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[C4Lukins]

1. Burnout 3 Takedown; This and Revenge are my two favorite racing games ever. Paradise can go to hell though.
2. Halo 2; Not as consistent as the original, but I loved the storytelling and multiplayer.
3. Ninja Gaiden; Probably the only game in this genre I enjoy.
4. World of Warcraft; The first 100 or so hours was pure joy. After that it became a bit of a sickness.
5. Fable; Deeply flawed, but very unique and most importantly fun.
6. Tales of Symphonia; My first Tales game. It overstayed its welcome, but the first half of the game was great.
7. Katamari Damacy; Simple perfection as far as gameplay. Just wish it was a longer experience.
8. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas; Not as good as Vice City, but I loved driving out in the countryside listening to the country station.
9. Half Life 2; Half amazing and half frustrating or boring. The last two levels make the whole experience worth it.
10. ESPN NFL 2K5; Just a really great sports game.

 

[Endesu]

1. Echo Night: Beyond // Incredibly slow-paced but very much a 'slow burn' sort of chiller. Definitely deserves more love from survival horror fans.
2. Cave Story // Charming love letter to games from a previous era with a ridiculous amount of content to keep you busy. The original is still the best version.
3. Breakdown // Incredibly underrated and still one of the most immersive first-person games ever. Rather difficult and a bit cheap at spots but there's really nothing else like it out there.
4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
5. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
6. Ninja Gaiden
7. Katamari Damacy
8. Doom 3
9. ObsCure
10. The Suffering

Honorable mentions:
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors // Rather shallow fighting but still lots of fun. The alternate story modes, especially the ones giving more minor characters a turn in the spotlight, were rather amusing.
Silent Hill 4: The Room // Very flawed entry but it still has a great soundtrack and some interesting ideas.

 

[AniHawk]

looks like the enthusiasm for tales of symphonia has quieted a bit. bloodlines stays more popular than it was in 2004 though.

 

[AniHawk]

I'll post mine tonight. 2004 really was an incredible year, some of my most played games of all time came out in 2004. WoW alone pretty much completely changed my gaming habits for the next 5-6 years.

it's interesting that so many games from this year are still around. mgs 3 got two remakes recently. world of warcraft's still going. pikmin 2's seeing a re-release in north america. and then there's the hd updates to the first ratchet & clank games.

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

Now that I think about it, shouldn't this thread take North America as the default region, and only allow 2004 games that were never released there as exceptions? Otherwise you end up with Minish Cap situations.

 

[shintoki]

1. Unreal Tournament 2004: This is my favorite competitive shooter of all time. It isn't as well balanced as the previous titles, but I recently re-installed it and still nothing quite matches the pace of the title.
2. World of Warcraft: Spent 2 years+ playing it. I don't like to admit I played that long, but I did.
3. Shin Megami Tensei:Nocturne: What I loved about this title, even though I still have yet to finish it, was the atmosphere.
4. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal: First Ratchet for me and still the best experience. The series hasn't really changed up the formula, so each entry I played after I liked less. But I loved how well the action and platforming bits blended together.
5. Tales of Symphonia: Another first like Ratchet. First time I played it, I played it again right after. An RPG that does an action system so very right.
6. Grand Theft Auto: SA: I preferred Vice City. The game got too large and too long. So what happened was I got to point where it would be about 5 to 10 minutes just to retry a mission, since it involved going to the other side of the map. And I never finished it till about a year later. Still... Jetpacking onto a moving train deserves a spot.

 

[AniHawk]

Now that I think about it, shouldn't this thread take North America as the default region, and only allow 2004 games that were never released there as exceptions? Otherwise you end up with Minish Cap situations.

eh, the more accurate way of doing this 2012 edition would be to have as few rules in place as possible, just like the first time. but the minish cap was europe and japan in 2004, and there are a lot of europeans here so it works.

metal gear solid 3 appeared in the listings from 2004-2006. xenoblade will probably do the same for 2010-2012.

 

[TripOpt55]

Here's my list. 2004 is my favorite year for gaming. Think I'll just do a list of five though.

1. Jak 3 ; Really awesome action/platformer. It combined many different elements. Platforming/driving. Melee/guns. Light/Dark powers. Sandbox environments/linear level design. Plus it had a cool story and amazing graphics. Not much out there like it. It is my all-time favorite game. I just love it.

2. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal ; Another one of my all-time favorite games. Sort of perfected the formula for the series. Best weapon set. Best upgrade system. Nefarious made for the series funniest story. I loved the platforming based arena challenges and the 2D Qwark levels for variety and the multiplayer was a lot of fun as well.

3. Sly 2: Band of Thieves ; This is my favorite Sly game. Weird how my favorites from each of Sony's three cartoony platforming series released in one year. I really liked the small hubworlds which made for really fun exploration. And the heists were really well-done. Plus it still had plenty of great platforming. It definitely drags a bit a times and isn't quite up there with my #1 and 2 picks, but still really cool.

4. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap ; My favorite handheld Zelda. I think they did a great job with some of the new items and the shrinking mechanic made the world feel a bit bigger than it was with little places to explore within the overworld. Last boss was actually fairly tough from what I remember and made good use of your various items.

5. Half-Life 2 ; I played this on Orange Box, but I think I can still include it in here. Really great FPS campaign. Just a couple of sections (like the desert part) were kind of blech to me. Otherwise fantastic.

Okay that is good. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. Nice job with the thread AniHawk.

 

[AniHawk]

last day to vote.

 

[Reuenthal]

1. Half Life 2

My favorite Single Player First Person Shooter. Yes I prefer it to the later episodes. This one has it all, story, atmosphere, interesting enemies and variety, good shooting, visuals (at the time but it still looks good, especially artistically), even characters with the human antagonist being one of the greatest antagonists in videogames. What I particularly like are the weapons with the incredibly interesting to use gravity gun, a gun that can call on some alien ants, I rather liked even the crowbar as well. Also, I like the variety in levels in that there are levels where you drive around, one were you have to use the gravity gun and platforming, one very atmospheric on rooftops and there is the tower and so on. One of the best games ever, incredible.

2. Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines

Incredible Hub RPG with great quests, atmosphere, very good characters, very good horor/vampire setting. I can't recommend it more, play this NOW.

3. Rome Total War

The first Total War game I have played and its grandiose huge real time battles with units that correspond to different nations also including sieges and generals and its turn based strategy map where you manage your economy, infrastructure, armies and your leaders gain traits based are a favorite combination. Medieval Total War 2 is probably my favorite strategy game ever and RTW is high up there as well.

There is a quality drop from third to fourth game but that is because the first three games in my list are amazing and deserve a place in VG history.

4. Far Cry

Open levels that allow for different approaches, great art style, I especially like the combination between the blue of the sea/sky and the lush green, great graphics. An FPS that brought be a lot of enjoyment.

5. Unreal Tournament 2004

Pretty fun multiplayer shooter

6. Pro Evolution Soccer 4
7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
8. Pokemon Fire Red
9. Viewtiful Joe 2
10. Dragonball Z Budokai 3

 

[Dresden]

1. Ninja Gaiden

best action game ever made.

2. Snake Eater

best MGS.

3. Halo 2

best Halo.

 

[TheLucifer]

1. Half-Life 2: an incredible game for that year, it was the first time that physics actually mattered in the gameplay. The setting was beautiful, especially the first contact with City 17 and Ravenholm, the global feeling is still unmatched.
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: my favourite game of the series, I think it's the highest point of the entire IP. A mature story in an intriguing era, most of its characters are well designed, plus it had *that* ending scene. Everything in it was perfect, replaying it seven years after in HD made me see how "big" it was.
3. GTA: San Andreas: well, until IV this was my favourite GTA. At the time it was perfect, it had everything I could ever ask for in a game, but sometimes it felt like there was way to much in it. Still, one of the best of 2004.
4. Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines: an awesome RPG, still unmatched as of today I guess. Dark and mature, I still love to replay it after so many years.
5. Far Cry: like many others, I always saw Far Cry as the underdog FPS that year, it was released a few months before HL2 and DooM 3. But it still managed to deliver an awesome experience: the engine was incredible, the island seemed to be an actual, real, island, but the end was too rushed.
6. Painkiller: another FPS, another great experience. Definitely not the best of the year, but it certainly had some good design choices.
7. Need for Speed: Underground 2: the best of the Fast and Furious-like titles, always loved the great choice in customization. I loved everything about it.
8. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow: my favourite SC, loved every single seccond with it.
9. The Sims 2: heh, first time with a 3D engine, I spent most of my time with it building houses. Playing with the actual sims was boring after an hour or so.
10. Evil Genius: probably underrated, had a lot of content. Heavily based on the 60s spy stories, having to build your hideout was really fun.

A part from MGS 3 and San Andreas on PS2, I played everything else on PC. Which explains why there aren't other console related games.

 

[Abylim]

Wow, this doesnt seem to be as big as the other threads.

Ohwell, stil looking forward to results!

 

[RevolverFox44]

1. Half-Life 2 - The only pure (non hybrid) FPS on my personal best games ever list. Such a great story and characters. Even though Gordon is a nonentity Alyx and Eli make up for it. They cared about him so through them I did too.
2. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - I probably shouldn't admit it but this is the only version of MGS1 I have played, and did so after playing 2. I think it's great.
3. Metal Gear Solid 3 - I like 2 better but 3 is still amazing and they made a lot of improvements.
4. GTA San Andreas - Not as much fun as Vice City but technically very impressive with a ton of content.
5. Burnout 3 - My favorite racing game. WipEout HD is the only one I've liked since.
6. Sly 2 - Hated having to play as Bentley and Murray but still great. Loved hunting for bottles. I still prefer the tight linear focus of the original though.
7. Viewtiful Joe (PS2) - Beat 'em up bliss.
8. Katamari Damacy - What you get when a team of Japanese game designers take a whole lot of drugs before making a game.
9. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - One of the few movie licensed titles that doesn't suck. Not an FPS, it was about sneaking in the shadows and snapping necks. No shooting until near the end which was fine with me. It did a better job of making me feel like a stalking predator than Manhunt.
10. Breakdown - One of the few games to actually do something interesting with first person perspective. Great story too, shame the gameplay was pretty terrible, especially the melee combat. Melee combat in first person is always terrible but at least they tried to make a real combat system with a variety of moves and combos. It just didn't work very well.

 

[AniHawk]

Wow, this doesnt seem to be as big as the other threads.

Ohwell, stil looking forward to results!

the 2008 one was spurred along by constant bickering over the game in the top slot and the very nature of the thread. there was actually a lot of conversation going on because of it.

i think the next controversial year is 2006. that's when twilight princess and okami came out, and some people really loved one and hated the other (on both sides).

i think okami can actually hit the top spot in 2006. i don't think the first gears of war is still that popular, and neither is wii sports and new super mario bros., but we'll see.

 

[Antioch]

1. Rome: Total War
I spent countless hours playing the campaigns in this game, hell, my username is derived from the fact that I made the city of Antioch my capital in my most successful campaign. It was hard to put this game on top, but it will always be special to me and that's why it's my number 1 of 2004.
2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
I took many attempts to really get into Metroid Prime, but it never really clicked for me. Even when I did then finally play it to the end, it wasn't that great to me. I had no such problems with Echoes, though, and it's now not only my favorite game in the Prime trilogy, it's one of my favorite games ever. I know some people say Aether wasn't as compelling as Tallon IV, and to an extent I agree too, but MP2 clicked with me like MP1 never did.
3. Half-Life 2
Perhaps the greatest single-player FPS ever made, nothing I've played has felt as 'real' to me as HL2, probably because of the lack of cut-scenes, all I can say is no other game had the flow and immersion that HL2 had.
4. Star Wars Battlefront
5. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
6. Pikmin 2
7. Super Mario 64 DS
8. Mario Power Tennis
9. Pokemon LeafGreen/FireRed
10. The Lord of the Rings: the Battle for Middle-earth

 

[Violet_0]

i think okami can actually hit the top spot in 2006.

I'll shed a tear when this happens

and anyway, aren't we supposed to like TTP now that Skyward Sword demands all our hatred? /Zelda cycle

 

[AniHawk]

I'll shed a tear when this happens

and anyway, aren't we supposed to like TTP now that Skyward Sword demands all our hatred? /Zelda cycle

it's funny, because twilight princess had the shoe-horned motion controls and skyward sword had what people expected of twilight princess, but i think people in general prefer tp's method.

personally, i don't mind either, but i felt skyward sword didn't delve enough into motion control when it came to the puzzles. it's really the level design in general where tp triumphs over skyward sword (and okami/the wind waker for that matter).

 

[AniHawk]

11 hours to go

 

[Struct09]

1. Half-Life 2 ; Simply an amazing and atmospheric game. The only single-player FPS that has outdone it so far is Episode 2 IMO.

2. World of Warcraft ; I was playing the beta for most of 2004, and kept on playing just as much when it finally released late that year. I can't pull myself to play it anymore, but I'll never forget the awesome experiences and adventures I had in WoW.

3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; While I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the first Prime, Echoes is still an excellent game. It put up a good challenge, and I appreciate that it did some things differently while still feeling like a proper Metroid game.

4. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door ; A fun and charming game that had just the right level of RPGness. The localization is among the best I've ever seen, and the mechanics are fun from beginning to end.

5. Unreal Tournament 2004 ; This game dominated my LAN time back in 2004. I had the full version, but even playing only the free demo with friends was tons of fun.

6. Metroid Zero Mission ; Probably my all-time favorite remake. I never really liked the original Metroid, and this game took what was there and made it much more playable.

7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ; Not my favorite of the PS2 GTA's, but still an amazing game. Tons to do, a variety of areas, and set in a familiar and cool time period.

8. Ninja Gaiden ; I actually broke an Xbox controller out of frustration playing NG, but ended up really enjoying the game anyway. By the time I finished the game I had gotten really good at the deep combat system, and was genuinely disappointed that the final boss was relatively easy.

9. Burnout 3: Takedown ; I've never been much into racing games - that is unless you can smash the hell out of your opponents. This game got me into the Burnout games, and remains my favorite in the series.

10. Halo 2 ; A fun FPS that I played a lot of with my friends. Also the first game where I started to spend some serious time on Xbox Live.

 

[Uno Venova]

1. Racthet and Clank UYA: Fun and charming, great boss battles, fun weapons, without a doubt the best Ractchet game. I'm also sure this is the most replayed game in my entire life at 8 like times.

2. San Andreas: Rockstar still haven't been able to top this. I miss all the cartoonish fun you could have with the GTA franchise, before they went too serious for my tastes.

3. Smackdown vs Raw: Back when I played wrestling games, this wasn't my favorite (HTCP is) but it was fun, especially with freinds, the new clean and dirty tactis were fun, I loved creating belts and PPVs. Has the best sports game soundtrack too.

4. Jak 3: Only bought this because of the Racthet vs Jak hype back then, was pleasantly surprised as how great it was.

5. Spider man 2: Best superhero game since Arkham.

6. Pokemon Firered: Didn't like the Sevii Islands much, but a great remake nontheless.

7. Burnout Takedown.

2004 was really packed with some of my favorites of all time.

 

[paparazzo]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; My first MGS game and first real foray into the steal genre. I think I played through this 20+ times in the first 18 months of owning it and Subsistence. So good. Remains my favorite game.

2. Burnout 3: Takedown ; The first enjoyable arcade racer for me. Just an addictive, fun time. Split screen was great too.

3. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay ; Proved that movie based tie ins don't have to suck. Some great stealth with tense moments to be found here.

 

[Incendiary]

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - One of my favorite RPGs of all time, not just Mario RPGs. The mix of RPG and Mario gameplay was great. On top of that, awesome music, and a pretty neat story. Also Rawk Hawk.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - The most refined of the Metal Gear Solid series. The Sorrow "boss fight" was a great moment in gaming, and the motorcycle chase is probably one of my favorite action sequences in a game ever.

3. Half-Life 2 - Is there anything I can really say about HL2 that hasn't been said already? Broke new barriers in the FPS world and started a whole new generation of storytelling. And still holds up years later.

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - I spent so much time screwing around in this game. This was probably the best sandbox game of the PS2 generation and while I never beat it friends and I have sunk over 200 hours into it, something I haven't done in a sandbox game since.

5. The Suffering - Not a big favorite like the others I've already mentioned, but this game's always been one of my favorite of the horror genre. It tends to be more actiony than straight horror in later areas, but the intro part freaked the hell out of me the first time I played it. Great game.

6. Hitman: Contracts - Blood Money is the pinnacle of the Hitman franchise but Contracts comes pretty damn close. The freedom of choices and stealth-based gameplay makes for a great mix and endless replayability.

7. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - The R&C series is one of my favorite game series of all-time, but UYA wasn't as great as its predecessors. The addition of multiplayer wasn't great and it made the single-player suffer. Still a good game overall, though.

8. Burnout 3: Takedown - Most requested racing game to play by friends who don't normally play racing games. Wrecking your competitors never gets old, and the crash mode was especially fun.

9. Shadow Hearts: Covenant - A great RPG. I loved the wheel-based battle system and the way you gained Yuri's abilities was fun. The story was neat too, including Rasputin and the Russian history.

10. Killzone - I remember before it was released, Killzone was advertised as the "Halo-killer." While it never got that great to me, it was still very fun. I also had a blast with local multiplayer with friends, something I'm sad the sequel took out.

 

[iconoclast]

Forgot all about this, lazy post incoming.

1. World of Warcraft ; I didn't play a lot of games in 2005 and 2006 because I spent thousands of hours playing this. Leveling up with my friends and raiding MC, BWL, ZG, AQ, and Naxx is probably the most fun I've ever had playing video games.
2. Ninja Gaiden ; Redefined action games, and it's still one of the best games in the genre.
3. OutRun 2 ; This might be my favorite racing game of all time. AM2 can do no wrong.
4. Steel Battalion: Line of Contact ; The online multiplayer expansion for Steel Battalion, complete with an innovative persistent war online campaign. The game was absolutely incredible, but it's too bad the netcode was a bit of a mess.
5. Metal Slug 3 ; Arguably the pinnacle of the series, and still one of the best run and guns around.
6. Halo 2 ; A great game, but a very disappointing follow up to Halo CE. Regardless, I played it online for years with my friends and had a ton of fun.
7. Half-Life 2
8. King of Colosseum II ; The best 3D wrestling game of all time.
9. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
10. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Too bad I won't get to play Mushihime-sama until the end of the month. That would definitely be on my list.

 

[kingkaiser]

it's funny, because twilight princess had the shoe-horned motion controls and skyward sword had what people expected of twilight princess, but i think people in general prefer tp's method.

personally, i don't mind either, but i felt skyward sword didn't delve enough into motion control when it came to the puzzles. it's really the level design in general where tp triumphs over skyward sword (and okami/the wind waker for that matter).

Yeah, i like both types of motion control and personally i think skyward’s unique use of it was even the best part of an overall mediocre game. The only problem was just that the gameplay in some parts demands high precision but due to the limited tech or bad programming the player only has this precision in like only 7 of 10 cases, thus resulted in the player’s rage about the controls.

TP on the other hand had maybe a real primitive form of motion control but at least it worked perfectly all the time. The missing of 1to1 motion tracking I could easily get over with just imitating the typical sword swings and let the rest to my imagination…

Speaking of the typical Zelda cycle, I always felt that TP was the best 3D Zelda. It is the sequel and refinement of one the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had, namely Ocarina of Time. In every voting for a goty in 2006 I would always choose TP.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

There's a lot from this year I haven't played yet, or have only played a little bit, so my list feels a bit weird. The year does have one of my favorite games of all time, though.

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door; Man, what can be said about this game. The story is just such a joy from start to finish, and I think the battle system is a ton of fun. The game had some big shoes to fill coming off from the first Paper Mario, but I thought it did so wonderfully.
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
3. Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
4. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
5. Rome: Total War
6. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

1. Half-Life 2; Awesome oppressionary feel. Great setpieces that range from cool to breathtaking. Tons of variety and I actually liked the vehicles and gunplay and AI. All-time great game

2. Metroid Prime 2; I thought the dark world wasn’t creative enough visually or with obstacles, but it still has the same great Metroid Prime gameplay with some great worlds and awesome morph ball sections.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3; Terrific at establishing tension with types of gameplay/exploration that aren’t usually in games, amazing cutscene direction, great characters.

4. Jak 3; Jak’s platforming mechanics were amazing and the platforming sections are some of my favorite of any game with great pacing and jumps that provide challenge without being frustrating. Also had checkpoints unlike Jak 2. Many too many sections focused on stuff on the platforming, but it’s one of my favorite games ever despite that and they were still fun sections.

5. Burnout 3: Takedown; The speed and takedowns and control/feel friendliness made it incredibly playable and replayable.

6. Metroid: Zero Mission

7. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

8. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

9. Sly 2: Band of Thieves

10. Pikmin 2


Best year ever for gaming imo.

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah, i like both types of motion control and personally i think skyward’s unique use of it was even the best part of an overall mediocre game. The only problem was just that the gameplay in some parts demands high precision but due to the limited tech or bad programming the player only has this precision in like only 7 of 10 cases, thus resulted in the player’s rage about the controls.

TP on the other hand had maybe a real primitive form of motion control but at least it worked perfectly all the time. The missing of 1to1 motion tracking I could easily get over with just imitating the typical sword swings and let the rest to my imagination…

Speaking of the typical Zelda cycle, I always felt that TP was the best 3D Zelda. It is the sequel and refinement of one the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had, namely Ocarina of Time. In every voting for a goty in 2006 I would always choose TP.

twilight princess was definitely a traditional zelda game, and i agree it was the best of its kind.

skyward sword, in a lot of ways, is 'what if a zelda game was basically super mario galaxy'

 

[jj984jj]

1. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne ; The greatest RPG ever created. This is what a game is like when it takes great gameplay and combines it with fantastic art direction and music to create its atmosphere and comes together perfectly. The game is tough but fair and very rewarding as long as you make decent and logical moves as you progress.

2. Katamari Damacy ; Since the 32/64-bit era ended it's rare that a game comes out and is so original yet still plays astonishingly well that it seriously does make you think it's both inventive and polished. This is one of those rare games.

3. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
4. Half-Life 2
5. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
6. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
7. Ninja Gaiden
8. Pikmin 2
9. Burnout 3: Takedown
10. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

x. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2
X. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
X. Rome: Total War
x. Sid Meier's Pirates!

 

[Rahxephon91]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3 - Simply the best game ever made. Engaging story full of charm and character. Fantastic gameplay that constantly varies the situations. And just one of the best looking games art and tech wise. The only game worthy of winning GOTY.

 

[AniHawk]

The only game worthy of winning GOTY.

really? because 2004 was a fantastic year. like first-person shooters don't tend to hold up that well over time, and both chronicles of riddick and half-life 2 are still great games to play.

and this is games of the year. i think it's kind of crummy to just list one game but that's just me (don't think you have to change it if you really feel that strongly about it though).

i also think that if you only have one game that you want to list, you would be able to go into more detail of why it conjures up such a strong resonance.

 

[Rahxephon91]

really? because 2004 was a fantastic year. like first-person shooters don't tend to hold up that well over time, and both chronicles of riddick and half-life 2 are still great games to play.

and this is games of the year. i think it's kind of crummy to just list one game but that's just me (don't think you have to change it if you really feel that strongly about it though).

MGS3 is really the only game I can remember that came out in 2004, still play till this day, and think is actually worthy of a GOTY.

I don't really remember anything else about 04. I guess I played a lot of Dead or Alive Ultimate, but I won't recommend that. Did Ninja Gaiden come in 04? Yeah a solid game obviously, but not my favorite. Half Life 2? I didn't play HL until the xbox port came out and I really don't have an opinion. It was at some points exciting, atmospheric, but also incredibly boring. I would find myself just treading through areas with really nothing to do. World of Warcraft? Yeah a great game back then, but I've since soured on it. Either way it was a 2005 game for me. Tales of Symphonia seems to be a popular choice, but I largely dislike that game.

So when I look at the notable release list, I don't see a real exciting list of games. MGS3 is the sole stand out. Yeah I like Halo 2, but only for MP. But I value SP greatly over mp any day. San Andreas was a good game, but not my favorite GTA at all. While I could list these games under MGS3, in the end they really don't matter that much to me. Really the stand out was MGS3. Out of this list, it's the only one I've played multiple times. Its really the only one I would recommend as GOTY. None of these games would ever cross my mind.

i also think that if you only have one game that you want to list, you would be able to go into more detail of why it conjures up such a strong resonance.

Yeah probably, but I doubt really anyone is reading these, much less reading mine. I know I'm not.

 

[AniHawk]

MGS3 is really the only game I can remember that came out in 2004, still play till this day, and think is actually worthy of a GOTY.

I don't really remember anything else about 04. I guess I played a lot of Dead or Alive Ultimate, but I won't recommend that. Did Ninja Gaiden come in 04? Yeah a solid game obviously, but not my favorite. Half Life 2? I didn't play HL until the xbox port came out and I really don't have an opinion. It was at some points exciting, atmospheric, but also incredibly boring. I would find myself just treading through areas with really nothing to do. World of Warcraft? Yeah a great game back then, but I've since soured on it. Either way it was a 2005 game for me. Tales of Symphonia seems to be a popular choice, but I largely dislike that game.

So when I look at the notable release list, I don't see a real exciting list of games. MGS3 is the sole stand out. Yeah I like Halo 2, but only for MP. But I value SP greatly over mp any day. San Andreas was a good game, but not my favorite GTA at all. While I could list these games under MGS3, in the end they really don't matter that much to me. Really the stand out was MGS3. Out of this list, it's the only one I've played multiple times. Its really the only one I would recommend as GOTY. None of these games would ever cross my mind.

okay. thanks for explaining your position. the 'three-games rule' came about after 2004 specifically because it appeared as though people were doing fanboy wars instead of giving a thoughtful look back on the year when they only listed one game. for you it apparently was not the case.

it's gone for this one, but i think going forward i'll implement it again for 2005-2007. it would make the voting conditions more similar to those years as well, anyway (just as it was more similar to not have it there this time).

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah probably, but I doubt really anyone is reading these, much less reading mine. I know I'm not.

well i'll put it in the op if you have a really nice shiny one (i need three for the top spot).

 

[AniHawk]

and one hour left

 

[Thores]

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Every possible aspect of this game was knocked out of the park. The slightly action-y turn based battles were brilliantly executed, the soundtrack was phenomenal, and the dialogue was hilarious and top-notch. Probably my favorite game of all time with Mario in it, and one of my favorite RPGs in general.

2. Pokemon LeafGreen: A really solid remake of the first game(s) in one of my most highly regarded video game franchises ever.

3. Tales of Symphonia: I really like JRPGs with a really varied, unique-feeling cast of characters that all have distinct and interesting dynamics with each other. Symphonia fit that bill pretty well. Things that also didn't hurt: the fun-ass battle system, and the fact that it was one of the few RPGs you could play with a friend.

4. Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3: I had actually stopped being a DBZ fan by the time this game came out, but turns out the game is just plain fun. It is a ridiculous, hectic, genuinely impressive spectacle fighter that I had a blast with, both in multiplayer and unlocking the five zillion characters and powers and stuff. Still my favorite DBZ fighting game.

5. Katamari Damacy: The novelty's died down a bit, but it was still such a great idea and I had such a good time with it. King of All Cosmos is still the best.

6. Sonic Battle: This is such a guilty pleasure. It's unbalanced, extremely repetitive and tedious, plus the dialogue is from the Sonic X era of the hedgehog's career, aka it was terrible. Despite all this I beat it twice and I think I unlocked almost everything. So uh. 6th place.

7. Astro Boy: Omega Factor: I didn't know shit about Astro Boy before I picked up this game. Honestly, even after 100%ing it I still think I only have a cursory knowledge of the series. But whatever, fucking solid action game.

8. City of Heroes: A concept I loved, with a fantastic character creator. It got topped later, but it wasn't a bad start at all.

9. Metroid Zero Mission: It takes a game with a pretty sweet base formula, and polishes the hell out of it. Good stuff.

10. Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap: Probably one of the weaker handheld Zeldas, but it definitely had its own style and charm, which I absolutely appreciate.

Edit: Wow, kind of a disappointing turnout. I hope this thread at least got more votes than the original one. I personally really enjoy being given the chance to do these.

 

[AniHawk]

Wow, kind of a disappointing turnout. I hope this thread at least got more votes than the original one. I personally really enjoy being given the chance to do these.

the two threads are separated by about 60 posts. it doesn't bode well for 2005, i think. it'll need to be another 'controversial' like 2006 before people may start talking again. we'll see.

thanks for participating everyone. voting is over. results will be out soon.

 

[Augemitbutter]

totally forgot to vote. oh well, here is what i came up with anyway:


1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater ; a true legend.
2. Outrun 2 ; blue skies, endless fun.
3. Ninja Gaiden ; you were worthy.
4. Gradius V ; the perfect resurrection.
5. Suikoden IV ; not as good as previous games, but it carries the spirit.
6. Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon ; one of my all time favorites.
7. World of Warcraft ; good game at first, but turned to shit pretty fast.
8. Breath of Fire : Dragon Quarter ; i have a weird obsession with this one. great gameplay in a dirty world.
9. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap ; the last zelda game.