Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Dec 23, 2006 14:19:13 GMT -5
Seeing how people liked my e3 awards earlier this year, I figured I might as well do a GotY set of awards. To sort out the confusion, I seperated everything into the following categories: Action/Adventure, Shooter, Racing, Role Playing, Sports, Fighting, Survival Horror, DS, PSP, 360, Xbox, PS2, PS3, PC, GameCube, Wii, and Tech(as in graphics, sound, music, etc.)
Action/Adventure
Best Action/Adventure Game
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners up: Dead Rising, Okami
Zelda takes the nod here because it is the most epic of the Action/Adventure games this year. While Dead Rising is virtually endless, and zombie killing doesn't get old, Twilight Princess took 4 years to make, and it shows, as it was amazingly crafted.
Shooter
Best Overall Shooter
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: Resistance: Fall of Man, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Gears gets the win in Best Overall Shooter, because while the Stop 'n Pop gameplay isn't new, it is polished greatly. The cover system is well developed, and this game puts so many commands onto one button(the A button), without bogging down gameplay. While Resistance, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Rainbow Six are all great games in their own right, Gears of War is the king of this year's best overall shooter.
Best 3rd Person Shooter
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Gears of War takes another award in the Shooter category
Best First Person Shooter
Winner: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Runners Up: Resistance: Fall of Man, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
When is Tom Clancy going to give it up? As long as great games like this are pumped out under his name, hopefully not anytime soon. Just one fly by of Las Vegas in this game will have you gripped by its amazing true-to-life graphics. The gameplay is also fast paced and fun, albeit realistic. Also, as a first in the Rainbow Six series, you can now repel down a rope to give an unexpected drop on the bad guys.
Best Stealth Game
Winner: Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Runners Up: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Splinter Cell takes the nod here, because, as much as I like MGS, Subsistence is just a rehash of MGS3, and I don't like awarding rehashes anything unless I REALLY need to(see Fighting), and Portable Ops, while good, doesn't stand up to Double Agent.
Racing
Best Racing Game
Winner: Moto GP 2006
Runners Up: Ridge Racer 7, Test Drive: Unlimited, Need For Speed: Carbon
This year for the lack of better words, sucked for racing games and racing fans. On the plus side, we got to see trailers for Forza 2, Gran Turismo HD, and Project Gotham Racing 4, but those were just that, videos. I'm so dissappointed in this year's selection of racings games, that I was almost willing of awarding one of those three games the award. Never the less, I picked the game I thought sucked the less. Moto GP 2006 is a motorcycle racing game on the Xbox 360. It is the GT of motor bike games, meaning it is realistic....VERY realistic. The fine tuned controls, the high speeds, and the amazing graphics let this game take the lead for 2006. This game isn't bad in its own right....just...hard...
Role Playing
Best Role Playing Game
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Runners Up: Kingdom Hearts II, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy III
Oh boy....here comes the hate mail....I played all 4 of these games through and through, and in the end I have to say Oblivion was just the better game. Not only does Oblivion clearly win in the amount of gameplay it has(over 200 hours, that is nearly twice as much as the total time of the Runners Up combined!), but being on a next-gen system/PC gives it the edge in graphics as well. In terms of gameplay, Oblivion has a well made, if not realistic, combat system. The NPCs of Tamriel are also a sight to see. Also, Patrick Stewart as Emperor Uriel Septum was awesome.
Sports
Best Sport Game
Winner: Fight Night Round 3
Runners Up: Tony Hawk's Project 8, Wii Sports, Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
Fight Night Round 3 takes the award for Best Sport game, because it not only was a shining beacon of hope during the 360's early 2006 months, but it also was just a very well put together game. This game made its debut on the 360 as a demo, and by being the first new demo to be put on the Marketplace, it gained a lot of attention. The demo alone was so well put together, that nearly all 360 owners at the time agreed it was the first must have 360 game.
Best Non-Traditional Sports Game
Winner: Wii Sports
Runners Up: Tony Hawk's Projct 8, Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
Wii Sports may seem to be traditional enough having bowling, boxing, golf, baseball, and tennis, but the way this game plays makes them non-traditional. Wii Sports is more or less a watered down version of all 5 sports. Is it fun, still? Hell yes. Add that to the fact that it is the first bundle in in 2 console generations, and you have an amazing game.
Fighting
Best Fighting
Winner: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
Runners Up: DBZ: Tenkaichi 2, Naruto Ultimate Hero 2
If there was a genre of games this year that was paper thin in good games, it would have to be fighting games. The games sucked so bad this year, that I have to give the award to a rehash of a game from last year! That's all I have to say about fighting games this year. As much as I like Tekken 5, I don't like awarding it an award 1 year after it came out(thus giving it this award two years in a row).
Survival Horror
Best Survival Horror
Winner: Dead Rising
Runners Up: Prey, Gears of War, F.E.A.R., Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Dead Rising, while not being a traditional survival horror game, takes the title this year. There were only two real survival horror games this year, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, and Rule of Rose. Sadly, the latter ended up sucking major balls, and the former came out 10 years ago! So, I am giving Dead Rising the award, by nearly default. I listed Prey, Gears, and F.E.A.R. as Runners Up to give the illusion of competition. While those games do have some scary parts, they aren't survival horror in any stretch of the way. Now...if Silent Hill: 0rigins came out this year, it would win hands down.
DS
DS Game of the Year
Winner: NEW Super Mario Bros
Runners Up: Yoshi's Island DS, Final Fantasy III
NEW Super Mario Bros took the award for DS Game of the Year, because it was not only fun, but it took us back to Mario's roots and gave him some new power ups. Also, making the game have the same graphics of Sonic Rush(ie, the 3D cel-shaded character models against a 2D background) gave it the graphical edge.
PSP
PSP Game of the Year
Winner: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Runners Up: Daxter, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops wins here because honestly, a game has to be truly amazing to top an MGS game. Big Boss and his friends form FOX Hound and have a jolly good time, simple as that. Oh, and the online is nice too.
Xbox 360
360 Game of the Year
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead Rising, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Gears of War takes this award simply because it only had to beat two other games to take it. If Gears already beat the Tom Clancy Trio for Best Shooter, it is sure as hell going to beat them in GotY. Oblivion and Dead Rising simply got in Gears' way, and Marcus Fenix just mowed them down with his Lancer machine gun.
Xbox
Xbox Game of the Year
Winner: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Runners Up:.......
Ya....the Xbox had nothing this year....Splinter Cell wins this simply because this version scored the highest overall amongst the Xbox versions of the Tom Clancy Trio.
PS2
PS2 Game of the Year
Winner: Okami
Runners Up: Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II
Okami takes this award, because, to put it simply, it was AMAZING! The art style, the graphics, the controls, the story, the music, everything about it puts it above anything on the PS2 in 2006, including 2 high profile Square-Enix RPGs!
PS3
PS3 Game of the Year
Winner: Resistance: Fall of Man
Runners Up:......
Resistance: Fall of Man is the only good PS3 game right now....it wins by default.
PC
PC Game of the Year
Winner: Half-Life 2: Episode I
Runners Up: Company of Heroes
Half-Life 2: Ep1 wins, because, while it is a short and small expansion to Half-Life 2, it was simply amazing. Company of Heroes is the start of an incredible series, as well.
GameCube
GameCube Game of the Year
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners Up:.....
Like the Xbox and PS3, the GameCube only had 1 good game, Zelda.
Wii
Wii Game of the Year
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners Up: Wii Sports, Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Zelda was also the best Wii game this year.
Tech/Misc Awards - These will not have Runners Up.
Best Music
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Ok, so the music isn't new, big deal...it is always good.
Best Graphics
Winner: Gears of War
I don't think any other game this year came close to touching Gears of War in the graphics department.
Best Sound
Winner: Gears of War
Every little detail has sound to it, from metal and stone crumbling, to wooden boards creaking.
Best Original Score
Winner: Final Fantasy XII
Do I need to state why?
Best Online
Winner: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
The online is simply the best out right now.
Best Free Marketplace Item(not including Demos or Videos)
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Mehrune's Razor
A free expansion that gives you a new Daedric item and a new dungeon to find it in? I'll take it!
Best Marketplace Item
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Knight of the Nine
An expansion pack that gives you a new guild, new armor, new weapons, new quests, new characters, new everything. Who WOULDN'T want it?!
Best Use of Marketplace
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
This was a landslide for this award. Several expansion packs, be them full ones, like the Knight of the Nine, or mini ones like Mehrune's Razor, or new locations. The 360 Marketplace aloud gamers to expand the already long Oblivion.
End of the Year Awards
Sleeper Hit of the Year
Nominees:
Viva Pinata - Who would EVER think a game where you grow pinatas in a garden would be fun? I didn't, that's for sure, but it was a shockingly fun game!
Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis - Honestly, would you ever see Rockstar, famous for the Grand Theft Auto series, make a table tennis game? To some, this was dumb, to others, however, it was a smart idea, to at the very least, remove some heat from them after the Hot Coffee mod.
Prey - Picture, early to middle summer, we are deep in the gaming drought. We need a fun game, how about a FPS? Well, Prey was that FPS.
Dead Rising - Ok, so Prey didn't fully heal all wounds, we need another game to go to, so how about hacking zombies in a mall? Ya!
Winner: Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
I give Table Tennis the nod, because, well....Prey ended up being only mediocre in the end, Viva Pinata is going to be shunned by many for being too kiddy, and Dead Rising did too well. Also, Table Tennis was the biggest shocker anyways.
Now for the moment we've all be waiting for.....
Game of the Year
Nominees(and yes, all I did was take the winners of the individual system GotY):
Gears of War
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
NEW Super Mario Bros
Okami
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Resistance: Fall of Man
Half-Life 2: Episode I
Winner: Gears of War/Twilight Princess
I can't believe I'm giving GotY as a tie, but these two games are simply amazing. I can't give any justification for picking one of the other.
So, final tally of awards:
Zelda - 5
Gears - 6
Splinter Cell - 2
Rainbow Six - 2
Moto GP - 1
Tekken 5 - 1
Dead Rising - 1
Table Tennis - 1
Oblivion - 4
Fight Night - 1
Wii Sports - 1
NEW SMB - 1
MGS: PO - 1
Okami - 1
FF12 - 1
R: FoM - 1
So, there you have it, Gears took 6 of my awards, Twilight Princess took 5, and Oblivion took 4.
Action/Adventure
Best Action/Adventure Game
Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners up: Dead Rising, Okami
Zelda takes the nod here because it is the most epic of the Action/Adventure games this year. While Dead Rising is virtually endless, and zombie killing doesn't get old, Twilight Princess took 4 years to make, and it shows, as it was amazingly crafted.
Shooter
Best Overall Shooter
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: Resistance: Fall of Man, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Gears gets the win in Best Overall Shooter, because while the Stop 'n Pop gameplay isn't new, it is polished greatly. The cover system is well developed, and this game puts so many commands onto one button(the A button), without bogging down gameplay. While Resistance, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Rainbow Six are all great games in their own right, Gears of War is the king of this year's best overall shooter.
Best 3rd Person Shooter
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Gears of War takes another award in the Shooter category
Best First Person Shooter
Winner: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Runners Up: Resistance: Fall of Man, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
When is Tom Clancy going to give it up? As long as great games like this are pumped out under his name, hopefully not anytime soon. Just one fly by of Las Vegas in this game will have you gripped by its amazing true-to-life graphics. The gameplay is also fast paced and fun, albeit realistic. Also, as a first in the Rainbow Six series, you can now repel down a rope to give an unexpected drop on the bad guys.
Best Stealth Game
Winner: Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Runners Up: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Splinter Cell takes the nod here, because, as much as I like MGS, Subsistence is just a rehash of MGS3, and I don't like awarding rehashes anything unless I REALLY need to(see Fighting), and Portable Ops, while good, doesn't stand up to Double Agent.
Racing
Best Racing Game
Winner: Moto GP 2006
Runners Up: Ridge Racer 7, Test Drive: Unlimited, Need For Speed: Carbon
This year for the lack of better words, sucked for racing games and racing fans. On the plus side, we got to see trailers for Forza 2, Gran Turismo HD, and Project Gotham Racing 4, but those were just that, videos. I'm so dissappointed in this year's selection of racings games, that I was almost willing of awarding one of those three games the award. Never the less, I picked the game I thought sucked the less. Moto GP 2006 is a motorcycle racing game on the Xbox 360. It is the GT of motor bike games, meaning it is realistic....VERY realistic. The fine tuned controls, the high speeds, and the amazing graphics let this game take the lead for 2006. This game isn't bad in its own right....just...hard...
Role Playing
Best Role Playing Game
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Runners Up: Kingdom Hearts II, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy III
Oh boy....here comes the hate mail....I played all 4 of these games through and through, and in the end I have to say Oblivion was just the better game. Not only does Oblivion clearly win in the amount of gameplay it has(over 200 hours, that is nearly twice as much as the total time of the Runners Up combined!), but being on a next-gen system/PC gives it the edge in graphics as well. In terms of gameplay, Oblivion has a well made, if not realistic, combat system. The NPCs of Tamriel are also a sight to see. Also, Patrick Stewart as Emperor Uriel Septum was awesome.
Sports
Best Sport Game
Winner: Fight Night Round 3
Runners Up: Tony Hawk's Project 8, Wii Sports, Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
Fight Night Round 3 takes the award for Best Sport game, because it not only was a shining beacon of hope during the 360's early 2006 months, but it also was just a very well put together game. This game made its debut on the 360 as a demo, and by being the first new demo to be put on the Marketplace, it gained a lot of attention. The demo alone was so well put together, that nearly all 360 owners at the time agreed it was the first must have 360 game.
Best Non-Traditional Sports Game
Winner: Wii Sports
Runners Up: Tony Hawk's Projct 8, Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
Wii Sports may seem to be traditional enough having bowling, boxing, golf, baseball, and tennis, but the way this game plays makes them non-traditional. Wii Sports is more or less a watered down version of all 5 sports. Is it fun, still? Hell yes. Add that to the fact that it is the first bundle in in 2 console generations, and you have an amazing game.
Fighting
Best Fighting
Winner: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
Runners Up: DBZ: Tenkaichi 2, Naruto Ultimate Hero 2
If there was a genre of games this year that was paper thin in good games, it would have to be fighting games. The games sucked so bad this year, that I have to give the award to a rehash of a game from last year! That's all I have to say about fighting games this year. As much as I like Tekken 5, I don't like awarding it an award 1 year after it came out(thus giving it this award two years in a row).
Survival Horror
Best Survival Horror
Winner: Dead Rising
Runners Up: Prey, Gears of War, F.E.A.R., Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Dead Rising, while not being a traditional survival horror game, takes the title this year. There were only two real survival horror games this year, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, and Rule of Rose. Sadly, the latter ended up sucking major balls, and the former came out 10 years ago! So, I am giving Dead Rising the award, by nearly default. I listed Prey, Gears, and F.E.A.R. as Runners Up to give the illusion of competition. While those games do have some scary parts, they aren't survival horror in any stretch of the way. Now...if Silent Hill: 0rigins came out this year, it would win hands down.
DS
DS Game of the Year
Winner: NEW Super Mario Bros
Runners Up: Yoshi's Island DS, Final Fantasy III
NEW Super Mario Bros took the award for DS Game of the Year, because it was not only fun, but it took us back to Mario's roots and gave him some new power ups. Also, making the game have the same graphics of Sonic Rush(ie, the 3D cel-shaded character models against a 2D background) gave it the graphical edge.
PSP
PSP Game of the Year
Winner: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Runners Up: Daxter, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops wins here because honestly, a game has to be truly amazing to top an MGS game. Big Boss and his friends form FOX Hound and have a jolly good time, simple as that. Oh, and the online is nice too.
Xbox 360
360 Game of the Year
Winner: Gears of War
Runners Up: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead Rising, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Gears of War takes this award simply because it only had to beat two other games to take it. If Gears already beat the Tom Clancy Trio for Best Shooter, it is sure as hell going to beat them in GotY. Oblivion and Dead Rising simply got in Gears' way, and Marcus Fenix just mowed them down with his Lancer machine gun.
Xbox
Xbox Game of the Year
Winner: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Runners Up:.......
Ya....the Xbox had nothing this year....Splinter Cell wins this simply because this version scored the highest overall amongst the Xbox versions of the Tom Clancy Trio.
PS2
PS2 Game of the Year
Winner: Okami
Runners Up: Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II
Okami takes this award, because, to put it simply, it was AMAZING! The art style, the graphics, the controls, the story, the music, everything about it puts it above anything on the PS2 in 2006, including 2 high profile Square-Enix RPGs!
PS3
PS3 Game of the Year
Winner: Resistance: Fall of Man
Runners Up:......
Resistance: Fall of Man is the only good PS3 game right now....it wins by default.
PC
PC Game of the Year
Winner: Half-Life 2: Episode I
Runners Up: Company of Heroes
Half-Life 2: Ep1 wins, because, while it is a short and small expansion to Half-Life 2, it was simply amazing. Company of Heroes is the start of an incredible series, as well.
GameCube
GameCube Game of the Year
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners Up:.....
Like the Xbox and PS3, the GameCube only had 1 good game, Zelda.
Wii
Wii Game of the Year
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Runners Up: Wii Sports, Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Zelda was also the best Wii game this year.
Tech/Misc Awards - These will not have Runners Up.
Best Music
Winner: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Ok, so the music isn't new, big deal...it is always good.
Best Graphics
Winner: Gears of War
I don't think any other game this year came close to touching Gears of War in the graphics department.
Best Sound
Winner: Gears of War
Every little detail has sound to it, from metal and stone crumbling, to wooden boards creaking.
Best Original Score
Winner: Final Fantasy XII
Do I need to state why?
Best Online
Winner: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
The online is simply the best out right now.
Best Free Marketplace Item(not including Demos or Videos)
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Mehrune's Razor
A free expansion that gives you a new Daedric item and a new dungeon to find it in? I'll take it!
Best Marketplace Item
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Knight of the Nine
An expansion pack that gives you a new guild, new armor, new weapons, new quests, new characters, new everything. Who WOULDN'T want it?!
Best Use of Marketplace
Winner: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
This was a landslide for this award. Several expansion packs, be them full ones, like the Knight of the Nine, or mini ones like Mehrune's Razor, or new locations. The 360 Marketplace aloud gamers to expand the already long Oblivion.
End of the Year Awards
Sleeper Hit of the Year
Nominees:
Viva Pinata - Who would EVER think a game where you grow pinatas in a garden would be fun? I didn't, that's for sure, but it was a shockingly fun game!
Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis - Honestly, would you ever see Rockstar, famous for the Grand Theft Auto series, make a table tennis game? To some, this was dumb, to others, however, it was a smart idea, to at the very least, remove some heat from them after the Hot Coffee mod.
Prey - Picture, early to middle summer, we are deep in the gaming drought. We need a fun game, how about a FPS? Well, Prey was that FPS.
Dead Rising - Ok, so Prey didn't fully heal all wounds, we need another game to go to, so how about hacking zombies in a mall? Ya!
Winner: Rockstar Presents: Table Tennis
I give Table Tennis the nod, because, well....Prey ended up being only mediocre in the end, Viva Pinata is going to be shunned by many for being too kiddy, and Dead Rising did too well. Also, Table Tennis was the biggest shocker anyways.
Now for the moment we've all be waiting for.....
Game of the Year
Nominees(and yes, all I did was take the winners of the individual system GotY):
Gears of War
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
NEW Super Mario Bros
Okami
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Resistance: Fall of Man
Half-Life 2: Episode I
Winner: Gears of War/Twilight Princess
I can't believe I'm giving GotY as a tie, but these two games are simply amazing. I can't give any justification for picking one of the other.
So, final tally of awards:
Zelda - 5
Gears - 6
Splinter Cell - 2
Rainbow Six - 2
Moto GP - 1
Tekken 5 - 1
Dead Rising - 1
Table Tennis - 1
Oblivion - 4
Fight Night - 1
Wii Sports - 1
NEW SMB - 1
MGS: PO - 1
Okami - 1
FF12 - 1
R: FoM - 1
So, there you have it, Gears took 6 of my awards, Twilight Princess took 5, and Oblivion took 4.
