The Better Year in Gaming?

[Haribo]

Pointless thread and poll time! Which do you think, out of the previous two years (2007 and 2008) was the best in terms of video games?

Here's a list of some of the more noticeable releases during the period:

2007

• BioShock (360/PC)
• Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Multi)
• Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
• The Orange Box (Multi)
• Halo 3 (360)
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
• God Of War II (PS2)
• Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (Wii)
• Mass Effect (360)
• Crysis (PC)
• Rock Band (PS3/360)
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction (PS3)
• Warhawk (PS3)
• Assassin's Creed (PS3/360)
• Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
• skate. (PS3/360)
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
• Pokémon Diamond/Pearl (DS)
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
• MotorStorm (PS3)
• Forza Motorsport 2 (360)

2008

• Grand Theft Auto IV (Multi)
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots (PS3)
• Gears Of War 2 (360)
• LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
• Fallout 3 (Multi)
• Left 4 Dead (360/PC)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (Wii)
• Fable II (360)
• Dead Space (Multi)
• Resistance 2 (PS3)
• Call Of Duty: World At War (Multi)
• Spore (PC/DS)
• Mirror's Edge (PS3/360)
• Saint's Row 2 (PS3/360)
• Far Cry 2 (Multi)
• Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
• Rock Band 2 (360)
• Prince Of Persia (Multi)
• Tomb Raider: Underworld (Multi)
• Burnout Paradise (Multi)
• Professor Layton And The Curious Village (DS)
• MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)
• Wii Play (Wii)
• Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3)
• Race Driver: GRID (Multi)
  

I haven't bothered including those that are released every year (PES, FIFA, SvR etc.), those that have plenty of expansions (Guitar Hero, Singstar etc.) or those which have been released on a previous system a different year (BioShock on PS3, Mass Effect on PC etc.).


I'm going for 2008. 2007 had many superb games, but the majority were first person shooters. 2008 had much more variety, and two of my favourite game franchises had installments come out (GTA/MGS).

 

[Hunter]

Good thread mate.

These are the games I bought:

2007:

BioShock - Quite possibly my favourite game of all time, the atmosphere was nothing short of astonishing. The graphics were also good and the gameplay was excellent. The time period of the game, and the plot twists made it so much fun to play, and so immersive with Atlas being the key throughout. BioShock had such a smart plot, everything intertwined, for example the "would you kindly" phrase among other elements. The game was ultimately genius.

Call Of Duty 4 - The best online game I've ever touched. The maps were so vibrant for a war game, and very enjoyable to play. The weapons were great too, a silenced M16, a silenced Skorpion, the customisation gave the game a great touch. COD5 was never going to top it, COD4 is an instant classic.

Assassin's Creed - Good game, but unfortunately too repetitive to make it anything above that. I believe you needed to complete 9 assassinations, but I started to get a little bored after 2 or 3, and when I get bored playing, I don't slug it out until I've completed it, I simply play on a more enjoyable game. The freedom in the game was very good which worked beautifully with the superb graphics. The climbing system was well worked, but there just simply wasn't enough variation in the missions asked of you. Overall though, a good game, but had so much potential.

skate. - One of the most innovative games released in recent years. The whole control system revolving around the analog sticks seemed sketchy at first, but from the moment I played the demo, it truly was love at first sight. Tony Hawks was fun but it had by far passed it's sell by date unfortunately, which was sad because I grew up on the series. However 'skate' was revolutionary, and actually being able to perform the tricks yourself with complete control and doing so deliberately gave such an amazing sense of reward when the tricks came off.

Forza Motorsport 2 - Very good game, it was probably worth the £35 for the customisation alone in fairness. The amount of time me and my friend spent customising Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions to compare with their real-life Rally counterparts was quite shocking. The racing aspect was also top draw and definetely fun, although with all racing games, I find them very repetitive unfortunately and so this took a backshelf after a month or so.

2008:

Grand Theft Auto IV - Still playing it now, although I did take a few months break. It's a superb game...however, with all the hype surrounding it and the amount of 10/10 reviews that were surfacing across the net, I was expecting something extraordinary, and ultimately I was disappointed. Graphically it's amazing, gameplay wise it's also great, it has just lost a lot of the fun. I loved GTA San Andreas to death, the environment, the lifestyle, the immense amount of fun such as customising lowriders with hydraulics, gymwork, the whole gang wars among other elements. Overall GTAIV is very good, but not very fun.

Gears Of War 2 - Just think of the first Gears Of War, but with a different story. Therefore it's great fun, but only playing co-op campaign I'd say. I haven't personally tried playing the campaign by myself but I can't imagine it being all that amazing, but co-op is great. The only time I'd use the word "blast" to describe a game. However, it hasn't really come on any leaps and bounds if I'm being honest.

FallOut 3 - Just got it for Christmas so I can't really comment too much. I love the whole concept of the game mind, and the freedom of the environment feels great. There is a real sense of atmosphere when wandering the Wastelands, especially when the sun falls and the darkness is overwhelming. So far I'm finding the game hugely enjoyable.

Call Of Duty 5 - All of my friends were immediately slating this game after hearing it was converting back to WWII, however I stuck by it, and wanted to reserve my judgement. As far as single player goes, it is very good. Online though, quite simply can't match COD4. The maps are overall a relatively poor choice in my opinion, with a lot being a very similar looking environment and others being dominated by tanks, it leaves for often frustrating and sometimes dull matches. I'll continue to play it, purely in the hope that it will go from good to great the more I rank up and whatnot however I'm not holding my breath.


So overall for me, 2007 takes it, not by a large distance, but not by a miniscule one either.

 

[Sho]

2007 only played Assasins Creed and Bioshock.

2008 got to be the year for me.

 

[Lörd TH]

2008 for me aswell even though it was a good year in 07 but it was a better year for me and I'm sure the majority of people this year.

I'm sure 2009 will be 100x better with games still unannounced but most likely to be announced such as Mass Effect 2,Assassin's Creed2 and most likely some new IP's.

 

[Sho]

IP's?

 

[Phatmann]

2007

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - The first FPS game that I've ever completed. Although that's not saying much as I've played very few FPS games in the past (I used to only buy sports games.) CoD4 had a great single player campaign, even though it was a bit on the short side, and an even better multiplayer mode. For me it's a game that I'll look back on with much fondness, similar to Goldeneye but a different sort of multiplayer.

Warhawk - This was the first game that I actually bought for my PS3 - my PS3 came with Resistance and Motorstorm - and I only really bought it because it came with a headset (which turned out to be useless.) I really couldn't get into this game at all. It all seemed a bit hectic and I didn't enjoy it.

Motorstorm - It seemed like a fun game but I'm not a big fan of racing games so didn't play it all that much.

The Orange Box - Only bought it for the online and I wasn't too impressed with Team Fortress 2. Only played it 3 or 4 times in the end. Portal was a lot of fun though and a great, original game.

Wii Fit - I don't own it personally, but I've played it and it is good for about 5 minutes. I feel sorry for anyone who has spent money on this.

Fifa 08 - A step in the right direction by Fifa, still wasn't great though.

PES 2008 - :faceplm:


2008

Unreal Tournament 3 - Not sure if this was 2007 or 2008. I was hoping to enjoy the game but I soon realised that I prefer a more realistic type of shooting game than games like Unreal and Halo. This game wasn't for me.

GTA IV - I've owned the majority of the previous GTA games but I'd say I've spent a lot more time playing this version than all of the others put together. I've never done as many missions on a GTA game as I have on GTA IV too. A fantastic game with a decent online mode which would have been better if I didn't have so much trouble connecting to others on it.

LittleBigPlanet - It's a bit early for me to judge this game - as I've only had it for 5 days - but so far it has been a mass of fun which will hopefully be even greater once I can work out why I can't get online.

Left4Dead - My favourite game so far this year because of the great online mode. I'm a sucker for online co-op and this is a great demonstration of how it should be done. The zombies vs. humans mode online is great once you get to grips with how to get the most out of each type of zombie - other than the boomer, who is terribly hard to cause any damage with.

Burnout Paradise - Burnout Paradise had the best demo I'd ever played at the time and once I'd bought the full game it was even better. I feel I've neglected it somewhat, due to spending most of my time in the first half of 2008 playing CoD4, Fifa 08 and GTA 4.

Fifa 09 - A fantastic football game. Fifa have gone the way I had hoped PES was going after PES6 but alas Fifa are going in the right direction whereas PES seem to have taken a step backwards, for now.

PES 2009 - :faceplm:

In conclusion, 2008 for me.

 

[Lörd TH]

IP's?

New games/ new series e.g Dead Space

 

[Sho]

Oh.

For a minute i thought you were on about new internet providers. :lol:

 

[nickpring]

2007

Bioshock - I wasn't too sure on this game, I bought it, played it as soon as I got it, and haven't played it since. I've been meaning to go back to it, but haven't bothered. I'm sure it's a good game, perhaps just not my game type.

The Orange Box - Again, I'm sure this is a quality game. Another game I've bought, and rarely played. I've played Portal for a bit though, and nearly completed it. I do like Portal. I've recently started the Half Life story, but quickly knocked it off, as I got bored.

Halo 3 - I liked this game, purely for the story mode. It's one of the first games of this genre I've completed the campaign on. I've played quite a bit on Live as well. I guess this has been one of my better purchases from 2007.

Uncharted - I only got this game the other day, but from what I have played I'm very impressed. Brilliant graphics, and a good start to the game. I'm sure I'll be playing this game again throughout the coming weeks, and months until the new game is out.

Assassin's Creed - I borrowed this game off a mate, and I can't say I was impressed with it. It was really repetitive and quite boring, in my opinion.

Skate. - Unsurprisingly, Skate was another game I couldn't get in to, as I failed to get to grips with the unique stick controls, which technically was a great idea. The graphics looked good, though.

Forza Motorsport 2 - One of my favourite games out on the 360. Brilliant choice of cars, and loads of tracks to race on. The career mode was brilliant, and very in-depth. I liked the online Auction House, even if the cars were ridiculously overpriced on there.

2008

GTA IV - Probably game of the year. Great graphics, brilliant gameplay and an interesting story mode. The online mode is pretty good too. One of the games, I'd definitely say I'd play again.

Little Big Planet - Again, I only had this the other day, so I can't really say much on this. I'm really enjoying it so far, and it's a lot of fun to play. I'm currently doing it in co-op with my brother and it's quite challenging and funny.

Saints Row 2 - Another game I had for Christmas, I have played this game for a good few hours now, and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised with this game. I love it. The graphics, gameplay and the missions are all good. I love that you have the ability to fly aeroplanes and helicopters in this version of the game. Some of the new side-missions are class as well. I haven't tried it online yet, but I certainly will be, when I finish the campaign.

Resistance 2 - Again, I had this game for Christmas, so I can't say much on this. I've played through the first level, and I must say I was impressed with it. The graphics were decent, and the gameplay was easy to get along with.

GT5 Prologue - I haven't played it much, but from what I've seen and played it's pretty good. I'm really looking forward to the full-release as I think it's going to be an epic racing game. GT's have always been one of the best racing simulation games out, and this will have no exception. Graphics were pretty awesome, as well.

Race Driver : Grid - I bought this game around release date, and I'm glad I did. It's a brilliant game, with brilliant graphics. The Le-Mans endurance race is a brilliant addition.

I think 2008 has been the better year for gaming, but like most of you, I think 2009 will be better again.

 

[Hunter]

Surprised with the amount of people choosing 2008 to be honest. I guess a lot of big titles were released this year, but I was disappointed with a few of them, whereas 2007 had immense surprises. I never expected BioShock to be amazing, I had no idea how good Skate would be, and the fact COD4 was nothing short of phenomenal topped the year off.

However I'm purely referring to the Xbox 360, and of course the PS3 gets exclusive games and vice versa so everyones votes will differ with reference to that.

 

[Sweey]

2008.

Guillermo, you're missing the fact Assassin's Creed came out on PC

Mass Effect on PC SHOULD be mentioned as it was improved and not just a port.

 

[Bež]

2007

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Fantastic game. Thoroughly enjoyed the single player. Short but breathtaking. And online was even better. I couldn't appreciate the online much because of the shitty wireless connection I had back then but the times which I did get on, it was awesome. My game of the year for 2007.

F1: Championship Edition - Got this in the console bundle. First impressions, I liked it. But then as time passed by, it got boring just driving round the track lap after lap. It's just been sat there on the shelf for ages now without a play lol.

Resistance Fall of Man - Another game I got with the console when I got the PS3. I loved this game, purely for the story mode. Some great weapons on it, and the storyline gripped me from start to finish. The best bit for me was co-op campaign, playing through the game with a mate. Top stuff. Online was cool too. One of my favourite's for 2007.

Uncharted - Brilliant game. I may only have a SD-TV, but the graphics are lovely on it. Probably the best graphics I've seen on a PS3 so far. Beautiful scenery and environment, awesome how you used the scenery to get places. I loved it. Also now it's Trophies compatible, it's a must-buy. One of my favourite games of 2007 definately.

Fifa 08 - The 3rd game I got with the console. I liked it a lot. Online was great, 5v5 in particular.

2008

GTA IV - I got this on release day and after reading all the 10/10 reviews online, I was expecting a masterpiece. But because of the ultra-high expectations, it disappointed for me. Still, I liked the storyline and the graphics were great. However, as I got further and further into the game, the missions got so predictable and boring, car chase after car chase after car chase. The one mission I loved thoroughly was Three Leaf Clover, where you rob the bank. That was a great mission. I gave this game a 8.5/10.

Fifa 09 - Love this game so much. Everything about it is brilliant. Gameplay is revolutionary and it is now clear EA has overtaken Konami now. Konami have it all to do to catch up now. All EA need to do is sign up some more leagues eg. Russian, Ukrainian and then it should be the perfect. The game of 2008 for me.

Burnout Paradise - I didn't play this game as much as I'd have liked to (due to COD4, Fifa, Resistance, Uncharted) but when I picked up the game and had a play, it was great. The single player was great and I love how Critetion still keep this game updated and packed with downloadable content. Brilliant.

Call of Duty: World ar War - I got this for Christmas, and I'm loving it so far. Great game. I haven't played much of Single Player due to the ridiculous solidness of it, it's so solid on Regular it's unbelievable. I'm loving it online. In my opinion, the guns are better than COD4 but I still feel COD4 edges World at War. WaW one of the best games this year. Fifa just tops it for me.

Beijing 2008 - I got so annoyed with this game. I couldn't do the events using the O and X alternate bashing so my only option was to rub the analog stick. And it peeled my skin! :faceplm: It got to the point where I had to stop playing, before I ended up tossing the game outside on the road lol. It was good fun multi-player though. And it was alright during the time in which the Olympics were underway in Beijing.

Need For Speed Undercover - I got this for Christmas, and so far so good. The graphics are great and the racing is cool. At times, the races do seem a bit too easy. Nevertheless, a great game. Yet to try it out online. Will do in the near future.

In conclusion; I feel 2008 has been a better gaming year than 2007. I'm looking forward to 2009. Should be some pretty immense games :w00t

 

[mufcsean]

I didn't play many of the games from 2007 i must admit but 2008 has been such a great year for games. My top games of this year were

Grand Theft Auto IV (Multi)
Left 4 Dead (360/PC)
Call Of Duty: World At War (Multi)
Saint's Row 2 (PS3/360)
Tomb Raider: Underworld (Multi)
Burnout Paradise (Multi)
Need For Speed Undercover (Multi)
PES 2009 (Multi)
Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe

 

[Original?]

Undoubtedly 2007.

CoD4 is probably the best and most revolutionary game that's been released in some time, it redefined FPS on consoles. Particularly in terms of multiplayer.

Assassin's Creed may have been repetitive and boring, as a game it was poor but that doesn't mean it was poor for gaming. One of the most ambitious games released on the 'next-gen' consoles, which have unfortunately been rather slow burning. The game didn't live up to the hype, even if it did look stunning, I would rather developers took the risks in making such attempts and failed rather than not try.

GTA IV was dire I'm afraid, tiresome, repetitive and lacking in ambition and looked rather poor in my opinion. Considering the budget I think the developers should have done far, far more.

Little Big Planet and Mirror's Edge are at least providing some new direction.