Best Games of 2007
December 27th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Well, now that Christmas is out of the way (I had a good one, I trust yours was A-OK, as well) it’s high time I started thinking about my list of the Best Games of 2007. Rather than break it down into categories and genres and all that junk, I’ve decided to bring it to you raw with a list of games that are important, memorable, and good for different reasons.
At some point near the middle of 2007, me and the people around me started looking at release calendars and wondering if 2007 was going to be the new 1998, which is the year recognized by some (me, to name one) as the best year for games in the modern era. Then, stuff started getting pushed back. If stuff like GTA, Mercenaries 2, and Burnout Paradise all shipped this year and all lived up to the hype, 2007 would have probably been unbeatable. I already know how I’ll remember 2007, but I imagine most people will think about the games and the mergers. Between the Activision/Blizzard thing and the EA/BioWare/Pandemic thing, it’s been a weird year, one that starts to overshadow the game releases. But then you have the following list of reasons–in no particular order–why you should remember 2007 as one of the best years for gaming in some time.
Call of Duty 4
I believe I already named this my overall pick for Game of the Year in the last Points! video, so it makes sense to start with that one. It’s easy to look at this game’s surface and say “five hour campaign and the typical first-person shooter team-based multiplayer, no big deal.” That’s missing the point. While it doesn’t reinvent the mechanics of first-person shooting, it’s obvious that Infinity Ward spent time focusing on the quality of that content. The end result is an explosive campaign that’s way more interesting than the rest, and a multiplayer mode that’s focused on unlocking guns, perks, camouflage, and so on, making an already addictive game into a quest for loot, like any good RPG would be. I can’t put this game down and have been playing it almost every day.
Rock Band
I have very fast Internet access at home and when you say “multiplayer” to me, I’m thinking about me, alone, beating other people I’ve never met. Rock Band is the game that makes “local multiplayer” make sense again. Something strange and wonderful happens when you get four people together and play the game as it was meant to be played. It’s cooperation’s purest form. It’s the finest same-room multiplayer experience since Wii Sports. It’s also slowly teaching me the coordination I need to actually play the drums, which is kind of awesome. Great song list, good strategy for downloadable songs. The plan of not pumping out sequels and doing constant downloads instead is looking like it might actually work, but only if they can keep getting actual songs and not covers.
Super Mario Galaxy
I feel like I don’t even need to say much about Super Mario Galaxy. It’s a great Mario game. Most of you probably know exactly what that means. It looks outstanding on the Wii, controls better than you might initially think, and overall, it just feels right. This game is the reason why Nintendo fans can be so rabid. Because when Nintendo is on point, it does the Disney-style “appeal to all audiences” thing better than Disney itself.
Portal/Orange Box
How many times have you finished Portal? I’ve played through it about five times now, and I’m thinking about playing it again. That’s partially because it’s short, but mostly because it’s terrific. In my book, it’s right up there with the Steam service as the greatest thing that Valve has ever done. The action/puzzle game makes you think while only occasionally requiring your fast action skills, striking a perfect level of difficulty that somehow makes me feel incredibly smart every time I play it. It’s also very funny, from the opening dialogue to the end credits. The rest of the Orange Box gets a nod here, as well, for being way more game than you would think a company would sell you in one package.
BioShock
It feels crazy to say this, but I had sort of forgotten about BioShock. Q4 2007 was a power-packed quarter, and BioShock’s late-August release made it sort of easy to forget. I played through the game once while I was reviewing it, and once more because I enjoyed it. The things that stood out about BioShock were the atmospheric touches that made it feel like more than a first-person shooter with a melee attack that serves as one of the most effective ways to approach your enemies from start to finish. The world of Rapture, and finding out what had gone wrong in Andrew Ryan’s creation via a lot of little voice recordings was one of the most compelling things I did in a game in 2007. I still feel that parts of the gameplay came up a little short, but BioShock is still one of the more powerful narratives in gaming.
Crysis
Crysis hits this list for its graphical quality. It’s a game that has that “fell out of a hole in time to show you what games will be like in the future” quality to its graphics. I upgraded my PC earlier this year in anticipation of games like Crysis. But here’s the dirty secret: I actually don’t much care for the game. It’s full of interesting ideas, like the way you can configure your suit on the fly to the way the enemies speak in a foreign language if you turn up the difficulty. But I’ve tried to play it a handful of times now and I’m just not feeling it. For what it’s worth, I never really liked Far Cry, either. I realize that makes its inclusion on this list a little weird, but consider this a “best technical graphics” sort of achievement or something.
Pac-Man C.E.
Hey, check it out, they made a new Pac-Man. The weird part is that Pac-Man C.E. is a radical reinvention of the original game that maintains the look and basic concept, but spruces it all up and makes it a hyper-speed action/puzzle sort of thing. The race against the clock mentality is a smart twist, and seeing the maze stretched out across an HD screen is something else. Definitely the year’s most interesting downloadable game.
Mass Effect
The Star Wars ties turned me off of the KOTOR games. Seriously, I’m all the way sick of anything Star Wars-related and have been for quite some time. I get it, the Force can be good and let you push stuff or bad and let you choke dudes. Over it. Also, if I may incense some fanboys for a moment, Star Trek has always been better than Star Wars. I think that’s why I got into Mass Effect. It’s way more Trek than Wars, even if it’s technically an original creation by BioWare. The film filters, the massive amounts of dialogue, the storyline, and the appearance of freedom–even if you won’t be able to land on most of those planets until they start selling you downloadable content–was enough to get me hooked. I finished it once and immediately dove back in for a second playthrough, but moved on not too long after that. I think I will eventually go back to it and play through as a renegade, but I have a feeling that the annoying things, like the vehicle’s poor turret control and the lack of a good auto-save system, will stick out a bit more if I play again.
Halo 3
If you had told me a year ago that I’d be sitting here, telling anyone who will listen that Halo 3 is one of the year’s best games, I’d call you a liar. Then I’d kick you in the stomach, because that’s what liars get. Between its cliffhanger ending and its asshole-filled multiplayer, I had a real disdain for Halo 2 and saw no real reason for Halo 3 to be any different. Back when the multiplayer beta came out, it looked like it was just going to be more Halo–exactly what the Halo faithful wanted, but not really the sort of thing that’s going to change anyone’s mind. Then the full game came out and changed my mind. How? Well, the story was satisfying and concluded well. The campaign was full of interesting levels and situations. The co-op mode was expanded to four players and could be done online. And the multiplayer looked good and played well thanks to quality map design. But it’s the new stuff that sends Halo 3 over the top, like Forge mode, an unassuming level editor that seems weak and boring at first, but makes for a perfect setting for you and your friends to just screw around and blow things up. Or the replay viewer and file sharing system, which also seemed like a needless afterthought that only machinima dorks will get any use out of until I cut out my first clip of me messing around with some other people in the Forge. By striking that balance between refining the old and resetting expectations with the new, Halo 3 really is a masterpiece, even if you still run into a lot of jerks online.
World in Conflict
Did you know that the collector’s edition of World in Conflict comes with a hunk of the Berlin Wall? Hearing that was enough for me to run out and buy it, but it’s the way that World in Conflict takes the focus off of resources and puts it onto unit control and combat that makes it so fascinating. I don’t necessarily think that every RTS from here on out should bite that style, but it certainly shows that there’s more to life than developing good rush tactics or hunkering down and massing resources before going to war. Also, Alec Baldwin is in it.
Honorable mentions:
The Darkness was cool before it got overshadowed by a million other, better first-person shooters.
WarioWare: Smooth Moves is tons of fun and great at showing off what the Wii Remote is truly capable of.
Forza Motorsport 2 splits the difference between sim and approachability in a way that most other serious driving games should strive to copy.
Assassin’s Creed might have gotten repetitive in spots, but I still had a lot of fun hopping around rooftops and jacking enemies with the counterattack move.
Tekken: Dark Resurrection Online was a great PS3 download, especially after the online patch was released.
Warhawk is an impressive online shooter, especially considering it’s technically a downloadable game.
Supreme Commander‘s ambition demands respect. It’s also quite a lot of of fun.
Guitar Hero III was rendered obsolete in my book when Rock Band came out, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is on this list because it has plenty of exciting moments.
Space Giraffe is an awesome Xbox Live Arcade game that many people probably won’t like.
So there you have it. Those are my most memorable and best games of 2007. What sticks out to you? Consider this sentence a call to action to generate your own similar list and post it in the comments!
December 27th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I’m suprised to see pacman C.E in there, perhaps I will pick that game up after all.
Good to see The Darkness and Smooth Moves still on the radar, much like GoW2 they are easy to forget.
Thanks for the update JG
December 27th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
In spite of GTAIV being delayed, I still feel this year is mor ethan comparable to 2008 by the sheer quality of the games…and quantity thereof.
Most of the games you listed would be a fair contender for GOTY status any other year, and you haven’t even gone over all the fantastic titles this year offered; like Phantom Hourglass and Unreal Tournament 3.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
It’s definitely been a good year. The real mind-blowing standouts for me are Space Giraffe and Rock Band. They are both purely joyous experiences.
I’d like to throw in some honorable mentions for skate. (please leave the punctuation out of the title next time guys), Ace Combat 6 and Unreal Tournament III. All three games have significant flaws, but if you can overlook them you will be rewarded with some deeply satisfying gameplay.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Definitely a good year in video games. I’d comparing it more to 2004 than ’98. Great list though. I agree with most of your choices, Jeff.
How about a ‘Worst of List’ for this year? At least give us some dubious mentions!
December 27th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Great list there. I know im probably the only one thats going to say this but whatever, I really dont like Halo 3 and its been long forgotten by me due to call of duty 4.
Also, I really cannoy understand why people dont like PGR4 as much as forza. I really couldnt care for forza to be honest but hey, i realise im in the minority.
My personal GOTY would have to be mario galaxy.
anyway, great list Jeff!
December 27th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Even with the delays to GTA, Burnout, and MGS4, 2007 has been a great year for games, and the gaming community as a whole.
The game that stood out for me this year was Bioshock, sure the guns weren’t as satisfying as they could of been, and the enemies were repetitive, but it’s captivating storyline, open ended combat, and atmosphere make it my Game Of The Year.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Totally unrelated, and is more silly fire fuel… but.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUn5aJ6F3zg
December 27th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I totally agree with the whole list, just miss Lost Planet, I believe it deserved a honorable mention.
GUS
December 27th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
The Witcher – RPG of the year.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I tried to like Mass Effect i swear i did .. i even got the completionist achievment … but i just did not care at ALL about any of the roles i was “playing” .. i think people are still rewarding bioware for the awesomeness that was KOTOR. This game had SO many issues that just fucked up the whole experience from the slow down to the pop in to the retarded AI making combat at first impossible then as easy as rushing in as you leveled up .. my favorite part was reading about the planets and of course the dialogue trick which is getting FAR to much credit for faking the orgasm.
Then the whole sex thing . i mean COME ON . it is FORCED on you .. I did not want to bang either of those bitches .. I wanted Tali, something about that accent and her viel .. hell had the story been about Wrex and Tali I would have probably had a different opinion.
However, I cannot wait to see how they pull off that last choice they gave you in the next installment .. that should make for some interesting talk in lets say 2 more years?
December 27th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Folklore deserves an honorable mention. The game had issues, most notably an uneven presentation and convoluted menu systems, but its required, inventive use of the Sixaxis’ tilty controls is something that all game designers should take note of.
Unreal Tournament III should also get some recognition. Not only because it opens the door for significant player-created mods in console games, but also for its fast-paced violence. Too many violent games these days dwell on their violence, seemingly to make sure that players know just how violent they are. There is something satisfying about how Unreal Tournament III forces you to immediately move on to the next thing after you blow someone to pieces.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I COMPLETELY understand you on the Crysis thing. That game looks absolutely astounding. But I played it about 4 hours or so and just wasn’t into any more. I never played Farcry so I didn’t have any warning of what the game would play like. Guess I’m a sucker for a sexy looking game. Awesome list Jeff!
December 27th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I disliked KOTOR for the opposite reasons. I’m a Star Wars jerk, but I love Trek too, so I guess that makes me an uber jerk. The Star Wars thing wasn’t even Star Wars, it was so far removed to make sure they didn’t run into some fan fiction or Del Rey novel that it could have been called “Dudes in Space” and been the same game.
Mass Effect is still my game of the Year. I’m on my fourth palythrough, (as a female this time) and just want to live in the game at this point I like the whole univere of it so much.
Glad to see this list btw, it’s one of the reasons I searched it out, since I doubt they included your picks over at the site that shall not be named.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I figure someone has already mentioned this, but you should consider starting your own game reviews site. You’ve got a great writing style, and people trust your reviews.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Mark, that youtube video is hilarious. Very well done.
Anyway, I downloaded Crysis’ demo and played it for 10 minutes before I got bored. When it came out, I started reading all the reviews, and how “great” it was, and I ended up buying it, thinking that it deserved another chance. I played it for an hour, before I wrapped it up and gave it as a present to my friend for Christmas. It looks amazing, but it’s extremely boring and feels repetitive. It might be because I’d finished playing CoD4′s campaign and expected Crysis to be half as good, or something… Even when I tried to play through HL2 ep2 again, with the gnome, I felt bored… CoD4 has set a new standard for me… I can’t enjoy FPS anymore.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
rockband, cod4, bioshock, mass effect, and super mario galaxy are my top 5 picks for 07 with super mario galaxy taking the honors for me.. ive never had that much fun since way back in the day of mario 64 thats why i love galaxy. its been a good year for games the only ones i didnt get to play were the pc games, my pc is lame
December 27th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Gears of War for the PC, I think deserves a honorable mention. Everything else I agree with.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
My pick is Mario Galaxy, although I haven’t played COD4 yet. Bioshock is a close second. Portal and TF2 were great too. It’s been a good year.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
My number one game this year would be Eternal Sonata. It’s far from being popular and you are probably calling me an asshole for picking this one up and not COD4 or Mass Effect (I loved those games by the way). But realy, I don’t understand why people didn’t like it. Well, those who can’t stand JRPG, I can understand why they hate it. But those who claim they loved Star Ocean 3, Valkyrie Profile, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, I just don’t get it… Yeah it’s short, and yeah it’s super-easy, but that story is so deep ! And by deep I mean on the level of what Kant wrote about how to define reality. And yes, I know what I’m talking about. But not only that, the writing is stellar too, just the intro movie feels like reading a novel, and that’s true for the whole game. My game of the year, no question.
Other than that, I loved Okami, Portal and Bioshock.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I don’t think that 2007 can really be hailed as a year that was as great as 1998, partly because not as many amazing games came out, and partly because most of those games are either direct or indirect(such as Crysis) sequels to other games, some of which came out in 1998. I remember a long time ago when Gamespot did a special with that one show on G4TV(forgot the name of which) about 1998 and how it was the greatest year in gaming, someone said that it was because virtually every genre in gaming was either defined or redefined. I think that as time goes on, we will be able to see if that holds true for 2007 games, as many games have certainly upped the ante for what to expect for a given genre, but I don’t feel that all genres have really been improved upon to the degree that they were in 1998.
Any way, my top five picks would be:
Orange Box(PC)- all three games in my opinion are outstanding, I personally played through episode 2 about 5 times and plan on doing it again before I go back to school, and I played through portal about three times. But to me, the game I played more than any other game this year is most definantly Team Fortress 2 and TF2 is really my personal GoTY. I was a little sketchy going into the game at first, but about 2 weeks after it came out I realized that “oh yeah, this is a Valve multiplayer game.” Playing the game never gets old because every class is so unique and although there are only 6 maps, they are each extremely well-designed and I have yet to get bored of any of them. Valve has completely retook the position of best multiplayer FPS designers with TF2.
Crysis- The main reason I upgraded my PC this year (also the fact that my old one sort of broke :\), Crysis is the best looking game I ever played, but it is also in my opinion just about the best first-person shooting that can be had in a videogame for the first half of the game. Once you go into the alien ship however, it looses a lot of it’s draw, but the sheer novelty of zero-gravity and fighting in a frozen jungle is enough to carry the game through the back half. It’s a shame that the multiplayer doesn’t have the things that make it so damn fun in the single-player though, such as the destructible environments and physics.
Crysis truly raises the bar for how the act of shooting a gun should be handled in a game far more than any other game in recent memory. It also brings the level of interactivity with the world much higher than any other shooter in the market. It’s such a shame that it is selling so poorly, hopefully though as next year it becomes cheaper to get a PC that can properly run Crysis, it’s sells will catch up.
World in Conflict- I was hooked on this game within about 20 minutes of playing the alpha of it back in May, and although I still have display driver problems with it running on DX10 and Vista (The only game I have installed that has problems), it is still a blast to play. The single-player was really fun I thought, and for a change, I thought that the narration and presentation of the story was very well done, and pretty much it was much, much more engrossing than any other strategy game on the market. It had a very believable and compelling story to tell coupled the fact that all the characters are very well developed. It managed to do Red Dawn without being Red Dawn, so to speak.
The multiplayer in the game is what got me hooked on it in the first place, and is pretty much the most unique online experience I’ve had this year, and pretty much second only to Team Fortress 2 to me. All the maps are very fun, and the way that teamwork is encouraged more than in any other strategy game on the market, where each player HAS to work with each other in order to win, and fill their roll, really makes this the funnest strategy game I’ve played online since StarCraft.
God of War 2- The original was my favorite game of 2005, and pretty much my favorite console game in modern gaming. The sequel in my opinion is even better. It’s longer, more boss fights, a few new mechanics that add a lot of depth but keep it simple(such as the golden fleece), and a plethora of extras that kept me coming back longer than most games with multiplayer. This is also probably one of the only games that I played that had a huge cliffhanger ending(which there were PLENTY of this year), but still left me satisfied at the end (probably the best end boss fight of any game I’ve played this year, but then again, not a lot of end boss fights in games any more…). Defiantly deserves the mantle it has as the last game that I’ll play brand new on my PS2.
Bioshock- I too strongly forgot why it was that I liked this game so much back in August. I remember though that I had one particular time, I think the 2nd day that I was playing it, that I started a session at around 4:00 and when I stopped playing a bit to use the bathroom, it was 8:30. Bioshock is defiantly an engrossing game. I personally thought that the world created was incredible, but after I played through it, I couldn’t help but wonder to myself, “what was the game about again?” I feel that the game had an incredible world, very good atmosphere(but not the best), but the story sort of falls apart when you meet Andrew Ryan. So I was his son? Why did Atlas have to speak in an accent if I had no memory of his true identity in the first place? Maybe I just need to pay more attention to the game, because I usually like a game with a good story, and I usually do my best to pay attention, but for some reason I just couldn’t quite come to grip with the story until after beating it and then reading the plot outline on Wikipedia. Which is weird, because I’m able to follow the Metal Gear Solid storylines with little trouble (well, except for MGS2 :\).
In the end, even if it’s my fault that I can’t really appreciate the story as much as most, I consider this one of the top 5 mostly because it’s extremely fun to fight Big Daddys. Easily one of the best enemies in a game. I just wish that the act of fighting enemies in the game was more fun as well, because there is a lot of potential in it. In the end, this passage about Bioshock that is probably too long is more of a rant on it’s flaws despite the fact that I consider it to be the 5th best game of the year that I’ve played, which should be a good enough testament to it’s well, goodness.
It should be noted that I have not played Super Mario Galaxy, partly because it’s still impossible to find a Wii, partly because I’m pissed at Nintendo for it still being impossible to find a Wii, but mostly because I don’t feel good about buying a Wii for just one game that I’ll play.
Disappointments:
Yeah, Assassin’s Creed borders from pretty cool to total crap when you are on your like 7th pick-pocket mission, which is so insanely short and simple that it just makes me mad that it’s in the game, but then it gets way hard just to get to the place to do it because every guard who sees you fall starts a chase sequence, which gets pretty boring after about 4 hours of the game. Comma-splice anyone?
STALKER- I wish it would be at least unbuggy enough to play through the game, but I got about six hours in and a bug happened where it would crash whenever I left a sector, and since the auto saving is so horrible, I would have to restart the whole game after it just started to get interesting. It is currently uninstalled.
Call of Duty 4- The campaign is pretty fun, although it is pretty much JUST like the other 2 from Infinity Ward except for different weapons. It did have a much better storyline(in that it had a storyline) and thankfully had very few vehicle missions(which were always the very low points of CoD games), and admittedly the one where you’re up in a plane is pretty cool.
The multiplayer In my opinion was pretty lame. It basically plays identical to the original back in 2003, which was pretty fun back then, but I got tired of that gameplay back then as well. I don’t really know what it is about it, but I just don’t like the way it plays. The perks and ranks don’t really affect the way the game plays at all, and in the end that is what really matters in a multiplayer FPS, not unlocking stuff. And to be fair, that has more to me not liking the pacing of CoD4′s multiplayer than the game itself not being good.
Well that was a much longer post than expected, and I honestly don’t know if I expect anyone to read it at all. I guess it’s good that I put all my thoughts on the big games I played this year down somewhere though, I pretty much covered everything.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
why no edf 2017?
December 27th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I thought zelda phantom hourglass was pretty good. It really mastered the stylus control for movement and combat and some of the puzzles were pretty clever.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Don’t know how to say this, but Halo was never, and still isn’t the shit. It’s a fun game, but at the end of the day, it’s an average FPS. I can still play Gears of war as if it came out yesterday, but a couple of weeks with Halo, and it got boring. A nice game driven by too much hype. That’s a nice list Jeff, but I think Drake’s Fortune should’ve been up there with the big boys. But oh well, Here’s waiting for a couple more months for MGS4.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
THIS
IS
JEFFSPOT!
December 27th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
You forgot Command & Conquer 3! That was an excellent game, and your buddy Greg even helped make it!
Another one that I would add, though some people may disagree, is Tomb Raider: Anniversary. I heard the 360 version might have had some problems, but the PC version was great for me. I liked seeing the original game recreated with more-modern graphics.
December 27th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Jeff Gerstmann is still alive?!
Best.
Christmas.
Ever.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Yeah i have to say COD4 is my game of the year as well. I knew it was going to be my new multiplayer game the moment i played the beta! I just got my 360 back from repairers and i was going to go to sleep early to night, but damn it Jeff i need to go play this game!!!!!
December 27th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
I’m surprised by how much it’s gotten overshadowed (there are many truly great games to overshadow it, granted), but the sheer bizarreness of a combination puzzle game/RPG that actually works, and works really well, makes Puzzle Quest an easy mention on any list of why 2007 was so freaking awesome.
December 27th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Nice list of games, Jeff! My personal worthy mentions for the year, which includes any game I have played this year for the first time, are:
Contra 4 (DS)
Radiant Silvergun (SAT)
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (PS2)
WarTech: Senko no Ronde (X360) – multiplayer was good
Warhawk (PS3) – my Game of the Year
Call of Duty 4 (PS3)
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (PS3)
Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PSP)
Hokuto no Ken (PS2)
Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)
Crackdown (X360)
Puzzle Quest (DS)
Spider-Man 3 (DS) – better than you’d expect, but only this version
Lunar Knights (DS)
Odin Sphere (PS2)
Yakuza (PS2)
Jumping Flash! 2 (PS1) – still good enough to make a good impression
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation (GBA)
December 27th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Good list, Jeff. Might have to take a gander at Call of Duty 4 sometime.
December 27th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
In no particular order, a list of games that I think shold be on more game of the year lists:
Crackdown
The Darkness
Puzzle Quest
Super Paper Mario
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Most of these deserve mention for making strides in their respective genres, The Darkness was just rad and was well-produced, and WarioWare just holds a special place in my heart.
December 27th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy and Call of Duty 4 definitely jump out of the pack as the greatest games of the year.
Great to see World in Conflict on your list too. I just upgraded my PC and got World in Conflict (Collector’s Edition! Couldn’t resist the Berlin Wall piece. History Channel DVD was also pretty rad as well) and enjoyed the hell out of it. Storyline was surprisingly good. Can’t wait for an expansion/sequel to that game.
Agreed on Crysis, too. I play a couple hours of the game, but I just don’t like it a whole lot aside from the graphics. I like the idea of the open-world in principle, but the way Crytek set it up–it just feels like I’m being punished for going into combat. I found myself running and bypassing combat all together in some areas, and I’d rather just wipe dudes out. I want to be empowered when I play shooters–not be some chickenshit that has to run to safety.
Have you tried out The Witcher, Jeff? I’m about seven hours in and it’s fantastic aside from stability issues. (Crashed five or six times) Music and story are definitely the highlight of that game, but the gameplay is pretty solid too.
December 27th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Did you play Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the DS? Or do you play at all on the DS lol?
December 28th, 2007 at 12:07 am
You forgot Poland.
December 28th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Agreed with Art Green about The Witcher. It seems to have gone under the radar by many.
Great list Jeff, I agree with what I’ve played on that list, minus Crysis- Though I can see why one wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Don’t really know where I’m suppose to direct this comment, but for next year they should separate the best multiplayer category into online and offline multiplayer because I believe games like Team Fortress 2 and Call Of Duty 4 fairs better online than Rock Band, which obviously is a great 4-player multiplayer if everyone’s in the same room. Hope this gets to the right people.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:34 am
God of War II is the game of the year for me. Sure, I have played very few games in 2007, and I don’t have a current-gen console, but still…God of War II is legendary.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:44 am
All I can say is, Mass Effect! That game was amazing. Although I found it hard to get into a second run-through too. Those long buggy sequences were too much.
Otherwise, this year is defined for me by games I haven’t played yet because I’m so broke from buying the ones I have. Specifically, Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. And Contra 4. And Assassin’s Creed. Ok, I’m going to stop now.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:21 am
My list can be found among recent posts in my blog woch you find by clicking on my name here! Go ahead, take a look.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Oh, and Jeff, Super Paper Mario should totally have at least a mention on your list. I got the feeling you realy liked that game when it came out!
December 28th, 2007 at 5:32 am
I still hate that Virtua Fighter 5, as top-notch quality as it is, doesn’t get the recognition it truly deserves. All it really lacks is mass appeal, and I don’t think that’s a good reason for it to be excluded from big-name GotY nominees.
Great list, though, all the same. I spent too much time reviewing less-than-awesome games from Gamer2.0 to actually get into the big releases, so I feel bad that I’ve missed most of what made 2007 so awesome. Ah well, there’s always room for more in the backlog. ALWAYS.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:58 am
This is why I like Gerstman’s stuff. I agree with everything he said.
December 28th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Uncharted has to be one of my favourites this year, i love that desperation type of gameplay, running out of ammo, ducking for cover in a panic, running away shooting aimlessly from the hip….my sorta thing
December 28th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Great list Jeff. I agree with most of your points, although COD4 doesn’t quite impress me the way it did for you. My personal GoTY would probably be BioShock. The atmosphere, the story and the gameplay were all great.
Galaxy is also up there, although the controls feel weird to me. The “surprise hit” of the year for me is probably Crackdown. The game that was a glorified Beta Key holder for H3 for many ended up being played for a really long time. Really enjoyed that one. It’s also the game where I have more than 1000 gamescore.
Finally, I have to give the nod to Orange Box. What a great value. Portal was awesome (short, but somehow it felt the right lenght to me), TF2 is great and having the 3 HL2 games in there is just pure gravy.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Stoked to see Pac-Man CE make your list. That game is surprisingly good, and duking it out with Aaron and Carrie to be the high-score champ was, no joke, for me the most thrilling video game experience of the year.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Hi everybody. Just want to point out that neither 1998 nor 2007 were particularly good years for games. The Ocarina of Time was truly nothing special and MGS, while very good, is not enough to make the year anything to shout about. 2007 wasn’t even as good a year for gaming as was 2006: i.e. Gears of War outshines Halo 3 and COD4 while Dead Rising was a better action game than anything out this year and Prey was at least as good as Bioshock. In fact the only remarkable title of 2007 is Super Mario Galaxy, but even that is not as good as Mario 64. If you’re interested in a good year for gaming how about 1996: then you had Mario 64, PilotWings 64, Wave Race 64, NiGHTS, Resident Evil, Dragon Force, and Tomb Raider, among others. Let’s start using our heads here, people (esp. you Jeff — I expect your grasp of history to exceed that evident in your last post!).
December 28th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Pokemon Diamond was my game of the year. I haven’t spent that much time with all other games I’ve played this year combined.
December 28th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Totally unrelated, but I thought I’d throw this into the ring regardless… what’re the odds that the next Midnight Brown album will come out in 2008? It’s very rare for me to like all of the songs that an artist brings out, and Midnight Brown happens to be in that very exclusive category. We need more MB!
December 28th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Wow this is awesome! Jeff I just found this place via the link you posted in your old Gamespot blog when I grudgingly went back there to see if you posted anything. I can’t wait to read more of your posts here
Great GOTY list. I agree with most of what is on there, and it’s nice to see that someone else feels the same way about Crysis that I do.
I loved the points video by the way. Alex was hilarious in the background. I do wish he would have said something to chime in at certain moments though. Oh well, maybe in the next video?
Cheers,
Cerza
December 28th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Awesome list. I’m pining for that next album, hurry teh fudge up!
December 28th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Nice list. The only one I gotta disagree with is Bioshock. An honorable mention at best; that game was all kinds of lame. Repetitive gameplay and environments combined with an uninvolved story makes for one of the best games of the year? I guess a slick presentation can really go a long way.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Nice list, I really need to check out Call of Duty 4. It’s been popping up for $35 every once in a while, I’ll wait until I find it around that cheap. Gives me some time to finish The Orange Box at least.
My own notables from the year would be Bioshock, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Portal, NHL 08. Played my DS a ton but nothing really stands out, maybe New York Times Crosswords?
Still need to get my hands on Rock Band, Virtua Fighter 5, a PS3 and the aforementioned Call of Duty 4. An interesting year for gaming overall – I had the most fun with my 360, PS3 is looking like the place for quirky, independent and japanese development, and the Wii is flat out taking over the industry. Bring on the 2008 and the uncanny valley already!
December 28th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Finally someone other than my damaged psyche recognizes Space Giraffe. Everyone should try this game. It’s bananas and I’m only 1/3 of the way through. If there ever was an award for “most challenging game to master,” this year Minter’s creation would certainly have won.
I have PacMan CE as well and it’s a very fun remake improving on the original by making it more satisfying to eat the yummy ghosts. lol
December 28th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
BIOSHOCK FTW!!!
December 28th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
The turret in the Mako in Mass Effect isn’t that bad. It makes sense considering the way the vehicle is designed. If something is too close to shoot at, fucking run it over.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
I’m glad to see Call of Duty 4 and Mass Effect on your list Jeff! I really loved both games. CoD 4 is my pick for Game of the Year, but Mass Effect is definitely RPG of the year no doubt!
December 28th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Nice favicon.
December 29th, 2007 at 1:27 am
A bit off the topic but gametrailers.com is giving away their year awards. Guess what was the biggest news story of 2007
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/29261.html
Greetings from the other side of the globe (from Estonia),
Meelis
December 29th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Who thinks BioWare should do a Star Trek RPG game?
December 29th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Good read Jeff , Thanks .
December 29th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Congratulations on being the biggest news story of 2007. You’ve gone down in history!
December 29th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Excellent list, Jeff. I think Geometry Wars Galaxies deserves an honorable mention. It’s so amazing and addicting that i’ve spent countless hours on it and it still feels fresh to me.
December 29th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Great to see Jeff still online.
My choices: 1) COD4, 2) Crackdown & 3) PGR4.
PGR4 was not given a fair crack of the whip. It’s a better game than 3, yet scores lower on many websites. What gives?
December 29th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Man, there you go again, ripping on the machinima. What’s so bad about it, huh? Yeah, there’s plenty of dorks out there who make really terrible videos, but there’s also quite a few who make really good videos, too.
December 29th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG! VIDEO BLOG!
Come on jeff … forget Points! and just do a straight up video blog! Pimp it out with sweet graphics, a cool voice over (that I’d be happy to provide (I’ve got a dead nasty announcer voice)), and a wicked cool name like “Jeff’s Awesome Interweb Show of Super Cool Stuff!!!!11!1″!
In all honesty … I think it’d be super cool.
ANYWAYS, I pretty much agree with all of your picks. But I have to say, having a computer that can run Crysis very well has caused me to fall madly in love with the game. Dual 8800s for the win I suppose. Granted it is REALLY corny at times … but it’s corny in that OMG THIS LOOKS AMAZING kind of way … and I enjoy blowing pretty stuff up.
I would take what you said about Crysis, and apply it to Mario. It’s Mario … you jump around … kill some goombas … and deal with WAY too many colors of the rainbow in a single sitting for my liking. It hasn’t really done much to change the way you play mario in any crazily drastic way. Unlike Crysis which has changed the face of graphics and really pushed the boundaries of the FPS genre. Meh … opinion really … but I respect Mario either way … and am looking forward to getting a Wii just to try it out.
I guess I’m done! JEFF! VIDEO BLOG FOR CHRISTS!
December 30th, 2007 at 12:39 am
This is by far the best game of the year list I’ve seen. The only thing I disagree with you on is Halo 3, although I do think it was an improvement over Halo 2 (which I thought was terrible). BioShock is my personal game of the year due to its story and atmosphere, but Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, and Mass Effect.
I also may pick up Rock Band after reading this. It was actually my most anticipated game of 07 after seeing the E3 stage show, but I lost interest after they added Fall Out Boy, Coheed and Cambria, OK Go, Hole, and other artists that I can’t stand.
Anyway, great read, and I agree that this has been an amazing year for games.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Yeah, COD 4 is a great game with its very addicting multiplayer due to the fact that you want to get better and unlock the different perks and guns so you can take out more people with. Although it is not my GOTY personally, it is a very well-done game.
Rock Band I can’t say since it ain’t out here but I believe it will be tons of fun to play when I get it eventually. I think what you mentioned in your blog is good despite not playing all of them though.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I’d have to agree with this list more then any game of the year list I’ve seen so far. I would’ve loved to see more breakdown of information of each game as I haven’t tried one or two but I suppose that just gives me more incentive to try out the couple I did not play.
To Me, because of the shock and awe and fantastic ending, Portal deserved game of the year. There was something…wholesome about this game that made me remember exactly how video games can break the third wall and what a great script can do. The ending to the game had me playing non-stop and ignoring real life just for the fact that I was so immersed and..just everything about the games atmosphere from talking turrents to writing on the walls, and that’s quite a sensation I’ve only felt once in a while and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt it.
Great list and a great year for games (now that im out of college and can actually afford them) . Let’s hope with MGS 4, DMC 4, RE 5, GTA 4, NG 2 SSMB Brawl and others that next year will be even better
December 31st, 2007 at 7:28 am
I don’t think I’ve played enough of what are considered to be the top tier games to pass judgement, but Portal was definately my personal favourite this year, I’ve played through it three times just this week.
I’d be kind of interested to know what you think they should do for a second iteration, or if they should make one at all. Maybe just some new maps as downloadable content, I would pay good money for that…
December 31st, 2007 at 10:46 am
Personally I think that list is great. 2008 does look somewhat promising with GTA IV and MGS 4. I can’t really comment on the games that I haven’t played but my pick for game of the year is totally Halo 3. The anticipation, the community, the multiplayer. It just makes an all around great package. A lot of great games deserve consideration for such a high award, like:
Orange Box (Great value for your money)
Mario Galaxy (Best new Mario game)
The list goes on and on. I’m just glad I get to play some of them.
December 31st, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Wow, the World in Conflict collector’s edition has a pretty impressive bonus. I thought you were joking when I first read that.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Nice list.Its good to see you mentioned Crysis though you didnt much like it. I think the game play is solid but the multiplayer is a joke. Who enjoys driving across an entire map to get one kill then dying? Not me. Call of Duty 4 surprised me as your game of the year considering you gave it a 9 on that one site you used to work on. I wont mention the name. Burn GAMESPOT. Whoops it slipped.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Nice list man. I agree CoD4 for game of the year. I have NEVER been interested in the Call of Duty series but when I rented this game to see what everyone was talking about I knew I had to have it. Warhawk comes in second for me as I’ve never had a multiplayer experience like that since Tribes 2.
January 7th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Here are some that everyone has seem to forgotten, or maybe just didn’t think as much of as I did:
I’m not even a huge fan of Oblivion, but Shivering Isles would at least be an honorable mention for me. It was more creative, interesting, and overall satisfying than the majority of questlines found in Oblivion.
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition may be a port of a game that’s a port of a game that came out in 2005, but it’s Wii debut this year displayed is the best version of the game to date. It has all the extras of the PS2 version and the graphics of the GameCube version, but neither of those platforms could give you the experience of hardly being able to shoot straight because your hand is shaking with nerves.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma – A great game, brought to a new audience and made better than ever.
Carcassonne, Catan, Bomberman Live, and Worms are notable for bringing some casual, social fun to Xbox Live this year. Band of Bugs was another fairly casual XBLA favorite for me this year, as well.
Sensible World of Soccer is the only sports game I’ve really enjoyed playing since NBA Jam. It can be too deep for someone who doesn’t know jack about soccer, but the gameplay is there.
Two Worlds was a much better game than most people gave it credit for. It’s ugly and generally rough, but it had some really good ideas and was a really fun game for killing enemies and finding great loot. Give it a couple of hours and it’ll grow on you.
I haven’t played them yet, but I’m surprised no one has mentioned Metroid Prime 3, Zack & Wiki, or the new Sam & Max games. I’m still looking forward to getting my hands on those.
P.S. That Deathblow guy is a jerk.