We Reveal Your Picks for the 12th Game of Christmas

[Gunner 51]

Therumancer got permanently banned for that last post? Really? I realize that he impugned the reputation of the Escapist somewhat but a perma-ban seems unnecessarily harsh.

I for one shall miss his Unrelenting Force on these forums now that he's been Marked for Death.

I second this plea, as well. Therumancer may have had a disagreement with the staff, but surely a Permaban is a bit O.T.T? I say this because I've always found him to be a very intelligent, polite and insightful forum member. I've never known him for throwing really nasty hissy fits and going out of his way to be insulting, immature or offensive. I for one, will really miss the guy and his interesting and deeply thought-out views.

Personally, I do think Therumancer was within his rights to voice his opinion and theory even under these new rules. Given the amount of people I've seen criticising it heavily upon these forums, I can understand his position on the matter.

I guess my own personal thoughts on the matter is that I do think the result was one based upon the community's vote and not of corporate manipulation. However, I should wrap this post up by saying that I may not have agreed with Therumancer when he called shenanigans, but I would like to defend his right to call it.

 

[justnotcricket]

If you want to ***** at someone for Dragon Age 2 being in the list, then do so at the community. Or ***** at me. I liked the game, I'd probably say put it at #7 on my top 10 list for the year. Maybe you didn't notice all the people who did enjoy it while a few others were shouting out hyperbolic diatribes against it. Get over it, already.

Oh, and happy holidays.

I completely agree, I was one of the people that enjoyed that game as well, even more than the first game. If you take issue with it, okay, but why not have an actual conversation about, not just a shouting contest to see who can be loudest. I'm actually quite sick of the way it has been treated, how it seems no one can actually discuss it reasonably. Hell, one of those quotes wasn't from me but it echoes one of my feelings about it quite well, so if nothing else I'm happy with this pick.

Argh, this (these?) so much!!

I loved Dragon Age 2, for all its repetitive (*coughidenticalcough*) dungeons. The characters and the story were just too good. I'm totally with Susan on that comment about the Skyrim-Dragon Age baby. Take the (relative) non bugginess, the story and the characters from Dragon Age, and set it in the sprawling, wonderful-to explore questing environment of Skyrim. It would be awesome. Hypothetically ;-P

Sure, I didn't pick DA:2 as my Game of the Year (it wasn't Skyrim either), but I think it deserves to be in the list.

 

[shado_temple]

I'm just happy to see Bastion made it into the top ten; I never feel like it gets enough recognition for being one of the more original and creative games this year, all being done with just a handful of developers.

 

[shado_temple]

I'm just happy to see Bastion made it into the top ten; I never feel like it gets enough recognition for being one of the more original and creative games this year, all being done with just a handful of developers.

Not trying to sound lazy, but what is this game about exactly? I've only came across it once in a trailer but never would of imagined it making it to the top 12 choices of Christmas games. Only reason is because I had not seen anyone talk about the game, ever really. Still, props to an original and interesting game making it onto there :}

By itself, it's an isometric hack and slash game, set in a fictional world that had been blown to pieces by an event known only as "the Calamity". What really makes it great is the detail; the game is actively narrated by a character in the game, who will adjust the narrative to your play style (you stop progressing for a minute or two just to break the props strewn about, he'll mention something along the lines of "The kid just rages for a while"), with a voice I can only describe as a mix between Morgan Freeman and a Southern blues singer.

Spoiler: The Narrator Discussing Cave Johnson, for example

<youtube=hVHn0eyGZAA>

The story has the perfect balance of giving you necessary information for the goings on in their world, while still leaving enough to the imagination. The aesthetic is consistent, colorful, and very well done. The world assembles as you approach it, which gives this feeling of discovering the land that I can't really explain.

Finally, the music. I've met people who were astounded there was a game that plays along to the album they've been listening to the past couple weeks. There's a reason why it continues to win awards for Best Soundtrack and Best Original Song.

Spoiler: Just two examples

<youtube=t8cELTdtw6U>
<youtube=6-aexLJKwME>

 

[-Dragmire-]

Yay, Bastion made it! Didn't make the top 5 but 6 is still pretty good.

 

[coldfrog]

So far, Bastion has the best comments of any of the games. And I agree with every one of them. Brilliant, fun, truly a pleasure to play.

 

[theultimateend]

This made me laugh a bit but the fact that it "might" not be intentional irony made me sad.

No need to be sad - irony was intended.

Congratulations you just saved Christmas!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

So you'll be all caught up and eligible for that special 13th badge. (It's a little extra bit of Christmas Spirit for ya.)

Well now I'm doubly sore that I missed the eighth day for some reason! >.<

Oh well, I don't care *that* much about badges...

*cries in a corner*

 

[Susan Arendt]

So you'll be all caught up and eligible for that special 13th badge. (It's a little extra bit of Christmas Spirit for ya.)

Well now I'm doubly sore that I missed the eighth day for some reason! >.<

Oh well, I don't care *that* much about badges...

*cries in a corner*

If it makes you feel any better, I missed two days, myself!

 

[FFHAuthor]

Therumancer got permanently banned for that last post? Really? I realize that he impugned the reputation of the Escapist somewhat but a perma-ban seems unnecessarily harsh.

I for one shall miss his Unrelenting Force on these forums now that he's been Marked for Death.

I second this plea, as well. Therumancer may have had a disagreement with the staff, but surely a Permaban is a bit O.T.T? I say this because I've always found him to be a very intelligent, polite and insightful forum member. I've never known him for throwing really nasty hissy fits and going out of his way to be insulting, immature or offensive. I for one, will really miss the guy and his interesting and deeply thought-out views.

Personally, I do think Therumancer was within his rights to voice his opinion and theory even under these new rules. Given the amount of people I've seen criticising it heavily upon these forums, I can understand his position on the matter.

I guess my own personal thoughts on the matter is that I do think the result was one based upon the community's vote and not of corporate manipulation. However, I should wrap this post up by saying that I may not have agreed with Therumancer when he called shenanigans, but I would like to defend his right to call it.

Indeed, he shall be missed. His posts were quite entertaining a read. I must say, his was perhaps the most polite and well worded 'ban post' I've ever read, and I've seen quite a few on the Escapist.

I can't say that I would call what has happened vote rigging or any kind of shenanigans on the part of the Escapist staff though, but I can concur that the list including Dragon Age II is a surprise that does feel as though it goes against the general sentiment of the body politic in the forums.

But such is the result of the democratic process, any result is possible.

 

[Orks da best]

If skyrim gets spot #1, I will find to belive that not one part of the internet has been infected by skyrim.

Deus Ex Human Revolution should get spot #1, best game of the year in my opinion.

 

[Zom-B]

Seriously, the outrage over this game has to be the single lowest point for the RPG genre ever, it showed us so clearly what RPG fans want, the same fucking thing, over and over and over again. No experimentation, no innovation, no changes, just the same old shit.

Not to get all can of worms on this, but I'd say that you're right to a degree and that's really why people were mad. DA:O was pretty darn good. People liked it the way it was, liked how it played, liked the world. Then Bioware and EA did their corporation thing and tried to make it "better", but they didn't. They took out a lot of the stuff that people liked and added in some stuff that they didn't. Cue nerd-rage.

 

[Hyper-space]

Seriously, the outrage over this game has to be the single lowest point for the RPG genre ever, it showed us so clearly what RPG fans want, the same fucking thing, over and over and over again. No experimentation, no innovation, no changes, just the same old shit.

Not to get all can of worms on this, but I'd say that you're right to a degree and that's really why people were mad. DA:O was pretty darn good. People liked it the way it was, liked how it played, liked the world. Then Bioware and EA did their corporation thing and tried to make it "better", but they didn't. They took out a lot of the stuff that people liked and added in some stuff that they didn't. Cue nerd-rage.

But DA:O was pretty much the same game that Bioware made years ago, why not welcome a bit of change now and then? The thing with innovation is that you have to be willing to take risks, you cannot just whine about the industry not innovating enough and then jump down on the throat of anyone (and even more importantly, a big game-company like Bioware) who tries to change something for the better.

Honestly, with the amount of hate Pokemon and Call of Duty gets, I'm surprised that people still just want the same fucking game with DA:O. I guess a game only has to innovate as long as its not your game that's being changed.

EDIT:

Therumancer got permanently banned for that last post? Really? I realize that he impugned the reputation of the Escapist somewhat but a perma-ban seems unnecessarily harsh.

He basically herped-the-derped when he suggested that the Escapist was selling out, just because the community didn't adhere to his specific taste. You seriously have to be one massive fucking prick to be so fucking narcissistic and arrogant that you think that if YOU didn't like the game, then NO ONE could have liked the game. Hes confusing the teary-eyed vocal minority with the rest of the community.

Seriously, hes more suited for 4chan than this place.

 

[Gunner 51]

Indeed, he shall be missed. His posts were quite entertaining a read. I must say, his was perhaps the most polite and well worded 'ban post' I've ever read, and I've seen quite a few on the Escapist.

I can't say that I would call what has happened vote rigging or any kind of shenanigans on the part of the Escapist staff though, but I can concur that the list including Dragon Age II is a surprise that does feel as though it goes against the general sentiment of the body politic in the forums.

But such is the result of the democratic process, any result is possible.

I feel the same way myself, I do hope the guy gets to come back. But I cannot help but to feel somewhat pessimistic upon such things.

 

[Flavio Kuperman]

Honestly, with the amount of hate Pokemon and Call of Duty gets, I'm surprised that people still just want the same fucking game with DA:O. I guess a game only has to innovate as long as its not your game that's being changed.

I'm a bit confused about you. Judging by the fact your avatar is Frank Horrigan, the villain from Fallout 2, I would guess that you are a fan of that game. This seems to be somewhat of a double standard, seeing as how Fallout 2 did not 'innovate' that much from the original Fallout (despite still being one of my favorite games of all times) and you are criticizing DA:O for not innovating from what I'm assuming is Baldur's Gate (despite the fact that the games are tremendously different in almost every way, including gameplay). If I were to criticize one of Bioware's games for not innovating, it would actually be DA2, since it takes the dialog / morality mechanics directly from ME, the characterization directly from DA:O, the gameplay from your average B-rated action RPG, and WoW's model of skill trees and combat abilities and doesn't really add anything new to the mix. Just sayin'.

He basically herped-the-derped when he suggested that the Escapist was selling out, just because the community didn't adhere to his specific taste. You seriously have to be one massive fucking prick to be so fucking narcissistic and arrogant that you think that if YOU didn't like the game, then NO ONE could have liked the game. Hes confusing the teary-eyed vocal minority with the rest of the community.

Seriously, hes more suited for 4chan than this place.

I'm new here... are you normally this aggressive for no reason or is DA2 a sensitive subject for you?

 

[Nouw]

Wait what? Where's this mysterious poll for games of the year? I must have missed it >.>.

 

[Dastardly]

I was going to write a song with these entries, but then I took an arrow to the meme.

 

[tvpirate]

Easy badges.

 

[-|-]

Beautiful ascetic? I must have missed the bit where Jensen threw away all his worldly goods and lived the life of a monk. I might have to go and replay just to find out where that mission is.

 

[Hyper-space]

I'm a bit confused about you. Judging by the fact your avatar is Frank Horrigan, the villain from Fallout 2, I would guess that you are a fan of that game. This seems to be somewhat of a double standard, seeing as how Fallout 2 did not 'innovate' that much from the original Fallout (despite still being one of my favorite games of all times) and you are criticizing DA:O for not innovating from what I'm assuming is Baldur's Gate (despite the fact that the games are tremendously different in almost every way, including gameplay). If I were to criticize one of Bioware's games for not innovating, it would actually be DA2, since it takes the dialog / morality mechanics directly from ME, the characterization directly from DA:O, the gameplay from your average B-rated action RPG, and WoW's model of skill trees and combat abilities and doesn't really add anything new to the mix. Just sayin'.

They actually made the characterization better than in DA:O, namely, the characters evolved whether or not you did their side-quest thingy. Also, they weren't the same character archetypes as the characters in DA:O were.

I'm new here... are you normally this aggressive for no reason or is DA2 a sensitive subject for you?

I am not new here, so let me tell you this: it is always a sensitive subject when people start shitting up my favorite forum.

I have been following this site for nearly 5 years (been posting on this forum since 2008) and it is the only place where you can have any meaningful discussion about games. The insane fucking reactions to Dragon Age 2 and the shit-storm that followed made me sad, seriously. You couldn't have a fucking discussion about ANYTHING without someone mentioning DA2 and start loosing their shit.