QuickJump Quickpeek special edition: The PC 2007 Year in Review
PC gaming has always about three consistent genre types of games: FPS, strategy and MMORPGs. This year isn’t all that different as most of the best PC releases of 2008 come from all three categories. However, this doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been any notable advances for PC games in 2007.
Check out the rest of the year in review after the jump!
PC gaming has always been about three consistent genre types of games: FPS, strategy and MMORPGs. This year isn’t all that different as most of the best PC releases of 2008 come from all three categories.
However, this doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been any notable advances for PC games in 2007. Technology-wise, PC games have been in the forefront of gaming when it came to quality visuals and just how far you can push your system to create a really wicked game.
Here’s the year in a nutshell for one of the longest standing gaming platforms out there.
Milestones in 2007
You can’t get away with another year in PC gaming without updating your rig. This is exactly what Microsoft did when it introduced the new Windows Vista operating system. While it’s kind of expected to have certain bumps when releasing a new OS, especially for gaming, the exclusive DirectX 10 puts forward more emphasis on visual quality for those gamers who want to get the best out of their graphics.
PC gamers who typically relied on consoles for their online multiplayer needs were revitalized with the introduction of the Games for Windows – Live service last May, starting with Halo 2 for Windows Vista. Popular first party titles were introduced into the service, including Gears of War, UNO and Viva Pinata, all of which are cross platform titles on the Xbox 360.
In the MMORPG scene, the start of the year marked a very memorable event as Blizzard‘s World of Warcraft released its first expansion pack with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Within 24 hours, it sold nearly 2.7 million copies and became the the fastest selling PC game in Europe, Australia and the United States.
However, perhaps one of the biggest news to shake up the PC, and even the entire video game industry, was the merge between the two biggest developers/publishers in the business: Activision and Vivendi Games. The new Activision Blizzard merger promises to create “the worldÂ’s largest and most profitable pure-play video game publisher”. Considering how well both companies have cornered their own portions of the video game market, it will be interesting to see what games they’ll come up with.
Notable games of the year
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward)
Taking the soldiers out for a night on the town after their harrowing adventures in World War II, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare marks one of the most highly anticipated shooters of the year. As expected this game wasn’t one to disappoint gamers with its spectacular visuals and its detailed eye for accuracy when it came to simulating which gun goes best for which firefight.
Portal (Valve Corporation)
When an addon becomes more critically acclaimed that the original game that it came bundled with, then we’re talking about none other than Portal.
For an FPS, it’s already pretty unique in a sense that it’s more of a puzzle game than your usual shoot ’em up games out there in the same genre. Throw in the very multi-faceted personality (read: sadistic and psychotic) of GLaDOS, then you have a game that’s sure to grab your attention while you zip through each level while listening to GLaDOS’s deadpan voice in the background.
And, of course, let’s not forget the cake.
Crysis (Crytek)
Using the all-powerful CryENGINE2, Crysis definitely takes the cake (not to be confused with the previous entry) when it comes to pretty visuals. With a good enough rig, you can literally blow away any of the other FPS entries of the year. Not to say that the game itself isn’t impressive in any way. As an FPS, it shows off a lot of its dynamic aspects with a super-powered suit and a handful of chickens.
World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment)
Since gamers won’t be seeing the release of the highly anticipated StarCraft II this year, World in Conflict gets the spotlight in the strategy game genre. The massive scale with which you can field all your troops certainly mark the game as a strategic war game on par with other classics such as the Command and Conquer series. With superior visuals and a ton of medals you can earn over the course of the game, World in Conflict will definitely be remembered in the years to come.
Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games)
On the flip side, this is about as futuristic as strategy games will go this year without the advent of any divine intervention from Blizzard. Nothing says power than a phalanx of giant armored robots taking out the opposition on the field. Using technology which is sensitive to what type of rig you’re running Supreme Commander, makes it a lot more flexible in terms of quality and how far you’re willing to push your system.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard)
Is it any wonder that this game takes the top spot for MMORPG this year (or any other year for that matter)? Ever since its release three years ago, World of Warcraft seems to show no sign of slowing down especially with all the new content that’s constantly being churned out by the developers. Suffice to say, everyone can expect WoW to steamroll in the years to come.
What’s to come in the year ahead
It would come as no big surprise to see PC gaming dominate in the same three categories that it has always been highly acclaimed for in the coming year. However, seeing the advances that PC games have made this year in terms of visual quality and gameplay, we wouldn’t be surprised if developers come out with even more awesome games for the PC by the time we write the next PC year-end review in 2008.
Already, gamers have already set their eye out on upcoming titles such as the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for WoW and the eventual sequels to Crysis and Portal.
As always, we can expect the usual annual harvest of titles from FPS developers such as the Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament series. However, we still have to see if next year will bring out even more improvements for such well-established game titles.
Also, with the Activision Blizzard merger already set, gamers are still wondering what surprises they have in store for everyone in the coming year. With developers working on new IP games, people shouldn’t be too surprised if another game takes everyone by surprise all of a sudden.
All in all, 2007 was another step up for PC gamers everywhere. Hardcore gamers of the long standing platform shouldn’t worry about the PC dying off as a gaming device with new titles still coming out and other console developers constantly looking to PC games for guidance and inspiration.
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