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Nathan vs. Video Games: Favorite Games Played in 2012

NathanVsVideogames posted previously on his favorite video games played in 2012. He named a lot of good titles, some of which I enjoyed, but there are some he did not mention that are some of my favorites. 2012 was a good year for video games.

Assassin’s Creed III

The Assassin’s Creed series already had such a good name and I had not played it until this game. I loved every minute of it. This game takes you to another world where you get to relive memories of your ancestors and fight against the Templars. This has one of the best storylines in a game I have ever played. There is so much you can do in this game like explore, have wars on ships, and buy weapons from arms dealers. There is so much customization with your character that you really get to feel like you are in the American Civil War where the game takes place. The fighting is one of the coolest aspects of the game, along with the amount of kill combos they give you. You get to help the world and stop the redcoats, but also “assassinate” at free will and escape from the law and look awesome while doing it, with all the parkour the game has to offer.

Halo 4

Halo will always go down as one of my most favorite titles to play. Halo 3 will always be the best of them, but that doesn’t mean Halo 4 was bad. This game brought everything from the previous games with stellar multiplayer gameplay. Halo provided us with a new story for our beloved hero, Master Chief, and we got to pick up where he left off floating throughout space. It was one of the stranger storylines in the franchise, but it did its job in making me love Master Chief that much more. We got to see old things, with a twist of new things spun off from Halo Reach. There were also some new game types that they created, which always keeps you staying up past midnight to own noobs.

Call of Duty Black Ops II

Another big game I spent hundreds of hours playing. This game was the reason I procrastinated a lot of homework assignments in high school and the reason I was always tired there too. Black Ops I was one of my favorite Call of Duty’s and this was such a worthy. It brought me all the great visuals that the first one had, with new kill streaks, maps, and guns. Let’s not forget when they brought back Nuketown, everyone’s favorite map. This game had it all and it had one of the best zombie experiences, where they added the first moving map with the bus.

Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 (Review)

I have to give a hand to Namco on this one. Even though I have not played a Dragon ball game since Budokai, this kept me more interested than the other ones I have played. The storyline is something that is unique where it still encompasses all of the Dragon Ball Z storylines we love and hold near and dear to our hearts, but it’s the fact that you get to jump in and be a part of it that is different. You get to make your own custom Dragon Ball character in one of five of the series’ main races (Saiyan, Namekian, Human, Frieza’s race, and Majin) and join the Time Patrol, a group of heroes who meet in Conton City and are devoted to preserving the Dragon Ball Z timeline. With the guidance of the Supreme Kai of Time, you travel across the expansive timeline of the anime and manga series, looking for events in the timeline that have been altered. The game has a nice campaign and also gives you the ability to play friends and people online. The fighting engine is not as deep as prior DBZ games, but it provides a solid and responsive feel to the controls. The button layout is not too complicated compared to other fighting games, but nonetheless, it allows for easy access to all normal and special attacks, as well as crucial dodging maneuvers when required. The game offers many quest lines that you can do at any point along with the campaign, and by completing those you can acquire special gear, consumable items, and combat skills. With your own Z warrior, you get your very own custom loadout, so you can develop a fighter that looks like you and fights how you like so that it feels fun and satisfying. The game has training to help with your progress as a fighter, and it is not too descriptive, so you could be stuck in a training lesson for a while mashing buttons trying to move on. The hub is nice and big, but the map sometimes does not working correctly and can take you somewhere you don’t need to go. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is one of the best games to come from the much-loved franchise. It gives you a feel like you are part of the Z universe and captivates the world so nicely with stunning gameplay and vibrant colors. Though it has some small problems, I was still amazed at how much fun I was able to have even with a new look on a recycled storyline. I can tell that the people behind the game cared for the series every bit as much as I did as a huge fan growing up.

Clayton Carlisle