bestof2007.jpgThis is coming a few days later than most, but I figured it was about time to post my picks for the best games of 2007. Though many sites like to list their Top 10, I’ve decided to only list my Top 5 Games of 2007, mostly because I’m lazy. Curious to know what made my list? Hit the link to find out…

#1 - Bioshock
Few games have ever come close to drawing me into the story as well as Bioshock did. The only other game I can think of off hand that deserves this caliber of praise is Half-Life 2. Bioshock sucked me in so much, that after four or five days in a row of playing, I had to take a break. I couldn’t sleep at night because I was constantly thinking about what was happening in the game. The scenery and characters brought the game to life like no other, and the storytelling will be a benchmark for years to come.

#2 - Halo 3
Many would probably disagree with Halo 3 being the #2 game of the year. I’ve read such complaints as: the campaign was too short/too easy, the story wasn’t that great, the game was missing too many Ps, etc. While some of these complaints do have merit, the overall package you get with Halo 3 is rivaled only by The Orange Box. For $60, you get a very solid single player game and one of the best multiplayer games around. When you throw saved films, Forge and the most meticulous stat-tracking known to man (bungie.net) into the mix, you end up with one of the best packages of gaming content around. The extra stuff is so good that I’m now disappointed when any multiplayer game doesn’t have a Party system, saved films or stat-tracking.

#3 - Portal
If I considered The Orange Box a “game,” it would have probably been #1 on my list. Unfortunately for Valve, I think it’s only fair that each game within The Orange Box be considered a game in and of itself. That being said, Portal is definitely one of the best games of the year. The concept truly is something that’s never been done before. The writing is probably the best we’ve seen all year and most of that writing was delivered to us by one of the most memorable characters in gaming history. The pacing in the game was excellent, in that throughout the game it taught you to change the way you think so that you could advance through some of the more difficult puzzles.

#4 - Crackdown
Crackdown is a game that will forever be known as the “Free game that came with the Halo 3 beta.” I’m not really sure if the Halo 3 beta helped or hurt it’s success. Either way, Crackdown gave us a world that was so much fun to play around in, it didn’t matter if you were playing the story line or just running around the city looking for some shenanigans to get into. Few in game experiences were as exciting as jumping from rooftop to rooftop as you roamed around your virtual playground. Crackdown also has some of the best Achievements to date. Unlike some games - I’m looking at you Guitar Hero 3 - the developers want you to have fun while trying to get the Achievements. Bottom line, Crackdown was a blast to play over and over again.

#5 - Assassin’s Creed
Although I won’t say that Assassin’s Creed did everything right, the rights definitely outweighed the wrongs. Ubisoft Montreal put a lot of work into building the framework of this game. Unfortunately, some of the variety in the gameplay needed to get cut in order to reach the high ambitions they had for this game. Looking past some of the repetitiveness in the missions, it still had a lot to offer. It told a very compelling story that, hopefully, will continue to be told in sequels. The graphics were amazing and the animation is unmatched. The missions were both challenging and fulfilling. Finally assassinating a target that you had just spent an hour or two searching out was satisfying and rewarding. Finally, Assassin’s Creed is the only game to give us an in-game action that is more fun than rooftop-jumping in Crackdown: Free Running. Free Running in Assassin’s Creed was like a mini-game that you played whenever going from point A to point B. Picking your line to move through and then executing it was much more fun than you would think if you were simply watching someone play the game.

Honorable Mention: Call of Duty 4