Scott
10-07-2007, 12:54 PM
Once the lineup of titles is released with hard ship dates, the annual discussions, debates, and tirades ensue about the Game of the Year. I do not own a PS3, a Wii, or a gaming PC, but I have seen multiple trailers/screenshots and read many reviews/previews for those systems and feel that I can make an informed, educated prediction for the following awards:
Best Graphics Overall: Crysis. Good luck putting together a rig powerful enough to run this gem without the framerate lagging. The only other games that come remotely close are BioShock, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed. They are a distant second at best. If you need further proof, here is a special effects trailer for you: Crysis 'Special Effects' Trailer.
Best Storyline Overall: Tough call, but I would give it to Mass Effect for the immense background and scope of its universe (it has its own background novel, which I hear is an excellent read); BioShock comes in a close second for a high degree of creativity and how well the story was told from multiple vantage points. I also considered The Darkness due to the nature of the hero and how twisted the storyline played out.
Best Blending of Multiple Genres: BioShock (FPS/RPG/Action/Adventure); How many other genres could they fit into the game? This game is in a category on its own. The only other game that could enter this category is The Darkness which leans heavily on the FPS genre, but has RPG and action tendencies. I know that this isn?t a real award, but the winner of this award deserves for this category to be introduced given today?s titles combing elements from more than one genre.
Best RPG Overall: Mass Effect; Also considered Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon. Not sure exactly what to say here except that this RPG has been BioWare?s largest project since they released SW: KotOR 2. To say that the universe in which you interact is huge is a massive understatement. Combine that with a revamped in-depth combat system and possibly the most realistic dialogue system to date, and you have yourself one superb RPG that did for RPG?s this generation what the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic did for the original Xbox.
Best Shooter Overall: Crysis; Also considered Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3; If you watch the trailer above, then this shouldn?t be a contest whatsoever.
Best Fighting Game Overall: Super Smash Brothers Brawl; The only other fighting games of note this past year were Virtua Fighter 5 and Def Jam: ICON. Neither presents nearly enough competition to warrant being chosen over SSBB, a game that has been anticipated ever since the Wii was announced, much less launched.
Most Innovative Game Overall: SKATE; This game revolutionized skating games the way the Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater 2 did when it came out.
Best Online Multiplayer: I cannot make a sound judgement here as I haven't played H3 online yet. I will edit this post once I've experienced Halo 3 online. I am also considering Shadowrun and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (I've seen the Beta in action).
Best Sports Title: SKATE; NBA 2K8 is a close second.
Overall Game of the Year:
1. Mass Effect
2. BioShock
3. Assassin's Creed
4. Super Mario Galaxy
I'm sure that I will have massive criticism from everyone, but this is merely my opinion. It is not WRONG to form an opinion. I do not expect everyone to agree with me.
Let the debating begin, mainly because it already has.
Best Graphics Overall: Crysis. Good luck putting together a rig powerful enough to run this gem without the framerate lagging. The only other games that come remotely close are BioShock, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed. They are a distant second at best. If you need further proof, here is a special effects trailer for you: Crysis 'Special Effects' Trailer.
Best Storyline Overall: Tough call, but I would give it to Mass Effect for the immense background and scope of its universe (it has its own background novel, which I hear is an excellent read); BioShock comes in a close second for a high degree of creativity and how well the story was told from multiple vantage points. I also considered The Darkness due to the nature of the hero and how twisted the storyline played out.
Best Blending of Multiple Genres: BioShock (FPS/RPG/Action/Adventure); How many other genres could they fit into the game? This game is in a category on its own. The only other game that could enter this category is The Darkness which leans heavily on the FPS genre, but has RPG and action tendencies. I know that this isn?t a real award, but the winner of this award deserves for this category to be introduced given today?s titles combing elements from more than one genre.
Best RPG Overall: Mass Effect; Also considered Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon. Not sure exactly what to say here except that this RPG has been BioWare?s largest project since they released SW: KotOR 2. To say that the universe in which you interact is huge is a massive understatement. Combine that with a revamped in-depth combat system and possibly the most realistic dialogue system to date, and you have yourself one superb RPG that did for RPG?s this generation what the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic did for the original Xbox.
Best Shooter Overall: Crysis; Also considered Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3; If you watch the trailer above, then this shouldn?t be a contest whatsoever.
Best Fighting Game Overall: Super Smash Brothers Brawl; The only other fighting games of note this past year were Virtua Fighter 5 and Def Jam: ICON. Neither presents nearly enough competition to warrant being chosen over SSBB, a game that has been anticipated ever since the Wii was announced, much less launched.
Most Innovative Game Overall: SKATE; This game revolutionized skating games the way the Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater 2 did when it came out.
Best Online Multiplayer: I cannot make a sound judgement here as I haven't played H3 online yet. I will edit this post once I've experienced Halo 3 online. I am also considering Shadowrun and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (I've seen the Beta in action).
Best Sports Title: SKATE; NBA 2K8 is a close second.
Overall Game of the Year:
1. Mass Effect
2. BioShock
3. Assassin's Creed
4. Super Mario Galaxy
I'm sure that I will have massive criticism from everyone, but this is merely my opinion. It is not WRONG to form an opinion. I do not expect everyone to agree with me.
Let the debating begin, mainly because it already has.