Game of the year?
- Thread starter Scypemonk
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For me I'd have to go with WarioWare: Smooth Moves. I got more use out of that game's multiplayer functionality than any other. I still have a soft spot for Sam and Max: Season One however. I'm just happy to see them working again.
Also, my prediction for this thread is that everyone's going to say Orange Box because it's somehow being considered a game and not actually a collection of five different games. I know it's all suppose to be episodic, but that's two out of the packs five games.
Also, my prediction for this thread is that everyone's going to say Orange Box because it's somehow being considered a game and not actually a collection of five different games. I know it's all suppose to be episodic, but that's two out of the packs five games.
I'm yet to play Super Mario Galaxy (you can't get a Wii in this f-ing country) so I'm going for Halo 3. Whether it was the best game is open to debate but it was definitely the biggest. I've never seen anything like it.
edit - Orange Box is excellent but I can't get past the fact that it's a three year old game + expansion packs.
edit - Orange Box is excellent but I can't get past the fact that it's a three year old game + expansion packs.
It's been a spectacular year, all around. First Person Shooters especially, Bioshock, Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Crysis, just to name a few.
I too suspect that Orange Box will top a lot of lists, because for the money that package was an awesome deal. Myself, I'm tempted to name Call of Duty 4 as my favorite of the year.
The single player was short, but packed so much into it with so many memorable moments. Great, thrilling game to play, every mission had something in it I liked and by the end I was just so satisfied with the experience. The multiplayer too has so much potential, on the wrong servers it's just grenade spam and SMG fire, but the right game modes played right it's incredibly fun and deep with the plethora of unlockable weapons, challenges and ranks.
It was a very good year, I'm hard pressed to decide in many genres what was my favorite game, let alone my favorite game of all.
I too suspect that Orange Box will top a lot of lists, because for the money that package was an awesome deal. Myself, I'm tempted to name Call of Duty 4 as my favorite of the year.
The single player was short, but packed so much into it with so many memorable moments. Great, thrilling game to play, every mission had something in it I liked and by the end I was just so satisfied with the experience. The multiplayer too has so much potential, on the wrong servers it's just grenade spam and SMG fire, but the right game modes played right it's incredibly fun and deep with the plethora of unlockable weapons, challenges and ranks.
It was a very good year, I'm hard pressed to decide in many genres what was my favorite game, let alone my favorite game of all.
I agree with Growlers, it HAS been a good year. So much to the point that I think this year we don't need to belittle 99% of the games. I'm personally voting we abandon Game of the Year until something stands out. When reviewers have so much to look at this time, I think that whatever choice they come to will only result in sighs of disappointment from 80% of gamers.
Either Mass Effect or Halo 3.
I was expecting Halo 3 to be a huge let down, managed to get it for £24 brand new, as was surprised.
Played the single player and fully enjoyed it, played it again in coop, played it AGAIN in coop, then played it a 3rd time on legendary in co-op, would probably play it again.
I only played about 5 hours of Halo 1 and some Mulitplayer on the PC, really liked it, don't know why I stopped.
Mass Effect has been a huge breath of fresh air compared to the mindnumbing amount and quality of shooters the 360 developers have been piling out. Awesome voice acting, animations, plot, side quests, main quest, combat and skill system.
I think Orange Box is in the running just for sheer value for money, I'd have paid £20 just for the humour in Portal, haven't laughed as much since I first played Psychonauts.
But in the end it will go to some novelty Wii title, because ya know...people are idiots.
I was expecting Halo 3 to be a huge let down, managed to get it for £24 brand new, as was surprised.
Played the single player and fully enjoyed it, played it again in coop, played it AGAIN in coop, then played it a 3rd time on legendary in co-op, would probably play it again.
I only played about 5 hours of Halo 1 and some Mulitplayer on the PC, really liked it, don't know why I stopped.
Mass Effect has been a huge breath of fresh air compared to the mindnumbing amount and quality of shooters the 360 developers have been piling out. Awesome voice acting, animations, plot, side quests, main quest, combat and skill system.
I think Orange Box is in the running just for sheer value for money, I'd have paid £20 just for the humour in Portal, haven't laughed as much since I first played Psychonauts.
But in the end it will go to some novelty Wii title, because ya know...people are idiots.
The five biggest titles on the 360 this year were sadly all so overhyped that even if they hadn't had all the flaws that pickier gamers than myself took issue with they'd still be hard done by to go without being considered disappointing: Halo 3, Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect and Orange Box. I think the only one that's really stood out beyond the hype was Portal from the Orange Box because it was so unexpectedly awesome, but can it be nominated by itself? Is it really GotY material when the average gamer will knock it over in 3 hours on their first run and there's no real story to speak of aside from vague connections with the Half-life universe? The Orange box as a whole can't really win because two of the games are re-releases, one is online multiplayer only and HL2: E2 was, to paraphrase Yahtzee Croshaw, the runty middle child of the HL2 episodic gaming trilogy.
Halo 3 is considered a complete clusterfuck by any but the 200-500 thousand people still logging in every day for some multiplayer action, Assassin's Creed has been slammed for repetitive, button-bashing gameplay (which I think is a complete fabrication, but can't comment myself as I've not had the opportunity to play it yet), Mass Effect has only barely delivered on its main promises and has occasional graphical faults (as well as unfortunate framerate drops in heavy combat situations), and Bioshock was... well... lacklustre and a bit dull in spite of the great presentation of the story, beautiful graphics and a plot twist that had me truly awestruck.
The less said about this year's PS3 lineup the better. I don't really care how much you liked Lair or Heavenly Sword, this doesn't turn them into good quality titles. As far as I can tell the only really worthwhile exclusive is Warhawk, and the PS3 fans have wasted no effort in lording their free online gaming service over those of us with the gall to spend up to forty cents a day (Australian) for the privilege of using XBox Live.
But that's a topic for another thread.
I suppose there's titles like Call of Duty 4 and Crysis, but apart from looking good, I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about.
The only game this year that has delighted audiences universally (apart from trolls) is Super Mario Galaxy, so that's my nominee.
Can the little plumber hold his own, or will the powerful marketing forces backing up the Master Chief and Commander Shephard stomp him into the dust?
Only time will tell I suppose.
Halo 3 is considered a complete clusterfuck by any but the 200-500 thousand people still logging in every day for some multiplayer action, Assassin's Creed has been slammed for repetitive, button-bashing gameplay (which I think is a complete fabrication, but can't comment myself as I've not had the opportunity to play it yet), Mass Effect has only barely delivered on its main promises and has occasional graphical faults (as well as unfortunate framerate drops in heavy combat situations), and Bioshock was... well... lacklustre and a bit dull in spite of the great presentation of the story, beautiful graphics and a plot twist that had me truly awestruck.
The less said about this year's PS3 lineup the better. I don't really care how much you liked Lair or Heavenly Sword, this doesn't turn them into good quality titles. As far as I can tell the only really worthwhile exclusive is Warhawk, and the PS3 fans have wasted no effort in lording their free online gaming service over those of us with the gall to spend up to forty cents a day (Australian) for the privilege of using XBox Live.
But that's a topic for another thread.
I suppose there's titles like Call of Duty 4 and Crysis, but apart from looking good, I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about.
The only game this year that has delighted audiences universally (apart from trolls) is Super Mario Galaxy, so that's my nominee.
Can the little plumber hold his own, or will the powerful marketing forces backing up the Master Chief and Commander Shephard stomp him into the dust?
Only time will tell I suppose.
How can you compare Master Chef with Mario? Don't you people know that Mario is on an entirely different tier of greatness?Katana314 said:
Now I have to say I'm at a tie on this one. On one hand I love Odin Sphere, with its battle system and beautiful design. Then on the other hand I love Super Mario Galaxy, since it reminds me of the first time I played Super Mario 64 and was absolutely blown away by the levels just like this game has. Both are great you cannot deny it.
Fame of an icon in this case will not be the deciding factor. Which one has more regular players? Which one has a bigger presence in the more mainstream media. How often these days is Game of the Year truly the best game on the market?Katana314 said:
Nintendo is sorely underrepresented in every area and while the Wii still continues to stream off store shelves this is sadly not translating to influence in the gaming community. Few people who consider themselves serious gamers own only the Wii - the little white box either compliments Sony's cell-powered obelisk or Microsoft's temperamental overheating brick. As such the Wii is yet to be seen as a serious console. All the debates are Sony vs. Microsoft, with Nintendo kicking ass on the sidelines and being ignored, perhaps because the 'big boys' are a bit embarrassed that the cheapest current-gen console on the market is the only one turning an immediate profit at point of sale, and then has games to turn the profit knob to 11.
Yet, Mario is still the underdog. Not on paper, but in practice, are we really expecting a Wii title to take out this honour?
Let me elaborate: one one hand, we have people reporting the game is repetitive, combat is dull, and generally the gameplay falls short in basically every area. On the other hand, people are praising the free-running, rhapsodizing on the variety of ways you can go about taking down your target, and find the combat highly technical.JamesW said:
I'm more willing to side with the latter party, because it seems like my kind of gameplay. The complaints seem to be generated when a game like this so deeply penetrates the gaming market that everyone is led to believe that they will enjoy it, and this can simply never be the case. Bluntly: The complaints I've read don't seem valid to me.
What I think is that the this year's GOTY award will be handed to an M rated FPS title (nothing against Super Mario Galaxy, I absolutely love it) because those are the type of games that are "in" this generation; they are the most played and they ultimately get the most attention from developers. Now I don't see that as a bad thing (although I must confess that I've never really enjoyed the genre, except for two or three titles) but I am really looking forward to next year and beyond because I think that all three consoles (specially the more powerful PS3 and 360) have yet to take FULL advantage of what they are TRULY capable of. I say this because a lot of people have noticed that developers have been playing it kind of safe when it comes to creating new experiences that are possible on these boxes (hence the flood of FPS's and the likes). Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed, although by no means perfect (both have their issues), are firm steps in the right direction because that is what a lot of gamers where really expecting to see and play. The reason Mario Galaxy has been so universally acclaimed is because it's like a beacon of light (a very bright shinny one I might add) amidst all the violence and bleakness.
I took the time to come up with a shortlist of 4.
1) Mario Galaxy
I don't know the last time a game had to prove so much and came up with the goods so comprehensively. Most Mario fans including myself were extremely skeptical over whether Sunshine's faults could be fixed and Nintendo knocked it out of the park completely. The levels were fun to play, it was hard in the right places and probably had the best story of any Mario game yet. I'm not talking about the main story of course but rather Rosalina's side story.
2) Call of Duty 4
I was in the beta, played it to death and played the full version to death when I got it. The single player campaign is short enough to not outstay its welcome but long enough to not make me feel like I've been swindled (which Halo 3 did). The multiplayer was one of the best online shooters I've played in years with some brilliant maps promoting the same sort of careful play that the single player required. Arcade mode's scoring just seals it for me with the replay value, anyone who hasn't gone for the perfect streak on Mile High Club hasn't played properly I think.
3) Portal
When considering The Orange Box I think you have to pick one of the 5 games for fairness sake. Portal was the standout title in the package with its brilliant story and humour. The puzzles were hard but never unfairly so, then adding in the advanced maps and medal challenges made this 2 hour game last a lot longer than some other games released this year. The sheer amount of memes and jokes we as the internet have taken from it needs to be acknowledged as well.
4) Skate
As far as disruptive games go, this really shook everything up. While the flikit system took time and patience to master the feeling of landing big 30 trick combos is unmatched by anything else. The challenges were well thought out and the city of San Valelona's sheer size and complexity still has me playing now trying to find secret spots or get to areas I've seen. I believe it set a new standard for skateboarding games, one Neversoft will hopefully try to match or beat as time goes by.
So there, Mario, COD4, Portal and Skate. I think Halo 3 was too unjustifiably short, Bioshock was never consistently great and I don't believe The Orange Box should be considered as a whole. Both Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed have far too many issues to be considered really.
1) Mario Galaxy
I don't know the last time a game had to prove so much and came up with the goods so comprehensively. Most Mario fans including myself were extremely skeptical over whether Sunshine's faults could be fixed and Nintendo knocked it out of the park completely. The levels were fun to play, it was hard in the right places and probably had the best story of any Mario game yet. I'm not talking about the main story of course but rather Rosalina's side story.
2) Call of Duty 4
I was in the beta, played it to death and played the full version to death when I got it. The single player campaign is short enough to not outstay its welcome but long enough to not make me feel like I've been swindled (which Halo 3 did). The multiplayer was one of the best online shooters I've played in years with some brilliant maps promoting the same sort of careful play that the single player required. Arcade mode's scoring just seals it for me with the replay value, anyone who hasn't gone for the perfect streak on Mile High Club hasn't played properly I think.
3) Portal
When considering The Orange Box I think you have to pick one of the 5 games for fairness sake. Portal was the standout title in the package with its brilliant story and humour. The puzzles were hard but never unfairly so, then adding in the advanced maps and medal challenges made this 2 hour game last a lot longer than some other games released this year. The sheer amount of memes and jokes we as the internet have taken from it needs to be acknowledged as well.
4) Skate
As far as disruptive games go, this really shook everything up. While the flikit system took time and patience to master the feeling of landing big 30 trick combos is unmatched by anything else. The challenges were well thought out and the city of San Valelona's sheer size and complexity still has me playing now trying to find secret spots or get to areas I've seen. I believe it set a new standard for skateboarding games, one Neversoft will hopefully try to match or beat as time goes by.
So there, Mario, COD4, Portal and Skate. I think Halo 3 was too unjustifiably short, Bioshock was never consistently great and I don't believe The Orange Box should be considered as a whole. Both Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed have far too many issues to be considered really.
If i have to name one myself, it has to be Portal.
I bought it with the Orange box, since it has a good value, but it was a wonderful experience, and really not that short, if you count all the challenges too. And despite all the great games, that have been released this year, this one stood out, with its humor, and unique concept.
I bought it with the Orange box, since it has a good value, but it was a wonderful experience, and really not that short, if you count all the challenges too. And despite all the great games, that have been released this year, this one stood out, with its humor, and unique concept.