I could. The main story is admittedly short but it is like a summer popcorn movie. Loads of over-the-top stupid action.

Then the Spec Ops mode, which is completely playable splitscreen without Live adds a good bit of gameplay.

All of that though is silly, since when did we judge all games single player and no internet connection alone? Do we judge new Wii games without the motion plus stuff? The 360 levies its Live service and connectivity in everything and it not only shows but it a huge asset. Unless you are judging GotY as being worthy for single player only games?

Beatles... harmonies and dreamscapes provided that plus with all the exclusive photos and extras, it gave us a glimpse into a world that most of us didn't grow up in


Wait, what? What did I say? Do I need to go through 200+ posts to find what you're referring to?

I agree with this.

Call of Duty MW2 may have been the most disappointing game of the year. In my opinion, multi-player should be looked at like extra features on a DVD. It's not the main dish.

Fair enough and there are many who think that. Be aware though, there are also a large number of people who are the exact opposite (which is why a good multiplayer game with a weird storyline can sell a bajillion copies).

Personally if another single player Halo game ever came out i would be fine. Especially if it was like that ass ODST. However, i would love to have a new multiplayer Halo.

I guess I buy harmonies, but I doubt many will get to use that feature...otherwise, it's just Rock Band...with the Beatles (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I was thinking you were the one with the "innovation requirement" for GOTY...my mistake if not.

That was Tracer

Ahhh...my mistake. Sorry Corvin.

Everyone has their own requirements for what constitutes their game of the year. For some it could just be whatever game they spent the most time playing, or others it could just be the most fun experience they had. After all, that's what games are for right? Entertainment? I think for the most part, GOTY should just be that rather then trying to think of what was innovative or unique.

I don't disagree.

I was just making the point that games you'll play through multiple times over the years (Batman, Uncharted) have just as much intrinsic longevity as the game you'll play nonstop for the next 6 months or until the next big shooter comes out (MW2).

As an example, I'm watching my kid play Link to the Past as I type this (probably a 10-15 hour single-player game) and it's probably been "collecting dust" since the last time I played it...maybe 4-5 years ago. I also still play through RE4 at least once or twice a year.

Ultimately, what I'm looking for in my GOTY is tough to define, but I know it when I feel it. This year, those moments came when I was ziplining around as Batman feeling empowered during stealth for the first time and during those 4-6 Uncharted scenes that in any other game would have been quicktime events.

I think replay factor shouldn't matter in a Game of the Year discussion. Bioshock has little replay value since it is such a dense game to get through once. It also had zero multiplayer functionality and yet it was easily tied for GOTY 2007. Sure a game like Uncharted or Batman may be good to play through again the year it came out, but will either still be fun to run through 5 years from now?

Reading through the http://forum.dvdtalk.com/video-game-...media-you.html thread makes me think that's when replay factors in. Does a game ultimately age well? That's certainly something you can't ask within a GOTY discussion. At least that's how I came up with my list. It's also how games like RE4 and God of War get ruled out for tank like controls and quicktime events/horrible camera respectively. They may have been GOTY material at some point in time, but what passed for great 8 years ago, may have been innovated upon in such a way that makes those games look or play very dated.

Replay should matter if that's what is important to you. Some people care about it and want their values worth, others are fine with a singular great experience. Personally, I'm one of those people that just want a great experience

I don't think a game "aging" well matters that much either, since the examples you mentioned with God of War and Resident Evil 4 are on a lot of people's lists. So obviously whether or not the gameplay mechanic has been improved on since then isn't necessarily a major issue; it's that first play through that is ultimately the most memorable.

I loved MW2s single player campaign it was fun and exciting despite having a rather lackluster overall story. Yeah it was short-ish (took me about 7 hours on Hardened on first play through) but then Uncharted 2 was only 3 hours longer - though don't get me wrong, it did offer a more complete single player experience with an actual beginning, middle and end to its story and actual character development -- and this is a game that is getting named GOTY almost solely for it's single player campaign.

Eh, the package should be assessed as a whole, the best feature is what the game is going to be known for - be it single player or multi.

I can't believe mario and luigi: inside story (DS) won G4s RPG of the year

Count me as a lame-o getting replay value out of UC2 I think some of the set pieces are entertaining enough to play again (urban warfare, siege, basically avoiding the PITA sections like the yeti and the heavy jumping).

My vote goes to UC2. I find it funny though that no one talks about its great multiplayer. Ive had a blast with online coop mixed in with some competitive. Got my lvl 49 going strong but have yet beat the single player as i keep jumpin online.

I find it better than MW2 where i die in a hb bah

I borrowed and will probably be starting Uncharted 2 tonight. At this point, if it does anything short of spitting out crisp $100 bills of the PS3 I think I'm going to be disappointed.

Sorry it won't do that.

It will, however, blow you if you ask nicely.

<--- Trying to remember how the in-game money system works...

It probably won't do that, but every time you see the coolest thing you've ever seen in a video game, please post in the UC2 thread.

It should happen about three times.

Sweet! My PS3 is loud enough that my wife won't hear in the other room.

Just the fact that there's so much screen-tearing in Uncharted 2 keeps it from being GotY material.

Am I being bitchy for getting hung up on technical issues - sure, but the screen tearing in U2 was really noticeable, distractingly so.

Funny, I never noticed that.

Did a quick internet search and nobody is reporting tearing issues in the sequel -- in fact, just the opposite:

I did a back and forth with the first one for myself, and the 2nd one's screen tearing was much worse, so...

The first one had tons...never noticed it for a second in 2.

That is really bizarre.

I noticed it a lot in the first, I haven't really noticed it at all in the second.