GTA 3 and SSBB hurt the 2007 line. I would take 97 and 98 for the best year award anytime.

You can't compare reviews from the past and today really. There are twice as many reviews now days then before which typically bring the score downs. This is why Zelda lasted so danm long at number 1 since it only had 20 something reviews. How about the curve starts 85%+ and see how many games each year gets. Back in the day games went from 70% to 90% with little in between. Do I think this is the best year? I think so.

I don't have the time or the expertise to fully answer this, but consider the following few points:

1. Freshness:
There have been 7 Ratchet & Clank games during the past 5 years, and even lots of the fans are starting to grumble. Compare this to 3 Super Mario games during the last 11 years.  

2. Nostalogy:
While playing Galaxy, I keep getting a tear in my eye from remembering how much I loved SMB3 on the NES. Most reviewers were playing games long before the first Playstation, and they're the same as me in this regard. You might call this cheating, but it makes me enjoy the game more. Therefore, as absurd as it sounds, Mario games are better simply due to having Mario in them. (better as in better than they'd otherwise be, not better than Ratchet for that reason alone)

3. It's made by Shigeru Miyamoto.
I mean come on, that's a flat +20 points right there alone. =P

indeed i say any games in the 87 or 88+ should be counted as 90 thanks to all the reviews

@ Garcian Smith... Grim Fandango is the stuff ...

I would say 98 followed by 2001 for the best year ever.

i would say 2008 has a chance to pass this year

actually 2007 90+ are

super mario galaxy 98
bioshock 96
orange box 96
call of duty 4 95
oblivion(ps3) 93
halo 3 94
guitar hero 2 92
god of war 2 93
metroid prime 3 90
resident evil 4 91
forza motorsport 2 90
phantom hourglass 90
virtua fighter 5 90

and games that have a shot are mass efect and rock band
so that 13+2=15 putting it just lower then 2001

Bioshock (X360), Final Fantasy XII (yes I live in europe), Valkyrie profile Silmeria, Rogue Galaxy and Mario Galaxy where great, but overall I would say that most of the games where overhyped, especially the next-gen one's.

1998 was probably one of the better years in gaming history. In a lot of ways, it shows how technology is not as limiting as innovative imagination. A lot of those games were exploiting the limitations of the hardware but still managed to be benchmarks for thee indurstry. Impressive.

I would still take 1996 over 1998 for a few simple reasons but it is hard to argue against Starcraft, Tekken 3, Half-Life, Thief, and OoT. Amazing stuff.

2007 had a shot but no GTA IV and no SSBB pretty much took all of that storm away.