Every day this week, we here at Destructoid are revealing one of the five nominees for Game of the Year 2009, with the winner being announced next Monday (12/21). What game will take the crown this year?
If you look up a few inches you will know, but let’s just pretend you went blind for a second and formed some sort of tunnel vision that only allows you to see these few paragraphs and nothing else. Oh God! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!
First, calm down. I will help you through this. Second, forget about the fact that you should probably be rushing to the hospital right now. Instead, just stick around for a second and find out what game takes the honor of being the 4th nominee for Destructoid Game of the Year 2009. Here’s a hint: It rhymes with “porderhands.”
Hit the jump, watch Rey’s amazing video, celebrate the exciting announcement by taking off your top, comment about how handsome you look with your top off, and GET YOURSELF TO THE DOCTOR! Seriously. Something is wrong with your eyes, man.
Borderlands is Diablo with guns.
Sure, saying that simplifies the overall experience of the stellar enemy-fighting, loot-grabbing, level-gaining first-person role-playing game, but it’s a pretty accurate description. If you are, or have ever been, a fan of Diablo, you have probably already played and fallen in love with Borderlands. But even if you aren’t a fan of Diablo (blasphemy!), the gameplay in Borderlands is so entertaining that you are pretty much guaranteed to have a great time.
Gearbox may have taken a big risk by releasing Borderlands during the busy holiday season, but their confidence in the game’s quality, despite the competition, paid off, as Borderlands has already grown a healthy cult following. And it should. It’s one of the best videogames of the year, dammit! Sorry, I don’t mean to sound angry. I am still worked up from thinking there may be some people out there that don’t like Diablo.
Borderlands is a deep, beautiful, massively addictive role-playing game and an absolute blast to play.
From our original review: “With tons of weapons to find, a great co-op system, fantastic art, and a whole bunch of exploding bodies, Borderlands is worth your money. Even my plans to jump into the game for five minutes to grab screenshots would suddenly turn into hour long play sessions without me even realizing it, and even having done most of the quests twice, I still want to head back and try again with a new character class. The game is simply fun -- and at the end of the day, that's what really matters.”
What do you think of our fourth nominee? Have you been lucky enough to discover the joy of Borderlands? What final game do you think is going to make the list of five nominees?
Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the reveal of the final, 5th nominee for Destructoid Game of the Year 2009!
Chad Concelmo is Destructoid's features editor. He loves hanging out with awesome people. That's why Destructoid makes him so happy, since it is full of THE MOST AWESOME PEOPLE OF ALL TIME! Also, dolphins.
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Chad enjoys punching old ladies in the face, Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES (best system ever!), Final Fantasy VI, Day of the Tentacle, Shadow of the Colossus, Mother 3, Beyond Good & Evil, Contra III, Valkyria Chronicles, Punch-Out!!, Half-Life 2, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
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The only thing wrong with the videos are the women and music. Why are they there? The L4D2 one was alright because they were zombies but i am extremely confused as to why they are in the rest.
This is my personal GOTY. Also, don't let the hate get to ya R3Y. You're doing an awesome job. Also, I watched the stuff on your webpage and what Jim said was right- You are, without a doubt, the best video editor in the gaming business. Possibly one of the best videographers I've ever seen. Those music videos? AWESOME.
Anywho, back on subject- Yeah. My favorite new game this year. Rootin' for this one, though I know it won't win.
Hey I look pretty sexy without my top on. But mere mortals cannot view it! For their brains would explode and leave a right mess all over my sexy pectorals and abdominals!
Hey Chad, I was just wondering, is it possible that you guys are nominating any game from the first semester of 2009? I have seen too much emphasis on games that came out not long ago. Not that there is anythting wrong with it, but I feel like other titles deserve a little more attention.
was i the only one who didn't really like this?
my buddies are all FPS lovers and it's normally pretty hard to drag them from COD4 (now MW2) and risk 60 bucks on a new game. oddly enough however, despite none of them following gaming news -- they were all stoked for the release of this game. when it came down to it though and all four of us were sitting around playing this game i was just so disappointed; and what started as a borderlands tonight devolved into a cod4 night after we got bored.
i am on my second playthrough right now. level 50 soldier. i promised my wife i would stop playing once i hit the level cap. i don't know why i told that lie. lol.
@Monodi,
I don't want to say too much and ruin tomorrow's pick, but our last game was released a little earlier in the year (summer, to be exact). Sadly, sometimes games released in the first half of the year fall off people's radars, but I can guarantee that a few games that came out as early as January 2009 made our short list of finalists. :)
This is definitely GoTY for me. It is game of the "as long as I can remember" for me. I can't get enough of this game, achievement was well thought out and entertaining, the look and feel is top notch and very fluid. The multiplayer makes it a great way to hang out with 3 friends. Looking forward to much DLC for this title.
This game is GREAT, and I'd have no qualms with it winning, but someone must mention that it is still to this day, broken as fuck. more broken than any AAA should be.
I can't help but laugh and feel ashamed at our Destructoid community. All of those who are upset about the cute girls dancing to Lady Gaga while wearing themed attire confuse me. What's to hate about it? Cute girls dancing in videos is never up for question, especially on the internet and even more so when they are dressed in cosplay/theme of the video.
Wow, so no MW2? That really surprises me... Especially considering I thought it was a much, much better game than NSMBW. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy NSMBW, it was just nowhere near as complete an experience as MW2... It wasn't even a great platformer. Good, yes. But not great.
Definitely the best dancing yet. Wait...if Arkham Asylum is the last nominee, and I'm pretty sure it is, since Chad said it was released over the summer, does that mean they'll be dressed like Harley, Ivy, and Batgirl or something tomorrow? OH GOD PLEASE YES!
Im playing this game right now and im having a blast! its just amazing how many cool weapons you can find. it just makes me happy to see that this game made it to the tops of the year
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?
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Contest:
4:20 PM on 12.17.2009
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The retaliation against this video had better be massive considering the fact that this time I think the fun killers may have a point.
Also, I'm still diggin' Uncharted 2 the most.
Anywho, back on subject- Yeah. My favorite new game this year. Rootin' for this one, though I know it won't win.
my buddies are all FPS lovers and it's normally pretty hard to drag them from COD4 (now MW2) and risk 60 bucks on a new game. oddly enough however, despite none of them following gaming news -- they were all stoked for the release of this game. when it came down to it though and all four of us were sitting around playing this game i was just so disappointed; and what started as a borderlands tonight devolved into a cod4 night after we got bored.
it just felt far too World of Warcrafty to me.
ALSO, ARKHAM ASYLUM FOR GOTY.
another excellent pick.
I don't want to say too much and ruin tomorrow's pick, but our last game was released a little earlier in the year (summer, to be exact). Sadly, sometimes games released in the first half of the year fall off people's radars, but I can guarantee that a few games that came out as early as January 2009 made our short list of finalists. :)
That's the things that sucks about GOTY awards. Everything is during the hypetastic Q4 period.
Also, nice to see more people than me like the vids. This ones kind of over the top but it's GaGa after all.
GaGa!!!!
Ok... guess i'll have to check it out.
Surprising nominee
It puts a smile on my face that Destructiod is snubby Modern Warfare 2, even if it is a good game in it's own right.
Also, I really need to play Borderlands. I know I'll love it.