PALGN Game of the Year Awards 2007

PALGN Feature | We pick our top games of the year that was.

It's that time again folks - the time when we get together and decide which were the games that defined the year just passed. After a slow first half what else is new?), 2007 really picked up in terms of great game releases, and we had a hard time selecting our choices for the best of the best. But choose we did, and here we present to you the PALGN staff choices for the games of 2007.

On with the show...

DS Game of the Year
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
D Nintendo EAD| P Nintendo
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runner up: Pokemon Diamond/Pearl

In a year where the DS was by far the highest selling system in every territory, there was a surprising lack of 'defining' titles. Sure, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl made it to the West this year (they were 2006 games in Japan), but they were Game Boy carry-overs. With Nintendo's focus primarily on their other platform, it was left up to third parties to satisfy both casual and core DS gamers. That is, until The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was released.

One of the best looking games on the DS, Phantom Hourglass straddles the line between accessibility and depth with remarkable ease. The touch-screen control scheme works brilliantly, bringing new life to old weapons and giving combat the precision of a surgical strike. And from now on, every other adventure game made should allow drawing on the map.

PSP Game of the Year
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
D Kojima Productions| P Konami
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runner up: Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

Snake finally made a card-free appearance on the PSP in this sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and the wait was worth it. Eschewing the 'lone spy' form of its console brethren Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops sees Snake recruiting troops for his own army, offering a fresh experience well suited to the console.

Working within the button limitations of the PSP, the developers crafted a game with all the trappings of a full-size console title, yet with a structure and gameplay that work well as a portable title. High production values and near PS2 quality graphics and sound round out one of the best games ever released on the PSP.

PlayStation 2 Game of the Year
Okami
D Clover Studios| P Capcom
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runner up: God of War II

Developed by the now defunct Clover Studios, Okami had the distinct disadvantage of being released in the US during the lead-up to two major console launches, and it got lost in the end of year shuffle. A delay to 2007 gave the game some breathing room in PAL territories, where many discovered the watercolour adventures of Amaterasu. Based on the Legend of Zelda template, Okami sees the player traversing an overworld, exploring dungeons, and fighting bad guys in a bid to defeat the mythological Japanese demon Orochi. The innovative paintbrush mechanic adds some spice to the formula, and the incredible Viewtiful Joe-like cell-shaded graphics didn't hurt either.

While the combat and puzzles are not quite up to Zelda standards, Okami remains great looking throughout, and beats out a strong field to be PALGN's PS2 game of 2007.

Xbox 360 Game of the Year
Mass Effect
D BioWare| P Microsoft
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runners up: BioShock, The Orange Box

BioWare’s Sci-Fi RPG was one of the most hyped games for the Xbox 360 this year, and thankfully the game delivered, offering one of the deepest experiences so far on the console. With great art direction and an enthralling forty-plus hour story, Mass Effect manages to combine traditional RPG elements with an over-the-top Sci-Fi setting for an innovative experience.

Set in one of the most detailed game worlds ever created, the amount of high quality voice work is also impressive. Despite some annoying glitches, Mass Effect is one of those games that will be talked about for a very long time to come

Wii Game of the Year
Super Mario Galaxy
D Nintendo EAD Tokyo| P Nintendo
PALGN Review: 10.0
Runners up: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Paper Mario

Mario takes the Wii crown in a near-unanimous decision, soundly beating the only other real contender Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Mario's adventure into space brings the old and new together in a game that's fresh yet familiar and a joy to play from start to finish. It also doesn't hurt that the game is a technical marvel for the Wii, shaming the visual quality of all but a handful of games on the system.

With great use of the Wii controllers, a majestic orchestral soundtrack, and a huge amount of variety, Super Mario Galaxy re-invents and re-ignites the stale 3D platforming genre with its mind-bending and innovative gravity mechanic.

PlayStation 3 Game of the Year
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
D Naughty Dog| P Sony Computer Entertainment
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runners up: Singstar, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction

Jak and Daxter developer Naughty Dog’s first PlayStation 3 game was greatly anticipated, as gamers were desperate to see what the developer would come up with next. What they created was a hybrid of Tomb Raider and Gears of War, combining puzzle platforming elements with intense gun-fights.

Running through the jungle killing pirates in what is one of the better-looking games of the year is great fun. The game is filled with likeable characters and an interesting if clichéd storyline, and good variety of gameplay. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is easily the most exciting game to be released on the PS3 this year, and we wouldn’t be surprised if a sequel is just around the corner.

PC Game of the Year
Portal
D Valve| P Valve
PALGN Review: 8.5
Runners up: BioShock , Team Fortress 2

With Portal, Valve reminds us of the value of concentrated game design mixed with unabashed wit. Here is a game that prides itself on short but carefully paced gameplay. A puzzle set where each level is as much it's own self-contained challenge, as a memorably gratifying solution. A narrative where the villain is as hilarious as she is underhanded. A dramatic sidekick that isn't even a living entity. And of course, an ending theme song that will be reinterpreted for some time to come.

Portal alone is worth the already bargain asking price of The Orange Box. Unlike the questionable existence of baked desserts, this award is not a lie.

Best Graphics
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
D Infinity Ward| P Activision
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runners up: Crysis

The main Call of Duty games have always been good looking, but with Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward took it to another level. With great modeling, crisp textures and excellent effects, Call of Duty 4 is one of the most realistic looking games yet produced, and it achieves all this while running at a fantastic framerate. And for that, it receives our award for best graphics of 2007.

Best sound
Mass Effect
D BioWare| P Microsoft
PALGN Review: 9.0
Runners up: Super Mario Galaxy, BioShock

With every piece of dialogue from hundreds of different characters all spoken fluently, the voice-over work in Mass Effect is one of the many reasons the game is enjoyable all the way through. It helps greatly in building the story and along with an epic soundtrack and generally great sound effects, it adds up to one of the most impressive sounding games so far this generation.

Best Value
The Orange Box
D Valve| P Valve

Since the contents of The Orange Box had either been previously released or were available for purchase separately, we didn't consider the PC version a single game for the purpose of these awards. However, when it comes to value as a purchase, The Orange Box was in a league of its own this year, particularly for those who had yet to play Half-Life 2.

Packing the full original game, two expansions, the long awaited multiplayer mayhem of Team Fortress 2 and the cerebral first person puzzler (and our PC game of the year) Portal, the disc features enough content to last the average gamer weeks.

Overall Game of the Year
Super Mario Galaxy
D Nintendo EAD Tokyo| P Nintendo
PALGN Review: 10.0
Runner up: Portal

What more is there to say? After becoming only the second game in PALGN history to score ten out of ten, Super Mario Galaxy has also been voted our Game of the Year 2007.

What makes Galaxy so great? Probably that it puts inventive gameplay above all else. In an era of detailed plots and complicated controls, Mario presents players with 120 good old fashioned challenges of dexterity with controls so tight it's a joy to play every one of them. Nearly relentless in its ingenuity, Galaxy keeps producing new ideas its entire length, and we don't think there's ever been a game that contains so many 'wow' moments. Crisp graphics and a fantastic soundtrack round out one of the most complete single player packages ever pressed onto a disc.

On oft-quoted line of Chris' review covers it pretty well:

'Super Mario Galaxy is without doubt the finest game Nintendo have produced this decade - endorsements don’t come much stronger than that.'

Most Anticipated for 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV
D Rockstar North| P Rockstar
Runners up: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metal gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games were the highest selling games of last generation, and the long awaited full fourth installment promises to return the 'sandbox' genre crown to its rightful owner. The power of the new consoles will hopefully re-invigorate the formula with more interactivity, though many are simply looking forward to an overdue dose of the classic GTA humour. Whatever the reasons, PALGN staff have voted Grand Theft Auto IV as our most anticipated title of 2008.

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You've seen our picks, now have your say! Click here to vote for your choices in each of these categories in the PALGN reader awards.

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64 Comments

Denny

2 years ago

David wrote

FrozenPoo wrote

CoD4 over Crysis in the graphics is just ridiculous IMO, and this isn't coming through just because I favour Crysis over CoD.
Graphics should be considered over how well they look regardless of how powerful your machine is. It doesn't matter whether or not you can run the damned game out of the box at the highest settings or whatever, if the game delivers on fantastic graphics and is leagues ahead of other games, then it deserves the award. I personally think that scalability of the game should have nothing to do with it.

Crysis is a BENCHMARK for visuals, CoD4 is just an aged engine with spit and shine.

[/rant]

Basically the staff vote for what they've played. We don't all have fantasy rigs so we can only vote for what we have seen with our own eyes. I voted for Crysis because I've played it, but not everyone has.

On the other hand, there's also a matter of taste. Some people simply prefer COD4 to Crysis, irrespective of technology. Personally I found Metroid and Uncharted my favourite looking games this year.

Fair points, and it's understandable that Crysis wouldn't appeal to all tastes, just as I think Killzone 2 looks amazing but others think it's bland. However from an overall, technical perspective, Crysis is head and shoulders above and deserves that award for its technical leaps alone. Art style is one thing, but technical achievement and overall graphical fidelity is another. I'd imagine a way to resolve that would be to segregate the award into "Best Art Design" and "Best Graphics". But if that were the case, CoD4 wouldn't win either

That being said though it's my only major gripe with the list. It irks me to see older engines being awarded cookies over superior and next-gen engines, as I just find it unfair and I'm a complete graphics whore.

Grandtheft88

2 years ago

Good list there, I reckon Crysis should have won the Graphics, but COD 4 was probably my next favourite, so I'm cool with it.

ObsoletE

2 years ago

nice list. i also disagree with COD4 > Crysis, but 1 disagreement out of 12 categories is good odds.

i'd love to have seen a "Best Plot/Story/writing" category added too, but overall i am pleased that you haven't overdone it with categories.

ShadowOnline

2 years ago

What happened to the "click here" to vote? It doesn't click damn it!

Lord Haart

2 years ago

^ Yeah, there is no link. Would be very interesting to see how PALGN community vote stacks up against the staff. But yes, I'd say that it should be pretty much the same aside from Crysis.

David

2 years ago

ShadowOnline wrote

What happened to the "click here" to vote? It doesn't click damn it!

Sorry, coming tomorrow.

corder

2 years ago

hmm i agree with most of the winners but not all of them GOW2 is a far better game then Okami in my view and the overall award is very debateable i believe Assassins Creed or COD4 would of been a better choice. Oh and 3d platformers aren't stale unless your ignoring R&C which would be stupid.

Passa

2 years ago

CoD4 getting best graphics is an absolute disgrace. The graphics in CoD4 are just decent quality art strewn onto a slightly enhanced version of the CoD2 engine, which was based on Quake 3. It's old, and certainly not the forefront of graphics technology. CoD4 certainly doesn't deserve any accolades for it's art direction, so it can't have won on that point either. The description in the article for the award also implies that CoD4 is scalable - if this is a factor then it goes to UT3 hands down, which looks good on virtually any half decent gaming rig.

While I could argue Crysis doesn't scale as badly as everyone says it does (but I've done that in prior posts), I just think that Crysis' visuals are so superior to CoD4 that regardless of how badly it scales, it should have won. The PC doesn't have clear cut 'generations' like console games, but CoD4 and Crysis for me on my PC looked a generation apart.

Also:

David wrote

Then how can the results of any of these awards be realistic? PC titles shouldn't have been in contention for any awards if you've only got 2-3 staff members who even play PC games. And really, a picture speaks a thousand words, for an award like this it doesn't matter if you've played the game, making each staff member watch a high definition video of each game in action would suffice. The whole (now very cliched) 'ohh it needs a super computer to run' argument is a weak one and I'm not buying that.

Lord Haart

2 years ago

I would also have liked to see Assassin's Creed there, it tried something new (new setting, control scheme, plot) and succeeded in virtually everything. Only downside was shortness/repetitivity, but in terms of innovation it was way up there.

But I guess almost every games has something it was great at, so I'll concede this time. But here's a suggestion: for the PALGN community vote results, maybe list all contenders as a ranking instead of just the winners. That way everyone feels like their game gets at least a measure or recognition - after all, there have been tons of great games released this year and we all have our own personal favorites. I can deal with mine not being number one, but it would be nice to know I'm not the ONLY AC fan out there

ShadowOnline

2 years ago

I think some people here are taking this a bit too seriously. This is simply a "staff picks best of", not a definitive best of to end all best of's. These staff are like you and me, gamers, and most importantly, people. This is Australia, relax, the staff at PALGN are not pretending to be superior to us.

It's like, their opinion man

ObsoletE

2 years ago

Passa wrote

The graphics in CoD4 are just decent quality art strewn onto a slightly enhanced version of the CoD2 engine, which was based on Quake 3.

while i'm not disagreeing that Crysis should've topped the "looks good" charts, COD2 was an inhouse, proprietary engine, not Quake 3 sourced. COD1 (and United Offensive) were Q3 engined, but IW built the COD2 engine from the ground up.

supposedly the COD4 engine is a new engine too, but i think it's probably "new" in the same terms as Windows 98 was a "new" OS.

Chris-Leigh

2 years ago

I'd go with Contra 4 for DS, though if memory serves correct, this is only PAL games? Ah well, always 2008 (presuming it ever gets released here). My under-rated DS game of the year: Picross DS.

There's really no arguing with Galaxy, is there? What a damn achievement that game is.

TEG

2 years ago

Much love for picking Uncharted as PS3 GOTY, a game which most of the gaming press seems to ignore.

Can't argue with the other choices either, great feature guys!

Tristan

2 years ago

ShadowOnline wrote

You're too sane for the Internet.

Passa

2 years ago

ObsoletE wrote

Passa wrote

The graphics in CoD4 are just decent quality art strewn onto a slightly enhanced version of the CoD2 engine, which was based on Quake 3.

Either IW has blatantly lied about the engine tech in CoD2/CoD4, or (and most likely) they brought huge amounts of code over from their modified version of the Quake 3 engine for CoD and used it in CoD2 and CoD4, technically making it 'from the ground up'. Things like the game's directory structure, iwd (Infinity Ward data?) files being readable with pk3 browsers, same console commands and server commands etc.. I used a Quake 3 server tutorial to setup a CoD4 server for example.

ShadowOnline wrote

And my post was my opinion. Your point?

Denny

2 years ago

Chris-Leigh wrote

I think Galaxy is actually debatable. However, I haven't played the game yet so I can't really judge it much at the moment.

It's certainly tempting to buy a Wii now though.

Puddingfork

2 years ago

FrozenPoo wrote

Chris-Leigh wrote

I think Galaxy is actually debatable. However, I haven't played the game yet so I can't really judge it much at the moment.

It's certainly tempting to buy a Wii now though.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST IS LIKELY TO BORE AND CONFUSE - so don't blame me if you think its a big pointless wall of text, read at own risk or if your bored

I have played it, and probably not enough because sure I only got a few hours in (was at a friends party, being antisocial on his Wii, started the game from scratch btw) but I didn't actually go WOW like other games this year have made me do on several occasions. However I do think its a solid polished game, and I can't really find any severe flaws in its gameplay (from what I have played) it just to me, didn't feel like a GOTY title when I played it.

btw things that did WOW me this year were using the chain saw for the first time in GOW (yes I know, last year game, but I got it this year), many moments in COD4 that just give you a great rush after the suspense of will you make it is over, Bioshock for many different things, Halo 3 online (many decent online shooters give me WOW moments actually, no matter how much I play them), even The Darkness had some pretty cool moments and I loved it when I devoured my first soul.

But I guess I just need to play galaxy properly for myself, I hope it is as good as everyone else says it is, but there is something inside me that tells me I won't enjoy it as much as they say I will and but I would like to think that its not being over rated but man I am starting to think maybe it is after all these 10/10 scores and the fact my small experience of the game didn't quite live up to those expectations I thought a 10/10 game should have lived up to.

ShadowOnline

2 years ago

Passa wrote

ShadowOnline wrote

And my post was my opinion. Your point?

I already made my point, which was also my opinion.

corder

2 years ago

Puddingfork wrote

FrozenPoo wrote

Chris-Leigh wrote

I think Galaxy is actually debatable. However, I haven't played the game yet so I can't really judge it much at the moment.

It's certainly tempting to buy a Wii now though.

lol the post wasn't boring Super Mario galaxy is the only game i would bother playing on the wii i hate eveything else about it. I wonder what is happening next for Mario.

borgster101

2 years ago

With so many great games that came out this year, especially towards the end it's hard to make a list like this, every game on the list deserves to be there, so well done

corder

2 years ago

yeah but there are always the standouts in the crowd like SMG, COD4,AC and Uncharted Drake's Fortune

Legend
SMG= Super Mario Galaxy
COD4= Call Of Duty 4
AC= Assassins Creed

Crestfallen

2 years ago

Quote

While the combat and puzzles are not quite up to Zelda standards, Okami remains great looking throughout, and beats out a strong field to be PALGN's PS2 game of 2007.

Whoever wrote that needs to move out of their parent's basement already.

Puddingfork

2 years ago

corder wrote

lol the post wasn't boring Super Mario galaxy is the only game i would bother playing on the wii i hate eveything else about it. I wonder what is happening next for Mario.

Then you don't own the right games, although there ain't alot of great Wii games I think there are a few, such as Excite Truck and Metroid Prime 3. Imo Excite Truck deserves more credit from most people/sites, I love the game to bits.

Se7en

2 years ago

From destructoid.com regarding their GOTY:

"Editors Note: On a personal note, I just wanted to say a few things to wrap this all up.

To arrive at our Game of the Year, each of the editors compiled a list of their Top Ten games of 2007. There were absolutely no stipulations. If you loved a game and wanted to put it on the list, that was all there was to it. No one was required to play anything we hadn’t already played or research things on systems we didn’t own. Basically, there were no questions asked.

From those lists, the nominees and eventual Game of the Year were decided. We aren’t a professional news site who feels some moral responsibility to play every single videogame in creation to make a fair and balanced decision. Being a blog full of extremely passionate gamers, we just wanted to have a little fun and elicit some exciting discussion about our favorite games of the year. Hopefully we did that.

Now, here’s to an even better 2008 …

-chad."

Upon reflection, this kind of attitude is completely acceptable to me and, from David's response/s, one which PALGN has adopted. Food for thought.

Lord Haart

2 years ago

I agree. We as a community are given the chance to show our own opinions by voting as well, after all.

But the argument with Crysis vs COD4 was still a bit different in that even PALGN thought it looked better, but was denied the award because it required top-notch hardware. I understand that COD4 probably looked better on their machines, so the debate is about whether the award refers to the best looking game on their rig, or whether it should go to the most visually pleasing engine.

I personally feel that Crysis pushed the graphical envelope to an almost photorealistic level, and as an engine it is a clear winner. Either way, I don't think it's worth fighting over. We get to have our say by voting

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