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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Console Awards — Xbox 360

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/11/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, awards, dance central, dance central 3, fez, forza, forza horizon, game of the year, halo 4, kinect, Microsoft, trials, trials evolution, xbox, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

The Xbox 360 didn’t have that many console exclusives this year, but the few that made it out were solid. Most of them were indie games, but I have to say it was a tough decision this year.

Halo 4

Halo 4 is the obvious winner here. With a humongous budget, Halo 4 is the first game in the series developed outside Bungie, and for good measure. The soundtrack is beautiful, the campaign is thrilling, and the multiplayer is better than ever. This isn’t just the best 360 game this year, but one of the best games period.

Runner-Ups

Trials Evolution

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Forza Horizon

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Fez

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Dance Central 3

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The best platformer usually has a wonderful art style, solid jumping mechanics, fun puzzles, and gives off a feeling of even nostalgia.

Sound Shapes

Sound Shapes is a really underrated game, but there were a lot of great platformers this year. Tales from Space and Fez came in a close second. Sound Shapes has some great modes and the soundtrack is superb as well as solid jumping mechanics. This is just one awesome platformer.

Runner-Ups

Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack

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New Super Mario Bros. U

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Fez

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LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Downloadable Game

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/10/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, awards, dlc, downloadable, fez, game of the year, journey, mark of the ninja, Microsoft, pc, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, Sony, steam, the walking dead, trials evolution, Xbox 360, zombie, zombies. Leave a comment

The best downloadable game goes to a game that you can only download via a service such as Xbox LIVE Arcade or Steam. Usually, this is download only with no disc-based version available. This category is slowly getting phased out because almost every PC game, and most console and handheld games, are becoming download only. This category usually only applies to downloadable console games, but PC ones get thrown in every so often.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead mainly gets the award because it is not only gripping and thrilling, but I anticipated every single episode throughout the entire year. Telltale really made people watch their calendar because they wanted the next piece of the story to this amazing adventure game. If you can make players chomping at the bit for an entire year for each episode, you were successful. The other games were great, but nothing captures the atmosphere and heart-wrenching tale of TWD.

Runner-Ups

Trials Evolution

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Mark of the Ninja

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Fez

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Journey

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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Genre Awards — Best Indie Game

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/09/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, awards, fez, game of the year, hotline miami, indie, journey, mark of the ninja, Microsoft, pc, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, psvita, retro city rampage, Sony, steam, vita, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

This has probably been the strongest indie game year yet. Many have even beat out AAA high budget titles so that says a lot. There were so many amazing indie games this year it was really hard to pick just 5. These were the best of the bunch.

Journey

thatgamecompany has really proven to be an extremely talented indie developer. From their last game Flower to this, I can’t wait to see what’s next. Hotline Miami came in a close second, but the soundtrack, art style, and just overall beauty of the game really won it over.

Runner-Ups

Hotline Miami

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Mark of the Ninja

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Fez

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Retro City Rampage

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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Graphics, Artistic

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/09/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, artistic, awards, dishonored, fez, game of the year, graphics, guild wars 2, journey, Microsoft, mmo, pc, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, Sony, steam, the walking dead, Xbox 360, zombie. Leave a comment

Graphics are great in games, but some just strive to be artistically beautiful rather than push your hardware to the limits. There were quite a few beautiful games in the indie department this year, but still a smaller amount than last year. These games look like moving paintings or drawings. These are the most beautiful of them all.

Journey

Journey’s art style just breathes artistic flow and imagination. Despite the brown color palette the overall design choices, effects, and visual representation of everything you see are just fantastic. Combined with a beautiful score, Journey is a one of a kind game that AAA titles can’t seem to provide.

Runner-Ups

The Walking Dead

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Guild Wars 2

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Fez

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Dishonored

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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Music

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/08/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, ac3, assassin's creed 3, assassin's creed iii, awards, fez, game of the year, journey, mass effect 3, Microsoft, music, pc, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, Sony, steam, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

The Best Music award goes to a game that delivers emotion, atmosphere, and tension through the game’s soundtrack. Whether it be orchestral, licensed, or anything else it must feel just right. There weren’t many games with great soundtracks this year, but there were a few. These were the best, but only one comes out on top.

Journey

Journey comes out on top because of how rich and powerful the score is. It reminds me a lot of Skyrim, and hey, it was up for a Grammy! Journey is not only a very unique game, but the soundtrack pulls you in and provides feelings and emotions on top of the visual experience. Mass Effect 3 was very close, but the epic space battle music doesn’t compare to this masterpiece.