saturnprime

I've sent requests to those above.

@planetary said:

@SaturnPrime said:

WAY TO SPOIL THE END OF JOURNEY DURING THE GRAPHICS DISCUSSION PATRICK. It's fine, I've completed it already, but I was taken a back by the bluntness in saying it in an unnecessary category.

*says nothing, looks around the room*

I reviewed your other thread and don't have any "Patrick Hate". In fact, I enjoy that he tries things the others ignore or pass on and think he gets dumped on too much. I knew the spoiler rules laid out beforehand, and in a perfect world they should only be dispensed as needed for debate. I don't really mind spoilers as I said, but I've carved my listening of the GOTY podcasts around what I wasn't willing to be spoiled. I've skipped Best Story, Best Moment, and Walking Dead Episode. However I had completed Journey already, so no biggie. I would have thought "Best graphics" would have been clear. It is added in the timestamps thread. This is the complaint thread, where I felt I could best yell at a wall for a bit.

I am enjoying the debate and nomination bargaining more in the Day 3 & 4 than in Days 1 & 2. However I did skip chunks of 1 & 2. Jeff saying "You all are on dust." regarding ME3 MP. I enjoyed, but didn't agree with, that line. There is no way Most Wanted is best MP. It is far too frustrating to get anything done.

edit: just read what PsEG wrote regarding NFS:MW. Agreed.

@jmood88: I never really understood that either. If you played all three games and maxed Paragon or Renegade, you do get a pretty utopian resolution to the various conflicts, but my regenade playthrough was doesn't have ME 1 stuff and wasn't a pure renegade, and even with best effort in ME3, some stuff is just fucked regardless. Which I prefer. I'd rather have a nice bonus for committed players.

@TheSouthernDandy said:

I think you're kinda missing the point of these awards. You say that you don't feel these awards have a lot of value but I'd bet that if you asked the Bomb crew if they thought the awards should be considered a huge deal they'd probably say "nah". You don't throw in a category like "best wiiverse community" if you expect your awards to be taken seriously. These have always been about being entertaining and as much as I'm sure they'd enjoy seeing a game put "Giant Bomb game of the year" on the box, I don't think they care that much. Getting into the nitty gritty of game theory would be fine and all but in the spirit of how these awards are handled, "sick dubstep beats" being a factor is fine.

Day 3 & 4 contained much more mechanical debate with the Best looking game & Best Download Game and I enjoyed it. Finally a bit of a stalemate where points had to be defended! Brad's indecisiveness throughout to cut anything is a bit annoying. There are concession speeches when a game when passed over for nomination, and then there is what Brad does. It happens every year. I disagree with Jeff a lot on his taste but he is very decisive when he wants to be intractable or when he is willing to give something up. I think larger in scope categories do lead to more interesting debate. More than "Oh, its so good!"

WAY TO SPOIL THE END OF JOURNEY DURING THE GRAPHICS DISCUSSION PATRICK. It's fine, I've completed it already, but I was taken a back by the bluntness in saying it in an unnecessary category.

I have not listened to the Day 3 podcast yet. This is more a reflection of GOTY as a whole.

A sizable amount of the community will believe the Bombcrew as an editorial whole is above criticism, but I think the number of pointless or obvious categories so far this year is disappointing. It is far more interesting to hear discussion and occasional heated argument than a collective of people evaluating a single relatively pointless but impressive moment. The stakes are not just low, they are lower the bar so far lower with some of these categories. This has moved from a well intentioned move away a few years ago from traditional console categories to a pigeonholing awards and appreciation in a way that makes it less enjoyable to read, listen to, and to take recommendations from. While I did not play Kid Icarus, I can now feel sympathy with those that felt that game got dismissed too quickly. My wife and I call it the "shitshow" effect. (We remember around the time of the first Live Live Show Alex or Jeff using the word "shitshow" to describe a game or movie in a GB or Screened podcast or video. Then everyone on the forum began using it and it being used on terrible quicklooks by others.) Once a game is "shitshowed" like Binary Domain or Kid Icarus was, it's impossible convince the small group otherwise. I think it is admirable that some did try Binary Domain again.

I think the Day 1 podcast and write up did a bad insufficient job of explaining why the Hot Line Miami soundtrack was good, especially since no one really steps up as advocates for the other titles. I thought the Max Payne 3 soundtrack was amazing and similarly fit the mood of the game, as did Journey towards the end. Honestly it felt like what do you want to listen to in the car above all else and that felt so disappointing.

I hope the next two days have a noticeable improvement. I have enjoyed the GOTY podcasts less than in recent years or compared to a regular weekly episode. I think the fake TV shows are great but ultimately they are just a thing that is released at the same time as the videos wrap ups and podcasts. I commend the work put into them.

I played Frog Fractions. It's cute, and funny. But there is some serious magpie (Oh, look at this shiny) groupthink at GB going on about it, along with Jaavik / From Ashes, and the HLM soundtrack. These aren't my awards, but this simply isn't as revelatory as Brad makes it out to be. My eyes didn't roll back, time did not stop, and I did not begin to smell colors.

At some point, will GB have categories like best credits, best QTE, best single player headshot, or worst Cards Against Humanity card? Will it matter to the community as long as a podcast comes out? What is the point then? I can't say I value these "extra" awards more than what IGN or Gametrailers or Destructoid announces. Quite the opposite and that is disappointing.

While GOTY should not be combative or "real criticism", I think the transparency the podcast and constant video production throughout the year provides gives GB an opportunity to distinguish itself. The mechanics of these categories and occasional lack of advocates has led to a disappointing reception in this user so far. It is less a sausage making podcast and more a sausage fest of celebrating the same things that were trumpeted all year. GB should reconsider the flexibility of allowing new categories.

At some point, it is more interesting to hear opinions: is FTL or Hot Line Miami a better game? Forza or Most Wanted? Can't we manufacture some categories that way? Best download-only PC game? Best Driving game? I hope we see it and we can really dig in. Throwing in some thoughts like game theory, reward schedule, and synesthesia could benefit these GOTY discussions over "sick dubstep beats".

@Mnemoidian said:

... I can't shake 2 facts:

1) Other than that last bit, Mass Effect 3 was the game I wanted it to be, the brilliant emotional rollercoaster, the great gameplay.

2) It's probably the game that has impacted me the most this year. For good or bad, I've not thought as much about any other game, before, during and after playing it.

... my gut reaction to Mass Effect 3 is negative, and many others seem to have similar reactions. That makes me really sad, as it's not a bad game. Oh well.

I very much agree with these statements, especially the strong negative feeling amid the logical realization that it is a great game. I can see why ME3 could be on a short GOTY list. I don't think it should be Game of the Year just because of the ending. It's probably on my top ten, but not in the whitled down list. Journey is my game of the year right now, I am working through Walking Dead.

Just wanted to drop in with my votes of these already mentioned.

Max Payne 3 - Tears

Journey - Apotheosis

Fez - Adventure

Mass Effect 3 - An End Once And For All (Extended Cut)

Bioshock Infinite will have a strong first week, get good reviews, good word of mouth (I hope), and Take Two will advertise the hell out of it. They have Bioshock and GTA in 2013. Look for advertising on college basketball probably. I think the sky setting will be easier to sell to crossover gamers than the creepy dark under the sea vibe the first one gave off. I also don't believe any other new title will be selling well the weeks before which can encourage gamers starved for new and different pixels to pick it up. MGR: Revengeance, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Dead Space 3: all seem like they will underperform.

I'll say the end of the Commander Shepard story, instead of saying "Mass Effect 3" as a whole. It's still a 90+ / Five star game, but I just hate the ending. My wife finished a few days before me and when I finished the original ending, I finally understood why she didn't want to talk about it. It was so incongruent with the ghost child and the relay explosion. Where were my rachni that I imagined for four years making a clutch save of the Alliance fleet?!? I wanted my Shepard to die in battle or heroically, but I wanted to watch as all the cards, my war assets, got put down and succeeded or failed. While I appreciate what Bioware eventually did later, I still sting from Bioware PR saying the Extended Cut would not change the ending or the artistic vision (it absolutely did both), it implied we were too stupid to worship the genius of the original ending, and that people who were dissatisfied with the original ending were painted as entitled crybabies by outlets like IGN and journos that had not completed the game. It was eye opening. I still think ME3 is a great game that completed 95% of its job only to explode in the final moments. The hype from Bioware and the Final Hours project that there would be infinitely custom endings was BS. The Extended Cut was better, but it can't replace the feeling I had when finishing it the first time. I could have accepted the ending as it originally was, but I wouldn't come back to Bioware for narrative-heavy franchise games. I accept a do-over, if they wanted, not owed, to do one, and they did. I have not played a single Mass Effect DLC since the Extended Cut, and will not be preordering or buying at $60 Dragon Age 3 or the next Mass Effect game. ME3 is a fine game as a whole, but still... the most true statement about my gaming in 2012 would be the ending of Mass Effect 3 disappointed me.

Soulcalibur V and its laughable story mode. I think the recent Mortal Kombat had an incredible story mode, and I think it is the standard other fighting games story modes should emulate. Smash Bros Brawl had an enjoyable story mode as well, but not many other fighting franchises can deep fry their game storyline with nostalgia. If every character will not get their own old school custom storyline, which I very loosely define as a well done introduction cut scene or movie, one or two dialogue scenes between matches, and a paragraph of text with better than average artwork or video at the end, the story should be long, interweaving, and well done in the footsteps of the recent MK. Give me quality or quantity. Soulcalibur does neither. SCV's story was primarily three characters fighting matches in between concept art displayed with VO. Dead or Alive 5 has a decent and long story mode that wasn't disappointing in effort, but it's on watch for retreading the same story from DOA4 again and did not wow me either.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted brought to you by J.J. Abrams- I love Burnout Paradise. 100%ed the main game, motorcycles, and Big Surf Island. I was very excited for this game but cannot get into it. I have a hard time making my own fun and picking up oncoming traffic with overwrought lens flares in tunnels. I think the jack point system makes learning the mechanics and drifting characteristics of each car difficult. I have 22 cars at the moment and don't feel like I'm competent with any of them. The soundtrack is unremarkable and likes to play The Who too often. I'm still going to give it a try early next year and loop Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend instead.

That said I enjoyed Assassin's Creed III. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Haytham, and breathed in Boston in those hours. Haytham synced up those viewpoints like a mad man. I think Connor is an interesting character as well. I played all the homestead missions, which would help those that believe he is without a distinct character or boring. The crafting and inventroy menus were slow but I didn't have any bugs or crashes. I was expecting a Return of the Jedi redemption scene by Haytham at the end, but didn't get it. Oh well, it would have been sweet. AC has a history of WTF endings, so I can go along with it. The final ending wasn't spoiled for me, so I had to give Ubi the slow clap as those long credits rolled. I'll penalize the next game if they can't pay it off. I'll miss Shaun however if he doesn't show up in the next game.

I enjoyed the naval combat too. I know I wasn't terribly good at it, but loved screaming "Full Sail!!!!!" "Half Sail!!!" at my tv while turning hard in the midnight wave-tossed missions. I love Faulkner. "GO GET THAT WIND!!"

Oh, ramming... that was always satisfying.