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Most Anticipated Game of 2011: Winner Revealed!

I feel like once someone says they worship a game, and it is like their religion, no matter the game, the conversation needs to stop there and everyone needs to take a step back and realize what the hell they are doing.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I feel like once someone says they worship a game, and it is like their religion, no matter the game, the conversation needs to stop there and everyone needs to take a step back and realize what the hell they are doing.

I only said that in jest, sadly. =/
 
Derrick01 said:
It really pained me to vote for Skyrim over Deus Ex but I could only pick one and I basically did a coin flip. But that's just for personal hype levels, DX could still take my goty vote when we get to that time.

As for the list I'm disappointed to see Zelda so high but not surprised. We already know Zelda is going to take goty here because the votes for Uncharted will be splintered between that, skyrim, bf3, batman, AC, deus ex, etc.

ive never voted in a goty (new member) but ive lurked for a couple. ive often though gaf should change their method. i know there has been willingness to change weights and scoring, but "game with the most votes wins" just seems silly and necessarily limits the likely candidates to the few most popular games of the year. maybe instead, it should be "rate each game you played this year on a score of 1-10" then the game with the highest average score and some minimum number of scores wins. right now it seems like a great but smaller game stands no chance against an uncharted or zelda, just as in this topic.
 
arglebargle said:
right now it seems like a great but smaller game stands no chance against an uncharted or zelda, just as in this topic.

If we have everyone list their top 5 I think we could reach to a fair decision.
 
ReverseFate said:
Fine, I'll humor you. Uncharted isn't about complete interactivity with your surroundings, surely there are far better games that can satisfy that aspect of your libido than a linear action adventure game. What Uncharted thrives on is the characters, the story, and the cinematic experiences that engage you into the game. Through playing the game, you come to like the characters, care for their well being, and are genuinely excited to see them on their next adventure. Of all the games I've played this gen, not a single game has had a more memorable character than the cast of Uncharted.

As for enemy variety, you have to realize that Uncharted is not a fantasy adventure game (though mystic elements do come into play near the end of the two games), thus there is not much that Naughty Dog can offer. There is only so many ways a pirate or a thieve can dress up and wield a weapon, and ND has tried their best to put in as much variety to them as they possibly can (through machine-gun wielding heavies and shotgun barring juggernauts).

In retrospect, Uncharted at its core is also a shooter, and there is only so many ways Nathan Drake can shoot an enemy. If you try to make every enemy interactive, and they become a standalone puzzle during every encounter, the game would lose the fluid sense of progression to the story.

So in the end, you're simply comparing two very different games and complaining that one lacks an aspect of gameplay that the other thrives on. You wouldn't be complaining that Uncharted lacks the strategic depth of Starcraft because the game does not offer you complete control over your troops (in Uncharted's case, Sully and Elena). Likewise, you wouldn't be complaining about a lack of interactivity to the environment in a 2D Mario game, because it is simply not what it does. If a game can incorporate everything other games does, then the vote for the most anticipated game would have been unanimously towards that game, whatever it may be.

And note how I've never once tried to label Zelda as undeserving of its top spot, because as much as I love my Uncharted, I can still make my arguments without belittling my opponent.
Noted, but know that I do not mean to belittle anything (but perhaps I did, and I'm sorry).

You are right in saying that we are comparing different genres, but that does not mean they are impossible to compare. I suppose it comes down to what you value in a game, or as you put, I'm complaining about the lack of an aspect of Uncharted that Zelda thrives on.

I've rarely valued stories in games because gameplay and story often fight against each other. As you stated, ND cannot offer a lot in variety because of the setting and character types of its story. IMO, this hurts a game experience. What ND relies on are the gameplay experiences that fit into the small realm of the Uncharted storyline where story limits gameplay. This works for plot lines because fascinating characters and unique stories can be told in many ways. The same isn't true for gaming because of the input a player must have over the character (linear design).

Ultimately, I would rather play as a boy in a green tunic wielding all kinds of items because gameplay then inspires level design. In Uncharted, I feel as if story (or the need for cinematics to inspire continued play) inspires level design, limiting the experience for me. As for Mario and Starcraft, the same is true as it is with Zelda -- gameplay inspires level design wholly.

If you value stories in games, that's really cool. I often wish videogames could reach out to a broader crowd like movies, but they often don't because of the lack of emotional or critical thinking value. Uncharted is definitely going for the emotional value (humor, wit, character depth, etc.). I just don't care for it in games because it's still not at the level of the best movies or even close to the best books.

Thanks for the post. :]
 
SykoTech said:
Then what was the point of that? I could easily post a vid of a person just sailing in Wind Waker for 10+ minutes interacting with nothing, but that doesn't mean it's not a great game.

Thank goodness we don't live in a world where you control people's opinions, otherwise we'd all be trying to judge games in the dumbest of ways.
lol, you should have just posted that video of WW.
 
NEO0MJ said:
If we have everyone list their top 5 I think we could reach to a fair decision.

i still think that would be weighted heavily towards uncharted. as it is, the GOTY votes are popularity contests, not any measure of quality.
 
Well if you read the poll it's pretty obvious both games are heavily anticipated (and both deserve it imo). I don't see the need to turn this thread into console/franchise war.

Also saying the Wii has no game other than Zelda to look forward to kinda trollish. While it's not amazing, you still have Kirby, Rythm Heaven, Xenoblade, Rayman and probably one or two other games that deserve attention. Again, I'm not saying the Wii has an OMG amazing end of the year lineup but it's nowhere near as bad as some are saying.

Truth101 said:
If we're going by trends Zelda was gaining more and more momentum as the voting went along.

What has this thread become?

Trying to argue with Canova is a bit pointless.
 
tiff said:
That must be where Uncharted lost me, because that definitely doesn't describe my experience with the game.

I mean, the characters at least could have so fun interactions at times, but I don't really see what's so memorable about them. The story was just a bad Indiana Jones movie (or 2's was, at least), with Nazis replaced by Balkan mercenaries.
Nice anime avatar.
 
arglebargle said:
i still think that would be weighted heavily towards uncharted. as it is, the GOTY votes are popularity contests, not any measure of quality.

Fans can always give the game they like a 9.5 and the game they don't a 6.5. Giving them a choice of 5 games, or heck make it twelve(that way we can eliminate Zelda and UC), would show more variety.
 
It's a real shame less people voted for the HD collections coming out.

Halo, MGS2, Shadow of the Colossus, Resident Evil 4, Silent Hill 2 and Tekken Tag all whoop 2011's collective ass.


ShockingAlberto said:
Why the fuck is there a flamewar in a poll thread about personal choices for anticipated games

None of you chucklefucks have even played the games in question, at least not to any degree of finality!

Ah, but we already have. See above.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
Why the fuck is there a flamewar in a poll thread about personal choices for anticipated games

None of you chucklefucks have even played the games in question, at least not to any degree of finality!
Your veneer of reason is being stripped away. Or at least subsumed by unbidden revulsion.

It was inevitable.
 
arglebargle said:
i still think that would be weighted heavily towards uncharted. as it is, the GOTY votes are popularity contests, not any measure of quality.
There's really no way around that. Any kind of poll asking a large number of people what their favorite games are is a popularity contest, not a measure of quality.
 
NEO0MJ said:
Fans can always give the game they like a 9.5 and the game they don't a 6.5. Giving them a choice of 5 games, or heck make it twelve(that way we can eliminate Zelda and UC), would show more variety.

i completely agree that the system i proposed could still be gamed pretty easily. we would have to hope people participated in good faith, i guess. and im not saying you system is bad necessarily, but my impression is that usually the voting does take the form of a "top x games, points allotted according to y schedule" and the result has been largely predictable.

if i were to list the top 12 games i played in 2011 that would be almost all the games i played that year, and not all of them would have been released in 2011.

my point is mostly that i think the current system is a popularity contest, as i mentioned earlier, and more a function of marketing than quality. for example, people love spacechem (i havent played it, im more or less plucking an example from mid air) but not not nearly enough people have played it for it to get the votes it would need to contend for a goty. if we all played every game every year would it have a chance? maybe, id be curious to know. but we dont and its going to get steamrolled.

edit:

tiff said:
There's really no way around that. Any kind of poll asking a large number of people what their favorite games are is a popularity contest, not a measure of quality.


with the goty stuff i dont care that much, though they are the polls that were brought up in this thread, and as a junior i dont want to get banned for straying too far from the thread. to me it seems like a bigger deal with the "gafs essential rpgs" and the like. in threads like that it seems like we have the opportunity (they arent limited temporally, for starters) to tease out real quality rather than something being so blatantly about marketing.
 
The ideal goty-voting system would be ONE VOTE per user. No lists, no weighing. There might be less variety, but at least the original purpose - finding THE goty - would be guaranteed to work. If, however, naming only one game is too little, then there should be a fixed required number of games per user, so that that those people that only name a single game don´t biase the whole voting.

Alrus said:
Well if you read the poll it's pretty obvious both games are heavily anticipated (and both deserve it imo). I don't see the need to turn this thread into console/franchise war.

Also saying the Wii has no game other than Zelda to look forward to kinda trollish. While it's not amazing, you still have Kirby, Rythm Heaven, Xenoblade, Rayman and probably one or two other games that deserve attention. Again, I'm not saying the Wii has an OMG amazing end of the year lineup but it's nowhere near as bad as some are saying.

But you have to understand, gamers that like Zelda are fanboys, whereas gamers that like Uncharted 3 are pure-hearted game-lovers that also care about multiplatform games.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I feel like once someone says they worship a game, and it is like their religion, no matter the game, the conversation needs to stop there and everyone needs to take a step back and realize what the hell they are doing.
Gaming for me is a religion and Haze is the shit! - Hotspot circa 2006

I love this thread.
 
I'm glad to see that 4 of my top 5 most anticipated games made the top 5 (well top 6 since 5th place was a tie). I knew Xenoblade wouldn't have been popular enough but I'm glad it still made the top 10, makes me wish that this represented what the real sales charts will look like.
 
Skyward Sword most anticipated game? Not surprised. Looking fantastic and I second that decision.

duffyside said:
So, GAF, what can we all learn from this?

That people with a Wii really do only have one game to look forward to every year. You know, I'm glad Skyward Sword won then; you guys need something to be happy about.

Simply in the history of The Legend of Zelda series, never has been a game in the franchise who was by any means bad. An achievement that has as main effect a tremendous expectations alongside fans. But I really believe that most gamers love Zelda as franchise, exactly as probably most gamers love Uncharted or Metal Gear. That's why people are waiting for it. That it may be (not in EU thanks God) the only Wii game to look forward is another story. Turning this into a war is really stupid.

_Alkaline_ said:
'Them'?

Don't you own a Wii?

Good one LOL

_Alkaline_ said:
furious5tuh.gif


By the way, you do realise a lot of these "Wii owners" have multiple consoles, right?

LOOOOOOL

Anyway this pic is great!

Tricky I Shadow said:
Yeah, but I have a 360 and PS3 too. I'm assuming he's talking about Wii only owners.

Do Wii only owners really exist? I mean: Galaxy 1 and 2 are reason enough to have a Wii, but at least one of the two HD systems.....

Crumpet Trumpet said:
this thread got embarrassing really quick...

It has nothing to do with games. This is politics.
 
Sennorin said:
The ideal goty-voting system would be ONE VOTE per user. No lists, no weighing. There might be less variety, but at least the original purpose - finding THE goty - would be guaranteed to work. If, however, naming only one game is too little, then there should be a fixed required number of games per user, so that that those people that only name a single game don´t biase the whole voting.



But you have to understand, gamers that like Zelda are fanboys, whereas gamers that like Uncharted 3 are pure-hearted game-lovers that also care about multiplatform games.

Clearly that is the only explanation.
 
ciaossu said:
I hope the OP buys Diablo III this year and gets a really bad paper cut from the box.

It is going to come out this year >:|

It's ok to dream, dreams are what helps me to get out of bed the next morning!
 
Nix said:
...Dark.. Souls..? Da-DARK SOUUUUUUUUULSSS!!! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO FILL YOUR DARK SOUL WITH LIGHHHHHHHHTTTT!!!

No, seriously, why isn't Dark Souls at least third? You know what, don't answer that; Forget it. Gaf, I am ashamed, dissapointed, and appalled, at your behavior. Good day, kind sirs. Good day.
Had it come on PC ... It's a PC game after all ! :<
 
Can't disagree with Zelda or UC3. Both will be amazing games.

Come on Skyrim people, what is wrong with you guys? You realize there is no advantage to lying in this poll, right?! There was no reward for voting Zelda/UC3!
 
What I'm a little bit surprised by is the lack of hype for Super Mario 3DS, I thought it would get more votes just on the fact that it is a new Mario game and it is Nintendo's most popular character/franchise. I think if they had announced Super Mario Galaxy 3 for 3DS the hype levels would have been very different.
 
Wow... some big butthurt over Skyward Sword's victory.

You do realize it only won by 4 votes, right? It's not that big of a deal.
 
Gravijah said:
Come on Skyrim people, what is wrong with you guys? You realize there is no advantage to lying in this poll, right?! There was no reward for voting Zelda/UC3!
I'm excited for 1 or 2 years after Skyrim comes out, when some good mods are out to help it come closer to realizing its full potential.
 
apana said:
What I'm a little bit surprised by is the lack of hype for Super Mario 3DS, I thought it would get more votes just on the fact that it is a new Mario game and it is Nintendo's most popular character/franchise. I think if they had announced Super Mario Galaxy 3 for 3DS the hype levels would have been very different.

I'm really looking forward to it but I'm more excited about a new zelda. And to be honest I would have preferred a "full on" 3D mario then a 2D mario (a la Galaxy and Nsmbwii) instead a mix of the two.
 
apana said:
What I'm a little bit surprised by is the lack of hype for Super Mario 3DS.

I'm not surprised. I'm sure it will be good to some degree, but it doesn't look particularly intriguing. Too many more exciting games coming out for it to get too much attention.
 
apana said:
What I'm a little bit surprised by is the lack of hype for Super Mario 3DS, I thought it would get more votes just on the fact that it is a new Mario game and it is Nintendo's most popular character/franchise. I think if they had announced Super Mario Galaxy 3 for 3DS the hype levels would have been very different.

Yeah, I also have to reply with: A new home console Zelda is about to be released. This is also why I think that those bitter people that call out Zelda-voters as fanboys fail to realize this franchise´s natural hype.

Nintendo could release 10 high profile games this year, and I´d still vote for Zelda.
 
apana said:
What I'm a little bit surprised by is the lack of hype for Super Mario 3DS, I thought it would get more votes just on the fact that it is a new Mario game and it is Nintendo's most popular character/franchise. I think if they had announced Super Mario Galaxy 3 for 3DS the hype levels would have been very different.

Its in the 2nd stage of the Nintendo hype machine which is usually the low point of interest. Once people actually learn about the game in stage 3 the hype will probably increase. Same thing happen to Skyward Sword.
 
What's gafs stance on buying a game you don't own the system for and playing it on an emulator? Skyward Sword looks brilliant but I can't justify a whole new console purchase just to play it.

I've already played through TP, MP3, and both galaxies on a friends Wii, and not much else on the platform interests me.
 
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