GameOfTheYear
Latest
Google's 'Game of the Year' reminds you 2018 wasn't complete trash
It's safe to say that 2018 has been... a year, and while there's no end of untold horrors to reflect upon, Google has softened the blow with a look-back game that's altogether more pleasant. In its Game of the Year 2018 you can test your knowledge of the year's search trends in a simple click-to-choose format. Who appeared in search results more frequently, Justin Trudeau or Justin Bieber? Were craft cocktails searched more or less than last year? What do the people want more of, puppies or kittens? This is the first time Google's gamified its search results like this, and while it's not mind-blowing gaming, it's an interesting way to pass the time. You'll almost certainly come away with a few bits of curious trivia, and maybe even a deep-seated sense of vindication that "Laurel" was searched for more frequently than "Yanny." A reassuring reminder, then, that this year's not been all bad.
What is a ‘Game of the Year’ edition, anyway?
Every year, game publishers put out Game of the Year editions, typically chock full of all the downloadable content that's come out since the initial release along with new packaging to proclaim its "of the year" status. Some titles even get new content to entice customers into buying an older game. But what, exactly, does it mean to be a Game of the Year? And according to who exactly? Is there a regulating body that protects consumers from games that were not, in fact, that good? You might think of the "Game of the Year" term as an implication of quality, right? It turns out that — like most marketing — it's largely meaningless. And countless gaming outlets name their own "Games of the Year," further confusing things.
‘The Game Awards’ round-up: catch all the best bits
Geoff Keighley has been touting this year's The Game Awards as the gaming industry's answer to the Oscars. Now that the ceremony has concluded, we can safely say that he delivered. It had all the hallmarks of a lavish awards show: Live orchestra (check), fervent spiels (check), Hollywood a-listers (check). And, there was the return of the hotly-anticipated game reveals that -- in part -- helped nab 8.6 million viewers last time round. If you didn't catch the action online, we've got your back. Below you'll find a list of the night's winners and the game trailers that went out live from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. As always, there were touching moments too, like a noticeably awestruck Melina Juergens getting the Best Performance award for Hellblade from Andy Serkis.
‘Hitman: Game of the Year Edition’ adds new ‘Patient Zero’ campaign
When developer IO Interactive separated from publisher Square Enix, it got to keep the popular Hitman franchise, giving the now-independent studio control over the 2016 stealth shooter game it developed. Back in June, the company released the first episode of Hitman for free to attract new customers, and now it's putting out a "Game of the Year" version of the game for PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 7th. The new edition will include the entire first season, a brand new 'Patient Zero' campaign, new Escalation Contracts, new weapons, new suits, new challenges and improved graphic and lighting effects.
Everything you missed from 'The Game Awards'
Each year that Geoff Keighley's Game Awards distances itself from its SpikeTV past, it gets subsequently less embarrassing to watch. And without a doubt, The Game Awards 2016 was the best show yet. Couldn't watch the stream? Well, that's too bad, but we've got you covered. Below you'll find a list of the night's big winners in addition to all the trailers that made their world premieres onstage at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. There were a few emotional moments onstage as well, including Ryan Green accepting the Games for Impact award for That Dragon, Cancer; Keighley presenting his friend Hideo Kojima with a statue for Industry Icon and Nolan North throwing striking voice actors under the bus during his acceptance speech for best performance.
Watch the 2016 DICE Awards right here!
The invite list to what's essentially gaming's Oscars is pretty exclusive, but thanks to the magic of Twitch you won't need to call in any favors to watch the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's annual award show from the DICE summit in Las Vegas tonight. Starting at 10:30 PM ET/ 7:30 PM PT, you can catch what some 22,000 members of the game development and publishing community thought were the best titles released last year.
Rock the vote for your favorite game in the GDC awards
Want to make your voice heard in this year's Game Developer's Choice Awards? How about doing the same for the Independent Game Festival's accolades? Boy howdy, you're covered in both cases. Once again, the GDCA and IGF are opening up the floor for audience votes ahead of the 30th annual Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco this year. Winners will be revealed on March 16th and the awards will stream on Twitch starting at 6:30 PM Pacific that day.
Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition headed to Mac
Feral Interactive has a lot of expertise bringing PC games to the Mac, but they haven't quite figured out how to do it quickly yet. Batman: Arkham City was one of the biggest console hits of last year, but Feral Interactive is only now releasing it on the Mac. The game's going to be available in November, so if you haven't played it yet and you've been waiting for the Mac version, the wait isn't quite over. There is a bright side, at least: This will be the Game of the Year Edition, which means that all of the downloadable content will be included -- the Catwoman content that came with the game plus the Harley Quinn's Revenge pack. The game features an open-world environment, lots of thugs to beat up with a really fun combat system and plenty of cameos from your favorite Batman characters. Arkham City's a great game, and it'll be nice to finally have it on the Mac, but man, it would have been even better to get it a little sooner than November.
Oblivion gets a Game of the Year release, this fall
Like all good things that sell over 1.7 million copies in one month, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is getting a "Game of the Year" edition. This one will hit the PC and all consoles (sans the Nintendo Wii) for a simultaneous release this fall. Just like the PS3 version you can buy in stores now, this "Game of the Year" edition will include the Knights of the Nine expansion. In addition, Bethesda's decided to now include the previously unavailable The Shivering Isles expansion. Thank goodness. We were beginning to wonder if Bethesda actually had any plans to make this one available over the PlayStation Network as previously suggested, being that recent news on that front had gone cold. The PS3 release of Oblivion came a lot later than its Xbox 360 counterpart, but thankfully, stands as a testament to the PS3's capabilities with improved frame rate, faster loading times and greater draw distance. This version will also be compatible with previous game saves, allowing players to pop the "Game of the Year" disc in and continue their questing right where they left off. Pricing details haven't yet been released for this "Game of the Year" edition, but we speculate if the $59.99 price tag doesn't hold, $69.99 sounds about right. Time will tell. So in case you've been living in a cave with your PS3 and haven't yet experienced the gaming bliss of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or any of its two expansion packs, you can't do any better than picking up the "Game of the Year" edition this fall.
Metal Gear Solid wins Best Portable Game award from Famitsu
What? A PSP game that isn't called LocoRoco finally wins an award? Japan's most popular gaming magazine, Famitsu, recently unveiled their Famitsu Awards winners. PSP earned a valuable nod by stealing the "Best Portable Game" award with Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Kojima's latest adventure certainly earns the award, with some spectacular graphics and a deep single and multiplayer gaming experience.While PSP fans can celebrate this victory, it should be noted that Final Fantasy XII (PS2) and Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (DS) both won Game of the Year.[Via Gamasutra]
LocoRoco earns more nominations, from NAViGaTR
There are way too many awards ceremonies for the video game industry. Thankfully, PSP's darling platformer LocoRoco is always there to represent the system. This year, LocoRoco has earned a Game of the Year nomination from NAViGaTR (National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers). With 1,150 videogame critics, analysts, and journalists on the voting board, it's clear that LocoRoco's quality has impacted quite a lot of people.Feel free to watch the hilarious embedded video, which shows off an empty audience as the award nominations are announced. Something tells me they should've simply stuck to a press release instead of a video.[Via IGN]
Interactive Achievement Awards nominees announced, Gears in the lead
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced the nominations for the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. Though Gears of War has yet to make an acquaintance with that irrelevant temptress, Emmy, it stands a very good chance of winning a statuette that actually matters -- it's been nominated in ten different categories, including Console Game of the Year, Action / Adventure Game of the Year, and Overall Game of the Year. The AIAS (probably not pronounced "Ahyeehuss") also fancies The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, each garnering six nominations. These, along with Guitar Hero II and Wii Sports complete the list of classy nominees in the Overall Game of the Year category. The full list of nominees is available on the official Ahyeehuss website.[Via GameDaily BIZ]See also: Joystiq's Game of the Year
Overlooked DS titles of 2006 [update 1]
Cheap Ass Gamer presents a group of its favorite sleeper DS titles of 2006, with most of them currently headed to the bargain bin. CheapyD Furyk discusses why the titles were overlooked and why he thinks they're still worth playing. The list includes Magnetica, Break 'Em All, and Bomberman Land Touch!Which were your favorite under-appreciated titles of the year? Were they fun B-grade games, or were they overlooked in game-of-the-year lists?[Update 1: Sorry for the misattribution. Thanks, Furyk and Sean-o for mentioning the mistake.][Via Nintendo DS Fanboy]
Best of the rest: Ludwig's picks
Sam & Max Episode 1 : Culture Shock (PC)I never thought I'd actually be grateful to LucasArts for assassinating their sequel to Sam & Max: Freelance Police. Now residing in the capable hands of Telltale Games, the series is setting the standard for episodic content and adventure gaming. Complete failure to laugh at Culture Shock's absolutely brilliant writing, memorable characters and off-the-wall puzzles indicates one of two things: either you're a robot, or you've recently discovered a dead kitten in your lap. (See also: My reviews of Culture Shock and Situation: Comedy.)
Best of the rest: Zack's picks
Tetris DS (DS)Nintendo is guilty of shoveling franchises at its fans; did we need another Tetris? Does the NEStalgia design make the game more fun? Probably not. (And I think the pixelated graphics on the top screen detract from the game; I'd rather have the classic Russian graphics and music.) But this game with just adequate art direction excels in its online match-ups. I just keep coming back to Tetris DS to battle other action-puzzle dorks online.
Best of the rest: Ross' picks
Lumines Live! (XBLA) On a big screen with surround sound, Q Entertainment's Lumines Live was easily the most-played game in my library (if you stretch the definition of library to digitally distributed titles). Although I railed against how microtransactions were implemented in this title and still think the extent to which they disclosed the dearth of features was misleading, both the Basic and Advanced Pack got more than enough play time, as did the multiplayer. It is the best Xbox Live Arcade title since Geometry Wars.
Joystiq's Game of the Year
Gears of War (Xbox 360)What the hell just happened? Did we honestly pick Gears of War as the best game of 2006? No, that can't be. The plan was to throw juvenile tantrums and to violently thrash against the machine! To blind the world with an elitist badge and proclaim an innate resistance against games that are both popular and heavily marketed! It's a shooter, for Allard's sake. You shoot things. With guns.The senseless violence is but one reason to look away from the screen in disgust. The other, as you may have concluded already, is the appalling state of the game's graphics. They make Pong look like an M.C. Escher painting being displayed in a room pumped full of hallucinogenic gas. If you can even discern your pixelated soldier from the flat environment, you'll note how you get repeatedly punished for running blindly into a hail of bullets and neglecting to take "cover." Not only is this completely unrealistic and contrary to modern warfare, it's a needless refinement to a bizarre, self-preservation concept in the genre. See, it's not even a very good shooter. The complete lack of immersion and excitement carries over into the game's terrible online cooperative mode. Some idiot on your friends list can rudely jump into your game at any point and then proceed to get in your way at every available turn. Multiplayer deathmatch isn't any better, forcing you to work with 3 other buffoons (who can't even circle-strafe or jump) if you hope to succeed. Add a forgettable MIDI soundtrack, poor pacing and a complete failure to emulate an action film to your considerations, and you become perfectly equipped to answer the pertinent question. Game of the year? Obviously not.The runners-up are presented (in order) after the break.
PSP Fanboy Game of the Year 2006
What is PSP Fanboy's Game of the Year? You chose it, by an overwhelming margin:PSP Fanboy Game of the Year:Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (32% of the votes)Is there any surprise? Portable Ops is no side-story, spin-off, or card game. This is the real deal, with console-quality presentation to prove it. The surprisingly deep story and incredibly detailed graphics made Portable Ops a great game; but the online multiplayer, recruitment abilities and GPS functionality made this a system-defining game. Portable Ops proves that a handheld game can not only follow in the footsteps of its console brethren, but actually surpass it.Runners-Up:Loco Roco (17% of the votes)You know a game is special when it feels like nothing you've ever played before. The brilliant three-button control scheme, colorful graphics, and charming personality made this one of the year's best.Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (15% of the votes)You can drive, kill, chill, golf, swim, and more in this insanely huge follow-up to last year's Liberty City Stories. The incredible graphics and fantastic presentation values showcase why the PSP is a technical powerhouse.Andrew's PSP Game of the Year:Daxter (7% of the votes)Daxter may not be innovative, but it shows how a PSP game should be made. The silky graphics are made even sweeter by non-existent load times, and controls that make you never, ever beg for a second analog stick.
Fanboys choose our Game of the Year
Which of the following is the best PSP game released in 2006? Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Tekken: Dark Resurrection Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror Daxter LocoRoco Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Mega Man: Powered Up Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy MLB 06: The Show Free polls from Pollhost.com It's that time of the year ... Because everyone else is doing it, we decided to let YOU the educated PSP Fanboy reader to tell the world (or at least me) what the real best PSP game of 2006 was. The ten selections you see here are provided by Game Rankings: these are the top 10 games, in order, to come out in 2006 (and that includes, for some crazy reason, the Final Fantasy VII movie). Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was the critic's top choice, earning an 89 average score (making it the 25th best game across all platforms for the year).I'm sorry if your top choice (::cough:: Gitaroo-Man Lives! ::cough::) didn't make the list. Feel free to leave a comment, glorifying your choice.
What end of year awards did PSP earn?
Every major video game site loves to do an end-of-year "Best of" awards feature (something we'll undoubtedly lash out at you, PSP Fanboy reader). Contrary to popular belief, the PSP has done quite well for itself, and some of the awards its received may surprise you. Here's a run-down of everything I've seen across the Internet:GamespotBest Platformer: DaxterDaxter beat out three Nintendo DS games, including New Super Mario Bros, thanks to its incredible technology, great personality and fantastic gameplay. "The gorgeous visuals and sound are wrapped in gameplay that is as polished and enjoyable as any full-fledged PlayStation 2 game. While not wholly original, Daxter sacrifices nothing and is simply an all-around amazing game."Best PSP Game: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops"Portable Ops not only delivers some of the best presentation quality to date on the PSP, but makes some meaningful, interesting changes to the MGS formula. The resulting game is very well suited to playing on the go and also achieves a better balance of gameplay and storytelling than previous Metal Gear Solid games."IGNPSP Game of the Year: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror"What's most impressive is the depth of the action -- no second analog stick required! The control scheme enables you to do everything from operate a set of gadgets and diffuse bombs to snipe enemies and sift through different enemy types, all without slowing down the pace of the action."Games RadarWTF Award: LocoRocoGames Radar certainly took a non-traditional approach to awards this year. "We also loved that you couldn't play this game without cracking a smile - the nonsense songs were insanely catchy, the bright colors and curvy shapes were captivating and the overall theme was almost relentlessly happy and fun. By forcing our jaded, stone-like faces to grin once again, LocoRoco earns its Platinum Chalice like few other games on this list."The "It Doesn't Actually Suck" Award: PSPGames Radar understands what we've known all the time: PSP is a great system. The plethora of excellent exclusive titles and fantastic PS2 ports has Games Radar and PSP fanboys everywhere asking "this is a bad system?"Next Generation23rd Best Game: LocoRocoIn its top 50 list, LocoRoco managed to break into 23rd place. "Eminently cute and weird as a $3 bill, LocoRoco had players controlling a world and tilting it in order for a smiling blobbish thing to collect goodies, get fatter, and eventually roll or drop past a finishing point. It was as if someone's strange drug-induced hallucination had come to life on the PSP, complete with a dandy soundtrack and a punishing difficulty factor."
