GameSpot's Best Games of 2012Special Achievements
The Nominees
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171 comments
4 Like Yeah okay . . . I don't like to bash Gamespot, just because I feel like they usually do a really good job, but this was awful. Making up "awards" to fit games. Where's my personal favorite best Art award? or best storytelling? This and other stuff that has happened from some of the people at Gamespot make me want to find a new home for gaming :(
9 Like This is stupid. Bring back Dubious Awards. I loved "Best Games No One Played" ...it led me to some of my favorite games now
3 Like Gamespot's just not even trying this year. So few categories and some just out-right ignored altogether. And whatever happened to the demerits categories (such as "most despicable use of in-game advertising"). Or 2 of my favorite categories, "Worst game everybody played" and "Best game nobody played". I really liked that style of awards. Hell the "Best game nobody played" category from a couple years ago is what got me into Anno 1404 (AKA Age of Discovery in the US) and subsequently Anno 2070 (Great game, terrible DRM on release). I never would have even tried Anno 1404 in the first place if it hadn't been for the "Best game nobody played" category. Seriously gamespot, what's with the poor lackluster effort you've given this year. It's been a really pathetic showing on your side compared to years past.
These awards are a bit closed in terms of many genres' inclusions. And by a "bit closed" I mean they could not be any closed!
Maybe Gamespot should receive an award for not reaching people's heart, except to motivate us into endless complaining
ME3 for "taking through a fantastic story then leaving everyone scratching there heads at the ending asking everyone WTF was that all about"
"For excellence in heartstring tugging" And they choose the walking dead??? What a freakin JOKE.
The best technical category was a straight up embarrassment every single year. Mgs4 > Crysis? Good riddance.
4 Like What happened to the Worst Game, Best Sound Design, Best Graphics, Art, Dubious Awards, etc? The categories you have here are rather dreadful and lame.
2 Like I don't know... In the previous years there was an uncertain charm about the Gamespot Awards. For the last couple of hours I was watching the 2007 and 2008 Gamespot Game of the Year videos and I remember how fun and actually engaging was seeing all those games. And not to mention all those awards categories: I've got to say, it was really interesting and fun to see awards such as "Most Improved Sequel", "Most Innovative Game", "Most Memorable Moment", "Funniest Game", "Best New Character", "Best UK Developed Game", or the "Worst Game Everyone Played". I miss those day and without a doubt, I'm really dissapointed. Instead, we now have awards such as: "For Reminding us that Persona 4 is awesome", "For proving that man is more dangerous than zombies", or "For motion controls that nurture human/horse relationship". I really actually hope that this is a joke and that the real Special Achivements and Dubious Honors awards will be released
3 Like I have a radical idea. Why not do the old format special achievement awards and this new format? Do you still find platform awards necessary since pretty much the same games come out for multiple platforms? I still miss your dubious awards. They were good for a laugh.
2 Like ....What the heck Gamespot? No best original score award? No best artistic graphics? No best sound award? Not even a dubious distinct award section? Just these totally lame and make up categories for whatever the heck you want to give an award to? LAME! Come on, you guys should at least pretend to try.
1 Like @Advent_Warlord Last year's categories were so much better. It's a shame, i really enjoy that part of Gamespot's Best of the Year.
@Advent_Warlord Don't dare call it laziness because I mentioned this in another post about the absence of a dubious awards section and two of the staff jumped on me for that. I was going to apologize for calling it laziness but after seeing this I don't know. Maybe it's a sign of an overworked staff due to layoffs and cutbacks.
1 Like @EmphaZima To be fair, I can understand that argument. Heaven knows I've been in a position to make compromises due to time or complications. However, to replace "Best Original Score" and "Best Story" with "For Reminding Us that Persona 4 Is Still Awesome," "For Breaking Hearts with Bullets and Blood" or "For Fostering a Wonderfully Creative Sadistic Community" (Which I would think Minecraft would be more deserving), that is just....well, lame. That's not an award. I'm sorry, but this just screams to me of being a cop out.
Seriously, you guys at Gamespot have done this for years now. Just take the categories from the previous years. Don't have time to do all of the nominees? That's ok. Just vote for a winner. We'd be fine with that. Don't have time to do that? Fine. Let it be a reader's choice thing. We'd be happy to help pick those categories. Just don't give us these third rate gaming site awards that you clearly just made up to promote your favorite games and tell us you're having problems. You guys are better than that. That's why you've had so many people supporting you for so long. I'm not upset you like these games (I like quite a few of them too). I'm upset that you spent so much time on the other categories only to poop this out with no fanfare when you clearly put so much care and attention to it in previous years. The individual achievements are just as important as the overall products because without them, the overall products would never come to fruition.
Hmm, not sure if I like this format for Special Achievements.
Still - Dear Esther is a pretty damn good walking simulator.
Dark Souls: AOTA "For doing DLC the way it should be done" --not difficult to know whose opinion this catchphrase caters..
I love that you can start finish Thirty Flights Of Loving before this video is over. Loved it.
These choices make absolutely no sense, of course the entire bracket method of winning this year makes no sense either.
6 Like Where are the most disappointing ones? I would like to laugh a bit.
But then again, sponsors might be lost...
1 Like FINALLY Dark Souls gets some attention, even if it isn't as much as it deserves. I guess Gamespot didn't count PTDE as a "new" game, which is still biased since they put Spelunky up for GOTY, even though it's several years old now.
1 Like @ViggyNash Good point but XBLA Spelunky is a full remake of the old PC game but Dark Souls PTD was a slightly dodgy port.
Dark Souls PTD is my favourite release this year though.
6 Like I like these new awards, cool addition but I think these should be called the "Unique Achievements" and keep the traditional "Special Achievements" as well.
Doesn't always need to be a change but putting in something new and keeping the olg goodness is always great.
11 Like Wow, Gamespot! Really? I can understand somewhat on why you've decided not to do "Worst" either because you want to remain positive, but this is too much. No best music, no best graphics, no best use of an existing license, none? Shame!
2 Like I have to say, Gamespot have been very lazy with the way they've done this years awards. This Special Achievements catagory is an absolute joke. Perhaps that was intentional but I hope they go back to the format they used in previous years for Best of 2013.
I know I've already done my fair-share of complaining but to those people who are just as disappointed, you have to remember that GameSpot is pretty conversative in comparison to the older days. Outside of Shaun, who has a great sense of humor, none of the other editors have much of a funny bone. If the gaming press was politics, GameSpot would be the Conservative Party while the other sites would be the other parties (Eg. Liberal, Progressive, etc..). The sad part is that IGN, who are the biggest dude-bros in the Gaming Press, are far from funny. If you want funny, there is only one site to visit: GiantBomb.
1 Like @wantbackin That would explain away stuff like Worst Game Everybody Played and Flatout Worst Game, Most Disappointing Game, et al. But you don't need a sense of humor to do best graphics (artistic AND technical), best music, best story, best new IP, etc. Those awards SHOULD be given out. That's what I look forward to the most, not lame awards like awarding Persona 4 Golden an award because it reminds them of Persona 4.
4 Like @wantbackin GameSpot is funny, but in there other channels and shows and events. GameSpot keeps their reviews strictly reviews, and that's how it should be they keep it professional when it needs to be and funny at the other times. For example shows like Feedbackula, and Escape From Mount Stupid can be very funny, and stuff like their 24hr gaming event was very funny at times too. I think GameSpot keeps it going how it should be done.
never even heard about most of the games above..
special achievements for unspecial games ..
3 Like @phoenix5352 That's pretty much the point of these awards. GOTY awards are not meant to go and "cheer up" your favorite game. It's an opportunity to find awesome games that you might have missed.
7 Like @phoenix5352 Tons of these games are special, and if you don't know them, then thats just sad on your part.
The best of the year is getting worse and worse every year since 2008 I do believe. There used to be tons of dubious awards, tons of special achievement awards, hours and hours of video clips and explanations to why those games deserved their positions. It was fun, in depth, exciting and it was something I look forward to. But as of late I can look at all of the special achievement, genre awards, and platform awards in 10 minutes. What happened? I'll ask an honest question: Why are Best Game of The Year Awards less in depth than they used to be?
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