Welcome to the 2012 OXM GOTY Awards! All this week we’ll be running down our picks from the best in games, concluding Friday with OXM’s 2012 Game of the Year. Check back here all week for the running list of winners.

Our awards today focus on the various ways gameplay captures our attention in the modern era. Whether it’s intense competition, engaging co-op, or bold new ideas, these games were some of the best-playing games of 2012. 

BEST MULTIPLAYER: Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Think what you will about Black Ops II’s strange experiment with branching paths in its campaign mode and Strike Force missions, but when it comes to establishing who’s king of the competitive-multiplayer mountain, Treyarch brought its A-game in this year’s Call of Duty. With tweaks both large (“Pick 10,” Zombies Tranzit mode) and less large (Hardpoint mode, Carrier map), we don’t expect to see the shooter dropping down the Xbox Live “Most Played” ranks anytime soon. Treyarch’s formula for superbly refined gameplay is what makes CoD the game to beat in the multiplayer category every year. We’re seriously watching to see if anyone can unseat it. Anyone?
(Runners-up:  Halo 4, Mass Effect 3, Assassin’s Creed III)

BOLDEST EXPERIMENT: NBA Baller Beats
A basketball-bouncing Kinect rhythm game… now that’s novel. Better yet, Majesco and HB Studios turned it into an addictive experience that’s guaranteed to make you better at the sport. It took guts to make a game this nichey, but it took raw talent to do it this well.

BEST CO-OP: Borderlands 2
Gearbox’s snarky shooterfest sequel returned for co-op nights on Xbox Live...and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Here’s why:
 

SECRET ADDICTION:  Skylanders Giants
Sure, it’s marketed at younger gamers, but don’t be fooled. When you — a perfectly reasonable adult — find yourself at a Target or Best Buy on a Friday night, searching for that one elusive fire-class Skylander toy figure in order to access that area in the volcano and finally 100% a level of Skylanders: Giants…well, time to toss in the towel. You’re officially hooked.

By the way, does anyone out there have a Giant water-class figure available to loan? We’re totally just asking for a friend.

BEST ORIGINAL GAME: Dishonored
It's not a sequel. It’s not based on any existing property. It’s just the best action-adventure game of the year. Arkane’s imaginative steampunk world pitted a powerful, vengeful assassin against a host of corrupt nobles. The result is 2012’s most superb, dizzying, free-form (and usually stealthy) dash through sewers, brothels, and beyond. Arkane provided you with the tools, and in turn, you devised your own solutions. Now that's original.
(Runners-up: Spec Ops: The Line, Sleeping Dogs)