Game of the Year Selections?

[Drunkagain]

Well what are everyone's pick's for GOTY? Yeah we still have a month, but so what!

Myself I'd pick

Console - Metroid Prime. Most fun I've had on a console in a really long time. I'm just amazed at what a retro vibe I'm getting.

PC - Dungeon Siege! Yeah, I know most everyone hated it, but I'll be damned if it isn't the most fun I've ever had in co-op! I can't wait for a sequel.

[Machine]

BattleField 1942

No question.

[wumpus]

Yep, Battlefield 1942 for me. Probably Warcraft 3 behind that as number two.

[Rob O'Boston]

Battlefield 1492 here too.

[Derek Smart [3000AD]]

Battlefield 1942 for me

[Erik]

I gotta go with BF1942 as well, especially after the patch. If they could somehow mix BF's scale and vehicle selection with the rock solid feel and obvious cause/effect consistency of SOF2, it'd be GOTY even harder.

[Peter Frazier]

Battlefield 1942 for action and fun. I'm predicting Hearts of Iron will provide my 'mental engagement' award for '02.

[Jason Becker]

Freedom Force

[wumpus]

Since this keeps coming up-- even more often than Rouge Leader and Rouge Spear-- some enterprising developers should create Battlefield 1492. Like Stronghold, but in the first person.

[Gordon Cameron]

Well, speaking as an accursed broadband-less, d00d-hating single player gamer, I choose Jedi Knight 2 as my GOTY. Runner up: Divine Divinity.

[Murph]

Big surprise here: Neverwinter Nights.

Honorable mentions to Warcraft III and NOLF 2, which I thought was way more fun than BF 1249.

[Jakub]

I can't believe no one has mentioned MOHAA or Neverwinter Nights. You guys are like the people from the Academy Awards, if it hasn't been in theaters in the last month before, it's not gonna score :D

[Anti-Bunny]

BF1942.. If only the players were more interested in destroying enemy planes then their own.

GTA3 is my runner up.

[wumpus]

MOHAA cannot be GOTY on the basis of its crappy ending alone. Solid game.. not quite GOTY material, though. I can't speak for Neverwinter Nights as I haven't played it.

You know what else isn't GOTY? Sniper: Path of Vengeance!

[Drunkagain]

MOHAA would be a runner-up for me, but just didn't have what it takes to get my vote for GOTY.

NWN was IMHO a let down. Not just any let down, but the biggest fucking let down of the last five years to me!!! But like I said, that's just MHO.

[Xaroc]

Console: Splinter Cell, it is amazing. Linear yes but so good on so many levels.
PC: BF1942. The ability to jump in and control everything quickly and have it work so well even before the patch is a credit to the developers (too lazy to look it up).
Biggest surprise: Mafia. I had pretty much zero expectations about this game coming in and left blown away. It had almost movie quality cinematics and fantastic sound and graphics plus very good action gameplay.

-- Xaroc

[DennyA]

PC: BF1942
Honorable mention to NOLF2 and Freedom Force

[Tom Chick]

Counter-Strike, all the whey!

It's been a good year, for consoles and PCs. I hope we see some dark horse choices for GOTY.

-Tom

[Erik]

BF1942 was pretty dark (before the demo came out, at least.)

[xahlt]

I'd go for BF1942 too. Just plain fun.

Also rans: NOLF2, Mafia

Great games the public didn't go for: Moonbase Commander, Europa 1400, Divine Divinity

[DennyA]

Yeah, I love Moonbase Commander. Play it all the time when I've only got 10 or 15 minutes to play a game and I need a break.

I was shocked at the CGW review. The guy just didn't seem to "get it."

[wumpus]

Counter-Strike, all the whey!
Wrong year. Oddly enough, it still generates 50-100k (!) players on a regular basis, though:

http://www.gamespy.com/stats/

Currently at 96,754 players as I write this. 82k are for Counter-Strike.

After they release the Condition Zero patch with the riot shield and the new guns / maps, it's possible I may pick up counter-strike again for a while.

[Rywill]

Sometimes, the masses are right. BF1942 for me as well, with NOLF2 as close runner-up. Honorable mention to Darkfall for being a very good adventure game made by a lone guy on a shoestring budget; and to Laser Squad Nemesis for being an awesome PBEM strategy-lite game that is dirt fucking cheap.

[Tim Partlett]

I haven't had as much online fun in years: BF1942 rocks.

[Anonymous]

PC: Warlords Battlecry 2. Runners-up: Dsciples 2, Avenum 3, and Age of Wonders 2.

Console: Virtua Fighter 4. Runners-up: Wild Arms 3, Burnout 2, and Ratchet and Clank.

[Doug Erickson]

The above was me.

[graller]

Warlords Battlecry 2

runner up to IWD2

[sellthekids]

i enjoyed Mafia immensely, followed up by Battlefield 1942...although i hear this Christopher Columbus 1492 version is really good too. :wink:

sadly, i am just now playing MOHAA, so unless i finish it by end of year, i don't think i'll be able to nominate it.

you guys playing AoM, is it worthy of nomination? it's on my short list of games to-do.

[Anonymous]

PC Freedom Force


Console Tie: Ratchet and Clank & MK:DA , I'm a fighter freak from the arcade days can't help it

[splooger]

For me it's a toss-up between BF 1942 and Warlords Battlecry II. I give the edge to BF 1942 because WBC II still has some annoying bugs that need to be fixed. The sad thing is SSG has a new patch ready but they can't get UbiSoft to agree to release it.

[Sean Tudor]

A toss-up between NOLF2 and AOM.

Addendum : Oh I agree Brian - I'll also add Medieval:Total War - fantastic game.

[Brian Rucker]

I'm still most impressed with Medieval: Total War. Great mix of tactical and strategy gaming. Runners up: Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin and Morrowind. BF1942 is a great design but there wasn't much to single player and multiplayer was a bit hard for me to get into - though that's likely more my fault than the game's.

Console: Romance of The Three Kingdoms VII (PS2). Then again, I'm a complete freak and no responsible journalistic outlet should let my tastes in console games influence them whatsoever. After that, Vice City.

[mtkafka]

Geez... is this Battlefield 1942 central? Bah, I still don't get how this game is getting rave reviews. It has no single player mode worth note, a multiplayer mode thats really not that much different than games like Tribes 2 and the online latency isn't even as good as something like MoH (and yes I have played BF42 on a t1 line). Yeah its a solid game, but goty material? And no, I'm not saying this because I'm an ofp fan (totally different games). There's something just too arcadey and cheap feeling about it...I'd even compare it to something like Mobile Forces, another game thats not particularly bad, but has that mots effect.

I think the game would have been better if closer to a Ghost Recon/Delta Force game, and instead focus a bit more on realism. Really, this game doesnt strike me as anything particularly great... it just feels soooo TF/Tribes 2 (with even less modes of play) for the SPR fans. I really dont get it. Plus a game like Deadly Dozen Pacific (a budget title with big budget gameplay imo) comes off simpler to play than BF42 but for some reason feels more authentic.

Yeah, the games good, it works well at what it does as a ww2 arcade team based shooter. But take away the ww2 clothing and nobody would care, imo.

etc

[wumpus]

All that angst and you don't even list your choice for GOTY? Bah yourself.

[mtkafka]

Gee this year is hard to pick goty.

I'd have to say Morrowind.

Though in strategy I'm partial towards Soldiers of Anarchy and WBC2.

In action Deadly Dozen Pacific and NOLF2.

Good times! The sturm and stress of it all.

etc

[Anonymous]

I liked Medieval: Total War for strategy gaming. The depth is incredible, especially on the strategic map. So much so that you don't even have to bother with tactical battles, though those can be great too.

I will say that America's Army (once it was patched to versions 1.30 and 1.40) has got to be my shooter of the year. Battlefield 1942 is fun, but it's for when you want a somewhat brainless, non-stop, chaotic, kill-and-die-30-times-a-round experience. But for realism and intensity, you can't beat America's Army. Best realistic shooter available right now, and the close-quarter combat maps are simply the pinnacle of the genre. I find I can't even bother with Ghost Recon anymore. Yeah, it's a hassle having to qualify past basic training and infantry school, but the trick is to muddle through the training missions and get to the Airborne and Ranger missions. Airborne missions include parachuting out of a plane at night, maneuvering to hit the landing zone, assembling into your assault group on the ground while under fire, and getting the mission done. Insane.

The 75th Ranger mission Weapons Cache has got to be the best level. Two warehouses, seperated by a loading dock/parking lot. You all get M4 carbines and SAW's, so it's all about going room-to-room in fighting that compares to Stalingrad at times. It's bloody, brutal, and gory, but it's all about teamwork and communication skills, especially if you're about to be overrun and you're screaming for back-up while trying to fall back to the next room.

[mtkafka]

Yeah, I have to get back to Medieval TW. I never completed a whole game unless getting my butt kicked by the Germans or Turks counts!

I think theres a lot of great games that could have been classics this year... lots of 8/10 or 9/10 or 4 star games that are shy of that 'classic' status... missing that one feature or mechanism or something that gets it up in the 'must play' status for me. A game like Freedom Force could have used a more open ended campaign approach. Dungeon Siege a more in depth character development. NWN control of a party. UTk3 more gameplay modes. BF42 a credible single player mode and more multi modes. This year is the best I've seen in pc gaming, but it lacks that one title that just oozes UBERness like OFP or TA did for me. Morrowind comes closest though...and Vice City on console.

And a game like Morrowind win points for me not because its a perfect game but because its a rare type of open ended crpg game that works well and is highly replayable. Plus I think the exotic MW environment (excellent art designs btw!) keeps it as one of the games i seem to come back to.

etc

[deanco]

GOTY: GTA3.

Runners up: Freedom Force, Combat Mission BB, TCM2003.

BF1942 misses out because of the weak single player. Great online though.

DeanCo--

[Ben Sones]

I'd go with Morrowind, so far. It is certainly the game that I've played the most of. Close runners up would be NOLF2 and Battlefield 1942.

[DennyA]

Yeah, I'd definitely give props to Morrowind in addition to my choices. First RPG I've played more than a few hours since Fallout.

I'd say Battlefield 1942 comes in on top despite the complaints about latency and single-player because of the sheer fun factor, but then Tom would make me leave the room again.

[JeffL]

I'm really out of the mainstream, I suppose. I just don't get into MMOGs, so BF1942 isn't on my list. In fact, my list will really show how out of the mainstream I probably am:

Total War: Medieval - what a sleeper.
NOLF2 - Love the attitude.
Morrowind - I'm a sucker for open-ended games.
CMBB - The game that changed the paradigm in wargaming gets significant improvements.
Champ Manager 01/02 - I still start playing this and look up and it's hours later than I thought.

[Ben Sones]

I dunno, Jeff--that list seems to be pretty much in step with the mainstream. Good picks, too. I haven't played much Medieval yet, but it seems intriguing...

[Dave Long]

PC - Age of Mythology or Warlords Battlecry 2
Console - Metroid Prime

Each console separately...

Gamecube - Metroid Prime
PS2 - Virtua Fighter 4 or Maximo
Xbox - Splinter Cell

Metroid Prime is the best game of the year overall.

--Dave

[Bub, Andrew]

Based on amount of time played and overall enjoyment (read: fun) I'm going to have to choose between Battlefield: 1942 and Age of Mythology. I know, boring and obvious, but honest. Madden 2003 PC deserves mention as "most stunningly improved series" but that's largely because the 2002 version was based on the 2001 console version. 2003 is in line with the 2003 console, so it's only a big leap on the PC.

Best console game?
Virtua Tennis GBA

[Murph]

Wow. After several hours of NOLF 2 deathmatch over the LAN with a couple of my buddies, I'm almost tempted to change my vote. Man, that's slick.

Haven't had that much fun MP in a long time.

So, we'll call it a draw.

[Anonymous]

I'd vote for Neverwinter Nights. (I made some of this argument in the "most disappointing" topic before I realized it was in the wrong place.)

I pretty much agree with the criticisms of the single-player campaign, but I'd anticipated going in (from experience with Unlimited Adventures in the early '90s, I guess) that the campaign would be a demo for the editor, rather than a game in its own right, so I didn't have many preconceptions to dash.

Frankly, the editor is incredible--it lured me back into scenario-making for the first time in 10 years--and the scenarios out there just get better and better.

I don't have anything against the board favorites (Battlefield 1942, Total War: Medieval, No One Lives Forever 2 and Age of Mythology). They're all good games and maybe NOLF2 in its beauty and detail is better than just "good."

But I've seen most of them before in various incarnations--Battlefield 1942 in Tribes, Medieval in Shoguna, AOM in AOK--and I think a "never seen before" quality that should attach to a GOTY.

Neverwinter Nights has it.

Peter

[Anonymous]

NWN HANDS DOWN!


Bioware FOREVAH!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I think a "never seen before" quality that should attach to a GOTY.
What haven't we seen before about NWN? The sheer number of chests and barrels?

[Troy S Goodfellow]

I'm going with Neverwinter Nights. As the mods get better, I'm becoming more convinced that this is the future of CRPGs.

Troy

[Anonymous]

I think a "never seen before" quality that should attach to a GOTY.
What haven't we seen before about NWN? The sheer number of chests and barrels?

If you judge NWN just as a single-player game, I guess I can understand your disapointment ... but you're also kind of missing the point.

As I mentioned, I took the campaign as a demo for the editor. A game editor with this level of power, freedom and ease of use (well, relative to the power, at least) is what I'd never seen before.

Understand, despite writing about games for 14 years, I've never made a scenario for anything--apart from one abortive attempt with Bard's Tale Construction Set that was more or less forced on me by the review I was writing--but this editor sucked me right in and kicked me out of a creative lull.

All of a sudden, I'm thinking like a game designer. And I think I can translate most of my thoughts into a game.

I wrote in the other topic that NWN isn't a game but a thousand potential games, and I'd stick by that. I'd urge you to try some of the scenarios available online. There are some amazingly fun experiences out there--for single player as well as multi--and they just seem to get better and better.

Peter

[Tom Ohle]

America's Army or Asheron's Call 2. Kicks BF1942's ass all over the place. Battlefield was fun in our 30-man LAN games here at work... but the fact that I could be shooting at a guy's head from 5 feet away and still not kill him just drove me completely nuts. Possibly the most frustrating game of the year for me, but not even in the top 20 for my GOTY pick. The demo, maybe, but the final game... not a chance in hell.

[Chris Floyd]

Console: Easily Grand Theft Auto III

PC: While there's so much to love about Freedom Force, because of a little lack of polish, I think I'm going to have to give it second place after Mafia. Who expected that?

[Desslock]

There's a lot of great games that I haven't had the opportunity to spend as much time with as I would like, but I'd have to vote for Morrowind as my game of the year.

Other favourites:
- Combat Mission: Barbarosa to Berlin; GTA III; BF1942; Neverwinter Nights; IWD2; Medal of Honor

Games I think I could like a lot if I had more time to play them:
- Age of Mythology, Divine Divinity, Arx Fatalis; Asheron's Call 2; Freedom Force, NOLF2; Total War Medieval; Avernum 3

[DaveC]

Counter-Strike, all the whey!
Wrong year. Oddly enough, it still generates 50-100k (!) players on a regular basis, though:

http://www.gamespy.com/stats/

Currently at 96,754 players as I write this. 82k are for Counter-Strike.

After they release the Condition Zero patch with the riot shield and the new guns / maps, it's possible I may pick up counter-strike again for a while.

I will no longer touch CS with a ten foot pole. I want to try out some other mods like Natural Selection and I used to play FLF all the time. After upgrading to XP I can no longer play Internet Half Life games so I haven't been able to try any newer mods.

[Dave Long]

Console: Easily Grand Theft Auto III

Maybe last year... since it came out in 2001 (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId=5189/)...or were you trying to make a specific point about this year's console releases?

--Dave

[DaveC]

America's Army or Asheron's Call 2. Kicks BF1942's ass all over the place. Battlefield was fun in our 30-man LAN games here at work... but the fact that I could be shooting at a guy's head from 5 feet away and still not kill him just drove me completely nuts. Possibly the most frustrating game of the year for me, but not even in the top 20 for my GOTY pick. The demo, maybe, but the final game... not a chance in hell.

Get the patch pal and I'll kick your pansy Army ass!!

[Gordon Cameron]

As I mentioned, I took the campaign as a demo for the editor. A game editor with this level of power, freedom and ease of use (well, relative to the power, at least) is what I'd never seen before.

What about Adventure Construction Set back in 1984? :D

[Dean]

The only game I played this year that actually came out this year was Dungeon Siege, and that certainly doesn't make game of the year.

So, for personal games of the year (of the games I played this year):

1. System Shock 2 - great fun was had with this oldie, and it was a very different gameplay experience the second time around. First time I was a hacker, this time a psi guy. Plus, it was almost a multiplayer experience because a bunch of guys from Gone Gold all played through it roughly at the same time, so it felt like one of the "new" games that everyone online was talking about.

2. Diablo -- yup, the first one. My niece came up for a week this summer and we fired this up on the LAN and had a great time hacking away together. It also saved me money because it was all she wanted to do, so I didn't have to spring for movies, museums, and various touristy crap.

Console game of the year:

Grandia II on the Dreamcast, because it's the only console I own, and it's the only console game I played to completion.

Board game of the year:

Twilight Imperium -- if you can get six players together this is the MOO2 of board games with a unique board every game (building the board is part of the game, and a key to your starting strategy), lots of political wrangling, about 800 ways to screw the other guy, and many die-cast plastic pieces.

Card game of the year:

Burn Rate -- made by out of work dot-commers, about the dot-com industry, this offers a nice blend of chance and strategy. Everyone starts of with $100 in VC and the last one to go bankrupt wins. Again there are about 800 ways to screw the other guy, by giving him bad ideas which he must support until he can release them, making him hire too many managers, and all sorts of other nasty things. It's gotten so we know all the managers in the deck by name, which is kind of scary.

[Chris Floyd]

Maybe last year... since it came out in 2001 (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId=5189/)...or were you trying to make a specific point about this year's console releases?

Heh. I forget such things since I just entered the world of console gaming when I got a PS2 early this year.

Well, then. Console game of the year goes to.... um... Rez? No, also 2001. Well, I guess I'd better reserve myself to discussing the Best Console Games of the Last Two Years, cause my collection is pretty shameful by Dave Long standards.

And I was already feeling pathetic because I hadn't played lots of PC games this year like Hitman 2, Battlefield, or Metal of Honor.

[Qenan]

Nothing has really knocked me out this year, but I'll reluctantly vote for Morrowind.

[Reeko]

I'll definitely take Morrowind as console game of the year.

[Lee Johnson]

I really liked Jedi Knight II. I finished it promptly and may play it through again someday. Very enjoyable. Unfortunately, I don't expect it to figure high in GOTY voting because it was an early 2002 release. People seem to have short memories. :?

Age of Mythology is great. Medieval: Total War seems like it could be great as well--if I could only buckle down and learn how to play it properly.

NOLF 2 is on my birthday/Christmas list, so I haven't seen it yet.

I will not venture an opinion for Console Game of the Year. I only recently finished Final Fantasy X and loved it--an opinion that will no doubt discredit me in the eyes of half the people here, who reviled it for one reason or another. Obviously my judgment is suspect. ;)

[Mike Cathcart]

I will not venture an opinion for Console Game of the Year. I only recently finished Final Fantasy X and loved it--an opinion that will no doubt discredit me in the eyes of half the people here, who reviled it for one reason or another. Obviously my judgment is suspect. ;)

I liked it, but it came out last year.

[Tyjenks]

PC - Age of Mythology or Warlords Battlecry 2
--Dave

Oh no. Those were the two I was debating between. I am more like Long than I want to admit, I guess, minus the Super Monkey Ball Love for Nintendo, of course.

I have re-discovered the RTS genre this year after detesting the years of copycats in the genre. These two games have been the reason so kudos to SSG and Ensemble. Believe it or not I still have not picked up Warcraft III. The conspicuous absence of the best-seller in this thread is not convincing me to give it a look when my two favorites, so far, are here numerous times. Demo available now, so maybe I will change my vote in the next 28 days.

I have not played a single console title (PS2 owner) this year that has merited more than a few hours of my time. I think I will have to abstain.

[Anonymous]

Im terms of play time and enjoyment, this years greats have been, Virtua Fighter 4 on PS2, Urban Terror Quake 3 mod, Day of Defeat mod for Half Life, D2:LOD and Warcraft 3. Not all were released this year, but the new releases i got had less play time than the above, and are more or less irrelevant.

[Jack]

I guess I'd go with Morrowind for its open-ended nature and high replay factor. There are scads of character possibilities -- and even though the world doesn't change from one game to another, the map is huge and peppered with places to explore. It's nearly impossible to find them all.

NWN is also high on my list. The SP game kinda lost me when I had to kill a red dragon and kept getting my ass handed to me -- and the story wasn't all that engaging, anyway. But the editor is absolutely fantastic -- and because of its power, there are a bunch of great modules and mods being made; I just spent a weekend downloading about fifty modules.

Morrowind's editor is also good, but not nearly as accessible as NWN's.

[Alan Au]

I've probably spent more time this year playing the BF1942 MP Demo than anything else. It's still fun, despite all the annoying quirks.

My runners-up would be AoW2, NOLF2, and maybe IWD2 (which I thought was a better single-player game than NWN). Wasn't terribly excited by any of the 2002 RTS offerings though.

- Alan

[Tyjenks]

I've probably spent more time this year playing the BF1942 MP Demo than anything else.
- Alan

Can you make a demo GOTY? I have actually played some MP demos so much and had such fun that, once the final version came along, I had lost interest because too much entertainment was crammed into the demo. Myth and Netstorm I both purchased, but had played a ton of MP skirmishes and was sorta burned out.

I want a Netstorm II. Somebody reading this message board from Activision please get on that, will ya?

[Tom Chick]

I want a Netstorm II.

Hey, cool! I thought I was the only guy who liked Netstorm. I presume there's no more online presence, is there? Or did anyone manage to pull a Subspace-style rescue?

I was kind of hoping Project Nomads might have a Flying Heroes/Netstorm vibe, but no such luck.

-Tom

[Chris Floyd]

I'd just like to point out that all of you out there with impeccable taste are all forgetting that Sid Meier's Sim Golf was released in January of 2002. So don't miss that on your Best Of... list. Or Else.

[Peter Olafson]

Hey, cool! I thought I was the only guy who liked Netstorm. I presume there's no more online presence, is there? Or did anyone manage to pull a Subspace-style rescue?

I was kind of hoping Project Nomads might have a Flying Heroes/Netstorm vibe, but no such luck.

-Tom

I'm surprised anyone -remembers- Netstorm. A Tony Zurovec (Crusaders, a couple of later Ultimas and Loose Cannon, IIRC) game, I think.

Those were more innocent times. Chess was still used as a model for games that didn't have "Chessmaster" and zeroes in the title.

How far did you get in Nomads, Tom? I was kind of hoping the game would loosen up a bit (and perhaps fall off the rails) once I got farther in. (The demo is pretty tightly scripted, but I guess that's understandable.) Does it?

Someone was asking about Loose Cannon's status a ways back. It's apparently still alive. EBGames.com has it down as a 4/1 release. Though I supose that could be a joke ...

Peter

[Tom Chick]

I was kind of hoping the game would loosen up a bit (and perhaps fall off the rails) once I got farther in. (The demo is pretty tightly scripted, but I guess that's understandable.) Does it?

No, it doesn't. Which was pretty disappointing. Interesting artwork, though.

-Tom

[Anonymous]

[quote=TomChick]I'm surprised anyone -remembers- Netstorm. A Tony Zurovec (Crusaders, a couple of later Ultimas and Loose Cannon, IIRC) game, I think.
No, it was from another ex-Origin guy, Ken Demarest.

[Anonymous]

Consolewise: I have a hard time choosing a specific title. Metroid Prime, Ratchet and Clank, VF4, and Wreckless(j/k) :lol: have all been major standouts. I have yet to spend time with Vice City.

NFS:HP2, Sly Cooper, WA3, PSO 1+2, Contra, LotR: Two Towers, Enclave, and a few others have been nice time killers as well. GBA has Metroid Fusion, Zelda(4 swords!), Megaman Zero, Castlevania:HoD(haven't even played yet), Yoshi's Island, and Mario World which have been great.

I expect Zelda Cube to really impress next week as well.

On the PC, Disciples II really floored me. I enjoyed WC3 for a decent while, Nolf 2 proved stealth can be nearly as accessible as run and gun play(Previous efforts like Thief relied too much on Quicksave tactics...blech, can't enjoy that crap) though Nolf2 was kinda lacking in its level designs, especially how it feel apart near the end. Nolf 1 impressed me more in that aspect. IWD2 was nice for a little while...until about 20 hours in when the experience becomes so redundant and your party gets stuck using the same old tactics for most every fight. It just gets old. It's a problem I have with damn near every D&D title. JK2 was decent fun for a little while also. AoM I have yet to really play. Morrowind was boooooring.

[Tom Chick]

I'm surprised anyone -remembers- Netstorm. A Tony Zurovec (Crusaders, a couple of later Ultimas and Loose Cannon, IIRC) game, I think.

Hey, Guest, I didn't write that. I'm perfectly capable of making my own mistakes, thank you very much.

-Tom

[Peter Olafson]

[quote=TomChick]I'm surprised anyone -remembers- Netstorm. A Tony Zurovec (Crusaders, a couple of later Ultimas and Loose Cannon, IIRC) game, I think.
No, it was from another ex-Origin guy, Ken Demarest.

I knew that! :) I wonder what's become of Ken?

Peter

[Tyjenks]

I want a Netstorm II.

Hey, cool! I thought I was the only guy who liked Netstorm. I presume there's no more online presence, is there? Or did anyone manage to pull a Subspace-style rescue?


I cannot remember the last time I installed and checked. It came out in 97 I think and I believe as recently as a year and a half (maybe 2) ago I was able to connect. Everyone there apparently had not put the game down as they were still insanely skilled at it. Aaaaah... the altar, the lashing down of priests, and the sweet sounds of screaming victory as they plummet through the skies forever.

A quick google check was no help. Hmmm, where is that copy.

[Anonymous]

Hey, Guest, I didn't write that. I'm perfectly capable of making my own mistakes, thank you very much.
In addition to being cojone-free, I can't quote properly. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Best Game: Mafia

Mafia was the only game I actually played through to the end this year (aside from Dungeon Siege, which I would have finished except for a fatal bug that wouldn't allow me to fight the end-boss). NWN was boring, as expected (I've hated D&D since the day its lowbrow self was foisted upon the world), and Morrowind was...boring. Freedom Force seemed like it might be a great game, but the lack of a free-roaming camera forced it off my hard-drive after about a day of play, so I wouldn't know. Hitman 2 was a very good game, but still a bit too quirky to receive a Best Game nomination. Maybe H3 will be the charm. NOLF2 was a complete bust. How anyone can think it deserves a nomination is beyond me. It's a game with pretensions to sophistication far surpassing any it actually possesses. Gameplaywise, I didn't find it much (I said much) different or better than, say, SOF2. Speaking of SOF2: fine game. Its lack of pretension earns it points in my book, and the multiplayer rocked. Iron Storm was an interesting sleeper that unfortunately petered out at the end. I never bothered to finish it. JK2 might have been fun if I had played it long enough to get the light saver, but I never got past the second or third level because those were some of the worst levels in the history of FPS's, as far as I'm concerned. Medieval: Total War was a nice try, but far inferior to Shogun in my book. Yes, the strategic layer was much more complicated, but in the end not more fun, and it certainly had nothing to do with history. Arx Fatalis was a great game, but somehow lacked that special something that would propel it into "Best Of" land. Finally, Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood is my pick for Strategy GOTY, although not overall GOTY. Hood is quite an interesting and challenging game, if you like its style.

Those are all the games I can remember off the top of my head that I've bought and played that were published this year. I didn't buy any of the big name strategy sequels (AoW2, HOMM4, WBC2, RCT2), mainly because I didn't care for their daddies--or, in the case of RCT2, I didn't care enough to pay full price for an expansion pack.

Action GOTY: Mafia
Adventure GOTY: No purchase, no pick
RPG GOTY: Dungeon Siege (yes, that's what I said)
Strategy GOTY: Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
Flight/Driving Sim GOTY: No purchase, no pick
Sports GOTY: No purchase, no pick

[DennyA]

Boy, this Guest guy is all over the map with his choices. Every day he likes something different. MPD?

C'mon, people. How freakin' hard is it to sign up for a username? You can even make up a fake name, you know, like wurphus, if anonymity is a concern.

[Spam]

My pick is Morrowind. For me, nothing else even comes close this year.

[Kasreyn]

I cannot remember the last time I installed and checked. It came out in 97 I think and I believe as recently as a year and a half (maybe 2) ago I was able to connect. Everyone there apparently had not put the game down as they were still insanely skilled at it.


I got NetStorm for $2 about 8 months ago and people were still playing online. Unfortunately, everyone's tetris-piece-placing skills were so astute that I was always immediately surrounded with connecting pieces and ballistas. I just couldn't place the pieces fast enough to make it a challenge.

My favorite game this year has been Age of Mythology [ESO: Kasreyn], even with the "stats error: 2,4" problem. I never got into the other Age games, so it was fresh to me. I enjoyed Battlecry 2 as well... I like BF1942, but not on a 56K.

-Kasreyn

[Tyjenks]

RPG GOTY: Dungeon Siege (yes, that's what I said)


I wish you would have put this at the top of your post so that I could have proceeded to ignore all the rest of your spewing. The choice of DS as RPG of the year renders all of the other picks worthless.

[xahlt]

He was right about the early levels in JKII, though. Why the hell they thought I wanted to play half the game crate-jumping with a wookie bowcaster instead of a light saber is beyond me.

[Chris Floyd]

I like this latest "Guest". Concise, but insightful. Fair yet critical. Can we keep him?

[Jason Cross]

NOLF2 was a complete bust. How anyone can think it deserves a nomination is beyond me. It's a game with pretensions to sophistication far surpassing any it actually possesses.

Kinda like that whole post!

[Nathan]

For consoles, I'd probably pick Metroid Prime, although it's starting to piss me off with the ending fight. My second would be Rez. I couldn't recommend it for everybody, but it's the kind of game I like.

PC-wise, Battlefield 1942 taught me to love again. Specifically, it taught me that I love shelling flag-points from a destroyer.

[Anonymous]

Interesting that he mentioned Robin Hood as strategy GOY,though.Anyone else have that impression of the game at all?I haven't played it,but it looks like it may be the kind of thing I like...

[Tyjenks]

Interesting that he mentioned Robin Hood as strategy GOY,though.Anyone else have that impression of the game at all?I haven't played it,but it looks like it may be the kind of thing I like...

Here's (http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1311&highlight=robin+hood) where a couple folks talked about it. The topic didn't get much attention here, however.

[Paxton]

Freedom Force seemed like it might be a great game, but the lack of a free-roaming camera forced it off my hard-drive after about a day of play, so I wouldn't know

you, sir, are WRONG! i mean about the lack of a free-roaming camera, not the part about you not knowing. anyway, you didn't miss much.

[Anonymous]

i gotto go with mafia as well. excellent presentation flow and atmosphere. nothing this year even comes close to the level of finish and solid all around game that mafia delivers.

honarable mentions would be americas army, medieval tw,and morrowind.

[wumpus]

My second would be Rez. I couldn't recommend it for everybody, but it's the kind of game I like.
Isn't that kinda like making minesweeper your GOTY? I own Rez. It's fun to trip the light fantastic, but it's not exactly a thrilling gameplay experience. Heck, even Tempest blows it away in terms of mechanics and strategy.

[Nathan]

I know it's weird, but it's still one of my favorite games on the PS2. I like the graphics and music enough that I'm willing to overlook the mediocre gameplay. Sometimes, style goes farther than substance.

If Minesweeper had trance music and particle explosions, I'd probably like it, too.

[Tyjenks]

If Minesweeper had trance music and particle explosions, I'd probably like it, too.

My version does, but only when I flip on the radio and plunge my fingers into my eyes 5 or 6 times. Strangely enough, that version of minesweeper is still more fun than Rez is to me.