2007 has been a busy year for gaming, at least the end of the year. With a bucket load of top 360 games, a few great Wii games and some big DS hits, and even one PS3 game, it's been a great year to be a gamer. In this feature we have a look at what have been the high points of each of our years.

knighty: Where do I start? My 360 has been getting so much love lately it's absurd. I suppose I should try to start at the beginning. Crackdown from Scottish developer Realtime Worlds differentiated itself from GTA with its absurd physics and the feats your character could perform. While the game was very repetitive, it was still a hell of a lot of fun to mess around in, much like GTA in that respect. With the downloadable "keys to the city" it only got more fun when you could make your character even more powerful than you could before. Shadowrun was a total surprise to me. Not only did I not even know it existed until weeks before release, but it turned out to be one of my favourite games of the year, with a sad ending for Fasa Studio. With some really unique gameplay and a pretty decent community while it lasted, it's become one of my favourite multiplayer games of all time. It's a shame the steep price tag and no single player mode killed the game's success and forced Fasa to shut down, losing the DLC that was in the works. Next up is Bioshock. Bioshock was hyped to death all over the place with all sorts of cool features that never really came to fruition. Despite this, it proved to be an incredibly immersive game with a compelling story, despite the gameplay flaws. Bit of a gap between that and the next big game for me.... If one game could be used in the dictionary alongside "hype" I think Halo 3 would be right there. There were humongous expectations for Halo 3 after the previous 2 incarnations, of which Halo 2 sold a staggering 8 MILLION copies. For the most part I'd say it was rather successful. The single player, while not as good as the 2nd for me, rounded off the story despite being a little convoluted and the multiplayer refined an almost perfect online service. When the new maps hit us on the 13th of December, the experience will only become more joyful. Another game I was blissfully unaware of...The Orange Box. TOB is, for me, this year's major hit. This is almost certainly due to this being the first I'd player Half Life 2 however. Portal on its own was an absolutely stunning experience. Despite being a tiny little game really, it has such fantastic gameplay and such a unique charm found in only a select few games nowadays. With the prospect of downloadable levels in the future....*drools*. Another hyped up game now...Assassin's Creed. Where to start with this one.... In a nutshell, Assassin's Creed is the result of combining a phenomenal game engine and a game mechanic that's great is theory, but was executed somewhat less than great. Overall though, it was still one of the better titles this year.

Grumbler: With the sheer weight of heavily marketed releases as the industry defecated everything it possibly could into the 'holiday season' in the mature considered way it always does (everybody knows that it's the only time of year that people buy games...err), it's easy to forget some of the magic that took place earlier on. It helps if you were still playing games on a coal-fired PS2, for it was only in February that Clover's dying breaths Okami and, more importantly God Hand, made their way over here. Okami came first, a Zelda clone with some of the most beautiful and accomplished graphics I've ever seen, but more tedious dialogue-tapping than you can verb a noun at. Unfortunately for my relationship with Okami, God Hand was released literally the following weak and I'm sorry to say that I've never touched the game since. But God Hand, what a game! And I've never been one for brawlers. God Hand is the perfect evolution of the one-man-punches-lots-of-mans formula, but the magic being that it presents it in a characterful way rather than just upping the man-sweat and grunting. Though there is plenty of that too. The creativity that the fighting system allows, and the sheer fairness and precision of the difficulty threshold make God Hand by far the greatest gameplay accomplishment of the year. Underscored by the big sites and unloved by the great unwashed - grab this treasure before it vanishes into obscurity. You deserve it. March lingers in my sieve-like mind as the month in which I saved earth from an invading force the erupting-crappy-particles of which I had never seen. Earth Defence Force 2017 is amazing, it really is. One of the best games this year; a budget game and a third-person shooter at that. I'd pay for it again with online co-operative at the drop of a hat. Also in March was the appearance of Symphony of the Night on Xbox Live Arcade- and it remains the finest game on the platform. I'd only ever played the questionable N64 Castlevanias and so this was a real treat. And it didn't sell badly at all, so with any luck we'll see more classic games from the not so ridiculously distant past. We're already getting Rez and Ikaruga on there! Sometime in April STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl was released which I tried to tackle on my pretty basic PC, one frame at a time. After a processor upgrade it's now running rather well and I can safely say that it's a worthy entry into my favourite sub-genre and I can't wait to see where GSC can take it. I am also a massive fan of Shadowrun. I probably never would have considered it, were I not given a copy to review for another site. I crudely slapped that review together just in time to be one of the first in the world, but also just in time for the disc to split apart at the centre. I bought it again though, obviously - it's that good. From then on, the year is a hazy blur of Bioshock, Space Giraffe, SEGA Rally, Portal and Call of Duty 4 multiplayer, as well as my finally getting a DS and being rubbed the right way by Ouendan, its sequel, and to a lesser extent Elite Beat Agents and Contact. A fantastic year, and reassuringly; next year is looking promising in the extreme.

Martin: 2007 wasn't a particularly amazing year in gaming for me. My relationship with gaming has floundered since early 2005, due to a new interest which takes most of my free time. 'We' really hit rock-bottom this year, with me buying hardly any games at all up until about a month ago, when I bought a whole mess of PS2 games. However, most of those aren't even from 2007, and were only picked up because they were languishing in the bargain bucket, and "looked alright for a fiver". And we're talking nearly all PS2. hardly any of your new-wave Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 rubbish, here! The few games I have purchased have been largely stellar, though. Anyway, I've been asked to do an overview of my year in terms of computer games, and so I shall. This year really started with my purchase of a PS2, at around April or something. It was my third purchase of Sony's titular console (and what I believe to be the greatest console ever). Long story short- I sold my first one (which was the fat, noisy original model) to buy an Xbox, I swapped the second one for a mobile phone, and it got to the point where I realized I was missing not having a PS2, so bought another. One of the first games I got for it is probably my personal favourite game of the year. You're going to laugh. Ready? Okay- Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Yes, a disc of emulated CPS2 ROMs is my favourite purchase of the year, give or take. I totally understand if you think that's really pathetic- because it is. However, if you're as big of a Street Fighter fan as me (and there are quite a few of us about), it's like an obsession. SF fans like me can't be playing non-arcade-perfect versions of these games. It's literally heresy to play any of the Alpha games on PSone. Not that any of you would notice much of a difference aside from the loading times. Hell, aside from the lack of loading times on the Anthology, you'd probably not notice any difference at all. However, the hardened Street Fighter vet reels at the sight of dropped frames of animation, simplified backgrounds, cut moves, and crappy 50Hz. With the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, Capcom had actually managed to give us arcade-perfection for once. Not only that, but they saw fit to compliment the PAL version with a full 60Hz mode (which I was actually panicking about, believe it or not), and even progressive scan. These simple things mean the world to plonkers like myself. And so, it got bought, and played to death, and the game is now on a permanent state of standby right next to my PS2, ready to be played at the drop of a dime in case I need a hit of arcade-perfect Alpha. Then next up would easily be Shadow of the Colossus. Again, technically not a '2007 game', but it still deserves a place on this list, as it made a massive impression on me this year. I've grown to hate using the phrase 'art' in conjunction with video games, as everyone's doing it these days, and it sounds cliché. However, I do believe that SotC is one of the few examples of art in game-form. Like ICO before it, SotC was developed purely as a concept. Under Fumito Ueda's direction, Team ICO let nothing stand in the way of the concept. Not even standard, respected, and expected gaming mechanics that we all rely on today. As such, it's quite hard to get into. You just have to spend lots of time on your own with it. Which I did do, and felt thoroughly rewarded for in doing so. In spite of nothing happening other than the colossi battles, I found it to be a deep and fulfilling experience. The game world is huge, and intricately detailed. It's full of sights, sounds, structures, little col de sacs carved out of the rocks, beaches, and tons of awesome stuff like that, which you don't find unless you explore. Thus, those with an inquisitive nature will find a lot to love and admire about the game. The best moment for me was trotting out onto the beach on my horse- a beach which I'd never seen or come across before, and was totally out of the way of anything. It was as if the game was just saying "well done for exploring, have this beach". The waves slowly lapping on the sand. Really serene. And the relationship the game builds between you and your horse is really something, too. He's your only buddy in this huge desolate land you find yourself in. Everything about the game is awesome. If you're of a mind to accept it for what it is, a highly- conceptual work of genius. It's only a 'game' really because it's on a games console. It could quite easily be a series of paintings, or a sculpture in the Louvre. After SotC there's nothing really notable until I bought God Hand, Final Fantasy XII, and Okami the other week. God Hand Grumbler has already covered, and I fully agree. It's a fantastic game, and I can't comprehend how anyone could really slate it like people have. Sure the graphics are a bit bland or whatever. So what? It still rocks, and that's all that really matters. The only conclusion I can come to is that the people who've slagged it off in their reviews on big sites are just graphics whores who got turned off by the game's difficulty. So the game made you it's bitch, that doesn't make it bad, just means you have to play it more! I started on Normal difficulty, and couldn't get past the second level. I can just about cope with "Easy" mode. This is definitely early 90s video game difficulty, right here. I disagree with Grumbler on Okami. I think it has fantastic graphics, and the intro of listening the Issun garble his nonsense at me for about ten minutes was rather mind-numbing, but I've found it a joy to play, all the same. It is a Zelda clone, but in all the right ways. And, incidentally, does everything you want a new Zelda to do- unlike 'Twilight Princess, which blundered it's way onto the GC and Wii exactly a year ago. It's very simple, and very elegant. I play this game if I want to chill out, or fancy a bit of a change. Yet to complete it, I'm playing it in dribs and drabs, alongside mammoth sessions of FFXII. The celestial brush element is fucking amazing, quite frankly. You wouldn't think that such a simple thing would be so fun, but it is. The way it's used is just common-sense, as well. Ie; It's night time. Can't wait for day to break? Well just draw a sun in the sky, and because you're magic, it actually happens. Need a bomb? Draw one! Etc. Many a giddy moment has been had already with Okami, and I just find it's general ethereal nature absolutely charming. Drawing stars in the sky is great, too. The next and last game would be Final Fantasy XII. Before I start, I'll just say that I really hate JRPGs, and ROGs in general are far from my greatest love. However, took a chance on this one, as it was on a two for one deal, and I wanted another game which was on offer, and thought "Why not get FFXII for free?". So there you have it. I'm some 15 hours in. So not very far at all (FF games last anything up to 80 hours or more). Initial impressions- sumptuous production values. And, mercifully, Square haven't let it slide this time on god-awful English voice dubbing. The voice acting in FFXII is as good as I've heard in any game, pretty much. I suppose it's not as good as the Legacy of Kain series, or other notable voice-heavy games, but it's up there. It manages to not ever be cheesy, which is an achievement in itself. The battle system is an absolute breath of fresh air. They finally changed the bit I hated most about JRPGs- the crap turn-based fighting engine. Also- no more random encounters! Joy!

Megadanxzero: Depending on which console(s) you have 2007 will have been a very different year. For Wii owners it was a case of waiting almost the entire year to have a bunch of great games thrown in your face at the exact same time. For 360 owners it was a year of pretty much constant releases, but many of which were disappointing (Bioshock, Assassin's Creed and Lost Planet to name a few of mine). Although to quote Rab from videoGaiden they 'were disappointing on a higher level of quality than previous disappointments in previous generations'. Very true. But still disappointing. If you're a PS3 owner then 2007 was... Well err... It... Well at least you watched some BluRay movies right! Yeah? Great. First up, is Earth Defence Force 2017. Not buying EDF sooner is one of the things I regret most in my life. This game is absolutely insane and non-stop fun. It's a very back to basics approach that we unfortunately don't see much of nowadays, but it takes the basic knowledge that Rocket Launcher + Enemy = Fun, runs with it for several thousand miles, throws it like a javelin into a fiery volcano of joy, which then erupts into an orbiting alien spaceship, exploding violently and spraying flourescent alien blood and bits across the universe for all to see. You WISH all metaphors were that awesome. And you wish that all games were this awesome. Or at least you will when you go and buy this game. Now while most of the world completely ignored the release of Kirby: Mouse Attack (Or Squeek Squad to use it's not less ridiculous name) I was waiting for it with hungry eyes as soon as it was announced, and was incredibly peeved at the gap between the American and European release dates. When it finally did come however, I was blessed with another wondrous creation which vomited colour and happiness all over my face (Without getting the DS all messy thankfully), but was killed at a young age by the most terrible plague of all. Shortness. While it lasted it was amazing though, and certainly one of the most finely crafted DS games of the year. Unfortunately I only managed to get myself a 360 very recently, but before that came Mario Galaxy. Despite being a major disappointment in almost every way, it managed to be possibly the best game of the year. Maybe even the best Mario game ever. Now that's something which isn't achieved every day, and while it may just be due to our insanely high expectations for the game it really is something amazing. It just maybe feels like it could have been a bit more amazing if they'd done certain things better. Oh well, no game is perfect. Unless it's Yoshi's Island that is... I must admit, Halo 3 took me by surprise, and it felt good. In a makes-you-feel-a-bit-dirty kind of way. I had dabbled in the Halo series before, playing it on the PC mainly because I got given it for free before it was released and I felt like I probably should. Didn't really like it that much though, and so I never really bothered much the second one much either, thinking it was a bit slow and boring really. Halo 3 gave me a swift punch to the head and made me realise I was an idiot. Not only that, but it was the first game I really played properly on Xbox Live, and that was just brilliant. Some people found it a bit disappointing, but thankfully I wasn't expecting that much from it in the first place, so I was pleasantly surprised. Finally, Metroid Prime 3 is here not because it's particularly amazing, but simply because it's better than the other not really that amazing games I played this year. It's definitely a great game, but it's just great, it's not really... Spectacular. It almost felt like something was missing most of the way through the game, and that's always a bit annoying in a game you've been waiting so long for. It did do lots of things right, and the Wiimote controls were certainly a step in the right direction for Wii games everywhere, but you can never beat that little niggle in the back of your mind telling you that something's wrong can you? Overall it was a good year, which may have been tainted slightly by hype. If you're in America it was probably far better, while us Brits have to wait until 2008 for several releases, but I guess that at least gives us something to look forward to.