Favorite Games of The Decade.

The title sorta tells it all. Name your favorite games from the 2000's. Do it as a top-ten list, one sentence, whatever.

I'm gonna have to think about it for a bit before I actually post my list. So many good games to narrow down, you know?

Too god damn hard. 10 years is a lot of years. I'd have a hard time picking my favorites for a year.

So a list of 10 games that stings my heart to write down, because i know i'm forgetting some lovelies.

Bioshock - "Would you kindly" is a fantastically meta moment, and that art

Dead Space - Really bowled me over. Easily one of my favorite games in a very long time. Razor sharp art direction, technically flawless and wonderful plot. One of the few games this decade to really create a world.

Alone in the dark - Criminally underrated. Ambitious, systems driven and emergent, but saddled with a monstrous control scheme and a completely nonsensical plot. The absolute best bits are when it lets you off the leash and lets you play with its systems. It's almost like Trespasser in this regard.

No one lives forever 1/2 - Shared spot. That Monolith, capable of making joyful, generous, playful gems like these has reverted to making Brown Horror 2 time and time again is an epic shame. NOLF are warm games. They are like a cozy fireplace of video gaming, and i miss them daily.

Fallout 3 - I spent much of E3 06 harassing the Bethesda booth employees for Fallout 3 posters (bastards never gave in), and the wait was totally worth it. I have over 90 hours logged. New Vegas can't come soon enough.

Oddworld: Stranger's wrath - Why this game didn't blow up big is beyond me. It's easily one of the best console FPSes ever made, top tier.

Crackdown - Jumping fascist supercops. Super Fascist Bros. Yes.

Dawn of war: Dark Crusade - This game really hit its stride at the second expansion. I still play it.

Freedom Force - Another one of those super generous cozy games that always feel fantastic to replay. I think i'll reinstall it this evening actually. Ant!

Halo 3 - I hate to admit this, because i think the Halo series is a tremendous load of ass (And i'm a huge, huge fan of the Marathon series from way back), but Halo 3 multiplayer is some of the most ridiculous fun I've had online. Just wall to wall moments. My favorite was a moment on Sandtrap. Teams were uneven and people started bitching. My response is to create a pink team and say i'll take everyone else on. Right before game starts another guy joins in and immediatly joins pink team. That makes us 2 pink men vs 2 teams of 6. Our tactic is simple: Drive the elephant to other vehicles and defend it while we try to stack as many vehicles onboard as possible. Pink team absolutely dominates by virtue of completely irrational play. And the best part is i have a full match replay i can watch again if i want to. ALL multiplayer games should have match recordings like Halo 3 did.

So, there. Some games. But i can already think of more i missed. Christ what a good decade for games.

These are some of mine. I might add more as they come to me.
Mirror's Edge- Say what you will about the storyline, the gameplay was all around awesome.

Portal - Simple, addictive puzzle solving in a FPS form. What's not to like?

Assassin's Creed - It didn't deliver on the all the promises that were made, but it was most definitely my favorite sandbox game out there.

Half-Life 2 - What can I say? All around amazing.

I'm name some I can think of....

The Witcher
Baldur's Gate 2
Dragon Age: Origins
Fallout 3
Bioshock
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
F.E.A.R.

Well... Half-Life 2, TF2 and Portal are all on it, so they can just be put under Orange Box.

Orange Box
F.E.A.R.
BioShock
Witcher
Deus Ex
Baldur's Gate II
Counter-Strike
God of War /2
Halo: CE
World of Warcraft

Just a general list of titles that come to mind.

Here's my Top 5:

Half-Life 2- Probably the most polished and self-realized game world I've ever seen. Also, pretty great animations, enviorments and voice acting for a 6-year old game.

Braid- Flipping amazing. I liked this more than Portal. It has a beautiful art design, amazing story, and surprisingly fresh gameplay for a platformer.

Bioshock- The first game I ever played that I adored. I've had massive arguements over this game having the best story in a game, and so far, I haven't been proven wrong.

Psychonauts- Probably the only game I've ever played that made me laugh on purpose. Also, very creative character and enviorments.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- The first Zelda game I ever played all the way through, and as such, I think it's better than Ocarina of Time.

Oh geez... I'll just list a few.......

Bioshock - The game that made me believe that the FPS genre could be fun. And the games in that genre could be a venue for deeper meaning and artistic design.

LittleBigPlanet - Platforming with a twist!

Assassin's Creed 2 - Delivered on the promise expected of the first game.

MGS4 - Need I say more?

MGS Portable Ops - Introduced me to Snake, stealth and serious gaming.

The following games encompass what I find most exciting about gaming in the early 2000's: the Indie Game!

Flower - This is a game-changer. No enemies, no bosses, a little bit of suspense. Further proof that gaming can be a viable form of art.

flOw - Jenova Chen's crew are brilliant in the way they constantly challenge the accepted definition of gaming

Braid - A wild new twist on the Super Mario Brothers archetype. Not sure if I'd consider this a GREAT game, but it is one that turns on it's head the genre that, visually, it carbon copies.

Samorost - IMO the coolest Flash game out there. (cooler even than the Flash version of flOw) The design is amazing, the atmosphere engaging and overall this is just a beautiful game!

In no particular order:

Diablo II
Final Fantasy X
Kingdom Hearts
Devil May Cry
Red Faction 2
World of Warcraft
Uncharted 2
Persona 3

I could probably go on for hours about any of these games.

Psychonauts - Probably the best level design I've ever seen in a game. I've never played a game where each level is so drastically unique.

Portal - Innovative puzzle mechanics taking advantage of a state of the art engine, and one of the best narratives regardless of the game's length.

Deus Ex - I just finished playing this recently and it has to be the best design of player choice I have ever seen. It set the standard for using player choice as both a game play and narrative mechanic.

Bioshock - You know when you see a movie you like? One that creates such a powerful reaction that it becomes your life's work to get as many people you can to go see it? That was Bioshock for me. I grew up with video games but I never had a real interest in design until playing through this game. To me, it transcends the art debate. To me, I'll always remember it was the game that showed the world that video gaming was a storytelling medium that's completely unique. It's the kind of story that could only be told through a game. A lot of my friends call it the Citizen Kane of video gaming.

Shadow of the Colossus - Game of the Decade! Team Ico and Fumito Ueda have told two incredible and touching stories in a way only video games can achieve. Their minimalistic style is a fantastic contrast to the saturated space operas of this day and age, especially when it approached violence.

You only killed 16 things in the entire game, but each time, it was significant. It wasn't just some alien or nazi that was unfortunate enough to run into your crosshair. It really explored how violence is almost always the first outlet for dispatching antagonisms.

Most importantly, (and I think this is where many games fail,) the story is simple. You’re told everything you need to know in order to grasp the story, nothing more, and nothing less. It still leaves questions to be answered once the credits roll, but great artists leave their works to be interpreted by others.

Also Cosmic Encounter

Ha! You didn't say Video games!

I started gaming back in 2000. Pokemon Red version. Ah, those were the days....

The Orange Box

This whole thing was amazing. Half Life and Portal gave us, in my opinion, the most believeable game worlds to date. Portal really twisted your mind to make you think in a new way. Half Life was just plain fun (Ravenholm scared the hell outta me).

Super Mario Galaxy

Bringing Mario into 3D was one thing. But then senidng him into the motion sickness inducing space was a blast, sometimes literally. The final boss fight with Bowser left something to be desired, but the rest of the game was (sorry) out of this world.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

This made the list simply because it was my first Zelda game I finished. The only words that can describe this game are: FREAK. IN. AWESOME.

Batman Arkham Asylum

Considering this is the only comic book game that doesn't suck, it deserves a spot on this list. The game had so many mind blowing moments like the Scarecrow segments, and it smoothly put in boss fights that never felt tacked on or unnecessary. I loved this game like I loved the Dark Knight.

BioShock

I haven't finished this game, but simply put, it's a masterpiece. You'd think that the underwater city would be in a more sci-fi setting, but once you think about it, the 1960s are the best place for all the ideals and craziness that Andrew Ryan based Rapture on. Those Big Daddy fights are some of the most tense moments I've had in gaming.

Pokemon Ruby

No, I haven't caught them all. But it's still fun.

Due to one set of circumstances after another, I only have two games from the previous whole decade (I have games from the previous decades, but that's off-topic):
Thief II: The Metal Age
Thief: Deadly Shadows

For me it has to ne
half life 2
fallout 3 it amazingly won me over
bioshock
bioshock2 not as good story line but made up with good action multiplay and tragicnes
Starcraft brood war it may be a few years longer than 10 but it earned a place on the list

axident said:
Deus Ex

Loved that game.

Game that comes to mind that nobody ever gave any credit too but was amazing.... Skies of Arcadia

adesilva said:
Game that comes to mind that nobody ever gave any credit too but was amazing.... Skies of Arcadia

what system was that on? never even heard of it

Let's see...
Oblivion
Fallout 3
GTA (3, VC,SA, IV)
Bioshock
Shadow of the Colossus
Dragon Age: Origins

a lot more great ones but those are the best of the best for me

It was on dreamcast originally and then ported to gamecube where they added some extra content... those 2 systems are the reasons why nobody played it ... personally it is one of my favorite games ever.

aliborio said:

adesilva said:
Game that comes to mind that nobody ever gave any credit too but was amazing.... Skies of Arcadia

what system was that on? never even heard of it
Let's see...
Oblivion
Fallout 3
GTA (3, VC,SA, IV)
Bioshock
Shadow of the Colossus
Dragon Age: Origins
a lot more great ones but those are the best of the best for me

It's hard to go wrong w/ normally BethSoft, Bioware and Rockstar, if you ask me...