2012 has been a great year for indie and retro gamers alike. From the wealth of XBLA and PSN remakes and HD updates of classic games, to the many excellent indie titles produced by small teams and given to us for free, or very little money. Steam Greenlight now lets the public decide what games they want to see appear on the marketplace, and Kickstarter has taken off as an excellent method of raising funds for projects that may otherwise never have seen the light of day.
So as the year comes to a close I wanted to give credit to the games that have kept me entertained throughout the year. All the games here are reviewed (or, in the case of the unfinished games, soon to be reviewed) on this blog in the appropriate section.
There were many other indie and retro titles that I loved just as much, if not more, than the ones listed here but, due to not being released in 2012, I was unable to include them. They will be mentioned elsewhere on this site though!
My Top 10 Retro / Indie games of 2012
10. Ridiculous Reality (Atari XL)
9. Trials Evolution (XBLA)
8. Teleglitch (PC)
7. Double Dragon Neon (XBLA)
6. Dust : An Elysian Tale (XBLA)
5. Mark of the Ninja (XBLA)
4. Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (XBLIG)
3. Hotline Miami (PC)
2. Fez (XBLA)
1. Spelunky (XBLA)
Specific Awards:
Best Platform Game: Spelunky (XBLA)
Runner Up: Fez (XBLA)
Runner Up: Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing Transformed (Xbox 360)
Best Fighting Game: Double Dragons Neon (XBLA)
Runner Up: Street Fighter X Tekken (Xbox 360)
Best Shoot-em-up: Akai Katana (Xbox 360)
Runner Up : Under Defeat Deluxe (Xbox 360)
Best Humourous Game: Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (XBLIG)
Runner Up: Abobo's Big Adventure (PC)
Best Xbox Indie Game: Super Amazing Wagon Adventure
Runner Up: Shark Attack
Honorable Mentions:
Little Racers Street
Qrth Phyl
Diehard Dungeon
Best Homebrew for a retro computer: Ridiculous Reality (Atari XL)
Runner Up: Soulless (C64)
Best PC Freeware Game: Maldita Castilla
Runner Up: You Have To Win The Game
Best Unfinished / Beta Title: Delver (PC)
Runner Up: Towerclimb (PC)
Best PC Game: Hotline Miami
Runner Up: Teleglitch
Best Soundtrack: Hotline Miami (PC)
Runner Up: Double Dragon Neon (XBLA)
Best Update of A Classic Title: Frogger Hyper Arcade
Runner Up: Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams (PC)
Biggest Disappointment: Retro City Rampage (PC)
Runner Up : Cannon Fodder 3
Movie of the Year: Indie Game The Movie (of course!)
Special Award for commitment to retro gaming:
For their multiple 'Vintage Series' entries, to their willingness to put out excellent old school titles (e.g. Hell Yeah, Wrath of the Dead Rabbit), SEGA have been the leaders in retro gaming on modern platforms.
2012 saw revamps of NiGHTS, Jet Set Radio, Toejam & Earl, Sonic Adventure 2, the Streets of Rage and Golden Axe trilogies, the Monster World collection, and even Alex Kidd. Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing Transformed had a huge amount of fan service, including nods to obscure Saturn titles (Burning Rangers) and Dreamcast title 'Skies of Arcadia'. So it is without hesitation that I offer my thanks to SEGA for keeping the much loved franchises of the 16-bit and 32-bit days alive and relevant to today's gamers.
So all that is left is for me to wish you all a Happy New Year, and promise that all your retro and indie gaming needs will be covered here at Retro Spirit throughout 2013.
Follow me on Facebook for all the latest news and updates!
