The Bus

Well, sites are starting to do "Best of the Decade" lists. While I think of my own, let's start discussing the ones that come up. Oh, and post yours too, in whichever manner you'd like.

Here's one:

The Onion's AV Club

1. BioShock
   
2. Katamari Damacy
   
3. Fallout 3
   
4. Rock Band
   
5. Portal
   
6. World of Warcraft
   
7. Ico
   
8. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
   
9. Final Fantasy XII
   
10. Left 4 Dead
    
11. Advance Wars
    
12. Braid
    
13. Ninja Gaiden
    
14. The Sims
    
15. SSX3

I think it's awesome that they included SSX3, as it's definitely the zenith of the series and one of the best sports games. I still think Oblivion was better than Fallout 3 if only for its art direction. Surprised that none of the Halos were anywhere.

TimeandTide

Any list that doesn't include Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a sham, IMO. Agreed that it's surprising not to see one of the Halo installments (or even GoW for that matter) on the list.

I'd also argue that Dead Rising is better zombie title than Left 4 Dead.

clckworang

Not really feeling that list.

starseed1981

List fail.

gimmepilotwings

+1

You also have to include WiiSports game in there as well, no matter how you feel about it.

SunMonkey

It is hard for me to rank anything above World of Warcraft simply because no game can come remotely close to play time. Granted, the grind is the grind, but no game has provided such a wealth of enjoyable and varied content for me.

Hokeyboy

I don't play enough to make a list of "Best" or "Most Influential" or "Most Important" games.

But in terms of time invested and personal enjoyment, for me ROCK BAND would have to top that list.

Anubis2005X

Ninja Gaiden?

Michael Corvin

Braid is so fucking over rated. Good game? Sure. Remotely close to being one of the best games of the last 10 years? No fucking way.

The first 10 that come to mind for me:

Bioshock
Super Mario Galaxy
Rock Band
Okami
Halo (one of them, not sure which)
Pac-Man: CE
Peggle
Beyond Good & Evil
Eternal Darkness
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Groucho

I'm not. Those games are passable shooters. Good, but not great.

slop101

Yeah, almost half of AV's list is silly. Katamari Damacy shouldn't even be on the list, much less #2, and I thought Vice City was the weakest of the GTAs. And it seems like the list isn't so much geared towards actual gameplay, but more towards things like mood, story and execution.

Corvin's list is way better.

Decker

I like your list better, but honestly, any list that doesn't include God of War is seriously lacking because not only was it a truly great game, it changed the way 3rd person action games play and was as influential to gaming as GTA III and Super Mario 3D were.

My List:
Rock Band 2
God of War
Okami
Bioshock
Ico or Shadow of Collosus (too close to call)
Portal
Half Life 2
Uncharted 2
Halo 2 (for multiplayer, NOT story)
Knights of the Old Republic

The Bus

Hooray quicktime events.

boredsilly

I don't know. Full disclosure, I never beat God of War, but it felt like an extension (or next evolutionary step) of Devil May Cry to me. If anything, I think the first Devil May Cry really set the standard for this entire crop of action/adventure games.

You're getting into just different tastes with Dead Rising and L4D, but I agree that it's strange not to see a Halo on the list. I've since soured on the series, but the first game was really great, and one of the first to really get FPS on the console pitch perfect.

Decker

No 3D action game with a fixed camera deserves a spot on any 10 Best list. I didn't dig DMC at all.

For my list, I should have included Honorable Mentions for Fallout 3, Batman AA and Ratchet & Clank Going Commando. All truly wonderful games.

fumanstan

Everyone's lists are going to vary wildly outside of a few games. The "your list is invalid because it doesn't/does have ________" can be applied to almost everyone.

boredsilly

I wouldn't put it on my top 10 list, mind you, but of the two, I had a much better time with DMC 1 -- so different strokes. Gun juggling blew my mind back in the day. Personally, I don't get the appeal of God of War. Game was kind of boring for me, but then I'm not huge on action adventure games like that now anyway. Neat aesthetics though.

My top 10 favorite games, because "best" just seems ridiculous. In no order:

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Batman AA
3. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
4. Burnout 3 or Burnout Revenge
5. Beyond Good and Evil
6. Freedom Force
7. Pikmin
8. Jet Grind Radio
9. SSX 3
10. Portal

Honorable mentions to: Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (these are kind of crappy games mechanically, but the design is just a joy to play through), Mario Sunshine, Pacman: CE, Geometry Wars 1 and 2, Street Fighter 3

I'm sure I'm forgetting some game I loved, so I might edit my list later as other games are mentioned. I didn't play a ton of games this decade, and I skipped over most of the biggest games (no Bioshock, Fallout, Oblivion, COD, Halo 3, etc for me -- just wasn't interested), so I didn't have the largest pool to draw from. Still, these are the games I had the most fun with this decade.

maxfisher

Here's my top 15. I don't do 'best of' lists, so these are just my favorites.

1. Fallout 3 - Xbox 360 - It's huge, detailed, beautiful, challenging and engaging and it never got boring. Hands down the best title of the decade for me.

2. Shadow of the Colossus - PS2 - Totally original and brilliantly executed, this was an incredible blend of action and puzzler.

3. Bioshock - Xbox 360 - The combination of gameplay, environment and story came together perfectly.

4. Gears of War - Xbox 360 - This is the first game I ever played with online co-op and it completely and utterly sold me on that type of gameplay.

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess - Wii - I loved the way this took advantage of the Wii's capabilities, from aiming with the Wii Remote to reeling in fish to swinging your sword to hearing Midna chirp at your from the Remote's built-in speaker. It's also a AAA Zelda title, which never hurts.

6. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - PS2 - My favorite title from my favorite franchise of the decade. Addictive platforming action with lots of replay value.

7. Rock Band 2 - Xbox 360 - Probably the best social game ever made. It has an incredible library, great interface and easily offers up hours and hours of drunken entertainment if you've got friends over.

8. Mario Kart Wii - Wii - The Wii's best multi-player game. Intuitive enough for a 4-year-old to play, but still highly entertaining for adults as well, especially if you've got 4 Wii Remotes and 4 wheels.

9. Crackdown - Xbox 360 - I'd tried sandbox games before and never really understood the appeal. This is the game that finally opened my eyes to the potential awesomeness of the genre.

10. Resident Evil 4 - Gamecube - Reinvigorated a classic franchise that needed it desperately. To me, it kept everything good about the series, while fixing everything that had become outdated.

11. Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360 - The best team-oriented game to date and the level editor does great job at keeping it a fresh experience every time you play.

12. Super Mario Sunshine - Gamecube - I know this isn't the most smiled upon Mario game for most people, but I enjoyed it more than Galaxy or 64, which is saying quite a bit.

13. The Orange Box - Xbox 360 - If only all games were so generous with content. An original and hilarious puzzler, a great campaign and the first competitive online multi-player I could get into.

14. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - Gamecube - I loved the Lovecraftian story, the gameplay was excellent and sanity effects were pretty damn original at the time.

15. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Xbox 360 - This entire game was a love note to fans of the Caped Crusader and is probably the best use of a pre-existing IP in a game.

Honorable Mentions: Dead Rising; Dead Space; Civilization: Revolution; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare; Earth Defense Force 2017; Lego Star Wars; Pikmin 2; Saints Row 2; Uncharted 2

boredsilly

Oh yeah, Crackdown is a good one. I don't think that would boot any of my top 10, but that would definitely go in the honorable mentions section for me. That game was the shit.

Raul3

Agree about Braid being overrated. And Katamary Damacy in the top 10?

Hokeyboy

BRAID is one of the most original, challenging, complex and beautifully presented games I've ever played.


I never want to play it again.

Maxflier

Left 4 Dead/Left 4 Dead 2 (PC) would be my #1.

Not counting any MMORPG's.

dvdsteve2000

That's a tough list to make, but I think it has to include:

Halo: CE - Revolutionary FPS.

Wii Sports - I hate it, and I hate the Wii, but it caused a buying frenzy of a sub-par system in a world of HD graphics & hard drives.

World of Warcraft - I've never played it, but it's more popular than Christ himself.

Bioshock - No online play, no multiplayer...no worries, great game.

Oblivion - I pick this over Fallout3 because (I think) if it wasn't for this game, Fallout doesn't exist. Great play, lots to do, & beautiful environments.

Guitar hero II - This was the one that started the craze. Tons of covers, iffy charts, and very limited DLC but who cares?

Rock Band - Doing the genre right since day one.

NFL2K5 - It was so good, it forced EA to buy up the NFL license for years to come. Best FB game ever, period.

The Sims - I had very limited play with it, and I didn't like it, but again, it caused non-gamers to start playing in big-time fashion.

Halo 2&3 multiplayer - This is kind of a tough choice. I think H2 launched console MP FPS's and H3 kept it going, with style and great, subtle changes. This could've easily gone to the CoD series 4-6 as well.

~S2K

PopcornTreeCt

My Top 3

1. Fallout 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Rock Band 2

Tracer Bullet

It's a decent list.