RPGFan Games of the Year 2012 Discussion Thread

[kyuusei]

I giggled at first because the Editor's list was a pure sausage fest.  Tee hee.

I didn't play enough 2012 RPGs to make a list.

I clicked on each category guessing Mass Effect 3 would inevitably win, and yes including best indie game.

I voted for it in the strategy RPG category, but no one would go for it. :-(

[Yggdrasil]

Without the DLC isn't Mass Effect 3 an unfinished game? Most (if not all) of the DLC they released was "damage control" and is kinda baffling to me picking a game like that as the best overall.

[Ashton]

Without the DLC isn't Mass Effect 3 an unfinished game?

No.

[kyuusei]

What? The paid DLC is story stuff that takes place before, but doesn't do anything to the ending (except add more possible war assets). The only content to do anything to the ending was the Extended Cut and it was free, and only 'clarified' some things.

The other DLC was all multiplayer stuff (and also free).

[Dice]

I giggled at first because the Editor's list was a pure sausage fest.  Tee hee.

I didn't play enough 2012 RPGs to make a list.

I clicked on each category guessing Mass Effect 3 would inevitably win, and yes including best indie game.

I voted for it in the strategy RPG category, but no one would go for it. :-(

I was wondering about that.  I double-triple checked when I didn't see your name!
Haha, too much Mass effect 3?  I think that'd count for something all the same. :P

[Aeolus]

I clicked on each category guessing Mass Effect 3 would inevitably win, and yes including best indie game.

Great. Thanks a lot for reminding me of 2012's VGAs. :argh:

At least the awards ceremony here was more dignified than that trophy conveyer belt (and its debatable to even call those things trophies let alone anything that has to do with video games). Though credit where credit's due, out of all the western developed, testosterone fueled, blatantly misogynistic, male gamers' power fantasies on display last year, it was nice to see The Walking Dead pull out the first worthwhile upset in recent memory in that particular venue.

[Embryon]

I clicked on each category guessing Mass Effect 3 would inevitably win, and yes including best indie game.

Great. Thanks a lot for reminding me of 2012's VGAs. :argh:

At least the awards ceremony here was more dignified than that trophy conveyer belt (and its debatable to even call those things trophies let alone anything that has to do with video games). Though credit where credit's due, out of all the western developed, testosterone fueled, blatantly misogynistic, male gamers' power fantasies on display last year, it was nice to see The Walking Dead pull out the first worthwhile upset in recent memory in that particular venue.

Our staff lists go where a big organization like Spike TV wouldn't dare to tread, at least. Neal's list in particular is super indie, and I love that, because he's genuine.

[Ashton]

out of all the western developed, testosterone fueled, blatantly misogynistic, male gamers' power fantasies on display last year

What are you talking about?

[Starmongoose]

Alisha is psychically possessing members of the board again, ignore her and she will release his soul.

[Dincrest]

I'm lost.  How did a GOTY discussion turn into one about feminism, misogyny, patriarchy, and all that good stuff?  

4/5 of the games on my list had compelling female characters (Skyborn, Analogue, Hakuoki, Cinders.)

And although Tales of Graces f didn't grace the sitewide lists, it was on multiple editors' individual lists so it's clear that folks liked it.  That's again why I like the individual lists- they often showcase games that the general lists don't.  

[Yggdrasil]

No.

What? The paid DLC is story stuff that takes place before, but doesn't do anything to the ending (except add more possible war assets). The only content to do anything to the ending was the Extended Cut and it was free, and only 'clarified' some things.

The other DLC was all multiplayer stuff (and also free).

The DLC that is focused on story/narrative stuff should have been part of the main game, not paid content. That's all I'm saying.

[Ashton]

Considering it was made after the game was I finished... No, it shouldn't.

[Yoda]

I've only beaten two RPGs that were released in 2012 in 2012. Those are ME2 and Blands2. My vote goes for ME3. Tired of talking about the damn ending. I enjoyed the hell out of that game and that series. Tons of great memories in ME3 and the settings in that game were fantastic. Terrific music, excellent voice acting, and fun gameplay. The last "charge" on Earth had my heart racing a mile a minute. I love the adventure my Shepard had and no amount of internet nerd bitching, crying, whining, and posturing can take that away from me. Was it perfect? No. It's a fucking video game and doesn't have to be perfect. I also loved the time I had playing multi w/ kyuuisie, agent d, and perigryn

I did this in last years thread so I'll do it again here. Here is my list of games beaten ranked from best to last and a quick blurb w/ each.

1)ME3: see above
2)Ico (from the HD collection): Such a great adventure. I love the mysteriousness that surrounds this game. The eerie environments and great sound effects really complete a fantastic journey.
3). Blands 2: Great game.Great graphics. Great skill sets. Awesome humor and writing. Great new game +
4). Arkham Asylum. A incredibly fun game with lots to do. Great use of many villains and terrific art direction. The game plays tight and fun and I was never bored w/ this. This game made me appreciate the Scarecrow for being awesome and the "death scenes" are the best game overs in game history. The last boss battle was a bit dumb, but I'm not going to let that tarnish a great experience. The Metroid factor in this game was a welcome surprise too.
5) Resident Evil 5: This ranks high based completely on how much fun I had playing it co-op. It's full of res-evil action cheese and some very memorable boss battles. The last fight had me and my buddy up all night and just as we were about to call it quits I launched a rocket right into the sweet spot and won the game. The game controls aren't as good as 6 but all the little things in this one make it more memorable than 6. Plus I made an excellent friend playing this.
6) Alan Wake. I fell in love w/ the environment, story telling, and game structure here. I know the enemies and actions are repetitive but the environment and feeling was spot on what I wanted at that time and place. The episodic feeling was a bonus and the TV episodes and radio shows scattered throughout made things much sweeter. As far as game environments go this one is tops.
7)Ass Creed 2. This game is so much fun and I was so hooked I went back to it after losing two save files that were nearly complete games. Even though I had the feeling and heard the problems with the sequels milking the story I'm totally drawn in. Ezio rules. Great soundtrack.
8) Darksiders 1. A total surprise. Give this game a shot. The first few hours make this game feel really generic and dated but after the 1st main dungeon I fell in love. Combat is great. Exploration is fun. And the game makes use of all the gadgets throughout the game, not just the dungeon you get them in. Interesting if not confusing at times story. A gamer's game for sure
9)Deus Ex. I loved the hell out of this for the story, and the chances you get to influence the story and game. For all the flack Dragon Age 2 gets for repetitive environments I'm sort of pissed that this game avoided that. I felt like I was running down the same fucking alleys and streets for 20+ hours. However the conversation system and story rules in this. Not to mention the art direction and soundtrack.
10) DA2: Loved: story, acting, combat, characters, music, skill trees, some awesome side quests Hated: repetitive environments, a lot of shitty side quests
11).Infamous. The biggest beef I have w/  this is the sound effects your character makes when he runs around. Lol sounds like he has a bag filled with tinfoil and nails. I had fun running around zapping things and the evil path was fun. I enjoyed it so much I beat it twice to see the variance.
12) Uncharted 2. I enjoyed this but not as much everyone else I guess. Top notch graphics, production, voice acting and a great treasure hunting story. I appreciate that the puzzles were better than the 1st, and the settings were outstanding, but the firefights got a bit repetitive for me. Tons of fun though. Didn't touch multi on this.
13) Res 6. lots of fun playing this co-op. Thought the chapter structure provided a good multi-angle look at what was going on. Problem is... I still have no idea what the overall arc is in Res. Loved Ada. Loved the new whiskers too.
14) Amalur. Beautiful and fun world to explore. Great leveling up. Lame story and characters I didn't give two shits about. Still put in 100+ hours into this seeing all the game has for the most part. FUN combat and gameplay.
15) Rage. Great shooting mechanics. Decent structure
16) Journey. Way overhyped. I had fun with it and I liked the take on co-op... but some people treated this like the savior of gaming. Lovely visuals and music... but for me it's still just walking from point a to point b.
17) Ass Creed: Brothers in the Hood. Would've ranked higher but the final act of this game reeks of the ultimate in cash-in scams. I'll play the rest of the series but the story telling in this game was much weaker than Ass 2. I didn't care about anything that was going on. Fun though. Ezio still rules. I liked the wolf caves or whatever they were.

[Eusis]

The DLC that is focused on story/narrative stuff should have been part of the main game, not paid content. That's all I'm saying.

From Ashes aside (which IS free with the CE/Digital Deluxe at least) all that stuff came later as it still needed to be developed, and to a limp reception anyway, so arguing about this as an injustice and reason to not get GotY is, to be blunt, the stupidest damn argument against ME3 I've ever seen. It's just the canned anti-DLC argument, and on a fairly tame target relative to, say, Asura's Wrath keeping THE finale as DLC (and it sounds like they made it awesome enough to at least justifying a bit extra).

[Aeolus]

out of all the western developed, testosterone fueled, blatantly misogynistic, male gamers' power fantasies on display last year

What are you talking about?

The 2012 VGAs (I think I died a little watching that thing and then reading the trip reports of the online coverage).