2012 GOTY - So Far

Ooh, Journey, too. Forgot about that.

For those still thinking, there's this list

Hm...
My purchases so far this year are:
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (360)
Little Deviants (Vita - not my choice)
Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (Vita)
Super Stardust Delta (Vita)
MotorStorm: RC (Vita)
Journey (PS3)
Angry Birds Space (Kindle Fire)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
Trine 2 (PC)
Diablo III (PC)
Civilization V: Gods & Kings (PC)
Quantum Conundrum (PC)

Of those, I can honestly say that only Kingdoms of Amalur, Motostorm RC and Kid Icarus are contenders for GOTY. I just didn't "get" Journey, Gods & Kings saved Civ5 for me, but it is really an expansion. I have a hard time suggesting an off-line racing game as GOTY, so I would say Kid Icarus wins my vote: it's a unique experience with great gameplay, tons of content and good writing. The same could be said for KoA, but I felt that game went on a little too long; it had too much content for me.

The big "Threes" were both disappointing to me (ME3, Diablo3), and I haven't bought much else this year since the Pile is so big, and so shameful...

My provisional vote would have to be for Telltale's Walking Dead series, based on the first 2 episodes. We'll have to see what they do with the rest of their brutal, decaying, gore-encrusted storyline.

FSeven wrote:

Diablo 3, IMO, shouldn't be on the list. I hate the trend of giving GOTY nods to big budget games based primarily on their big budgets. It's a Blizzard game so it has to be a GOTY nominee. Ptooey! Pedestrian storyline. Nothing particularly exciting or fresh about the game. And the fact that realistically you cannot complete the game on it's hardest difficulty without purchasing items off the Auction House with real money, disqualifies it from GOTY consideration for me.

It is equally silly to discount it out of hand because it is a Blizzard game and has a huge budget.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to not like it but Diablo 3 is an incredibly polished, well designed and FUN game and that is because of the schedule, skilled team and budget that Blizzard can muster.

Sure there are annoying things about the always online system (and player benefits too) but don't throw a good game out with the DRM bathwater.

ME3, no question, largely because of the multiplayer, which I'm still playing constantly. The single-player game itself felt somewhat unfinished and rough, but had a whole bunch of phenomenal setpieces and great moments with other characters, and it was one of my favorite games ever until the ending threw me for a complete loop. That being said, the multiplayer has kept me playing; I've stopped and then started up again as various people I know have gotten around to playing it.

TrashiDawa wrote:
FSeven wrote:

Diablo 3, IMO, shouldn't be on the list. I hate the trend of giving GOTY nods to big budget games based primarily on their big budgets.

Sure there are annoying things about the always online system (and player benefits too) but don't throw a good game out with the DRM bathwater.

I think it is foolish to say a game can't be GOTY because it had a big budget, but I do think that the way the game is presented has to factor into the overall judgement of the game. The first argument is a lot like movie reviewers deciding that Lord of the Rings couldn't be a good movie because it had a big budget, while the second one is like a movie only being available in 3D. Someone who gets headaches from 3D will simply not be able to enjoy the movie as much, but it has nothing to do with the content of the movie, just the presentation.

For me, I didn't get burned by the server problems, and I don't really mind other players spending money to augment their characters, but the game didn't provide enough of an improvement over other Action RPGs to warrant inclusion in my game of the year discussion.

GOTY on GWJ seems to be a personal decision, so I could go and buy the collectors edition of GW2 for £LOL or play something F2P like Tribes Ascend or Path of Exile for nothing and either could be my GOTY. For that personal decision though, I don't think it's a bad thing that people want to see something for their money when they're spending a decent chunk of change on a game and it will factor into how people see the game, for other people the money doesn't count. It's one of the things about being on a forum with a mixed group of people.

Similar for other factors like DRM.

Journey for me. Although in terms of fun had, probably Binding of Isaac: Wrath of the Lamb.

Scratched wrote:

GOTY on GWJ seems to be a personal decision

That's pretty much how I view anyone handing out an award (or hell, even a review) to any game--it's really just a matter of personal opinion. We all rate our games differently based on different factors. I can see how some people would find ME3, D3, or any game as the best game they've played this year because they are definitely enjoyable. At the same time though, I can understand how someone else can look at both games and see that they're utter crap. D3 with it's DRM/Real Money Auction House, and ME3 with a less than stellar single player story and a multiplayer with only one mode.

Bottom line is if you enjoyed a game, then you enjoyed it. If you thought another game wasn't as good, that's fine too. However, just because someone disagrees with that opinion doesn't mean it lessens your experience at all, it's just they had a different take on the game that didn't match up with yours. No harm done there.

Toss up. Journey has heart, but ME3 has...a different sort of heart.

My GOTY? Diablo III. I waited over a decade for this, it is simmering for a little while(Skyrim so once Arena hits).

I predict a lot of barking about Halo 4 and Assasin's Creed III. Handheld will be Pokemans and NSMB duking it out.

A pair of 2's that I am hanging out as a maybe would be Guild Wars even Warrier and Darker-siders.

Planetside 2 for this year, next year and oh, the year 40,000.

For me it is Dark Souls, eventhough it came out in 2011. I do what I like.

Strangeblades wrote:

Planetside 2 for this year, next year and oh, the year 40,000.

Warhammer will be GOTY in 40,000

shoptroll wrote:

Journey, Diablo III, Botanicula, Binding of Isaac: Wrath of the Lamb right now.

I totally forgot about Botanicula! Shame on me. Move over ME3; Botanicula is easily the best 2012 game I've played so far.

KingGorilla wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

Planetside 2 for this year, next year and oh, the year 40,000.

Warhammer will be GOTY in 40,000

IMAGE(http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu231/BNoice/Reactions/ohyou.png)

Legend of Grimrock is literally the only game released in 2012 that I've played so far. So it's at the top of my list!

TempestBlayze wrote:

Can I say Day Z? Its so different from everything else I've played this year and is the game that gets to most varied amount of emotions out of me. It's only a mod thats in Alpha right now but I cant wait to see where it will be by the end of 2012 with the amount of updates and attention it's getting.

Only if it releases in 2012. It still has a beta to go through, after all.

Not sure what 2012 games I've even played this year, so...Journey.

1. Day Z alpha (possibly to be replaced later by Day Z beta)
2. Civ V: Gods and Kings
3. Tribes: Ascend
4. Diablo III

My consoles have been reduced to little more than Netflix boxes.

*Legion* wrote:

My consoles have been reduced to little more than Netflix boxes.

Last night on PS3, there were 7 friends online. It was alternating Netflix, Amazon, Netflix, Amazon...

I was the only one playing a game, Dark Souls.

With so much love here going for Journey I am even more depressed that it is only on PS3 since I am an XBOX guy

Hope I get a chance to play through some day.

ahrezmendi wrote:

Deus Ex: HR (was this game really this year?)

Nope. August 2011.

ahrezmendi wrote:

Deus Ex: HR (was this game really this year?)

Not unless you're playing the game on Mac OS.

FSeven wrote:

I hate the trend of giving GOTY nods to big budget games based primarily on their big budgets. It's a Blizzard game so it has to be a GOTY nominee. Ptooey! Pedestrian storyline. Nothing particularly exciting or fresh about the game. And the fact that realistically you cannot complete the game on it's hardest difficulty without purchasing items off the Auction House with real money, disqualifies it from GOTY consideration for me.

I disagree, on all points. It's not on the list just because it's a Blizzard game, it's on folks lists because they enjoy it. You absolutely do not have to buy items from the AH, with gold or real money, to finish the game on Inferno either. It doesn't have to be on YOUR list, but it's illogical to say it's on other folks lists for the reason you THINK it is.

My list is:

Diablo 3 (300+ hours, can't argue with that)
SSX
Gravity Rush (perfect Vita game)
Disgaea 3 Vita

As others have said, I doubt this will remain the list. Diablo 3 will probably stay on top, I don't see myself stopping anytime soon, but there's so much still to come out, and also still to play (Journey, Mutant Blobs Attack).

EDIT: Updated to add SSX, I totally forgot that was just this year. I waited so long for that game, and it was everything I wanted and then some. I need to boot it up again, blow away a few more high scores.

Also removed Deus Ex (curse you earlier posters for confusing me by having this in your lists!).

Is Dragon's Dogma coming to PC at all? It is Capcom and they seem pretty platform agnostic. So I would be surprised if they didn't release a PC version. Pretty please?!

There are way too many great games coming down the pipe to announce a GOTY.

Diablo 3 seems to me like it will come in second place no matter what the winner is. Just because I am overlooking issues that don't really effect me or ones that I can easily work around, doesn't mean that I can't ding Blizzard for it come awards time. I just think there is something out there in the coming months that is as good and doesn't have Diablo 3's warts of arguable size.

As a matter of fact, I am going to go ahead and say that Guild Wars 2 is such a game. It isn't out yet but I think its fair to assess a beta that I have thoroughly enjoyed for over 30 hours.

The rub is that I have yet to get my hands on Planetside 2, Firefall, or Borderlands 2.

Mass Effect 3, and Secret World (to get an MMO in there)

I had high hopes for Diablo 3 but no ammount of "game" can make up for the poor user experience they have in place.

EDIT: I Had Deus Ex on there until it was pointed out it came out in '11

I've only played five games so far this year and every one of them was great so I'll make a top five:

Diablo 3
Shoot Many Robots
Quantum Conundrum
SSX
Trine 2

But, Diablo 3 has so and so problem blah blah blah I don't care. I've put in close to 200 hours so far and enjoyed all of them.

Shoot Many Robots is awesome. You shoot a lot of robots.

I think I'm the only person that really enjoyed Quantum Conundrum.

The only problem I had with SSX is that it's a console game (I'm not going to acknowledge that it's on Origin). I can never seem to put much time into a console game. Other than that it was really fun and hopefully I'll put some more time into it.

I only played a couple levels of Trine 2. It's more Trine and it's got some gorgeous backgrounds.

ahrezmendi wrote:

Gravity Rush (perfect Vita game)
Disgaea 3 Vita

There have been some excellent Vita games. I feel like I need a separate list because it's tough to go head to head with the likes of Diablo, Civ and Mass Effect but I've put a lot of hours into:
- The Show 2012
- Gravity Rush
- Mortal Kombat
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss

iaintgotnopants wrote:

I think I'm the only person that really enjoyed Quantum Conundrum.

Really? I like it, quite a lot, actually, but it just doesn't meet the (absurdly high) expectations I had for it after Portal. Kim Swift is clearly a very talented designer, with some absolutely great ideas for puzzle games, but I think this game really proves out Valve's attention to the little things. The writing is sharp, the puzzles are a nice mix of simply clever and devilishly hard, but it lacks a lot of the polish that is easy to take for granted in Portal. Some of the puzzles are only hard because you are introduced to a new concept, but the concept isn't given to you in a way that makes it clear that that is the concept you should be mastering; I can't recall that happening in Portal or Portal 2, ever. I certainly have gotten my 15 dollars worth out of the game, but I can't consider it Game of the Year material, even if I like it.