Best Graphics of 2012 - Artistic

There are more the graphics than how realistic you can make it. Some games take a much more artistic few to what they create. Cell shaded, pixels, or something else, a game allows a creator to express themselves and the world they helped created, and that is something that deserves recognition. Or nominees for Best Graphics - Artistic are:

Guild Wars 2
Borderlands 2
Scribblenaughts Unlimited
The Walking Dead
Journey

And the award, selected by the artist in the group, is Guild Wars 2. The game does not have an overly realistic view to it and the way cutscenes are transitioned is pretty cool. I could talk more about this but it would not mean much coming from me. So just trust us that it is a really pretty game.

Best Graphics of 2012 - Technical

As time has gone on, games have started to look nicer and nicer. Once was once just arranged pixels has moved on 3D modeled characters that are bordering on realistic. This is no small feet and takes a number of man hours and amazing skill to pull off. As such we feel that it should be awarded. But whom are we choosing from?

Far Cry 3
Halo 4
Dishonored
Assassin’s Creed 3

And the winner is Far Cry 3. Each time they release a game they kick it up a notch visually, and this year was not exception. Everything in this game is absolutely gorgeous and truly deserves some recognition.

Best Story of 2012

A good story can transplant you to another place and time. It can take you from a dingy one room apartment to a world filled with magical creatures or to a starship speeding through the galaxy. A well told story will keep you playing a game longer than thought possible, and can make or break a series. Our choices for this are:

Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
Borderlands 2
Dishonored

Ready for some controversy? Despite all the hate that it received, we felt that Mass Effect 3 deserves this award. Yes, I even did a long article on the ending of the game, and did even complain a little. But it did something that so few games actually do. It ended the entire thing. There is no continuing on from here. There is no sequel for Sheppard. His story had ended, and it ended epically. For that, I still salute BioWare for what they did and support their decisions.

Best Indie Game of 2012

*Note, don't let the posted name fool you, IrishPride wrote this one*

This award may not provoke heated debates amongst peer groups, but this year, we had a strong showing of downloadable games.  In fact, a lot of other video games industry websites have been picking a downloadable games as their game of the year.  Downloadable games have come a long way which is great for gamers.  I would be remiss not to mention our honorable mentions, because in their own right, they are damn good games.

Faster Than Light
Mark of the Ninja
Shank 2
Skullgirls

However, the one downloadable game that stood above the rest for me is Mark of the Ninja. Mark of the Ninja is the definitive stealth/assassin game of 2012.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for a game with great stealth play and if you're an assassin on top of it, I'm all in.  The mechanics of Mark of the Ninja is actually quite simple, but it is executed (excuse the pun) to perfection.  The ambiance and atmosphere is spot on and you truly feel like a ninja trying you darnedest not to be spotted.  In other stealth games, if you get spotted, it's not the end of the world.  You can go guns ablazing and finish the job.  Personally, I don't want this in a stealth game.  Call me a masochist, but I want to be punished for being spotted.  I want to curse under my breath for leaving the shadows too soon and be killed my a guard on patrol.  While Mark of the Ninja isn't that unforgiving, you can tell it was the developers intention to remain unseen for your missions.  If you're a fan of stealth games and haven't tried Mark of the Ninja yet, you are doing a disservice to yourself.  For an eight to ten hour campaign with a ton of unlockables to obtain, Mark of the Ninja is definitely worth your time.  *Vanish*

Best Sports Game of 2012

Sports, I suck at them. But that is why we have sports games! They allow us to pretend we can do something that would normally be impossible to an amazing degree. As such we honor this ability with our sports game of the year. The nominations are:

SSX
Madden NFL 13
FIFA 13
NHL 13

And the winner, the only one not with a 13 at the end of the name, SSX! More on this from Rampage, maybe.

Best Puzzle Game of 2012

Puzzles are a great way to spend time. They make you think it a bit, and once solved, as long as there was a challenge to it, you feel great. They allow a person to feel smart, and waste some time. Here are our nomination for best puzzle game of year.

Angry Birds Space
Angry Birds Star Wars
Scribblenaughts Unlimited
1000 PC New Years Eve Puzzle (This is what I get for round table discussions)

Click for a full sized wall-paper.And the award goes to Angry Birds Star Wars. Sure not many people will agree with this. Hell even I felt it was a stretch. But this is truly a fun game. It mixes the nostalgia of Star Wars with the puzzle of killing all the pigs and surrounding supplies to get as many points possible. Plus it is a great way to kill time.

Best Fighter of 2012

Fighting games are some of the mainstays of gaming tournaments. One versus one, they have learned their chosen character and fight their hardest. For some time there you did not see many new fighting games, but in recent years we have been blessed with, ok mostly more sequels of old games, but they are still good. Here are our nominations for best fighting game.

Soul Calibur 5
Dead of Alive 5
Street Fighter X Tekken
Skullgirls

And the winner is Street Fighter X Tekken. Rampage gets to tell us why, if and when he gets around to writing this section.

Best Shooter of 2012

Point a gun and fire it, that is the core of a shooter. They have evolved to to be more than that now. They have involved storylines, branching characters, and fancier guns! This year was full of games that have improved the genre, and here are our choices for best shooter of the year.

Farcry 3
Borderlands 2
Halo 4
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

And the winner is Borderlands 2. With 4 different classes, a diverse leveling system, hilarious dialog, and more bullets than the US Military then game is a real joy to play. It works in both a single player and multiplayer environment and will give you hours of enjoyment.

Best MMO of 2012

MMO's are quickly dominating the gaming market, or at least the free-to-play part of the market. As such there are now a number of MMO's to choose from, but despite this we have have chosen a few nominate for MMO of the year.

Guild Wars 2
Planetside 2
World of Warcraft: Mists of Panderia

And the winner is Guild Wars 2 (like that is any surprise if you listen to the podcast). The interactive combat and way they work questing makes the game really fun to play. Add that to the no subscription play model and this is an MMO that anyone should pick up.

Best Racing Game of 2012

*Note, don't let the posted name fool you, IrishPride wrote this one*

Best racing game is one of the easiest selections we have to make here at The Gameslave.  It's not because we all easily agree on a winner, but no one here at TGS really plays racing games besides myself.  I'll be the first to admit, I'm definitely not a hard core racing gamer, but I do own a 360 steering wheel and have sunk numerous hours into past racing games.  For me, the clear cut winner for best racing game is Borderlands 2.  The cars in BL2 handle like a dream and you can launch exploding barrels, what's not to love? Our nominees are:

Forza Horizon
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze (We did not play many racing games this year)
Borderlands 2

Okay, in all seriousness, the best racing game of 2012 is Forza Horizon and frankly it's not even close.

The Forza series strikes a perfect balance between real life racing simulation and arcade simulation.  I like tweaking my cars to perform better in races, but still like having the arcade feel of racing.  If I wanted true to life racing, I would go to my local race track and do it myself.  What makes Forza Horizon awesome is that it takes what made the previous Forza games great and amplifies it with open world racing.  Not only is it open world racing, it's based on the greatest state in the union, Colorado.  There are an abundant of races to partake in as well as some cool "boss battle" races where you race against airplanes, hot air balloons and other crazy vehicles.  There is also a pretty cool story that goes along with all the racing.  And hell, if you don't want to race, you don't have to.  Just take one of your exotic cars out for a spin on crisp Colorado night.