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GOTY 2010 Poll: Nominations needed!
mcc
glitchRegistered User, ClubPA regular
glitchRegistered User, ClubPA regular
Hey.
So every year since 2004 I have been doing a Game of the Year poll on this forum. People seem to enjoy it when it happens so I would like to do it again this year.
There are a lot of Game of the Year polls out there, but the thing that makes this one interesting (in my opinion) is that although most GOTY polls just give you a list of maybe five of the best-selling games from the last year, and ask you to choose your favorite; THIS poll gives you a list of EVERY game that came out in the last year (more or less) and asks you to vote for [up to] your top 20, ranked by how much you liked them. Here's last year's poll if you want to see how this works. We actually wind up with a serviceable ranking of the top hundred or so games from the last year, with blockbusters, obscurities and cult hits mixed in side by side.
I'm going to start this poll on January 1, and run it for one week. But before I can do this I need a nominations list. Remember, the point of this is to have the most comprehensive list of games possible! So any game that anyone might POSSIBLY put in their top 20 deserves to go on the list. There are only a couple of rules.
1. The game has to have been legally released IN AMERICA for the first time this year.
2. No ports, no expansion packs, unless they changed so much that you can honestly call it "a new game". (Sometimes it's really hard to tell whether this rule applies; see the post immediately underneath this one.)
3. I need to know the systems that any game you nominate were released on. I would also like to know if a game was exclusively released as a digital download, say for Steam or XBLA (I mark download-only games with asterisks* below.)
Here's my nominations list so far. If I am missing anything or there are any mistakes, please let me know. At the moment I am particularly worried that the list might be light on sports games and XBLA releases.
Thanks! I am sorry the nominations thread is going up so late this year.
So every year since 2004 I have been doing a Game of the Year poll on this forum. People seem to enjoy it when it happens so I would like to do it again this year.
There are a lot of Game of the Year polls out there, but the thing that makes this one interesting (in my opinion) is that although most GOTY polls just give you a list of maybe five of the best-selling games from the last year, and ask you to choose your favorite; THIS poll gives you a list of EVERY game that came out in the last year (more or less) and asks you to vote for [up to] your top 20, ranked by how much you liked them. Here's last year's poll if you want to see how this works. We actually wind up with a serviceable ranking of the top hundred or so games from the last year, with blockbusters, obscurities and cult hits mixed in side by side.
I'm going to start this poll on January 1, and run it for one week. But before I can do this I need a nominations list. Remember, the point of this is to have the most comprehensive list of games possible! So any game that anyone might POSSIBLY put in their top 20 deserves to go on the list. There are only a couple of rules.
1. The game has to have been legally released IN AMERICA for the first time this year.
2. No ports, no expansion packs, unless they changed so much that you can honestly call it "a new game". (Sometimes it's really hard to tell whether this rule applies; see the post immediately underneath this one.)
3. I need to know the systems that any game you nominate were released on. I would also like to know if a game was exclusively released as a digital download, say for Steam or XBLA (I mark download-only games with asterisks* below.)
Here's my nominations list so far. If I am missing anything or there are any mistakes, please let me know. At the moment I am particularly worried that the list might be light on sports games and XBLA releases.
Thanks! I am sorry the nominations thread is going up so late this year.
3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS)
A Kappa's Trail (DS*)
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
Alan Wake (360)
Alien Breed 2: Assault (PC*,PS3*,360*)
Alien Swarm (PC*)
Alien vs. Predator (PC,PS3,360)
Alpha Protocol (360,PC,PS3)
Angry Birds (Android,iPhone,mobile)
After Burner Climax (360*,PS3*)
Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii)
Arcania: Gothic 4 (PC,360)
Art Style: Light Trax (Wii*)
Art Style: Rotozoa (Wii*)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (PC)
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (360,PS3)
Army of Two: The 40th Day (360,PS3)
Aura-Aura Climber (DS*)
Babysitting Mama (Wii)
Bayonetta (360,PS3)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360,PC,PS3)
Bejeweled 3 (PC*)
Bioshock 2 (360,PC,PS3)
Bit.Trip.Fate (Wii*)
Bit.Trip.Runner (Wii*)
Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow (DS)
Blur (360,PC,PS3)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (360,DS,PC,PS3,Wii)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (360,PS3)
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (360*)
Chaos Rings (iPhone)
Chime (360*,PC*)
Civilization V (PC)
Color Cross (DS)
Costume Quest (PS3*,360*)
Crackdown 2 (360)
Crafting Mama (DS)
Cut the Rope (iPhone)
Dance Central (360)
DanceMasters (360)
Dante's Inferno (360,PS3)
Dark Void (360,PC,PS3)
Dark Void Zero (DS*,iPhone,PC*)
Dead Nation (PS3*)
Dead Rising 2 (360,PC,PS3)
Deathsmiles (Arcade, 360)
DeathSpank (360*,PC*,PS3*)
Deca Sports 3 (Wii)
Disciples 3: Renaissance (PC)
Disney Epic Mickey (Wii)
Dogfighter (PC*)
DJ Hero 2 (360,PS3,Wii)
DJ Max Portable 3 (PSP)
Darksiders (360,PC,PS3)
Deadly Premonition (360,PS3)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DS)
Endless Ocean 2: Blue World (Wii)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (360,PS3)
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City (DS)
Fallout: New Vegas (360,PC,PS3)
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (DS)
Final Fantasy 13 (360,PS3)
Final Fantasy 14 (PC,PS3)
FlingSmash (Wii)
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
Game Dev Story (Android,iPhone)
God of War 3 (PS3)
Goldeneye 007 (DS,Wii)
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS)
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)
Greed Corp (360*,PC*,PS3*)
Green Day: Rock Band (360,PC,PS3)
Halo Reach (360)
Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar (DS)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (360,DS,Mobile,PC,PS3,Wii)
Heavy Rain (PS3)
Hegemony: Philip of Macedon (PC)
Helsing's Fire (iPhone)
Hydorah (PC*)
Hero Core (PC*)
Heroes of Newerth (PC)
Hydro Thunder Hurricane (360)
Infinite Space (DS)
Infinity Blade (iPhone)
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 (360,DS,iPhone,PC,PS3,Wii)
Lost Planet 2 (360,PC,PS3)
Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals (DS)
Ivy the Kiwi? (DS,Mobile,Wii)
James Bond 007: Blood Stone (360,DS,PS3)
Joe Danger (PS3*)
Jolly Rover (PC*)
Just Cause 2 (360,PC,PS3)
Just Dance 2 (Wii)
Kinect Adventures (360)
Kinect Sports (360)
Kinectimals (360)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (360*,iPhone,PC*,PS3*)
L'abbaye Des Morts (PC*)
Limbo (360*)
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
Mafia 2 (360,PC,PS3)
MAG (PS3)
Mass Effect 2 (360,PC)
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond (360*,PS3*)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (DS)
Mega Man 10 (360*,PS3*,Wii*)
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)
Metro 2033 (360,PS3)
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Michael Jackson: The Experience (360,DS,PSP,PS3,Wii)
Minecraft (PC*)
Madden NFL 11 (360,iPhone,PS2,PS3,PSP,Wii)
ModNation Racers (PS3,PSP)
Monday Night Combat (360*,PC)
Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
Mount and Blade: Warband (PC)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360,iPhone,PC,PS3,Wii)
NBA 2K11 (360,PC,PS2,PS3,PSP,Wii)
NBA Jam 2010 (360,PS3,Wii)
Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent (iPhone,PC*,Wii*)
Nier (360,PS3)
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)
Pac Man CE DX (360*,PS3*)
Patchwork Heroes (PSP*)
Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP)
Photo Dojo (DS*)
Picross 3D (DS)
Pix'n Love Rush (iPhone)
Plain Sight (PC*)
Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver (DS)
Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs (DS)
Poker Night at the Inventory (PC*)
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (Wii)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (360,PC,PS3)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (360,iPhone,PC,PS2,PS3,PC,Wii)
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)
Puzzle Quest 2 (360*,DS,iPhone,PC,WP7)
Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time (Wii)
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (PC*)
Raskulls (360*)
Red Dead Redemption (360,PS3)
Red Steel 2 (Wii)
Resonance of Fate (360,PS3)
Robot Unicorn Attack (iPhone,Flash)
Rock Band 3 (360,PS3,Wii)
Rune Factory 3 (DS)
Rush (PC*)
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (PS2,Wii)
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Eps. 1-5 (iPhone,PC*,PS3*)
Samurai Warriors 3 (Wii)
Sands of Destruction (DS)
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (360*,PS3*)
Shank (360*,PS3*,PC)
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Wii)
Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DS*)
Shibuya (iPhone)
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)
Singularity (360,PC,PS3)
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (360,DS,PC,Mobile,PS3,Wii)
Sonic 4 Episode 1 (360*,iPhone,PS3*,Wii*)
Sonic Colors (DS)
Sonic Colors (Wii)
Space Funeral (PC*)
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (DS)
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (360,PC,PS3,Wii)
Split Second (360,PC,PS3,PSP,Mobile)
Starcraft 2 (PC)
Starship Defense (DS*)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Super Meat Boy (360*,PC*)
Super Scribblenauts (DS)
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars (Wii)
Tetris Party Deluxe (DS*,Wii*)
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (PC*,360*)
Tilt to Live (iPhone)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (360,iPhone,Mobile,PC)
Toy Soldiers (360*)
Transformers: War for Cybertron (360,PC,PS3)
Trauma Team (Wii)
Trajectile (DS*)
Ufouria (NES)
Uin (PC*)
Undercroft (iPhone)
Vanquish (360,PS3)
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
VVVVVV (PC*)
WarioWare D.I.Y. (DS)
Wii Party (Wii)
Yakuza 3 (PS3)
Ys Seven (PSP)
Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP)
Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs Dark Death Evil Man (PSP)
THE FOLLOWING ARE IN BUT I HAVEN'T SORTED THEM / DOUBLE CHECKED TITLES YET
ALL XBLIG:
Cthulhu Saves the World
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning
Zombie Estate
Soulcaster I
Soulcaster II
Apple Jack
Astroman
ZP2KX
Decimation X3
radiangames Crossfire 2
radiangames Inferno
radiangames Fluid
radiangames Fireball
radiangames JoyJoy
Chu's Dynasty
Hypership Out of Control
Score Rush
Epic Dungeon
Break Limit
Tempura of the Dead
Shoot 1Up
Explosionade
Decay series (Part 1,2, and 3)
Aphelion
Aphelion: Episode 2
Gerbil Physics 2
Retrofit: Overload
3D Infinity
Flotilla
Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 (PC, 360, PS3, Wii)
Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 (PC, 360, PS3)
Supreme Commander 2 (PC, 360)
RUSE (PC, 360, PS3)
Stalker Call of Pripyat (PC)
Ash (iPhone)
Tron: Evolution (PS3, 360, PC, PSP)
All Points Bulletin (PC)
Beat Hazard (XBLA, PSN, PC)
Future Wars (PC)
Star Trek Online (PC)
Fable 3 (360)
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (PS3, 360, PC)
Platformance : Castle Pain
Gravitron 360
Your Shape : Fitness Evolved
White Knight Chronicles: International Edition (PS3) WAIT WHAT
fifa 11
football manager 2011
Comic Jumper (XBLA)
NHL 11 (360, PS3)
Snoopy: Flying Ace (XBLA)
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom (360,PS3)
Medal of Honor (360,PC,PS3)
Napoleon: Total War (PC)
echochrome ii (PS3*)
Eat Them! (PS3*)
Tumble (PS3*)
Batman: The Brave & The Bold (Wii)
Batman: The Brave & The Bold (DS)
mcc on
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My rules (American releases only; no ports or expansions) exist because I'm trying to preserve a single idea: this is a multi-year project and I want to make sure that over time, every game gets exactly one fair crack at getting on the GOTY list. Sometimes this gets hard to judge, because for example sometimes it's hard to tell if something is an "expansion" or a "sequel".
There are 3 games that this year I'm really conflicted on what to do about it. They are:
Minecraft. Minecraft has this weird, unconventional, Dwarf Fortress - like release process. It was first 'released', technically, in 2009, but that was only a quiet prototype release on the Tigsource forum. This was the year that I think most people who will ever have played the game played it, but technically it hasn't been "released" yet, what you can buy now is "Minecraft Beta". But like Dwarf Fortress, it's not clear the game will EVER be released.
Super Street Fighter 4. I loooved SSF4 but this seems like the classic example of an "expansion": 10 new characters out of 35, maybe three of which people actually use, and some rebalancing. I have some people trying to convince me that this is just how fighting games work, and this should be treated no different from the year to year FIFA or Madden releases, but at the moment it's not on the list.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Currently this isn't on the list. I think sometimes in the past I've allowed WOW expansions on the list if they were significant (Burning Crusade was #17 in 2007) but maybe this was a mistake.
If Arcade Edition comes out next year as DLC then I would leave that off the list, but Super was more a true sequel to SFIV than a content upgrade.
Tilt to Live (iOS)
Cut the Rope (iOS)
Monday Night Combat (XBLA)
I think Angry Birds came out in late '09, but it didn't get noticed till this year / wasn't on last year's list.
As a long time WoW player, I'd probably vote for it. But as far as the rules are concerned, I'd probably leave it off the list.
Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers ( Wii)
Also that Jumpman game looks really cool, mcc. Kinda want an iphone now.
FF14: ARR
I'm currently going through it and it probably won't be my number one pick, but it deserves to be up there.
I did put in Angry Birds-- I try to be more lenient with things that haven't been on the list before, and the iPhone release process is "weird".
Note, I didn't add FF Crystal Bearers, it came out in 2009 and was on the list last year.
As for SSF4/Cataclysm, I feel like I ought to either add both or add neither, but I really don't know a lot about WoW :O
(Also Lenore, thanks! You should just download the PC version linked there, it's free.)
It would be my number 3 overall for the year, but it should definitely be on there.
FF14: ARR
It has no hope of winning but I logged by far more hours into this game than any other this year and it seems to get bypassed on a lot of these lists.
Edit: Or is it disqualified since the open beta was released in Dec '09?
Toy Soldiers (XBLA) and DeathSpank (XBLA, PSN, PC) should be up there as well.
EDIT: Nevermind, apparently I glossed over Game Dev Story in the list. Glad to see it up there!
Cthulhu Saves the World
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning
Zombie Estate
Soulcaster I
Soulcaster II
Apple Jack
Astroman
ZP2KX
Decimation X3
radiangames Crossfire 2
radiangames Inferno
radiangames Fluid
radiangames Fireball
radiangames JoyJoy
Chu's Dynasty
Hypership Out of Control
Score Rush
Epic Dungeon
Break Limit
Tempura of the Dead
Shoot 1Up
Explosionade
Decay series (Part 1,2, and 3)
Aphelion
Aphelion: Episode 2
Platformance
Gerbil Physics 2
Retrofit: Overload
3D Infinity
Flotilla
All of these are 360 and digitally distributed, obviously.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Darksiders (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse: Episodes 1-5 (PC, Mac, PS3)
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (PC, PSN, XBLA)
Worms: Reloaded (PC, Mac) (Not sure if this one would be considered a port or a sequel)
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning (XBLIG)
LoL: failboattootoot
Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 (PC, 360, PS3)
Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2 (PC, 360, PS3, Wii)
Lost Planet 2 (PC, 360, PS3)
Chime (PC, XBLA)
Supreme Commander 2 (PC, 360)
RUSE (PC, 360, PS3)
Puzzle Quest 2 (DS, XBLA, PC, app store)
Lego Harry potter Years 1-4 (PC, 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, app store)
Sam and Max: the Devil's Playhouse (PC, PS3, App store)
Shatter (PC, PSN)
Stalker Call of Pripyat (PC)
Does Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising (PC) contain enough new content to be noteworthy? How about Dragon Age: Awakening (PC, 360, PS3)? Both arguably have more content than some sequels that are on the list.
Also, just cause 2 is a PC release too. AC Brotherhood isn't a PC release (yet). Monday night combat is also for PC...kinda.
EDIT: oh wait, the 2 L games are there, just out of order. And yeah, as someone who knows next to nothing about WoW, Cataclysm seems like the biggest change an expansion pack could really make, practically a brand new game if it weren't for the whole requiring the base game stuff. Certainly more changes than M&B: warbands
I'll head this one off for mcc - I nom'd it as well, but it came out for PSN last year, and was on last year's list.
You should add Ash (iPhone) to the list.
XBL |Steam | PSN | last.fm
Sure it had balance changes and a few new characters like you said most expansions do.
But it also had a new story mode that took off right where the old story mode finished, a tutorial and challenge mode added, a couple of other modes added, and some pretty important system changes.
However, I'll leave that to you. Just my two cents.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (PS3, 360, PC, Wii)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (PS3, 360, PC, Wii, DS)
Tron: Evolution (PS3, 360, PC, PSP)
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 (PS3, 360, PC, Wii)
I don't know that any of them would make their way into other people's top twenty, but they'd all have a chance of making it into mine.
Bejeweled 3 (PC) is my mom's game of the year. I don't know about anyone around here, though.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
All Points Bulletin (PC)
Beat Hazard (XBLA, PSN, PC)
Future Wars (PC)
Poker Night at the Inventory (PC)
Star Trek Online (PC)
Fable 3 (360)
Crackdown 2 (360)
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (PS3, 360, PC)
I will be the one to argue for Cataclysm mainly due to the sweeping changes to class talent trees, completely redone original world, and the new areas. There was a shitton of work put in on this.
Also, Wrath of the Lich King was on the list in 08.
there are probably a lot of other obscure titles missing on the list that I forgot about and, let's face it, nobody would vote on anyway
Precoursors is a game that just came out per Digital Download in englisch (Originally it was released in 09 in russia). It is a game that has to gather its fanbase first but it really has all the shapes a cult classic needs.
Is it possible to include it in next years poll even though it came out this year?
Whatever happened to Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland anyway?
Seconded.
God that list is so awesome, (very) minor addition - I'd like to see Platformance : Castle Pain given its full tite.
Also needs Gravitron 360.
Also, Kinect games - Your Shape : Fitness Evolved, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Kinect Adventures. I might be the only guy who votes for them, but hey! :P
It came out in Europe some years ago.
The sequal, however, is another matter.
EDIT: Nevermind, I just noticed it's further down from the other "Dead's"
Gamer Tag: LeeWay0
PSN: Leeway0
White Knight Chronicles: International Edition (PS3)
The game was originally released in 2008 in Japan only, and was finally [strike]ported and released[/strike] Localized February 2nd this year in America for the first time. The International Edition subtitle might not be necessary, but I put it there just in case.
Editted because I completely mis-labeled it.
Pretty much the same kinda thing. More characters and more stuff, but essentially the same game.
Like SSFIV, it's a complete standalone product and doesn't require anything to play.
I'd also like to see Snoopy: Flying Ace (XBLA). It's damn fun, and would probably be on my list near the bottom somewhere.
Another addition - Bejeweled 3 (PC). Do I really need to justify this? It's freaking great, and hella addictive.
There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
Not that I'm complaining.
Well I'll be danged. It was 2010.
Sorry, 999; you're not my GOTY anymore.
NBA 2k11
Football Manager 2011
NBA Jam
And put me in for wanting Cataclysm on the list.
Also I noticed you have an "*" next to Blur on the 360. It was a full fledged disc release.
Other than that, I look forward to the poll (as always).
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Thanks for doing this again, mcc!
I have 549 Rock Band Drum and 305 Pro Drum FC's
REFS REFS REFS REFS REFS REFS REFS REFS
I could say this about a lot of games though. Anything sequel running on the same engine, really.
God of War II built upon God of War's framework adding a few new enemies, moves, settings, story and music.
SSFIV built upon SFIV's framework by adding new characters (nearly a third of the cast), moves, settings, story and music (roughly 30 some-odd tracks).