I feel like it was an alright year for gaming.  I can't complain much about it - there were some games that came out this year that interested me, or that I enjoyed, and that's really all I ever ask for.

My big gaming moment this year was getting the Vita.  And I'm pretty happy with how the system is doing now.  I hope that by this time next year more gamers will take the Vita seriously, and that it will have an even better variety of games.  At the very least, I should have several of the older games I still want to pick up by then.

Next year we will probably learn more about what to expect from the next generation of consoles.  And, the game industry will probably continue to change and push towards the next new idea that works best.  It might take a few years or it might be standard right from the release of the 360 and PS3 successors, but I expect to see games move toward all digital at some point.  The big question is, will Always Online remain a difficult issue for gamers or not when that happens?

2013 is a pivot point for the game industry, and hopefully we can have some newer games to look forward to that are as impressive as the ones from the past.

I can't speak of the ME3 multiplayer aspect as I haven't played it but that could be partly due to the fact that I wasn't tantalized by what the game's box, itself, mentioned of it.  But I definitely can understand gamers questioning whether or not is was necessary.  But I figure that it's additional game play so even if it's not worth paying an additional $10 for online access if you didn't already have a code then it's just some 'bonus'.

I am not entirely sure where people seem to feel that the story started to slide from great.  I want to avoid spoilers but throughout the player has to resolve conflicts that have been in play since ME1 and of course for centuries before the period in which the game takes place.  I felt that watching the various video logs did some great work of going more in-depth with things that happened in previous games even to Shepard specifically.

I won't doubt that you and many others, I am sure, share the opinion about the story. However, I want to make it known to those that haven't played it that not everyone feels the same way about the story and they definitely should experience it and see what the think about it.

But when all was said and done we saw some great character progressions (Joker), ending century long conflicts and while all of the choices you'd made throughout the whole trilogy may not have seemed to make that big of a difference to the actual 'ending' of the game...all of the player's previous decisions affected so many seemingly smaller plot points (many of which most players do not even realize until you hit up ME's Wikia or something similar...). The game took into account over 1,000 variables...it's mind-boggling...and of course they had to make sure that the game was playable to the newbies to the series.

Honestly..I did feel a little 'weird' when I finished it but I think that came mostly from the fact that I finished a trilogy which I had put a lot of time into. Became emotionally involved in.  But again...people are going to feel differently about it.

And look...I think I accidentally made my comment longer than your post =0)

I'll be checking out your follow-up blog posts!

when i saw journey my first thoughts was not my kind of game and truth is it still isn`t. i found mass effect 3 a great game even with complaining ending.as for kingdom of amalur i personally found it better than skyrim.not on graphics but on story and game play wise.

Whats really frightening is that readers seem more compelled to comment on your spelling and visual style than the actual content of your fantastic article! Silent Hill Downpour is a gem of a game and people who like action horror suspense games should give it a try, especially at it's low price now. I played the first 2 Mass Effect games but lost interest in it after that. I may pick up Mass Effect 3 at some point. Great article. Keep up the good work and forget about all the "professors" on here grading your work like its a term paper or something!

I found 'Silent Hill: Downpour' to be quite satisfying as a horror game and would urge anyone whom enjoys horror games to check it out despite it's disappointing reviews. 

'Mass Effect 3' was an enjoyable game but due to owning a Playstation 3 I have not yet experienced the whole package and am hoping to pick up the trilogy sometime soon. This is why I did not understand the controversy produced by the final game; I thought it was a masterpiece.

Journey was the single most moving experience of my gaming career.  It was absolutely sublime.

As we step away from its launch though, it seems to me that for most gamers, the impact of the game has faded.

As to your blog, keep writing... but that was a serious Wall of Text.  Put some paragraphs in there and some indentations to make it easier to read, please.

Journey for GOTY? Looks like the world did end after all.

*frightening