Giant Bomb GOTY 2014 - Destiny Has Brought Us Here

They really just seemed to be tired of listening to Brad try to dance his way past every Destiny flaw and just conceded by saying "Well if Brad feels this passionately about it". One of his arguments was that he spent more time playing it then anything else, but so what? WWE Super Card sounded like Jeff's most played game of 2014.

I remember Brad talking shit about the fact that Final Fantasy 13 only got good after a large chunk of the game was over, which is exactly what Destiny does. He said after 15 hours he was having fun or something? Maybe don't force me to play through 15 hours of boring shit to get to the good part? It sounded like the majority of the table straight up disliked Destiny with Brad being the only defender and Jeff eventually realizing that Brad was not going to give up on "Giant Bomb's Official second biggest disappointment of the year" and doing what he could to just get it on the list so Brad would just shut up.

I wish Dan would of fought harder for Smash too.

What sucks is that no one had played enough of Destiny to call Brad on all his bullshit excuses.

That Queen's Bounty stuff he kept bringing up to say "they fixed the game two weeks later!" was one of the most embarrassing events I've ever seen from an online game and its emblematic of everything wrong with Destiny. The "new content" amounted to an NPC showing up in the crucible and handing you a "special mission" that is actually just the very first mission you do in Destiny. They didnt even bother to remove the story beats or rename the boss NPC to create the illusion that it was something different.

The reason it "saved" the game for Brad was because Bungie screwed up and people realized they could run those missions and subvert the awful grind of leveling your weapons and armor. Of course that was unintended and was patched out days later. Thing is, getting those shards was the only reason to run those missions since the rest of the rewards were gated behind another painful rep grind with blue rewards.
 
I was getting so frustrated at their Most disappointing game discussion, and Halo winning over Unity. Not only was there another category better suited to Halo's brand of shit (which it won) but Unity and Halo faced pretty much the same set of problems, with the added factor that even if Unity worked perfectly, it still would have been in the running for most disappointing.
 
Quick question. I want to play Shovel Knight. Which console will give me the best experience? I have a PC, PS4, and 3DS.

You just missed the Steam sale for Shovel Knight on PC. 3DS version has 3D, which is pretty neat. PS4 version isn't out yet, but it has Kratos as a boss or something. Personally, that's a negative because Kratos is trash, but you might disagree.
 
I was getting so frustrated at their Most disappointing game discussion, and Halo winning over Unity. Not only was there another category better suited to Halo's brand of shit (which it won) but Unity and Halo faced pretty much the same set of problems, with the added factor that even if Unity worked perfectly, it still would have been in the running for most disappointing.

That wasn't "Most Disappointing", that was "Hottest Mess" which is more focused on technical issues than just bad gameplay.
 
The PC version is great and I'm sure the 3DS version is also. The PS4 version isn't out just yet though

You just missed the Steam sale for Shovel Knight on PC. 3DS version has 3D, which is pretty neat. PS4 version isn't out yet, but it has Kratos as a boss or something. Personally, that's a negative because Kratos is trash, but you might disagree.

Bummer on the PS4. How good is the 3D on the 3DS version? If its really adds to the game then Ill get it there than on Steam.
 
I almost had to turn off the podcast during all the Destiny bullshit. None of the end-game missions where any better due to some fucking modifier that makes your weapons do extra damage. And since when is standing behind a box shooting a bullet sponge enemy for 30 minutes an interesting combat encounter. I don't usually get worked up about top 10 list but I hate just blatant bullshit.
 
I wonder how Brad feels about Destiny now after the Dark Below came out since the recording. Even as a fan of the game, I think Bungie should be ashamed that they're charging $20 for that pathetic offering.
 
I almost had to turn off the podcast during all the Destiny bullshit. None of the end-game missions where any better due to some fucking modifier that makes your weapons do extra damage. And since when is standing behind a box shooting a bullet sponge enemy for 30 minutes an interesting combat encounter. I don't usually get worked up about top 10 list but I hate just blatant bullshit.
Destiny was going to make the top ten just by the virtue of it being the game brad was going to push hard. It shouldn't have surprised anyone, called it months ago.
 
I am about an hour from the end of the podcast so I don't know how it all shakes out yet, but all I want to do is reach through my phone and wring Brad's neck about Destiny. That game deserves no accolades.
 
I dont see the love for Mordor
It doesn't do anything amazing, just good and the destiny part was dumb as fuck because no one beside brad thought it was a good game
 
Given the games in the running I'm not surprised that Mordor won. I don't feel like the game really capitalized on integrating the Nemesis system into it's progression structure. It's a really cool ancillary feature to a set of missions that completely suck. I don't think the value of the Nemesis system is that great that it excuses the otherwise humdrum game it exists in. It's a worse Batman-esque combat system with some zippy parkour with the usual AC lack of fine control.

I'm sure Mordor 2 will be great but this really does feel like a proof of concept.
 
I dont see the love for Mordor
It doesn't do anything amazing, just good and the destiny part was dumb as fuck because no one beside brad thought it was a good game

It was the game they loved to hate. I think Jeff relented when he considered how much time he had put into it despite the flaws.

Alex's argument (at least I think I recall it being Alex); about the amount of hours you need to put into it before it becomes good was never really addressed satisfactorily.

I still think Wolfenstein was jipped at Destiny's expense. Wolf was a brilliant single player story driven FPS...its been some time since we've had one of that quality. I just wish Drew would have fought harder for it
 
I think you guys are over thinking this. The impression I got is that they were all giving a freebie to Brad, as he had largely gotten shit on up to that point. The arguments presented were largely irrelevant.
 
Mordor is so mediocre. The love it gets is baffling. The combat is worse than Batman. The story is complete garbage. Thhe atmosphere is poor. Mission design is boring. Nemesis system is fine I guess.
 
It was the game they loved to hate. I think Jeff relented when he considered how much time he had put into it despite the flaws.

Alex's argument (at least I think I recall it being Alex); about the amount of hours you need to put into it before it becomes good was never really addressed satisfactorily.

I still think Wolfenstein was jipped at Destiny's expense. Wolf was a brilliant single player story driven FPS...its been some time since we've had one of that quality. I just wish Drew would have fought harder for it

Yeah. If Drew had done that then I think Destiny would still make the list, Shovel Knight probably gets the heave-ho.
 
I wouldn't give Shadow of Mordor GotY. Not even close.

But I got a platinum trophy in it - and that's more than I can say for most other GotY contenders.

So I have no idea how I feel about that game lol
 
Mordor is so mediocre. The love it gets is baffling. The combat is worse than Batman. The story is complete garbage. Thhe atmosphere is poor. Mission design is boring. Nemesis system is fine I guess.

But was there a game that was really much better this year? Just goes to show how terrible this year was when a game like Mordor is even in consideration for GOTY.

2014 definitely was one the worst video game years of all time.
 
But was there a game that was really much better this year? Just goes to show how terrible this year was when a game like Mordor is even in consideration for GOTY.

2014 definitely was one the worst video game years of all time.
Most of games in their top ten were better.
 
2014 definitely was one the worst video game years of all time.

The year of HD remakes, broken or overhyped games.

Cynicism aside, we still saw some good releases in amongst this....but compared to previous years, it was a little lacklustre

I put it down to the 'new consoles' still finding their feet. I dont think it was the worst of all time though, that is a little extreme
 
Count me in for thinking Mordor is massively overrated. I thought the combat was boring and the Nemesis System never really clicked with me.

For me the Nemesis system (which is the best gameplay invention this year) can't overcome the overused Batman combat in the even more overused Ubigame wrapper. I hope the system will make it into a Rockstar or Volition type open world game.
 
The problem with the Nemesis system is that the game so easy that you never die. The only I would die was because I overwhelmed.the Nemesis system would work in a game like dark souls
 
Yeah. If the orcs can kill you ;)
This is my problem with it too. The nemesis system is very well thought out but it's wasted on a game with braindead combat that provides no challenge whatsoever.

Personally, this game proved that I'm done with Arkham style combat. It's very empowering but it barely qualifies as combat.
 
Disappointing that Brad convinces the entire crew to add a game that literally none of them like onto the top 10. The arguments for it are so bad, Diablo 3 UEE deserves to be on there more than Destiny.
 
It's interesting that this podcast was clearly recorded before The Dark Below released. Brad mentions that he's "counting the hours until the expansion releases tonight." I kind of wonder if some of these conversations would have gone a little differently post-Dark Below and some of the other last-minute events and discussions of the year.
 
That wasn't "Most Disappointing", that was "Hottest Mess" which is more focused on technical issues than just bad gameplay.
No, I'm talking about most disappointing, which Halo was included in over Unity. Halo was absolutely hottest mess, but if that game worked well it would be incredible. Unity was not only also broken, but the game itself was disappointing as fuck.
 
I'm still salty over Brad's Destiny defence, which I see others are as well. I've never been upset by any of his previous GOTY defences but wow, this one really got to me. The sheer amount of anecdotal evidence presented as a generalization for everyone's experience. Blatantly wrong comments like "people who used the loot cave don't understand the point of the end game". Gah!

I still love ya' Brad. But you're killing me here.

It's interesting that this podcast was clearly recorded before The Dark Below released. Brad mentions that he's "counting the hours until the expansion releases tonight." I kind of wonder if some of these conversations would have gone a little differently post-Dark Below and some of the other last-minute events and discussions of the year.

I wondered that too. But Jeff (and others) seemed pretty confident that the leaked info was legit (and it was). So I don't think Brad'a position would've been shaken by reality given that he already likely knew what was going to be coming. Though, one could argue he was holding out hope that he might be wrong, I would say he more likely was comfortable with said content and it wouldn't have mattered either way.
 
I feel like I will just accept 2014 for what it was (including Destiny), learn from it and move on. 2015 should be much better.

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Just got done listening to the last episode. I would have put Wolfenstein ahead of Destiny, but it seemed like a solid top ten. Shadow of Mordor is a pleasant surprise in what was overall a very strange year. I expect next year to be a lot more heated in terms of deliberations.
 
It's interesting that this podcast was clearly recorded before The Dark Below released. Brad mentions that he's "counting the hours until the expansion releases tonight." I kind of wonder if some of these conversations would have gone a little differently post-Dark Below and some of the other last-minute events and discussions of the year.

Hard to say and I guess we will never know. My thoughts are that Brad still would have been beating the Destiny drum.

Even without the DLC, it doesn't change the fact that both he and Jeff pumped enough hours into it to make informed arguments about the base game (regardless if they were good arguments).
 
Is there any place to see a list of all the games they talked about in each category? Particularly in the categories that featured more indie/unknown stuff like Best Style and Worst Game. Interested in looking some of those that they talked about up but the links on the site only list the top 3.
 
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