nerd radio

Get ready for the new daily show

FTN’s Top Video Games Of 2012

January 7th, 2013 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

So another year has ended and what a year it was. Gaming on FTN has really taken off in the last couple of months and is set to grow over the coming year.
Both myself and Adam (StealthBuda) hope you had an awesome year and continue to follow our gaming news in the coming year.

As a way to start the year off we decided to rundown our top 5 games of the year, with all the sales around and a pretty slow January as far as gaming goes you might be able to pick up some of these games for a fraction of the price.

 

First off Adam’s top picks:

 

1.       Hitman: Absolution

My top game of 2012 is Hitman Absolution.  It might sound weird, but it is not my top rated game, but it is the game that I got the most enjoyment out of.  It might not have been the Hitman game the world was waiting for, but I accepted the change and revelled in it.  As a huge Hitman fanboy, it satisfied my killing urges in a comical and
stylish way.  Challenging, dark and with a huge amount of replayability, easily my game of 2012.

 

 

2.       XCom: Enemy Unknown

Turn-based tactical strategy genius.  As a turn-based strategy fan, this HD remoulding of a classic was easily my second favourite game of 2012.  A huge amount of fun and extremely challenging on harder difficulties, it puts turn based games back on the map.

 

 

3.       Dishonored

I had this set to be my Game of the Year from its announcement early on.  It let me down a little with its average length and unrefined way of replaying missions, but it is still one of my favourite games ever.  It is one of the best stealth action games of all time and I look forward to more from Arkane Studios.

 

 

 4.       Halo 4

I was initially sceptical on how 343 Industries were taking the Halo franchise, but having played it, I was so wrong about them.  They’ve done a sterling job with the new art direction and whilst maintaining what made Halo great, they’ve tweaked it to suit.  I was astounded a couple of times during the single player campaign, and that’s what I’ve always looked for in Halo.

 

 

5.       The Witcher 2

I never played the original PC release of this action-rpg and I picked up the console release after playing through Mass Effect 1 and 2 back to back and waiting for Mass Effect 3 to be released.  What was supposed to be a filler RPG, turned out to be one of my favourite RPGs of all time.  It’s dark, brutal and humorous.  I wasn’t completely sold on the levelling up, but the story, background and playability were fantastic.  All it needed was more character options and it would have been close to perfect.

 

 

Not surprising that me and Adam had a different list, we play different games and we don’t have a similar playstyle, if he is the StealthBuda then I must be the rampaging bull, I go in with guns raised looking for a fight and my list reflects that.

 

 

1.       Far cry 3

This game came out of left field for me, I knew it was around but didn’t expect it to take up half as much of my time.
Right at the end of the year when things were dying down Far Cry 3 came along and pepped my life up with stories of guns and drugs, car rides and tigers, hunting and swimming.
There’s not much that you can imagine that can’t be done in this game.

I have played too many hours already and have yet to finish every side mission and find all the loot.

 

2.       The Walking Dead

Who would have thought that a game from the studio that brought you Back to the Future’s horrid console release would come up with the goods?
I was sceptical, actually beyond sceptical, I downloaded the demo thinking it would be a waste of time and effort, but what I found was something so much more.
It’s an old school adventure game where every choice matters, you shape the lives of the people around you and decide what kind of person you are willing to become. It fits right into Robert Kirkman’s comic book world.
It was one of the deciding factors in me going back to Xbox360 as I was sick of the episodes not being released on time, every wait felt like forever and now the pressure is on Telltale games to top this awesomeness.

 

 

3.       Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

It doesn’t really have the right to be in here because there’s no way it’s going to be a game of the year. The graphics engine needs updating, the story is slightly weak and the multiplayer has more bugs than a blue light bug catcher.
So why can’t I stop playing it?
Is it the allure of prestiging? The chance to hang with friends and people I don’t know in one big place?
Or is it the fact that even with all its flaws it is still tonnes better than MW3?
I come home from a hard days work, kick off my shoes and put this bad boy on if I’m stressed, if I don’t get too angry then it becomes a better stress reliever than boxing a bag, which is amazing.
Don’t pay attention to the story, go straight for the multiplayer jugular and you will be happy, they are sure to eventually fix it.

 

 

4.       Mass Effect 3

Did not deserve the bad press it got, every review points to an amazing game that supersedes every sci-fi RPG ever made.
It’s a mix of Firefly, Battlestar Gallactica and Star Trek. That is every geeks dream.
It is a game that is meant to be played as part of a trilogy and not on its own.
Yes the ending did let a lot of people down but for crying out loud it’s just an ending, fifteen minutes of a 30 hour game, get over it.

 

 

5.       Dishonored

I imagine I played this different from Adam, I was Corvo destroyer of people.
After trying to be a ninja for the first few missions I couldn’t help but take my frustrations of getting caught out on everyone I seen.
The characters in game just asked to be killed so I helped them.
It was a great game and I’m sure there is a nice bit of DLC coming our way. Plus I’m sure this isn’t the last we will see of Arkane Studios.

 

 

There we go folks 2 different lists with one similar game.
If you would have put anything different in your list let us know.

Here’s to a great 2013….

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.