**OFFICIAL GAME OF THE YEAR THREAD***

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sparkyclarky

Platinum Member
May 3, 2002
2,389
0
0
By far Rome: Total War. I bought it the day it came out (very rare for me to immediately pick up a game like that). I played it for about 2 weeks, and then I stopped cold turkey. The reason being that I realized it was seriously addicting, and had the potential to completely screw up my semester. I can stop playing a game like HL2 or CS when I want, but I would be playing Rome for 4+ hours at a time, something which is very dangerous in college. That game is amazing in almost every conceivable way, and I look forward to the day that I can pick it up again without worrrying about school suffering:)
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
76
I would like to say half life 2, but I still have not completed the game and am playing WoW exclusively. Half life 2 is more innovative, rarely too frustrating, and had at least 10-15 "coooolll." moments so far, but in the end, if I'm choosing to play another game over it, that game I guess wins.

WoW is by contrast not terribly innovative, doesn't have too many "cooooolllll" moments, but just does everything right that other games did wrong (so far).
 

trek

Senior member
Dec 13, 2000
982
0
71
I would have to say Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Despite the bugs in it I honestly had more fun playing it than Far Cry, Doom 3, and Half-Life 2.

Far Cry is my second pick mainly because it did almost as much as Half-Life 2, and came out first. Also for me, Far Cry came out of nowhere, I hadn't heard anything about it and then all of a sudden there it was. I was anticipating Half-Life 2 since I first heard about it and I started playing it as soon as it was released on steam. All it was, was Half-Life with physics! and graphics! yay...maybe after the story is completed I'll appreciate it more. Finally Doom 3 was...meh, Doom. 3!

Onto Bloodlines...Starting last week I have finished this game twice already, and I am preparing for the third run through as a different clan. The re-playability is amazing, all the NPCs respond differently to different characters/stats and all the lines are voiced over by professionals. Again, quality/quantity of voice acting is amazing.

edit: adding more...

Bloodlines: The sounds/music from the game really sets the mood as well. There was one level at a haunted hotel that was really creepy. It genuinely scared me...The second time I played through the game I actually took off my headphones for parts of the hotel :p
After a patch this game could be nearly perfect to me. There were far too many typos in the subtitles, and the memory leak is annoying if you play for awhile at a time. Those are the only two things that really stood out to me.

After finishing Far Cry and Bloodlines, I felt very satisfied, like it was worth my time to finish the games. That feeling just wasn't there with Doom 3 and Half-Life 2.

Hopefully someone comes up with a mod for Half-Life 2 that surpasses CS in popularity so CS can finally be put to bed.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: Fern
I voted for Far Cry. Never seen anything as graphically beautiful, also good physics and non-linear gameplay allowing for various strategy/tactics.

Haven't played HL2, but if it's like the original I won't vote for it for GOTY.

I didn't like HL1, but I love HL2. Maybe you should try it. I only saw Farcry once, but it was on someone's POS for a rig so probably not high settings. But HL2 is BEAUTIFUL. Just look at hi-res screenshots, I've seen some that look even better than how it looks on my screen.

I put Painkiller up there, yeah it's a mindless shooter but I liked the environment, music, weapons and artwork (buildings & bosses).

I wouldn't vote for it only because single player is repetitive. It's a good repetitive, but it's still not anything special, not worth any awards. The bosses and the environment was really cool though, and the stake gun makes me think we need a top guns of all time poll now :p

From what I hear, Chronicles of Riddick may be worth voting. But I haven't gotten it YET. Looking forward to it.

I've heard nothing but good reviews. I just won't play it though, it looks like Doom 3 with a different theme. I hated Doom 3, I hate the engine, and I wouldn't be able to sit through the game no matter how good it is.
 

bunker

Lifer
Apr 23, 2001
10,572
0
71
Honestly it's a toss up between WoW and HL2 for me...I voted WoW cuz I have a feeling it's need some help in the poll. :)
 

Sunner

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
11,641
0
76
Hmmm...deciding between Dawn of War and Far Cry.
I guess they could share the honor, considering they're completely different games, DoW is awesome in multiplayer but very lacking in singleplayer, while Far Cry is the exact opposite.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: tfinch2
Where is Need for Speed Underground 2?

Yeah I already pointed out that NFSU2 is probably a much better pick than burnout 3. This isn't the spiketv game awards afterall.
 

bay

Senior member
Aug 9, 2004
271
0
0
HL2 gets the nod imo not only because it is an awesome game but because what it and the source engine bring to online gaming. They did it 6 years ago w/ HL1 and counterstrike, then came dod. Now there is HL2, CS:S, and DoD:S is on its way. I've been playing CS/DoD constantly since 2000 (honestly it's really the only thing besides the basics that I install on my computers). HL2 and the source engine are going to usher in ANOTHER era of absolutly superb online gaming.
 

jrphoenix

Golden Member
Feb 29, 2004
1,295
2
81
I was going back and forth between HL2 & Rome Total War. HL2 is just awesome... but, it gave me motion sickness during the airboat portion :p

Rome Total War is great and the replay on it is nearly endless... for that reason I vote for RTW!
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
letsee . . . . Thief - Deadly Shadows just edged out HL2 as GoTY for '04, IMO.

. . . Doom iii should TOP the list of the WORST games of the decade (century) :p
:roll:
 

Patt

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,288
2
81
I'd have to say HL2 ... the story left a bit to be desired, but the immersiveness (if that is even a word) was tough to top.

Doom III was brilliant, at the technical side of things. Gameplay = 0 :( We'll just have to pin our hopes on Q4.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Rate the game, not the engine. Although I wouldn't rate the doom3 engine high either. The lighting sucked.
 

helman

Junior Member
Nov 25, 2004
14
0
0
FarCry all the way baby.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is almost there, but way too buggy (took me hours of replay just so I could finish it). As much as HL2 is conserned, its a good game, but it brought nothing exactly new in compare to the original - and the ending sucks!!! YOu do get to play CSS though :)
 

MetalMat

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2004
9,687
36
91
Originally posted by: apoppin
letsee . . . . Thief - Deadly Shadows just edged out HL2 as GoTY for '04, IMO.

. . . Doom iii should TOP the list of the WORST games of the decade (century) :p
:roll:

Man I like the thief genre, but I think the 3rd one was the worst of the three. I was playing it recently, then got sucked into Vampire: Bloodlines.

They should have kept thief:Deadly shadows in first person and Vampire: Bloodlines in third person, no switching from one to the other.