Heard about and played are completely different things.

Demon's Souls is definitely one of my favourite games. It is hard unitl you figure out how the combat works, now I find it quite easy in places, and if anything the bosses are too easy as you can find a way to kill most of them without taking any damage at all.

the game has sold roughly 350,000 copies in the US. Not amazing but not bad considering how little hype it had and how little press it gets. Has sold around a half million worldwide.

It really isn't that difficult. Hell I remember people bitching about how difficult Gunvalkyrie was, though that may have been directed directly at the controls .

Yes, you're exactly right. I'm just going off what I've read. And here's what I've read :

Every single one of the following quotes is from the Metacritic summary quote of a review that gave this game at least a 90, so that anyone who didn't love it would not be included. Go ahead and see if you can spot a trend:


Look, I'm not saying this isn't a great game, for all I know it probably is. I'm just saying that this level of difficulty doesn't appeal to me and I buy a LOT of new games, far more than the average PS3 or 360 owner. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one too worried about the difficulty level of this game to actually buy it. And I'm a little upset and resentful that this very good (maybe great) game has been made so hardcore in its difficulty that I feel excluded from enjoying it.

My original post was in response to someone who was upset that the game didn't sell better. There may be lack of marketing, console exclusivity and stiff competition to blame as well, but you can't convince me that the difficulty level here didn't play some role in the final sales numbers.

^The hardcore difficulty thing is overblown, it's really a different gaming style as I explained in the part of my post you edited out of your quote.

Maybe you wouldn't like it, I have no idea. However I would suggest you reserve final judgement until trying it for yourself.

I suppose you're right. I might like it. But I'm not going to spend anywhere near asking price to see if I do. I was pretty sure that I would love Batman AA, Uncharted 2, CoD:MW2, Ratchet & Clank : A Crack In Time, Assassin's Creed 2 and Borderlands just from the reviews, gameplay clips and such. This one has frightened me off and I won't buy -- at least until it drops to $14.98 at Target. As I said, perhaps a good game, but not one I feel the need to risk $60 on.

I don't consider that making a final judgement on the game, just a consumer choice that I believe many other consumers made as well.

This is where I am as well...though historically, if you want an Atlas game, you get it before it disappears. That may be changing some though.

Joystiq - Uncharted 2: Among Theives

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/01/jo...among-thieves/

You can change my vote to Demon's Souls. Yes the game is indeed that fucking great.

Giant Bomb - Uncharted 2: Among Theives

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/giant-...ear-2009/1821/

Euro Gamer - Uncharted 2: Among Theives

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/eu...-the-year-2009

My favorite review site, GameTrailers, went with MW2 for GOTY - it narrowly edged out Uncharted 2 because they say that they're still playing MW2 while U2 collects dust.

I might have to agree too, as when I finished U2, I lent it to a friend, and I totally forgot that I did so.



Although my game of 2009 looks like it's going to be Bayonetta, sure it's supposed to be a 2010 release, but I've played through most of it in 2009. It is easily the finest game I have played in a very long time, easily shitting on every other game mentioned in this thread. There is going to come a point early on in the game when you think the game can't get any better and then it will and it will keep getting better, over and over. I still can't believe what I just played in the previous chapter. Spectacular game in every possible way. My game of the year, if not the decade.

Is Bayonetta really that good? I couldn't stand playing the demo. Too much going on and I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be killing.

Yes, Bayonetta is even better than that good.

The demo can be overwhelming, but you get a much better handle on the mechanics, control and gameplay within the context of the actual full game. Trust me, if it were as incomprehensible as the demo makes it out to be, it wouldn't be getting the universal praise that it has been.

God of War 3 now has a lot to live up to.

I personally think that's a stupid reason to pick a GOTY, but different priorities, I guess. Of course, it doesn't help that I have less than zero interest in MW. Having actually seen modern warfare makes the idea of a game about it fairly unappealing, where I think anybody can appreciate Indiana Jones.

Right now, I'm listening to the Giant Bombcast GOTY deliberations, and it's a good discussion. Recommended: http://www.giantbomb.com/podcast/

The single player campaign?

Longevity is a stupid reason to pick a GotY? I understand people value the single player and multiplayer experience differently but replayability or longevity are really important to many folks. As for me, i would be perfectly content with many games dropping the single player entirely and just giving me a meaty well-honed multiplayer experience. I wish Halo 3 had done that.

The argument that trendy multiplayer sequels or the longest games of the year are automatically the best just doesn't work for me.

As far as I know (admittedly not an expert) MW2 does absolutely nothing new. It's just the sequel to the game that EVERYONE plays. By contrast, Batman is a new IP, Demon's Souls brings a lot of innovation, and Borderlands has some great new ideas. Uncharted had moments that I couldn't believe I was actively playing rather than watching a cutscene (fighting inside a falling building, on a moving train etc.) and it raised the bar absurdly high for production values and storytelling.

For me, MW2, SF4 and Beatles all get eliminated for being retreads...super polished games, no doubt...but retreads.

By Gametrailers' measure, Williams Pinball would be my GOTY, which is yeah...stupid.

Which is why you have been heaping such praise on Uncharted 2?

We get that you love the game, BTW, but you don't need to take it as a personal affront every time some gaming site gives GOTY honors to some other game.

Sequels can have innovation.

I don't take it as a personal affront...didn't mean to give that impression.

In fact, I'm literally 51-49 on Uncharted vs. Batman. I can fully understand the thought process that ends with Assassin's Creed, Batman, Borderlands, Demon's Souls, Dragon Age, etc, but I fully don't get the thought process that ends with Call of Duty 6 as GOTY. That's not to say that it's wrong...I just don't get it. It could be that the whole CoD/Halo/Killzone genre isn't my thing.

At the risk of agreeing with Corvin, I'd like to see something new and/or interesting in my GOTY, which I think Uncharted 2 and several of the other nominees provide in spades.

I imagine the thought process is something akin to raving about a WoW expansion. Primarily: "I can buy this one game and continually play it for a full year and always have people to play with, things to achieve, and competition."

MW2, if nothing else, got people talking about games and the politics of games (the famous/infamous scene). Whether the discussion was really warranted or not it still can't be denied it made mainstream news media and sparked many discussions/debates.

As for innovation, it simply polished up the online multiplayer that was pretty phenomenal in the first game. Adding in titles, icons, deathstreaks, and pick your own killstreaks were small tweaks but gave the game a "gotta' catch 'em all" sort of feel as well as multiple new balancing points. I would say that is a decent amount of innovation for any sequel anymore.

Either way, i still stand by Borderlands as my pick.

Besides, MW2 has a flawed, brief single player game that really should count against it. Yes, MP is the draw of the series, but if you're going to promote the single player experience, it should be longer and better than THAT to be considered the best game of 2009, especially considering the competition -- I'd say ALL the other legitimate GOTY candidates had more complete single player experiences. If someone want to select it best MP game, that's fine by me. But best overall? I don't see that.

Don't get me wrong, i love Borderlands, but you can't say it had a better or more complete single-player story than MW2.

While a fantastic game, Uncharted 2 is no more "innovative" than MW2 or most of the other GotY contenders.

Unfortunately, typically the most innovative games are not very polished initially - it isn't until a sequel or later in the generation when that innovation can be polished into a masterful game does it get the recognition it deserves.

Story? No. But as a single-player experience, it's a fine, stand alone game. You could have a very enjoyable, long lasting game experience with Borderlands without a Live account or an Internet connection. Could you say that with MW2?