Projects - A
Halo 3. When you have a game in your stable that managed the type of numbers on release day that big time movies only dream of, you get an A grade no matter the circumstances of your other titles during the year. I can wrap up the Projects discussion right there but I won’t because there were some other semi-gems coming from Microsoft last year.
Project Gotham Racing 4 and Forza Motorsport 2 were both solid releases in their genre last year. I know it was a while ago but don’t forget about Crackdown, another 2007 title. It was a great game in my opinion that held its on despite the Halo 3 beta fiasco. There were family titles last year as well including Viva Pinata Party Animals and Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action. There was the forgettable Fuzion Frenzy 2 as well as one of my personal favorites, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom. Needless to say, there was something for everyone coming out of Microsoft last year.
Projects - A
How can anyone forget BioShock, The Darkness or even Prey? 2K Games did magic with the few titles that it had on its plate last year. You have one game in BioShock that made its way to many awards and on many game of the year lists. And you have another in The Darkness that I believe deserves consideration for the sleeper of the year. I reviewed The Darkness so it shouldn’t be a surprise knowing that I really enjoyed it.
2K Sports tried to wage a good war as well with a lineup that included NBA 2K8 and College Hoops 2K8. However, there was this game called All-Pro 2K8 that also released. I’ve made my case on the fruity uniforms and judging from sales, I’d say that plenty of people shared that sentiment. It was 2K5 minus real names to be quite honest. I’m not sure why this was done and I imagine those reasons will never be shared with me.
Sure 2K Sports had some shortcomings with their projects, but 2K Games was a bright light with the amazing experience of BioShock and the gritty ride of The Darkness.
Projects - B
You can make a case that the only game anyone will remember from Ubisoft this year is Assassin’s Creed. In fact, I’ll make that case right now. Anyone up for some Beowulf? CSI? America’s Army? Naruto: Rise of a Ninja was a decent offering but I’d wager that the ramen noodles campaign surrounding it was more interesting. There was a point long ago when Ubisoft could simply rest on the shoulders of its many Tom Clancy titles but that time is no more. Is anyone still playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2? Gamers are expecting and deserve more than the many Tom Clancy’s Rainbow-Ghost-Splinter moments.
I enjoy those games but they’re all too similar to offer any higher grade here in Projects. Assassin’s Creed has been a truly mixed breed as far as media response goes and even community response. For a title that consumed so much of Ubisoft’s marketing dollars you’d expect a worldwide consensus that it was a contender for Untouchable of the Year but that hasn’t been the case. It still might once I play it and it just might deserve it judging from the huge # of sales it has pulled off. Never judge a book by its cover or by its sales though. But even the strong showing of Assassin’s Creed in sales isn’t enough to compensate for the likes of Beowulf, Naruto and the less-than-blazing Blazing Angels we had this year.
Projects - A
Was having a studio like Infinity Ward develop what many consider the game of the year in Call of Duty 4 enough for the A grade in 2007? Could it salvage an otherwise mediocre lineup of games throughout the year? The short answer is yes. Both Call of Duty 4 and their other solid hit, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, pushed Activision to new heights. You deserve a solid Projects grade when you’re attached to 2 of the top 10 games people will remember this year. RedOctane and Infinity Ward take a bow. I’d like to issue a plea to Activision, however, to not continue to put us through the back and forth of Treyarch and Infinity Ward with the Call of Duty franchise. Yes, it sucks to go from potential Untouchable of the Year when Infinity is at the helm to ”just good” with what Treyarch produces. (good for your grade that COD4 came this year)
Beyond those two titles, I don’t imagine many people are waiting for a chance to play the likes of Transformers, Spider-Man, Bee Movie Game or Shrek which are all movie-to-game franchises. There’s just something about games based on movies that rub most the wrong way. Having these must be good for conference meetings and fancy charts; the beauty of necessary evils. I did enjoy nearly all of them though so my comments about them are done with a heavy heart. I dare not mention any of the Cabela games.
What these titles did though was keep Activision in nearly every meaningful category of games. They had shooters, pimps for your rides and poker champions mixed with ogres, spiders, Autobots and metal. It would’ve been a clean sweep had they produced any racing titles. In 2008, I imagine that will change.
Projects - B
During 2007 Electronic Arts kept fans talking about their titles by releasing over a dozen throughout the year. There was hardly a time when a new EA title wasn’t being talked about. From sports to action to shooters, EA seemingly had something for everyone to play. Tiger Woods, Madden and their NHL series were tops in their genre this year. And I can’t forget to mention the addition of former Microsoft executive Peter Moore to their sports division making an already strong division even stronger.
The quality and delivery of their titles range from average to excellent with average games like Need For Speed ProStreet to excellent titles like skate, The Orange Box and Crysis. Some say the frequency and number of titles is a bad thing but I submit to those people that it sure beats having nothing to play. It helps serving as both a publisher and developer. This gives you the ability to populate shelves moreso than many other companies.
It also helps your Projects grade when you obtain quality development studios at the pace EA has over the years. It shows that they’re willing to get the help needed to grade high or rather they’re on a “win at all costs” ego trip which in either case helps. It also helps when you establish new IPs that turn out better than anyone expected in their 2007 titles, skate and Rock Band. Although most of their titles were existing franchises, the effort behind the majority of them coupled with a few newbies gets Electronic Arts a B grade here.
Tis the season to be jolly especially when you bring home good grades to your parents and score some good presents from Santa. Since so many kids are going to be playing hours and hours of video games this holiday season, I figured it made perfect sense to see what the U360 Report Card says about the companies who make these games.
I’ll take a look and see exactly how these publishers and developers out there graded to determine whether they’ve been naughty or nice. Let’s see which company deserves some milk and cookies or a gift of purchase this season.
The first company to stand in front of the class for their grade will be Electronic Arts. The report card for the mighty EA will be turned in tomorrow. Be sure to be here to see their grade. I’ll also have report cards on Microsoft, Activision, Vivendi, 2K and others in the days ahead.
Here’s how I’ll grade each of them.
Projects
How many titles have they released this year? Were they of good quality? Were they original or sequels?
Community
How were they in dealing with their fan base? Did they host any events to promote their titles? How accessible did they make information about their title with websites, advertising, etc? How accessible are they to the fans?
Extra Credit
How have they extended the life of their titles in the Xbox Live Marketplace? Did they develop any extra content and if so, was the price reasonable?
