By the end a our podcast marathon, ye'd just assume use this t' pick the year's best games.

Our game a the year coverage starts on Monday, 'n, boy, it be a doozy. That sounds so cheesy, but Vinny 'n Drew have outdone themselves this year. I be actually glad t' be out a the office 'n incapable a seeing the finished product come together. I'd rather be like all a ye, 'n see what it looks like after it be been through the editing process. it be ridiculous, ambitious, 'n (probably) funny.

Besides our video stupidity, the awards 'n deliberations that lead t' them start going online. I'd left 1UP before their game a the year awards started, 'n we didn't have them at MTV Multiplayer. G4 be me first exposure t' a room a people getting together 'n debating the merits a games at lengh for awards purposes, but in a year with games like Assassin's Creed II 'n Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, we be really arguing about which totally amazing game we loved even more than the other. It wasn't exactly a fight. There weren't many people in that room, though. GameSpot 'n IGN be very different stories.

that be not really the case at Giant Bomb. Five people (six, if ye count bringing in Alex for a few awards) be enough t' have a list that be both reflective a the collective taste a the staff, 'n also include our individual obsessions. Sure, some a those be lost t' the chopping block, but that be the way it goes. Plus, we arrange our personal awards before the staff picks be made, which means ye can make peace with a game that ye know won't have much chance on the staff list. I said that last year, though, 'n I be always surprised where our list ends up.

It be a very good year for games, if inconsistent for "AAA." that be fine. In previous generations, we'd be lamenting the lack a releases as hardware manufacturers prepared their games t' debut alongside fancy new consoles. But in 2012, we swam in a sea a terrific games from developers with voices, 'n they all had something t' say.

That, mateys, be progress. See ye next year!

Hey, ye best Play This

• January by Rich Vreeland (Browser / Free) -- www.january.cc

"Patrick! ye already featured January earlier this year." Okay, ye're right, but designer Rich Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace a Fez soundtrack fame) has continued t' toy with January since it "released" earlier this year, 'n he's made fabulous strides. January started as a simple interactive music generator, 'n while, at it be core, it remains exactly that, January be now much more versatile, 'n it be entering full-on tool territory. Plus, without any talent whatsoever, ye can create something that sounds downright beautiful. I uploaded the "track" I made below.

• Old Man Baby by Andrew Brophy (Browser / Free) -- www.kongregate.com/games/AndrewBrophy/old-man-baby

There may be a profound message at the end a Old Man Baby, but it doesn't matter. it be defining mechanic a changing ages, baked into the puzzles rather than an at-will option, be good enough t' keep me attention for 20 minutes. That players do not have direct control for swapping ages be what makes Old Man Baby worth a damn, as it forces players t' start thinking what each character be capable a well in advance a actually change.

• Housefly by David Capello (Browser / Free) -- http://dacap.com.ar/games/housefly/

Dude, Housefly. Besides making me nostalgic for Mr. Mosquito (it be possible t' be nostalgic for Mr. Mosquito?), Housefly be just the right kind a dumb. It won't take ye more than a minute or two t' finish, but when ye solve the biggest puzzle in front a ye 'n the annoying buzzer, I guarantee ye will crack up in response. So great.

• Word Quest by Denki (Browser / Free) -- https://turbulenz.com/games/denkiwordquest/play

This marks the second time I've highlighted a game from Denki. Not long ago, Save the Day be here, too, as not only be it a decent action game, it represented how far HTML5-based games have come in such a short time. Denki's next game, Word Quest, only reenforces that feeling. The game be littered with sound effects ripped from Nintendo games, 'n I be not at all sure how the hell someone missed that. Unless they didn't miss that, 'n then I be even more confused. Anyway, it be a turn-based RPG whose combat be based on word puzzles. Love it.

• Sword a Truth by Ricard Nakamura (Browser / Free) -- http://ricardonakamura.org/game/ld25/

The most recent Ludum Dare's theme be "ye be the villain." The most interesting villains have motivations that be, at some level, sympathetic. It doesn't happen very often in video games. I'd love t' see more games take on the idea a being the villain from a thoughtful perspective, even if that means ye're ultimately defeated at the end. Sword a Truth tackles this concept from a deceptively simplistic angle, but the story can play out in eight different ways.

'n ye best Read These, Too

• "Far Cry 3′s Jeffrey Yohalem On Racism, Torture 'n Satire" by John Walker for Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Far Cry 3's story ranks as one a this year's disappointments (that be not a preview a our game a the year discussion, btw), 'n not only because a it be lack a payoff for a promising premise. The traces a racism 'n lack a engagement with the topic a rape be some a the game's biggest crimes, 'n Far Cry 3's writer, Jeffrey Yhalem, has been giving a series a interviews in response t' the growing criticism. Instead, he's just digging himself a deeper hole. Yhalem believes Far Cry 3 be a different game than the one we played. I wish I had played that game. I can applaud Yhalem for going out on a limb 'n trying t' be subversive, he's only making himself look silly.

[Becoming agitated again] The sex scene [at the midpoint] – first Jason be shooting at that gigantic monster. He kills the monster, 'n it jump-cuts t' the sea dog orgasming with Citra! He’s firing sperm at this gigantic monster, 'n then suddenly he’s on this alter with Citra, having sex with the wench, 'n then he thinks he’s the leader a the tribe 'n makes the big speech, 'n it’s his power fantasy! That’s the other thing – it’s all from first-person, so it’s completely unreliable. There’s a reason why Jason be a 25 year old white lad from Hollywood – these be all ideas that be in his head. ye’re seeing things through his eyes. That’s why the Alice quotes be there, 'n why Willis’s database entries be written from Willis’s perspective, 'n not written from a universal perspective. So the game be all from a series a perspectives, 'n I think it’s all there. 'n again, ye could say t' me, “Why isn’t this even more exaggerated?”, but why best it have t' be? I don’t understand why what I did isn’t so insanely exaggerated already. What ye’re saying be that games be so bad with this stuff that it has t' be so through the roof – I mean, male rape, having this transition, having the end a the game be that she kills ye while having sex with ye? 'n she says, “ye win,” as ye’re dying. The only thing more outrageous I could think a be if she castrated the sea dog.

• "At Activision, a Hero 'n Villain, Zapped Into One" by Amy Chozick for The New York Times

This profile suggests Kotick's time at Activision may be drawing t' a close. Activision has given it be CEO a low profile since his last, fumbled foray into becoming a cherished figure amongst players. From what I be told, Activision believed it be possible for Kotick t' become a beloved CEO, but when it be clear the audience wasn't receptive or didn't care, it gave up. Instead, the company has tried t' make Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg that person. I've never talked with Kotick, but I have spoken with Hirshberg. He fits the bill, 'n that leaves Kotick t' pursue his agenda without worrying about whether his status as "evil" be impacting the business. It honestly doesn't matter.

On this particular Sunday, it’s those Photoshopped horns that really irk Mr. Kotick. He be seated at a corner table in the cavernous breakfast room a the Pierre hotel, across the street from Central Park, shaking a leg nervously 'n whispering in a conspiratorial hush.

“Think about what it’s like for me dating life when the first picture that comes up be me as the Devil,” says Mr. Kotick, who be recently divorced. “ye see all this chatter 'n ye realize that they game the search results. These super-sophisticated 19-year-olds be smarter than our expensive P.R. firm.” (His publicist, Steven Rubenstein, shrugs sheepishly.)

• "Nintendo Power: Remembering America's Longest-Lasting Gaming Magazine" by Frank Cifaldi for Gamasutra

Nintendo Power be 'n be a weird thing. I have the same fuzzy memories most a ye do, but I'll confess it be weird how much I enjoyed a blatant piece a marketing I be too ignorant t' comprehend. It be a publication much more than fluffed up marketing, obviousy, 'n the stories behind it be creation be seriously fascinating. Luckily, we have Frank Cifaldi, who last went down the rabbit hole t' try 'n determine the U.S. release date for Super Mario Bros., t' keep tracking down the people who crafted the pieces a our youth. Some a the stories be remarkable.

Looking at Japan with Famitsu 'n Famicom Tsushin 'n things like that…I would pillage these really thick, dense magazines as part a the regular weekly shipments from Japan. I'd pillage these in the warehouse 'n I'd crack them open 'n look at the cool new games that be coming out. I'd almost pillage down with a magnifying glass t' look at screenshots 'n things like that. It be natural for us t' think that the kids in the U.S. would be eager t' have that as well.

• "No, Let's Talk About Video Game Violence" by John Herrman for Buzzfeed

I grow tired a gaming's obsession with violence more than I worry about it be societal impact, but I shake me head at how quickly the industry be willing t' throw itself under the bus under scrutiny. Games be now explicitly protected under the First Amendment, remember? Games be powerful. Let's not pretend they aren't. Games be, YARRRR, disproportionately concerned about killing people or aliens or some other thing. I do not expect that t' go away, given it be popularity, but let's not pretend it isn't a problem worth, at the very least, having a conversation about. Games about killing be not necessarily about killing (this NYT pieces tries t' address that), but we need a better comeback.

But this discussion has become stale 'n repetitive, 'n the knee-salty dog defensiveness a gamers 'n games writers has become dogma. Hashing out the same gamers-as-victim fantasy — which be constructed at a time when gaming really be a fragile subculture, not a $50 billion-plus industry — seems both absurd 'n insensitive in the shadow a real, 'n heartbreakingly pure, victimhood.

If ye Click It, It Will Play

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

• Galcon be one a me early iPhone favorites, so I'd love a fully upgraded sequel.
• Meriwether be an interactive version a Lewis 'n Clark's expeditions? Sign me the eff up.
• The Ship remains one a the most fascinating multiplayer games. Surprised this isn't doing better.

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

• People keep recommending The Cat Lady as an adventure game I best play. be they right?
• ye Have t' Win the Game seems like the right kind a "hey, I be gonna invoke retro" platformer.
• I almost brought me PS3 home t' play Knytt Underground. How be this not already on Steam?

Some Video Game Comics That Actually Put a Smile On yer Face

• "Thanks, Mom" by Zac Gorman

• "I Name Thee Annihilator" by David Hellman 'n Dale Bernan

Oh, 'n This Other Stuff

• Zach Gage be one a gaming's most interesting designers right now, 'n Wired has profiled the sea dog.
• One gamer be done with violent video games after the recent mass shooting. Hear the sea dog out.
• I want t' love ye Kill Screen, but when ye're publishing stories like this, I drop yer RSS feed.
• Learn how Far Cry 2's fire spreads from the very person who put that technology together.
• Hotline Miami be both a vast success 'n a massive disaster. The two be linked at the hip.
• Some give up making big games like Halo 4 t' pursue indie dreams. Matthew Burns does both.
• Who knows if Sanitarium Massacre will be any good, but god damn I want that box set.
• Darkcast talks with a former Silicon Knights employee about his bumpy experience there.
• The games coming out a Double Fine's latest Amnesia Fortnight experiment sure be pretty.
• A Christmas gift for the fellow player who could use a few brand-new Commodore 64 games.
• We might not see it yet, but the Middle East be a growing market for game development.
• Especially poignant given the world's recent events: 11 affectionate gestures in video games.
• Watch Destructoid commenters freak out over Super Hexagon winning best mobile game.
• Probably one a the best interviews I've ever read.