A Year of Amazement!
September 20, 2007 10:23 pm RantsNo one can deny that PC gaming has been in a bit of a slump in recent years. No longer were we receiving masses of high quality games every year, and most of the enjoyable games tended to be littered with bugs, e.g.: Neverwinter Nights 2. That combined with the release of a new generation of consoles made things look bleak on the PC gaming front.
But all that changed this year. Heading into 2007 it was already obvious we were about to experience better times, with highly anticipated games like Crysis, Half Life 2: Episode 2 and Unreal Tournament 3 on schedule for release later this year. This years’ PC gaming lineup is beyond a shadow of doubt the most impressive in many years…
Of course none of the anticipation means anything if the games eventually end up being disappointing anyway, e.g.: Doom 3.
And while the early months of 2007 were definitely better than the years before, with Command & Conquer 3 and Supreme Commander as the highlights, it wasn’t particularly amazing on a 1999-level. Aside from the two aforementioned titles there was really very little worth mentioning.Everything took a turn for the better as of the 21st of August: BioShock’s release date. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past month, you’d know that game scored incredibly high in all reviews and managed to fulfill all expectations perfectly - a genuine modern day classic. Now with the imminent release (tomorrow) of World in Conflict all indications are of yet another such instant classic title. It’s been receiving high grades across the board - and rightfully so. That already makes for two major contenders for the Game of the Year title, even before the real flood of highly anticipated games has begun!
In the beginning of this year, very few gamers indeed would’ve mentioned wanting World in Conflict. Yet nowadays very few PC gamers would be foolish enough not to want this game. In the wake of a Command & Conquer 3 and a Supreme Commander, as well as a StarCraft 2 announcement, it’s World in Conflict that’s headed for a, well-deserved, Strategy Game of the Year title - in true underdog style.
Other games have managed to amaze as well. Ultima Online saw a major visual overhaul, and EVE Online is set for the same - undoubtedly returning it to it’s crown of most beautiful MMO ever. Guild Wars saw it’s best addition yet with Eye of the North - and Civilization 4 expanded in similar fashion with an incredible expansion pack. Heroes of Might & Magic V and Neverwinter Nights 2 look set to do the same with their expansions. And these are only the tip of the, Titanic-crushing, iceberg.
How about The Witcher, Gears of War PC, Unreal Tournament 3, Call of Duty 4, Clive Barker’s Jericho, Crysis, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Half Life 2: Episode 2, Hellgate: London, Savage 2 and Far Cry 2? - To name only a few. There’s something for everyone here - and considering what we’ve seen of all these games thus far, the excitement of their developers and BioShock and World in Conflicts’ success, it only seems logical to assume that a fair few of these games will do similarly well.
What kind of new wonders will await us as we approach the busiest gaming time of the year? Will The Witcher and Unreal Tournament 3 live up to the excitement on their developers’ faces? Should we expect Crysis to run crap even on the latest of gaming machines? Is 2008 the real year we should be expecting Half Life 2: Episode 2 to appear? Who knows…
Whatever happens - one thing is obvious: 2007 is a great year to be a PC gamer.
With all that out of the way: why don’t you reply with the games you’re looking forward to this year!? There are plenty to choose from - you can even select a few from this list if you’re not entirely certain - so go on: discuss the beauty of being a PC gamer in the year 2007!
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September 21st, 2007 at 11:23 am
Played Quake Wars beta, wasn’t terribly impressed.
Civ4’s expansions were awesome.
Call of Duty 4’s beta has been amazing.
And I can’t wait for Hellgate. I was also really sad L4D was delayed to Q1 of 2008 instead of 2007 ;/
September 21st, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Not much of a slump really. Excellent post! Again! Yes!
September 21st, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I was very impressed by the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars beta and demo, because it turned out a lot better than I had expected. I’ve never been a Battlefield fan, and always been a Wolfenstein fan, so to see it head much more in the Wolfenstein direction than the same-old Battlefield direction is a blessing to me. It might even make the game worth having once they fix the nasty Battlefield-style spreads.
My new favorite has to be World in Conflict though. I picked it up today and it’s absolutely amazing. Must have for any RTS fan and definitely miles beyond C&C3 or SupCom, even in singleplayer… heck, especially in singleplayer!
September 22nd, 2007 at 8:46 am
As said before, great post. The coming months really are going to be crazy good. I’ve got some serious prioritizing to do.
One thing I was wondering about is if you have any thoughts about TF2. I’ve been playing the beta a bit, and I’ve absolutely loved it (keep in mind that I’m a complete noob though).
September 22nd, 2007 at 9:41 am
I don’t know about TF2, mainly because I’ve never really played TFC. It might be great, but I have yet to order in my Half Life 2 Orange Box so I can’t participate in the beta to try it out.
Either way I’ll definitely play it for a bit once the Orange Box is released and I have my copy. Seems like it’ll be a nice multiplayer game, but I doubt I’ll remember it once UT3 releases in November (hopefully).
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
It really has been a fantastic year for strategy fans.
Supreme Commander - enough said.
CnC 3 - a solid addition to a franchise everyone wanted to get back in to, and it (largely) delivered.
Civ 4 Beyond the Sword - the most impressive expansion pack of any strategy game I’ve ever experienced.
World in Conflict - I’ve not bought it but I played the beta a lot, and the demo. And it was great. I won’t buy it unless i get a new PC though.
Finally, StarCraft 2. No, it wasn’t released but the announcement alone was enough to slap a huge grin on my face and the faces of millions of others. Koreans mostly. I am more excited about it than all of the above combined.
2007 is the Year of the Strategy Gamer. That’s not to say other genres have missed out though, as has been demonstrated.