Your (underrated) GotY 2012

[Frybird]

Well, my actual game of the year is Mark of the Ninja. So...it still applies.

Quoted for Truth.

For me, Mark of the Ninja came from absolutely nowhere and was immediately mindblowing.

 

[Entitled]

Katawa Shoujo. Because the escapist and 4chan are the only places that know about the game.

How the flying fuck did I guess right on what game this was? Seriously, I read like 3 articles a year ago, didn't even know the title, and I was still right.

...

Does this mean I have to buy it now? Or at least torrent it?

It's legally free.

 

[Baldry]

SPEC OPS: THE LINE. I will not rest till everyone has played this game.

That's a horrible thing to wish on people. There's so many better things to do with ones time.

Well if Spider Jerusalem say's something's a horrible thing it truly must be...

I'm glad you're finally learning! Took you long enough. Next, we will learn why Heavy Rain is one of the worst games of this console generation.

Guess I should be glad I haven't played it yet, I can only assume the reason is the gimmicky gameplay?!

 

[Baldry]

SPEC OPS: THE LINE. I will not rest till everyone has played this game.

That's a horrible thing to wish on people. There's so many better things to do with ones time.

Well if Spider Jerusalem say's something's a horrible thing it truly must be...

I'm glad you're finally learning! Took you long enough. Next, we will learn why Heavy Rain is one of the worst games of this console generation.

Guess I should be glad I haven't played it yet, I can only assume the reason is the gimmicky gameplay?!

The gameplay is nothing but a series of quicktime events, the controls are directly ported from those 1990's Alone in the Dark games and the puzzles are nothing to write home about.

So all that's left is the story, which is an awful mess of clichés, contrivances, plot holes, bad acting and worse writing.

But at least they're trying something new! Shouldn't that be something that appeals to you Spider, gotta take your victories where you can!

 

[Kekkonen1]

I really don't even have an obvious choice for goty this year, as I dont feel any game have come even close. I guess for me Xcom and Baldurs Gate EE (does that even count?) comes the closest. Journey was good as well.

 

[Baldry]

SPEC OPS: THE LINE. I will not rest till everyone has played this game.

That's a horrible thing to wish on people. There's so many better things to do with ones time.

Well if Spider Jerusalem say's something's a horrible thing it truly must be...

I'm glad you're finally learning! Took you long enough. Next, we will learn why Heavy Rain is one of the worst games of this console generation.

Guess I should be glad I haven't played it yet, I can only assume the reason is the gimmicky gameplay?!

The gameplay is nothing but a series of quicktime events, the controls are directly ported from those 1990's Alone in the Dark games and the puzzles are nothing to write home about.

So all that's left is the story, which is an awful mess of clichés, contrivances, plot holes, bad acting and worse writing.

But at least they're trying something new! Shouldn't that be something that appeals to you Spider, gotta take your victories where you can!

It's not something new. They've just taken quicktime events, something that we've already seen done to death for nearly 15 years now and a re-skinned "choose your own adventure" mechanic that has been around since text based games and put a label on it. It isn't even a new venture for the studio, since they made the exact same kind of game in Fahrenheit some years previous.

I mean, I don't particularly like Journey, but at least Journey tried something different in creating a system of communication with players that relied on nothing but simple sounds and gestures. That was something that tried breaking new ground, even if the game itself wasn't all that.

Well the annoying thing about that is that these days that that can be considered original.

Also what's so horrible about Spec ops, granted it's basically Heart of Darkness for gaming but why is that such a bad thing, it made me feel some raw emotion and I can't play games that have white phosphorus without shuddering. Sure most people considered the controls to be nothing special but that was the idea, make the player feel at home in a normal shooter then BAM actual plot.

 

[Hylke Langhout]

Retro City Rampage has a 71 on Metacritic score of 71. It's pretty much my game of the year. Despite having some awkward keyboard controls (which can easily be solved with a gamepad) it was filled with tons of jokes and references as well as some great missions and a fun world to play around in. I even bought the soundtrack of the game on CD. Seriously, more people should play it.

Also, Frog Fractions is completely insane and absolutely awesome. Go play it right now.

 

[Baldry]

SPEC OPS: THE LINE. I will not rest till everyone has played this game.

That's a horrible thing to wish on people. There's so many better things to do with ones time.

Well if Spider Jerusalem say's something's a horrible thing it truly must be...

I'm glad you're finally learning! Took you long enough. Next, we will learn why Heavy Rain is one of the worst games of this console generation.

Guess I should be glad I haven't played it yet, I can only assume the reason is the gimmicky gameplay?!

The gameplay is nothing but a series of quicktime events, the controls are directly ported from those 1990's Alone in the Dark games and the puzzles are nothing to write home about.

So all that's left is the story, which is an awful mess of clichés, contrivances, plot holes, bad acting and worse writing.

But at least they're trying something new! Shouldn't that be something that appeals to you Spider, gotta take your victories where you can!

It's not something new. They've just taken quicktime events, something that we've already seen done to death for nearly 15 years now and a re-skinned "choose your own adventure" mechanic that has been around since text based games and put a label on it. It isn't even a new venture for the studio, since they made the exact same kind of game in Fahrenheit some years previous.

I mean, I don't particularly like Journey, but at least Journey tried something different in creating a system of communication with players that relied on nothing but simple sounds and gestures. That was something that tried breaking new ground, even if the game itself wasn't all that.

Well the annoying thing about that is that these days that that can be considered original.

Also what's so horrible about Spec ops, granted it's basically Heart of Darkness for gaming but why is that such a bad thing, it made me feel some raw emotion and I can't play games that have white phosphorus without shuddering. Sure most people considered the controls to be nothing special but that was the idea, make the player feel at home in a normal shooter then BAM actual plot.

Spec Ops annoyed the hell out of me with it's smug, art school attitude. It basically forces the player to play the game in one strict way (and I tried almost all the other potential ways), then turns around and pretends like it has something meaningful to say, admonishing the player for playing the game in the one, sole way that it is possible to play in the first place.

Then there's the whole "oh, well, the only way to stop is to not actually play the game", which smacks of a severe case of head-up-the-arse syndrome. The same way that Haneke tried to soap boax his stance on action films by making Funny Games (twice!) and doing the same thing. Look, we get it, violence is not great. War is awful and should be avoided. Yes. But having a scene where the player is forced to pick the most violent, over the top weapon possible (and I tried not to pick it, even just attacking the compound), and then pretending like this was something the player wanted is cheap and bad writing.

On top of that, the game of was nothing special. It had every single cliché, contrivance and mechanic from all the other shooters, it did nothing else differently, but used morality as a gimmick, which I find more reprehensible than having just an average brown shooter roll out carnage for a few hours.

Yes but they did say they wanted to add the option to be able to fight your way through but they were made to add a crappy multiplayer thus diverting time and resources away from the singleplayer which is what the game was about. And wasn't it aiming to be clichéd to emphasise it's point, if it had altered from the normal course of regular shooters then it loses its point.
I will agree with you on the "only way to stop is to not play the game" bullshit. Why not give me the option to just walk away and die out in the desert, there's a lot of things they could've done to change that but it was enough of a gamble as it was and they were trying to give the player a specific journey and message.

 

[Daget Sparrow]

Lone Survivor. The ending confused the hell out of me, but once you figure it out it'll blow your mind.

On top of that, the gameplay was fantastic. One of the best survival horror games I've played in the last few years.

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

I don't know, Trine 2 was pretty good.

 

[Entitled]

Crusader Kings 2 is probably the biggest niche hit this year, that is a genuine niche with a barrier that most people won't want to jump (as opposed to some "less-popular-than-COD-so-its-niche" games that everyone on gaming sites adores"), but it's also overwhelmingly popular in it's intended target audience.

A true cult classic in making.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Katawa Shoujo. Because the escapist and 4chan are the only places that know about the game.

How the flying fuck did I guess right on what game this was? Seriously, I read like 3 articles a year ago, didn't even know the title, and I was still right.

...

Does this mean I have to buy it now? Or at least torrent it?

Considering that torrenting is the only way to get the game (it's free), I'd recommend doing it. Also, because the game is a good experience to have, even if visual novels aren't your thing.

 

[hermes]

I will say "Mass Effect 3". The game was not perfect, but given all the overblown controversy about the ending it sure feels underrated.

 

[Sir Pootis]

I'll have to go with Spec Ops for this one.