Best multiplayer game of 2007 for me. I supposed I should add that I played mostly in 2008, considering that the sheer number of Xbox 360s that went Live for the holidays killed the servers until mid-January.

I think I was still having fun with this up till March, if I remember correctly.  I know a lot of my old COD4 buddies are now on COD5, but honestly, it’s Treyarch and they just WWII-ified the COD4 engine. I’d rather just play COD4. Besides, WWII guns are pretty dull.

Better to just wait for COD6, no?

Continuing in that vein, here we have my favorite game for the Xbox 360 for 2007 and my favorite game for 2007. It’s probably true that I’ve logged more hours on Call of Duty 4, but that’s all in multiplayer. I am really a sucker for story, and Mass Effect gives me story (the worst bits were boring planet trekking that ultimately led to something dull).

I look forward to the completion of what BioWare claims is an extended trilogy. In the meantime, I see myself dipping back into Mass Effect for a quick fix (already done so twice). Honestly, with this, Fallout 3 and a promising time playing Valkyria Chronicles (not posting that till I’m done), a game drought brought on by the glut of November 2008 doesn’t sound as bad as all that.

Now that I’ve added a game category I’m going to go ahead and backtrack a bit, adding games I simply must write about.

Uncharted was my absolute best game for the PS3 last year, and for that year definitely the most beautiful. Shocking. A platformer. I typically can’t stand platformers. And yet, here we are.

The story is light and fun, even if the denouement was a little on the flat side. Still and all, a fantastic must have of a game. I’m never trading mine in, and that in itself tells you that Uncharted is just plain awesome.

And wouldn’t you know it? The sequel is already in production. Awesome.

Actually, the story was a bit better this time around. The first game had a pretty plain vanilla sort of story. This one did that part better. And thankfully, no more darkness critters killing you instantly when you leave the light. That was bullshit.

The best part, though, is the multiplayer experience known as Horde. That’s a keeper right there.

I really need to finish this game. I haven’t played it in a month, mostly because all these other games came out and to be honest, it was starting to get a little monotonous. It’s a good game and presentation is gorgeous. I can’t and refuse to play this game in the dark. Horror sci-fi games are like that. But honestly, I’m halfway through and I’m sort of losing speed, much the same way I lost speed with Bio-Shock (friends still can’t believe I never finished that game).  It’s sort of the same deal, though… the story sort of peters out for me. I’m stuck walking all over the place fixing this dead ship and whatnot, and it just feels like the tasks don’t really jive with my ideas of getting out of there alive. So the contradiction is that the scenes are immersive and scary as shit but the story is losing to it. I felt the same way about Bio-Shock. I’m not giving up yet, but like Bio-Shock, I may just keep them on the shelf until I decide to finally finish. Of course, my all-time record for "no way you did what?" is Metroid Prime. I have a save right before facing the final boss. It’s been there for SEVEN years.

Cute and customizable, this game is definitely a masterpiece. Sadly, it being a platformer (and a tough one at that near the end for the likes of me) means I’ll never be able to unlock its true potential. I can still enjoy the beginner areas and mess around with the online content. And playing it with my sister was a solid hour of hilarity. But yeah, beautiful game, but not my expertise.

Fantastic game. I grabbed the 360 version, mostly because I enjoy playing multiplayer with friends on Live (I know too few who have PCs and frankly, Steam is annoying). This is, without a doubt, some of the "funnest" multiplayer coop you’ll have yet. The game is designed to require team work; and by require, I mean you better be coordinated because if you aren’t, it only takes second for things to go horribly, horribly wrong.

The game AI is all about surprises. Spawns don’t always come from the same place at the same time, and sometimes a spawn happens just for dramatic effect. The best example of this is when you’re trying to avoid the zombies (I guess you should know this is a zombie survival game wrapped around the premise of it being a zombie survival movie) and your team is about to enter the safe house. You’re the last to enter, and just as you get to the door, a zombie lashes a noose around your neck with its tongue and drags you away from the doorway. Now your teammates either let you die or come out and try to save you.

The drama.

You’ll be talking about the terrifying, exciting and often times stupidest side-splitting moments with your friends for days. Now that’s a fun multiplayer.

This is the first time I’m resurrecting the "game" category. I used to split it up between the various consoles and the PC, but really, what’s the point. This isn’t a game review site, it’s just me writing to myself and for the occassional friend checking up on me.

So let’s start with the one I’ve been waiting years to come out: Fallout 3.

I am a big fan of the series but I apparently am not a crazed, rabid fan like those in No Mutants Allowed. Sure, this is a different type of game and sure a lot of things have changed. The fact that Bethesda spent so much time explaining in-game why the changes are there should have quieted the mob, but sadly, it did not.

Fortunately, enough old fans and plenty of new ones have made this game a critical success.

And me? It’s awesome.