My Favorite Games of 2012
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 8:00AM | Mark Schjoll 
I played a lot of games last year. At least a lot for me. I just thought I would talk about my favorites from this past year and then, next week, look ahead to what releases I'm anxiously awaiting in 2013. And so, without further ado...
3. X-COM: Enemy Unknown
If you listened to episode 44 of Game On Girl last week, then you know this was a game I had been waiting and hoping for. However, despite my longing for it, I didn't even know it was in production until early summer of 2012. I only found out about it through a friend. So to only have to wait about four months for it to ship after finding out about it was kind of a gamer's blessing! (There is nothing worse than seeing or hearing a new game announcement and then waiting years for it to be released or abandoned.)
When I first sat down to play after downloading it from Steam, I was amazed at how how much it was like the original game that came out in 1994. The same engrossing game play was there, but it was beautifully polished and updated with modern graphics and cut scenes! X-COM is still turn based and you will still have that moment of dread every time you move a squaddie that they are going to be on the wrong end of an alien plasma gun.
2. Borderlands 2
According to Steam, I have logged 385 hours playing Borderlands since it's release in October, 2009. I'm already over half way to logging the same amount of hours in Borderlands 2 only four months since it's release last year. I think that says enough.
Oh, and I can't wait to meet Moxxi's other two children. Assuming they're still alive, of course.
1. Guild Wars 2
Regina and I already mentioned some of what ArenaNet did right when they developed Guild Wars 2, but we didn't mention all of it.
Firstly, the world and it's history are beautifully realized. The graphics don't look like a cartoon. They look like graphics for an adult's game. When characters talk about the history of the game it doesn't feel like they are spoon feeding you exposition.
Secondly, when I play the game I feel like I’m truly playing a social game. I don't have to freak out if I see someone going toward an iron node I was going to farm because we each get an instance of that node to ourselves. If I’m laying dead or downed and another player passes by, they can pick me up or resurrect me whether or not we are in a party together. And they game rewards them with XP for doing so! I don't have to party with people in the world to take out a champion or boss level monster because the game behaves as if all player characters are on the same side! (Unless, of course, you're doing PvP.)
Special mention: Far Cry 3
I only played this title for a few of the last days of December so I didn't really feel it could be a “Favorite of 2012”. That being said, I've been digging this game. The story mode has sucked me in and has had me playing almost every day since I purchased it. The graphics are beautiful. The game mechanics are addictive. It has a giant, lush sandbox world to play in. AND it has multi-player modes!
As I mentioned on the Game On Girl podcast, the game has some very violent elements. I humbly suggest you skip this one if you don't like violence in your games.
Well, those are my favorites from 2012. Next week I will talk about what has my interest piqued for this coming year. What were your favorites from the year? Let me know in the comments!
