Castle Paradox

[The Wobbler]

[The Wobbler]

[TMC]

Awesome, now I can play some games and vote. I've been too busy for the last 3 weeks to do so, which was a pity.
_________________
"It is so great it is insanely great."

[TMC]

I actually forgot about this until a few days ago :( Since then I've been hurriedly playing games. I've played some excellent games which I had overlooked! I can't wait for GOTY 2011 voting!

I realise I'm really pushing the deadline, so I'm going to post my preliminary votes here now. I'll modify them slightly later tonight (most noticeably I left Motrya for last :( ) and add more comments, if that's not too late.

Edit: OK, finalised. I haven't played through every 2010 game, but I think I got at least 90% of the significant ones. Also, let me complain as usual that the max number of votes per category felt too restrictive!

GOTY:

A lot of strong competition this year! I felt like my top 6 games were all reasonable choices for first place.

- The Adventures of Powerstick Man (HOHR Preview Release)
Hey, it's on the list, and I saw someone else vote for it, even though Pepsi refused to, so I'm going to count this as eligible. Which unfortunately means it gets #1 near-automatically (pretty enormous update since the previous demo, I think). I'm pretty biased though; I've been a playtester for years.
- Motrya
- Who Killed Dinosaur Giant?
The voice acting was near perfect and the dialogue superb. Elect Ronald McDonald for Best Villain.
- Batman & Robin
Surprisingly good fun with lots of twists and cutscenes, although the lack of variety of enemies in some areas was a weak point.
- Bell of Chaos
- Duck
- Viridia Ch.2
- Dragon Bustier
Didn't feel all that grindy to me - a pretty good rpg.
- Tilt
Aside from some camera glitches, the execution was great.
- Horse Game

Special mention:
- Do You Want to be a Hero?
I feel bad for not noticing this game in 2009. I would have ranked it highly it if was released in 2010, but it looks like the 2010 rerelease was quite minor?

Best Graphics:

- Damnation
This is a graphics demo, not a playable game, so it's understandable that it's been overlooked. It ought to be high on everyone's "Best Graphics" list, but it's way below the radar and probably wouldn't even be consider eligible by many.
- Bell of Chaos
James is awfully multi-talented, isn't he?
- Dragon Bustier
- Okedoke
- Motrya
I got the feeling that the muted palette made me see past/ignore the graphics actually, which is not to say that they were anything but well drawn!

(Runners up:)
- Duck
- Tilt

Best Design:

- Motrya
Best battles, and much else besides.
- Batman & Robin
RMZ really surprised me with this game. Battles with depth but not too much complexity, choices, and plenty of stuff aside from battles to keep you interested.
- Bell of Chaos
- Duck
- Horse Game

(Runners up:)
- Dragon Bustier
- Who Killed Dinosaur Giant?
In the sense of "Best Concept"

Best Writing:

- Who Killed Dinosaur Giant?
- Powerstick Man
I have to agree with Shiz's description of the game as "overwritten" though. Pepsi never stops cramming stuff into this game, and that includes text.
- Duck
- Viridia Ch.2
Intriguing story.
- Horse Game

(Runners up:)
- Motrya
Motrya felt like 3 different games, largely due to most of the current demo amounting to an extended introduction. After that it started to feel disappointingly like any other RPG though.

Most Ridiculous:

- Horse Game
- Duck
- Barnabus Collection
- Who Killed Dinosaur Giant?
It's so great that the ridiculousness just melts away.
- Seinfield Teaches Typing

Most Anticipated:

- Motrya 25%
- The Adventures of Powerstick Man Extended Edition
Will it make 2011? More likely Pepsi will never run out of ideas to add to it.
- Who Killed Dinosaur Giant? followup
- Together For victory
- Saminaster and Sorcery

(Runners up:)
- Viridia (Chapter 1?)
- Dragon Bustier 2
- Batman & Robin 2
- Bell of Chaos 100%
_________________
"It is so great it is insanely great."

[The Wobbler]