’ve spent a lot of time just trying to get the look of my wrestler right before sending them into the ring for their first match. I’ve also whiled away many hours trying to find the right moves to fit with the style of wrestler I created as they’re slamming their opponent. It’s this creation that makes me feel like this game is my very own. Plus, there are some very creative fans, so if you need a logo, more wrestlers, a new arena, or even a new storyline to play, the community creations will more than likely have you covered. As a huge wrestling fan, this game is right up there . Besides, where else do I get to live out my childhood dreams?
4) Need For Speed: Most Wanted
There I was, standing in front of the TV playing NFS: MS, and somewhere between the third or fourth time I’d tried to win a race, when it hit me – I like this game. I liked it so much that it almost didn’t matter when I won or lost. I honestly just had fun driving a really fast car, desperately trying to win a race and not crash into that wall, oncoming traffic, or any other hazards in the way. The combination of velocity and danger had me hooked, and the determination to ‘run a perfect race’ kept me coming back.
3) Twisted Metal
I’d never thought any game in this generation of consoles would bring back the vehicular combat genre, so I was apprehensive about Twisted Metal as a whole. The whole genre seemed like something from a bygone era. Yet, as I was playing this I was reminded of the first two Twisted Metal games and how fun they’d been. It also had a little bit of Twisted Metal: Black’s tone, and then ramped up the enjoyment factor by including online multiplayer with different modes, and a very hard but fun story mode. This game would have me coming back just for the thrill of blowing stuff up, and the sense of victory when I overcame a challenging chapter of the story.
2) Sleeping Dogs
Take the martial arts combat system of Rocksteady’s Batman games, combine that with the open sandbox world of Grand Theft Auto, add some parkour elements (minus the nasty face-plants that land on Youtube), and mix in some old John Woo movies: What do you get? Sleeping Dogs. Aside from a few small issues, the game works because of the core elements. listed above. They all come together quite nicely; it’s fun to come back and bust some heads, get into some races, and play the DLC missions. Also, for those achievement junkies out there, its pretty easy to earn a platinum trophy in this game.
1) Journey
I don’t know what else I can say about Journey—if you can get access to a Playstation 3, you need to play this game. For all the criticism the industry takes, this is one shining example of all that is right with video games today. If you know people who aren’t gamers, sit them down and get them to play this game.
What made Journey my game of the year for 2012 was that it stood out in so many ways: it was a downloadable title; an independent game; it had online integration, and, most importantly, the sheer experience of playing Journey itself made it worthy of a game of the year rating.
Again, please remember that the above list does not necessarily reflect the views of the other staff, who will each have their own lists up on NewGamerNation in the coming weeks. This is where I turn to you, the nation, and ask what particular games made your list? How does your list differ from mine? Let us know in the comment section below.