Games Xtreme's The Games of 2012
Posted: 2012-12-30
Rather than do a hoo-hah list of the top 5, 10 or whatever games of 2012 at Games Xtreme, we decided to be different and just talk about some of the games we really liked in 2012 and why. They're in no particular order but if we had to pick a top game of 2012 it would probably be Far Cry 3.
Assassin's Creed 3
The arrival of a new assassin brought with it a few issues, a great naval battle system, a much improved combat and traversal system and some really great moments. For us, Conner wasn't as likeable as Ezio and his performances often fell flat. Overall though with the new multiplayer and improved Anvil Next engine – this conclusion to the Desmond story-arc of Assassin's Creed was certainly fun. Add to this a bunch of open-world gameplay and a lot of replay value too... our only major issue was we felt AC 3 lacked much in the way of assassination and focus at times.
Far Cry 3
A first person crazed romp across two separate islands against the forces of nature, animals, Somali-like pirates and madmen. Far Cry 3 is a huge open-world immersive experience which builds on the Far Cry legacy and amps everything up to the nines. We've had a ton of fun with this one and it's pretty much our Game of the Year 2012. Far Cry 3 gives you all the skills, experience systems and story you can handle – lets you play it as you want and doesn't penalise you for playing it your way. You can blaze in guns blasting, or take the subtle approach and sneak around taking enemies down in brutal and inventive takedown moves. You can mix and match to use the arsenal at your disposal. There's good strong cooperative multiplayer and there's adversarial too, along with a level creator. Far Cry 3 is Skyrim with guns, basically.
Dragons Dogma
When CAPCOM first announced this game we were fairly excited. It looked like a cross between Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus meets Skyrim in third person. When we got our hands on it and dived deeper into the game we found a solid fantasy romp with some really great reactive combat and some truly epic boss battles. The way the physics system ties into battles with Dragon's Dogma makes it some of the most satisfying battle-action yet and the RPG systems, character customisation and innovative Pawn hiring system come together in near-perfect harmony. If we had a particular niggle it would be: there's no co-op and this game cries out for that kind of thing. The graphics do suffer from pop-in but it's very atmospheric and dark places feel really creepy.
Mass Effect 3
Most of us are rabid fans of Mass Effect as a franchise, we were eagerly awaiting 3 with the kind of anticipation that most gamers feel for Call of Duty's next big game. Mass Effect 3 promised to be a mix of 1 and 2 with some better RPG elements returning from 1, and the combat system from 2 with tweaks. We got that, we got a massive epic storyline too with all good things coming to a pretty big end. The problem for many of us was that the ending to the game split the Mass Effect fandom right down the middle, putting people at loggerheads based on Bioware's choices for the end of the game. Many felt the original endings were cut and paste, they didn't take into account the actions from 1 and 2 and it might just have been a generic soldier at the end rather than your story and your Shepard. The Extended Cut DLC did a lot to fix this and Mass Effect 3, even though it has a few missteps, is still a damn fine game and worthy of the franchise. We would have preferred a proper co-op multiplayer rather than a horde based mode, but hey, we got some kind of multiplayer in what is essentially a very single player driven experience.
Hitman: Absolution
Loyalties are divided over this iteration of the Hitman franchise; some people felt that adding the blending/instinct/trick system to the game took away from the original. Having the finite resource which once depleted removes Agent 47's ability to blend in with characters wearing the same costume might be a step too far for some fans. Agent 47 is completely ignored by the other characters with different costumes, yet draws near-instant suspicion from anyone who wears the same disguise as him. Walk past a cop too close when dressed as a cop and they can very quickly (even on Easy) figure out you're not Bob their partner.
Overall though, with this minor niggle aside, Hitman: Absolution is a great game with a ton of replay value and some superb level design. David Bateson returns as 47 and there's even Contracts mode, an innovative online play-as-you kill contract creation system which lets you earn in-game money and unlocks by challenging your friends to kill as you did.
There are unlockable weapons, skills and a few surprises in Hitman: Absolution for the real pro player and customisable difficulties make the game even more fun.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
When 2K and Firaxis sent us an email announcing the return of a turn-based XCOM, the hollars and hoots of joy were detected as far as Ganymede seriously. We were eagerly awaiting the release and when that magical day arrived – yes, the game was as good as we hoped if not better. Yes, there were some changes to the old X-Com, things have altered, new game systems were devised but it remains XCOM through and through. The storyline was far better, the cinematic touches were excellent and the difficulty was fiendish. The research tree is cut down, there are certain things we miss from the original but overall we're as happy as we can be with this remake and reboot!
Dishonored
A first person story about revenge and supernatural assassins? Tell us more! Dishonored's our wake-up call to the world in which Corvo, the hero or anti-hero of the game inhabits and an introduction to Dunwall City. Revenge solves everything was the tagline to the game and the publisher (Bethesda) and developer (Arkane) were not lying when they said it. Dishonored lets you approach every mission and level with your own pace, your own style and rewards you by changing the city based on your actions... ultimately the ending is going to change and well, that's the best thing about this kind of gameplay. The combat system is smooth, the stealth system is great and the game is basically the Thief of this generation.
The arrival of a new assassin brought with it a few issues, a great naval battle system, a much improved combat and traversal system and some really great moments. For us, Conner wasn't as likeable as Ezio and his performances often fell flat. Overall though with the new multiplayer and improved Anvil Next engine – this conclusion to the Desmond story-arc of Assassin's Creed was certainly fun. Add to this a bunch of open-world gameplay and a lot of replay value too... our only major issue was we felt AC 3 lacked much in the way of assassination and focus at times.
Far Cry 3
A first person crazed romp across two separate islands against the forces of nature, animals, Somali-like pirates and madmen. Far Cry 3 is a huge open-world immersive experience which builds on the Far Cry legacy and amps everything up to the nines. We've had a ton of fun with this one and it's pretty much our Game of the Year 2012. Far Cry 3 gives you all the skills, experience systems and story you can handle – lets you play it as you want and doesn't penalise you for playing it your way. You can blaze in guns blasting, or take the subtle approach and sneak around taking enemies down in brutal and inventive takedown moves. You can mix and match to use the arsenal at your disposal. There's good strong cooperative multiplayer and there's adversarial too, along with a level creator. Far Cry 3 is Skyrim with guns, basically.
When CAPCOM first announced this game we were fairly excited. It looked like a cross between Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus meets Skyrim in third person. When we got our hands on it and dived deeper into the game we found a solid fantasy romp with some really great reactive combat and some truly epic boss battles. The way the physics system ties into battles with Dragon's Dogma makes it some of the most satisfying battle-action yet and the RPG systems, character customisation and innovative Pawn hiring system come together in near-perfect harmony. If we had a particular niggle it would be: there's no co-op and this game cries out for that kind of thing. The graphics do suffer from pop-in but it's very atmospheric and dark places feel really creepy.
Mass Effect 3
Most of us are rabid fans of Mass Effect as a franchise, we were eagerly awaiting 3 with the kind of anticipation that most gamers feel for Call of Duty's next big game. Mass Effect 3 promised to be a mix of 1 and 2 with some better RPG elements returning from 1, and the combat system from 2 with tweaks. We got that, we got a massive epic storyline too with all good things coming to a pretty big end. The problem for many of us was that the ending to the game split the Mass Effect fandom right down the middle, putting people at loggerheads based on Bioware's choices for the end of the game. Many felt the original endings were cut and paste, they didn't take into account the actions from 1 and 2 and it might just have been a generic soldier at the end rather than your story and your Shepard. The Extended Cut DLC did a lot to fix this and Mass Effect 3, even though it has a few missteps, is still a damn fine game and worthy of the franchise. We would have preferred a proper co-op multiplayer rather than a horde based mode, but hey, we got some kind of multiplayer in what is essentially a very single player driven experience.
Loyalties are divided over this iteration of the Hitman franchise; some people felt that adding the blending/instinct/trick system to the game took away from the original. Having the finite resource which once depleted removes Agent 47's ability to blend in with characters wearing the same costume might be a step too far for some fans. Agent 47 is completely ignored by the other characters with different costumes, yet draws near-instant suspicion from anyone who wears the same disguise as him. Walk past a cop too close when dressed as a cop and they can very quickly (even on Easy) figure out you're not Bob their partner.
Overall though, with this minor niggle aside, Hitman: Absolution is a great game with a ton of replay value and some superb level design. David Bateson returns as 47 and there's even Contracts mode, an innovative online play-as-you kill contract creation system which lets you earn in-game money and unlocks by challenging your friends to kill as you did.
There are unlockable weapons, skills and a few surprises in Hitman: Absolution for the real pro player and customisable difficulties make the game even more fun.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
When 2K and Firaxis sent us an email announcing the return of a turn-based XCOM, the hollars and hoots of joy were detected as far as Ganymede seriously. We were eagerly awaiting the release and when that magical day arrived – yes, the game was as good as we hoped if not better. Yes, there were some changes to the old X-Com, things have altered, new game systems were devised but it remains XCOM through and through. The storyline was far better, the cinematic touches were excellent and the difficulty was fiendish. The research tree is cut down, there are certain things we miss from the original but overall we're as happy as we can be with this remake and reboot!
A first person story about revenge and supernatural assassins? Tell us more! Dishonored's our wake-up call to the world in which Corvo, the hero or anti-hero of the game inhabits and an introduction to Dunwall City. Revenge solves everything was the tagline to the game and the publisher (Bethesda) and developer (Arkane) were not lying when they said it. Dishonored lets you approach every mission and level with your own pace, your own style and rewards you by changing the city based on your actions... ultimately the ending is going to change and well, that's the best thing about this kind of gameplay. The combat system is smooth, the stealth system is great and the game is basically the Thief of this generation.
