Journey   80 Far Cry 3   64 XCom   58 Trials Evo   42 Halo 4   41 Dishonored   40 Mass Effect 3   39 Dark Souls: Prepare to Die   31 Hotline Miami   31
Sleeping Dogs 29 FORZA Horizon   29 Fez 28 Okami HD   24 Borderlands 2   24 Super Hexagon   21 FTL 20 Mark of the Ninja   18 Resident Evil 6   17 Minecraft 360   15 Kid Icarus Uprising   14 Sonic and All-Stars Racing: Transformed   12 Lone Survivor   12 The Witcher 2   11 New Star Soccer   11 Legend Of Grimrock 9 Spelunky   9 ZombiU   9 Everybody's Golf   9 Binary Domain   8 Theatrhythm   8 Dear Esther   8 Dragons Dogma   7 Letterpress   6 Spec Ops: The Line   6 FIFA 13   6 Tokyo Jungle   6 NSMBU   6 Wipeout 2048 5 Tekken Tag Tournament 2   5 Stranger's Wrath HD   5 Bride of Pinball   5 NiGHTS Into Dreams HD   5 NSMB2   5 Tribes Ascend   4 MGS HD Collection   4 Ghost Recon Future Soldier   4 Medievil Madness   4 Z.O.E HD collection   4 Velocity 4 NFS MW   4 The Last Story   4 PES 2013   4 Uncharted Golden Abyss   4 Unfinished Swan 4 Resident Evil: Revelations   3 Lollipop Chainsaw   3 Motorstorm AC   3 Shinobido 2 3 Pokemon Black/White 2 3 Alan Wake's American Nightmare   3 Bug Princess 2 3 Street Fighter X Tekken 3 Cirqus Voltaire   3 Little Big Planet Vita   3 Hustlekinds   3 Catherine 3 Where's My Perry?   3 Diablo 3   3 Black Mesa   2 Jet Set Radio HD   2 Unit 13   2 Anarchy Reigns   2 Guild Wars 2   2 Bastion iOS 2 Max Payne 3   2 Total War: Shogun 2   2 Persona 4 Golden 2 NintendoLand   2 MGS 3 3D   2 DoDonpachi Maximum   2 Dust 514   2 Akari Katana   2 Lego Batman 2   2 Darksiders 2 2 Final Fantasy XIII-2   2 Pinball Arcade   2 Rayman Origins (Vita)   1 Assassins' Creed 3   1 Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron   1 Rayman Legends Demo   1 Pandora's Tower   1 Guardian Cross   1 Sniper Elite 1 Fallblox 1 Rayman Jungle Run 1 Beat the Beat 1
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Struggling to remember what's come out this year, think I've mostly just played downloadable stuff. i enjoyed Max Payne 3 a lot more than I expected. That part in the final level where the song kicks in will probably remain one of the most memorable moments for me.
I've only bought the new Fifa, for which the online (the main reason I bought it) is a complete mess and Counter Strike on 360 which was fun but hardly worthy of GOTY. Halo 4 is the obvious one but the jury will be out on that for at least a couple of months until the hype dust settles.
The Witcher 2, Ghost Recon and Sleeping Dogs are about all I can think of so far. Maybe Xcom after more play time. It's not been a classic year in retrospect, although these things are always skewed by so many Christmas rush titles from last year being picked up cheap throughout this year.
This game is personal to me in that my brother made it (alone, over 4 years). But not just because of that.
It is deeply satisfying on a mechanical level, and highly affecting on an emotional one.
LS pays respect through its references and similarities to a genre that has been ushered away from its roots, stuck to cover, in a hail of hectic gunfire. If you've ever wondered why there's not been anything like Silent Hill 2 since it was released: this is for you. It's a morally ambiguous game, where all consequnces have actions.
There are two layers of story to explore - your own as you make the nameless protagonist carry out unspeakable, or generous and kind, actions and also his story - the one you play a part in shaping but one that already has a deep, mysterious and potentially dark history hinted at in every line of dialogue, every scene-setting, and every comment about your inventory or location that you make on examining. My brother told me there's something like 400 unique lines of dialogue just related to examining coffee. The game is massively wide, rather than long, and really rewards repeat playthroughs with further exposition.
My brother likes many of the same film, game, and music makers as I do which adds to the personal feeling I get when I play LS. I'm absorbed by films that leave plenty of room for interpretation whilst giving enough to hang your theory on (Bladerunner, most of Lynch), games where your survival feels legitimatly threatened and the empowerment that comes from doing so (Demon's Souls, Resident Evil 1), and music that paints thick an atmosphere with its soundscape (Akira Yamoaka). All these boxes are ticked, while retaining uniquity in that homage here is never pastiche.
A closing thought: I'm the only person alive other than Jasper, who, out of nearly half a million, knows the exact history of the characters, setting and plot. But my interpretation is different to Jasper's. That I can settle and be happy with my own telling of the story is the game's greatest achivement. It really is personal.
2. Super Hexagon
It's just so damn fun. When you wait for a tube, you see how many minutes there is till it arrives. This makes a metagame out of that. 4 minutes is enough to try to top my record of 99s twice. You can play for that long, or session it over half an hour and get into the zone. And the zone is strong in this one. Only phone game I've truly enjoyed, a masterclass in simple deign and moreish feedback for the player. Great music too.
3. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
The definitive package. Most haven't had the chance to play it yet, due to the unfortunate decision to release on PC before console, which was the birthplace of the series. Doesn't change the quality of what's on offer though. Not only does this extended cut add brilliant new areas, characters, places and new kit, it fixes almost every tiny niggle that the rabid fanbase has painstakingly needled out of every corner of its deisgn. That could be altering the damage of certain weapons, or nerfing a particular buff. Tiny things, but the people who play this play it for scores is not hundreds of hours, the fact that all these fixes will benefit new players without them even knowing, whilst adding life to the endgame PvP that keeps people playing is a lovely gesture on top of all the new content - new content that is fantasic and that to discuss would be to spoil. Just know that if you're waiting for it, you will not be disappointed. My favourite game: plus.
Damn..I realsied I can't actually go any further becuase I've got Dishonoured and Xcom on the go and both are brilliant. To shove those in could be premature, so I'll wait for numbers 4 and 5.
Nick, if Dragon's Dogma doesn't get in your Top 5 after all of your posts, I will end you. It's the game I've GOT to get back to and finish this year...