Best 30 games of the year 2007 - Next Gen

They're calling it the best year ever. If so, which games really made it one to remember? Next-Gen picks out and ranks the best 30 games of 2007.

2007 was a great year for videogames. This year saw some of the best games hit store shelves and online storefronts, and in the US, we’re on track for a record sales year.

What we have on the following pages are the 30 games this year that we consider best-of-the-best. With so many strong titles available, it was at times almost physically painful to cut certain games from the list. We took a variety of factors into consideration for this particular list, such as a game’s innovation, execution of technical components, commercial and cultural impact, and above all, how fun and/or memorable a game is. Sometimes where genres overlapped, the lesser representations had to be axed, unless of course those "lesser" games also achieved something remarkable this year.

30 Contra 4—DS Konami, WayForward

29 Pokemon Diamond/Pearl—DS Nintendo, Game Freak

28 Peggle—PC PopCap

27 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock—multi Activision, Neversoft

26 MotorStorm—PS3 SCEA, Evolution Studios

25 Skate—Xbox 360, PS3 EA, EA Black Box

24 MLB Power Pros—Wii, PS2 2K Sports, Konami

23 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure—Wii

22 Warhawk—PS3 SCEA, Incognito

21 Virtua Fighter 5—PS3, Xbox 360 Sega, AM2

20 Super Stardust HD—PS3 (PSN) SCEA, Housemarque

19 Supreme Commander—PC THQ, Gas Powered Games

18 Forza Motorsport 2 Microsoft

17 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords—multi D3, Infinite Interactive

16 Mass Effect—Xbox 360 Microsoft, BioWare

15 Assassin’s Creed—PS3, Xbox 360 Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal

14 Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction—PS3 SCEA, Insomniac Games

13 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune—PS3 SCEA, Naughty Dog

12 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption—Wii Nintendo, Retro Studios

11 Crysis—PC EA, Crytek

TOP TEN

10 Pac-Man Championship Edition—XBLA Namco Bandai

09 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade—PC Vivendi Games, Blizzard

08 God of War II—PS2 SCEA

07 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass—DS Nintendo

06 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare—PC, Xbox 360, PS3 Activision, Infinity Ward

05 Halo 3—Xbox 360 Microsoft, Bungie

04 The Orange Box—PC, Xbox 360, PS3 EA, Valve

03 BioShock—PC, Xbox 360 2K Games, 2K Boston/2K Australia

02 Rock Band—Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 MTV Games, EA, Harmonix

01 Super Mario Galaxy—Wii Nintendo

Source: Next Generation

BioShock video game Triumphs at TV Video Game Awards

BioShock, the moody, elegant adventure from Take-Two, continued its romp through the year-end video game awards season on Monday as it took the top prize in the awards presented by “X-Play,” the G4 television channel’s video game program.

BioShock emerged in August with relatively little advance publicity to captivate players with its tense yet melancholy mood, rich voice acting and exciting action. The title, which is available for PCs and the Xbox 360 console, won the top prize at the Spike network’s annual awards earlier this month.

The “X-Play Best of 2007” awards broadcast was scheduled to have its premiere on Monday with the program’s regular hosts, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. The network plans to unveil a new format for “X-Play” next month, adding more news and demonstrations to its range of reviews.

In addition to the top prize, BioShock also won the award for best art direction, writing and original soundtrack. The other nominees for best game were Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Mass Effect and Super Mario Galaxy.

Each of those games was released after BioShock, perhaps overwhelming gamers. The industry is usually focused on the holiday season, but by coming out in the summer, BioShock appeared to generate momentum among fans before the autumn deluge.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the G4 awards, which are chosen by staff members of “X-Play,” was that the much-ballyhooed Halo 3 was shut out after being nominated in six categories. Thousands camped outside of stores in September to buy that game when it was first released, and it has sold millions of copies as the flagship title for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Yet despite its enhanced graphics, Halo 3 has come to generate a “more of the same” feeling for many players. While Halo focuses on high-octane futuristic combat, BioShock is a more intimate, psychologically engaging experience built around a provocative, intellectually mature story.

In addition to BioShock, two other titles won multiple awards. Activision’s Call of Duty 4 won for best shooter and sound design. The puzzle game Portal (from Valve) won for most original and for best new character.

Source: New York Times

ONLINE TEAM PLAY RELEASED FOR NBA LIVE 08

Online Team Play Enables 5 Friends To Play On One Team

Electronic Arts has released a free downloadable feature called Online Team Play for NBA LIVE 08 that will enable 10 people on 10 different consoles anywhere in the world to connect online to play a single match. The new feature is automatically available for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system when connected online. It will be available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system later this month.

In NBA LIVE 08, all 10 players on the floor can now be controlled by individual users on 10 different consoles, removing the use of artificial intelligence altogether. Player movement, decision making and game outcome can now be completely dependant on how you play as an online team, bringing you closer to a real life game of basketball than ever before. This new game mode enables any number of players from one to five on different consoles to connect and play online against another team of up to five players on five different consoles. The CPU will take control of any players not controlled by users.

NBA LIVE 08 is available at retailers everywhere. The game’s official website is www.easports.com/nbalive08.com.

EA - Tiberium video game tactical first-person shooter set in the Command & Conquer universe due in 2008

EA ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF TIBERIUM

Tactical first-person shooter set in the Command & Conquer universe due for autumn 2008 release

Electronic Arts today revealed it is developing Tiberium, a new game that brings a rich, original fiction to life through intense tactical action and visceral first-person shooting. Set in a stunning sci-fi world with spectacular visual effects and dramatic environments, Tiberium takes players on an adventure through a devastated Earth and places them in the heart of an epic battle for control of a powerful energy source.

Tiberium is a mysterious extraterrestrial crystal that shatters the energy output of traditional fossil fuels. It has the power to save our civilization; it also has the power to destroy it. For eleven years, an alien tower has stood dormant, looming like an unholy mountain over a wasteland once known as the Mediterranean Sea. The tower was thought to be a relic of the Third Tiberium War; a devastating war fought for control over Tiberium crystal. It is not a relic. It is not dormant. Deep within the tower, plans are in motion for an alien invasion. This is where the Tiberium adventure begins.

Players step into the shoes of Forward Battle Commander Ricardo Vega and will assemble an assortment of elite squads to combat the global crisis. Armed with an arsenal of weapons including a transforming personal weapon system, multi-launch homing missiles, capital ship bombardments and tactical ion cannon strikes, Vega will lead the fight from the front lines.

Featuring a unique blend of first-person shooting and tactical squad combat, players will control multiple infantry, armour, and air squads as the fight escalates. In Tiberium, Vega is the most powerful presence on the battlefield, and the squads are his most decisive weapon. Players can take multi-squad control combat into single-player or bring the action into online multiplayer battles.

Chris Plummer, executive producer at EA Los Angeles, said: “After two years of pre-production, it is exciting to finally reveal this game and its rich fiction to the world. We’ve put a lot of effort into evolving the tactical shooter experience by taking core gameplay compulsions like commanding, choice and dominating your enemies and delivering them in first-person. Some of the weapons and mechanics are truly innovative for a first-person game. We’re very proud to be part of a project that has the potential to really make a mark on the canon of sci-fi fantasy fiction.”

Mike Verdu, VP and General Manager at EA Los Angeles added, “EALA has a long history of developing groundbreaking real-time strategy games with the Command & Conquer series. That series also originally introduced the Tiberium universe to gamers worldwide. Now, we are growing Tiberium from a simple backdrop to a fully realized universe with its own unique, hybrid squad-based shooter gameplay. This is the birth of a new franchise - we couldn’t be more excited.”

Developed at EA Los Angeles, Tiberium will be available worldwide in autumn 2008 for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and PC. The game has not yet been rated by PEGI.

Starship Troopers - Roughnecks wins award

Ojom has today announced their win at the 2007 German Developer Awards for the highly successful game adaptation of the animated series, Starship Troopers - Roughnecks. The supercharged game won the award for Best Mobile Action Game in the People’s Choice category.

The German Developer Award winners were announced on 12th December 2007 in Essen, Germany, giving recognition to games developed in Germany in 2007. Attendees at the event included a jury of industry leading journalists, game consultants and leading game websites and of course the gamers themselves.

Thomas Brockhage, General Manager of Ojom GmbH, said: “Starship Troopers has been an incredibly popular game with our customers and Elocom did a great job developing the game. We are delighted to have been nominated and to receive such a prestigious award.”

Published earlier in the year, Starship Troopers- Roughnecks takes you on an adventure into an unknown alien world fighting against an army of giant and extremely hostile bugs. Thrown into battle your mission objective is clear - blast the alien arachnids before they erase all of mankind.

Ojom’s Elocom were also nominated for Best Mobile Game for the hit game Cubes and Best Casual Game in the People’s Choice category. Cubes has a novel block style format, with sets of 3D coloured cubes dropped into the sea to form a set of colours. This simple and addictive game appealed to a cross section of gamers, illustrated by its chart topping success.

Starship Troopers and Cubes are available on both Java and BREW-enabled handsets through major mobile operators and leading consumer content portals worldwide.
www.ojom.com.

AGON: The Lost Sword Of Toledo video game trailer

Kalypso Media Group is publishing the new trailer of the adventure game “AGON: The Lost Sword of Toledo”.

After the exciting and eventful journey from London via Lapland and to the far-reaching tropical jungle of Madagascar, Professor Samuel Hunt arrives in the picturesque Spanish city of Toledo, where time seems to pass by more slowly.

This two-minute trailer shows story clippings from its predecessor “The Mysterious Codex” along with new scenes of “The Lost Sword of Toledo”. Not only parts of the rendered intro movie are shown, but also actual in-game scenes from the beginning of the game.

The trailer with a size of 23 MB in .wmv format is available for download and approved for publishing with immediate effect:
http://www.kalypsomedia.com/downloads/trailers/toledo-trailer-en.zip

Please feel free to place the trailer on your download mirrors.

“AGON: The Lost Sword Of Toledo“ will be published by Kalypso Media Ltd in February/March 2008.

Kalypso sign world-wide rights to Jack Keane with 10tacle

Jack Keane is an amusing, action-packed Point ‘n’ Click Adventure with loads of allusions to well-known computer games and classic movies. Players assume the role of daring adventurer Jack and accompany him in his travels during the early colonial era. Once again short on cash, no sooner does Jack accept a relatively innocent assignment than he's up against a truly mad scientist and his army of trained apes. The game takes Jack to settings such as London, Capetown and the jungles of India - and he wouldn't be Jack if he didn't run into shifty characters wherever he goes... Jack Keane is due for release in March 2008

Jonathan Hales, Managing Director for the UK branch of Kalypso Media UK Ltd commented: “This is a great opportunity for us. To have the rights to publish such a popular title in so many territories will really give us the ability to spread our wings and establish strong links with our current and potential overseas partners.”

Frank Holz, Director Marketing & Sales, 10TACLE STUDIOS AG: “We are glad that we can continue our success story with Jack Keane together with Kalypso Media. The funny Adventure has already received numerous awards in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and we are looking forward to convince the players, press and distributors in UK as well with the charm and wit of our unique hero.”

For further information, please go to: www.jackkeane.com

Emerging Entertainment sign four new partners

Emerging Entertainment, a leading Singapore based developer, announced today it has signed agreements with four innovative and upcoming studios in Asia to strengthen its production pipeline. The partnerships will utilize the creative strength of each group's workforce to participate in the production of EE's flagship title Troll & Armor. Troll & Armor is a next-generation fantasy action-adventure game for PC and console.

"These partnerships will give us a competitive edge in productivity, creativity and cost structure. I believe one of the challenges to triple-A titles in the future will be getting costs under control while still delivering the quality that people expect from a next-gen title," said Cornel Hillmann, Managing Director of Emerging Entertainment. "We selected partners after visiting numerous studios in Asia and selected only the very best. We see a new and incredibly powerful creative pool in China and the Philippines emerging that will be sure to have a powerful impact on the worldwide game industry."

Emerging Entertainment's new partners in Asia include Blackbow Studio in Beijing, China (http://www.blackbowstudio.com/), MythicFlame Studio in Chengdu, China (http://www.mythicflame.com/), Roc Chen Studio in Chengdu, China (http://www.rocstudio.cn/) and Ladyluck Digital Media in the Philippines (http://www.ladyluckdigital.com/).

"We are extremely happy to be working on a next-generation title like this one from Emerging Entertainment. This gives us the chance to show once again our abilities and our competitive edge in the global market", said Blake Seow, Marketing Director for Blackbow Studio. "We believe this partnership is a great opportunity which benefits both parties by bringing different cultures together on an international production. In Emerging Entertainment we have found a partner that sees the true benefits to using our stable of dedicated and artistic employees."

Emerging Entertainment's new line-up of outsourcing partners is centered on high quality art asset pipelines. This gives them the ability to focus their current team of experts on technology and gameplay design for their latest title, Troll & Armor. Emerging's Managing Director, Cornel Hillman, went on a recent trip organized by Singapore's Media Development Agency (MDA) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Durring his trip he met several of these new key partners while touring Bejing, Shengdo and Shanghai.

For More information on Emerging Entertainment please contact them at the number above or go to their website at www.emerging-entertainment.com.

Price of Eudemon Code Will Be Cut

TQ digital would like to announce that due to an increase in players the price of Eudemon Codes have been cut to accommodate and reward our loyal fans. Thank you all for helping Eudemons Online grow to this point and we hope that you share this news with your friends and families.

The new cost will be: Eudemon Code 7.99 dollars
Eudemon Code B 15.99 dollars

You will not be able to purchase and credit Eudemon Code until 0:01 a.m., 18th December.

http://www.eudemonsonline.com/

Extension of Discount to UK's Largest LAN Party i33

20% Off i33 ticket prices until 6th Jan 2008

London, 10th December 2007: Multiplay - organisers of the largest UK gaming LAN events – have announced that tickets for their i33 LAN party will remain at 20% off for a further month. With over 80 hours of non-stop gaming, social activities spread across multiple venues and with most of the attendees camping on site, the i-Series events are often described as the "Glastonbury of Gaming". It all takes place over 14th-17th March at Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire, UK.

After the success of their i32 event in November Multiplay are announcing the extension of their discount ticket period in celebration of one of the most successful i-Series events to date.

The total prize money given away to the 1,000 eager gamers at i32 totalled over £35,000 and saw some of the first major tournaments for games such as Call of Duty 4, Team Fortress 2, Crysis and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. I32 saw the largest prize fund ever given away at any i-Series to date.

“i32 was such a huge success that we’re having to pull out all of the stops for i33” said Craig Fletcher, Managing Director of Multiplay. “i33 will continue the trend of each event adding something new to the series and our 2008 LAN parties will be our biggest yet. We’ve decided to extend the period of our discounted ticket sales until January 2008 to celebrate a year of record-breaking LAN gaming events.”

i33 sees the Packard Bell iPower games return for their 2008 tournament. The winners of the UK finals at i33 will be taken to the grand final in Europe next summer to compete for big prizes against the continent’s best and brightest gamers.

To find out more about the i33 discount and the iPower games take a look at the i33 pre-launch landing page at http://www.multiplay.co.uk/i33