GOTY?

[J.T.]

 

If by perfect gameplay you mean, yeah, the game let me beat it without too much heartbreak then yeah, it is perfect.

"The game let me beat it without too much heartbreak" is pretty much exactly what I look for, just also add, "and made me feel like a badass".

 

 

Set low goals, achieve them, avoid disappointment. 

 

This why I am better than you in deathmatches.

 

Seriously, though.  For a game where survival is a key element of the game it sure is easy to survive.  Bullets are not hard to find and meals come easy.  It is the Apocalypse-lite.

[Big Fresh]

Counter-argument: pffffffttttttt

[Cristobal]

Be fair, though: that is also a problem GTAV has.

It doesn't, though. It is entirely up to the player whether or not to follow the storyline or fuck it off entirely and go play golf/run a triathlon/get a lapdance/rob liquor stores/smoke a cigarette on the pier while watching the sunset.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

 

Be fair, though: that is also a problem GTAV has.

It doesn't, though. It is entirely up to the player whether or not to follow the storyline or fuck it off entirely and go play golf/run a triathlon/get a lapdance/rob liquor stores/smoke a cigarette on the pier while watching the sunset.

 

 

That's why I said "a problem." When you do the story, it has that problem. When you do the side content, it is boring and colors the story in an even worse light. The things you do that are non-violent have more mechanical nuance than anything that happens in the actual story, yet not enough mechanical nuance to build a whole game around. So returning to the story means returning to the violent content that is not as mechanically engaging as its peers, and stands out as being more tedious than the act of playing half a golf game. That is not a problem The Last Of Us has. The Last Of Us does, however, have that first problem real, real bad.

 

EDIT: Real quick, can we at least have a consensus that "functioning gameplay" =/= "good gameplay?" Everything in both games works and I never want to do any of it.

 

I would give them basically the same score, because to me they're the same game: really expensive, huge creations of incredible scale, respectable for the sheer human work it took to finish, mechanically floppy, totally hollow. The nicest thing I can say about either is that I'm glad they got most of the GOTY stuff and not Bioshock Infinite, despite enjoying playing Bioshock Infinite. That game has real, real problems. Like, "the industry is in a bad place" problems.

[Cristobal]

I think I just have to leave it at "I apparently don't play games the same way you do."

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

I really like using my hands and really hate stories. It's taken me some weird places, but it's served me well so far.

[Cristobal]

I really like using my hands and really hate stories. It's taken me some weird places.

Porn?

I kid I kid.

[Big Fresh]

Be fair, though: that is also a problem GTAV has.

It doesn't, though. It is entirely up to the player whether or not to follow the storyline or fuck it off entirely and go play golf/run a triathlon/get a lapdance/rob liquor stores/smoke a cigarette on the pier while watching the sunset.

That's why I said "a problem." When you do the story, it has that problem. When you do the side content, it is boring and colors the story in an even worse light. The things you do that are non-violent have more mechanical nuance than anything that happens in the actual story, yet not enough mechanical nuance to build a whole game around. So returning to the story means returning to the violent content that is not as mechanically engaging as its peers, and stands out as being more tedious than the act of playing half a golf game. That is not a problem The Last Of Us has. The Last Of Us does, however, have that first problem real, real bad.

EDIT: Real quick, can we at least have a consensus that "functioning gameplay" =/= "good gameplay?" Everything in both games works and I never want to do any of it.

I would give them basically the same score, because to me they're the same game: really expensive, huge creations of incredible scale, respectable for the sheer human work it took to finish, mechanically floppy, totally hollow. The nicest thing I can say about either is that I'm glad they got most of the GOTY stuff and not Bioshock Infinite, despite enjoying playing Bioshock Infinite. That game has real, real problems. Like, "the industry is in a bad place" problems.

Now I really want to know what your GOTY is....

[Salads]

Somewhere in a parallel dimension Stop Making Sense is recognised as the greatest movie of all time and credited for ascending the medium away from 'little boy's sleds and space obelisks' as it picks up movie of the year at the prestigious Grammy Film Awards.

 

This is the best analogy I can think of to try and explain why people think the media acclaim for The Last of Us is ridiculous without implying that the game is anything other than pioneering and excellent.

 

 

(Full disclosure: haven't played it so can't take a side but will be looking out for what BL88 plays in future because I like his jibcut,)

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

Now I really want to know what your GOTY is....

 

Two answers. Cop out, but, a distinction has to be made. I don't know why these are both stealth games, though. Maybe because I'm tired of action games trying to make sense of every character being a brutal mass murderer? At least Titanfall doesn't bother with such foolishness.

 

My singleplayer GOTY was Gunpoint.

-The trial and error part of a stealth game is handled beautifully (it keeps three autosaves marked by time before death, and a restart mission if you just want that).

-The main mechanical conceit of jumping is handled in a really cool way: basically you're charging and manually aiming the arcs of the jump. At first this is a detailed aiming process, but as you play more and get better and faster it becomes a muscle memory thing and it feels really good.

-The way it introduces nuances to the gameplay is nice and steady, and with two exceptions (magical building rewiring and [total spoiler]) totally optional. You can add and remove skills as you want. 

-I don't know if the story is any good, but the setup is great and the dialog is too. Very snappy, appropriately pulpy for the setting.

 

My multiplayer GOTY was Monaco: The World Is Yours with at least three players.

-The level design is just fucking stellar. As a weird esoteric gamewriter I like once said, "when you're talking about a good game you have to be talking about good level design." Monaco nails art design, pacing, variance, and openness all at once.

-Everything is handled by your ability to feather an analog stick and press a single button, which all has a real mechanical clarity. Every weapon feels really heavy and dangerous, so getting caught is a fucking nightmare I couldn't stop laughing at.

-The class division is very strong, and once everyone has an idea of what they're doing they can play more expressively, which leads to some really fucked up levels. The game also doesn't explain everything about how each class works, so once you discover the more esoteric secret abilities you feel like a mad genius.

-The ending is absolutely perfect. So is the story explanation for how New Game + exists. I wouldn't dare spoil either.

 

As for which is ultimately better, I played more Gunpoint but had more fun with Monaco, so add that into your own value system and tell me.

 

Runner up goes to Gone Home, which as I've had more time away from it I recognize it as a really close miss to a really amazing idea. Whoever gets it right is going to really fuck some people's heads up.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

How have I never heard of these games?

[Cristobal]

BL88=gaming hipster.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

I dunno, man. I have the same internet you guys have. Although Monaco got fucking -buried- by the press due to the weirdness around its 360 release. Tragic.

 

What's great about the "hipster" thing is that I play enough mainstream games to piss off the people that are all about the indie shit, and enough indie games to piss off the people that are all about the mainstream shit. Really, I'm a PC guy and I know how to keep a system running for years and years. I just want to play new, different games, and it's cheaper to do it on PC than it is on any of the consoles.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Indie video games? Do they all have Anna Kendrick and Adam Scott in it and are all boring and terrible?

[Big Fresh]

I've only heard of Monoco because of the RoosterTeeth guys. Don't know anything about it really though.

Never even heard of the other one.

[Raziel]

 

If by perfect gameplay you mean, yeah, the game let me beat it without too much heartbreak then yeah, it is perfect.

"The game let me beat it without too much heartbreak" is pretty much exactly what I look for, just also add, "and made me feel like a badass".

 

Bah, you kids today have no appreciation for being rewarded for button mashing and memorizing patterns and strategies to be rewarded with an awesome, albeit poorly translated, storyline with a happy ending that leaves one feeling better about life.

 

You just want your hand holding QTE checkpoint every 5 steps cakewalk that "rewards" you with a story that looks pretty but leaves you feeling as hollow and empty and sad as the story itself was, all because its the "hip" thing.

 

Get off my lawn!!!!1

 

Oh, and Badass levels are EARNED, not given!

[Big Fresh]

If by perfect gameplay you mean, yeah, the game let me beat it without too much heartbreak then yeah, it is perfect.

"The game let me beat it without too much heartbreak" is pretty much exactly what I look for, just also add, "and made me feel like a badass".

Bah, you kids today have no appreciation for being rewarded for button mashing and memorizing patterns and strategies to be rewarded with an awesome, albeit poorly translated, storyline with a happy ending that leaves one feeling better about life.

You just want your hand holding QTE checkpoint every 5 steps cakewalk that "rewards" you with a story that looks pretty but leaves you feeling as hollow and empty and sad as the story itself was, all because its the "hip" thing.

Get off my lawn!!!!1

Oh, and Badass levels are EARNED, not given!

We used to have outdoor plumbing too. The world has gotten better.

[Scizzy]

Gunpoint is really, really fun. Not my GOTY, but I'd understand why it's someone else's.

[Cristobal]

Indie games are like Davey Richards: You pretty much can't count on them selling properly...

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

The last thing I'm going to say about the whole "hipster" thing is this (and I guess this can also go to what I put on the music board): I have tried to put you guys up on the shit I'm into, no matter how obscure it is. That's why I posted so much in that "now playing" thread, or why I tried to post a bunch of free album streams in the music board. To put obscure shit on people's radars. I'm not interested in digging deep and then holding my nose up and claiming I have the high ground because you haven't heard of it. I look for different shit because I like it, and then I do what I can to share it. "I enjoyed this! You might!" That's all it is. I don't know what to say if people still think that's worth mocking.

[Big Fresh]

Dude, we're all buds here. They're just having fun with you. Don't take it so hard.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

I will cop to an over-sensitivity to the "hipster" thing. I've been getting that response for about seven years now everywhere I go whenever I try to share anything I like.

 

 

More relevant: so is the ballot thing never happening? it's like march

[Cristobal]

All the balloting in March are belong to March Madness.

[Andrew POE!]

BL88, just to let you know I do have Monaco & Gunpoint in my Steam library but like all games, I will never play them (probably). I'm just curious if you've gotten into Jazzpunk (the game, not the music genre).

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

I'm just curious if you've gotten into Jazzpunk (the game, not the music genre).

Can't. Watched Giant Bomb's video, and there's a gag with flies that basically ensures I'll never be able to enjoy that game. Serious nightmare fuel for me.