Michael dons the tux and presents his awards for 2009
Date: Thursday, January 07, 2010
Author: Michael Barnes
Biggest Disappointment: AGE OF CONAN
It’s impossible to not look back on AGE OF CONAN and not be disappointed, regardless of whether or not you actually liked it. It seems like it should have been another WAR OF THE RING. It seems like it should have been the game that really defined Conan as a gaming property and Hyborea as a great setting for adventure and conflict gaming. But it just missed the mark. It was awkward, overwrought, and felt much too mechanical and inorganic to bring Conan to life. Many balked when it was revealed that Conan was a resource to be bid for, no matter how thematic it may have been. It just wasn’t what most people wanted from a Conan game. It wasn’t the worst game of the year or anything like that, but it was definitely the biggest letdown.
Worst Game of the Year: WORLD WAR IV
Poor WORLD WAR IV. It tried. But it was just too old fashioned and in a bad way, drawing almost its entire existence from dated gameplay models without bringing anything new along for the ride. It was one of those games that may have been incredible when you 12 years old- and you may have in fact designed this very game in your head back then- but it just did not work at all. Slow, boring, tedious, and almost completely devoid of fun once you get done cracking jokes about the unintentionally hilarious fluff story, the king on the box that looks like Jason Statham, or the terrible gameplay that everyone wants to end quickly and painlessly.
So there it is. Let’s see where we stand this time next year. Will Fantasy Flight’s RUNEWARS weather the year and emerge as a GotY candidate for 2010? Will Multiman Publishing finally release UP FRONT 2000, almost certainly clinching the Wargame of the Year Prize? And will my own design, MILCH UND GHERKIN take Essen 2010 by storm and top the year’s best lists? Who knows what 2010 holds in store, but I plan to spend a lot of it playing games. Hope you will too.
