There’s a moment in a console’s life cycle when the pedal finally hits the metal — that threshold when games begin to take advantage of the real breadth of the hardware’s tech. 2007 was that year for Xbox 360. Sure, up to that point we’d had some truly great additions to the library, like Gears of War. But nothing could’ve prepared us for the onslaught of 2007’s offerings. Here, our staff picks their favorites from 2007's Ten Club. 

BioShock
It had the plot twist heard ’round the gaming world, but Irrational’s clever underwater shooter deserved more credit for the melancholy environment it created and the damaged characters who inhabited it. With BioShock, storytelling in games was elevated to new heights.

Dave Rudden, web editor: "Of the four games that earned OXM’s highest score in 2007, BioShock’s the one that I’d still award the score to today. Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare were both great leaps for their franchises, but both tread in familiar territory. On the same note, Mass Effect hit some of the same notes as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and yes, maybe I’m bitter that a proper KOTOR sequel isn’t on the Xbox 360’s radar). BioShock’s atmosphere, storyline, and engaging gameplay still hold up today, and I’d say it’s better than its sequel in many respects. There’s only one reason I’d hold off on giving the original a 10 nowadays, and that’s because I think BioShock Infinite has the potential to be even better."

Josh Abrams, intern: "Not only does it have one of the most thrilling and engaging beginnings of a game, it keeps ramping up the mystery and paranoia in every new location explored. Then when the player finally has a good understanding of what happened in Rapture, they are hit with one of the greatest gaming storyline twists in history! The character development and voice acting are superb. Whether Andrew Ryan is lecturing you about his Great Chain, Atlas is directing you to your next objective, or you hear a psychotic splicer talking to themselves around the next corner, its all wonderfully immersive and terrifying at the same time. I have yet to find another game that thrills and empowers me in every aspect I want as much as BioShock does."

Mass Effect
BioWare’s exclusive debut on 360 was an emotional sci-fi rollercoaster that incorporated so many huge leaps for role-playing games, the genre’s never been the same since. (Give or take an elevator ride or two.)

Corey Cohen, executive editor: "Got to go with Mass Effect (with BioShock being a close second). I'll always be a sucker for the first game's more hardcore qualities — its tedious inventory, its sniper-rifle-that-desperately-needed-an-upgrade, its nerdier storyline...wow, you know you love a game when the first stuff you reminisce about is its weak spots! But seriously, Mass Effect hooked me like no RPG had before; I actually drove the Mako around every single planet, picking up every bit of ore, in the name of full exploration. And I still listen to The Faunts' awesome end-credits song on iTunes..."

Dave Cordon, art director: "The story is as good as anything being released today."

Ryan McCaffrey, senior editor: "Though Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 both had the “total package” of awesomeness going for them, Mass Effect holds a special place in my heart amongst those four. It was a completely new experience, backed by incredible visuals and a wholly unique dialogue system. The story was gripping – particularly in the last act – and the world BioWare created just felt…alive. Best of all, it allowed me to be an evil, evil human being – and rewarded me for it."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
For a series that had steadfastly remained in World War II while delivering blockbuster movie–level thrills, Infinity Ward’s franchise finally entered the modern era with a military shooter that captivated a whole new generation of gamers.

Kevin W. Smith, features editor: "Wow, nobody? Nobody? Doesn't anyone realize this franchise has gone on to break an insane number of sales records, even just this past week!? No!? Okay, well, fine. I guess what you're saying then is that numbers don't matter. And that sometimes the most interesting games are also the ones that don't make any money at all. Well fine, Mr. Arty Pants, but can I just remind everyone this is the game that first introduced us to the likes of Soap MacTavish and Captain Price. No, still nothing? Fine. I'll stand by the original Modern Warfare, and no, Activision did not pay me to write this. Although they could afford it, those rich..."   

Halo 3
Finally, a Halo game for 360! And what a doozy it ended up being, from its trilogy-closing final moments (if you were patient enough to wait for the credits to wrap) to the enormous helping of bells and whistles that pushed its multiplayer components far past its predecessors.

Francesca Reyes, editor-in-chief: "I'm totally going to wuss out on this choice. But screw it — I'm the Editor-in-Chief and I get to make an executive decision to flounder on making a decision! Why? Because 2007 was just a ridiculous year for games; and not only because there were so many good games, but because there was such a huge amount of VARIETY. BioShock had storytelling, atmosphere, and damn fine design; Mass Effect was just…well, for a lifelong RPG devotee, it was just absolutely precedent-shattering in so many ways — and that's something I'll forever be fond of the series for, no matter if they decide to combine it with Call of Duty and make it an RTS (please don't!); Modern Warfare was a super-polished Hollywood-ized step into present-day military conflicts for Call of Duty; and then Halo 3…What do you say about the 360 debut of a game that put Xbox on the map? I played through the campaign three times, so there's that.

"If I had to choose one? That's just impossible for me. It'd be like Sophie's Choice. I think all four of them hold up even after all this time, stupidly long elevator rides and all. They're like apples and oranges (and bananas and pears). Take that, rest of the OXM staff. Paying the costs to be the boss means I don't have to choose!"

XBOX AT 10 ARCHIVE:

2001 - The Xbox's Launch Lineup
2002 - OXM vs "The Duke" controller
2003 - A look back at XSN Sports
2004 - Xbox 360 predicition postmortem
2005 - Xbox 360's Launch Wins and Losses
2006 - OXM Reflects on the Red Ring of Death
2007 - A Look Back on the 10's of '07
2008 - The First Summer of Arcade's Hotness
2009 - Why We Miss 1 vs. 100
2010 - The Highs and Lows of Kinect