So what's your Game of The Year?

There have been some great games this year. It seems ages ago now, but when you think that this year saw both Metal Gear Solid 4, and Grand Theft Auto 4 released, then maybe any such discussion is academic.

Or is it?

Personally, while I did very much enjoy MGS4 in parts, in others it was simply boring, and the age-old MGS problem, that of overlong cutscenes written by someone with no concept of pacing or direction, was even more apparent here. Still, that matters little when the finished result was simply brilliant. The last two chapters were astonishing, and I don't use that word lightly.

It's flawed, yes, but it's flawed genius.

Grand Theft Auto 4 must surely be it then, yes? No, not even close. It's a great game, of that there is no doubt, but in presenting such a realistic world, it's lost something, some of the magic is gone. It's so relentless po-faced when compared to it's predecessor, that it sometimes forgets to be fun. Not something you could say about Saints Row 2, which is as blatant a GTA4 copy as you'll ever see. And boy, does it know it. Sure, it can't hold a candle to GTA4 as an overall product, the graphics are rubbish, but it's still huge fun, and there's so much to do away from the main story that in all likelihood you'll spend ten hours mucking about before you've done the first few missions.

Okay, the other big names?

Fable II? Ah, yes, the quintessentially British RPG. It's vibrant, colourful and enthralling. Well, for about 25 hours anyway. After that, the chances are that anyone reasonably competent will have seen 90% of what it has to offer, and get...dare I say, bored? Yeah, I said it. So, nice try, but no cigar.

LittleBigPlanet? Confession time. I haven't yet bought this, but I know a man that has....and it's fun. I could see myself spending hours just mucking about with the level editor, but there's something inherently wrong with paying £40 for a game where the main appeal is that you make the game. Still, it's bound to be a classic, even if mainstream sales success may be beyond it.

What about the annual Call of Duty, this time World at War? Or should they have called it Call of Duty 4: WW2 edition, and been done with it? Sadly, yes, I think so. CoD4 was awesome, but WAW feels like the same game in different clothes, largely because that's exactly what it is. It's a fine game, but hardly a worthy candidate, especially as CoD4 is still the better game.

Okay, how about Bethesda's latest, Fallout 3? Oblivion with guns, they called it. Whoever "they" are. I like Fallout 3 a lot, but the story is just utter rubbish, and, here's the big thing; it's not as good as Oblivion. Yes, it's better in a technical sense, but the environments lack Cyrodil's idylic beauty, and the fact that you can't simply walk around freely like Obvlivion knocks marks off. Sure, the open wasteland is open for exploration, but get to any major city, and you're forced to use subways and train tunnels to get around conveniently placed rubble and debris. These tunnels are all identikit replicas too, so it's a little...bland.

What does that leave? A few surprise titles, like the surprisingly polished Dead Space, might do it for some, but it was almost a straight copy of Resi 4 gameplay wise.

Well then, a couple of mentions;

Firstly, to Star War: The Force Unleashed, for not being a huge stinking pile of crap. Hardly singing it's praises, true, but the game was very playable, lots of fun, and had a story that put the prequel trilogy to shame. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Secondly, to Soul Calibur 4. No, it didn't really do anything new, and it some ways it was a step back from SC3, certainly in terms of the CaS selections anyway. However, it was very playable, looked like a million dollars, and had Darth Vader in it. Pity the online modes were so laggy.

So guys, your thought?

<3 mgs4

You didn't actually say what your Game of the Year was.

...Anyhow, My pick is Saints Row 2. 'Nuff said.

i would have liked to say MGS4 but i haven't hada proper play of it

guess i liked yakuza 2 a lot

Sarbud wrote:

You didn't actually say what your Game of the Year was.

Yeah, that was deliberate.

I dunno. I've spent the most time with GTA4. But I'm tempted to say Lego Batman actually, just because I like platformers and Locoroco 2 was a bit disappointing.

Quote :

I dunno. I've spent the most time with GTA4.

I've spent over 100 hours on Soul Calibur 4, but that doesn't make it my choice, simply becuase there are games I've enjoyed even more, even if I've played them over few hours.

If you like platformers, then you'd enjoy LittleBigPlanet.

I'll get it if I get a PS3.

And I spend the most time on the game I most enjoy, for the most part. Sometimes I'll play just because I'm bored, rather actually wanting to play. In those cases I'll just pop in something I can mess around with for an hour or so. Like Assassin's Creed or Web of Shadows. I've spent more time actually playing GTA4, as in not just pissing around in it, than other games this year. I've still put around 30 hours or so into Lego Batman though.

Quote :

In those cases I'll just pop in something I can mess around with for an hour or so.

Saints Row 2 might be worth a look then. It's not as good as GTA4, and the graphics really aren't up to much, but it's great for letting off steam or just mucking about in, as there's so much going on all the time, it's impossible not to have fun.

In any case, just off the top of my head, some of my games this year have clocked up;

MGS4; around 40 hours
SC4: Around 100 Hours (CaS mainly!)
Star Wars TFU: Around 25 hours
Fable II: Around 25 hours
Valkyria Chronicles: 45 hours and counting
GTA4: Around 30 hours
Dead Space: Around 15 hours

Hmm, that's a lot isn't it? I need to get out more.

Eh, no interest in getting Saints Row.

a lot of people say its better
i thought gta4 was missing something
probably fun

Raziel wrote:

a lot of people say its better
i thought gta4 was missing something
probably fun

Create-a-character!

I had fun with GTA4. I didn't really miss all the stuff that people complained was missing from previous games (apart from an awesome soundtrack). Although it wasn't quite as fun as SA just because the environment was less varied. I used to just drive around SA listening to the country station.

Although the new physics provides entertainment, especially on bikes.

Robot Santa wrote:

I had fun with GTA4. I didn't really miss all the stuff that people complained was missing from previous games (apart from an awesome soundtrack). Although it wasn't quite as fun as SA just because the environment was less varied. I used to just drive around SA listening to the country station.

Although the new physics provides entertainment, especially on bikes.

Ever drove really fast in a car, I mean like, 200 mph or something, and then jumped out? That is goddamn funny to watch Nico flipping and rolling and sliding and bouncing and slaming head first into an oncoming vehicle. XD It's two times as funny when he hits a oncoming biker with momentum.

That's the kind of stuff that keeps me entertained; trying to see how far you can bounce and roll without dying, driving a bike into an oncoming car, etc. Especially the dirt bikes. For some reason Niko flies off them a lot better than other bikes.

The one off moments are nice too. Like when I was aiming at the tire of a car down the road, and just as I took the shot a taxi swerved round me and the drivers head got in the path of the bullet. The taxi skidded into a tree with the horn blaring.

I also like the slowmotion option for the carchase camera. And police chases are the best they've ever been.

Me and Brian's favorite hobby.

We call it "pulling a Dio Brando". We take a car, any car....and drive it on the sidewalk. After about five minutes, We make the camera look at the hood to show the new paint job we'd made. XD

i found the driving dull
i ot a taxi most of the time

Well that just defeats the whole purpose. I don't get why people do the bare minimum a game requires them to and then complain it was boring with nothing to do. Not a personal comment on you Buu, just a general sweeping statement that you brought to mind.

But still, you got a taxi most of the time? What's the point in that?

the driving got so boring
and bactracking became a pain in the arse
also it was quicker cause i could just teleport effectively
also what else was there to do wth the cash
after a few killing sprees at the beginning of the game i had all the cash and weapons i needed
the general lack of decent cars meant driving was fairly slow

What do you mean the "driving was boring"? How was ot more or less boring than the driving in the previous games? The cars handled differently, but I wouldn't say it was any different in terms of entertainment.

I never bothered with the taxis because it would pretty much ruin half the point of the game, which would make it more boring I'd think.

maybe it was stuff like the amount of traffic
and just the map
i.e. where brucie lived you had to really loop round
i started getting really fed up with that journey

Oh, I see what you mean. Yeah, Brucie lived in a really inconvenient spot if you were coming from the south.

But the environment is fairly dull, if only because it all seems the same. That's why there's much less fun to be had just driving around like I did in SA.

i think this is typical of games becoming to real

when that happens you lose a lot of fun

making the map more real lso made it more inconvenient
much preferred having random side alleys all over the shop so could drive wherever i wanted
the GPS also made me lazy
i liked slowly learning the map to

I've just spent a few days catching up with Midnight Club Los Angeles, which is relevant here as it uses the GTA4 engine. The handling is pleasantly arcadey, the graphics are very nice, and it's certainly fast and furious, if you'll excuse the cliche.

It's only real flaw is one belonging to every example of the genre; it feels very much like every other racer spawned in the wake of The Fast and The Furious. You start off as the new boy in town, you buy a heap of crap, you build up your respect to unlock faster cars, and you pimp your car as you go. It's all rather predictable.

Still, it's certainly far better than Need For Speed Underground.

*****

Oh, and I've tried playing Saints Row 2 a little bit more. I stand by my inital judgement; it's a lot of fun, but ultimately GTA4 is the more satisfying game. All the same, I love hearing my cockney avatar swearing like a trooper. "Well what the fack did you think woz gunna 'appen?"

He's like a really psychotic Michael Caine.