Support NeoGAF

[VRMN]

I base it purely off the way he talks about games on the podcast. Unless it's a fighting game, an FPS or some 16-bit game that he loves, his response his generally, "yeah, I played that game for an hour and never came back," or he didn't like it at all. He's always the guy who looks at the list and says he doesn't feel strongly about any of the games. His mind seems very closed and he never seems to see what might be fun, interesting or different about a game that doesn't perfectly meet his criteria for a good game.

Honestly, he's the one on staff that seems earnestly excited for what he thinks VR can bring to games. He's not giving things a free pass because they're in VR, but multiple times throughout deliberations he brought up games that he thought did neat things in VR and pushed for those things to be represented in their awards. He's also in love with Hitman just like the rest of the staff.

The way I look at it is that he's been in the game so long that he's seen a lot of everything and so seeks things out that are kind of same old same old, but resonate with his deepest affections in the medium, or looks for things that he finds interesting outside those walls. Those things are sometimes few and far between, but I don't doubt his love for gaming.

 

[Kusagari]

I'd much rather games like Stardew, Inivisible Inc, DOTA that one of them outright loves make the list than something like Gears 4 or U4 which most liked but aren't passionate about.

 

[Teggy]

But what you said is you want him out of reviews. You don't want him to review games he does enjoy and genres he has expertise on because you don't like his opinions on the podcast?

Also the meme of "Jeff doesn't like any video games" is as old as the internet. He only likes fighting games, FPS, and 16 bit? His GOTY list has a bunch of VR games, a racing game, a rhythm game, a F2P roguelike, a puzzle game, a hacking game, whatever the heck Rez is, another puzzle game, a couple of shooters, a stealth game, and whatever the heck Superhot is.

I mean, I think his incredibly restrictive view on the quality of video games (and of course his power over the conversation) makes it difficult for GB to have the best GOTY discussion possible. I don't think he should be banned from reviewing games, but more and more it has seemed that his viewpoint has had a negative effect on these awards. Sorry that wasn't clear.

 

[tenderbrew]

I agree that Giant Bomb needs some more diversity of opinion on the staff. Klepek and Walker to some degree were that. Or just have the guys with the vastly different opinions speak up more. Jason should have fed some passion into things he really cared about and got them on the list. Even if it was SFV, if he truly believed it was there, we've learned this year and last year with Invisible Inc that anything can happen. Dan finally fought for Stardew, but I feel like they really should have kept pushing the Picross issue. Especially since they already had Jeff. AND GODDAMNIT DAN SHOULD HAVE FOUGHT HARDER FOR TROPICAL FREEZE (still hurts).

The downfall to Jeff & Brad (who let's be honest carry the largest weight of opinion in these debates) is that they tend to both like fairly middle-of-the-road standard AAA titles as there true favorites. Sometimes that almost breaks (Saints Row The Third v Skyrim) and sometimes it totally does (Mario Maker phenomena), but then you have years like this year where my favorite part was seeing Uncharted 4 NOT make it. Or we're arguing about the fourth Farcry game making it.

I still think they should bring in the real deal Rory who is just off the wall. Love that guy.

 

[Laurentius]

I mean, I think his incredibly restrictive view on the quality of video games (and of course his power over the conversation) makes it difficult for GB to have the best GOTY discussion possible. I don't think he should be banned from playing games, but more and more it has seemed that his viewpoint has had a negative effect on these awards. Sorry that wasn't clear.

I still don't know what you want, though. Do you want him to stop writing reviews? Do you want him to not participate in the GOTY podcasts? Do you want him to stop being on the Bombcast entirely?

 

[Piston Hyundai]

fairly middle-of-the-road standard AAA titles

Mario Maker

what the fuck are you talking about

 

[Teggy]

I still don't know what you want, though. Do you want him to stop writing reviews? Do you want him to not participate in the GOTY podcasts? Do you want him to stop being on the Bombcast entirely?

I already prefaced it by saying it would never happen, but yes, in my perfect world Jeff wouldn't be a part of the GOTY group discussions. That's it. I sometimes get annoyed by things he says in the weekly podcasts, but overall I think he's very entertaining. I just don't like the effect he has on the GOTY discussions.

 

[tenderbrew]

what the fuck are you talking about

I'm not sure because you took 2 different points, quoted both of them and offered no context for your question.

 

[Laurentius]

I already prefaced it by saying it would never happen, but yes, in my perfect world Jeff wouldn't be a part of the GOTY group discussions.

I see. Your post made it sound like you wanted him to stop writing reviews.

 

[Teggy]

I see. Your post made it sound like you wanted him to stop writing reviews.

No, sorry that wasn't clear. It was just something I banged out on my iPad.

 

[Catvoca]

I already prefaced it by saying it would never happen, but yes, in my perfect world Jeff wouldn't be a part of the GOTY group discussions. That's it. I sometimes get annoyed by things he says in the weekly podcasts, but overall I think he's very entertaining. I just don't like the effect he has on the GOTY discussions.

 

[tenderbrew]

I see. Your post made it sound like you wanted him to stop writing reviews.

Jeff is great. He's a great personality and he's a huge part of why the site is awesome. It's hard to say don't use him for GOTY because at times he's the most pragmatic in stopping it from becoming a purely sterilized and democratic process with very little passion.

However, there can definitely be some debate on how he influences in these year end debates. In the end, Giant Bomb's list means nothing just like they want it to, but it's also FUN, just like they've stated they want it to be. Tantrums like the one against Inside make it an ever more difficult issue to solve. But I definitely thought as a long-time paying subscriber that this year was going to have either Titanfall 2 or Superhot (or Superhot VR) in literally every top 3 list somewhere because that's what Jeff had liked based on the first podcast or two. Gladly it didn't quite end up like that, but Jeff definitely can throw his weight around a lot more than the other guys and it's obvious (super-obvious now that it's video) that the other guys are sometimes uncomfortable confronting him.

 

[Human Trashcan]

Jeff is just Jeff and you have to make peace with that. He's the guy whose list I look at at the end of the year and go "huh, I had no idea he actually liked that game" for half of it, because he rarely sounds enthusiastic (but when he does, like when Doom came out, it's amazing). I always feel like he struggles to put together a top 10 because he doesn't actually feel very strongly about many games, at least that's the impression I get. I only really hate it when he pulls some bullshit like reading wikipedia to dq Life Is Strange. He can be very mean-spirited sometimes, too.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I'd much rather games like Stardew, Inivisible Inc, DOTA that one of them outright loves make the list than something like Gears 4 or U4 which most liked but aren't passionate about.

I like this outlook.

I already prefaced it by saying it would never happen, but yes, in my perfect world Jeff wouldn't be a part of the GOTY group discussions. That's it. I sometimes get annoyed by things he says in the weekly podcasts, but overall I think he's very entertaining. I just don't like the effect he has on the GOTY discussions.

"Come to hustle, be ready to tussle" Jeff there or no.

 

[Glass Shark]

Did Hitman win? This thread is hard to follow.

yes but only because Jeff threatened to fire everyone if they didn't bend to his will

Spoiler

/s

 

[patapuf]

They have some holes in their interests, like strategy or JRPG's, but overall they have a pretty broad range of tastes.

Just look at their personal lists, it's full off stuff that's not mainstream AAA games. And despite everyone saying they only like old games they seem way more willing than other traditional outlets to actually cover new stuff like MOBA's or VR and other things indepth, rather than stick to the big publishers and formerly big franchises.

 

[hitgirl]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

 

[Human Trashcan]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

That's certainly an opinion, that you can have. I think it was a pretty great year.

 

[JesseEwiak]

They have some holes in their interests, like strategy or JRPG's, but overall they have a pretty broad range of tastes or interests.

Just look at their personal lists, it's full off stuff that's not mainstream AAA games. And despite everyone saying they only like old games they seem way more willing than other traditional outlets to actually cover new stuff like MOBA's or VR and other things indepth, rather than stick to the big publishers and formerly big franchises.

Honestly, when you really get down to it, the argument becomes, "they aren't giving props to the games I think are the best."

Since it's not like ya' know, like you said, any of their GOTY lists are all AAA big budget explosion fests. But, there's a chunk of the audience that doesn't like both small indie titles or AAA big budget titles and since frankly, the current GB crew isn't much into that gap that's full of smaller Japanese titles, more esoteric mechanics focused indie games, and the like, it seems to those people that the Giantbomb crew has these giant holes in their lists.

 

[Chumley]

Jeff is just Jeff and you have to make peace with that. He's the guy whose list I look at at the end of the year and go "huh, I had no idea he actually liked that game" for half of it, because he rarely sounds enthusiastic (but when he does, like when Doom came out, it's amazing). I always feel like he struggles to put together a top 10 because he doesn't actually feel very strongly about many games, at least that's the impression I get. I only really hate it when he pulls some bullshit like reading wikipedia to dq Life Is Strange. He can be very mean-spirited sometimes, too.

The only game Jeff sounded legitimately enthusiastic about all year was Doom. And it got number 4 on his list. He's weird.

Also, as for his influence on GOTY discussions, it's just a fact that everyone shows a level of deference to him that no one else gets simply because he's the boss. I'm not a huge fan of how much power he has over the discussions but it is what it is, though between his nonsense logic for kicking Doom off of #1 and the pettiness over Inside he was probably more annoying here than in the last few talks. This year wasn't really all that memorable anyway aside from Alex's Hottest Mess segment.

 

[firehawk12]

The only game Jeff sounded legitimately enthusiastic about all year was Doom. And it got number 4 on his list. He's weird.

Also, as for his influence on GOTY discussions, it's just a fact that everyone shows a level of deference to him that no one else get simply because he's the boss. I'm not a huge fan of how much power he has over the discussions but it is what it is. This year wasn't really all that memorable anyway aside from Alex's Hottest Mess segment.

If Jeff actually had power, Inside wouldn't be on the list. lol

 

[Glass Shark]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

there's never been a better time to play video games

 

[chrominance]

I mean, Jeff's a part of Giant Bomb. If you're arguing that the GOTY lists should reflect the consensus of the site staff, and then also want to explicitly exclude one of them because you don't like his influence on that consensus, you might want to look up the definition of "consensus."

 

[Hellsing321]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

Unless you have a very narrow taste in games I can't see how you can think that. Personally, I think this year was the best year since this generation began.

 

[RecRoulette]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

Are you primarily a Nintendo fan? Because that's the only way I could see that statement being true.

 

[wild wild rice]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

Hm, Nintendo was the only thing missing for me, really.

 

[Glass Shark]

Are you primarily a Nintendo fan? Because that's the only way I could see that statement being true.

Japanese games in general were underrepresented, so if that's your bag then I can see being disappointed. But if that's your bag then Giant Bomb as a whole is probably disappointing anyway.

 

[Laurentius]

Out of curiosity...is the phrase "I don't think it hangs" something new this year? I don't remember that being so prevalent in previous GOTY podcasts but maybe I'm remembering wrong. I felt like it was said every 30 seconds this time around.

It's not a problem, just kind of funny.

 

[Glass Shark]

Out of curiosity...is the phrase "I don't think it hangs" something new this year? I don't remember that being so prevalent in previous GOTY podcasts but maybe I'm remembering wrong. I felt like it was said every 30 seconds this time around.

It's not a problem, just kind of funny.

It's been a thing for at least the past three years or so. Definitely not new this year.

 

[HeeHo]

Gladly it didn't quite end up like that, but Jeff definitely can throw his weight around a lot more than the other guys and it's obvious (super-obvious now that it's video) that the other guys are sometimes uncomfortable confronting him.

I love all these dudes and perhaps maybe the guys should stand their ground more but I felt like sometimes discussions would just be straight up stopped because they could tell Jeff wasn't having it.

I have no idea if he's actually the big boss of the site but maybe that plays a huge factor.

 

[Catvoca]

Reposting from other thread

Austin Walker put up his real top 10 list on Waypoint. Interesting stuff! No Doom but Hitman is on there. No Man's Sky is alarmingly high. Austin really doesn't like The Witness. The number one is a tabletop rpg.

 

[Laurentius]

It's been a thing for at least the past three years or so. Definitely not new this year.

Gotcha, must've just forgotten.

 

[Hasney]

Had to drive 14 hours yesterday and blew through all their GOTY podcasts. Made me realize how bad 2016 was for games.

Unlucky for you. I had a blast and my Top 10 was so goddamn hard to pick just 10.

 

[Kusagari]

I wonder if any of them will even bother to try Nier next year.

Jeff is a fan of both Bayonetta and Rising so he could take to it if he actually tries it.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Is this just a more subtle version of the "Jeff is jaded" argument because its been proven time and time again that he isn't. He has weird tastes and i wouldn't be surprised if it spawned from the many years he has done this thing but thats ok because not everyone will have the same taste for games (for example Tom Chick boggles my mind most of the time but hey that's what he likes )

Also the "Jeff is pulling the strings" conspiracy would make some sense if he never buckled to what the crew likes so many times and also that would mean that Brad would never win any of the arguments if he went against Jeff in something (he's already done that).

 

[BreezyLimbo]

I wonder if any of them will even bother to try Nier next year.

Jeff is a fan of both Bayonetta and Rising so he could take to it if he actually tries it.

Alex, going off by his recent twittering, will definitely play that game.

Also the "Jeff is pulling the strings" conspiracy would make some sense if he never buckled to what the crew likes so many times and also that would mean that Brad would never win any of the arguments if he went against Jeff in something (he's already done that).

It's like people missed the 'best styyyyle' deliberations where it was everyone against jeff and jeff buckled over haaard.

 

[oti]

Reposting from other thread

Oh man, no DOOM or Inside at all.

Where were you when we needed you the most?

 

[chromatic9]

Jeff has really liked Superhot.

What makes me laugh is how many were pointing the finger at Jeff and Giant Bomb over the VR for launch calling it like it is, jaded this and that as if they should be gurning to every experience yet Jeff is really giving VR a go jumping around like ballerina getting into the games while others don't touch it after the launch window.

 

[erotic grandpa]

Guess I'll spoiler tag this stuff since people get mad about lists?

Feel like Jeff's argument of

Spoiler

DOOM not counting because of the multiplayer

might have carried more weight had he mentioned that

Spoiler

Bethesda sold a season pass specifically for the multiplayer right out of the gate, and it still hasn't delivered.

I totally get where Brad and the others were coming from on it standing alone, but as a supplemented package with iffy support, yikes.

Really enjoyed Alex's defense of

Spoiler

Zenyatta, the true best Overwatch character

and, on a more serious note, the closure he put on the site's involvement with

Spoiler

Palmer.

 

[mnz]

I wonder if any of them will even bother to try Nier next year.

Jeff is a fan of both Bayonetta and Rising so he could take to it if he actually tries it.

Word of mouth about it is pretty positive, P* (and 8-4) is involved and it's got that good comeback story feel. I really think most of them will try it. Could be a big surprise hit.

 

[Xeteh]

Was a bit surprised Dishonored 2 wasn't even up for discussion on the top 10. I'm not a huge fan of it, only played about 50% of the missions before i dropped it, but i thought it was quite popular. Did they play it?

Only Jason, not sure if he finished it.

Are you primarily a Nintendo fan? Because that's the only way I could see that statement being true.

I mean, some would say now is the best time for video games.

 

[Curufinwe]

Word of mouth about it is pretty positive, P* (and 8-4) is involved and it's got that good comeback story feel. I really think most of them will try it. Could be a big surprise hit.

It might get lost in the shuffle with Horizon coming out the week before.

Jason will try Ni-Oh I'm sure, and maybe some of the other guys will, too. I don't think I'll have time for it.

 

[jwhit28]

Jeff's

Spoiler

Doom multiplayer

argument was shut down pretty fast and I don't think it had any influence. I think Brad said something like tell me why

Spoiler

Hitman

should win and not why

Spoiler

Doom

should lose, and it worked.

I think Dan's argument of how

Spoiler

Hitman

had the longest lasting effect on the whole office won it and shows how much

Spoiler

id

dropped the ball by not

Spoiler

giving us single player dlc for a game that ends on a cliffhanger

.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Jeff's

Spoiler

Doom multiplayer

argument was shut down pretty fast and I don't think it had any influence. I think Brad said something like tell me why

Spoiler

Hitman

should win and not why

Spoiler

Doom

should lose, and it worked.

I think Dan's argument of how

Spoiler

Hitman

had the longest lasting effect on the whole office won it and shows how much

Spoiler

id

dropped the ball by not

Spoiler

giving us single player dlc for a game that ends on a cliffhanger

.

I don't think it got shut down. He got Vinny to agree that they should look at the total package and that's what they started looking at in terms of competing both games.

I agree with Jeff though.

 

[velvet_nitemare]

Can someone tell me what day and how far into the video this is? Looks glorious as hell

Edit, that was supposed to be Jason's anime bit

 

[Death Metalist]

Can someone tell me what day and how far into the video this is? Looks glorious as hell

Day 4, Best moment segment. 1:26:40. I'm doing my favorite moments from Day 5 but will probably finish tomorrow or after, been quite busy today.

 

[Zornack]

It might get lost in the shuffle with Horizon coming out the week before.

Jason will try Ni-Oh I'm sure, and maybe some of the other guys will, too. I don't think I'll have time for it.

Ni-Oh top 10 in Jason we trust.

 

[SirClinksAlot]

Weirdest thing for me was not a single mention of Final Fantasy XV or The Last Guardian.

I've been playing through XV all week and I think it's one of the best games of the year. I think not having someone like Patrick or Austin on staff really limits what can be nominated for things. Little bit dissappinting.

TLG Alex had just downloaded and started playing when deliberations started. FFXV had also just come out and is a long RPG so not shocking it wouldn't get talked about. Alex also brought up Tokyo Mirage Sessions multiple times and Jason still forced everyone to listen about God Eater even more than on the podcast.

 

[Luminaire]

Ni-Oh top 10 in Jason we trust.

Jason and Brad might fight for it. Jeff will pass it off, Dan won't touch it because Japan = Anime, Vinny won't have time for it, Alex is a maybe on it, Drew will be ???? about it.

 

[Xeteh]

Jason and Brad might fight for it. Jeff will pass it off, Dan won't touch it because Japan = Anime, Vinny won't have time for it, Alex is a maybe on it, Drew will be ???? about it.

Drew: Is it coming out for the Game Boy Micro?