Video games can be many
things to many people, so the idea of proclaiming a single one as the
best of 2012 strikes us as a little limiting. This year, instead of
screaming at each other for hours in a sweaty, smoke-filled room until
we emerge with a handful of winners, your friends at 1UP have decided
to forsake categorization and write about the experiences that brought
us the most enjoyment this year — and that’s the point of playing
video games, isn’t it?
Zero
Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward
might not be for everyone; all told, most of its 35-40 hours involve
reading a steady stream of dialogue with very few graphical flourishes,
which some would say doesn’t make best use of our spectacle-focused
medium. Look beyond its old-school fundamentals (rooted deep with
Japanese adventure games of the ’80s), though, and you’ll find a bold
rethinking of how games can deliver a narrative.
