Game of the Year 2012

Here's a list of my favorite games from 2012.

10. Assassins Creed 3
Yes, the single player was pretty disappointing and didn't engage me at all. Yes, the performance suffered on consoles (which I don't care about because I was playing it on the computer). But, for all its faults, Assassins Creed 3 still gave me some of the best experiences of the year with its unique multiplayer. It's one of the few games to truly deal with stealth in a multiplayer environment, and it's a blast.

9. Natural Selection 2
NS1 was one of my favorite games, and I've been following the development of Natural Selection 1 for a very long time. Unknown Worlds, as stated in interviews, should not have been able to make this game; it has seen delays, funding difficulties, and a whole bunch of other problems along the way. But, with the community's support, they've made a great successor to their previous game. I'm looking forward to their future content, with new maps, new abilities, more updates and upgrades, and supported competitive play.

8. Torchlight 2
Torchlight 1 was one of the most streamlined games I have played. It wastes no time with frills or extra features: it was a simple hack and slash game, for a single player. In a world where Diablo 2 existed, everyone had one complaint about Torchlight: make it multiplayer! Torchlight 2 butted heads with Diablo 3, and if play numbers are any indication, Torchlight 2 won. At least, it won for me and my friends. A multiplayer hack and slash adventure where you kill monsters, get loot, kill bigger monsters, get better loot, and show off and trade your loot to your buddies? It's still as much fun as it was ten years ago.

7. League of Legends
Yes, this is a shoe-in. It's been on my list pretty much every year, and I think it will continue to be. A fun "MOBA" style game that is free to play, you select one of over a hundred champions, and fight 5 on 5 battles against other players. It's the type of gameplay that was popularized by DOTA many years ago, and it's still popular today. League of Legends' true test will come when DOTA2 is released.

6. Blood Bowl: Team Manager
Ah-ha! Board games! For the first time, my GOTY list will include board games. Because that has been a majority of what I have played over this holiday break. Blood Bowl Team Manager takes the high-fantasy football miniatures game, and converts it into an easier-to-understand, faster-to-play, card game version of itself. My girlfriend and her family were skeptical when I told them what it was, as they don't like football. We had a blast playing it! Orcs smashing dwarves, skaven running around everywhere, the game has a strong theme and was a ton of fun.

5. Dust: An Elysian Tail

4. Hawken

3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

2. Faster Than Light

1. Android: Netrunner