Yahoo!'s 2007 GOTY

[T.Tashi]

Action Adventure

Assassin's Creed
Orange Box
Mario Super Galaxy

Winner: Mario Super Galaxy

Best Shooter

Bioshock
Call of Duty 4
Halo 3

Winner: Bioshock

Best Online Game

Call of Duty 4
Halo 3
World of Warcraft

Winner: Halo 3

Best Party Game

Guitar Hero 3
Rock Band
Mario Smooth Moves

Winner: Rock Band

Best Racing Game

Dirt
Forza 2
Project Gotham Racing

Winner: Forza

Best RPG

Mass Effect
The Witcher
World of Warcraft

Winner: Mass Effect

Best Sports Game

Madden 08
Fifa 08
Skate

Winner: Skate

Best Strategy Game

Puzzle Quest
Supreme Commander
World in Conflict

Winner: Supreme Commander

Best Original Game

Bioshock
Mass Effect
Rock Band

Winner: Bioshock

GOTY

Bioshock
Rock Band
Super Mario Galaxy

Winner: Super Mario Galaxy

[Cuddly Knife]

I'm so glad to see skate getting awards for best sports in a bunch of awards contests. Probably the best innovation in the sports genre that I've seen in, well, forever.

[thelastword]

IGN's PLATFORM SPECIFIC GOTY's

PC: BioShock
360: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
PS3: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
DS: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy
PS2: God of War II
PSP: Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow



CHEAT CODE CENTRAL

1. Bioshock
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Uncharted


AP/FOX


BEST OF 2007: It has been a terrific year for video games, and boiling it down to a top 10 list was difficult. But here are the games I enjoyed the most in 2007.

1. "BioShock": My AP colleague Matt Slagle called it the game of the year, and I have no argument. Ken Levine's undersea epic combines a thought-provoking story, compelling gameplay, dazzling visuals and a lush soundtrack to create one of gaming's true masterpieces.

2. "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction": Everyone's favorite lombax-robot team returns in this delightful space-faring romp. The animation is movie-quality; the action, whether you're swinging between platforms or blowing up aliens, is consistently satisfying.

3. "Super Mario Galaxy": Just about every planet Mario visits in his latest adventure provides a new kind of challenge, giving "SMG" more "how'd-they-think-of-that?" moments than a dozen of its competitors — combined.

4. "Mass Effect": BioWare's latest role-playing game lets you explore one of the most elaborate science-fiction universes ever created, in a fascinating galactic chase that requires you to make some real moral choices.

5. "Rock Band": Add drums and a microphone to the "Guitar Hero" formula and you have the best multiplayer game of the year. Huge props to developer Harmonix for landing songs from an excellent cross-section of real-life rockers, from Metallica to The Clash.

6. "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3": I'm a sucker for old-school, turn-based role-playing games, and this was the year's best, adding a disturbing story and — of all things — a dating simulator.

7. "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare": The venerable combat series leaves World War II behind and moves into the 21st century — but still sets the standard for first-person shooters.

8. "Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords": Mixing a puzzle game with a role-playing fantasy sounds like a terrible idea until it's 4 a.m. and all you want to do is just fight one more ogre.

9. "Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure": Don't let the cute characters fool you: This throwback to the graphic adventures of the '80s and '90s offers some of the toughest brainteasers around.

10. "The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass": Nintendo showed everyone else how to make a great DS game with another brilliant chapter in its "Zelda" cycle.




ABC

Here's our annual look at the best and worst in video games, 2007 edition.

BEST GAME: "BioShock." A first-person shooter turned morality play, a thinking person's action game, a piece of electronic fiction with a soul. There are many positive ways to describe this gripping game and they're all true. There's just nothing else like this eerie vision of an undersea social experiment gone horribly wrong. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC, $59.99, Rated M.

BEST DEAL: The Orange Box. For $59.99, the innovators at Valve Corp. have provided one of the best bargains in 2007. You get five games, and all of them are excellent. "Portal," in particular, seems destined for legendary status, having spawned a cottage industry for plush companion cubes. (If you don't know what that means, you're really missing out). Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC, $59.99, Rated T through M.

BEST GAME THAT INVOLVES GETTING OFF THE SOFA: "Rock Band." Close the windows, lock the doors and warn the neighbors before you blare the volume. "Rock Band" elevates music rhythm games to arena-filling levels in a game that gets better the more people there are. For a true rocking experience you'll at least need two guitars -- lead and bass -- plus a drummer and a singer to belt out the dozens of tunes. Groupies are optional.

WORST TREND: The annual holiday video game deluge. Please, video game makers, you're only hurting your most loyal fans here. We spend all year with hardly anything new to play, then October rolls around and it's like an avalanche. Suddenly, we're faced with tough decisions about which of the dozens of good games we can actually afford to buy. Why not release more of these gems in the winter, spring or summer doldrums, when we're really looking for -- and more able to afford -- something new?

MOST TIRING CONTROVERSY. "Manhunt 2." OK people, it seems pretty obvious that "Manhunt 2" is not a game for the kiddies. So why all the uproar? Ratings issues aside, if a game that lets you perform execution moves is a turnoff, change the channel. Parents have a tough job keeping content like this away from their children, but it's ultimately part of the responsibility. And this game is no more graphic than any number of R-rated movies I've seen -- except they aren't being altered to appeal to industry ratings groups.

BEST (AND WORST) TREND: First person shooters were back in a big way this year. From the sublime ("BioShock") to the visually stunning ("Crysis"), there are more ways to wield weapons in convincing three-dimensional worlds than ever before. That's the good news, particularly for console owners. PC owners, however, are going to need beefy systems costing many thousands of dollars to make these gorgeous games playable.

MOST OVERRATED GAME: "Halo 3." Yes, I went there. And I'm not saying "Halo 3" is bad. It's a decent game, with some good fighting and excellent online modes, no doubt. But don't believe Microsoft Corp.'s marketing and PR hype machine. Halo 3 changes nothing about video games. "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" has a more interesting multiplayer component. And "Halo 3's" single-player story is baffling and leaves this supposedly epic saga feeling somewhat incomplete.

BEST IDEA FOR A GAME GONE HORRIBLY WRONG. "Lair." Seriously, this PlayStation 3 game looks so awesome yet plays so horribly, it's like a sick joke from the developers. You're supposed to use the PS3's motion-sensitive controller to pilot your very own fire-breathing, butt-kicking dragon. Unfortunately, moving the controller left to move your dragon left, for example, is fairly impossible. Don't even get me started on 180-degree turns. I'm sure with practice you'll gain some semblance of control, but most people will give up in frustration long before they ever reach that point.

MOST FRUSTRATING DELAYS: If I can't get my hands on blockbusters like "Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots," "Spore" or "Grand Theft Auto IV" soon, I think I'm going to lose it. Production delays are common in the games industry, and they're generally a good thing in the long run. The extra time only makes for a better, hopefully bug-free, gaming experience. But we've been hearing about these titles for like, ever, and I'm frankly getting very impatient.

Here's hoping all these games become a reality in 2008.



GAMEREACTORY's GOTY

1. SMG
2. Crysis
3. Mass Effect
4. Orange Box
5. Halo3
6. Bioshock
7. FFXII (european release in 2007)
8. CoD4
9. Zelda PH
10. World in conflict


GAMESPY's OVERALL AWARDS


Console Game of the Year
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Overall Top 10 Games of the Year
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. The Orange Box
3. BioShock
4. Super Mario Galaxy
5. Rock Band
6. GalCiv II: Dark Avatar
7. WoW: The Burning Crusade
8. Mass Effect
9. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
10. TLoZ: Phantom Hourglass

Console Top 10 Games of the Year
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. BioShock
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. The Orange Box
5. Rock Band
6. Mass Effect
7. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
8. Halo 3
9. Warhawk
10. skate.

Handheld Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Handheld Top 10 Games of the Year
1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
3. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
4. Final Fantasy Advance VI
5. Puzzle Quest



PS3 GOTY: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
PC: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
360: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
DS: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
GBA: Final Fantasy VI Advance
PSP: FF Tactics: The War of the Lions
PS2: God of War II
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy


Edit: More awards. thanks shintoki (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9016657&postcount=127)

Multiplayer
10. Puzzle league planet
9. Motorstorm
8. Forza 2
7. VF5 online
6. Wowhawk
5. World in Conflict
4. Halo 3
3. Rock Band
2. COD4
1. Team Forttress 2

Special Awards
Rookie Dev: Real Time Worlds (Crackdown)
Best XBLA: Puzzle Quest
Best PSN: Everyday shooter
Best Wii VC: Sin and Punishment
Best Puzzle: Portal
Best Sports: Skate
Best Soundtrack: Mass Erect
Over-Under Achievement Awards...Avatar The Air Bender
Rookie Robocop: Crackdown
Best Voice Acting: Mass Erect
Game that makes us treat out guitar like Who: Rock band
Worst thing ever done to a videogame GF: Darkness
Unique Art Style: TF2
Best License Use: LOTRO
Worst License Use: Shadow Run
Best Art Direction: Bioshock
best sound: Bioshock
Best Graphics: Call of Duty 4
Best character: Glados
Best Sidekick: Companion Cube
Best developer: Infinity Ward
Best story: Bioshock
Innovation on Wii: MP3
Best Trend: Community Integration
Worst Trend: Lousy hardward
Dissapointment: Vangaurd
When it's done award: Warhammer Online
Suprise of the Year: The Witcher

Reader's Choice
PS2: GOW2
PS3: Uncharted
360: Mass Effect
Wii: Mario
DS: Zelda
PSP: FFT
PCAction: Orange Box
PCRPG: WoW BC
PSSports/Racingirt
PCRTS: World in Conflict
PCMP:TF2
PCOverall: Orange Box

[Mochan]

The list was trash-worthy the moment I saw Orange Box duking it out with Super Mario Galaxy under "Action Adventure."


TLW's more comprehensive list is too massive too take in all at once for lambasting, so I'll leave it at that.

[Cuddly Knife]

Best Soundtrack: Mass Erect Tee-hee!

And Orange Box should not be included in anything. Judge the games on their own like they do for Portal in the Puzzle genre. Just Episode 2 should count, and TF2.

[silversparrow]

And Orange Box should not be included in anything. Judge the games on their own like they do for Portal in the Puzzle genre. Just Episode 2 should count, and TF2.

Agreed 100%. It's stupid how game sites and magazines consider Orange Box to be a whole new product when it's really just a compilation pack (in which the core game is 3 years old now).

[thelastword]

Tee-hee!

And Orange Box should not be included in anything. Judge the games on their own like they do for Portal in the Puzzle genre. Just Episode 2 should count, and TF2.The gamespy GOTY summary came from a GAF post, some guys refer to Mass Effect as Mass Erect, also you missed Wowhawk aka Warhawk.


As for Orange Box, true enough, only parts of that package was new, but for game of the year purposes, I can understand why they wouldn't want to segmentalize, it was a one box $60.00 purchase at retail, so I guess that explains the logic there.

[ilnadmy]

THANK YOU GAMESPY! Call of Duty 4 ftw, baby! Screw BioShock and Super Mario Galaxy, this game needs to get more loving. And I still can't get how IGN names BioShock GOTY on PC, and COD4 GOTY on the 360. They're on both damn systems, if you're going to name one GOTY, then it should be GOTY on both the systems. Plus, COD4 on the PC is obviously much better than the 360 version, what with free online and a better control system.

Oh, and COD4 at max settings looks absolutely GORGEOUS! I love it even more now. :D

[Mochan]

And I still can't get how IGN names BioShock GOTY on PC, and COD4 GOTY on the 360. They're on both damn systems, if you're going to name one GOTY, then it should be GOTY on both the systems.

If anything, I'd understand more if Bioshock was GOTY for 360, and COD4 for PC, because even if the game is on both systems, minor differences (like technical issues) can make the game better on one platform than the other.

I felt Bioshock's PC debacles should have given the nod to the 360 version, on the other hand I feel COD4 has more gains from getting higher-tech PC hardware (like you said, it's F'ing gorgeous on max) and the multiplayer is more intense from what I gather.

Just another reason why IGN is a joke.

[thelastword]

It really does, COD4 looks gorgeous at max detail and it's a little more open ended than COD2 from what I remember.

[Mochan]

COD4 had stages which weren't linear in a truer sense than the multiple-objective stages of COD2. This was a strike against it though for people like Glockie and TMG who can't figure out what to do if the objective isn't painted with a big red X mark. Makes me wonder how they even play RPGs like Mass Effect. They should be playing linear JRPGs instead.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I enjoyed the later missions of COD4, especially the one where you control Captain Price. That was intense. I think the Soap portion of the game is much more enjoyable than with Jackson, mainly because there's a lot less teammates with Soap, which means there's less people in my way.

Also, Mass Effect was great. I'm going through withdrawals since I finished it.

[ilnadmy]

Yeah I enjoyed Soap's missions more, as they felt more cinematic (due to their more covert nature), and felt more pertinent to the overall plot. Jackson doesn't really figure into the plot except to show us that one big, huge thingy that happens (you know what I'm talking about).

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I forgot about that one huge thingy in Jackson's missions. I think I stopped playing the game for a month right after that. Jackson's part does seem a bit more important, but I still the game should have been all about the Soap.

[thelastword]

EUROGAMER

1 Portal
2 SMG
3 Bioshock
4 Crackdown
5 Zelda phantom Hourglass
6 COD 4
7 Halo 3
8 Mass effect
9 Team Fortress 2
10 Stalker


KIKIZO

10.Skate
9.God of war 2
8.Crackdown
7.Assassin's creed
6.Halo 3
5.The orange box
4.Uncharted
3.Bioshock
2.Call of duty 4
1.Super mario galaxy

[Fivespot]

I love that Crackdown made a few lists. This was one of the overlooked gems of 2007 in my opinion.

[Cuddly Knife]

Totally agree with Five. Crackdown was a blast to play with its true open-world gameplay. Co-op made it twice as fun, sometimes. Then they gave some DLC that extended the gameplay.