Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, then you’ve probably noticed the shocking transformation and evolution video games have gone through since the beginning of the 21st Century. You can now play more video games from more places than ever before, whether it’s on your mobile device, on your computer through an iWin games download or on a top-notch gaming console. Many of these games are incredibly interactive, imaginative and, for lack of a better word, amazing. While new incredible video games come out every year, below are the top five that came out in 2012.
NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED
What has been generally considered as the best racing game of all time by gamers who have been playing racing video games since they began, the Need for Speed series allows players incredible graphics and realistic moves as they drive their high-end cars around a real-life city or faux track. However, with the newest inception of the game, “Need for Speed: Most Wanted” combines the racing aspect, the incredible graphics and gameplay and all the other elements that made “Need for Speed” a hit in the past, with police chases, one of the most exciting aspects of driving a car at top speeds in a video game. In short, it has somehow made an incredibly fun game even more exciting.
ASSASSIN’S CREED III
The third installment of a series of games about assassins operating in different time periods throughout history goes to the American revolution this year. Cool characters and obvious villains helps make “Assassin’s Creed III” attractive from the outset, but this installment of the game series seems to have really hit its stride and takes players places they never really thought possible. This time you are an assassin who is killing British generals and dignitaries, helping the American rebels claim their independence. With great gameplay, graphics and awesomely violent missions, this may be one of the best games of the year for single player RPG fans.
DEAR ESTHER
A game that can only be played online on computers, “Dear Esther” is a visionary game that is unlike first-person shooters out there—mostly because it has a strong story and is like Modern Warfare during peacetime. This doesn’t mean there isn’t excitement and action throughout the game, but the story is played out more elegantly and slowly, immersing the player in the world and really encouraging them to become one with their characters. You have to learn about your character and the world you are in piece by piece and moment by moment, rather than giving you satisfaction from the first flurry of gunfire.
MARK OF THE NINJA
While there are numerous games that come out every year that have incredible graphics and cost many millions of dollars to program, a game like “Mark of the Ninja” is a refreshing departure. It’s a simple puzzle game that is remindful of eight and 16-bit games of our childhoods, but has excellent graphics when necessary and takes real intellect to figure out. A video game that makes you smarter? Truly the way of the future.
JOURNEY
A game that gives you little to start with, Journey is about your character going on a journey and having to figure out why along the way. There are self-imposed rules, making this a single-player puzzle game as much as it is a quest. Once you learn these rules and what can and cannot be done, you find yourself in a totally different world that you are sad to leave when you actually manage to complete the game. It’s something that happens when truly great games come to end.
The Top Video Games of 2012,
