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We’ve already taken a look at the 24 games we feel deserve recognition as the best titles of 2012, but now’s the time to pick our favourite 10 and, more importantly, crown a single game as VideoGamer.com’s Game of the Year 2012. You can jump straight in to the Top 5 in video form below, or take a look further down the page for the complete top 10.
10. Hotline Miami (PC)
What we said: “You can only be shocked so many times by the brutality of it all, and once you sink deep into the guts of the game, constantly refreshing and restarting every single part of it, you hit that zen-like trance that the best mechanical games always create. Hotline Miami is Super Meat Boy, it’s Geometry Wars, it’s Trials HD; it’s five seconds of action that you can lose yourself in for five hours.”
9. Diablo 3 (PC)
What we said: “It’s a dungeon crawler that simply refuses to crawl, and Blizzard has designed a game so taut it lends itself perfectly to those simple ludic pleasures I sometimes worry the industry is quick to forget. Any ounce of fat on the series’ bones has been sheared off, leaving you with a game that places you instantly and permanently within its loops of tight combat and expansive levelling economics.”
8. Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
What we said: “Far Cry 3 shines in its campaign, which is more layered and compelling than any game proffering a power trip through escapist ultraviolence has any right to be… This is a game where its component mechanics are functional and entertaining, but all serve as a chorus to accompany the melody of the game’s massive, engaging world, characters and context.”
7. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
What we said: “Losing a valued marine is a genuinely sombre moment, enough in many instances to prompt a complete restart. You might be prepared to sacrifice the odd rookie, but it’s a good deal harder to carry on when you’re saying goodbye to a leader of several missions’ standing.”
6. Trials Evolution (Xbox 360)
What we said: “Compared to 2009 darling Trials HD, though, the difference with Finnish developer RedLynx’s latest effort is that it does a lot more to reassure you that these death-defying leaps, twitchy hops and near-vertical climbs are a perfectible art form as opposed to simple luck or the reward for dogged perseverance. How is it fun? Because the success tastes so sweet.”
5. Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, PC)
What we said: “Somewhere at BioWare there’s an enormous flow chart with every decision branching off in another direction, circles and lines headed every which way, keeping track of how it all slots together. It’s a remarkable achievement and it helps make every player’s journey feel personal.”
4. Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
What we said: “On paper, this sequel reads much the same as the original. But it’s not – it’s a vastly superior game with a sharper focus, better quests and more enjoyable blasting. Borderlands 2 is a gamer’s game, so if you like shooting things, levelling up and exploring every cubby hole across a massive, varied world – if you love games, basically – then it’s definitely for you.
3. Max Payne 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
What we said: “It’s fair to say that at first you, and Max, find it hard to feel emotionally engaged with the crowded entourage of melts you’re expected to protect – but by the time you hit the third act the story has kicked into gear. It’s a narrative with a long fuse, but one made perfectly palatable by a superb script that moment-to-moment certainly tops Remedy’s creations. When Max laconically observed he had ‘the liver of a French goose’, I almost stood up to applaud.”
2. The Walking Dead (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, iOS)
What we said: “Whatever choices you made along the way, Telltale’s Walking Dead is one of the year’s best games, even when it forgets to hand over the controller and let you have a turn.”
1. Halo 4 (Xbox 360)
What we said: “One fact is clear: this is no longer Bungie’s Halo, but much of what made the series such an irresistible proposition has remained intact for this new beginning. Rich, lavish and often spectacular, Halo 4 is an encouraging first effort from 343 Industries and a deserving entry into one of gaming’s most beloved franchises. Master Chief didn’t need to reawaken so soon, but I’m certainly glad he did.”
Do you agree with our top 10? Head through to the VideoGamer.com Community Game of the Year to find out which game was voted your favourite game of 2012.
