Game Of The Year 2007

[Ferral]

Title sates it all really, we are now in December and all the BIG releases are out. Not going to create a poll with this one as there have been loads of great titles out this year, just to many to list. So what are your games of the year and why.

For me :

The Witcher. Bioware at its best. The Aurora engine really has come a long way since Neverwinter Nights. Visually this one really captures you as does the sound. What really stands out for me though is the fact that your choices do actually make a difference to the world around you. Brings a whole new level of gaming immersion, definately the way forward.

Bioshock. Granted this game is buggy as hell and is still yet to be patched to fix the problems. Rapture though is definately a place to visit for any gamer. Not since System Shock 2 have I felt so claustrophobic walking round the murky corridors wondering what will happen next. Overall it had me engrossed start to finish but I did find it a little short. Rumour has it that Bioshock 2 is going ahead so hopefully we will see a lot more of rapture on our return visit. To finish off I must admit that the story was really interesting, especially when you start fining out what has happened and meet a few of the key characters.

Shivering Isles. Expansion to one of my all time favourite games ES4 Oblivion. Venturing into the realm of madness to stop the Greymarch and save the Shivering Isles. Fruity characters, great visuals and a whole host of new creatures. Very different in its own right and carries on the Elder Scrolls tradition with style.

Games that I didn't really rate this year.

Stalker. Visually dated and nowhere near as big as the hype after all those years waiting. Personally just can't get away with it.

Crysis. Granted it looks amazing and really pushes the bar forward when it comes to PC gaming. Thing is though, it plays way to much like Farcry for my liking so been playing it in short bursts with no real interest in it. Not forgetting you really need a monster system to even run it on medium settings.

Hellgate. I followed this from its early development stages and it had my interest peaked. After playing for a few hours though it becomes a bit tedious. Surface and gates look great but the other bits arn't so hot. Tunnel system after tunnel system for most of the side quests becomes boring ever so quickly unfortunately. Must admit that some of the big bosses look amazing in their own right. Definately close but no cigar moment in gaming.

Clive Barkers Jerhicho. Another near miss with this one. It is just so samey that after playing for a few hours it becomes boring. Visual style is pretty good but for a PC game it reeks of console port when it comes to the button sequences and controls. Enemies are also unvaried unfortunately.

So whats everyone else make of gaming this year?

[directhex]

portal.

it's a shining example of everything that's good in gaming.

[acrobat]

Yes. Infact Portal is the only game in my list. I think it was fantastic, and I also think that "almost" everything else was either mediocre, or just crap. And although there where some decent ones (The Witcher), they weren't my cuppa tea.

I think I probably played about 90% of the all the main games released this year. I am disappointed with them all. It's partly because I'm probably getting too old for gaming.. but I am convinced its also do to standards slipping, and games becoming simpler and simpler and also easier.

Stalker (and Gothic 3) *could* have been different, if they had completely different second halves

I really can't think of a single game I would want to give any credit to (besides Portal). I think Crysis might be one, but I still haven't played it yet. I was massively impressed with the demo, but if the game is too short, and the second half isn't especially fun to play, then I would be tempted to just say it's a good game, but not special.

When I think back on the countless games I have played this year, there are really only a few that where really memorable enough for me to remember ;P One was Jade Empire, and one was Sniper: Elite. And I'm not even sure if they where 2007 games. Everything else I played was an "ok-ish" experience

I never intended to play many games this year. This year I was expecting to play nothing but "Vanguard:Saga of Heroes", but that turned out to be an enormous catastrophe. Besides that, the biggest let down for me this year, was Bioshock, joint bottom with Unreal Tournament 3. I can't emphasise enough, how better a game I think System Shock 2 is, to Bioshock.

p.s. World in Conflict I think has one of the best new twists, which was that camera view. I think its a pretty safe bet, to say that the way RTS's have worked to date, is now dead, and the future of RTS's, will work like World in Conflict, with that great camera view. I quite liked the game too, just not that much.. I don't like controlling such a small number of units, rather than an entire army like in a real RTS..

[directhex]

I am convinced its also do to standards slipping, and games becoming simpler and simpler and also easier.

every year, there are at most one or two games deserving of "all-time classic" status. that hasn't changed this year, or even this millennium - it goes back at least as far as i've been playing (since the late 1980s)

what's changed is the *average* has dropped, as more people are producing crap - the crap's no crappier, there's just more of it.

[acrobat]

I dunno about that, semantics. The fact is, both you and I only really gave credit to one game, and that is pretty terrible. Not only that, but it was the same game

What annoys me the most, is that most games came so close being really great. I dont know if they would be "all time classics" or not, but when I think about games like Jade Empire and Silent Hunter 4, Stalker, C&C TW, Opposing Fronts, ET:QW, FSX, Supreme Commander, Two Worlds etc..... I "quite" liked them all, but they could have been special if they just where just a bit.. better ;P It might just be a matter of personal taste, but I think all those games are the right kinds of games for me, they just didn't do what I would have liked them to do.

[directhex]

I dunno about that, semantics. The fact is, both you and I only really gave credit to one game, and that is pretty terrible. Not only that, but it was the same game

okay, here's my second: Sam & Max Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!

that and Portal are my two picks for this year. Bioshock was shallow, I haven't felt the urge to buy Super Mario Galaxy after the bitter taste left by Sunshine, and god knows there's **** all on the PS3 worth even mentioning as "okay", let alone "all-time classic"

but, see, that's the way things are. for example, 2006 brought us Okami and We Love Katamari. two classics, a handful of "good", it's enough to last a year. the market's changing, little by little, but I don't think the supply of good games is drying up.

maybe your standards are just getting higher?

[Tarffie]

Call of Duty 4 is my favourite game of the year. It's another FPS, I think I'd say it was one of the best, if not the best, FPS games I've ever played. Literally the only thing missing is a decent cover system. On the surface the story is the same old, but there's twists and little extras that really make the game something. The opening credits cutscene, the SAS timetrial at the beginning, the Javelin, the very end of the Marines mission, the AC-130 gunship mission, the flashback mission in Ukraine up until the assassination (the section from there on till the end of the flashback was the down point for me) and the ending, all brilliant parts that brought it together for me. That Online mode is rather good fun too, even if the lobby system is a bit buggy at the moment. It's a fairly short game, but I prefer it this way, otherwise there'd be a lot of crappy filler in between all the good bits.

There's also parts that are annoying but when you think about it, make complete sense. If you're fighting in a city, on a main road, you can't just sit at the back picking enemies off, because they just won't stop coming. Constantly respawning enemies seems lazy level design but it makes to move forwards (which is what you're meant to do as part of the mission) and use tactics to take the various positions. It's a bit flawed in some parts, there are instances where you can sprint down the flanks of a battle, hit the checkpoints and all the fighting behind you disappears. As far as I know that's only possible on Normal difficulties and below, because I couldn't manage it on Hardened.

[HSK]

^ Snap. great game...

[acrobat]

maybe your standards are just getting higher?

They definitely are, but that should go without saying. I think everybody's are. Manic Miner was a classic in the 80s, but today it wouldn't be. And in the same way, UT2k4 was a classic back then, but Unreal Tournament 3 is not today. (IMO atleast). And not just lack of progress, but I am convinced some games are actually devolving.. I think System Shock 2 is to Bioshock, what First Blood is to Rambo 3

All this is based on PC games by the way. I don't have any consoles :C

Literally the only thing missing is a decent cover system.

What is a cover system?
I thought that game was really great too btw, but I only played it briefly, so never got a chance to play it through a second time, or play it online. If I did, I might have it allowed it onto my laminated list of uber 2007 games. There is plenty of room after all

[directhex]

They definitely are, but that should go without saying. I think everybody's are. Manic Miner was a classic in the 80s, but today it wouldn't be. And in the same way, UT2k4 was a classic back then, but Unreal Tournament 3 is not today. (IMO atleast).

ah, but that's the very definition of an all-time classic - something that stays playable, even decades on.

i'd still highlight a couple of SNES games ahead of modern HDR DX10 PC games, for intangible things like "atmosphere"

And not just lack of progress, but I am convinced some games are actually devolving.. I think System Shock 2 is to Bioshock, what First Blood is to Rambo 3

unfortunately, a necessity. games for the small fringe that enjoyed system shock 2 simply don't sell well - you've got to hit the masses to pull back your investment. and developing modern phong-shaded games isn't cheap.

All this is based on PC games by the way. I don't have any consoles :C

maybe that's the problem? you're shooting yourself in the foot if you close off 3 or more extra streams for high quality games to hit you from

What is a cover system?

something gears of war did really well - a system that made hiding behind pillars, running out, then diving behind a wall, work really well - and crucially, work fluidly in the middle of battle

[Parp]

2 Games make my games of the year:

Mario Galaxy on the Wii is such a fun game to play. A lot better than sunshine was on the cube and as good as Mario 64 on the N64. It looks very good for a Wii game and the orchestrated music sounds great, especially as I have my Wii hooked up to my amp and speakers. The levels are designed really well and the game makes excellent use of the Wii controls.

and my second game of the year is:

Galactic Civilizations 2 Dark Avatar, the expansion to one of my favorite games of all time, I have spent months playing this game, which is unusual for me to still be playing a game for that long. It's like civilization (turn based strategy) but in space without all the fiddly micro-management. I'm really looking forward to the next expansion for it which should be out in January.
I like it as the game is not the same everytime you play it, the AI is very good and will react differently each time. The maps are randomly generated so you never play the same twice, there are things called megaevents which can completely change the state of play during the game (such as my empire being torn apart by civil war or a galaxy wide plague slowly killing all inhabitants). Overall a damn good game. I would recommend it to anyone that likes turn based strategys.

I haven't played any of the newer PC games as my computer can't handle it, COD4 seems very good and I look forward to playing that when I eventually upgrade my computer.

I've also been enjoying quake wars but I wouldn't say it was the best game of the year.

[acrobat]

maybe that's the problem? you're shooting yourself in the foot if you close off 3 or more extra streams for high quality games to hit you from

Maybe, but I doubt it. I've used a PC all my life and never really missed using consoles. Most things seem to come out on PC eventually anyway, and of the ones that don't, I don't think they would have been my kind of game anyway. There are only a few I have missed over the years. Mario Kart, and Tekken etc. But I can live without that Today, I don't know any that I am really missing out on. Assassins Creed doesn't really sound like my kind of thing, and I think that might end up on the PC anyway.

How about you anyway? You don't sound all that impressed with modern gaming either, and I get the impression you have all kinds of consoles and stuff?

something gears of war did really well - a system that made hiding behind pillars, running out, then diving behind a wall, work really well - and crucially, work fluidly in the middle of battle

Ahh, yeah that is quite nice. It's not something I really miss though. I just stand behind things and lean out. It does work well though in GOW and I think Rainbow 6 Vegas was similar iirc.

Galactic Civilizations 2 Dark Avatar, the expansion to one of my favorite games of all time, I have spent months playing this game, which is unusual for me to still be playing a game for that long. It's like civilization (turn based strategy) but in space without all the fiddly micro-management. I'm really looking forward to the next expansion for it which should be out in January.

That game gets amazing reviews. I really need to get it sometime.

[directhex]

How about you anyway? You don't sound all that impressed with modern gaming either, and I get the impression you have all kinds of consoles and stuff?

i'd say about 80% of the games i buy are for consoles. i've been gaming since 1989 (pc since 1994), and have a reasonably powerful machine - i'm just finding the games on consoles, including ones that get PC releases too, more fun these days. valve are one of the only companies that force me to keep my gaming pc up to date

[Zak33]

for me the latest version of Lineage II is game of the year.

Why? Cos I play it 4 or 5 times per week, pay monthly, and still enjoy it. The latest version has a huge map, loads of the events this year have been good, and my Clan is teetring towards greatness

But the game itself is based on a very old game. Luckily it has really major overhauls. Which occured this year.

[moogle]

Yes, Bioshock is a nice thriller. When playing with surround sound you hear all those noises around you and then theres a splicer in your face! Love it. I never noticed the bugs though. We need more thriller games, I played the Crysis demo and it wasn't enough to entice me into buying it. Anyone know of other games like Bioshock? Like the Thief series etc.

[Phillikon]

OK I'm gonna go for Call of Duty 4, it was going to be Crysis but the game has been too unreliable and keeps crashing on me.

I think the COD franchise has been consistently good over the years and deserves a medal all to its self.