Top 10 Best games of 2012

It's that time of year, the time when every opinionated gamer, which is all of us who ever played a game EVER, puts together their own list of favorites, disappointments, and just plain horrible games. An being the Veryopinionatedgamer I figure I can't afford to disappoint right? RIGHT. Over the following days I will be bringing you several of my "games of the year" being in the following categories:

Top 10 best

Top 10 Worst

Most Surprising

Most Disappointing

My game of the year

So before we kick this party off, I want to state this. This is MY games of the year list, I'm not saying these are the WORSE GAMES or BEST GAMES EXISTANCE. I'm saying these are games I liked, hated, was surprised to play, or just let me down. If you have your own opinion MAKE YOUR OWN BLOG EH? So now time to get started shall we.

Dee's Top 10

Best games of 2012

Number 10 - Torchlight 2

If you haven't played torchlight 2 but loved Torchlight, this is a game you have to get. Having taken part in the beta, then afterward playing the released game, I have to say this is easily one of the best games I've played this year. There were few things Torchlight didn't do right, what with the lack of exploration, the repeated use of dungeon maps, and the biggest of them all being the lack of multiplayer. Torchlight 2 takes what Torchlight did right and expands on it, only falling short on the story, and that's only because I'm a lover of the story and mythos. Combat is fluent fun and at the right difficulty challenging. If you play on anything less than veteran you're cheating yourself out of a good game. The weapons were well designed and worked nicely to compliment the class that used them, which can be any class. Each class has skills and spells while not all as flashy as those in Torchlight, still look pretty sweet, and have their use in combat. They will leave you not only trying to pick between your favorites, but which one suits your play style.

Number 9 - X Com Enemy Unknown

Where to start, X Com takes the a spot in my top 10 simply due to the difficulty of the game created solely on the BULLSHIT that happens in this alone, why it's number 9 and not 10, well that's because even with the bugs and the horrid story that is so easy to miss and/or ignore, this game still stands as a great strategy game, one that can turn into a time dump almost without notice. The game play may have some odds and ins, such as a thin man shooting you through a car, a wall, and a concrete block, and ONE SHOTTING YOU at that, or how your men can miss a shot that they have 98% chance to hit, or how if put in the same situation as the Thin man your troops shots wouldn't make it past the car, but where they is fault, there is glory. Managing the beat this game on Classic Ironman gives you props on its own, as it test your ability to plan ahead, think reasonably under pressure, figuring out who is worth keeping in the council and who you don't mind dropping out, and prioritizing your research and managing your funds. Doing all that right can lead you to victory quicker then rushing into a battle with your shiny new plasma rifle, only to have your whole team die in a few short moments. Think of this game as a Game of chess where the opponent gets to cheat and no one cares. That being said you have to play with the mindset that they will cheat, how they will cheat, and how you will beat them at their own game. If you don't have time for that then don't play X com, but I love any game that challenges my ability to think ten steps ahead of my opponent.

This brings me to the Multiplayer on X Com, if you can ever get it to work properly (I only managed twice) Multiplayer alone would make this game my number 6 or 5, which is odd cause I normally hate multiplayer. It is so enjoyable to play against another person as the aliens and find new strategies, and methods to kill you friends squad. The game WILL NOT CHEAT FOR YOU IN MULTIPLAYER JUST BECAUE YOUR THE ALIENS. Sad fact but true, the game only bugs out for the AI, that's right, multiplayer is your strategy vs. who ever your playing against. If you have dim witted friends, my suggestion GET SMARTER FRIENDS. This could easily the best part of X Com, if only it worked properly.

Number 8: Civilization V: Gods and Kings

I really don't know where to start with this one, I mean I never really liked strategy games yet Civilization was always a joy to play. Countless hours have been dumped into this game, according to my steam over 900+ hours since I have downloaded the game, which is just much less than the time I put into Skyrim (over 2000 plus hours). Civilization V alone actually let me down, so much so in fact, that I played Civ IV over Civ V. It wasn't until God's and Kings came out that I got hooked on Civ V. Gods and Kings fixes so much that Civ 5 broke when it came out, yet that alone isn't enough to put this game on my top 10. What puts it on my top 10 is actually the modding scene. While good mods are few and far between the mods I have picked are by far some of the best and enhance the game play in Civ 5 Gods and Kings, taking diplomacy to a whole new level. Allowing a more difficult game to be played, over a much longer pace. The fact that the modding scene is required to make this game great, and that I feel Gods and Kings could be so much better, is what ranks it so low on my top 10

Number 7: Crusader Kings II

Due to the fact that I didn't pick this game up until late December it ranks number 7 on my top 10. I haven't play much of this game, but from what I played, I liked. From creating my own King, and insuring my house and family last through the ages, through fighting wars over fabricated claims, spying on other nations, and plotting to assassinate the leaders of others, this game made my list in a good way. I can't explain to you how much I enjoyed the success of my first plot, when I assassinated my first king, or when my WIFE KILLED MY ONLY SON!!! This game does strategy in a great way, though I wish there were more in the way of diplomacy, since marrying princess from another kingdom traps you in a alliance with them, and sometimes wars can be pointless. I want to be able to go to war for a kingdom killing my son, or taking him prisoner, I want to be able to trade titles with kingdoms for other titles, or even offer Dukes and Duchess' a place under me along with some gold if they join my kingdom. All these things are missing, and the game would be so much better with them.

Needless to say, I enjoyed my time playing Crusader Kings II, Everything it does right is enough to over shadow what's not there. and with Wars going from being mere "because I feel like it" to "do I have the men to claim what I want and hold it." Having to defend my king and his family from fabricated claims, assassination attempts and plots, and finding ways to avoid being dragged into pointless wars with my Allies, there is more than enough here to keep me playing for hours on end.

Number 6: World of Warcraft: Mist of Pandaria

Say what you will about WoW, the truth of the matter is WoW is what you take out of it. Just like any other MMO if you go in expecting this game to be the best game ever and expecting things that aren't there you will be disappointed. If you are like many of the brain dead players in the WoW community who believe the game should be the way THEY want it, you will also be disappointed, but if you play WoW for what is there, you might have a great time, worth the monthly sub, BUT ONLY IF YOU LIKE MMO'S. Mist in its current state is looking to do everything right that the Dev's constantly promise then go back on. Putting aside WoW content pre MoP, Mist story line is so satisfying, the lore and mythos is so heavy that it kept me wanting to learn more and more about the Pandaren, who if you know about WoW's lore you know they hadn't yet gone into any depth into the Pandaren since their mention in the Warcraft games. (the first Warcraft to be exact.)

In truth the only thing that holds Mist back is the close minded players of it's own community. If this game had been released before Cata or even Wrath it would have been much welcomed, but because it was brought in when it was, many (myself included) claim it to be a Kung Fu Panda Rip off. In truth I only claimed the new class was a rip off, albeit a good rip off that I seem to like lol. MOVING ON, the new zones are a much welcome addition to the world of Azeroth, the story is deep and intriguing, the music and design is breath taking, it's by far Blizzards best expansion for WoW since BC, which is now actually some very boring content, but when it first came out IT WAS AMAZING.

The monk class is in a sense a Kung fu panda rip off but one that fits with the lore and mythos of the Pandaren from the first Warcraft game. The class itself I welcome into the fold, as it quickly became one of my favorite classes in line with Druids being my favorite, with Warriors and Death Knights tying for second. If you have a active account but can't afford Mist, Blizzard is letting players try Mist for free for 10 days, if you have already done that, no worries you can still create a Pandaren, just not a monk, nor can you level past 85. Recently I challenged myself taking on a bet from a friend to level a Monk from 1 to 90 in the 10 day trail WoW offers for Mist. I vastly enjoyed myself during this time though I only got to half way to 86. Being the elitist I am, the best part of this game is hands down the leveling, learning how to play each class from level 1 to cap intrigues me, I love learning how each and every class works. While others view leveling as a chore, or a grind, I take it as a learning experience, the games way of teaching you how to play the class you picked. While at times it can get boring, it has never once been a chore to me. Only thing keeping me from putting this higher up on my list is that I can't suggest to anyone to pick this game up off my likes alone. There is so much to the game that this quick talk I'm doing just won't cover, but if you're willing to actually give the game a try I'm sure you will find something you yourself will enjoy in it.

Number 5: FTL: Faster Than Light

What can I say about this game, for it being a kick starter game it was surprisingly good. FTL is a harsh space sim, that puts you in control of a ship behind enemy lines. Your goal, to make it to your forces on the other side of the galaxy ALIVE, as you have sensitive information about the enemy. why is this game so good to me, I'll tell you. IT'S RUTHLESS, a simple mistake could cost you anywhere from just some scrap, which is the currency of this game, or your entire crew, so make your choices wisely. With different ships to unlock and races to find and recruit and each play through different due to the series of random events, the game has a wealth of replay, sadly I couldn't give a flying fuck about achievements so I never unlocked any of the variants for these ships as I couldn't be bothered to spend hours playing it just to gain achievements just to unlock a variant to a ship I already owned. What makes this Number 5, simply the amount of time I spent playing this game just to beat it and the countless stories of defeat I have. They are both hilarious to hear, and infuriating to have happen to you. It is one of the best games I played this year and due to the fact that I didn't have to worry about a multiplayer I enjoyed it even more, seeing as I'm not a big fan of play games with other people majority of the time, I even play my MMO solo unless I feel like running dungeons, or pvping.

Number 4: Planetside 2

This was a hard choice, as immensely enjoyed this game, and I HATE first person shooters. I'm putting Planetside 2 at Number 4 due to bugs, and the in-game store, and the cert system just pissing me the fuck off. What is good about Planetside 2 EVERYTHING ELSE, seriously I mean everything else. The combat is enjoyable, interactive and skillful, taking a mix of tactics and strategy to pull off a successful strike, and that's just ground combat. Air combat is a whole different story, yet equally as thrilling and enjoyable as ground combat, the only major difference is you having to be able to fly well or you going to be of no help to your outfit or the objective.

This isn't a game you play by yourself, I tried it didn't work to well.  Planetside 2 is meant to be played in groups, known as outfits and I'm in a rather large one known as Let the Brit Drop (I tend to join guilds or groups that my favorite youtubers create so sue me.) Only when you join a outfit can you find all there is to be found in this game. What makes this game even better is that this game is completely free to play, no box charge and no subscription fee. Just go to Steam and download it and play it. While i can't say there is any story here to speak off, the Factions and their members (players) bring this game to life. If not for minor bugs and the exploitation being done in the in-game store this game would easily be in my top 3.

You can take this game on in a number of ways, flying a galaxy (squad carrier) to transport troops in and out, fire fights in the air while avoiding AA guns, tanks, and ground fire from men on the ground and the max suits, or you can be on the ground taking the fight to the enemy in one of the max suits. HOWEVER what makes this game so enjoyable is that you can't just create these suits and aircraft out of nothing, they require resources, and having your aircraft or tank or max suit destroyed doesn't benefit the cause. If you're going to use Resources use them wisely. Get some kills out of your tank aircraft or max suit before going down in a blaze of glory.

Number 3: Tokyo Jungle

What is Tokyo Jungle, simple it's a 2 1/2D game that places you in post apocalyptic Japan, hunting for food and fighting for survival for as long as you can. Why is this one on my Top 10 and not a game (mod) like Day Z, well because in Tokyo Jungle you're a animal fighting other animals in post apocalyptic Japan, hunting for food and fighting, well you get where I'm going with this. There is only a few ways I can think to improve on this game, one more species to play as. While the playable races are quite a few they can be unlocked relatively fast through game play if you know what you're doing this can make the game a little dull, yet at the same time extremely enjoyable if you challenge yourself to survive against the harsh reality of apocalyptic Tokyo with a weaker animal. Take the games starting animals, you get to be either a Deer or a Pomeranian, as tempting as it was to run around as a deer trying to evade the hordes of animals trying to eat me, I couldn't resist the lure of the Pomeranian, being such a small dog fighting off other dogs and managing to bring down Hippos... YES I SAID HIPPOS. I'm telling you, this game is hilariously good, and fun to play.

Next they need to expand the playable area, there are very few zones you can go to making the game boring if you plan to play it back to back. While this game can be a easy time sink, it's also easy to get bored after playing for hours, adding more zones alone with more species would create more game play and just generally more content without much effort I don't see why they haven't done this yet. The other issue is finding fresh food can be hard at times when every area becomes poisonous, it's not a major issue as it doesn't happen too often but when it does trust me you will get pissed.

What makes this game great isn't just the game play, I can't explain to you the excitement I felt when I killed my first lion as a Pomeranian, or when me and my siblings killed the Hippo! That's right Siblings, when you are ready your chosen animal can mate, finding a good mate can be hard but rewarding, as you give birth to the next generation ensuring you survive as long as you can. Sure you have to, in a sense, start over but if you picked a good mate, you have more than one Pomeranian following you. With your brothers and sisters following you around if you manage to die of hunger, or if you get killed you take over one of the others that follow you. What's even more amazing is they even help you fight, and oddly enough need NO food to survive. A minor loop hole in the survival bit a assure you but it's still good fun all around.

What makes this game my Number 3 would be the most odd reason of them all, due to the fact that I hate co op and multiplayer functions in games I prefer to play alone. Well NOT IN THIS GAME, Tokyo Jungle is SO SATISFYING to play with a friend. It's truly a test of team work to survive in co op, though you may think, "well I'll just pick a herbivore and my friend a carnivore, that'll make it easier." WRONG this is post apocalyptic Japan finding fresh fruit or shrubs to eat can be hard, and finding food for you carnivore friend can be harder if he is a fat ass Lion that eats alot. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen animal makes a major difference as you and your friend brave the word together, you will laugh, you will rage, and if you're like me, you'll most likely plot to eat your friend, even if you're both carnivores, because that's what friends do right. RIIGGGHHHTTTT.... Either way this game was by far one of my Favorites only topped by two games more deserving of number 2 and number 1 than any other.

Number 2:  Mass Effect 3

I know, I know before you even get started, TRUST ME I KNOW, issue is I DON'T CARE. yes the ending was HORRIBLE, yes they did exactly what they promised they WOULDN'T DO, Yes I raged so hard I gave myself a head ache, but you know what, the rest of the game is FUCKING BRILLANT. Involving game play, such a great story, and characters you ACTUALLY FUCKING CARE ABOUT, Mass Effect 3 has it all. You can say what you want about the games ending, the fact of the matter is BioWare knows how to tell a damn good story, and you would have to be a sociopath to not have gotten attached to any of your crew throughout all three of the games. You will laugh at times, you'll feel sad, you will even get mad at certain events, hell some moments brought a tear to my eye, that's how good this game is. Any game that can get me emotionally involved like this game did DESERVES TO BE IN THE TOP 3 sadly only Mass Effect 3 has done that.

Aside from the story, Mass Effect 3's gun play was immensely enjoyable, taking everything the developers have learned over the games life span and culminating it here, to deliver some really satisfying fire fights. I mean let's face it, if the gun play was bad Mass Effect would have to depend on its story and character development, which alone couldn't carry the game this far. Gunning down reapers just feels so good in this game, as you combine tactics and strategy firing off not just rounds but yours and your teams special skills warping a target in the air then unloading a clip into him before he falls to the ground only to be blown up by a grenade you had your other mate toss at him in the heat of battle, I'm telling you this game does it right in so many ways, but only if you use the system to your advantage.

Lastly what makes Mass Effect 3 so great is the Character interactions. Your team aren't just a group of fresh faced rookies that you know nothing about. They are Men and Women who have been with you since the start, since the first Mass Effect. Some may argue Shepherd didn't really play that big of a role, but I mean COME OFF IT. Shepherd held a major role, taking the best or the worst of his team and bringing it out so that You knew not just who your crew mates where, but their personality, how they felt about some of your choices, or even their plans for the future. Shepherds interactions with his crew can go a several of ways, all at your figure tips, which creates a atmosphere that makes you want to play this game multiple times. There are some disappointing moments like Tali's face, but the vast majority are rich and full just waiting to be triggered.

As stated though the ending is HORRIBLE, Simply pick a color Red Blue or White Shepherd still dies, and all your choices mean nothing, though I heard they released dlc to fix that. Another issue is BioWare forcing you to do multiplayer just to get 100% completion, to me this was just a gimmick to push the in-game store that you can use to purchase items in multiplayer. My biggest issue was the removal of relevant game content and then offering it as DLC that you have to buy... Double dipping is bad enough, but still acceptable. when you charge someone for the game, then the in-game store in multiplayer, along with what ever future DlC that comes out, people don't like it but it's acceptable. When you take out parts of the game that was created in development turn it into DLC then sell it, THAT'S CROSSING THE LINE. Future DLC is created after the games development, what BioWare did here was almost enough to stop me from wanting to play this game, yet it only stops this game from being Number 1 in my top 10 as i couldn't afford to miss the end of this trilogy.  

MY GAME OF THE YEAR

GUILD WARS 2

Yes that right Guild Wars 2 is my game of the year, I have sunk more time, and  money into this game, and had an equal amount of fun and enjoyment from this game as a result, then any other game I played this year. This Free to Play MMO is going to set standards for all other Free to Play MMO's and Pay to Plays as to what you can offer and still say "well with what we offer we feel you should pay to play our game." Because Guild Wars 2 offers so much and in such a different way WITH OUT A SUBSCRIPTION that you CAN'T EVEN JUSTIFY PAYING TO PLAY ANYTHING ELSE (unless your me and still love WoW, but hey I see no reason to choose, I'm a grown man, free to play whatever games and MMO's I please.)

There is just so much to do in Guild Wars 2, and with the Devs constantly hashing out new content, the games future is looking good. Being honest, I've always loved leveling, if you're looking for a game that doesn't have a grind, you're not going to find one. The best that you will do is guild wars 2, it mask the grind of leveling be offering you a different way to quest. No longer do you run around getting quest then running off doing them only to return to get more quest IN THE SAME FUCKING AREA YOU JUST QUESTED IN. In QW2 you get Heart Events that activate as soon as you Enter the area, you aren't forced to quest in the same area over and over again, once you've done that heart event for that area your done, move alone to the next heart. Then there are Dynamic Events, these are events that happen in the zone that are on a timed reset, some lasting until someone comes alone and completes them, others only a brief moment until it's objective is done. Such as Centaurs taking over the garrison, they will stay there till a group comes along and pushes them out, while events like Skrit stilling tools will last till the Skrit have stolen all the tools they need or you manage to fight them off for the allotted time.

One area QW2 drops the ball at is dungeons. What is meant to be a enjoyable run, turns into a nightmare of you and you party constantly dying. Many have tried to argue this point, the fact of the matter is this, Arena Net knows their dungeons where created to kill players.  A there is a repair center IN THE DUNGEON so you don't have to leave the dungeon to repair your gear, you can do it IN THE DUNGEON, still think they weren't created so that you die, B there is multiple waypoints IN THE DUNGEON, no need to run all the way back from the start just pick the nearest way point to hurry and get back in the fight before your whole team dies, not enough. How about the fact that your healing skill doesn't really heal for much, no one holds aggro well so, the boss and mobs attack whoever they damn well please, and with no real healing class staying alive in certain situation require previous knowledge of dungeons. This kind of system turns what is supposed to be a fun dungeon run into something similar to a raid in Warcraft. Some groups won't take members if they have never ran the dungeons before while others just don't care. Issue is Repairs are expensive and I don't have time to be earning money to repair gear, broken in dungeons. My money goes to, in my opinion, the best part of GW2, World vs.World vs.World.

This is by far the best part for me in GW2, WvWvW combat is so much fun, if not infuriating some times. Even with a good guild like Shaboozey, you can only do some much when you're out manned. Needless to say almost all of my money is spent here, if not all of it, and for good reason. in WvWvW three servers face off against each other to earn bonuses for their server for a week, each week WvWvW is reset and we go at it again. Despite being boosted to level 80 you can earn Exp in WvWvW that counts to your PvE level, so you can level a character of WvW alone. The combat here can be fierce, it's nothing like in structured pvp, here One man doesn't CAN NOT afford to run off and try to make a name for himself, WvW is a group effort, taking supply camps Keeps and garrisons requires siege weapons a able bodied commander and players willing to fight the good fight every week so that their server can bask in the rewards. Of course if the other two servers just give up on fighting back you may not have to fight all week long. Needless to say, Reset Day has become a thing for me. I am almost always there with the exception of one Friday, If the guild does WvW I'm there, hell sometimes I'm there even when they aren't.

The characters story is also a good one, nothing like WoW Mist of Pandaria, but still good none the less, It takes a slow start but if you let it and actually pay attention, it'll teach you a thing about what is going on in the land of Tyria. The classes are seemingly balanced with some being slightly over powered while others are left to drag in the wind, (very few engineers running round... I wonder why that is ARENA NET?) If you're looking for a game that you can play casually with your friends. Guild wars 2 is that game, by far the most enjoyable game I've played this year.