Giant Bombcast Giant Bomb Game of the Year 2012: Day Four

I really wish Brad fought harder for Journey. Don't get me wrong -- I love Fez and think it's completely awesome. But for those that immediately didn't "get" Fez (like me), I don't think that moment of discovery was as great. And enjoying Fez for all it's worth took a lot more work and extraneous activity. That level of satisfaction was only as great as much as the amount of work you want to put into it.

Journey, on the other hand, was an amazing experience that was equal for every single player. It offered such a unique, cohesive world that was just simply stunning. And I'm also shocked that Brad didn't mention Journey's cooperative play during the Best Downloadable Game discussion. I really think Journey's ingenious coop was a huge part on why I loved Journey so much. The anonymous figures you would come across really helped create the sense that you were a small part in something so much bigger. Such a shame that Journey couldn't make it the top 3 in a year where I think it was easily the best downloadable title.

But, whatever, Fez is fucking awesome.

It's rare, but I have to be with Brad in this. I fucking LOVE The Walking Dead. Love it to DEATH. But the other games, two of which I haven't even played (Fez and Journey), are better fitting in the category of best downloadable game. My pick would be Mark of the Ninja hands down.

Hell, make the walking dead game of the year. It deserves it. But not in that category. It's good that the distinction is going away.

@DefaultProphet said:

Fucking get em Vinny and Brad! HOLD THE LINE FOR ME3 MP

It's really the best multiplayer I played all year. I don't play much stuff online, but it was surprisingly good. If it's not supposedly top 3, it's definitely number 4.

"You just have an irrational bias against Mass Effect 3." 

 Damn, Brad is taking no guff.

@ChrisHarris: Well to be fair, Journey did come out in disc form as well. It was paired with thatgamecompany's other games though.

One thing they're all getting wrong in the AC3 discussion is the fact that it was not just a throwaway line in AC3 that made her character a Templar. There were multiple clues you could find in Brotherhood which established that her character was already in communication with the Templars. I stumbled across this, IIRC, while reading through people's e-mails in the Desmond sequences. In that context, the god-alien-things forcing you to kill her seemed like a perfectly rational (albeit dispassionate) action done for the purpose of removing a threat to your cause... not a hint of some evil hidden motive like the Bombsquad were talking about. Admittedly, they could have emphasized it a bit more for the people who may have missed the clues. I haven't beaten AC3 or even Revelations, so I can't comment on any of the other points being made.

@nomtank said:

@ChrisHarris: Well to be fair, Journey did come out in disc form as well. It was paired with thatgamecompany's other games though.

True. Even though the collector's edition seemed like more of an afterthought than The Walking Dead going to retail as soon as the season was finished (as opposed to releasing one episode per disc), I would probably cut Journey from that category as well... or rename the category. Journey is already being represented in several other award categories, anyway.

@ChrisHarris: To me it feels like the only motivation there was Ubisoft not wanting to pay Kristen Bell anymore.

@dr_mantas said:

@DefaultProphet said:

Fucking get em Vinny and Brad! HOLD THE LINE FOR ME3 MP

It's really the best multiplayer I played all year. I don't play much stuff online, but it was surprisingly good. If it's not supposedly top 3, it's definitely number 4.

I agree, ME3's Multiplayer was definitely #1 for me this year, I had a ridiculous amount of fun with it.

In reference to the discussion about the ending of Dragon's Dogma, I thought the act of killing yourself is what breaks the cycle. It was implied that there has always been a "God" in one form or another kinda manipulating things and that your character was the first to kill themselves leaving no "God" at all for the first time.The various reincarnations of the Arisen that have reached the end but failed to defeat "God" wind up getting reincarnated as the titular Dragon.

And the "God" that you kill at the end is the same character you played in the prologue.

Of course, it has been a while since I played it so I may be misremembering some things. Anyone else want to chime in to try to clarify this?

@bhlaab said:

@ChrisHarris: To me it feels like the only motivation there was Ubisoft not wanting to pay Kristen Bell anymore.

I wouldn't doubt that was the business reason for her character not playing a sizable role in the last two games, but it wasn't a retcon of the character as implied in this Bombcast. All I'm saying is that the groundwork was laid for it within Brotherhood, whether they noticed or not.

Mass Effect 3 MP was horrible! Sliver was too easy and gold is only possible if you hunker down in a corner of certain maps!

@Mister_Snig said:

FUCK YOU GUYS STEALTH IS THE BEST

@Commander_Crichton said:

@Mister_Snig said:

FUCK YOU GUYS STEALTH IS THE BEST

Nope.

jeffs fav nintendo franchise is wario ware.... lol... taste.

I think the downloadable category should have been handled differently. I agree with Brad. No one game has proven that downloadable games are worth more, and Walking Dead is just the result of that being an option.

Also, The Walking Dead is a great example of how the downloadable games aren't quite "there" yet. That game is fucking broken in so many ways, it shows that they didn't actually figure out how to make that game the way it should have been made. It was broken in ways no other game was broken this year. Day one patches are whatever. Months later, game braking bugs still exist.

Journey was released on disc. So lame,

Maybe I should fire up ME3MP while listening to this. (Best MP of the Year)

PS. Was Awesomenauts out last year or? Because that's pretty awesome too and no mention so far.

I was kind of enjoying Dragon's Dogma and was running out of steam, but when I took a look at the DLC marketplace, I really soured on that game. My theory is that Capcom thought that they would make a huge open world, fill it with nothing, and then require you purchase the things to fill it with through DLC. I can't know what they got goin' on at Capcom, this is just my perception on it. Given their SFxT DLC push grossness, I won't put it past them. We'll see how well their structure works in the sequel I guess.

This is not a good year to not give a shit about Walking Dead I guess

did patrick just do the brian altano?

Little off topic:...

...but can we just get the Bombcast crew to debate the US federal budget? Apparently they can compromise and meet deadlines.

Shit got fierce and I love it! And I'm actually quite happy with a vast majority of the discussion, specifically most of Brad's points actually. I think the nuance of the category is such that TWD could have also easily have been excluded as Journey was a better game in the spirit but TWD as proof that the category is useless and done ala the Northies. The winners I can't say I'm not happy with, in fact make a lot of sense for all that I've seen.

I'm really happy Brad called Jeff out (man that was tense) on ME3 because goddamnit that's GOTY podcasts. The only thing that's weird is Ryan two years in a row giving 4 stars to Assassin's Creed games that he and others summarily dismiss and throw out like they're not worth playing. I have a feeling he's being more fair to the game during reviews than the game's relevance overall and its worth after the fact.

I'm with Vinny, ending on most disappointing game is kinda of a bummer, but overall I think this year's deliberations has been the least bullshit (referring to the disappointing category specifically) and I'm overall really enjoying these awards. Coupled with the timestamp thread, this has been a joy to listen to yet again.

who even nominated kid icarus for most disappointing? what the hell?

Just wanted to say that the plot involving Lucy being a Templar is addressed in AC Rev. While not a part of the core game, which is sad, it was addressed in the Lost Archives DLC where you take control of Clay in more of the first person platforming. While not AC's shining moment in gameplay, the story beats that are given are good. Other than that, good stuff. I love that you guys make it a full blown conversation on your "of the year" choices.

Absolutely agree with Brad and Vinny that the Mass Effect 3 multi-player was something special. I'm not usually a fan of horde modes, but the makeup of the different classes made it great.

@dRUNKENcELTIC said:

Absolutely agree with Brad and Vinny that the Mass Effect 3 multi-player was something special. I'm not usually a fan of horde modes, but the makeup of the different classes made it great.

Same here. My favorite multiplayer title in many, many years. I still keep going back to it. I love the cooperative element and random element.

Patrick's ignorance on the game extremely infuriates me.

Brad is completely and hilariously wrong about ME3 unlocks. Even if you can get spectre packs every few matches, you also get duplicates, like the 10 levels of each gun or exp/appearances for characters you already have. It is completely unreasonable to think you can unlock a decent amount of things without paying for packs, unless you dedicate your life to it.

Lucy being a Templar was actually addressed in AssRev DLC. It wasn't the best way to do it, but these guys raging about it seems a little weird.
 
I get that they are not all knowing video games men, but jesus, if that's the thing you bring up as argument against the game, that's a little thin.

@LegendaryChopChop said:

@dRUNKENcELTIC said:

Absolutely agree with Brad and Vinny that the Mass Effect 3 multi-player was something special. I'm not usually a fan of horde modes, but the makeup of the different classes made it great.

Same here. My favorite multiplayer title in many, many years. I still keep going back to it. I love the cooperative element and random element.

Patrick's ignorance on the game extremely infuriates me.

Ditto, I am actually playing it right now. It is stupidly simple to get new stuff, since Patrick hasn't played it him talking as if he knows is amusing,

@Fawkes said:

Brad is completely and hilariously wrong about ME3 unlocks.

That isn't accurate, we saw Brad get a Turian on the TNT for ME3 and its not listed there.

Hearing Brad defend Mass Effect 3 was kind of uncomfortable. In my opinion the gameplay in ME3 is not that good (repetitive, not great controls, a few powers that are cool, really small environments...). I agree completely with Jeff, the multiplayer is sort of cool but it feels like it's been done before.

Did I miss something? During Bombcast 12-11-2012 Brad talked a lot of crap about ME3, then it became his game of the year and in every discussion he sounds like a child repeating "it's fantastic!!!". Not sure what changed.

Edit:

Brad saying that Mass Effect 3 is a better shooter than Gears of War 3 kind of blew my mind. It's his opinion but I've never heard that before.

Huge cop-out still having a Best Downloadable award.
 
YOU KNOW we've passed the point of no return, Giant Bomb!!! Ya shoulda took the plunge and had a "Best Triple-A Game" award instead, take the risk!
At least respect that they've transcended the category of "downloadable games"  and get rid of the category- no use talking about doing it next year when we're already there now.

Hey Patrick, there's a difference between you being bad at Metal Gear, and Metal Gear being a bad game.

@Parsnip said:

Lucy being a Templar was actually addressed in AssRev DLC. It wasn't the best way to do it, but these guys raging about it seems a little weird. I get that they are not all knowing video games men, but jesus, if that's the thing you bring up as argument against the game, that's a little thin.

there is still a bunch of stuff though id say is arguable about the story of AC

like what about the whole prophecy from brotherhood? where was "eve" when "adam" (desmond) "walked through the gate"

for most disappointing game I would of replaced ME3 with Diablo 3, but I know it was impossible for it to live up to the hype. And AC3 fuck that game, holy shit! I love these guys they're the best of the best of the best at this.

I finally took the time to get Dust and I'm currently playing it now and man it is a damn shame that more people didn't play that game. The game looks fantastic, the combat feels great, and the story is pretty damn depressing. I think it is freaking crime that people didn't play this game because "fuck furries". If I finish this game before the end of this year (I think I will) it will knock off Diablo III off my list and easily end up above Fez.

@mrfluke said:

@Parsnip said:

Lucy being a Templar was actually addressed in AssRev DLC. It wasn't the best way to do it, but these guys raging about it seems a little weird. I get that they are not all knowing video games men, but jesus, if that's the thing you bring up as argument against the game, that's a little thin.

there is still a bunch of stuff though id say is arguable about the story of AC

like what about the whole prophecy from brotherhood? where was "eve" when "adam" (desmond) "walked through the gate"

I think you saying Assassin's Creed 3 is more disappointing than Mass Effect 3 makes you a crazy person.

I just don't see how two 4 star reviewed games are being championed as the most disappointing thing by the people who reviewed them. Yeah, maybe these feelings came on after the review process but it still seems crazy. I feel in the minority of people who still just enjoy their games without caveats.

Haven't video games had unhappy endings for the last 20 years?

@Fawkes said:

Brad is completely and hilariously wrong about ME3 unlocks. Even if you can get spectre packs every few matches, you also get duplicates, like the 10 levels of each gun or exp/appearances for characters you already have. It is completely unreasonable to think you can unlock a decent amount of things without paying for packs, unless you dedicate your life to it.

From what I played about 30 hours of the ME3 multiplayer, I payed nothing and I unlocked almost every class and their races, and a pretty good handful of weapons. You don't have to pay for packs, you have to resist the urge to buy the lower packs such as the recruit pack or even the veteran pack.

Lots of fighting this year. Usually it feels like more of a discussion; but, this year these guys seem to be looking for blood! Cool.

@AlisterCat said:

I just don't see how two 4 star reviewed games are being championed as the most disappointing thing by the people who reviewed them. Yeah, maybe these feelings came on after the review process but it still seems crazy. I feel in the minority of people who still just enjoy their games without caveats.

disapointing does not mean bad. I think Darksiders 2 and Borderlands 2 are incredibly disapointing to me, but I still think they are good if not great games

I was surprised that it was Brad who brought up the point that Walking Dead shouldn't be included in the downloadable category with the rest of those titles. My thoughts exactly. I didn't understand what they meant by saying that the episodes coming out separately was what made it work. I just got it off Steam as one whole package and honestly I can't imagine playing it any other way.

Okay. So let me understand this.

Brad desperately wanted to remove Black Ops II from Best Mulitplayer nominations, despite never playing it. He then claims that "most people would disagree with you (about ME3's multiplayer not being all that great)"... do you know how many more people would disagree with you about Black Ops II, Bradley? Probably more than even played the ME3 multiplayer.

Yikes.

I'm w/ Jeff on ME3. I've always thought the shooting and movement in ME was AWFUL. It's awkward to run, awkward to aim, awkward to get into and out of cover.

Black Ops 2 probably had the most time put into it, and has the most people playing it. The zombie is the best 'horde' mode, and there is a lot of depth... The multiplayer category is basically the most unique multiplayer, not best. As these guys play too many games, for the multiplayer to appeal to them it has to be more different than it has to be competent I guess.

@Tesla said:

Hey Patrick, there's a difference between you being bad at Metal Gear, and Metal Gear being a bad game.

Jesus christ thank you.

He always talks about how if you get caught you might as well just restart like it's a terrible thing. That's kind of the point, Patrick

@Tesla said:

Hey Patrick, there's a difference between you being bad at Metal Gear, and Metal Gear being a bad game.

Jesus christ thank you.

He always talks about how if you get caught you might as well just restart like it's a terrible thing. That's kind of the point, Patrick

The only good thing that MGS has is the story, even if it's really complicated and doesn't make sense. The gameplay is atrocious.

Happy to hear Vinny and Brad go to bat for ME3's multiplayer. For all the grousing that's done about the pay model, it's rarely ever brought up in the same breath how they've basically put out five FREE packs that have added everything from new characters to new maps to an entirely new "challenge" system. And I take umbrage with Patrick's notion that "nobody earns credits for packs" cause frankly that's THEIR business, it's not Bioware's fault if they made an effective system.

@ZeroV2 said:

@Tesla said:

Hey Patrick, there's a difference between you being bad at Metal Gear, and Metal Gear being a bad game.

Jesus christ thank you.

He always talks about how if you get caught you might as well just restart like it's a terrible thing. That's kind of the point, Patrick

Always fun to see a little revisionist history as I believe it was Jeff last week saying how Metal Gear Solid straight-up sucked and Patrick vociferously defending it.