By Stevie Smith Jan 2, 2008, 9:23 GMT
With the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 joining alongside the Xbox 360 at the tail end of 2006, the videogame industry faced 2007 with the prospect of it carving out a landmark 12 months in gaming’s ongoing evolution – and it has not disappointed.
2K Games' The Darkness seen as one of the year's best as 2007 is lauded as an historic year for videogames. Credit: 2K Games.
Obvious hardware innovations aside, 2007 has seen the arrival of some of the most impressive software creations to ever grace the videogame arena, with the likes of BioShock, Super Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect all offering something special for discerning players on all of the latest console platforms.
Furthermore, the critical popularity of flagship titles, mixed with continued fan attraction to established franchises and the introduction of valuable new IPs (intellectual properties), has also led to considerable commercial success. Software sales are on the rise to the tune of around $10.5 billion (through October) in the United States, while the UK gaming market has taken a total of around £1.52 billion during 2007.
With Bungie’s sci-fi shooter Halo 3 whipping up a record-breaking opening day’s sales total of approximately $166 million USD, it has subsequently helped the videogame industry to cement its placement as a hugely influential component of modern mainstream media entertainment.
But what of that coveted ‘Game of the Year’ award and those otherwise influential software titles just missing out on the year’s top spot? Well, according to a report on the BBC, a selection of "expert judges" from across the industry have picked out their main selections in isolating the year’s most deserving releases – some of which may raise an eyebrow or two.
According to David Amor, Creative Director at Relentless Games, the gorgeous Pixar-styled platform action in Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction sees the PlayStation 3 exclusive emerge as his pick for 2007’s best game, while Super Mario Galaxy and Command and Conquer follow close behind.
Frontier Games founder David Braben gives the nod to 2K Games’ eerie first-person shooter The Darkness on the grounds that it shrugged off its clichés and managed to deliver a surprising and interesting experience. For Braben, BioShock and Halo 3 round out his top picks.
Games Consultant Margaret Robertson offers that Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy is 2007’s best game thanks to its fun-filled gameplay ideas, bold innovation, and technical prowess. Final Fantasy XII and Planet Puzzle League arrive as Robertson’s two other major picks of the year.
Finally, Tony Mott, the current editor of Edge Magazine, echoes Robertson’s choice by labelling Super Mario Galaxy as the best game of 2007, although his other recommendations are Half-Life 2: The Orange Box and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.
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