I've been a member at GameSpot for over a year, but never written a blog here. Well, what better topic to start on than the best gaming year of my life? I'm 17 years old and have been gaming since the age of 3, but never has a year wowed me with its high quality gaming releases as 2007. Suffice it to say, choosing just one is extremely difficult.
I think we first have to deduce what makes an outstanding game stand out in a plethora of stand out games. Is it the graphics, be it technical or artistic? Is it the audio, such as the music? Is the the cinematography, such as the camera work and cutscenes? Is is the innovation, the amount of new ideas cast forward? The answer is that it's all of these. No one aspect makes a great game better than another great game; it's a combination of things. So here are the nominees for my 2007 Game of the Year. Remember that there are some great games out there like Crysis that I didn't play, so they're not on this list. Also, a * denotes a game that surprised me with its awesomeness.
*Crackdown
The Darkness
*Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
Halo 3
The Orange Box
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
*Super Mario Galaxy
*Mass Effect
So yeah, as you can see, i was surprised my many games. Crackdown got a less than great review from GameSpot and a crap demo, so i was immediately put off. But after purchasing the game because i had spare cash, i never looked back on the decision. Once your skills are all maxed out, few games provide the same level of fun. I missed out on Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube and I'm not entirely sure why, i just wasn't feeling it. Even with all the critique i was still blown away when I bought it for my Wii. In fact, it's probably the best game I played all year, even though it's not winning the award because it's essentially a two-year old game. Game of the year for 2005, not 2007. Super Mario Galaxy surprised me because I hated Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. In fact, excepting the Banjo-Kazooie games and Donkey Kong 64, i'm not a fan of 3D platformers at all anyway. So the fact Super Mario Galaxy had me gripped for hours is just mind-blowing. Mass Effect was another big surprise to me in a similar way... Excepting The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, i hate role-playing games. But this game is nothing short of a masterpiece. The amount of evident effort put into the game is almost unprecedented. Had it not have been for the numerous bugs and glitches, plus a broken autosave system, this would've been my Game of the Year. Also, a special mention must go to The Orange Box for providing the best deal in video game history. Half-Life 2 is one of my favourite games ever, and as amazing as The Orange Box is, it feels more like a compliation of hits rather than a standard game. Portal and Team Fortress 2 are great, but they feel unfinished. I have no quibbles with Episode Two, however. Bring on Episode Three!
