B3D Forum Vox Populi's Game of The Year (Diff categories): Enter, vote and win...

[Farid]

...Win all our collective appreciation and expression of gratitude, that is.

Ok, folks, 2007 is inevitably coming to its planified demise. It was a good year for gaming for some, not so great for others. So, it's time for us to exchange our various, and conflicting, opinions on this Console gaming year.

And that's exactly what this thread is meant for, express what you have to say about your experience with gaming this year.

Usually, this type of thread consists of asking participants to single out one game as their game of the year (GOTY). But I'll admit gladly that these threads can be boring, mundane or simply an amalgam of tame and understood opinions. And thus, I understand that many have little interest in reading pages listing big games' names and leaving it at that.

That's why, the topic of this thread would add a small twist to the classic GOTY Thread formula: Try to express what these last 12 months of console gaming were to you, be it in a word or two or in verbose essay, and if you can actually pinpoint your GOTY, or at least the most important, to you, 2007 game you played then do it. If for some reason, you don't feel like any 2007 game was worthy of your time and/or money and that you had more fun with an old game, say it as well.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Game of the Year 07​

The PC version of this thread is here.

So, now for the main course, the console categories are:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Console Game of the Year 07

• The name of the category says it all. Name your 2007 console game of the year.

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Xbox 360 Game of the Year 07

• Name your 2007 X360 game of the year.

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Wii Game of the Year 07

• Name your 2007 Wii game of the year.

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's PlayStation 3 Game of the Year 07

• Name your 2007 PS3 game of the year.

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's PlayStation 2 Game of the Year 07

• Name your 2007 PS2 game of the year.

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst Game of the Year 07

• This category calls for some explanation. Like the GOTY award, this one is purely subjective and contextual. In other words, propose games only based on your own experience: if you only played AAA titles this year and one of these AAA, according to the press and the crowds, was nothing but raw sewage to you then yes, it qualifies as WGOTY.
  
  Don't waste your time looking for some low budget shovelware released only in one territory that you have never played, but heard off at some gaming site. Nobody (should) care about the consensus on some game you didn't play. Go for the real experience.
  
  Same thing, even if you played a technically "worse" game than the one you picked as your WGOTY, it still qualifies, if you think that game dissapointed you the most. We're rarely surprised when some awful looking and sounding free game found in some PC magazine's DVD is in fact as awful as it looked and sounded. On the other hand, when you spill 40-50 bucks on a gam you were anticipating, finding out that it's a stinker can, more often than not, piss you off.
  
  Obviously, if your choice may appear controversial, try to argument a bit your choice. It's a must, though, unlike the PC version of this thread, you're required to explain succently what the points of contentions with the said games are. Also, folks, I know this category is poised to received some poorly put together trolls. And that's a reason why I almost left it out of the console version of this thread. But let's give it a try, nonetheless. Unlike other categories, let's not discuss and query the why behind a certain choice, because it only derail the thread with what some folks with misplaced love for CE products do when their favourite system is being criticised: unleashing nerd rage.
  If someone pick big exclusive game #1784 and that you suspect that he did so just to rile up the fans of a certain faction. Just roll your eyes (to yourself, behind your screen, not in smiley form), and ignore it, and just post your thoughful impressions on this gaming year. If, for some reason, someone post something really offensive to you, just use the report button or PM a mod.
  
  It goes without saying that since this thread is kind of important, restrictions of posting privileges, the tradename for the ban hammer, will be generously applied across the land.
  
  
• Sub categories, if needed, or in attempt to dish out negative points to more than a single console:
  
  • B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst X360 Game of the Year 07
    
  • B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst Wii Game of the Year 07
    
  • B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst PlayStation 3 Game of the Year 07
    
  • B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst PlayStation 2 Game of the Year 07
    

And/or:

B3D Forum Vox Populi's XBLA/PSN Game of the Year 07

• As the name states, this category is meant for the smaller/indie games found on the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.

Time to make these posts and let your voice be heard, B3Ders!

Reminder: you can name a game in one or all the categories listed. Or even nothing at all, as I said, if your 2007 console gaming didn't left any impressions on you.

Tl;dr: Read the bolded parts

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Annual Summary
This year has been a year when I've had less time than ever for gaming, and I wonder how other folk fit it in along with everything else! I have seen and used all the next-gen consoles, though own none. Nothing yet has hugely grabbed me with its impressiveness. There's been bits I've liked, for sure. I said 'it does look good though' of Halo 3 and Uncharted, and I've briefly enjoyed the novelty of Eye Of Judgment (despite its terrible misspelling). But nothing has made me go 'Wow!' like Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and GT3 on PS2, or Driver or GT2 on PS, did. I've yet to see the real next-gen experience - fluid dynamics and proper materials and advanced behavioural physics and one-to-one motion mapping for really putting you in the game, and stuff that's just plain way cool. Perhaps I'm spoiled now with videos and screenshot well in advance of games? Back in the day, I had no idea what GT3 or BGDA looked like before they were on the screen. But more than that, I think gameplay just hasn't progressed in much of a leap. At the moment a lot feels like last-gen in HD with fancy graphics, or a wobbly controller.

So with that in mind, here are my votes...

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Console Game of the Year 07

FIFA.

It was close call with Champions of Norrath which we played through again, but FIFA represents (sadly) the best cooperative gaming experience possible at the mo'. Very, very few games allow players to sit in the same room eating junk food and working together, even to a much lesser degree than footy, and that's my prime interest in console gaming. I have been very disappointed in the lack of cooperative gaming developments. Warhawk was our best promise of a 'next-gen' game (current XB360 FIFA plays much like the originals) as it's one of a few games that allow 3/4 players on the same console, but it turns out to be very hard to meet up with a partner and work cooperatively. Plus we're split into rival teams more often than not. Instead it's a lot of independent activity towards the same goal, and that's the limit of many game's 'cooperative' gameplay - you're just on the same side. CON scores highly because though not as cooperative as FIFA, it's very good fun and you can parody it (as general fantasy RPGness) a lot in other aspects of life

B3D Forum Vox Populi's PlayStation 2 Game of the Year 07

Rogue Galaxy

Ummm...okay, I don't have the game yet, but I'm getting it before the year's out and it's bound to be good. It's looks just like playing an old Saturday Morning cartoon!

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Xbox 360 Game of the Year 07

FIFA.

Football in HD. Not much advanced from the old game, but still the most played XB360 (and any other console) game for me and the only game I'm likely to play much on XB360 in future.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Worst Game of the Year 07

Halo 3

I can't see I saw any real turkeys, so I picked this as the worst of a good bunch. It's not a bad game, but to me it doesn't seem much different than every shooter, a genre I'm not a fan of, and most importantly we were hoping it was 3 player coop on the same console, but it wasn't. So yeah, I played it with my friend and it was entertaining in its way, but it wasn't a super-duper-whizzo-prang experience and was a let-down because the most multiplayer we could get out of it was shooting each other, which just isn't much fun when you're not on the same team... Of the next-gen games I've seen and played, this was the worst, beating out Wii Sports to that title which is a very close second I think. Wii Sports was very annoying IMO in it's lack of true 1:1 controls, and the gesture-based rather than motion-mapped control defeated the whole point of the Wiimote IMO. But if you get over that, it's amusing in it's own way. I think we had more fun with Wii Sports than Halo 3, so Halo wins the title.

Looking forwards...

Next year is bound to be the best year in gaming for a long time. Little Big Planet is set to be cooperative larking about Heaven and we should see Snowblind Studios next game which, fingers crossed, will be a proper next-gen fantasy coop game that really advances the genre.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

PS3 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, unsurpassed graphics, engaging story, easy-to-use yet fun gameplay mechanics.

360 - don't have one, don't know

Wii - couldn't care less

Overall impression of console gaming for the year - great, and I'm sure it would've been even better if I had a 360. PS3 is still in its infancy, with not many great titles to choose from yet, and Wii is for therapy patients and children.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Game of the Year is Mass Effect. Bioshock gets honorable mention.

I'll throw worst game at Lair, I didn't really spend much time on it, but what I did was a mess.

 

[Farid]

Don't forget to throw in your impressions on 2007 as far as gaming is concerned.

As I said in the OP, even a few words could do ("It was awesome" or "It sucked" could do if you feel like it sums thing up nicely). Obviously, adding some context to the short impression would be appreciated by all.

And remember that the context and the opinions don't need to sound objective at all. Saying something like "2007 was crap gaming wise to me, since I barely had the time to play because of my new job/courses and the little I played was unaltered sewage" is a perfectly vaid context.

 

[deepbrown]

This year has been a great one for me, with me joining the "next generation" and surprisingly having my aming tastes being catered to, which took a very long time to happen on the Playstation 2. I'm going to give a Game of the Year to a PS3 game, and then a PS3 game of the year to a different game - if that makes sense.

Game of the Year - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

360 GOTY - Bioshock

PS3 GOTY - Heavenly Sword

Wii GOTY - Super Mario Galaxy

PS2 GOTY - God of War 2

Worst GOTY - Tony Hawks. Please change up this game soon, because it's getting very old.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Don't forget to throw in your impressions on 2007 as far as gaming is concerned.

As I said in the OP, even a few words could do ("It was awesome" or "It sucked" could do if you feel like it sums thing up nicely). Obviously, adding some context to the short impression would be appreciated by all.

And remember that the context and the opinions don't need to sound objective at all. Saying something like "2007 was crap gaming wise to me, since I barely had the time to play because of my new job/courses and the little I played was unaltered sewage" is a perfectly vaid context.

2007 is one of the best gaming years ever as far as I am concerned. The high number of AAA titles just in the last few months has kept me more than busy and I've only bought about half of them so far.

 

[rekator]

So I can only voting for game I'm playing and finish so…

PS2: SMT Digital Saga… why this and not a God of war 2 or a FF12… play it and you understand…one of a rare mature game on PS2 and a really tactic combat RPG don't need "200 hours" of level up for one boss …

DS: FF3, but I really like to play Zelda Phantom hourglass, may be a near future…

PS3: not how it, so difficult to give a game…

Wii: same than PS3

360: Well difficult to give One game…

5) Bioshock it's a interested FPS, but boring to remade it and to easy like many games today…
4) PGR4, for the Fun and Beauty…
3) FM2, for is really impressive driving simulation…
2) HALO 3, and only for the solo, it's really fun to made it at two on legendary (and Legendary alone is really legendary ), and the Light, damned Awesome!

And the last play and not the least (GOTY all category)
Mass Effect… it's was long time I don't find a game also interested to play and replay…

And the Worst GOTY… well Mass Effect 2 and 3, why they are not here Now!

 

[infinity4]

Worst game: Halo 3.

Plays awful on 1280x1024. Summed up my decision to slate this game on bungie.net and got banned.

Horrific experience.

 

[Turok]

GotY: Bioshock

X360: Halo 3

Wii: SMG

PS2: God of War 2

Worst GotY: Call of Duty 4; I love this game to death, but compared to this year's other heavy hitters, this one seems very rudimentary and bare bones. All it is is the worst of the best.

 

[vazel]

x360 - Mass Effect - I already praised this game in the ME thread. Basically I love how immersive it is. I was let down to learn that ME swiped the story from the Redemption Space book series but still overall a great game.

XBLA - Puzzle Fighter

Worst game - Assassin's Creed - In terms of which game fell the farthest from hype this one is it. Running around the city's interactive environment is fun but that alone can't carry a game. The repetitive gameplay is made up of the same basic gameplay elements(eavesdropping, interrogation, or pickpocketing missions then the assassination mission, rinse and repeat). On top of that the story is like a 3rd rate anime.

 

[RobertR1]

GOTY Overall: Mass Effect

360: Mass Effect
PS3: Uncharted

Worst: Assassins' Creed. All that made Mass Effect an epic, this one lacked.

 

[Gubbi]

360: Crackdown. Best, most fun gameplay since 4on4 QuakeWorld multiplayer in 1998. This is how much fun Grand Theft Auto 3 would have been if David Jones had worked on it.

Technically excellent, tonnes of stuff going on, best LOD system in any game *and* full framerate. The cartoon graphics supports the comic book hero-style gameplay brilliantly. Best sound in any game to date.

Cheers

 

[Falkster]

XBox 360
Winner: Halo3. This game is one of the few examples of a full-featured and fully polished game. No need to go into details as to how great the gameplay and story is, we've heard enough of that, but I will just say that for the amount of time I've put into Halo 3 it has offered the most bang for the buck. Given the crazy numbers of people playing this online, many obviously share my opinion. The awesome lighting is a nice bonus. The graphics are meh at times, but that's overshadowed by Halo 3's multitude of awesome qualities.

Runner-up: Mass Effect. This game kicks some serious ass. Not as polished as Halo 3, but it's not as bug-ridden as I was lead to believe before actually playing it.

Honourable Mentions: Bioshock, Orange Box, Forza 2, Crackdown.

PS3
Winner: Heavenly Sword. Despite this being one of the shortest games I've played, it's still one of the best action games I've played. The graphics are incredible, the animations are fluid, and the game play is fun.

Worst Game: Lair. No brainer for me. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be, but it's certainly the worst game that I have played this year. That said, I only played the game for a few hours at a friend's house, but my initial impressions were very poor.

Overall Impressions: This has been the best year in gaming that I can remember. This has been the first year where I'm struggling to catch up with all the new releases. I still haven't got around to Ratchet and Clank or Uncharted, but once I do I imagine that I'll add those to my list of favourite PS3 games. I also still haven't picked up a Wii because of all the great games out there (even though I really want one and loved the time that I've spent with it).

 

[Heinrich4]

Exclusives games:

Ps3 -> Uncharted Drake (near -> Ratchet & Clank and Heavenly sword)
X360 -> Halo 3 (near of this game -> Forza2 and Mass Efect)
Wii -> Mario Galaxy
Overall -> Uncharted Drake.

Multi -> COD4

 

[Dave Baumann]

Im going to have to put Overlord in here as my game of the year.

 

[22psi]

2007: I think this was the best year for gaming, barely beating out 2004. SMG, Halo 3, GH3, Rock Band, COD4, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Uncharted, plethora of XBLA and PSN games, etc. I have never spent more money in a year than this year and still have a huge backlog of games to play/complete. I grade this year an A-. Icing on the cake would have been MGS4.

Overall GOTY: Halo 3
360 GOTY: Mass Effect
PS3 GOTY: Uncharted
Wii GOTY: SMG

Looking forward, 2008 will be a great year however I don't think it'll quite match 2007. PS3 will have a very strong year with 360 close behind. Wii will continue with casual games and garner the casual market.

 

[aselto]

Overal GOTY: ________
360 GOTY: PGR4
That was a tough call as there were many amazing games this year (Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock and so on), but this (and RSC2) is the most fun racing game I have played and gave me over hundred hours of joy offline and online. Beautiful and fun.

Wii GOTY: MP3 and Mario Galaxy
Two obvious candidates, two instant classics.

 

[Refreshment]

Annual Summary
Undoubtly 2007 has become the best year ever FOR GAMING COMPANIES as new records of income has been stablished. In terms of gaming quality some games, obviously, didnt live to the massive expectations they generated, but overall, it must be said it was one of the best gaming years in the last decade. It was pleasing to see developers finally taking advantage of what the latest hardware has to offer.


B3D Forum Vox Populi's Console Game of the Year 07

BIOSHOCK

What can i say that hasnt been said already about this master piece? Well i do think some reviewers exaggerate the morale impact the game choices has over the user.But in the end having the spiritual succesor (or light version ) of the System Shock series getting the praise it always deserved, as well as it developers, fills me with satisfaction. Better late than never i suppose.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's PlayStation 2 Game of the Year 07

God of War II

Defintly the "vox populy" award for PS2. This is a game that is sustained by solid but standard play mechanics but taken to the next level thanks to its outstanding presentation.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Xbox 360 Game of the Year 07

HALO 3

The Blacksmith (Bungie) is getting kind of old but his technique is reaching the pinnacle of its potential. A masive colection of community features shows how much Bungie cares for their loyal fan base.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's

B3D Forum Vox Populi's Wii Game of the Year
Mario Galaxy. Its ironic, Wii best overall game is one that didnt use the controller in some super creative, out of the box way. Its the same use many critics considered "taked on" in the legend of Zelda. Its just solid and polished.

To sum it up, Galaxy is the Mario game many people expected after it´s groundbreacking debut in the N64.

B3D Forum Vox Populi's PS3Game of the year:

Rachet and Clank.

I was tempted to select CoD4 but i might as well go for an exlcusive to the platform. A perfected formula by Insomniac now presented to us with some of the must amazing cartoon like graphics ever seen. A dynamic and kinetic flow permeates the whole game and the creative weapons steals the show.


B3D Forum Vox Populi's MULTI PLATFORM GAME OF THE YEAR

COD4, doesnt need much explanation. But my heart belongs to Assassin´s Creed.

Worst Game of the Year 07


What is this about? Dissapointment of the year? Because each year we get a hughe amount of low quality games that picking just one becomes a difficult task.

 

[MazingerDUDE]

PS3 GOTY: Heavenly Sword
360 GOTY: Mass Effect