My Games of the Year 2007

2007 was an awesome year for gamers. Nearly every genre, save the fighting genre, had a title that could have made my Overall Game of the Year winner. Also, only the PS3 had no exclusive game worth playing this year - maybe 2008's Metal Gear Solid 4 can save the already dying platform.

Nintendo Wii Game of the Year:
Nintendo usually doesn't make it easy for its fans. Every year they release a handful of titles that are must haves. This year, however, was different. Metroid Prime 3 was good, but still remains in the shadow of the first Metroid Prime. And had Super Smash Bros. Brawl been released this year, it would have been a really tough choice. But ultimately, Nintendo EAD never disappoints, giving us a new way to think about how platformers can be played. Never has a platformer been this much fun since Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy is clearly the Wii's game of the year.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Game of the Year:
Unlike the Wii where months went by without a release worth buying, the Xbox 360 had maybe only 2-3 months out of the year where I could make that claim. Of course, most of these titles were multiplatform and don't count, in my opinion, leaving me with only two choices that really stand out: Halo 3 and Mass Effect. If you know me very well, you'd know that I'm not a big fan of the Halo series. I've always felt that it was just another shooter. I'm sure it did great things on teaching other developers on how the FPS genre should be played with a controller, but other than that it just didn't do it for me. Halo 3, however, gave us one thing I really enjoyed: 4-player campaign online co-op via Xbox LIVE. I don't care much for FPS multiplayer, as online gaming is just full of assholes. Giving them voice chat just makes it that much more unbearable. Anyway, my choice of Xbox 360 game of the year obviously goes to Mass Effect for its solid delivery of an epic that just oozes amazing attention to detail as well as a rich history to build a franchise on. Mass Effect, while short for an RPG (roughly 24 hours minimum), still manages to tell a great story that leaves you wanting more. I can guarantee that you won't be playing any other game at the same time you play Mass Effect.

Sony PlayStation 3 Game of the Year:
Sony's behemoth console has had yet another disappointing year. Still overpriced, even after they castrated the console of its PS2 backwards compatibility, and without a title worth mentioning in the same breath as Super Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, or even Halo 3, the PS3 is just not worth it. It doesn't help when exclusives like Lair and Heavenly Sword were overhyped and, especially in Lair's case, wound up hurting the console's image. But hey, at least we got some laughs out of them when Sony's executives attempted to cover up with their hilarious comments. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune looks to be its best game, but still strikes me as a fancied up Tomb Raider: Legend clone (which is ultimately a fancied up Prince of Persia: Sands of Time clone). I wouldn't spend $60 on it though.

Nintendo DS Game of the Year:
If there's any clear winner in terms of console sales, it's the Nintendo DS. No one is laughing at this console now as it has already outsold the PS2's total sales in Japan. Simply amazing. I don't even think Nintendo thought the NDS would be selling this well. In a way, I feel that the Nintendo DS is all about taking risks in design. The only title this year that really does that is The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Many question whether it was the right thing to take the proven game play style of A Link to the Past and Minish Cap and turn it into an entirely touch-screen based style of game play. I think Phantom Hourglass turned out very well given the radical game play style. I especially enjoy being able to write on maps. However, I wish Nintendo had opted to give us the option to choose the tried and true dpad control scheme mixed with touch-screen controls.

Sony PlayStation Portable Game of the Year:
You have to give Sony credit as they totally refuse to admit defeat in the portable market. The PSP continues to try to be a thorn in the Nintendo DS's stylus but will always fall short. The notable titles this year are Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. MGS:PO and Castlevania were solid efforts by Konami as they both gave PSP owners to dust off their PSPs. Though I never felt the need to finish either title. It is however, very hard to resist not returning to Ivalice in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. FFT tells an awesome story of political and religious deceit and how Ivalice was saved by Ramza. It is one of the best strategy RPG games in the genre and its now available in portable form. If you don't have a PSP, go and find Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1 and play it on your PS2 or PS3. You won't be disappointed.

PC Game of the Year:
The PC also had a great year, much like the XBox 360. Well, it doesn't hurt that many of the great Xbox 360 titles, like BioShock, also appeared on the PC at the same time. Some like Gears of War took a while longer to appear, but eventually showed up with minor improvements. But in terms of enjoyability that can only be found on the PC, I would have to say that World in Conflict is the clear winner. Yes, World in Conflict is/may eventually find its way onto the Xbox 360, but I still have doubts on whether the RTS genre can be done right on the console and played with the controller. World in Conflict's game play was built for action. Gone are the tried and true RTS methods of resource gathering and tech trees. Instead, World in Conflict focuses on teamwork. It's really hard, if not impossible, to win a multiplayer game in World in Conflict by yourself. I haven't enjoyed an RTS game this much since StarCraft: Brood War.

Overall Game of the Year:
2007, as I have mentioned, was filled with awesome games. Many are fun to play alone and some are only fun when played with friends. It's really hard to choose one game that defines 2007's level of quality. BioShock should win solely on its story and its ability to draw the player into the creepiness of Rapture. It doesn't hurt that it also had solid game play. Guitar Hero 3 should win because of its ability to draw gamers into thinking they're an actual guitarist (and well, because it's freaking fun!). Rock Band should win because its just fun to pretend you're in a rock band, singer and all. And who doesn't like rocking out to good music with friends? (If you ask me, Guitar Hero 3's music selection is better overall.) Super Mario Galaxy and Mass Effect should win, well, because they're just that much fun to play.

In the end, I have to choose Mass Effect as my Overall Game of the Year 2007. These days it's hard for me to actually find the time to get to sit down and enjoy playing games. Mass Effect made me make the time to do this. Mass Effect tells an epic story that's just as grand, if not more so, than that of Star Wars and does all of this with fully spoken dialogue. It lets the player choose what kind of savior they want to be, allowing the player to really care about their actions in the Mass Effect universe. I can only hope that the sequels build upon this, as well as continue Commander Shepard's quest. If you only play one game from 2007, please let it be Mass Effect.

The Grass is Always Greener

I've had a Macbook Pro for just about a month now and I'm willing to admit that yes, all those Apple freaks I've been making fun of all these years were right. Apple makes one damn fine computer. Mac OS X is truly an amazing piece of software engineering, as every little detail that you'd think they'd glance over was taken care of with care. Many times I've been doing something I'd normally do on Windows and it was made so much easier to do on Mac OS X.

Maybe I what I really want to say is that Mac OS X is a more efficient OS to use. I can see many aspects of Mac OS X that Microsoft has tried to copy in Windows XP and Windows Vista, but ultimately screwed up in some way or another. For example, Mac OS X has something similar to UAC on Vista. Yet somehow it doesn't seem as intrusive or annoying as it does on Vista. I don't really understand why that is, but it just is.

I never really thought I'd be recommending buying a Mac to anyone, but here I am telling everyone I know how great these machines are. My only real issue with the Mac platform is the continuing lack of options for gaming. Hopefully this will change with time. But if not, well, there's always the work machines or my Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, etc.

Probably the final question to answer is: would I buy another Mac in 5 years or so? Well, right now I'd say definitely but as we've all seen with me, anything can change.