Remember that thing we did last year? We did it again this year. The GameCola staff got together for some hardcore extreme voting action, and, once the bits were settled, we had some basic idea of what you might possibly consider as being some of the best games of 2007. Maybe. They’re at least the better games of 2007. Some of the better games, at any rate.
Whew! Take a look.
Best Use of a License
The Simpsons Game
(PS3/Wii/X360/PS2/DS/PSP)
I’ve heard that Simpsons games, in general, “make you want to die,” but is that really, truly, entirely accurate? I can name three—Bart’s Nightmare, Virtual Bart, and The Simpsons arcade game—that are totally somewhat worthwhile. So what gives? Why the bad rep? It’s just Bart vs. The Space Mutants, isn’t it. Well screw that game, and screw the haters. The Simpsons makes good games, and this year’s classic is no exception. Thanks, EA, for taking this license and creating YET ANOTHER great title!
Board of Director’s Choice: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Readers’ Choice: The Simpsons Game
Last Year’s Winner: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Best Remake/Re-release
Lara Croft Tomb Raider – Anniversary
(PSP, PS2, PC, Wii, X360)
Well, it could’ve only gotten better, considering the original, am I right? Plus, it’s not like they’re making any worthwhile new Tomb Raider games, so maybe if they just keep remaking the old ones, they’ll eventually come out with some worth purchasing. It’s what Final Fantasy’s been doing for years. And hey, Lara Croft! She’s a total hottie! Was she in that Playboy spread from a few years ago? The one with the videogame characters? Ooh baby. She’s no Mia Fey, but she’ll do.
(…I’m sorry. I haven’t actually played this game and I have no idea why people voted for it.)
Board of Director’s Choice: Final Fantasy VI Advance
Readers’ Choice: Lara Croft Tomb Raider – Anniversary
Last Year’s Winner: Final Fantasy III
Best New Character
GlaDOS
(Portal: PC/X360)
GlaDOS: the disembodied computer voice that launched a million cake jokes. She leads you through the world of Portal—arguably the most entertaining game in Valve’s The Orange Box—and she’s apparently a lot cooler than “Female Pokémon Trainer,” who was a big-time front-runner in this year’s voting. Congrats, GlaDOS! Thank God you’re not a seagull.
Board of Director’s Choice: Godot (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations: DS)
Readers’ Choice: GlaDOS (Portal: PC/X360)
Last Year’s Winner: Balthier (Final Fantasy XII: PS2)
Most Deserving of a Sequel
Portal
(PC/X360)
Three hours of gameplay just made us want more—lots, lots more. Despite its length, Portal itself is worth a good $40 of The Orange Box’s price tag, considering that it’s one of the best first-person shooters ever made. (Seriously, have you tried to go back and play Wolfenstein 3D lately?)
Board of Director’s Choice: Hellgate – London
Readers’ Choice: Portal
Last Year’s Winner: Chibi-Robo
Most Innovative
Portal
(PC/X360)
So simple, so addictive. And so innovative! A shooting game without the shooting—at least, not your everyday, with-bullets shooting. Who knew that the first-person perspective could be used for anything else?
Board of Director’s Choice: Portal
Readers’ Choice: Portal
Last Year’s Winner: Electroplankton
Most Disappointing
Guitar Hero Encore – Rocks the 80s
(PS2)
What should have been the best Guitar Hero EVER ended up being a real disappointment, with lackluster songs, the entire game being hastily cobbled over GH2’s front end and, worst of all, expecting consumers to pay full price for it. Maybe Guitar Hero should go the Rock Band route, instead—selling new songs over XBLA and PSN rather than making a whole new game every few months. Hey, speaking of which….
Board of Director’s Choice: Chulip
Readers’ Choice: Lair
Last Year’s Winner: Kingdom Hearts 2
Best Multiplayer
Rock Band
(PS3/PS2/X360)
Take the fun of playing a Guitar Hero (that isn’t Rock the 80s) with your friends, then add extra friends and two extra instruments. You can’t go wrong. Seriously. If you haven’t played this game yet, just imagine how badass you’d feel if you were wailing away on a big plastic guitar while surrounded with friends wailing away on their own big plastic instruments. It’s just awesome.
Board of Director’s Choice: Rock Band
Readers’ Choice: Halo 3
Last Year’s Winner: Guitar Hero 2
Best PC Game
Crysis
Crysis—perhaps most famous for being so graphically-intense that most computers can’t actually run it—is arguably the best computer game released this year, closely beating out the new season of Sam & Max. Sales haven’t been strong for this critically-acclaimed FPS, but a potential port to the big-boy consoles in 2008 could put this game into the black.
Board of Director’s Choice: Hellgate – London
Readers’ Choice: Crysis
Last Year’s Winner: Sam and Max Season 1, Episode 1: Culture Shock
Best Console Game
Mass Effect
(X360)
The first part of a planned three-part epic, Mass Effect is by the people who brought us Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and a host of Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate titles—so you gotta think, right from the start, that it’s destined to be good times. A hardcore open-ended, Western-style RPG, Mass Effect has a strong character-driven plot that involves…space exploration and stuff. I don’t want to give too much away; you really should just check this game out for yourself. Now. Right now.
Board of Director’s Choice: Rock Band
Readers’ Choice: Halo 3
Last Year’s Winner: The Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess
Best Portable Game
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations
(DS)
None of the competition even came close to besting this latest Phoenix Wright title for the DS. It’s got plot to spare, classic point-and-click action, and memorable character after memorable puzzle after memorable trial. Unfortunately, this game may be Phoenix’s last stand—the next game in the series stars an entirely different lawyer, though word is that Wright may have a role in the new series: a role that’s bound to depress the spiky-haired defense attorney’s many fanboys.
Board of Director’s Choice: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Readers’ Choice: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Last Year’s Winner: New Super Mario Bros.
Best Xbox Live Arcade/Wii Virtual Console/PlayStation Network Game
Bomberman Live
(X360-XBLA)
Well, it’s Bomberman. And not the crappy Act Zero version, either—this, right here, is honest-to-God gigantic-headed Bomberman. And you can play it over Xbox Live! No more will you have to have actual, real-life friends in order to play Bomberman; now, you can play with all the random, pain-in-the-ass homophobic 14-year-olds that your heart desires.
Board of Director’s Choice: PAIN
Readers’ Choice: Bomberman Live
Last Year’s Winner: N/A
Employee of the Year
Alex Jedraszczak
You might’ve noticed this, but Alex’s been picking up Employee of the Month almost every month this past year. And with good reason—the guy’s always got his articles in way, way ahead of deadline, he’s willing to help out with the occasional Versus Mode, he comments all over the issue, and, oh yeah, his writing’s not too bad, either. He’s even got three reviews for us this month—which he sent to us over a month before the deadline—and he probably would’ve gotten EotM this month, too, if a plucky new guy hadn’t sent in thirteen reviews.
Board of Director’s Choice: Michael Gray
Readers’ Choice: Christian Porter
Last Year’s Winner: Steve Hamner
Game of the Year
Bioshock
(X360/PC)
The Atlas Shrugged gone horribly wrong shooter actually lends an air of artistic respectability to the stale FPS genre, not to mention a few scattered RPG elements. Plus, it’s underwater, and you get to kill things called “Little Sisters.” And hey, it’s the “spiritual successor” to System Shock, and everyone loved System Shock, right? No, seriously; the game’s provocative plot, immersion, elaborate and artistic world, and kickass gameplay make it a no-brainer buy.
Board of Director’s Choice: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations
Readers’ Choice: Halo 3
Last Year’s Winner: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
So, what did we miss? Anything? It’s doubtful—we kicked some major ass in putting this list together. Still, if you think that something other than Bioshock should’ve gotten top honors, or if you’re a really, really big Rock the 80s fan…post!
