William BagleyThe 1st Annual Gamemonger Awards - Xbox 360
December 31st 2007 12:49
Under the laws of gaming journalism, it's important that everyone releases a list of what they believe to be the best titles of the year. To ensure I don't get fined, here's the Gamemonger Best of '07 ... or as I like to call it, the 'My Xbox gamer score sucks' awards.
The Best of Xbox 360
The Visual Achievement Award - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Honourable Mentions - Mass Effect, BioShock
Call of Duty 4 just goes to show that, with a little change in the timeline, a well respected series can grow into something truly amazing. While BioShock is a visual treat, CoD takes this award by the skin of its teeth thanks to the outdoor decor, and the sheer level of detail throughout each enjoyable action sequence, both indoor and out. In truth, all three titles here deserve the award all on its own...
The Sound Achievement Award - BioShock
Honourable Mentions - The Orange Box, The Simpsons Game
BioShock gets the nod thanks to the dark, dank and disturbing nature of its sound and musical score. It'll send a shiver up your spine as you explore the depths, and the supporting cast add to the highly original adventure. Honourable mentions especially to our runners up, if nothing more but for the sheer level of enjoyment and humour within the strong cast of the Simpsons, and the equally enjoyable voice overs in Portal and Team Fortress 2.
The Interactive Achievement Award - Rock Band
Honourable Mentions - Halo 3, Guitar Hero III
It hasn't arrived in Australia, but there's no doubt in my mind that Rock Band is the most innovative piece of software/hardware kit for the 360. A drum, guitar and microphone, not to mentioned an enjoyable soundtrack, make a fantastic party title. Halo 3 slips into second spot thanks to one of the best sets of multiplayer options of any 1st person shooter so far, while Guitar Hero III's wireless guitar slips into third.
The Xbox Live Achievement Award - Halo 3
Honourable Mentions - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Guitar Hero III
As I mentioned before, the sheer amount of online options within Halo 3 is staggering. Whether its map making, online co-op, or the easy to use matchmaking system, there's plenty here to keep fans pumping bullets long after the fight has ... umm ... finished. Both runner-ups provide just as much entertainment online, but its Bungie who this year proves how best to please fans.
Biggest Disappointment of 2007 - Need for Speed Pro Street
Honourable Mentions - Clive Barker's Jericho, Blacksite
The racing genre had its fair share on this console, but Pro Street had a chance of really trying something new. Unfortunately, by taking away the fun of street circuits and replacing them with boring dirt tracks, the fun of the series has been lost among some of the nicer innovative features that Underground and Carbon could have taken advantage of. Besides, there's so much more out there that does such a better job, especially PGR4 and Forza 2. Jericho and Blacksite, two other titles that failed, also had much going for them, especially visually. But good looks do not maketh a good game.
Biggest Surprise of 2007 - Skate
Honourable Mentions - Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, The Simpsons Game
I've followed the Tony Hawk series for some time now, so what surprised me about EA's Skate was how good it felt to play the same kind of game in a completely different kind of way. It isn't easy, I still find some of the tricks really hard to do, but that's the point behind the game. Those tricks ARE supposed to be hard to do. Hopefully there will be more to come, especially in terms of new online features and a more expansive world to skate through. Naruto and the Simpsons deserve nods as proof that not all licensed games suck, especially when a little care and attention to detail is included in the package.
Overall Best Game of 2007 - The Orange Box
Honourable Mentions - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, BioShock, Mass Effect
This one was amazingly hard to pick. But when you consider you're picking up five titles in one, and each and every title deserves all the rewards you can throw at it, then in the end the choice isn't really all that hard at all. The Orange Box is sheer delight, whether its the already award winning classic that is Half Life 2 (which by itself is as good as BioShock) and its two chapter updates, the multiplayer blast fest Team Fortress 2 (as entertaining an online adventure as CoD4) or the amazingly innovative and addictive Portal, there's something here for everyone.
But you have to say that, in reality, the award really belongs to Portal itself. No other game combines puzzle solving, 1st person shooter and humorous adventure in one as good as this little gem.
Like I've already mentioned, the quality of this years releases have been, at times, staggering. I'd have to say that every genre you can think of has had its fair share of classics, and although the honourable mentions for the Xbox comes down to three, you could easily throw in Rock Band, Halo 3 and Forza 2 into the list. I hope '08 is just as good.
Tomorrow, the awards for Nintendo Wii and DS.
The Best of Xbox 360
The Visual Achievement Award - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Honourable Mentions - Mass Effect, BioShock
Call of Duty 4 just goes to show that, with a little change in the timeline, a well respected series can grow into something truly amazing. While BioShock is a visual treat, CoD takes this award by the skin of its teeth thanks to the outdoor decor, and the sheer level of detail throughout each enjoyable action sequence, both indoor and out. In truth, all three titles here deserve the award all on its own...
The Sound Achievement Award - BioShock
Honourable Mentions - The Orange Box, The Simpsons Game
BioShock gets the nod thanks to the dark, dank and disturbing nature of its sound and musical score. It'll send a shiver up your spine as you explore the depths, and the supporting cast add to the highly original adventure. Honourable mentions especially to our runners up, if nothing more but for the sheer level of enjoyment and humour within the strong cast of the Simpsons, and the equally enjoyable voice overs in Portal and Team Fortress 2.
The Interactive Achievement Award - Rock Band
Honourable Mentions - Halo 3, Guitar Hero III
It hasn't arrived in Australia, but there's no doubt in my mind that Rock Band is the most innovative piece of software/hardware kit for the 360. A drum, guitar and microphone, not to mentioned an enjoyable soundtrack, make a fantastic party title. Halo 3 slips into second spot thanks to one of the best sets of multiplayer options of any 1st person shooter so far, while Guitar Hero III's wireless guitar slips into third.
The Xbox Live Achievement Award - Halo 3
Honourable Mentions - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Guitar Hero III
As I mentioned before, the sheer amount of online options within Halo 3 is staggering. Whether its map making, online co-op, or the easy to use matchmaking system, there's plenty here to keep fans pumping bullets long after the fight has ... umm ... finished. Both runner-ups provide just as much entertainment online, but its Bungie who this year proves how best to please fans.
Biggest Disappointment of 2007 - Need for Speed Pro Street
Honourable Mentions - Clive Barker's Jericho, Blacksite
The racing genre had its fair share on this console, but Pro Street had a chance of really trying something new. Unfortunately, by taking away the fun of street circuits and replacing them with boring dirt tracks, the fun of the series has been lost among some of the nicer innovative features that Underground and Carbon could have taken advantage of. Besides, there's so much more out there that does such a better job, especially PGR4 and Forza 2. Jericho and Blacksite, two other titles that failed, also had much going for them, especially visually. But good looks do not maketh a good game.
Biggest Surprise of 2007 - Skate
Honourable Mentions - Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, The Simpsons Game
I've followed the Tony Hawk series for some time now, so what surprised me about EA's Skate was how good it felt to play the same kind of game in a completely different kind of way. It isn't easy, I still find some of the tricks really hard to do, but that's the point behind the game. Those tricks ARE supposed to be hard to do. Hopefully there will be more to come, especially in terms of new online features and a more expansive world to skate through. Naruto and the Simpsons deserve nods as proof that not all licensed games suck, especially when a little care and attention to detail is included in the package.
Overall Best Game of 2007 - The Orange Box
Honourable Mentions - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, BioShock, Mass Effect
This one was amazingly hard to pick. But when you consider you're picking up five titles in one, and each and every title deserves all the rewards you can throw at it, then in the end the choice isn't really all that hard at all. The Orange Box is sheer delight, whether its the already award winning classic that is Half Life 2 (which by itself is as good as BioShock) and its two chapter updates, the multiplayer blast fest Team Fortress 2 (as entertaining an online adventure as CoD4) or the amazingly innovative and addictive Portal, there's something here for everyone.
But you have to say that, in reality, the award really belongs to Portal itself. No other game combines puzzle solving, 1st person shooter and humorous adventure in one as good as this little gem.
Like I've already mentioned, the quality of this years releases have been, at times, staggering. I'd have to say that every genre you can think of has had its fair share of classics, and although the honourable mentions for the Xbox comes down to three, you could easily throw in Rock Band, Halo 3 and Forza 2 into the list. I hope '08 is just as good.
Tomorrow, the awards for Nintendo Wii and DS.
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