If it’s coming out this year, it’s out. That’s the attitude of the gaming industry at this time of year. It suits us here at Couch and Controller, since it gives us a chance to take a look back at gaming in 2012.  Here are Couch and Controller’s five favorites of 2012.

Mass Effect 3 

While some found the final entry in the Mass Effect trilogy to be a little simplistic and lacking in identity, fans of the series found it to be the ultimate culmination of the tale of “their” Commander Shepard.  The Mass Effect series put the “role-playing” in “role-playing game,” and Mass Effect 3 made us want to go back to the original Mass Effect and start all over again.

Borderlands 2 

Do you like to kill people?  Do you have obsessive-compulsive disorder?  If you said, “yes,” you’re either a sociopath, or a prime candidate for Borderlands 2.  Endless equipment, all of which has varying stats, and the ability to stash and swap equipment between characters make this game a place where people with a love of first-person shooters can come together with obsessive collectors.

Minecraft (XBLA) 

Although Minecraft has been around on the PC forever, this column is called “Couch and Controller” not “Chair and Keyboard.”  Mojang finally brought Minecraft to the console world, and it was a much-needed influx of creativity in the stagnant “I shoot you, you shoot me” world of online console gaming.

Halo 4

The Halo series is quickly becoming the “Madden” of first-person shooters.  But, there’s a reason why both the Halo and Madden series are so successful – people love them, and they don’t mess with the formula.  Nobody bought Halo 4 for the single-player campaign; it’s all about the multi-player (as the shift to “season passes” on Xbox Live would seem to indicate).

Assassin’s creed 3

The great thing about this series is that you never know where it’s going.  Originally, Assassin’s Creed came off as a Prince of Persia clone, but quickly found its own identity.  Nobody could have predicted assassination and intrigue set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, or how fun that would be.  What’s next for AC?  South American revolutions?  The Napoleonic Wars?