Cast Your Vote For The Escapist's Game of the Year 2012
- Thread starter Encaen
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I have to throw my vote behind Guild Wars 2. If only because it has monopolized all my gaming time since it was released. I flitted from game to game before, constantly scouring steam for the next big thing. And once I found Guild Wars 2, it's all I've been doing. The play is fun and compelling and I've enjoy the social aspect thoroughly.
No brainer, it's GW2.
No brainer, it's GW2.
I've heard of them. Here. That's it. I've never seen a physical game box for them. Never seen anything running them. Never spoke to anyone about them. To my knowledge I've never been within 20 feet of the games. Any of them.Susan Arendt said:
I think I'd already hung up my claim to being a gamer a while ago, but I think this makes it official.
Damn it! Why can't we have the GoTY discussions for 2012 in 2013. There's too many damn games released during the Holiday!!! Grumble grumble...
Anyways, this is kind of tough...but for fun, here's a quick run-down of my thoughts and what I've played since I know you're all dying to know...right?....anyone at all?.......I'll take your silence as "Hell Yeah Tippy2K2, you sexy sexy piece of man-meat! Tell us how to think since you're so intelligent!"
The Walking Dead: Now I just finished it and I really want to call it GoTY...however, maybe it was just my luck but there was a LOT of technical issues I had with the game (and I bought the disc). Voices going up and down in volume, diagloge skipping like a scratched record once, and a few instances of insane in-game-slow-down. The game was amazing but I don't think I can GoTY this. Also, there was a lot of railroading for a game about choices (lots of shit that, while makes for a great story, feels cheap when you get a case of "cut-scene stupidity" [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CutsceneIncompetence]).
Spec-Ops: The Line: I loved Spec-Ops; one of the few war games to portray some actual horrors of war rather than just being about just shooting everything down until it stops moving...however, the game-play itself was alright at best. Take away the story and you've got a shooter that no one would have even looked twice at. Then again...story might be enough.
Mass Effect 3: The epic conclusion to an epic series. Most people hated the ending but I loved every second of this game. The characters, the story, the way your choices affected it; this was a great game all around....however, like all Mass Effect games, you leave a bit to be desired when it comes to actual game-play. Same thing like Spec-Ops; if you take away the choices/story, this is an OK game at best.
Halo 4: Sorry Halo 4; I thought you were good but there is no way that I could possibly consider you GoTY.
Black Ops II: While I believe that you are the best of the Modern CoD's to come out, there's no way I could consider you GoTY (top 10 maybe but not the King of the Hill).
...fuck, this is kind of hard. I choose....(drumroll)....nothing yet
Sorry to my legions of followers. I have XCOM sitting here, patiently waiting for me to finish Walking Dead (which I just did) and I will have to play it before I can choose. Based on what I know, it is most likely going to win due to my unhealthy love of tactic games that punish your ass for making a mistake.
EDIT: I've decided. I didn't play XCOM yet but I can't stop thinking about the ending to The Walking Dead. I don't believe I've ever had a game seriously stick with me for so long. Happiness for what I was able to do, sadness for what I failed to do, regret for what I've lost...any argument about it "not being a real game" is just silly. The Walking Dead gets my vote.
Anyways, this is kind of tough...but for fun, here's a quick run-down of my thoughts and what I've played since I know you're all dying to know...right?....anyone at all?.......I'll take your silence as "Hell Yeah Tippy2K2, you sexy sexy piece of man-meat! Tell us how to think since you're so intelligent!"
The Walking Dead: Now I just finished it and I really want to call it GoTY...however, maybe it was just my luck but there was a LOT of technical issues I had with the game (and I bought the disc). Voices going up and down in volume, diagloge skipping like a scratched record once, and a few instances of insane in-game-slow-down. The game was amazing but I don't think I can GoTY this. Also, there was a lot of railroading for a game about choices (lots of shit that, while makes for a great story, feels cheap when you get a case of "cut-scene stupidity" [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CutsceneIncompetence]).
Spec-Ops: The Line: I loved Spec-Ops; one of the few war games to portray some actual horrors of war rather than just being about just shooting everything down until it stops moving...however, the game-play itself was alright at best. Take away the story and you've got a shooter that no one would have even looked twice at. Then again...story might be enough.
Mass Effect 3: The epic conclusion to an epic series. Most people hated the ending but I loved every second of this game. The characters, the story, the way your choices affected it; this was a great game all around....however, like all Mass Effect games, you leave a bit to be desired when it comes to actual game-play. Same thing like Spec-Ops; if you take away the choices/story, this is an OK game at best.
Halo 4: Sorry Halo 4; I thought you were good but there is no way that I could possibly consider you GoTY.
Black Ops II: While I believe that you are the best of the Modern CoD's to come out, there's no way I could consider you GoTY (top 10 maybe but not the King of the Hill).
...fuck, this is kind of hard. I choose....(drumroll)....nothing yet
Sorry to my legions of followers. I have XCOM sitting here, patiently waiting for me to finish Walking Dead (which I just did) and I will have to play it before I can choose. Based on what I know, it is most likely going to win due to my unhealthy love of tactic games that punish your ass for making a mistake.
EDIT: I've decided. I didn't play XCOM yet but I can't stop thinking about the ending to The Walking Dead. I don't believe I've ever had a game seriously stick with me for so long. Happiness for what I was able to do, sadness for what I failed to do, regret for what I've lost...any argument about it "not being a real game" is just silly. The Walking Dead gets my vote.
I voted for Borderlands 2. It took everything from the first game and fleshed it out/fixed it. Shotguns are no longer overpowered, although the driving still sucks. But it had a fantastic villain, who IMO is right up there with Heath Ledgers Joker, and an emotionally gripping story with a few twists in the middle. Which was completely unexpected because of the ending of the first one. The side quests were mostly fun and had interesting stories, and the characters were lovable and better written.
So there's a list of titles to choose from.
I must admit that my top three picks were. funny enough, all part 3 sequels.
My last three boiled down to.
ME3 - Cuz you know its epic and all. To be honest though, ME2 is still my favorite of the entire series.
Far Cry 3 - Most fun I've had all year, which I feel should be priority number 1.
Assassin's Creed 3 - It was fun, added a lot of neat stuff, too bad I felt like all of it fell to the wayside in order to make room for those sort of mini game missions and Ratonhnhaké:ton, while an interesting character, felt flat and lame as the story moved forward.
The one I voted for was Far Cry 3. The story isn't exactly deep per say, but I do like how it's treating a normal sane man's transformation into the ultimate psychotic wor-yar (how I feel Citra pronounces the word).
Honorable mention: It's just too damn short.
I must admit that my top three picks were. funny enough, all part 3 sequels.
My last three boiled down to.
ME3 - Cuz you know its epic and all. To be honest though, ME2 is still my favorite of the entire series.
Far Cry 3 - Most fun I've had all year, which I feel should be priority number 1.
Assassin's Creed 3 - It was fun, added a lot of neat stuff, too bad I felt like all of it fell to the wayside in order to make room for those sort of mini game missions and Ratonhnhaké:ton, while an interesting character, felt flat and lame as the story moved forward.
The one I voted for was Far Cry 3. The story isn't exactly deep per say, but I do like how it's treating a normal sane man's transformation into the ultimate psychotic wor-yar (how I feel Citra pronounces the word).
Honorable mention: It's just too damn short.
No doubt. They should teach it in marketing/public relations courses as an example of how not to treat their consumers.Blachman201 said:
I voted for Walking Dead. Some of the most heartbreaking moments in any game this year. Spec Ops and Dishonored were amazing new IP's, GW2 easily has the lock on "Best MMO", and Journey would certainly win for "Most Artistic Game", but there was something about TWD that kept me rapt the entire way through. No other game did that this year.
wow. I've played none of them...
oh wait, the secret world is on there... played that for a month of subscription, but didn't have the time to keep going with it.
Oh and D3... but it doesn't really deserve a vote as it's an average game to me without the replayability of D2.
So.. wow. really can't vote
oh wait, the secret world is on there... played that for a month of subscription, but didn't have the time to keep going with it.
Oh and D3... but it doesn't really deserve a vote as it's an average game to me without the replayability of D2.
So.. wow. really can't vote
Well, I don't think I can cast a vote for this one. Partially because its been a really meh year for gaming all round, and the only games I would even think of voting for are the ones that I haven't played.
So, why I'm NOT voting for each game, just for some value to this post:
Persona IV Golden:
Quite simply, I haven't played it. It also doesn't really look like the sort of game that I'd enjoy, and that's pretty much all there is too it. I'm not qualified to vote for or against it as I really have little clue about it, and it doesn't look like the sort of game I'd vote for in the first place.
Dishonored:
Interesting new IP. Gameplay is enjoyable, and your mileage will vary dependent on how you play it. What completely lost it for me was the lack of any auto save feature. I made it through the first actual assassination level and side quests one my first life. Got to the end of the level, just about to finish, and I die. I am sent right back to the start of the level. Yeah, I can manually save, but that's not the first thing on my mind when I'm trying to enjoy a game, and I don't want it to be. At the very least it should save after entering or exiting a new building/area, preferably after every objective. Its something done in every other game these days, and is very obvious when its not included.
The Walking Dead:
Haven't played it. From the looks of it its an interactive story, not a game, and so I probably wouldn't vote it for GAME of the year. From what I've heard its story is good, which is why I'll probably eventually give it a try, but TBH it doesn't look that interesting to me, and I still haven't gotten round to watching the TV series thanks to that disinterest.
Spec Ops: The Line
Haven't played it. Apparently the story is good, but I'm burned out on shooters so I've never gotten around to playing it. Only really heard good things about it, but without having actually played it myself I cannot vote for it.
Journey:
Thanks to being only on the PS3, I haven't played it. From what I've seen of it I'm questioning if there even is gameplay as well, 'cause its really hard to tell from the trailers and that. If I'd played it and liked it I might have voted for it, but this is what you get for not being multiplatform/on the PC.
Mass Effect 3:
Waaay too much that I could say on this, but I'll make it short. Whilst on its own it can't really be considered a bad game, it is a thoroughly disappointing finale to one of my favourite game series. The only thing it improved on was the gunplay, whilst everything else fell to the wayside: Story, Dialogue, Non-linearity - ect. I'm sad to say the multiplayer was probably the most enjoyable part of the game, which is sad considering that's just repetitive co-op horde mode against AI. Not a terrible game, but thoroughly disappointing on all fronts, so no way its getting a vote from me - and no, my problem is not just the ending.
Farcry 3:
Again, haven't played. Burned out on shooters, didn't get. I've heard good things about it, and from what people have been saying it seems like a good nominee for GOTY, but having not played it I can't vote for it.
XCom: Enemy Unknown:
Yep, haven't played. Looks interesting, though there are a few things that I've heard about it that would annoy me a little in its gameplay. Might have voted for it were I to have played it, but I haven't, so I can't form a proper opinion on it to be able to vote for it.
Halo IV:
Haven't played it. Xbox exclusive, I'm not getting it. You want me to play and have a chance at voting for you, be multiplatofrm/on the PC. From what I've seen of it it looks alright. I probably wouldn't hate it, but I can hardly say I love the sound of yet another shooter.
Borderlands 2:
Haven't played, in case you couldn't guess. Again, burnt out on shooters. Co-op focus means I was unlikely to enjoy it, and I am burned out on shooters too. Whilst different from normal shooters, but I'm not sure if that'd be enough to have me like it - I could only say once I've played it, which will probably be a while after now.
Black Ops 2:
Not even interested in playing. Whilst it appears to have changed one or two things up in the campaign, it still falls for its, IMO, shitty gameplay and annoying set pieces. Burnt out on shooters, and whilst this is the one CoD in recent years that would stand even a chance at getting my vote, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't, even if I had played it.
Diablo III:
Can't say I hate D3, but I can't say its a GOTY style game either. Its got Blizzard's consistently high level of polish, but its always online DRM makes it clunky at the best of times. Its story has gotten more Hollywood style, and increasing trend with Blizzard IMO, and overall wasn't that interesting. A decent dungeon crawl, but nothing really amazing, so I can't say I want to vote for it.
Assassins Creed 3:
Haven't played. It looks decent, though with the more recent Assassin's Creed games it looks more to be headed towards general fighting, rather than planned assassinations, so that you're an unstoppable badass rather than a guy who hides in the shadows and waits for the opportune moment. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen of it that doesn't look to be the case. In any case, I haven't played it, so I can't make a proper judgement to vote for it.
Guild Wars 2:
Even if its just a one time payment, I'm not going to pay for a game where a major part of the draw is that you'll be playing with millions of other idiots... I mean players. Hence, I haven't played this. From what I've heard it plays mechanically different so its not so focused on playing solo or with friends, but in doing so loses its end game appeal and, of course, encourages people to but in on your experience. Having not played it though, I can't really judge.
Hotline Miami:
Haven't played it. TBH until the most recent Escapist report on it I hadn't even heard of it. I've got pretty much no idea what it plays like, and as such I haven't even got the slightest base to make a judgement of it off. Hence, no vote.
Mark of the Ninja:
Up until it was featured in this voting contest I hadn't even heard of it. Same case as Hotline Miami: I know absolutely nothing about it, and thus will not be voting for it.
FTL:
Heard good things about it, haven't actually played it. It looks like my sort of game, but hey, never got around to playing it, and thus won't vote for it as I've really only got a second hand opinion.
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria:
Remember what I said for GW2, where I wasn't going to pay once for a game where a major part of the draw was in the other idiots you'd be playing with?
Yeah... If I'm not going to pay once, I'm not going to pay monthly. I haven't played it, but I'm guessing I'd have about the same opinion of it as D3: Solid game, but nothing remarkable that I'd actually feel like voting for. Since I haven't played it, I can't even say that though, so no vote.
The Secret World:
Yet another game where the main draw seems to be the other idiots you'd be playing with. TBH I never really heard that much about the game either, beyond the fact that it went at least somewhat F2P, so I can't say I know enough to vote for the game either.
Tokyo Jungle:
I haven't played it. It looks fun and interesting, but yeah. Having not played it I can't comment, so I'm not going to be voting for it. Might have helped if I'd heard more about it beyond just the review the Escapist did, but its a PS3 exclusive so yeah, no chance - multiplatform/on the PC or nothing.
But Joccaren, I hear you say, if you haven't played any games this year and thus can't vote for anything that's your own fault!
Well, you see, its not that I haven't played any games this year, I just haven't played any off this list. I've played Sleeping Dogs, Diaspora, StarCry [Yes the last two were mods, the former at least should be considered its own short game IMO], Planetside 2, Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion and a large assortment of older games from earlier years. Sure, I've missed out on the games that many do consider GOTY, but TBH half the time that's because I'm not that interested in them, and that means I probably wouldn't have voted for them anyway.
So, why I'm NOT voting for each game, just for some value to this post:
Persona IV Golden:
Quite simply, I haven't played it. It also doesn't really look like the sort of game that I'd enjoy, and that's pretty much all there is too it. I'm not qualified to vote for or against it as I really have little clue about it, and it doesn't look like the sort of game I'd vote for in the first place.
Dishonored:
Interesting new IP. Gameplay is enjoyable, and your mileage will vary dependent on how you play it. What completely lost it for me was the lack of any auto save feature. I made it through the first actual assassination level and side quests one my first life. Got to the end of the level, just about to finish, and I die. I am sent right back to the start of the level. Yeah, I can manually save, but that's not the first thing on my mind when I'm trying to enjoy a game, and I don't want it to be. At the very least it should save after entering or exiting a new building/area, preferably after every objective. Its something done in every other game these days, and is very obvious when its not included.
The Walking Dead:
Haven't played it. From the looks of it its an interactive story, not a game, and so I probably wouldn't vote it for GAME of the year. From what I've heard its story is good, which is why I'll probably eventually give it a try, but TBH it doesn't look that interesting to me, and I still haven't gotten round to watching the TV series thanks to that disinterest.
Spec Ops: The Line
Haven't played it. Apparently the story is good, but I'm burned out on shooters so I've never gotten around to playing it. Only really heard good things about it, but without having actually played it myself I cannot vote for it.
Journey:
Thanks to being only on the PS3, I haven't played it. From what I've seen of it I'm questioning if there even is gameplay as well, 'cause its really hard to tell from the trailers and that. If I'd played it and liked it I might have voted for it, but this is what you get for not being multiplatform/on the PC.
Mass Effect 3:
Waaay too much that I could say on this, but I'll make it short. Whilst on its own it can't really be considered a bad game, it is a thoroughly disappointing finale to one of my favourite game series. The only thing it improved on was the gunplay, whilst everything else fell to the wayside: Story, Dialogue, Non-linearity - ect. I'm sad to say the multiplayer was probably the most enjoyable part of the game, which is sad considering that's just repetitive co-op horde mode against AI. Not a terrible game, but thoroughly disappointing on all fronts, so no way its getting a vote from me - and no, my problem is not just the ending.
Farcry 3:
Again, haven't played. Burned out on shooters, didn't get. I've heard good things about it, and from what people have been saying it seems like a good nominee for GOTY, but having not played it I can't vote for it.
XCom: Enemy Unknown:
Yep, haven't played. Looks interesting, though there are a few things that I've heard about it that would annoy me a little in its gameplay. Might have voted for it were I to have played it, but I haven't, so I can't form a proper opinion on it to be able to vote for it.
Halo IV:
Haven't played it. Xbox exclusive, I'm not getting it. You want me to play and have a chance at voting for you, be multiplatofrm/on the PC. From what I've seen of it it looks alright. I probably wouldn't hate it, but I can hardly say I love the sound of yet another shooter.
Borderlands 2:
Haven't played, in case you couldn't guess. Again, burnt out on shooters. Co-op focus means I was unlikely to enjoy it, and I am burned out on shooters too. Whilst different from normal shooters, but I'm not sure if that'd be enough to have me like it - I could only say once I've played it, which will probably be a while after now.
Black Ops 2:
Not even interested in playing. Whilst it appears to have changed one or two things up in the campaign, it still falls for its, IMO, shitty gameplay and annoying set pieces. Burnt out on shooters, and whilst this is the one CoD in recent years that would stand even a chance at getting my vote, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't, even if I had played it.
Diablo III:
Can't say I hate D3, but I can't say its a GOTY style game either. Its got Blizzard's consistently high level of polish, but its always online DRM makes it clunky at the best of times. Its story has gotten more Hollywood style, and increasing trend with Blizzard IMO, and overall wasn't that interesting. A decent dungeon crawl, but nothing really amazing, so I can't say I want to vote for it.
Assassins Creed 3:
Haven't played. It looks decent, though with the more recent Assassin's Creed games it looks more to be headed towards general fighting, rather than planned assassinations, so that you're an unstoppable badass rather than a guy who hides in the shadows and waits for the opportune moment. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen of it that doesn't look to be the case. In any case, I haven't played it, so I can't make a proper judgement to vote for it.
Guild Wars 2:
Even if its just a one time payment, I'm not going to pay for a game where a major part of the draw is that you'll be playing with millions of other idiots... I mean players. Hence, I haven't played this. From what I've heard it plays mechanically different so its not so focused on playing solo or with friends, but in doing so loses its end game appeal and, of course, encourages people to but in on your experience. Having not played it though, I can't really judge.
Hotline Miami:
Haven't played it. TBH until the most recent Escapist report on it I hadn't even heard of it. I've got pretty much no idea what it plays like, and as such I haven't even got the slightest base to make a judgement of it off. Hence, no vote.
Mark of the Ninja:
Up until it was featured in this voting contest I hadn't even heard of it. Same case as Hotline Miami: I know absolutely nothing about it, and thus will not be voting for it.
FTL:
Heard good things about it, haven't actually played it. It looks like my sort of game, but hey, never got around to playing it, and thus won't vote for it as I've really only got a second hand opinion.
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria:
Remember what I said for GW2, where I wasn't going to pay once for a game where a major part of the draw was in the other idiots you'd be playing with?
Yeah... If I'm not going to pay once, I'm not going to pay monthly. I haven't played it, but I'm guessing I'd have about the same opinion of it as D3: Solid game, but nothing remarkable that I'd actually feel like voting for. Since I haven't played it, I can't even say that though, so no vote.
The Secret World:
Yet another game where the main draw seems to be the other idiots you'd be playing with. TBH I never really heard that much about the game either, beyond the fact that it went at least somewhat F2P, so I can't say I know enough to vote for the game either.
Tokyo Jungle:
I haven't played it. It looks fun and interesting, but yeah. Having not played it I can't comment, so I'm not going to be voting for it. Might have helped if I'd heard more about it beyond just the review the Escapist did, but its a PS3 exclusive so yeah, no chance - multiplatform/on the PC or nothing.
But Joccaren, I hear you say, if you haven't played any games this year and thus can't vote for anything that's your own fault!
Well, you see, its not that I haven't played any games this year, I just haven't played any off this list. I've played Sleeping Dogs, Diaspora, StarCry [Yes the last two were mods, the former at least should be considered its own short game IMO], Planetside 2, Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion and a large assortment of older games from earlier years. Sure, I've missed out on the games that many do consider GOTY, but TBH half the time that's because I'm not that interested in them, and that means I probably wouldn't have voted for them anyway.
Yeah, this is pretty much exactly as I would have described it. I absolutely loved The Walking Dead. Clementine is probably the best child character I've seen in a long while, and it was an amazing and unforgettable experience. Easily my GOTY for 2012, Mass Effect 3 was my runner-up, besides that ending debacle, the rest of the game was great.Riobux said:
i was going to vote for mass effect 3. i finished it last week and i loved every second. but when i saw journey on the list it was an easy choice. ME3 was fantastic but i have never had a gaming experience like i had in journey. easily the most surreal experience i ever had in a game and the fact that it evoked so much emotion without any story or dialog is nothing short of amazing
Went with Borderlands 2. Haven't played that many new games this year, and BL2 certinly brought me the most enjoyment(and frustration). It improved a lot from the first Borderlands, as well as introducing Handsome Jack who is one of the best villains I've ever seen in a game.
Only downside is that, like the first Borderlands, it's a bit too unforgiving when you play it solo. Bosses can be a real pain.
Only downside is that, like the first Borderlands, it's a bit too unforgiving when you play it solo. Bosses can be a real pain.