The Game of the Year Awards have been compiled in this list from the least amount of awards to the greatest. In case of a tie, the one with the more prestigious awards, ie. the more jor ones, will take precedent.
The list of the rules be found on the "About" page.
Honourable Mentions: Guitar Hero III- 1 (New Zealand Herald), The Witcher - 1(Gaming Heaven), Company of Heroes - 1 (Computer Shopper)
10. Crackdown
-1 Game of the Year Awards
| Gaurdian |
"Nope... No hidden awards here..." |
What was expected as a low-quality game used just to contain a Halo 3 mulitplayer beta ended up being anything but. Crackdown emerged as one of the best new IPs of 2007, offering up a robust open-world exploring experience and heavily-praised artistic graphics. Critics also praised its easy and fun cooperative mode just how downright fun it can be. However, many criticized its uneven presentation, weak story, and unfitting music. Still, the game accomplishes much and kicks off this list with a strong 10th place.
9. Crisis
-2 Game of the Year Awards
The Sunday Time
Gaming Heaven Reader's Choice |
"Don't ever try take my awards!" |
Crysis, the game many refer to as the greatest looking game of all time, debuts at 9th place. Featuring what is nothing short of absolutely jaw-dropping graphics, which was universally acclaimed by critics and gamers alike. Sadly, one needs a heavily upgraded computer to run Crysis smoothly. But critics were quick to turn on Crysis when it came to categories other than the visuals. Criticized as having average gameplay and lack of any innovation, Crysis was deemed by some as even being overrated. Nevertheless, in the end Crysis came to this powerful 9th position of the games of 2007.
8. The Orange Box
-4 Game of the Year Awards
GamesRadar
bit-Tech
GameDrift
GameBump |
"You're gonna love it here, Mr. Freeman. Trust me..." |
Many call The Orange Box the greatest gaming deal ever, and they're probably right. When it's featuring a collection of 5 amazing games, including Half-life 2, which took the first place in the 2004 Game of the Year Awards, and Team Fortress, the beloved online game that swept the internet, it's no surprise to see how critics like GamesRadar loved it. While Hal-Life 2 and it's next 2 episodes also bundled in the game, and Team Fortress are familiar faces, a brand new surprise was included, a game which you might see again on this list...
7. Mass Effect
-4 Game of the Year Awards
The New York Times
ExtremeGamer
Gaming Steve
The Elan Awards |
"I think it's time for a group hug, guys!" |
7th place goes to Bioware's epic, sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect. From the studio that produced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which took first place in the 2003 Game of the Year Awards, comes another groundbreaking game. Featuring unparalleled facial animation and detail, jaw-dropping graphics, an insanely deep conversation system, and its great and long story, Mass Effect was truly a contender for the top 3. However, its large game size and grand nature did not fare well on the Xbox 360. Suffering from large framerate drops, slow texture loading times, and the infamous elevators, Mass Effect was confined by many technical problems, and suffered in the 2007 Game of the Year Awards. Thankfully, Bioware ported it to the PC the next year, where it performed enormously better than the 360 version.
6. Halo 3
-4 Game of the Year Awards
TIME
ThunderBolt
iafrica.com Reader's Choice
VideoGamer |
"Ain't no body stealing my awards with this baby!" |
The final part of one of the most popular franchises of all time, Halo 3 promised to deliver an epic tale of struggle and sacrifice. Did it accomplish it? Well, in the eyes of many, it sure did. After the hated Halo 2 cliffhanger, Bungie delivers an intense finale for the beloved Master Chief and ends it with a satisfying ending. But this isn't what makes Halo great. No, for critics, the campaign is an average one compared to other FPS games. The story is considered to be mildly interesting, the atmosphere is criticized as inconsistent, the graphical quality drops sharply at certain points in the game, and the voice acting isn't special either. Is that what Halo is? No. What makes Halo is its multiplayer. Vastly improved from the popular Halo 2 multiplayer, critics universally acclaimed its intense and top-notch online component. In the end, Halo 3 earns this incredible 6th place.
5. Rock Band
-6 Game of the Year Awards
Wired
AskMen
Newsday
Ars Technica
GameTap
GamingTrend |
"These awards would not have been possible without all my fans!" |
Guitar Hero's reign in the music genre has been usurped by the new and insanely popular, Rock Band. Allowing the use of a whole musician's set, gamers were quick to get into the game and end up greatly enjoying its challenges, competitions, and just downright fun gameplay. As the music genre continues to grow more and more popular, Rock Band stands as a shining beacon for developers wanting to make addictive music games.
4. Portal
-13 Game of the Year Awards
The Village Voice
Gamasutra
The A.V Club
Actiontrip
Eurogamer
Houston Press
Joystik |
Shacknews
ABC Good Game
Gamers with Jobs (GWJ)
Gamernode
iafrica.com
Game Devleopers' Choice Awards |
 |
|
"This is so much harder than it looks..." |
You probably were wondering what that mysterious fifth game in the Orange Box was. Actually, chances are you already know. Valve's brand new surprise hit, Portal, was not just a fun little extra in the Orange Box, it was a gigantic leap for game design, revolutionizing puzzle games in ways only Valve could do. While not an actual full game, Portal was so unique, challenging, and even fun enough for critics to regard it as superior than most of the games on this list. But what is Portal? Portal is a bizarre puzzle game, involving your character taking part in a series of tests using a "Portal Gun". The Portal Gun allows you to create portals on walls and ceilings, to connect to other portals you can make. Using this, you must solve intricate and challenging puzzles. This new and unique puzzle concept won Portal GotY awards from Gamasutra, Eurogamer, and the Game Developer Choice Awards, making this another smash hit from Valve.
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