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GAF Games of the Year Awards 2007

B

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
maybe i'm naive, but i have trouble believing that anyone who plays through both could come out on the other side thinking bioshock was more polished, fine-tuned, creative, and well-designed than mario galaxy. it did a lot of things very very right--particularly in developing interesting themes, mature writing, and some astounding character and set design--but the "game" part fell apart in the last few hours, and besides that, the gunplay and plasmid mechanics themselves were never that strong. the experience in total was what gave it its strength as a game.

mario galaxy was a revelation in all the areas bioshock was weak. i guess it's ultimately what you value most in your games, but yeah, there's nothing fanboyish about picking smg as your game of the year.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
beelzebozo said:
maybe i'm naive, but i have trouble believing that anyone who plays through both could come out on the other side thinking bioshock was more polished, fine-tuned, creative, and well-designed than mario galaxy. it did a lot of things very very right--particularly in developing interesting themes, mature writing, and some astounding character and set design--but the "game" part fell apart in the last few hours, and besides that, the gunplay and plasmid mechanics themselves were never that strong. the experience in total was what gave it its strength as a game.

mario galaxy was a revelation in all the areas bioshock was weak. i guess it's ultimately what you value most in your games, but yeah, there's nothing fanboyish about picking smg as your game of the year.
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I don't agree. I think Bioshock was pretty much near perfect, just as Galaxy is near perfect. My only real problem comes when someone says they can't imagine why one would choose one over the other, since they are both amazing choices. There's nothing "preposterous" about thinking Galaxy is better than Bioshock, or vice versa.
 
M

monkspider

Member
Amir0x said:
Do you really think it's "preposterous" that Super Mario Galaxy triumphed over Bioshock? And if so, why?
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Don't get me wrong, i own and love both. Mario Galaxy is amazing for what it is, and that is a ridiciously polished platformer but Bioshock is just in a totally different league. It is just an amazing game on so many levels, as a shooter it has an absurd amount of customization with a plasmid/tonic system that lends itself to an endless amount of strategies. I honestly can't wait to play it again to try out some of the different plasmid set ups I have in my head. It also has interesting research/invention/weapon upgrade systems that give you further options to power up your character. So even if the game had no story whatsoever, just as a pure shooter, it would be possibly the best one of the year.

However the story is really what sets it apart and is really what really moves our medium forward, possibly even being gaming's Citizen Kane moment. With so much attention to detail in every little nook and cranny, great voice acting, interesting characters, the most well-realized world in gaming history, and philosophical themes and writing that will stay after you long after you finish the game, it is my personal game of the forever.

But on a somewhat objective level, because Bioshock affects you on so many levels so effectively (gameplay, story, philosophy), while Mario Galaxy only affects you on one (gameplay), I think that it makes Bioshock an infinitely better game. Mario Galaxy may be the best platformer since Mario 3, but Bioshock is something different altogether and is worthy of the absolute highest praise IMHO.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
monkspider said:
Don't get me wrong, i own and love both. Mario Galaxy is amazing for what it is, and that is a ridiciously polished platformer but Bioshock is just in a totally different league. It is just an amazing game on so many levels, as a shooter it has an absurd amount of customization with a plasmid/tonic system that lends itself to an endless amount of strategies. I honestly can't wait to play it again to try out some of the different plasmid set ups I have in my head. It also has interesting research/invention/weapon upgrade systems that give you further options to power up your character. So even if the game had no story whatsoever, just as a pure shooter, it would be possibly the best one of the year.

However the story is really what sets it apart and is really what really moves our medium forward, possibly even being gaming's Citizen Kane moment. With so much attention to detail in every little nook and cranny, great voice acting, interesting characters, the most well-realized world in gaming history, and philosophical themes and writing that will stay after you long after you finish the game, it is my personal game of the forever.

But on a somewhat objective level, because Bioshock affects you on so many levels so effectively (gameplay, story, philosophy), while Mario Galaxy only affects you on one (gameplay), I think that it makes Bioshock an infinitely better game. Mario Galaxy may be the best platformer since Mario 3, but Bioshock is something different altogether and is worthy of the absolute highest praise IMHO.
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My argument essentially comes down to whether it matters if you make a distinction between parts (story and philosophy, seriously?) if the amount of fun you had with one game rivals or exceeds the amount of fun you had with another. I submit it does not. I had more fun with Super Mario Galaxy, even acknowledging that Bioshock is amazing in many ways, and that's really the best assessment I can come up with to compare.
 
M

monkspider

Member
Amir0x said:
My argument essentially comes down to whether it matters if you make a distinction between parts (story and philosophy, seriously?) if the amount of fun you had with one game rivals or exceeds the amount of fun you had with another. I submit it does not. I had more fun with Super Mario Galaxy, even acknowledging that Bioshock is amazing in many ways, and that's really the best assessment I can come up with to compare.
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Well I agree that gaming is ultimately about what you have the most fun doing (and yes, I had more fun playing Bioshock). The reason I separated story and philosophy is that while they can be viewed as part of a whole, I felt Bioshock's philosophical themes are interesting and fleshed out enough that they can also be considered separately.

I guess the reason i considered it absurd that someone would think Mario Galaxy better is because Bioshock is just great on so many more levels as I mentioned earlier and out of recognition for it's significance as a game that does so much for elevating our medium to a higher level. I suppose I can respect people such as yourself who honestly have played both and while recognizing Bioshock's strengths thought Mario was the more fun game. My original post was out of frustration at the perceived numbers of Nintendo fanboys who only own a Wii and only had a few possible games to spread their votes between as opposed to gamers who own multiple platforms.
 
D

Dr.Hadji

Member
monkspider said:
However the story is really what sets it apart and is really what really moves our medium forward, possibly even being gaming's Citizen Kane moment.
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I've heard this argument before. But wouldn't GAMING'S Citizen Kane, Kane being generally accepted as the father of modern film, be what is generally considered to be the father of modern gaming? That being Super Mario Bros. or some similarly old game.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
monkspider said:
Well I agree that gaming is ultimately about what you have the most fun doing (and yes, I had more fun playing Bioshock). The reason I separated story and philosophy is that while they can be viewed as part of a whole, I felt Bioshock's philosophical themes are interesting and fleshed out enough that they can also be considered separately.
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This was the year that I realized how important presentation and story are to people. The writing in Portal and Bioshock, and the latter's art direction are responsible for a huge proportion of their ratings. I enjoy story, but gameplay is what's more important to me. That's where Bioshock fell down hard. So the good performance of the title on the votes was kind of revealing.
 
G

Grecco

Member
Wollan said:
Goty 2008 will most likely be MGS4. Do you know what emotional roller coaster you are in for with that title? It's going to be absolutely meltdown crazy for folks who have followed the story. It's an emotional impact ten years in the making (discounting the 8 bit versions). MGS4 will result in man tears.

The other super strong goty 08 contenders will most likely be: GTA4, Resistance 2, Alan Wake, Fallout 3, Killzone 2, GT5, LBP & StarCraft 2.
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Funny how you dont mention Gears 2. Which will probably be the real GOTY at Gaf next year.


monkspider said:
I guess the reason i considered it absurd that someone would think Mario Galaxy better is because Bioshock is just great on so many more levels as I mentioned earlier and out of recognition for it's significance as a game that does so much for elevating our medium to a higher level. .
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Vehemently disagree. The other stuff is something i dont agree with either. The notion that Nintendo fans had only one game to rally around is wrong seing as how Metroid made the top ten list as well, and the reasons why Bioshock should have won. I think its the most overrated game of the year for many reasons. Galaxy on the other hand was really damn good. Sorry you cant appreceate that.
 
G

Gekkonidae

Member
It was a good year, any of the top 5 could have been GOTY on an average year. I personally think the order is correct but there are no right answers in this sort of thing.
 
C

careful

Member
I don't think anybody played Everyday Shooter, because it deserves at least an honorable mention somewhere! Support good indie games!
 
F

Fredescu

Member
monkspider said:
Bah, this list reeks of crass fanboyism triumphing over reason. Mario Galaxy over Bioshock? Halo over Call of Duty? Preposterous.
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I'm suprised Bioshock ended as high as it was. Many people found it relatively disappointing gameplay wise, and many see story and atmosphere as window dressing for gameplay. I know you don't agree, but surely you can at least understand the point of view without resorting to questioning the voters ability to have fun regardless of which company name is on the box, which seems a bit of a cop out to me.
 
U

underfooter

Banned
Great job Anihawk.


To me, the GAF GOTY's IS the GOTY's. When we whine over what will be GOTY for months and months, this is the determining factor.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
Bioshock is a great game, but I think Galaxy was better mainly because it was Mario's return to greatness. FPS games like Bioshock have been around before (System Shock series), and done well before. Galaxy on the other hand, took Mario and just did all kinds of neat things with it.
 
D

dammitmattt

Banned
Eteric Rice said:
Bioshock is a great game, but I think Galaxy was better mainly because it was Mario's return to greatness. FPS games like Bioshock have been around before (System Shock series), and done well before. Galaxy on the other hand, took Mario and just did all kinds of neat things with it.
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BioShock took FPS and did all kinds of neat things with it, too :)

I like Mario Galaxy more since I've beaten it (up to 75 stars now), but my biggest problem with Mario Galaxy is that sometimes it just takes too damn long to get to the fun. I don't like navigating the hub and spending 2-3 minutes to get into a damn level. I don't like having to move the comet all of the time. I don't like having to talk to people to get stuff done. And it goes on and on. I'm not sure if I'll even play Galaxy again after I get all 120 stars, but I still go back and play the older 2D Mario games once every year or two because they are so fast, fun, and accessible. The 3D Mario games just aren't like that.

I think a lot of my annoyances in Mario could be solved by making the hub world optional for getting to levels, making all of the conversations optional, and making the bonus levels immediately available after beating a Galaxy. I also wanted more of the quick, one-objective racing/rolling/etc levels. I always found myself picking those before the bigger galaxies.

Still a great, great game in almost every way.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins

Dr. Kitty Muffins

Member
I'm glad to see Puzzle Quest get some respect. It would be funny to see them list a forum's GOTY award on the box if they ever update the box art.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Platforming Game of the Year: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
2. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Playstation 3)
3. Knytt Stories (PC)
4. Sonic Rush Adventure (Nintendo DS)
5. Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)
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This year had two amazing platformers (maybe three as I've never heard of Knytt) and then wow what happened.
 
S

Sharp

Member
Firestorm said:
This year had two amazing platformers (maybe three as I've never heard of Knytt) and then wow what happened.
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Knytt is incredible and I think you should play it now if you like platformers, exploration games or Flashback or 2D Metroid at all.
 
M

MakMan

Member
Nice list GAF!
Although Crackdown may be too high for what's its worth.
Same holds for Dead Rising last year imo.
GAF's favourites I guess...

A comparison:

GAF's top 10:
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. The Orange Box
3. Bioshock
4. Mass Effect
5. Halo 3
6. Call of Duty 4
7. Uncharted
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
9. Crackdown
10. God of War 2

Critics top 10 (according to Gamerankings, only new original titles):
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. The Orange Box
3. Bioshock
4. Call of Duty 4
5. Halo 3
6. Rock Band
7. God of War 2
8. Mass Effect
9. Crysis
10. Forza Motorsport 2
 
S

squicken

Member
MakMan said:
Nice list GAF!
Although Crackdown may be too high for what's its worth.
Same holds for Dead Rising last year imo.
GAF's favourites I guess...

A comparison:

GAF's top 10:
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. The Orange Box
3. Bioshock
4. Mass Effect
5. Halo 3
6. Call of Duty 4
7. Uncharted
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
9. Crackdown
10. God of War 2

Critics top 10 (according to Gamerankings, only new original titles):
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. The Orange Box
3. Bioshock
4. Call of Duty 4
5. Halo 3
6. Rock Band
7. God of War 2
8. Mass Effect
9. Crysis
10. Forza Motorsport 2
Click to expand...

So basically GAF is like the game journalists they posture to hate?
 
D

Doomba

Member
I made an audio skit summing up this year in gaming as a sort of sporting event (some of you GFW Radio fans may recognize me from my last audio skit with Billy Compton at Eidos.)

Its called Gaming Wars 2007 and at 15 minutes it is long as hell but I'm crossing my fingers that it will be entertaining enough for you guys to get through the whole thing.

Enjoy!

http://www.theamazinghouse.com/Buttons/Gaming Wars 2007.mp3
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
squicken said:
So basically GAF is like the game journalists they posture to hate?
Click to expand...

i think it's just that averaging people's opinions -- as the gaf and gamerankings lists have -- is bound to produce average results
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
drohne said:
i think it's just that averaging people's opinions -- as the gaf and gamerankings lists have -- is bound to produce average results
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But there are some major divergences as well. Mass Effect and Crackdown both recieved much more mixed reviews than their positions on the GAF awards would suggest.

Very similar top half of the list, but I never would have predicted the bottom half on the GAF side.
 
K

Kitschkraft

Member
beelzebozo said:
maybe i'm naive, but i have trouble believing that anyone who plays through both could come out on the other side thinking bioshock was more polished, fine-tuned, creative, and well-designed than mario galaxy. it did a lot of things very very right--particularly in developing interesting themes, mature writing, and some astounding character and set design--but the "game" part fell apart in the last few hours, and besides that, the gunplay and plasmid mechanics themselves were never that strong. the experience in total was what gave it its strength as a game.

mario galaxy was a revelation in all the areas bioshock was weak. i guess it's ultimately what you value most in your games, but yeah, there's nothing fanboyish about picking smg as your game of the year.
Click to expand...

I honestly can't see why anyone would still have this view in the year 2008, as diverse as games are.

If Bioshock just isn't someones thing, then it just isn't someones thing, and thats that. The same can be said for SMG, or any other game.

I don't look at games as just generic "games", that be like looking at movies as just generic movies.

I'm sure some are going to call a film like Atonement the movie of the year, I personally can't stand period pieces, and no film set in a "period" will ever really garner much love from me. Periphreal shit be damned, the simple "essense" of a film (Or game, or book, or whatever) is what draws my opnion on it.
 
C

crowphoenix

Banned
Great list, Anihawk. Thanks for putting in all the work that went into organizing this. I'm glad that I was able to put my two cents into a really solid top ten.
 
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