Top Ten Games, 2012 Edition

Another year of video game blogging has come and gone - actually, my first full January-to-December year doing this. Fifty-two weeks in a year and one review per week (skipping last week) means I've played 50 games to completion this year. But wait, that's not quite true - January was indie month at 3 games per week, and I played some games I didn't review, so that puts me well over 60 this year.

Anyway, if you remember my list from last year, the purpose is not to talk about the best games that came out this year. I don't play games soon enough after launch to do that kind of a list. No, this is simply my 10 favourite games I played this year.

And so, with no more ado, and in alphabetical order, here we go!

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Post-Launch Review

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Released: April 17 2012

About

After the attempt on King Foltest's life, the witcher Geralt of Rivia has been made into Foltest's personal bodyguard. But he fails - Foltest is assassinated and Geralt is framed. The witcher sets out to clear his name, and while tracking the mysterious assassin, he runs into plenty of monsters and finds himself tied up in a war that will determine the fate of peoples and kingdoms.

The Witcher

Post-Launch Review

The Witcher

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Released: October 2007

About

Geralt of Rivia is one of the last remaining witchers - a monster hunter with unnatural, superhuman powers. Geralt has no memory of his past and is simply doing witchers' work, until their base is attacked by a powerful sorcerer and his lieutenant. The fortress is destroyed and the witchers' mutagenic secrets stolen, so Geralt and the others set out to take them back.

Choices and Morality in RPGs

Have you ever been playing an RPG and accidentally had sex?

Have you made a decision for a certain reason, only for the game to think you did it for a completely different one?

Have you ever yearned for morality options more complex than “second coming of Christ” vs “Satan incarnate”?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you've witnessed firsthand some of the main weaknesses of modern roleplaying video games: lack of clarity and lack of depth. All these RPGs boast about their “deep, mature worlds and experiences with rich, meaningful choices”... and then go on to tell you that you can pick between “the good choice” and “the evil choice”.