Now that 2012 is in our rear view mirror and the Game of the Year awards features are over and done with, I thought it might be nice to check in with some friends and freelancers in the gaming sphere to see which titles they felt didn't get their due.

Extra Credits is trying a new feature where it introduces viewers to burgeoning video game markets. The first one tackled is Brazil and while I see the country's potential, this particular presentation doesn't do the best job of selling Brazil as a great new game market. Sure you can still buy a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive—brand new—and who doesn't want that? But video game piracy seems to still be pretty rampant there. It also looks like one of those territories that isn't the least bit interested in fixing things from a consumer, governmental and industry standpoint.

In this response piece, Extra Credits expands on the subject of horror in games. This time the crew talks about the three types of "monsters" available to developers shedding a little insight into why some fall flat.

There's a new free-to-play online role-playing game (RPG) on the way from Perfect World, the people who brought your Star Trek Online and a host of other free-to-play online titles. Why is this one specifically notable? Three reasons...

A Beautiful Bore

HIGH The new bow is pretty sweet.

LOW The final boss is everything that's wrong with boss fights.

WTF I can't punch a thin wooden door down? This is still a thing?

The gist of this particular Extra Credits presentation is that developers should focus on the gameplay first and then wrap their story around that. It sounds like a no-brainer until you realize that a practice of de-emphasizing story at the onset is standard operating procedure in the video game development community. The result have been unoriginal and unsophisticated stories. Maybe we need more developers taking a stand and pushing through those barriers to focusing on story and come up with something that can really move the medium forward.

If I Could Turn Back Time

HIGH The real-time combat and Spellstone system provide satisfying loops of tactical decisions.

LOW Major story battles often boil down to frustrating trial-and-error.

WTF The handling of female characters is frequently problematic.

...and the Bland Played On

HIGH The visit to the Fairyground.

LOW Losing the third phase of the final boss battle because of stun-locking.

WTF So I'm in a nursery inside a fairy's reproductive system?

I'm currently working on my review of Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate. I wasn't able to put as much time into it as I expected because the bridging software which allows players to transfer data between the Wii U and 3DS has not been available, and apparently will not be until the day of release. Since I'm usually able to catch a few quests here and there on a portable when I'm not in front of my TV, that was an unexpected setback.

Still Rollin' Around at the Speed of Sound

HIGH Final Rush is still one of the coolest video game levels ever made.

LOW Mad Space is still one of the most tedious video game levels ever made.

WTF How does the military mistake Shadow for Sonic? They're completely different colors.