After trying to answer this question, I realized that the only game from 2012 I have played is Max Payne 3. I'm going to get a few for Christmas, so I reserve my right to not have to name the game of the year until the actual end of the year.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell