Monday, January 7, 2013

GameOn - Games of 2012 - Played and Liked

Hopefully everyone had a great holiday season and is prepared for the new year.  2012 was an amazing year for gamers as it was filled with tons of wonderful titles.  It was one of the funnest years for gaming despite the decline in retail sales in the market.  For this week, there will be a GameOn reviewing 2012.  I'll be going through games I played and enjoyed, played and disliked, great games I missed out on, games I'm probably glad I didn't get, and a final pick of games I would personally recommend from 2012.

These are the games I played in 2012 that I enjoyed:

Highlights

Awesomenauts (PC)
Source: Youtube Channel ronimogames

The game looks silly and absolutely absurd, but I believe that's part of the charm to the game.  It's made to be a 2D MOBA, but is probably better understood as an Action-Platformer Tower-Defense game.  I was pretty hesitant about getting the game as I wasn't sure how populated the game was as most multiplayer-intensive games I've purchased in the past end up being empty or bad.  Thankfully, as the game got 3 sales within the last 3 months of 2012 the population rose and provided some really fun games.  The game's fairly easy to learn but still challenges even the most hardcore of players.  It was one of the most delightful games I played in 2012 and hope that it continues to grow in popularity as time passes on.

Chivlary: Medieval Warfare (PC)
Source: Youtube Channel TornBannerStudios

I played a bit of the original Half-Life 2 mod back a while ago and enjoyed concept of medieval fights with swords, shields, and lopping heads off.  So when I heard that a stand-alone version was finally going to be made, I was happy for them and was ready support them when I could.  During the Steam Winter Sales not long ago, I bought the game and finally got a chance to play it one night for about 3 hours.  Although the game felt familiar from the original, the improvements were evident and limitations were lifted.  The game's a lot of fun mixed with a lot of frustration.  Thankfully, winning isn't a big part of the game.  It's all the fights and kills you racked up that makes this a fun distraction to hop into and mess around in much like in Team Fortress 2.  So far, the community is very strong and hopefully continues to grow throughout this year.

Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone (PC)
Source: Youtube Channel mentaldagger

I mentioned this game quite often throughout the year and finally started playing it only to find that the game was significantly more challenging than I had anticipated.  I started the game playing on the hardest difficulty as my friend in this video did and completed the game.  It was definitely possible to get through the game, but there was a lot more grinding and persistence required just to get to the next part of the game.  I had restarted the game on the easiest level and am still able to enjoy the game as it reminds me of the Castlevania games I've played in the past.  It's tough trying to get this game under $10, but it's worth it if Action-Adventure games is your thing.

Hotline Miami (PC)
Source: Youtube Channel DevolverDigital

This was probably the most surprising game of the year for me.  I had no intention of getting the game after seeing the cover art and some of the gameplay.  But day after day, I saw this game pop up on blogs, reviews, and comments of how great this game was.  I decided to give it a chance when it got a 50% off deal during the Steam Winter Sales.  The game's a puzzle game!  It's weird to say and it's not listed as so, but that's what it is.  The player must find the quickest and most efficient way to kill off all the enemies of each floor without getting killed themselves which was pretty easy considering all it takes is one hit or one shot.  The action is fast-paced, challenging, completely hilarious, and has one heck of a soundtrack to match it up.  I also really like how visceral the game feels.  From the graphics to the sound effects, all the action the player makes has a very tangible feel to them and it makes each kill feel very satisfying.

Persona 4 Arena (PS3)
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA

I wasn't planning on getting the game so early as I haven't even played the original Persona 4 game yet and do not know the story or characters.  Still, I had friends who really enjoyed the game and urged me to get the game.  After about 20-30 matches, I have come to the realization that Persona 4 Arena is possibly the most accessible 2D fighting game I have ever played that anyone can pick up and play.  The mechanics to the game are universal through all the characters and they're as simple as mashing one button to do an incredible combo.  Because of this, I was able to convince all my friends who don't play fighting games to give it a chance.  A lot of fighting games were released in 2012, and I believe this was the most unique and original title to come out throughout the year.

The other games I played:
-Ace of Spades
-Blacklight: Retribution
-BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
-Borderlands 2
-Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
-Diablo 3
-DotA 2
-Dragon's Dogma
-Dustforce
-eXceed Collection
-FTL: Faster Than Light
-Forge
-Guild Wars 2
-Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy
-Heroes of Ruin
-Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
-Legend of Grimrock
-New Super Mario Bros. 2
-Phantasy Star Online 2 (Jp)
-PlanetSide 2
-PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
-Primal Carnage
-RaiderZ
-Realm of the Mad God
-Resident Evil: Revelations
-Sine Mora
-Street Fighter x Mega Man
-Street Fighter x Tekken
-Symphony
-Tekken Tag Tournament 2
-TERA Online
-Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
-The Darkness 2
-Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD
-Torchlight 2
-Tribes: Ascend

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