Will the 2012 GotY be a downloadable game?

In 2012, there are nearly as many downloadable games receiving five stars as AAA powerhouses and of those game, the guys seem to be deferring to the downloadables in their praise. Will this be the year? I think it might be.

There is a definite chance.

Well XCOM's downloadable on PC...so yes? :P

I think it could be, but I'm not sure this is the year it'll happen. For me, FTL and Hotline Miami were easily two of the best games I played, so I'd have no problem with a game like that winning, but I still think it's kind of, uh, politically incorrect in the "hardcore" gaming scene to give a small game GOTY.

My personal GOTY? Probably not, it's probably Mass Effect 3.

Giant Bomb's GOTY? Quite possibly, as both Journey, and especially The Walking Dead, seem to be strong contenders.

If Walking Dead can stick the landing next week, I think it is a clear frontrunner.

well it's going to be between the walking dead and xcom, MAYBE mark of the ninja but probably not... so I'm going to say 50 50. I'll put my hat in xcom's corner though (I haven't played either for the record)

Maybe? I wouldn't award it to Walking Dead but they might.

Giant Bomb can call whatever game of the year but for me personally it definitely will not be a downloadable game, as in, some game you pay 10-15 bucks for on xbox live.

XCOM is my front runner, but anything can happen! :P

well it's going to be between the walking dead and xcom, MAYBE mark of the ninja but probably not... so I'm going to say 50 50. I'll put my hat in xcom's corner though (I haven't played either for the record)

@Phatmac said:

@Animasta

well it's going to be between the walking dead and xcom, MAYBE mark of the ninja but probably not... so I'm going to say 50 50. I'll put my hat in xcom's corner though (I haven't played either for the record)

I thought you'd be all for crusaders king 2 D:

I'm talking about the GOTY for the site (which is what I thought we were discussing)

There are still a few games coming out that could be great (Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead ep5, Hitman: Absolution) so it's hard to tell now, but so far I think Sleeping Dogs is my pick for GotY.

I think people are right on in presuming Giant Bomb's GOTY battle being between XCOM, The Walking Dead, and Journey, with XCOM being relatively locked in and TWD's fifth episode deciding whether it stays against Journey or not. I think XCOM can beat Journey without much issue, but against The Walking Dead, it'll be a harder fight. I outlined the allegiances before, but I'll go for it again. I think Vinny lies with Walking Dead, Patrick with Walking Dead or XCOM, Brad with Journey or XCOM, Ryan with Walking Dead or XCOM, and Jeff with XCOM (unless he plays Walking Dead and enjoys it, which he might because he's actually going to play it.)

By "or", I do mean two different things, though. For Patrick/Brad, that's "either their game if it makes it to Top 2, or the other one as a runner-up." For Ryan/Jeff, it's more of a "I have no idea which one they actually prefer."

Diablo III and Mark of the Ninja probably take 4 and 5 in that order, presuming Far Cry 3 doesn't ruin everything.

Personally, Borderlands 2 is my game of the year, hands down. I've had so much fun with that game, and they improved upon everything that was great in the first Borderlands.

EDIT: I was misunderstanding some stuff. That's gone now.

I think there is going to be a strong push for The Walking Dead and Journey, but I think the guys will pick XCOM.

Journey's downloadable, so yes.

No, cos it'll be XCOM.

@BaneFireLord said:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Far Cry 3

I laughed at this more than I should have.

@Kidavenger said:

There are still a few games coming out that could be great (Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead ep5, Hitman: Absolution) so it's hard to tell now, but so far I think Sleeping Dogs is my pick for GotY.

I hope Vinny makes a strong case for Sleeping Dogs, I liked that game a lot more than Alex did and it's my personal GotY. A lot of smart stuff in that game and great parody.

I think Giant Bomb is going to end up going with XCOM, unless Jeff ends up really, really loving The Walking Dead when he finally plays it. So, I'm going to say no but there will certainly be more downloadable games (probably the majority) in the top ten this year.

Mass Effect 3 will take a lot of overall game of the year awards. Crying children won't change that.

My game of the year will be either Mass Effect 3 or Dark Souls. I need to do one more playthrough for each to decide.

The VGA's have GOTY nominees already and they are

• Journey
• The Walking Dead
• Mass Effect 3
• Assassin's Creed 3
• Dishonored

Now I know we all hate the VGA's but still, two downloadables made it! It seems the time has come...

@awesomeusername said:

The VGA's have GOTY nominees are

• Journey
• The Walking Dead
• Mass Effect 3
• Assassin's Creed 3
• Dishonored

Now I know we all hate the VGA's but still, two downloadables made it! It seems the time has come...

Man.... this has truly been a bad year for gaming.

Edit: Also... ahahahahahahahahaha Diablo 3 won't get a single overall game of the year nomination. Ahahhaa. I'm glad.

@phrosnite said:

Mass Effect 3 will take a lot of overall game of the year awards. Crying children won't change that.

My game of the year will be either Mass Effect 3 or Dark Souls. I need to do one more playthrough for each to decide.

it won't here though, which is what we are discussing.

The VGA's have GOTY nominees already and they are

• Journey
• The Walking Dead
• Mass Effect 3
• Assassin's Creed 3
• Dishonored

Now I know we all hate the VGA's but still, two downloadables made it! It seems the time has come...

I just don't understand why they're making such a big deal out of The Walking Dead.

That game is 90% story, 10% gameplay. The gameplay part almost always falls completely flat as it always boils down to some boring QTE that you just can't fail or its game over. For all it's failings Heavy Rain handled that kind of gameplay way better if only by not forcing you to succeed the vast majority of the time in order to continue progression or by making encounters such as fights more dynamic where the action can be shorter or longer depending on your level of success during these encounters.

As for the story side of things it is very linear and progresses along a very clear path akin to the Mass Effect games with very little choices in how major events unfolds. It's fine in Mass Effect because there's actual gameplay taking place in between story bits but in a game that relies entirely on its story to be any good i just don't see it. At the end of the game when people will discuss what they did, what they saw and when those things happenned, 90% of the discussion will be the same for everyone. Everyone will have seen the same places, in the same order and taken the same actions and the same major characters will have died no matter what.

I like the game overall mind you, it tells a good story, i just don't see it as a GOTY contender.

As for the question i voted no. I thinks it's gonna go to XCOM. And as for The Walking Dead who am i to judge it anyway, my favorite game of the year is still Journey and it's shorter, even more linear and doesn't have much more gameplay to it either.

@Animasta said:

@phrosnite said:

Mass Effect 3 will take a lot of overall game of the year awards. Crying children won't change that.

My game of the year will be either Mass Effect 3 or Dark Souls. I need to do one more playthrough for each to decide.

it won't here though, which is what we are discussing.

I haven't played XCOM and I"m not planning on to but Total Biscuit tore that game to pieces. It doesn't deserve GotY. I'm very curious what Vinny's #1 will be :)

@phrosnite said:

Man.... this has truly been a bad year for gaming.

Edit: Also... ahahahahahahahahaha Diablo 3 won't get a single overall game of the year nomination. Ahahhaa. I'm glad.

Yes, it has been very disappointing. The smaller retail and downloadable games are what I liked the most this year, although I still need to play Journey.

@Milkman said:

Shocked that there's no Halo 4 there.

That makes me happy.

@awesomeusername said:

The VGA's have GOTY nominees already and they are

• Journey
• The Walking Dead
• Mass Effect 3
• Assassin's Creed 3
• Dishonored

Now I know we all hate the VGA's but still, two downloadables made it! It seems the time has come...

I thought that and said "Where the FUCK is Sleeping Dogs!"

I think it absolutely should be. This year has been mostly disappointing for retail games with old ideas triumphing over innovation (we need a new generation so desperately). Even games with strong(ish) critical support like Borderlands 2, Halo 4, and Assassin's Creed 3 were criticized on the principle of "This just seems like more of the same."

Look at the downloadable games that have come out this year and think about GB's support of them vs. big-name box games: Mark of the Ninja; Dust: an Elysian Tail; Fez; Hotline: Miami; Journey; The Walking Dead. I haven't seen the guys as excited as they are for this group of games (and a few others that I'm forgetting) in a while. These games bring innovation (innovation not just in gameplay, but in storytelling, which I think is the most important factor this year), they fully recognize that, and I think they try to reward studios like Telltale and thatgamecompany for that reason.

That being said, I wouldn't be disappointed if XCOM wins. Hell of a game.

@phrosnite said:

@Animasta said:

@phrosnite said:

Mass Effect 3 will take a lot of overall game of the year awards. Crying children won't change that.

My game of the year will be either Mass Effect 3 or Dark Souls. I need to do one more playthrough for each to decide.

it won't here though, which is what we are discussing.

I haven't played XCOM and I"m not planning on to but Total Biscuit tore that game to pieces. It doesn't deserve GotY. I'm very curious what Vinny's #1 will be :)

you should get your own opinions about games rather than listen to what some guy on youtube says.

No because all five of them played XCOM and all 5 of them love it so yeah its gonna be XCOM I would say

GiantBomb's GOTY won't be, but the actual GOTY is a downloadable, yes.

@Animasta: I have never been a fan of turn based strategy games, not to mention that TB is a huge fan of the original so I have no problems believing him. Don't get butthurt, please.

@Pr1mus said:

As for the story side of things it is very linear and progresses along a very clear path akin to the Mass Effect games with very little choices in how major events unfolds. It's fine in Mass Effect because there's actual gameplay taking place in between story bits but in a game that relies entirely on its story to be any good i just don't see it

Phoenix Wright

@RedSox8933: I agree with everything you said. An increasingly large percentage of the truly great games each year have been downloadable, this year more than ever.

I am going to go against the grain here a bit and say that I don't think Journey has a chance in hell at getting GOTY. It just doesn't quite stand up to what came later in the year, namely Walking Dead and XCOM.

I don't get why people are ignoring all the tech issues Walking Dead has. Stuttering that ruins emotional scenes (happens during every scene on the console side, but I've also had it on the PC), save file issues on the PC and how the shooting parts are terrible and buggy. In my case I actually died twice in the last episode because the game showed a walker dying/falling through the stairs but a split second later played an animation showing Lee getting torn apart by an invisible walker.

Tell Tale hasn't fixed any of this stuff and I don't see anybody mentioning it.

@Animasta said:

@phrosnite said:

@Animasta said:

@phrosnite said:

Mass Effect 3 will take a lot of overall game of the year awards. Crying children won't change that.

My game of the year will be either Mass Effect 3 or Dark Souls. I need to do one more playthrough for each to decide.

it won't here though, which is what we are discussing.

I haven't played XCOM and I"m not planning on to but Total Biscuit tore that game to pieces. It doesn't deserve GotY. I'm very curious what Vinny's #1 will be :)

you should get your own opinions about games rather than listen to what some guy on youtube says.

But his name is Total Biscuit! How could you not trust a guy named like that?

@Manhattan_Project: I haven't experienced too much of that, and what I have run into hasn't diminished the experience for me at all.

For me , YES . It's a battle between FEZ and Dust : An Elysian Tail .

For the real GB GOTY , I kinda doubt it ...

Considering that Brad was calling for the 'Best Downloadable Game of the Year' category to be scrapped on the Octoberkast, and Jeff fully agreed, I think there is a very significant chance that it'll happen.

Dust: An Elysian Tail is fantastic; Mark of the Ninja is great; Fez is significant; Journey is significant; Hotline Miami is significant; The Walking Dead is, without a doubt, one of the best games of the year.

I wouldn't say that retail releases have been a total slouch. XCOM is well praised around these parts; Sleeping Dogs has gotten a lot of buzz; Syndicate has a following, to some extent; there are still a couple of other games to come out, like Far Cry 3 and Hitman: Absolution. And, my personal pick, Diablo III was pretty good, even if it clearly has had a bunch of backlash, and there's still no PvP.

It'll be an interesting awards podcast run, I'll say that much. I'd also love to know what the community choice will be. Is that actually being figured out, or is it being left as a personal thing?

@Manhattan_Project said:

I don't get why people are ignoring all the tech issues Walking Dead has. Stuttering that ruins emotional scenes (happens during every scene on the console side, but I've also had it on the PC), save file issues on the PC and how the shooting parts are terrible and buggy. In my case I actually died twice in the last episode because the game showed a walker dying/falling through the stairs but a split second later played an animation showing Lee getting torn apart by an invisible walker.

Tell Tale hasn't fixed any of this stuff and I don't see anybody mentioning it.

Downloadable games are judged differently than AAA titles. You don't see the same type of nitpicking a Halo or Assassin's Creed will get.

@Kerned said:

@Manhattan_Project: I haven't experienced too much of that, and what I have run into hasn't diminished the experience for me at all.

Point is its happening and people are just ignoring it which is fucking ridiculous. Some people haven't been able to play past episode 2 because their file isn't working and the I feel bad for anyone who only has a PS3 or 360 because those versions are fucked and it doesn't seem like Tell Tale even give a shit.

@Manhattan_Project: I'm playing on PS3.

@Kerned said:

@Manhattan_Project: I'm playing on PS3.

Then I feel sorry for you.

If Brad gets his say, Dust and Mark Of The Ninja have a good run at it.