The Final Showdown: Tragzabinga Wins!

[Monkey_Driven]

You guys suck at video game judging

I concur.

We failed the recognize the excellence of a two week old game.

[tragabigzanda]

You guys suck at video game judging

I concur.

We failed the recognize the excellence of a two week old game.

[tragabigzanda]

I know full well that my win here is more circumstantial than anything...

But I also want to give a shout out to that era of gaming that took up a large chunk of my childhood: From Missile Command to Oregon Trail, from NHL 95 to Gabriel Knight, I grew up in an era where games were first, A) incredibly simple to learn yet incredibly difficult to master, and then B) still quite simple in their aesthetic, but increasingly complex in their mechanics.

I missed a HUGE swath of gaming culture, with FF7 being the last game I played with any seriousness back in 2000, before putting down my controllers for 15 years. Apart from the occasional visit to a friend's house or casual party, I completely missed everything from 2000-2015. I got a PS4 when I moved to MT, mostly as a way to keep in touch with some friends back east. And while I am FLOORED at what gaming has become (particularly online play, with headsets and whatnot), I'm not sure that today's games are necessarily better than the games of my youth.

Technology will continue to evolve, and some day Read Dead Redemption 2 may even look quite dated and boring to future gamers. That should have no bearing on how much enjoyment you get out of a game during its initial release window, and I made an effort to pick games that captured my imagination and delivered countless hours of fun. Twisted Metal 2 is probably the best example of this on my list. No doubt it doesn't hold up too well today, but it provided high-octane fun for many hours when it was a new title.

In summation, NHL 95 is god-head gaming, even in 2018.

[ABNorman]

Recount!

Well done, Trag. And thanks, M_D!

[BurtReynolds]

hopefully this victory will soften the blow of his failed political campaigns. Congrats, Trag.

[BurtReynolds]

Twisted Metal 2 is still a blast.

[run2death]

What do Trag and Lance Armstrong have in common?

[Sgt. Crackpot]

You guys suck at video game judging

I concur.

This is exactly how Trump became president.

[Monkey_Driven]

You guys suck at video game judging

I concur.

This is exactly how Trump became president.

It's true.

[epilogue]

Damn... trag go a shit ton of votes. Good work, trag.

Good game, ABN.

Thank you, M_D for being a good sport even though some people came after you. I really appreciate all your work here.

This was fun!

[Jorge]

Congrats Trag

I did a bad job at keeping up with the voting and the discussion, but I wanna thank MD for his efforts. He had some interesting ideas and showed genuine enthusiasm, as opposed to the simmering resentment that seems to gradually overtake tournament leaders with each new round.

I do think the method of selecting third place was a little wonky. Shouldn't it have been a matchup between the losing semi-finalists?

[Monkey_Driven]

Congrats Trag

I did a bad job at keeping up with the voting and the discussion, but I wanna thank MD for his efforts. He had some interesting ideas and showed genuine enthusiasm, as opposed to the simmering resentment that seems to gradually overtake tournament leaders with each new round.

I do think the method of selecting third place was a little wonky. Shouldn't it have been a matchup between the losing semi-finalists?

In hindsight, it probably should have been. Throughout each phase I was trying to find ways to include (and reward) teams that may have had a bad matchup in a previous round, but still performed well. So much of these tourneys is determined by the luck of the draw. I did a couple different calculations, but determined the average number of total votes made the most sense for the final two teams in consideration for third place. I was going through a few things earlier in the week and shot back instead of explaining my rationale.

I'm glad the two semifinalists had the most votes and you were a deserving 3rd place winner.

[Jammer XCI]

Twisted Metal 3 and Twisted Metal Black > 1 and 2

Definitely played a lot of 1 and 2 back in the 90’s though.

[Ello Sailor]

I wish I could crush you plebs at Tony Hawk's 2 right now. School 2, let's go.

[tragabigzanda]

hopefully this victory will soften the blow of his failed political campaigns. Congrats, Trag.

thanks burt

[96583UP]

i demand a recount

[96583UP]

Trag is the Katherine Harris of the Video Game Forum