Tag Archives: Awards

Best of 2007, Games, GOTY, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox

Best of 2007

21/12/2007 Olly Leave a comment

Can you believe that it’s that time again? With ten days to go until 2008, my rundown of my favourite games of 2007 begins tomorrow. As always, the rules are that the games must have been released in one of the three major territories (Europe, US, Japan) at some point in the calendar year 2007, and obviously must have been played by me during that time.

With three consoles on full steam and out of the post-launch doldrums (some more than anothers), this year has really been about the games. 2005 brought three new systems and 2006 two more, while unless you live in the gaming third world known as Europe, 2007 was about the manufacturers flexing their muscles with software as the crowds pored over sales figures and enjoyed the spoils.

Recent months have led to this year being mentioned in the same breath as 2004 (Halo 2, MGS3, GTA San Andreas) and the immortal 2001 (Halo, GTA3, MGS2 – notice a pattern? – Final Fantasy X, Gran Turismo 3, Silent Hill 2, Devil May Cry, etc), and while the 2001 comparison seems almost fatuous when look at the classics we had that year, 2008 has been set up to be an epic. I’m both anticipating and dreading having to fit games of the calibre of Metal Gear Solid 4 and GTA4 into only ten positions.

Just for reference, these were my choices over the last two years:

And let me get it out of the way immediately to say that Mass Effect will not make the list because I’m not getting it until Christmas and so won’t have the opportunity to include it. Assuming I like it, however, it will be included in the late additions, as I did with a couple of notable games last year.

Best of 2006, Games, GOTY, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox

GOTY Late Additions

03/01/2007 Olly 1 Comment

It’s always a risk when deciding on your games of the year before 31st December (and especially before 25th December) that something will come along that could or should have made the list, had you only played it a month before. So instead of going back and messing with the whole list, here’s a handful of latecomers that deserve a mention and had a shout of making the list:

Final Fantasy V Advance (GBA) – The first of two Final Fantasies, and one from back in the glory years which FFIV began a year earlier (yes, they used to make one a year). RPGs and portables often aren’t the best of bedfellows, but couple this with a Game Boy Micro and you have a top combination. A machine small enough for you to forget that you have it and a deep game that actually lets you make decent progress on the commute go together nicely, and it helps that this is one of the stronger instalments in the series. Bring on FFVI Advance in February!

Final Fantasy XII (PS2) – FFXI aside, this is probably the biggest breaks from the formula for a major series that I’ve ever seen. At first I wasn’t completely convinced by the MMORPG influence (MMO combat is completely inane, and the only reason to do it is because it’s with real people – why would I play it with AI characters?), but a few hours in, once you have a party and the Gambit system in place, it just clicks. Had I played it earlier this could probably have made the top five.

Viva Piñata (360) – If I was doing special awards this would have been a shoo-in for both surprise of the year and best game nobody played. I certainly expected it to be rubbish, but quite the contrary. Playing like a cross between The Sims and Animal Crossing (neither of which I’m a massive fan of, oddly), it’s surprisingly addictive and paced well enough that you never go long without unlocking a new Pi?ata or other item, ensuring that you have an incentive to keep playing. Best of all, it’s an Animal Crossing-style game that doesn’t use a real-time clock, so you sidestep the issue of having to go back to a weed-filled garden after a few days of downtime.

All of those are worth a look. And I’m so glad that bloody feature is out of the way for another year.

Best of 2006, Games, GOTY, Nintendo

Best of 2006 #1: Zelda: Twilight Princess

31/12/2006 Olly 1 Comment

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

There was some question over whether or not this would even make the list this year, but once I got it the result was never going to be in doubt. I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: there’s nothing like a new Zelda.

Admittedly Twilight Princess doesn’t really do anything new to those who’ve played one of the three previous 3D Zeldas, but why mess with a winning formula? It’s ultimately the same classic game with nicer graphics (considering the hardware, at least), a good story, and a nice long quest to work through. If they can deliver a new Zelda every few years with only those tweaks, I’ll be very happy.

But what this game did for me more than anything is that it validated the Wii controller as being usable for more than minigames. This couldn’t be further away from a minigame and yet I find it hard to imagine playing the GameCube version of this game. Some things, I thought, don’t work as well as others (the fishing, for example), while some such as drawing a sword and aiming work seamlessly and intuitively, which is what Nintendo seem to be aiming for with the Wii as a whole.

So, out of the many games to come out in 2006, Zelda gets the nod from me. When the only area that I can really think of any room for improvement is in the graphics, it’s clear that they’ve made something great.

Happy new year, everyone!

Best of 2006, Games, GOTY, PlayStation

Best of 2006 #2: Okami

30/12/2006 Olly 2 Comments

Okami

I suppose that epic adventures featuring wolves with annoying cohorts must be du jour this year. Expect a flood of them in 2007, presumably with cover and blind fire mechanics.

Despite underwhelming sales (I blame the other wolf game) and the culling of the development team, Okami deserves all of the credit it gets. Zelda’s is a formula that remains infrequently copied and more infrequently equalled, but on their first attempt Clover made a game that could easily stand alongside any of Link’s adventures. Not only did it have an extremely lengthy quest to complete, but also took the audacious decision to almost completely break from the ostensible storyline barely 15 hours in. Zelda comparisons may be obvious, but when this is such a good imitation – with, it must be said, some wonderful flourishes of its own – they’re hard to resist.

And those graphics! I can’t extol the game without mentioning those. While Gears of War was comfortably the most technically impressive-looking game of 2006, Okami is almost certainly the best from an artistic perspective. The whole game looks like an animated watercolour painting, even down to the texture of heavy paper that lies underneath everything at all times. It’s stunning, and I just wish I could have seen it in 720p.

For those of you in the UK without the means to play the import, show Capcom the error of its ways by marking 9th February 2007 on your calendar. It demands to be played.

Best of 2006, Games, GOTY, Xbox

Best of 2006 #3: Gears of War

29/12/2006 Olly Leave a comment

Gears of War

Of all the games on here, this is the one that, almost above all, had to be good. Despite positive previews it was really an unknown quantity until launch, and without Halo 3 until next year it was the 360’s big gun for its first Christmas with direct competition. And while it wasn’t perfect, Epic did a fabulous job and laid the foundation for Microsoft’s latest big franchise.

Just to get it out of the way, Gears looks amazing. It’s certainly the technically most impressive console game I’ve ever seen, and until Crysis it’s debateable that even the PC has anything to match it. Look at the caverns in Act 3, and I defy you to tell me that it doesn’t look stunning.

While the campaign isn’t the longest in the world, while it doesn’t act on the potential of its story, and while the macho stereotypes are tired (though slightly tongue-in-cheek, which helps), what it does have is a refreshing take on the usual run and gun shooters and some of the most visceral and satisfying combat in any game, that is even better when played online with a friend. The chainsaw bayonet is an obvious and ludicrous example, but it works in this context where even the destroyed opulence around you is larger than life.

I doubt that Gears will have the legs that the Halo games have had, but nonetheless this is a lesson in how to do a next generation game. After this and Rainbow Six Vegas, expect every shooter in the next three years to have some kind of cover mechanic. If you didn’t like it in this game, you’re screwed.

Best of 2006, Games, GOTY, PC games, Xbox

Best of 2006 #4: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

28/12/2006 Olly Leave a comment

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I love my immersive, coherent worlds, me. Make a good one of those and you’re halfway onto my top ten of the year list. One of the best ones won last year, in fact. This is also one of the best.

The scale of Oblivion is the amazing thing. As I type this I’m playing Final Fantasy V Advance, originally released in 1992, and it strikes me that what was a large game then can now be done in full 3D, fully voiced with proper actors, and just looking absolutely phenomenal. It had technical issues that were maybe symptomatic of overreaching on current hardware – or possibly unfamiliarity with it – but the magnitude of Bethesda’s vision was just phenomenal.

But give an ambitious and talented team the time and budget (and possibly the Lord of the Rings licence), and this shows what you can get. The moment when you first walk out of the sewers and up the hill – possibly getting held up or attacked by an ogre on the way – to look back at the city you’ve just come from is burnt indelibly into the memories of everyone who saw it, whatever they thought of the game.

Memorable towns and innumerable settlements and landmarks that can be endlessly explored make a great game, marred only by some technical quibbles. It’s unmissable.