Game of the Year

2012 is coming to a close and gaming has had a very good year. Whether you were playing bad piggies on your iPhone or fragging noobs in HALO 4, it reminded us that the games are getting better and the developers are finding new ways to improve old formulas!

5th December was an exciting day for the gaming world as XPlay awards handed their accolades to the best games of 2012. Now this is all subjective and some you will argue that Call of Duty is better than HALO, we’ve all picked our respective poison and we should be thankful that we have such a variety of games to be passionate about.

Let’s see what Xplay had to say about 2012 (Of Course, I am not highlighting every single category for the awards).

Best Platformer: Beating out the incredible “Journey”, which is up for Game of the Year at the VGAs, the delightful 3D puzzle world of “Fez” was deemed the best in platforming. Beating out Sound Shapes, Epic Mickey 2 and New Super Mario Bros. 2, Fez has opened up a new dimension in platforming not fully explored by any other title previously.

Best Social Game:  There are some great games on Social Networking websites, but Marvel Avengers Alliance is undoubtedly the best of the bunch. Benefiting from an awesome summer movie that had everyone talking this Facebook Game is adding a new element to the awesome that is Social Networking.

Best Action Adventure Game: Sleeping Dogs went up against some very stiff competition against stalwart titles like Assassin’s Creed 3, Mark of the Ninja, Hitman: Absolution and The Walking Dead. However, this maniac arts crime thriller was so beautifully executed that there shouldn’t be many complaints that it managed to come out on top.

Best Sound Design: A game is only half baked before its sound is over layed and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for those lucky enough to play it, was a game whose audio was simply a treat. Explosions, gun fire and of course, the sounds  of robots in disguise , shifting into their alternate forms was simply amazing.

Best Fighter: There was a time when Street Fighter 2 was the undisputed king of the ring”. but that was a longtime ago, in an Arcade of yesteryear. Today, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown has shown how the fighting sequel {multiple iterations in) can continually be improved to craft a masterpiece.

Best Role Playing Game:  What? It wasn’t Mass Effect 3? Nope, The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition laid out this incredible title, along with Guild Wars 2, Xenoblade Chronicles and Dragon’s Dogma to claim the throne of role playing hierarchy.

Best Shooter: The judges have spoken and while many will argue that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is the better multiplayer experience, you can’t objectively argue that there is a better shooting package around than what 343 Studios put out with HALO 4. A great multiplayer experience, a great campaign and the new Spartan Ops chapters which are updated regularly with new story lines makes it  a masterpiece in game design.

Best Downloadable game:  The Walking Dead is a cult classic as a TV Show and comic book, and it is widely held that this game has better writing than what millions sit down t0 view every Sunday. A deserving win over Fez, Mark of the Ninja, The Unfinishcd Swan and the Whimsical Journey.

Best Sports Game: These nominees don’t tend to change that much and the winner hasn’t changed either for 2012. NBA 2K continues to deliver the best sports simulator on the planet and their 2K13 offering is the most photo realistic of the bunch. Add in a new physics engine and greater control as well as the ability to call out plays over the Kinect for Xbox 360 and you have a clear winner.

Best Multiplayer Co-Op: Borderlands 2 was designed for Multiplayer Co—Op. Borderlands 2… I repeat …. was designed for Multiplayer Co—Op. More power to this amazing RPG, Adventure, Shooter.

Best Multiplayer Game: Call of Duty gets it’s bragging rights and as one of the most accessible on-line shooters, with an even more impressive barrage of customizable elements added to the weapons of the game, Black Ops 2 is not simply the best Call of Duty ever, it’s the best multiplayer experience for the masses.

Most original game: Street Fighter, Call of Duty, Halo, Final Fantasy, Mario, Zelda… The game industry is built 0n sequels and continuations. When something fresh comes to the table everyone sits up and begins to criticize. Journey was almost beyond criticism and this 2 hour long experience is certainly very refreshing!

Game of the Year: It went up against some of the best. Journey, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Xcom: Enemy Unknown, The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition and Hitman: Ahsolution and in the end,  Borderlands 2 came out smelling like a rose. A rose bathed in the gunfire of Pandora. A sequel to an already great concept and game, the hybrid  RPG/Shootcr was an improvement to a unique experience that proved satisfying, comedic and addictive.