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[Version 3.0]

Killzone 2 was a borderline shitpile, and Uncharted 2 is hilariously overrated.

I basically agree with this. I hated Killzone 2 and thought Uncharted 2 was not game of the year material.

BUT that doesn't mean people who like these have an agenda. Sure, there's a fair number of morons around who like certain games because of the system they own, rather than due to the quality of the games, but A) they're not required to explain their reasoning, B) these people exist for every system, and C) they're not numerous enough to swing the voting, or GAF's results would look just like the Playstation.com forum's results every year.

 

[Fredescu]

I don't see how fanboy votes are any less valid than the votes of mentally balanced people. This is just a poll after all.

 

[Noshino]

I'm American and not a fanboy of either system, though I generally buy 360 multiplatform games. Demon's Souls is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. But Killzone 2 was a borderline shitpile, and Uncharted 2 is hilariously overrated. It makes me sad when I see a best of list comprised of those 3 games (plus Infamous), because clearly there are people out there either with agendas or they simply haven't played enough games to give an informed opinion about what the actual best games of the year are.

It makes me sad when people hate on other people's top list simply because they don't agree with it.

Its funny, seeing as this year the PS3 seemed to have had the bigger library, different sites are likely to have many PS3 games as candidates, are they also people with agendas? :lol

Ignoring the company angle of your post, that's actually a very valid point.

If someone plays only one game in 2009 and (has to) call this his GOTY, is he really in a position to judge the best game(s) of that year? I mean, obviously not everyone can play every game out there, but is there a minimum threshold of [worthwhile]

Spoiler

who decides what is worthwhile?

games someone should've played to be able to participate in a GOTY thread? Something to think about for next year's thread, for sure.


I say force people to make a Top 10 GOTY list or they aren't allowed to participate. Bam.

uh, so you want to force them to make a top 10 list, but what about people that have only played 10 games, are they really in a position to say which were the top 10 of the year? what about 20, yah, that way we know that they have played more games. Oh wait, better yet, lets do a top 50 list, that way we know that they have played that many and that are in a position to judge better......

You ll run into the problem of ignoring people that didn't have enough money to buy that many games, that some will not vote, other end up lying and list games that they haven't played.

 

[Endgegner]

Machinarium - 3 Pts

 

[Keikoku]

The PS3 had a great year for exclusives, the 360 not so much. I would suspect a lot of 360 only owners are using surrogates like AC2, DA, AA, etc. A few braves souls will put ODST and Halo Wars as top games.

Absolutely no PS3 only owners are voting in this thread, right ? They are the majority in this thread.
Maybe the people you are talking of just liked these games more than Uncharted 2. Is this forbidden or something ? You're a troll, but still, next time be more subtle.

 

[Majora]

Batman: Arkham Asylum - 3 points

Little King's Story - 2 points

New Super Mario Bros Wii - 1 point
Left 4 Dead 2 - 1 point
Shadow Complex - 1 point
Trials HD - 1 point
Uncharted 2 - 1 point

 

[alr1ght]

I'm thinking of doing some stats on the number of people who do platform or company-exclusive votes, purely out of interest. Offhand it looks like the most sizable group is voting Sony-only.

I think the fact that exclusive games tend to win outlines a few things... a lot of exclusives get the heaviest marketing, and the one-platform owners tend to be very passionate about those titles. And of course you have your fanboy-console warriors, but nothing you can really do about that. (And in the list above... when RE4 won, it was still Cube-exclusive at the time, wasn't it? I thought the PS2 version came out the following January)

or...maybe all exclusives are usually much better games than multiplats, no matter the system. They're usually much more polished, better graphically, and they exploit the hardware better. Sony just happened to have a great set of exclusives this year.

 

[Dupy]

Batman: Arkaham Asylum - 2
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 2
DJ Hero - 2
Rhythm Heaven - 1
Flower - 1
Beatles Rock Band - 1
Punch-Out!! - 1

Boy I played a lot of good rhythm games this year.

 

[lordoftherink]

I say force people to make a Top 10 GOTY list or they aren't allowed to participate. Bam.

I would be on board with that kind of voting system.

 

[ultron87]

Assassin's Creed 2 - 3 pts
Batman Arkham Asylum - 2 pts
Modern Warfare 2 - 2 pts
Halo 3: ODST - 1 pt
Uncharted 2 - 1 pt
Demon's Souls - 1 pt

 

[AndyD]

I think the fact that exclusive games tend to win outlines a few things... a lot of exclusives get the heaviest marketing, and the one-platform owners tend to be very passionate about those titles. And of course you have your fanboy-console warriors, but nothing you can really do about that. (And in the list above... when RE4 won, it was still Cube-exclusive at the time, wasn't it? I thought the PS2 version came out the following January)

Or maybe exclusives as someone mentioned tend to push the envelope more and end up better than most multiplatforms for the most part.

I dont think its a coincidence all GAF winners so far have been exclusives.

 

[DeadGzuz]

Absolutely no PS3 only owners are voting in this thread, right ? They are the majority in this thread.
Maybe the people you are talking of just liked these games more than Uncharted 2. Is this forbidden or something ? You're a troll, but still, next time be more subtle.

So says the king xbot? PS3 owners are the smallest install base WW, now they are taking over the poll? Paranoid?

 

[timetokill]

Or maybe exclusives as someone mentioned tend to push the envelope more and end up better than most multiplatforms for the most part.

I dont think its a coincidence all GAF winners so far have been exclusives.

I'm not saying that exclusives can't be better games than multiplatform games. I'm just saying I think the other things I mentioned are also part of the equation.

 

[Dartastic]

Street Fighter 4 - 3
Uncharted 2 - 2
Assassin's Creed 2 - 2
Batman AA - 2
Dragon Age - 1

 

[JudgeN]

I'm amazed UC2 has a 96 gameranking, its in the 10 top of all time and people are saying that it not GOTY material and that its only being voted cause everyone a sony fanboy :lol



WTF people

 

[Cheech]

Are you mental?

You gave InFamous 2 points in this very thread

So do you have an agenda or are you just misinformed?

Read my post again. I was talking about people who ONLY voted for Sony published, PS3 exclusives.

 

[timetokill]

I'm amazed UC2 has a 96 gameranking, I believe its in the 10 top of all time and people are saying that it not GOTY material and that its only being voted cause everyone a sony fanboy :lol



WTF people

I don't think many are saying Uncharted 2 is undeserving, and really everyone expected it to perform very well in the voting. I think people are more calling attention to the number of posts that feature only games that are exclusive to one console or another.

 

[Cheech]

I'm amazed UC2 has a 96 gameranking, its in the 10 top of all time and people are saying that it not GOTY material and that its only being voted cause everyone a sony fanboy :lol

UC2 is a linear platformer with a lot of pretty cutscenes and geography. Maybe I'm jaded, but I actually thought the first title had a better story and was more interesting. UC2 was just more of the same, with a lot more padding (the cave sequence... good god).

Game reviews are great for people who haven't played thousands of games and are not sure what to buy. For guys like us, they're irrelevant, which is why fanboy pollution of GAF's GOTYs annoys me. I may even be overreacting based on my lukewarm reaction to MGS4 last year, and UC2 this year.

 

[Neuromancer]

UC2 was just more of the same, with a lot more padding (the cave sequence... good god).

I hope you're not talking about my favorite level, the ice cave. =(

 

[will123456]

Uncharted 2 - 3
inFamous - 2
Batman AA - 2
Demon's Souls - 2
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - 1

 

[WinFonda]

Read my post again. I was talking about people who ONLY voted for Sony published, PS3 exclusives.

You're still giving people shit for including games you yourself enjoyed. That's backwards. I don't see what it matters if they only list PS3 games. There's no reasonable argument out there that says Killzone 2 or Uncharted 2 are undeserving of a mention. Really, I haven't seen anyone in this thread list a "bad" game yet.

 

[Vamphuntr]

Also some people only have one console. Are they supposed to vote for games they never played only to vote for games that are on different platforms.

 

[bonesquad]

I'll keep this simple and hope people don't jump all over it as biased against handhelds and Rare.


Uncharted 2 - 3
DJ Hero - 2
Borderlands - 2
wipeEout HD fury - 1
Beatles Rock Band - 1
Flower - 1


Touch choice with the top 3. I've put the most time into Borderlands (so far), and I love DJ Hero, but UC2's awesome presentation and overall package give it the nod. I almost added Auditorium which I recently got for iPhone, but hate the installment plan buying philosophy... SF4 also just missed, because it hates me.

 

[Keikoku]

So says the king xbot? PS3 owners are the smallest install base WW, now they are taking over the poll? Paranoid?

Yeah I'm the king Xbot with the same number of PS3 and 360 exclusives in my list. :lol

And I don't see what the WW installbase has to do with anything. I was talking about this thread only. And it was no accusation about people "taking over the poll", just an answer to your post claiming bullshit about multiplat games and Xbox owners. If someone wants to put ODST or anything else over any game in his list, his choice, an average troll like you doesn't have anything to say about it. Plus, not everybody owns all consoles. That's why it would be totally stupid to claim that UC2 won because of fanboys, I'm not in the side of people who are pretending that.
But keep trolling, it's entertaining.

 

[JEKKI]

Bubble Bobble Plus - 3
Outrun Online Arcade - 2
DJ Max Fever - 2
Retro Game Challenge - 1
Henry Hatsworth - 1
Raiden Fighters Aces - 1

 

[drtomoe123]

Demon's Souls - 3
Uncharted 2 - 2
Devil Summoner 2 - 2
Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 - 2
Pokemon HeartGold - 1

 

[NIGHT-]

People here really still think MGS4 deserved GOTY last year?

Nope.

 

[DigiMish]

:lol @ people saying that Uncharted 2 doesn't deserve it because only fanboys are voting for it. You guys need to wake up.

 

[DigiMish]

Ignoring the company angle of your post, that's actually a very valid point.

If someone plays only one game in 2009 and (has to) call this his GOTY, is he really in a position to judge the best game(s) of that year? I mean, obviously not everyone can play every game out there, but is there a minimum threshold of [worthwhile]

Spoiler

who decides what is worthwhile?

games someone should've played to be able to participate in a GOTY thread? Something to think about for next year's thread, for sure.


I say force people to make a Top 10 GOTY list or they aren't allowed to participate. Bam.

Sure, why not. You're taking this list too seriously.

 

[AniHawk]

I definitely like last year's voting system better. Wasn't Anihawk in charge of this shit? What happened?

1. Every year there was someone else who started their GOTY threads. I felt it was kinda selfish to keep doing it year after year.
2. Five is a good "round" number to stop at.
3. People complained that the system could use some tweaking.
4. I was getting really tired of doing it year after year.

So last year was my last year. I had the time this year to do it, but I've been enjoying my time off for once. It's been a rough couple of months schedule-wise. So now people can experiment with different systems and see what works since I wasn't going to change from my own style.

I was planning on doing a Games of the Generation thing about PS2/DC/GBA/XBX/GC but the GAMES OF ALL TIME thing happened and kinda rendered it moot.

 

[shintoki]

I'm amazed UC2 has a 96 gameranking, its in the 10 top of all time and people are saying that it not GOTY material and that its only being voted cause everyone a sony fanboy :lol



WTF people

Few things.

Hit the nail on the head with the "They must be a Sony Fanboy! LOL!!!!". I'd say the game is easily Game of the Year Material. Probably the best example of it for this year. Unquestionable. There are games with allot more depth or complexity. But this one has the best of both worlds going for it. I'd say what is the problem you have with Uncharted 2 RAWR!!!! :lol

You manage to hit the other side of the argument also. The game is a 96% on GR, and is already considered a top 10 of all time. Even on Gaf's list it ranked 14. All pretty much within less than a month of it being out. It's extremely hard to argue that it isn't overrated and allot of that hype isn't coming from fanboys of the system. The game is extremely scripted(Focus on platforming being really automated) and linear, with allot of focus on Story. With a really crappy online(But to continue with credit, even with the crappy online I still played it for a month. I barely lasted a weekend in Gears).

It definitely fits the Blockbuster mentality. Allot of hype right off the bat. A bit down the road. Good...but not as good once I cooled down.

In the end of it all. Come on, it's just a silly lil' list for fun. It's no big deal. Even I give games shit here and there. But as long as you are playing the games you like. Why give two shits about what a group of people who aren't you think in the end.

 

[LALILULELO]

Two Points
SFIV - 2
Bayonetta - 2
Demons souls - 2

One Point
Batman AA - 1
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite - 1
Mario & Luigi B.I.S - 1
Zelda spirit tracks - 1

 

[AniHawk]

I'm amazed UC2 has a 96 gameranking, its in the 10 top of all time and people are saying that it not GOTY material and that its only being voted cause everyone a sony fanboy :lol



WTF people

Yeah like GTA IV is the number one rated game this generation so that means it should have been rated the number one game last year too.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Yuck, reading the last few pages of this thread makes me want to shower. Maybe we should just have a Sony GOTY, Microsoft GOTY and a Nintendo GOTY since it doesn't seem like this board full of supposed adults can behave like them.

 

[belvedere]

3 points
Uncharted 2

2 points
Killzone 2

1 point
Modern Warfare 2
Dragon Age Origins

 

[AniHawk]

Yuck, reading the last few pages of this thread makes me want to shower. Maybe we should just have a Sony GOTY, Microsoft GOTY and a Nintendo GOTY since it doesn't seem like this board full of supposed adults can behave like them.

I was really tempted just to post a results thread without any polling and just make everything up.

 

[neojubei]

UC2 is a linear platformer with a lot of pretty cutscenes and geography. Maybe I'm jaded, but I actually thought the first title had a better story and was more interesting. UC2 was just more of the same, with a lot more padding (the cave sequence... good god).

Game reviews are great for people who haven't played thousands of games and are not sure what to buy. For guys like us, they're irrelevant, which is why fanboy pollution of GAF's GOTYs annoys me. I may even be overreacting based on my lukewarm reaction to MGS4 last year, and UC2 this year.

Whatever man, you just mad people liked Uncharted 2 and MGS4. Why not just punch the air while you are so upset. People have different opinions on what games they like, not everyone is going to like the same games you do.

:lol @ people saying that Uncharted 2 doesn't deserve it because only fanboys are voting for it. You guys need to wake up.

Pretty much.

 

[btkadams]

if you only have one system, you can only really vote for games of that system. im not gonna be a ps3 owner and put up 360 games to make it "fair". i wouldn't be a fair judge of 360 games. regardless, it didn't stop me from thinking about all the 360 games my friends have been gaming this year and what they thought was best. you know what? they played modern warfare 2 or halo.

get a grip people! it's just a poll.

oh, and:
Uncharted 2 - 3
God of War Collection - 2
Modern Warfare 2 - 2

Flower - 1
Killzone 2 - 1
Ratchet and Clank FUTURE: A Crack in Time - 1

 

[AniHawk]

I saw MGS4 at Best Buy today for $25 and almost picked it up. I've seen the very end of the game though, and knowing there are 45 minute cutscenes... I don't think I could handle it. I loved MGS3, too.

 

[btkadams]

I saw MGS4 at Best Buy today for $25 and almost picked it up. I've seen the very end of the game though, and knowing there are 45 minute cutscenes... I don't think I could handle it. I loved MGS3, too.

if you're a franchise fan, you will very much enjoy it at $25 bucks.

 

[Hazelhurst]

Uncharted 2 - 3 points
Killzone 2 - 2 points
Critter Crunch - 2 points
inFamous - 1 point
Flower - 1 point
God of War Collection - 1 point

 

[jim-jam bongs]

so it would be mature if people threw their votes in for games they haven't played? if you only have one system, you can only really vote for games of that system. im not gonna be a ps3 owner and put up 360 games to make it "fair". i wouldn't be a fair judge of 360 games. regardless, it didn't stop me from thinking about all the 360 games my friends have been gaming this year and what they thought was best. you know what? they played modern warfare 2 or halo.

get a grip.

Whoah you got me twisted mang. It's just that people listing PS3 games are being called Sony fanboys, people listing 360 games are being called Xbots... it's all fucked up. I was jokingly suggesting that the only way to avoid these things turning into page after page of people accusing other people of being fanboys is to have a GOTY for each platform.

 

[AniHawk]

if you're a franchise fan, you will very much enjoy it at $25 bucks.

But I don't have 25 dollar bucks.

I also saw Dragon Age for $45. I had to escape with my $20 PSN card for Trine or else I would have spent about $100 in games I didn't mean to get.

 

[btkadams]

Whoah you got me twisted mang. It's just that people listing PS3 games are being called Sony fanboys, people listing 360 games are being called Xbots... it's all fucked up. I was jokingly suggesting that the only way to avoid these things turning into page after page of people accusing other people of being fanboys is to have a GOTY for each platform.

WOW im really sorry about that. i totally misunderstood. well then my comment stands to everyone else complaining. sorry again

 

[jim-jam bongs]

WOW im really sorry about that. i totally misunderstood. well then my comment stands to everyone else complaining. sorry again

No harm done, it was one of the most polite disagreement posts in the whole thread :lol

 

[ethelred]

I still don't like this system at all. :/ I guess I'll give all of my top ten games equal points since we're stuck with this for this year. Bleh.

1. Dragon Age
2. Mario & Luigi 3
3. Devil Survivor
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum
5. Assassin's Creed 2
6. Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. King Abaddon
7. Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
8. Professor Layton & the Diabolical Box
9. Another Code R (European import)
10. Little King's Story

 

[pakkit]

Flower - 3
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - 3
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 1
Borderlands - 1
Tiger PGA Tour 2010 Wii - 1
Infamous - 1

 

[conman]

Uncharted 2 : 3 points. - No brainer. I finished this game in a single sitting because I just couldn't stop playing. Started after dinner and didn't stop until I saw daylight. I could do without the competitive multiplayer, but the co-op games are fantastic.

Assassin's Creed 2: 2 points. - Definitely not as good as its predecessor, but damn this sequel is still good. Some disappointing omissions and cuts, but the overarching storyline is sharper and smarter than just about any other mainstream game.

BlazBlue : 2 points. - Singlehandedly revived my interest in fighting games after over a decade hiatus. Fun and beautiful with sharp controls and almost flawless online. Completely enamored.

Fight Night Round 4 : 1 point. - Before the button patch, this was the best boxing game ever made.

Batman: Arkham Asylum : 1 point. - Great fun for a week. Then I was done.

Killzone 2: 1 point. - Completely absorbing online experience. Nothing original, but so beautifully executed and addictive as hell. Why don't more games do clan support like this?!

 

[rareside]

Uncharted 2 - 3 points
Batman: AA - 2 points
MLB The Show '09 - 1 point
Flower - 1 point
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 1 point

 

[timetokill]

But I don't have 25 dollar bucks.

I also saw Dragon Age for $45. I had to escape with my $20 PSN card for Trine or else I would have spent about $100 in games I didn't mean to get.

Not sure how much our taste in games lines up (I think it mostly lines up well outside of the Metroid Prime games) -- but I would recommend Dragon Age as, personally, somebody who hasn't played the Baldur's Gate games and as somebody who rarely finishes a long game. When I played Dragon Age I think it was 40+ hours, and I've already started a second character and I'm over 10 hours into that one. Just my personal experience with it.

I still don't like this system at all. :/ I guess I'll give all of my top ten games equal points since we're stuck with this for this year. Bleh.

I definitely hear the complaints of the group who dislikes this new system. I do appreciate that you still voted, however.


As AniHawk said, there were people who wanted to see experimentation in the way it was done and personally I geek out over this kind of thing, so I was really happy to get the chance to do it. There were things I thought could be improved or that I'd like to try. And of course AniHawk was stepping aside.

So again, I'm sorry to the people who preferred AniHawk's method. The main takeaway I was getting from the first (and admittedly flawed) version of this was that people wanted to be able to list more games and that they were worried that one game would dominate the votes when it could get 5x the amount of the smaller games so easily. I felt that this new version did a lot to remedy that, by making it so people could list more games with their points as well as reducing the impact of the top games over the smaller ones (although truthfully, in either version the winner this year would be obvious). And considering we still have nearly the same amount of games nominated as last year, I don't think the change in systems has really affected games from getting recognized, besides on individual lists.

Since then, I've taken that some people liked doing full Top 10's and others didn't. Some liked ranking them entirely while others liked putting them into tiers. Some people like listing a lot of games, while others like listing only a few. So I've gotten a lot of positive feedback alongside some of the (vocal) negative comments. I appreciate them both. If I were to do it again, I think I would consider expanding the number of points available to 20, while making the top game receive a score of 4. This wouldn't allow a completely discrete ranking per position, but I feel it would be a good way to get the best of both sides. Though not everyone would do them this way (a flexible aspect I like about the new system), the people doing Top 10's could use a format like this:

#1 - 4 points
#2 - 3 points
#3 - 3 points
#4 - 2 points
#5 - 2 points
#6 - 2 points
#7 - 1 point
#8 - 1 point
#9 - 1 point
#10 - 1 point

.. for a total of 20 points. It would allow people to list more games as well (if they wished to), allow people to still group games into tiers instead of ranking them individually if they so chose, and allow people to post full Top 10's while still ordering them somewhat.

Anyway this has all been a lot of fun for me so I appreciate everyone who is voting, and definitely want to say thanks to the people who, while disagreeing with the system, are still voting and helping with the experimental new system.

At any rate I've finished through Page 6 of the votes, and I'll post some more obscure "facts" about the updated tally in a moment.