• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NeoGAF Games of the Year 2009 Awards

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Amir0x said:
Also Killzone 2 was way better than Halo ODST. Halo ODST was the most disappointing game I played that wasn't called Brutal Legend. Worthless.
Halo ODST was a crock of shit. Short ass campaign, and the only new MP content was Lan only. Shouldn't have even made the list. Red Faction III deserved that spot badly.

About the FPS category. I don't see any reason why Killzone 2 doesn't deserve. Over all, it was probably the best I played this year(I liked Killing Floor More). But it came with a very nice online, and SP campaign. It didn't help MW2 had Broken Online, Borderlands PC edition was a joke, and L4D2...While being great still soured allot of votes. Now if you want to say how pathetically weak the year one(Probably the most true for FPS). Then go for it. But don't try to make it out to be that some how Killzone 2 is weaker then the competition.

AniHawk said:
I wonder what will take it for 2010. If Zelda, Mario and Metroid all make it we might see a Wii centric top 10. Bayonetta netted some early love here from those who played it in 09. Then of course there are the next main entries in the God of War, Halo, and Gran Turismo series and stuff we don't even know about yet (HL2 Ep3 please oh dear god please)
I figure the Halo fanbase will come out strong for Reach
You'll have your 2 or 3 Sony exclusives being pushed(Most likely GT, Trico, and GoWIII)
Starcraft II should also becoming out next year.
Mario Galaxy is a shoe in also..Metriod M(If it delivers) will also take a spot.

I think Bayonetta like movies released now for the Oscar season is going be forgotten. Not to mention it came out in Japan last year. So there is going be allot of split voting.

The only catagory that seems like shit is the shmup one. Pixel Junk is fun...but no way in hell it deserves to be above Mushihime-Sama Futari Version 1.5 or Raiden Fighter Aces. Both of them were leagues above Shooter. And I'm sure once I play Sin and Punishment 2. It's going to get a third that deserved it far more
 

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
Thanks for all your hard work, timetokill.

Danthrax said:
Also, how the hell did Killzone 2 get FPS of the year?? I didn't see that coming
You didn't see that coming? How did you not see that coming? It was the most inevitable result this side of Uncharted 2!

Lion Heart said:
I can totally see 3 Wii exclusives and 3 PS3 exclusives in the top 10. That would make for an interesting thread :D .

Edit: Also 2 360 exclusives. Multiplats got no chance next year :lol
That sounds familar, very very familar
 

Firestorm

Member
shintoki said:
Halo ODST was a crock of shit. Short ass campaign, and the only new MP content was Lan only. Shouldn't have even made the list. Red Faction III deserved that spot badly.
Firefight is also online. Friends only though (which doesn't bother me at all because I'd rather use the disc as a frisbee than play Firefight with Xbox Live strangers).
 
timetokill said:
New IP Award
The top 20 games that do not belong to a preexisting franchise.

01. Demon's Souls
02. Dragon Age: Origins
03. Infamous
04. Borderlands
05. Flower
06. Torchlight
07. Shadow Complex
08. Plants vs. Zombies
09. Little King's Story
10. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
11. Brutal Legend
12. Machinarium
13. Muramasa: The Demon Blade
14. Bayonetta
15. Rhythm Heaven
16. Mirror's Edge (PC)
17. Risen
18. Scribblenauts
19. Trine
20. Shatter
Actually, that shouldn't really count in that list!
 
stupei said:
Shattered Memories getting 11 points means that at the most only 11 people on GAF have played it. That has to be what it means, because otherwise you would have voted for it. I have the utmost faith in you, GAF.

Now: go buy that game.

(I actually really do hope for the game to get a GiantBomb bump in sales. That would be awesome.)
I played it after I voted. Would have been on my top 10 if I had gotten to it earlier.
 

Hydrargyrus

Member
Totally agree with the list.

I don't undestand so much Killzone 2 hating... If you don't like it, don't vote for it. This kind of complaints are worthless, seriously.
 

Lince

Banned
NIGHT- said:
its obvious that the majority posters on this forum are Sony fans.

obvious... elaborate please? just because the 2009 GOTY list has a bunch of PS3 exclusives on top? is it that your conclusion? maybe the games deserve to be there, just saying.
 
NIGHT- said:
Not that I don't agree with Uncharted 2 being GOTY, but its obvious that the majority posters on this forum are Sony fans.

Yeah, no. The last survey showed that majority is Nintendo. Try harder.

Very nice list btw, I agree with most of it.
 
Forza 3 not in top 10 is the biggest surprise for me.

Killzone 2 deserves best fps, Coop FPS's do suffer from being coop in votings. MW2 was too much broken.
 

Kritz

Banned
NIGHT- said:
Not that I don't agree with Uncharted 2 being GOTY, but its obvious that the majority posters on this forum are Sony fans.

I think it has to do more with the fact that the PS3 was a fucking monster in 2009, while the 360 and Wii were sitting, twiddling their thumbs, hoping that Mario and Halo would somehow manage to surmount the Sony exclusives.

And if Uncharted was multiplatform, it'd still be number one.
 

GhaleonQ

Member
strong point-of-view = good list That's my only criterion.

...I can't believe that many people included Flower, though. *sigh*
 

Cheech

Member
Kos Luftar said:
6 PS3 exclusives in the Top 20. This is good.

I guess GAF is just a PS3 fanboy. :D

There is a small kernel of truth to that assertion. Unless you'd care to explain why you think it's "good" that 6 PS3 exclusives made the top 20, I think you helped proved his point.

I hope Demon's Souls has legs, as more people finally buy into the PS3. Great, great game. FROM Software has the potential to be a huge dev house with the level of talent there, and I'm not just talking Demon's Souls. They've built up quite a catalog this gen. They just have to figure out how to work their innovative ideas into more marketable games.

No question that every penny that Rocksteady Studios got for Batman: AA went into the final product. I personally thought that as an action adventure, it kicked the shit out of Uncharted 2. But hey, opinions are like... you know.
 

Miburou

Member
I probably would've included Flower and Braid and dropped Yakuza 3 (to be included in this year's) had I known so few had played it. Good thing I didn't nominate Bayonetta (I bought it this year anyway).

And yeah, it's interesting that 9 of the top 10 are available on the PS3 (and 4 of them only on the PS3)
 

Lord Phol

Member
Great list, one of few I have almost no objections with.
Forgot to vote for Dawn of war 2 but it took the lead anyway, good voting gaffers.
Also glad to see Batman got a well deserved spot!
 
Great job timetokill. I know some people didn't like Flower, but it's nice to see it up there. I loved that game. Never had a videogame experience like that, not even close.


As far as the all the PS3 games on the list, I do believe it's a combination of both: PS3 had a great year, and there's a heavy Sony fan presence here on GAF. Seems obvious to me.

I'm surprised about Killzone 2, but not surprised that it beat MW2. There was a substantial backlash on GAF against MW2. I don't care though, I loved KZ2.
 

Durante

Member
I wondered whether Demon's Soul would beat Dragon Age or the other way round. I gave both 2 points and they always seemed pretty close from my casual browsing of the thread. Good to see 2 wildly different but equally high quality RPGs near the top of the chart!

163 Divinity 2 Ego Draconis (EU) 3
So, who else voted for it? :lol
 
Good overall list but as expected portable games got a far bigger shaft than usual. While you included a nice Handheld rundown, its not representative since hardly anyone was including portable games with so few points to go around, concentrating on their juggernaut console/PC entries. I'd propose a separate GAF GOTY portable thread next year perhaps.

Bayonetta will need a campaign in Dec 2010 to remind everyone it came out and kicked ass so early this year though :/
 
New IP Award
The top 20 games that do not belong to a preexisting franchise.

01. Demon's Souls
02. Dragon Age: Origins
03. Infamous
04. Borderlands
05. Flower
06. Torchlight
07. Shadow Complex
08. Plants vs. Zombies
09. Little King's Story
10. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
11. Brutal Legend
12. Machinarium
13. Muramasa: The Demon Blade
14. Bayonetta
15. Rhythm Heaven
16. Mirror's Edge (PC)
17. Risen
18. Scribblenauts
19. Trine
20. Shatter

That's the list that I liked best, I'd take it over the overall top 20 in a heartbeat if someone was offering me the games in one or the other. This was a year that most established franchises were wearing really thin for me. Lots of good little gems in the new IP list, I hope most of the devs were rewarded with solid sales.

Also I'm proud to have given Men of War two extra points that helped to push it into the top 100. I wonder who else voted for it?
 

Cheech

Member
Durante said:
I wondered whether Demon's Soul would beat Dragon Age or the other way round. I gave both 2 points and they always seemed pretty close from my casual browsing of the thread. Good to see 2 wildly different but equally high quality RPGs near the top of the chart!

So, who else voted for it? :lol

I went Dragon Age at 3 pts and Demon's Souls at 2, but honestly, in retrospect I would reverse the two. I had just finished Dragon Age when I voted, so I still had some "post completion glow" going on.

I'm burning through some back catalog, but I'm chomping at the bit to go play though Demon's Souls again on "New Game+". It is, honestly, one of the best RPGs I've ever played. And I've played tons, starting back in the mid 80s or so. Yes, it's cheesy, and yes, it has a lot of issues due to what I'm sure was a miniscule budget, but the atmosphere and design of the game are without peer.

I'm also a huge fan of Bethesda RPGs, but Demon's Souls hit an RPG itch that hadn't been scratched in decades. It was like I was playing Dungeon Master on an Atari ST for the first time. Just a pivotal, and required RPG experience for people into those games.
 

Majmun

Member
Thanks for the list, timetokill.

And all the bitter tears can't change the fact that the Ps3 had a great year, quality wise.
 

Struct09

Member
Good list, can't really argue with the overall results. I would have liked to see Shadow Complex place higher, but I'll live.
 
Great list, GAF. I really do think it's fair to all the games this year, though indie/budget games should probably be considered separately. And Uncharted 2 deserves the consensus. Just unparalleled quality in every aspect of its production.
 

stupei

Member
NIGHT- said:
Not that I don't agree with Uncharted 2 being GOTY, but its obvious that the majority posters on this forum are Sony fans.

The number of defensive responses reacting to this comment like he just assaulted their mothers very nearly prove his point.

Sony had a great, great year with a lot of solid games, but you only have to skim through the voting thread to see the crazy number of people who only listed exclusives, not a single solitary multiplatform game of which there were many greats. Yes, Sony had the better year, but it wasn't only because of their exclusives but also the great games that arrived on both of the HD twins.

Anyway, congratulations to all the top games. Well deserved, Naughty Dog.
 
SecretBonusPoint said:
Good overall list but as expected portable games got a far bigger shaft than usual. While you included a nice Handheld rundown, its not representative since hardly anyone was including portable games with so few points to go around, concentrating on their juggernaut console/PC entries. I'd propose a separate GAF GOTY portable thread next year perhaps.


Last year the top handheld game came in 20th place (The World Ends With You).
Same result this year - 20th place was Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

It could very well be an indicator that the GAF demo is focusing less on handhelds these days in general, and not just because there were fewer points. It could be a combination of the two. If it was a points issue I wouldn't expect a handheld game at #20 (and #22) at all, though.

At any rate I could see more points being allowed. I don't like the idea of separating out the handhelds just because I feel they should be compared directly to the console/PC counterparts, because I think they're just as good.



toythatkills said:
Actually, that shouldn't really count in that list!

Ah, there are previous entries in that franchise, aren't there? If so, then 'Splosion Man makes that list at #20 while the others move up.
 

Olorin

Member
Nice to see that Little King's Story got some love, although it really doesn't belong in the Strategy RPG category. Should have been in RTS, or maybe Simulation.
 

Lince

Banned
stupei said:
The number of defensive responses reacting to this comment like he just assaulted their mothers very nearly prove his point.

Sony had a great, great year with a lot of solid games, but you only have to skim through the voting thread to see the crazy number of people who only listed exclusives, not a single solitary multiplatform game of which there were many greats. Yes, Sony had the better year, but it wasn't only because of their exclusives but also the great games that arrived on both of the HD twins.

your post contradicts itself, you accept the quality of PS3 exclusives this year but at the same time you can't understand why a forum member would only vote for them. I mean, Uncharted 2, Demon's Soul, Killzone 2, Infamous... what do these games have to envy from multiplatforms games released in 2009? are they honestly not good enough? I can't see your point, really.

PS3 had a damn fine if not the better year in terms of software, it's only logical that it conditioned the GOTY nominations to such extent.

edit: peace
 

Cheech

Member
Lince said:
your post contradicts itself, you accept the quality of PS3 exclusives this year but at the same time you can't understand why a forum member would only vote for them. I mean, Uncharted 2, Demon's Soul, Killzone 2, Infamous... what do these games have to envy from multiplatforms games released in 2009? are they honestly not good enough? I can't see your point, really.

IMO, and I don't mean to fan the flames, but I found the all-Sony voting posts suspect if they contained Killzone 2. That game's aiming ran like the mouselook was set at -1000, the online was borked (from the voice to the balancing), and the level design was not great. The campaign side game also had a magnitude of problems.

It wasn't a pile of trash (the sound design was excellent), but MW2/L4D2/Borderlands were all more competently executed, even taking into account that Borderlands isn't entirely a shooter.

The killer is that I actually liked KZ2 far more than Resistance 2. Sony has not had its Gears of War or Halo yet. With the success of the CoD/MW franchise, I'm not sure it needs to. The hardcore shooter fans all have PCs or Xboxes, anyway.
 
Top Bottom