Favorite of the Year (FotY)

I think we can all agree that 2012 was a big year for videogames. Aside from an off month here and there we were consistently bombarded with one huge release after another. Whether they were heavy hitters like Mass Effect 3 and Max Payne 3, incredible downloadable titles like The Walking Dead and Journey, popular HD Collections like the Metal Gear Solid franchise, or sleepers like Sleeping (no pun intended) Dogs and XCOM Enemy Unknown. Month after month we found ourselves reaching back into our wallets to pay for some of the biggest titles in gaming history, and now it's time to look back on this incredible year and reflect on the games we've played to select that one title that gave us the most bang for our buck, put a smile on our face, and resulted in hour after hour of gaming.

A few weeks back I posted a blog about what makes a good videogame, great. The intent was to get you to start thinking about this in preparation for the inevitable discussion of Favorite of the Year (FotY - patent pending). After numerous discussions on the idea of your typical Game of the Year, Joel and I came to the realization that putting ourselves in the position of choosing that one coveted title out of the dozens that were released over the last 12 months was an endeavor neither of us felt we were qualified for, had the time to invest in, or believed we could do justice with. There are just too many games and I don't think any member of A Band of Gamers has had an opportunity (or the funding) to play them all. Therefore, we decided to change things up a bit and start what will hopefully become a yearly tradition.

Your pick for Favorite of the Year should be the one game that was released and played during 2012 that provided you with the most amount of enjoyment. Maybe it was the single player campaign for Dishonored that you couldn't get enough of. Perhaps it was the addictive nature of Halo 4's multiplayer. It might even be the unending score-chase of Zen Pinball 2. Regradless, Joel and I want to hear your personal selection for the 2012 FotY and why you chose that particular game.

We also thought it would be more interesting and fun to keep everyone's FotY "secret" from the rest of the ABOG community. Therefore, we have disabled adding comments to this Blog post and request that ALL 2012 FotY's ARE SENT DIRECTLY TO US AT speakup@abandofgamers.com. We will be gathering your selections between now and when we read them during our December 27th podcast recording. Although there won't be a tally of the game selections received to crown a single winner, we think the list will be an interesting mix of AAA, downloadable, and surprise choices. 

I for one realize that selecting just one game from all the great games I've played this past year is more difficult than initially considered. I've got a short list started and continue to work through a few remaining games as I make my final decision. I can't wait to talk about my choice and look forward to hearing about yours!