It’s been really busy year and now it’s time for the year-in review of the best games of 2007. This year has really been incredible for gaming, with Wii still dominating, and games like Mass Effect, BioShock, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed and much more, it’s hard to decide which games should get crowned.

Let’s start with Multiplat.

Undoubtedly the best Multiplat this year was Call of Duty 4. It reigned supreme on the PC and was very well done on both consoles.

Here’s the COD4 review I previously posted:

This year has been ALL about shooters, with few exceptions, such as Mass Effects, Assassin’s Creed and more. But we’ll talk about them later on. Right now we’re going to sum up what made Call of Duty 4 one of the greater shooters of 2007.

Call of Duty 4 – titled “Modern Warfare” is the first time when Infinity Ward is touching the modern warfare topic. The previous 3 games (2 of which were developed by IW) were set in the World War II era, and after the second game, IW decided that the topic is stale and they should go for modern combat. While they were making the fourth installment, another developer made CoD3 for PS3, the 360 and Wii as launch titles for the platforms. They were pretty much the same as CoD2, just other stories.

So what’s up with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? It’s a superb experience, that’s what. It’s multiplatform, with PC and Xbox 360 / PS3 being the landing places. The thing with Infinity Ward is that it is a developer that makes EVERYTHING perfect. So they had 4 teams developing 1 game. 1 team was responsible for the OVERALL game, while the 3 others focused on adapting that OVERALL game to the platforms. Also, each team had people assigned to it that were responsible for multiplayer. So instead of first developing the singleplayer and then switching to MP, the two were developed head to head, and as a rep from IW said, they wanted to focus on both and bring a truly epic experience – which they did.

Call of Duty 4’s singleplayer isn’t all that long – about 6 hours or so. When I finished it in a single evening, I had the wtflol face. Then I saw the Multiplayer button. Allrighty, pressed it and got onto Xbox Live. Wow, just wow. More about that a bit later.
So the single player – while not being too long – is a once in a life time experience that you’ll want to… uhh… experience more than once? Lol. Never mind. So Russians and Muslims are the bad guys, it’s up to you to save the world from a nuclear disaster and whatnot. And honestly, the story is just amazing. Unlike most “kill all bad guys save the world” games, the story is _really_ unpredictable and doesn’t end all that pretty. I’m not going to spoil it, but if you’ve played Metal Gear Solid games, you will definitely know what type of stories I’m talking about. No, it’s not filled with clones and cyborg ninjas, but it’s really intriguing…. And not everybody makes it to the end. You really grow attached to the characters. One of the missions has you sneak through a military base filled with enemies, and the game does an amazing job of guiding you through it. It actually feels that you have to keep your head down and not get spotted.

In other instances, you are never left alone. There is always someone besides you telling you what to do. So it’s impossible to get lost or don’t know what to do. Another mission – which is a flashback – has you going through an abandoned soviet city, climbing on top of a tower and sniping a guy – hitman style. And then you just rush for survival. The events are all pretty much scripted, but hey, it’s still awesome.

With multiplayer, you get a roleplaying part to it. You get to customize your character. While earning points ingame, you get promoted. Promotions open up new perks that you can use to customize your character. And also, they (promotions) open up new game modes. There is a good dozen of different game modes. Initially, all the noobs are thrown into team deathmatch, then things like domination open up (which is a conquest clone from Battlefield), and much more.

The graphics are…. Sub-par. Thing is, the games looks TERRIFIC. But it’s few tricks that make it look like it’s good, but actually it’s not. The game is 600p native resolution on the consoles and is upscaled up to 1080p. That causes a lot of jaggies. And while the textures are a bit low res, and there are no physics whatsoever, Call of Duty 4 still looks pretty sweet. And is definitely an experience worth checking out this year.

Other great multiplats also have to be honored:

Coming in at a close second comes The Orange Box. While Half-Life was previously ported on consoles (dreamcast), it didn’t really end up that well (especially when it was done by a third party developer). So Valve and EA decided to milk it and go full multiplat (except for the Wii, of course).

The Orange box is 5 games, actually:
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 Ep1
Half-Life 2 Ep2
Portal
Team Fortress 2

The first three are the epic adventure of Gordon Freeman and Alyx. This is really of huge value for $60, as you can just down on your Xbox 360 or PS3 and enjoy the whole HL2 experience in a single box – the Orange Box.

Portal has got to be the best puzzle game of 07. I still play it, and it’s awesome.

And Team Fortress 2 has got to be the best PC multiplayer of 07. Not on consoles though, as there are too many lags.

Third place on multplat is Unreal Tournament 3.

There actually A LOT of discussion right now on whether or not the game has been dumbed down for consoles, as after playing it on the PC, I get this weird feeling that the game was made for consoles and ported over to the PC. Strange, huh?

It just feels and plays kinda slower than UT 2k4. Or maybe it’s just me.
Then comes the PC.

While it didn’t have too many juggernauts this year, and with the Orange Box and UT3 going multiplat, it’s really hard to decide.

Only 3 games really come to mind.

First is World in Conflict and it’s a a casualized Real Time Strategy game that barely has any elements of the genre – and that’s a good thing. So Russia attacks the US and it’s up to you to save Seattle. Forget about all the RTS elements that make it boring (building, resources, etc) and you have World in Conflict – an action paced RTS game that feels like a shooter in “god mode”.

Second would also be an RTS game and is a sequel to a legendary game – Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. It combines everything that is to love about RTS games and does it flawlessly. It also runs on HIGH on pretty much any midrange machine without struggling.

Third would be probably the only PC RPG of 07 – The Witcher.

A stripped down version of Oblivion with the good old amnesia plot – what more could you ask? In a year with no other RPGs on the market, it’s the matter of being at the right place at the right time.

Best Xbox 360 Games

With the 360 it’s too obvious, while there were many hit exclusive titles, two of them are the finalists.

Halo 3 needs no introduction, it’s the conclusion of MasterChief’s adventures to save the world and an incredibly appealing multiplayer experience.

Mass Effect on the other hand is a massive single player RPG that lets you explore a whole galaxy.

Best PS3 Games:

While this year was the console’s first on the market, it did have few best-selling titles that are definitely worth attention. Most websites underrated them though.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the next-gen Lara Croft from Naughty Dog (the creators of Crash Bandicoot). Naughty Dog is known for pushing the hardware to its limits, although they confirmed they were using only 1/3 of PS3’s power. Mix Lara Croft with Gears of War and voila, a worthy Game of the Year.

Remember in 1997 Miyamoto said that Nintendo 64 would provide graphics of Toy Story level? Well, he was 10 years off. Ratchet & Clank provides a REAL Toy Story-like experience with graphics from a Pixar movie and a disco ball that instantly throws a dance party. It’s pure awesomeness.

Best Nintendo Wii games:

The Wii had an amazingly successful second year, you still can’t find this console on shelves in the US. It had perhaps TOO many casual games, but there were a couple of GOTY nominees.

First is definitely Metroid Prime 3. This game redefines the need for a Keyboard & Mouse for playing First Person Shooters. It FEELS better than both the K+M or the dual analog, and play really-really well. It’s the conclusion of Samus’ adventure and just proves that next-gen isn’t all about graphics.

Who doesn’t know Mario? Now Mario goes to space with Super Mario Galaxy. While you might have thought the platforming genre was dead, after playing SMG you’d have to think again. It is amazing how Nintendo used the spherical worlds to create a totally twisted and bizarre gaming experience that plays with your mind and changes the perception of platforming. You actually use gravity to get where you need, and when you have more than one planet, gravity isn’t always the way down.

Overall GOTY:

Overall Game of the Year 2007 simply proves that graphics aren’t essential to make a great game – and goes to Super Mario Galaxy. This game has it all – polished looks, an appealing storyline and totally immersive, accessible and mind blowing gameplay. It’s also just FUN. It’s the game that you’d want to lock yourself in a room with for a weekend, or play with your girlfriend, it’s the game that will make you smile and remember why you loved the original Super Mario and Nintendo for that matter.

Way to go, Nintendo! Keep it up. I just hope we won’t have to wait for the next masterpiece until… uh… next gen?