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Industry Roundtable: Game of the Year 2008
December 12, 2008 | 6:00 PM PST
It's hard to believe, as 2008 has gone by so fast, but the year is almost over. While we'll be publishing our comprehensive Best & Worst of 2008 Awards in the coming weeks, we decided as a prelude to that, to round up some video game journalists from other publications and talk about our individual picks for the most prestigious award of them all, Game of the Year.
We've gathered writers from 1UP, Destructoid, The Escapist, Forbes, GoNintendo, Joystiq, Totally Rad Show, USA Today and The Wiire. We asked many other writers to join the discussion, but many were unable to participate due to their own upcoming year-end awards, which prohibited them for participating in our little roundtable.
So, without further ado, enjoy the following roundtable, and don't forget to tell us your pick for Game of the Year by posting in the comments below this article.
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I have to give my 'Game of the Year' nod to World of Goo. I think this game really stands for what our medium can achieve. Today, we are inundated with games that are built by teams of 50+ people, and they bring million-dollar budgets with them. World of Goo was created by 2 indie devs on a shoestring budget. The final product is one of the most endearing, engaging titles I have seen all year. A simple game to understand, but one that comes with a very deep social commentary for those willing to truly immerse themselves. It also doesn't hurt that the art style is fantastic, and the music is outstanding. Who would of guessed that an old-school idea with a 2D presentation could stand up alongside the polygon-pushing, high-range lighting games of today?
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Any year in which we get new series entries from Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, Burnout, Soul Caliber, Prince of Persia, Fable, and Geometry Wars is a pretty significant one for gaming. Add in compelling new experiences like Braid, Little Big Planet, and my personal favorite, Pixel Junk Eden, and it becomes very difficult to come to a consensus about Game of the Year. But perhaps attempting to reach an objective, universal decision is a foolish pursuit, anyway. This year, as much as any other, proves that gaming can address very specific tastes. For me, a Game of the Year has to deliver an experience that I can return to again and again (I loved and admired Braid, but ultimately it was a one-night stand), that introduces me to an interesting and well-developed world (MGS4 was one heck of a ride, but, sadly, I couldn't care less about the obtuse, overwrought fiction), and whose game mechanics were intuitive and fun (GTA IV had such a rich, fascinating game world, but the combat and driving mechanics were broken!). To that end, I submit my top three.
Valve's Left 4 Dead has provided me with more fun per minute that any game in recent memory. Yes, the ultimate experience is quite dependent on who one ends up playing with, but with the right group of friends it is a long distant party, at times chaotic and thrilling – at others thoughtful and strategic. So many small touches create an awesome, atmospheric, heart-pumping experience that I will return to throughout the new year.
Bethesda's Fallout 3 is such a deep, immersive, sprawling epic, that if I were only able to buy one game this year, it would provide enough hours of exploration, action, and story to satisfy me. There is so much to see and do, so much freedom given to the player, so little frustration or game-lengthening busy work. It is a game about discovery and imagination and represents the best of what games can offer.
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is perhaps an overlooked game this year, but it deserves to be played by anyone who loves video games. It refines the intimidating Civilization IV, making it accessable and shorter, so an entire play session takes only a couple of hours, but it retains the incredibly addictive nature of the series. It is a game that'll learn ya somethin' as well as keep you thoroughly entertained – and what better game world to explore than our very own? In a gaming landscape littered with disappointing shooters (Resistance 2, I'm looking at you), Civ Rev is a breath of fresh air.
There you have it. My three-way tie for Game of the Year. Cop-out? Perhaps. I'm just glad to have been able to play all of these incredible titles this year. Bring on 2009!
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2008 was a surprisingly great year for games, with the later half of year heavy in high-profile, quality titles that I fell in love with – Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2, Prince of Persia, Left 4 Dead … just to name a few. The fall was so packed with great titles that it's easy to forget some of this year's earliest heavy hitters.
In particular, you can't forget Grand Theft Auto IV, which I have to give my nod to for "Game of the Year." I could come up with a laundry list of reasons why the game isn't perfect, and it may not even be the game I played the most in 2008 or even my personal favorite). If anything, it's certainly the most talked about game of the year, and for good reason – it features a fully-realized Liberty City like we've never seen, a rich story supplemented by countless side-missions, and tons of multiplayer modes.
If you had to play only one game this year, it should be Grand Theft Auto IV.
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Look beyond the checkpoints, progress bars and unlockable extras, and games can be downright antagonistic. Lose a battle in an RPG, and you're back to the grind with renewed purpose. Come tantalizingly close to victory in Mega Man 9, and you're hooked for another half an hour. Developers realized long ago that frustration equals motivation for hardcore gamers, but this formula is starting to show its age. Plenty of games beg to be beaten; far fewer beg to be played.
World of Goo, from two-man indie development powerhouse 2D Boy, falls into the latter category. That's not to say that there's no challenge to be found across the game's 47 (occasionally grueling) stages. Rather, instead of doling out its pleasures one level completion at a time, World of Goo's chief satisfaction comes from the simple act of connecting one goo ball to another, forming giant, undulating structures to move your gooey cargo from Point A to Point B. The anthropomorphic tar drops squeal with glee each time you reposition them, snapping into place with a satisfying plop. If the experience were any more tactile, you'd have to scrub your hands after each session.
But developers Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel don't just nail the fundamentals. Over the course of the game's five chapters, they introduce new species of goo, from the helium filled to the flammable, each with its own unique game mechanic. Along the way, they weave an incomprehensible but hilarious narrative about a faceless industrial conglomerate - the titular World of Goo Corporation - that, depending on your reading, is either manufacturing goo balls, enslaving them or merely delivering them to hungry consumers. Ultimately, however, the story is just ambiance; World of Goo is Lemmings meets Jenga, with twice the charm, humor and fun – even when it all comes tumbling to the ground.
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Hurtling full-tilt over and under obstacles, dodging enemy gunfire and leaping off rooftops in Mirror's Edge was my most exhilarating game experience this year. Once skeptical of its first-person approach to running and jumping, I was surprised by its vantage point. I felt viscerally a part of the game world. Each blind leap cued real fear. Pride surged with each soft landing. I was present in a way few games have managed. I felt the weight of Faith's virtual body as she staggered away from an ill-timed fall, the rush of locomotion as she sprinted through the world and the game's gentle coaxing that convinced me to play by its rules. Never before have I so gleefully abandoned weapons -- which hamper Faith's sprightliness -- in favor of environmental problem solving.
Would my experience have improved with a deeper storyline and better acting? Yes. Could a few bouts of frustration be avoided with cleaner level design? Certainly. Do I wish there was more to the experience? Of course. But despite Mirror's Edge's weaknesses, no other game this year evoked such a sense of accomplishment upon completion--or such a desire to dive straight back into its world.
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November 20, 2009
