A couple of notes for the reader:
- When writing these reviews, I didn’t want to
explain what the game is, you can find this information easily, but rather my
personal experience with it. This may
make for an unconventional narrative. Beware!
- I must apologize for my gratuitous use of the
semi colon. A while back I finally
decided to learn its use. I mean it has
its own non-shifted key on the keyboard; it MUST be important, right? As it turns out, it has a lot of uses, so I
use it frequently! ;)
- Yes, I wrote “whole nother” in the opening
paragraph. My Mom would be so
disappointed.
- An asterisk denotes an obscure reference you’re
probably not going to get and shouldn’t worry about trying to figure out; it’s
not worth it.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on with it!
;
2012 was a unique year in gaming. I thought it was “an unique” but MSWord says otherwise. It was the first year independent and
downloadable games were considered to be as-good-as or even better than their
big-budget counterparts. I had my first
experience with designer board games which opened up a whole nother world of
fun and real-life interaction. Kickstarter
is a thing. When I think back through
all of the games I played this year I realize I spend far too much time thinking
about games. Maybe I should spend more
time improving myself, learning new things, making a difference in lives of
others. Hahaha just kidding! Can you imagine if I were like that? Aaaanyway, here were my favorites of 2012:
10. Lords of
Waterdeep – (Worker Placement / Table Top / Wizards of the Coast)
I was more than a little apprehensive about this new (to me)
world of designer board games. In my
estimation, they had always been Monopoly,
Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit and Yahtzee,
something light and fun you do with the family.
Lords of Waterdeep changed
that image for me. It is a game of
political intrigue, worker strategy and little wooden cubes. As a Lord of Waterdeep, you place your agents
in key areas of the city, recruiting fighters, wizards, clerics and rogues to conquer
quests that expand your influence throughout kingdom. The theme isn’t all too important; it could
be about the mafia, modern-day politics, or kittens vs. ninjas, what really
makes this game shine is the game play itself.
Lords of Waterdeep showed me
that a board game can be so much more than rolling a dice and moving spaces,
and for that, it is my number 10 of 2012.
9. FTL: Faster than Light - (Roguelike, RPG / PC / Subset
Games)
FTL is one of many
indie gems this year. You are the
captain of space freighter, jumping through the galaxy carrying vital
information to the rebellion. No it’s
not the Custodian and you’re not Captain Antilles*, but you do command a crew
of humans, aliens and robots fighting your way to a rebel base. The mission is always the same, but because
it’s a roguelike, a randomly generated game-space, the world is entirely
different every time. FTL is more of a flash game than a
flashy game, but the theme and execution are stellar, perhaps inter-stellar? Two puns in one sentence, pretty good
right? Although I have never beaten it,
it is quite difficult; FTL is a game
that is fun to play again and again… while watching Star Wars... and reading Twitter.
8. Assassin’s Creed III – (Action / PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii-U
/ Ubisoft)
Despite its lack-luster opening, clunky fighting mechanics,
and numerous glitches, Assassin’s Creed
III is a worthy addition to the series.
From that sentence alone, don’t you just want to run out and buy
it? It’s hard to recommend if you’re new
to Assassin’s Creed, but it’s
not-to-be-missed by fans. After a
laborious initial six hours, the world of 18th century America
finally opens up to explore. Running
down cobblestone streets, hanging from steeples and jumping through tree tops are
some of the highlights, but I found the sea battles to be one of the most
enjoyable new aspects. If there is one
thing Assassin’s Creed delivers it is
a sense of real place. The world around
you is bristling with liveliness and authenticity, and it is quite a thrill to
be a part of. If you love history, and
you’re a fan of this series, you are a person who loves history and the Assassin’s Creed series. Be aware of this games existence! It’s still better than Diablo III, oh snap!
7. Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) – (Dungeon
RPG / Table Top / Fantasy Flight)
I hadn't played an old-school dungeon crawler since I was a
kid and boy howdy have they improved this shit!
Descent is just what you
think: a group of adventurers trying to save stuff from bad dudes. Sounds awesome right? Well it is.
The game feels more like a finely-crafted RPG than a board game, and
well, I guess it is just that. From the
story, to the fighting, the leveling to the loot, everything in Descent is delightful. Even the antagonist, called the “Overlord”,
gets to join in on the fun and levels up as the game progresses. Maybe it’s because Descent reminds me of my deep-seeded nerd roots, something primal
and magical for me, that it is one of my favorite games of the year. My only gripe is that it is difficult to get
the same group of people together to play it consistently. I need it like a nerd needs Star Trek and Hot
Pockets!
6. Fez – (Puzzle Platformer / XBLA / Polytron)
Fez is a love
letter to gamers. This year I read a
wonderful book by Ernest Cline called Ready
Player One. It seemed a story ripped
from my childhood, full of references I thought only I would know; movies,
games, books that I thought only I had experienced; special moments that were
tailored just for me. Fez gives me this same feeling. There is so much gaming nostalgia crammed
into this 8-bit package. The platforming
feels perfect as Gomez, a two-dimensional being in a three-dimensional world,
traverses mind-bending puzzles, challenging acrobatics and amateur astronomy. I had to learn to read a new language to discover
everything in this game, and when I did, it felt so natural and wonderful, like
I was uncovering a hidden cave by burning a bush with a candle*. If you want to know more about Fez, they made a whole movie about it
called Indie Game: the Movie, which
is great, by the way. Fez is a game for gamers who love gaming
games… game.
5. Mass Effect 3 – (Action RPG / PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii-U /
Bioware)
Mass Effect
reached for an unachievable future. It
fell short, but it tried so hard and we wanted it to succeed. When it failed to meet its promises, the fans
revolted, turned on their friend, vowed to never buy another Bioware game. As I was coming to the close of this game,
the buzz around it was vitriolic, spiteful, full of remorse and betrayal. I said to myself, “How can this be? What I have played so far has been incredible. I laughed and cried, agonized over decisions,
romanced, made friends, lived and died.
How could this be bad?” That’s
when the indoctrination* crept over me.
I started to doubt that I was playing was any good. The loud voices of dissenters were ruining
this. I hurried forward, trying to
ignore their spurns, pushed through an ending full of intrigue and wait… who is
this kid? Um… so I’m supposed to choose…
so nothing I did mattered at all? Is
this what everyone is so upset about?
What did they think would happen?
That everything you did mattered; that everyone you saved mattered; that
every decision you agonized over mattered?
THAT is what Bioware promised, and they fell short. We expected too much and so did they. But they fucking tried didn’t they? They tried.
You know what; sometimes it is the journey and not the destination. When I look back at the Mass Effect trilogy, I am so happy I got to have that experience,
and nothing, not a disappointing ending nor a loud commenter will take that
away from me.
4. Journey – (Puzzle Platformer / PSN / Thatgamecompany)
Journey is
beautiful, simple, and lovely; a true piece of art. It is only two-hours. You will meet a stranger and journey with
them. You will come to rely on them, to
miss them when they are gone. You will
not talk to them, but will communicate with them. You will fly with them, joy with them and
fear with them. You will go through this
journey together and you will both be better for it. Journey
is about striving for something, struggling toward a goal, depending on someone
you have only just met. It is unlike
anything I have ever witnessed. It is
only two-hours. I don’t think I will
experience it again.
3. Dishonored – (First-Person Stealth / PC, PS3, Xbox 360 /
Bethesda)
THIS is what I wanted Deus
Ex to be! Well Deus Ex in a BioShock
world* I guess. Doesn’t that sound
great… if you get those two references? Dishonored is pure fun, first-person stealth
action done right. It’s a new world, a
new intellectual property and a new series to get excited about. I completed Dishonored without killing a single person and it was an absolute
blast. Leaping from buildings, peering
through walls, swooping on guards, helping old ladies, peeping in keyholes, tripping
on drugs, slowing time, bludgeoning foes, rescuing princesses , solving
puzzles, hiding, jumping, dashing, stabbing, soaring, whew!
2. Eclipse: Rise of the Ancients – (4x / Table Top /
Lautapelit.fi)
Eclipse is epic fleet
battles, wonderful space exploration, fascinating interstellar-economy management
and political subterfuge, but for me, it is something more. After my first play though, I could not wait
to buy it for myself; I can’t remember the last time I was so excited to get my
hands on a game of any kind. Eclipse showed me that board gaming could
be much more than the game itself. So
much of the fun I had was spent making plexi-glass cases for the components,
printing a compact technology board at Kinkos, and organizing the many game pieces
into special containers. Sounds lame
right? Something about the minutiae, the
augmentation, the personalization made it truly special for me. Eclipse
became more than a board game; it became a possession I truly treasure. Why don’t you come try it with me sometime?
1. The Walking Dead – (Adventure / iOS, OSX, PC, PS3, Xbox
360 / Telltale)
I have always disliked adventure games. Monkey
Island frustrated me. King’s Quest annoyed me. Day of
the Tentacle bothered me. Why should
I have to combine a hairbrush with a fish to open a door? There was no logic to it. Sometime in the 90’s I wrote this genre off.
Last year I started reading comics. Watchmen
was my first foray, followed by The
Walking Dead. Have you read The Walking Dead? Don’t even talk to me about the TV series; it doesn't hold a candle to the comic. Robert
Kirkman’s work is so full of anguish and heartache, the human condition and
humanity. Zombies are just the setting.
This is why I was willing to give Telltale’s adventure game
a shot. Well that and the demo was
pretty good.
Remember how Mass
Effect was supposed to let you make real decisions that affected real
outcomes? Well The Walking Dead DID IT.
There is no binary “this answer is good” and “this answer is bad” so I
must always choose the “good” answer if I want to max out my “goodness”
scale. Every decision is grey. Every decision carries weight. Every decision matters. Some choices may only change the narrative
slightly, but you feel a real impact on the story and no decision comes easily. A life may be in the balance, a relationship,
a limb; the stakes are always high. The Walking Dead is one of the first
games I felt a real narrative flow; that a game could be on par with a movie,
TV series or book in story, excitement and emotion. The tale Telltale told was mine, and it was
better than the comic could ever be.
This is the best of The Walking
Dead.
As the final credits rolled, I sat and stared at the names,
full of doubt and remorse. Had I done
everything I could? Did I keep my
humanity? Was it enough to only survive
in this world? What would the end of the
world be like? Would only the powerful
and strong survive? Is there any place for
love and kindness? Must we do whatever
it takes to live? I don’t know, but I
think I did the best I could.
You can read about this game anywhere, learn about the
gameplay, the art style, voice acting, etc.
I wanted you to know how I felt after this game. It is something I will take with me always.
;
With that I conclude my list of favorite games of 2012. Some honorable mentions were Diablo III, Torchlight 2, Hero Academy,
and Mark of the Ninja; all great
games! This next year promises to be one
of, if not THE most exciting year in games history! BioShock
Infinite, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, Sim City and NEW
CONSOLES! These could very well be the last consoles
produced, as gaming moves into our TVs and up in the cloud. The Oculus Rift, the first consumer-grade one-to-one
virtual reality headset, will be available to the public, and Kickstarter is
ushering in a new age of independent games of both digital and analogue
varieties. Gamers have a lot to be
excited about.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts; I had a
great time conveying them. What were
your favorites of the year? What are you
most looking forward to next year? If
you ever want to play a game, come and find me!
