Some incredible games came out in 2012. Sure, there were a few misses as well and plenty of games we stopped playing, but this year was home to some seriously epic games, and a lot of them took up the bulk of our free time.
Here are the games that some of IGN’s editors spent the most time with in 2012, including some that we expected to lose ourselves in and others we didn’t.
Some incredible games came out in 2012. Sure, there were a few misses as well and plenty of games we stopped playing, but this year was home to some seriously epic games, and a lot of them took up the bulk of our free time.
Here are the games that some of IGN’s editors spent the most time with in 2012, including some that we expected to lose ourselves in and others we didn’t.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...
After five seasons, Team Leverage has closed up shop. At least, with Nate in charge of things that is. While Season 5 was't particularly stellar, as a whole, the finale, "The Long Goodbye Job," was pretty damn good. The stakes were high, the drama was potent and the ultimate resolution was satisfying. There was barely an underlying seasonal arc this year; with only one scene between Nate and Hardison back at the end of the premiere. But that scene still did play a huge role, and looking back I'm torn as to whether I would have preferred the show to call back upon Nate and Hardison's secret a few more times or not.
Watch the first two TV spots for A Good Day to Die Hard, opening February14:
Via ComingSoon.
We see a game's logo revealed. We watch a trailer. Read a preview. Download the desktop wallpaper. Change our ringtones. Hang the posters. Circle the release dates on our calendars. Scrounge the cash for a pre-order. The day arrives. The package comes. We tear it open. Anticipation boils to unfathomable heights.
And then we play it. And it's a total snooze.
The road from getting excited for a game to actually playing it can be a vicious cycle rife with disappointment and regret, and in many cases, even this year's most hyped blockbusters turned into projects we just couldn't bring ourselves to finish. I asked some of my fellow editors here at IGN which games they gave up on and here's what they told me.
As we mentioned in our Best Box Art of 2012 feature earlier this week, games boxes are dying as the industry lurches towards exclusive digital distribution. All the more reason to celebrate the great box art we see dotting store shelves. And while we're at it, why not have a little fun with some of the... um... less than great ones?
Face it: not all box art is created equal, and that's okay. No matter how bad the packaging, the game within can still stand on its own. Remember, awful front covers can come from a lack of time, resources, and direction. We've tried to avoid the easy targets here (like baby raising shovelware and horse petting simulators) and instead went after some of the bigger games that definitely could have (and should have) been represented better.
We see a game's logo revealed. We watch a trailer. Read a preview. Download the desktop wallpaper. Change our ringtones. Hang the posters. Circle the release dates on our calendars. Scrounge the cash for a pre-order. The day arrives. The package comes. We tear it open. Anticipation boils to unfathomable heights.
And then we play it. And it's a total snooze.
The road from getting excited for a game to actually playing it can be a vicious cycle rife with disappointment and regret, and in many cases, even this year's most hyped blockbusters turned into projects we just couldn't bring ourselves to finish. I asked some of my fellow editors here at IGN which games they gave up on and here's what they told me.
As we mentioned in our Best Box Art of 2012 feature earlier this week, games boxes are dying as the industry lurches towards exclusive digital distribution. All the more reason to celebrate the great box art we see dotting store shelves. And while we're at it, why not have a little fun with some of the... um... less than great ones?
Face it: not all box art is created equal, and that's okay. No matter how bad the packaging, the game within can still stand on its own. Remember, awful front covers can come from a lack of time, resources, and direction. We've tried to avoid the easy targets here (like baby raising shovelware and horse petting simulators) and instead went after some of the bigger games that definitely could have (and should have) been represented better.
One of the common complaints about the New 52 so far is that there's too little sense of inter-connectivity among the various books. At most, we've seen small crossovers between series of the same franchise, as with the Batman and the Teen Titans books. Throne of Atlantis is one of the first major attempts to rebuild the bonds of old and focus on the DC Universe as a shared space again. The opening chapter in Justice League #15 was strong, and the follow-up in Aquaman #15 continues that momentum nicely.
This issue picks up right where Justice League leaves off. Ocean Master has declared war on the surface world for what he views as an unprovoked act of aggression. As a result, Boston and Gotham City have both been bombarded by tidal waves, killing countless innocents in the process. It's clear from the moment the reduced Justice League lineup begin reacting to the devastation that this isn't some quick and painless little clash between opposing forces. This is a storyline with significant consequences in terms of human lives, and by extension, the League's relationship to the world and to each other.
Justice League has been the flagship title of the New 52 from the moment the first issue kicked off the relaunch in August 2011. And while the sales have always reflected as much, the quality has never been a match for the Batmans, Wonder Womans, and Aquamans of the New 52. The first arc was too formulaic and simplistic in its depiction of the first clash between the League and Darkseid. The second arc, while an improvement, was largely overshadowed by the highly entertaining Shazam backup feature.
Luckily, issue #15 offers something of a fresh start for the series. For one thing, it marks the debut of Ivan Reis as the new regular artist. For another, it kicks off the Throne of Atlantis crossover that will pair Justice League with Aquaman for the next several months. Both of these changes combine to offer just the breath of fresh air the book needed.
In this festive period of indulgence, it's only right to get together with like-minded friends and family to watch some really terrible-good movies. Y'know, the ones that you inexplicably love despite a lack of many - or indeed, any - redeeming features.
Behold! What follows is a list of our favourite 'guilty pleasures'. For a round-up of some of the finest moments from these magnificent gifts of unintentional hilarity, check out the video immediately below. You won't regret it.*
*you may experience minor regret
For those not fortunate enough to grow up in the ‘80s, The Garbage Pail Kids (or the Garbage Gang Kids in Australia and New Zealand), were a series of trading cards featuring characters with gross ailments who bore more than a little resemblance to popular toy line The Cabbage Patch Kids. In ‘87, a Garbage Pail Kids movie was released, and it was definitively terrible. The Kids in question were dwarf actors wearing terrifyingly immovable rubber masks, forced to sort of bumble around while singing tinny songs about working together and friendship in a grim attempt at satire. It remains one of the most hypnotically so-wrong-it’s-right ‘family films’ to come out of a decade with a notoriously liberal approach to the genre.
