Late and Loving It: Option C

Written by Chris Reiter  on February 24, 2005

Specials: The early bird may catch the worm, but he also catches a beat down from all those dozens of other birds looking for the easiest way to satisfy their stomachs: Option B

Tweet

Comments

2004 Game of the Year?

Adam: Oh lord, the big one.

Chris: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I've been waiting all last year, some of 2003, and some of 2005 just to state that fact here (to voice my opinion to the public in this type of ceremonial format, anyway).

Adam: And I'm going with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, because I gave it the only 10 I've ever given out and I pretty much have no choice.

MGS3 is in my top 5, at like #4.

Chris: #4? You're mad, man.

Adam: It's just the quality of games is insane. GTA, Shadow Hearts II, Halo 2, Riddick...MGS3 is a damn good game and on par with the greats.

Chris: My top 5 for the year I don't think I actually thought of, technically anyway.

Adam: I always do that because I hate pairing down a list of games. I'm too indecisive, so I pick 5 and be happy.

Chris: Metal Gear Solid 3 would be in front. I'd probably have Halo 2 after that, and then Jak 3. San Andreas would likely be my fourth, and then my last might be...Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Though that's not an official list.

Adam: So is that it?

Worst Game of 2004?

Chris: Surprise, surprise...I hit you with another category.

Adam: Damn. Umm, I don't play many bad games.

Chris: Whatcha gonna do when they come for you, though? After all, Bad Boys came for me.

Adam: Had I played that one I could use it.

Chris: For playing merrily?

Adam: For playing and then wanting to kill myself.

Chris: Don't do that. Then the media would twist the story around and say you killed yourself because the game told you to, which somehow they recorded you saying on tape recorder or written on paper.

Adam: Err...good point. But, I really can't figure out a game bad enough to deem 'worthy' of such 'accolades.'

Chris: What about DRIV3R? That was my original choice as the Worst Game of the Year at first.

Adam: Well, that one sucks. But at the same time, there are other games that have been deemed crappier, though I haven't played them.

Chris: This needs to be a game YOU played yourself, not one someone else picked out for you.
Adam: Exactly. So, maybe Driver 3 it is.

Chris: See? When you don't use DRIV3R, you got nothing else to pick. Except Bad Boys.

Adam: But I haven't played Bad Boys.

Chris: But if you had...

Adam: Then I might think it's worth this honor.

Chris: Exactly.

Sleeper Hit of 2004?

Adam: Katamari, Riddick, Shadow Hearts. Don't make me pick one.

Chris: I'm thinking of something like LifeLine or Paper Mario, although I can't really tell if those are "sleeper hits." I mean, look at Katamari. It seems like so many people have played that game, and yet it's accumulating sleeper awards from all over the place.

Adam: Paper Mario is probably too popular. Lifeline, yea. Especially since hardy anyone played it.

But, Katamari came from nowhere.

Chris: But, when you think of sleeper, you think of the great games few have played. Too many people have played Katamari, so I wouldn't consider that as a "sleeper."

Adam: Well, it could also mean a game that flew way under the radar and had no hype or anticipation. A game becomes a sleeper hit upon praise, and all.

Chris: In that case, I guess I'd go with LifeLine then. It's flawed, but still a very unique and interesting game.

Adam: Yup, it is. Even if sometimes Rio has a problem understanding things.

Chris: I told her last week to make me a bowl of Spgahetti-O's, and she came back with Oreo's!

Overall Best Platform of 2004?

Adam: If I said PS2, would I be considered biased?

Chris: No, why would you?

Adam: Because I run the PS2 site?

Chris: I could say GBA...but I played only a few games on the handheld throughout the year, and none were from 2004.

Adam: I could say the Nintendo 64, but I'd be lying.

Chris: I'd never say Nintendo 64...and that'd be the truth.
But anyway...

Adam: Heh.

Chris: I'd go with the PlayStation 2 as the best overall system, because it had the most games I actually wanted to play and the better ones too.

Adam: I always measure it by playtime, and I know I played the PS2 more than my Xbox or Cube. Combined.

Chris: That's unfairly biased, since you get a lot of PlayStation 2 games sent your way.

Adam: Well, I also bought more PS2 games than Xbox or Cube games combined.

Chris: If you measure which system wins by the quality of the games alone, then that's really the best way to decide.

For Xbox, the only games I really wanted throughout the year for the system were Riddick, Fable, and then Halo 2. No other exclusives appealed to me, not even Ninja Gaiden.

Adam: I just keep it simple and say I spent more time on my PS2 than other systems.

Chris: So did I.

One year down, another year to go...

So perhaps we can't agree on everything. But then, if we always agreed it wouldn't be all that exciting, now would it? 2004 was a great year for games no matter which way you try to slice it. When you can't come to an automatic consensus on every decision that was made, you know just how unforgettable the year actually was. Big games. Big surprises. Better late than never, we've laid it down, and these are some of the very best games of the 2004 gaming year.