Game of the Year 2007: your choices

[Quzar]

Anyone who's into RTSs should definetly check out MAELSTROM. A PC game released early in the year, that was quite outstanding. Completely moldable terrain, race classes remeniscent of Starcraft, an interesting single player story mode, and lovely graphics.

Overall though, Mario Galaxy. I've only played a few new games this year, but the joy I felt playing Galaxy is something I have not felt in years. Just got all 120 stars a few days ago. I concur with mel's description of "as if always being on ice" for the luigi control. I can't wait to see if I can complete Super Luigi Galaxy.

[Nyarlathotep]

1) Team Fortress 2.

On PC.

I don't give a shit how badly they fucked up the console ports, it's the best online FPS out there, bar none.

Fuck Halo 3s decade old game mechanics, broken matchmaking systems and reliance on style (hype) over substance.
Fuck COD4s fundamentally broken perks system and mod-of-the-week identikit gun selections, disappointing map design and moral / political ambiguity.

TF2 sets the bar so fucking high other companies are going to be trying to steal and clone it for years. Expect to see Killcam in every fucking online shooter released from now until the world ends.

2) Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Sorry, it's just more fun than Twilight Princess is. This is why Nintendo should never, ever, ever listen to insecure kiddies who complain about 'celda' and just want a rehashed OoT. Because that's what they got with Twilight Princess, and it was fundamentally dull. Phantom Hourglass on the other hand is all sorts of awesome, and a reminder why Nintendo are one of the best around. Super Mario Galaxy is too of course, but there's enough people lready giving it its dues here.

All of the traditional Zelda elements return (the weapon you find in the dungeon turns out to be the weapon you use to beat that dungeons boss, the little things blocking interesting looking paths and detours from where you are now are there to be explored when you get the appropriate upgrade, hacking the shit out of peoples gardens makes you money, etc) but are added a new lease of life with touchscreen controls, plus being able to write your own notes on a map is fucking genius.

3) Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

An RTS that uses the superb cover system established with the early Dawn Of War games, and then subsequently pushed more and more off the maps with each expansion they did. That uses resource collection and unit building in intelligent and logical ways. That has big fucking chunks of the map entirely destructible, so you can create your own routes for your forces instead of wandering down the premade little roads that a battallion under fire would never bother to leave in a combat situation.

A WW2 game that does things that other WW2 games haven't done, and manages to convince you that maybe there is room for more WW2 games on the market (right before some piece of shit like Medal Of Honour: Franchised To Victory or whatever whores itself out for one more trick). That focuses on the Brits and Germans, which makes sense as they were the ones who fought most of the fucking war, contrary to Hollywood revisionism.

Plus its a standalone expansion pack, so you don't even need to own the just-as-fucking-good first game to appreciate it.

[Kevin Beckman]

I'm gonna go with Persona 3. I might have picked Team Fortress 2 had I actually played it. I was a big fan of the first.

[MulletMan13]

2) Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Sorry, it's just more fun than Twilight Princess is. This is why Nintendo should never, ever, ever listen to insecure kiddies who complain about 'celda' and just want a rehashed OoT. Because that's what they got with Twilight Princess, and it was fundamentally dull. Phantom Hourglass on the other hand is all sorts of awesome, and a reminder why Nintendo are one of the best around. Super Mario Galaxy is too of course, but there's enough people lready giving it its dues here.

All of the traditional Zelda elements return (the weapon you find in the dungeon turns out to be the weapon you use to beat that dungeons boss, the little things blocking interesting looking paths and detours from where you are now are there to be explored when you get the appropriate upgrade, hacking the shit out of peoples gardens makes you money, etc) but are added a new lease of life with touchscreen controls, plus being able to write your own notes on a map is fucking genius.

I thought this was one of the weakest Zelda games in years. First of all, it was way too damn easy. Puzzles were totally obvious, and that temple on the main island you had to keep coming back to was completely unnecessary. The movement with the stylus hindered the entire experience. I liked using the stylus for a lot of things, but moving was definitely not one of them. The sidequests were too easy, the sailing was cumbersome, and the dungeons were not all that large. I was highly disappointed with this game, but I really enjoyed Twilight Princess. PH took everything that was great about the previous GameBoy titles, and flushed them all down the toilet. Hell, I even liked Minish Cap more than PH.

Nevertheless everybody is entitled to their opinion...

I'd like to get into TF2, but it's extremely difficult for newbs like me to get into, and I haven't had the patience to put that initial time and frustration into it.

[not just souLLy now]

I thought this was one of the weakest Zelda games in years. First of all, it was way too damn easy. Puzzles were totally obvious, and that temple on the main island you had to keep coming back to was completely unnecessary. The movement with the stylus hindered the entire experience. I liked using the stylus for a lot of things, but moving was definitely not one of them. The sidequests were too easy, the sailing was cumbersome, and the dungeons were not all that large. I was highly disappointed with this game, but I really enjoyed Twilight Princess. PH took everything that was great about the previous GameBoy titles, and flushed them all down the toilet. Hell, I even liked Minish Cap more than PH.

EXACTLY how I felt about the game, which is a real shame as I would have once considered myself a die-hard Zelda fan, but these recent ones have been progressively worse.

My game of the year? RE4 wii, an absolute joy to play start to finish.
Other stuff that I've got loads of hours in on this year: Mario Galaxy, Hotel Dusk, Phoenix Wright 3, Picross DS...

[mrandyk]

The game I played the most in 2007 was probably Picross DS now that I think about it. Every night during the summer I would lie down in bed with my ds, do a few puzzles and fall asleep. On my road trips I would constantly be doing those puzzles to pass the time, until I would get sick that is.

My favorite game, Guitar Hero 3. I never owned the first 2, and really got hooked on this game. I dont think much needs to be said though since everyone knows about this game. Super Mario Galaxy probably gets a close second.