Not to be outdone by the likes of Nintendo, Capcom and Konami, 3D Realms even got in on the act by releasing the first new trailer of Duke Nukem Forever in more than a decade. This sixty second clip features the same logo from the original game, as well as the same opening music. In a lot of ways it's a callback to those who remember seeing the original Duke Nukem Forever trailer many E3s ago. While it's true that this is fan service, it's important to note that this fan service is dubious at best ... which brings us to the problem with fan service in 2007.

Sure there were a lot of companies that got the fan service thing right last year; there were also a few companies that couldn't see the forest for the trees. One such example is Warhawk, the PlayStation 3 shooter that shares its name with a PS1 game from 1995. Unfortunately this new Warhawk feels nothing like the original, instead giving a greater emphasis to other vehicles and the on-foot tactics. Another classic 3D shooter is Afterburner, which saw a brand new PSP game released in 2007. While Afterburner: Black Falcon is a strong game in its own rights (see: our full review), it didn't really feel like the old game. What's more, it did a piss poor job of alluding to the original game, which is definitely important when you're delivering fan service.

Unfortunately Afterburner wasn't the only game Sega managed to screw up. If 2007 taught us anything, it's that Alien Syndrome did not deserve a brand new sequel (see: our full review). In fact, it's worse than that, Sega owes everybody who played the new Alien Syndrome game a big apology. Not only does it not have anything to do with the original Alien Syndrome, but it also proves to be one of the worst playing games of the year. It's just an ugly mess, something you should avoid at all costs.

Then again, I would rather play another thirty hours of Alien Syndrome if it meant I would never have to witness another second of Card Fighters Clash for the Nintendo DS. It's almost as if SNK wanted to answer the question, "How can you possibly screw up Card Fighters Clash?" Well, SNK managed to screw up one of the best card battling games of all time, turning it into a dreadful experience that is based more on luck than actual skill. Sure SNK features classic Capcom and SNK characters, but most of these cards are recycled from previous Card Fighting Clash games. The whole thing is made painfully worse when you realize that the game is actually broken, so you can't do the one thing the game wants you to do (collect every card). This is a miserable experience that insults both fans of the series and new players alike.

Thankfully these few games were the exception to the rule. Most of the blatant fan service games of 2007 were high quality products that were aimed at fans but could be enjoyed by just about everybody. It's as if everybody in the games industry had the same idea to make 2007 the year of the fan service. The fact that this was not done intentionally only makes this rarity that much more exciting, it's nice to see all of these companies calling back to their classic games. So all of you long-time gamers get up and take a bow, because in 2007 there were a surprising amount of games that were aimed directly at you. Feel good all of you fans of everything old school, because I can guarantee that this is the last time fan service has the best year ever!