B8 Community GotY 2013

50 lists were submitted. 112 games were nominated. 10 games were chosen.

During the last two weeks of December, SgtSphynx stole an idea from the forums of Giant Bomb and was curious as to what Board 8's communal  game of the year would be. 50 users submitted lists with their favorite game getting 10 points, second favorite 9 points, and so on. After tallying all the lists in a spreadsheet, these are the results.

As an aside, if anyone wants to do writeups to replace my quick thoughts on the games, feel free to do so.

10. Saints Row IV
Saints Row IV may not be as good as The Third was, but even though the game has you running around (virtual) Steelport again, running around that city with superpowers is great fun. The way Saints Row IV ends is balls out insane, what with time travel, The Touch, quoting The Transformers: The Movie, and Jane Austen being the narrator. Volition managed to put up a decent sequel to what has become one of my favorite franchises in recent memory, despite the turmoil involved with their original parent company going out of business. If they never make another Saints Row, I am happy with that ending. But we all know there will be a SRV.

9. Grand Theft Auto V
No real writeup from me, just some thoughts: Personally, I enjoyed and had more fun with SRIV. GTAV has some pacing issues, and the walk ten miles in the desert post game mission... just, fuck that mission. Also, the way they implemented the replay feature could use some work. Those heists though, those were phenomenal, they need more of those.

8. Metal Gear Rising: Revengence
Thoughts: Seems neat, wouldn't mind playing it, I understand the final boss is appropriately insane.

Writeup by Jeff Zero:


 * Metal Gear Rising Revengeance
 * with a Vengeance*


 * or Die Hard


 * Eh.


 * This game... is pretty damn good at what it aims to do. And it's mostly clear at the outset what that aim really is. Credit where credit is due: Platinum excels at action titles. First-rate there, no ifs ands or buts. I'm grateful the studio is open and I'm glad if the studio chosen with this task was going to be one not terribly interested in writing good stories it was them, but... still.


 * Also, there was a serious time constraint going in. So Platinum rocked face by delivering a thrilling gameplay experience for all fans of intense technical action gaming in a limited window of opportunity. I haven't a doubt a potential sequel will remedy some of my personal quibbles.


 * Kojima Productions' Etsu Tamari wrote this script, just as he wrote the initial, ultimately-unused script about Raiden's adventures between MGS2 and MGS4, but it's a well known fact storyline concessions had to be made for Platinum, whose team wanted less focus on that stuff. Hence my biggest personal issue: I play MGS games chiefly for their cutscenes, crazy as they do tend to get. The problem with Rising isn't its story, it's its sparseness of storytelling. Much like the blades Raiden uses to cut a path through his missions, the plot cuts huge swaths of development, skipping to the Next Big Thing and at times even forcing interested players to catch up on details regarding where the hell they even are and what the hell they're even doing via optional codec conversations. It's not surprising. It isn't game-breaking in any conventional sense. But it's not my cup of tea.


 * Then there's the level design. Bluntly, it tends to suck. It's rarely striking. It tends toward the mundane, even. You can chop a bunch of superfluous objects to pieces, which then jarringly blink out of existence like some temporarily invincible Liquid Snake or, dare I go that far, Shion Uzuki, but the layout is generally just sort of there to propel you toward the next encounter. Is Platinum the type to care? Maybe not. Does its player base tend to care? Probably not. But I felt like back in the day the team's Capcom games had levels with more atmosphere. And I love MGS atmosphere. And Rising doesn't deliver.


 * Boss fights are a highlight. Desperado is a surprisingly OK enemy unit for how little dialogue the game manages to scrounge together. Probably the best since MGS2... oddly enough. I'm not a metal fan but the way the music shifts during bosses is truly kickass.


 * The final boss was a popular enough ridiculousness to become a meme this year, so that's cute I guess.


 * And then there's the length. It's short. Very short. But that's all I'll say because it's true that people who love replaying, care about trophies, etc. will take a real SHINE to it. Rising was definitely designed from the ground up with that kind of length to it, not the campaign variety. All well and dandy. Not for me, but again, especially considering the time crunch, acceptable enough. And it works for those it works for. Cool.


 * All in all, Rising is not the game I had wanted it to be, nor will I replay it nearly as often as other entries. But on the flip side, my friend Kalin is on his eighth run through with my copy. I wish I hadn't spent $60 on it, but he got my money's worth. And ultimately that's my verdict: it's a great game for some. That alone makes it worthy of this list.

7. Super Mario 3D World
Thoughts: Super Mario World is either my favorite Mario game or my second favorite Mario game behind SMB3. It changes depending on my mood. There is a lot to live up to naming a Mario game like that, but I understand that Nintendo pulls it off. When I finally do get a WiiU, this will be one of the first games I get for it.

6. Bioshock Infinite
Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this game as I was playing it, though I think I am tiring of shooters. The story kept me at it, and the story was interesting, even if I figured out the relationship between Booker and Comstock about a third of the way through. My mind wasn't quite at making the Elizabeth connection when that was revealed though.

5. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
Thoughts: Even though I like the PW games, I haven't yet played this game. I think I should probably finish T&T, and all the subsequent games first though.

Writeup by KleenexTissue50:


 * I really had no idea what to expect from this game going in. I had pretty much stayed on media blackout since it was announced, and after Apollo Justice and AAI (which was decent) my expectations weren’t exactly through the roof. Perhaps it was those tempered expectations that allowed me enjoy the game as much as I did, because I think Duel Destinies gets pretty darn close to meeting the standard set by the original trilogy. While I don’t think the game ever quite hits the highs of 1-4, 2-4 or 3-5, I felt like it never had any true lows. Every case is pretty enjoyable, and that means a lot to me. The soundtrack is also spectacular - maybe the best in the series - something else I never expected going in.


 * The best thing for me, though, was how they turned around a lot of the characters from how they were treated in Apollo Justice. I always though Apollo was pretty decent, but seeing him finally able to step out of Phoenix’s shadow and become his own character rather than some weird proto-Phoenix was really great. Athena was awesome too. She ended up being a lot less sidekick-y than I initially anticipated, so that was a nice surprise. Blackwell was good as well, even though I don’t necessarily think he was a great prosecutor. I also appreciated how they pulled back a bit on the excessive cameos that we saw in AAI. There’s a couple here and there and they’re done tastefully for the most part. We never needed every previous AA character coming out of the woodwork.


 * There are a couple things I didn’t love about Dual Destinies. The way the final case wrapped up left me feeling a little deflated because I didn’t love the direction they chose to go with the ultimate villain. It’s more of a bummer because I thought most of the events leading up to the final reveal were really intense and exciting. I also thought the DLC case was kind of crummy, but I think I’m in the minority there. Neither of these should stop anyone from playing the game, though. Duel Destinies is a wonderful return to form for Ace Attorney and it has me super excited to see what they’ll do with series next.

4. The Last of Us
Thoughts: It doesn't help that my view of humanity in general is rather pessimistic, and I would do something that would label me as a monster for all of history if it meant a change in the way humanity thinks and acts towards each other, but at the end of the game I had one thought: Fuck the Fireflies, Joel made the right decision. The needs of the one and all that nonsense.

3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Thoughts: Number 3?! You incorrect motherf- Nah, just joking, third is pretty cool, though given the ten games on this list, I'd rank it number one. Depending on my mood at the time you asked me, this is either my favorite Zelda game, or at number two just behind LttP. And go figure, it's a sequel to my favorite Zelda game. Pretty much the reason I bought a 3DS. Money well spent IMO.

2. Fire Emblem: Awakening
Thoughts: Never played an FE game, I guess I can see the appeal, but they just don't interest me, maybe it's the fantasy setting. If I want strategy, I'll play XCOM. It is a popular game, and I am sure it is well made, but I doubt I will play one any time soon. You never know though, I said the same thing about the series our number 1 game is from.

1. Pokemon X/Y
Thoughts: There was a time when I would've just written of the placement of this game as B8 being crazy Pokemon freaks. I shall close these thoughts with a few paragraphs I wrote on December 3 on Giant Bomb:


 * Back when Pokemon Red first came out, on paper it seemed like a game I would enjoy. I borrowed a friends copy and attempted to play it. I say attempted because I got to the second or maybe third town before I gave up on the game. It was tedious and boring as shit to me. Based on that experience, I avoided subsequent Pokemon games since, as far as I could tell, there weren't any meaningful changes to the formula that would cause me to change my opinion of the series.


 * Fast forward to November 22nd when I purchased the Zelda 3DSXL bundle. A friend of mine had been pestering me to try playing the new Pokemon game since I was getting a 3DS for the first time, so I picked up Pokemon Y when I picked up my bundle (along with a couple other games, but those aren't important.) I can't put my finger on what they changed that made this new game catch and keep my attention, but I have now beaten 6 of 8 gyms, and am just under 2/3s the way through completing the Pokedex. I dare say I am actually enjoying this game.


 * There are several changes that happened between Red and Y beyond the obvious graphical improvements. Experience Share is probably the main thing that has helped my enjoyment of the game; not having to switch out my pokemon to get them to level up gets rid of the majority of the tedium I felt in Red. The roller skates are a pro and a con to me. Yes they allow you to travel faster before you get the bike, but I feel that the accuracy of your movement is hindered by such.


 * There is one thing that I really just don't care for in Pokemon Y though. The camera in Lumiose CIty is too fucking close and too low when you aren't riding the bike. I understand what they were going for, but their execution of it is piss poor. I've heard people call Lumiose a nightmare to navigate, I wouldn't go that far, but is definitely annoying since you don't have camera control.


 * All in all I won't let my dislike of Lumiose hamper my enjoyment of Pokemon Y, it is a rather enjoyable experience. Does this mean I'll be picking up the next Pokemon game? Probably not, and I almost certainly won't be going back to play the older games, but my opinion of the series has definitely improved. I also kinda understand why people clamor for a Pokemon MMO, but I seriously doubt that will ever happen.


 * One final thought: Fairy Tale Girl looks high as fuck.

It may not have made it on my personal list, but I get what people like about the games. I aslo have to give it credit for changing my opinion on an entire series I thought was merely a cash grab. I should go finish Pokemon Y, maybe I'll make that the first game I beat this year.

Full Results with Points
