TNL's 2012 Wrap Up

With 11 days left in the non-Mayan year and all of 2012's releases on shelves, physical and/or digital, let's show these other sites how a "best of" is done. I'm also personally hoping to glean a few missed gems from others' lists. There won't be any aggregation or anything. I'll save that for next year where we can do a best of the generation again. This will purely be a list of personal choices.

Here are the categories that I hope will drive some interesting submissions and discussion:

Console/PC Games

• Favorite PC Game of 2012:
• Favorite PS3 Game of 2012:
• Favorite Wii/Wii U Game of 2012:
• Favorite 360 Game of 2012:
• Favorite Console/PC Game of 2012:

Mobile/Portable Games

• Favorite DS/3DS Game of 2012:
• Favorite PSP/Vita Game of 2012:
• Favorite Android/iOS Game of 2012:
• Favorite Mobile/Portable Game of 2012:

Geography

• Favorite North American Developed Game of 2012:
• Favourite European Developed Game of 2012:
• Favorite Japanese Developed Game of 2012:
• Favorite Game of 2012:

Companies

• Favorite Developer of 2012:
• Favorite Publisher of 2012:
• Developer/Publisher I'll Miss the Most:
• Favorite Platform Owner of 2012:
• Favorite Gaming News Source of 2012:
• Favorite Game Retailer of 2012:
• Favorite Company of 2012:

Crystal Ball

• Most Anticipated Mobile/Portable Game of 2013:
• Most Anticipated Console/PC Game of 2013:
• Most Anticipated Hardware of 2013:
• Most Daring Prediction for 2013:

I'll post my list shortly, but I wanted to make the categories easily able to be copied and pasted in this initial post (ProTip: hit Reply With Quote first).

Console/PC Games

• Favorite PC Game of 2012: Dishonored - I'm frankly elated to be able to name a non-sequel this late in the console generation.
• Favorite PS3 Game of 2012: House of the Dead 4 - This was a surprise when I went back through my finished games this year. More light gun games in 2013 please.
• Favorite Wii/Wii U Game of 2012: Kirby's Dream Collection - I hate this choice, but Pikmin 2 would have been next. Maybe I'll get around to Xenoblade some day.
• Favorite 360 Game of 2012: Gears of War 3 - I have not had a 360 in 2012, but this is the game that made me miss one the most.
• Favorite Console/PC Game of 2012: Dishonored

Mobile/Portable Games

• Favorite DS/3DS Game of 2012: Resident Evil: Revelations - It's real Resident Evil in 3D on a portable. That's a slam dunk.
• Favorite PSP/Vita Game of 2012: Uncharted: Golden Abyss - It's real Uncharted on a portable. That's a slam dunk.
• Favorite Android/iOS Game of 2012: Ghost Trick - I love this team at Capcom and can't wait for the Phoenix Wright compilation.
• Favorite Mobile/Portable Game of 2012: Resident Evil: Revelations - It was a photo finish with Uncharted, but it had been so long since a real Resident Evil that this gets the nod.

Geography

• Favorite North American Developed Game of 2012: Uncharted: Golden Abyss - In a massive upset, a portable game wins this one for me.
• Favourite European Developed Game of 2012: Dishonored - Despite being French, Arkane amazingly did not retreat from this contest.
• Favorite Japanese Developed Game of 2012: Resident Evil: Revelations - I have a feeling this category will be dominated by portables for a while.
• Favorite Game of 2012: Dishonored

Companies

• Favorite Developer of 2012: Arkane Studios - Bonus points abound for a non-sequel in 2012.
• Favorite Publisher of 2012: Sega - In a relatively weak year, Sega beats out Square-Enix by getting so much of their back catalog competently available digitally.
• Developer/Publisher I'll Miss the Most: THQ - Assuming there isn't some bankruptcy miracle, I'll go with the choice that had something coming in 2013, South Park.
• Favorite Platform Owner of 2012: Valve - This might be cheating, but Sony's choice to limit the Vita to one account and then not line up third party support makes it necessary.
• Favorite Gaming News Source of 2012: Eurogamer - Well written and subjectively accurate is tough to beat whether we're talking news or reviews.
• Favorite Game Retailer of 2012: Steam - Duh.
• Favorite Company of 2012: Valve

Crystal Ball

• Most Anticipated Mobile/Portable Game of 2013: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - I hope I'm surprised by something totally new though.
• Most Anticipated Console/PC Game of 2013: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 - Castlevania will likely be available on Steam. It's like if Jerry Jones bought the Mets.
• Most Anticipated Hardware of 2013: Steambox - The potential end of traditional consoles is nigh.
• Most Daring Prediction for 2013: Nintendo somehow "wins" E3. It seems impossible, but every time those assholes look beaten, something crazy happens that may be no fault of their own.

Are we limiting the platform releases to the platform that has the best version (so the consoles have exclusives, and the PC has almost everything else)? Mass Effect 3 was my favorite game and it came out on all the console/PC platforms

I didn't want to make it complicated, so just put it wherever you played it. Dishonored was the same deal for me.

I haven't even played a lot of games from 2012. Get back to me, I don't know, November 2014.

Console/PC Games

• Favorite PC Game of 2012: I guess Guild Wars II wins by default.
• Favorite PS3 Game of 2012: Tokyo Jungle
• Favorite Wii/Wii U Game of 2012: Xenoblade Chronicles
• Favorite 360 Game of 2012: I don't think I played a single 360 game this year.
• Favorite Console/PC Game of 2012:

Xenoblade Chronicles

Mobile/Portable Games

• Favorite DS/3DS Game of 2012: I bought a lot of games for 3DS, Ghost Recon has still been my favorite.
• Favorite PSP/Vita Game of 2012: ELMINAGE
• Favorite Android/iOS Game of 2012: lol.
• Favorite Mobile/Portable Game of 2012:

ELMINAGE!!!

Geography

• Favorite North American Developed Game of 2012: n/a
• Favourite European Developed Game of 2012: n/a
• Favorite Japanese Developed Game of 2012: Xenoblade Chronicles
• Favorite Game of 2012:

ELMINAGE!!!!

Companies

• Favorite Developer of 2012: Starfish SD
• Favorite Publisher of 2012: Starfish SD
• Developer/Publisher I'll Miss the Most: Starfish SD
• Favorite Platform Owner of 2012: Starfish SD
• Favorite Gaming News Source of 2012: Starfish SD
• Favorite Game Retailer of 2012: Starfish SD
• Favorite Company of 2012:

Starfish SD

Crystal Ball

• Most Anticipated Mobile/Portable Game of 2013: Elminage II
• Most Anticipated Console/PC Game of 2013: Elminage II
• Most Anticipated Hardware of 2013: Elminage II
• Most Daring Prediction for 2013:

Elminage II sells more copies than there are people.

I didn't play that many games...my list is boring and incomplete. I feel a lot like Diff on this one.

Console/PC Games

• Favorite PC Game of 2012: I didn't play much 2012 content on the PC (but 2013 will be amazing). The Walking Dead would be my choice here by default. I enjoyed Crysis 2 more, but that was a 2011 game.
• Favorite PS3 Game of 2012: Didn't play a PS3 game this year to my recollection.
• Favorite Wii/Wii U Game of 2012: Didn't play much here either. The only fun I have had with WiiU was NSMBU, and it isn't all that good either. Challenge mode is much welcome and there is potential for awesomeness via DLC.
• Favorite 360 Game of 2012: I said ME3 above, but really the answer is Max Payne 3. There were some frustraing moments on hard, and you could cheese the game, but this is what an ultra-high budget linear shooter looks like. The detail is incredible.
• Favorite Console/PC Game of 2012: Max Payne 3

Mobile/Portable Games

• Favorite DS/3DS Game of 2012: I don't play this. The only game was NSMB2, and it's an inferior game to NSMBU.
• Favorite PSP/Vita Game of 2012: I have to go with Super Stardust Delta over Wipeout 2048. I played it more.
• Favorite Android/iOS Game of 2012: Didn't play anything worthwhile here, as I have no iOS device anymore.
• Favorite Mobile/Portable Game of 2012: SSD

Geography

• Favorite North American Developed Game of 2012: Max Payne 3. Developed north of the border.
• Favourite European Developed Game of 2012: Wipeout 2048
• Favorite Japanese Developed Game of 2012: Because I don't play much portaburu, not much to say here. NSMBU I guess (I feel like I am forgetting something, surely)
• Favorite Game of 2012: Max Payne 3

Companies

• Favorite Developer of 2012: R* Vancouver. Best game, best developer.
• Favorite Publisher of 2012: EA. Mass Effect 3 and Most Wanted are awesome games.
• Developer/Publisher I'll Miss the Most: THQ. For different reasons than Yoshi. I can put their current-gen output against anyone's and come out looking pretty good.
• Favorite Platform Owner of 2012: Valve. I guess I will have to second this because even though most of my gaming was done on the 360, they got me to spend $ on a PC and probably allow me to never look back.
• Favorite Gaming News Source of 2012: Neogaf. I get most relevant news and deal information. The sideshow is sometimes fun.
• Favorite Game Retailer of 2012: I have bought many things on Steam already. Trying to rebuy a lot of 360 games has been easy due to massive deals. Not sure how sustainable frequent deals are for publishers, though.
• Favorite Company of 2012: Not too attached to any company, not sure what to say here. Valve is growing the most in my heart, though.

Crystal Ball

• Most Anticipated Mobile/Portable Game of 2013: I have no idea. Vita won't get much support, and I don't care about the other devices.
• Most Anticipated Console/PC Game of 2013: Known? Crysis 3.
• Most Anticipated Hardware of 2013: Whatever video card I can put in this machine to run Crysis 3.
• Most Daring Prediction for 2013: MS knows that they need some kind of start this generation that they didn't need last one due to launching early. I expect to see them come out swinging with their new studios for the Xbox Next launch.

So, what did you think of Elminage?

I think it was one of maybe 10 games that I've played this year.
I think the only ones I beat were Sonic Transformed (a great game, but not my favorite genre) and Kingdom of Amalur Reckoning.

I'm sitting here trying to think, the only games I played this year that were actually released this year were various Vita games, a few 3DS titles, and Double Dragon Neon. I also bought Max Payne 3 (My only 360 purchase) but haven't played it.

If we included games I actually played this year, I'd say Splatterhouse FC as GOTY!