Amazon.com Proves I Do Not Play Video Games

Or that I don’t play new games.  Or good games.

Or at least that I do not buy any new games.

Another list.  Still not done with that theme, not by a long shot.

This time around, The Amazon Games team at Amazon.com has created their Best of 2012 Video Games list.

I am going to copy it here, with the platforms they indicate, just because.

  1. Journey (PS3)
  2. Borderlands 2 (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  4. Dishonored (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  5. Mass Effect 3 (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  6. The Walking Dead (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  7. Halo 4 (Xbox)
  8. Darksiders II (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  9. Hotline Miami (PC)
  10. The Last Story (Wii)
  11. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox, PS3, PS Vita, PC)
  12. Gravity Rush (PS Vita)
  13. Diablo III (PC)
  14. GuildWars 2 (PC)
  15. Sleeping Dogs (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  16. Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward (PS Vita, 3DS)
  17. Assassin’s Creed III (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  18. Max Payne 3 (Xbox, PS3, PC)
  19. Lumines: Electronic Symphony (PS Vita)
  20. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox, PS3, PC)

So, looking up at that list, my first thought is that there are a pile of sequels and remakes up there.

Of course, remakes, reboots, and sequels are the staple of most entertainment industries.  We moan about video games slipping into that mode these days, and movies having been there for a while, but frankly it is the way of things.  Go look up how many movie adaptations there have been of The Wizard of Oz.  Video games just haven’t been around long enough for us to get used to remakes, but even Shakespeare was ripping off plots and retelling old stories 400 some odd years ago, so we had all better get used to it I suppose.  Your grand kids will be playing Wasteland 8 or some such I bet.

After that, I have to admit that I have only played two of the games on the list (Guild Wars 2 and Diablo III), and I only bought one of them (Diablo III), and since I got that one through subscribing to World of Warcraft for a year (annoying pain point unnecessarily referenced just because I hold a grudge), you could make the case that I did not even buy that.

And then, finally, I start to wonder if these are really the best games of 2012.  I probably watch too much Zero Punctuation (for example, Halo 4 review) and play too few such games to be able to make my own determination.

Oh, and it sucks to be the Wii about now, with one game on the list.  But even Nintendo says they have moved on from the Wii, having no more titles in the queue for it.  Screw you, little white box of joy, we’re on to bigger and better things!

So, the usual wrap up.  The list, legitimate ranking or crass attempt to get sales out of the titles with the highest margins?

8 thoughts on “Amazon.com Proves I Do Not Play Video Games”

  1. spinks

    Haha, you can tell it’s an American list because they didn’t include any versions of FIFA or Football Manager (both perennials over here).

    Journey is a very cool little game, though. And Walking Dead is in the Steam Sale at the moment.

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  2. Wilhelm Arcturus Post author

    @spinks – Totally, you can see how games like Madden 2012 and NHL 2012 crowded those off of the list. *cough*

    I think a better observation might be that this team isn’t big on sports games at all. I did not check Amazon.co.uk, do they have a similar list?

    I have heard Journey is interesting, it just isn’t something I would do on the PS3. I want a PC version. The PS3 at our house seems to be mostly for Little Big Planet, watching Blu-ray movies, and streaming old episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix.

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  3. Aufero

    XCOM: Enemy Unknown is well well worth buying if you ever enjoyed the original. Aside from that, the only thing on that list I’ve played is GW2.

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  4. Mekhios

    The Walking Dead turned out far better than I was expecting and is my surprise hit of the year. Other worthy mentions are Dishonored, XCOM, and Mass Effect 3 if you were a fan of the earlier two ME titles.

    Of course last but not least is Guild Wars 2 which is my personal Game Of The Year. I have to give credit to ArenaNet for at least making an effort to breath a bit of life into a horribly stale MMO genre.

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  5. spinks

    “I did not check Amazon.co.uk, do they have a similar list”

    Lessee … they do have a best-of-2012 but they’ve picked 6 games from each of Shooters/ Action-Adventure/ RPGs/ Kids/ Sports.

    So GW2 doesn’t make the cut but both FIFA 13 and Football Manager 2012 are in. I think FIFA 13 honestly would have made a top 20 list here though, it sold loads.

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  6. Jenks

    I played 3 of those, but the list looks solid to me. I play most games about a year after they come out, especially single player ones.

    Basing your opinion of a game you haven’t played on Zero Punctuation’s reviews is not a good idea. That’s like getting your world news from The Daily Show.

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