The lights are on
As is usually the case, many of the year's biggest titles were first-person shooters. Despite this, 2012 also saw the release of several fantastic games that fit more snugly under the action umbrella. Read on to discover Game Informer's picks for our favorite action experiences of the year.
Best Story: Dishonored
Dishonored begins with a bang, with the protagonist being framed for the assassination of an empress and tossed into prison. Stepping into the shoes of the nimble Corvo Attano, gamers were tasked with taking out several high-ranking officials of Dunwall with the help of an underground resistance group. It's a classic revenge story, and each kill on your way to those responsible had an impact on the player and Corvo's quest for justice.
Best Graphics: Journey
In a year filled with the ultra-realistic visual style of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Assassin's Creed III, and Far Cry 3, it's a breath of fresh air to see Journey's gorgeous world. Its sand-filled world may be sparsely populated, but every inch of it is vivid and beautiful. If you've played the game, you no doubt remember the breathtaking visual of the sun reflecting off the sand as you slide down a massive hill.
Best Multiplayer: Assassin's Creed III
Ever since multiplayer was introduced to the series in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, fans have loved the ability to sneak up on unsuspecting opponents. With Ubisoft's newest blockbuster, a new cooperative Wolfpack mode was introduced, as well as the team-based Domination mode. Third-person action games aren't usually the source of many great multiplayer experiences, but the Assassin's Creed series has bucked the trend once again.
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The thing about new IPs is that if it is good, then it makes me really excited for sequels, and seeing what they did with the DLC for Dishonored, a full blown sequel could take GOTY in the future.
I agree with Dishonored. I am am tired of all the similar games out there. I had no expectations for this game and it blew my expectations out of the water.
What about Far Cry 3?
What? No Darksiders II!?
I love how journey got best graphics lmao, its a arcade game and there were games with better graphics
I don't know if I consider Journey an action game. Really good though.
Despite not having played it yet, I think I know enough about Journey to say that it shouldn't be on an Action Game list, and 'graphics' and 'art style' really aren't interchangeable. Also, to have Assassin's Creed III lose to bloody Dishonored in story is ridiculous. Again, I haven't played it yet, but I've read enough to tell that its story is not anything out of the ordinary, in content or storytelling approach, while ACIII is not only a rich tale, it also has such smart moments that play with the player's perception and the innate storytelling ability of this interactive medium.
GI's own description for Dishonored's story is proof of this: "It's a classic revenge story, and each kill on your way to those responsible had an impact on the player and Corvo's quest for justice." ACIII not only has the riveting hit list structure but it merged it with an incredibly grand conspiracy plot, an intense personal journey for the two leads and built on the villians in a way few stories care to think about all the while juggling stories from real history simultaneously. Dishonored has better game design, but not story.
It's great to see a new game like Dishonored get so much recognition. It's one of my favorite games of the year because every choice you make matters, yet at the same time, it's not "choose Path 1 or Path 2"; you can play it however you want.
Wow, i think the polls got mixed up.. how does journey have the most amazing graphics? personally i thought that it wasnt the graphics that made the game so great, but whatevs :\
Journey's an action game?
Journey was awesome!
Dishonored was my game of the year
http://ur1.ca/c4ee0
Dishonored was a great game. The most promising thing about this game is that the core gameplay is so solid. If the stealth options are more fleshed out and diverse and the world opens up a little more, I could see the sequel reaching 9.5 to 10 territory.
I agree with most except story. Dishonored had one of the worst stories of the entire year.