• Posted January 3rd, 2013 at 05:40 EDT by Mike Harradence
• 3 Comments

2012 is done and dusted, and December did nothing to subvert the tradition of closing off the year in quiet fashion. Well, unless you lived in the U.S. of course, in which case Far Cry 3 rounded off a solid 12 months of gaming greats. Still, for many, November offered the last slew of blockbuster releases, and no doubt most of us are still polishing off some of last year’s finer titles as we enter 2013.

However, December was still worth a look. For one, we had the excellent Guardians of Middle-Earth, a PSN/XBL title that combines the fantasy landscapes and iconic characters of The Lord of the Rings with the cerebral-based antics of a modern-day RTS. Then of course there’s Far Cry 3 (again, for North American gamers), the next entry in Ubisoft’s critically acclaimed open-world FPS franchise. And that’s about it, sadly. Nonetheless, that’s two brilliant games on offer, and we’ve no doubt that most of you have already been ploughing through either one over the holidays while consuming exorbitant quantities of junk food. And if you didn’t, shame on you.

Indeed, while we would be happy slapping our accolade for Game of the Month on both titles, we have to pick one ultimate winner. And frankly, as great as Middle-Earth is, it would be a crime not to give the award to Far Cry 3. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise to our readers, seeing as how Ubisoft’s sandbox shooter bagged PSU.com’s prestigious Game of the Year Award, so nothing short of a miracle was going to stop it from being crowned December 2012’s Game of the Month.

Just in case we haven’t waxed lyrical on this game enough for your liking, check out a snippet of our review below to see why it deserves so much praise.

“There is so much to do in Far Cry 3 that doesn't feel like filler, and that's saying a lot for an open-world game. It's worth noting that some of the side missions feel extremely disconnected from the overall campaign, but I like to view that as something to do after the story is over. Outside those elements, players are rewarded in Far Cry 3 by an extremely connected experience. This is one of the most successful games and one that should be on the top of your must buy list. If you can deal with the insanity of the story, you will be rewarded with an absolutely brilliant experience where attention is paid to every inch of the setting, story, characters, and gameplay.”

Read our full review of Far Cry 3 here.