The Top Games of 2007

At no time in recent history have so many great games on so many platforms graced players everywhere. No matter if you are a precautious puzzle player or a stupendous shooter, a diehard Xbox 360 fan or an old-school PS2er, there were great games released just for you.

The voting reflected this, with close to 100,000 ballots cast as legions of fans really strived to put their favorite games over the top. So here they are, the top games of 2007 as chosen by you. Congratulations to all the winners!

Best Adventure Game Assassin's Creed One of the most intriguing games of 2007 also was one of the highest vote getters, clenching the Adventure Game of the Year title. Assassin's Creed is very diverse in terms of gameplay, combining strategy, stealth, scenery, story and action as beautifully as a perfect hit. And setting the game during the crusades in biblical cities, but also giving it a modern twist, was a perfect recipe for success that we hope will be often repeated. See our Review.

Best Family Game Pet Vet 3D Wild Animal Hospital Following up on the highly successful Pet Vet 3D series, Wild Animal Hospital continued the tradition of making a solidly fun game that is also educational. The game combines the joy and excitement of running a hospital for wild animals with education and science as well as business training. But the best thing about Pet Vet 3D Wild Animal Hospital is that it's perfect for children and adults to play together as a family. Those families also voted together, making it our pick for Family Game of the Year. See our Review.

Best Online Only Game Pirates of the Caribbean Online Although it came to 2007 late in the year, Pirates of the Caribbean Online has really ramped up with thousands of loyal players, all reliving the glory of the movie in a safe, family friendly environment. Being able to conduct both land and sea missions puts Pirates above most MMOs that offer either one or the other, and the colorful characters as well as the many movie tie-ins make this the surprise online hit of the year. Not only did it win Online Game of the Year, but was a runner up for the Overall Game of the Year as thousands of loyal pirate players overran GiN headquarters. See our Review.

Best Peripheral I Can Play Guitar With music games so popular this year, it's no surprise that everyone is getting interested in playing something. The I Can Play Guitar game from Mattel is a revolutionary guitar that plugs directly into a television and teaches children the fundamentals of making music. Both a game and a music teaching tool, the guitar is quite a feat of engineering, and as such earned more than enough votes to get the Best Peripheral of the year designation. See our Review.

Best Puzzle Game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All A bit of a nontraditional choice for Puzzle Game of the Year, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All is a DS title that challenges you to interact with your handheld in interesting ways, even yelling "I object" into the microphone when you want to halt the case. Puzzle gamers appreciated the ingenious ways puzzles were presented on the handheld, and voted Phoenix for the top spot. See our Review.

Best RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles As the first full expansion pack to last years RPG of the year, Environmental Game of the Year, PC Game of the Year, Xbox 360 Game of the Year and Overall Best Game of the year, Shivering Isles had a lot to live up to. Thankfully it did with a crazy island that was so different than anything we had seen in Oblivion that it captured our hearts, and hours of our time, all over again. Let's hope Bethesda keeps making sequels for us to enjoy. See our Review.

Best Shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Shooters have always been fun, but they kind of reached a plateau as of late without a lot of games trying to break the mold. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare did however, and shattered it wide open with smooth gameplay and a heavy emphasis on the storyline, something that is lacking or completely nonexistent in most shooters. You actually cared about the characters, and wanted to keep playing to see what happened. Combined with a plot that could have been ripped out of a Hollywood thriller, and you have a game that never ceased to disappoint. See our Review.

Best Simulation Race 07 Whereas most games, even simulations, tend to pull punches a bit when it comes to realism, Race 07 never does. Engine sounds are actually the recorded sounds of real engines of the same type and everything from tire pressure to gear ratios can be tweaked to give your car an advantage over the competition. Add in one of the only realistic artificial intelligence engines for competing drivers, and you have a game whose realism is unmatched, giving players everything but the gasoline fumes. See our Review.

Best Sports Game Tony Hawk's Project 8 Skateboarding beat football this year to clinch the Sports Game of the Year. And while some have complained that the Tony Hawk series is starting to get a little bit stale, legions of skateboarding fans stick by it because of its realism and proper physics. And if millions of fans didn't buy every Tony Hawk game that comes out, it would have never made it this far with so many sequels. And that might be the truest test of success. See our Review.

Best Strategy Game Dawn of War: Dark Crusade Few real-time strategy games could offer as much as Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. Besides interesting units and a nice back-story, the Warhammer-based world offered us seven factions fighting over a single planet. In single player gameplay, you controlled just one of those armies, battling over special resource territories that actually gave you a boost in combat. With everyone fighting each other, it's a different game every time you play, meaning you not only get a lot of bang on the battlefield, but for your buck as well. See our Review.

Best Environment Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare continues its sweep this year, edging out Bioshock for best overall environment by just a few votes. Given that you are fighting all over the world, on ships, in the air and from vehicles too, it's no surprise that nothing gets you closer to actual combat like Call of Duty 4. If you want anything more environmentally real, you best head down to your local recruiter's office. See our Review.

Best Soundtrack Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock This category really came down to Guitar Hero III and Rock Band, with the battle over who had the best list of songs. In this battle, Guitar Hero III won. While both games had some rocking songs, Guitar Hero III seemed to have more of a variety with a nice split between all types of rock music and a good split between female and male bands as well. You can't please everyone, but Guitar Hero III seemed to please most of the voters, and enough to put it over the top in the Soundtrack category. See our Review.

Best DS Game Naruto: Ninja Council 3 A highly anticipated title a lot of fans of the hit anime cartoon were waiting anxiously for, it follows a series of games on the Game Boy Advance. The series has never looked better. Ninja Council 3 boasts some pretty sharp visuals, easily some of the best seen in a DS title. A cast of over 20 characters from the show make the roster, looking good, decked out in all their signature ninja gear. It's a fan's dream come true. See our Review.

Best PC Game The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar With a rich fantasy world created by the master of the genre JRR Tolkien, there was little doubt that Lord of the Rings Online could have been good. But if done incorrectly, it also could have been one of the biggest failures ever. Thankfully for PC gamers, it was done right with so much of the book packed into the game that it's a pleasure to play, not to mention a joy to look at. Lifelong devotees to the books say they never thought they could actually walk around the hills of the shire or the streets of Bree, and even newcomers to the story quickly fall in love with the excellent questing and amazing details put into this title. Tolkien would have been proud. See our Review.

Best PlayStation 2 Game Tomb Raider Anniversary Let's face it, the Tomb Raider series had been going downhill in recent years, trying to become something that it really wasn't, and forgetting where it came from. But that all changed with Tomb Raider Anniversary, a title that got back to its roots more than any other in recent memory. The developers described the game as a present for gamers who grew up with Lara Croft, and this is one gift that certainly won't be sent back. Perhaps Anniversary will be the rallying point that revives the series. See our Review.

Best PlayStation 3 Game Assassin's Creed If you don't think that Assassin's Creed pushed the high capabilities of the PS3 to their limit, then you have never climbed a tower in ancient Jerusalem or Acre and watched the living city sprawl out around you. A perfect mix of action and stealth, Assassin's Creed also was one of the best looking games released this year, made all the better by the advanced hardware found on the PS3, earning it the Game of the Year title for that platform. See our Review.

Best PSP Game Silent Hill: Origins Sometimes portable games based on their bigger console brethren are poor representations of the series, but that is not the case with Silent Hill: Origins. In fact, the game takes you back to the heart of Silent Hill, and tells some much needed secrets to help pull the series together. Plus the in-game visuals are spectacular for a handheld, and an added thrill comes as you explore and revisit the streets of the original Silent Hill in more detail. This is one case where you should get the handheld to really enjoy the entire series. See our Review.

Best Wii Game Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Whoever would have thought they would see the day that both Mario and Sonic would team up in a game? But these two rivals along with several of their friends and enemies come together in a Wii title that will have you shake, rattling and rolling your remotes as you compete in many Olympic events. The cartoon nature of the game hides an elaborate interface and a ton of replay ability. Finally we have a title that uses the Wii to the fullest. See our Review.

Best Xbox 360 Game Halo 3 Um, did anyone not expect Halo 3 to be the Xbox 360 Game of the Year? The final chapter in the fight didn't fail to thrill millions of gamers, making it the most successful title on the 360 and also the biggest launch of any entertainment product (including movies) ever. That's quite a feat for a console game which is unlikely to be topped anytime soon. The question is: where does the Halo series go from here? If Halo 3 is any indication, the direction will be up. See our Review.

Game of the Year Runner-up Pirates of the Caribbean Online Backed by a trio of excellent movies which didn't hurt its fan base one bit, Pirates of the Caribbean Online came late in the year but hit hard, racking up plenty of players with its free to play model. Plenty of polite pirates came in to cast their votes, nearly clinching the top prize this year and generating enough support to take the number two slot, as well as the MMO of the year title. Argh me hardies! Never underestimate the pirate vote, especially when stirred up by a great game. See our Review.

Overall Game of the Year Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare People were afraid when Activision and Infinity Ward announced they were getting away from the World War II genre and going modern. But this seeming sacrilege resulted in the hands down best gameplay experience of the year. Smooth controls, an engaging storyline, an atomic bomb (really) and varied missions combine to make Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare the benchmark that all other shooters and most other games will need to strive to beat. And trust us, it won't be easy. See our Review.

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