notable contenders (the games which nearly made it on this list)

Deveil May Cry 4- A solid installment which built upon the combat system by offering a new playable character

No More Heroes- A truly wacky game which missed out due to being to repetitive

Fable 2- A charming solid action rpg, However the simple mechanics and slightly souless story kept it from being truy great

My Top 4

Persona 3

Bought on a whim, persona 3 surprised me by becoming one of my favourite games. The combat sytem was quick and simple, making leveling far more bearable (and it needed to be with some challenging bosses) which has been a problem in recent rpgs (the amount of levelling required in ff12 was ridiculus). To balance the combat was a unique social sim which was cleverly tied into the persona collecting. The story was dark, long, involving and included some great characters with surprisingly good voice acting. All in all persona 3 gripped me from start to finish and has renewed my faith in jrpgs.

Grand Theft auto 4

I'll admit GTA 4 is a hugely overated game, it does not deserve the 10s it has recieved. However i find it hard to believe people were dissatisfied with the game. I found it to be a hugely enjoyable violent adventure. It probobly helps that i wasnt too hyped up about the game. Th game lacks the playfulness of the earlier games, and is a far grittier darker game. As a result the story is deeper and we get to know the characters better. I still found the game to be full of satirical funny moments, but it was a more story driven experience. The fact the story is neatly tied with a fantastic open city makes it even better. Gameplay wise this is a huge stepup from previous gtas. Gunplay has had a complete overhaul making gunfights more tactical. The cover system, while not up there with gears, helps tremendously, as does the more agile niko who can now climp fences and can interact with the environment more. So gta 4 is a great game despite the haters, The mission structure can get repetitive, buts thats just complements the size of the game, its huge.

Metal Gear Solid 4

The last entry in the mgs series is again very plot heavy, however having played and enjoyed the previous 3 iwas left satisfied by the conclusion, and somewhat surprised kojima had thought up an ending. Everything was explained, albeit in that strange kojima way. Simply put the game is pure fanservice. What surprised me the most however was the gameplay changes and how they vastly improved the game (from a gameplay perspective) to its predesesors. The new camare and over the shoulder view made gunplay farmore manageble, and made firefights easier, and made it less frustrating using stealth as you could now manipulate the camare to show you what you wanted to see. The stalth was still there of course,even if this is more action oriented then the rest of mgs, and it has been refined making it easier to sneak by or take out guards. While i prefered mgs 3 due to a better story and better set pieces, mgs 4 is a fantastic finish to a great series and gameplay wise is a huge step up from previous games.

Gears of war 2

the first gears was a fantastic game, at the time it had the best visuals and had a unique take on gun gameplay focusing on cover, which has now been copied into virtually every third person shooter. The sequal takes the first and increases the scale. In the first gears, you never really took on more then a few guards at a time, now you fight hundreds of locust. A longer campaign with better set pieces, more enemies, more variation and more weapons makes sure the game trumps the original. The story is better then the first, which aint saying much, however some aspects werent great (doms wife). However Cole is still a legend. The multiplayer is just the first refined and is still graet. The new horde mode is fantastic offering a new co op mode which encourages team play and is just great fun. All in all gears 2 is the best shooter of the year

just purchased a wii and a copy of super mario galaxy, and i have had great fun. The graphics suck but the gameplay is sooooooo good. finally there is a platformer that can stand up to mario 64, awesome stuff.

After one year my 360 has broke and it decided to pack in 3 days before christmas. Life just isnt fair. This has really shaken my belief in microsoft. 360s are way to unreliable, you would think theywould make sure the console worked before selling them. If some of the games werent so good i would have no hesitation buying a wii or PS3. Now i got 4 weeks without my 360. I hope i can hold out and resist buying another console

2007 has been one of the best years for gaming in a while, i cant remember buying more games in 3 months then i have this holiday season. Now after buying and playing all my games of 207 i have compiled a list of my favourites and my candidates for game of the year.

Okami

The last playstation 2 game i bought, okami was probobly my favourite game on the system. Simply put it was pure magic. It looked beautiful, had a great story, felt epic and was very long. It plays like zelda but feels innotive due to the celestial brush moves which allow you to manipulate the world in various ways. For me this more than made up for the dissapointing twilight princess. An absolute classic.

Bioshock

Bioshock stands out in the fps genre as being a memorable and unique game. It had a great story which was brilliantly told and the graphics at the time were breathtaking. Although the main game is linear you have so many customisable options every playthrough feels different.

Halo 3

Yes the single player was slightly dissapointing, some levels were truly awesome and others were complete crap. But its the multiplayer which shines. Halo 3 isthe best online shooting game this year, the levels and weapons are great and its just so much fun.

The orange box

certainally the best deal of 2007 the orange box contains 5 games, all of which are great fun. It was fun to play through half life 2 again, but episode 2 was amazing, it was really really good. definatly the best game in the half life franchise. Alongside the half life's you have team fortress 2 and portal. TF2 is a solid online shooter but ipersonally prefer halo 3. Portal however blew my mind, it was truly unique and great fun. Unfortunatly it was too short. As one package this is a brilliant game and has tons of replayability.

Assassins Creed

At first i was really dissapointed with this game. But as i played more i began to appreciate it more. Although repititive it was fun scaling buildings and assassinating targets. the story was good but i felt a bit cheated at the end as so many questions were left unanswered, no doubt to be picked up in the inevitable sequal.

Mass Effect

Like assassins creed i was initially dissapointed with mass effect but i slowly became absorbed in its world and i now absolutly love it. The combat system is unique and fun and plays like a shooter, making levelling up feel less like grinding and more fun. The story is very well told and you really do dictate what goes on. Graphically its stunning to, although there are afew technical issues here and there it never becomes unplayable. possibly my favourite RPG this is quite frankly sensational.

Call of duty 4

COD 4 was the game that surprised me the most this year, iexpected it to be good but i was blown away by the intensity of the game. Graphically it was stunning and although linear the single player was great. It was the most intense shooting game ive ever played. The single player was far better then halo 3's,but was too short i was left wanting more. the multiplayer was very good as well, the levelling up system is unique and makes it a great alternative to halo 3. As a package its the best shooting game this year.

im really looking forward to the next couple of months, partly because of mass effect, which will be game of the year. It looks unbelievable, i cant wait till 23rd of november. But not only is mass efect is coming, there are around 5 titles i want. PGR4, assasins creed, guitar hero 3, rock band, Pro evo 2008 and call of duty 4. The problem is that i dont have enough money for all of them. i just bought Bioshock and halo 3, both of which are amazing in case you didnt know, and im saving for a car. A year ago i believed there was nothing on the wii that i wanted, but with super mario galaxy and metroid prime 3 im starting to want one. Badly. I never thought i would be complaining about too many quality games at once. Its a time any gamer should be happy.At the moment i think im gonna buy pro evo, mass effect, assasins creed and maybe guitar hero 3. As for the wii maybe next year. Despite the ps3 price drop, it still doesnt interest me, i'll probobly buy one in 2009 when its much cheaper and actually has some quality games. Sonys christmas line up is terrible, i mean heavenly sword and lair against halo 3 and mass effect. Oh dear