We take a look back at the best games of summer 2007 and tell you our verdict on which games made it into our Xbox 360 disc tray. We'll talk about such games as DIRT, NCAA Football 08, All Pro Football 2K8, Call of Juarez, and much more.
This summer has been buzzing with game releases, but are any of these games really good? With some of the hottest releases, like Madden NFL 08, and the highly anticipated Medal of Honor: Airborne on our door step, we'll be reviewing some of the best games of summer 2007. You're probably asking yourself which games made the final cut and we'll show you the games that we loved the most.
NCAA FOOTBALL 08 EA has been hitting and missing over the couple last years with their sports titles, but we can safely say that NCAA Football 08 is one of the best games of the summer. We are referring to casual gamers as well, not just diehard sports fanatics. With a completely rehauled Dynasty Mode and Campus Legend mode, this game is deep and offers you infinite replayability, no matter how you play it, being online or offline. With such a robust set of options, what about the actual gameplay?
We can safely say that NCAA Football 08 has improved greatly over its previous installments, in that the animations are so much smoother, and the collision detection is better this year around (no players going through other players this time). Although it happens on occurrences, the best thing about the game is out on the field, and the gameplay is strong with options in the snap, running the ball, and giving new meaning to control. The game is brilliant. Check out our full review of the game to find out more.
DIRT If there is one racing game that you MUST get whether you are a casual racing fan or not, this game delivers on one of the greatest rally experiences to date. Simulation gameplay is the backbone of DIRT and you can really tell, as damage to your car can be seen and certainly felt. Not to mention the game's car models as well as various stages are incredibly lifelike and realistic-looking - they are all simply gorgeous. Now you might have heard complaints from other reviewers "claiming" that the framerate dips, but we've been playing this game all summer and haven't had one problem with the title's framerate.
We cannot speak highly enough of Codemasters' job with the singleplayer component of the game, which offers you the career mode and championship modes. With such a diverse experience at your hands, you can now race wheel-to-wheel in such events like rallycross instead of long stretches by yourself, even though they are there too. You'll have a huge pyramid at your disposal and you can choose what difficulty best suits your skill at any time in the career mode. This can't be said for the championship mode, which is almost like Madden's season mode in respects to how it is laid out. You get to choose one vehicle and race through 18 races, most of them being time trail races and two being wheel-to-wheel.
Many people would suspect that DIRT would definitely have good multiplayer, and although it does have some multiplayer aspects, the only thing you can really do is race time trail against 100 other opponents (mind you, you cannot see them, just their times). It would have been nice to go racing wheel-to-wheel with other players, but we expect this in next year's addition, considering how popular this game is. CALL OF JUAREZ Do you ever feel like there isn't enough coverage of the Wild-West in any of the entertainment platforms, especially gaming. Well just this summer the drought ended when Ubisoft released their game Call of Juarez for the Xbox 360. The game looks and plays beautifully, with two distinct characters. The first being a kid name Billy (no pun intended), who is a Mexican boy dealing with some racial tension in the times. The second - and most fun - character has to be Reverend Ray, who has the ability to go in slow-motion, bullet-time mode.
The game is extremely short, however, but definitely makes up for it with its stellar multiplayer component. Although it can be hard to find some players online, it's so rewarding to finally see a western shooter come to the 360 with such dedication to the fans. Billy mostly carries around his bow and arrows, but also has the ability to be one sneaky SOB. On the other hand, Ray is definitely a gunslinger and is there for the action. The game mixes it up a bit and it is done very well, we might add. This game is a definite buy for hardcore westerns, but if you don't like an extremely short singleplayer experience, rent it.
ALL-PRO FOOTBALL 2K8 If you have been waiting Visual Concepts to come out with a pigskin title, your prayers have finally been answered with the first edition in the series called All-Pro Football 2K8. Combining some of the best athletes in history and some awesome all-star rosters plus teams, this game still delivers in the gameplay department. With excellent gameplay out on the field, there are plenty of plays to run and configure, plus the running game here is especially exciting. The animations in the game are top-notch and some of the best to-date, but some of the graphics can be enhanced. This is exactly why we cannot wait for the next addition in the series.
What really strikes us odd about the game is the lack of features. If you are the kind of player that likes off-season protocols, like recruiting and training, then this game is not for you. With only a Season Mode, Play Now Mode, and a strong online component, it seems that the package is a bit bare-boned. However, if you love a good game of football, you can look no further than this title. It is just that good. But can it really compete with Madden NFL 08? Not yet, but maybe next year.
FORZA MOTORSPORT 2 For those that are hardcore racing fans Forza 2 is your cup of tea. Forza Motorsport 2 is one of the most detailed racing titles, including over 300 realistic cars. Although the game isn't the prettiest titles of all time, it definitely has one of the most comprehensive career modes we have ever seen. With an extremely detailed customization option when editing your cars' paint colors, vinyl scheme, and of course its various manufactured parts, the game has one of the most stellar physics engines ever built for a racing title.
The online component is no sham either and it really delivers with such options as Auction House, which actually allows you to sell and buy cars for a certain cost. You can even have one design for your entire car club and go racing online against other car clubs. We'd like to see the next installment focus more on the graphics department of the game, but what we have here is an all-star game with an all-star cast of cars to match.
LOOKING FORWARD TO FALL For those of you going back to school, you'll have some awesome games at your disposal when you come home and party in front of the tube. We'll start out by mentioning the fact that Madden NFL 08 will definitely be a "must-have" this year since it is using a completely new animation engine as well as some new gameplay mechanics. The game will definitely not disappoint, just like NCAA Football 08 didn't. On the other hand, we'll be also seeing such ambitious projects like Bioshock released and it will be interesting to see how the masses receive this game. The World-War II genre definitely keeps on growing as Medal of Honor: Airborne and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway go head-to-head, but we expect both games to equally do well. Want to load up your ammo and shoot a bunch of baddies? Then Stranglehold is definitely a game worth looking into, as it is a collaboration with director John Woo and Midway Entertainment.
This summer's games weren't that shabby and they are great-looking, plus we'll be looking forward to some very ambitious titles this fall. We'll update you about some of the best games coming out this fall as well. So check back at WebQuad for this feature.
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Check out footage to the single player and multiplayer demo of Battlefield Bad Company.
