GoTY for 2002 ... so far Poll of sorts? [Archive]

Chris Nahr

07-11-2002, 02:10 AM

mtkafka

07-11-2002, 03:04 AM

Bleh my friend had the War 3 beta. Gheyness. Graphically doesnt look as good as Battle Realms, plays like a 'lite' version of WBC2, and its overhyped. yadda yahoo yucko.

Age of Mythology might be cool. But for now, an RTS for goty? Chah... no way... except if its WBC2.

And Morrowind mediocre? You dont know games Christopher without an '-er'!!!! (BTW your names like that guy in Vampire TM! To the abyss with you!)!!!

etc

AIM

07-11-2002, 05:18 AM

Hey, you forgot Might and Magic IX in your list!

No really, if these are the "Game of the Year" candidates so far then we'd better start up another "PC gaming is dying" thread. WC3 was the title I liked best but it still fell a bit short of GOTY IMO (weak skirmish mode). Haven't played NWN yet but from what I've heard it's not that hot either, unless someone comes along and makes a killer mod. Of the upcoming 2002 titles, Age of Mythology is the only one I expect to enjoy.

Oh well, thank God for console games. (I mean REAL console games for REAL consoles... not those American ersatz consoles like the Xbox with their ports of mediocre PC games like Morrowind...)

We'll if that's your take on the state of PC gaming then fine, but I have differing opinions. I think it's been a great year (so far) for PC gaming and it's only going to get better. Just because you don't like NWN it doesnt' mean that PC game's suck. Also, Medal of Honor kicked major ass, and I'm sorry that you probably think this game sucked also.

So finally, just because you determined that you do not like the PC games of 2002, it doesn't mean that PC gaming is dying. Wait till, UT 2003, Dues Ex 2, Planerside and NOLF 2 hit retail, and then it'll be good. Oh, you get you ass handed to you buy 13 year old kids? Oh we'll, you'll probably say that these games also suck.

Sam Jones

07-11-2002, 05:32 AM

Morrowind, definitely. A very captivating game, despite the accursed CTDs. Horourable mentions to NWN/WC3/Freedom Force/JK2. All top quality products.

Turkeys of the year so far: Dungeon Siege (Ick!) and ST:Bridge Commander (Euww!). Both massive disappointments.

Upcoming "Most Wanteds": IWD2, Gothic 2, Deus Ex 2.

It's been an excellent year for PC gaming so far.

Paxton

07-11-2002, 06:28 AM

you left out age of wonders 2

Dave Long

07-11-2002, 06:42 AM

Freedom Force should be on the list too.

--Dave

mtkafka

07-11-2002, 06:58 AM

To make it accurate I took out JK2 and SoF for FF and AoW2. This will be THE ULTIMATE poll. Dareisay it rocks? I can't add anymore it seems... sorry...

etc

Ben Sones

07-11-2002, 07:23 AM

It's going to be a damn tough contest for "RPG of the year" come December. Ditto for "strategy game of the year."

routlaw

07-11-2002, 07:55 AM

Had to go with Morrowind, but I admit I still haven't had the chance to play Age of Wonders 2 yet. Still a really, really nice list for the first half of 2002, especially when compared to last year, where the only game that people mentioned as a potential GotY was Serious Sam, and that was more of out of pure jest than anything else.

Little did they know what horrors the future held for them. :shock:

Tyjenks

07-11-2002, 08:11 AM

Hey, you forgot Might and Magic IX in your list!

Or 3DO's other highly polished and flawless entry:

Heroes of Might and Magic IV.

Sarcasm aside, I have actually played this more than anything this year. Nearly to completion to boot and I do not finish many games. Hopefully "the big patch", whenever it comes, will iron everything out so that the game can be what it was meant to be before Gus and the rest (---pun alert---) bugged out of New World Computing.

Speaking of which, does anyone know anything about Gus Smedstad's newly formed company and what they will be working on?

BTW, for now, I am voting for NWN. :)

Brian Rucker

07-11-2002, 08:18 AM

The year isn't over yet but I had to go with Morrowind. In many ways I'd love to change this game (it really, really, needs a better combat mode since you're fighting so much it should be a bit more interesting or complex and I'm completely over the scripted missions aspects - better an improved mission generation engine next time around) but in benchmark terms this is the single best realization of a fantasy world in a gaming environment and the gameplay is solid enough to support my interest in exploring this world. The editor was a stroke of genius and I can't wait to see what more the ambitious teams make of it.

NWN was never really on my radar so I can't comment. It's D&D online with a so-so single player game from what I can tell. If the players and online DMs make something great out of it my curiousity could get perked but I'm old school. If I really want a dungeon crawling experience with friends it wouldn't be hard to score a table at the corner gamestore and play a real game. Even then AD&D is played more out of nostalgia or as a beer & pretzels alternative to headier roleplaying games with my crew.

Robert Sharp

07-11-2002, 08:29 AM

Morrowind, by FAR. This is one of the best games I have EVER played, never mind this year. And I have only explored half the continent (less really). I am level 18, and expect to be 30-something by the time I finish. I don't know what the cap is though. This game has sucked away my life! An amazing amazing game. AoW2 is also great, but I don't play it much because of Morrowind.

On my console I am having fun with Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII.

Jaysun

07-11-2002, 08:29 AM

Morrowind. No contest.

asspennies

07-11-2002, 08:45 AM

Does the winner get to put "Quarter To Three's GAME OF THE YEAR" on their box and start a reissue?

Jason Becker

07-11-2002, 08:53 AM

I went withFreedom Force as much for the 'underdog' aspect as anything else. I could go for NWN too. Guess I just want to see FF get as much attention as possible as a smaller fish in the big pool of the Morrowinds, NWN's and WC3's.

Tyjenks

07-11-2002, 09:18 AM

Desslock

07-11-2002, 10:40 AM

I also have to go with Morrowind, and I'm pleasantly surprised at all the support it's getting here. Maybe someone will actually read part of the 500 page encyclopedia I just wrote for the game.

But I think it's been an amazing year for PC Games this year, after a dreadful year last year. Already: Morrowind, Freedom Force, WarCraft 3, GTA3, JK2, Dungeon Siege, Medal of Honor, Neverwinter Nights, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and a bunch more good stuff coming up. I like all of those games I listed more than any game released last year other than Operation Flashpoint and IL2.

Jason McCullough

07-11-2002, 11:41 AM

I honestly can't pick, as nothing's really floated my boat this year. NWN is antiseptic and boring, Morrowind's empty, JK2 was way the the hell too long and repetitive with a truck driver protagonist.....

Anonymous

07-11-2002, 11:44 AM

deanco

07-11-2002, 01:24 PM

I had to go with Freedom Force, because it wasn't too difficult on normal setting, it had the right click pause which I love, the hammy voice acting, the colorful graphics, and of course the subject matter. FF just edged out GTA3, only because the save system sucks in GTA3, but GTA3 is actually more fun, pound for pound, than FF. FF just put the whole package together better I guess. And GTA3 just edged out Morrowind, but that might be because I haven't played MW in a while. But maaan... are these good games or what?

DeanCo--

Doug Erickson

07-11-2002, 02:03 PM

Definitely Warlords Battlecry 2, for my tastes. I've played more WBC2 than any game this year, and when I sit down at my PC to engaging in some random gaming, I always wind up clicking the WBC2 icon.

Morrowind is a grudging second; despite its flaws, I'm a total fruit for vast, open-ended RPGs that predominantly feature lethargy-inducing levels of exploration. After that, it's Age of Wonders 2, which I simply need to play more of.

I have high hopes for UT2003 and Icewind Dale 2. Fuck Deus Ex 2, since I didn't like Deus Ex, although Warren Spector let me hold his coffee at E3 '99 while he sneered his way through a demo of Daikatana.

I liked Disciples 2, although it needed quite a bit more substance. Freedom Force was fun, but the lack of any skirmish maps and co-op multiplayer totally killed it after the all-to-short campaign was done.

Dungeon Siege, NWN, and WC3 were all let-downs for me, although they weren't total failures. DS, despite being generic, is decent in multiplayer, and has good mod potential; NWN at least proves that 3E is better for videogaming than 2E and also has decent mod potential; and WC3 has a slick SP campaign.

Console gaming is overrated these days. There hasn't been many good console titles this year: Rez, Virtua Fighter 4, and maybe Maximo are all I've been able to muster any enthusiasm for. Hell, the GBA has had more interesting releases than any current console. I don't fetishize Nintendo like some of the nostalgiacs, so the only two games that are really on my horizon are the Zelda title and Wild Arms 3. The import Ikaruga for DC will rock, of course, and I hold out some vague hope for Crimson Skies this year. Other than that? PC gaming has it beat.

Desslock

07-11-2002, 02:05 PM

>Where can we find it? I'm game

GameSpot, soon.

Robert Sharp

07-11-2002, 02:12 PM

On my console I am having fun with Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII.

Aha!! You and Brian Rucker are the two people who have bought RotTK VII. Right after payday I am going to buy it and somehow sneak it into the house under my wife's nose.

Well, Brian and I have discussed our love of this series in the CGO forums. KOEI is set to release several games in the next year in the U.S., and I am looking forward to all of them. ROTKVII has TERRIBLE graphics, IMO, for a PS2 game (not great for a PSX game either) but makes a great step forward for the series.

Doug Erickson

07-11-2002, 02:14 PM

Either of you guys fans of last year's Dynasty Warriors 3?

Reeko

07-11-2002, 02:33 PM

Morrowind, definitely. I picked it up for the Xbox and it has kept me up past 2:45 on several occasions. It's just so......big. The only complaint (besides issues with the automap causing console crashes - that's right, crashes) is that it throws too much at you in the beginning. Very much like BG2's chapter 2 in that respect. You have to stay focused on what you're doing.

Brian Rucker

07-11-2002, 02:39 PM

Either of you guys fans of last year's Dynasty Warriors 3?

It falls into my guilty pleasure category. There's no deep gameplay there at all but something feels soooo good about playing a hero that can sweep legions of foes before him. Every kid's Conan fantasy, I guess. Yeah, I spent quite a few hours with this one when I first got it developing Wei Yun - hey I liked to Mexican wrestler mask what can I say? Man, it would be cool if you actually had more control over what the troops were doing though and if your allies were more than hourglasses simply holding the enemy up until either they ran out of men or you got around to doing the fighting for them.

Never have tried the two player mode. Any good?

Tyjenks

07-11-2002, 02:53 PM

Console gaming is overrated these days..... PC gaming has it beat.

I agree. I waited in line 6-7 hours for my "next generation" PS2 with the rest of the nutjobs hoping for a renaissance in console gaming. After a year and a half, I own a total of 3 PS2 titles (SSX, Madden 2002, and Dark Cloud) all of which came out early on. Everything else I can rent and finish or get bored with within that 5-day window. I do not play incessantly during that period either.

I have probably bought 12-15 PC games during this same period and enjoyed them much more and have gone back to them more often. I simply think there is little innovation occuring in console gaming and everything is only a prettier re-hash of what has been done before. Often times, not done as well, too. I am left longing for my NES and SNES days when games were ugly, but fun.

I guess I have migrated back to the PC side. If only I could be sooo lucky to get my hands on a copy of the new Sims Shitface Maker expansion. Are they really charging for this?

Doug Erickson

07-11-2002, 02:53 PM

2P's a blast, especially with the over-the-top Dual Musou attacks. It has a few problems with draw distance and enemies that magically appear due to their LoD scheme, but it's still a riot. Really tough to play drunk, unlike, say, Monkey Target.

Sparky

07-11-2002, 03:04 PM

Does the winner get to put "Quarter To Three's GAME OF THE YEAR" on their box and start a reissue?
Darn tootin'! Here's the official sticker:

http://www.phobe.com/goty.gif

Jim F.

07-11-2002, 03:09 PM

Seeing all these Morrowind votes makes me green with envy. The thing still won't run on an AMD/VIA/GeForce 2 combo. I get to make my character, then crash right to desktop.

(on a side note: after getting burned by Morrowind, and realizing that out of the 5 other Bethesda games I've bought, only 2 worked decently and were enjoyable, I won't be purchasing any more Bethesda games. 2 working games out of roughly $240 worth of purchases isn't a good ratio)

Tyjenks

07-11-2002, 03:45 PM

Either of you guys fans of last year's Dynasty Warriors 3?

I have thought about picking it up, but when I look to the other side of the store at the PC choices, I end up making a trek to that section and not going back.

Sean Tudor

07-11-2002, 04:19 PM

Sean Tudor

07-11-2002, 04:44 PM

My two favourites of 2002 :

1. Morrowind
2. Grand Theft Auto 3

Seeing all these Morrowind votes makes me green with envy. The thing still won't run on an AMD/VIA/GeForce 2 combo. I get to make my character, then crash right to desktop.

(on a side note: after getting burned by Morrowind, and realizing that out of the 5 other Bethesda games I've bought, only 2 worked decently and were enjoyable, I won't be purchasing any more Bethesda games. 2 working games out of roughly $240 worth of purchases isn't a good ratio)

No problems with Morrowind here on my Athlon XP / AV7266-E / GeForce.

I'd say your computer is the No.1 suspect.

wumpus

07-11-2002, 05:20 PM

I really can't decide. Nothing jumps out and grabs me on that list. For lack of anything more compelling, I voted for Morrowind. Though I won't be playing it beyond the 4-6 hours I initially invested, that is unquestionably the direction I want to see RPGs go in. And Bethesda managed to make it work, for the most part, which is a minor miracle.

So I guess Morrowind gets this year's "most ambitious game that didn't fall flat on its face" vote.

Robert Sharp

07-11-2002, 07:10 PM

I didn't like Dynasty Warriors 3 as much as 2 actually. I am not completely sure why, but 2 was more satisfying for me. Even so, I will probably pick up Mystic Heroes when it comes out. I like that they are taking a fantasy/anime approach with that, and including more magic and such.

The one I am REALLY looking forward to (and trying to get Brian psyched up about) is Dynasty Tactics, which should come out this fall. It will be a strategy/RPG style game, kind of like Final Fantasy Tactics (though the ROTK theme and realism).

Gladius is still at the top of my list of most anticipated game, console or otherwise.

Tyjenks

07-11-2002, 07:30 PM

The one I am REALLY looking forward to (and trying to get Brian psyched up about) is Dynasty Tactics, which should come out this fall. It will be a strategy/RPG style game, kind of like Final Fantasy Tactics (though the ROTK theme and realism).

Yep, yep. We had a brief discussion about this in an earlier thread which I started about what I see as a dearth of strat. titles on the PS2. Not much coming down the pipe (or is it pike) either. The very next day Gamespy, I believe, had a preview.

http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=27

What was this thread originally about again? Oh yeah, my vote goes to Sims: the Planetarium Years for GOTY

Gordon Cameron

07-12-2002, 02:14 AM

My vote for GOTY goes to Jedi Knight II. I spent a month playing Morrowind but somehow it left me slightly cold at the end. Dungeon Siege bored me. I can't get interested in NWN no matter how hard I try. I've had the most memorable gaming moments with JK2. Leaping from platform to platform over vertiginous depths, force-pushing stormtroopers to screaming death... ah the memories.

Possible contenders later in the year...

UT2003
Unreal 2
Republic
Avernum 3

mtkafka

07-12-2002, 02:28 AM

Freedom Force is doing well here... I really hope Irrational makes a great expansion / sequel. All I want of Freedom Force is MORE of it!

BTW, is GTA3 Vice City coming out for pc at the same time as the ps2 version or close to it?

etc

Murph

07-12-2002, 04:01 AM

Hmmm...

Almost as many people have voted for NWN as Morrowind, but I haven't seen anyone (except me) post saying that they voted for it. Where are all the NWN supporters??

Sam Jones

07-12-2002, 05:21 AM

Hmmm...

Almost as many people have voted for NWN as Morrowind, but I haven't seen anyone (except me) post saying that they voted for it. Where are all the NWN supporters??

I voted for Morrowind. In a Proportional Representation style vote, I would vote for NWN in 2nd place. Maybe FF in 3rd.

I've never seen a PR style web vote. Do they exist? Would be a good way to generate "Top 5" lists.

Rob_Merritt

07-12-2002, 05:40 AM

Freedom Force is probably my favorite game in the past 5 years. There is too much to love about that game. I hope they make more.

Tyjenks

07-12-2002, 06:15 AM

Hmmm...

Almost as many people have voted for NWN as Morrowind, but I haven't seen anyone (except me) post saying that they voted for it. Where are all the NWN supporters??

Me. I have not played Morrowind yet, however. Time constraints and all. So for now I am sticking with NWN. In a couple of mos. when I have Morrowind, my vote may certainly change.

Matthew Gallant

07-12-2002, 06:29 AM

Why I like Neverwinter Nights better than Morrowind

by Smapdi, Age 8

Morrowind is very pretty but it is not fun. Neverwinter Nights (NWN) starts with a surprise attack on your schoolhouse and the lady who said she wanted to go on a date with you that night gets killed and everyone is sick too. Morrowind (M) starts with you getting off a boat and everyone says mean thing to you when you walk past them. I don't know why they do that. It is fun to run past someone and have them yell out at you "Yes, what is it?" because then you can pretend you ran by so fast that they couldn't tell who you were. But it is not as exciting as burning corpses in NWN. M is like Grandma's house: it is very neat and no matter how many times you go it always looks the same. In NWN it is more like Uncle Steve's house: you come back later and there is dead people everywhere. I did lots of stuff in M but no BIG stuff. I killed a guy and his friend, then I delivered a note. In NWN I saved a fort and went inside a snow globe and summoned a demon to help solve a mystery and stabbed myself to get inside a waterfall and then I was a lawyer too.

Then I get into a fight with bad guys in M and the manual says you can do a chop or a swing or a stab. So I do that but it all really looks the same. The monster says argh and he moves the same way. But I have to keep doing it or else I get killed. The sword looks really neat though. Then I get into a fight in NWN and the guy moves around and swings the sword really neat. Then he kills a goblin and spins around and kills another one right after that and that was cool and I didn't have to click the mouse every time to swing.

Oh and then I talk to a NWN Hench Man, and he tells me a story and it is neat, and I talk to a Hench Woman and she tells me a story and it is funny. But when I talk to someone in M they don't tell good stories and none of them want to be my friend or do anything except talk.

Then there is all the chests you have to open in NWN and that is dumb. But in M there is books that are 28 pages long and that is dumb too.

All of the above is why NWN is better than M. Thank you.

Smapdi, Age 8

mtkafka

07-12-2002, 06:34 AM

I want a mod of MW in NWN and DS and a mod of NWN in DS and MW and a DS version in MW and NWN... it could work folks. Maybe have a SoF2 version in ... :lol:

etc

Xaroc

07-12-2002, 06:38 AM

I voted for NWN. I would give JK2 the runner up for tons of lightsaber dismemberment fun. However whoever desgined the first 3 or 4 levels should be dragged out in the street and shot. I like Morrowind and the flexibility it gives but haven't played it enough to consider it my favorite game this year. Freedom Force is great but after playing NWN and going back to FF the non-rotatable camera was driving me crazy and the lack of a skirmish mode really hurt one of the games coolest features, the user created superheros. Still I did like it just wanted to see more features.

-- Xaroc

Ben Sones

07-12-2002, 06:38 AM

I voted for NWN. I love Morrowind almost as much. But I know which game I'll still be playing this time next year.

mtkafka

07-12-2002, 07:12 AM

I still play OFP, so its still my goty for 2001. I always know what i like.

etc

runesword forger

07-12-2002, 07:19 AM

I'm a bit surprised at the support for Morrowind, but it is a great game. But the flaws... it's just that the combat is poor, and it continues the grand tradition of NPC's who get in your way all the freaking time. I agree that it goes in the right direction for single player CRPG's, though.

My vote is for Freedom Force. Most fun game = GOTY

Mark Asher

07-12-2002, 07:39 AM

Freedom Force!

I am playing and enjoying this NWN MMOG quite a bit, however, even with the lag. If only they could reliably support 50 players in the game world at once and reduce the lag, it would easily be as much fun as DAoC.

This thief in my group yesterday picked my pocket. I played this morning and this other player (who also had his pocket picked by the thief) and I saw the thief. We ran her down and chased her across a zone and finally killed her, ha ha. Then we used emotes to laugh and cheer. It was pretty cool. Then we let her in the group and she adventured with us after promising to "stay out of our pants!"

I also have a quest to bring back a giant's testicles. It's a reagent a blacksmith needs to forge a magical weapon.

And I'm almost powerful enough (level 6 now) to finally kill the Goblin King that's been kicking my ass in the goblin dungeon. I'm looking forward to that. He's got some badass magical mojo working against me when I fight him, but the last time I hurt him pretty good before dying.

The only negative besides the lag and tiny server population is that the DM showed up this morning and started killing players for some reason. It was annoying. I don't think I like DM-run games. Just make the mods and get out of my hair, please.

mtkafka

07-12-2002, 08:00 AM

All Bioware has to do with NWN is release a very playable NON DM map that is almost as large as Diablo / Diablo 2. They have to make a random itemized, level balanced map that ups the difficulty accordingly ala Diablo. I think they can do it with an expansion, and at the same time add ten more levels to the 20 in the game....for a total of 30. That would be my ideal NWN scenario for online fun. and when all is said and done, its about the fun factor. gaming magic folks.

etc

Dirt

07-12-2002, 09:29 AM

Age of Wonders. So many good memories of Master of Magic.

Bub, Andrew

07-12-2002, 09:53 AM

BTW, is GTA3 Vice City coming out for pc at the same time as the ps2 version or close to it?
etc

I think GTA3: Vice City is a PS2 only title. They haven't released much info, and I have no idea how the PC version is selling save for a Gamestop mall employee telling me:

"It's selling like crazy!"

I'm hoping for a PC release.

Dave Long

07-12-2002, 10:53 AM

I'm proud of the fact I'm the single vote for Warlords Battlecry 2. BEST. GAEM. OF. 2003.

--Dave

Anonymous

07-12-2002, 10:55 AM

I woulda voted for WBC2 as well, but it seems I'd already voted - without voting! Spooky stuff.

Tyjenks

07-12-2002, 01:41 PM

I'm proud of the fact I'm the single vote for Warlords Battlecry 2. BEST. GAEM. OF. 2003.

--Dave

Surely Tom Chick will chime in soon to back you up. Especially after he championed the game in the WC3 thread.

Which, BTW, I did not have the computer to run when it came out. Since that heated debate, I have downloaded the demo and plan to pick WBC2 up at it's current reduced price rather than dole out all that cash for Warcraft.

Lee Johnson

07-12-2002, 02:35 PM

JK2 is the game I've had the most fun with so far this year. That doesn't mean that other worthy candidates aren't "better"--just that I haven't gotten around to really playing them yet. :oops:

Robert Sharp

07-12-2002, 02:47 PM

WB2 is a great game, no doubt. If it weren't for the fact that Morrowind is just one of the best games I have ever played and will likely remain on my HD for several years, I would have given WB2 more credit and voted for it. I think WC3 is derivative in comparison.

Rob O'Boston

07-12-2002, 04:15 PM

I had to go with Medal of Honor because that is the game I've spent the most time with this year. It really is excellent. Solid multiplayer, good weapons, nice maps, lots of competition, truly enjoyable. It isn't Earth shattering, but I love it.

NWN and FF are tied for second. Both are terrific, with FF being better in the short term, but with NWN having untold possibilities for the future.

DS is my clunker.

Anonymous

07-12-2002, 04:25 PM

DS is my clunker.

And it's my GOTY!

Murph

07-12-2002, 08:24 PM

I'm proud of the fact I'm the single vote for Warlords Battlecry 2. BEST. GAEM. OF. 2003.

Surely Tom Chick will chime in soon to back you up.

I didn't even know that WBC2 was a 2003 release. Wow. Who knew?

I'm not sure what I'd bet that Tom will vote for. He's officially a Neverwinter Nights fanboi, too. I think that's like asking Tom to choose his favorite child -- except worse, because Tom doesn't have any children. That he knows of. :)