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[Mr. F]

Lol they've completely lost the plot with what best style even means

 

[Santiako]

I'm watching Hitsmas and it's the best thing Giant Bomb has done in years. Holy shit I'm crying from laughter. Vinny is such a treasure.

 

[10k]

It's gotta be Doom.

 

[Zoggy]

This helmet Kruger joke winning coty is not new.

Remember fucking Boyle from velvet sundown?

 

[ArjanN]

For me, when it comes to GOTY, the highs mean more than the lows. The last time I felt the way I did when I was playing Doom was when I played RE:4. That means way more than a subpar multiplayer effort and the Snapmap stuff is actually pretty solid.

Doom has fundamentally changed the way I look at shooters. To me, it marks the same sort of milestone evolutionary leap that Halo and COD:4 made. It is a confident and exceptional rethinking of a 20 year old genre.

I like Doom a lot but I but I think it's pretty much the opposite of an evolutionary leap, unless you're talking inside the Doom franchise only. What's good about it is the execution.

 

[Jintor]

Helmet Kruger even being considered for character of the year is kinda exactly what I love about Giant bomb

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Spoiler

This helmet Kruger joke winning coty is not new.

Remember fucking Boyle from velvet sundown?

can you spoiler tag award spoilers

 

[Nose Master]

Cross post from the OT since it's more relevant here;

Anybody kind of...not feeling the GOTY podcasts so far? It's hard to put my finger on it but it feels really low energy compared to years past. Maybe it's that Alex/Jeff are the only ones that seem to have played a lot of stuff enough to actually talk about it.

edit; should say, the videos have been great so far. I'll take more of these over skits any year.

They definitely don't seem to give a shit about most of the categories this year. Even Hottest Mess was just Alex slapping them on the wrist and showing a bit of passion only to be met with "yeah, I guess so."

So many categories this year have boiled down to "Best fighting game? Well, you sort of fight in Doom with guns so, that should definitely be in the top 3." Like, best *style*, for Doom? It looks like a UE Tech Demo. Doom guy being a meathead that smashes everything is kind of funny, but not enough to carry the entire game for style ffs.

Or "We're all good on cutting ____ right? /ends up winning twenty minutes later." It's all just shrugs while they cut games for really awkward reasons, and end up with a group of 3 that no one feels strongly about either way. The whole

Spoiler

cutting Chief Beef because of headcanon but having Helmut *win* because of headcanon was really stupid. Samuel Hayden and Helmut are barely even characters.

 

[Blitzrules240]

I'm watching Hitsmas and it's the best thing Giant Bomb has done in years. Holy shit I'm crying from laughter. Vinny is such a treasure.

Seriously,

Spoiler

when he nonchalantly throws the knife off the roof and is able to retrieve it. I haven't laughed that hard in the longest time.

 

[ScientificPizza]

Lol they've completely lost the plot with what best style even means

Considering it was originally a category that they just added because they liked saying best style a lot I don't know that it can lose meaning

Finishing up day two and yeah, Jeff and Brad are going to push doom as number one goty and no one elses opinion will matter in that. Kinda sucks they'll bully that to the top

it's not bullying if everyone else agrees

 

[Glass Shark]

Lol they've completely lost the plot with what best style even means

It can mean whatever it needs to mean in a given situation.

 

[forknknife]

I like Doom a lot but I but I think it's pretty much the opposite of an evolutionary leap, unless you're talking inside the Doom franchise only. What's good about it is the execution.

Completely agree. Doom is my GOTY but i wouldn't say it's revolutionary, it's just polished and fun as no other game this year imo and it's a good lesson for other developers on how to revive a franchise.

 

[Mister Negative]

I really wish Hitman was their GOTY so they'd have the same GOTY as me but Doom looks like it's starting to run away with it.

But if you look at the DOOM content to Hitman content, Hitman is their golden goose. The Hitman videos have been fucking hilarious (but very irritating to watch as a seasoned player myself. You don't how many times I've yelled at Brad and Dan through my screen).

The Hitmas video is Video of the Year so far.

Spoiler

HELMUT FUCKING KRUGER

winning Best New Character was hilarious if you've seen the quick look.

Getting content out of something doesn't make it the best game. That's a silly argument.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I feel like this year's discussions are hampered by the fact that there are fewer "reviewers" (i.e. no Patrick/Austin) than in the previous years. Too often only one of them, if someone at all, has actually played the game that is discussed extensively. This makes the discussions often quite shallow since they have rely on the opinions of the person that actually played the game so heavily.

I can relate.
The site I write for is currently putting together a GOTY 2016 list. While discussing the games with other writers, I realized that I hadn't played any of the popular GOTY picks.

Last Guardian? Nope
FFXV? Nope
Dark Souls 3? I literally just finished it a few days ago.
DOOM? I just played through the first level a few minutes ago.
Hitman? Nope

I reviewed over 100 games this year, so it's not like I've been sitting on my hands either.
There're so many games, and so little time.

 

[ArjanN]

Anybody kind of...not feeling the GOTY podcasts so far? It's hard to put my finger on it but it feels really low energy compared to years past. Maybe it's that Alex/Jeff are the only ones that seem to have played a lot of stuff enough to actually talk about it.

That's almost always an issue, and especially in year with as many good games as this. I always felt they should probably start playing each other's GOTY candidates earlier than like a week before their GOTY talks.

Their categories probably also need to be more specific, because if there's too many entries (like for best debut) there's not a lot of time to actually go into detail.

 

[Kill3r7]

Completely agree. Doom is my GOTY but i wouldn't say it's revolutionary, it's just polished and fun as no other game this year imo and it's a good lesson for other developers on how to revive a franchise.

Agreed. It is more evolutionary vs revolutionary, I think the best comparison I can come up with Gears 4. Gears was incredibly popular last gen but it was very much a time and place thing. Gears 4 is polished, same great gameplay yet the whole package feels somehow lesser than the individual parts. DOOM also was very much a time and place game. Yet, id somehow managed to make it fun and relevant today. They really deserve more praise for that.

 

[Heroman]

VR segment was such a werid segment because at certain point it just became what VR games that Jeff liked and played

 

[Justinh]

I'm watching Hitsmas and it's the best thing Giant Bomb has done in years. Holy shit I'm crying from laughter. Vinny is such a treasure.

Seriously,

Spoiler

when he nonchalantly throws the knife off the roof and is able to retrieve it. I haven't laughed that hard in the longest time.

Haha, OMG. I forgot about that part. That bit had me rolling.

 

[Glass Shark]

VR segment was such a werid segment because at certain point it just became what VR games that Jeff liked and played

I mean... Jeff has played VR the most, so it makes sense? I don't even think any of the rest of them own headsets.

 

[Incandenza]

Agreed. It is more evolutionary vs revolutionary

fans of the genre will love DOOM

 

[jwhit28]

Agreed. It is more evolutionary vs revolutionary, I think the best comparison I can come up with Gears 4. Gears was incredibly popular last gen but it was very much a time and place thing. Gears 4 is polished, same great gameplay yet the whole package feels somehow lesser than the individual parts. DOOM also was very much a time and place game. Yet, id somehow managed to make it fun and relevant today. They really deserve more praise for that.

I think what is amazing about Doom is that it's not the right time and place. If you just describe the individual parts it should feel dated and corny.

Instead they looked at the whole Doom setup with the same sort of self awareness that Rockstar is good at and it works out.

 

[Blitzrules240]

Getting content out of something doesn't make it the best game. That's a silly argument.

Fitting username jk.

But yes, I see your argument but Giant Bomb really benefited from the Hitman videos. The premium videos and elusive target attempts were all quality entertainment. I could see it being a key factor in it's GOTY campaign but maybe in the end, they'll favor other noteworthy games.

Hitman really was a wonderful surprise this year though.

 

[hamchan]

I like how Dan always suggests something everyone else loves should be cut and then they just barrage him with arguments until Dan himself is agreeing and then starts making his own arguments as to why it should stay.

 

[BlastProcessing]

I like Doom a lot but I but I think it's pretty much the opposite of an evolutionary leap, unless you're talking inside the Doom franchise only. What's good about it is the execution.

If you want to call it evolution rather than revolution, that's fine. Either way it's a milestone. You could argue that Halo and COD:4 where simply evolutions as well, I don't think it changes much about their significance.

I would argue that the combat flow of Doom 2016 is pretty different from classic Doom. They are both fast games but Doom 2016 rewards you for pushing forward in a way that older Doom games did not. To me, Old Doom was about managing your health and Armor. It was a game where you would circle strafe around dudes until you had to retreat to find a health pack. I actually never really liked the old Doom games for this reason.

Doom 2016 fundamentally changes this. Instead of the one dominant combat verb "circle" you now had other dimensions. The game has a verticality that takes the combat off of a single plane and more importantly adds the option of charging straight fucking through your enemies.

The best thing about Doom is that when the chips are down and your health is low, you are not incentivised to run away, you are compelled to charge further into danger. In Doom, the only way out is through. That is something that I just don't get from other shooters.

 

[brainzelda]

I feel like this year's discussions are hampered by the fact that there are fewer "reviewers" (i.e. no Patrick/Austin) than in the previous years. Too often only one of them, if someone at all, has actually played the game that is discussed extensively. This makes the discussions often quite shallow since they have rely on the opinions of the person that actually played the game so heavily. Add to that the fact that there haven't really been any "big" games that relied on story or any big design innovations, but rather almost all stand out titles this year that at least most of the crew has played were mostly gameplay focused games, which is kind of hard to have a lengthy compelling discussion about.

Back in the day they definitely put an effort to try and have a majority, if not all, of the main crew play most of the heavy hitter AAA titles that year. They used to harass Vinny about not being "ready" for GOTY deliberations because of his penchant for playing old games instead of current games due to his Gamefly subscription.

I'm assuming that changed due to the West/East coast split, more of them becoming family men, and just a general feeling among the crew that these GOTY deliberations aren't to be taken seriously at all.

 

[Justin]

VR segment was such a werid segment because at certain point it just became what VR games that Jeff liked and played

I am laughing my ass off at Vinny playing budget cuts and google earth

 

[MassiveNights]

The discussion around Best Looking was completely bizarre. 2 of the games in the top 3 wouldn't have been there for me.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Brad about Trico - I'm not sure we can put a character that never talks in our top 3

Also Brad two minutes later - Doomguy is the real best character of the year but he isn't new

 

[Zornack]

VR segment was such a werid segment because at certain point it just became what VR games that Jeff liked and played

He has the most time with VR and is the only one who owns a PC VR headset.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Brad about Trico - I'm not sure we can put a character that never talks in our top 3

Also Brad two minutes later - Doomguy is the real best character of the year but he isn't new

people keep saying Jeff is the real threat when it comes to pushing for his game to be #1

when in reality it's Brad

 

[jwhit28]

The best thing about Doom is that when the chips are down and your health is low, you are not incentivised to run away, you are compelled to charge further into danger. In Doom, the only way out is through. That is something that I just don't get from other shooters.

Yeah it turned how I think about game structure completely backwards. In most games when a door locks and won't open until you clear the roo, I get a feeling of lets get this over with so I can go back to exploring and achieving these objectives. In Doom I just want the door to stay locked and demons to keep spawning and it's not because the exploration is bad. I actually like the Metroid Prime-lite exploration.

The demons weren't in the way of my goals. My goals were in the way of me ripping and tearing.

 

[hamchan]

So Jeff, Brad and Vinny all chose BF1 to be in Best Looking and UC4 was only chosen by Dan and Alex and somehow UC4 snuck in.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

So Jeff, Brad and Vinny all chose BF1 to be in Best Looking and UC4 was only chosen by Dan and Alex and somehow UC4 snuck in.

That's why I believe Alex and Dan will push Overwatch to #1

they'll sneak it in to the first spot, and then say something like 'Well Titanfall 2 can be #2' to appease jeff and then say 'hitman will be #3' to appease brad and doom won't even be in the conversation at all.

 

[Protome]

That's why I believe Alex and Dan will push Overwatch to #1

they'll sneak it in to the first spot, and then say something like 'Well Titanfall 2 can be #2' to appease jeff and then say 'hitman will be #3' to appease brad and doom won't even be in the conversation at all.

Brad said Doom is his #1. It's probably at least second on Jeff's list too and is #1 on Vinny and Drew's.
Doom is winning GOTY.

 

[Dartastic]

I have all of Hitman. I should probably play hitman.

Brad said Doom is his #1. It's probably at least second on Jeff's list too and is #1 on Vinny and Drew's.
Doom is winning GOTY.

Yeah. It probably is. That's fine, it's a great game. Overwatch is my pick.

 

[wesleyshark]

Watching Hitsmas right now. This is the greatest goddamm video. I'm in tears.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I'm shocked Alex or Dan didn't try and sneak an Overwatch character into best new character. I expected them to have to whittle down 4 OW characters

 

[icespide]

Vinny's sweater in front of the green screen is freaking me out

 

[Brandon F]

Brad said Doom is his #1. It's probably at least second on Jeff's list too and is #1 on Vinny and Drew's.
Doom is winning GOTY.

Yea, at this point it is probably not going to be a real exciting GotY vote. Doubtful anyone is down on Doom enough to make a good enough case to slotting out out of #1. Dan has no hope whatsover for Stardew Valley, not sure Jeff and Vinny can do the same for Superhot. Alex is pretty much the only one to attempt a variable.

Hitman may have a better chance than Overwatch, but those will likely round out #2 and 3 respectively.

 

[Dipper145]

I was super suprised that darkest dungeon got into best styyyyyyyle. I feel like that category needs to be changed because it just doesn't have any solid foundation.

Already interesting being able to see which games are going to end up on the final list.

I'm shocked Alex or Dan didn't try and sneak an Overwatch character into best new character. I expected them to have to whittle down 4 OW characters

I'm not surprised about this at all. Not a whole lot of character going on there. Amazing game, but I wouldn't say the personality of the characters is hugely important to it. Especially given the fact that it's a multiplayer shooter where you don't really have any character interactions.

 

[Protome]

Yea, at this point it is probably not going to be a real exciting GotY vote. Doubtful anyone is down on Doom enough to make a good enough case to slotting out out of #1. Dan has no hope whatsover for Stardew Valley, not sure Jeff and Vinny can do the same for Superhot. Alex is pretty much the only one to attempt a variable.

Hitman may have a better chance than Overwatch, but those will likely round out #2 and 3 respectively.

Like in Formula 1, the interesting thing to hear this year will be the battles outside of first place.

 

[Human Trashcan]

Amazing game, but I wouldn't say the personality of the characters is hugely important to it.

I'm sorry, we're talking about the same Overwatch? The same one that has the largest fan art community of like, any game ever? Sure, they're not deep characters per se, but since Helmut fucking Kruger won, that's not exactly a requirement of the category.

 

[Bornstellar]

Why do I get the feeling most of the GB staff who played Titanfall 2 haven't touched the MP? At least, the impression I have is that Jeff is the only one. Which is a damn shame since as good as the campaign is, the MP experience is where the meat is.

 

[Brandon F]

I was super suprised that darkest dungeon got into best styyyyyyyle. I feel like that category needs to be changed because it just doesn't have any solid foundation.

Totally disagree. Much like Jeff and Alex stated, I had both Bound and Darkest Dungeon pinned for shoe-ins with this category before the nominees were announced. Have you played Darkest Dungeon?

 

[petethepanda]

I've been watching Hitmas in bits and pieces over the last few hours and holy shit, this is maybe the best Hitman video yet.

"Did you see what Sheikh Zanzibar did?!"

Hitman is what Mario Maker was for me in 2015, weirdly. I bounced off both games even though I loved their respective series, but I found endless joy in watching people play/stream them. In both cases I'm genuinely happy to have paid full price for the game purely for the entertainment I've had watching other people play them.

Edit: Oh man, [Hitsmas]

Spoiler

Vinny dying is the upset of the season, he was invincible.

Edit edit: "Must put five corpses in one bathroom." Ah, the Klepek.
Edit edit edit: Dan

Spoiler

ignoring the minimap and walking directly into a fucking firing squad

is perfect.

 

[Gobias]

This helmet Kruger joke winning coty is not new.

Remember fucking Boyle from velvet sundown?

Boyle? Should have been Ingmar

 

[wenis]

Why do I get the feeling most of the GB staff who played Titanfall 2 haven't touched the MP? At least, the impression I have is that Jeff is the only one. Which is a damn shame since as good as the campaign is, the MP experience is where the meat is.

I finished the single layer campaign four hours ago. Will probably never touch multiplayer.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Totally disagree. Much like Jeff and Alex stated, I had both Bound and Darkest Dungeon pinned for shoe-ins with this category before the nominees were announced. Have you played Darkest Dungeon?

Haven't played Bound, but agree with Darkest Dungeon.

It seemed like a logical choice to me. The Narrator, visuals, sounds, and mechanics all come together to create a truly grimdark fantasy world unlike any other. It exudes despair on a level few other games even come close to touching. And again, it is 100% in line with the gameplay which is why its cohesiveness is so impressive.

 

[MassiveNights]

I still don't understand why best style even a category.

They have a best style, best looking and best art category right?

Seems pointless to me.

 

[Infinite Justice]

They have a best style, best looking and best art category right?

Seems pointless to me.

Its just Best Style and Best Looking