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Oblivion GotY edition announced
Today, Bethesda announced that this September they'll be releasing a new compilation of our beloved Oblivion ever so lengthily named The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition. The GotY edition doesn't have a price-tag attached to it yet, but we do know that it will include all the previously released downloadable content including Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. And, we hope, it'll include the horse armor too.So, this GotY edition surely won't woo Oblivion fans who've already purchased all the DLC content, but for those who have yet to experience all the RPG fun, this September looks to be the time to jump in. [Via Gamertag Radio]
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]
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]
Wii Sports wins Game of the Year award in Time Magazine
Once again, Wii Sports is the media darling of the mainstream press. Time is as big as they come. But Game of the Year? Many of us may disagree. As hardened, totally awesome gamers, we've come to expect grand adventures, interesting characters, nail-biting action sequences, and wonderfully infuriating logic puzzles. (And if you were wondering, dear readers, our own game of the year award goes to Twilight Princess, naturally.) But totally awesome gamers do not run Time, and thus, we don't think they really care about such nonsense.Still, stepping off our pedestal for a moment, Wii Sports has brought more new and lapsed gamers to the screen than any game since Super Mario Bros. Having fun with friends and family; is this not the point of gaming in general? It's an interesting question, and one akin to comparing Old School with American Beauty. One may have been an inspiring, cinematic masterpiece, but which did you have more fun watching? Which do you guys think deserves the award?[via Joystiq]
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.
Gamespot's GOTY goes to ... GoW
We reported earlier that voting was up for Game of the Year at Gamespot, and the results are finally in. Epic's Gears of War took home the 2006 award for Game of the Year (cue victory dance)! The nominee list was brimming with Xbox 360 candidates, so we figured the odds were pretty good that we'd see the winner be a 360 title. To be honest, we were secretly pulling for Gears to take home the award and it is nice to see that the fans felt the same way. We rise our glasses and toast you Gears of War, job well done and we can't wait to get our hands on your sequel (cue another victory dance)!
Associated Press' top handheld choice? LocoRoco
The Associated Press is one of the world's leading providers of news and opinion in the world. So, when such a huge mainstream press outlet says something good about the PSP, I take note. AP chose Oblivion as their Overall Game of the Year, and gave LocoRoco the award for Portable Game of the Year. "Sony's PlayStation Portable finally received a great, original game this summer with LocoRoco. Heaps of cuteness, creativity and charm made what could have been another boring platformer into one of the year's most original and irresistible video games." Surely, this comes as a surprise to those that expected a DS game to win. However, it's not all roses in Sony-land. The PLAYSTATION 3 got the dubious award of "Worst Console Launch." [Via Online Athens]
1UP Awards: PSP earns more nominations than DS
The PSP took a whopping 31 nominations this year in 1UP's annual "1UP Awards." The DS, on the other hand, only received 22. If you're a member of 1UP, now's the chance to rock the vote and show everyone that the PSP really does have an excellent library of games, no matter what Nintendo fanboys may say. Here are some of the categories the PSP is competing in:StrategyMetal Gear Acid 2Field CommanderShootingSyphon Filter: Dark MirrorSOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2Sports NFL Street 3 NCAA Football 07 Racing ATV Offroad Fury Pro ActionLEGO Star Wars IIMega Man: Powered UpMetal Gear Solid: Portable OpsKillzone: LiberationAdventureDaxterGrand theft Auto: Vice City StoriesFightingPower Stone CollectionWWE Smackdown vs. RawGuilty Gear JudgmentTekken: Dark ResurrectionStreet Fighter Alpha 3 MAXOnlineSOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2Puzzle (the PSP nearly swept this category!)Lumines IIEvery Extend ExtraMercury MeltdownExitGunpeyWTFLemmingsSimulationAce Combat X: Skies of DeceptionMost InnovativeLoco RocoMetal Gear Solid: Portable OpsGame of the YearGrand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesMetal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
PSP wins best handheld game award; DS gets family nod
The 24th annual Golden Joysticks awards were awarded on Friday. Unlike many other awards, the Golden Joysticks are voted for by the fans. Nintendo DS fans will be comforted to know their handheld took the "Family Game of the Year" and "Girl's Choice" awards with their pet simulator Nintendogs. However, PSP fanboys will be glad to know that we got... well, an award that really matters: the "Handheld Game of the Year." It was awarded to the impressive Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (whose sequel is coming out in just a few days).The "Game of the Year" award went to a non-PSP game, Oblivion. But wait, we're getting that too. I guess Nintendo fans can just enjoy yet another version of Nintendogs.[Via DS Fanboy]
