The Best of 2012 Awards
There was a noticeable change of direction for the gaming industry in 2012. As many developers shifted their gaze toward the next generation, the big-budget games that would normally fill our time were in much shorter supply. Thankfully, those that did surface often delighted, intrigued, or otherwise compelled us in some way, so there was again no shortage of diverse, memorable games. Don't think for a second that fewer retail releases dampened our enthusiasm during our heated Game of the Year discussions. Downloadable games have grown immeasurably in recent years, and the wealth of quality experience gave us ample opportunity to argue endlessly in favor of those that moved us. If 2012 is the last full year of the current generation, it certainly ended in a rising crescendo worthy of the technology that's finally being put to rest.
Our approach to this year's award ceremony is slightly different than previous ones. We still have an overall Game of the Year, along with platform- and genre-specific awards. But our Special Achievements, where we focus on individual aspects of games, have taken a new life. No longer do we focus on broad categories such as Funniest Game or Best Soundtrack. Instead, we cut to the heart of what our chosen games did that was worthy of commendation, and phrase the award accordingly. That means there are no longer nominees fighting over the crown given that most of these awards are worded in such a way that only one game actually fits the criteria.
Don't think we forget about you, our passionate readers. Last year, our People's Choice award opened the door to every game released in the year, but we've taken a different approach this time. Using our own secret formula, we selected 64 of the best games of the year, and randomly threw them into a bracket where they move through the ranks based on the popular vote from readers just like you. The cutoff for eligibility is December 4th, 2012, and the voting begins on December 7th.
Enjoy the spectacle!
I've never played a Pokemon game before, but I'm so far 100 odd hours into Pokemon Black 2 and I think it's amazing. For me, this and The Walking Dead are game of the year for me.
Farcry 3 all the way to the end nothing can stop this game best single player shooter since Half life 2 which got game of the decade.
ravenkiller Linear Life 2 was good?
Is Dishonored any good?
XxKing_BlazexX it's THAT good....
Dishonored should clean up this year, but I get the strange feeling Gamespot may make a few controversial choices. However, I'm glad user voting is restricted to Reader's Choice. It means that they wont all get hijacked by over-zealous fan-boys.
tizmond Yeah, they do tend to sometimes go against the trend, but I think the Walking Dead will clean house.
Good News Final Fantasy XIII-2 never made the charts. It lost badly.
MAX PAYNE 3 will get THE AWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>...........................................................................................................BUT MASS EFFECT is not unstoppable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
saikat039 Breathe man.
@saikat039 LOL i love ur enthusiasm xD max payne 3 and mass effect 3 are the best games this year
@saikat039 LOL i love ur enthusiasm xD max payne 3 and mass effect 3 are the best games this year
Haven't bought anything this year that wasn't heavily discounted because it was all cut down console shite.
PinchySkree Okay.
jayhitz450 PinchySkree It's almost like he doesn't think this is a business. If you want to be catered to, be part of the group that spends the most. If you want to do your own thing, don't be surprised when companies don't fall over themselves trying to make something just for you.
@paulsifer42 @jayhitz450 @PinchySkree u missed out on alot of great games bro
PinchySkree
Thanks for the update. I was wondering how much you paid for games and if you thought everything was cut down console shite. Let me know what you purchase next year at this time as well.
explicator2 PinchySkree Be careful what you ask for.
Here's the problem i have with ME3 haters. Either they hate it just because of the ending (GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!) or they havn't even played the whole game themselves and just go based off of what they read off of the media :P Even though all of you don't want to admit it.....IT'S SO TRUE!!!!!
ILuvMe3
Or maybe they played ME1 or 2.
ILuvMe3 I personally have a problem with haters in general.
Mass Effect 3 better freaking win something on this unlike the *cough SPIKE VGAs cough* -_-
ILuvMe3 Most disappointing game ever?
RS13 ILuvMe3 Nah, BEST Game Ever...... until the last 5 minutes.
Where can i vote for genre awards?
Goriza Guessing it will be up when this one closes.
Goriza Voting is restricted to the Peoples' Choice Game of the Year this year: http://www.gamespot.com/best-of-2012/peoples-choice/index.html
weird no journey for best ps3 games ?
chronocross668 It a PSN game, so well of course it going to be in the PSN list.
is 5pm so where the genre award ? is it delayed again for an hour again ?
Must admit i was very surprised to see the method of pitting games against one another being reduced to a random lottery type draw. This somewhat diminishes the integrity of the whole process. Having said that, the only saving grace is the fact we are voting for the most popular game and not the best game in any specific capacity. Therefore technically, the game of the year should ultimately rise to the top of the pile.
Good games this year? There were any besides a few smaller titles here and there? Mass Effect 3 was cinematic garbage, Boredomlands 2 sucked, Call to Casuals Railway shooter #90000 map pack sucks so hard it shouldn't even be legal to be put on the market
I enjoyed Max Payne 3 probably for all the wrong reasons but was no where near Game of the Year
Who needs good games anymore when all games need is good cinematics and cutscenes
pyosisified Than AC3 is your choice ^^
@pyosisified how can someone enjoy a game for the "wrong reasons"? On the contrary, Max Payne 3 IS a great candidate for GOTY. Check the score gamespot gave it then come and tell me if its no where near goty.
tj_steve Yeah because if Gamespot gives a game a good score it definitely deserves GOTY award
tj_steve Was good for a playthrough tried to playthrough it again and couldnt skip the boring (second time round) cutscenes, was like watching the the same movie twice within a couple of weeks
tj_steve Generic 3rd person shooter with slow motion
pyosisified LOL "Generic 3rd person shooter with slow motion" i bet u don't even think about what "generic" really means when u use it. Generic is games like COD: BOP2 or spec:ops (it had a great narrative though). Max Payne 3 is the opposite of generic. Now to the main point i want to clarify, when i say 'GOTY candidate" i mean GOTY nomination. Hell, i know Max Payne 3 is not gonna win GOTY but if it did, no one would complain about it because it's a stellar game. For example. in 2009, gamespot gave Demon Souls GOTY even though uncharted 2 was nominated but that doesnt mean uncharted 2 was bad. in the end, ur opinion is ur opinion and i hope u soon see how awesome Max Payne 3 really is, even if u dont like the cutscenes ( i personally loved the cutscenes, its part of the story) But i wanna know, whats ur pick for goty this year?
tj_steve It's a linear third person action game, that's all it is, it relies fully on its narrative to redeem it any different from other 3rd person shooters, it's mechanics make it generic, you run in straight lines shooting people then get a cutscene every 4-5 minutes "opposite of generic" LMFAO. I don't hate Max Payne 3, there are far worse games like you mentioned such as Black Ops 2. Max Payne 3 is great first time around but found playing through it again was more of a chore.
tj_steve I enjoyed Max Payne 3 which is more than I can say for 97% of games released today but that doesn't stop me calling it for what it is
pyosisified i guess you're not easily impressed with games, i guess if max payne 3 impressed u a little, i'll say thats an achievement for the game (no sarcasm). Did u try the score mode in max payne? that mode sends u straight to the action and skips the cutscenes. Also, during the cutscenes, the game is loading itself, so thats why u cannot skip them at times. Anyways, Take care bro. It was good discussing with ya
tj_steve Its a great game, but would've loved to see greater level design and less cutscenes, if it achieved that it would've easily been one of the GOTY contenders for me
pyosisified
Oh. I get it. You took the real names of the games and changed them to something negative. Clever.
explicator2 Sooner people realize how ridiculously terrible gaming is the better
explicator2 The clever part is, are these crooks stealing your money for generic rehashed gimmicky garbage
Mass Effect 3 doesn't even need justification to be on this list. If you think otherwise I bet you never even played it. in my opinion the best games are Borderlands 2 and the one I just mentioned.
LarkAnderson Thanks for the clarification.
