The Finest Moments in 2007 Gaming

Stephen Totilo, as he did last year and the year before, has put together a piece looking at the finest gaming moments to be had in 2007. From the high-jumps of Portal to the Colossus battle in God of War 2, he's got a lot of gaming goodness packed into this one article. My favorite moment (the end of Mass Effect) isn't on there, but this is a close second: "Late in the much-praised first-person shooter BioShock, the player is required to don the outfit of another character in the game. Saying much more about this moment would ruin the effect. But rest assured, this transformative sequence changes the way every character in the world reacts to the player's presence. Plus, it might just give a BioShock player some pause about what they had been doing for the dozen hours that preceded the moment. Saying anything more would be a spoiler."

Spoiler?

[tgd]

I'd argue saying much more wouldn't be much more of a spoiler than what was already said in the summary.

That said, I agree.

Re:

[Vexor]

I think they missed some pretty big moments. A levels in Crysis come to mind...

Yeah.

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Are there FIFTY of these, too?

Itemising this stuff is like a setup for the Spanish inquisition:

"This is Uncle Ted in front of the house.
"This is Uncle Ted at the back of the house.
"And this is Uncle Ted at the side of the house.
"This is Uncle Ted, back again at the front of the house, but you can see the side of the house.
"And this is Uncle Ted even nearer the side of the house, but you can still see the front.
"This is the back of the house, with Uncle Ted coming round the side to the front.
"And this is the

Are you crazy?

[Anonymous Coward]

The part he is talking about in Bioshock has got to be the dumbest part of that entire game. It was an excuse to fit in some fetch quests and an escort mission into the game because it was too damn short.

Re:

[Devir]

Dumest? maybe. But it was also the better part of the story. If you were a "Sister" killer, you finally find out why they were they way they were.

Remember the intro to the game? You get knocked out and a sister walks by wondering if you are an "angel". Being still alive she passes you by. Shortly after you meet the sister once again witnessing her stabbing a corpse. You dont see her kill the person, but you assume she's to blame. It doesnt help hearing the guy in the talky telling you to kill her because sh

Re:

[elrous0]

Bioshock was actually the first game I played through the first time as a complete "good guy." It actually made me feel guilty. That's quite an accomplishment, as I usually LOVE playing the bad guy.

Re:

[The Archon V2.0]

Haven't played BioShock but I have to ask - did you just basically say that the mysterious benefactor/taskmaster radio voice in the game turns out to be evil? The exact same, ahem, plot twist used in System Shock 2?

Sorry, perhaps I'm just being cynical. I hated System Shock 2, so anything spawned from that lineage gets my jaundiced eye.

Re:

[Devir]

Many people spoke to you over the radio. So it could have been any number of people telling you kill kill kill.

The cake is a Lie.

Re:

[moranar]

Yes, I'll believe an anonymous coward on Slashdot vs. a fairly well reputed games journalist. Of course.

Re:

[morari]

Because game journalists tend to be such well informed fountains of knowledge and taste...

Re:

[moranar]

In general, no. This one in particular, yes. At least, when compared to an AC.

You learned from the best, didn't you?

[Opportunist]

That is about as much not a spoiler as the average trailer to your average current movie.

Re:

[rkcallaghan]

Opportunist wrote:

That is about as much not a spoiler as the average trailer to your average current movie.

Speaking as probably one of the few on Slashdot who doesn't have BioShock, or know anything about the game other than it was a pretty popular Sci Fi game this year -- I have no idea what happens in the game after having read the summary.

~Rebecca

What about the ending of HL2:ep2?

[Bruiser80]

Very chilling. My favorite HL2 character too. Looking back at the dialog in ep2, it was sort of obvious it would happen - heaven forbid there ever be any straight-forward plot exposition on the G-man.

BTW, anybody else thing the stabbing/sucking appendage looks just a little phallic?

Re:

[shadowrat]

BTW, anybody else thing the stabbing/sucking appendage looks just a little phallic?

I defy you to show us a stabbing appendage that doesn't look phallic.

Re:

[Verteiron]

More than just a little. The veins on it were... nasty. I wasn't too surprised by how the Advisors feed, though, they reminded me of the "brain bug" in Starship Troopers. Actually I was a bit disappointed by that. It's like Valve went out of the way to say "Look! It's a HORRIBLE MONSTER! It is EVIL!" as if that weren't already pretty clear.

Re:

[Osty]

This is the point where someone points out how awesome Halo (or any other FPS was) and that I come back with 'I've done FPS a billion times.' There were only a few games this year that were just new levels for old ones. -yawn-

So you rule out games simply because they're presented from a first-person perspective? If so, you missed possibly the best game of the year, Portal. You also missed Bioshock and Metroid Prime 3, as well as Halo 3 (I wasn't going to mention this, but I couldn't help myself :).

Aside

Re:

[morari]

So you rule out games simply because they're presented from a first-person perspective? If so, you missed possibly the best game of the year, Portal. You also missed Bioshock and Metroid Prime 3, as well as Halo 3 (I wasn't going to mention this, but I couldn't help myself :).

All good points, except the previously mentioned Halo. That title in itself is a perfect example of just how stagnate and cliche the FPS genre in particular has gotten for the most part.

Re:

[Aladrin]

I missed a word there. It was supposed to say: "There were only a few games this year that were NOT just new levels for old ones."

Bioshock and Portal were awesome. I admit it. But they were absolutely drowned out by the flood of crappy FPSs that didn't do anything new whatsoever. That includes Halo 3 and Metroid Prime 3.

I've -played- those games before. If I want to play them again, they're sitting at GameFly and waiting for me. I want -new-.

Mass Effect is okay... I'm actually playing it right now.

Re:

[Osty]

So I ask again, what exactly are you looking for from games? From a broad perspective, there's nothing new in games. Even something novel like Guitar Hero (itself suffering from sequelitis) was nothing really new. DDR with a guitar, yawn. But wait, not even DDR was unique! NES Track and Field but with dancing, yawn.

There's value in doing things well even if you're not ground-breaking. For example, Halo 3 is a very solid shooter with fun online play and a conclusion to a story that many of us have bee

Re:

[Osty]

Oh yeah, meant to add this to my last post.

Bladestorm is at least different, and oddly addictive.

You're holding up Bladestorm [gamerankings.com] as a model of uniqueness? It's just fucking Dynasty Warriors set in Europe rather than China (or Japan, like Samurai Warriors). It's got a few new gameplay mechanics, but so do most of the other titles you derided.

If you like Bladestorm, great. More power to you, it's great that you found a game you can like. It's just a little hypocritical to claim that many of the other game

Re:

[Aladrin]

Have you played Bladestorm? It's -not- like Dynasty Warriors. (I love the Warriors series, with DW Gundam being my favorite, with Samurai Warriors second.)

DW has you, a single person, be an amazing bad-ass 'general' who is more of a 1-man army. You completely control the character and are always on the front lines.

Bladestorm has you lead a troup (which can be changed any time you are near another troup) and you have very little interaction. You tell them when to to attack and activate powerups. Instead

Re:

[Osty]

Have you played Bladestorm? It's -not- like Dynasty Warriors. (I love the Warriors series, with DW Gundam being my favorite, with Samurai Warriors second.)

DW has you, a single person, be an amazing bad-ass 'general' who is more of a 1-man army. You completely control the character and are always on the front lines.

Bladestorm has you lead a troup (which can be changed any time you are near another troup) and you have very little interaction. You tell them when to to attack and activate powerups. Instead o

You have to ask...

[__aaclcg7560]

The release of UT3 proves that UT2004 still RULES!

Re:

[00Sovereign]

I concur. They took out an element that defined UT--the dodge jump. Just isn't the same without it.

Re:

[DRAGONWEEZEL]

I just paid for that ()&%$ game, and I have to agree also, I really miss dodge jumping. I haven't played '04 in 2 years, and damn it, I still automatically try and do it!

One thing I have to say though, WOW. That is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played EVER. It's really amazing to watch. Even my wife thought it was pretty cool, and she HATES 3d games.

Some of mine

[steveo777]

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption... Every fight. Going through the portal from the 'Norfair' planet, Bryyo, into the icy caverns. The first time you get to the Elysia, and every time after that when you're traveling outside. Incedentally, this is my 'Game of the Year' choice.

Portal: Not the end, but the first time you find one of the rooms where "others" had dwelled before you. Insanity.

Assassin's Creed: When the main character acquires the 'eagle vision' near the end.

Bioshock: Any time you're walking around and you hear a Big Daddy, was a truly great moment. Sadly, this game was ruined for my by the last boss battle, which seemed to take everything the game stood for, and threw it away in the name of a Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter final boss battle. (loved Turok, for the record)

Mass Effect: I really cannot pinpoint any spot that was a 'finest moment'. Great game, one of the best this year. Maybe it's 'finest moment' can be the fight with Matriarch Benezia. The only battle I had any actual trouble with.

Some additional great moments

[dysjunct]

...that just don't happen to be video games: link [boardgamegeek.com].

Crysis

[Broken scope]

Nomad: What about you major?
Major Strickland: I'm a marine son, I can walk on water if I have to! Now get the fuck off my island while I draw it's fire.

Great year

[Pojut]

Overall, many great memories from this year of gaming...nothing will compare to the summer of 2004 for gaming memories for me (closed beta of WoW, 15 friends, an empty house, a lot of water pipes, and half the summer taken off from work), but I would have to say these were my top 5 from the year (in no particular order):

1. Opening 15 minutes of BioShock. This was done with 5 friends around the couch, all of us huddled close together...home theater setup was turned way up high, my Tannoy PS 110-B sub rattling the floor, a gorgeous image on my HDTV...honestly, one of the most tense 15 minutes of gaming I have ever experienced.

2. First time I played a Wii. This was at a friends house way back in February. There were a total of 7 of us taking turns playing Wii sports...considering how often we host gaming parties or LAN parties, I knew the instant I started watching and playing that I had to get one.

3. Experiencing the story of Mass Effect. In my opinion, the greatest sci-fi universe ever conceived...buy the art book, amazing! I was actually a little frustrated when it ended primarily because I wasn't ready to finish it yet! Cannot wait for the second one...

4. Rainbow Six: Vegas on Live. Spent 16 straight hours (taking breaks every 4-5 hours to get food and goto the bathroom, of course) playing it the weekend I get my HDTV. I likely gained 20 pounds that weekend, but it was definitely a weekend to remember.

5. Playing through the Orange Box...Half-Life 2 is one of my all time favourite games, and I hadn't played it since early 2005. Seeing it on a big HDTV with an awesome surround system, coupled together with playing through Episode 1 and 2 to further the storyline (and yes, of course, playing Portal) was amazing. Ravenholm is absolutely terrifying at night with all the lights out and the system cranked!

So there they are, my top 5 gaming moments of 2007. There were plenty other great ones, to be sure, but these were the most memorable for me. A man chooses, a slave eats cake!

Re:

[Nerdfest]

Again in Orange Box, listening to "Still Alive" at the end of Portal was one of my favourite game related moments. Great humour in the game, and the song wrapped it up very nicely.

Re:

[solar_blitz]

Sadly I was too overworked to play too many games this season - what with learning Operating Systems, animating a robot in Maya and working in Washington DC (I'm not bragging, these are just excuses)... the only games I bought and played were .hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Reminisce and Super Mario Galaxy. But dear God, Super Mario Galaxy reminded me why I love video games so much. It was... just... without the graphics of the XBox 360 or PS3 or PCs, all you really need for a good, amazing experience are good controls

Re:

[naam00]

6: Telling slashdot about my awesome awesome setup.

Re:

[Pojut]

Yes, that was definitely a highlight as well:-) It actually isn't that awesome on it's own...but compared to what I was using before, it's awesome (then again, I think anything would be...24" tube TV doesn't really have anything to offer 8D )

Re:

[Cheapy]

How can a slave eat cake if the cake is a lie?

Last 5 minutes of CoD4

[giltnerj0]

The last 5 minutes of CoD4, where you have been going after this certain terrorist, everyone else is dead and you finally end the hunt. It gets all slow-motiony (word?) for that last shot. Loved it.

Little Sister

[Infinite Wave]

For me it has to be the little scene when I first saved a Little Sister. It was a beautiful moment in my opinion. The Swell of the music, the brilliant light, her vain struggle and finally ending with a simple Thank you. One of the few moments in gaming I felt like a real hero.

"This was a triumph...

[7Prime]

I'm making a note here:
HUGE SUCCESS"

Seriously, end of Portal (which I finished last night, actually) is deffinitely up there, in my book. And the credits song is in the running for best video game song of all time, up there with Homeworld.

MARIO GALAXY had a couple of dousies too:

- Intro with the Airships and Mario 3 theme, I shit myself.
- *spoiler* Point in the storybook where the "girl" suddenly comes to terms with the death of her mother. The cute music stops, the somber strings swell, and it's one of the most poignient moments I've ever seen in a game.

Also, am I the only one who found the end of Bioshock increadibly beautiful and well-done. Sure it was probably the shortest ending since Donkey Kong, but it was more powerful than most 30 minute endings.

Re:

[C0rinthian]

Are you referring to Barber's Adagio [wikipedia.org], which was used in the first level of Homeworld? That piece has been around quite a bit longer.

Re:

[Meneth]

Maybe he's referring to the Yes song that's played during the credits.

Re:

[7Prime]

I was refering to the Yes song, the one that was written as the theme song, but for some reason, got booted to the credits. Awesome, awesome tune, shame it wasn't in the opening.

Re:

[C0rinthian]

I had to pull out my soundtrack CD, as I had completely forgot that track. Agreed.

Re:

[HalAtWork]

Another one for Mario Galaxy was the first level you play... you start walking over the edge and the level flips over and you realize you can stand on almost any surface if you're clever with the gameplay physics...

A little late but..

[Cornflake917]

I just experienced my gaming moment of the year today.

After fixing my Assassin's Creed 360 disc (which I damaged by tilting the 360...oops) I played for a little bit up to where you arrive at Damascus. The view of the city as you come over the last hill was damn near breathtaking, at least with my 47" HDTV in 1080p. This was the first experience I had that made me feel the next-generation of console gaming had arrived. I've never seen such so much detail come from a tv displaying console gameplay.

Re:

[Breakfast Pants]

Red flag, the 360 doesn't support 1080p.

Re:

[TriezGamer]

Comments like this make me wish there was a -5,Do Your Fucking Research modifier.

While not all games support 1080p output, the console itself is fully capable of it.

Wii Sports and Mario Galaxy

[dtml-try MyNick]

For me, today,

Picked up a Wii this morning (had to bribe and shoot some people for it to get the last one in the country) got a extra controller and Super Mario Galaxy.
My girlfriend and me have been on a gaming binge for about 10 hours and loved every minute of it.

Boy, does the Wii take back the Fun in gaming, that's a capital F !

Of course you play all games for fun. But Wii sports and SMG is the acting crazy and loud laughs kind of fun. No new shiny item in a MMO or perfect headshot can compare t

My finest gaming moment of 2007....

[B5_geek]

My finest gaming moment of 2007, was when I finally finished Freecell.

About 2 years ago I started playing all the freecell games in order, in an attempt to beat/win every possible combination.

It wasn't pretty, and there was no 5.1 audio announcing to the office that I had completed this monumental task, but I felt it was a moral victory.

Re:

[BTWR]

That's a great accomplishment! If only you'd recorded it somehow, because I tried doing something similar a few years ago (but lost track of the game count). I remember the directions said something like "it is theorized that every combination is solvable, but this has not been proven."
 
Looks like you proved it...