This is it. The last pick. The final of the five. Its controversial, but it’s all mine. Look, there were a ton of GREAT games released this year. Of the games that I played, there are a few that stood out to me. Several notables under consideration include Gears of War 2, GTA IV, Dead Space, NBA 2K9, Fable 2, Too Human (yes Too Human) and perhaps Call of Duty: World at War. All are fine games. All could be Sarcastic Gamer’s fifth Nominee for Game of the Year.
Find out what the controversial pick is, after the jump.
To be perfectly honest, I would have loved to put Too Human in my top five. It’s a fine game, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to be honest with myself and the fine readers of this website. It had too many flaws to be considered.
As for Gears of War 2, gosh, I’m sure that many, many people will absolutely pick this game as their GOTY. Not me. Don’t get me wrong, the single player is quite fun and the Horde mode is a blast, but there’s still issues with the multiplayer that just turn me off and the story, dialogue and ending were laughably bad. Still a great game, worthy of your hard earned cash, but not my pick.
GTAIV? Nope.
LittleBigPlanet? Nada.
My final Nominee for Game of the Year is…
Mirror’s Edge.
To me, the Game of the Year title is for a game that pushes the limits of video games into new directions. I believe that Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, and Metal Gear Solid 4 all do it in different ways. Far Cry 2 does it with it’s open world style. Left 4 Dead does it with it’s fresh take on cooperative multiplayer. Fallout 3 does it with it’s fresh take on open world RPG and decision making in video games. Finally, Metal Gear Solid 4 does it with the extended cutscenes and the way Kojima involved the player in the story. Plus, driving a Metal Gear and kicking ass is pretty sweet too.
Mirror’s Edge pushes the envelope in the same way. Just as Fallout 3 instilled a sense of loneliness and desolation and Left 4 Dead left you frantic, Mirror’s Edge conveys that sheer Roller Coaster thrill whenever you made a leap of Faith off of a building and landed it the first time. That feeling is undeniable. The chase and combat segments in the later levels just ratchet up the tension even more as the stakes get higher and higher.
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Brilliant pick Lono!
Spoiler alert:
This will not win.
I hated this game so much but I’m at least man enough to admit that was because it was too damn difficult for me!!
I played the demo, and it was pretty fun.
Still, don’t think it really is game of the year, but you can still have your own opinion.
An unexpected choice, but a worthy one all the same. It’s definatly one of my Top 5 for 2008.
i would prefer this to l4d as goty, but then im hoping it will be fallout 3 as im getting that for xmas
I just started playing this game on Friday and have become obsessed with it.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/457-Mirrors-Edge
says everything i have to say about that game
while i think i would have put dead space in place of this, for its fresh take on view, atmosphere and player immersion.
all in all my list is the same.
@ fotios
I’d love to put it up there too as it’s a great game, just highly derivitive of RE4 and it good quite old quickly.
Aside from that, utterly loved the game.
played gears 2 and the single player is fun but if you are trying to a public match by yourself it is a huge flaw so I think mirrors edge was a great pick but i do however think that it will not win sg goty if you leave it to the community. My bet is on farcry or fallout…everyone loves an f
So where are all the people complaining about Gears 2 now? I’m surprised there aren’t a bunch of them here ready to complain. I personally haven’t played Mirror’s Edge and it really doesn’t interest me. However, I haven’t played any of the other nominees except for Left 4 Dead. Judging from the type of game Fallout 3 is, and the things I’ve heard about Farcry 2, I’m betting it’ll either be Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, or Farcry 2 as the GOTY Winner. We’ll have to see though.
Hm…ok, I’m thinking the SG GOTY is gonna have to be Fallout 3, Mirror’s Edge, Farcry 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, or Left4Dead. Of course, I might be wrong, so we’ll have to see
.
I’ve got to say, I’m not surprised that more people aren’t defending Gears 2. In the forum thread about GOTY, only about three members picked it out of about 50 entries… It’s a great game, but I don’t think Gears 2 is a GOTY candidate.
HELL YES! Sarcastic gamer just redeemed themselves big time. Mirrors Edge deserves to win this whole damn thing.
Im not really into platforming games, but i can see the obvious GOTY potential.
Its very original (cant think of a single game like this really), its very colorful (a change from current gen brown and grey), and most of all immersive.
Great pick, and for me easily GOTY.
The critiscims I hear about this game general make my blood boil!!
Too short?
You’re friggin’running through the sections as fast s you can. WTF do you expect???
Too much repetition?
If you made the jump first time you wouldn’t have to repeat it would you? Not the games fault you suck.
Poor shooting?
As you said, the game actively encourages you to NOT use weapons (Test Of Faith anyone?). Plus, you’re not a friggin’ space marine/soldier so why would you be any good with a weapon???
Combat?
Again, if you can’t time your attacks and use the disarm function, don’t blame the game cuz you suck.
Personally I think this game is everything Assassin’s Creed promised to be, and unlike AC, they didn’t pussy out and claim it would be “too difficult” for players to do the moves themselves and so and a BS “do everything for you” button.
Basically I think this is the most refreshing game I’ve played in years and I can’t wait for the sequel!!!
I gotta say im not so convinced. This game is great and all, and should be appluaded for doing something fantastic and original. But it still ain’t perfect. It’s quite repetitive, and quite a lot of the levels are set in tunnels. By no means does this heavily condem the game in anyway, but it still shows problems. Indeed it could be said about any game on this list. But I’m still not sure that it’s above some other titles released this year. Maybe it would work better if a larger amount of games were shortlisted, maybe 8? As said in the post, ‘its not Gta.. Or LBP’. But maybe they just weren’t chosen because of their ‘big-name over hyped status’. Certainly, they are both the equal of anything on this list. I ain’t too annoyed that GOW2 or stuff like Fable ain’t been chosen, as the sequel that showed the most advancment (Far Cry) is on here. But there still great games non the less. Maybe other awards could be given (best multiplayer, storyline etc) which would allow these games a shout out non the less.
I also think its unfair that nothing from Wii has even been mentioned. Sure this year the console has degenerated into a steaming pile of casual crap, but it still had some gems – step forward No More Heroes and Mario Kart Wii (Say what you want, that game is awsome, the multiplayer is tight, and by sales alone is more played than anything on this list). But I know you guys generally hate Nintendo now a days, so maybe its best to do seperate awards for exclusives on each console (including PC).
I own both No More Heroes and Mario Kart and I don’t think either holds up to any of the previous 5 picks.
I honestly wanted to nominate Boom Blox, but couldn’t put that one above any of the other picks.
WHERE IS FABLE2!
Ah yes boom Blox, that was good too.
Yes, I agree that neither of them are better. I just think it’s a shame they don’t even get a mention, on any fan run site, not just this one. Their all fabulous games after all.
Btw, I’m gonna say Far Cry 2 ftw, as 1) Fallout 3 was great, but not a big enough step away from oblivion for me, same with Metal Gear (though that was AWSOME), and Left 4 dead and Mirrors Edge were great in that they tried something new, but didn’t succeed enough in order to be perfect – their sequels should be spectacular though. Also, no other site will choose Far Cry, as it has become somewhat over looked, so it would be nice if it won something
I agree that gears was great but not goty. The only thing that i am disappointed about is Fable 2. I thought fable 2 was a great game all arround. It was innovative with its fun combat. You could buy any property and have so much fun. I thought I would be disappointed with Fable but when I played it I was amazed with amount of things you could do and I view it in my mind as a canidate for goty.
I agree with everything on that list except farcry and mirrors edge. Those should be replaced by Fable 2 and LBP
Plasma pong.WOOO!!!
Uh… guys… GEARS 2?!
Last time I checked, paying $60 for six hours of gameplay automatically disqualified a game from GOTY.
I really wish LBP was on the list, I’m so obsessed with that game its crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in any other game.
I was also hoping for Gears 2 to be on the list. Gears 1 was incredible, and Gears 2 beats it in every way possible.
Now that we know the list for GOTY, I wish MGS4 wins. Incredible conclusion to a story going across 7 video games in the past 20 years
F’in EPIC!
I completely agree with the nomination.
Mirror’s Edge is not pefrect, but it does something completely different to all other games that have come out and it has done it extremely well.
The visuals are great, the exhilaration of the free running element of the game is awesome, and I love the soundtrack. Sure the story, characters and combat may not be perfect, but it’s a shining example of a new original game. I wish more people had looked past the fact it has a simple button scheme and just okay combat because it doesn’t hurt the game at all.
I love you guys for picking games like Mirror’s Edge, Far Cry 2, and Left 4 Dead for GOTY candidates, because they are great games that all of the major awards (IGN, Gamespot, etc.) are going to ignore. Instead, they’ll be filled with Gears of War 2 (I loved the first one, but I’ve been annoyed by a lot of the level design in Gears 2) Little Big Planet, and possibly even Fable 2. (Which is nowhere near a GOTY contender, in my opinion)
Kudos to you guys! Keep up the good work.
By the way, of the games I’ve played, this year, my GOTY is either Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, or Left 4 Dead. I still have to play Mirror’s Edge and Prince of Persia though.
@ Jason Bourne
Dude you obviously didn’t play fable but I agree that many people are ignoring L4D and it should be included in all goty discussions
@ Austin
Actually, I own Fable 2, it was one of my most anticipated games of the year, but it was a big letdown for me. There just isn’t all that much interesting stuff you can do IMO. My first spouse disappeared mysteriously, and my child was just alone in his cradle. (There couldn’t have been time for him to leave, it was only 2 or 3 days after we got married, and he was happy) I enjoyed the first 5 or 6 hours, but then I realized that I wasn’t really doing anything new. I’m not saying that it’s not a good game to other people, it’s just not for me.