Gamespot's Best Game of 2008: Special achievement awards

GameSpot's Special Achievement awards highlight those games that excelled in specific areas that the editorial staff considered to be significant enough to consider for 2008, --a year that saw the release of both original games and sequels, as well as the emergence of new trends. These areas include such categories as outstanding visual design, impressive technical advancements, musical scores, and others. As with most of GameSpot's awards, each category is limited to a maximum of five finalists, which made picking a winner extremely difficult at times--and also made the simple act of making the cut as a finalist an honor unto itself.

[umair_s51]

Thank you Gamespot for recognizing quality

[Mercutio]

But Gamespot, really have redeemed themselves through this year.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

MGS4 won:

- Best story
- Best technical graphics
- Best boss fights
- Best voice acting
- Best memorable moments

Well deserved.

[CViper]

This is sad if they are trying to redeem themselves just to PS3 owners.

If they actually sat down and decided MGS4 is the best game of next gen like everyone else did.. points to them.

MGS4 is really amazing, and its amazing on all levels

Its not even comparable to the competition.

[TOO PAWNED]

"Cviper

Why dont watch that 30 minute long video before releasing anything from your mouth?
All awards that MGS4 got made sense, and were all explained in thats video. Besides it wasnt nominated for some stuff for which it should have been, like for music score

[Rock Bottom]

I don't see anything wrong in what C-Viper said...

Maybe you should read it again and see if you get it.

[BrianC6234]

I just got to most innovative game and they didn't even list LittleBigPlanet. How can that be? Even if it doesn't win shouldn't it at least be on the list?

[The gaming GOD]

I remember that too. They had NOTHING wrong or bad to say about the game. Then they go and say a negative point of Ratchet and Clank was "too much variety".

I mean come on, when is "too much" variety EVER a bad thing? And even worse, because it had "too much variety" they give it a 7.5

Ridiculous.

[INehalemEXI]

Warhawk should of won for best downloadables but at least it was nominated jolly good show GS.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Warhawk was released in 2007.

[rexor0717]

I find it odd that Gears of War 2 was not even mentioned in the Best Graphics section. Are they becoming PS3 fanboys? I don't really like that. They need to be totally unbiased.

[SonyOwnsNextYear]

Well deserved. mgs4 is a masterpiece.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Gears of War 2 isn't graphically impressive enough to be included in that category. It's good to see that more and more people are beginning to realize just how disgusting Unreal Engine 3 games are.

[Bombomb]

You fools all it takes is to say good thing about anything ps3 and your redeemed...haha

fanboys

[40cal]

Best story+
Best technical graphics+
Best boss fights+
Best voice acting+
Best memorable moments+
_________________________
Metal Gear Solid 4 = Game of the Year!

[phosphor112]

Honestly, vaseline on walls effects looks bad. I honestly HATE the Unreal Engine. Yes it runs well, great physics, but their OVERUSE of bump/normal mapping makes it look like Marcus was getting in a tub of Baby oil with Cole Train. Epic needs to get their head out their ass (mainly "Cliffy B's" arrogant self) and make something AMAZING. E.g. A team of..what 8 people made LBP's game engine, and it has AMAZING graphics. Yes it doesn't have AI's (not many of them atleast) in one area, but to have particle effects, textures, physics, and constant frame rate made by a team of only 8 people, why can't Epic make something with those attributes but on a grander scale?

[ultimolu]

...
...
...
KOJIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMA!

I approve this decision.

[TOO PAWNED]

I agree that Gamespot is coming back to its old self, not because of this but because of reviews of all big games in fall, they were spot on on 99% of them

[cmrbe]

They have been very resonable and consistent with their reviews lately which is good to see. No hype or BS just straight forward reviews. I hope they don't fall back like they did.

[locos85]

I might start going back to Gamespot. IGN is just getting too ridiculous for me. And I won't even comment on 1up.......

[Homicide]

So do we like GameSpot now?

[umair_s51]

I like them because they are honest with there reviews, but GTA 4 is an exception though. They are usually more critical than the other sites, but thats a good thing.

[Why o why]

but we are allowed to acknowledge their acknowledgement. It can and should go both ways. They are making an effort to win back fans OR maybe they really think MGS4 is that good. Who knows? Even if their motives are contrived their choice still makes sense and would only really be question by those who have not played through it or are just haters like mr/ms agent VX.

[pp]

What ever they must be dumb or gay for choosing Mgs-4 or they felt sad for poor old kojima for not winning any awards all these years.

Also shouldn't their have been a award for the fastest ever game to hit the bargain bin (MGS4).

[Mr PS3]

"Gears 2 Confirmed GOTY 2008"

AHAHAHAAHHAHAH

Thy Silly Little BoT

MGS4 GOTY
Without Doubt !!!!

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Hey PP, aren't you the one that said Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead were going to dominate every Game of the Year award? What happened? MGS4 and LBP are taking everything.

[meatnormous]

I would play you at Gears 2 if I could actually get the game to find a game online. Checking out the insider moves videos at the moment and those guys are the lamest people I have ever heard. You are probably one of the douche bags.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

LMAO @ meatnormous.

[TIKUP]

MGS4 FTW this game trully deserves it and i loved every bloody moment of it!!!! WELL DONE SNAKE FOR DELIVERING AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE!!!!

[lord_of_balrogs]

I wouldn't mind buying MS4 it seems like a solid game. No pun intended.

[hay]

It's beyond solid, trust me ;]

[Aaron Greenterd]

I will make sure my employer "sweetens the deal" to make sure positive news for our competitors doesn't see the light of day.

[TOO PAWNED]

ME and you bro, we are gonna do it

[ReTarDedFisHy]

No doubt it's going to...
You know what nvm.
I'll just let the bots cry by themselves. I'll leave 'em alone.
And I'll go and enjoy my AAA games.

Edit: It could've, no, should have won more. Including Best Original Soundtrack. How could they not include MGS4??

Damn lol if they included soundtrack MGS4 would have had 6 awards right there. And only for the "Special Achievements" awards.

[PotNoodle]

Still as epic as the first time i played through it. Game of the generation, imo.

I wish more people could enjoy it.

[TOO PAWNED]

WOW, you deserve medal for playing one game 16 times:)

[Gun_Senshi]

i played it over 30 times and even got Big Boss Mask!

[PotNoodle]

I've played MGS1 probably 20 times, MGS2 around 5, MGS3 around 10.

[solsub]

Very deserving.

[Obama]

Mgs4 > Gears2. Even Gamespot admits it.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Most people agree with that actually. Gears of War 2 is just a glitchy mess.

[Obama]

bubble up for the truth.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Back at ya and good luck in January.

[borgome]

Shat your fat pie hole Obama

[Agent VX]

MGS 4 is a great game, but by no means GOTY.

Fallout is much much more deserving game.

Personally, sounds like Gamespot is trying to "Buy" back Sony fanboys by this. Nothing more than using a game not deserving to get the biggest bang for their buck. Cheap....

[TOO PAWNED]

Played Fallout for 5 hours and that was more than enough.

[solsub]

Fallout 3 was a huge disappointment imo.

[CViper]

MGS4 Is the best game of this generation. Thats pretty much it.

Gameplay
Graphics
Story
Music
Online

All in One package, yes games have parts of that package. But MGS4 delivers on all, and well.

Im sure you REALLY REALLY prefer your multiplats ;) But hey, at least some people(ps3 owners) can enjoy both.

[DiabloRising]

Oh god, VX's post is so full of fail its hilarious.

Remember kids, when a PS3 game is scored well, its a ploy to buy back attention. But when a 360 game scores well, it really really deserves it mmmkay?

LULZ. Thanks VX, keep up the comedy routine.

[Why o why]

but its worth a shot. News like this just pisses guy/girls like vx right off to the point where he needed to call for a multiplatform game.

[rhood022]

haha...if this was 1997 and you were talking about the the original Fallout, then I'd agree.

But if you're talking about Fallout 3, then wow.

That game was a pretty package (about 70% of the time, anyway) with shallow gameplay--the V.A.Ts (probably the more innovative aspect of the game) served nothing more than to cover-up a poor fps shooting mechanic and to appeal to the "I wanna see lots of blood and gore" crowd.

The story is a joke--

1. "Where'd my daddy go!! Let me find him (oh and do stuff for other people so they tell me where he went) and all will be good."
2. walk, walk, walk.
3. "Oh daddy I found you. Sure I'll help you (I mean, I've already been a tool to everyone else to get to this point."
4. walk, walk, walk,
5. "There, all done daddy! Oh no! Don't flip that switch, you're going to (spoiler)!
6. run away, then walk, walk, walk
7. "Sure I'll help you "Mr. President." The End.

The lack of side-quests and free-forms is a step backward compared to Oblivion. Unless you have OCD to see everything in the game, there is really no reason to explore beyond said quests and main story.

[Gun_Senshi]

I am INSULTED by Fallout 3.

Its Oblivion with guns....and Oblivion sucked donkey Poo

Fallout 2 and Morrowind > everything Behlascrap software is releasing lately.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

You don't even own a PS3. MGS4 has won more GOTY awards than any other game this year and yet you believe your opinion matters.

[Beg For Mercy]

the ps3 dominated man have things changed since 2006

[DiabloRising]

While I dont like Gamespot, or any professional review site really... I do respect them for this. Not for their choices, but rather for their categories. Instead of just GOTY or other crap, we get things that matter, like best new characters, best bosses, most innovative gameplay, things and reasons that we play games for. I hope more sites start doing this, giving us categories that just mesh better with the hobby.

[Blink_44]

congrats mgs4

[Blink_44]

Oops sorry double post.

[Nathan Drake]

That's your opinion.

IMO and in the opinion of many others,the moment the "War has changed" speech started,we immediately realized we were playing one of the most epic video game titles ever released.

[Gun_Senshi]

.

[paskowitz]

Personally Fallout 3 was great but MGS4 was better. Fallout was really good but there is nothing quite like MGS4. If the online wasn't hindered by Konami then I would say it was perfect. And to all those who say the story is confusing or silly then you aren't a MGS fan so why would you care? MGS4 is 99% perfect for the people it was intended forL, MGS fans. Saying MGS4 is bad would be like a soccer mom saying, "This Nissan GTR is terrible for daily use." The thing is, it was not meant for you or for daily use so your opinion holds no validity. The Nissan is the best at what it was meant for (well sort of), so is MGS4 (not sort of). If you are a fan and you have played the game on all the difficulties, played the online, played the previous games then there is no game that is better than MGS4. . end of story

[Batzi]

Deserves it! It will hopefully get Best PS3 Game, Best Action Adventures and GOTY!!!

[user3915800]

Nothing in gamespot worth a leak including the excutives that sales their soul for money to hell with gamespot and its supporter. By the way MGS4 its not worth a crap its ridiculous how gamespot took money to said that the movie MGS4 its worth anything.

[paskowitz]

and fan boys have not ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

sigh.

[No FanS Land]

Hmmm... Gears2 is not even in best graphics category.

[No FanS Land]

(Enters fanboy overdrive mode)

hhhmmm... gears2 did not take any award.

I wonder how many fanboys will reap me over.

I'm actually pointing that out for pp!

hey don't worry, the game was good but MGS4 was... (Doesn't find any word to describe quality) MGS4. period.

[Mr_Insane]

As gamepro would put it, MGS4 was a masterpiece. PERIOD.

[Obama]

Where's gears 2? no awards? awww :)

[No FanS Land]

I wrote that too! However in the gamer zone.

[meatnormous]

I did a graphics comparison between the 2, I have gears 1 on my pc and gears 2 on the 360. I think the pc version looks better than 2, all settings at max.

[Mitch_Cumstein]

Which isn't all that surprising to me, but I still thought I would see a handful. I've played MGS4 3 different times all the way through. The last time through I skipped all the cutscenes and what not and finally realized why MGS4 just wasn't GOTY material, and I think a lot of these publications see it the same way. Take away everything else, all the story, all the extras and the game is rather clunky and it just isn't GOTY fun. But as far as everything else goes- story, SOUND(best part), cinematics, graphics(up until Gears 2), characters etc. was all top notch. And that's the type of awards I see MGS4 has been picking up and deservely so. Unfortunately it is lacking in gameplay and with the quality of other games out, you simply can't lack in gameplay and expect to walk away with GOTY.

Sorry, MGS4 is great, but there are better games out there with far greater gameplay.

[PotNoodle]

You didn't play it the real MGS way? That is one major flaw i found with MGS4 - they made it WAYYYYY too easy to be able to run and gun, but if you play it the real way it is one of the most rewarding and fun experiences on any game, ever.

That is the draw to the MGS franchise to me, i know sneaking isn't everyones thing but i love it. Oh and before anyone starts calling me a sony fanboy:

First and foremost i'm a Metal gear fanboy, whatever platform it was on i would of bought it, even if i didn't have the platform i would of got one or at least borrowed whatever platform it is on.

(I'm talking about the main games btw, not the spin-off's like the iphone games etc).

[nycredude]

I appreciate how you are trying not to sound like you are biased or anything but your comment is pretty much a failed attempted at bashing MGS4. Thank god you are not a games reviewer!!

Take away the story, graphics, sound and all the extras? WTF!! You do know that there is more to ANY game than just gameplay right? All those things you talked about taking away IS part of what makes the game great! Duh! Try taking away all of those elements of any of your favorite games and tell me if they are still your favorite... Then come back and rethink your comment.

For example, Do you think Deadspace would be as great as it is if you take away the sound? How about Left for Dead without the multiplayer? Uncharted without the storytelling? Endwar without the voice commands? Are you getting the point?

The only thing that taking away those things and "extras" you mentioned does is makes the game incomplete!

[XDF]

of Bias against PS3 websites.

Now PS3 fans will wait for a good article from 1up, gamespot, Edge, Eurogamer, PC magazine, Cnet, Yahoo games, EGM, Gameinformer, Videogamers, Giantbomb, Teamxbox, Official Playstation Magazine...to get them off the hit list.

Merry Christmas my fellow N4G members.

[tk]

Less advertising money from certain quarters? No 3rd rate game getting GOTY? Money must be getting thin now...

[onomix]

Why did not LBP get nominated on the: Most Innovative Game and Best Original IP category's? Because GameSpot are idiot's. MGS4 beat Crysis when it comes to graphics? Are they retarded? Crysis kick everybody's ass when it comes to graphics. Have they not played on Very High Settings?

MGS4 is a decent game. About one-half of the game’s 25 hours is spent on watching movies and listening to codec. Many movie sections are like watching the end of a football game. “Just 2 more minutes and I’ll take out the trash, honey!” slowly and inevitably turns into 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc. It’s so ridiculous that the game’s makers know it and indulge in it.

Thankfully you can skip all movie sections and cut straight to the action. You will miss the story, but after watching all the movies I can’t recommend it to anyone who values their time. The only commendable movies are at the end of the five main stages.

Why can’t Snake use his environment better? Why aren’t we enthralled by a wider variety of ways to dispatch enemies? Why aren’t there more than 4-5 types of basic enemies (excluding bosses)? Why hasn’t Kojima done this? He’s spending all his time on his absurd movies and plot twists is the answer.

I would give this game a 7/10. You guys are protecting MGS4 against your will, don't do it. You all know it is overrated. YOU ALL DO. Now i'm going back playing Super Mario World and Super Metroid. Because the game in the past had that magic that these new games don't have. GTA IV, don't make me start on that one. GTA IV is the most overrated game ever, I could write a whole page why it sucks.

[thereapersson]

Interesting analysis.

However, even people who have never fallen for the hype have given MGS4 a good rating. Not sure what to make of that, but to each his own I suppose.

[Shane Kim]

MGS4 (PS3 exclusive)
Best Graphics - Won
Best Story - Won
Best Voice Acting - Won
Best Boss Fights - Won
Most Memorable Moments - Won

Valkyria (PS3 exclusive)
Best Graphics (artistic) - Won

Resistance 2 (PS3 exclusive)
Most Improved Sequel - Won (NOT GEARS 2, sorry xb0ts)

LittleBigPlanet (PS3 exclusive)
Best Implementation of user generated content - Won

The only thing Gears 2 should have won is "Best Expantion Pack" since that's all it is.

Sony FTW