Games that everyone can enjoy. Surely those are the best kind? This category is uniquely able to celebrate the achievements made by developers who aren’t tied in to exclusive deals with any one platform.
The category includes any disc based release which was available for two or more of the biggest platforms (home consoles and PC/Mac). We didn’t count any of the mobile-phone spin-offs or handheld derivatives which may or may not share features. These are big hitters.
The exclusives often seem to get the most attention in our industry. Perhaps that’s because they are the easiest to cling to when the fanboys are making pointless claims that their choice of console is somehow “better” than another. Multiplatform titles skirt that issue by making themselves available to all (or many, at least). Now, if only we could stop paying so much attention to those comparison articles!
So, in celebration of all things inclusive, we present our Multiplatform Game of the Year 2010: Mass Effect 2 (PC and Xbox 360)
Origami Killer
this confuses me as if its multi platform surely it has to be all 3 consoles (ps3, xbox and pc)
im sorry but i complatly disagree with this result due to the fact that its not really multi platform, should have been red dead for me
teflon
Was RDR on the Wii?
Multi-Platform just means it’s on more than one platform.
mynameisblair
Nope, nor was it on PC.
Origami Killer
fair enough, its just PC and xbox are basically under 1 as microsoft,
mynameisblair
Red Dead isn’t on all 3 either :(
ARUMIR
I haven’t played any of these games….
colossalblue
Some interesting debate here, Kronik has made some decent points which I completely disagree with but can kind of see where they’re coming from. I’m very disappointed in some others though, launching vitriolic attacks with no substance and even less factual basis is not entirely unexpected from some but still very disappointing.
The simple fact is, if I had included (I formulated the categories) ME2 (or any other 360 & PC only games) in the 360 Exclusives list then there would have been many people (and some of them would have, ironically been the same people) very keen to point out that they weren’t 360 exclusives. I defined a multi platform game as any game which has seen the same version released on multiple platforms this year. I honestly can’t reconcile with any other definition.
If we had excluded the PC then we would have met with people commenting that those games (ME2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction, particularly) didn’t deserve to be in the 360 Exclusive category but by that logic they can’t go in the PC Exclusive category either so where do they go? Do we have to pretend they didn’t exist at all? If we move the definition to only include consoles then we can’t include games like Red Dead Redemption because it wasn’t released for Wii.
Using the logic I’ve seen hinted at (but never entirely nailed, so I might be incorrect in my assumption) that a game which was only released on PC and 360 should be excluded as multiplatform because it wasn’t available for one of the “HD three” we would also have to exclude Red Dead Redemption (which I’m using as an example because I had it in my own list) because it was only released on PS3 and 360.
So it seems that people might have wanted the categories even narrower – to only include HD consoles. That seems like we’re painting the lines to suit ourselves rather than living within generally accepted definitions. That’s also why we had separate categories for each platform, so the true exclusives (with the narrowest selection criteria of all) could be recognised as well as the games which catered for a larger audience by being released on two or more platforms be they 360 and PC, 360 and PS3 or PS3 and PC (which will be a bigger issue next year, of course).
Ultimately, of course, it doesn’t matter. These are our Game of the Year lists based on our categories and our voting systems. It’s okay to disagree with them (although I maintain that the deliberation and logic we used is more sound and considered than any I’ve seen to counter it so far) but the manner in which one or two people have chosen to express themselves not only cheapens their side in the debate, it does them an immense personal disservice.
cc_star
Yup
“If we had excluded the PC then we would have met with people commenting that those games (ME2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction, particularly) didn’t deserve to be in the 360 Exclusive category but by that logic they can’t go in the PC Exclusive category either so where do they go? Do we have to pretend they didn’t exist at all? If we move the definition to only include consoles then we can’t include games like Red Dead Redemption because it wasn’t released for Wii.”
If ME2 had won X360 GotY most of comments would have been about it not being a Xbox 360 exclusive, hence my earlier comment about people twisting it both ways when it suits the point they’re trying to make.
pitchforkdisney
shhhh, quick, stop fighting! dad’s here to tell us how things work round here…and he looks disappointed. but who with? kantankerous katy? or naughty nofi? i’m with the straight talking bitch! partly cos the me2 win is confusing with rdr spagettii smeared all over 2010. still, not sure if i’ve expressed my disgust in a witty and cheeky way without offending. us geeks are so sensitive, what?!
nofi
Sorry, I’m now back to pouring over code and databases for hours to build our new community features. PM all hate to the usual address. ;)
pitchforkdisney
ha, dad’s got you doing ‘community’ service? arf!
nofi
We pour our heart and soul into this site, something that some seem to gloss over.
pitchforkdisney
ok, i delurked for a cheeky gest, dared to take sides and now you’re goin on about ‘heart and soul’? i feel guilty and ashamed. going back under my lurking stone…you sensitive geeks!
Beelzie14
To get around all the debate you should have just chosen Kane and Lynch:Dog Days as the winner. There would certainly have been no fanboy vitriol claiming bragging rights. In fact it may well have been a complete non-discussion and avoided all chances of debate, as people frantically paged through their calendars to check whether today was in fact April 1st!!
ME2 looks to be an awesome game and I am stoked it is coming to PS3 – and whilst both sides of the debate have put forward good points, it’s ultimately just a silly title.
*cue backhanded bitch-slap from ColossalBlue leaving an ever-deepening red palm print upon left cheek*
colmshan1990
Forget Mass Effect’s exclusivity debate.
What I’m more concerned about is what were you guys smoking?
Red Dead Redemption is surely better than DJ Hero 2, right? And while Dante’s Inferno, Bioshock 2, Enslaved, NFS et al are undoubtedly great games, can they really touch Red Dead?
I normally HATE sandbox/ open-world/ whatever you want to call it games, but truly love Red Dead. Dante’s I own but still haven’t really connected with (Blame Kratos), Enslaved is good in places, great in others, and Bioshock 2 was fantastic, but ultimately a disappointment (after the impossibly high level the original set the bar at). But Red Dead Redemption, whether or not it was the number one game or otherwise, was surely worthy of a top 5 placement! I can’t even say being released earlier in the year damaged it, as ME2 (although being rereleased soon probably bought it more attention) and Bioshock 2 both came out beforehand!
cc_star
A great point & valid debate, and perfectly in the spirit of such GotY lists around the internet.
Ummm I’ve not played it as I’ve gone ‘off’ Rockstar’s output this gen as either my tastes have changed or the games just aren’t as fun as on the PS2, so RDR didn’t get a vote from me.
colmshan1990
To be honest, this is the first Rockstar game to really grab me. I own (and completed) Liberty City Stories on PSP, but that was at a time when the there wasn’t a great selection on the handheld. I still play Wipeout Pure, which I got with the PSP 1000, but can’t remember the last time GTA got touched. I rented the PS2 GTA’s, after hearing my friends go on about them, but quickly got bored.
Red Dead arrived at Christmas and has completely and utterly grabbed me.
If you haven’t played it, you can’t vote for it, but I think you owe it to yourself to rent it at least.
PS. (This bit isn’t aimed at you cc_star, more at nofi, Kronik, Katy etc.)
Loving the debates above. So long as it’s all tongue-and-cheek, I love snide comments, and occasionally will stir it for my amusement. Please don’t bow to pressure! Antagonise AND entertain the community!
Remember, you can’t please ALL of your readers, and as the vast majority are unconcerned, you shouldn’t be worried.
So long as the banhammer doesn’t come out, the staff (or noisy readers) won’t scare me away from commenting…
PPS.And for the record, ME2 IS multiplatform. It’s available to play on PC, 360 and soon, PS3. Oblivion was originally 360 and PC, but also came out on PS3 (eventually). Multiplat. Guardian of Light? Timed exclusive? Yes. Multiplat? Yes. I could name more, but it is multi-plat.
And as for the comments saying 360 and PC are both Microsoft, tell that to my Sony VAIO laptop, which last I checked, CAN run Mass Effect 2. I just don’t want to. I prefer my gaming on my couch, in front of my big TV.
cc_star
Think I’ll give it a go, but despite playing GTA III & Vice City for well over a year each, I fell out of love R* at San Andreas and I didn’t think much of Red Dead Revolver on the PS2.
This feeling was compounded by GTAIV on the PS3 so I never gave Redemption any attention at all.
jimmy-google
Personally I think that list shows how poor
2010 was with multiformat releases. Nothing really jumped out at me. Ac brotherhood could have dlc for ac2 and rdr was a real slog. Exclusives really kept this year interesting
tonycawley
I’m so very glad that red dead didn’t win this. In my opinion it’s massively overrated. Just Gta4 all over again in a different setting, and Gta4 was massively overrated.
gazzagb
Now that it seems to have calmed down I’ll comment on this. Personally, I believe that 360 games that also happen to be available on PC are not multi platform, I more believe that a game needs to be available on both PS3 and 360.
I thought either Red Dead or Brotherhood should have got this, both games are utterly brilliant and would be well deserving winners.
timecrocop
Red Dead Redemption was easily the best game of 2010, nothing came close (of course thats just my opinion)