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The Games of 2006 Awarded
It's almost the end of the year, and various organizations are handing out awards for what has been a very busy year in gaming. The Associated Press handed the top honor to Oblivion, while Gamasutra's Quantum Leap awards gave Wii Sports the nod for bringing the whole family together. Gamespy and Gamespot are still in the midst of handing out the prizes, but you can already check out genre winners at Gamespy, and Gamespot's list of dubious honors for games that only deserve the faintest of praise.
Overlooked (mind you I didn't look too hard) in both of these articles is one of this year's great strategy games: Defcon. Everybody dies!
Let's get drunk and delete production data!
and it's christmas mod http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/defcon/clips-defcon-c hristmas-mod-223048.php ;-) [in this game everybody WINS...]
that turns it upside down
I still can't understand why this game gets so many top honors, yes, graphically it's quite nice (especially with fan-made add-ons) but that's about it: the unrealistic and immersion-breaking item/level scaling decisions made when creating the game should definitely put it in the 'the game would've been great if...' category. And the plot/writing don't come even close to Planescape:Torment, also hindered by the 'every line has voice acting' decision made by Bethesda, which severely limits the quantity of content available in the game.
I know that with things like OOO or Francesco's the level scaling and loot issues can be fixed, but the reviewers ought to review the game as it was published, not after the community spends countless hours fixing broken issues (also look at the unofficial oblivion patch for a ton of bugfixes).
-- the cake is a lie
Here's a little review that I wrote a couple months back.
can't forget that wii sports also gets gamers off the couch too. That's always good! In fact, DDR should have won this year lol. Anyway, too bad Neverwinter Nights 2 crashed and burned cuz of that stupid camera and other dumb, avoidable problems. 1 ROCKED!
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
That said, that same mechanic also happens to be what a lot of people liked about the game. So I don't think it's fair to consider it a "broken issue" in that context at all.
-- jchenx
...prize for the biggest bribe paid to a gaming magazine to get it to award a prize to a game?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
I know I'm a bit off-topic but why on Earth has Nintendo chosen such blank and unpersonal characters for Wii Sports as they, in my humble opinion, should have used their Nintendo characters just like in Mario Tennis? I mean, really, why? I just cannot think of a single reason.
You just got troll'd!
I'm confused... they have a "Best First Person Shooter" award, but nothing for Sports, Action/Adventure, RPG, Platformer, or any other type of game, why do FPSs stand out on their own? It's not like they're particularly innovative in any way, and outside of the US, they're pretty much dead.
Some of these awards, although probably justified, seemed completely made up in order to put one game or system in the spotlight. For one thing, would they have given out a "worst console launch" at all if Sony hadn't bungled theirs? Or was this an "honor" made specifically to them. Let's just call it the "Blundering Behemoth Special Recognition" and be done with it. "best game on an old console", what old console? the PS2 and GameCube was the only game in town (besides 360) until last month, so obviously most of the games chosen would be for them anyway.
That said, it was a chance to plug Okami, which leaves me happy. Twilight Princess, Okami, and Final Fantasy 12 are my games of the year (in that order), but Zelda and FF12 have gotten their rightful dues (although I'll still stand by TP being the best game of all time, just ABOVE Ocarina of Time), Okami has been sadly overlooked due to low sales. Hell, I'd give it the award for "best use of PS2 hardware", as I believe it was one of the few games that was exactly what it was intended to be, without any noticable glitches or graphical compromises... it still would have been more at home on the GameCube though.
I am still sad to see Oblivion win, though, as it shows such a bias toward PC "style" gaming (even if was released similtaneously for consoles). And if we're going to go there, what about Battlefield 2142? From everything I've heard, that game is PERFECT, much less complaining from fans than Oblivion gets. And still, Zelda should at LEAST get a mention. When it gets an 11th place EVER from GameRankings (compiled scores of all major game publications), far above Oblivion and FF12, it just looks ignorent not to say anything.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
Even using Wii Sims (the Will Wright game for Japanime fans that will be on the Wii), your Mii characters you create for your Wii console and Wiimote can be used - and even taken to play on your friends consoles.
All of ours are interesting - maybe you should try using the menu options to design better ones?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Any article that gives Sony the WORST CONSOLE LAUNCH award is sure to be popular with the Slashdotters. What I can't understand about Sony, is who exactly they are trying to sell their products to... Nintendo clearly did their market research with the Wii and it shows due to getting an award. Sony need to backpedal and allow games released on their system to be compatible for playing online against people with the 360 and Wii versions of the game. This is why the gamers hate Sony, Sony refuse to do stuff that's fun for the gamers.... (Although an argument can be made for having your arm drop off after 30 minutes of Wii tennis to also not be fun)
I think Gears of War is a great game and deserves recognition but since when is it a first person shooter?
As others have commented, the Mii's are user created, and are supposed to reflect themselves. (Sometimes to a very good likeness). The issue with putting Mario in there, is that you're controlling Mario. When you put your Mii character in there, you associate it with you, and the other Mii's created by your friends and family, get associated with your friends and family.
Quite simply you put yourself and your friends in the game, and experiance a greater sence of immersion (and enjoyment) because of it.
That said, Gears of War and the upcoming Lost Planet appear to be redefining the general "shooter" genre, showing that you don't have to be in first-person to be a good shooter. Heck, after playing both, I would say, "To hell with first-person!". It's fine for PC titles, but on consoles, where you don't have the luxury of the keyboard/mouse combo, I personally would rather have the 3rd-person control schemes that those games have. To me, at least, it feels a lot more natural and comfortable.
-- jchenx
I like my non-linearity like I like my women... short, and sucking my cock.
Let me clarify: Fuck non-linearity. I'm sick of the pedistal that many in the gaming community have made for it; it seems to be some people's be-all-and-end-all of gaming. It reminds me of when I used to play trumpet back in high school; the only thing anyone ever cared about is being able to play as high as possible; that was our benchmark for a "good" player. Our dream was to be able to hit double Cs, while at the same time, our low Cs sounded like shit. What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing wrong with non-linearity, a healthy dose is great, but without some linearity or structure, a game has no purpose. It's like a trumpet playing playing nothing but double-Cs throughout a solo, just to show his balls. That's what I feel when I hear people talk about non-linearity: "you're some kinda pussy if you're taste doesn't revolve around being as non-linear as possible." Just the day, I saw someone flaming someone else's post because they dared to bring up the importance of dramatic elements in video games. Are we, as gamers, becoming a culture so afraid of experiencing another person's creative vision, that we're willing to turn our backs on artistic intent?
THIS is why video games aren't embraced as Art, and will never be, until we stop creating these intrinsic benchmarks.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
Agreed. Third person shooters work much better on the consoles.
Waiting for Warhammer Online.
It has some strange phrasings as though it's trying to be "hip" and "cool":
Sony Corp. had already delayed its much-hyped uberconsole twice this year, then botched the launch with only a few hundred thousand units available.
Much-hyped uberconsole?
Seriously, button tapping can't compete with this system's intuitive, tactile remote controls that must be swung around.
Seriously, I can't believe this is in this article. Seriously, it just doesn't sound right. Seriously, they really need an editor.
Apparently we have to be written to as though we are about 12 and live in the valley. Just another sign that the integrity of the AP is going down the toilet.