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Gamereactor december 2008 #66 - GOTY list

T

Tailzo

Member
Norwegian edition
Game of the year
1. Little Big Planet A platforming game was neccesary to demonstrate the power of the PS3.

2. BRAID A little streak of genious

3. GTA IV A story critiquing the society lets the series become adult on the nextgenconsoles.

(I hope I transelate this well enough...)

Design of the year
1. Mirrors Edge Clean, beautiful and stylish
2. Little Big Planet Homemade is wellmade
3. No More Heroes Rough toying with gaming standards (hard to transelate)

Story of the year
1. Metal Gear Solid IV A solid end for the gameseries
2. Falloout 3 Apocalypse sets the mood
3. GTAIV A grown up story in a mature game

Surprise of the year
1. PURE Racing has never been more fun
2. Race driver : Grid the intensity in a racinggame found a new gear
3. Zack & Wiki Charming and intuitive brainchallenge

Technique of the year
1. Little Big Planet Pure powerdemonstration from Media Molecule
2. Gears of War 2 Big, Bigger Gears of War...
3. Race driver : Grid Silkeyslippery and supertight

Music of the year
1. Little Big Planet Indie-pop to indie-game
2. Super Smash Bros Epic nostalga in a wonderful arrangement
3. Rez HD Holds up surprisingly well

Sound of the year
1. Metal Gear Solid IVFantastic soundpicture to Snakes last battle
2. Battlefield Bad Company Swedish genious at Dice
3. GTA IV The story looks and sounds real

Online game of the year
1. Little Big Planet Ready for all creative players
2. Resistance 2 Ambitious, fresh and huge
3. Rock Band 2 Jump inn and out of virtual bands

Handhelds of the year
1. Professor Layton Charm with creative brainchallenge
2. Bangai-o Spirits total action overdose from Treasure
3. God of War CoO The Worlds biggest warrior feels good on psp

I can post lists of most dissapointing games and the worst games of the year. Also, do you want this months review scores?

Sonic Unleashed 5 / 10
Skate it (wii) 5 / 10
Prince of Persia 8/10
Shaun White (360) 5/10
NFS Undercover 5/10
Scene it 6/10
Lips 7/10
Rockband 2 10/10
Resistance 2 8/ 10
 
I can approve of this list. Or at least..the LBP love. And its recognition of what may be oft-overlooked - LBP's technical merits.
 
LOL A LIST THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM MY OPINION LOL LOL THIS WEBSITE IS SO FUCKING DUMB NOW WHERE'S THE NEXT GOTY THREAD I CAN GO LOL AT
 
Rez>You said:
LOL A LIST THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM MY OPINION LOL LOL THIS IS WEBSITE IS SO FUCKING DUMB NOW WHERE'S THE NEXT GOTY THREAD I CAN GO LOL AT
Click to expand...

Seriously, it's not just that list. I couldn't care less about lists. It's just the magazine in general. Think OXM, only worse.
 
Truant said:
Seriously, it's not just that list. I couldn't care less about lists. It's just the magazine in general. Think OXM, only worse.
Click to expand...
Wasn't directed at anyone in particular, including you, it was just a general over arching comment on how annoying forum posters can be when it comes to these lists.
 
No Fable 2? From reading the list, I have to wonder-did they even have a 360 or did they borrow one from a friend to play Gears 2 on?
 
Kilroy said:
Does you mean Gamereactor as a whole, or just the Norwegian one?
Click to expand...

I haven't read the other stuff, but the Norwegian magazine is truly awful. No offense to the people who write it, but it's just painful to read.
 
Rez>You said:
LOL A LIST THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM MY OPINION LOL LOL THIS WEBSITE IS SO FUCKING DUMB NOW WHERE'S THE NEXT GOTY THREAD I CAN GO LOL AT
Click to expand...

Ohhh you're one of those "I respect your opinion, I respect your opinion" kind of guys.

My opinion is that their opinion is shitty... now I demand your respect.
 
Finnish version:

GOTY:
1) LittleBigPlanet
2) Rock Band 2
3) Braid
4) Fable II
5) Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Sports games:
1) NHL 09
2) UEFA Euro 2008
3) Everybody's Golf: World Tour
4) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5) Top Spin 3

Debut:
1) Mirror's Edge
2) Dead Space
3) Pure
4) Patapon
5) Boom Blox

Sequel:
1) MGS4
2) Fallout 3
3) Gears of War 2
4) Resistance 2
5) GTA IV

Phenomenon:
1) Downloadable games
2) Co-op games
3) Music games

Style:
1) Patapon
2) Mirror's Edge
3) No More Heroes
4) de Blob

Sweet and sour:
1) Spore
2) Far Cry 2
3) Alone in the Dark

Downloadable games:
1) Braid
2) Mega Man 9
3) R&C: Quest for Booty
4) Lostwinds
5) Castle Crashers
6) Wipeout HD

Surprises:
1) de Blob
2) Pure
3) Zack & Wiki

Disappointments:
1) Haze
2) Too Human
3) Wii Music

Worst games of the year:
1) History Channel: Battle for the Pacific
2) Littlest Pet Shop
3) Nitrobike

Honorable mention to Burnout Paradise for the correct way to do DLC.
 
Fallout 3 2nd for story... the main story was the worst part of that game.

Then again, it is Gamereactor so it's really not worth caring about.
 
MY ENEMY'S ARM GOT CUT OFF AND IS POSSESSING MY EVIL TWIN CLONE BROTHER'S BODY AND NOW I HAVE TO STOP HIM FROM TAKING OVER THE WORLD!

Story of the year right there. Yup. Without a doubt.
 
I may be bumping, but I got to say I hate this time of the year. GOTY lists is the rock bottom of the gaming year. So subjective, so pretentious, so pathetic.
 
Swedish lists:

GOTY:
#1: Little Big Planet
#2: GTA IV
#3: NHL 09
#4: Race Driver: Grid
#5: Gears of War 2
#6: Metal Gear Solid 4
#7: Smash Bros Brawl
#8: Left 4 Dead

Design:
#1: Mirror's Edge
#2: Prince of Persia
#3: Little Big Planet
#4: Banjo: Nuts & Bolts

Downloadable:
#1: Braid
#2: Rez HD
#3: Mega Man 9

Best new character:
Mirror's Edge

Worst character:
Turok

Best enemy:
Leviathan (Resistance 2)

Best weapon:
Vortex (Fracture)

Graphics tech:
#1: Race Driver: Grid
#2: Crysis Warhead
#3: Gears of War 2

Best sound:
#1: Metal Gear Solid 4
#2: Battlefield: Bad Company
#3: Crysis Warhead
#4: Grand Theft Auto IV

Best story:
#1: Metal Gear Solid 4
#2: Grand Theft Auto IV
#3: Crisis Core: FF7

Disappointments:
#1: Too Human
#2: Alone in the Dark
#3: Turok

Worst:
#1: Cruis'n
#2: Iron Man
#3: Wall-E
#4: Facebreaker

Best music:
Little Big Planet

Biggest game:
Far Cry 2

Smallest game:
Trackmania DS

Best guest character:
Darth Vader

Online experience (no expansions):
#1: Warhammer Online
#2: Gears of War 2
#3: Burnout Paradise

LOL of the year (most hilarious):
Saints Row 2

Biggest surprise:
#1: Dead Space
#2: Pure
#3: Ferrari Challenge
#4: De Blob

Best portable:
God of War: COO

Best sidekick:
Prince of Persia

Best expansion:
Crysis Warhead

Best comeback:
Tomb Raider Underworld
 
Truant said:
Gamereactor is a free magazine run by people who write like they're in high-school.
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The Danish one too. At best, it's toilet reading. But it's probably the audience the magazine targets (read: teenagers) that causes the god awful reviews and previews. But what can you expect from a FREE magazine?
 
Come on. Since the editorial quality of Edge went down the drain some four years ago, Gamereactor is neither better or worse than the rest of what's printed out there.
 
My bias PS3 opinion likes this list, looks like everyone got a fair nod.

Truant said:
Gamereactor is a free magazine run by people who write like they're in high-school.
Click to expand...

I'd say thats a good thing, better then a mag where the writters write like they are under some sort of hat..... made of money.
 
Lime said:
The Danish one too. At best, it's toilet reading. But it's probably the audience the magazine targets (read: teenagers) that causes the god awful reviews and previews. But what can you expect from a FREE magazine?
Click to expand...

Again, thanks a lot kind sir.

I understand people have different opinions. I understand that, expectedly as a free magazine, we cannot ensure the same overall level of quality in every article as the international competition. I even acknowledge that we have a large degree of more simple spelling errors and such.

But how on earth does that make our opinions less valuable and our reviews shit? I would at any time, without hesitation, state that we produce way better reviews than sites such as IGN and Gamespot, and even though they might not be considered credible, they are highly quoted and discussed on NeoGAF, which means people somehow consider acknowledge them.

I'm not saying Gamereactor is the best there is - no way near - but it's certainly not as bad as you make it out to be.
 
NeXuSDK said:
Again, thanks a lot kind sir.

I understand people have different opinions. I understand that, expectedly as a free magazine, we cannot ensure the same overall level of quality in every article as the international competition. I even acknowledge that we have a large degree of more simple spelling errors and such.

But how on earth does that make our opinions less valuable and our reviews shit? I would at any time, without hesitation, state that we produce way better reviews than sites such as IGN and Gamespot, and even though they might not be considered credible, they are highly quoted and discussed on NeoGAF, which means people somehow consider acknowledge them.

I'm not saying Gamereactor is the best there is - no way near - but it's certainly not as bad as you make it out to be.
Click to expand...

I believe that many dismiss gamereactor's opinion because it's a free magazine. Because it's free, it certainly cannot have skilled and original journalists with opinions worth noticing and discussing.

I agree however that it's a great toilet magazine, as I prefer to read forums about games for info and opinions, instead of seeking it from a magazine.
 
NeXuSDK said:
Again, thanks a lot kind sir.

I understand people have different opinions. I understand that, expectedly as a free magazine, we cannot ensure the same overall level of quality in every article as the international competition. I even acknowledge that we have a large degree of more simple spelling errors and such.

But how on earth does that make our opinions less valuable and our reviews shit? I would at any time, without hesitation, state that we produce way better reviews than sites such as IGN and Gamespot, and even though they might not be considered credible, they are highly quoted and discussed on NeoGAF, which means people somehow consider acknowledge them.

I'm not saying Gamereactor is the best there is - no way near - but it's certainly not as bad as you make it out to be.
Click to expand...

The intentions are probably there, at least from some of the staff, but the end-product of some of the reviews are very simplified descriptions of what the specific game is, and the many attempts at being humorous/witty fall incredibly short. I think the writing style of the magazine suits the audience (teenagers), but you have to admit the writing and the lifestyle topics are aimed at people below 20.

Some of the featured articles you have published seem more cerebral than usual ("games as art", "unified gaming platform" etc.). So it's not all bad. And the topics of discussions at least convey that the staff have a grasp of the contemporary gaming world. For a FREE magazine (notice the emphasis on "free"), the "journalism" is pretty decent. But it isn't something I would spend my time on, other than to skimp through it or take it with me to the toilet. And saying the magazine is better than Ign or Gamespot isn't saying much.

That's just my opinion.

EDIT: Concerning the writing, it really lacks quality, so I think people are entitled to disregard your opinions if the reviewer isn't even able to write a simple sentence or express her/his opinion about the game that's being reviewed. There have been so many Gamereactor reviews in which the writing comes off as written by a teenager. A lot of them had me facepalming through the fucking skull, because of the many, many failed attempts at being funny or characterizing the elements of the game in extremely simple or non-relatable terms. I can't remember the exact sentences, but the SW: Force Unleased and Tomb Raider Underworld reviews were incredibly sigh-worthy. The best way to characterize Game Reactor (DK) is to call it gaming's Chili or Tjeck.
 
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
I'd say thats a good thing, better then a mag where the writters write like they are under some sort of hat..... made of money.
Click to expand...

Heh...I'm not saying it is so, but if a magazine has so much advertisement-income that it can afford to be free, do you honestly think it's LESS likely that the hats are made of money...?
 
Lime said:
The intentions are probably there, at least from some of the staff, but the end-product of some of the reviews are very simplified descriptions of what the specific game is, and the many attempts at being humorous/witty fall incredibly short. I think the writing style of the magazine suits the audience (teenagers), but you have to admit the writing and the lifestyle topics are aimed at people below 20.
Click to expand...

Well, I wouldn't say our reviews are just simplified descriptions, as we are aiming for anything but descriptions. Our general agenda is, that if people want facts and info on the game, they can get plenty other places. What we can provide, that is unique, are our well-judged opinions.

I know our attempts to be witty are not always top quality, but while we do not write for a younger audience as such, we do have to write for a broad demographic, as this magazine can be picked up by many. Therefore we try to write in an interesting and appearling way, understandable by many, and of course, this style has its shortcomings.

Lime said:
Some of the featured articles you have published seem more cerebral than usual ("games as art", "unified gaming platform" etc.). So it's not all bad. And the topics of discussions at least convey that the staff have a grasp of the contemporary gaming world. For a FREE magazine (notice the emphasis on "free"), the "journalism" is pretty decent. But it isn't something I would spend my time on, other than to skimp through it or take it with me to the toilet. And saying the magazine is better than Ign or Gamespot isn't saying much.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you at least acknowledge our articles, as it is our attempt to dig deeper into certain subjects, and these should at least prove that, no matter how shallow our reviews might seem based on their writing, our opinions are a product of actual knowledge and not just something we pulled out of our ass.

Lime said:
EDIT: Concerning the writing, it really lacks quality, so I think people are entitled to disregard your opinions if the reviewer isn't even able to write a simple sentence or express her/his opinion about the game that's being reviewed. There have been so many Gamereactor reviews in which the writing comes off as written by a teenager. A lot of them had me facepalming through the fucking skull, because of the many, many failed attempts at being funny or characterizing the elements of the game in extremely simple or non-relatable terms. I can't remember the exact sentences, but the SW: Force Unleased and Tomb Raider Underworld reviews were incredibly sigh-worthy. The best way to characterize Game Reactor (DK) is to call it gaming's Chili or Tjeck.
Click to expand...

Well, I did the SW: The Force Unleashed review myself, and I will admit though that it wasn't the best writing I ever did, but I still think your criticism is unjustified. But I do like to learn and improve, so some examples of what you didn't like and why would be very help, either here or in a PM.

And the comparison to Chili and Tjeck I understand and agree with to a certain point, but both Chili and Tjeck are very broad magazines, trying to encompass a lot of culture, which automatically makes it more difficult to ensure the same level of quality across the board. Even though we have sections on gadgets, DVDs and music, they only span 3-4 pages and the rest of the staff is focused on games only, many of us with lot of past experience in this field.
 
NeXuSDK said:
Well, I wouldn't say our reviews are just simplified descriptions, as we are aiming for anything but descriptions. Our general agenda is, that if people want facts and info on the game, they can get plenty other places. What we can provide, that is unique, are our well-judged opinions.

I know our attempts to be witty are not always top quality, but while we do not write for a younger audience as such, we do have to write for a broad demographic, as this magazine can be picked up by many. Therefore we try to write in an interesting and appearling way, understandable by many, and of course, this style has its shortcomings.



I'm glad you at least acknowledge our articles, as it is our attempt to dig deeper into certain subjects, and these should at least prove that, no matter how shallow our reviews might seem based on their writing, our opinions are a product of actual knowledge and not just something we pulled out of our ass.



Well, I did the SW: The Force Unleashed review myself, and I will admit though that it wasn't the best writing I ever did, but I still think your criticism is unjustified. But I do like to learn and improve, so some examples of what you didn't like and why would be very help, either here or in a PM.

And the comparison to Chili and Tjeck I understand and agree with to a certain point, but both Chili and Tjeck are very broad magazines, trying to encompass a lot of culture, which automatically makes it more difficult to ensure the same level of quality across the board. Even though we have sections on gadgets, DVDs and music, they only span 3-4 pages and the rest of the staff is focused on games only, many of us with lot of past experience in this field.
Click to expand...

Great post.

When the burden of the magazine is taken into account (the demographic, being free and such), it's a decent, if not good, magazine, I agree with that. But as a more high-brow and cerebral dissection of games, I wouldn't put much faith into it.

But then again, I don't put much faith into the opinions of 90 % of gaming media. The same criticism I have leveled at GR in this thread, might as well be aimed at many, many other sites. But I take comfort in knowing that the staff at Gamereactor show their love for the medium, and the wishes for it (eg. getting respect). Much of this shines through when reading the magazine, but it gets hard recognizing amidst some of the drivel being written. It just gets tough forming a truthful picture of your staff when there are times when you show insight and elaboration, and when there are times when you write shallow and simple. Hence the criticism of the value of Gamereactor's take on the GOTY.
 
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