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[Column] General: Preparing for a New Year

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

As 2012 comes to a close, some are left somewhat disappointed by the past year in gaming. But not all was gloom and doom. In her latest column, Pokket takes a look back at some of the year's most compelling stories. See what she has to say before leaving your thoughts about the new year in the comments.

The end of the year is approaching, a lot faster than I would have thought. Looking back on this year, there are many games I've played, trialed, tested, and enjoyed. Many MMORPGs, some RTS games, some browser-based, others just single player PC games. Instead of making a "Top 10 games" list, I am going to simply reminisce like an old man sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch, with a pipe in hand and the birds whistling in the distance.

Read more of Hillary Nicole's Pokket Says: Preparing for a New Year.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


Comments

  • galdosgaldos Member Posts: 18
    I have to agree, the jumping puzzles were a pleasant surprise in GW2, I must have spent entire days in total just completing jumping puzzles.
  • KabaalKabaal Member UncommonPosts: 3,042
    Amnesia + headset = one of the most immersive games there are. Scary movies and books no longer creep me out but that little indie gem made me squirm quite a few times.
  • XarnthalXarnthal Member Posts: 130

    I'm waiting in Queue for Darkfall, I've been waiting for this rendition of Darkfall for almost 10 years and the minor issues that occur over the next month of beta will not deter me from enjoying the best MMO concept ever created.

    Other than that, Planetside2 takes the cake for this year. BR60+ and still having a blast.

    Sennheiser
    Assist
    Thage

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 31,937

    Amnesia is very creepy for me. I have yet to finish it. I am somehwere in a basement looking for something and realized I am almost out of oil.

    logged out and still don't have the nerve to make my way out of that basement.

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  • stygianapothstygianapoth Member UncommonPosts: 185
    I haven't really had any great moments.. just so sick of the f2p games. It's ruining games.
  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910


    Originally posted by Sovrath
    Amnesia is very creepy for me. I have yet to finish it. I am somehwere in a basement looking for something and realized I am almost out of oil.

    logged out and still don't have the nerve to make my way out of that basement.



    Same here. That game is just scary stressful. It's not even like anything really bad happens...it just pushes all of the right buttons in my monkey brain.

    ** edit **
    My biggest deal this year was the discovery that Minecraft is actually a fully functional game and not a toy. The second was that once I got into Fallout 3, and fixed the issues with the game crashing, it was an awesome game and it took up far more time than I really should have spent in any particular game.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • FromHellFromHell Member Posts: 1,311
    TSW made my gaming year. Don´t know what I would have played if this title would not exist. Guess I had spent more time in EvE or playing X-COM.

    Secrets of Dragon?s Spine Trailer.. ! :D
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwT9cFVQCMw

    Best MMOs ever played: Ultima, EvE, SW Galaxies, Age of Conan, The Secret World
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2X_SbZCHpc&t=21s
    .


    .
    The Return of ELITE !
    image

  • apocolusterapocoluster Member UncommonPosts: 1,326

      TSW and SWTOR going F/B2P made my year.  While Im not so broke that I wont sub to a game, to me Free is just that much better. 

      I was upset about the lenght of Dishonored..but it was a sweet ride while i was on it..just ended too soon.

     Had a blast with Borderlands 2..only game in a while that had me wanting to play through again after I beat it..pretty awesome taht I can keep my toon and level and go again

     

     

    No matter how cynical you become, its never enough to keep up - Lily Tomlin

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    I would have to vote Dishonored as the game of the year, even though I am really not into fps games.

    If the MMO genre, I would have to say it has been an extremely disappointing year.   That is the good part because next year I don't see anything in sight that will even come close to what we have this year.  All I see is a lot of trash f2p games that don't even come close to what we had 10 years ago.  The really bad thing, I see people getting excited over these really bad games that are coming out.   How can you set your bar so low?

  • PhaserlightPhaserlight Member EpicPosts: 3,071
    This is an easy one for me; hands down, the greatest moment was getting my 39 mission tree design published in Vendetta Online with co-author Pizzasgood. I won't say how long I've been working on this, but it has been for over a year.

    "The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
    Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance

  • TerranahTerranah Member UncommonPosts: 3,575

    I don't think there are really any stand out moments in gaming this year.  That isn't to say that I didn't have fun and enjoy myself though.

     

    I played some SWTOR.  It was a long time coming, and when it was finally here it was fun for awhile.  Several folks from my Precu SWG days logged on as well, so it was like a little reunion.  After max level I worked on getting up my light points but they became bugged, fixed, then bugged again.  I gave up.  I could see going back though if there was a compelling reason.  Maybe boredom is compelling enough.

     

    I played GW2 ALOT.  Haven't played an mmo that much in a long time.  I did a lot of exploring and probably grouped up via the casual open group mechanic far more than I have in recent times.  I also played some pvp which was fun.  All in all, a good game that I am hoping they add an expansion to that will open up things like housing and such for us RP folks.

     

    I purchased quite a few games on Steam, the most noteable being Far Cry 3. 

     

    All in all I feel as though my gaming is a bit aimless lately.  I drift from game to game, and while I hit max level on GW2 and SWTOR, I can't say that I took away any real satisfaction from the achievment.  I'm waiting for the next big thing in sandbox gaming, whenever that comes.

  • NobleNerdNobleNerd Member UncommonPosts: 759

    Over this year coming to an end there has not been any HUGE stand outs in gaming, especially MMO gaming, but I have to say Skyrim was a big joy for me (I know it's not an MMO, but definately one of my bigger wow moments). I played many beta games over the last year and looked for a game to fill the WoW void.

     

     Over this year I had left WoW and have been evaluating what it is I want from an MMO especially. With much gaming and even a trip down FFXI memory lane I found one thing I desired more than anything in a game and that was a good and continual story being told. No more walls of text. No more mindless grinding and dailies. No more killing and re-killing of bosses over and over and over again. I desire a world that changes with my deeds and accomplishments. When I defeat a boss invading an area I want him to stay dead and I want the world around me to change because of it and the NPCs to recognize my deed.  I hear the naysayers already, "Never going to happen in an MMO", "Play RPGs then" BUT I will continue to dream and demand greater, dynamic involvement in MMOs. 

     

    Other games that I recall from this year would be Rift. I put in a lot of hours in that game over this soon to be year. It was different enough from WoW that it had a fresh feel. The graphics were top notch. The development team truly showed they care about the game. I recall a few times of even grouping with a few GMs and open chats with them in general chat ingame. Last would be GW2. I was blown away by the effort to minor detail in the game. Each zone felt alive and lived in. NPCs had many random voice acted chit-chat. The jumping puzzles. PvP. No more quest hubs as we knew them. It was definately one of my more enjoyable moments in MMO playing. Thank you Anet!

     


  • Tindale111Tindale111 Member UncommonPosts: 276
    Started the year like yourself playing SWOTOR really enjoyed this till i maxed out then played GW2 for a couple of months loved the exploring and completing a map fav moment was 1st time we fought the dragon in frostgorge or whatever that place is called and now im back to EQ2 just got my warlock to 94 and loving pvp high hopes for the Elder scrolls next year and might give Otherland a try as i loved the books just would like a game with some longivity like EQ2 but with upto date graphics heres hoping :)
  • gravesworngravesworn Member Posts: 324
    I am really only interested in darkfall for the forseeable future. I have dota 2 and single player games to keep me numb to the horriblr mmorpg of this and next year, it is a shame, I would have thought we would have amazing mmorpgs by now. Oh well. Good article
  • kjempffkjempff Member RarePosts: 1,759

    Eq progressions server gave me moments of joy at points where I had immersed myself enough to forget it really was an old half broken game with players who, like myself, could play it in their sleep.

    After I re-burned out on eq, I wanted to try out Path of Exile beta just for a few days .. and then a few days more .. and juuuust a bit more. Suddenly over a month had gone by. It got flaws and its definately an aquired taste, but I guess it had something that made me come back.

    Nutting around with Diablo3 at the moment but its kindda dull although hardcore gives a little edge, but I cant help thinking I might aswell go play the advanced Diablo3 version called World of Warcraft instead (err well sort of).

  • FreezzoFreezzo Member UncommonPosts: 235

    I've been drifting around at first. Starting with SWTOR, which lasted me for 7 months, and then onto WoW for a bit until GW2 launched. Not impressed by the so-called social in GW2 I finally gave in to the longing for a game I had played before, where semi-dynamic and grouping were combined with the more traditional MMO, which I prefered: RIFT. Just the huge amount of polish, content and now the expansion has kept me busy for a long time and will keep me busy for quite a while to come. Go RIFT!!! (also I play GW2 from time to time just because I can :) )

    "We need men who can dream of things that never were." - John F. Kennedy
    And for MMORPGs ever so true...

  • RimmersmanRimmersman Member Posts: 885

    Well i played a few MMO this year and i found TSW and Vanguard taking up my time, GW2 imo was poor and overrated.

     

    Best non MMO's i've played has to be The Witcher 2 and Skyrim

     

    Funny thing is it took till late November for me to really find a MMO that really has blown me away and their is nothing like it on the market today.

     

    As the guys over at massively.com  have said 

     

    Patrick Mackey

     

    "Open PVP with real consequences, horizontal character progression, a player-driven economy, and the best combat system in any MMO ever -- you'll find it all in Age of Wushu."

     

    "Probably the best sandbox ever The comparisons with EVE Online are inevitable. It's a game with open PvP (complete with consequences), guilds and guild territory that can be invaded, and a dynamic, player-driven economy."

     

    http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/12/18/first-impressions-from-the-age-of-wushu-beta/

     

    Mmorpg.com are way behind on this game, it's only the last week when they have stood up and taken notice, they didn't even try the first western beta. 

     

    Forget other Asian MMO you might of played, this not like any Asian MMO or Western MMO. It does not have oversized weapons and little girl characters in high heels constantly giggling.

    Give it a shot tomorrow, anyone can download and play for ten hours and the 60 mins a day onwards. I'm a full beta member and i bet that anyone who plays for 10 hours will not be happy with only 60 mins everyday after.

     

    One more day and it's on again for 20 long days.

     
     
     

    image
  • erictlewiserictlewis Member UncommonPosts: 3,022

    2012 the year that we were promised good games, and they went bad.  We seen swtor go free to play in a years time, tsw go buy to play,  we seen so much hate over gw2.  

    One thing for sure 2012 has been a year of disaster for game comanies, and for us the players. 

     

  • catlanacatlana Member Posts: 1,677

    I really enjoyed some non MMO games this year. Borderlands 2, Dishonored, XCOM, Kingdoms of Amalur, Mass Effect 3, and Torchlight 2 were a lot of fun. Mass Effect 3's multiplayer was the biggest surprise. I expected to hate it, but I actually ended up having fun and playing a large number of hours in it.

    As far as MMOs go, I tried out a couple of new ones (GW2 & Tera). They were not really my taste, so I ended up back in Rift & SWToR. Rift's expansion has been a huge improvement on the game. Instant adventure also works really well for those on a time crunch.

  • dreamsofwardreamsofwar Member Posts: 468

    I went back to LOTRO and so far I'm loving it. It has a more hardcore feel to it than other modern MMO's I think. I'm not too sure I like where its going in terms of making it easier. Most people praise the loot system but I think it makes things too convenient. Riders of Rohan looks fantastic though and I can't wait to finally get to that part of the game after so many years wondering whats beyond Moria. 

    I am surprised LOTRO doesn't get much love on this site. It deserves a lot more credit than it is given.

  • ompgamingompgaming Member UncommonPosts: 188

    No Mass Effect 3?  I mean if you are going to bring up single player games, how can you miss the game of the year and the controversy of the ending?

     

    Above all else... never ever piss off the penguin.

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