Game Of The Year 2007: Part II

By Staff

Did your favourite games of the past year make the list?

2007. By all accounts, it was a great year for games. We were flooded by so many quality titles that a lot of them continue to sit in a ‘to do’ pile next to the TV for many gamers. Naturally, there were huge-hitting sequels, but there were also an impressive amount of new IPs – hopefully this trend will continue.

It wasn’t easy culling down titles for this year’s Game of the Year Awards, and many words and fists were traded in the NZGamer staff room. But we finally reached some kind of consensus – and the results are here before you.

Below are our platform specific awards, including our coveted Overall Game of the Year award. Read on to find out who made the winner's list! Don't agree? Discuss it in the forums.

Be sure to check out our non-platform specific awards - all the cool things like Best Story and Best Technical Achievement.



The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

[Game Hub]
Miyamoto's infamous quote "A delayed game is eventually good. A bad game is bad forever" comes to mind when talking about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Years in the making and many years later the wait really paid off. Nintendo delivered a title that makes full use of the DS specific functionality without sacrificing the essentials of an excellent Zelda outing. If Hourglass were to be faulted at all it would be through the fact that it'll be a couple of years waiting before we see anything to rival it on the DS.

Runner-up: Hotel Dusk: Room 215




Final Fantasy Tactics

[Game Hub]
Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSOne never came to New Zealand, but I can assure you that it was an absolute classic. Seven years later, a game came along that shared the same setting: Final Fantasy XII. (For the record, Vagrant Story also takes place in Ivalice.) As part of the Ivalice Project, Final Fantasy Tactics was remade and updated for the PSP and also included elements from Final Fantasy XII (such as Balthier!). Finally making it to New Zealand shores, Kiwi gamers were finally able to experience the brilliance that is Final Fantasy tactics. A strategy RPG (meaning that battles take place on a little grid, kind of like a super-fancy chess board) with some of the best gameplay in the genre and a solid story that enriches the experience tenfold, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is a reason to own a PSP. It’s even more enticing given that the Final Fantasy XII setting means that it’s a new yet familiar experience for all but diehard import gamers. It’s our PSP GOTY for 2007 and we strongly recommend that you go out and purchase it after you’re done reading this feature.

Runners-up: Rachet and Clank: Size Matters, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops




Okami

[Game Hub] | [Read Review]
The PlayStation 2 has simply been a monster in the gaming world, spewing quality title one after another. Okami simply shows that PlayStation 2 games can be every bit as complex and entertaining as anything this ‘next generation’ has to offer.

Okami is one of the most entertaining, bizarre and downright imaginative games ever created. It may not be the most challenging title ever created, but you’ll be enjoying your epic experience so much that you simply will not care.

The PlayStation 2 has a brilliantly vast range of titles available, and Okami holds its furry head up high with the best of them.




Super Mario Galaxy

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Mario shows that Nintendo games still have the magic that many of us old-school gamers are addicted to. Mario fans are in for a treat as Galaxy tips its red hat to past Mario games as well as delivering many great additions to the series. Mario virgins, worry not though, the game is just as accessible to newer gamers as it is to the jaded plumbers. Super Mario Galaxy’s main competition was a certain Bounty Hunter who didn’t give in without a good fight. 2007 showed that the Wii has a strong future outside of being a party novelty.

Runner-up: Metroid Prime 3




Halo 3

[Game Hub] | [Read Review]

The Xbox 360 had an interesting year, with some of its bigger games being ones that completely divide public opinion. There was one title, however, of such obvious quality that only pretentious iconoclasts dissent. Halo 3 is a masterpiece, a near-perfect moment in video game history. Beautiful and epic, the single-player campaign offers events and locations that will stick with you forever, and the massive multiplayer mode offers years and years of replay value – something no other game can offer. The game has sold over five million copies in the United States alone and even managed to top the Japanese Top 10. Such is the power of Halo 3, our Xbox 360 GOTY for 2007.

Runners-up: Asssassin’s Creed, BioShock




Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

[Game Hub] | [Read Review]
The PS3 finally broke into full stride during the second half of 2007 with some of the best titles to be released that year. However, at the end of the day, like in Highlander, there could be only one. That game is Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. In a world that seems saturated with tasteless, war-based first-person shooters, Uncharted is a breath of fresh air. Beautiful graphics, stunning music, wonderful voice acting and sound effects, varied and enjoyable gameplay, and some of the most likeable and believable characters in a video game, Uncharted is an instant classic and a true system seller. While the PS3 is home to many titles that come close to being interactive cinema, Uncharted is easily the most polished and the most fun – and for that, it is our PS3 GOTY for 2007.




The Orange Box

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If you have even a passing interest in first person shooters – or good games in general – this is an excellent package to look into. Combining Half Life 2, the episodic expansions Episode One and Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and excellent puzzler Portal, you’re unlikely to find a better deal on a single DVD. Each game is polished and entertaining, and combined offer up a collection that shouldn’t be missed by anyone.

Runner-up: Command and Conquer 3



And the 2007 Overall Game of the Year is...




Super Mario Galaxy

[Game Hub] | [Read Review]
2007 saw some fantastic games. Mass Effect, Okami and BioShock furthered the whole ‘games as art’ argument. Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 showed that shooting things is indeed timeless, and Orange Box gave us amazing value for money. It was however Super Mario Galaxy that reminded us here at NZGamer of the very essence of game play.

Featuring solid Mario staples and then throwing the familiar into a ‘topsy-turvy’ world is enough to please the inner child in all of us and make us feel like kids again. We haven’t felt such virtual joy since getting home from school and flicking on the MegaDrive/Super Nintendo.

Simply put, Galaxy could well be remembered as the game that topped Super Mario 64, which is undeniably one of the biggest benchmarks in the gaming world. Galaxy is one of the few games I know I will be booting up again every couple of years for another solid thrashing.

Runners-up: Halo 3, Metroid Prime 3, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

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