After playing through the last wave of great games that have come out (Which has been quite large in quantity) I have come to the conclusion that there is no way there can be a Game of the Year. In fact, I think it is beyond stupidity that we even feel the need to categorize just ONE game into it. How does one justify game of the year when there are so many great entries to take the trophy? Answer: You can't.
In all honesty, just because a game has a more devoted following (which in turn would get it more votes) doesn't make it the best candidate for gamers to declare champion over all other efforts. There are many games which do not get the attention they deserve through great creativity and with a huge amount of work that has gone into them which don't have the same limitless funds to mass produce huge advertising campaigns and build up the hype that more profitable gaming companies do. So Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3 are great, does that make them right to be game of the year (if awarded) just because more people whom play it say it is? Oblivion was voted game of the year for 2006. The same year that games such as Saints Row, Prince of Persia - The Two Thrones, Dreamfall, Dead Rising, Gears of War, Warhammer 40,000 and Mark Echo's Getting Up were released which I enjoyed playing more than Oblivion because I couldn't play for more than 30 minutes without getting bored.
I never did get the concept of voting. I know it is to try and get everybody to have their say in what should be where and how things should be, but regardless of how the outcome of the vote turns out, many people are not going to get their way or have their vote come through. Its like saying that that China is better than the United States because it has more people in it that can have a say. Fuck Democracy (Even though China is a Communist run country), there should be an appointed leader of gaming who decides what the best game is and state why with good explanation. And the reason I come to this ludicrous assumption is because it is quite obvious that we gamers are not qualified to do so and if this is left in our hands any longer, the entire system of gaming will come crashing down with all the idiocy we bring with our dim train of thought.
We have shamed ourselves in the past by appointing many games before other more original and superior games. I have seen readers and players polls in the past and it ends up being a complete and utter get retching disappointment because of how stupid we make ourselves look with the end result.
Doesn't it seem a little weird that two of the top 10 games of all time are two adaptions or sequels of the games that are in the top 10 already, obviously voted in by the same fans of each. Don't get me wrong I think that the games presented in this list are amazing games that deserve praise but...best game of all time, Zelda? I believe the game is a very well crafted piece of art and I spend much time playing through it (The whole 16 hours it took me to finish it), but better than every other game ever created? No way. Its importance is in no way close to the first games ever made, nor the revolutionary games which set milestones for gaming which Ocarina of Time was not a part of.
Again, the concept of having just ONE game of the year (yet alone best game of all time) when there are so many out there with potential, is idiotic. Its the same as if we had ONE everything. People just like reading polls to see if their opinion is the same as what has been presented to them through the gathering of everybody else' opinions
I move to create a new type of judging and reviewing, which leaves out the fan boys and hardcore headcases from getting their many clans and cloned friends to vote the exact sheepish way that they do. I move to create a incorruptible system in gaming which all games are created equal until proven a travesty to the gaming world. I move to bring back point and click games like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis! I move to make gamers see that it shouldn't matter what everybody else thinks and think for themselves...But most of all, I move to fap to the tune of life!
Do you feel me?
...No?
Well, can you please. It makes me happy in the pants. As did Will Smith before he went into Scientology.
P.S- If GTA4 gets voted as game of the year or included in the top 10 games of all time anywhere, anytime by anybody...I will be very pissed off.
P.P.S- If you read this far down into my old blog entries, you deserve a prize...and here it is:
Damn, you love that girl lol (in regard to the video at the end of the post).
You raise a good point. It's really a matter of personal preference above anything else. I've played all the big hits of the year thus far and if I had to stick my GOTY vote to one of them it would be MGS4. Not just because I'm a fan but because it felt to me like the game with the best production values and design all year. Does that mean anything? Not really, it's just my opinion and someone can vote Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam as GOTY for all I care.
well, in the end it'll probably be a game that just came out or gta4. mgs4 just left me with this perfect feeling of accomplishment and the story,gameplay, presentation,music and characters were just so fined tuned and didn't need a patch to fix anything broken (aside from mgo). the install and the kinda quick-coming wedding were to me the only setbacks and maybe how zero died (was there any other way though?) plus in the bluray bonus disc Kojima himself said the game didn't ship complete because its ultimatly the gamer who would put the finishing touches on it, making it complete after we experience it. one dude sais they had over 20000 bugs they had to fix and still, no game fixing patches.
10 best games of all times, some titles have to be there, and if they are not then the list is a stupidity: half life, system shock 2, starcraft.
I got a magazine back from 1998 (pc gamer magazine) with the best 100 games of history and I can assure you that today the list would not be a whole lot different.
I think that that is not true, while most of the list would remain intact you can't outright say that no really good games have come out in the past 10 years. Call of Duty 4 redefined online play, as did Halo/Halo 2, Portal is regarded as one of the best games of all time, Half Life 2 made leaps in physics that they couldn't dream about a mere 10 years ago. Another few games that were great, but I don't feel like elaborating on were Shadow of the Colossus, the Guitar Hero franchise (someone who turned something so simple into a phenomenon deserves praise) and many more. There is no objective way to measure a game's quality but there sure as hell is a way to tell what games are popular. Maybe GTA 4 is not the best game ever, but if the majority of people consider it to be then who are you to infringe on their right to believe so? Yeah, it's stupid that a bunch of sheep and fanboys vote for a game because of the company or because all their friends play it, but again it is their right. I think the most fair voting would be with journalists like on Destructoid or on Joystiq or what have you, but again it all comes down to personal preference. If you really believed in what you do strongly then this shouldn't be an issue, just dismiss it a people being morons, they're never going to change.
Being good in one area *Such as online gaming* doesn't make a game worthy of being some of the best of all time. While some may love the Halo series for its online play, the single player was horrid.
However, if you like CoD 4, Halo, Gears of War, etc.
Then you should salute Goldeneye on there, that badboy made it possible for all those that followed. Yay first great console shooter.
There's a reason it's called "Game of the Year" and not "Only game you should ever play" or "definitly everyone's favorite game or else they're wrong." People who write about "Game of the Year" aren't acting as though they are giving you some sort of objective amazing answer to the only game worth playing in the universe.
Democracy in gaming? How is it undemocratic that some people get to express their favorites, and certain media companies who lots of people want to listen to carry more weight in certain people's eyes? If you were forced to follow their preferences, that would be undemocratic.
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
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I have been on Destructoid for a little and have grown to really love it's community. I love to write articles on gaming and I find it easy to do with Destructoid. I am currently studying a Bachelor Degree of Communication (Journalism), so that one day I can hope to do this professionally.
While studying I currently work at EB Games, which is the Australian version of Game Stop, and although I know many consider Game Stop to be the enemy, I just love the fact that my job revolves around gaming.
I just want to say thanks to everybody involved with Destructoid including every reader, community blogger and contributor. It really is an amazing place in the digital, shit infested swamp lands of the internet.
I am a proud member of the Refused Classification panel also consisting of Destructoid members Puppy Licks and DanMazkin, which brings to the plate a fortnightly Destructoid only podcast and soon to be video content which will also be featuring guest appearances from gaming celebs such as the Masterchief.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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mgs4 i believe should get goty, it would be a good way to send snake off,but it's still my goty.
My personal opinion is actually nearly what that list IGN has. A few moves here and there, a few games taken away and others moved back in.
Damn, you love that girl lol (in regard to the video at the end of the post).
You raise a good point. It's really a matter of personal preference above anything else. I've played all the big hits of the year thus far and if I had to stick my GOTY vote to one of them it would be MGS4. Not just because I'm a fan but because it felt to me like the game with the best production values and design all year. Does that mean anything? Not really, it's just my opinion and someone can vote Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam as GOTY for all I care.
Oblivion was definetely the game to play in 2006. Absolutely a masterpiece.
well, in the end it'll probably be a game that just came out or gta4. mgs4 just left me with this perfect feeling of accomplishment and the story,gameplay, presentation,music and characters were just so fined tuned and didn't need a patch to fix anything broken (aside from mgo). the install and the kinda quick-coming wedding were to me the only setbacks and maybe how zero died (was there any other way though?) plus in the bluray bonus disc Kojima himself said the game didn't ship complete because its ultimatly the gamer who would put the finishing touches on it, making it complete after we experience it. one dude sais they had over 20000 bugs they had to fix and still, no game fixing patches.
GTA4 for president.
COD4 became popular by word of mouth in my opinion. So it isn't all about advertising.
10 best games of all times, some titles have to be there, and if they are not then the list is a stupidity: half life, system shock 2, starcraft.
I got a magazine back from 1998 (pc gamer magazine) with the best 100 games of history and I can assure you that today the list would not be a whole lot different.
@Velt:
I think that that is not true, while most of the list would remain intact you can't outright say that no really good games have come out in the past 10 years. Call of Duty 4 redefined online play, as did Halo/Halo 2, Portal is regarded as one of the best games of all time, Half Life 2 made leaps in physics that they couldn't dream about a mere 10 years ago. Another few games that were great, but I don't feel like elaborating on were Shadow of the Colossus, the Guitar Hero franchise (someone who turned something so simple into a phenomenon deserves praise) and many more. There is no objective way to measure a game's quality but there sure as hell is a way to tell what games are popular. Maybe GTA 4 is not the best game ever, but if the majority of people consider it to be then who are you to infringe on their right to believe so? Yeah, it's stupid that a bunch of sheep and fanboys vote for a game because of the company or because all their friends play it, but again it is their right. I think the most fair voting would be with journalists like on Destructoid or on Joystiq or what have you, but again it all comes down to personal preference. If you really believed in what you do strongly then this shouldn't be an issue, just dismiss it a people being morons, they're never going to change.
Being good in one area *Such as online gaming* doesn't make a game worthy of being some of the best of all time. While some may love the Halo series for its online play, the single player was horrid.
However, if you like CoD 4, Halo, Gears of War, etc.
Then you should salute Goldeneye on there, that badboy made it possible for all those that followed. Yay first great console shooter.
wolfenstein and doom paved the way for all fps and doom has to the most played game i've ever played, aside from mgs3
There's a reason it's called "Game of the Year" and not "Only game you should ever play" or "definitly everyone's favorite game or else they're wrong." People who write about "Game of the Year" aren't acting as though they are giving you some sort of objective amazing answer to the only game worth playing in the universe.
Democracy in gaming? How is it undemocratic that some people get to express their favorites, and certain media companies who lots of people want to listen to carry more weight in certain people's eyes? If you were forced to follow their preferences, that would be undemocratic.
PIRATES OF THE ANUS!!!!!