Game Ranter Banter: Game Awards, PS4, Diablo 3 For Consoles & The Games Of 2012

We're half way through January right now, but in terms of video game releases, it's been a much more quiet month than last year. Thankfully, that's why we have the Game Ranter Banter.

This week five of our writers will discuss the subjectivity of video game awards, the eventual release of the PS4, one's annoyance at Blizzard for not announcing Diablo 3 for consoles already, how Binary Domain may help shooters and the versatility gamers can expect from 2012's release slate. So, if you're not chugging through your backlog like the rest of us, let's begin.

Game Awards Are Too Subjective (By: Tyler Schirado)

With the awards season in full swing in both film and gaming industries, I'd like to fully recognize the impossibility of placing the sole title of "Game of the Year" to any one game. Unlike the film industry, video games have a far more subjective user base than what fans of movies must endure. There are so many more factors at play when determining which game can be labeled "Game of the Year" that the category arguably shouldn't exist. The biggest determinant a film lacks, that complicates gaming biases, is gameplay. With so many different genres, including puzzle, action, first-person shooter, RPG, MMORPG, and many many more, how could any one group of people, with different favorite types of gameplay, decide on one game as "Game of the Year"?

The Game Developers Choice Awards has a nice set of categories to go by and this year's nominees look like great choices. There are not genre categories, but rather for innovation, with more technical awards. The spectrum is just too large to pinpoint one specific game to rule them all. The argument for "Game of the Year" will always spark controversial arguments more fierce than any movie award ever could. Award ceremonies need to either rethink their process of recognizing games for awards before my brain explodes.

Creativity Hasn’t Been Lost on Old Franchises (By: Brian Sipple)

Sifting through our feature of the 25 Most Anticipated Games of 2012 — in addition to making purchase plans and calling my Swiss bank manager to see if our pirate gold fund investment had accrued any profit — I was struck by how many titles were installments to franchises that we haven’t seen since the Bush administration. And while many are often quick to assail the franchise model in video games as a damper on creativity, I can’t help but think that this year, it’s going to be the spark.

Where annual or bi-annual franchise installments can often get by on borrowing heavily from their predecessors (That’s hardly a blanket criticism; look no further than our 2-time champ of the list Mass Effect 3), games likes like Tomb Raider, Prey 2, and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (just to skate the tip of the iceberg) will all release into starkly different environments from their last gaming foray — one where certain conventions of yesteryear need not apply.

Future Soldier, for example, has the curious dynamic of being a tactical co-op third person shooter that will try to resonate in the lexicon of today’s Call of Duty and Battlefield engrossed FPS fan. Prey 2 and Tomb Raider, meanwhile, have undergone dramatic makeovers with both their art styles and gameplay. This new trend might result in a few games falling flat on their faces, but the ones that succeed could be better than ever.

Quit Dia-blowing Us Off, Blizzard (By: Riley Little)

As development on Diablo 3 enters into the final stretch, PC gamers are obviously and rightfully excited. Console gamers on the other hand, are obviously and rightfully confused. Blizzard has been coy with information on a potential console version of their beloved Diablo franchise for months, and this past week a Blizzard employee even went so far as to confirm the project's existence. If an official confirmation of the title's development from an employee wasn't enough, the same employee also claimed that Josh Mosqueira was lead designer for the console version of Diablo 3.

Those who are without a decent computer were overjoyed at the news, but their dreams were once again cut short when Blizzard stated that they were only "exploring the possibility of developing a console version of Diablo 3." So, Blizzard, you've got staff working on a project that currently doesn't exist? Yeah, we're not buying it either. The game will likely not see a release on consoles until well after the PC version is released, but since Blizzard has also claimed to be building the game from the ground up on consoles, it may turn out to be well worth the wait. Now, just quit beating around the bush, and announce the damn thing!

Guns or the Ammo (By: Anthony Taormina)

With all of this “will they won’t they” hullabaloo surrounding Sony and its announcement of the PS4, it has got me to thinking about consoles and how important they are to me now as they were back in 2006. Back then, I would have been patiently anticipating my chance to pick up the next Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo, but now I feel like I’d rather pocket the $300 - $400 for five or six current gen titles.

With so many games delivering exciting experiences within the current gen, the emphasis has been placed less and less on better technology and more on a compelling story and solid gameplay. Take Skyward Sword for example, a game that is down right ugly when compared to something like Uncharted 3, but still gets recognition for Game of the Year.

Now I’m not saying I’m against a PS4 or an Xbox 720 (the Wii U is its own entity for me), I just can’t see myself getting nearly as excited as I would have before.

Next month, Sega will be releasing Binary Domain upon the world. As a third person shooter from Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi the game has a lot of promise, not just to be spectacular, but to be something different. Nagoshi believes the game will be a bridge between Japanese and Western cultures, combining the shooter genre us Western Worlders love so much with elements that Japanese gamers love. But that's not the main reason I'm excited.

With Binary Domain, Nagoshi hopes to do what he did with Yakuza, create an amazing story that will stick with gamers for a long time, and nothing makes me happier to hear that. I love shooters, and I also love good stories. The reason I love the genre is because it has so many advantages over others when it comes to storytelling, though I don't have enough room to list them here. It's the reason why I herald games like Metro 2033 and BioShock, and to see that more developers realize the potential in both the shooter genre and in games as a storytelling medium is just as important to the future of the industry as many of the other advancements over the years. I just hope Binary Domain succeeds in its task.

Conclusion

And so concludes this week's Game Ranter Banter. Let us know what you think of this week's news in the comments, or on Twitter @GameRant and Facebook.com/GameRant and if you have specific topics you'd like any of the team to cover, don't hesitate to ask.