This year, we opened up our Game of the Year voting to our community members. Some of the results are quite unexpected but what isn’t unexpected is the range of games which got a mention. Allowing voters to fill in their own choice if it didn’t appear on our shortlist meant that we saw a huge variation in the types of games that were voted for.
This diversity demonstrates what a varied bunch we are here at TSA but it also demonstrates something else: what unbelievable choice we have in our videogames in 2012. Obviously, the big names rise to the top in polls like this but there were many slightly less expected names that cropped up which we’ll take a look at in an upcoming feature.
So, 2012 was a varied year for videogames which saw some real quality across many genres and also threw up some unexpected gems. Sure, many of us like to have an occasional moan about the number of sequels and the lack of innovative new IP but we probably have more choice and quality than ever before.
Without further ado, here are your winners for Game of the Year 2012.
Community Game Soundtrack of the Year 2012 – Journey
- Journey
- Max Payne 3
- Mass Effect 3
- Metal Gear Solid HD
- Assassin’s Creed III
Community Mobile Game of the Year 2012 – Angry Birds Star Wars
- Angry Birds Star Wars
- Draw Something
- Rayman Jungle Run
- Fuel Tiracas
- Super Hexagon
Community Handheld Game of the Year 2012 – Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- LittleBigPlanet Vita
- Gravity Rush
- MotorStorm RC
- Rayman: Origins
Community Sports Game of the Year 2012 – FIFA 13
- FIFA 13
- SSX
- Everybody’s Golf (Vita)
- PES 2013
- FIFA Football (Vita)
Community Racing Game of the Year 2012 – Need for Speed Most Wanted
- Need for Speed Most Wanted
- MotorStorm RC
- WipEout 2048
- Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed
- LBP Karting
Community Strategy Game of the Year 2012 – XCOM
- XCOM
- Football Manager 13
- Awesomenauts
- Worms Revolution
- Crusader Kings II
Community Role Playing Game of the Year 2012 – Mass Effect 3
- Mass Effect 3
- Dragon’s Dogma
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning
- Diablo III
Community Genre Agnostic Game of the Year 2012 – Journey
- Journey
- The Walking Dead
- LittleBigPlanet Vita
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
- Sound Shapes
Community Shooter Game of the Year 2012 – Far Cry 3
- Far Cry 3
- Borderlands 2
- Max Payne 3
- Black Ops II
- Starhawk
Community Action Adventure Game of the Year 2012 – Dishonored
- Dishonored
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Borderlands 2
- Sleeping Dogs
Overall Community Game of the Year 2012 – Journey
- Journey
- Borderlands 2
- The Walking Dead
- Far Cry 3
- Mass Effect 3
Alex C
Overall Community Game of the Year 2012 – Journey
Fantastic.
wonkey-willy
just started playing journey…
was doing really well playing co-op with someone (who was basically showing where to go) then my connection dropped and i haven’t got a clue where i am and what i am doing lol
Death_In_Flamez
Someone please explain how Journey won that? No idea what the hype was about :S
cam the man
You don’t know why Journey won!……. neither do I, although I enjoyed the first play through I think it got boring in places when playing though it again to get all the collectables etc.
avengerrr
Agreed. It is a very creative and unique game but it isn’t the dog’s b****** of all the year’s games.
I’m still trying to work the formula out ME3 = RPG….. no haven’t solved it yet :P
damoxuk
In the same way Diablo 3 is :D Barely but does it matter? Nearly ALL games have some aspect of RPG nowadays.
gazzagb
Agreed, seriously don’t get the excitement about wandering around a desert!
djhsecondnature
That’s the point, it’s not about excitement. It’s about wonder.
gazzagb
Clearly some people like it, but it’s just not for me. If I’m going to play a game, I want it to be fun.
bunimomike
If you can’t see why then it’ll be almost impossible to explain it to you (and you accept it). :-)
Origami Killer
I don’t understand how Far Cry 3 wins as best shooter above Boderlands 2 but then in the final category is beaten by Boderlands 2. This makes no sense!
At first I thought Journey was receiving too much hype but in the end I can see why, wonderful game. Must of played through it a half a dozen times now.
teflon
Simple. Everyone had but a single vote in each category, so if those who voted for Far Cry 3 in FPS then voted for Journey in GoTY, but those who voted Borderlands 2 stuck to their guns, FC3 would drop down the list.
Origami Killer
I really doubt my intelligence sometimes.
hazelam
good to see Dragon’s Dogma do well in the community vote.
i didn’t think there’d be anything i’d be praising capcom for this year, but i have to give them credit for a great game there.
DapperHayden007
I thought the soundtrack to Far Cry 3 was amazing. But most people think the actual soundtrack is the skrillex and what not in there. If anyone wants to hear it, this is far cry 3’s awesome soundtrack ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAmN270P_Fg&list=PLoyiDxRNZSgh8jP0o1KLZefjNV4XdDkc_&index=1
bunimomike
Lovely stuff and kinda how I felt things would roll with the Community votes. To be honest, anything listed is pretty much a “you should play this” game anyway. :-)
bunimomike
Also, it was wonderful to see the VGA awards recognising games like Journey and The Walking Dead because the video game landscape has changed thanks to the likes of PSN/XBLA/Steam/etc.
TSBonyman
Al this talk of Journey is making me want to play it again :)
samiro05
I’ve played none of the community games of the year so I had a completely different set of games of the year for 2012. Looking forward to this extra article though, I hope Tales of Graces F gets a mention as it is the best story and visually awesome game I’ve played on PS3. Can’t wait for Tales of Xillia.
colmshan1990
2012 wasn’t the best year for AAA games, it makes sense that a fantastic little gem like Journey could win the GotY.
That said, there was still room for improvement with Journey too- and I look forward to seeing games that do improve upon it.