The Top Ten Games of the Decade
Posted by James Hawkins at 12:30 PM Feb 04, 2010
 |
Choosing the best games of a decade is a tricky thing. It's tempting to simply pick your favorite games, but that's not considering the question deeply enough. The following titles were picked for the Top Ten Games of the Decade based on quality, innovation, and cultural influence. All ten of these games are titles that gamers will still be talking about in another ten years. With that, enjoy the list!
 |
| JC Denton: Badass |
10. Deus Ex (2000)
When Deus Ex came out in the summer of 2000, the PC world went nutso. They were met with a hybrid RPG/FPS that blends excellent overall game design with a remarkable story and absorbing atmosphere. A big hit with the critics was the game's ability to weave in morality-based decisions and the multiple branches of storyline that go with it. Still largely regarded as one of the best PC games of all time, Deus Ex's influence over the RPG genre is undeniable.
Influenced: Hitman, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, long line of cool protagonists
 |
| Pick up that can! |
9. Half-Life 2 (2004)
Gordon Freeman is the king of video game heroes. The crowbar, his scepter. When this highly-anticipated sequel to 1998's Half-Life dropped in stores, it garnered universal acclaim and enormous sales. The production and gameplay were phenomenal. The characters and story were awesome. It also proved that superbly written dialogue and skilled voice acting make a huge difference in the video game world. The story of The Free Man has kept even the most stoic gamers fist-pumping like hooligans for years.
Influenced: Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & 2, anything with a sweet-ass crowbar
 |
| Pretend you rule at music! Rock and Roleplay! |
8. Guitar Hero (2005)
Guitar Hero redefined the term 'Party Game'. It redefined the phrase 'Anyone can play guitar'. From 11 year old internet sensation virtuosos to AC/DC wannabe's, Guitar Hero has changed the landscape of gaming. No longer are video games limited to saving princesses and slaying zombies. Expect this franchise to stick around for a long, long time.
Influenced: Guitar Hero: (insert heavy metal band name here), Rock Band, quitting your job/growing out your hair
 |
| It's-a Wii, Mario |
7. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Yep. That over-worked Italian plumber made the jump to next-gen. And oh, what a jump it was. First and foremost, the game utilized the Wii's less-than-blue-chip hardware to its full potential -- it looked fantastic and, with the integration of the Wii remote, played smoothly. The game also featured creative uses of gravity and physics, along with a typically awesome story. I would venture to speculate that no matter what decade, past or future, there will be a Super Mario game on most top ten lists.
Influenced: What hasn't the Super Mario franchise influenced? This one restores our faith in the platformer making every jump, no matter what the generation.
 |
| No one does it like Master Chief. |
6. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
Once in a very great while, a game will take the industry by storm. When Halo: Combat Evolved was released with the Xbox, it changed the way we gamers look at first person shooters. The graphics were outstanding and the physics made the game about as fun to play as conceivably possible. Throw in a cool story with great replayability, along with an addictive-like-crack multiplayer experience, and you have a giant step in the evolution of gaming. Halo: Combat Evolved became a household name, probably to a degree not seen by first person shooters since GoldenEye.
Influenced: The rest of the Halo franchise, online multiplayer gaming as a whole, movies like District 9, headshots
1 | 2
Comments
wtf is this? no strategy games?
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:25:43 PMOK this sounds pretty good to me dude!
RT
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:25:46 PMwww.web-privacy.cz.tc
Worst list I have seen yet. You obviously have no respect for classics.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:33:54 PMNo Portal = FAIL.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:38:45 PMThis list is flawed. Yes WII sports is the most sold game because it comes bundled with the WII you have no choice but to buy it. That alone makes your list fail.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:42:56 PMKKjlf = what classics since 2000 have I left out? There will always be controversy on these lists, but I feel like I did a pretty good job being comprehensive. And if you read the intro, you'll understand the criteria.
J
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:46:55 PMLook at me, I anonymously slander people over the interwebs therefore making me feel better about myself!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:53:47 PMFinal Fantasy X HELLO?!?!?
Posted 02/04/2010 at 04:55:11 PMfinal fantasy 7 hello brad!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:03:25 PMOh come on seriously, GTA3 influenced Morrowind and Fallout 3?
Afraid not, as the open sandbox world existed long before this... Do your research and take a look at what Bethesda was putting out (Terminator, Arena, Daggerfall) before even the days of the first GTA.
I agree with some points in this list but do your homework before you post it up.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:04:06 PMSuper Mario galaxy? That doesn't deserve to make any top ten list. I don't think Wii sports deserves number one either, but I can understand why it's there.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:04:47 PMWat? You will put HL2 and not HL1? You will ignore Counter-Strike, which still has #1 most players at once even though it is running on an engine from 1996? HL2 sucked balls, the people who liked it are the ones impressed with shiny things and gravity guns, rather than core gameplay.
To add insult to injury, BIOSHOCK? BioCRAP. Identical to every other fps, except instead of using a grenade you shoot glowing heroine in your veins and throw lightning, how innovative!
RE4? Whats special about it? Oblivion or Fallout are better.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:09:21 PMWii Sports? I believe we have been trolled.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:09:27 PMseriously wii sports,
i can think of 100 games better then wii sports and yes it is sold with the game but come on wii sports and super mario galaxy on the same list, some one was high when they made this list
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:11:47 PM"For about two years, literally millions and millions of people were playing this game. Probably, many still are..."
What the hell are you talking about? WoW has more players now than it ever has. There are over 12 million now, I believe.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:16:13 PMWhile I don't agree that these 10 are the best of the decade, I do agree that they are the most important/influential of the decade. An important distinction to make. If your pissed that this list doesn't seem correct just imagine it with the title "Top 10 Most Influential Games of the Decade". It might seem more accurate then. If your still pissed then go make your own blog.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:17:33 PMwhat about star wars kotor
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:21:49 PMAll those hating on Wii sports keep in mind it's the #1 selling game of all time
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:21:52 PMuhh.... anonymous guy? final fantasy 7 came out in 1997 u dumb pile of poop!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:25:55 PMNo Zelda at all? Fail.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:26:55 PMYOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! NO ZELDA!!!!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:27:01 PMThis is best games of the DECADE. 2000-2010. Thats why there;s no Zelda. It came out in 1998
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:28:55 PMHey everybody!
Thanks for the posts. I just want to clear a few things up:
-this list is not called 'my favorite games of the last 10 years'. It is not called 'the highest rated games of the last 10 years'. At the beginning of the list, it has a list of criteria, and I used that as a rubric for my selections.
-These games defined an era -- and whether you like it or not, games like Wii Sports, RE4, and GTA III have more than proven themselves as definitive games.
- Some of you don't understand that it is in the last 10 years, also, which is difficult because it says 'of the decade' in the title. HL1 was released in 1998.
Fanboyism is for blogs. This isn't a blog. This is a legitimate site and this list is a dissection of the last 10 years of gaming.
Keep reading and posting. I like this controversy.
I stand by my decisions!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:32:13 PMJ
seriously guys. calm down. wtf is wrong with you people
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:32:27 PMCRAP LIST. The sims was one of the highest selling games of the decade not to mention innovative, etc. What about Modern warfare? this list seems based more on personal opinion
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:43:00 PMNo pokemon? Yeah the originals came out in 1998 but the rest were post 2000.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:44:09 PMhaha look at this guy
YOU GUYS CAN'T CRITICIZE MY LIST, THIS ARE SRS BLOG
and putting Bioshock on your list, chalking it up as a masterpiece and ART. this is too funny.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 05:47:52 PMAnon -
you all can criticize my list... do it all you want, please.
I just reserve a right to defend it.
J
Posted 02/04/2010 at 06:33:57 PMOf course, posting a Top 10 list on the internet is an invitation for people to tell you you're wrong about everything :)
It does guarantee a lot of comments, though.
If I had a complaint about the list, I'd say it's a little too generic. We already know a lot about those games and have heaped more then enough praise on them. I'd rather see something like "five quirky strategy games you've never played" or "here's a fun list of non-standard RPGs".
Posted 02/04/2010 at 07:30:26 PMI think this was a good list. Bioshock is more of a matter of personal taste and it wouldn't have existed if it weren't for Half Life 2. The order is probably a bit off there, but I do think its inclusion as valid. I don't however like the trend of praising Wii Sports and other casual games as 'great'. Wii Sports did have a huge impact on gaming but simply because it was there, not because the game itself was particularly good. The industry seems to be getting more and more decentralized from 'core' games like the others on this list and I don't think Wii Sports should be considered in the same ranks. Wii Sports deserves recognition but not as one of the great videogames.
Posted 02/04/2010 at 07:54:05 PMFIRST!
Posted 02/04/2010 at 10:10:07 PM...oh, wait...
Wait wait wait!! How in the world are you going to do a top 10 games of the decade and not include one of the highest rated games of all time; Metroid Prime. How in the heck is that game not on that list. That's outrageous.
Posted 02/05/2010 at 09:28:19 AMBryant Towersville -
GEE...I guess Zelda Twilight Princess came out in another alternate Earth 2 universe 2006...stupid me.
Posted 02/05/2010 at 02:59:34 PMOh and no offense to the site and author....just my opinion. I still love this site.
Posted 02/05/2010 at 03:00:54 PMi like the guy's viewpoint. it takes balls to make a case for wii sports. but you have to give it to him, it's a good point to make. it think if the video game market keeps expanding to other age groups, wii sports is going to look pretty damn revolutionary in ten years.
also whoever says daggerfall is revolutionary can suck it. i dl'ed that shit and it sucked rat ballsack. sandbox my ass. maybe litterbox. we all know that bethesda was shit until honditar came along and taught us all how to hunt deer.
Posted 02/06/2010 at 10:48:06 AMThanks, GTJH,
Posted 02/06/2010 at 03:09:33 PMI haven't played daggerfall. Did you like it?
NOT PUTTING MASS EFFECT IN THE LIST?
Posted 02/06/2010 at 08:27:00 PMNOR DRAGON AGE?
well i know it's a whole 10 years list
but there are games that came out in the past two years that deserve to be on the list
i mean assassin's creed, tom clancy's splinter cell, tomb raider, call of duty, medal of honor, THE SIMS! oh come on!!and still other games
it's not about personal favorite games or own tastes
but some of those games are revolutionary
dude there are still so many games
Posted 02/06/2010 at 08:48:59 PMthe witcher,KANE AND LYNCH DEAD MEN,Doom 3, Far Cry, command and conquer and all of it's games, warhammer 40.000!
commandos 3, NEED FOR SPEED carbon, NFS most wanted! and what followed them! PRINCE OF PERSIA! Max payne
and still those are the ones on top of the head
i mean making such lists is a total mess
cuz they put the best 15 games
while the list must be the best 10000 games of the decade
cuz each single game published has more than million fans in the globe
and so on
but still bioshock in the top 5 is a weak chance! alot of games are better!
James Hawkins said:
Thanks, GTJH,
I haven't played daggerfall. Did you like it?
Posted 02/06/2010 at 03:09:33 PM
James,
You clearly did not understand my first post, and so I will have to be more blunt this time.
Daggerfall is to video gaming what prison rape is to romantic love. For the first hour and a half I attempted to play Daggerfall, my character was jerking his way out of some shitty assed dungeon. I kept stabbing imps to death. I had no idea what was going on.
The battle system is essentially if you took the Wolfenstein 3D engine, took away all of your guy's guns and gave him a bow and arrow and a crappy little short sword, and added in the caveat that even when the PC aims at a bad guy and shoots right in his face THE BAD GUY MAYBE DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT. The resultant gameplay contains thrilling sequences with the PC running up to a bat and stabbing repeatedly, presumably too much of a bitch to hit the damn thing, while it pecks his eyes out or sucks his blood or whatever the hell evil bats are wont to do.
People talk about Daggerfall's immerse world. "Oh, Daggerfall had such an immersive world! Daggerfall's immersive world is the reason to play!" Suck a dick. I think getting dropped into Waziristan would be pretty immersive, and yet somehow I have no desire to have that happen to me. Similarly, when your guy shows up on the world map in Daggerfall, you are given the freedom to have stilted, crappy conversations with anyone in the world, and to venture into randomly created landscapes and tool around wondering how the fuck you earn a little gold in this godforsaken universe. Imagine if after Wolfenstein 3D, the main character had killed Hitler, left the titular Castle, and found himself in bumfuck Austria or wherever. And he has to walk back on foot to some kind of railway station. Maybe he's getting sick. If he is, he sure doesn't tell you... not until he's ninety percent dead. Maybe he is told to meet somebody somewhere. Everyone looks alike. His map is wildly uninformative. Maybe someone gives him a quest. HE DOESN'T CARE, WHERE IS HE, HOW DOES HE KILL THIS FUCKING BAT
Are you beginning to understand the storm of feces that is Daggerfall? If you thought Morrowind was sort of tedious at points, imagine if Morrowind had the graphics of an Atari emulator and instead of becoming the Nerevar your dude becomes ill with TB or some crap, neglects to tell you about it, and coughs up his bitchy little lungs the next time you fast travel somewhere. FUN HUH
ugh. i think i'm gonna be sick. reliving this whole experience made my stomach churn with bile. i hope you're happy.
Posted 02/07/2010 at 01:52:34 AMGTJH-
lol That was a really great review.
J
Posted 02/07/2010 at 02:14:09 AMYou commenters who are complaining about how some 1990-2000 game (e.g. HL1, Ocarina of Time, CS1) didn't make it on the list are in the WRONG DECADE.
Well, there's one I'd still put on the list: Starcraft 1. It's still one of the top ten games this decade. It has its own TV program.
Posted 02/08/2010 at 01:18:46 AM