Well, the GS awards are in. No big surprise that Resident Evil 4 got GOTY, but I still feel that it's the wrong choice. I really did enjoy the game--I played through it twice, and just started it again. One time through I strove for perfection, resetting to the last continue point every time I took damage or missed even once. I've probably put 50-60 hours into RE4, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. But a GOTY should not have glaring flaws, and RE4 does. Flaws can be overlooked if the rest of the game is good enough, and I was able to look past the RE4's to enjoy my time with it, but the flaws exist.
The AI is lousy--yes, the enemies will go through a window to get at you if the door's blocked, but they'll also stand at the railing and look longingly at you if you stand on the third stair, unable to figure out that two steps to the left and they'd be in brain-eating range. They'll pile up at the door, let you kick it open on them, knocking them over, then pile up at the door so you can do it again. And again. Even the hatchet-throwers will line up to climb a ladder and get knifed off over and over instead of peppering you with missiles.
Clipping is atrocious. When those not-zombies line up at the door, you see their weapons poking through. Not just a little bit,either--a pitchfork will stick several feet through the solid door.
The controls are the same old craptacular RE controls, creating artificial difficulty by making it hard for you to move. The combat is significantly better than before, but with most weapons Leon shakes more than someone with the hiccups getting tasered.
The story and script, which for some reason are lauded, seemed like they were written in 15 minutes by one guy with a hangover and a deadline. At least the older RE games had hilariously bad voice acting. RE4 just has flat delivery of a bad script. Except Sadler... he was pretty awful.
My pick for GOTY was a well-polished game with no appreciable flaws: Lego Star Wars. The sound was fantastic, the visual style was consistent and charming, the graphics were subtly impressive (little things like real-time reflections on the floors of some levels that most games still don't do), the control was spot-on, and the feel was perfect. LSW could have been seriously half-assed, with two popular licenses to lean on and the traditional excuse for crappy games: "it's for kids." But instead, Traveller's Tales took care to produce a refined, well-rounded game that anyone-adult or child-can enjoy.
The only thing that could have made LSW better is if it included all 6 movies, but getting Episodes I-III with a delicious taste of IV is still an awesome deal. I can only hope that they release a Lego Star Wars Classic Trilogy so I can enjoy the entire series in Lego-y goodness.
Which brings me to the 1st annual Goaty award, which is represented by a bronzed pile of goat cherries. This year's Goaty goes to: Gamespot, for not having Lego Star Wars as an option in the Game of the Year voting. Boo!