Gamer Frolic

It’s that time of year again. Count it as the end of the year, beginning of the year, whatever you like. What comes with it are endless lists of the best this or the top 100 that. Frankly it gets a bit dull. Who decides what’s best? Who gets a vote in award ceremonies? It’s not usually the people unless we’re talking the people’s choice awards. This isn’t a people’s choice awards where I take votes and crown one victor. This is a post about what team Gamer Frolic and fans thought were the biggest highlights of 2012. No favorites, no votes. Everyone’s opinions have merit here, so let’s get started!

Tommy Lutz:

My GOTY would have to be Mass Effect 3. Such an emotional journey on such a large-scale brought to a close. For the record, the ending wasn’t nearly half as bad as people made it out to be. Ask most gamers now and they’ll probably tell you they didn’t mind it. I loved the entire game, and the entire series as a whole is one for the record books. Not to mention replay-ability!

Archibald Caldwell:

I’ll wear my hipster glasses like a jack-ass and say Quantum Conundrum. All the other candidates are great games! Really, they are, I promise. But they all have one thing in common. They do something that’s been done before. I’m one for innovation and new ideas. And QC took that concept to a fairly new level, and if you can find a game that’s done what it’s done before, certain similarities with Portal 1&2 not with standing, I’d like to see this game because I need to play it immediately. There’s also a thing about this game that’s strangely satisfying about its humor in particular. That is, it doesn’t assume you’re stupid, ignorant, ect. There’s about twenty different examples of jokes that you have to be into math, physics, or sci-fi pop culture to even start to get, and it’s nice to see someone write a story that doesn’t assume I’m entirely not knowledgeable about stuff. Not to mention that if the devs ever get their thumbs out of their asses and release a creation kit we’re going to get levels with puzzles and difficulty that only certain Super Mario World ROM hacks could even hope to match. This game just has so much potential and new ideas that it says to me that the Devs were willing to try something new and fun, take a risk, and then go out of their way to make sure the game was fun to boot.

Chris Alday:

My GOTY has got to be The Walking Dead. Easy to play and high replay value. Graphics are amazing. Very emotional gameplay from start to finish.

Adam Snape:

My GOTY is definitely Assassins Creed III. It took a series that I already held close to my heart and just blew it out of the water. The new mechanics and level of freedom made it feel like anything was possible and with it being set during a point in history that I know a little about, it was pretty cool to see an assassins twist on famous events. It’s killing me having to wait until next year for the follow-up!

After giving it some extra thought my GOTY stays The Walking Dead. Simply because Telltale Games did such a great job of making a game out of a TV Show. Where others failed over the years, they hit the nail on the head with The Walking Dead. That rhime was not intended. Dishonored was the other serious contender for my GOTY. But nothing that Dishonored has overclasses the succes of The Walking Dead, a great TV Show and an even better game!

Prodigious J:

Dishonored is a great title set around your quest for revenge against those that set you up in the very start of the game. With its open world style while traversing the dark and dreary landscapes, the arsenal of mystical powers that aid to the disposal of your enemies (or even some civilians if you so choose), this game offers such great replayability. The protagonist, Corvo, is a power house as you level him up but remains close enough human as being in an up front assault makes him feel out-powered and out matched. It’s simply a great assassin story and gives to us a Hitman-esque style play through with the added ability to possess animals/humans, teleport, and slow time. Dishonored has my tag for Game of the Year for 2012.

TheGirlWithTheDragonbornTattoo:

My GOTY would have to be Mass Effect 3. Emotional and in-depth story line that had me laughing, crying and kept my heart racing from start to finish. The characters never disappoint and the gameplay is as solid as ever, this time introducing multiplayer that was challenging and fun for veterans but welcoming for newcomers as well. And despite what most people say, the ending was not some horrible massacre of the plot. All in all, the final stand with Shepard was amazing, and it’s something I plan on playing over and over again.

Devin Hall:

My GOTY can only be Gravity Rush for the Vita. That game blew me away. It’s the only game on Vita that made me put my PS3 controller down indefinitely (You know, until I beat IT and the DLC). I guess deep down I already had a connection to the game because controlling gravity and flying around is like, my favorite superpower of all time (maybe 2nd if I had Wally West speed to choose instead). And everything that game does, it does well. Kat is the coolest! She’s shrouded in mystery, but she’s mad nice a martial arts. She’s kicks the eff out of everything like PLOW PLOW PLOW! Then she activates her powers and becomes a GOD, and starts kicking black holes into existence and destroying monsters! Oh yeah, and she’s not the only one with powers. So it’s like a mix between inFamous and Bayonetta, with some Japanese video game sexiness in places. I love that game.

Rachael Curtis:

I’ve always been more of a sci-fi fan than fantasy so when I played the first Mass Effect, I was blown away. For us sci-fi geeks to have an awesome story that wasn’t Star Wars or Star Trek, it was a bold move for a game. To make it a RPG was genius. The games I enjoy the best are the ones I can put myself into. I’m invested, I’m hooked, I’m obsessed. Mass Effect 3 was both climactic and anti-climactic. Yes, I was one of those people who hated the ending, but my reasons were a bit different. I chose the cyborg path and immediately it cut to the Normandy in FTL flight. Then it lands and Joker walks out with EDI in a new world. Then the game ended. What?? How did they get there since the relays were being destroyed? Did Joker just run in an unexplained, uncharacteristic show of cowardice? Was there anyone else on the ship? What happened to everyone else on the ground? Did they all die? Ending the game like that would be like JK Rowling ending the seven book series at the moment Voldemort dies. Last page, he dies, what more do you want? No further exposition, just death of the big baddie. Despite all that, this was my game of the year. I anticipated it all year and for a game to pull that kind of emotional response says something. I have and will play it over and over.

Here’s what you thought on Twitter: (thank you all for the feedback!)

@Markyengo: @GamerFrolic My personal GOTY is Borderlands 2. Set up many LAN parties here at home to play with friends and hang out.

@SA_Green: @GamerFrolic It’s not perfect, but DARKSIDERS II stands as one of, if not the best of, 2012.

@briancamacho: @GamerFrolic my personal Favorite game of 2012is FarCry3!Runner-up isBlkOps2.

@GeekyGamerChick: @GamerFrolic Mass Effect 3 & Halo 4!

@wellwatcherB: @gamerfrolic Borderlands 2 all the way, baby! But Halo 4 did win a Golden Uatu.

@Chris92_de: @GamerFrolic Dota2 – best MOBA on the market right now

Thanks for taking a peek, participating, and for being a gamer. As you can see there is a diverse opinion on what should be game of the year! We are all about diversity and power to the gamers here, and this post is a testament to that! 2013 has a lot in store for team Gamer Frolic, and we hope to keep you coming back for more!