Ouch, last place. I had a suspicion Star Fox 64 was going to be a tough sell, knowing that neither it, nor the genre it's in have a huge following. The tough competition really overwhelmed it.

Great winners, though - they were my picks (Doom ahead of Wilds), plus a point to XCOM. :)

I loved how passionate the presentations were this time, @Brannox 's especially solidifying my top pick.

On the timing for the next one; we might be too busy during the Christmas season, so it might be better to wait until January, but every 3 months from then would be great. I already thought that was the case, as the original EZA HoG is quarterly (generally). Never bothered counting. :P

@sentinel-beach said in Vote for the EZA Community GOTY 2002:

You guys are actually playing games for these things? I mean I just go with my gaming history.

Some folks have gaps in their history that need to be filled.

Unsolved: Missed E3s (GT)

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@brannox said in Hall of Greats Compendium:

This was a HoG that I really felt the departures of Allies.

Agreed. Kyle, Brandon, and Ben felt like the weights of the crew, like their thoughts had a greater impact (Ben particularly for HoG; he always got serious in the cross examinations). This was still an all right HoG, but it felt super casual, close to the point of feeling superfluous.

For the first time, I think ours may end up feeling like the more legit version.

Sorry for not asking more questions. I'm too unfamiliar with most of the games, and for one of them, the question I had was asked by another. The presentations themselves also explained some things I'd been wondering about.

"No Modern Videogame Has This Technology"

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Questions for @Brannox :

1. I haven't played Doom II in a very, very long time, so perhaps I just wasn't any good at it back then, but I feel like it was very difficult right off the bat, with just a couple waves of basic enemies making me desperate for health, and a larger enemy mowing me down mercilessly every time. Does Doom II ease you in or does it immediately assault you like I seem to remember?

2. Have the pseudo-3D, heavily pixelated visuals harmed how it stands up against later entries in the genre, in particular id Software's very next major release, Quake?

@bruno_saurus said in The EZA Forum Hall of Greats (September 2022):

Question for @Oscillator

How do you feel Star Fox 64 stands against its predecessor (official) in Star Fox on the SNES besides the better graphics of course?

I wouldn't say it's better graphics than it actually HAS graphics. :P Star Fox SNES is immensely primitive in comparison, with polygons you can just about count on both hands, painfully slow framerate, virtually no textures, gibberish for voices, and very basic gameplay. You shoot stuff, but you don't feel rewarded for it. Still, it's very impressive for the hardware, the ship and enemy designs are memorable, and the soundtrack is solid; it's a shame its themes weren't remixed for 64.

Star Fox 64 is the full realization of what Star Fox SNES wanted to do. You actually feel like you're flying a space fighter rather than a distant, abstract representation.

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@jdincinerator said in The EZA Forum Hall of Greats (September 2022):

@Oscillator regarding Star Fox 64

1. Do you feel that Star Fox 64 deserves more credit for what it has achieved considering your personal experiences with it?

2. Looking at the footage, is it accurate to assume there’s too much going on at one time visuals that you could be distracted momentarily and your ship could careen into an obstruction?

1. I think it's gotten all the credit it can, considering when it released, where it released, and where the series went. It released in close proximity to Super Mario 64 and Wave Race 64, which revolutionized 3D platforming and water physics respectively, then the next year Ocarina of Time became the platform's killer app by a country mile. It's similar to how Perfect Dark did so much, but not only struggled underneath Goldeneye's huge shadow, it was then overshadowed again by Halo a year-and-a-half later. And both Star Fox 64 and Perfect Dark then received total flops for sequels in Star Fox Adventures and Perfect Dark Zero, helping people forget even more easily. Still, Star Fox 64 is considered the definitive 3D on-rails shooter, easily a top 10 Nintendo 64 game, and a distinguished member of Nintendo's canon of classics. Its lack of broader notoriety is no knock whatsoever against its sheer level of quality and incredibly distinctive presentation.

2. Star Fox 64 isn't really an obstacle course game. Things are occasionally put in your way, but there's almost always plenty of room to move. I recall hitting passing enemies way more often than parts of the map. The art style is also very clean and well defined, making both enemies and obstacles very prominent.