Best Game of the Year: 2002

[SuperLuigiBros]

Basically what it says. If you choose to write-in, please post your choice.

[maximumzero]

Metroid Fusion

I waited 8 years for a new Metroid game, and I finally got it with Metroid Fusion.

[Metroid_spy]

I would say Metroid Prime. Im a big fan of the Metroid series. *wink* screen name *wink*. The graphics were awesome and so was the gameplay. The story was developed really well too. It was a long game to beat. You had to sit down and really take some time to play it. It's not really one of those games you can beat in 2 days (Unless you're a really good gamer). The bosses in the game were really challenging also. Ridley was my favorite boss. He was pretty easy to beat in my opinion. In conclusion Metroid Prime was a great game of 2002.

[Juu-kuchi]

Why make a post about what the Best game was three years ago?

Anyway, my choice would be Animal Crossing.

[SilverKnight]

Check the calender, man, you're a little behind the times. 'Tis 2005. Just thought I'd let you know. :anime:

[Charlie]

This is an... interesting topic here.

Warcraft III.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Its Kingdom Hearts, but I have to wonder why this thread is over 2 years late?

[Dark Fact]

What? No Blizzard games made the list? :confused:

[Invader_Spooch]

Am I the only one that felt that Metroid Fusion was a retread of Super Metroid? The same things happen more or less (outside of evil Samus) and it was muy deja vu through the entire game.

I'll say Kingdom Hearts, because I love the game, and so many folks fashionably bash it (though with the fan base it has, I can understand to a degree).

[Lil' Joker]

I would say Kingdom Hearts. Sure, GTA and Metroid were good, but GTA was like GTA III and Metroid Fusion was like all the other Metroids. that we've all seen before. Basicly what I'm saying is, nearly all those games were sequels or revampings, and the only originals were iingdom Hearts and Animal Crossing. I'm not saying that Animal Crossing isn't good, I just never played it before.

(I have a PS2 and isn't Animal crossing for GC?)
Can I expect Metroid-fanboy putting a bounty on my head by morning?

[Lord Dalek]

Golden Sun II.

[Punisher]

Metroid Prime. No question about it.

[Frank Castle]

-Metal Gear Solid 2 (XBOX)
It's a shame nobody bought it.

[Sigma]

Im going to have to say Metroid Prime. The game was just amazing from every stand point. Retro Studios managed to take the classic Metroid gameplay and put it into a first person perspective and made it work.

[maximumzero]

Im going to have to say Metroid Prime. The game was just amazing from every stand point. Retro Studios managed to take the classic Metroid gameplay and put it into a first person perspective and made it work.

What's even more amazing is that---wasn't it their first game? That's pretty damn good for a newcomer.

[Lord Dalek]

-Metal Gear Solid 2 (XBOX)
It's a shame nobody bought it.That's because it was glitchy as all get out.

[maximumzero]

Actually, wait, wasn't Super Mario Sunshine in 2002? I change my vote to that.

[CyberCartoon]

Kingdom Hearts is my favorite of 2002.

[Frank Castle]

That's because it was glitchy as all get out. The only glitch that I encountered was the rain slow down at the start of the game. The PS2 version also had the same problem.

[Master Moron]

While Metroid Prime was pretty fun, the controls absolutely sucked. Why on earth did they make one button control movement AND the camera. Often times I would try to move the camera and accedentally fall into acid or lava.

And there's WAY too many visors and weapons. It's really tedious to have to switch between them all. Why didn't they just combine all the weapons like the previous metroid games? The plasma-ice-wave beam was awesome.

And why on earth don't they let you change the camera mode? I mean, if I fall into lava while I'm in my morph ball, I end up having to take damage while I wait for the stupid camera to switch back to first person mode while I unmorph to jump out. Why can't they just let you switch between first person mode and third person mode?

Also, the fact that there's no story sucks. Why couldn't they have given Samus a voice? I mean, besides hearing her scream when she dies. And all that Chozo and Space Pirate lore is boring as hell, it reminded me of Myst, another game that had a long boring backstory, but no actual plot.

Anyway, my pick is Vice City. It enabled me to relive the eighties. Man, even though I already beat it 100% off my old roommates copy, I almost want to buy it just to play it again. I loved the sunny atmosphere of the city and the 80s music, and Ray Liotta as Tommy was awesome. CJ in San Andreas is cool and all, but he's no Tommy Vercetti.

[Shnay]

Also, the fact that there's no story sucks. Why couldn't they have given Samus a voice? I mean, besides hearing her scream when she dies. And all that Chozo and Space Pirate lore is boring as hell, it reminded me of Myst, another game that had a long boring backstory, but no actual plot.That's a matter of opinion, as I thought the lore was really interesting and well presented. Games like Metroid Prime or Myst use an unconventional method to tell their stories (they might not be specific plots of revenge or love or betrayal, but they are plots) and I find it to be engrossing.

Also, I don't ever want to see Samus get a voice. Metroid's atmosphere and story have always been very unique and distinct from other games. Giving Samus a voice and having her talk to Mission Control, converse with natives, or tell bosses that they're going down would completely ruin that for me.

I also disagree with the rest of the problems you had with the game, but whatever, all a matter of opinion. I'd definitely pick Metroid Prime as GOTY for 2002 (though I'm also confused why we're doing this in 2005). It's an incredible achievement in nearly all aspects of game design, and speaks volumes for the talent of newcomer Retro studios.

[James]

Very tough. Between Kingdom Hearts and Vice City.. Vice City won out for me.. while neither was AMAZINGLY original (particularly GTA:VC), they were both very full and diverse games with loads to do and some nice non linear elements.

Problem with KH, was that some of the worlds were a little visually messy for me. Some were fantastic, but it did have the occasional messy one.. and it was a slow builder.

VC, was a great improvement on GTAIII. They learned from the past and improved the forumla to make it more of a game than an add on. There is little wrong with VC in regards to playabilty and comparability to genre and so I think for that reason it gets my vote.

[Jean_Grey]

GTA and KH were both very good games but I like KH better I really liked the disney charecters. I'm a really big disney fan that's probably why I like it better.

[Master Moron]

That's a matter of opinion, as I thought the lore was really interesting and well presented. Games like Metroid Prime or Myst use an unconventional method to tell their stories (they might not be specific plots of revenge or love or betrayal, but they are plots) and I find it to be engrossing.

To be honest, they could have put all that backstory in the instruction manual.


Also, I don't ever want to see Samus get a voice. Metroid's atmosphere and story have always been very unique and distinct from other games. Giving Samus a voice and having her talk to Mission Control, converse with natives, or tell bosses that they're going down would completely ruin that for me.

Well, people said the same thing about the Final Fantasy games. I remember I used to see people on Gamefaqs sayings that the Final Fantasy games always managed to tell a story without voices and that's part of what makes the games distinct and unique. But, really I find the lack of voice acting in modern games often times distracting. I mean, there are times where it seems like Samus SHOULD be talking, but she doesn't. I mean, often times she would look around as if she's thinking about something and has something to say, but nothing comes out.

Actually, part of me thinks that Nintendo is stuck in the past, thinking that if they keep on doing things the same way that it will always yield the same results. I don't think they should strive to continually make Metroid games the same way they did when the series was 8-bit. Just because Samus didn't have a voice in the 8-bit days is no reason for her not to have a voice in today's era. And am I the only one who found it extremely odd that Samus was the only character in Smash Brothers who didn't have a voice? She didn't even scream when she died...it's just odd for her not to have a voice at this point.

[Shnay]

To be honest, they could have put all that backstory in the instruction manual.Well, yeah, if you take only the essential story elements you could easily put them into a couple of paragraphs. But that misses the point I was making. The content of basic plot is not what is interesting about Metroid Prime's storytelling. It is the way the information is presented, and the details that went into that presentation. Reading the test results of the Space Pirate experiments with morph ball technology is in no way an important part of the game's story. But reading through these scientific records helps to build an atmosphere and a more believeable world.

If you wanted to, you could not scan anything in the game and still have a really fun time playing through it. But doing that would miss out on so many of the small details and backstory elements which help to build an immersive experience, even if they don't advance the "main plot."


Actually, part of me thinks that Nintendo is stuck in the past, thinking that if they keep on doing things the same way that it will always yield the same results.You could make that argument for a lot of the decisions Nintendo makes, but I don't think that this is one of them (especially since Nintendo didn't make this particular game). If they were trying to make games like they did in the 8bit days, then how do you explain the shift to a first person, 3D game? Fans were outraged when they heard that the game would be in first person and said that it would never work. Retro could have very easily made Metroid Prime be a 2D game that closely resembled Super Metroid, but they chose to take a creative leap and be very original while also maintaining the "feel" of the series.

MP keeps what makes a Metroid game a Metroid game, while doing creative new things with gameplay and presentation. I believe the atmosphere was the thing that always set the Metroid games apart from the many other action titles out there. Metroid Prime does a fantastic job of sustaining that atmosphere, and I belive having Samus be voiceless was one of the things neccessary to achieve this.

[James_Batista]

For me, easily a tie between Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion. The latter for continuing the 2-D legacy, and the former for taking the series to the third dimension. Yeah, judging by my avatar, I'm a huge fan :anime:

GTA:VC is quite good and probably the first GTA I've actually liked(Found the previous ones to be overrated), but IMO it's not on the same level as the Metroids.

And while I wouldn't necessarily call it one of 2002's best, the horrifically underappreciated Super Mario Sunshine was awesome.