Of course, the year is reaching its end, and so everyone is pulling out their best of and worst of lists for 2012, whether it's movies, TV shows or video games. Though the very best games of any given year naturally get all the best press, what about those games that you absolutely, positively should avoid? The year has had its share of disappointments alongside its many innovations - new entries into the Ninja Gaiden and Resident Evil series were both crushing let-downs - but those games at least had some inherent value and were far from the worst of the year. Below are 10 games so awful, so lazy, so poorly thought-out that you'd be lucky if you never touched them, because they're among the most frustrating and idiotic games we've played not only this year, but in any. Here are the 10 worst games of 2012.
10. Neverdead
I'm always cautiously optimistic when a brand new intellectual property heads our way, especially when it's backed by a big studio, as is the case with Konami's Neverdead. However, while it's admirable that a unique-looking world has been created here, that's really the only thing the game has going for it, as it's a mess in pretty much every other regard. The main attraction, that the protagonist can be dismembered but still crawl around, is fun for a minute but quickly becomes tiresome because it's just so damn repetitive. The story is meanwhile completely forgettable, and many of the characters - specifically your ditzy blonde sidekick - are actively irritating, which doesn't make the package anymore enticing. Even the combat isn't much fun; the mechanics are clunky and rote, executed far better in the likes of Devil May Cry, while this really just feels like a pallid, lazy imitation that can't carry a decent idea beyond the conceptual stage. Too easy, annoyingly sexist, and just plain annoying, Neverdead has already begun its long dive into the gaming abyss.