Haha 2 references to prostitutes. Blops being nominated for anything is a travesty.

The Great JT:
Here's a question: Why was FIFA 11 nominated for ANYTHING? Best sports game I could understand, but Game of the Year? Don't misunderstand me, as far as soccer sims go this is probably as good as they're going to get, but did it really need to be nominated for GotY? I know this is a british award show and soccer is to them what football (that is to say American Football) is to us here in the States, but could it have been good enough to get GotY? No, I say!

That said on the "Bioware Face" that the good Yahtzee commented on in Bioware adventure/RPGs...eh, maybe a little. I see what you're getting at, how the characters themselves stand completely still and maybe wobble back and forth (or if they're really advanced, moving their arms/hands) while the line is being spat out and usually have an almost deadpan expression on their faces, but it's nothing I really pay that much attention to.

It bugs me a bit when yahtzee rips on Bioware for their NPC conversations. They're not THAT bad, yes they move a bit too much (especially Revan in KOTOR and Shepard in ME) but they at least do something. It may be true that their movements push them a bit more into the uncanny valley, but FUCKING HELL!

Bethesda is a far worse criminal for NPCs. Their eyes fix completely on you, uncanny valley face, sometimes they stare at you, but their eyes are looking slightly off, or their head is fixed turning somwhere else and the body turns towards you without the head. Freaky!

Bioware might not be the best, but it's far from the worst...

every article needs a child prostitute simile

Why is it that the same nominees were in every single category, even ones that they had no business being in. I mean CoD for action I understand, but artistic achievement?
CoD 4, maybe, but not Blops. Blops was never meant to be enjoyed as high art.

Also, why are they all generic mainstream FPSs? Is that honestly all there was?
Fine games to be sure, but not worthy of any special accolades.

And while Yahtzee pointed out the hypocrisy of having Mario Galaxy 2 nominated for innovation, I'll also point out that Brotherhood was an expansion pack, Halo: Reach was on the same engine as 3, and Blops uses exactly the same controls, design, lettering and objective markers as previous Modern Warfare games.

Final thesis: This the most dissapointed I've been in awards since the Oscars. But here's the thing- it seems to me that the Oscars go to arty movies no-one liked, while great mainstream films are snubbed from all directions, videogame awards have the opposite problem, i.e. arty independent games are completely ignored in favor of pure entertainment mainstream titles with no soul.

Lordofthesuplex:

Alright Crowshaw, you want an answer to this? It's because Mario Galaxy 2 was just so much fun that most of us were able to overlook the fact that it was a $50 expansion pack. It reminded me as to why I love video games in the first place and it had a good amount of challenge to it.

Why do have to groan on and on about it being nomin.....oh wait, we all know why that is: It's because you'd rather please the "we hate the Wii and won't grow up and forgive Nintendo for E3'08" crowd that keeps conspiring around the company. You know? The same crowd you give shit for praising boring, bland shooters like CoD:BlOp in this same article?

Right, because Yahtzee didn't also, in the same article, and with more vehemence than he ever directed towards MG2, berate the fact that CoD was the viewer's choice for best game, despite being bland garbage directed at gun-porn enthusiasts and people with non-discriminating tastes.

I loved Mario Galaxy, it made me fall in love with Mario games all over again. Then I played Mario Galaxy 2 and it almost made me hate the first one- not because it was bad, but because it was the same good, presented in a less compelling way, and priced at an additional $60.
Yahtzee never criticized MG2 for being bad, he criticized the BAFTAs for putting an expansion pack in a category for most innovative. You admit it was an expansion pack in your post, so don't claim it had any actual innovation.

I love Nintendo too, but you will never hear me jump to its defense purely on principle.

Assassin's Creed's "Action" was pretty good, if you could call that simple and easy thing action. Where's the love for Bayonetta? Or as Yahtzee said Just Cause? Seemed like most of these nominations have a, "You must sell this much to ride" bar

GrizzlerBorno:

On that note: New Vegas should have won best story. I didn't play Heavy Rain, but New Vegas had a really mature and well written, but at the same time very flexible story.

Agreed. The fact is, I don't appreciate heavily scripted story lines - it undermines the concept of 'interactive medium' as it puts us on arbitrarily imposed rails. New Vegas managed to be rather well-written even after being so open-ended - efforts like that should be rewarded.

Okay, why did Black Ops get nominated for Best Story? I actually liked that game, but seriously...I have never played a game with a worse story and challenge you to think of one.

I would've liked to have seen a best story nominee for red dead redemption instead of black ops.
Plus, I'd also really like to see a category for best voice acting/performance in a game.

GAME award (voted on by the public)
Winner: COD Blops

"voted on by the public" <- That's your problem right there, seriously you add that and Black-Ops as a nominee you might as well a) put EVERY nominee as Black-Ops or b) threaten to assassinate anyone who votes for Black-Ops otherwise there's no doubt that it'll be the extremely-disputed winner.

Also, Black-Ops for story? Almost as dumb as Sgt. Wood from the same game winning "Best Character of the Year" at the Spike VGA's last year. Against Kratos, and Ezio....well let's just say I've long since given up on the thought of the majority of gamers having more intelligence than a half-eaten donut.

what the fuck were these people smoking? codblops as goty!? fuck no!

Kermi:
Calm down, son. If you're impressed with and enjoyed Black Ops I can't imagine why my opinion matters to you.

This was more of a knee-jerk reaction than an attack directly on you.

You have to remember that I'm a CoD fan on the Escapist, a forum where people constantly attack the series and, while playing it, attack the people who like it.

So, yeah, this was not so much directed at you than at the other people in this thread.

Raiyan 1.0:

GrizzlerBorno:
On that note: New Vegas should have won best story. I didn't play Heavy Rain, but New Vegas had a really mature and well written, but at the same time very flexible story.

Agreed. The fact is, I don't appreciate heavily scripted story lines - it undermines the concept of 'interactive medium' as it puts us on arbitrarily imposed rails. New Vegas managed to be rather well-written even after being so open-ended - efforts like that should be rewarded.

I have absolutely no problem with rigid scripted story lines. Instead How I think of it is: Obsidian, with Fallout: New Vegas, managed to epitomize the "Free Roaming Game Story". That's what FNV did. It wasn't the first. If you remember, GTA 2 did the same thing, with the different factions in an open world.

GTA 2 just didn't have a great story wrapped around all of it, and I hope we get to see more of the same from "Open-worlders" cause they work better than the GTA4 style rigid story that often clashes with the free-form gameplay.....

Belladonnah:

Stabby Joe:
I wish more would call out Heavy Rain's story. Along with Yahtzee, the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Destructoid and GamesRadar.

In fact, the latter has this article about Heavy Rain's "plot":

http://www.gamesradar.com/f/heavy-rains-big-plot-holes/a-20100224105436979020

Most of those plot holes listed don't even make sense, unless you go by video game logic instead of actual logic.
I don't need to read past Hole number 1 to see a stupid list

Spoiler: Click to ViewPHA+QWJvdXQgSG9sZSAxOiBXZSBkaWRuJ3Qgc2VlIGhlciBpbnRlcmFjdGluZyB3aXRoIHRoZSBraWxsZXIgb24gc2NyZWVuIHRoZXJlZm9yIHNoZSBuZXZlciBoZWFyZCBoaXMgbmFtZSwgZGVzcGl0ZSBiZWluZyBhIGpvdXJuYWxpc3QgaW52ZXN0aWdhdGluZyB0aGUgc2FtZSBjYXNlIGFzIHRoZSBQSS9LaWxsZXIsIGFuZCB0YWxraW5nIHRvL2ludGVycm9nYXRpbmcgdGhlIHNhbWUgcGVvcGxlLiBXaHkgd291bGRuJ3QgYSBqb3VybmFsaXN0IGtub3cgdGhlIG5hbWUgb2YgdGhlIHBlb3BsZSBpbnZvbHZlZCBpbiB0aGUgaW52ZXN0aWdhdGlvbiwgc3BlY2lhbGx5IG9uZSB0aGF0IHdhcyBvbiB0aGUgY2VudGVyIG9mIGl0PzwvcD4=

Erm, o...k...

Yeah, I don't buy that at all.

Therefore I'm not sure how that makes everything else redundant. It's stuff like this is why people take issue with some games and their fans (of which I would include myself apart despite the plot).

Dead Rising 2 is obviously not an "expansion" of the first Dead Rising. MOAR ZOMBIES, that makes it all different, alongside coop mode.
Of course I am generalizing but so does Yahtzee with AC:B.

MiracleOfSound:

BarbaricGoose:
Heavy Rain had plot holes? This is news to me.

Screw plot holes, there was one massive hole in the game that every character fell into -the uncanny valley.

Hey, Miracle, did you get a PS3 all of a sudden?

No?

Well, then why do you blah blah blah about Heavy Rain? *smirk*

This thread serves as proof of the internet's pretentiousness.

Not the BAFTA awards, or even Yahtzee's article. This fucking thread. All of it. Every single rage-filled, highbrow, elitist post of it.

Special mention must go to the people who said that "public awards are stupid because the average joe's opinion is invalid, not being as artistically refined and intellectual as mine".

Both Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 were built off the assets of a previous Mario title. Yet to me, Galaxy 2 managed to feel far, far less "samey" than SMB 2.

I'll even go so far as to say it felt less samey to me than Majora's Mask compared to Ocarina of Time.

MiracleOfSound:

Actually I watched a playthough, smartypants!

And, yet, you still go on about the Uncanny Valley?

Which really seems weird to me. Sure, the first few gameplay clips were noticeably off, but, after that, surely not "every" character looked wrong.

OhJohnNo:
This thread serves as proof of the internet's pretentiousness.

Not the BAFTA awards, or even Yahtzee's article. This fucking thread. All of it. Every single rage-filled, highbrow, elitist post of it.

Special mention must go to the people who said that "public awards are stupid because the average joe's opinion is invalid, not being as artistically refined and intellectual as mine".

While I agree with you, i think that Yahtzee's article is more biased and elitist than any of the comments on this thread. This article made me lose any ounce of respect I had for his opinions due to how goddamned biased he is. I know that it is an opinion piece but a little objectivity would have been nice.

elvor0:

Nomanslander:
Just Cause 2, Dead Rising 2 and Amnesia: The Dark Descent didn't score a single nomination....

-Yahtzee

Poor Yahtzee, finally realizing maybe his tastes aren't as refined as he thinks it is...=*(

Don't be ridiculous, the BAFTAs are no where near any indication of what is good and what's bad in gaming, because it's still run by men in stuffy suits who just go for the public concious goes for. You should almost NEVER agree with mainstream awards ceremonies when it comes to video games.

This is an an awards ceremony where Black Ops can be nominated for best story alongside Mario Galaxy being putup for "Technical Innovation", as well as Fifa 11 for "Best Game", then there is no reason to stand up for or believe in anything the BAFTAs pick as far as video games. Based on that past sentence alone should prove that the Video Games awards in mainstream awards ceremonies are utter bollocks.

To say liking stuff like Amnesia means you have poor taste just means you're a moron, amnesia was sublime game, very immersive and "fun" to play all the way through.

Mainstream awards ceremonies are never going to be good unless you get people who properly care for the medium, even if you don't like Yahtzee at all, to say he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to video games would be pushing it at best and utterly stupid at worst.

The awards ceremonies need people actually qualified to look at games properly to make them work, not the boardroom executive or the average mouth breather chav.

Actually I hold Amnesia as one of Yahtzee's exceptions, but I'm yet to play it so I'll hold judgement of that game till later.

As for the other two? Well, let's just say I'm glad I don't take much of what Yahtzee says as serious recommendations. JC2 was just one giant gimmick, and all DR2 did for me was realize how much I've gotten fed up of zombie themed movies and games...-_-

Yes, you're right. Most awards ceremonies are jokes to begin with. But I can say the same about most of Yahztee's choices. The guy harps on every game, and when it comes time to praise one for once, it's some instant bargin bin title...lol

double post

-_-

its a popularity contest, nothing more. I expect more from the academy...

Thank the gods I'm not the only one that thinks Bioware's Mass Effect characters and animation come from deep, deep within the uncanny valley.

That weird sag that Sheppard always did in conversations always saw head meet desk. Get some motion capture happening, Bioware, or be left behind.

JourneyThroughHell:

Kermi:
Calm down, son. If you're impressed with and enjoyed Black Ops I can't imagine why my opinion matters to you.

This was more of a knee-jerk reaction than an attack directly on you.

You have to remember that I'm a CoD fan on the Escapist, a forum where people constantly attack the series and, while playing it, attack the people who like it.

So, yeah, this was not so much directed at you than at the other people in this thread.

Hey, I understand. I still maintain that Modern Warfare 2 was a great game, with a well done story, good characters, etc. etc. and I'm constantly given completely unfounded arguments by people who say it was terrible... what it usually boils down to is them not appreciating the story because they didn't understand it. This goes for Yahtzee, too.

I decided quite early on that I wasn't enjoying Black Ops. Everything felt sub par. It's COD4 standard technologically and there's no excuse for that. I didn't like the story. The plot twists were predictable. And by predictable I mean that I guessed about 75% of the plot from the TITLE SCREEN, before I commenced playing the game.
I guessed the remainder after the jailbreak mission.

So I found it poor. That's no reason people can't like it for the same reasons I like MW2 while everyone else hates it.

I've decided that it's basically impossible to change someone's mind. If someone tells me MW2 sucks, I smile, nod, and I'm on my way. The elitism this community breeds is a large part of while I hardly post these days.

Casual Shinji:
I guess even if games get their own respectable awards, it's probably a little too optimistic to think it's going to be any more objective than movie awards.

Awards = Giving award to things/people deemed the best.

objective

wat.

AC: Brotherhood "stealthy" and "free of button-mashing."
Lolwut?
Super Mario Galaxy 1 "WAS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME BUT SLIGHTLY BETTER!"
LOLWUT!?!

KILGAZOR:

EDIT: Holy fuck, I just noticed Blops got nominated for story. What. The. Fucking. Hell.

Don't pretend that story wasn't the one place where Blops did something unique for the CoD series.

lol I never heard the term Blops before, I think I'll use that now.

I would have voted Dead Rising 2 but don't quote me on it, I only played like 5 new games this year.

EDIT: Oh wait, Just Cause 2 was a candidate too.........hmm, tough choice.

kthy0056:
Dead Rising 2 is obviously not an "expansion" of the first Dead Rising. MOAR ZOMBIES, that makes it all different, alongside coop mode.
Of course I am generalizing but so does Yahtzee with AC:B.

You gotta give Dead Rising 2 some credit for actually fixing their problems. You'd think that would be the first thing a game developer does when they make a sequel.

KILGAZOR:
In my opinion, all awards like these are bollocks, but I am really disappointed with the people who voted Blops as the game of the year... even the multiplayer of that game was a load of gimmicky unbalanced crap.

Must...resist....not...to....say....first....

EDIT: Holy fuck, I just noticed Blops got nominated for story. What. The. Fucking. Hell.

Agreed, lol and agreed. I despair with the human race (inhabiting the UK) for voting CoD:BO as the GAME OF THE YEAR. Ben basically covers my opinion on CoD:BO quite well himself in the article. Just a bit of a lol at the "first" thing and nominating CoD:BO for story!? Seriously say WTF! Story!? As they nominated CoD for story they may as well have nominated pong or PAC-man or something.

Overall a very disappointing year for the BAFTAs.