Katamari Damacy is one of the most brilliant games to come out in the past 10 years.

Just because it's clever doesn't mean it's fun.

any list that doesn't include Resident Evil 4 (gamecube) = fail.

Why the crap would anyone think Wii Sports deserves a spot on a Best of the Decade list just because it was a hugh seller?

Financial success = quality game?

Is Transformers 2 the best movie of 2009?

Is American Idol the best show on TV?

WiiSports sold so well because of the included Remote. And there happened to be a $10 game attached to it.

You're thinking of WiiPlay Dr. Mantle.

I don't particularly care for certain game genres, but I can certainly see the case for their inclusion on a list like this.

Also, "fun" seems to be a poor criterion for picking the best games of the decade.

WiiSports was packages with the Wii. Believe me, it's very hard for me to defend any Nintendo product, but...How can it not be included? People bought Wii's because of this game, people that usually don't game at all. The sheer number of Wii's sold (because of that game?) has to give it inclusion. Is Transformers 2 the best 09 movie? Hell no, but if it sold more tickets than any other, how can you not include it in the top 10 of 2009?

Dead Space was one of my favorites of the last decade but it clearly should not be on that list. IMO, a game that was groundbreaking in some way, or ungodly successful, should be the ones on that list, like WiiSports.

Agree x 10

I found Katamari to be really fun to play. I smiled the whole time I was playing. A purely joyful experience that game was for me.

It's almost criminal how Metal Gear Solid 3 has been forgotten.

That's a great list.

Mine in no particular order:

Mario Galaxy
Rock Band
Half-Life 2/Portal
Fallout 3
RE 4
Ratchet and Clank 3
Metroid Prime
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Uncharted 2

Odd games out:

Vice City
Burnout Paradise
Bioshock
Wii Sports

Surprises:

I'm surprised how many FPS games are on my list, and I'm especially surprised at the number of Wii games.

Mine includes RE4 Wii, which is a better game. Does that count?

My randomly scattered list of games i've enjoyed the last decade. Not really a best of, just favorite so things like technical achievement don't really factor in for me.


Deus Ex (PC) - One of the great FPS RPG's of all time.
Portal (PC) - PC since control is so much better with a keyboard/mouse. Insanely charming and one of the best "small" games ever.
Team Fortress 2 (PC) - Probably my favorite team based shooter of the decade.
God of War (PS2) - Insanely fun and great visuals and story. Just loved the easy of control and the scope of the game.
Gears of War (360) - Same as above; the visuals floored me at the time and was just a ton of fun.
Mass Effect (360)- My favorite RPG of this generation.
New Super Mario Bros (DS) - Mario should be a side scroller.
Street Fighter IV (360) - My favorite fighting game since SF2.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2) - My favorite of all the modern GTA games. Probably something about the 80's theme.
Max Payne (PC) - Had trouble thinking of the last one, but just a ton of fond memories for it, the bullet time, and the story telling.

Interesting this topic has started since I received my latest edtion of Gameinformer #200 that has it's Top 200 and it's full of surprises. The Top 20 is full of NES & SNES games with a few PS2, 360 and PC games thrown in. Some of the notables....

4- GTA III - PS2 2001
5- Half-Life 2 - PC 2004
6- Doom - PC 1993
11- World of Warcraft - PC 2004
14- COD 4 - PS3, 360, PC - 2007
19-MGS - PS1-1998
26-God of War - PS2 - 2005
39- Halo - Xbox - 2001
40- Gran Turismo - PS1 - 1998
46- GTA IV - PS3, 360 - 2008
49- Guitar Hero - PS2 - 2005
56- Uncharted 2 - PS3 - 2009
58- Mass Effect - 360 - 2007
65- Fallout 3 - PS3, 360, PC - 2008
82- Left4Dead - PC - 2008
96- Counter-Strike - PC 1999

Yes, you're probably wondering about a few others that....cough, cough...should be up there and I to was a bit surprised they weren't rated up allot higher. Here they are....

105 - System Shock - PC - 1999
107 - Gears of War - 360 - 2006
108 - MGS4-Guns of the patriots - PS3 - 2008
110 - Halo 2 - Xbox - 2004
132 - Quake 2 - PC-1997
138 - Call of Duty 2 - 360, PC - 2005
143 - Assassin's Creed - PS3, 360 - 2007
145 - Unreal Tournament 2004 - PC

I don't know about this decade, but when I think of the current generation of console games my top 3 would be:
1. Fallout 3
2. GTA IV
3. Twilight Princess

Best game of the decade? Well if I had to pick one it would have to be World of Warcraft. I don't think I've ever spent as much time playing one game than I have in WoW. This would be my top 10 of the decade....

1. World of Warcraft(PC)
2. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn(PC)
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic(Xbox)
4. Final Fantasy XII(PS2)
5. Dragon Age Origins(PC)
6. MVP Baseball 2005(Xbox)
7. Mass Effect(360)
8. Super Mario Galaxy(Wii)
9. Dragon Quest VIII(PS2)
10. Dark Age of Camelot(PC)

Yeah, I think it's better to talk about generations.

If you make a list based on generations there would be some games that would be included that wouldn't make a list in a decade.

For the previous generation, PS2, Xbox1 and GCN, the list would be full of PS2 titles, specially late titles, and yeah I may include Katamary Damacy, between 10 and 20 Halo would be there, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, like I said a lot of PS2 games would be in such a list.

For this generation, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, I can see more variety, in my case a little bit more of Xbox 360 games(including multiconsole games but that I played in the 360), but still. Fallout 3, Gears of War, COD4, FIFA10, Uncharted (1 or 2 or both), maybe even include an Arcade or PSN game, Flower was just amazing for me. Rock Band 2 would be there too, of course. Wii Sports, Mario Galaxy, etc.

Meh. Despite its legendary status, the game has flaws. The fixed camera was an admirable attempt but very annoying. Not to mention the over reliance on Quicktime Events pushes it out of the top 10 alone.

Any game where you fight the controls more than the enemies doesn't deserve that honor. I can appreciate that it's a great game but tank like controls when considering the decade as a whole pushes it to the 10-25 range, not top 10.

Is that for the Wii, or just the game in general? I think the controls in RE4 were great. They were specific to that series, and didn't gel with other "shooters", but I think the restricted movement along with not being able to shoot while moving heightened the tension in the game. You slap straffing and jumping to that game and I think it loses something.

This.

I think the only thing it heightened was frustration. When my kids got a GC, this was the one game that I had interest in...until I played it. I recently played Saw on the 360, and I know alot of people here didn't like it, but I was digging the game. The controls reminded me of RE4 only a little better/smoother. If the controls would've been as good as say, Dead Space, both of those games would've been 10x better.

Edit to add...is RE4 really better than the other zombie games out there? I mean, L4D 1 & 2, Dead Rising, RE5, etc...all better in my opinion, and RE5 controls sucked too. Boasting RE4 sounds like un-necessary Nintendo praise.

I guess it's just a matter of different strokes for different folks then. Is it better? I have no authority to say, but I think it might have a leg up on the other games you mentioned because it really was a groundbreaking game when it came out, and that was recent enough that people still recall how amazing it was to play RE4 for the first time. I'm new to L4D, but that is probably a better controlling game. RE5 might be better, but it's RE4 with a new coat of paint, and so doesn't get the same credit. Dead Rising is pretty divisive as I've seen just as many people say they hated that game as loved it.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga was sheer fun. How much fun? Even the prequels are enjoyable. Ergo, I would nominate it for any "best of" list. Otherwise, I defer to the gaming community for what the games of note have been.

I would also try to argue that 2010 is, in fact, the final year of this first decade, but I suspect that's an argument that list-making websites don't want to hear and I won't win anyway.

Was 2000 the final year of the 90's?

Re: RE4

I played the crap out of RE4, and it's especially good on Wii, but I think I agree. It seems like too many games have improved on RE4's mechanics for it to remain relevant.

RE4 --> Gears --> Dead Space --> Uncharted

Once you've played Uncharted 2, it's awfully hard to go backwards.

I did not start gaming until spring of 2007, so my list leans towards the newer titles:

Bioshock
Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots
Super Mario Galaxy
Fallout 3
Assassin's Creed 2: not finished yet but loving it
Resident Evil 4
Rock Band
Little Big Planet