I voted for Borderlands 2. It took everything from the first game and fleshed it out/fixed it. Shotguns are no longer overpowered, although the driving still sucks. But it had a fantastic villain, who IMO is right up there with Heath Ledgers Joker, and an emotionally gripping story with a few twists in the middle. Which was completely unexpected because of the ending of the first one. The side quests were mostly fun and had interesting stories, and the characters were lovable and better written.

So there's a list of titles to choose from.

I must admit that my top three picks were. funny enough, all part 3 sequels.

My last three boiled down to.

ME3 - Cuz you know its epic and all. To be honest though, ME2 is still my favorite of the entire series.

Far Cry 3 - Most fun I've had all year, which I feel should be priority number 1.

Assassin's Creed 3 - It was fun, added a lot of neat stuff, too bad I felt like all of it fell to the wayside in order to make room for those sort of mini game missions and Ratonhnhaké:ton, while an interesting character, felt flat and lame as the story moved forward.

The one I voted for was Far Cry 3. The story isn't exactly deep per say, but I do like how it's treating a normal sane man's transformation into the ultimate psychotic wor-yar (how I feel Citra pronounces the word).

Honorable mention: It's just too damn short.

No vote option for Kingdom's of Amalur Reckoning? it seems the Escapist despises new IP's.

Blachman201:
EDIT: Come to think of it: ME3 would also be worthy of "Biggest PR Disaster."

No doubt. They should teach it in marketing/public relations courses as an example of how not to treat their consumers.

I voted for Walking Dead. Some of the most heartbreaking moments in any game this year. Spec Ops and Dishonored were amazing new IP's, GW2 easily has the lock on "Best MMO", and Journey would certainly win for "Most Artistic Game", but there was something about TWD that kept me rapt the entire way through. No other game did that this year.

wow. I've played none of them...

oh wait, the secret world is on there... played that for a month of subscription, but didn't have the time to keep going with it.

Oh and D3... but it doesn't really deserve a vote as it's an average game to me without the replayability of D2.

So.. wow. really can't vote

Sadly I doubt Mass Effect 3 will win, but it has my vote.

Well, I don't think I can cast a vote for this one. Partially because its been a really meh year for gaming all round, and the only games I would even think of voting for are the ones that I haven't played.
So, why I'm NOT voting for each game, just for some value to this post:

Persona IV Golden:
Quite simply, I haven't played it. It also doesn't really look like the sort of game that I'd enjoy, and that's pretty much all there is too it. I'm not qualified to vote for or against it as I really have little clue about it, and it doesn't look like the sort of game I'd vote for in the first place.

Dishonored:
Interesting new IP. Gameplay is enjoyable, and your mileage will vary dependent on how you play it. What completely lost it for me was the lack of any auto save feature. I made it through the first actual assassination level and side quests one my first life. Got to the end of the level, just about to finish, and I die. I am sent right back to the start of the level. Yeah, I can manually save, but that's not the first thing on my mind when I'm trying to enjoy a game, and I don't want it to be. At the very least it should save after entering or exiting a new building/area, preferably after every objective. Its something done in every other game these days, and is very obvious when its not included.

The Walking Dead:
Haven't played it. From the looks of it its an interactive story, not a game, and so I probably wouldn't vote it for GAME of the year. From what I've heard its story is good, which is why I'll probably eventually give it a try, but TBH it doesn't look that interesting to me, and I still haven't gotten round to watching the TV series thanks to that disinterest.

Spec Ops: The Line
Haven't played it. Apparently the story is good, but I'm burned out on shooters so I've never gotten around to playing it. Only really heard good things about it, but without having actually played it myself I cannot vote for it.

Journey:
Thanks to being only on the PS3, I haven't played it. From what I've seen of it I'm questioning if there even is gameplay as well, 'cause its really hard to tell from the trailers and that. If I'd played it and liked it I might have voted for it, but this is what you get for not being multiplatform/on the PC.

Mass Effect 3:
Waaay too much that I could say on this, but I'll make it short. Whilst on its own it can't really be considered a bad game, it is a thoroughly disappointing finale to one of my favourite game series. The only thing it improved on was the gunplay, whilst everything else fell to the wayside: Story, Dialogue, Non-linearity - ect. I'm sad to say the multiplayer was probably the most enjoyable part of the game, which is sad considering that's just repetitive co-op horde mode against AI. Not a terrible game, but thoroughly disappointing on all fronts, so no way its getting a vote from me - and no, my problem is not just the ending.

Farcry 3:
Again, haven't played. Burned out on shooters, didn't get. I've heard good things about it, and from what people have been saying it seems like a good nominee for GOTY, but having not played it I can't vote for it.

XCom: Enemy Unknown:
Yep, haven't played. Looks interesting, though there are a few things that I've heard about it that would annoy me a little in its gameplay. Might have voted for it were I to have played it, but I haven't, so I can't form a proper opinion on it to be able to vote for it.

Halo IV:
Haven't played it. Xbox exclusive, I'm not getting it. You want me to play and have a chance at voting for you, be multiplatofrm/on the PC. From what I've seen of it it looks alright. I probably wouldn't hate it, but I can hardly say I love the sound of yet another shooter.

Borderlands 2:
Haven't played, in case you couldn't guess. Again, burnt out on shooters. Co-op focus means I was unlikely to enjoy it, and I am burned out on shooters too. Whilst different from normal shooters, but I'm not sure if that'd be enough to have me like it - I could only say once I've played it, which will probably be a while after now.

Black Ops 2:
Not even interested in playing. Whilst it appears to have changed one or two things up in the campaign, it still falls for its, IMO, shitty gameplay and annoying set pieces. Burnt out on shooters, and whilst this is the one CoD in recent years that would stand even a chance at getting my vote, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't, even if I had played it.

Diablo III:
Can't say I hate D3, but I can't say its a GOTY style game either. Its got Blizzard's consistently high level of polish, but its always online DRM makes it clunky at the best of times. Its story has gotten more Hollywood style, and increasing trend with Blizzard IMO, and overall wasn't that interesting. A decent dungeon crawl, but nothing really amazing, so I can't say I want to vote for it.

Assassins Creed 3:
Haven't played. It looks decent, though with the more recent Assassin's Creed games it looks more to be headed towards general fighting, rather than planned assassinations, so that you're an unstoppable badass rather than a guy who hides in the shadows and waits for the opportune moment. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen of it that doesn't look to be the case. In any case, I haven't played it, so I can't make a proper judgement to vote for it.

Guild Wars 2:
Even if its just a one time payment, I'm not going to pay for a game where a major part of the draw is that you'll be playing with millions of other idiots... I mean players. Hence, I haven't played this. From what I've heard it plays mechanically different so its not so focused on playing solo or with friends, but in doing so loses its end game appeal and, of course, encourages people to but in on your experience. Having not played it though, I can't really judge.

Hotline Miami:
Haven't played it. TBH until the most recent Escapist report on it I hadn't even heard of it. I've got pretty much no idea what it plays like, and as such I haven't even got the slightest base to make a judgement of it off. Hence, no vote.

Mark of the Ninja:
Up until it was featured in this voting contest I hadn't even heard of it. Same case as Hotline Miami: I know absolutely nothing about it, and thus will not be voting for it.

FTL:
Heard good things about it, haven't actually played it. It looks like my sort of game, but hey, never got around to playing it, and thus won't vote for it as I've really only got a second hand opinion.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria:
Remember what I said for GW2, where I wasn't going to pay once for a game where a major part of the draw was in the other idiots you'd be playing with?
Yeah... If I'm not going to pay once, I'm not going to pay monthly. I haven't played it, but I'm guessing I'd have about the same opinion of it as D3: Solid game, but nothing remarkable that I'd actually feel like voting for. Since I haven't played it, I can't even say that though, so no vote.

The Secret World:
Yet another game where the main draw seems to be the other idiots you'd be playing with. TBH I never really heard that much about the game either, beyond the fact that it went at least somewhat F2P, so I can't say I know enough to vote for the game either.

Tokyo Jungle:
I haven't played it. It looks fun and interesting, but yeah. Having not played it I can't comment, so I'm not going to be voting for it. Might have helped if I'd heard more about it beyond just the review the Escapist did, but its a PS3 exclusive so yeah, no chance - multiplatform/on the PC or nothing.

But Joccaren, I hear you say, if you haven't played any games this year and thus can't vote for anything that's your own fault!
Well, you see, its not that I haven't played any games this year, I just haven't played any off this list. I've played Sleeping Dogs, Diaspora, StarCry [Yes the last two were mods, the former at least should be considered its own short game IMO], Planetside 2, Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion and a large assortment of older games from earlier years. Sure, I've missed out on the games that many do consider GOTY, but TBH half the time that's because I'm not that interested in them, and that means I probably wouldn't have voted for them anyway.

Riobux:
I went with The Walking Dead. I'll admit I haven't played Spec Ops: The Line or Journey so I get the feeling my opinion may be worth less. However, as someone who enjoys character development and story heavily, The Walking Dead didn't just deliver, it served story on a beautiful plate for me to feast upon. It broke tropes when it was needed (e.g. instead of having a child who was a bag of sugar you have to lug around, she was actually useful and interesting) without coming off as needlessly rebellious (e.g. like it didn't keep hammering home anti-climaxes and twists at every corner, some things were expected but it was enjoyable for that). It didn't give an illusion of choice, it actually gave you choice. You want to lie to someone? Sure! Go for it! He/she may or may not find out about it and will hate you for not just that episode but for future episodes for it. You want to save X over Y, sure, that'll affect future episodes as X will act differently to Y in future events. It was still slightly rail-roaded, but you still felt in control and like you could make a difference.

The story writing was incredible, with not a single part of your crew feeling 2D and all of them affecting things. No one lurked in the background for no reason. If they lurked, they were coming out later to do something important or were lurking for a good reason. Another thing is, for a very tired genre like zombies they actually looked at it from a fresh new angle. Instead of a focus on the zombies, the focus was on the survivors and that felt amazing and fresh, especially considering the characters didn't feel like 2D tropes but rather fleshed out characters to care about.

Also, oh god, that ending. Oh god.

Yeah, this is pretty much exactly as I would have described it. I absolutely loved The Walking Dead. Clementine is probably the best child character I've seen in a long while, and it was an amazing and unforgettable experience. Easily my GOTY for 2012, Mass Effect 3 was my runner-up, besides that ending debacle, the rest of the game was great.

Solo-Wing:
Voted Spec Ops.

Also where the hell is Final Fantasy XIII-2? _{... I really enjoyed it...}

crazyrabbits:
Spec Ops and Dishonored were amazing new IP's

Spec Ops was not a New IP. It was the newest game of a series that died back in the PS1 era.

Really? Didn't know that. Thought it was an entirely standalone game.

tought call but i had to pick he walking dead over spec ops. both have an incredible story but the walking dead is a game people will be talking about in decades

I would vote for Black Mesa but it isn't there. Disappointing.

I'm hoping people will vote for Skyrim again. After all, we previously voted it THE GREATEST GAME EVER CREATED BY THE HANDS OF MANKIND. And obviously no game could surpass that reality warping greatness that was Oblivion version 2.0. So the logical vote goes to Skyrim.

i was going to vote for mass effect 3. i finished it last week and i loved every second. but when i saw journey on the list it was an easy choice. ME3 was fantastic but i have never had a gaming experience like i had in journey. easily the most surreal experience i ever had in a game and the fact that it evoked so much emotion without any story or dialog is nothing short of amazing

Went with Borderlands 2. Haven't played that many new games this year, and BL2 certinly brought me the most enjoyment(and frustration). It improved a lot from the first Borderlands, as well as introducing Handsome Jack who is one of the best villains I've ever seen in a game.

Only downside is that, like the first Borderlands, it's a bit too unforgiving when you play it solo. Bosses can be a real pain.

Persona 4 the Golden has my vote because i never played the original and am thoroughly addicted

I voted for Borderlands 2 although I'd say it's tied with Mass Effect 3. Those are the best games I've played out of those listed (I've also played The Walking Dead and Journey). I am getting Dishonored and XCOM for Christmas though so maybe one of those will dethrone the other two.

I only played four, and never found myself coming around to these ones that are supposedly the very best (Journey, Walking Dead etc.)

Of what I've played, I picked Far Cry 3.

NameIsRobertPaulson:
I'm hoping people will vote for Skyrim again. After all, we previously voted it THE GREATEST GAME EVER CREATED BY THE HANDS OF MANKIND. And obviously no game could surpass that reality warping greatness that was Oblivion version 2.0. So the logical vote goes to Skyrim.

Hooray! You have an opinion! Congratulations! Now maybe post it in a different thread where it's actually related to the topic or just make your own...

RedDeadFred:

NameIsRobertPaulson:
I'm hoping people will vote for Skyrim again. After all, we previously voted it THE GREATEST GAME EVER CREATED BY THE HANDS OF MANKIND. And obviously no game could surpass that reality warping greatness that was Oblivion version 2.0. So the logical vote goes to Skyrim.

Hooray! You have an opinion! Congratulations! Now maybe post it in a different thread where it's actually related to the topic or just make your own...

It is related to this thread. We've already picked the greatest game ever created, so why bother voting?

It's also a massive amount of sarcasm for how obscenely flawed the voting system actually is.

NameIsRobertPaulson:

RedDeadFred:

NameIsRobertPaulson:
I'm hoping people will vote for Skyrim again. After all, we previously voted it THE GREATEST GAME EVER CREATED BY THE HANDS OF MANKIND. And obviously no game could surpass that reality warping greatness that was Oblivion version 2.0. So the logical vote goes to Skyrim.

Hooray! You have an opinion! Congratulations! Now maybe post it in a different thread where it's actually related to the topic or just make your own...

It is related to this thread. We've already picked the greatest game ever created, so why bother voting?

It's also a massive amount of sarcasm for how obscenely flawed the voting system actually is.

It's not related... We are picking GOTY which means best game released this year. Skyrim was not released this year. This is not hard to understand and I'm sure you get it. Also, when did we vote Skyrim to be the best game ever(it is actually one of my favourites but I don't recall it winning anything like this)? I remember us voting on the best game in the Escapist's history but this happened some time this summer and Portal won. Also, why was the voting system flawed? People voted on their choice of which games should move on in each bracket. It's not like Skyrim had an easy ride to get to the finals, it defeated a lot of amazing games.

Anyway, I'm actually genuinely curious now to hear what your GOTY is. If you don't tell me I'm going to have to guess just based off of our brief conversation. I guess I could look at your post history but that would take a long time and possibly be creepy...

RedDeadFred:

NameIsRobertPaulson:

RedDeadFred:

Hooray! You have an opinion! Congratulations! Now maybe post it in a different thread where it's actually related to the topic or just make your own...

It is related to this thread. We've already picked the greatest game ever created, so why bother voting?

It's also a massive amount of sarcasm for how obscenely flawed the voting system actually is.

It's not related... We are picking GOTY which means best game released this year. Skyrim was not released this year. This is not hard to understand and I'm sure you get it. Also, when did we vote Skyrim to be the best game ever(it is actually one of my favourites but I don't recall it winning anything like this)? I remember us voting on the best game in the Escapist's history but this happened some time this summer and Portal won. Also, why was the voting system flawed? People voted on their choice of which games should move on in each bracket. It's not like Skyrim had an easy ride to get to the finals, it defeated a lot of amazing games.

Anyway, I'm actually genuinely curious now to hear what your GOTY is. If you don't tell me I'm going to have to guess just based off of our brief conversation. I guess I could look at your post history but that would take a long time and possibly be creepy...

Last year, Escapist voted the greatest game created in the history of the Escapist. Portal did not win, Skyrim did, as a result of the voting occurring 2 weeks after Skyrim was released. And while Skyrim is a good game, it is by no means the greatest game ever created, not with the legion of errors and bugs that made the game unplayable for many people.

As far as my vote goes, I gave it to Borderlands 2, though I haven't played Spec Ops or Journey.

I don't understand this. Who came up with this list, and on what was the choice of games (and expansion(s)) based? To reiterate another's point, what of games released at the end of this year? Is this supposed to be even vaguely legitimate (ignoring the arguments of some regarding the validity of such voting, voting in general, whatever)?

Cue attacks based on the assumption that I'm being hostile or some other nonsense.

Susan Arendt:

gardian06:
Oh no. the Escapist is "learning" from the VGAs, but only letting us vote on Game of the Year. Will they be getting Samual L Jackson to announce it too? the only thing that I can truly give them is that they are giving the option of 20 titles.

OT: the funniest thing is that each of these games would fall into Game of the Year for very different reasons. emotional impact, overall fun, shear comedy...

So it will mostly depend on which one delivered its desired effect to the largest number of readers.

Actually, we just thought we'd do something fun. Last year we did the 12 Games of Christmas. This year, it's GOTY.

Your hostility is really uncalled for.

was more just drawing direct comparison. though the portion on Samual L Jackson was a little over the top. I have little problem with the VGAs (this year actually seemed to show some real merit, though the inter splices of Jackson did make certain parts seem kind of dumb) this is not even close to being hostile (then I would be trying to denigrate the entirety of the list like a few others have done even before me) though I can see how a defensive stance can be taken when being compared to the VGAs in any real regard considering its history. though I will stand behind my "OT" section onward as that was more or less the major point desired to be conveyed before that was simply a symbolic potentially even fringe comparison.

For me it always boils down to bioware vs blizzard.

Leaning mass effect 3, just because it gets a lot of undeserved hate.
Then again...so does mists of pandaria

What are those other games doing around Mass Effect 3? ME3 is the winner, right? :)

I had to choose between P4 Golden, Dishonored and Journey.
Well, while P4 is one of my favorite JRPG's, P4G is basically enhanced edition, no more, no less.
Dishonored, while being amazing, felt like it was Deus ex, but in steam-punk universe and with "magic" instead of augs. And don't you think that I mean it in a bad way, it wasn't something new idea-wise.
And Journey is a simple, beautiful arcade game, which (somehow!) managed to be non-violent AND engaging. So, I'm voting for Journey.

Out of that entire list BL2 is the only one I've played but we still have ME3 in there and again no TF Fall of Cybertron considering that was a game I'd loved all around more than BL2 Gunz mode everywhere.

I guess I'd have to vote for BL2 but I don't think I will seeing as how it felt mediocre to me.