The Escapist's Game of the Year

[Russ Pitts]

The Escapist's Game of the Year

Of all the games released in 2010, we had to choose only one. What an unenviable ? almost distasteful ? task. Just one?

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[Lacsapix]

Its to bad that the multiplayer was a flop Rockstar try's so hard...
but there are a lot more and better reasons why this game has to be at the top.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Hard to believe this came from the Midnight Club studio...And not the GTA team at Rockstar North. I mean, they did Revolver, too. But most of Rock San Diego's work was on the excellent Midnight Club series.

 

[Sylveria]

I'm rather surprised they didn't pick Cataclysm or CODBLOPS considering how much advertising they had on the side. Thumbs up for picking a game that's actually good and not being total sell outs.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Didn't feel it.

RDR is a game I would not want to replay, a game I'm fairly dissapointed with, but a game I admit is very good.

So, eh, good pick.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

RDR is a game I would not want to replay, a game I'm fairly dissapointed with, but a game I admit is very good.

That is how I feel about 95% of GOTY winners, every damn year.

I first felt that way back in 2004...When God of War kept losing GOTY to Resident Evil 4.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

RDR is a game I would not want to replay, a game I'm fairly dissapointed with, but a game I admit is very good.

That is how I feel about 95% of GOTY winners, every damn year.

I first felt that way back in 2004...When God of War kept losing GOTY to Resident Evil 4.

Well, you know, usually a magazine's GotY is the game they feel held the most artistic value/revolutionized the industry this year, not necessarily the game they enjoyed the most.

I'm not saying that's the case here, by the way. It clearly isn't.

Even I kind of succumbed to that this year.

 

[PurpleLeafRave]

I'm so glad this won and not Mass Effect 2. This game is outstanding, the feel of the west is so authentic, and the cast of characters were all likable. The ending from when you

Spoiler

go back to your farm until the actual ending was well done and made me connect with my family and imagine me in that situation. When John was shot I felt teary eyed, but he died an honarable death and that makes you respect him. He was protecting his family. Also, when I murdered that arsehole who shot me as Jack it felt SOOOO SWEET!

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

RDR is a game I would not want to replay, a game I'm fairly dissapointed with, but a game I admit is very good.

That is how I feel about 95% of GOTY winners, every damn year.

I first felt that way back in 2004...When God of War kept losing GOTY to Resident Evil 4.

Well, you know, usually a magazine's GotY is the game they feel held the most artistic value/revolutionized the industry this year, not necessarily the game they enjoyed the most.

I've never understood that urge...Put the game you enjoyed the most. Games are a medium of entertainment, put the one the entertained you the most. Art is meant to entertain, after all.

 

[latenightapplepie]

A worthy winner. A game I enjoyed a great deal.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

I've never understood that urge...Put the game you enjoyed the most. Games are a medium of entertainment, put the one the entertained you the most. Art is meant to entertain, after all.

They're supposed to keep an image. They're not regular gamers, they're people whose opinion is supposed to represent the opinion of many and be justifiable beyond the fact that they found it fun.

But, yes... I never really understood it either.

 

[MrLumber]

Lets all hope next year has a better selection, while certainly a solid game, I feel it more won simply because of a lack of reasonable competition.

 

[Steve Butts]

Yeah, one of the distinctions we need to make is that our favorite games of the year as individuals may not be the same game we pick as a publication as the best game of the year. "Best" is a more objective consideration in which your own personal biases and tastes aren't quite as significant. There's certainly a lot of overlap in the criteria, but it's not exactly the same thing.

For instance, Rock Band 3 and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood were two of my absolute favorite games of last year (and well deserving of the nominations they earned), but when I stepped back a bit from my own personal enthusiasm for those games, I had to admit that Red Dead Redemption is a more worthy choice.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I've never understood that urge...Put the game you enjoyed the most. Games are a medium of entertainment, put the one the entertained you the most. Art is meant to entertain, after all.

They're supposed to keep an image. They're not regular gamers, they're people whose opinion is supposed to represent the opinion of many and be justifiable beyond the fact that they found it fun.

But, yes... I never really understood it either.

The answer is simple: We don't always enjoy good stuff.

A person's enjoyment of something - anything, really - is based on a huge number of criteria, a big chunk of which is personal taste. I might play the hell out of a certain game because it reminds me of when I was little, or because I happen to be really good at it, or because I like the art style, none of which are reasons I should recommend it to someone else. My fondness for a game that pushes my personal buttons has no bearing on whether or not YOU will enjoy it, and so I can't tell you that it's the best game of the year. The best for me and my enjoyment is not necessarily the best for everyone else.

Quality and enjoyment obviously have a lot of crossover, but they're not dependent on each other. They do happen to intersect in the case of RDR for most of us, though.

Also, let me just say how much I really appreciate readers who can say "I didn't personally enjoy this, but I recognize that it's good." It's a very mature and sophisticated point of view, and one I thank you for.

 

[Flying Dagger]

Mass effect 2 was robbed.

that game has scale you don't even realise until your third playthrough, and you can't say that of many games that will take you 30+ hours to finish.

 

[Sach]

Of all the nominations, this is the very last one I would have picked.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Also, let me just say how much I really appreciate readers who can say "I didn't personally enjoy this, but I recognize that it's good." It's a very mature and sophisticated point of view, and one I thank you for.

To be honest, I haven't play a game I genuinely thought was bad since...well...2009, at least. Everything I played in 2010 was enjoyed it someway or another. I played more games that a game reviewer on a website who reviews one game a week.

[sub]I need a life...[/sub]

Wait, no. I did play Comic Jumper and Record of Agarest War. But still. I think I just am unable to really dislike most games. I get a kick out of nearly everything, so long as the game mechanics are functional. I liked everything from Bayonetta in January to Singularity in December.

Comic Jumper wasn't really functional for me.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Also, let me just say how much I really appreciate readers who can say "I didn't personally enjoy this, but I recognize that it's good." It's a very mature and sophisticated point of view, and one I thank you for.

To be honest, I haven't play a game I genuinely thought was bad since...well...2009, at least. Everything I played in 2010 was enjoyed it someway or another. I played more games that a game reviewer on a website who reviews one game a week.

[sub]I need a life...[/sub]

Wait, no. I did play Comic Jumper and Record of Agarest War. But still. I think I just am unable to really dislike most games. I get a kick out of nearly everything, so long as the game mechanics are functional. I liked everything from Bayonetta in January to Singularity in December.

Comic Jumper wasn't really functional for me.

Well, I don't mean bad necessarily. My go-to example for this is Enchanted Arms. The game is a perfectly serviceable JRPG, but nothing remarkable. And I played the crap out of it because, for some reason, it just really connected with me. I enjoyed that game more than many, many others I've played - far better ones, too. So, I had a really great time with Enchanted Arms, I couldn't begin to think of nominating it for a Game of the Year award.

 

[Calico93]

Thank fuck it isnt Blops.
I loved RDR, a worthy winner.