BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
Hitman definitely feels like the Super Mario Maker of 2016 for GB (and we all saw how that unseated MGSV for the top spot), but it was a slower burner than SMM was. I don't think it has quite as much runaway traction with the team for it to be a definite winner.
Looking back on the GOTY list for 2015, I had forgotten how high Rocket League got (partially due to that East vs. West feature) and how Vinny essentially singlehandedly got Kerbal Space Program the number 4 slot in the top 10 and got it Best Moment.
I think Vinney producing dozens of hours of content with Kerbal (and having Alex and Austin there to back him up) helped his case.
Also I still think Titanfall 2 is the darkhorse candidate this year. Everybody praised the campaign and Jeff got pretty into the multiplayer, which is more than you can say for Doom.
goty is going to be stupid and full of FPS'es this year. stupid in the way Jeff likes stupid; like how the heck did this happen this is hilarious kind of stupid.
The thing there are actually a lot of good FPS shooty bang bang campaigns this year. Gears 4, Doom, Titanfall 2, Call of Duty and I guess you could say Uncharted 4?
are all things I suspect to be on the list. Anything marked with a * is something that could come or go. Hitman and Doom are locks for the top spots I bet.
I still haven't played Inside and don't know if I will. I thought Limbo got kind of tedious after a while.
I forgot Superhot was this year too, I can see that making the list. Or maybe Best Moment or something. It is pretty great.
Titanfall/Doom for top spot, Hitman for 3rd. Uncharted/Gears probably make it up there somewhere. Stardew Valley definitely. Pokemon is really good this year I hear but I haven't sunk much time into it yet and they typically don't go for those. I hope The Witness gets higher because it might be my own GOTY but I don't know how big they were on it overall.
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
On the whole I liked inside more than limbo, but inside definitely had some pretty dang frustrating parts. Loved the journey though it! Really neat game.
Eh, I can see Gears not making the list. Gears 3 only made it to the 8th position in the year it came out, at that was probably the best Gears game ever made.
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
I'm, I don't know, half way through the new gears? Maybe a bit more. It's a lot of fun, and the beginning bits were really refreshing, but it's starting to feel like old territory again.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
The only thing I know about gears is that they reveal the new... cog? armors, and it's football pads, football pads, football pads, bikini.
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
I just thought the robots were a lot more fun to shoot at than the typical baddies that follow.
Also the way they get constantly air dropped on you is so cool!
I forgot about The Witness. I'm fairly sure they all loved it, Jeff especially. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Doom/Hitman/The Witness top 3 in whichever order.
Inside
Titanfall 2
Rez Infinite
Hitman
DOOM
Pokemon Sun/Moon
Gears 4
Civ 6
Rec Room
The Witness
Overwatch
Thumper
Firewatch
The Division
That Dragon, Cancer
Trackmania Turbo
Overcooked
Head lander
Nitroplus Blasterz
Mafia III
ReCorE
Stardew Valley
Steamworld Heist
Clash Royale
Superhot
Dis honored 2
Devil Daggers
There are a LOT of games that I could see getting a push in the right circumstances. Nothing to challenge DOOM and Hitman, but some stuff that they all seemed to really like and dominated the conversation for multiple podcasts.
You guys are completely right that Overcooked and Clash could pop up. I don't think The Division, Devil Daggers, or ReCore have a chance. Alex may fight for Civ but there's no way it gets on either.
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
It's too bad none of the guys are that into Final Fantasy because 15 is a lot of fun.
Oh well. I enjoy it and in the end that's what matters.
Not saying it should win the category, but for me, the fun of that game vaporized once I got on the endgame treadmill. It did not help that the devs were actively tinkering with the game to be more of a grind. It sounds like the devs tried to reverse course, but by then, I stopped playing. Hence, why I feel it should get a nomination for that.
GONG-00 on
Black lives matter.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
This is kind of long-winded and apropo of nothing, but I was re-listening to the excellent episode of the Beastcast that Gerstmann guested on and thinking about game reviews, or more accurately, the problem that a lot of people tend to conflate "reviews" and "criticism".
I agree with Jeff that the traditional review is dead, at least for the GB audience. Save for serving as some sort of bug report (which is the only reason I even open an eye towards them these days), something that's capturing a locked moment in time in an industry that has abandoned the concept of locked moments in time doesn't really stand on its own. I think that, contrary to popular opinion, the conversations around specific games is actually much longer than it used to be. Reviewers used to be able to take a game and put a stamp on it (good or bad) and then hold that up as some sort of definitive statement. Now, the typical support lifespan for a game seems to be around a year. The initial release, patches, free updates, DLC, multiplayer... these things keep a game alive for its audience. Lots of people, including myself, only get a few games a year, so this trend towards extended support is actually a positive for me. The great caveat of all this support is, of course, pricing - but that's something that's subjective to a lot of people so I don't have much to say about it.
I'm basically looking for continual coverage of games these days, and that's something that no "traditional" review sites are really willing or able to deliver (which has kind of naturally led to the propagation of YouTube channels that focus on a specific game/franchise). Criticism divorced from the need to have something out at a game's release is always welcome and I'd love to see more of it, but it's hard to come by on games that aren't the big watershed moments that everyone expects (OoT, FFVII, etc). I think Waypoint is doing some interesting things in this regard and I'm happy about their decision to abandon the concept of reviews wholesale (though Patrick was on Twitter earlier today griping about how FFXV is getting updated missions and dialogue in a patch, which is pretty much the exact locked-moment-in-time problem I just mentioned).
Mostly, I just want to see Giant Bomb revisit games more than they do. Check in with 20XX's releases three times a year to see what's changed, what's been added, stuff like that. I understand that it's a hard mentality to switch over, especially when you've been covering games in a "burn through them" kind of way for your entire career, but it'd be content I'd be interested in reading or watching. I know I'm in the minority though, because most people want to hear about the new thing all the time and that's the kind of thing that sells ads and all that frustrating business stuff.
I imagine when you have more games to cover than you have time to play going back to revisit old titles is not the most inviting prospect. Speaking for myself, unless we're talking MMOs, post-release content is "something I might play if I buy the GoTY edition on a deep discount sale two years down the line"; by the time DLC rolls out I am done with the game and no added content will get me back into it for a good while, if ever.
Hell, even with MMOs I struggle to keep playing past month two, everything is so familiar and samey and dull by then; you can keep stirring that alphabet soup around, but it still tastes the same.
This is kind of long-winded and apropo of nothing, but I was re-listening to the excellent episode of the Beastcast that Gerstmann guested on and thinking about game reviews, or more accurately, the problem that a lot of people tend to conflate "reviews" and "criticism".
I agree with Jeff that the traditional review is dead, at least for the GB audience. Save for serving as some sort of bug report (which is the only reason I even open an eye towards them these days), something that's capturing a locked moment in time in an industry that has abandoned the concept of locked moments in time doesn't really stand on its own. I think that, contrary to popular opinion, the conversations around specific games is actually much longer than it used to be. Reviewers used to be able to take a game and put a stamp on it (good or bad) and then hold that up as some sort of definitive statement. Now, the typical support lifespan for a game seems to be around a year. The initial release, patches, free updates, DLC, multiplayer... these things keep a game alive for its audience. Lots of people, including myself, only get a few games a year, so this trend towards extended support is actually a positive for me. The great caveat of all this support is, of course, pricing - but that's something that's subjective to a lot of people so I don't have much to say about it.
I'm basically looking for continual coverage of games these days, and that's something that no "traditional" review sites are really willing or able to deliver (which has kind of naturally led to the propagation of YouTube channels that focus on a specific game/franchise). Criticism divorced from the need to have something out at a game's release is always welcome and I'd love to see more of it, but it's hard to come by on games that aren't the big watershed moments that everyone expects (OoT, FFVII, etc). I think Waypoint is doing some interesting things in this regard and I'm happy about their decision to abandon the concept of reviews wholesale (though Patrick was on Twitter earlier today griping about how FFXV is getting updated missions and dialogue in a patch, which is pretty much the exact locked-moment-in-time problem I just mentioned).
Mostly, I just want to see Giant Bomb revisit games more than they do. Check in with 20XX's releases three times a year to see what's changed, what's been added, stuff like that. I understand that it's a hard mentality to switch over, especially when you've been covering games in a "burn through them" kind of way for your entire career, but it'd be content I'd be interested in reading or watching. I know I'm in the minority though, because most people want to hear about the new thing all the time and that's the kind of thing that sells ads and all that frustrating business stuff.
Agreed. I was talking about this just recently with a friend but I'd love to see games journalism (or at least a corner of it) become a bit more narrative in nature and maybe take on stories more akin to Playboy, Rolling Stone (old RS), or even just long form journalism. Embed a reporter in with a studio for a year and let them write about it, get back to exhaustive non-technical post-mortems on games, etc.
I have high hopes for Waypoint but I haven't seen much of it materialize yet (though Patrick's story on glyphs and such was in the ballpark). With such a small writing staff @ both GB and WP it would be tough to execute on. And don't even get me started on NDAs, etc.
Too much of games journalism is just commercial in nature. It's all about what are the reviews, the latest releases, or what's rumored (or leaked) to be happening. It's honestly barely journalism oftentimes. Give me some creativity in writing once again.
One of the things I'm wary about wrt a site that has frequent revisits to a game is the timecost probably disproportionately affects games I want to hear about. If Giant Bomb revisits Doom like four months after it's out, that probably doesn't come at the cost of say the NBA 2k17 or Forza Horizon 3 quick look. It probably eats up time that would have been spent on Virginia or Halcyon 6 or The Bunker. Sites that don't do that one and done format often just don't do as much coverage of those smaller, odder games.
I bought about 18 2016 games this year. I stil need to beat five of them. I vastly prefer a game I can take, beat, maybe play through it again to find all the collectibles, and then put on the virtual shelf satisfied, maybe pulling it out for some campaign DLC. I think Doom and Gears of War 4 are the only games I keep coming back to for something outside the singleplayer.
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Still a lock for top 3 though, I think
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Also I still think Titanfall 2 is the darkhorse candidate this year. Everybody praised the campaign and Jeff got pretty into the multiplayer, which is more than you can say for Doom.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
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I lean towards Overwatch being in the 4 to 7 range, likely closer to the 4 than 7.
SuperHot, Uncharted 4 and the Witness are in for sure, maybe Stardew Valley.
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Doom
Overwatch
Firewatch*
The Witness
Stardew Valley*
Titanfall 2
Watchdogs 2
Dishonered 2*
Pokemon SUMO *
are all things I suspect to be on the list. Anything marked with a * is something that could come or go. Hitman and Doom are locks for the top spots I bet.
I wonder if they do a VR category this year.
Brad will screech until we're all dead
I also don't know that Watchdogs 2 is a given
Rez Infinite was one of Jeff's favorite games this year and he will make a push
There's never been a better time to be playing video games, it turns out!
PSN: L00nyEclip
Steam: Loony Eclipse
Twitter: @Loonyeclipse
I forgot Superhot was this year too, I can see that making the list. Or maybe Best Moment or something. It is pretty great.
Titanfall/Doom for top spot, Hitman for 3rd. Uncharted/Gears probably make it up there somewhere. Stardew Valley definitely. Pokemon is really good this year I hear but I haven't sunk much time into it yet and they typically don't go for those. I hope The Witness gets higher because it might be my own GOTY but I don't know how big they were on it overall.
Also the way they get constantly air dropped on you is so cool!
Titanfall 2
Rez Infinite
Hitman
DOOM
Pokemon Sun/Moon
Gears 4
Civ 6
Rec Room
The Witness
Overwatch
Thumper
Firewatch
The Division
That Dragon, Cancer
Trackmania Turbo
Overcooked
Head lander
Nitroplus Blasterz
Mafia III
ReCorE
Stardew Valley
Steamworld Heist
Clash Royale
Superhot
Dis honored 2
Devil Daggers
There are a LOT of games that I could see getting a push in the right circumstances. Nothing to challenge DOOM and Hitman, but some stuff that they all seemed to really like and dominated the conversation for multiple podcasts.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
PSN: L00nyEclip
Steam: Loony Eclipse
Twitter: @Loonyeclipse
Until I looked at a "Released in 2016" list I forgot about Clash Royale. They talked about that game for months.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Oh well. I enjoy it and in the end that's what matters.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
In fact, if there was an award for Most Exactly where I Expected It to Be Game of the Year, it might be The Division.
I have no idea what you are basing this off. jeff thought it was pretty good(so did I)
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
I agree with Jeff that the traditional review is dead, at least for the GB audience. Save for serving as some sort of bug report (which is the only reason I even open an eye towards them these days), something that's capturing a locked moment in time in an industry that has abandoned the concept of locked moments in time doesn't really stand on its own. I think that, contrary to popular opinion, the conversations around specific games is actually much longer than it used to be. Reviewers used to be able to take a game and put a stamp on it (good or bad) and then hold that up as some sort of definitive statement. Now, the typical support lifespan for a game seems to be around a year. The initial release, patches, free updates, DLC, multiplayer... these things keep a game alive for its audience. Lots of people, including myself, only get a few games a year, so this trend towards extended support is actually a positive for me. The great caveat of all this support is, of course, pricing - but that's something that's subjective to a lot of people so I don't have much to say about it.
I'm basically looking for continual coverage of games these days, and that's something that no "traditional" review sites are really willing or able to deliver (which has kind of naturally led to the propagation of YouTube channels that focus on a specific game/franchise). Criticism divorced from the need to have something out at a game's release is always welcome and I'd love to see more of it, but it's hard to come by on games that aren't the big watershed moments that everyone expects (OoT, FFVII, etc). I think Waypoint is doing some interesting things in this regard and I'm happy about their decision to abandon the concept of reviews wholesale (though Patrick was on Twitter earlier today griping about how FFXV is getting updated missions and dialogue in a patch, which is pretty much the exact locked-moment-in-time problem I just mentioned).
Mostly, I just want to see Giant Bomb revisit games more than they do. Check in with 20XX's releases three times a year to see what's changed, what's been added, stuff like that. I understand that it's a hard mentality to switch over, especially when you've been covering games in a "burn through them" kind of way for your entire career, but it'd be content I'd be interested in reading or watching. I know I'm in the minority though, because most people want to hear about the new thing all the time and that's the kind of thing that sells ads and all that frustrating business stuff.
Hell, even with MMOs I struggle to keep playing past month two, everything is so familiar and samey and dull by then; you can keep stirring that alphabet soup around, but it still tastes the same.
I get maybe 4-5 games a year and delve deep
I'm still playing Battlefront for crying out loud - the last DLC stuff dropped yesterday
Agreed. I was talking about this just recently with a friend but I'd love to see games journalism (or at least a corner of it) become a bit more narrative in nature and maybe take on stories more akin to Playboy, Rolling Stone (old RS), or even just long form journalism. Embed a reporter in with a studio for a year and let them write about it, get back to exhaustive non-technical post-mortems on games, etc.
I have high hopes for Waypoint but I haven't seen much of it materialize yet (though Patrick's story on glyphs and such was in the ballpark). With such a small writing staff @ both GB and WP it would be tough to execute on. And don't even get me started on NDAs, etc.
Too much of games journalism is just commercial in nature. It's all about what are the reviews, the latest releases, or what's rumored (or leaked) to be happening. It's honestly barely journalism oftentimes. Give me some creativity in writing once again.
Just a deep dive
His Doom one is coming out next week I think