Game of the Year?

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:52 am

After spending much time with NHL 2007 for the 360, I'm ready to switch my vote. It's addictive with the stick control. Fun, fun game. I wish the button layout were better (switching players and passing with the right trigger) and poke checks offered better control (you can't control the player and stick at the same time), but it's got me pumping my fists on goals and keeps me on edge.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:03 am

LOL, I was thinking of this the other day. Since I have a Wii now, I'd change my non-sports game to Zelda Twilight Princess and add Madden and Wii Sports to the honorable mention category replacing Madden PSP and Tiger Woods 07. The wii-mote swing in Wii sports golf makes using a controller to swing feel as stale and unnatural as changing from buttons to the stick felt a few years ago.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:33 am

Best sports: The Show PSP
Non-sport: Civ 4 (I think it was last year)

Honorable mentions:

Wii Sports.

WE9 was the year prior for me with the Japanese version, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately WE10 seems like a major step backwards.

Otherwise a pretty lackluster year IMHO. Lot of solid, but unspectacular releases and a whole bunch of disappointments.

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:29 am

Sports GOY: Madden 07 - PSP
I know this one sounds a bit crazy, but the PSP version of Madden got more play from me than any other version this year. The game looked great and played as well or better than the console versions IMO.

Runner-up: NBA 2k7 - very good basketball game, but too many irritating gameplay quirks for me to give it GOY.

Non-sports GOY: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - GCN or Wii
I'm 25 hours into Zelda and it just keeps getting better, and from what I've read the game is good for at least 50-60 hours. Easily one of the best Zeldas ever, and an easy pick for my GOY.

Runner Up: GoW deserves a lot of praise, but I was done with that game within a week and online hasn't really held my attention. Compared to the 50-60 hours of quality gameplay I'll get out of Zelda, it just doesn't deserve GOY IMO.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:40 am

For those doling out the Twilght Princess love, would you call it a marked improvement from Wind Waker? I recently went back and plowed through WW, having never finished, and while I liked the art direction and the story, I found playing it to be a real chore. Felt that way about Majora's Mask as well, and I know TP has the same director who did those two games. Not sure if the problem is Zelda, necessarily, or whether my tastes have changed.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:47 am

Zelda is definitely my non-sports GOY. I'm only about 8 hours into it but I've had an absolute blast playing it. It is also the first game where I've bought a strategy guide...I feel so dumb sometimes when I get stuck and find I'm just missing something obvious.

For sports, I'll throw another vote behind Rugby 06 for many of the same reasons PK mentioned. NHL 07 is close, but there are a few things that bug me about it too much (only 5- or 10-minute periods for one). Both of those games felt incredibly fresh compared to TOCA 3 or Madden 07, two other games I played and enjoyed a lot over the past year.

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:30 pm

Slumberland wrote:For those doling out the Twilght Princess love, would you call it a marked improvement from Wind Waker? I recently went back and plowed through WW, having never finished, and while I liked the art direction and the story, I found playing it to be a real chore. Felt that way about Majora's Mask as well, and I know TP has the same director who did those two games. Not sure if the problem is Zelda, necessarily, or whether my tastes have changed.

I would call it marked improvement over WW. I found the sailing and travel in WW to be so tedious I quit playing after completing all of the primary dungeons. As I progress in TP and the world opens up, I find myself enjoying it more and more, plus travel around the world is less tedious on horseback, and you can readily warp around the world after a few hours into the game. The story in TP is typical Zelda fare, and I find the characters and the world to be more likable than WW as well.

I only played the first bits of Majora's Mask, it didn't really grasp me the way OOT did, so I gave up on it fairly early.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 2:41 pm

Thanks assassin... your experience sounds just like mine, except that I forced myself to plow through Wind Waker with the help of a walkthrough. Majora's Mask was sort of a non-starter for me. I'm inclined to doubt the guiding hand of Eiji Aonuma (who took over directorial duties with MM), but if this is a return to form, I look forward to it.