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.

Comments

Defcon

[necrognome]

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!

Re:Defcon

[ClamIAm]

I played the demo of that game, and I could not finish it. Not because it was hard, or boring, but because I'm a little weirded out by a game where you nuke real cities. Yeah, yeah, I know, "it's just a game". But when you call a strike on Shanghai and it says "17.7 M DEAD", it's a bit unsettling. Of course, that might be the point, and if so, they did a damn good job there.

Re:Defcon

[luder]

You know, I just finished playing the demo and one thing I noticed was how dramatic it felt when I blasted many cities at the same time: people crying, the mood of the music and a lot of those messages telling the millions of deaths. I think it actually points out how bad wars are, specially when nukes are involved. I can't remember any war/strategy game that made me think or feel this way when smashing enemies and getting ready for world domination... I agree that it might be one of the objectives of the game.

Xmas mod ;-)

[Anonymous Coward]

and it's christmas mod http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/defcon/clips-defcon-c hristmas-mod-223048.php
that turns it upside down ;-) [in this game everybody WINS...]

Oblivion

[MarcoAtWork]

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).

Re:Oblivion

[MaXiMiUS]

People get sucked in by the graphical hype, then spend 6 months trying to fix everything that's wrong with the game via the construction set. They're basically selling a broken game and the tools to try and fix it.

Morrowind was a much better game, and thanks to Oblivion, I can't go back to playing it. Morrowind lacks physics, which is horrible after you get used to Oblivion.

Disclaimer: I spent over a year modding Morrowind, and about 3 months modding Oblivion.

Re:Oblivion

[Bloodmoon1]

I have it on the XBox360 and I agree with basically everything you said, as much as I can given the console difference. Good game, yes, I've spent about 40 hours on it and can easilly play it for a while longer. Great... eh, graphically, yes, maybe in the non-graphical departments if you get the numerous bugs on it fixed.

That said, the only thing about the game that has really pissed me off is the need to play it power gamer style to "correctly" level up if you want your character to be even remotely usable by the time you get around level 13 or 14. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I was always under the impression that your 7 major skills should be things that help you and that you use almost exclusively, not that hinder you because they're all you use and now you're suddenly hosed when the game's enemies level up with you, but because you leveled "poorly" a wolf is now a problem for you, and imps and other humans are almost able to kill you in two hits.

I tried the whole power gamer thing for a few hours and realized how retarded it is, since then it just feels like work, but then I discovered the magic of the difficulty slider. Sure, you kind of feel like a bitch for a few minutes after turning it down to 1/4th of the maximum, but then the game is fun again and you get over it.

All told, I'd gladly buy it for $45 used again, but I certainly wouldn't pay the full $60 for it. Though, out of principal, I refuse to buy any game over $50.

Re:Oblivion

[Anonymous Coward]

Bah. the best fix to the level scaling is the lightest and simplest, IMO: It's called "No Obsolete Loot And Enemies." All it does is remove the lower bound on what can spawn.

Bandits come not in full daedric at level 20, but in fur/iron with maybe a piece of glass or daedric once in a while. Lower level enemies never vanish, so you can get a bit of munchkinish glee from one-shotting that stunted scamp that scared you way back at level 2.
  And anyway, why should game reviewers not take into account the huge number of amazing fan-made improvements to Oblivion when deciding if it's the best game of the year? Where does this idea that they must rate it based on it's original out-of-the-box state? Are you going to disallow them to consider patches next? What if the game failed to run in the first 1000 copies that shipped, but the 1.1 patch turned it perfect?
  Rules are for Parcheesi, game awards should take everything into account.

Re:Oblivion

[FictionalAccount]

BloodMoon grasped the package firmly in his hands. It was his! Finally, through the bogs of Glumding, towards the Mountains of Ill and across the River of Evil he had fought his way at each step of the long journey.

The blood of his enemies was washed from his hands by his tears for fallen comrades. The Circle of Eight had started the journey, and now only he remains. Just as the mystic from Laf'haven had predicted.

But here was The Game! The Game to end evil and restore the balance of power across all of Balmovia. And he had done it! The fools back in his tavern...had it been only six months since he was there? So much had happened then. His mind idly drifted back to thoughts of home - roasted meats sizzling next to mugs of foamy ale...

Focus BloodMoon1! he scolded himself. He was too close to fail now. He lifted the package, felt its heft, its weight, and smiled to himself.

Something caught his eye. A glint in the Game's shiny gilded cover.

He gasped.

Sixt glamdrings? SIXTY GLAMDRINGS! How could it be? Impossible! After all this time, this heartache, only to fail now. Fate was a cruel mistress indeed. He briefly considered...no. NO. That was not an option. He had sworn an oath long ago over his father's grave. It might as well have been 1 million glamdrings. The Game that could save the lives of all who walked the earth would have to be his another way.

But how? He couldn't fathom. But there was one who could. The one eyed mystic of Kul'ding'dam'dang. The wise one would know. The wise one would have to know. He would find the mystic and ask him the way. It was his - the world's - only chance.

BloodMoon1 set off into the darkness, his resolve growing stronger with each step.

Re:Oblivion

[Knightking]

The first 10 hours of Oblivion were some of the best 10 hours of game I've ever played. If I'd played those 10 hours and then stopped, I'd have absolutly no problem calling it the best game of the year (if I wasn't opposed to saying that sort of thing about games I'd only played for 10 hours). Thanks to mods and such, I'd say I easily got 50-60 hours of great gameplay out of Oblivion. The problem is that 50 hours is nowhere close to enough time to "beat" Oblivion. It was when I started gaining significant levels that I realized how broken the leveling system is, when I started clearing the dungeons scattered across the map that I realized that there were only two dungeons, with a bunch of copies (sometimes filled with different monsters, often not) spread around, when I started trying to level Merchantile that I stopped being able to tolerate the UI... and so on. None of these happened in the time frame that a reviewer would actually spend on Oblivion before writing about it, which makes the awards and reviews perfectly understandable.

Which game won the...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...prize for the biggest bribe paid to a gaming magazine to get it to award a prize to a game?

Re:OT : Why no Mario in Wii Sports?

[MonkeyCookie]

1. They wanted to concentrate on gameplay rather than the visual elements
2. They wanted it to be simple to get the non-gamers interested in the Wii.
3. They're probably planning to release an actual Mario Tennis/Golf game a couple years down the road that has much more to it than the tennis game in Wii Sports.

Re:OT : Why no Mario in Wii Sports?

[LineNoiz]

Unpersonal? They use the Miis: user generated characters. How is a personalized avatar anything BUT personal?

Interesting List...

[7Prime]

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.

Re:Interesting List...

[Spikeles]

I am still sad to see Oblivion win, though, as it shows such a bias toward PC "style" gaming

My god, have you actually played Oblivion? It is so glaringly obvious that it's NOT DESIGNED FOR PC. Notice the huge font that only allows 5 or so items to be displayed?, the limited key configuration?, the stupid little mini-games?. They designed Oblivion for console and left PC gamers who are used to much more in depth RPG's out in the dark.

GoW an FPS ince when?

[wickedsteve]

I think Gears of War is a great game and deserves recognition but since when is it a first person shooter?

Re:OT : Why no Mario in Wii Sports?

[Ribbo.com]

Nintendo often get slated for "falling back on Mario" to sell their games. Maybe they have so much faith in their own title this time they want a pure game to sell on playability alone. It will also help them more accurately see the potential player base. Many mature gamers will not buy something aimed at 'kids' and trust me, the over 50's will want a Wii!

Gears and Lost Planet redefining the Shooter genre

[jchenx]

I think Gears of War is a great game and deserves recognition but since when is it a first person shooter?

I thought you were kidding, till I read TFA (the Yahoo one at least), where ... yup, they did call Gears a "first person shooter". I guess they don't understand what "first person" means ...

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.

Non-linearity...

[7Prime]

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.