Around the Web: Year-End Celebration Edition

We’ve reached the final hours of 2012, and since our last update, numerous sites have bestowed year-ending honors to Dishonored.

After receiving thousands of votes, Eurogamer announced that the game topped their Readers’ Top 50 Games of 2012! Big thanks to the Eurogamer community for voting one of our titles #1 for the second year in a row.

The roll call of accolodes for Dishonored continues at these sites:

Also worth celebrating, Xbox LIVE is ending the year with a one-day sale on The Elder Scrolls. Titles include:

  • Skyrim (Games on Demand) – $29.99
  • Dawnguard – 800 MS Points
  • Hearthfire – 200 MS Points
  • Oblivion (Games on Demand) – $9.99
  • Shivering Isles – 600 MS Points
  • Knights of the Nine – 200 MS Points
And in id Software news, Wolfenstein, DOOM, and QUAKE are all prominently discussed in GamesRadar’s recent feature on the history of the first-person shooter. Elsewhere, GameRevolution ranks Wolfenstein 3D as one of the 10 Most Influential Retro Games of All Time.

Around the web: DLC review roundup (Updated)

Hot (pun intended) off the heels of RAGE’s new add-on, The Scorchers, reviews and impressions are making their way online. Embedded above, IGN shares their 10-minute first look at the content, while sites like The Controller Online, ZTGD, and HiddenAudioLog are already posting their reviews. And this just in, OXM UK scores The Scorchers a 9/10 and declares that it is a “not unpleasant burning sensation.” Hmm.. okay, we’ll take it!

DLC coverage continues with Dragonborn and Dunwall City Trials rounds, after the break…

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Dishonored, Honored (Updated!)

Update (12/19): IGN has named Dishonored the Best Action Game of 2012!

It’s that time of the year when publications are naming their favorite games from months past, and Dishonored is hitting list after GOTY list.

Just today, EDGE bestowed its Game of the Year award to Dishonored, while also naming Arkane the Studio of the Year. Meanwhile, GameSpot granted both its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platform GOTY awards to Dishonored, in addition to naming it Action/Adventure of the Year.

Publications that have also recently honored Dishonored with awards and nominations include:

Dishonored is still being played and replayed, and people are writing many words about their experiences. EDGE talks up the game in its Still Playing column, while 1UP chimes in with a spoiler-filled dissection of one of the game’s endings. Also recommended is the Gamasutra blog entry “Spatial and Social Realism in Dishonored” by Scott Juster, which breaks down why Dunwall is such a believable and lived-in setting.

Elsewhere, co-creative director Harvey Smith has a new column at The Penny Arcade Report where he discusses the genius of Far Cry 2. Here’s an excerpt:

“My ultimate moment of unbridled joy playing FC2 came during a side mission, picked up in the form of an assassination contract via radio tower. A couple of jeeps full of armed men were protecting a convoy carrying my target, a sophisticatedly-dressed man with close-cropped white hair and a burgundy suit riding in an SUV.”

Finally, if you missed the VGAs, check out the Dishonored version of “Sam Jackson Mode” on Spike. The party starts at 4:05.

RAGE DLC arrives next week on PS3, 360, and PC!

Return to the Wasteland in The Scorchers, an all-new RAGE add-on from id Software – arriving on 360, PC, and PS3 next week for $4.99 (or 400 Microsoft Points).

In this brand-new adventure spanning six all-new areas, you will fight alongside new allies to defend the Hager Settlment from a maniacal bandit clan known as The Scorchers. Along the way, you’ll participate in a new season of Mutant Bash TV, encounter new mini-games, and wield the overpowering and brutal Nailgun.

In addition to the new content, this DLC includes ‘Ultra-Nightmare’, a new high difficulty mode, as well as an ‘Extended Play’ option that allows you to play past the original ending of the game – giving you the opportunity to finish collecting items and achievements.