CCIV: Game of the Year 2003 - Round 03

[Neon Ignition]

The third round of 2003 delivers more games to woo you with their tantilising delights, will this round contain the ultimate winner?


Which of the above games are among the best of 2003 and why?

[charlesr]

There's only one winner here.

[QualityChimp]

I'm pretty sure it's Dynasty Warriors 4 that I played on my PS2. I remember loving it, but they're pretty interchangeable.
Same for Devil May Cry 2. I Couldn't tell you who the protagonist was in that one or how it differs in gameplay from the others, but I remember having fun playing it, even if it was tough to master.

I should have played Donkey Konga and Donkey Kong Country, but I didn't, so can't vote for them.

I've just had to revote and remove Def Jam, because it was Fight For New York, rather than Vendetta that I played.
I also thought Deus Ex was the 3rd game, but it's the poorly-received sequel that I haven't played.

[egparadigm]

[Travesty]

Def Jam Vendetta was made by Aki Corporation who previously made games such as Virtual Pro Wrestling, WCW vs nWo Revenge, WWF No Mercy. Vendetta was great, but the sequel was better.

[Cassius_Smoke]

There's only one winner here.

Beach Volleyball right...

[Asura]

Some great memories of these titles.

Dancing Stage Megamix and just generally the DDR craze, which gave way to the music-game craze. Fantastic fun.

Day of Defeat was a mod that became a full game, which was an important step to that becoming more commonplace (and the resurgence of indie games in general). I remember it had this feature where if you had a heavy weapon, you could go up to a window and the character would brace it against the windowsill.

Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball was, and this might be hard to believe you've never played it, a great volleyball game and casino simulator. Obviously it had the DoA girls but I don't think it would've lasted if they hadn't really put a lot of effort into the actual game. It really was very fun to play.

Defense of the Ancients kinda needs to get a vote, because it started an entire genre (well - some people have suggested it started with Future Cop LAPD but DOTA was the nexus point). I remember seeing it played at LAN parties and trying it; honestly I didn't know if it would catch on. But the idea was interesting, making a mod with that much depth within Warcraft 3.

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down was the final(?) game in the Delta Force series, which splintered off into Joint Operations which I also loved. Those were great games in the early days of trying to do these big, outdoor milsim games and they tried so many different and fun things.

Dragonball Z: Budokai 2 gets a vote because I'd argue it was the game where the franchise found its feet, after the first one was a bit shakey. 3 would be better, but we didn't know that yet.

Finally Dungeons & Dragons Heroes - in our house we had much fun over several weeks, playing this 4-player (the only thing missing from the otherwise superior Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games). Unfortunately I remember it had one major flaw; the player characters moved at different speeds based on their speed stat and you didn't share money among the party - that meant by the time we were a third of the way through the game, the Rogue player was absolutely minted and the rest of us were paupers. We couldn't afford what we needed and he had diamond encrusted armour. Bit of an oversight there!

[Deuteros]

Finally Dungeons & Dragons Heroes - in our house we had much fun over several weeks, playing this 4-player (the only thing missing from the otherwise superior Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games). Unfortunately I remember it had one major flaw; the player characters moved at different speeds based on their speed stat and you didn't share money among the party - that meant by the time we were a third of the way through the game, the Rogue player was absolutely minted and the rest of us were paupers. We couldn't afford what we needed and he had diamond encrusted armour. Bit of an oversight there!

Nothing wrong with a bit of social commentary in a young medium eager to transcend its boundaries.

/j

[Asura]

Nothing wrong with a bit of social commentary in a young medium eager to transcend its boundaries.

/j

Are you suggesting that those who "got there first", figuratively, have an inherent advantage over the rest of us?

YOU COMMUNIST

[QualityChimp]

Nothing wrong with a bit of social commentary in a young medium eager to transcend its boundaries.

/j

Beach Volleyball right...

[Deuteros]

Beach Volleyball right...

Right, both in terms of the social commentary bit and in terms of attempting to transcend the boundaries of a swimsuit.

[fuse]

Was confused about DKC featuring alongside Donkey Konga but then realised there was a GBA version.

Disgaea for me, though. It's the only one in the series I've ever played through, but it was smart and just had this subversive feeling like it was poking fun at itself and encouraging you to push the boundaries of what being an SRPG meant, while also deeply respecting those roots.

VO: Marz isn't up to Oratorio Tangram standards in my book, and none of the EU-centric Dancing Stage games had songlists as big or as diverse as the Japanese equivalents. And who knew they made a Devil May Cry 2!

[dataDave]

In what ****ing universe does DMC2 receive GOTY votes? lol