Round 1: O is for Only one winner overall!

[Kong Wen]

And to answer the question of "Where's Spore?", I already did my part by being the only person to nominate this "all-time classic and behemoth of the genre". It shouldn't be in these brackets to begin with!

BQE.

[VictorViper]

It made my list last time, but I was very sparing with nominations this time. I paid close attention to the nominees to ensure there wasn't an important omission. Doom II was there.

[Spore]

It made my list last time, but I was very sparing with nominations this time. I paid close attention to the nominees to ensure there wasn't an important omission. Doom II was there.

But... I posted my list at 11:59EST the day before closing...

[Claytone]

RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 is actually a game that I would describe as perfect with respect to what it set out to do. It was also one of my earliest games, and in spite of its heavy simulation aspects, I was still able to enjoy it. I find that impressive.

[VictorViper]

It made my list last time, but I was very sparing with nominations this time. I paid close attention to the nominees to ensure there wasn't an important omission. Doom II was there.

But... I posted my list at 11:59EST the day before closing...

And I posted my final additions, prompted by your list, at 12:14 eastern. And yes, I was more willing to boost NecroDancer and not Doom II.

[Forscyvus]

Metroid Prime 2 is a worthy but slightly inferior sequel to the actual Best Game Ever (sorry guys the question's already been decided)

And shouting about l4d2 with friends is enough to get a vote from me too. Seriously, try to get 8 people in the same room for this game sometime.

[VictorViper]

And just like that, the sequel to a contentious game has tied an actual BGE contender.

[Kong Wen]

Our second tie! Doom II and Metroid Prime 2 will advance to the next round.