Of course, as always, this is simply my take on things based on the games I played this year with friends. Your mileage may vary. Speaking of mileage...
#10 - F1 Race Stars - Kart Racing games aren't generally known for innovation and in a lot of ways, "F1 Race Stars" is just another kart racer; however, it does allow you to race co-operatively with up to five friends. That's right. You can do a 6v6 race against AI karts or another team of six players if you really want. For that functionality alone, it's worth a look. It's also a well made game with some interesting F1-inspired mechanics that shuns some of the tropes of the genre such as power-sliding in favor of boost and repair zones that are more true to the spirit of the F1 license. If you like kart racing games and have at least one friend who does as well, "F1 Race Starts" is worthy of your attention.
#8 - Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - If you're only going to buy one multiplayer, medieval combat game this year, you should read this whole list first; however, if you have room in your heart for two, "Chivalry" is worth a look. It's a bit more basic and rough around the edges than I'd prefer but there are some interesting game modes and features present in "Chivalry" that I wish were available in other such games. If you're looking for narrative or anything beyond hack and slash antics, look elsewhere but if you want a fun, frantic game to play with friends, you could do a lot worse.
#7 - Orion: Dino Beatdown - Every so often, a game comes along that I end up loving despite its flaws. In a purely objective sense, "Orion: Dino Beatdown" is a terrible game that has languished in a half-finished state since its release over eight months ago. Despite that, there is a good game in there, struggling desperately to exist. I believe the development team when they say they are trying to make the game what it was intended to be via post-release support but the fact remains that they are not there yet. If they had been able to deliver on this game's promise at launch or even by the end of the year, it would have been near the top of this list. As it stands, it's merely a novel, buggy little game with a lot of heart. For more on the current state of "Orion: Dino Beatdown," check out this post.
#6 - Torchlight II - "Torchlight II" is the game "Diablo III" should have been. With the addition of controller support, it could have been one of the best games of the year. Despite that omission, it is still the pinnacle of point and click dungeon crawlers. There is no better game of this type out there and I suspect it will be a long time before that changes.
#5 - Borderlands 2 - About the only bad thing you could say about "Borderlands 2" is that it's more of the same. In every measurable way, it surpasses its predacessor but that's simply to be expected. If this were the first game in the series, it would be hailed as the greatest co-op FPS of all time but ultimately it's just a really good sequel to a really great game. No more. No less.
#4 - War of the Roses - Multiplayer, medieval combat has been done before ("Mount & Blade" for example) but it's yet to be done quite as well as in "War of the Roses." This game really nails the details in a way that others simply don't and it has seen a bevy of post-launch improvements and tweaks that have kept me coming back to it over and over again. It's not perfect but it's the best I've seen so far where this type of gameplay is concerned.
#3 - Frontline Tactics - A free-to-play, turn-based strategy game with co-op? Hell yes! If this game were a bit deeper mechanically and had a narrative and/or meta game a la "Jagged Alliance," it would be my game of the year. As it stands, it's simply a fun, little game to play alone or with a friend for a quick, tactical fix.
#2 - PlanetSide 2 - The idea of an MMOFPS set in a persistent, futuristic world where territory and resources change hands between three factions is just as good now as it was when the original PlanetSide was released years ago. The difference is that technology and business models have finally caught up with that premise. As a result, "PlanetSide 2" is the first truly "must play" free-to-play game despite its often-brutal learning curve. If you and your friends aren't playing this game, you really should be. Need help getting started? Check out my "PlanetSide 2 Boot Camp" post.
#1 - DayZ - How could it be anything else? Without a doubt, "DayZ" was the best thing to happen to gaming in 2012 (co-op or otherwise) and even as a broken, hacker-infested mod it was the most refreshing, important game released in years, maybe ever. "DayZ" the game will only show its true potential in 2013 but "DayZ" the mod was clearly the co-op experience of 2012.
FYI: Those of you interested in the status of DayZ standalone should check out the development team's tumblr, which was updated today.
Also, in case anyone missed them, here are some of my favorite DayZ-related posts from the past year:
My Short Story "Tripping DayZ"
My Guides
My 5 Favorite Videos
my favorite solo play video
group madness in Elektro
my favorite episode that nobody watched :)
our most action-packed adventure
my tribute to DayZ
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