As 2009 comes to a close and 2010 is just days away, I decided to look back on the last decade (2000-2009). It was through this period of reflection that I realize that this is the decade when I really defined myself as a gamer. Sure, I played video games before then, but these last ten years are when I became a hardcore gamer that saw video gaming as more than a hobby. Thus, I’d just like to take this article to talk about the ten games that got me to this point. These aren’t the games I think are the best created (although I’m sure some of them are among that elite group); these are just my personal favorite games that came out in the first decade of the 21^st century.

Just as a quick note, the consoles listed next to these games are just the system that I got these games on. I’m well aware which games appeared on multiple systems.  I’m just pointing this out so that no one thinks that I’m making some sort of statement or whatever by not including the names of some consoles that the multi-console games also appeared on.  Also, just to reiterate because I know how lists like these go, these are only my FAVORITE games of the last decade, NOT the ones that I consider the greatest or best.  Thus, if I didn’t include your favorite game on my list, don’t be all “This list sucks, you can’t have a list of the best games of the decade without such-and-such!”, because it’s very possible that I did like your favorite game and do consider it one of the best released this decade, it’s just not one of my favorites.  It’s like how someone can agree with the consensus that Citizen Kane and The Godfather are two of the greatest movies ever made, but they are not part of that person’s list of favorite films.  Or maybe I haven’t played whatever game you’re complaining is not on this list, but do somewhere down the line and would’ve put it on here if I had played it earlier.  Or maybe that game isn’t even from this decade and you’re complaing about a game that can’t even be on here.  Point being: don’t get offended and spam the comments.  I know it’ll still happen but I thought that I’d at least try.  Anyway, let’s delve in.

Honorable Mentions

*Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3 – 2009) – “Batman” and “excellent video game” used together was an oxymoron until Rocksteady brought The Dark Knight’s dark, sophisticated, and fantastic vision of Batman to video games.  The result was a Batman game that had a great story, solid gameplay, exciting combat, and an experience that overall, reminded me why I loved Batman so much when I was younger, and still do.  Plus, Mark Hamill voices The Joker and while Luke Skywalker voicing such a maniacal villain seems like an odd choice, it worked in Batman: The Animated Series, and it works in Batman: Arkham Asylum (along with the voice actors for Batman and Harley Quinn from the cartoon returning to voice their characters).  Arkham Asylum proved that not only could you make a video game about a comic book superhero, you could make it amazing.  Thus, even though I liked other games better, it definitely deserves to be mentioned on my favorite games on the decade list.

*Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360 – 2009) -  Between fixing almost ever gameplay gripe that I had with its predecessor, having a strong and unique story, and reconstructing Renaissance Italy so perfectly among other things, I simply love this game.  I could say a lot more about it but since I just reviewed it, you can read that if you want to know more about what I thought of it.  For now though, I’ll summarize, but first say that it definitely surpassed the hype and stood out for me as one of the defining games of this decade that without a doubt, deserves mentioning, especially the honorable part.  The story is awesome, the gamplay is awesome, the graphics are awesome, hell, everything about the game is just awesome.  It’s a prime example of a developer listening to the complaints of fans and improving them ten-fold, and that makes me respect a developer and a game a lot more.  However, even if I didn’t respect Ubisoft, I still wouldn’t be able to say with a straight face that Assassin’s Creed II was a bad game.  It’s a marvelous experience and one that deserves an honorable mention on my list without question.

*Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Xbox – 2005) – I’m going to be completely honest, I’m a die-hard Star Wars fan.  However, while many aspects of the franchise are excellent, such as the Original Trilogy, I’m not too much of a fanboy to not acknowledge its shortcomings, such as the Holiday Special (mostly because of the mental pain it still causes me).  So naturally, there are both good and bad Star Wars games and a fan has to be wary of which ones are which.  Fortunately, Star Wars: Battlefront II was one of the good ones, one of the really good ones.  Already, it had the reputation of being a sequel to one of the best Star Wars games ever created, and it ended up surpassing its predecessor.  For a die-hard Star Wars fan like me to be able to relive just about every battle from the movies, as well as a few from the Expanded Universe, or simply make my scenarios was one thing.  For the game to also be a solid Third-Person Shooter with expansive maps, loads of weapons, classes, and vehicles for both land and space battles, the ability to play as iconic Star Wars characters, including Jedi and Sith Lords, in wide-open battlefields with access to Force powers and a lightsaber, loads of addictive singleplayer and multiplayer options, a reward system that addicted me to the pursuit of acquiring all the special weapons and abilities for the classes permanently, and have it all Star Wars themed is something that just blew my mind.  It’s still a game that I prefer to play today over many others and frankly, if you play it for 10 minutes, it’s easy to see why.

*Fallout 3 (Xbox 360 – 2008) – Considering the fact that I played and enjoyed Fallout 3 for over 300 hours (320 to be specific), you’d almost expect it to be my favorite game of the decade.  Logically, that makes sense, but I also played the original Fallouts and liked them much better, with Fallout 2 comfortably sitting as my favorite game of all time, and Fallout 1 not far behind at #3.  That’s why it makes it so much harder for me to like Fallout 3.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good game on its own with some fantastic characteristics (like the expansive world that I thoroughly enjoyed exploring), but as a Fallout game, something just seems off to me.  I couldn’t say it in my reviews of the DLC (because I try to not let fan bias get in the way of me being a critic), and I did actually like the game, but I certainly don’t think it’s a masterpiece.  It deserves an honorable mention on this list, but that’s really it.  Maybe that’s just my fan bias talking, but this is a biased list, so I’ll stand by it.

10. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (Gamecube – 2001)

It’s hard to believe, but there was actually a time when the Tony Hawk franchise not only made good video games, they made awesome ones.  I know it sounds crazy, certainly when you consider just how far the franchise has fallen but as the saying goes, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”.  So where did the Tony Hawk franchise fall from?  None other than the pinnacle of the series: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.  This game was just so…awesome; there’s really no other way to describe it.  The levels were great, the tricks were crazy but easy to pull off (unlike today and speaking of which, there were no complicated systems either), and multiplayer was just a complete blast.  I loved the cheat codes though, I’m not going to lie.  Jumping 50 feet in the air in slow-motion and scoring a huge amount of points on a slew of crazy tricks was one thing, but my fondest memory of the game was when my cousin and I turned on the “unlimited grind” cheat, grinded along a rail that went on a circular track, and left the game on overnight.  I can’t remember our exact score the next day but I think that my cousin’s skater had been knocked off by my skater (who I remember being Darth Maul, another cheat code), and I had a couple of 100 million points.  This isn’t to say that the game wasn’t fun without cheat codes, because that’s not true, nor is it to say that I condone cheating or enjoy always using cheat codes.  However, I do say that if a game has awesome cheat codes, use them as much as you want once you’ve beaten the game normally the first time, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was no exception.  It had great gameplay, a large list of features, and the soundtrack…well let’s just say that while I was upset that I could no longer shred to my favorite track from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (“When Worlds Collide” by Powerman 5000), The Ramones and Motörhead were more than enough to make up for it, and the rest of the soundtrack was just flat-out fantastic.  Actually, now that I think about it, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was another favorite of mine from the decade that could be on this list, but since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was even bigger and better, it easily grabs the spot of my 10^th favorite game of the decade.

9. God of War Collection (PS3 – 2009)

Having just wrapped up my God of War Collection review, I can finally say that I’ve played the God of War games, and that they’re awesome.  However, not knowing which one to pick, I decided to use the God of War Collection as a loophole for putting both on here, and why not?  After all, both games are awesome enough to warrant being on here.  As to the original God of War, between the complex, challenging, and all-around awesome combat, the surprising good story (and absolute badass of a protagonist), and beautiful graphics (well, for the time anyway), the game was an absolute masterpiece.  I sort of felt like the story took small hit in God of War II, but everything else was improved; the combat had more depth, the graphics were better, and the puzzles that were thrown in with the game were more challenging than those in the first game.  I’m almost annoyed that I didn’t get the chance to play the God of War games until now, but nevertheless, the God of War Collection makes it easy for me to put both games in their finest form on this list as my 9^th favorite games of the last decade.

8. Pokémon Gold & Silver (Game Boy Color – 2000)

Yeah, I know the original Pokémon Red and Blue games are classic. After all, they were the first video games I ever owned.  I played other games before them obviously, but the first system that I owned was the Game Boy Color, which I got specifically for the Pokémon games (I’m not that old you know).  Regardless, they came out before the cut-off year so they don’t count anyway and even if the could be on here, I still wouldn’t add them. Why? Because Pokémon Gold and Silver were better. And as far as I’m concerned, they’re the best Pokémon games ever created. Gold and Silver created new Pokémon, moves, items, and areas that have become staples of the Pokémon universe, and fit in with what was done in the originals as well. Plus, they were the first Pokémon games in color. They also appealed more to the hardcore fans. How many other Pokémon games let you repeatedly challenge a trainer with a team of level 70 Pokémon, a trainer who happened to be Ash from the show? In the game he’s called Red, but you could tell it was Ash and, since I was a fan of the show at the time, I thought that was pretty damn cool. But what really set them apart is a feature that has become lost in future installments. Every new entry in the series has a new set of 100 or more Pokémon and eight new badges, among other new features. Even the original games had 150 Pokémon with eight badges, but that’s understandable. Gold and Silver had 16 badges and 250 Pokémon (100 or so new ones but 250 in total). Half the badges were new, but the other half were all the badges from the original games. Yes, in Gold and Silver, you can go to all the areas in the original games again, each updated and all ripe for reliving the glory days. But not only that, you could also trade and battle with anyone who had the original versions (provided you don’t have any new Pokémon on your team). Still though, it was a great feature that I enjoyed using (especially after I traded my level 100 Blastoise from my Red version to my Gold version). Now why aren’t regions in previous games incorporated into new games? Sure, you can trade with previous installments, but that’s only half of it all (a half that was first introduced in Gold and Silver, might I add). Now, there was a Pokémon Crystal released, which was basically just Gold and Silver with some new but small features (such as being the first Pokémon game to let you pick the gender of your character), but it wasn’t really that different so I never bothered with it. Plus, I grew out of Pokémon about a year after it was released. Nevertheless, Pokémon Gold and Silver provided me with many hours of playtime and fond memories from my youth. Whether or not they are the best Pokémon games of all time, Pokémon Gold and Silver are two of my favorite games of all time, easily making them #8 on my list.

7. Dead Rising (Xbox 360 – 2006)

In case you couldn’t tell from my review of the game, I fricking love Dead Rising.  Or, at least I did when I still had my save data, but that’s another story.  However, a thing to wonder about is – why do I love Dead Rising so much? I don’t know actually, I hated it the first time I played it. But then I played it some more, and more, and more, and soon I was up all hours of the night slaughtering zombies. Sure, zombies have been overused in almost every entertainment medium (certainly video games and movies), but Dead Rising took a different approach. Why not take an ordinary photojournalist, stick him in an open-world mall packed to the teeth with undead abominations, add in a good story and lots of replayability, and tell him to fend off the zombies with whatever he can find in the mall? Oh, and he has 72 hours. While perhaps not seeming like a compelling concept at the onset, despite being relatively unique, Dead Rising pulled off its now signature style beautifully, proving that there’s room in world for more undead.  It was addictive, it was well made, it was loads of fun, it was unique, and it was gory as hell, and that’s all you can really ask of a zombie game these days (except in Australia for that last part).  It was released at such a great time too: it was an exclusive that released before Microsoft’s big franchises (Halo and Gears of War), as well as before the PS3 and Wii, and at a time in the 360’s life-cycle when it was having a rather slow year, which allowed Dead Rising to spread to the masses.  I can only hope that the original will eventually make its way to the PS3 before the sequel releases (and I don’t mean in the form of that crappy Wii port) because you PS3 owners really missed out on one hell of an experience.  Dead Rising is thrilling, brilliant, and hopefully what the future of zombie games will look like.  In my book, it has easily claimed the crown of the zombie game king and thus, it’s an easy pick for my 7^th favorite game of the decade.

6. Super Smash Bros. Melee (Gamecube – 2001)

While the original doesn’t make the cutoff for the decade, I’m really talking about the series as a whole. The original did have lot of meaning to me though, as it was the first game I ever bought for the Nintendo 64. Not only that, I had been strictly a handheld gamer up until I got an N64, so this was also the very first console game I ever owned. so the fact that it was awesome game made it all the better. However, I really felt that Melee was the best iteration of the series, or certainly the one I enjoyed the most, because it built off everything that made the original so awesome, and made a bigger and better game.  While a fighting game at heart, Smash Bros was quite different from the established classics, such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken. Instead of being a button masher (and you all know that’s what people who don’t know how to play those games do), Smash Bros was easy to pick up and play while still being difficult to master. And while fighting games of old had two combatants duking it out on a small strip of land, Smash Bros had four-player fights in large arenas that you could freely move around in. But first and foremost, it was a collection of classic Nintendo characters kicking each other’s asses with awesome moves and crazy, Nintendo-based items. This not only let you take out all your frustration on a character who you didn’t like (or their game at least), but it introduced you to all sorts of characters you had never heard of.  Anyway, Melee really helped solidify for me that Smash Bros was  a fun party game that was ridiculously fun to play; so fun, in fact, that I almost got a Wii just for Brawl. Instead, I got GTA IV and had to settle for playing Brawl at my friend’s houses a lot.  However, Super Smash Bros Melee, provided me with some of the most memorable days of my childhood. Simple yet complex, and outrageously fun for the whole family, yet quite competitive among friends and veterans, the Super Smash Bros series remains a staple in the gaming industry, with Melee as my favorite iteration in the series, it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite games of all time, easily putting it at #6 on my list.

5. Age of Mythology: The Titans Expansion Pack (PC – 2003)

Where to begin on this one? Well, I got the original Age of Mythology when it came out in 2002 and boy did I love it.  It not only turned me into a mythology nerd (yeah, I learned Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology from a video game, go figure) but it was also incredibly fun to play. The units looked awesome, the story was cool, the God powers kicked ass, and the cheat codes were outrageously great (Laser Bears…damn they were awesome, but I stand by what I said about cheat codes in my Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 blurb).  In addition, it was also a well-designed RTS that was complex and played great. The expansion pack was just bigger and better. It was the full first game but with expanded content. So the fact that it had all I love about the series already made it all the better. However, it also had new content. The Titan units, the new Atlantean civilization, and a new campaign, all of which fit with the design of the first game, equaled up into a great experience. And then there was the world editor, which I just used to mess around in and see what I could imagine. It, like the rest of the game, was deep and complex, but let me play out my wildest fantasies once I got the hang of it, and that meant a lot to me. And the expansion made me even more of a mythology nut.  The Age of Mythology series was also my first RTS too, so that was exciting. Thus, Age of Mythology was awesome but The Titans expansion pack made it better.  It’s a real shame that Ensemble, the developers, had to close their doors recently.  Ensemble, you will be missed, but know that this game, your game, had a huge impact on my life.  It is without a doubt one of my favorite games of all time, and #5 on my list.

4. Bioshock (Xbox 360 – 2007)

I don’t know how much more I can say about Bioshock that hasn’t already been said.  It’s not that often that a game like this comes around. A great, complex, and deep story, solid gameplay, a fantastic looking setting, and just overall a unique idea all perfectly blended together was not what anyone had in mind when this game released, and certainly few expected it to do as well as it did.  Remember, this was 2007, one of the best video game years on record.  Not only did 2007 have a slew of quality titles, like Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and The Orange Box among many others, it was also filled with the newest and best iterations of major franchises, such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Super Mario Galaxy, and of course, Halo 3, which as we all remember, was hyped to an indescribable point.   So here comes a new IP, which, unlike other new IPs like Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed, doesn’t bear the reputation of a quality developer who released a multitude of quality games in recent memory, and doesn’t have as big a marketing drive, so one wouldn’t think a game like Bioshock could stand a chance against the big hitters of the year.  However, Bioshock did release in August, which made its only real competition Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, so perhaps Bioshock could garner some attention.  It did more than that.  Bioshock was a sleeper hit that left me, along with anyone who has played it, speechless. Every little thing about the game intrigued me, from its fantastic setting to it’s unforeseen twist in the story that made me look at games in a different way entirely, perhaps surpassing even the aforementioned KOTOR twist.  It was a masterpiece of which enough has been spoken to indicate it as a classic. Now, is the sequel going to do the series justice? I sure hope so; such a great game doesn’t deserve a lackluster sequel. But nevertheless, Bioshock easily became a favorite game of mine, and among its many awards and accolades, I like to award it one more as my 4^th favorite game of the decade.

3. Mass Effect (Xbox 360 - 2007)

KOTOR probably solidified my respect for Bioware, and put the developer as my all time favorite along with the now-defunct Black Isle Studios (who developed, among other games, the original Fallouts) and Mass Effect only strengthened that thought.  Between its immersive lore, beautifully detail worlds, and solid controls, as well as its successful blend of RPG elements into an action game, the title definitely captivated me, but what really solidified the game’s reputation in my mind were two unbelievable aspects: its advancement of the RPG genre and the story.  As to the former, the ability to import a character you’ve created and the universe you’ve sculpted to your will into Mass Effect 2 is awesome enough, but having short descriptions of dialogue so that you can have fluid conversations in which your character actually speaks is really incredible, and something I miss whenever I play any other RPG.  However, it’s really the story that has elevated Mass Effect for me to be on this list.  It’s a good, well-written tale throughout, yes, but the last several hours of the game are so gripping, so dramatic, and so stressful in some of the choices you have to make, that I was literally glued to my TV more intensely than I’ve ever been until the game finally culminated.  That, in my mind, makes a remarkable video game, and sets Mass Effect not only as one of my favorite games of all times, but certainly as my 3^rd favorite game of the last ten years.

2. Knights of the Old Republic Series (Xbox – 2003 & 2004)

As I said earlier, I’ma huge Star Wars fan, and in no small part to the excellent quality of many of the Star Wars games.  However, there was a time when there was a distinction between a Star Wars movie fan and a Star Wars fan in general.  In all honesty, very few Star Wars games even came close, if at all, to the quality of the Original Trilogy, especially in terms of the plot, and even if the gameplay was solid, every Star Wars fan knows how important the story is.  Then came Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic in 2003.  Now remember, the original Xbox had very few great exclusives to its name at this point, save for Halo and Splinter Cell.  Likewise, Star Wars video games weren’t off to a great start in the new decade, aside from Jedi Knight II.  So basically, it would take a very special Star Wars game that was exclusive to the Xbox to help everyone out.  Well, Bioware not only delivered, they exceeded expectations.  KOTOR (as it’s often abbreviated) is not only one of the best games ever released on the Xbox, but of all time.  It was a massive RPG with detailed stat building, fantastic gameplay, and overall just a wonderful RPG experience.  But it was the story that most of us remember.  Bioware’s tale was set almost 4,000 years before the events of the Original Trilogy, giving the developer nearly unrestricted freedom to create canon material that felt like Star Wars while still being unique.  It had a colorful and unique cast of characters, ranging from the primary antagonist Darth Malak, who looked pretty awesome and was a great villain overall, to fan favorite HK-47, a badass assassin droid with a knack for dark humor.  But more importantly, the actual plot of the game arguably rivaled, if not exceed, the plots of the Star Wars films (except Episode IV and Episode V).  This is mainly due to one of the greatest twists ever in a video game, let alone any form of entertainment, that literally shook the very foundation of the game and its plot.  But beyond that, KOTOR’s setting in the past gave it a distinct feel that allowed for many liberties, among them being that Jedi and Sith were everywhere.  This allowed players to truly utilize, among many other items in the Star Wars universe, a lightsaber of any sort.  Combined with a comprehensive list of Force powers and special abilities, you could create the Star Wars character of your dreams and truly utilize him (or her) to their fullest.  The game was also a graphical and audio marvel.  Each of the worlds in the game was unique and fantastic to look at and the score was so much like Star Wars that it truly sounded as if John Williams composed it himself.  Fnally, the game helped push the RPG genre to new heights on consoles and, for all intensive purposes, truly introduced me to the RPG genre of gaming, and the hard work and dedication it took.  It’s interesting, as I actually bought KOTOR II first and didn’t like, but later rebought it, along with KOTOR I, and came to love the series (mostly the first one though, as stated), forever glad I gave these games a second chance.  So, between the fantastic storyline of the first game and the massive amount of stats, quests, and follower options among other things in the second game, plus the overall great gameplay, graphics, and music, KOTOR truly does Star Wars justice and ranks up there in the pinnacle of Star Wars games, which includes games like the Battlefront series, X-Wing/TIE Fighter, and Jedi Knight II, with the original KOTOR debatably being the best Star Wars game ever made.  Thus, I can not only say that Knights of the Old Republic is one of my favorite games of all time, but easily my 2^nd favorite games of the last decade.

1. Civilization III Complete Edition (PC - 2001)

I say Civilization III Complete Edition not just because that’s what I have, but also because I’m not sure how different my experience with the game would’ve been if I just had the regular edition of Civilization III.  And if it would’ve been different, so would my life. Everyone has those games that come along and change their lives substantially. While all the games on this list have had a large impact on my life, Civ III has had the largest by a long shot (except for #1 on this list of course. It wasn’t my first RTS, let alone my first video game, nor was it my favorite game when I got it. But, as time went on, I grew out of or stopped playing many of the games on this list. Civ III was a game, however, I kept finding myself going back to. Not only that, while I spent many countless hours on all the games on this list, Civ III was the first one that I played for many a sleepless night.  In other words, I could limit how long I played all the other games on the list.  Civ III was the first game that I’d suddenly look out the window and realize that the sun was coming up.  “Just one more turn,” I’d always say, “I’m just going to wage war against this country one more time and then I’ll go to bed.” Fast-forward to four in the morning and that one turn had turned into hundreds.  It was simply that addictive and that much fun to play. And it was a great game to boot. As with the rest of the series, Civ III let you take command of a number of civilizations, each unique with their own strengths and weaknesses, and lead them from ancient times to the modern era. All the while, you had to manage your ever-growing empire in all its aspects. It may seem like it’s overwhelming but once you get into it, it equates to an incredibly fun gaming experience. And while I find some aspects of the game annoying, it’s still outrageously fun and completely makes up for it. I probably play Civ III more than Civilization IV, because although Civ IV corrects many of Civ III’s missteps, there’s just some feel to Civ III that I like more, and it has a better map editor at that.  As with Age of Mythology, I would spend hours creating my own scenarios and then playing them for even longer. Some were actually well thought out, like my World War III map, but others I just made on a particularly frustrating day so that I could take out my opponents without trying.  However, even those were fun, not just because of the concept, but also because I enjoyed learning the mechanics of the game and how to alter them. Really though, the point is that Civilization III was a game that really made me cross the bridge between gaming as a casual hobby and gaming as a lifelong interest at the hardcore level. It made me into the gamer I am today and while I’ve come to play many a game obsessively and sleeplessly because of Civilization III, there are very few that I can claim that I am as obsessed with as Civilization III, let alone that I still play consistently.  Thus, Civilization III is not only my 2^nd favorite game of all time, but also my favorite game of the last ten years.

So there you have it, my top 10 favorite video games of the last decade. They may not be on your list, and they may not even be that remarkable games to begin with, but they are certainly games I hold above many others, despite any criticism, because of the impact that they had on my life.  2010 looks to be a promising year for video games to start off the next decade; especially with high profile titles like Bioshock 2, God of War III, Dead Rising 2, Mass Effect 2, and Fallout: New Vegas to name a few that I’m looking forward to. But the ten years between 2000 and 2009 are a decade that I, and many other gamers, won’t soon forget. A lot has happened in the world in the last ten years that has affected us all greatly, and the massive success of the video game industry is certainly one of those major events.  The number of excellent games released in that time span is no small reason for it though, it is the reason.  However, as one decade ends and another begins, take the time to remember your favorite games of the last decade and look to what the future holds for gaming in the next one. So happy holidays and, of course, happy gaming in the next decade, and in the decades to come.

Please share any games you have chosen as your favorite, not necessarily the best and/or greatest, of the decade and comment below.  No registration required to comment.

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