The picture above is taken from the homepage of the German video game rating organisation, the USK (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle = German Voluntary Monitoring Organisation of Entertainment Software (thanks to 3r0t1c n3rd for translating this term in his Cblog)). It shows that they recently rated Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. The interesting part is that this is a rating for the PC version of this game.

What the heck? Didn't Ubisoft claim that they programmed this game with nothing more than Wii and DS in their mind? This game is made for the use with Nintendo's Wii Remote. Why should there come a PC version then? Seems to be kind of a no-brainer.

I have no experience with the first Raving Rabbids episode on the PC so I can't tell if that worked or not. But it is a bit odd that Ubisoft seems to come up with a PC port of the second game. Since I haven't heard of an official announcement from Ubisoft, this could be wrong. Who knows?

Okay, by reading the headline you should actually know what my personal game of the year is. For those who still have no clue, another hint: It comes in a box, it is some kind of a shooter (more a puzzle game, actually) and there is a Weighted Companion Cube in it. Still no idea? Alright, no more clues. My personal game of the year 2007 is...

Portal



“This was a triumph. I’m making a note here: Huge success. It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.”
These lines from the Portal credits song pretty much sum up how I feel about this game. Portal is a First Person Shooter but there is actually nobody to shoot. You have a gun in your hand but you kill no one with it. You solve puzzles, you test your skills and you’re accompanied by nothing more than a computer voice and (in one test chamber) the Weighted Companion Cube.
The premise of the game is simple: Get through 19 test chambers and receive your reward, a delicious cake. What I wasn’t expecting was the amount of humor in this game. The way GLaDOS tells you about “enhanced truths” or the safety notes for the “Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device” are just two (lousy) examples of the great humor of Portal.
Then the Portal Gun itself. It is just an awesome device and you can do all kinds of crazy stuff with it. Want to fall down a bottomless pit? You can. Want to chase yourself? Possible. Is there a long jump to manage? No problem. There are so many ways to use the Portal Gun. And this helps keeping up the motivation.
Though the game is not that long. It takes about two to three hours to beat this game. But it is definitely worth the time you’re spending with it. As far as I know the game costs about 20 Dollars at Valve’s online store Steam. But this game is also part of the Orange Box, together with four other games. So if you haven’t picked it up yet (though I think most of you already have), do it as soon as you can. Otherwise you’re missing one of the most intelligent and original games of the year. Portal is, without a doubt, my personal game of the year 2007.

And that's it. These are my favourite games of 2007. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed listing them up. In about 40 minutes, 2008 arrives. Let's wave 2007 good bye and look forward to a new year with new challenges and, of course, new games. See you next year. ;)

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Other personal favourites of this year:
Number 5: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Number 4: Assassin's Creed
Number 3: Super Mario Galaxy
Number 2: Ōkami

Some of us think that Zelda: Twilight Princess was an awesome game. I'm one of these people. But this year, I had the chance to experience a better game than this. And even though it may be old for some people, this game is on my list at spot numer 2. And the game is...

Ōkami



I know that the American release of this game was in 2006. But in Europe it has been released this year, so for me it is one of the best games of 2007. The second best, to be precisely. You know, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was my Game of the Year 2006 but Ōkami overall better than Nintendo’s game with the elfish boy in a green tunic. The graphics are prettier, the music is better and the story is superior to Twilight Princess. If you ask me, this game is even better than the Zelda fan favourite Ocarina of Time. Clover Studios took the well known formula and improved it.
What I really like about this game is how the dungeons fit in the world of Ōkami. Without looking at the map I sometimes barely noticed that I was in a dungeon. And my favourite part is the cut scene after you vitalized a guardian sapling. Also, the characters (especially Issun and Amaterasu) are great. Issun is one of my favourite sidekicks I ever met in a video game.
I hope that the Wii version will live up to the greatness that is Ōkami. It would be very sad to see a great game ruined by a bad port...

As this list concludes we finally get to my personal game of the year. Check back tomorrow to see which game impressed me the most this year.

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Other personal favourites of this year:
Number 5: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Number 4: Assassin's Creed
Number 3: Super Mario Galaxy

Today I'll reveal my number 3 game of the year 2007. Some of you would give this title a higher spot on your list. But I have to admit that it is really close to be number 2 or even number 1. This and the following three games are almost equal when it comes to awesomeness. Since there can be only one number 1, I had to choose. This game didn't make it. Spot number 3 belongs to...

Super Mario Galaxy



Wait, this game is not the number 1 game of this year? Well, at least in my list, it takes the third spot. But that doesn’t mean that the game is bad. Heck, it’s the best Wii game up to now. For one it is much more diversified than Super Mario Sunshine with its beach/vacation themed levels. The level design of Galaxy is awesome with all the little planets and stars you can walk on. And since each star of a level takes you to a different part of the very same level, it never gets old to visit them again. And for a Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy is a damn beautiful game. The graphics are really impressive. If just other developers could bring up so much effort when it comes to graphics on the Wii…
Okay, it’s got some water levels which I personally can’t stand and it is a bit easy if you ask me but this shouldn’t hold you from buying it. If you already have a Wii: Get this game. And if you don’t, think about getting one just for this game. ;)

Tomorrow we get to Game of the Year number 2. This may be a game from 2006 for American gamers but its European release was in 2007, so it deserves a spot on my list.


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Other personal favourites of this year:
Number 5: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Number 4: Assassin's Creed

Even though I might know what kind of comment you may leave, I'm still going to post my complete list. Especially this game might not be on your list but it is one of my favourite games of this year so it deserves a spot on my list. My number 4 Game of the Year 2007 is...

Assassin's Creed



No, I’m not paid by Ubisoft. And I do know that the game is not flawless. But damn, the rooftop running alone is worth the money. It feels so natural and it looks fantastic as Altair climbs walls and towers to get a better view of his environment. Yeah, the tasks given to you are a bit repetitive. But all the research you do will pay off when you get to the actual assassination. It is kind of a satisfying feeling when you kill your target without being noticed by anyone. Okay, after that you do get noticed but this leads to another fantastic aspect of the game: Escaping from the guards. Running around on the roofs is easy until you have a whole battalion of guards after you. The story was, in my opinion, awesome. It’s full of twists and ethic questions and thus very thrilling. I really enjoyed Assassin’s Creed. Give this game a chance. You should at least try the rooftop running.

Check back tomorrow for the next game on my list.

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Other personal favourites of this year:
Number 5: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2

The year is almost over, time to look back at all the games I played and enjoyed. You may disagree with my list (read: you definetly will disagree) but that's okay. Also, some of the games I mention (okay, one to be exactly) may be stuff of 2006 for American readers. But I live in Europe, these games were released here in 2007, so it's okay.
I'll start this with my number 5 game of the year, tomorrow it'll be my number 4 game, the day after tomorrow spot number 3 and so on. On December 31th the list will end with my personal game of the year 2007. With that being said, let's begin. And spot number 5 is taken by...

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2



Be honest: It was very obvious that this game would take a spot on my list. But it deserves this place. Compared to the first game, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 features a better multi player mode which allows four players to be part of the action in any minigame (except for the FPS games). Also you don't have to play through the game alone before you can select all minigames in multiplayer. I also enjoyed the option to customize my Rabbid by dressing it with different pieces of clothing. But on the other hand the game seems to be a bit shorter since there is no story whatsoever to connect the minigames. And the FPS style Rabbid hunt parts are a bit strange. The controls seem to be sloppy, in my opinion. Nevertheless, the game is just fun to play if you have some friends around. The single player experience itself is not worth the cash, the game was designed for multiplayer and multiplayer only. And one last advice for Ubisoft: If you're going to make Raving Rabbids 3, please get Rayman out of the title. He doesn't deserve to be the... well... "main character" of minigame compilations. And maybe the next title with the Rabbids could be something else than a collection of minigames. A Point and Click adventure game, for example.


Come back tomorrow to see which game beat the Raving Rabbids. And I know that you probably disagree with the next game. Maybe that's why it's on my list. ;)