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[Game of the Decade] RESULTS IN OP
Posts
Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004>
Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360) <2009>
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) <2007>
Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005>
Yes. Portal as number 1 of the decade. Despite it being short, when I played it and kept playing it, I could find no flaw whatsoever. It was fun, it was humorous, it brought puzzles to a new level, and it was exceedingly innovative.
Halo 2 (XBOX, PC) <2004>
Katamari Damacy (PS2) <2004>
Halo 3 <2007>
Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360) <2009>
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) <2005>
We Love Katamari (PS2) <2005>
Halo 3: ODST (360) <2009>
Call of Duty 2 (PC, 360) <2005>
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC) <2001>
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS, Wii, PS3, 360, PC) <2007>
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) <2004>
Mirror's Edge (PC, 360, PS3) <2008>
Grand Theft Auto 4 [Lost and the Damned, Ballad of Gay Tony] (360, PS3, 360) <2008>
Left 4 Dead (PC, 360) <2008>
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC, PS2, XBOX) <2004>
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003>
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum (DS) <2007>
Steam | Live
So here is my list;
1. Rock Band 2 (360, PS2, PS3, Wii) <2008> Best game of all time. Picked this version above all other RB and GH games, love this game so much.
2. Halo 3 <2007> Well, might have picked the original Halo but plucked for this instead, Halo has it all, so damned good.
3. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (360*) <2008> I spent more time with the original GW:RE and actually prefer it, but what this game brought to the table with multiplayer and leaderboards plain rocks.
4. Brütal Legend (360, PS3) <2009> MOST METAL ADVENTURE EVER! Sheer awesomeness.
5. Shenmue (DC) <2000> Blew my mind at the time, still not played anything quite like it.
6. Gears of War 2 (360) <2008> Fucking awesome. Horde co-op FTW.
7. Dead Rising (360, Wii) <2006> DAMNIT meant to click Dead Space (PC, PS3, 360) <2008>
8. Viva Pinata (360) So pretty, hoped to see more games with such qualiy visuals but nothing else quite like this so far this gen.
9. Crackdown (360) <2007> Hunting orbs, leaping buildings, kicking trucks, co-op insanity, great fun.
10. Chu Chu Rocket! (DC, GBA) <2000> A game sent to me for free by SEGA, got online with this and had a blast, this feels like the first promotional XBLA game deal years befre the 360 hit.
And the rest, more PC stuff with some 360 in there;
12. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC, PS2, XBOX) <2002>
13. Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007>
14. Forza Motorsport 3 (360) <2009>
15. Earth Defense Force 2017 (360) <2007>
16. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion [Knights of Nine, Shivering Isles] (PC, PS3, 360) <2006>
17. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords [Revenge of the Plague Lord] (PSP, PS2, Wii, PC*, 360*, PS3*
18. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX, PC) <2003>
19. Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
20. Bioshock (360, PS3, PC) <2007>
21. Torchlight (PC*) <2009>
22. Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004>
23. Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis [Red Hammer, Resistance] (PC) <2001>
24. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War [Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm] (PC) <2004>
25. Black & White [Creature Isle] (PC) <2001>
World of Warcraft
Medieval 2: Total War
Counterstrike
Dragon Age
Max Payne 2
VtM: Bloodlines
Diablo II
Dynasty Warriors 3
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.
I'm surprised CS made the cut, considering its a mod for a 1998 game.
Over all the SNES classics that I still occasionally play? No way. In any event, my top game of the 90s is 1993's Shattered Lands for PC.
Halo (XBOX, PC) <2001>
Unreal Tournament (DC, PC, PS2) <2001>
Halo 3 <2007>
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Super Heroes (DC, PS2, XBOX, PS3*, 360*) <2000>
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC) <2001>
Mechwarrior 4: Vegance [Black Knight, Mercenaries] (PC) <2000>
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC, GC, XBOX) <2002>
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos [Frozen Throne] (PC) <2002>
Crysis (PC) <2007>
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3, 360) <2009>
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX, PC) <2003>
Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007>
Twisted Metal: Black (PS2) <2001>
TimeSplitters 2 (GC, PS2, XBOX) <2002>
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC, 360) <2006>
Doom 3 [Resurrection of Evil] (PC, 360) <2004>
Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2, XBOX, 360) <2004>
Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind [Tribunal, Bloodmoon] (PC, XBOX) <2002>
Counter strike would of made prob top 5 if it was source. I never actually played the earlier version, but I was Cal-M for a Canadian team.
Diablo however will always be number one. I love Halo and I wanted to put it number one but just the shear amount of time that I put into that game is staggering. I wish I could actually tally it all up
1. Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004>
2. World of Warcraft [Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King] (PC) <2004>
3. Metroid Prime (GC) <2002>
4. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) <2009>
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) <2004>
6. Dead Space (PC, PS3, 360) <2008>
7. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PC, PS2, XBOX, GC) <2003>
8. Beyond Good & Evil (CUBE, XBOX, PS2, PC) <2003>
9. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) <2005>
10. Final Fantasy IX (PS1) <2000>
11. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003>
12. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) <2007>
13. Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
14. Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA) <2004>
15. Burnout Paradise (PC, PS3, 360) <2008>
16. Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005>
17. No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC) <2002>
18. Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner (PS2) <2003>
19. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 [Yuri's Revenge] (PC) <2000>
20. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) <2005>
21. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360) <2009>
22. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA) <2003>
23. SSX 3 (PS2, GC, XBOX)
24. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS) <2005>
25. Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007>
Hey Advance Wars is on mine!
Fairly low down I admit but still on there
XBL, Steam & Tribes: elmartino333
I had 3 Fire Emblem games in my list!
Although no Advance Wars games made it. Dual Strike was one of the many games in contention for the 25th spot.
360 Gamertag: NFJ TheNix
So, you know. Take that.
I find it interesting that some people value the console FEs higher than the handheld FEs. cj had the original on his list of contenders, but only Path of Radiance made it to the top 25.
It's ok. Wind Waker was much better. In my opinion.
FE7 was a better game, but the console FEs have better characters/story to my mind.
<3 Ike
Also, Ike.
And you know how I feel about Nocturne not getting much love.
Welcome to the world on this side.
- My first Guitar Hero; I still believe this is a better one-player experience than Rock Band 2.
2. Diablo II [Lord of Destruction] (PC) <2000>
- I finished this solo at least ten times; including once each with six of the seven classes, once on normal-hardcore, once on nightmare.
3. Metroid Prime (GC) <2002>
- Completely immersive; I played through normal and then hard.
4. Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007>
- The only game I've ever finished, and then immediately restarted.
5. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (GBA) <2003>
- IMO the best Pokemon game.
6. Rock Band 2 (360, PS2, PS3, Wii) <2008>
- I bought this at launch and borrowed my friend's RB1; 84 + 55 + 20 tracks for $60 was a no-brainer. I still think GH2 has a better progression for single-player guitar; but the sheer variety of tracks and ability to play other instruments, or as a band...
7. Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005>
- This game actually gave me nightmares. About men with chainsaws. Plus it is the only game I have ever played that make escort quests fun.
8. World of Warcraft [Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King] (PC) <2004>
- I totaled all the time I've spent in this game; it comes to just over 1000 hours. And I don't have a single level 80 character! The level 1-20 experience is so amazing, I did it over and over to see each race's starting zone.
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GC, PC, PS1, PS2, XBOX) <2001>
- My personal favorite of the THPS series; controls better than THPS2, and looks better as well. The last one with the 2 minute time limit.
10. Wario Ware: Twisted (GBA) <2005>
- I didn't have room on my list for both GBA Wario Ware games. I think the rotation gimmick pushes this one to the top.
11. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GC) <2004>
- I love the Prime series so much that I made room for both GC entries. I know a lot of people were down on this sequel, but I like it almost as much as the original. I just had to turn the brightness on my TV up a little...
12. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (DC, GC, PC, PS1, PS2, XBOX) <2000>
- I played the DC version compulsively. I hate sports titles, but this was so much fun. I liked the mix of serious / silly in the earlier THPS entries the best; newer titles seem to swerve between the extremes.
13. Mega Man Battle Network 3 (GBA) <2003>
- I wish I could have put all the MMBN entries on here. I personally liked the DS entry the best (MMBN5: Double Team), but it wasn't available for nomination...
14. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (GBC) <2000>
- Although I like Ruby/Sapphire more, I really liked the real-time night/day cycle in this version.
15. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003>
- Sure, some parts are boring, but it's still one of the best-looking games I've ever played.
My top 15 were all very easy choices for me, the remainder of my 25 were very tough -
16. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (DS, Wii, PS3, 360, PC) <2007>
- This earns a spot just because it has my wife saying things like "I can't wait to play Lego Star Wars!"
17. Fallout 3 [Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta] (PC, PS3, 3
18. Metroid Fusion (GBA) <2002>
19. Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
20. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn [Throne of Baal] (PC) <2000>
21. Resident Evil Code: Veronica (DC,PS2) <2000>
22. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, GC) <2006>
23. Super Monkey Ball (GC) <2001>
24. Neverwinter Nights [Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark, Kingmaker, Premium Modules] (PC)
25. Viva Pinata (360)
I wish I could have made room for a few other great titles (KOTR, Bioshock, any of the Castlevania handheld games, Minish Cap, Dawn of War). But those, along with 16-25 are really 'second tier' to me - I think my top 15 is pretty much perfect.
Wind Waker, while fantastic and a beautiful game, doesn't have as many dungeons as Twilight Princess which is what I play a Zelda game for. TP to me felt like the most perfectly refined version of the Zelda formula yet, so it placed high on my list. Wind Waker did still make my list though too.
The Wii may not have many good games, but the ones that are worthy are fucking stellar.
Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004>
Halo (XBOX, PC) <2001>
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) <2009>
Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005>
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX, PC) <2003>
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) <2004>
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) <2005>
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (GC, PC, PS2, XBOX) <2002>
Shenmue (DC) <2000>
Gears of War (360, PC) <2006>
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) <2007>
Halo 2 (XBOX, PC) <2004>
Resident Evil Code: Veronica (DC,PS2) <2000>
Portal (PC, XBOX) <2007>
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, GC) <2006>
Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007>
Bioshock (360, PS3, PC) <2007>
Batman: Arkham Asylum (360, PS3, PC) <2009>
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion [Knights of Nine, Shivering Isles] (PC, PS3, 360) <2006>
Counter-Strike (PC) <2000>
Left 4 Dead (PC, 360) <2008>
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GC) <2001>
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC, GC, XBOX) <2002>
Rock Band (360, PS2, PS3, Wii) <2007>
Not me! I had 28% 360 and 28% GC.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Arcanum: of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way
Battlefield 2 [Special Forces]
Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station]
Company of Heroes [Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor]
Thief II: The Metal Age
Mirror's Edge
Mafia
Bioshock
Dead Space
SWAT4
Mechwarrior 4: Vegance [Black Knight, Mercenaries]
Assassin’s Creed
Medieval 2: Total War [Kingdoms]
Crysis
Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2]
SimCity 4 (PC)
Batman: Arkham Asylum
No One Lives Forever
Diablo II [Lord of Destruction]
Counter-Strike
Year breakdown:
2001: 1
2002: 2
2003: 1
2004: 3
2005: 2
2006: 2
2007: 4
2008: 2
2009: 1
That only adds upt o 24 so some game is missing. Whatever. 2000 was a pretty awesome year.
PS2
FF X replay
PS3
God of War 1&2 HD
Rachet and Clank Future
MGS 4
Prince of Persia
360
Bayonetta
Fable 3
DS
FF: 4 heroes of light
1 - Pac-Man: Championship Edition (360*) <2007> (Probably spent more time on this game than any other game)
2 - Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005> (Possibly the only 20+ hour game I've ever beaten twice in about a week).
3 - Civilization 4 [Warlords, Beyond the Sword] (PC) <2005> (So much replayability)
4 - Titan Quest (PC) [Immortal Throne] <2006> (Best hack & slash RPG around)
5 - Persona 4 (PS2) <2008> (Persona 3 did it first, but Persona 4 did it better)
6 - Siren (PS2) <2004> (Liked this game so much that I played the entire second game in Chinese)
7 - Mirror's Edge (PC, 360, PS3) <2008> (Best platformer ever)
8 - Final Fantasy X (PS2) <2001> (An old friend)
9 - Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne <2004> (When Atlus started to get really awesome)
10 - Defense Grid (PC*, 360*) <2008> (Cemented my love of tower defense)
11 - Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004> (Started out awesome, but Ep2 was weak. Hope Ep3 is better)
12 - Bioshock (360, PS3, PC) <2007> (Very memorable)
13 - Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (PS2) <2003> (One of the few games worthy of the term "art")
14 - Elite Beat Agents (DS) <2006> (Most fun I've ever had on the DS)
15 - We Love Katamari (PS2) <2005> (Pure joy)
16 - N [N+] (PC, Xbox 360*, PSP, DS) <2008> (Best 2D platformer ever)
17 - King's Bounty (PC) [Armored Princess] <2008> (So addictive)
18 - Silent Hill 2 (PC, PS2, XBOX) <2001> (A horror milestone)
19 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, GC) <2006> (the first 3D Zelda to not have huge flaws)
20 - Metroid Prime (GC) <2002> (Best of the 3D Metroids)
21 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX, PC) <2003> (hasn't aged that well but so good the first time)
22 - Lumines (PSP, PC, 360*, PS3*) <2005> (the reason why I didn't sell my 360 early on)
23 - Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (360*) <2008> (best shmup ever, though Gradius V comes close)
24 - Half-Minute Hero (PSP) <2009> (completely justified my purchase of the system a few months ago)
25 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) <2005> (epic & beautiful)
System breakdown (based on the system I played each game primarily on)
PS2 - 8
360 - 7
PC - 4
GC - 3
DS - 1
XBox - 1
PSP - 1
I'm a bit surprised at the Gamecube being so high up since I scarcely used it, but the games I did play on it were awesome. Also, I'm more than a little disappointed that I haven't played any Wii games that I enjoyed enough to put in my top 25 (played the GC version of Twilight Princess).
Year breakdown
2001 - 2
2002 - 1
2003 - 2
2004 - 3
2005 - 5
2006 - 3
2007 - 2
2008 - 6
2009 - 1
No big surprises here for me. 2005 & 2008 were my two favorite years in gaming of late with 2005 giving us RE4, Civilization 4, We Love Katamari, and more and 2008 giving gems like Mirror's Edge & Persona 4.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
My favorite is easily Castle Shikigami 2. I'd have nominated 3, because it has much better voice acting and localization, but 2 is the better game overall.
Welcome to the world on this side.
1. Ico (PS2) <2001> - My favorite game of all time. No contest. Oh God, the ending.
2. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) <2001> - My reintroduction to console games. Still get a warm, fuzzy feeling when thinking about my first time playing it.
3. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2) <2003> - Best story/ending ever.
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003> - My favorite Zelda game since OoT, and they're neck and neck for my overall favorite.
5. SSX 3 (PS2) <2003> - The 30 minute Big Mountain run should be experienced by all.
7. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2) <2004> - Absolute blast to play.
8. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) <2003> - Favorite RPG ever.
9. God of War (PS2) <2005> - So visceral, so much badassery.
10. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) <2009> - The acting/dialog has set the bar well above any other game out there.
11. Bioshock (PS3) <2007> - The atmosphere is perfectly executed.
12. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2) <2002> - Old school, yet beautiful and, most importantly, damn fun to play.
13. Half-Life 2 (PS3) <2004> - What else can be said?
14. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GC) <2004> - Played co-op with wife during first few months of being married. Fond memories.
15. Okami (PS2) <2006> - The swan song for the PS2 (for me, at least).
16. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) <2007> - The first real reason to upgrade from the PS2 to the PS3.
17. Peggle (PS3) <2007> - Most addicting "flash" game ever.
18. God of War 2 (PS2) <2007> - Even more badassery.
19. Portal (PS3) <2007> - Redefined the puzzle genre.
20. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3) <2009> - The best game of my favorite video game series. The Clank puzzles are perfect.
21. Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA) <2004> - Surprise hit. This and the 2004 Olympics simultaneously took over my summer that year.
22. Psychonauts (PS2) <2005> - Great twisted world.
23. Counter-Strike (PC) <2000> - Sophmore year of college was owned by this game.
24. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) <2008> - Beautiful. Wonderful hybrid gameplay, too.
25. The Sims (PC) <2000> - This game defined freshman year for me and my friends.
Years represented:
2001: 2 (#1 and #2)
2002: 1
2003: 5 (#3, #4, and #5)
2004: 4
2005: 2
2006: 1
2007: 5
2008: 1
2009: 2
My owned systems represented (which system I played the game on):
PS2: 10 (4 out of Top 5)
GC: 3
GBA: 2
PSP: 0
DS: 0
PS3: 8
Pretty satisfied with how my list turned out. I thought it would be harder to order them, but they fell into place pretty quickly. I also nominated way too many games, as only one of the 10 or so games I nominated even made my top 25 (M v. DK). Oh well, sorry OP.
Pikmin (GC, Wii) <2001>
Katamari Damacy (PS2) <2004>
Animal Crossing (GC) <2002>
Paper Mario (N64) <2001>
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003>
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) <2008>
The Sims 2
Chu Chu Rocket! (DC, GBA) <2000>
Counter-Strike (PC) <2000>
Left 4 Dead (PC, 360) <2008>
Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (GBC) <2000>
Golden Sun (GBA) <2001>
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3, 360) <2009>
Rock Band (360, PS2, PS3, Wii) <2007>
Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA) <2001>
Advance Wars (GBA) <2001>
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA) <2003>
In order, I believe my #1 is definetly #1... And Chu Chu Rocket was underrated... and Katamari was pretty ground-breaking when it first came out... Animal Crossing GCN was huge for me... Rock Band was innovative... etc etc.
Yeah I liked Wind Waker better too.. but I still don't know if its only b/c I played TP at a time when I just wasn't in the mood for a zelda game... I actually just restarted playing wind waker yesterday. Maybe that's a sign since I was more inclined to replay that than TP.
'Get your fucking finger on the wookie'
Agree Completely. Although i also put advance wars DS on my list. Nothing is better than battling ogres.
Ogre Battle 64 was soooo good.
For Fire Emblem, I liked Radiant Dawn best for its gameplay, with the good default difficulty level and varying character selections and customization. I knocked some points off though because I recently started a hard file but it takes out the enemy attack range thing, and I really have no desire to go through that in a game where the option is normally available. But I just restarted on normal and did Geoffrey's stage leaving like 47 enemy soldiers alive. It was pretty intense! I might actually use the dark magic caster this time! Thinking about it, he might be my favorite dark mage in the series : (
The first GBA game would be second in the series, thanks to a pretty solid mix of everything I like in Fire Emblem, but the fact that it wasn't my first FE might have hampered it a bit compared to some people? Looking at it, I really like a lot of things it does individually (cast and supports are really good!), but it's like the whole is less than the sum of its parts. It just never clicked with me like others in the series have. Also it has like the lamest villain ever.
Sacred Stones and Shadow Dragon I felt were flawed enough that they might not crack my top 75 by any metric. Path of Radiance was good, but for me it just seems like its most memorable quality is leading into Radiant Dawn.
So what you guys are saying is that I need to log on to Virtual Console and download some Ogre Battle like right-the-fuck-now?
Picking my favorite 25 games of the decade was easy. Sorting between which ones were better than others? Nearly impossible. I moved a few around and just left it. It's hard to judge games so different in genre, release time, level of technology, amount of time between playing them. So here's the highlights of my list, in Penny Arcade Best of Award style:
Top 5:
Noteworthy:
12. Zack and Wiki (Wii) <2007> Best game out of all games that have any sort of puzzles in them.
13. Perfect Dark (N64) <2000> Best N64 Rare FPS. Yeah, you heard me.
20. Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies (PS2) <2001> Best "I was never really into fighter jets and now I brag about how good my motherland's MiGs are" game.
24. Call of Duty (PC, 306*, PS3*) <2003> Best Single Player PC FPS ever made, don't even try arguing with me I don't give a shit.
PSN/XBL: dragoniemx
Radiant Dawn just made me remember how much I loved Path of Radiance. Radiant Dawn is almost too convoluted.
Welcome to the world on this side.
Looking at the list though there's so many games I wish I had got the chance to play. I wish I was into PC gaming earlier so I could try BG II or had a Xbox or PS3 or Wii and a DS and....
Steam - Minty D. Vision!
Origin/BF3 - MintyDVision
My top 25:
2. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn [Throne of Baal] (PC) <2000> - Most-replayed RPG of all time. Irenicus remains the best overall villain I've seen in a game.
3. Arcanum: of Steamworks & Magick Obscura (PC) <2001> - In spite of its numerous gameplay flaws, I love and have played the hell out of this. The acting, writing, and setting are quality across the board.
4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC) <2007> - Atmosphere and adventure are the key selling points here, never played anything quite like it before. Solid gunplay and a great balance of exploration and action make this an easy choice.
5. Tales of Symphonia (GC) <2004> - Currently my favorite of the Tales series. Runs the standard Tales tropes, but I found the cast charming as hell. Also has no random encounters, new game+, and a respectably fun battle system.
6. World in Conflict (PC) [Soviet Assault] <2007> - Hands down my favorite RTS to date, excellent balance of gameplay and story. Soviet Assault is a good template for playing the opposing force that more games need to examine.
7. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (PC) <2004> - Excellent writing and acting, and more importantly easy to pick up and play even if you know nothing about the source material.
8. Crysis (PC) <2007> - Too often glossed over as a graphics showcase; I had more fun with this than I have with almost any shooter in the past few years. Warhead had the best implementation of a rail sequence ever.
9. The Witcher (PC) <2007> - Solid third-person RPG that gets mega bonus points for CD Projekt Red being some of the most awesome human beings alive. Free re-release for those who bought the original? Hell yes.
10. Final Fantasy IX (PS1) <2000> - Current favorite of the 'main' FF series. Again, a charming cast wins me over; Zidane's just a happy-go-lucky dude with about two minutes of actual angst, I have to respect that.
11. Mass Effect [Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station] (PC, 360) <2007> - Quality action RPG with a party who mostly has their shit together. Virmire was epic and Keith Fucking David has the best moment in the game.
12. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC, PS2, XBOX) <2003> - Living proof that wall-to-wall action can have an awful lot of heart. Is it melodramatic and wordy? God, yes. But it's also really damn good. Sam Lake is the reason I'm still stoked about Alan Wake.
13. Thief II: The Metal Age (PC) <2000> - As another forumer once said, Life of the Party, man. Life of the fucking Party.
14. Call of Duty (PC, 306*, PS3*) <2003> - A shooter from a simpler time, a time of not-regenerating health and enemies that (mostly) didn't infinitely respawn. Had some of the best music of its time, and the Soviet campaign was fantastic for the most part.
15. Dragon Age: Origins [Stone Prisoner, Warden's Keep] (360,PC,PS3) <2009> - It wasn't Baldur's Gate II, but it came damn close at times. BioWare has really come a long way at creating a likeable party, even if they're sometimes criminally short-sighted, Morrigan.
16. Company of Heroes [Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor] (PC) <2006> - Breaks the RTS mold in ways that were only hinted at with Dawn of War. The only things holding it back are a couple lame campaign levels involving artillery spam and blatantly respawning AT guns.
17. Resident Evil 4 (GC, PS2, Wii) <2005> - Action, action, and more action. Also ballistics. But mainly action. Fighting off a horde of not-zombies was everything I thought it could be.
18. Freedom Fighters (PS2, XBOX, GC, PC) <2003> - One of the biggest crimes of the 21st century was that this didn't get the sequel it deserved. Still one of the best squad-based third person action games around.
19. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (PC) <2003> - The only multiplayer FPS I was ever significantly involved in. I recall an epic three-way duel with dual-wield pistols that ended with all three of us alive until an air strike dropped on us. Classic stuff.
20. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, 360, Wii) <2007> - Say what you will about the gameplay, but CoD4's nuke scene was brilliant for more than just the obvious reason. The sniper section was wonderfully tense, too.
21. SWAT4 (PC) <2005> - The only thing keeping this thinking man's shooter down is the number of times my team came up against Jason Bourne on that club mission; some gangbanger who could pull off four - four! - headshots with a cheap pistol after a flashbang entry. Quality game all the same, though.
22. Painkiller [Battle Out of Hell] (PC, Xbox) <2004> - No Serious Sam on the list, so I had to pick the next best thing. Clever guns, a variety of areas, and inventive enemies led to one of the surprise hits of the year.
23. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (PC, XBOX, 360, PS3) - Proof positive that movie games don't have to suck. Riddick's first-person melee combat should be the template for how it's done.
24. Fallout 3 [Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta] (PC, PS3, 360) - Yes, the story was garbage. Didn't stop me from giving 80+ hour replays, and that's before I started throwing mods into the mix.
25. Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC, 360) <2004> - This would be higher if they'd get back to releasing Episode 3 in a timely fashion, but it was good times. Haven't gone back since Ep2 came out, though.
Honorable mentions/didn't see on the list:
Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP) <2009> - Desuckified Second Story's script and sped everything up a lot. Option to build your own party or go it alone (well, as a pair), choice of playable main character, trainable skills, Ashton... lot to like, here. Bump FF9 down a place for this.
Battlefield: Bad Company (360) <2008> - Destructible walls and a good single-player campaign put this well above most shooters in my book. Nice to have a war game with a sense of humor, too. Bump CoD4 down a place for this.
Serious Sam: The First/Second Encounter (PC) <2001/2002> - Inarguably the manliest shooter ever created by our species. Displaces Painkiller for higher body count and over-the-top silliness. Sam. I. Am!
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
2. Team Fortress 2 (PC) <2007>
3. Left 4 Dead (PC) <2008>
4. Metroid Prime (GC) <2002>
5. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC) <2001>
6. Persona 3 (PS2) <2007>
7. Dragon Age: Origins [Stone Prisoner] (360) <2009>
8. Perfect Dark (N64) <2000>
9. TimeSplitters 2 (GC) <2002>
10. Tales of Symphonia (GC) <2004>
11. Half-Life 2 [Episodes 1 and 2] (PC) <2004>
12. Civilization 4 [Warlords, Beyond the Sword] (PC) <2005>
13. Skies of Arcadia (GC) <2000>
14. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GC) <2002>
15. Portal (PC) <2007>
16. Fallout 3 (360, PC) <2008>
17. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) <2005>
18. Killer 7 (PS2) <2005>
19. Persona 4 (PS2) <2008>
20. Okami (PS2) <2006>
21. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC) <2003>
22. Ico (PS2) <2001>
23. Dead Space (360) <2008>
24. F-Zero GX (GC) <2003>
25. Advance Wars (GBA) <2001>
Yearly break-down. Pretty much the same amount of nominations each year with every year getting at least one.
01 - 3
02 - 3
03 - 2
04 - 2
05 - 3
06 - 1
07 - 3
08 - 4
09 - 1
System break-down (the system on which I primarily played the game on, counting Fallout 3 for PC & 360). Seems my years of only owning a GC show through. So many great games on that system.
N64 - 2
GC - 8
PS2 - 6
PC - 6
360 - 3
Steam - Minty D. Vision!
Origin/BF3 - MintyDVision
top 3 were
Advance Wars 2
Diablo II