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[JWNoctis]

With the year coming to an end, and a thread for games you regret buying going on, maybe it is the time to look back and gush about those games you absolutely loved.

And yes, I know this will be boring. But at least this will give someone some idea with their holiday. And someone just have to make a happy counterpart to a sad thread(Sorry, Cl!).

A few rules:
State the game, or games you bought in 2012 that made you feel happy, or maybe even thankful, for the price or not, that you bought it. And tell us why, and maybe the flaws that you hated in such a game, if you feel like.
A friendly debate is also welcome, although I don't see much debate - nor activity in a thread like this. Just keep it friendly.


As a starter:
To the Moon. Very moving, very gripping, and downright creepy at spots. And it had brought me to tears. Music's also superb, and the art's very expressive for their kind. Definitely better than a night's movie with popcorn.

Speaking of its weaknesses, some of the late-game minigames feel out of place, and there aren't much replay value in a traditional sense - But I'd keep it, and maybe play it again sometimes.

[Levi]

Adventures of Shuggy I had a ridiculously good time with. 

Um, I'm not sure exactly why.  It just had the right blend of everything to make me happy.

[Flying Carcass]

ARMA ($5) & ARMA 2 Combined Ops ($25): Got into this military shooter series this year (and no, not due to that silly zombie mod) and have enjoyed it immensely for its scale and especially for the emergent gameplay in modded sandbox campaigns like Dynamic Warfare, Guerilla Warfare Panthera,and Guerrilla Warfare Duala.

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend ($30) and Guilty Gear X2 Accent Core Plus ($15): Two very fun fighting games from Arc System Works. Very fluid fighting, great soundtracks, great art styles, and great character designs.

Deus Ex ($2.50): Got this great classic cyberpunk rpg off a steam sale. Its graphics are dated (yet passable) and the combat's a bit wonky, but the game's exploration, setting, soundtrack, and story all make up for those shortcomings. 

[anzki4]

Gabriel Knight 1+2. (Oh why! Oh why was the third one ruined with the plague of 3D!)
   -Great adventure games all around, nice - if somewhat predictable - plots, very few annoying puzzles.
   -Ironically the graphics get worse and worse as the series progresses. Nice 2D graphics > FMV > Shitty 3D graphics.
   -Voice actors were way better in the first game. In general the personalities of the main characters were lamer on second game.
   -In general the first game is better, but second was good too.

Eador:Genesis
   -Although I have bought this quite recently, I've thoroughly enjoyed it thus far.
   -Great strategy game in the vein of HoMM.

Those are the first two that pop in to mind. Honorable mentions to Gemini Rue, Primordia, Machinarium and Stronghold HD.

[Lukewarm]

Fallout 3, Game of the Year Edition. Game was fun, and it gave me and my brother  something to really bond over. Who had the best guns, armor, most places found, ect. Plus, space guns.

[miauw62]

PS2 Alpha Squad: it was a REALLY fun beta to play in, and the camo you get after it is pretty good too.

[Werdna]

$15 for The Walking Dead.  It was so surprisingly good that I would've paid full price ($25) in hindsight, and may do so for the sequel.  Minor problem: its released in episodes.  I was lucky and bought it shortly before the last episode and enjoyed it all in one straight play-through over the course of a week.  I likely will do the same for a sequel, as I think it would lose a lot of the immersion factor if you're constantly waiting a month or so between story chunks.

[sluissa]

I know it came out late last year, and I was playing it then, but I didn't buy my own copy until this year... Dark Souls...

Even though I waited and bought it used, with the DLC I still ended up shelling out $50 in total... either way my money was well spent. I've got hundreds of hours put into that game and even after being pushed by friends to complete the achievements, I still feel I could put more time into it...

[Drakale]

Kerbal Space program by a large margin.

I like Squad, they promise little and deliver plenty, which is the right way to do things.

[nenjin]

The thread title hurts my soul.

[lordcooper]

In no particular order.

To The Moon for the wealth of emotions it managed to conjure from me.  I had no idea games were capable of that.  Also for helping me send John Walker on a happy

Mark of the Ninja for it's oh so incredibly tight stealth mechanics and beautiful ending.  It made me feel like a deadly, lightning fast assassin while still keeping a brilliant sense of vulnerability.

Mount & Blade for being something I didn't know I wanted.

Bastion for drawing me into it's wonderful world and featuring that song.

Journey for far too many hours sat with a massive grin on my face, surfing up and down sand dunes for the sheer joy of it, and singing my way to the very end with a brand new friend (seriously, we've kept in touch since March despite that shared experience being virtually all we have in common).

Crusader Kings 2 for tragedy, hilarity, The Orthodox Empire of the Daleks (I may have messed with that save a little) and that time I somehow ended up with a Sunni Pope.

Dungeons of Dredmor for making me die laughing on far too many occasions.

Fallen Enchantress for trying so damn hard and succeeding in many areas even if it did fall flat in a few others.

FTL for the novelty and originality.  I'm always happy to spend money on something a bit unique.

Hotline Miami for being what The Daily Mail thinks all games are, and the time I spent in a murderous techno trance.

Sonic Generations for redeeming (and dare I say, improving on) something I loved as a child.

Thomas Was Alone for making me love a handful of quadrilaterals more than many actual people who I have known for years.

The Witcher games for their many shades of grey.

Dark Souls for the frustrated nights I spent playing it obsessively.  And for Solaire, may he find peace somewhere.

Dragon's Dogma for leaving me alone and running scared through the pitch dark forest.

The Walking Dead for making me question my own priorities from time to time.

Planescape: Torment for being utterly brilliant and still working on modern operating systems.

E: This has been a very good year for my gaming habit.

[Aptus]

Oooh I have played so many good games this year but hmm... lets try to narrow it down to a few.

Dark Souls for PC:
Hells to the yes, by far one of the best games this year. At least with the fan-fix and a PS3 controller.

XCom:
It is not a perfect game but I had a ton of fun with it. Not as good as the original obviously but it stands its own. Biggest issue was the abundance of bugs though.

Borderlands 2:
So much fun in co-op, would never play it singleplayer though.

Crusader Kings II:
More especially with the Game of Thrones mod. Grand strategy with your eyes on the Iron Throne.

Cave Story+:
Great metroidvania that gripped me all the way through. Have still not managed to get the secret ending though :/


Faster Than Light:
Awesome space command roguelike. Sadly very short. Would have loved a much larger version of it.

[Darkmere]

Counterpoint to the other thread:

Titan Quest Gold. All the character class options made my inner theorycrafter very happy. Shame a few don't quite work as well as it feels like they should. Very retro Diablo II setup done well enough to satisfy.

Dungeons of Dredmor DLC's. Because more of a great thing is... more great thing.

STALKER series. I like the post-apocalyptic feel, and the world felt more alive than Fallout, though I like them both for different reasons. Clear Sky was weaker than Shadow of Chernobyl, but it had its own half-realized charm. I should really get around to Call of Pripyat...

[Scelly9]

Kerbal Space Program.

Dear god it is so amazing.

[lordcooper]

Kerbal Space Program.

Dear god it is so amazing.

I bought this today and pretty much bounced right off it.  Can you link me to something that will convince me I was wrong to do so?