Well, I think we can safely conclude that no groundbreaking games are going to be released in the next fortnight before 2008, so I thought it was time to find out what everyone's favourite games of 2007 were.
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_gaming#Notable_releases"]If you need a refresher on what games were released this year.[/URL]
In no particular order, mine are:
Call of Duty 4
Awesome single player, awesome multiplayer. Took everything that was good about COD2 and multiplied it by a hundred. Stuff like the AC-130 mission and the post-nuke scene were totally unexpected...
Mass Effect
One of the first games - never mind RPGs - where I was immediately starting a new file once I was done. The conversation pieces are a role-playing innovation, and although BioWare didn't quite deliver on the 'full galaxy to explore' promise, I won't forget the first time I had to zoom out right to see the full Milky Way. Epic in scale, and definitely deserves a franchise.
Super Mario Galaxy
Felt like I was playing one of the classic Mario games - which is a very good thing. I actually felt my emotion swelling the first time the Good Egg Galaxy theme played. The game showed that even though the Wii isn't a graphical powerhouse, developers have no excuses not to be making environments as beautiful as Galaxy's.
Portal
I thought it would be pretty much a copout to have the Orange Box up here, as it isn't a game. So I settled for Portal. Really, really short, but the few hours I spent on the main storyline were time well spent. Honorable mentions have to go to Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2, too.
BioShock
One of the best storylines in a vidya, had a fantastic graphical style, fantastic voice acting, fantastic musical score, and fantastic atmosphere. Sander Cohen and Fort Frolic were a type of eccentric genius that isn't often seen in games. Only letdown was the ending, which felt really tacked on.
1) Call of Duty 4
CoD2 was my favourite multiplayer game by far, nothing compared to it. And CoD4 is exactly what I wanted from a follow-up... times fifty. The single-player, though short, was surprisingly fantastic. So many "holy ****" moments that really got your heart beating and just some really cool characters that fleshed the experience out. Really caught me by surprise since no other military shooter has ever come close to what IW did with their campaign. Hell, the AC-130 mission alone was breathtaking. Though not much gameplay in said mission it just goes to show you how well they craft their games. The voice acting and style of that mission just gives you chills, and the calm presentation just adds to it.
Besides that, you have the best multiplayer game ever. Everything is balanced, the maps are some of the best, and gameplay is spot-on.
2) BioShock
Dripping with atmosphere, the best voice acting, awesome powers, amazing graphics and sound, great storyline and a great, fun shooter to boot. Besides the lack of replayability and being relatively short, what's there not to love?
3) Shivering Isles
As great as Oblivion was, Shivering Isles was even better. Not as many side-quests, but the main-quest made up for it. Amazingly engaging, a massive world for DLC and tons of cool additions to weapons, magic, monsters and everything else you'd expect.
4) Ninja Gaiden Sigma
It's Ninja Gaiden. My favourite game. Except ten times better.
5) Virtua Fighter 5
The best fighter ever made if you ask me. So deep, so complex, so beautiful, fast, balanced, intense, etc, etc. Everything you'd want from a fighter this game has and perfects.
Now, Mass Effect would likely be on that list, but I haven't had the chance to fully experience the game, so I'm not going to add it. I'll probably put it in fifth place when I get it on christmas.
1. Shin Megami tensei: Persona 3(PS2)
Hands down for me the best game out this year
2. Blue Dragon (xbox360)
An odd choice for a number 2 but i enjoyed playing this game.
3. Folklore (PS3)
4. Halo 3 (xbox360)
Hard choice when comparing it to a game like cod4. I have only played 5mins of cod4 so i decided to leave it off the list till i get more playtime out of it.
5. Mario Galaxy: (WII)
Great game even tho i'm not really a big fan of mario
There few game i left out i haven't gotten far enough into those games yet to judge how much i like them.
Bleh, wasn't a huge gaming year for me, despite the fact I got my Wii. Let's see...in no order...
Super Mario Galaxy
Do I need to say anymore? It rocked. Hard. A fantastic Mario game, more reminiscent of the 2D ones than any 3D one that's been made. Heck, I personally think it felt more like the old games than New Super Mario Bros. did. Brilliance.
Metroid Prime 3
Naturally. Beautiful controls, nice long game, and with a great level of difficulty. Haven't played through this one yet. I should change that.
Super Paper Mario
I'll be honest, I still haven't beaten this one yet. MP3 came out...and I just haven't gotten back to it, even though I'm at the end. Anyway, maybe this normally wouldn't make my list, but I've only bought like, four 2007 games. Almost all the games I've been playing this year have been older ones. But, good game nonetheless. It's been way longer than I ever anticipated, which is good.
Wow. That's it. I could list DKRDS, but I'm not counting that because it sucked due to the fact that I have broken shoulder buttons and couldn't use items. Looking at that list though, I realized how much crap I still want to play this year. For the systems I have, I want Lego Star Wars, Phantom Hourglass, Battalion Wars, MoH2, and, uh, moar.
2008 will be much better, anyway. I'll have a job, SSBB, a PS3, and Metal Gear Solid 4. :)
MegaMan ZX Advent, Phantom Hourglass, Etrian Odyssey, and Pokeymans are the only '07 games I even remember buying, and I'm too lazy to look around and see if there was anything else.
You never bought Luminous Arc? For shame.
Bioshock, Mario, Halo 3, RE:4 Wii (never liked it before Wii version), and I think those are the only games that came out this year that I bought. Except Crackdown and SSX Blur, neither of which really deserve mention in any sort of "Top" anything list. And to think this summer I was thinking "holy **** this is the best year for video games ever" and I think this is the least new games in a year I've gotten since I was like 11.
edit: what the **** **** *** ***** tit cocks i forgot portal, the game of the century. Best year of games ever.
I really can't remember what the hell came out this year, so this list will be pretty biased towards the last 3 months.
In no particular order
Metroid Prime 3
They livened up the gameplay with more action, vastly improved the backtracking and delievered some of the most stunning graphics I've ever seen in a video game. At times it felt like I was looking at a painting. Oh, and they proved the Wii's worth.
BioShock
This game gave me probably my single greatest moment in videogames, and I'm pretty sure it was a bug that caused it. Basically it lead to me being taken completely off guard and running for my life followed by a dramatic out of the frying pan and into the fire moment and an epic battle for survival. After my triumph I literally had to pause the game and take a break for 15 minutes so my heart could return to it's usual inside-my-body position.
Burnout Paradise
Does this count? I played it this year, anyway. I found it really fun, even if I've basically played it a million hours. Online multiplayer made me giggle like a toddler.
Pok
Yeah, totally forgot about Pokemon. Maybe if I had actually played Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, and Call of Duty 4 I could've made a better decision. Two of those should be covered 'round Christmas though. Was a pretty good year anyway, I suppose, just not a lot that was to my taste.
lots of shootan. so I was a happy little man
I have Unreal Tournament III (PS3), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) and Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) in my queue, so this list might change after playing those.
Portal - The Orange Box (Xbox 360)
I first found out about this game when it was merely a college project, and after finding out about its premise, I was truly jealous that I hadn't come up with it myself. I can't really say that about any other game I've played.
The idea of using portals as a main gameplay mechanic opens up a lot of interesting, new ways to solve puzzles. It's incredibly innovative and addictive, and it has so much more potential that it would be hard to think there won't be a follow up of some sort.
Lastly, the final game was wrapped up in a morbidly humorous package that stands out on its own, and will be remembered years from now.
"Anyway this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist."
BioShock (Xbox 360)
Game systems working, meshing, blending and mixing together to make awesome, emergent gameplay. That's what makes it so fun. A tale of a man on his path to create an underwater Utopia away from the moral boundaries of surface life. That's what makes it so interesting. A revelation that fundamentally affects the course of the story, and twists the reality the player thought he had grasped. That's what makes it so special.
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
It'll probably be a while before we see anything like the industry-shattering effect Super Mario 64 had on gaming, but Galaxy manages to bring Mario back as the king of platformers. There's no game out there that stays fresher throughout, and it's mostly because getting a new star always manages to feel different from getting the one before it. Breaking down Mario's abilities against how they interact with each object in the universe would lead to an enormous list of interactive vignettes. And they're all simple and ridiculously fun.
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Mass Effect has its share of flaws. The interface, particularly resource management, is a pain to deal with. Many of the sidequests take place in cloned areas inside wastelands of planets. Unlike in KOTOR and Jade Empire, there are no ties between your abilities and moral choices. Party members don't "meet" with old acquaintances to create more sidequests and there's no detective mission to solve. Oh, and good luck finding out how to do anything from the game alone.
But for all its minor flaws, everything else about it is incredibly well polished and amazing. Seriously amazing. The BioWare-trademark conversations have been taken to a new level. No matter how sci-fi geeky the species are, they look so alive and believable, it's impossible to break the immersion. The voice acting is top-notch, including your character's (finally).
Then there's the combat. While I like most RPGs I've played in spite of the tiresome combat systems, this game shares the Jade Empire-style of action-oriented battles with more depth. It combines the perspective and aiming of a shooter with the RPG-like traits of level progression, stat alteration through resources and Biotic powers (magic).
Lastly, of course, is the story. It's a BioWare story, so it'll surely be the best one you'll play this year, and not only because the events are interesting and emotional, but also because you'll have a hand in dictating what those events will be and how they will play out.
Oh, and the game is incredibly beautiful on all accounts. An audiovisual orgasm. If you're going to have a lot of cloned bases and mines, you might as well make them pretty. (Just turn off blur and the grainy film effect in Options)
Oh, and this is only the first game of a trilogy. Game logic dictates the next one will only get better in terms of features, bugs, character progression and interface.
I still prefer Jade Empire, though. RPG+ Martial Arts action = BEST THING EVER
__________________
I don't have a 5th game yet. While I could fill out the 5th spot with a solid 2007 game, I'd rather fill it with a game that's really worth considering for Game of the Year, like the 4 above. Also, I played many 2005 and 2006 titles this year, so those won't make the list.
I guess I can boil it down to games I've played this year, in no order.
Dead Rising
I'm pretty late to the party with this one. I'm actually playing it right now. Surprisingly enough, the game easily makes my top ten favorite games. It's way too much fun. I have this thing for horror/zombie stuff and this game was completely suited to my tastes.
Gears of War
I had a terrible fear of Xbox Live before I played this game. I had played Halo 2 online and had played terribly; being being ragged on for being a female perpetuating the stereotype of a girl that doesn't belong and that can't play with the big boys was far from being pleasant. After a while of avoiding my Xbox, I decided that there had to come a time to overcome my aversion to online games by playing a different game-- this game was it. Soon enough I was swearing and beating down newbies like the rest of the community. It made me develop the serious potty mouth I have today. Tons of fun until it got bogged with glitchers. :(
Condemned
It's creepy. I love this horror stuff. Investigating was really cool since it brought the adventure aspect to the gameplay. Beating crazy people over the head is tons of fun.
Oblivion
Oblivion.
Viva Pinata
I really can't express how much love I had for this game (all 1000 points, woo!). I invested a great deal of time into the game raising my little critters, losing a lot of my favorites along the way by them being eaten by the visitors or by selling them myself. Taking care of them gave me a fantastic sense of motherhood; it gave me something to care about, akin to my town in Animal Crossing. Though my interest faded when the sequel released wasn't really a sequel and I had done everything the game was about, it still holds a place in my heart. Now if only there was a real sequel...
Honorable Mention
Super Paper Mario
This game was one of my favorites for the wrong reasons. The same time my mother died I had been playing the second installment of the Paper series. Many people thought it was weird that I was playing the game through tears after we had come back from the funeral (I actually achieved the ferocious victory I sought by beating the game that night). I heard of the third Paper Mario afterwards and looked forward to it with extreme excitement. I was disappointed that the game wasn't constructed like the others since this particular Mario franchise was my favorite. I can't pinpoint what it was that felt so different about this game, I just knew that whatever it was I didn't like it. This game is, for now, the last Paper game released. I give it a mention because the reason I loved it so is because it reminded me of how much better the second game made me feel during my time of despair.
BioShock
I actually stopped playing this game in the middle of it because I got seasick. I'll get back to it.
Wow, what a ****ty list lol
...five of those games came out last year. The only ones that didn't were your honourable mentions list :p
I played all of those games this year. That's pretty much all I got for this year since I seem to be late to the party. :(
No particular order:
1) BioShock
2) Metroid Prime 3
3) Call of Duty 4
4) Mass Effect
5) Crackdown
1) Super Mario Galaxy
2) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3) Super Paper Mario
4) lol idk
5) lol idk
Really.....these are like the only games I've played/beaten this entire year. :(
[quote=Fate;796646][COLOR=skyblue]I played all of those games this year. That's pretty much all I got for this year since I seem to be late to the party.[/COLOR] :(
Aw...wait a minute, don't you live with Big Boss?
Big Boss only likes Sony though... and well, games are hard to come by...
Call Of Duty 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Portal
Team Fortress 2
BioShock
orderless
[quote=Vampiro V. Empire;797102]Big Boss only likes Sony though... and well, games are hard to come by...
She has access to all the games on his list!
1) Call of Duty 4
Great single player. EXCELLENT multiplayer. I have clocked countless hours playing this game online and on LAN. The challenges, perks, and weapon upgrades keep you playing and playing, although it is fairly easy to rank up.
2) Mass Effect
I love the storyline and the gameplay. I very much underestimated this game.
3) Assassins Creed
I love this game. Well, I do.
4) Guitar Hero III
For the PC I love the game. :) It is awesome! I grabbed some mod songs on the internet and have a huge playlist to play from.
5) Halo 3
I like the social gaming. :)
It's almost a rule that we can't play the same games at the same time. I played BioShock while he was playing The Orange Box. I play Dead Rising while he plays Mass Effect. We occasionally Halo and Guitar Hero together.
Oh, and saying that he only likes Sony really couldn't be more off. :/
It's funnier when I picture him as a sony fanboy, like speedy with nintendo.
He used to be.
Fate is the victim of domestic abuse, though. Withholding certain vidya? Referring to himself as the 'Big Boss'? Definitely grounds for divorce.
lol.
anyways, I thought about it and I haven't been gaming all too much this year. Or not with the newest and "best" exactly. BUT YEAH:
1. Super Mario Galaxy
It really brought to life the whole Platforming genre for me in which I haven't really had much interest in for a very very long time. Everything about the game is amazing. It exudes so much marioness, and I'm such a fag for it. heart it.
2. Metroid Prime 3
After being pretty disappointed with MP2 I was worried that MP3 might follow down the same path. However, I was pleasANTly surprised by how well it integrated the wiimote with the whole shootan aspect. Hopefully Retro will continue to make great games and I wish them good luck on whatever project the happen to make next.
after this it gets kinda convaluted, but I haven't played any of the good bawkz games to know how great they are. so the next three are just ones I general liked I suppose.
Planet Puzzle League
I wish this game got more love than it did. I still play it on the can all the time. Really great puzzle game and used the DS perfectly.
Pokemon Diamond
I didn't get into it as much as many other people do. And as it being my first real experience with a Pokemon title, I found it to be an extremely fun, and well made RPG.
Warioware Smooth Moves
I don't care what you faggots say, I love the WAAAACKY nature of the game. The best minigame...game on the Wii and the most entertaining when I have a bunch of people over. It's been a hit with all my friends and family alike. Definition of what a game is all about, fukken...FUN.
I wish I could have played all the great titles/shootanz, but alas, no shootan for ant :(
Next year looks to be an amazing year for gaming though, and I can already bet that DMC4, RE5, and SSBB are going to be on the top of my lists. Good times are abound gentlemen and fate. good times.
Wii Sports
Pokemon Diamond
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Galaxy
Ico