Edmond Tran, Video Producer

2012 was a phenomenal year to love video games, no question. But the games I'll remember and really revere are the ones that hit my emotions and manipulated my state of mind, the games that let me play as exactly the kind of person I wanted to be, the ones that forced me to do the complete opposite, and the ones gave me great experiences and stories to tell.

10. Far Cry 3

I'm one of those weird people that loved Far Cry 2. Though different in many, many ways, Far Cry 3 still had some of the things I loved about its predecessor. The open world gameplay, the dedication to a first-person view and the fantastic sense of physicality and weight to your character kept me completely immersed in the world until I somehow managed to wipe out the island's entire pirate population. It's the kind of game where my memories are not of the main story, but of the endless watercooler tales involving stealth missions gone wrong, vehicles flying off cliffs and parachuting right into a shark's mouth.

9. Persona 4 Golden

Although essentially a remake, the fact that Persona 4 still eclipses many JRPGs in 2012 speaks volumes about its strength. The visual aesthetic, enemy design and soundtrack are some of my all-time favourites, but it's the contemporary setting and social interaction which I love most. The honest relationships and real situations that you share with the protagonists' friends and family make me want to dive into the screen and give everybody a hug. I wish more games explored the same kind of themes Persona 4 does.

8. Dishonored

You know what was another phenomenal year for video games? 1998. That's when Thief: The Dark Project from Looking Glass Studios took over my life. Those great, stealthy memories were recreated when I played Dishonored and took on a strict no-kill, no-detection policy. The fact that Dishonored supported my play style as well as many others speaks to a game design philosophy I'm really glad is starting to make a comeback, and I hope that philosophy manages to make its way into more games as well-designed as Dishonored in the future.

7. DayZ

The first time I stepped into DayZ, I had zero idea what I was doing. The game was buggy and the learning curve was steep. But I stuck with it, and what followed in the forthcoming months were amazing experiences that came from simply existing and trying to survive in a harsh, objective-less world. The game's atmosphere was bleak, harrowing, and almost always made me incredibly tense, which resulted in remarkable sensations of victory and relief from doing the most trivial things: learning how to build a fire and cook food, learning how to navigate the massive world via major landmarks, finding a weapon--any kind of weapon--and getting out of a major city alive.

But the thing that really defined my DayZ experience was the suspicion, fear and panic that occurred whenever I encountered other players. Sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, and often deceitful, I came to witness the very best and the very worst of human behaviour, and experienced some of the most significant human interactions I have ever had in my life. DayZ was and certainly still is an exceptional social simulation.

6. Dota 2

The thought of me playing a game like Dota 2 this time last year would have had me laughing in your face. But here we are today and thanks to GameSpot's Dota 2 Diaries series, I now have over 150 hours of playtime logged.

Although trying to set aside an hour or three to play Dota 2 often comes with a deep sense of guilt, what makes it special is the impromptu camaraderie I've encountered when playing with strangers. A Dota 2 game is won or lost by the strength of teamwork, and more often than not I've been in situations where a group of strangers have supported each other, rallied each other, and shared their knowledge with each other to flip a match on its head and pull back from the absolute brink of loss to achieve victory. It's a tremendously invigorating feeling. These moments make me love what games and their players can be, and Dota 2 provides an impeccably polished and finely-tuned Valve game to love them in. GG.

5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

I love that fact that in 2012, a turn-based strategy game can get the AAA treatment and be received so well. Like DayZ, XCOM is a game that constantly puts me into situations that create strong, gun-wrenching sensations of tension and fear with the understanding that I have to live with my decisions and mistakes throughout the whole campaign (because Ironman mode is the only real way to play). The feeling of relief when you take down incredibly dangerous enemies and the heartbreak when your favourite solders die horrible deaths due to your negligence serve to create a stressful, emotional rollercoaster ride of a game.

4. Thirty Flights of Loving

Brendan Chung's games have always been perfectly concise pieces of work that execute a particular concept exceptionally well, and Thirty Flights of Loving is no different. Its method of telling a story really took advantage of player interactions and cognitive involvement and by the end of it, the game had punched me in the face and left me stunned. It's an experience unique to the medium, one that really exemplifies why video games can be so damn special, and one that should be experienced by all.

3. Hotline Miami

The first five minutes of Hotline Miami made me feel dirty. The grimy 80's aesthetic is so perfectly executed I felt like I was actually in a drug-induced haze, and the violence was so brutal it almost put me right off. By the time I finished the game I felt both physically and mentally gross: twitchy as hell from the frantic, suicidal levels, in a mental trance thanks to the game's excellent electronica soundtrack, and deeply disturbed by the game's wonderfully presented, David Lynch-esque narrative. Despite having to take a shower afterwards, Hotline Miami's effects created an intense, challenging and enjoyable experience I went back to again and again and again.

2. FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL hit many of the same marks as XCOM: the stress of being responsible for the lives of your crew and having to live with your losses in a difficult situation. But it also came coupled with what I thought was a fantastic representation of what it might be like to be in command of a spaceship. You make your way through a vast, lonely environment and try to make a difference despite feeling insignificant relative to the greater scheme of things. And when it comes to the battles, the frantic micromanagement of squad members, ship resources and combat really made me feel like I was doing something amazing.

1. The Walking Dead

I had many amazing experiences with video games this year, but none hit me harder than The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead made me cringe, cry and genuinely care about Lee, Clementine and the horrendous situations they got themselves into. By the end of the last episode I was a complete wreck, and even now, thinking about the final few scenes fills me with an immense sadness and terror. The game is explicit in its narrative intentions and rarely falters. It is exceptionally written, exceptionally moving, and I heartily applaud the team at Telltale Games.

I love all these games for exhibiting the different things a video game can be, and for demonstrating the different ways a video game can affect us. These are the kinds of works that make me really damn happy to be playing video games.

Honorable mentions:

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, Mark of the Ninja, Journey, Binary Domain, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2