Staff & GB Site Game of the Year Predictions

I believe Alex said that TLoU was his favourite game of the year when he was talking to Sessler for some Rev3 show. Drew always seemed pretty cold on TLoU; didn't really like how it played (bumped it down to easy, like Vinny, just to get through it in the end and get to the cutscenes). I'm not sure about what to replace it with though, Drew is an enigma!

Other than that, I pretty much agree with you. I think the overall GOTY is between Zelda (a game everyone really liked, but maybe no one loved?), TLoU (Patrick, Alex and Brad seems to love this game, the others not so much) and maybe Bioshock (they all liked the story, but not the combat). No stand out games, which makes this really interesting.

I feel that Bioshock Infinite wins by default. It's the only game I know all of them played and enjoyed, judging by that spoiler cast. But that was so long ago who knows. I fear that Jeff would never let a zelda game as #1.

@noboners said:

The guy who gave The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a 10/10 (the first 10/10 Gamespot ever gave) would never let a Zelda game be #1?

Thanks for your input, both of you.

@doomed: Yeah but that was a long time ago. And a much better/revolutionary game in a time where games were being pretty revolutionary. I will admit I haven't played this new zelda yet, so while I love the series, I don't see how all the tiny changes they made really changed that much game play wise.

If Dota 2 wins I will be a very sad person. Also I dont think the rest of the staff will let it win because of their utter disinterest in the genera. My guess is its between TLoU and infinite, and i feel more strongly about infinite as a complete package.

I can't imagine GTA V ending up as number 2. Jeff thinks the multiplayer is terrible and Scoopwolf have harped on for ages about all of the things they dislike about it.

I would be supremely shocked if Bioshock Infinite or Zelda took the overall reward.

Bioshock Infinite bitches, it's not my personal favorite btw even though it is really great, but is the only game I can think of that they all seemed to like even though the shooting is the weakest part of the game.

Patrick is gonna whine a bit about The Swapper and/or Gone Home not winning so he can please the indie crowd. Then he is going to whine a bit about Fire Emblem Awakening not winning.

Brad won't leave the room or let anyone else leave for that matter before Dota 2 is declared the winner.

Oh and I can totally see Jeff having changed his opinion on GTA V. Yes the multiplayer is broken, I don't know if it still is actually since I never played it and don't really have any interest in it, but I feel like that shouldn't detract from the singleplayer experience. Honestly I never cared about the multiplayer, even if it worked I still probably would not have checked it out. Multiplayer in open-world games rarely interest me. But if Jeff really has lost a bit of interest in GTA V then SR IV might be Jeff's favorite open-world game of the year. Yes I know they are both very different but they are both open-world games and SR may appeal more to Jeff than GTA at this point.

I actually don't think that GTA V will win.

I think Gunpoint will be on there somewhere. Rouge Legacy as well maybe. Patrick will probably fight for CoJ: Gunslinger, but I doubt it will make the site top 10. Looking forward to their discussions. Too bad they all didn't enjoy The Last of Us as much as I did.. Gonna be hard to see it land on such a low spot.

So, did Drew like NASCAR The Game: 2013? I can't remember. What other sim or racing games did Drew play this year?

I really think GTAV is in the running for 1st or a close 2nd. It really looks like the best GTA to date, it's improved miles beyond GTA4, and GTA Online might be brushed aside stating that the single player content is the real focus and far outshines the crappy tacked on multiplayer. I don't even consider myself a fan of GTA (the only one I actually like is Lost & the Damned) but it's what I would pick for GOTY.

And then of course plenty of lip service paid to hipster darling Gone Home. I have to get my digs in.

The complete package is clearly The Last of Us but sadly none of the crew got into the multiplayer and there seems to be a biased agienst stealth from the crew, so yeah my guess is either Bioshock or GTAV

I more or less agree with your list though I'd switch around the order. I doubt Zelda will win. It seemed like something they all liked but none of them loved. I'm quite confident GTA won't either. Everyone but Jeff soured on the experience before they beat it, and Jeff soured on it once online came out (even going as far as to say that he would have given the game 4 stars if they'd launched simultaneously). I expect the big fight will probably be between Team Bioshock led by Jeff, and Team Last of Us led by Patrick.

I think it will be Bioshock. I expect Jeff to make a hard push for it anyway.

never going to forget when Mortal Kombat 9 got kicked out of the top 10.

Site: The Last of Us

Jeff: BioShock Infinite

Brad: DOTA 2

Vinny: BioShock Infinite

Patrick: The Last of Us

Drew: BioShock Infinite

Alex: The Last of Us

Anyone who thinks GTA V is winning the site wide GOTY has been playing zero attention. It will be the Last of Us because everyone except Jeff ranged from really liking it to loving it. BioShock is a favorite among Vinny, Drew (I think) and Jeff but Patrick and Brad have soured on it and will fight against it. In the end, the majority will rule with The Last of Us since 5 out of the 6 will be either push for it to win or be fine with it winning and Jeff will concede.

@milkman: just wondering, where did you get the idea that vinny would put bioshock at number 1? Can't remember him saying much of anything about the game. He has said plenty about how he loves TLOU though, so my predictions are?

Vinny: TLOU

Brad: DOTA 2

Patrick: TLOU

Jeff: Bioshock Infinite

Alex: TLOU

Drew: Not sure, he talked about TLOU a lot. Do not know how much he liked it though.

Site: TLOU

A 3DS game (Zelda, Fire Emblem..) winning or coming close would be great, it's been by far my favourite console/device I've used all year.

I think it'll honestly come down to Bioshock or The Last of Us. I'm kind of more interested to hear the deliberations this year, because at least for the staff, there doesn't seem to be any clear winners.

Vinny was pretty lukewarm on it when they first discussed it, when only he and Drew had finished the game. Both of them talked about how they didn't much care for the gameplay, and I think Vinny talked about bumping it down to easy in the last stretch just to get through it, because he was tired of the combat. He did sound a bit more positive the last time they talked about it on the Bombcast, especially the story, but I wouldn't say that it was his clear favourite of the year.

Brothers a tale of two sons or Zelda are my guesses

I think a few of the Last of Us fanboys out there aren't actually considering what has been discussed by the giantbomb crew themselves. I think, now that Brad has played it, it's now a fight between TLOU and Infinite, but many people are not considering that Jeff, Vinny and Drew don't care for the gameplay of TLOU, and that none of the giantbomb crew (maybe excepting Patrick, I don't know his full thoughts though), found any real issue with the gameplay of Infinite. "Stories Great, Shooting Sucks" has become more of a mantra than a thought out criticism amongst bioshock detractors, to the point where they seem to forget that not everyone shares that thought.

Personally I think there's almost no way that Bioshock, TLOU, Dota 2, Mario 3D World, Zelda, GTA V and Gone Home don't make the 10. Other than that there's quite a number that could make it, people have been pretty high on AC IV, The Swapper, Paper's Please, Rayman, DMC (has a really good shot), Rogue Legacy, Fire Emblem, Dead Rising 3, Gunpoint, Device 6, Brothers (don't think it will make the final cut) and The Stanley Parable. I expect all of those to make individual lists and it will be interesting to see which ones can last to the site top 10.

Well we know Jeff wouldn't buy all the games on the site top ten list so I'm using that to say that it's just Dota 2 ten times.

Site: Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (doing the CBSi double)

Vinny: Zelda: A Link Between Worlds or The Last of Us

Brad: DoTA 2 or The Last of Us

Jeff: Bioshock Infinite

Drew: The Last of Us or Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Alex: Rayman Legends

Patrick: Gone Home

Top 10:

1. Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
2. The Last of Us
3. Bioshock Infinite
4. Super Mario 3D World
5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
6. Gone Home
7. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag
8. Grand Theft Auto V
9. Papers Please
10. DoTA 2

Just my 2 cents as it doenst mean anything but if it doesnt have Zelda in the name is anyone talking about this game? Yet the 2 main games LOU and Bioshock are STILL being talked about and will continue to be talked about for a long time.

Alos, i think you are dismissing Animal Crossing which a lot of the staff seemed to play a hell of lot. If i recall Jeff, Brad and maybe Vinny? have clocked in close to 100hrs each.

Bioshock will win out as it's the common denominator between the crew. TLOU will be unfairly pilloried for its gameplay and finish about fifth.

I'm assuming Bioshock will happen. People had gripes with it, but I don't think anyone flat out disliked it.

I just hope GTA doesn't win.

# I'm curious OP, how does a game you don't think will be anyone's top game make it as the site's GOTY? I don't see the logic in that, this isn't VGX

Personally think it could be Bioshock: Infinite, but I would be totally happy with The Last of Us winning it too. Not like when Saints Row was number 2 and Skyrim was number 1 and I got legit pissed off haha

I feel like the GB staff hasn't been affected by the Bioshock decay that got some other sites. It hasn't been brought up on the bombcast in awhile, but I really think that is still Jeff's GOTY. Brad is going to be pushing for TLoU, DOTA 2, and Brothers. I really enjoyed the two hour shouting match between him and Jeff in 2011 (Between Skyrim and SR IV), so maybe between TLoU and Bioshock? Patrick... who knows? He seems to like a lot of different games, I can't really tell what his favorite will be. Vinny and Drew I feel both liked TLoU and Bioshock, so who knows there. I'm mostly just sad that DmC won't be on the top 10.

I don't know if it'll finish fifth but I'd be surprised if it ends up taking the award. It will probably one of those parts that will be hard to listen to because I really enjoyed the gameplay in TLoU and they're going to knock the game down for it (at least some of them). I like the story and the characters but it without it playing as well as it does, it wouldn't have been the GotY for me.

Jeff won't pick GTAV after the way he has been talking about it lately (the multiplayer specifically).

I think it will end up being Bioshock Infinite. Seems like they all played it and enjoyed it so it is the common denominator they can all agree on. There have been plenty of great games this year so whatever they choose will most-likely be deserving of recognition.

Saints Row IV.

Infinite should win, not because it's the "best game", but everyone seemed to really love it at the time. However, if it gets into a heated battle with Zelda or GTA (Maybe TLOU, doubt it). Infinite will probably lose out because it's easy to pick it apart and find flaws with it, and it will probably lose every tiebreaker.

Idk about Zelda because I'm not sure how many people on the crew actually played it, but with GTA a lot of the guys (especially Jeff) seemed really down on the online, so I'm not sure it would beat out BioShock.

I think people will put GTA V's multiplayer to the side when discussing it as I personally felt as though it was a nice addition rather than a requirement, it's working fine now, haven't tried TLOU's so feel the same about that, single player was sufficient.

Think the sites GOTY will be Zelda, people are talking up the big 3 (TLOU, Bioshock & GTA) but I feel as though at least one will scupper the chances for each.

Gunpoint should (and I'm pretty sure will) be on there, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up pretty high up on the list. I've no idea which AAA games will top it out though: this has been a year full of really good games with very few INCREDIBLE games, among the triple-a crowd (at least to my tastes), so I'll be interested to see.

To quote Meatloaf, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

On topic: I have no fucking idea. I initially voted Zelda, although I think a lot of strong logical arguments have been made for why it'll likely be Bioshock.

I'd like to see The Last of Us win, but honestly there's not any game I can think of that could win that I think shouldn't. Been a pretty good year, guys.

EDIT: Also, as much as I loved Gone Home & Brothers, I'm surprised Tomb Raider isn't getting as much traction here. Everybody seemed to dig that game when it came out and although the couple of indie game dudes will talk up GH & Brothers, I don't see there being as much of a consensus on those games (Although I'll be very surprised if Papers, Please isn't included)

I just hope they have good reasoning for their picks this year, because it was truly awful last year (best multiplayer 2012, remember that?)

I hope they at least played the games they plan to discuss this year, rather than barter for arbitrary positions on the lists they make based on the feelings of others.

Site: The Last of Us (though I wouldn't be surprised if it was Zelda)

Jeff: Bioshock Infinite

Brad: Dota 2 (I mean yeah it's possible it's not this since he didn't pick Starcraft 2 in 2010 as his #1 but I can't think of what else it could be)

Vinny: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Among the crew, I'm least sure about Vinny's choice so I put Zelda down since he seemed to quite like it but who knows)

Patrick: The Last of Us

Alex: The Last of Us

Drew: Bioshock Infinite

Site Top Ten:

1. The Last of Us

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

3. Gone Home

4. Bioshock Infinite

5. Super Mario 3D World

6. Saints Row 4

7. Grand Theft Auto V

8. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

9. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

10. Rogue Legacy

Interesting, I actually interpreted that to mean that Brothers probably made it on the list but I suppose it's possible that Brad is able to make a strong enough push to get Dota on there.

I feel like none of these games will win, but probably Bioshock Infinite or The Last of Us I guess.

Also doubt GTAV is Jeff's pick. The multiplayer's absence may have helped it dodge poorer review scores, but it has to be taken into account for GotY, so there is no way its getting any awards.

Also also, if DotA 2 wins GotY I'm cancelling my subscription forever.

@me3639:I had an awesome post here about how Animal Crossing is too iterative and the original GC game is still about as good as New Leaf. I think the site staff feels about the same - New Leaf is great for new players but really really iterative for the people who don't spend hundreds of hours playing the game. (Although I did play hundreds of hours in AC GC and maybe even broke that by playing online in AC Wii.)

@somedelicook: "I'm curious OP, how does a game you don't think will be anyone's top game make it as the site's GOTY? I don't see the logic in that, this isn't VGX"

It's a game they all like a lot, it seems. Jeff doesn't like Mario and Patrick doesn't like GTA 5. Etc.

I think the biggest commonality between all of them right now is Zelda, which is insane to me! But they really seem to dig it. Bioshock will be high, although Patrick mentioned specifically souring on that one. TLOU will also be high, but Jeff hasn't played it much, everyone else seriously loves it though. DOTA 2 will be on the list, Jeff recognizes it even if he's not interested in it. Jeff will go with Gunpoint, Patrick, Brad and Vinny will say TLOU, and I can't make choice for Alex, maybe TLOU? Now saying that, maybe TLOU has some legs?

Also Jeff has mentioned that he was between a 4 and 5 star score for GTAV, its not his GOTY people.

Games that will likely appear on Patrick's list:

• Gone Home
• Super Mario 3D World
• Rayman Legends
• Tearaway
• Risk of Rain
• Outlast
• Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
• The Swapper
• Gunpoint

The only game I see being a lock is Bioshock Infinite at #1. Everything else I see is up for debate, even The Last of Us. And although I don't quite see Zelda winning GOTY, I hope it makes a major push up the list, at least top 5.

One last point. I don't expect The Swapper to crack the top 10, but I really hope @patrickklepek pushed for it or at the very least gave it a mention.

I think Jeff's GOTY is Bioshock Infinite actually. Everytime it's brought up on the podcast, he's just on point. A but surprising, because it didn't seem like he talked much about it during the spoilercast. Ryan and Patrick seemed really into it back then. Now it sounds like Jeff, Drew and Alex are going to push for that game. I can see Vinny and Patrick pushing for the Last of Us. Brad's is anyone's guess. Zelda? DOTA 2? Brothers?

Or they'll probably end up pushing for Zelda, because nobody hates it.

@zlimness: I would be genuinely surprised if Brad's game is anything but DOTA 2...

I'm 0 for 3 so far, but Zelda made it to position number 01 on Vinny's list. Kind of a wash for my overall site prediction then.