Welcome to day 3 of the Best Of 2012 Awards. Yesterday we covered the Genre awards, which focused on the myriad of genres that our games derive from but today we focus on the Special Achievement awards. These awards represent the categories that we deem to be special, i.e. the biggest gaming surprise of the year, best story of the year and even the best ending of the year. Find out which games managed to claim a Special Achievement award, whether it be good or bad.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Few games if any have managed to do what The Walking Dead: The Game series has managed to do and that is to evoke an emotional response from its audience. Characters who have depth, a gripping narrative and some truly memorably moments help to making The Walking Dead not just the best adventure game of the year, but one of the greatest games of the year, period. Nowhere in gaming will you find a more authentic zombie experience, if simply because The Walking Dead: The Game series manages to focus on what really matters during an end of the world scenario; focus on the people.
Developer: TellTale Games | Publisher: TellTale Games
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BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Resident Evil, it’s a name that evokes memories of zombies, cheesy dialogue, crazy over the top bosses and above all else, survival horror. While the last part of that memory hasn’t been as pronounced in the last few iterations of the franchise, it has for the most part been safe to say that Resident Evil has been a seminal franchise for both Capcom and the industry in general. And so, the utter disaster that Resident Evil 6 turned out to be makes it even more disappointing. Saying that the game has turned into a standard third person action game would be giving the game more credit than it deserves, because, honestly, its a poor third person shooter at that. Overly long animations, poor hit detection, a wonky camera, dodgy shooting mechanics, poor pacing and an overall lack of cohesive design help to turn what could have been the best game in the series into the series death-nail. The best thing that Capcom can do now is give the series a break (we received 3 Resident Evil games this year, only one was good) and come back next generation with a fully rebooted game simply called “Resident Evil.” Now let’s not speak of 6 ever again…please.
Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom
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BEST NEW I.P.
Blending elements of stealth, action, and roleplaying into a first person game is no easy feat, but the talented folks over at Arkane Studios have managed to do just that with Dishonored. Dishonored plays a lot like a game called Deus Ex and that’s no surprise considering the man largely responsible for the acclaim Deus Ex, Harvey Smith, is the lead designer for Dishonored. A simply story of revenge leads the player through the stunning city of Dunwall, which is currently plagued by rates, disease, death and plenty of corruption. Plenty of nooks and crannies are strewn throughout, allowing one to go through the world quickly and quietly or you may simply blast through the front door and use your impressive arsenal to leave a trail of blood in your wake. It’s a game that puts freedom of choice above all else and it succeeds because of it.
Developer: Arkane Studios | Publisher: Bethesda
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BEST CO-OP MULTIPLAYER GAME
Developer: Gearbox Software | Publisher: 2K Games
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BEST COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER GAME
Developer: 343 Industries | Publisher: Microsoft Studios
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BEST TECHNICAL VISUALS
Developer: 343 Industries | Publisher: Microsoft StudiosTHE RUNNERS-UP:
BEST ARTISTIC VISUALS
Developer: thatgamecompany | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
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BEST STORY
Developer: TellTale Games | Publisher: TellTale Games
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BEST NEW CHARACTER
Clementine (The Walking Dead: The Game)
Developer: TellTale Games | Publisher: TellTale Games
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BEST SOUNDTRACK
Developer: thatgamecompany | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
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BEST SOUND DESIGN
Developer: 343 Industries | Publisher: Microsoft Studios
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BEST VOICE ACTING
Developer: Rockstar Vancouver | Publisher: Rockstar Games
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BEST DEVELOPER
BEST GAME NO ONE PLAYED
“Asura’s Wrath is a game that I absolutely love, and I know that there are many others out there who will too. It’s not perfect, and it is a very niche title, so playing the demo to get an idea of what the game is like is recommended. But if you can overlook its faults and just enjoy the experience it presents, you’ll be treated to one of the coolest, craziest experiences you’ve ever had with a video game, and to me that is more than worth the price of admission.” Reis Mahnic, Contributing Editor
Developer: CyberConnect2 | Publisher: Capcom
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BEST ENDING
Developer: TellTale Games | Publisher: TellTale Games
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