Assassin Xaero said:
This is the reason why I never cared much for GOTY awards popularity contests. Dragon Age 2, the sequel to the worst game I ever had to force myself to finish (which from play the demo and what I've heard, DA2 is even worse than DA:O) gets "honorable mention", while my three favorite games of the year (Rage, Duke Nukem Forever, and Bulletstorm) are no where on the list. Oh well, not like the awards make the games better or anything, I still get to have my fun with games that I actually enjoy.
We can all whine and moan about our favorite (insert contest subject here) isn't on some Top 10 list or something. One key thing I would remind you to keep in mind is quite simply no matter what the case, this is all based on someone's opinion. And indeed: opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one.
My point is you say you don't care about such things, but you certainly do protest when your personal favorites aren't mentioned. I'd suggest you do what you apparently always do: not care about these people's opinion.
But for the record, Rage was a great and fun game, but good god was it WAY too short and ended whiplash-inducingly too abruptly. The argument is that the ending sets up for a sequel, even so: that ending was just god-awful. I rented it, had my fun, and was ready to take it back in a couple days.
DN: F was only fun if you kept one thing in mind: This is a Duke Nukem game. There's going to be breast jokes, poop jokes, and over-all a rather immature sense of humor, just like DN: 3D. The problem is that after 13 years, people were expecting a lot more than just another DN: 3D game, which is basically what DN: F equated to, just with a couple more bells and whistles. Again, a game that I rented and did have fun with, but I laughed at anyone foolish enough to actually buy this game.
Never actually played Bullet Storm, so I'm in no position to say anything about it.
As for Dragon Age 2, I'll admit it's far from an ideal game. The fact that they literally copy-pasted every. single. dungeon. in that game over and over was depressingly lame and made it get very old. However, I do think that the merits the critic pointed out in the article are true: it has a great combat system and a very fun method of story telling.
The over all point of me giving these critiques is that the 3 games you've mentioned, by and far, are rental-worthy games. Something you pick up, have fun for a few days, then take back and trade in. I'd imagine one very important thing to consider when determining a "Game of the Year" list is "Was this a game that people actually wanted to go out and buy? Or did they rent it, beat it in a weekend, and despite enjoying it, decide that they were done with it?"
Keep in mind, though, that these are just my opinions. No need to get upset about someone thinking differently than you. No one will ever be able to take away the fact that you like the games you like.