Weekend Reading: Softpedia Game of the Year 2012

It’s December, which means that most of the biggest video games of the year are now launched and those who work in the industry become part of the great old process which eventually sees one lucky title get the Game of the Year award and eternal (or, rather yearly) recognition.

There are plenty of gamers who look at GOTY awards as a sort of objective identifier of what is best for one year but we, here at the Games section of Softpedia, recognize that every such choice is an inherently subjective one and should be treated as such.

One of the main reasons is that there are so many video games launched during a 52-week period each year that it is impossible for any one player to experience them all even in bite-sized pieces.

Limited time means that it’s only possible to go in depth with an even more limited number of games during one year.

Subjectivity is also linked to a person’s past and preferences.

I grew up reading a lot and being fascinated with topics like philosophy and literature and, in the video games I love, I like to see a similar concern with depth, with mechanics that make logical sense and are linked together in interesting ways.

I have also been a role-playing game and strategy fan since I was 12 or 13, which means that I tend to pay more attention to something like Total War and Fallen Enchantress rather than Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

My colleague Andrei Dobra also has his own set of likes and dislikes and they will be reflected in his own choices for the coming Softpedia GOTY 2012.

I cannot promise objectivity in the coming month of awards, but I can promise that all the titles we choose, even though they aren’t perfect, have something interesting to offer to anyone who has ever played a game on the PC or home consoles.