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Primotech Game of the Year Awards 2007: Day Four

By The Primotech Staff on Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 12:00 PM 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.

PC Game of the Year

Team Fortress 2

The most remarkable thing that can be said about Team Fortress 2 is that there is, as much as it pains me to whip out this particular cliché, something for absolutely every type of player. The Medic is an excellent support class that can rack up points extra-fast, even for those who have never played a first-person shooter in their life. The Heavy can function either as a mobile offensive tank or a brutal man-operated lead-spewing defense turret of death. And, on the other end of the usability spectrum, there are the Spy and Sniper classes which require a great deal of thought, a decent amount of first-person shooter experience, and iron-clad nerves.

And these are only four of the game’s nine incredibly varied and equally enjoyable classes. There is a huge amount of depth present for all of these different class types and, for the most part, a completely different style of play depending how an individual player wants to operate in any given gaming session.

Its this huge amount of choice and variety that makes Team Fortress 2 not only the best PC game of 2007, but a game we’ll be playing well into next year.

Xbox 360 Game of the Year

BioShock

BioShock took home more awards this year than can fit in a bathysphere. Ken Levine and the other developers over at 2K Boston/2K Australia must be ecstatic over the game’s success— especially considering that the mainstream acceptance of BioShock was never considered a sure thing. Lo and behold, it conquered the sales charts, as well the reviewing tables and the hearts of many a gamer.

But why? Because BioShock is a seamless game. Its combination of incredible graphics, superb gameplay, and an unsettling story has been well-documented, but one area of the game that usually doesn’t get enough love is level design. As mentioned in our review, no two rooms in Rapture are identical, giving the player an ever-changing environment to fight through and investigate. This staggering feat allows for a sense of originality and novelty to permeate throughout the game, keeping things fresh and intuitive.

PlayStation 3 Game of the Year

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

The PlayStation 3 is still struggling to find a place in a market dominated by the Xbox 360 and the Wii. The lack of solid system exclusives has been a problem for Sony’s sales until late in 2007.

Leading this relatively small pack is Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Naughty Dog’s first venture onto the system and an outstanding achievement at that. The game does a great job at not only flexing the PS3’s muscle with amazing graphics and effects, but also combines an invigorating and original story with well-executed gameplay to give us a title that really feels complete all the way around. We can only hope for more games like this that take advantage of the power of the PS3 hardware without forgetting about gameplay and story.

Wii Game of the Year

TIE! Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Mario Galaxy



(Editor’s Note- As mentioned above, all Primotech editors voted on the winners of our Game of the Year awards. Amazingly, we had only one tie, here in the case of Best Wii Game. Because they are both smash successes, we’re giving the award to Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3.)

Since a year of its release on the market, Nintendo’s Wii has seen a number of amazing third-party games using the unique controls of the system. But Nintendo’s old standbys may still be the best games on the market for the system.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is an excellent conclusion to Retro Studio’s revisioning of the series, subtly including the remote controls to not only improve the game from its Gamecube counterparts, but also possibly exceed the ease of other first-person shooter controls.

On the other hand, Super Mario Galaxy does only a minimal amount of fussing with the Wiimote and focuses on the fun that made other Mario games what they are, while providing an amazing gravity-inspired playground in which to romp.

Both games are so good and the pinnacle of Nintendo’s gaming philosophy that we award them both Wii Game of the Year.

Coming Soon

Make sure to come back for our final day of awards tomorrow, when we announce the Primotech 2007 Game of the Year.

Bet you can’t guess what it is!

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Comments

4 Responses to “Primotech Game of the Year Awards 2007: Day Four”

  1. Michael J. Catania on December 21st, 2007 4:10 am

    Halo 3 should have taken Best Hero. Or 360 Game. No love for the Chief ;(

  2. Bharath Reddy on December 21st, 2007 4:42 am

    “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune”

    The snap shot is really amazing… i am really crazy about a game of this kind…!!!

  3. Trent Polack on December 21st, 2007 12:58 pm

    I’m claiming Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions or Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness for PSP Game of the Year.

  4. Dawn Burnell on December 23rd, 2007 5:00 pm

    I really think Jean D’Arc was best PSP game and that Phatom Hourglass was best DS game and God of War II should have gotten a mention for best PS2 game. But we weren’t allowed to vote for those.

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