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Primotech Game of the Year Awards 2007: Day One

By The Primotech Staff on Monday, December 17, 2007 at 8:00 AM EST  

Welcome to the 2007 Primotech Game of the Year Awards!

It’s been a monumental year for gaming. Now that developers have had time to familiarize themselves with all three new consoles, some incredibly well-crafted games are emerging. Additionally, titles like World in Conflict, Crysis, and The Orange Box continue to prove that the PC is an incredibly relevant gaming platform.

But it doesn’t matter if you only own a Wii, are a Sony fanboy, or a PC-exclusive kind of gamer: there are a plethora of exemplary options for every kind of player this holiday.

In 2007, gamers everywhere were drawn into virtual worlds unlike any they’ve experienced before. They’ve defeated every kind of evil imaginable. They’ve saved planets, entire populations, and sometimes only themselves. But, above all else, they’ve enjoyed some of the greatest games the industry has ever offered.

And we’re here to recognize the achievements of those very titles.

How We Decided

No single individual decided what games won each of our thirty coveted awards. All eight of the Primotech editors were allowed three choices for each category: a first pick was awarded 3 points, the second was awarded 2 points, and the final choice was awarded 1 point. Then, each game got a total tally for each award and the one with the most points won. This ensured a democratic and balanced selection of games from a group of game reviewers with differing preferences.

Game of the Year Contest

Finally, we’re holding an associated Game of the Year giveaway contest. If you can name every one of the thirty games pictured in the header image above, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a $100 Gamestop giftcard. Simply email your answers along with your name and mailing address to “primotech AT primotechnology DOT com.”

All the games pictured were released in 2007. There are no duplicates.

Submissions will stop being accepted after 11:30 PM EST on Sunday, December 23. This contest is open to North Americans only, aged 18 or older.

Best Action Title

BioShock

So how exactly do you deal with a violent giant made out of pressurized flesh and wearing tempered steel? Explosive arrows? A hail of bullets? Or do you try and freeze him with your genetic superpowers? BioShock’s sandbox approach to allowing the player any number of choices in playing with the fate of their foes is one of the most unique experiences of the year, allowing the player to experiment with his own favorite ways of dealing with the denizens of the deep.

It’s focus on single player might at first seem to be a liability given the multiplayer possibilities. But BioShock delivers a perfectly crafted solo experience, courtesy of a creative array of powers, do-it-yourself ammo opportunities, and an underwater city built as a playground for exploring. The fantastic narrative tells tales of paradise lost and turn the game into an experience other titles can only hope to approach.

Best Shooter

The Orange Box

It would be a lie to say The Orange Box came out of nowhere; it was a highly anticipated little collection of games. But it’s probably fair to say no one was quite expecting this. From the first time you hear the voice of GLaDOS to the final moments of Episode 2, The Orange Box pushes the ‘wow’ factor every second of play time.

Episode 2 brings everything you would expect and more to the Half-Life series, and does so in a very stylistic fashion. Blending superb storytelling with heart-pounding action, Episode 2 takes the franchise to the next level. Portal, with it’s innovative features and hilarious narrative, show players where the future of puzzle games lie.

And what better way to blow off some steam at the end of a long hard day than to fire up Team Fortress 2? TF2 is where the pack really shines through, bring competitive multiplayer shooters to an entirely new level. The degree of polish put into it, the attention to team balance and the off-the-wall characters make the game feel even deeper and more engaging than most single player experiences.

Oh, and let’s not forget Peggle, which we can’t deny is the real reason we gave Best Shooter to The Orange Box.

Best Adventure Game

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Naughty Dog’s switch from the action-platforming Jak and Daxter series to the action-adventure of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is almost seamless, as the game boasts the same straight-forward combat and similar gameplay aspects. Furthermore, it succeeds at creating a challenging experience combined with an epic modern adventure story that rivals those shown on the big screen.

The characters are endearing and the quest to find El Dorado takes several twists and turns along the way, with tight integration between story development and gameplay. It may not have the same deep-thinking puzzles that more traditional adventure games have, but there’s never a hint of a dull moment during play. Finish off the formula with impressive graphics and other detailed environmental aspects, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sets the standard for action-heavy adventures yet to come.

Best Sports or Racing Game

skate.

Here at the Primotech offices, we’re pretty certain that if God plays any skateboarding games, he plays skate. skate has effectively revolutionized the way skateboarding games will be made and viewed in the future. The ‘flick-it’ stick controls together with the expansive level design and open+ended gameplay make for a flawless combination. The greater attention to realism portrayed within skate feels absolutely perfect, but also means that won’t be flying 80 feet in the air and linking together physically impossible tricks.

Although, when you nail that line you’ve been attempting for the past 20 minutes, it makes it all worth it.

Best Strategy Game

World in Conflict

Massive Entertainment posed Cold War-era “what-ifs” and rewrote history for its strategy dynamo, World in Conflict. The title centers around the question of what would have happened if the Berlin Wall had never fallen and a desperate Soviet Union chose to wage war instead of facing certain collapse.

The result is one of the most exciting real-time strategy games to arrive on the scene this year, with fast-paced tactical gameplay and a story filled with colorful characters and surprising twists. Throw in plenty of mutually assured destruction online and paint it all with the kind of visuals that keep the nuclear fires burning into the night and you’ve got the recipe for a Strategy Game of the Year winner.

Everybody might want to rule the world, but with World in Conflict, you have the chance to see what it looks like the day after.

Best RPG

Mass Effect

BioWare’s Mass Effect is an ambitious effort to create a galaxy-spanning story with epically portrayed consequences for the player’s actions. The game may have a few technical problems, but its hard to overlook how well the conversation system works, coupled with outstanding voice work throughout and facial rendering that make it feel more like a big-screen movie, all backed by an amazing soundtrack and immersive environments.

From trivial matters such as scouting for new minerals, to meaningful political alliances that exist fragilely between humans and alien races, and even to romantic involvement with various characters in the game, Mass Effect does an outstanding job of creating a captivating setting that begs for deep player interaction. Wanting to see how different decisions can affect the outcome of the game lends itself to high replayability.

Best Expansion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

You’ve managed to rise to the head of your favorite guilds, saved the world from destruction, purchased every home, exhausted your favorite mods, and have conquered all that the province of Cyrodiil has to offer. What’s left to do?

How about becoming a god?

Bethesda’s last expansion pack does more than throw open the door to a land suffering from a split personality. It adds nearly twenty to thirty hours of new quests, complete with plenty of gear to acquire and the opportunity to find out just how insane a Mad God can really be. While continuing Oblivion’s epic storyline, it’s a complete game in and of itself, giving Elder Scrolls’ adventurers even more to look forward to.

Best Multiplayer Experience

The Orange Box’s Team Fortress 2

In a year filled with some of the best shooters gamers have ever experienced across virtually every platform, Team Fortress 2 distinguishes itself from the rest of the twitchy, frothy, and even sometimes excellently-developed herd. Even if its brilliant art direction, sadistic sense of humor, and generally excellent core engine features were stripped from gamers’ minds, TF2 would still be a monumental success with multiplayer gamers on all three platforms. Valve have infused Team Fortress 2 with enough depth, variety, intricacies, and, most importantly, genuinely fun gameplay to garner our Multiplayer Game of the Year award.

One of my favorite Team Fortress 2 memories- or, in this case, favorite memories in my gaming “career” — came about a week after the game was officially released. I had been playing the game compulsively every night after work since the day the beta was released into my sweating, shaking hands and was still in the heat of my love for the game at the time. I got an IM over Steam from a TF2 buddy that said that Valve was looking to challenge some of the Shacknews players for an impromptu match and that my presence was desired.

I jumped over to Valve’s server instantly and waited for a few minutes for the teams to fill up — mine with ten other Shackers and theirs with about twelve members of Valve. We ended up playing for roughly two hours across three maps and the rounds that we played were some of the closest, most intense I’ve ever taken a part of. Valve employed strategies that we, as a team, had never really seen before and the Shackers, to the best of our meager abilities, tried to replicate them. Failing miserably, we turned back to the strategies that we thought were clever and would give us at least a semblance of a chance against the team responsible for the development of the game. In the end we, the Shackers, won about three or four of the fifteen-or-so matches. Nonetheless, I went to bed immensely satisfied with a full night of fragging.

One of the things that struck me in those matches was that Team Fortress 2, as a game, had far more “to it” than I, as a prolific TF2 gamer for those first two months after its release, would have ever believed. The way that Valve has made TF2 accessible to a very wide audience of gamers in no way, shape, or form detracts from the long-term enjoyment or complexity that the game has to offer multiplayer gamers.

Coming Soon

We have awards planned for each day this week, so be sure to keep checking back until Friday for the latest winners!

Join us again tomorrow, when we unveil which titles offered the year’s best visuals and audio. Plus, we name the most insidious videogame enemy in 2007. You won’t want to miss it!

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Comments

8 Responses to “Primotech Game of the Year Awards 2007: Day One”

  1. Digital Jedi » Blog Archive » TF2 Wins Primotech Game Honors on December 17th, 2007 1:36 pm

    […] Technology has posted their Game Of The Year Awards and once again, Orange Box and TF2 are receiving the recognition they […]

  2. Angel Kavazov on December 17th, 2007 2:13 pm

    TES4 SI best expansion. That is very true.

  3. Late breaking news on December 17th, 2007 3:10 pm

    […] Primotech <b>Game</b> of the Year Awards 2007: Day One […]

  4. Oliver on December 19th, 2007 6:44 pm

    Great list here… It’s great to see the Orange Box up there with the best… it makes a great change from the endless talk about halo 3 being shooter of the decade… what a load of bull…

  5. Valve Outlines Significant Team Fortress 2 Update Plans : Primotech on January 24th, 2008 2:16 am

    […] changes are on the way for what some (re: us) are calling the best multiplayer experience of […]

  6. World in Conflict Marches onto Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 This Fall : Primotech on February 15th, 2008 11:11 pm

    […] and Massive Entertainment have announced that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 release of the award-winning strategy title World in Conflict is set for autumn […]

  7. Improving The Games of 2007 : Primotech on March 4th, 2008 6:52 pm

    […] To the developers who have created these games: you’ll have to forgive our arrogance. It should be noted however, that we did not arrive at these hiccups hastily or even intentionally. Only after countless hours of examining the gameplay did we encounter these issues, which assuredly vex other gamers as well. After all, the following games are among our favorites of ‘07—check out our Game of the Year Awards […]

  8. BioWare: Mass Effect 2 Xbox 360 Time-Exclusive : Primotech on March 19th, 2008 10:50 pm

    […] first Mass Effect won our Best RPG of 2007 award. It’s being released on the PC in early […]

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