Giant Bombcast Giant Bomb's GOTY 2011 Deliberations: Day One

Sully appeared as a hallucination and told him to go that way towards the city...

Even before listening, I really hope they tell us what was in Dave's note last year.

*sigh* Brad is at it again this year. Insulting and belittling the other contenders just to get his way. How the fuck is Rucks not a character? Everything he says, including his narration, contains his character! His opinion against the gods, his need to fix the world he broke, and his gradual arc from ordering the kid around to trusting him with the date of their world in the end. All that is there in almost all his narration!

In a game that includes amazing characters such as Cicero, Astrid, and Karliah, you guys ended up with only Lydia on the short list for best new character? I'm disappointed.

@LiquidPrince said:

Sully appeared as a hallucination and told him to go that way towards the city...

Yeah, I don't get what the big deal was. just thought of it as Drake's explorer instinct manifesting itself as Sully. And the plane was heading towards that place anyways.

And I don't get why Cave Johnson isn't considered a character. He was written by a person to have characteristics and traits, just because he doesn't have a body or affect the story, doesn't mean he isn't a character. And even then, I'd argue he did affect the story. He fleshed out the world and fiction of Portal 2 and provided background to the setting and to Glados.

Captain Donnelly wasn't a very memorable character for me, then again I didn't fail any homicide cases.

is anyone else not getting it in itunes?

@Wiseblood said:

Uncharted 2 had a better villain than Uncharted 3? What?! Mr "I'm gonna establish how evil I am by talking about how much I admire Hitler"?

I don't think he actually ever said he admired Hitler.

And the guy had a stronger presence. I feel like Uncharted 3 had a good idea for a manipulative and psychological villain, but her potential was wasted. She never really seemed that malevolent and nothing really implied she was much of a threat. And her attempts to manipulate Drake fall flat because you as the player know that Drake has been with Sully for 3 games now and any attempt to turn him against Sully is fruitless and hold zero tension or drama. The only time she ever established any tension was when she confronted Cutter after he got cut off from Drake and the others. Talbot was just a guy I hated whenever I saw him because he seemed so sniveling and smug.

Lazerivic was a good villain because he established a presence whenever he was on screen. After the sequence where you carry the injured guy and Lazerivic enters the room, I was fearing for character's lives. The guy was terrifying and wasn't afraid to do what was necessary to get things done or to convey a message. Sure, a villain with a scar who is scary because he is violent seems shallow and easy to do, but he still made for an effective villain and nothing about his villainy felt cheap or hollow.

I think Ryan's thinking of Dennis Hopper.

What was the Eshop music they were singing? anyone know which one in particular that was?

All this talk of Rayman Origins and Ilomilo's music tells me that Vinny and Dave need to do a Random PC Game playthrough of The Neverhood.

The Neverhood even works flawlessly with modern versions of Windows, because that's how good it is.

Near the end when the bombsquads start humming the tune together, that reminds me why I love GiantBomb.

Oh my God Patrick never make mouth noises ever again. Good God.

The RSS feed is up to date... I'm guessing itunes hasn't picked that up yet.
 
edit: desktop client has, mobile client hasn't
edit: well, that explains that ...

These podcasts are always my favorite Christmas presents

Brad's the dick of GiantBomb's GOTY stuff. Seriously, it's like it always has to be his way and he's hardly ever willing to consider the opinions of the other guys.

Ehsports!

Cave Johnson is not a character? Rucks is not a character? 
 
What the fuck is this?

@BulletproofMonk said:

Cave Johnson is not a character? Rucks is not a character? What the fuck is this?

seriously, brad kept shooting down every goddamn character that was interesting.

Brad's the dick of GiantBomb's GOTY stuff. Seriously, it's like it always has to be his way and he's hardly ever willing to consider the opinions of the other guys.

Wheatley totally does say he's sorry. And while I think Still Alive is funnier, I think Want You Gone is a better song.

@SuperZamrod said:

Brad's the dick of GiantBomb's GOTY stuff. Seriously, it's like it always has to be his way and he's hardly ever willing to consider the opinions of the other guys.

Yeah Brad, this isn't Burger King. You can't have it your way all the time.

Seriously, he's fighting for the games he wants to win every single time in this deliberations podcast. What the fuck is that asshole thinking?

I rarely want to yell at my phone but The Boss in Saints Row is NOT a new character. Just saying.

@ez123: I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

I think you guys need a "Best Interface/UI" category!

@SuperZamrod:GOTY can bring out the worst in them and let's face it... Brad has a lot of fail in him XD

hi, I'm from Poland (So, i'm so sorry for my english, but i must say smth) - my country never be part of soviet union :) we were part of Eastern Bloc, but we don't really like it and we kick out Communism ;) Anyway - thanks for individual category. BTW Bulletstorm is polish game too - Epic buyed People Can Fly, but it still a game made in Poland, by poles (CliffyB have something polish blood too :) ).

Wheatley totally does say he's sorry. And while I think Still Alive is funnier, I think Want You Gone is a better song.

@Cascad said:

hi, I'm from Poland (So, i'm so sorry for my english, but i must say smth) - my country never be part of soviet union :) we were part of Eastern Bloc, but we don't really like it and we kick out Communism ;) Anyway - thanks for individual category. BTW Bulletstorm is polish game too - Epic buyed People Can Fly, but it still a game made in Poland, by poles (CliffyB have something polish blood too :) ).

I wanted to say exactly that. I think what they mean with Eastern Bloc is basically everybody that was part of the Warsaw Pact. And probably the Balkan countries, too.

Maybe it was once a joke category, but with The Witcher 2, Dead Island, Hard Reset and Bulletstorm, especially Poland puts out more quality games than most countries on this planet.

And man...they completely forgot about Deus Ex Human Revolution! It could've been part of several categories, but especially Best Music. Plus, they record this all at once, so they probably forgot about it in the rest of the awards, too.

Don't even know why it took so long to decide on the Best Character, Wheatley is easily the best this year.

I don't think he actually ever said he admired Hitler.

 
"Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot... They were all great men."  Lazarevic was a cartoon character with no subtlety whatsoever.

GO GET 'EM, BRAD. FUCK THEIR SHIT UP.

Cave Johnson should be there because he is the one character this year I want to see again from Valve in the future, I don't see how you cannot call him a character :S Taking him off the list for me and putting some nobody from LA Loire that you didn't even remember confirms to me that I no longer care about these GOTY awards.

Honestly, these podcasts and your year end lists are my favorite thing you guys do all year. I've been waiting and hoping they'd go up soon. Love your normal stuff as well but this is my favorite. Keep up the great work!

If I had to choose one character from Skyrim for Best New Character nominee it might be Festus Wrex from the Dark Brotherhood stuff. A great interpretation of a wizard who just doesn't give a eff. The way he talks about killing people is pretty great and the thing he tells you when you ask for advice on the wedding assassination is just priceless. Too bad he eats it before the quest line ends. I'm in favor of all of your choices nonetheless. I can't wait for the rest of the podcasts to roll out this week.

Best quest from Skyrim is the Sanguine Rose quest. You start it by talking to Sam at the Inn in Whiterun. Wonderful!

@ichthy said:

No Missile for best new character is a travesty.

THANK YOU

Is this not appearing in iTunes for anyone else? :-(

Come on dudes. Arkham City totally deserved a nomination for best music.

Looks like Brad is still Giant Bomb's GOTY asshole.

Love Bastion and Skyrim, but I'm with Brad - ilomilo holds the third spot in my list!

@adamfedoruk said:

Love Bastion and Skyrim, but I'm with Brad - ilomilo holds the third spot in my list!

Yeah, Rucks just isn't a great character. The narration is fantastic, but Rucks himself? Not really.

Also, I think it'S great that Brad actually really cares about the awards and fights if he thinks a nominee doesn't deserve the spot. What, you would like it better if he just said "I think Rucks totally doesn't belong here, but I don'T care. Do what you want"

Is it not going to show up in the ITunes feed?

@MiniPato said:

I don't think he actually ever said he admired Hitler.

"Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot... They were all great men."  Lazarevic was a cartoon character with no subtlety whatsoever.

Deus Ex should have been mentioned in the Best Music and New Character categories...

Something makes me think some important context was omitted. Ellipses in quotes are never a good thing.

L.A. noire or Deus Ex should of been apart of the conversation for best music

I'm arguing for Rucks as a character. The way he talks and the imagery and similies he uses are from A CHARACTER's point of view. All the personality and fun in Bastion comes from the fact that you're experiencing it through Rucks. He doesn't just tell the story, he gives his own unique personal commentary on it, and that's what makes all the difference.
He is IN CHARACTER the whole game.

I feel like another mention for great music would be the music for Sword and Sworcery which is thoroughly incredible...

I love Bastion but Deus Ex Human Revolution should have been in the music discussions. Possibly the mission discussions as well but the music and sound design in Deus Ex was crazy amazing.

@Wiseblood said:

@MiniPato said:

I don't think he actually ever said he admired Hitler.

"Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot... They were all great men." Lazarevic was a cartoon character with no subtlety whatsoever.

Well he was a good villain before he even said that. I don't even remember him saying that so that's not a factor into why he's a good villain. Since when is subtlety a quality of a good villain? If killing dudes and being cruel is considered over the top and cruel, then I guess almost every villain ever is a bad cartoon villain.

But good villain or not, I'd still say he is definitely better than Marlowe and Talbot. Understated malevolence is fine, but when it is so understated that the villain doesn't even seem like a threat then the character fails as a villain.