Today, a little break from politics to spread some holiday gaming cheer. Every gaming site in the world has to post their Top 10 games from that year around this time. Well, my time and budget don't allow me to buy and play all the latest new releases. However, digital distribution and the miracle of Steam sales have made it possible to play the best games from a year or two ago for peanuts. So that's where my gaming dollars and hours go. Without further ado, then, here are the top 10 games I played in 2012, in ranked order.
10. To the Moon (PC)
An indie darling that tells a story that is both heartwarming and disturbing in ways, about marriage, memories, living with someone that has a disability, and the long-lasting effects of the choices we make. All this in a 5-hour game that looks like a Super Nintendo RPG and has barely any gameplay other than some simple puzzles and a tiny bit of exploration/figuring out what to do next. But the story is beautiful, and the soundtrack is breathtaking.
9. Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2)
Japanese developer Tri-Ace is known for their incredibly hard RPGs, and Valkyrie Profile 2 is no exception. However, the tactical nature of the battles in VP2 make it much more thoughtful than the balls-out mess that typifies the Star Ocean games; this made it much more appealing to me. Combine that with gorgeous PS2-era graphics, an interesting story centered around Norse mythology, and unique 2D dungeon exploration, and you have one of the better PS2 RPGs.
8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
I was a latecomer to this series, as I don't like many adventure games (this might change as adventure games become more about story and less about obtuse puzzle-solving). Decided to give this one a try, however, and was pleasantly surprised. Credit the strong localization that brings this very Japanese game to life for a Western audience. The characters and story are fun, and nothing beats the satisfaction you get when you poke holes in a witness' testimony, complete with Phoenix's trademark finger-pointing.
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2)
They just don't make many good Japanese RPGs anymore. Thankfully the SMT series is still around to basically bear this burden all by itself. Of course, this one came out in 2005, but it's the spiritual predecessor to Personas 3 and 4, the best JRPGs of the past five years. Like other SMT games, it's all about a weird story involving demons in a modern setting (yay no Japanese-European fantasyland!) and challenging battles. Oh, the battles. They'll make you want to scream or rip your hair out. But the strength is that you want to try it again, because you just know you've got the winning strategy figured out for next time.
6. Torchlight 2 (PC)
This came out in 2012, holy crap! I was never a huge Diablo fan. But the original Torchlight caught my attention due to its steampunk-inspired setting (try dual-wielding pistols in Diablo) and conveniences such as sending your pet back to town to sell your excess crap. The sequel expands on the original in every way, with all-new character classes, a much larger world to explore, and cool post-main game ways to play. At the end of the main game I was a big, burly engineer who fought with giant wrenches and hand-carried cannons who could summon machine-gun and giant-sledgehammer robots to do his bidding. Now that's cool. The $20 price tag also gives it incredible value and is the main reason I got it on Day One.
5. The Witcher (PC)
Too many PC RPGs make the player character a "blank slate" upon which you project your own beliefs, attitudes, decisions, etc. The Witcher's biggest strength is that it makes the player a real character, Geralt of Rivia, who has a distinct personality and way of going about things. And yet you do get to make lots of meaningful decisions, many of which tend to be much more in the gray aera than the black vs. white options you get in other games. It gives what could be a fairly bland fantasy setting a shot of dark realism. It's held back by somewhat clunky combat and an overly long, sloggish second chapter, but I'm looking forward to exploring Geralt's continued adventures in The Witcher 2.
4. Dragon Age 2 (PC)
DA2 was rushed, and it shows. The biggest complaint (a justifiable one) was that identical areas are reused in different missions, just with different doors open or shut. That's annoying. But look past that flaw and you find an RPG that eschews the standard save-the-world story, instead focusing on one champion's life story in the city of Kirkwall. It's a story that you have a lot of choice over through your decisions and reactions. The party-based combat is complex and satisfying. And I actually prefer the smaller quest areas to DA1's dungeons that could drag on for hours. I want to return to this game and play as a different character, and I'm pretty sure I'd have a very different experience. That's a sign of a strong game.
3. Bioshock 2 (PC)
Contrary to many critics, I enjoyed the return to Rapture about as much as the first trip. It was great to play as a Big Daddy and drill some fools, while shocking them with plasmids at the same time. It's exciting, atmospheric, and thoughtful. For more on what makes Bioshock so great, see my Gaming and Politics article on it.
2. King's Bounty: The Legend (PC)
This was the surprise of the year. I had long tried to get into games like Heroes of Might and Magic - the Western equivalent of Final Fantasy Tactics - but just couldn't. King's Bounty took out the mundane city-building stuff from Heroes and boiled the gameplay down to exploration, questing, and great turn-based combat. Dozens of unique units to recruit, tons of maps to explore, skill trees to grow your character - there's a lot to this game and no filler. And the best part - I have the sequel Armored Princess and the expansion Crossworlds waiting in my Steam library.
1. Fallout: New Vegas (PC)
This is a bit of a cheat as I started playing it in 2011. Computer problems put it on hiatus for a few months, but I came back to it and dropped around 35 more hours into it, so I need to give it its due. I've never managed to really get sucked into Bethesda's Elder Scrolls games, I think due to the fantasy setting that I'm getting bored of and the lackluster combat (I do intend to give Skyrim a try at some point.) Fallout, however, has a much improved setting (the dark-humor filled post-apocalypse) and more interesting combat thanks to guns and the VATS system. And even though Fallout 3's DC setting was personally more appealing to me, in the end I wound up liking New Vegas better. The staff at Obsidian let their heritage from the original Fallout games show with the snappy writing that always kept me going. It was a slow buildup to journey to the Strip, and when I finally got there, the ensuing events paid off remarkably. It's an outstanding game, and I really hope there's more on the horizon.
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