CCIV: Game of the Year 2001 - Round Eight

[Neon Ignition]

Has 2001 peaked early or can the later rounds deliver the caliber of title that can take the crown?



Which of the above games are amongst the best of 2001 and why?

[Neon Ignition]

PGR! The real best Xbox launch game

[jonathan_ingram]

Just Rez, absolutely perfect game

[QualityChimp]

I really like Return to Castle Wolfenstien.

I've been meaning to replay this game for a while now.

[fuse]

Waaaaargh, I voted and then saw Progear afterwards! It is amazing and please consider a +1 for that if I were able to edit. I've made vague promises to myself in the past about trying to learn to play it properly, and while on a good day I can scrape some way into stage 5, the bigger issue is that I've never quite got good at scoring in it. I'm glad that there's actually a range of legit ways to play it these days. It also ranks very high for me in the hotly contested "stage 1 of a shmup BGMs to get you pumped".

That said, the game I did already vote for is Phoenix Wright, and that is another that I absolutely, positively love to bits. Even with my notoriously short memory for minute plot details, I don't tend to re-play narrative-focused games too many times, but I have played this first game in this series about 5 times. The fact it's been re-released contributes to that, but I still wouldn't have done it if I didn't find every twist and turn so charming and funny. It is a brilliant series with so much smart writing, and a heart of pure gold.

[Neon Ignition]

Controversy Grenade!

I like Rez, I think it's a great audio visual experience that has been played about with by Sega a few times and always comes out well from it etc.

But... I don't think it's an amazing rail shooter. Like, I play it for the experience but if I want to play they type of game there's a fair few I'd go to over it

[wakka]

Threw my support in for a few this time around...

Phoenix Wright
Pokémon Card GB 2
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Rez

Phoenix Wright is such a great game and I loved it on release. Fantastic writing for a videogame, then and now, and gameplay that leapfrogs most other VNs. I've still got the big box version with the manga and the special stylus and stuff!

Pokémon Card GB 2 won't be a popular one as it's a relatively obscure game. But I played the fan translation earlier this year (my impressions are in the 'What have you been playing retro' thread), and it's a really excellent game. Pokémon Trading Card Game was already a terrific title but this one expands on it in every possible direction and it makes for an incredibly addictive and absorbing card battling experience. I only wish they had made a third!

RTCW was a brilliant FPS for the time. I loved all the old Id and Apogee games, including Wolfenstein 3D, when I was small, so it was so exciting to get a proper sequel to Wolf that was fully modernised. Used to spend hours staying up late sneaking through the levels on my old Dell. The one where you steal some kind of secret supersonic jet was particularly memorablee.

Rez is just a wonderful experience. Like many I've played this over and over again on different platforms and each time it's just as fresh and timeless as when I first played it in the early 2000s. There is something about it that is just umami.

[fuse]

Oh jeez, I missed Rez too. I'm not very good at this reading lark

First time I played it I didn't fully appreciate it aside from it looking/sounding quite nice. Stage 5 though - that's where everything just kind of fell into place and suddenly I got it.

[QualityChimp]

Controversy Grenade!

I like Rez, I think it's a great audio visual experience that has been played about with by Sega a few times and always comes out well from it etc.

But... I don't think it's an amazing rail shooter. Like, I play it for the experience but if I want to play they type of game there's a fair few I'd go to over it

Although I agree with you that it's not the best on-rails shooter, it's doing something that hadn't really been done before or since, really. Not every "game" has to emphasize that part, and I think we need to celebrate some of the unusual releases.

That's why we're here still talking about it, because it was so memorable, rather than Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor.

[dataDave]

Waaaaargh, I voted and then saw Progear afterwards! It is amazing and please consider a +1 for that if I were able to edit. I've made vague promises to myself in the past about trying to learn to play it properly, and while on a good day I can scrape some way into stage 5, the bigger issue is that I've never quite got good at scoring in it. I'm glad that there's actually a range of legit ways to play it these days. It also ranks very high for me in the hotly contested "stage 1 of a shmup BGMs to get you pumped".

That said, the game I did already vote for is Phoenix Wright, and that is another that I absolutely, positively love to bits. Even with my notoriously short memory for minute plot details, I don't tend to re-play narrative-focused games too many times, but I have played this first game in this series about 5 times. The fact it's been re-released contributes to that, but I still wouldn't have done it if I didn't find every twist and turn so charming and funny. It is a brilliant series with so much smart writing, and a heart of pure gold.

You can unvote and vote again. I do it all the time.

[Mayhem]

OBJECTION! Phoenix Wright FTW.

And admitedly I had no idea what Progear was, albeit I have played a number of CAVE shooters.

[Neon Ignition]

Somehow Pool of Radiance was the fifth in the franchise as well