Hey guys, I was thinking about this the other day when I was reading the nominees for Spike TV's VGA's (which XCOM was not nominated for game of the year): is XCOM: Enemy Unknown a lock for Giant Bomb's game of the year? There wasn't any other game released this year that the crew talked more highly of than XCOM. The game I can think of that may challenge it is The Walking Dead. They all loved XCOM, though, and I can't see them agreeing on anything like Journey, Halo 4, Mass Effect 3, Trials: Evolution, Dishonored, Assassin's Creed III or Borderlands 2. Maybe Mark of the Ninja or Diablo III?

I don't think it is the GOTY, but it is a lot of fun, and they can build on this for a sequel or more substantial content packs.

No. I don't know about the Spike VGAs but I don't see the guys here voting for it over the Walking Dead.

It depends whether or not Jeff likes Walking Dead. Which I think he won't.

A lock for GB staff, potentially, they talked about it a ton. Doesn't surprise me that Spike wouldn't nominate it all either. I haven't had enough time in the game yet, personally I was bored early and moved on but want to get back into it.

I can see the discussion getting heated over XCOM, TWD and Journey.

I fucking LOVED xcom: enemy unknown, but it's no GOTY. The game has too many bugs, and the multiplayer is hugely flawed (with basically one map). The ending is also a bit underwhelming.

I don't think Jeff will like the Walking Dead. If he does than it'll be a contender for sure.

Hoping this isn't the end of the XCOM revival, and perhaps more importantly the style of gameplay.

not so sure about GOTY but un guessing its one of the contenders

Not from what I've played, unless the game changes dramaticly after the first 5 hours. Been pretty bad year for games IMO, AC3 has been great but no decent RPG this year to play has been a real bummer.

I don't think it's a lock, but it will definitely be a competitor.

No, I can't imagine a tactical game having enough reach for that.

I really think XCOM will be GOTY. I'm not sure if it's a lock, but if it's not top 2 I'd be fucking surprised.

nope

Just from word on the site and from the staff- XCOM is certainly a contender on GB- that's for certain.

But a lock? I wouldn't go that far just yet- given all the bugs that game apparently has. (I haven't played XCOM myself though, so this is just here-say for me >_> )

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Not from what I've played, unless the game changes dramaticly after the first 5 hours. Been pretty bad year for games IMO, AC3 has been great but no decent RPG this year to play has been a real bummer.

Well, there was Mass Effect 3 (arguably kinda sorta >_> ), The Last Story, and Final Fantasy 13-2... :P

Well, yeah- I can see why people would say 2012's been iffy for RPGs. But that may be more because it's gonna be seen as sub-par by default after 2011's elephant RPGs. :P

Oh, though I almost forgot Dragon's Dogma... Did you end up skipping or not liking that one? ?_?

Not a lock, but top two for sure. I am not the first person in this thread to say that it's going to come down to XCOM and Walking Dead. Walking Dead's chances hinge upon the quality of its final episode and how much Jeff enjoys the game on a whole.

Yeah it'll probably win. Brad had some issues with it so we'll see if his filibuster against XCOM will work.

I'd say it's a lock for being a contender. I don't think any game is a lock. They have to be discussed.

I enjoyed it, but I burned through it in a week and don't see myself going back to it, pretty much the experience I had with Diablo 3, and most other games for that matter; good game, but not GotY good.

Yeah, it's either that or The Walking Dead I think. I think Jeff may make the argument for XCOM though, so it may be XCOM. I personally would fight for Journey, and I think Brad might advocate for that a bit, but he knows he's probably going to get shot down with that one.

If we're talking about Giant Bomb staff's GOTY, I think it's between XCOM and The Walking Dead.

If we're talking about Spike VGAs, it's Black Ops 2.

Game is right in my wheelhouse and I don't really see any grounds for it being GOTY. Possibly because it is right in my wheelhouse.

It's not even close to game of the year for me. It was a once-and-done game (and in the end, I got bored enough to not bother finishing it). But that doesn't mean anything so far as the Giant Bomb guys go, so I suppose it's possible. The fact that XCOM is in the running at all tells me that this was not exactly a great year for games. Despite the weak ending, ME3 still ranks pretty high for me (it had quite a few solid moments throughout). But I don't see that winning either. So I'm not sure what else would really be in the running.

I'd be happy to see The Walking Dead get some recognition, though.

It's probably futile, but I'm really, really hoping Journey gets the consideration it deserves, it's certainly my GOTY. I bet it will be XCOM, Walking Dead, and then Journey, in that order, for the site.

Not so sure it's a lock for game of the year. To be honest looking at how the Giantbomb staff's reaction to video games this year there's not that one dumb game that we can say would be a lock like last year with Skyrim and Saint's Row the Third. Closest from what I've seen has to be Mark of the Ninja and maybe Sleeping Dogs, can't really name anything else.

The funny thing is there's another thread on the forums right now where people are talking about how X-Com may be overlooked for GoTY. It's definitely a contender and I can see it being the personal favourite of one or two staff members, but I really don't think there's any guarantee it's going to take it.

I think it'll be between XCOM and The Walking Dead. But there's still time left in the year.

no, i think Walking Dead will take the title this year.... it's just amazing how good each episode has been and I think most of the giantbomb dudes have been deeply invested in it so far.

I think the GB GotY probably will come down to either Walking Dead or XCOM, with Mark of the Ninja and Diablo III being dark horse possibilities.

As for the Spike VGAs, I have an odd feeling that they'll give it to Assassin's Creed III. It's probably the least deserving out of the nominees, but AC3 seems to be extremely over represented throughout the categories, so I question if there might be some outside influence.

If we're talking about Giant Bomb staff's GOTY, I think it's between XCOM and The Walking Dead.

If we're talking about Spike VGAs, it's Black Ops 2.

@jakob187 said:

If we're talking about Giant Bomb staff's GOTY, I think it's between XCOM and The Walking Dead.

If we're talking about Spike VGAs, it's Black Ops 2.

Boom.

What that gentleman said.

I think the only other possible contender for giant bomb's goty is The Walking Dead, and that ultimately hinges on whether or not Jeff likes it, and I really doubt that he will.

I think XCOM is the most probable but I don't have perfect predictive powers so I wouldn't call it a lock.

strong contender? absolutely.

lock as GOTY? absolutely not.

@Ben_H: @ArbitraryWater: Get ready for a shocker: Black Ops 2 isn't nominated for GOTY at the VGAs! O_____O

The nominees are:

Assassin's Creed 3

Dishonored

Journey

Mass Effect 3

The Walking Dead

I'm...fucking...shocked right now.

The way I see it, XCOM will be number 1 and Walking Dead number 2 with a ton of downloadable titles and maybe Diablo 3 behind those.

In a stronger year XCOM wouldn't be a lock for GOTY, but 2012 is the year of disappointment and XCOM was one of the sole bright lights.

People saying it isn't a lock aren't advancing a viable competitor. The Walking Dead is a compelling visual CYOA/novel with a few token gameplay elements. Journey is even more of a non-game interactive experience. They're pieces of software designed to elicit an emotional response before they are games meant to be played. I love them both, but they don't even deserve a GOTY nomination.

Edit:

@Chaser324 said:

I think the GB GotY probably will come down to either Walking Dead or XCOM, with Mark of the Ninja and Diablo III being dark horse possibilities.

As for the Spike VGAs, I have an odd feeling that they'll give it to Assassin's Creed III. It's probably the least deserving out of the nominees, but AC3 seems to be extremely over represented throughout the categories, so I question if there might be some outside influence.

Okay, Mark of the Ninja is a credible dark horse. But I see it as more of a title that one or two of the guys bring up just to make sure it gets its due and then immediately drop. Hotline Miami might also come up in this context.

Nothing is a sure thing. It is for mine, but I'm sure the guys will find something to hate on it for and pick something else. Personally I think it deserve GOTY though.

If we're talking specifically about Giantbomb I think it has a great shot. The entire crew love it. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head that has unanimous praise from all of them. They all like Walking Dead also, but that's going to hinge on Jeff playing it and feeling the same way. I feel like he won't for some reason.

Why are we talking about this as if no other games are coming out? We still have games like Far Cry 3, Planetside 2 and Hitman coming out the next few weeks which all seem to be geting early praise. And maybe ZombiU is going to blow us away?

@aceofspudz said:

In a stronger year XCOM wouldn't be a lock for GOTY, but 2012 is the year of disappointment and XCOM was one of the sole bright lights.

People saying it isn't a lock aren't advancing a viable competitor. The Walking Dead is a compelling visual CYOA/novel with a few token gameplay elements. Journey is even more of a non-game interactive experience. They're pieces of software designed to elicit an emotional response before they are games meant to be played. I love them both, but they don't even deserve a GOTY nomination.

Edit:

@Chaser324 said:

I think the GB GotY probably will come down to either Walking Dead or XCOM, with Mark of the Ninja and Diablo III being dark horse possibilities.

As for the Spike VGAs, I have an odd feeling that they'll give it to Assassin's Creed III. It's probably the least deserving out of the nominees, but AC3 seems to be extremely over represented throughout the categories, so I question if there might be some outside influence.

Okay, Mark of the Ninja is a credible dark horse. But I see it as more of a title that one or two of the guys bring up just to make sure it gets its due and then immediately drop. Hotline Miami might also come up in this context.

I see FTL being mentioned in their rundown in a similar vein.

@pandorasbox said:

I fucking LOVED xcom: enemy unknown, but it's no GOTY. The game has too many bugs, and the multiplayer is hugely flawed (with basically one map). The ending is also a bit underwhelming.

Skyrim was game of the year last year, and based on my personal experience, it was way buggier then XCOM. As far as can tell, reviewers (GB included) will give bugs more of a pass if the overall experience is really good. I think Xcom and Skyrim both pass that test.

No. Strategy, fighting and racing games can't win GOTY.

Definitely a lock for the top ten, I don't know if it is a lock for number one though.

If it's not a nominee I will be pretty bummed, but I don't think it'll take the title. I'm not even sure if I want it to take the title. If Firaxis polish some stuff and add some more variety, I could easily see X-Com 2 being a true masterpiece. But for now, it's just really awesome.

Edit: All the other GOTY condenders I can come up with are games I adore playing with my friends, not necessarily the best single player games. ME3 Multiplayer, Diablo 3, Torchlight 2, Syndicate. I really hope they fix that save bug in The Walking Dead so I can finish it soon, I need to play another good single player this year.

It'll probably be Walking Dead and X-Com will be the runner-up because of the technical flaws. But still: a turn-based strategy game vs an adventure game. Good times.

If hitman and far cry are not incredible it'll be xcom vs journey. TWD is really great storywise but the gameplay is straight up bad in some spots.

If they pick journey I'll be kind of pissed but it won't suprise me. After all, as Jeff put it on octoberkast, these are the games for old ass men.

@jakob187 said:

@Ben_H: @ArbitraryWater: Get ready for a shocker: Black Ops 2 isn't nominated for GOTY at the VGAs! O_____O

The nominees are:

Assassin's Creed 3

Dishonored

Journey

Mass Effect 3

The Walking Dead

I'm...fucking...shocked right now.

I think those are the nominees for GOTY for every other game not Call of Duty.

This thread has forced me to ask myself what I would actually call GOTY instead of XCOM, and, as mediocre as I thought XCOM was, I'm really struggling to come up with an answer.

The three games I've sunk most time into this year are probably New Star Soccer (iPad... good, but basically just a couple of compelling minigames with a wicked layer of addiction over the top), Gangsters 2 (from 2001) and King of Dragon Pass ('99). Just one of those years I guess. I'm still waiting for AC3 on PC though, so that is a possibility.