Game Of The Year 2012
The end of the year is upon us and it is time to reflect. Reflect on how relationships have changed, how our careers have changed. Reflect on all of the good times and the bad times. We can sit and think about how our lives have developed as we feast on turkey, stuffing and wrapping paper at Christmas. Most importantly, we can think about how awesome video games have been over the last 12 months. Hard Reset‘s game of the year awards allows us to do just that. After much fevered debate, involving many late nights, energy drinks and a silly amount of takeaway pizza, the nominees have been decided, votes counted and verified and now we bring to you the greatest gaming experiences of 2012. Enjoy.
//RPG
With a multitude of first person shooters and sports games saturating gaming this year, the odd RPG helps to break the monotony and often enough add an unforgettable experience through their enthralling stories and their exciting battle systems. It’s been an interesting year for RPGs, the rainfall trifecta finally released, Tales of Vesperia finally got a re-release and Xenoblade finally hit US shores, but lets not forget the amazing RPG’s that came out this year. So what games did HardReset give all it’s EXP points too?
//Honorable Mention: Dragon’s Dogma
At number 4 on this prestigious list we have Dragon’s Dogma, a title that added a unique, Japanese spin on the WRPG sub-genre. The game featured a unique style of gameplay that encouraged the use of ‘pawns’, characters who were there to do your bidding, all whilst playing like a cross between The Elder Scrolls and Dark Souls. The game had it’s fair share of flaws, but this was overshadowed by it’s addictive gameplay and an all round epic feel give make this game a must play.
//Number Three: Diablo 3
Blizzard’s mega hyped, but somewhat flawed, dungeon crawler hits the list at number 3, proving that there are still fans for a game that ended up being abandoned after a month or two of play. The leaps that the game took from Diablo 2 are fantastic. It encourages experimentation and finding out exactly what works for your play-style. It’s a vastly superior way to handle character abilities.The new gameplay design too. Randomly generated levels and new rune and loot systems give the game a new sense of unpredictability. DRM issues aside, Diablo 3 deserves a spot on our list.
//Number Two: The Last Story
Second on our list is The Last Story, Mistwalker’s beautifully crafted swan song for the Nintendo Wii. Despite being on the Wii and despite lacking the graphical prowess of it’s HD brethren, TLS managed to be an absolutely amazing game, praised by many (myself included) as one of this gen’s greatest RPG’s. An exciting and well thought out story, complemented by a breathtaking soundtrack and a poignant cast that all lead up to the Last Story being one of our game of the year picks.
//Number One: The Witcher 2
At number one, we have The Witcher 2, which finally hit the xbox 360 earlier this year. A continuation of the game series adaptations of Andrzej Sapkowski novel series, filled with sex, violence and a lot of treachery. Not only did the Witcher 2 demonstrate how to make a WRPG that isn’t entirely cliché, but it also demonstrated how to port a game to the console when most usually fail to do so correctly (here’s looking at you Risen 2). The Witcher 2 also majorly upgraded the combat and graphics of it’s predecessor, doing away with the odd mini game combat style previously, replacing it with a much more apt combat mechanic. All these factors made The Witcher 2 an amazing game, which have lead it to be our RPG of the year 2012.
//NEXT AWARD//
About the Author
Joe Hetherington+ Connoisseur of video games, love pretty much any genre, specifically Action-Adventure and JRPG's. Spend a lot of my time boxing and tending to my two ferrets; Zekrom and Reshiram. Currently serving time in the Hard Reset dungeons, forced to play games.
Related Posts
Diablo 3 Gameplay Explained for PS4 →
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Review →
PAX East Diary Day Two →
