Time flies.

Can you believe we are already more than halfway through 2007? The mind boggles. This year has been an amazing one for gamers, with the next-gen systems finally starting to spread their metaphorical wings. 2007 has already seen some amazing releases, but the best, it seems, is yet to come.

I mean, I am not sure if you have seen the ridiculous lineup awaiting us for the rest of this year. I use the term “lineup”, but consider this upcoming holiday season as more of a ravenous beast, bent on eating your wallet for breakfast. All you have to do is quickly list the titles that will be out in the next few months, and your nerd muscles basically explode with joy.

Titles like (deep breath) Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto 4, Assassin’s Creed, Metal Gear Solid 4, Metroid Prime 3, Bioshock, Heavenly Sword, Crysis, Hellgate: London, Mass Effect, Alan Wake, World in Conflict, Skate, Army of Two, and many more. (Whew) I cannot recall in recent memory a holiday season with this level of magnitude.

It’s a lot to get excited about, but I am getting ahead of myself. First, let’s take a look back at what we have been through so far in 2007. Here are the awards for excellence (and negligence) in the gaming industry for 2007 thus far:

Best Reviewed Game of 2007: God of War II (PS2)
Notes: No big surprise here. God of War II has sold a bazillion copies, and anyone who has played it understand the reasons why.

Worst Reviewed Game of 2007: Pimp My Ride (PSP)
Notes: The handheld game based off the console game based off the show based off a rap song. What could go wrong?

The “John Romero” Award: David Jaffe
Notes: Calling All Cars is released. Just kidding! No wait, seriously this time… Fooled you! What’s that on your shirt? Two for flinching!

See the rest of the awards after the jump:

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End scuttles Spiderman 3’s hopes of meeting it predecessor’s record. Pro-G reports Disney has much cause for celebration as Pirates seizes the top spot on all formats.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2001 ELSPA Ltd
Entertainment Software (All Prices) Week 22, 2007

1: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
2: TOMB RAIDER: ANNIVERSARY
3: SPIDER-MAN 3
4: MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED FOOTBALL
5: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6
6: WII PLAY
7: COOKING MAMA
8: DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING
9: COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS
10: FIFA 07
11: SHADOWRUN
12: TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
13: THE SIMS 2
14: SPONGEBOB & FRIENDS: VOLCANO ISLAND
15: THE SIMS 2: PETS
16: GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES
17: NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON
18: POKEMON RANGER
19: TMNT: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
20: NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.

As expected Tomb Raider: Anniversary has an outstanding debut at No. 2 on the All Formats chart leaving Spiderman to swing into the No. 3 position. Tomb Raider does manage to grab the No. 1 spot on the PlayStation 2 chart.

Nintendo continues to dominate the top ten.

Microsoft’s Shadowrun debuts at No. 11 making it the second highest new entry. However some feel that with no single-player or support for Windows XP, the game won’t be able to maintain it’s position for long.

Look for Halo 2 for Windows Vista, Marvel Trading Card Game (PC and PSP) , Wartech Senko No Rondo for Xbox 360, and Forza Motorsport 2 for Xbox 360 next week.

Without a doubt in my mind, the greatest game of all time is Final Fantasy VII which was released in 1997 for the PlayStation. FFVII gave turn-based gameplay new meaning and pushed the boundaries of console RPG games. 10 years later, it’s still fun to play and was an obvious influence on numerous games over the years. Extremeley fun gameplay combined with an awesome story, Final Fantasy 7 will always remain a top favorite of many gamers including myself. Feel free to debate my list in the comments. My top 20 follows the break.

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Many people doubted Virtual Console would work. Many Nintendo critics thought that VC would basically be a failure. Currently, Nintendo reports that around 1,000 games have been downloaded per hour since the launch of VC. In the beginning, I also doubted Nintendo, but there’s no more room for doubt. I still believe that VC and XBLA have steep prices for old games, but people will always pay for retro downloads. I do think both services are extremely important in the preservation of old school gaming. Here’s the word from Nintendo:

Nintendo is giving video game fans a way to access their favorite classic games, all without leaving the comfort of their homes. And gamers have responded en masse as the library of downloadable game classics continues to grow. The upcoming addition of Zelda II – The Adventure of Link on June 4 marks the 100th classic game available on the Wii Shop Channel. And since going online Nov. 19, owners of Nintendo’s hot Wii video game system have downloaded more than 4.7 million classic games from Wii’s Virtual Console, a rate of more than 1,000 games every hour since launch. The top five classic game downloads globally to date, and their original system are:

1) Super Mario Bros. (NES)
2) Super Mario 64 (N64)
3) Mario Kart 64 (N64)
4) Super Mario World (SNES)
5) The Legend of Zelda (NES)

 

Another day, another Smash Bros. Dojo update.  On the menu today is Delfino Plaza.  For those of you who don’t know what Delfino Plaza is, it was the main town in Super Mario Sunshine.

The level starts out with the combatants traveling over the level on a flying battlefield.  After circling over the level, the flying battlefield lands on Delfino Plaza and the combatants are able to finish their battle on the ground.  The interesting thing is that there are several different locations where the flying battlefield can land, so each time players select this level, it will be a different experience from the last time.

The 21 best selling console games were compiled by sales gross up to the year 2006. Now, as with any list, you can expect Mario to be in there someplace, and maybe even some GTA. As a matter of fact, Mario is on this list 6 times, and GTA along with Gran Turismo is on it three times each. Please note that these are non-bundled statistics.

More after the jump. Read the full article

What do you get when you cross the most popular music game right now with some of the most recognizable video game music from Super Mario Bros.? You get this video.

Hmm..how awesome would it be if Activision decided to release an all video game music version of Guitar Hero? Although I know the idea would be really cool since it’s a video game paying homage to video game music, I know deep down inside it probably would never happen.

Reggie makes a lot of promises. Before the Nintendo Wii was released, he promised Nintendo had learned from their past mistakes and he promised there would be no drought of Wii games. And now we’re experiencing a drought. Then he promised that Nintendo would up the production of Nintendo Wiis so they’d be available in stores. Nintendo Wiis are still hard to find in stores.

Now Reggie is making another promise. During Nintendo’s media summit, Reggie promised that Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Super Smash Bros. Brawl would all come out before the end of the year. As much as I would love to believe Reggie, his track record of promising things and those promises coming into fruition are really poor.

If these promises do come true, it could be a great year for Nintendo Wii owners now that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption will be released this summer. All 4 of these games would really improve the drought the Wii is currently experiencing.

Pro-G provides the top 20 selling games in the UK for the week 20, 2007. Spiderman 3 for the PS3 dominates the UK top games for a third week.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2001 ELSPA Ltd
Entertainment Software (All Prices) Week 20, 20071: SPIDER-MAN 3
2: COMMAND & CONQUER 3: TIBERIUM WARS
3: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6
4: WII PLAY
5: COOKING MAMA
6: TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
7: FIFA 07
8: CRACKDOWN
9: DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING
10: FINAL FANTASY III
11: THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION
12: SINGSTAR POP HITS
13: GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES
14: THE SIMS 2
15: GOD OF WAR II
16: BUZZ! THE MEGA QUIZ
17: NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON
18: LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
19: NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.
20: VIRTUA TENNIS 3

Spiderman 3 has to stay on top two more weeks to match it’s predecessor which maintained the lead for five weeks on it’s release three years ago. It will have some stiff competition next week with several new releases hitting the shelves. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, driven by movies sales, will be a stiff competitor. Mario Strikers Charged for Wii, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales for DS and Crash for PSP will also be released this Friday.

Nintendo has a monopoly in Japan apparently – and Mario Factory is the King. Media Create announced this week, like every week before it, the latest chart-toppers in the land of the rising sun. Since the DS became available over there, Nintendo has reined supreme – thanks in large part to the Japanese penchant for brain enhancing games. Mario Factory occupies all 21 spots on the chart. Go team Mario!

1. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
2. Super Paper Mario (WII)
3. Wii Sports (WII)
4. Yoshi’s Island DS (DS)
5. Wii Play (WII)
6. Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (DS)
7. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (WII)
8. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
9. Momotarou Dentetsu DS (DS)
10. Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training (DS)
11. Gyakuten Saiban 4 (DS)
12. Mario Kart DS (DS)
13. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo (DS) Duke
14. Planet Puzzle League (DS)
15. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (DS)
16. Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)
17. Layton Kyouju no Fushigi na Machi (DS)
18. Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS (DS)
19. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS)
20. English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills (DS)
21. Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan DS (DS)