Giantbomb GOTY 2012 Thread: Videos, Top 10's, and podcasts lots and lots of podcasts.

You've expressed this idea many many times. You have such a low opinion of these guys. I don't understand why you continue to stay tuned in.

cause vinny is that awesome.


And to be fair they are pretty good at whole reviewing / GOTY thing... just not when it comes to the small number of games made by people they know.
 
you should edit that first bit
Urgh, done. Seriously, though, if people care about spoilers about games for this year, why are you in a thread about podcasts where people are openly discussing this shit? So retarded.

Way to simplify that scene in TWD down to game mechanics. I guess the scene in MP3 is just pressing the stick and pulling the trigger.
Um, I did it because that's what he was doing.

My point was that scene in MP3 was awesome, same as Duck's sequence in TWD was awesome too. You can be reductive about ANYTHING and make it sound lame if you want. I was mocking him for doing it.
 
C'mon Brad
UxHbz.jpg
 
Aw crap, ME3 is Brad's personal GOTY pick. Like somebody else said, he's just going to filibuster until the other guys concede. Gonna be painful.
 
Aw crap, ME3 is Brad's personal GOTY pick. Like somebody else said, he's just going to filibuster until the other guys concede. Gonna be painful.

No, he understands why he can't convince the others to vote for a game that doesn't exist in their reality. Even if he did go crazy like that, Jeff and Patrick would never let it happen. They'd wear down even Brad's filibuster.
 
Aw crap, ME3 is Brad's personal GOTY pick. Like somebody else said, he's just going to filibuster until the other guys concede. Gonna be painful.

I doubt he could pull off such a feat this time, going by the last conversation they had about the game. And from what he said in his countdown, even Brad recognizes that the circumstances that he played the game under were unique.
 
Duck's death was you choosing from a text prompt and pressing a button in a glorified QTE.

Being reductive works for everything. The atmosphere and design of that sequence in MP3 was fucking awesome.

I'm not seeing how well designed that section is and I definitely did not feel or see any marks of atmosphere whatsoever during that sequence. I guess I am only reductive in that there was nothing special going on during the scene, it was that barebones. I have not played the walking dead yet, but I assume that there is more to that than what was present in Max Payne 3.
 
No, he understands why he can't convince the others to vote for a game that doesn't exist in their reality. Even if he did go crazy like that, Jeff and Patrick would never let it happen. They'd wear down even Brad's filibuster.

But that's where Ryan comes in :O
 
Aw crap, ME3 is Brad's personal GOTY pick. Like somebody else said, he's just going to filibuster until the other guys concede. Gonna be painful.

If you watched and listened to the stuff he said, he knows that hes pretty much alone in that regard. Patrick and Jeff will not let this happen anyway.
 
cause vinny is that awesome.

Previous games of the year:

GTA IV
Uncharted 2
Mass Effect 2
Skyrim

A "friend of the site" has yet to win game of the year but I guess if The Walking Dead wins game of the year you'll feel like you've been proven right, regardless of the number of other people who feel the same way about that game.
 
Still confused by all the love Mass Effect (as a whole series) gets from game journalists. Series has no sense of tone whatsoever in the story and will scream at you that the universe is ending while half of Shepard's options in conversation with his/her crew are based on trying to get laid. For a series about the universe ending, there were few points where it seemed the characters were slightly worried and the player got almost no reason to be worried either. And then there would be an insane scene that makes no sense whenever Bioware realized that nothing dramatic was happening because they couldn't create natural tension (The Wrex choice near the end of Mass Effect 1 has to be one of the worst scenes of the generation with how laughably forced and nonsensical it is and how quickly it is resolved and there were others like it). Haven't gone though ME3 though so maybe it's different than the first two.

Walking Dead and Journey were pretty great games though and I need to play Mark of the Ninja.
 
So many podcasts are going to be skipped just because I didn't get TWD yet. I want to but haven't found the time.

Hmm.. maybe I should just say fuck it and listen regardless.
 
Nah, he's right. It was a lazy path to take. Udina ends up Councilor in ME3 no matter what, and only hours after they seemed to be trying to make him less of a stereotypical Bad Politician
they unceremoniously have him turn into a bad guy and killed off, and then retroactively reveal through a Codex entry how and why he started working with Cerberus.

I didn't mind him as councilor, maybe because Anderson was whining so much about being that in ME2. And I appreciated that they tried to give him some sort motivation but
being killed off because he is a shitty politician and human being in general
actually makes senses in that context.

But the again, I agree that he was a horrible written character since ME1 so I didn't feel particularly bad for him.
 
I'm not seeing how well designed that section is and I definitely did not feel or see any marks of atmosphere whatsoever during that sequence. I guess I am only reductive in that there was nothing special going on during the scene, it was that barebones. I have not played the walking dead yet, but I assume that there is more to that than what was present in Max Payne 3.

Eh well I can't replicate how I felt during that sequence for you, but it was definitely a "fuck yeah" moment and really ramped up that journey to the final area of the airport.

It's like the song in RDR on the way to Mexico. You can say that's a linear path where you do nothing but ride a horse in to Mexico, but the way it's done is awesome. That's how it felt in MP3 for me.

There IS a lot more to Duck's scene in TWD, of course, because of the character connections etc. But that's true for MP3 for me - Max's journey had reached a certain point and that moment was something that added a lot to his quest.
 
Still confused by all the love Mass Effect (as a whole series) gets from game journalists. Series has no sense of tone whatsoever in the story and will scream at you that the universe is ending while half of Shepard's options in conversation with his/her crew are based on trying to get laid. For a series about the universe ending, there were few points where it seemed the characters were slightly worried and the player got almost no reason to be worried either. And then there would be an insane scene that makes no sense whenever Bioware realized that nothing dramatic was happening because they couldn't create natural tension (The Wrex choice near the end of Mass Effect 1 has to be one of the worst scenes of the generation with how laughably forced and nonsensical it is and how quickly it is resolved and there were others like it). Haven't gone though ME3 though so maybe it's different than the first two.
I feel like there are two categories:
1) People who remember ME1 and fell in love with the style of the universe and have basically kept the torch, the same way that Star Trek fans watched Enterprise. They're emotionally invested to the point that they can't see the problems with the latter games.
2) New people who like and are impressed by generic scifi stories and like third person shooters.

I think it's telling that BioWare failed so hard on the morality system that they got rid of it entirely in ME3 and just called it "influence". There should have been something else they could have done with it... but then again, ME3 is the game that has an "autoplay" feature that automatically selects all the dialog features for people, so there's that.

It would be worth it just to hear Patrick's reaction to it.
Would be hilarious... maybe put it up against the Asura's Wrath DLC? lol
 
Previous games of the year:

GTA IV
Uncharted 2
Mass Effect 2
Skyrim

A "friend of the site" has yet to win game of the year but I guess if The Walking Dead wins game of the year you'll feel like you've been proven right, regardless of the number of other people who feel the same way about that game.

winning just GOTY doesnt mean shit really.

Bastion didnt win GOTY last year but I still thought the way they handled that was wrong. First saying they are to close to the developers to review it but then going back on that for GOTY because "other sites thing its good so we cant be wrong" and then they gave it a bunch of awards that where later used in Bastion pomo materiel. Pretty dirty stuff but whatever. Ehhh old news.

How about I shut up about TWD and will see what way the actually GOTY discussion pans out first?



Brad had a flash game in his top ten that he never mentioned on the site ever? man 2012 was pretty empty for games if he had to reach that deep.
 
But that's where Ryan comes in :O

Ryan will play devil's advocate, until he actually convinces himself. Vinny will be swayed by his undying ME love. Jeff and Patrick will argue against it, but they'll be fighting a losing battle. It'll be funny to listen to at least.
 
I actually really like Brad's number one choice: it's nice to be as madly, nerdily in love with a series like that. I got a bit of that from the first game, it's not too hard to see how a less insulting ME3 experience could be awesome for some.
 
Eh well I can't replicate how I felt during that sequence for you, but it was definitely a "fuck yeah" moment and really ramped up that journey to the final area of the airport.

It's like the song in RDR on the way to Mexico. You can say that's a linear path where you do nothing but ride a horse in to Mexico, but the way it's done is awesome. That's how it felt in MP3 for me.

There IS a lot more to Duck's scene in TWD, of course, because of the character connections etc. But that's true for MP3 for me - Max's journey had reached a certain point and that moment was something that added a lot to his quest.

I thought RDR handled it really well because you are experiencing something you haven't come across yet in the game. You are entering Mexico for the very first time and it is a refreshing change from what you have previously been doing, until it starts drag out that is. Plus RDR is an open world and there are new things to do and discover in this section. MP3 had you do the same thing you have been doing up until that point, but this time there is music playing in the background. Two totally/tonally different sequences, with one that plays music while giving you something new/fresh and one that does it over the same thing you have been doing up until that point.
 
The thing about that MP3 sequence is it felt really cinematic. Yes, you were just shooting more guys, but the music kicks in and you're just constantly pushing forward, sweeping from cover to cover, with this non-diegetic music giving it that one last push feeling before the end game.

It's all about the execution. Rockstar nailed it. Felt like a movie sequence through and through.
 
The thing about that MP3 sequence is it felt really cinematic. Yes, you were just shooting more guys, but the music kicks in and you're just constantly pushing forward, sweeping from cover to cover, with this non-diegetic music giving it that one last push feeling before the end game.

It's all about the execution. Rockstar nailed it.

Agree to disagree then, felt like they missed why it was so great in RDR and just slapped it in there because they haven't done it yet.
/shrug
 
The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition and Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition on PC are my top 2 this year if they can be considered 2012 games (They were also my 2011 top 2). Chivalry, XCom and Sleeping Dogs fill out my top 5. I hope Vinny fights for Sleeping Dogs a bit because that game was a real surprise (Chivalry was too but no one is fighting for that).
 
After listening to the podcast my only criticism for Day 1 is that Sound Shapes and Asura deserved mentions for best music and best new character. Sound Shapes will go down as the biggest oversight this year - I'm not even saying it should have won but I can't believe they all forgot about it. Also, Asura was a much better character then he had any right to be. Mind blowing scale aside, Asura's characterization was really well done IMO
 
So is it Brad's M.O. to just filibuster the discussions till Mass Effect 3 wins?

Is that what he did with Skyrim last year (I didn't follow)
 
Can I get a summary of everything that has happened so far.

The greatest GOTY theme yet.

Brad does a diving elbow-drop into a swirling vortex of madness.


So is it Brad's M.O. to just filibuster the discussions till Mass Effect 3 wins?

Is that what he did with Skyrim last year (I didn't follow)

He filibustered for a long time in 2010 on the Best DLC argument, going for BioShock 2's Minerva's Den over ME2's Lair of the Shadow Broker. It took them something like an hour to finally decide it.

In 2011 he held out for a long time with Skyrim against Jeff and Vinny's choice of Saint's Row The Third, until Ryan suddenly pulled a heel turn, joined with Brad, and voted for Skyrim even when he hadn't played it, at which point Jeff and Vinny were outnumbered and gave up.


I think there was a previous filibuster in 2009 between Arkham Asylum and Uncharted 2, but I can't remember if Brad was the culprit there. It might have been Jeff.
 
The only problem I really have with Brad having ME3 as his personal pick is where in his top 10 he compares it being his top pick to the Academy Awards and RotK in terms of rewarding the trilogy. Considering that ME2 is probably in the top 5 or so most lauded-games of this console generation that's unwarranted, and your personal top 10 Games list shouldn't be to reward franchises. I fucking loved Assassins Creed 2 and Brotherhood, should I have placed Revelations at the top of my list that year even though it wasn't as great? What the fuck. I doubt that's exactly how he meant it, but hearing that really, really, really rubs me the wrong way. He justified his pick in the description up to that point, he didn't need to try to make excuses for it. Anyone who is going to give him shit for that pick was going to do so regardless.

In terms of the site's overall GOTY, it's largely irrelevant because we already know ME3 wasn't their pick. But it wouldn't necessarily be invalid either; I don't think it's necessarily come up a lot in previous years (at least off the top of my head), but I'm not sure there's a clearly divided line on most sites as to whether or not a game has to be considered only in it's at-launch/vanilla state or not for GOTY awards. ME3 is a bit of an outlier since as an RPG, further DLC isn't largely going to change people's opinions of the game one way or the other, especially as the "final" entry in the series (since ME2 was the middle chapter, DLC worked differently in a post-game sense). But then you also have situations with other types of games like say Diablo 3, which is a substantially better game right now than it was at release. So if a site is willing to consider the game in it's current state and not when it came out (accounting for patches, DLC, etc) ME3 is a completely valid choice.

Also Frog Fractions on this top 10 list is pretty hilarious. I'm not sure it would be on mine, but it does seem a bit out of left-field. I don't remember them talking about it much on the Bombcast. It is awesome though and everyone should play it.
 
So is it Brad's M.O. to just filibuster the discussions till Mass Effect 3 wins?

Is that what he did with Skyrim last year (I didn't follow)

I don't think he's gonna push for ME3 to win GOTY. He might bulldoze something else, though.

He did with Skyrim last year and it was pretty painful to listen to, but Ryan was the one who really dropped the ball when he randomly decided to go with Skyrim for GOTY for misguided reasons.
 
I pledge my undying allegiance to #TEAMPATRICK.

Hes blowing this end of this year stuff out of the water with the 999 spoilercast and the sheer disgust and bafflement in the day 1 video.
 
I don't think he's gonna push for ME3 to win GOTY. He might bulldoze something else, though.

He did with Skyrim last year and it was pretty painful to listen to, but Ryan was the one who really dropped the ball when he randomly decided to go with Skyrim for GOTY for misguided reasons.

Without going back and listening to it again Ryan probably just didn't give a damn at that point. Ignoring the specific games in question, having 5 people choose between a #1 and #2 game for the entire year across all systems is usually splitting hairs to the finest degree. I'd imagine at a point someone's just like "fuck it, whatever." I think it's largely going to be a runaway this year in Walking Dead's favor though. Jeff's probably the wildcard there.
 
Sorry if this has been asked before but do they discuss any plot twists or the ending of the Walking Dead on the day 1 podcast? I'd rather avoid that.
 
Sorry if this has been asked before but do they discuss any plot twists or the ending of the Walking Dead on the day 1 podcast? I'd rather avoid that.

Yup, major spoilers. I don't care that much, but I'm also looking to maybe get it this weekend assuming they are going to be half off on Sunday via the XBL sale, so I probably should have avoided that.
 
Sorry if this has been asked before but do they discuss any plot twists or the ending of the Walking Dead on the day 1 podcast? I'd rather avoid that.

Apparently there were some spoilers in Day One and Brad has already said to watch out for Day Two and Day Five if you care about being spoiled on it.
 
Then there was the Best Character discussion in 2010. Francis York Morgan getting snubbed by Brad, and then the fight between Mordin and Bayonetta that ended up with nobody knowing who actually won the award.
 
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