We Reveal Your Picks for the 12th Game of Christmas

[Alphalpha]

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.

 

[Frostbite3789]

Dragon Age 2?

I guess that could be, but given the Escapist community's aversion to that game even to this day, I'm finding it a slight bit hard to believe that it was anywhere near any sort of "best of" list.

It seems more and more like the vocal minority is mistaken for the majority on The Escapist.

 

[coldfrog]

Dragon Age 2?

I guess that could be, but given the Escapist community's aversion to that game even to this day, I'm finding it a slight bit hard to believe that it was anywhere near any sort of "best of" list.

It seems more and more like the vocal minority is mistaken for the majority on The Escapist.

Beaten to the punch, as that's exactly what I was thinking. Not everyone who comes here is actively participating in the forums.

By the way, I didn't see a solid answer about the badges: if we failed to check that page for the first two days, are we SOL with respect to 11 and 12 (and apparently 13) badges?

Although to be honest, I probably wouldn't have checked it except every few days if I hadn't suddenly gotten that badge for it (and if we can't get all of them I'll stop fretting and just move on) Now I must know if I have a chance!

Also, Merry Christmas! (Fie on that happy holidays stuff, this thread is about Christmas and I'm going to wish one upon you whether you celebrate or not, so THERE!)

 

[Iron Lightning]

Yeah, Dragon Age 2 sucked more balls than some sort of experimental ball-sucking machine but the allegations of bribery are unfounded.

If Bioware did bribe The Escapist then they'd do much better than 12th for their title. I guess there's still a lot of Biowhores out there.

Although, it was a total dick-move of you fine gentlemen and ladies to ban Therumancer: the most wordy poster on this forum who has been here for four years for his possibly libelous actions. We could all se quite clearly that he was being a dumbass in this particular post and striking him with the feared banhammer was just adding insult to injury. Not to mention that, in the mind of the conspiracy theorists, banning him just adds credence to his claims.

 

[-KC-]

The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings

Is also on the list, but hell that was expected.

 

[Coldster]

Well, I knew the list couldn't stay good forever. There was no way this game wouldn't make the list anyways, since around 70-80% of this site are hardcore PC gamers. Bah Humbug. *grumbles*

 

[SonicWaffle]

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.

You mean, exactly like the dungeons in Dragon Age 2? So much copy/paste...

I actually really enjoyed the game, and would be surprised if it didn't make it onto the list, but it was nowhere near as good as Origins or Awakenings. Story and characters were interesting, but the gameplay felt like a letdown to me. I can understand why a (very, very vocal) minority around the forums hate on it, as with Mass Effect 2, but I still enjoyed it for the great storyline and reasonably interesting characters.

 

[Marmooset]

I've been waiting on that 9. Now I'm Mr. Cleverbadge.



<------

(Just the profile)

Ok, after looking at his, maybe I'm NOT Mr. Cleverbadge.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

In my opinion, the only time DA2 should be on any list is if it was called "Worst RPG of 2011". Like I said before, that's just me.

And I also agree with those that thought Therumancer was unjustly banned. And like Iron Lightning said before me, this confirms everything he said. Basically, what I saw there was "If I don't like what you have to say, GTFO. Better yet, I'll just kick you out."

 

[coldfrog]

I've been waiting on that 9. Now I'm Mr. Cleverbadge.



<------

(Just the profile)

Ok, after looking at his, maybe I'm NOT Mr. Cleverbadge.

You've inspired me to put back my old avatar that I got because I could manipulate my badges so.
(After I changed my avatar I never got around to moving my badges some)
BOX!

 

[TheKruzdawg]

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 agree with you. I feel like I'm one of the few people who enjoyed the game. I spent the better part of 3 days over this past summer playing it because I was having fun. Sure the dungeons sucked, you HAD to be a human, and I felt the city got kind of boring after awhile. But I had fun with the characters and I felt the gameplay and combat stayed mostly true to the original.

OT: So far this "12 Games..." thing isn't super relevant to me other than a list of games I should probably go play. I've only played DA2 out of the the list so far, and can't play the Witcher 2 (though I would if I could). I'll be interested to see what other games fill out the rest of the list.

 

[-Dragmire-]

It amazes me how many people don't realize that this is an event based on community votes...


(Still hoping Bastion makes the list)

 

[-|-]

I liked DA2 a lot. I know some people didn't like it - but why do so many of them need their opinion validating?

To those complaining about it: You only have to adjust your preconception that the game was universally hated by the community based on the factual evidence presented here - it doesn't mean that you are forced into liking it.

On the other hand SR3 is complete shite. The escapist must have took some bribes as I can't believe that anyone would have a different opinion of that game to me.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

I'm just posting so this can appear in the handy recent posts area of the home page, since the new website layout appears to be HIDING content from me.

 

[ThreeKneeNick]

edit: double post

 

[Marmooset]

You've inspired me to put back my old avatar that I got because I could manipulate my badges so.
(After I changed my avatar I never got around to moving my badges some)
BOX!

I'm honored, sir.
Now I feel like I'm Cleverbadge's Watson.

 

[Carl The Manicorn]

Agreed. It seems like a lot the fanboys/fangirls out there have been pissing themselves silly with Skyrim.

OT: My quote is at the bottom of the Saints Row: The Third section! Yeah!
But seriously, I haven't had as much fun with any other game than I have had with that one. Sure I can't have my character sing "Take On Me" and it didn't almost make me cry like in the second one, but who cares? I love that I can do sweet wrestling moves on innocent bystanders. While naked of course.

 

[Flavio Kuperman]

I wonder how much EA had to pay to get DA2 up there. With all the overall negative reception DA2 got (other than by pro reviewers, of course), it will be a shame to see all the excellent games that didn't make this list. Damn I hate that game.

First... welcome to the Escapist. I hope you enjoy it here.

Now let me be the first to point out what the article said: This was voted on by the members of The Escapist community such as you and me. Every one got one chance to pick their favourite and based on those numbers the top 12 was compiled. So in summary, EA didn't pay any of us. Many people here genuinely like the game. While I wouldn't put it into my top 12, I understand why it's there.

Hey, thanks for the warm welcome =). I'm kind of surprised my emotional reply was taken so literally. It was meant as an expression, kind of like "who did X have to sleep with to get that job!?". I get very worked up about DA2, mainly because I feel it has taken my most beloved hobby (namely RPG gaming) into such a foul direction, coming from a company that I had (formerly) respected so much. The whole thing was just such an atrocity. I understand that people might like the game but I'm a bit frustrated to see the game get any form of positive recognition, for fear that it might give a hint to the publishers that some people approved of that game's direction. I do honestly believe it to be the worst game I've ever played, if only because of the sheer hatred it has drawn from me this year.

 

[Flavio Kuperman]

I wonder how much EA had to pay to get DA2 up there. With all the overall negative reception DA2 got (other than by pro reviewers, of course), it will be a shame to see all the excellent games that didn't make this list. Damn I hate that game.

DO you really fucking think for a second that a multi-million dollar corporation is going to bribe a fucking website, SO THAT A GAME CAN APPEAR ON A CHRISTMAS LIST OF GAMES WHICH HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON ANYTHING?

Dragon Age 2 had balls, it actually gave us characters and not bland stereotypes which you had to feed compliments so that their motherfucking feelings wouldn't get hurt. "Oh whats that? end of the fucking world? Nope, just gonna run away because you do not share the exact same opinions as me".

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.

First off, no, I don't think they would do that. I also didn't think my phrase would be taken literally.

Second, I'm sorry, but I can only partially agree with your other statement; yes, Dragon Age 2 had balls, but only in the sense that they had the balls to pull a bait-and-switch scheme on Bioware's most avid fans; they sold us trash game that was as shallow as the shallow end of a drained kiddy pool and then they had the gonads to call the game Dragon Age, despite having nothing in common whatsoever with its predecessor in the way of gameplay and feel. But still, trusting that Bioware would deliver excellence, fans of the original bought the game and noticed that the developers (or publishers, who knows who was responsible for this atrocity) didn't care at all about the predecessor's loyal fans, having instead created a game entirely geared towards people who didn't even like RPGs or found the idea of an RPG to be too complicated.

And about your last point, I'm not quite sure how you can say that. The truth is quite the opposite... DA:O was what RPG fans wanted because it was complex, as opposed to the grand majority of dumbed-down and streamlined RPGs that had been released around the same time. DA2, on the other hand, decided to just continue the tradition of simple and streamlined games. What it did was not so much take a risk, but rather submit to the safety and comfort of producing a really dumbed down game that they knew the masses could easily consume. Wait, let me take that back, they did take a risk: the risk that any fans of their previous work will ever spend money on the third installment of this series.

Sorry about the rant... there are very few things that make me as worked up as this crappy game. Yeah it's just a game, but gaming happens to be my preferred hobby and I find this game to be a giant middle finger pointed directly at the fans of Bioware's previous work.