If you believed the hype, 2008 boasted the most exciting line-up of game titles in history. That's if you believed the hype. GTA IV, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, Little Big Planet, some stupid Wii games probably, and much more.
Most of those games didn't live up to the hype, but they're what we had to work with.
As 2o2p is the preeminent website for older gamers, we thought it's about time we give out our own awards instead of having our opinions validated by other sites that don't share our particular world view.
If you want to skip straight to the actual awards, they're at the bottom. And if your game didn’t win, it’s because the gaming Gods don’t like you. But if you'd like to see behind the scenes of the Press & Writers group, we've provided the evolution, as it were, of the first ever 2o2p GOTY Awards for your reading pleasure.
We’ve admitted it. We’re not professional writers (most of us). However, we like to think that these types of conversations were taking place all over as websites began counting down to their deadlines for their GOTY stories. Here is your look into the highly creative and motivated team that 2o2p calls “Press and Writers."
2 weeks until deadline…
Drost wrote: What're we working on for this week? GOTY?
1 ½ weeks until deadline…
Caesar wrote: I’m on vacation. I’m working on sleep and gaming lol!
Codemonkey wrote: I’m also on vacation this week. Relaxing with the family.
ATC wrote: I am not really working on anything since three interviews are out for community spotlight.
3 days until deadline…
TDrag wrote: GOTY... Couple options....
1. Survey for all categories via surveymonkey.
Here was my last list for possible survey questions if we want to go that route...I just need a little more feedback on putting together the multiple choice answers and better questions. Once we get answers, we can write a little blurb on each one.
1. Best Weapon of 2008 (GoW Mortar, Dead Space something, GTA Rocket Launcher, etc.)
2. Most welcome innovation to gameplay (Fable dog, VATS, Mirror's edge
3. Most disappointing sequel (GTA, GoW2, CoD5, Tomb Raider, etc.)
4. Best game to play with the family (Scene It 2, Viva Pinata TIP, Rock Band, etc)
5. Best Console Game
6. Best Handheld Game
7. Best PC Game
8. Best developer support and interaction (Bungie, IW, Epic, etc)
9. MP with most longevity
10. 2o2p Game of the Year
2. Each of us take a category of our choice, offer an award and write about it. I'll write about how disappointing GoW2 is and then I'll get kicked out of my clan.
3. Bubba decides all and does all the work.
After thoughtful deliberation, smarter heads prevailed and decided that “number 3 sounds as good as a bag of Lemon heads.” So the martyr Drost took over and ordered TDrag to do the survey.
Drost wrote: I'll help write whatever needs be written once we have some results. Also, I think it'll be cool if we put in some "critic commentary" when we do the write ups, that way you can still get kicked out of your clan for talking about how disappointing gow2 was, even when it wins.
1 day until deadline, suggestions start coming in…
ATC wrote: Maybe we could group XBL with Download content
Love for Dowloaded games all platforms:
Penny Arcade Episode 2
World of Goo
Bejeweled Twist
Boingz
Braid
Castle Crashers
Portal
Perennial Whiny Fuck LB wrote: You left out Halo 3 for number mp with most longevity. Considering it is still #1 on the mp leader boards from Major Nelson's info, I think it is appropriate. Maybe we could add one more category? This is a joke in case anyone thinks it's a good idea – “Game with the best boobs.” But I have no suggestions, I did not see a DOA beach volleyball, and the new DC vs Mortal combat is not out yet...
[Thread goes temporarily off topic with posts of boobs]
Day of deadline and Bubba finally decided to make some real suggestions.
Bubba wrote: Leave Halo 3 off of Q6. It's a 2007 game and the outcry from fanboys will make for better reading than if we put it on there.
GOTY list is waaayy too long. Leaving things off is what makes these lists entertaining. For instance...
Quote:
I'm not sure what happened to Tdrag in Liberty City but how GTA IV got put on the list for disappointing sequels and left off for GOTY is utterly beyond me. GTA IV FTW.
TDrag becomes irritated and writes: Jeebus H. I wrote the list in like 5 minutes off the top of my head. If forgetting that piece of shit GTA game is the worst mistake, then I reward myself with a mighty pat on the back.
The list is longer than shit, I'll shorten it up. I was trying to be inclusive of the PS3/PC people, but really I don't care about them considering my PS3 is really just a nice blu-ray player.
I like the best gamer gift idea. Fuck Halo.
TDrag ignores all feedback and posts the survey.
TDrag wrote: To save time, I just did things my way. I’ll post the survey in a blog and in off-topic.
Three days after the deadline and Bubba discovers a new way to be lazy.
Bubba wrote: Just throwing this out there- but what about GOTY article featuring the process of choosing the game?
We just use the dialogue through these threads as a piece about what it takes to make a list for game of the year? Quite frankly I find reading this thread a lot more entertaining than anything I've ever read anywhere about GOTY.
So we pull back the curtain a little on our own process, provide some insight into how the P&W collaborates (and cockblocks) one another, and at the end we reveal the results of Tdrag's excellent poll. It will be different from other "award" stories but our membership doesn't seem to be too overly impressed with what the traditional gaming media has to say anyway.
Lb wrote: extra points for using CockBlock in the last post...
I like it...kind of like a "what goes into making our half retard/half douchey/half well thought out articles...
uh..yes..I did put half in there 3 times..it was my attempt at being clever...and it hurt my brain a little.
Tdrag breathes sigh of relief as it starts to look like someone else may actually work on this article.
TDrag wrote: I'm on board with any creative means to tell a better GOTY story. Bubba, I think you should get to work immediately.
I'm also getting a few interesting comments that will make for some good material. Here are the results and comments thus far.
Comments from the actual survey proving the ineptness of the process:
“Game of the year Halo 3, Best boobies Ivy soul caliber”
“Halo 3”
“HALO 3!”
“No sports games, no JRPGs, no racing games...nice cross section (I know there were a lot of quality games this year).”
“Lara Croft from Tomb Raider: Underworld”
“Harmonix for best dev support. earforce x4's Wireless FTW for best gamer gift. It's no fair to have Rock Band 2 mixed in with other games. I want to say Left 4 Dead is the game of the year and the game with the most longevity, but Rock Band 2 will get more play time for longer around my place.”
“Halo. It's the answer to all the questions and still has the best party system, custom games, matchmaking and everything else. The Boomer from Left 4 Dead is definitely the rackiest.”
“Multiplayer with most longevity should have Halo, since their games work and do not require patches to use matchmaking... And thanks to Bubba's post...Any of the bouncing beauties from Soul Caliber 4. You rock for putting my bonus question in here!!! So I will not hate on you to much for liking an inferior game...he..he...”
“Next year, could there be a most disappointing game category?” (great idea)
“the locust queen had the best boobs”
“Best Content by 2o2p writer, Tdrag! Thanks for the awesome stuff.”
“Fallout 3's Railway Rifle is a fun weapon, certainly not the most powerful but the combination of being a custom in game built weapon, its distinct loading sound and train whistle effect make it my fave weapon and one IMHO deserves a spot for polling!”
“Game of the Year - Halo 3. Doesn't matter that it wasn't released in 08, it's still the most played for many of us 2o2p'ers”
“Most Disappointing Sequel: Rainbow 6 Vegas 2”
“Mirror's Edge should have been an option!”
“Bonus question answer (best boobs): Elika from Prince of Persia.”
“Left 4 Dead. Game of the year.”
“Any of the females from DoA for best boobs(yes, still)”
“2O2P GOTY should be Left 4 Dead.”
“Zoey’s Boobs rock”
“Ivy from Soul Calibur IV”
“Game of the year should really be COD 4 again. World at War sucks.”
“Best Video Game Weapon of 2008: Fallout 3 Lincoln Repeater”
“2o2p game of the year Call of Duty: World at War”
In response to the comments...
lbsutke wrote: not to say I told you Halo should be in there...but....
Tdrag wrote: Your Halo cronies that scoff at cheating on Master Chief hardly make a "told ya so."
And if we're going to use the logic of what is popular on 2o2p, then I think the movie "The Dark Knight" should win GOTY since it sold more copies than Halo 3.
lbsutke wrote: well I was not saying make it game of the year... just to add it multiplayer with the longest longevity...We are talking 2008, so that does not include H3.
But since Bungie is running away with the largest amount of votes for best developer support, I can understand not wanting to give another category away to the premier game developer on the planet...
How is that patch coming for GOW2 MP?
Tdrag wrote: What patch?
Bubba wrote: lb and his legion of fucking crybaby Halo fanboys.
We did miss the boat on the railway rifle though. That thing is the shit because it pins body parts to walls.
Tdrag27 wrote: Way to offer that shit up the two times I asked for feedback knowing my list was a horseshit compilation of my limited scope of games.
Make it an honorable-Tdrag-sucks-mention.
lbsutke wrote: just so no one thinks otherwise. I am just busting balls, not complaining about what was or was not done..
Since I read and write at a 4-year-old level, it is the best I can do.
Bubba wrote: When I write the article I'm using this as an example of lb backpedaling like a pussy.
lbsutke wrote: And yet you say that with the confidence of a man that is thousands of miles away from my grasp...
And now for the awards based on your votes and brought to you by the Press and Writers team that bleeds confidence.
Best Video Game Weapon:
Pipe Bomb, Left for Dead
Yes, we left off Fallout 3's Railway Rifle. Blame it on Bubba. And TDrag. But you have to admit, chucking a pipe bomb and watching the zombie bastards run it to it like mosquitoes to a buglight is one of the more gratifying things to do in a video game. Especially in that particular video game. Second place fell to the Mortar from Gears 2, followed by the pack of dogs (fo’ real? Dogs?) in CoD: WaW.
Most Welcome Innovation:
Gears of War 2, Horde Mode
C’mon, really, it’s just bots, right? You’ve seen those before, just maybe not so many. Or that get progressively better at effing you up. Horde mode represents everything good about multiplayer over Live. You’re fighting with your friends, you can ratchet up the difficulty as needed, and it works smoothly (which is more than we can say for the other parts of Gears 2’s multiplayer). Rounding out the category, in order, was: the Left 4 Dead AI Generator, the VATS in Fallout 3, the dog in Fable II (what is it with the damn dogs?), the level editor in Little Big Planet and “scaling” in Mirror’s Edge.
Most Disappointing Sequel:
GTA IV
Sorry Niko, this is like being nominated for a Razzie. You shouldn’t be happy to see your game’s title here. But chances are the fanboyiests of fanboys put their games here. You can only be disappointed if you have high expectations to begin with right? Others vying for the prize were Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: World at War and Fable II.
Best Family Game:
Rock Band 2
Now this is where many would expect to find a Wii game. But TDrag’s Wii sits sadly on the shelf powerless and since the team didn’t step up to offer an Wii suggestions to help, ideas went by the wayside. Soooo Rock out with your…
Best Developer Support for a Game:
Bungie
Really, who else was it going to be? You know it. I know it. The voters knew it. Winner by a landslide.
Multiplayer with Most Longevity:
Rock Band 2
Or Halo 3, but, you know, it didn’t come out in 2008. I don’t see anyone on my friends list playing Rock Band 2 very often - or any other of the faux rock games. But maybe that’s because I’m looking at my friends list, and most of them just shoot people. Runners up were: Call of Duty: World at War, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2.
Best Arcade/Download Title:
Castle Crashers
Is this really cool? I haven’t played it, so I’ll have to take your word for it. Voting in this category wasn’t even close. Okay, actually, it was. Castle Crashers fended off Braid and Geometry Wars 2 by just two votes.
Best Gamer Gift:
Points
Wait, what? Points. You guys voted for points? Granted, it was a close thing, with the Tritton AX Pros coming in just one percentage point behind. Headphones, I get. But points? How many arcade games are people buying out there? Or are you trying to complete your set of all available themes?
2o2p Game of the Year!
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 captured 26 percent of the voting, which was spread out between 11 titles. Gears of War 2 slid into second. Rounding out the top five were Left for Dead, Call of Duty: World at War and Rock Band 2.
If you’re paying attention, and if we were giving out an award for Console of the Year, it’d be the 360 as all of the Top 5 games were playable on it with the top 3 being exclusive. Furthermore, in categories where PS3 and Wii exclusive games clashed with 360 games, voting wasn’t close, which probably says more about 2o2p being an Xbox site than it does about the quality of games. Then again, numbers don’t lie. People do.
See you next year.
