"A guided tour of your deepest fears
Designed to help you vision clear
We'll depart from here"

• 11Dec 09

  Death of a Decade: Best Games (#1-10)

  Top 50 Best Games of the Decade

  1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

  

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Developer: Rockstar North
  • 2003

  Vice City simply goes beyond having an open-ended world and varied, superb gameplay - the amount of styIe Rockstar poured into this game is unmatched. Neon-lit art-deco 80's Miami, fantastic music, a plethora of colorful characters, a cIassic rise-to-power crime storyline, and finally a cool, no bull**** protagonist voiced by Ray Liotta. Vice City also sports the groundbreaking series' most engaging side-missions including masterminding a bank heist and managing a porn film studio.

  2. Half-Life 2

  

  • Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
  • Developer: Valve Software
  • 2004

  From the opening Point Insertion level, I realized I have embarked on something truly unique - City 17 was a cold, uninviting place in which the easy-to-see-through propaganda of a puppet human government is brainwashing you from the very first few seconds of gameplay. The atmosphere is palpable, you can feel the misery of the people that surround you, and you fervently want to join in the revolt. There is something distinctly real and human about Half-Life 2 despite the fact that you're fighting off an alien invasion. One of the very few games in which the reason to fight is as important as the fight itself.

  3. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

  

  • Publisher: LucasArts
  • Developer: BioWare
  • 2003

  BioWare managed to provide the most complete Star Wars experience with this RPG of epic proportions. Incredibly well-written staying true to its source material, it has some of the most interesting characters in the Star Wars universe, and it sports the best Star Wars storyline since the first three movies. On top of all that, you actually get to traverse through a massive Star Wars universe and decide its fate. Knight of the Old Republic is everything an RPG can possibly be.

  4. The Longest Journey

  

  • Publisher: Funcom
  • Developer: Funcom
  • 2000

  This is the absolute pinnacle of adventure gaming and storytelling. The gameplay is exquisite, the puzzles are challenging and, more importantly, make sense. The writing is superb, you will not encounter better developed characters than this, and the voice acting is organic and natural. After playing through this game, I felt as if I knew April Ryan, as if she was someone I was once friends with. April Ryan's journey should not be missed.

  5. Team Fortress 2

  

  • Publisher: Valve Software
  • Developer: Valve Software
  • 2007

  A multiplayer game that has it all - a wonderful art-styIe, awesome characters, insane amounts of polish and balance and--this is what it truly excels at--teamwork. The cIasses give loads of gameplay variety, the goal-oriented teamwork paves the way for awesome battle scenarios and the fantastic community provides a bottomless amount of maps, mods, servers and everything in-between.

  6. Ninja Gaiden

  

  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Developer: Team Ninja
  • 2004

  The guys over at Team Ninja are undeniably a sadistic bunch who managed to bring me to tears out of sheer frustration - this game is ****ing hard. I'm no fan of such punishment and if it were any other game, I'd quit in a heartbeat. But there was something about Ninja Gaiden that constantly kept me moving forward no matter how badly I got schooled by the AI - and to keep playing after enduring such punishment and ending up looking like a complete wuss to simple computer AI is Ninja Gaiden's greatest feat. Because the game is just so incredible you can't put it down no matter what.

  7. Civilization IV

  

  • Publsiher: 2K Games
  • Developer: Firaxis Games
  • 2005

  Civilization IV elevated the venerable series' formula to unseen heights. The interface was streamlined in order to avoid unnecessary, boring micromanagement. It's also the most accessible game in the series providing lots of options and making the game faster. But most importantly, these changes were made without compromising the insane depth and scope old fans expected. Just the opposite, it has more features than ever such as the fantastic religion system.

  8. Disciples II: Dark Prophecy

  

  • Publisher: Strategy First
  • Developer: Strategy First
  • 2002

  The easiest way to describe this game is to compare it to Heroes of Might and Magic. But you would be doing it a horrible diservice as well. Disciples II is as different from Heroes as it is similar to it. It's an absolutely brilliant turn-based strategy game with a compelling universe, deep tactical gameplay that is easy to learn but difficult to master and a fantastic art-styIe.

  9. Grand Theft Auto IV

  

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Developer: Rockstar North
  • 2008

  The game that took the series in a very different direction. It is a back-to-basics game showcasing Rockstar's incredible restraint and vision. Grand Theft Auto IV tells a dark New York immigrant story with believeable characters and great writing. It features one of the most amazing and detailed gameworlds ever created, stunning graphics, a great combat system, refined driving mechanics, competent AI. On top of all that, there's also the video editor and the fantastic Independence FM.

  10. Dragon Age: Origins

  

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: BioWare
  • 2009

  The best thing to say about Dragon Age is that nothing feels like an afterthought in this game. Everything, absolutely everything is well thought-out and deliberate. An incredibly detailed gameworld with rich culture and history, a teriffic cast of characters, insane amount of fully voiced NPC's and a deep tactical combat system that never gets repetetive.

  • Posted Dec 11, 2009 2:34 pm PT
  • 4 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 10Dec 09

  Death of a Decade: Best Games (#11-20)

  Top 50 Best Games of the Decade

  11. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

  

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Developer: Rockstar North
  • 2005

  Easily the most massive and diverse Grand Theft Auto game. It takes the player on an epic journey from the concrete jungle of South Central L.A. through Northern California all the way to the most ludicrous desert town on the planet. As with any journey, how you get there is much more important than actually getting there. In San Andreas, you get there in styIe.

  12. Homeworld 2

  

  • Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
  • Developer: Relic Entertainment
  • 2003

  The ultimate space strategy game. Homeworld 2 is an incredible space RTS with stunning graphics and an absolutely brilliant soundtrack that build up an amazing atmosphere. It is also a very challenging game with extremely competent AI that will never fail to exploit any mistakes you make. Compared to more traditional RTS games, Homeworld 2 is a delightfully slow-paced, methodical and highly tactical game. Unlike most RTS games which boil down to mindless clickfests, it's a true strategy game.

  13. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

  

  • Publisher: 2K Games/Bethesda Softworks
  • Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
  • 2006

  When there's such a variety of actions like exploring huge tracks of land, elven ruins, abandoned forts and mines, fighting all sorts of creatures, doing business in towns, interacting with loads of NPC's, joining Guilds and questing on their behalf....you know you have an amazing game on your hands. Oh yeah, there's also a story in there somewhere. But more importantly, in Oblivion you actually get to role-play and create a story of your own - making it a truly unrivaled experience.

  14. Manhunt

  

  • Rockstar Games
  • Rockstar North
  • 2004

  The most misunderstood game ever created, Manhunt is a true one-of-a-kind experience that serves as a disturbing commentary on mankind's endless thirst for violence, the illegal snuff market and even reality TV. Exploring a grousome and disturbing subject matter, Manhunt is an insanely intense game with a fantastic atmosphere backed by chilling sound effects and a heart-pumping soundtrack in which you will truly be afraid for your life at every turn.

  15. The Warriors

  

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Developer: Rockstar Toronto
  • 2005

  Is it really a surprise that where all else failed, Rockstar was triumphant? An absolutely stellar movie-based game with an accessible yet deep and varied combat system, lots of environmental destruction/interaction, fantastic writing and game design that not only manages to stay true to the source material but extensively builds upon it, stellar voice acting and an awesome soundtrack. Mayhem was never this much fun.

  16. Bully

  

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Developer: Rockstar Vancouver
  • 2006

  Grand Theft Auto meets The Warriors in a high school setting. A true testament to Rockstar's international creative and development process - refining and melding features and ideas from other Rockstar studios. And yet they still manage to innovate and make it completely fresh. Bully features a very unique, interesting and original setting, solid combat system, creative weaponry arsenal, inspired game design and--uncharacteristically of Rockstar--a fantastic original soundtrack.

  17. Katamari Damacy

  

  • Publisher: Namco
  • Developer: Namco
  • 2004

  Completely unlike anything you've ever played before, Katamari Damacy is a Happy Place in a box that manages to delight even before you see "Press Start" on your screen. Best use of a capella in a game ever. A simplistic yet inexplicably joyous and addictive game mechanic, wonderful art-styIe, completely surreal presentation and storytelling, one of the most awesome characters ever concieved by a human brain and an absolutely fantastic soundtrack.

  18. Shadow of the Colossus

  

  • Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
  • Developer: Sony Japan Studio
  • 2005

  Simple concept, mammoth execution. Shadow of the Colossus is a creative powerhouse featuring incredible presentation and art-styIe, heart-wrenching soundtrack, truly inspired game design and some of the most epic game battles ever created. Each colossus is distinctly unique and requires a different approach. Perhaps the most impressive thing Shadow of the Colossus manages to achieve is that you're constantly doubting your actions wondering whether your quest is at all just.

  19. Portal

  

  • Publisher: Valve Software
  • Developer: Valve Software
  • 2007

  Portal shadows a game industry success story inherent only to Valve: Students make flash game for school project, students get hired by world-cIass developer, students make one of the most innovative and adored games ever. It truly is one of the most unique, smart, genuinely funny, intricate games available on the market today.

  20. Crysis

  

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Crytek
  • 2007

  The only game I've played to date that truly lives up to its "emergent gameplay" marketing plug. The first six massive levels are pure open-ended bliss featuring fully destructible environments, insanely tight combat rewarding experimentation and absolutely impressive AI that uses real-world tactics such as search and destroy. Even when it gets linear and dependent on scripted action sequences towards the end, it's still great. Oh yeah, and it's still the graphical benchmark.

  • Posted Dec 10, 2009 12:51 pm PT
  • 2 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 9Dec 09

  Death of a Decade: Best Games (#21-30)

  Top 50 Best Games of the Decade

  21. Heroes of Might and Magic V

  

  • Publisher: Ubisoft
  • Developer: Nival Interactive
  • 2006

  Between the mindnumbingly disappointing Heroes IV and New World Computing going bankrupt, the future seemed grim for the venerable turn-based strategy series. Then Ubisoft bought the rights and tapped respected Russian developer Nival to bring Heroes to 3D. There were many doubts, but they all dissipated once I played the game. It's basically Heroes III in 3D and you can't ask for more than that. Nival continued to show great competence in the expansion packs as well (particularly the fantastic Tribes of the East) and the future is looking bright for the series.

  22. Fable II

  

  • Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
  • Developer: Lionhead Studios
  • 2008

  Peter Molyneux achieved what was thought impossible - everything he promised was actually in the game. Coupled with the fact that Lionhead took all the complaints to heart and made great strides to improve the sequel and you have a truly outstanding game on your hands. A lenghty adventure, beautiful gameworld that would literally change based on your decisions, fleshed out simulation elements, a satisfying combat system, deep customization.

  23. Okami

  

  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Developer: Clover Studio
  • 2006

  One of the most visually striking games ever created. A painting in motion. Great writing, fantastic soundtrack, interesting characters, solid combat system, the innovative brush mechanic and a gameworld that is an incomprehensible joy to explore and bask in. If that wasn't enough, you get to play as Amaterasu - a Sun Goddess in wolf's form.

  24. Viva Pinata

  

  • Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
  • Developer: Rare Ltd.
  • 2006

  A game that manages to delight by simply walking around in a garden. Not only because it looks amazing, but also because of that wonderful sense of accomplishment. Everything you can see, everything you can interact with within the garden was your doing. Planting flowers, vegetables and trees, taming a wild pinata, building them a home, breeding them...everything in Viva Pinata is a pure joy.

  25. Resident Evil 4

  

  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Developer: Capcom
  • 2005

  A game that transcends genres and, indeed, its own heritage. Everything Resident Evil 4 does is for a reason, it's clearly a product of careful planning. The controls, game design, level design, enemies and bosses - all of these elements depend on each other to create a truly fantastic action game experience.

  26. King's Bounty: The Legend

  

  • Publisher: 1C
  • Developer: Katauri Interactive
  • 2008

  This is a sort of remake of King's Bounty, developed by New World Computing back in 1990 who went on to create the celebrated Heroes of Might and Magic series. King's Bounty: The Legend is basically an old-school RPG with battles very similar to those found in Heroes of Might and Magic. It's a huge, deep game with delightfully colorful graphics, an interesting gameworld and fantastic battles.

  27. The Sims 3

  

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: EA Redwood Shores
  • 2009

  This is by far the best entry in the series. It features a seamless town which provides loads of interesting activities and opportunities, refined interaction features, unparalleled level of customization paving the way for some brilliant flashes of user creativity and a superb community implementation.

  28. Civilization III

  

  • Publisher: Infogrames
  • Developer: Firaxis Games
  • 2001

  True story: I played nothing but Civ III for about a year. At some point, it simply stopped being a conscious decision. I would simply turn on my PC and fire the game up. Civ III was considerably slower-paced than Civ IV went on to be - each session would last up to a month. It was a time when I had little responsibilities and all my days and nights were spent bulding my empire. Just...one...more...turn.

  29. Half-Life 2: Episode Two

  

  • Publisher: Valve Software
  • Developer: Valve Software
  • 2007

  Erm, it's Half-Life. If that doesn't designate instant awesomeness, I don't know what does. Episode Two takes Gordon and Alyx out of City 17 to face the Combine in the northern woodlands. Amazing atmosphere, unparalleled immersion, teriffic writing, Alyx, fantastic design and quite possibly the best action sequence in the series.

  30. Need for Speed Most Wanted

  

  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Developer: Black Box
  • 2005

  Let's not beat around the bush - Most Wanted is one of the best racing games I've ever played. It was a perfect marriage of Hot Pursuit and Underground offering a cool city to drive around, fast cars, fantastically corny live action storytelling, deep customization and most importantly - incredibly fast, intense and exhilarating cop chases that were rewardingly tough and insanely epic.

  • Posted Dec 9, 2009 12:50 pm PT
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »