My games of 2012

[oooog]

Well, in light of my just getting a Platinum trophy, my game of 2012 would have to go to...

Surprise surprise, Persona 4: Golden

The original PS2 version of this game was already an example of what jRPGs should strive for, and this port managed to reignite my passion for the game.  This title manages to perfectly demonstrate the worth of turn-based RPGs that many have become somewhat listless towards with a wonderful blend of old and new.  Being a port of an RPG is a difficult task to accomplish, but right now Atlus is 2 for 2 in this category in that is able to tell the exact story with a few tweaks and additions, yet still manage to draw the player in.  P3P took the route of introducing a female protagonist which gave an interesting viewpoint of the character interactions and personalities from a different perspective, while P4G added new content (two months worth of additional story and a new dungeon) which tied in perfectly to the main story truly making the game complete, all the while using the same main story as the original iteration.  Many ports fail on this point.  Now, I will admit I am a sucker for the trophy system, and P4G did an excellent job of offering trophies for tasks I intended to do in the first place but never got around to doing originally.  Only one trophy enraged me greatly (Hardcore Risette Fan), but once I got that I had driven the 15 minutes to my favorite GameStop and rubbed this accomplishment in the employees face whom I had been competing with.
It is difficult to put my feelings for this game in to words, but it has been quite a long time since I invested over 150 hours in to a single game such as this and been left with the bittersweet emptiness that is left when the game has been completed and nothing available is there to fill the void.  Although I will not say this game alone justifies the Vita, I would still insist that it be on everyone's shelves if they own the system.

Honorable Mentions:
Dragon's Dogma - A surprisingly under the radar game that offered plenty of action and entertainment that should be used as a blueprint for every action RPG.  A few tweaks here and there and perhaps some new content (Dark Arisen anyone?) and this game may very well had been my number 1.
Mass Effect 3 - I needn't even need explain why this is on the list.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Okay, so the story was garbage, that's out there, and I accept that.  But the game still managed to absorb my life for about a month and a half, and also offered me my first platinum trophy, only to be followed by Persona a few hours ago today.

Titles Played:
Uncharted Golden Abyss /   / MGS Snake Eater 3 3DS /   / SMT Devil Survivor 2 /   / Kid Icarus: Uprising /   / Xenoblade Chronicles /   / Gravity Rush /   / Persona 4 Arena /   / Trine 2 /   / One Piece: Pirate Warriors /   / Pokémon Black 2 /   / Ragnarok Odyssey /   / Assassins Creed III /   / Nintendo Land /   / New Super Mario Bros. U /   / Batman Arkham City Armored Edition

Best year for RPGs in a long while.  Of course, I only mentioned games released in 2012 that I played.