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Genre AwardsRole-Playing Game of the Year

RPG of the Year: The Winner
  • The Winner

  • Guild Wars 2

    Guild Wars 2

    "The world of Tyria is an endlessly intriguing place, stuffed with mystery and adventure, gifting you with gorgeous sights and personal stories that etch themselves into your memory." - Kevin VanOrd

    Winner
  • The Nominees

  • Dragon's Dogma

    Dragon's Dogma

    "Dragon's Dogma takes chances, and it's that riskiness that makes this role-playing game so unique among its peers. It will remain with you when your memories of other games have long since faded." - Kevin VanOrd

    Watch the Review »
  • The Last Story

    The Last Story

    "The Last Story is a deep, fast-paced JRPG, that evolves the genre in ways that enhance its existing tropes, without stripping away at its soul." - Mark Walton

    Watch the Review »
  • Mass Effect 3

    Mass Effect 3

    "Mass Effect 3 frequently reminds us that the loss of a single shining soul often takes on more meaning than a planetwide massacre." - Kevin VanOrd

    Watch the Review »
  • Torchlight II

    Torchlight II

    "Torchlight II doesn't innovate and it doesn't surprise, and the genre may need an infusion of new ideas if it's going to stay vital. But Torchlight II serves up the old, irresistible recipe about as well as it's ever been done." - Carolyn Petit

    Watch the Review »
378 comments
ZZBrent
ZZBrent

ZZInteractive hopes that one of their games will make its way onto a list like this someday.  They are currently working on a game in which EVERY decision has an effect, so that players can go through the game multiple times with multiple stories.  Don't believe me?  Try the link:

http://zzinteractive.com/game.aspx

jdog8888888
jdog8888888

Why do I have to watch a video on the winners? I want to scan and go. This is not outrageous, I have been reading best of on Gamespot for years. Maybe I will come back to this, when I have 2 hours to kill, maybe. Thanks anyways. 

pupp3t_mast3r
pupp3t_mast3r like.author.displayName 1 Like

It's like people have forgotten what RPG stands for, it's a Role Playing Game, meaning any game that involves character progression and allows you to define how your avatar in the game grows either in stats, abilities, equipment or personality can be classed as an RPG! So regardless of whether the gameplay mechanics revolve around hack and slash, point and shoot or just good old first person shooters as long as there are mechanics in play that let you mould your character as you see fit it counts as an RPG.....

Mldnight
Mldnight like.author.displayName 1 Like

Torchlight II is action adventure wtf is happening here where is the logic... I give up on gaming I'm going to become a gym junky instead -sigh-

pupp3t_mast3r
pupp3t_mast3r

 @Mldnight I suppose in your opinion Diablo 1 & 2 are action adventure games as well along with Titan Quest and every other spin off RPG that used the original Diablo formula??

Mldnight
Mldnight

This isnt an RPG its MMO... Should be in the MMO section, oh wait they dont have an MMO section... Suggestion... MMO section...

alinbizaru
alinbizaru

2 gays peoples present to us the best games.......... 

Zloth2
Zloth2 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

It was a horribly weak year for RPGs, really.  2011 got all the big releases.

D3dr0_0
D3dr0_0 like.author.displayName 1 Like

Why is an MMO here and why did it win? MMOs need there own category. Playing with multiple people online vs .playing alone.

lekford
lekford

Why the hell Guild Wars 2 is in the best RPG game?! GW 2 is MMOrpg !!!

Zloth2
Zloth2

 @lekford

 It's got more role playing than Torchlight, so why not have it here?

Mudpooch
Mudpooch like.author.displayName 1 Like

should have been ME3...

Kronblom71
Kronblom71 like.author.displayName 1 Like

That is ok and all -

 

but I wonder why everybody considers hack and slash games to be "RPG's" ?

InquisitorCrox
InquisitorCrox like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

ne he, Diablo 3 didnt even make it to the final five,

as expected, its appeal didnt even last 3 months, when the previous ones lasted for a decade or so...

And this time G$ got it right, the best game won!

Meteor7
Meteor7

I don't see why anyone cares

LordReithgar
LordReithgar

What the?  Gamespot seperates RPG and MMO when they classify them, but not for this award? Fail.

Laloov
Laloov

Why the hell Risen 2 isnt one of nominees. And Gild Wars, winner????? what the hell is going on with people?

Zloth2
Zloth2

 @Laloov

 That would be because RIsen 2 was really pretty weak.

DOW161
DOW161 like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 7 Like

The answer to all your questions is, because Guild Wars 2 is better!

gluemchen
gluemchen like.author.displayName 1 Like

MMO`s should not be counted in with other standalone Single/Co-Op games. I have to agree with many others here. This is just stupid.

pupp3t_mast3r
pupp3t_mast3r

 @gluemchen Given that Guild Wars 2 had more role playing content than any other MMO currently out there, and also given that in terms of story and character progression it out classed the other nominees it was the best choice.

Urik_187
Urik_187 like.author.displayName 1 Like

MMO should have its on category. don't see how you can put GW2 in the same category as a box product...

Zloth2
Zloth2

 @Urik_187

 Are there enough of them?  Guild Wars 2, Secret World, Tera, and... that's pretty much it, isn't it?  Unless you are going to start counting expansions like Mists of Pandora then EVERY major MMO is going to get nominated!

renato_passos
renato_passos like.author.displayName 1 Like

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning wasn't even nominated? And Ms. "doesn't innovate and it doesn't surprise" was?! What happened?

MVan86
MVan86

 @renato_passos I know what you mean. Although the fact Kingdoms was sabotaged by a State Governor effectively sinking the studio several months after launch...

Zloth2
Zloth2

 @MVan86  @renato_passos

 So the govenor's actions reverberated back in time and made the game weak??  Please.  They wanted to make an MMO but they couldn't so they had to punt and try and make it into a single player RPG.  Of course it was a shambles!

Neo_Sarevok
Neo_Sarevok like.author.displayName 1 Like

 @renato_passos Kingdoms of Amalur doesn't deserve to be mentioned because it was a mediocre game at best. The story was unoriginal and boring. The intro was ripped straight out of Planescape: Torment. The graphics are borderline with World of Warcraft. Lack of good/evil decisions. The only good thing the game did was combat.

therealsig
therealsig

 @Neo_Sarevok  @renato_passos I'm not an RPG fanatic, but I know a good game when I play one. And, unfortunately, Kingdoms of Amalur was just okay, I didn't even remember it existed. So, I'm not surprised they didn't nominate it. In my humble "RPG-opinion."

MVan86
MVan86

 @Neo_Sarevok  @renato_passos Kingdoms was a good game - besides remember that the studio was sunk by a State Governor before they could make any more DLC?

Lazy_Marine
Lazy_Marine like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 4 Like

Mass effect 3 should've won this, easily the best game in 2012

Nautalus79
Nautalus79

Where's The Witcher 2!!!!!

 

Urik_187
Urik_187

 @Nautalus79 uhhh dude... Witcher 2 was released last year :)

Nautalus79
Nautalus79

 @Urik_187 My bad, I was thinking they might put it in the running because the 360 port came out in April 2012.  It won on another site that rhymes with IGN. :)   Still a great game. 

Zloth2
Zloth2

 @Nautalus79  @Urik_187

 It's getting HARD to keep track!  A lot more people are playing games that came out a year (or two... or five) ago.

tcplotts
tcplotts like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 3 Like

well, this does confirm my position that there wasn't a viable rpg released this year. we'll try it again in 2013. MMO's do not count, good games or not.

appleburger
appleburger like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

GW2 is a good game, with lots of fans. I believe it's deserving of it's award.

SAS_Cpt_Soap
SAS_Cpt_Soap like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 6 Like

Its okay Mass Effect 3, people that understood your story like you <3

p3anut
p3anut

Where's Xenoblade? What the fuccc.....

vahnn0
vahnn0

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, GW2 blows...  I forgot I even had that game, and suddenly it's RPG OF THE YEAR!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

dr_jashugan
dr_jashugan like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

Why is Mass Effect 3 an RPG? I thought it was more of a third person shooter. 8-\

capnahdharr
capnahdharr

The fact that Torchlight II is on here instead of Persona 4 Golden speaks volumes about the lack of effort being put into actually trying to award the "most deserving" game. The Last Story or Dragon's Dogma are two of the top three RPGs this year imo, and Guildwars is not the third one. A nominee, yes but not even top 3.

Xxthesorrow90xX
Xxthesorrow90xX like.author.displayName like.author.displayName 2 Like

 @capnahdharr

 Just because your opinion doesn't agree with gamespots doesn't make them wrong or unfair.

After all its there opinion.

natt39
natt39

Swing and a miss...

johnnyauau
johnnyauau like.author.displayName 1 Like

It would have been worth it to have The Last Story as a winner. Not only it's one of the last game and the best game. Also, it's probably the best and only japanese role playing games to date. I love to see how far western and japanese role playing games would go. Not just with dialogue choices but also as an entertaining perspective and ensuring the game is not being too serious. I love serious games but in the end, you do want to relieve yourself on having too much tension. Well not as far as House of the Dead Overkill.

Soulreavercross
Soulreavercross moderator moderator like.author.displayName 1 Like

I'm surprised Dragon's Dogma or ME3 didn't win this one

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