2012: A Year in Reviews
by marino
Considering the world is ending on Friday, I figured I should go ahead and post this data that I've been compiling all year. Well, at least the reviews data. I'll have a slew of user-related data in a couple weeks...if we're still alive.
As you're all aware, it's been a crazy year on Giant Bomb. Despite this, the guys churned out nearly 100 reviews. For a crew that is primarily just three dudes doing reviews, almost two per week seems like a lot. There's not a whole lot of analysis with the data I'm presenting here, admittedly, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. It's basically just a bunch of colorful wedges, pies, and bars. Feel free to embiggen them as well.
I've livened things up a bit by including some of the best user-created art from this year. If you love the Persona style renditions of each staff member, send all of your thanks to . And if you love the pixelated stuff at the end, you can send your praise to .
- SupernormalStep's Persona 4: The Golden Duder
- Fobwashed's More Pixelated Giant Bombers
- Marino's 2011 Year in Reviews
2012 is the first year that someone wrote more reviews than Jeff. With everything that went on this year, it's pretty amazing that there were only 5 fewer reviews on the site in 2012 than there were in 2011.
The 2012 Reviews MVP. You may think Alex hates everything, but he dished out more 5-Star reviews than anyone.
Brad knocked out 26 reviews this year (22 last year). He seems to have been more conflicted this year compared to 2011 considering 77% of his 2011 reviews were 4's & 5's, while this year his 4's & 5's consisted of less than half of his total.
Looks like Jeff liked most of the games he reviewed this year. That one 1-Star review? Black Ops Declassified on Vita.
If you want to know about flashlights, dragons, pomeranians, blinking, and zombie survival, then Patrick is your guy.
And if you're into tennis, pills, lane changing, alien autopsies, and stabbin' fools, then Ryan is your go to guy.
Has anyone seen these guys lately? They must be busy doing something. Something important I would guess.
The breakdown of stars is actually quite similar to 2011. Cool Baby approves.
Strangely enough, 36% of the games reviewed in 2011 were Xbox 360 games as well. Keep in mind that there's some overlap on this one. For example, Gotham City Imposters counts towards XBLA, PSN, and PC based on which releases Brad played for his review.
Oh, you don't like pie charts. Well, here's the same data in bar graph form.
I'd bet money you would not have guessed that February would've had the most reviews in 2012. A bunch of stuff came out in February, but the release of the Vita is what really pushed that number up above every other month.
Lastly, here's a look at reviews per year since the site launched.The Raw Data
| Game | For | Score | By | Date |
| All Zombies Must Die | PS3N XBLA | 3 | Brad | 1/12 |
| Saints Row: The Third - GenkiBowl VII | X360 | 2 | Jeff | 1/24 |
| NeverDead | X360 | 2 | Alex | 2/2 |
| Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning | PS3 X360 | 4 | Jeff | 2/7 |
| Darkness II, The | X360 | 4 | Alex | 2/7 |
| Resident Evil: Revelations | 3DS | 3 | Brad | 2/8 |
| Gotham City Imposters | PS3N XBLA PC | 4 | Brad | 2/11 |
| Super Stardust Delta | PSVN | 4 | Jeff | 2/13 |
| Uncharted: Golden Abyss | PSV | 3 | Jeff | 2/13 |
| Lumines: Electronic Symphony | PSV | 4 | Jeff | 2/16 |
| Wipeout 2048 | PSV | 3 | Jeff | 2/16 |
| Rayman: Origins | PSV | 5 | Alex | 2/16 |
| Warp | PS3N XBLA | 3 | Brad | 2/17 |
| Escape Plan | PSVN | 3 | Alex | 2/17 |
| Syndicate | PS3 X360 | 5 | Jeff | 2/21 |
| Touch My Katamari | PSV | 3 | Alex | 2/21 |
| Grand Slam Tennis 2 | PS3 X360 | 3 | Ryan | 2/22 |
| Alan Wake's American Nightmare | XBLA | 3 | Patrick | 2/22 |
| Rhythm Heaven Fever | Wii | 5 | Alex | 2/22 |
| Asura's Wrath | X360 | 4 | Brad | 2/25 |
| SSX | PS3 X360 | 4 | Alex | 2/28 |
| Mass Effect 3 | PS3 X360 | 4 | Jeff | 3/6 |
| Journey | PS3N | 5 | Alex | 3/13 |
| I Am Alive | XBLA | 2 | Brad | 3/14 |
| Street Fighter X Tekken | PS3 X360 | 3 | Jeff | 3/19 |
| Ninja Gaiden 3 | X360 | 2 | Alex | 3/23 |
| Ridge Racer | PSV | 2 | Jeff | 3/27 |
| Sine Mora | XBLA | 3 | Brad | 3/28 |
| South Park: Tenorman's Revenge | XBLA | 1 | Alex | 4/4 |
| Kinect Star Wars | X360 | 2 | Brad | 4/5 |
| Splatters, The | XBLA | 3 | Alex | 4/13 |
| Fez | XBLA | 4 | Jeff | 4/16 |
| Trials Evolution | XBLA | 5 | Brad | 4/19 |
| Pinball Arcade, The | XBLA iOS | 4 | Jeff | 4/20 |
| Bloodforge | XBLA | 2 | Alex | 4/25 |
| Mortal Kombat | PSV | 5 | Jeff | 5/1 |
| Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition | XBLA | 4 | Brad | 5/9 |
| Max Payne 3 | X360 | 4 | Ryan | 5/14 |
| Prototype 2 | PS3 X360 | 3 | Jeff | 5/18 |
| Diablo III | PC | 5 | Brad | 5/22 |
| Game of Thrones | X360 | 2 | Alex | 5/23 |
| Dragon's Dogma | PS3 X360 | 3 | Patrick | 5/24 |
| Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier | X360 | 3 | Jeff | 5/30 |
| Gravity Rush | PSV | 3 | Alex | 6/11 |
| Civilization V: Gods & Generals | PC | 4 | Alex | 6/18 |
| Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor | X360 | 1 | Brad | 6/20 |
| Spec Ops: The Line | X360 | 3 | Jeff | 6/29 |
| LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes | X360 | 3 | Brad | 6/29 |
| Spelunky | XBLA | 4 | Alex | 7/3 |
| Theatrhythm Final Fantasy | 3DS | 4 | Brad | 7/5 |
| Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard, The | X360 | 4 | Brad | 7/10 |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD | XBLA | 3 | Jeff | 7/18 |
| Deadlight | XBLA | 3 | Brad | 7/31 |
| Expendables 2, The | PS3N | 2 | Alex | 8/3 |
| Persona 4 Arena | PS3 X360 | 4 | Jeff | 8/7 |
| Sound Shapes | PS3N PSVN | 5 | Alex | 8/9 |
| Darksiders II | PS3 X360 PC | 4 | Jeff | 8/14 |
| Sleeping Dogs | X360 PC | 4 | Alex | 8/14 |
| Papo & Yo | PS3N | 3 | Alex | 8/17 |
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | XBLA | 5 | Brad | 8/20 |
| Transformers: Fall of Cybertron | PS3 X360 | 3 | Jeff | 8/21 |
| Hybrid | XBLA | 4 | Brad | 8/23 |
| Rock Band Blitz | XBLA | 4 | Ryan | 8/27 |
| Madden NFL 13 | X360 | 3 | Alex | 8/27 |
| Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | PS3 X360 | 4 | Jeff | 9/11 |
| NHL 13 | X360 | 4 | Alex | 9/12 |
| Borderlands 2 | PS3 X360 PC | 4 | Jeff | 9/18 |
| Mark of the Ninja | XBLA | 5 | Brad | 9/21 |
| Fire Pro Wrestling | XBLA | 2 | Alex | 9/26 |
| Tokyo Jungle | PS3N | 4 | Patrick | 10/1 |
| Resident Evil 6 | X360 | 2 | Brad | 10/3 |
| Dishonored | PS3 X360 | 4 | Patrick | 10/8 |
| NBA 2K13 | X360 | 4 | Alex | 10/8 |
| Fable: The Journey | X360 | 3 | Brad | 10/9 |
| Forza Horizon | X360 | 5 | Jeff | 10/12 |
| XCOM: Enemy Unknown | PS3 X360 PC | 5 | Ryan | 10/16 |
| 007 Legends | X360 | 2 | Alex | 10/18 |
| Doom 3: BFG Edition | PS3 X360 | 3 | Brad | 10/22 |
| Medal of Honor: Warfighter | X360 | 3 | Brad | 10/27 |
| Need for Speed: Most Wanted | X360 | 4 | Jeff | 10/30 |
| WWE '13 | PS3 X360 | 4 | Alex | 10/30 |
| Halo 4 | X360 | 4 | Jeff | 11/1 |
| Assassin's Creed III: Liberation | PSV | 3 | Alex | 11/2 |
| Hotline Miami | PC | 5 | Alex | 11/5 |
| Assassin's Creed III | PS3 X360 | 4 | Ryan | 11/6 |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops II | X360 | 4 | Jeff | 11/13 |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified | PSV | 1 | Jeff | 11/14 |
| New Super Mario Bros. U | WiiU | 3 | Brad | 11/18 |
| Nintendo Land | WiiU | 4 | Brad | 11/18 |
| Hitman: Absolution | X360 | 4 | Alex | 11/19 |
| ZombiU | WiiU | 4 | Patrick | 11/20 |
| Walking Dead, The | PS3 X360 PC | 5 | Alex | 11/26 |
| PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale | PS3 PSV | 3 | Jeff | 11/27 |
| Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?! | 3DS | 3 | Alex | 11/29 |
| Far Cry 3 | PS3 X360 PC | 5 | Brad | 12/4 |
| Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse | X360 | 1 | Alex | 12/4 |