So we're a quarter of the way through what already seems like a banner year for games (aren't they all?). We've seen some really awesome releases as well as some pretty disappointing/crap ones ("cough" Homefront "cough").
So here are the awards for all of these games, games that will probably be much talked about when the GB crew locks themselves in a room for Game of the Year Deliberations.
What are your favorites? Please leave your comments below :)
2011's 2010 Game of the Quarter of the Year
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Criterion really hit this one out of the park. Of course, the autolog feature had me coming back to the racing mayhem but the slew of DLC (there are currently 4 packs available) really gave one of 2010's best game a lot of added replay value. Despite the fact that they were hidden on the disc, these packs kept this awesome racer spinning in my 360 long after the New Year.
Best use of Blood/Gore
Bulletstorm
Sure, this choice is obvious but you've got to admit you laughed the first time you shot a guy square in the balls before kicking him in the face. This took brutal executions to a whole new level, giving Fox News a field day. My personal favorite is what the drill gun does to the enemies, making them spin like break dancers on the ground. Dead Space 2 is a very close runner up and loses only because Bulletstorm has 131 ways to kill your enemies in gut splattering ways while Dead Space's, sometimes more elaborate, are less varied.
Most Frustrating Game that You Still Love
Marvel Vs Capcom 3
Not everyone was old enough ten years ago to master the ins and outs of Marvel Vs Capcom 2, but these same people hoped that the third installment of the popular fighting franchise would finally give them a chance to get in on the fun without being hammered by Sentinel. Their hopes were dashed approximately 10 hours after the game released. Sure the game's control had been simplified but that group of elites who ruled the only scene had transitioned onto MvC 3 ready to kick your ass. Despite my 30 loss streak, I still came back for more punishment thanks to fun gameplay and the wide variety of characters.
Best New Character
General Sarrano (Bulletstorm)
The dirty mouthed general is (for me) the most memorable character of this year so far. His southern hilly billy personality and his sometimes racist jokes made the third half of Bulletstorm a lot more entertaining. He's the funniest part of Bulletstorm (and God knows how hard it is to do funny in this medium) and deserves his own game. Not bad for someone who's named after a type of ham (the best type mind you).
Game You've Already Forgotten About
DC Universe Online
Who can really say what went wrong with this game. Maybe because the super hero MMO had already been done in better and more interesting ways. Maybe because because of weird of weird network problems. Maybe because Jeff didn't much care for it. Or maybe because there wasn't Green Lantern as a mentor or inspiration which made me turn this game off permanently.
Best Sequel
Dead Space 2
Killzone 3 is more Killzone. Little Big Planet is more like Little Big Planet 2.0. And Marvel Vs Capcom 3 is just more frustration. Dead Space 2 on the other hand is Dead Space 1, minus the faults with everything turned up to 11. The amount of crazy stuff in its 8 hour campaigne is crazy, trading scares for high end thrills that made most people want to go back for a second time in Hardcore mode, only to die before the end of the first chapter.
Best Cursing
Bulletstorm
As said by the great Jeff, cursing can make your game feel immature. But when you're kicking dudes in the ass as they fly in slow motion towards you, a good fuck yeah seems like a good reaction to the craziness that's going on around you. Despite being sometimes hit or miss, Bulletstorm's part of the game is an integral part of the game.
Best Original Score
Crysis 2
Despite a strong showing by Dragon Age 2 and Dead Space 2, Crysis 2 has this one guitar rift that you hear almost all the time that sounds so dramatic, that you instantly want to dive in slow motion of your couch, shooting people in the face. This rift is used to punctuate almost all of the game's set pieces and even after spending more than a few dozen of hours listening to it, I still can't get over it.
Most Attractive Lady
Merrill (Dragon Age 2)
2011 has been a strong year so far for woman in gaming. It seems that we are finally over our Lara Croft fetishes and are ready to move on with our lives. Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2 and Crysis 2 all star strong woman with personality. None of them however, are exceptionally attractive which is where Merrill comes in. Despite not having large breasts or a tight ass, her quirky, shy personality along with her large Avatar-like eyes make her really attractive to me. And no, I do not have a pennant for elves.
Best Ending
Dead Space 2
All I have to say is: BANANAS.
Worst Game of the Quarter-of-the-Year
Homefront
Sure, there are worst games that came out this year, but none were as mainstream as Homefront. You know when a developer is serious about his game when he advertises it so much that you see it before the 8pm news in France. Hell, I was onboard with this game the second it was announced. The disappointment was gigantic, starting with the poor visuals and continuing with the clunky gameplay. As of this writing, half the player base can't get online because the game can't find "the beacon" which nobody knows what that means. I'm sick of talking about this game, you should read my review if you want to know more.
Game of the Quarter-of-the-Year
Dead Space 2
All in all, it was a fight between Crysis 2 and Dead Space 2. Crysis has a solid multiplayer, which Dead Space lacks. However, Dead Space 2 has a campaign so memorable that I still talk about it on a regular basis. A perfect mix of horror and thrills gave RE 5 a run for its money. The pacing was consistent, keeping you glued to your controller until the end. Giving Isaac a voice was a really good idea (something Crysis 2 should learn) and was all in all the best experience I've had all year (so far).
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Mine would have to be Killzone 3. While the story is kinda lame, the action and setpieces are all phenomenal, and the controls were greatly improved over Killzone 2.
She fucking hates you if you try and prevent her from engaging in an activity that's ultimately self destructive and has the capacity to harm everyone around her. She's kind of a bitch in that regard.
2011 has been a strong year so far for woman in gaming. It seems that we are finally over our Lara Croft fetishes and are ready to move on with our lives. Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2 and Crysis 2 all star strong woman with personality. None of them however, are exceptionally attractive which is where Merrill comes in. Despite not having large breasts or a tight ass, her quirky, shy personality along with her large Avatar-like eyes make her really attractive to me. And no, I do not have a pennant for elves. "
Every time I see something like this about Merrill I just want to kick a puppy. While I was never a huge Lara Croft fan, I'd take her over Merrill anyday. A child-like (or just plain weird-looking) face, a head too large for the body, and naivety just aren't things I find attractive.
Worst game so far has been Dragon Age 2. I can't decide if it makes me more angry or sad to see what they did to that franchise.
Still waiting for a good new game to come out this year though. I have mostly been sticking to my shelf full of older games I need to play. Enjoying Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2) right now, though the grinding is starting to get to me a bit.
I guess I would give Red Dead Redemption an award for some how hooking me into completing it after hating every moment of it the last time I tried to play it. I had thrown the game back on my shelf and had no intentions of ever playing it again, but then one random day I got a whim to play it and I found myself enjoying it. I still don't think it's the greatest game of all time like so many people do, but it was a fun distraction for a few days. I feel like it was worth the $25 it cost I suppose.
So we're a quarter of the way through what already seems like a banner year for games (aren't they all?). We've seen some really awesome releases as well as some pretty disappointing/crap ones ("cough" Homefront "cough").
So here are the awards for all of these games, games that will probably be much talked about when the GB crew locks themselves in a room for Game of the Year Deliberations.
What are your favorites? Please leave your comments below :)
2011's 2010 Game of the Quarter of the Year
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Criterion really hit this one out of the park. Of course, the autolog feature had me coming back to the racing mayhem but the slew of DLC (there are currently 4 packs available) really gave one of 2010's best game a lot of added replay value. Despite the fact that they were hidden on the disc, these packs kept this awesome racer spinning in my 360 long after the New Year.
Best use of Blood/Gore
Bulletstorm
Sure, this choice is obvious but you've got to admit you laughed the first time you shot a guy square in the balls before kicking him in the face. This took brutal executions to a whole new level, giving Fox News a field day. My personal favorite is what the drill gun does to the enemies, making them spin like break dancers on the ground. Dead Space 2 is a very close runner up and loses only because Bulletstorm has 131 ways to kill your enemies in gut splattering ways while Dead Space's, sometimes more elaborate, are less varied.
Most Frustrating Game that You Still Love
Marvel Vs Capcom 3
Not everyone was old enough ten years ago to master the ins and outs of Marvel Vs Capcom 2, but these same people hoped that the third installment of the popular fighting franchise would finally give them a chance to get in on the fun without being hammered by Sentinel. Their hopes were dashed approximately 10 hours after the game released. Sure the game's control had been simplified but that group of elites who ruled the only scene had transitioned onto MvC 3 ready to kick your ass. Despite my 30 loss streak, I still came back for more punishment thanks to fun gameplay and the wide variety of characters.
Best New Character
General Sarrano (Bulletstorm)
The dirty mouthed general is (for me) the most memorable character of this year so far. His southern hilly billy personality and his sometimes racist jokes made the third half of Bulletstorm a lot more entertaining. He's the funniest part of Bulletstorm (and God knows how hard it is to do funny in this medium) and deserves his own game. Not bad for someone who's named after a type of ham (the best type mind you).
Game You've Already Forgotten About
DC Universe Online
Who can really say what went wrong with this game. Maybe because the super hero MMO had already been done in better and more interesting ways. Maybe because because of weird of weird network problems. Maybe because Jeff didn't much care for it. Or maybe because there wasn't Green Lantern as a mentor or inspiration which made me turn this game off permanently.
Best Sequel
Dead Space 2
Killzone 3 is more Killzone. Little Big Planet is more like Little Big Planet 2.0. And Marvel Vs Capcom 3 is just more frustration. Dead Space 2 on the other hand is Dead Space 1, minus the faults with everything turned up to 11. The amount of crazy stuff in its 8 hour campaigne is crazy, trading scares for high end thrills that made most people want to go back for a second time in Hardcore mode, only to die before the end of the first chapter.
Best Cursing
Bulletstorm
As said by the great Jeff, cursing can make your game feel immature. But when you're kicking dudes in the ass as they fly in slow motion towards you, a good fuck yeah seems like a good reaction to the craziness that's going on around you. Despite being sometimes hit or miss, Bulletstorm's part of the game is an integral part of the game.
Best Original Score
Crysis 2
Despite a strong showing by Dragon Age 2 and Dead Space 2, Crysis 2 has this one guitar rift that you hear almost all the time that sounds so dramatic, that you instantly want to dive in slow motion of your couch, shooting people in the face. This rift is used to punctuate almost all of the game's set pieces and even after spending more than a few dozen of hours listening to it, I still can't get over it.
Most Attractive Lady
Merrill (Dragon Age 2)
2011 has been a strong year so far for woman in gaming. It seems that we are finally over our Lara Croft fetishes and are ready to move on with our lives. Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2 and Crysis 2 all star strong woman with personality. None of them however, are exceptionally attractive which is where Merrill comes in. Despite not having large breasts or a tight ass, her quirky, shy personality along with her large Avatar-like eyes make her really attractive to me. And no, I do not have a pennant for elves.
Best Ending
Dead Space 2
All I have to say is: BANANAS.
Worst Game of the Quarter-of-the-Year
Homefront
Sure, there are worst games that came out this year, but none were as mainstream as Homefront. You know when a developer is serious about his game when he advertises it so much that you see it before the 8pm news in France. Hell, I was onboard with this game the second it was announced. The disappointment was gigantic, starting with the poor visuals and continuing with the clunky gameplay. As of this writing, half the player base can't get online because the game can't find "the beacon" which nobody knows what that means. I'm sick of talking about this game, you should read my review if you want to know more.
Game of the Quarter-of-the-Year
Dead Space 2
All in all, it was a fight between Crysis 2 and Dead Space 2. Crysis has a solid multiplayer, which Dead Space lacks. However, Dead Space 2 has a campaign so memorable that I still talk about it on a regular basis. A perfect mix of horror and thrills gave RE 5 a run for its money. The pacing was consistent, keeping you glued to your controller until the end. Giving Isaac a voice was a really good idea (something Crysis 2 should learn) and was all in all the best experience I've had all year (so far).
24 Comments