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Game Of The Year: Scott's choice
Written by Scott Thursday, 10 December 2009 22:58
The last two years have been very hard on the GOTY awards – we had many titles from Grand Theft Auto 4, Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid 4 it was difficult to choose a winner but I fear 2009 is even harder. There have been a number of contestants for this award from my view: [Prototype], GTA: Stories from Liberty City, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and as an outsider, Halo: ODST.
[Prototype] was a real sleeper hit for me. It might have had a generic storyline of amnesia and vengeance but the gameplay was just what I look for in a game – general jackassery. Assassin’s Creed 2 might have had more polish but jumping off the top of the Empire State and smashing a tank 1200ft below just makes me smile. The Ballad of Gay Tony was a return to Grand Theft Auto of old and the only thing stopping it short of greatness was its short length. As DLC though, it wins the DLC of all-time award. On paper Modern Warfare 2 should have been 2009 Game of The Year but in reality it was a 5 hour First Person Shooter with a convoluted multiplayer with rather poor maps. It was extremely polished mediocrity.
This brings me on to what I would give GOTY 2009. It should come as no surprise it’s Forza Motorsport 3. 400+ cars from the world’s top manufacturers, tracks from all over the world including Le Mans and the Nurburgring, an intelligent single-player career mode, fully realised cars with working cockpits – basically every car-nut’s dream. Sure there are a couple of little shortfalls but it’s almost impossible to please as big a gearhead as me. In reality they are insignificant and we have the most complete racing simulator to ever grace a console. That statement alone makes any other game inferior as a GOTY candidate.
What will 2010 bring? Splinter Cell: Conviction, Halo Reach, Final Fantasy XIII, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Fable 3, Crackdown 2, Alan Wake and possibly Metal Gear Solid: Rising – each one making me realise 2010 will be even harder than this year.
Larry (Wages) has already revealed his GOTY choice and Paul will reveal what he thinks is the best game of 2009 and then we’ll reveal the overall winner later in the month.
From everything I've heard, this game is worthy of selection. If anything, I think this proves just how many great games are on the list. Tuff decision to be sure.