The Top 10s of 2007: Video Games

Continuing on with my Top 10 series I am moving on to the other entertainment media that takes up a lot of my time: Video games. It was actually tough to make a top 10 list of video games. Mostly because of limited funds and time, I don't play nearly as many games as I would like to. The rules for consideration are similar as last time: 1) Release date in this current year (sorry Gears of War and Rainbow 6: Vegas), and 2) I have to have played the full game, not a demo (sorry BioShock and Assassin's Creed).

The Top 10 Video Games of 20007

10. Carcassone - This is a board game available over Xbox Live. It clocks in at number 10 because by my count, I only played 10 new games released in 2007. Really not my cup of tea.

9. Stranglehold - A video game sequel to the movie Hard Boiled (dir: John woo, star: Chun Yow Fat). Entertaining at first, but got repetitive. Jumping around, climbing banisters, flying through the air, and sliding on roll carts all while shooting away at bad guys was fun, but only for so long.

8. Crackdown - A sandbox style game where you are a cop killing game members. The true highlight of this game was jumping around and climbing all the buildings. Also, rocket battles with my brother were fun.

7. Medal of Honor: Airborne - A WWII game that starts each level (and respawn) by parachuting into the conflict. Fairly open level design and superb weapon feel made this a really fun game. If only the online play came with a lobby, this would easily have been a top 5 game.

6. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 - A sequel that picks up directly where the original GRAW left off. Excellent levels, great gunfights, and excellent multi-player. This is just a solid game.

5. Halo 3 - The most (over-) hyped game of the year. While fun, it really never got me that excited. I never really played the original Halos, so the story wasn't really that great. The gameplay wasn't anything special. The game shines in multi-player, but it's not even close to the best in that category. Despite the original re-inventing the genre (of FPS), this one just felt like a standard FPS.

4. God of War 2 - A PlayStation 2 game (my final one) really was an enjoyable experience. Amazing graphics for a non-next-gen system, and superb gameplay. Easily as good as the original God of War. If only the ending wasn't a direct sequel set-up.

3. Madden 08 - The most recent version of Madden football is the best I've played. The tweaks to the game were needed and brilliantly executed. Gang-tackling and increase in fumbles make for more realistic football. I've played a lot of games, and plan to play a lot more.

2. Mass Effect - A action role-playing game that was probably the most amazing single player experience for any game. The main quest story is riveting, and the final level (actually about 3 hours worth) is like a great book. You just want to keep playing to find out what happens next.

And the Best Video Game of 2007 is....

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat - A first-person shooter game that takes place in the Middle East and Russia. The single player campaign is non-stop awesome. Even better is the online play. The upgrade, level system just keeps you wanting to play. The online level design is great, the variations are fun, and just playing around with different weapons keeps me coming back for more. Halo can't even hold COD4's extra clips when it comes to online play.

I'm looking forward to getting and playing Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero 3, and probably BioShock down the road. I don't have them yet, so they can't be included. I don't doubt that many people will have a significantly different view, but they probably have more time and a rental service that allows them to play more games than little ole me.

Stay tuned for more Top 10s of 2007.