Maluvin

I think the size is just fine in terms of putting out interesting content for the GOTY podcast series. The old heated arguments made sense given who was there at the time, where they'd come from as a site, and the landscape of games at the time. Things have changed in such a way that the old fighting strategy just wouldn't be as good or broad.

Obviously I like it when something ridiculously funny is said but my favorite moments these days are when someone brings up a lot of positive things about a game that a lot of the other staff had overlooked and someone else critically (or jokingly) parses that out why those points are persuasive or not. What's less entertaining for me is listening to someone just saying they "really like this game and had a lot of fun" without really going into why or someone saying that a game did nothing for them without some additional details of why a game comes up short. Basically 'self-evident' arguments may as well be dead air when it comes to entertainment and insight.

Thankfully I think the crew gets it right most of the time and I think the size of the crew isn't hurting anything at all.

I get not liking cereal milk (different people have different tastes and mouthfeel preferences) but, damn it, Dan, use less milk in the bowl or add more cereal. The very poor fresh out of college version of me can't help but feel a little sadness watching food go to waste. :(

Having given the deliberations a second listen I'm pretty happy with the reasoning behind everything landing where it did on the GOTY list. They dug into what they've done in the past. I do agree with Brad that it would be nice if they discussed the games more rather than the bargaining for ranking. Yes, they discuss a lot of these games in other categories but there's something to be said for the GOTY discussion which feels like it should take on a different dimension than what comes up with some of the specific niche categories.

Overall though an amazing year for games.

The list is pretty decent especially the top half. I had a feeling DOOM was going to get knocked to position 2 especially once it was evaluated as a whole package and me personally I'm so happy that Hitman and Titanfall 2 got love.

I do feel like I need to rewatch/listen to the GOTY discussion because I feel very conflicted about the bottom three. I like all of those games for sure but the way they ended up there makes it feels like 30% of this list was about individual likes and that feels really weird verses what did or didn't make the cut elsewhere. There's an alternate world where someone like Austin is still on the staff and maybe in that world there are four games that get the same treatment and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. There was a combination of plea, appeasement, ambivalence, and exhaustion in a way that didn't bring the type of discussion you kind of want out of the GOTY discussion for each game that makes the list IMO. I always felt like the staff top 10 lists were the place to put forth those games that aren't going to get broad staff consensus behind them whereas the site GOTY games were saying something about the overall site's thoughts about the state of gaming for that year (at least to me as a reader). Maybe I'll feel different on 2nd listen though.

As an overall comment it seemed like this was a year where there were a few outstanding games that quite a few of the staff actually played followed by a lot of games where only one or two played them but did so with a particular love or passion. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it makes the big final GOTY discussion weird. Maybe that's just the state of things at this point.

Also I really hope next year someone kind of reigns in the occasional "I really like this but I don't think anyone is going to be on my side so I'm not going to get into it" stuff. It feels really premature to preemptively bow out of having the discussion of the merits of a game because you're guessing what everyone else is going to say. Having those discussions might jog someone's memory or dispel a notion about a game that leads to it being seen in a better light.

Overall a great year for games!

PS I finally get the manner and degree of hate some people have for DOTA discussion because I'm starting to get it in regards to Overwatch. There was a two week period where I really liked it a lot and I'd probably have fun hopping back in occasionally with a friend but outside of that the character and mechanics discussion gets old fast. Those characters are really interesting right up until the point that you're not playing anymore. None of that is to say there's anything wrong with it at all (celebrate the things you like!) but it's something of a checkout point for me and probably some others because it gets to be too in-jokey (Reaper jokes only go so far).

I think of all the Bioware series and games that Mass Effect 2 is specifically the one he'd enjoy the most. Functional controls, good characters, looks good, a good section in the overarching story of Mass Effect that I'm fairly sure you can just jump into without playing the first game, etc.

The spirit of the early gaming market especially in terms of developers and players have less firm notions on the "right" or "correct" way to do things in terms of design as well as a different sense of what players want. There were a lot of mistakes and clunkers to be sure but there were bizarre things that came out of the early PC and console scene that I really just don't see today (might just be a surfacing problem) even in the indie markets

I don't know what the player counts or community is like at this point but personally I had a good time with it over last Christmas break. It looks gorgeous and it's a good actiony Star Wars experience. It doesn't have the depth you can find in other FPS titles but if you can pick it up at a good price and just want hop on the Star Wars nostalgia train for a bit it will certainly do the trick. I think the hero characters are a little wonky and distracting but the first time you trip an AT-AT with a snowspeeder is pretty awesome.

Another vote for Darkest Dungeon here.

XCom

Invisible Inc.

Civilization 5 or 6

Also you might want to look into some ARPGs like Diablo 3 or Grim Dawn maybe playing on a lower difficulty.

<Dave Lang voice> Last year's Christmas episode is godlike.

http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/the-giant-beastcast-episode-31/1600-1462/

Should also check out the Dan Ryckert episodes (63 and 64) both because they're hilarious and also as a preview of what's coming in the next year. The end of 64 is really something else.

http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/the-giant-beastcast-episode-63/1600-1687/

http://www.giantbomb.com/podcasts/the-giant-beastcast-episode-64/1600-1693/

Edit: changed to actual links

Definitely Furi. That game is pure action bliss.