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NeoGAF Games of the Year 2012 Awards

Chittagong

Gold Member
Truly historical result, looking at all previous GAF GOTY Lists, 2012 is either a huge paradigm shift of the game industry or a huge anomaly year before the next generation. Time will tell.
 

Riposte

Member
Which are already addicting as fuck? Blasted through them again the past two days, when I actually just wanted to check a detail in the game for a second. Meanwhile, NSMBU doesn't get really good until World 5.

It was earlier than that for me. Even so, I don't know if you can really bring up that up as a counterpoint if we are doing a flat 3D Land vs NSMBU lol. If we were to equate the Challenges (or Boost Rush) as the "second half" it isn't even close.
 

Rran

Member
Too late to vote, but just thought I'd pop in and say...


UPRISING DA GREATEST.

Seriously, it may very well cross the threshold and enter into my top 10 games of all-time list. Soooo much content, character, heart, challenge, humor, replay, action... it's the perennial game that keeps on giving.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Truly historical result, looking at all previous GAF GOTY Lists, 2012 is either a huge paradigm shift of the game industry or a huge anomaly year before the next generation. Time will tell.

It's an anomaly most likely. This was by far the worst year for AAA games of all time and pretty much every big game that was coming out ended up sucking. Even I with my overall cynicism couldn't have seen that coming. I'm betting that most devs have shifted most of their attention and talent to next gen and we just ended up with a fluke year. Despite what you may see by browsing Gaf regularly there is still a high demand for quality AAA games here.

Of course maybe I'm wrong and AAA games will only continue to get worse *shrug*
 
It was earlier than that for me. Even so, I don't know if you can really bring up that up as a counterpoint if we are doing a flat 3D Land vs NSMBU lol. If we were to equate the Challenges (or Boost Rush) as the "second half" it isn't even close.

NSMBU barely makes anything new, which hurt it (for me). After the borefest that was NSMB DS, I was really surprised by the quality of NSMBWii which also brought lots of new mechanics into the 2D series, especially all these moving platforms and similar shit. NSMBU just slightly enhances these things, so it felt more like an expensive level pack, even if some later stages were pretty good.

3D Land has great new ideas from the very beginning, optimized for a 3D and handheld experience.
 
Finally, Kid Icarus gets some deserving love. Same goes for Gravity Rush and Theatrhythm
lol, shame my TRFF comment was never selected, even if it is a real pain in the ass to copy

As for my affinity list (my what now?)


Only two people I know from the list
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
24. [360] Fez (Platform) = 173 points, 8 honorable mentions

I am positive this would have made top 20 easily if its release was closer to voting time. Its popularity really faded away pretty damn fast.

22. [NWU] New Super Mario Bros. U (Platform) = 208 points, 4 honorable mentions
23. [PC] Diablo III (RPG) = 181 points, 15 honorable mentions
25. [360][PS3][NWU][PC] Assassin's Creed III (Action) = 168 points, 16 honorable mentions

All 3 are very surprisingly high, considering the overall negativity behind all of them. Very much cases of smaller percentage of a larger population still being larger than a large percentage of a small population.

27. [3DS][IOS] Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (Rhythm) = 156 points, 9 honorable mentions

Well that's a surprise for being so high. I have to go back and read the whys in the other topic again, because I have no idea how so many people like that game.

50. [360][PS3] Resident Evil 6 (Horror) = 78 points, 5 honorable mentions
58. [360][PS3][NWU][PC] Darksiders II (Adventure) = 63 points, 8 honorable mentions
62. [360][PS3][PC] The Darkness II (FPS) = 59 points, 3 honorable mentions
65. [360][PS3][PC] Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (RPG) = 51 points, 6 honorable mentions
67. [360][PS3][PC] Hitman: Absolution (Action) = 50 points, 6 honorable mentions
69. [360][PS3][PSV][PC][IOS][AND] Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Racing) = 49 points, 3 honorable mentions

It's really funny to me how much better Resident Evil 6 did than all those other big budget titles.

250. [PS3][PSV] Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (Platform) = 3 points
338. [PS3] LittleBigPlanet Karting (Racing) = 1 point
Man, Sony, what are you doing?
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
I am positive this would have made top 20 easily if its release was closer to voting time. Its popularity really faded away pretty damn fast.

It could have got a second wind if it was ported to other platforms--XBLA in general just isn't in people's focus anymore. It still has record-breaking titles (Trials Evolution, Minecraft) and critically acclaimed titles (Mark of the Ninja), but mostly people aren't paying attention. I'm convinced that Mark of the Ninja's strong showing is more to do with the PC port than the 360 version. If I were an XBLA developer with the ability to release on Steam, I'd be doing a port as soon as possible.
 

Dawg

Member
Man, Sony, what are you doing?

They have the GOTY though.

They really need to do better with their marketing. It was basically nonexistent for those games.

Completely agree. They're lucky that games like Gran Turismo and Uncharted still sell through their name/Naughty Dog, because the rest of their first party titles are usually bad sellers. A real shame, because games like R&C: ACiT, Infamous 2 (+DLC), Killzone etc are very good.

Still surprised Journey won. It's a great game and worthy of GOTY, but I didn't think a PS3 exclusive game would win, especially not since the rest of the games (up till #8) are multi-platform.
 
It's really funny to me how much better Resident Evil 6 did than all those other big budget titles.

I think it's because Resident Evil has the biggest established fanbase at this point, and so there are a lot more longtime fans that are going to buy it and still like it (or convince themselves they liked it).
 

Neiteio

Member
I think it's because Resident Evil has the biggest established fanbase at this point, and so there are a lot more longtime fans that are going to buy it and still like it (or convince themselves they liked it).
Ooooooooor they really did like it.

Not everyone has bias blinders and/or an agenda!
 

Fey

Banned
Very happy to see Kid Icarus and VLR up there. I'm pretty sure they're the only 2012 games I played last year, and both were phenomenal.
 

Zia

Member
I am positive this would have made top 20 easily if its release was closer to voting time. Its popularity really faded away pretty damn fast.

I think possibly, but as Stump said the lack of a multiplatform release hurt it, and you have a very large contingent that would never have played or liked the game to begin with. A shame, because it'll be one of the small handful of games from this year people will still be talking about a few years down the road.
 

Riposte

Member
I think possibly, but as Stump said the lack of a multiplatform release hurt it, and you have a very large contingent that would never have played or liked the game to begin with. A shame, because it'll be one of the small handful of games from this year people will still be talking about a few years down the road.

I almost want to make a wager on that.
 

Anth0ny

Member
Good work GAF, you chose the right game for #1.

Also, we have the correct 2012 2011 GOTY. I'm proud of you guys.

Anth0ny
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7. James Sawyer Ford (48)
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:)
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Papercuts
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Welcome to the good taste club, gentlemen.

I will always find it funny to see how well the Mass Effect series does in these gaf votes despite the constant negativity that always flood topics on it.
 

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
Sleeping Dogs at #4 still surprises me. What people find so special about it besides the setting I don't know. Maybe I just need to play more of it. Seemed fairly average to me.
 

NFreak

Member
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I love you all.
 

Riposte

Member
Sleeping Dogs at #4 still surprises me. What people find so special about it besides the setting I don't know. Maybe I just need to play more of it. Seemed fairly average to me.

All I know if I can't jump out of a car, go into slow motion, and shoot someone in the next GTA I'll be pretty disappointed. Rockstar did Max Payne 3, they have no excuse.
 
Ooooooooor they really did like it.

Not everyone has bias blinders and/or an agenda!

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure everyone that listed it genuinely enjoyed the game.

I'm just saying that odds are more people played RE6, a new sequel in a franchise that's spanned over a decade and has tons of spinoffs, which means it's more likely people will actually rank it. As opposed to games like Darksiders II, Darkness II, which were sequels to games that did okay so the fanbases are smaller, and Kingdoms of Amalur, which is a brand new IP and had to create its own fanbase from scratch.

Not all AAA games are gonna be played/sold equally.
 

Neiteio

Member
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure everyone that listed it genuinely enjoyed the game.

I'm just saying that odds are more people played RE6, a new sequel in a franchise that's spanned over a decade and has tons of spinoffs, which means it's more likely people will actually rank it. As opposed to games like Darksiders II, Darkness II, which were sequels to games that did okay so the fanbases are smaller, and Kingdoms of Amalur, which is a brand new IP and had to create its own fanbase from scratch.

Not all AAA games are gonna be played/sold equally.
Oh! OK, sorry for the confusion, I understand now. :) (Not like there was ill will either way)

It's true, RE6, by virtue of mega-franchise status, means that many more people tried it -- and so even if it attracted a lot of hate, it still stood a better chance to attract some admirers, as well.

Good point. :)
 

Derrick01

Banned
Sleeping Dogs at #4 still surprises me. What people find so special about it besides the setting I don't know. Maybe I just need to play more of it. Seemed fairly average to me.

It was a good game if you stuck to the missions. But the open world stuff, as is becoming the norm with open world games, was mostly pointless busy work that wasn't very fun to do. Maybe with a more stable dev schedule they can make a truly great sequel.
 

Neiteio

Member
Honestly, what really pushed Sleeping Dogs into "truly special" territory was the ability to get food from street vendors. I kept Wei Shen well-fed, and the local economy strong!

"Roast duck! Roast duck! Duck so fresh other duck don't know he dead yet!"
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Well that's a surprise for being so high. I have to go back and read the whys in the other topic again, because I have no idea how so many people like that game.

If you're a big fan of FF music, you'll really appreciate and enjoy the game.
 

Dawg

Member
Not all AAA games are gonna be played/sold equally.

Your point is exactly why Journey being #1 surprised me. I mean, The Walking Dead had the combined voting force of PS3 gamers, Xbox 360 gamers, PC gamers AND iOS gamers.

Yet, Journey still ended up #1.

'Tis cool to see.
 

MormaPope

Banned
It was a good game if you stuck to the missions. But the open world stuff, as is becoming the norm with open world games, was mostly pointless busy work that wasn't very fun to do. Maybe with a more stable dev schedule they can make a truly great sequel.

My beef was how little gameplay variety there was. The last third also felt really oddly paced and the conclusion felt like it came out of nowhere. One of the Cities in the game was barely used as well.
 

Riposte

Member
Honestly, what really pushed Sleeping Dogs into "truly special" territory was the ability to get food from street vendors. I kept Wei Shen well-fed, and the local economy strong!

"Roast duck! Roast duck! Duck so fresh other duck don't know he dead yet!"

Have you ever played Yakuza?
 
Best friends.

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RoKKeR

Member
There was questionable decisions in terms of track design and some of the deadly descents but I disagree; it's a fun game. Probably put more than 100 hours into its online modes.

And the post release support was amazing. Fun game.
SSX is one of my favorite franchises of all time and I was more than pleased with the reboot. I did have problems with, like you said, the track design and a few other little things, but overall it was a great game and a worthy holder of the SSX name. The implementation of RiderNET was genius.

Next time around they can do without gaping "crevasses" littered throughout the tracks and some of the more gimmicky Deadly Descents, but they really did a great job in bringing the franchise back. I think the sales numbers were great too (1+million?) considering the budget, so I think we'll be seeing SSX on next-gen consoles.
 
Welp, the top two games aren't really games, so that kind of sucks. The rest of the list is pretty solid though. I'm glad Hotline Miami made the top ten.
 

Eusis

Member
I'd save that kind of scorn for the likes of All The Bravest: Journey and Walking Dead at least take advantage of the potential of being interactive experiences, Journey in particular on experience with games. Not exactly GAMES I guess, but that's a problem with how these were labeled in the first place and can't really be undone easily at this point, and most anything else just sounds like unwieldly PC garbage, so may as well just run with the term "game". ATB's mostly just a way for SE to milk your nostalgia and what fondness you have left for FF, pushing nothing but the limits of how audacious a publisher can be in exploiting their audience.

Well, ok, I'm a little frustrated with Walking Dead for having blatant bugs that undermine what they were going for, but that's more being unforgiving of a technical issue that should've been easy to fix on each of the platforms it released on, at least Virtue's Last Reward has the excuse of being on the much harder to patch 3DS, with Vita lacking the critical bugs.
 

Wazzy

Banned
I wish Zero Escape and Gravity Rush were higher but otherwise not bad. Journey winning is great and completely deserved it.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
WOO WOO

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