Favorite 50 of the 00s: 30-26

By CoolDrMoney March 13, 2010 1 Comments

This batch of five contains some Gamecube favorites sandwiched between a couple current gen gems.
 

LBP's excellent single player portion is just a snippet of it's content and appeal. Media Molecule made good on their promise of the power of user generated content by providing the right tools and continuing to foster a creative culture. The result is a sustained lifespan and no shortage of community brilliance. Hopefully LBP is a glimpse of what's to come in the 10s.

With Pikmin, Nintendo successfully crafted a console RTS by boiling the genre down to it's basics and substituting in originality and charm for the loss of complexity. Captain Olimar's struggle to return home is surprisingly human, yet the ever loyal Pikmin are able to keep his optimism afloat as they help retrieve his lost ship parts by engaging enemies and clearing out paths.

Midway's winning taste for arcade ridiculousness revealed another layer in 2001 with NHL Hitz, taking a sport I generally dislike, and overexposing the coolest aspects in true video game fashion. The result was the quintessential hockey experience for anyone looking to just have some fun. Even the use of Limp Bizkit could be forgiven.

Third Person Shooters have become a forefront genre this generation of consoles, and RE4's impact can no doubt be traced back to. It's a content rich 20+ hour experience with no shortage of action thrills or foreboding atmosphere. The over-the-shoulder shooting structure gives the game a feel all of it's own, captured in time and spliced into the genre's DNA before being obsoleted by it's admirers.
 

Pure is a 2008 love letter to the action sports boom of the early 00s. SSX spent the second half of the decade in hiding, and Black Rock Studio proudly stepped in to create a game as good as EA Sport Big's best. The jumps are ridiculous, the tricks are bombastic, and the handling feels perfect. You'll headhunt for first in races and succumb to combo fever in score attacks. It has all the elements of arcade excellence.

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