Fall 2007 Was the Greatest Stretch in Gaming – and Definitely Xbox – History

Looking back across decades of gaming history, the unbelievable lineup launched in the final months of 2007 created an unrivaled stretch of masterpiece releases across every major console. From revolutionary shooter campaigns to genre-defining RPGs, this extraordinary window stands unchallenged as the single best season in video game history.

This is an IGN opinion piece from Ryan McCaffrey, who worked at Official Xbox Magazine from 2002 to 2012 during the original Xbox and Xbox 360 era before joining IGN, where he remains "the Xbox guy." In the run-up to Xbox's 25th anniversary, he is sharing his personal memories from the platform's first quarter-century of defining moments.

Comparing Gaming's Greatest Release Windows

Sometimes, video game release schedules converge to create memorable superstorms that live on for years after the fact. Gamers often point to the Fall of 1998, which delivered legendary titles like Half-Life, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Doom 3, Metal Gear Solid, and Grim Fandango. Others look back fondly at the Fall of 2004, a iconic period that brought us Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and World of Warcraft.

However, for my money, no other era can touch the sheer density of masterpieces released during the Fall of 2007. It was so unbelievably brilliant that you could take just the Xbox 360 releases from this timeframe and it would still likely take the top spot. When you add in the incredible PC, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii offerings, it forms an absolute murderer's row of software that will probably never be topped in a three-to-four month period.

At Official Xbox Magazine, our editorial team knew the upcoming holiday gaming lineup was going to be massive. Yet, looking back and remembering our Game of the Year debate a few weeks after the dust settled (where Rock Band took home the top award, a decision I have zero regrets about), I am not sure we were fully able to appreciate the immense gravity of the moment. One first-ballot Hall-of-Famer shipped after another in rapid succession.

Why Fall 2007 Remains the Best Season in Video Game History

To understand why this window holds the crown as the best season in video game history, one only needs to inspect the individual achievements that hit store shelves back-to-back. The concentration of top-tier Xbox 360 classics released alongside landmark cross-platform hits created a golden age of interactive entertainment.

BioShock (Released August 21)

If you tried to argue that August 21 is still technically part of the summer season, I would respect your point of view, but plenty of students are already back in school by late August, so it counts as the Fall! Regardless of calendar technicalities, the original BioShock remains an often-imitated, never-duplicated narrative-driven first-person shooter classic.

Set in the breathtaking yet terrifying underwater city of Rapture—a failed libertarian utopia overrun by genetic mutation—BioShock introduced players to terrifying Big Daddies and mysterious Little Sisters. The story took gamers on a literary journey complete with a massive, jaw-dropping plot twist that reshaped how stories are told in games. Legendary designer Ken Levine created his magnum opus here.

The gameplay featured vast emergent possibilities thanks to Plasmids. Players could ignite pools of oil beneath an enemy's feet or electrocute hostile splicers standing in puddles of water. The game's only real blemish was a somewhat weak final boss encounter, but no one can convincingly argue that single flaw disqualifies BioShock from the list of all-time video game greats.

Halo 3 (Released September 25)

It is wild to think about today, but despite the massive initial success of the Xbox 360, Microsoft's second console did not actually launch with a original Halo game. Instead, Halo 2 was a late-generation release on the original Xbox hardware. Thanks to backward compatibility built into the Xbox 360 system, players kept enjoying Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 on their new consoles while waiting for Master Chief's true next-gen debut.

When Master Chief finally arrived to finish the fight that Halo 2 had left painfully unresolved, the hype was unprecedented. Fortunately, the game actually delivered on every promise. Halo 3 gave Master Chief a proper sendoff in its final cinematic, making it one of the rare epic trilogies in gaming that stuck the landing completely.

The Orange Box (Released October 10)

Sometimes Valve simply operates on its own wavelength, much like The Joker. The Orange Box was a ridiculously generous bundle containing multiple perfect titles that any publicly traded publisher would have broken up and sold separately for full price. But Valve chose a different path.

Because Steam generated more revenue than Gabe Newell knew what to do with, Valve bundled Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, the brand-new Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 into a single $60 package purely for the love of gaming. We will almost certainly never see a value proposition like this again, short of Valve spontaneously dropping Half-Life 3 alongside Portal 3 and Left 4 Dead 3 in a surprise release.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Released November 5)

Developer Infinity Ward took a massive leap with Call of Duty 4 after Treyarch handled the previous entry. By shifting the series away from World War II into contemporary combat, Infinity Ward elevated Call of Duty from a popular series into the biggest entertainment property on the planet. It quickly joined the ranks of Mario, Zelda, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto.

Call of Duty 4 offered a tight, cinematic single-player campaign alongside a revolution in online multiplayer design. The progression systems, perks, and create-a-class features introduced here established the exact blueprint that the Call of Duty franchise has relied upon for the last two decades.

Assassin's Creed (Released November 13)

You know a release schedule is truly special when the original Assassin's Creed is considered the weakest game in the lineup. While players do not often look back at the first title with intense nostalgia due to its repetitive four-hour gameplay loop, it introduced a revolutionary concept. Most fans agree the franchise hit its true stride with Assassin's Creed 2 and the Ezio saga, but the original laid essential groundwork.

Launching a brand-new intellectual property during the crowded holiday shopping season against established juggernauts is usually financial suicide. The fact that Ubisoft successfully launched Assassin's Creed into the high-winds of Fall 2007—and saw it grow into a dominant global franchise—proves how powerful the core concept of social stealth truly was.

Mass Effect (Released November 20)

BioWare's epic sci-fi RPG represents another massive risk that paid off enormously during this golden window. I have previously shared my extensive memories regarding why the original entry features the strongest narrative in the entire trilogy. Like Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect proved that publishers in 2007 were willing to place massive bets on ambitious original concepts.

Rock Band (Released November 20)

Harmonix expanded on the peripheral rhythm genre in a way that captured mainstream culture like few games before or since. I have written at length about how special this cooperative music experience was. Rock Band has aged like fine wine, and its software design remains brilliant to this day.

The only real challenge modern players face when trying to revisit Rock Band is finding functional plastic drum kits and guitars. The software itself is immortal; the physical equipment is the fragile part. Just writing about it makes me want to gather friends and fire up a setlist immediately.

Cross-Platform Legends Beyond the Xbox 360

Even though our Official Xbox Magazine editorial offices were filled with Xbox 360 consoles, our staff members were broad gaming enthusiasts who played on every platform. Expanding the scope to include PC, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii exclusives truly solidifies why late 2007 stands as the best season in video game history.

Super Mario Galaxy (Released November 12)

Nintendo's flagship platformer was a bold reinvention of the 3D platformer genre from the undisputed masters of game design. Super Mario Galaxy flipped gravity on its head, sending Mario across spherical planets in space with breathtaking creativity and precision controls.

The impact of Super Mario Galaxy was so profound that nearly two decades later, Nintendo and Illumination used its thematic backdrop as the foundation for the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel. It remains one of the highest-rated games ever created.

Crysis (Released November 13)

There is a very good reason the phrase "Can it run Crysis?" turned into an enduring PC gaming meme for over a decade. Developer Crytek—the original team behind Far Cry before Ubisoft took over the property—created an stunning showcase of graphical capability that pushed hardware to its absolute limits.

Beyond its unmatched visual fidelity, Crysis was a tremendously good first-person shooter. The Nanosuit mechanics allowed players to dynamically swap between enhanced strength, speed, armor, and cloaking abilities, turning open-ended jungle encounters into tactical playgrounds.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Released November 19)

The debut of Nathan Drake launched developer Naughty Dog into the top tier of global game studios. Uncharted took the mantle of premier third-person action-adventure from Tomb Raider, blending Hollywood-style set pieces with charming character dialogue. The franchise eventually expanded beyond consoles to inspire a movie starring Spider-Man actor Tom Holland.

One could easily argue that Drake's Fortune marked the starting point for PlayStation's incredible streak of narrative-driven first-party exclusives. That momentum eventually helped propel the PlayStation 4 to incredible commercial heights following the PS3 era.

Looking Back at 25 Years of Xbox History

As part of our ongoing celebration of Xbox history, analyzing the classic releases of 2007 provides vital context for how the brand built its legacy. For more deep dives and personal retrospectives covering a quarter-century of gaming memories, check out these feature stories:

• GTA 4 Was the Xbox 360's 'We Mean Business' Moment Against the PS3
• Call of Duty 2 Signaled the Beginning of the End of Halo's Reign as the King of Console Shooters
• Fable 2 Was the Closest Xbox Ever Got to Having Its Own Zelda-Like Action-Adventure
• South Park: The Stick of Truth Went Through Publisher Hell but Emerged as One of, if Not the Single Funniest Game Ever
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - I Spent 44 Hours Reviewing it in Bethesda's Basement
• Inside Is the Closest Thing to a 'Perfect' Game I've Ever Played
• Sorry Halo, but Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Was the Best Original Xbox Game
• The Original Mass Effect Is the Trilogy's Best Story, Hands Down
• I Played Halo 2 Before the Rest of the World and Almost Reported the Abrupt Ending as a Bug
• Batman: Arkham Asylum Marked the End of the 'Sh*tty Licensed Game' Era
• Fight Night Round 3 on Xbox 360 Was the First 'Holy Sh*t!' Game of the HD Era
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Legitimized RPGs on the Xbox
• Rock Band Was So Awesome My Coworkers and I Converted a Storage Closet Into Our 'Rock Band Room'
• Ninja Gaiden Legitimized the American Xbox Console for Japanese Developers
• 1 vs. 100 Live Was One of the Gutsiest Games Ever Made
• Sunset Overdrive Was the Highlight of the Otherwise-Rough Xbox One Era and Remains Criminally Underrated
• Crackdown Was So Much More Than Just the Halo 3 Beta's Pack-In Game

Conclusion: An Unmatched Legacy

The fact that you can analyze the Fall of 2007 from so many different angles—as the best Xbox season ever, the best PC season ever, or simply the best single November in gaming—proves its standing. The sheer concentration of groundbreaking hits during this window stands as iron-clad proof that late 2007 remains, indisputably, the best season in video game history.

from IGN India
-via DynaSage