Poll: GOTY predictions (now that everything worthwhile has come out.)

[Koroviev]

I haven't played Skyrim, but it actually looks fun, unlike the time I spent with Oblivion. I haven't played too many 2011 titles, but I must say, Bastion has really blown me away.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

 

[Kopikatsu]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

Iunno. AssCreed might just be that mind blowingly epic. Well, we'll see soon enough...

 

[King of the Sandbox]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

Iunno. AssCreed might just be that mind blowingly epic. Well, we'll see soon enough...

Hahahahahahahaha, omg, omg, I can't breathe. That was friggin' hilairious!

That 'AssCreed' joke was pretty good, too.

 

[Jegsimmons]

ummmm.....why was battlefield 3 on the same vote as modern warfare 3?

Because they're the same thing /trollololol

Real answer: I don't know why. Another Escapist showed me the glory and art that is C4 trolling in BF3 and I've watched the video 10+ times. I don't know about MW3, but BF3 actually looks like a damn good time. And this is coming from someone who, up until now, had not even a passing interest in online FPS.

oh the BF games are awesome, its too late for bf2 but bad company is still fun with great characters and BF3 is just batshit insanely awesome.

 

[Kopikatsu]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

Iunno. AssCreed might just be that mind blowingly epic. Well, we'll see soon enough...

Hahahahahahahaha, omg, omg, I can't breathe. That was friggin' hilairious!

That 'AssCreed' joke was pretty good, too.

That's not a dig at Assassin's Creed. AssCreed is just shorthand. D:

But common! The Assassin's Creed games are cool. AC:R even has a real time strategy/TD mode where you command Assassin forces against the Templars.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

Iunno. AssCreed might just be that mind blowingly epic. Well, we'll see soon enough...

Hahahahahahahaha, omg, omg, I can't breathe. That was friggin' hilairious!

That 'AssCreed' joke was pretty good, too.

That's not a dig at Assassin's Creed. AssCreed is just shorthand. D:

But common! The Assassin's Creed games are cool. AC:R even has a real time strategy/TD mode where you command Assassin forces against the Templars.

Oh, I agree, they are incredibly fun... but they can't compare to Skyrim. That's what was making me laugh so hard.

I mean, c'mon... really? I don't think any game that's scripted could possibly touch Skyrim. Skyrim is more like a living world than a game.

Games like AC (and even my previous favorite game ever, RDR) all kind of die off and are over after a while. Skyrim is more like a toybox that I can play in forever.

 

[Koroviev]

ummmm.....why was battlefield 3 on the same vote as modern warfare 3?

Because they're the same thing /trollololol

Real answer: I don't know why. Another Escapist showed me the glory and art that is C4 trolling in BF3 and I've watched the video 10+ times. I don't know about MW3, but BF3 actually looks like a damn good time. And this is coming from someone who, up until now, had not even a passing interest in online FPS.

oh the BF games are awesome, its too late for bf2 but bad company is still fun with great characters and BF3 is just batshit insanely awesome.

Are you playing on PC or console?

 

[Kopikatsu]

lol, anyone thinking Skyrim won't walk away with this is only deluding themselves, or hasn't played it yet.

Iunno. AssCreed might just be that mind blowingly epic. Well, we'll see soon enough...

Hahahahahahahaha, omg, omg, I can't breathe. That was friggin' hilairious!

That 'AssCreed' joke was pretty good, too.

That's not a dig at Assassin's Creed. AssCreed is just shorthand. D:

But common! The Assassin's Creed games are cool. AC:R even has a real time strategy/TD mode where you command Assassin forces against the Templars.

Oh, I agree, they are incredibly fun... but they can't compare to Skyrim. That's what was making me laugh so hard.

I mean, c'mon... really? I don't think any game that's scripted could possibly touch Skyrim. Skyrim is more like a living world than a game.

Games like AC (and even my previous favorite game ever, RDR) all kind of die off and are over after a while. Skyrim is more like a toybox that I can play in forever.

Skyrim is heavily, HEAVILY scripted. What is this madness you're spouting?

 

[King of the Sandbox]

Of course it's scripted, someone wrote it, but you know good and well what I meant.

Skyrim isn't over in a couple of days. And since scenarios often play out differently each time for different people, the replayability is staggering.

Let me put it like this. Skyrim is a sandbox, where all your midevil fantasy dreams can come true for years.

Games like AC only go on for so long, until you've beaten it. Then, it's off to the used games trade-in bin.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Of course it's scripted, someone wrote it, but you know good and well what I meant.

Skyrim isn't over in a couple of days. And since scenarios often play out differently each time for different people, the replayability is staggering.

Let me put it like this. Skyrim is a sandbox, where all your midevil fantasy dreams can come true for years.

Games like AC only go on for so long, until you've beaten it. Then, it's off to the used games trade-in bin.

And you know full well what I meant. Almost every event that occurs in the game is scripted. (Example: The first time you go to Solitude, there will ALWAYS be that same guy getting executed with no way for you to save him. Yes, it's impossible to save him. I actually used the Time Shout to give myself enough time to kill everyone and save the guy, but he has no unique lines, everyone acts like he died, and he vanishes forever the moment you leave town).

The only, ONLY things that aren't scripted are: non-unique loot, random quests (Which are actually just letters telling you where the next Shout is located), and a FEW random events like some people fighting a Giant, M'laq the Liar, etc.

Is the game huge? Yes. Is each playthrough 'unique'? No. I've done two playthroughs (Clocked an obscene amount of hours so far) doing vastly different playstyles and picking vastly different choices, and everything more or less plays out the same. Hell, sometimes all of the dialogue choices give you the exact same response!

Skyrim's story is very weak, honestly. I think AssCreed has the potential to beat it.

 

[Jegsimmons]

ummmm.....why was battlefield 3 on the same vote as modern warfare 3?

Because they're the same thing /trollololol

Real answer: I don't know why. Another Escapist showed me the glory and art that is C4 trolling in BF3 and I've watched the video 10+ times. I don't know about MW3, but BF3 actually looks like a damn good time. And this is coming from someone who, up until now, had not even a passing interest in online FPS.

oh the BF games are awesome, its too late for bf2 but bad company is still fun with great characters and BF3 is just batshit insanely awesome.

Are you playing on PC or console?

i play PC but its on my friends PC, i dont have one that can run it at the time.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

Of course it's scripted, someone wrote it, but you know good and well what I meant.

Skyrim isn't over in a couple of days. And since scenarios often play out differently each time for different people, the replayability is staggering.

Let me put it like this. Skyrim is a sandbox, where all your midevil fantasy dreams can come true for years.

Games like AC only go on for so long, until you've beaten it. Then, it's off to the used games trade-in bin.

And you know full well what I meant. Almost every event that occurs in the game is scripted. (Example: The first time you go to Solitude, there will ALWAYS be that same guy getting executed with no way for you to save him. Yes, it's impossible to save him. I actually used the Time Shout to give myself enough time to kill everyone and save the guy, but he has no unique lines, everyone acts like he died, and he vanishes forever the moment you leave town).

The only, ONLY things that aren't scripted are: non-unique loot, random quests (Which are actually just letters telling you where the next Shout is located), and a FEW random events like some people fighting a Giant, M'laq the Liar, etc.

Is the game huge? Yes. Is each playthrough 'unique'? No. I've done two playthroughs (Clocked an obscene amount of hours so far) doing vastly different playstyles and picking vastly different choices, and everything more or less plays out the same. Hell, sometimes all of the dialogue choices give you the exact same response!

Skyrim's story is very weak, honestly. I think AssCreed has the potential to beat it.

Ok, one, again, I know things are scripted in Skyrim. What I meant was that they can play out in different ways. Sure, certain events are, let's call it 'hard scripted', in Skyrim. Things are gonna happen the same time, everytime. But then there's also the tons of other one's that are completely the opposite. Like Narfi's quest. My wife and I had different dialogue and outcomes. Same goes for several other quests.

Also, there are far from a 'FEW' random events. I stumble upon something new nearly everytime I travel between towns.

I can't attest to Skyrim's MAIN story, as I've been too engrossed making my own with the world itself. Like I said, this game is a playground. Trying to rush through to 'beat' it is such a waste, it's criminal.

As for 'AssCreed' (your word, not mine), like I said, it will probably be loads of fun. But games like it and Uncharted are more like movies than playthings. Skyrim is pretty much the perfect medieval adventure simulator, not a Lord of the Rings, follow the story and be done with it, type of thing.

 

[Denariax]

To respond to an earlier issue, yes, I hate popular games. Its also why I hate people. Indie developers with great ideas are pushed to the side for yet another bland shooter that somehow gets so much praise. I mean christ, what the hell is wrong with people? Modern Warfare 3 was an overblown map pack with a 60 dollar price tag, not to mention the completely asinine money scheme with that "Elite" thing. The only two 'popular' games I'm getting until the end of the year are Saints Row 3 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3; and yeah, I know they're the same as their predecessors, but you see, if I'm going to boycott something, I'm going to boycott things that ruin other things.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

As much as I love Skyrim and I'm still playing it,it won't get my GOTY vote.

That vote goes to Witcher 2 which won my heart the second I received the Collector's Edition and I started playing it(my most biggest anticipated game ever if I must be frank).

 

[predatorpulse7]

As much as I love Skyrim and I'm still playing it,it won't get my GOTY vote.

That vote goes to Witcher 2 which won my heart the second I received the Collector's Edition and I started playing it(my most biggest anticipated game ever if I must be frank).

Ditto for me, I would vote Witcher 2 as GOTY if I could even while I am having fun with Skyrim. What Skyrim has is tons of content and mega hype. You can basically lose yourself in the sandbox and stop giving a crap about the actual story and these games seem to win out these days instead of more linear story driven games. I absolutely love W2's chapter 2 change up(replayability) and if it was longer(like 4 chapters) it would have been even better IMO. I've finished W2 3 times(on normal,hard and dark mode) and each time I cringe at the shortness of act 3.

But for the narrative(which I can appreciate more than newbies since I finished W1), oustanding visuals and the C&C factor, W2 gets my vote.

Still, my head hurts when I think of all the absolutely terrific games that came out this year.

 

[Trivea]

I think it's gonna go to Skyrim, and I think it'll deserve it.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

Spoiler

Again, I think DXHR was a very solid and pretty enjoyable ride despite some minor complaints here and there. But it failed when it was most important to shine, IMO.

Yeah...I found the gameplay to be an excellent marriage of new and old. I never would have thought a stealth/cover system from today would have worked so well for this sort of game.
Of course, it helps that the sneaky elements from the original were preserved.

I like the spy/agent-nature of the game, and the voice-acting was some of the best I've heard in a long while (ironically, except for Mr Jensen who sounds like he gargles gravel for a living). The plot...it has a strong basis, but an ultimately weak and predictable delivery.
I could even forgive the boss fights, despite how out of place they are (they're annoying, but ultimately really easy).

But the part I absolutely cannot forgive, is the ending system. We reach the climax of the story, and it completely falls apart.
And really, there was no reason for it to come apart at the seams at the end. The only things that absolutely had to be maintained in canon for all endings are:

Spoiler: General Deus Ex spoilers

1) The fall of the Illuminatti, or some way that allows for the Illuminati to fall before Deus Ex 1's timeline begins.
2) The introduction of the project that creates the Denton brothers. This isn't much of a problem, given how secretive the D Project would have been regardless of how Human Augmentation turned out politically.

Human Revolution well-exceeded my expectations, which so rarely happens these days in gaming.
However, that ending system pissed me off so much...ugh.

The voice-acting was pretty good, yeah. Too bad the animations got repetitive. At least I quickly recognized from which other scenes they borrowed animations, but I guess that's just the equivalent of poking the same NPC 30 times and getting the exact same response 30 times, so yeah.

I have mixed feelings about the cover system. It was alright when I was actually playing it, but on retrospect they could've done much better, and without third person (Which I think is like cheating when the majority of the game is first person) or lean keys (which you'd think are mandatory in
I thought they could've taken a lesson from Crysis 2. No, I didn't mix up any names. At first I didn't see it, but Crysis 2 actually has really, really solid gameplay aside from the regen health.
Anyway, in Crysis 2, you got your right mouse button for aiming down the ironsights and if you're close to cover and press it, you get glued to the wall, and when you're close to an edge, your character will automatically take a peek around the corner if you use WASD in the direction where the cover ends. Release and you return behind cover. In Crysis 2 you always have a weapon equipped, but in DXHR where you don't have to hold a weapon, you could do all of this without looking through ironsights.

I think that's much smoother than the 3rd person zoomout and it combines a lot of different function and puts them on a single button. DXHR also suffered from "use your glue-to-wall button, nobody sees you. Release the button without moving an inch, and suddenly the enemy can see you"-syndrome sometimes.


And yeah, it's kinda sad DXHR failed when it came to the endings

Spoiler

But in a case of Fridge Brilliance, Cassan's "Everybody lies" holds absolutely true - you either lie for Sarif so he can shovel some more money, or you lie to the Illuminati so they can get drunk on some more power, or you lie for Darrow so he can exact personal revenge for being incompatible with his own tech, or you withhold the truth from everyone which in court is technically a lie.
GREAT JOB.

Man, frickin' Cassan was such a humongous waste of a character as well. Then again the only well-characterized side-characters IMO were Prickchard and maybe Sarif.

It also didn't have the philosophical mix DX had due to its Cyberpunk elements. The discussion with Morpheus really stuck in my head, but DXHR barely had anything of it. Just a crowd of "oh no we don't like our prosthetic limbs to advance beyond wooden legs because fuuuck yoooouuu cripplesssss" VS "Imma be a sweet sweet deathmachine" guys.

But yes, the gameplay outclassed the original in almost any aspect. Like I said, the game had a really good base, but I guess finding that base was all the newfound studio (who initially had no idea how to multipath at all) was able to do, hence the outsourced boss battles.