Hi, seeing how next gen is coming closer and closer, I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon this current gen and the games that defined it. Keep in mind this is just MY view, feel free to disagree with it. But I honestly think that this list is pretty accurate overall.

11)Super Smash Bros Brawl-Nintendo's 4 player party fighter broke new grounds for the series and provided countless hours of fun. Brawl featured an epic single player, tons of content and unlocks, and an excellent character roster. It no doubt was a great contributer to the Wii's success, and that's why it's on this list. Without Brawl the Wii may have not been as successful as it is today.

10)Gears of War-Epic's third-person-shooter laid the ground work for a new style of gameplay. While there were indeed past games that used the cover and shoot system, Gears of War perfected it. The game was also a showcase for the 360's power with it's amazing graphics and detail. Gears was fast, non stop fun action with great enemy AI and solid multiplayer, and it's influence carried into other games. Gears' importance this gen cannot be denied.

9)Mass Effect 2-Biowares sci-fi RPG epic sequel made new grounds for the industry in terms of storytelling, RPG's, and gameplay. It's predecessor was no doubt amazing, but it was it's sequel that really provided the most memorable and one of the most important experiences this gen. With an excellenty done combat system and moral choices that really made you think, Mass Effect 2 expanded on what it's predecessor did so well, and made it even better. Mass Effect 2 is a beautiful game and easily one of the most important.

8)Halo 3-I was personally underwhelmed by Halo 3, but there is no denying that it was one of the most important games this gen, without it the 360 would not have been as successful as it would have been. It featured a feature rich multiplayer that kept fans coming back for more, and even to this day remains very popular.

7)Grand Theft Auto IV-A technical masterpiece at it's time, GTA4 was a bold game that focused on a more serious game rather than the over the top actions of past installments. When I first played GTA4 my jaw hit the floor, everything about it was unbelievable. From the way the characters walked and behaved, to driving and exploring Liberty City, and the storyline it's self, it all felt so real. GTA4 showed what the next gens systems were truly capable of, and that is why it's one of the most important.

6)Metal Gear Solid 4:Guns of the Patriots-This was the game that saved the PS3, that alone makes it very important. But there is more to it than that, MGS4 was the final chapter for Solid Snake but he doesn't go out quitely, instead he goes out with a BANG! The gameplay experience was unforgettable, introducing new ways to play Metal Gear, and with intense boss battles and a storyline that answered all the questions of past installments, MGS4 is easily one of the most technical and best games this gen, and it is one that helped to define what "next gen" was truly all about.

5)BioShock-Creating a game world like no other, BioShock was an ambitious game that allowed players to overcome challenges how they see fit. But more importantly, it tackled political, social, and moral issues. Something games have never done before. BioShock's world of Rapture was so memorable that the game stood out from the heavily saturated first-person-shooter market. BioShock was a revolutionary game and easily one of the most important games for this generation.

4)Red Dead Redemption-RockStar's take on the wild west is one of the best experiences this gen, and definitely one of the most important. It pushed new boundraies for open world games, visuals, storytelling, and so much more that it's impossible for one to forget it. The world of Red Dead Redemption is so immersive that very few games can match it, the game brought the world to life and is a testimony for future games to come.

3)Uncharted 2 Among Thieves-Uncharted 2 was a bold sequel, it improved upon it's block buster predecessor in unimaginable ways, but more importantly it provided such a great experience that it's easily one of the most important games this gen. It showcased what the PS3 was all about, the 360 still cannot match Uncharted 2's technical prowess to this day. With breathtaking visuals, great storyline and characters, addictive multiplayer, and amazing gameplay, Uncharted 2 will go down as one of the best games ever made. Without Uncharted, the PS3 probably would not have been as successful, Naughty Dog is by far one of the most talented devs ever, and Uncharted 2 shows this. Easily one of the most important games this gen, by far.

2)Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare-No other game has had such a huge impact as the Call of Duty series, and it all started with COD 4 Modern Warfare. This game provided such a memorable experience that it will go down as not only the most influential shooter of all time, but as one of the most important games ever made, and that is certainly true for this generation. With it's intense campaign and addictive multiplayer, COD 4 became the king and is the most important shooter for this gen.

1)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion-Without a doubt, Oblivion is the most important game this generation, it truly showed what "next gen" was all about. The graphics may not be so hot now, but back in the day they were jaw dropping. I had never seen such power before, so much detail, so large and so many endless possibilities. Oblivion is the one game I played more than any other this gen,and it is by far the most important, Oblivion is the game that defined the next gen experience.

I have to agree.

Brawl mentioned but not Street Fighter IV which made fighting games a thing again.

I'm out.

Basically, sure..

@Sooty said:

Brawl mentioned but not Street Fighter IV which made fighting games a thing again.

I'm out.

That's one of my only two changes on your list, though. Not so much for the write-ups (I really disliked MGS4, for example) but for the games you chose. It's a good list of games. I very much agree with Sooty that SFIV was more "important" than Brawl, although your argument is a strong one.

I also think that Braid should probably be on here instead of Red Dead Redemption. I think RDR is absolutely one of the best games of the generation, but the things it did to change the medium were mostly just improvements on what GTAIV did before it. By that logic, Fallout 3 should be on here as well.

Meanwhile, Braid legitimized both the indie scene and the downloadable market as a place to not just find great games, but meaningful narratives and one of the best games of the generation. Without Braid, there is no The Walking Dead, there is no Journey, and there is no Limbo. No?

I'd agree with the majority of it, even though I never could get into Mass Effect series. I would probably swap out brawl though. If you are putting it in because of the success of the Wii I feel like Wii Sports or Mario Galaxy would go in there instead. Also I'd like to put in a honorably mention to The World Ends With You, probably my favorite game of this generation.

When it comes the most important games this generation I would put the first Modern Warfare in front of Oblivion, almost every game released since Call of Duty 4 has been inspired in some way by it.

I have to agree.

Last of Us will be the defining game of the generation.

Also Journey and Walking Dead were far more important to games then X game started billion dollar cash cow franchise.

@Little_Socrates: Yeah there are so many other games that could be in it, I just tried to narrow it down. Originally I only had 10, but I felt the Wii deserved something and Brawl fit the bill perfectly. But there are plenty of other games that really helped define this gen, I just tried to pick the one's that did it first or really "wow'd" people. Hence why there is Oblivion and not Fallout or Skyrim, we already kind of saw what the open world games were going to be like with Oblivion first.

@csl316 said:

@Cheesebob

I have to agree.

I find that I have an active disdain for half of the games on this list.

Pretty solid list, I would put Dark Souls in the list as number one but good list besides that.

This generation was awesome! There is so much diversity. I pray that we don't loose that to the bottom line...:(

I would replace ME2 with ME but besides that I couldn't agree more with this list. I would also probably include a game like Shadow Complex or Castle Crashers as these were a couple games that introduced a ton of people to the downloadable space on current consoles. Also helped show that downloadable games can offer an experience equal to what a full retail game can offer.

Nice list.

Although I would find a way to put Demons Souls in there.

I'd say Heavy Rain was important. Even if the game itself wasn't great.

I would argue that the original Geometry Wars deserves to be on that list. It was the first big XBLA game and was instrumental in showing that download-only games on consoles were a viable business.

I would agree games like Geometry Wars and Angry Birds are way more important than Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Assassins Creed, another possibility? Nice list!

@mracoon said:

I would argue that the original Geometry Wars deserves to be on that list. It was the first big XBLA game and was instrumental in showing that download-only games on consoles were a viable business.

Yeah indie games do deserve a spot, especially games such as Castle Crashers and MineCraft (which is the most played game on XBL last time I checked. Even more popular than Halo and COD).

Minecraft most-played game on Xbox Live | GamesRadar

@mracoon said:

I would argue that the original Geometry Wars deserves to be on that list. It was the first big XBLA game and was instrumental in showing that download-only games on consoles were a viable business.

My thoughts exactly, before geometry wars I never even considered payign for a downloadable game

edit:don't know how i missed brawl at the start but i in no way think that it was important this generation or was the cause of the wii's popularity, pretty sure that honor goes to wii sports, it was the one game i actually enjoyed on the wii.

God of War reinvented the beat-em-up / action-adventure along with the QTE's.

Assassin's Creed created a whole new genre.

I would add World of Warcraft to that list

@Nilazz said:

When it comes the most important games this generation I would put the first Modern Warfare in front of Oblivion, almost every game released since Call of Duty 4 has been inspired in some way by it.

Yep. Say what you will about Call of Duty, Skyrim innovation pales in comparison to CoD's progression system or even Gears of Wars cover system. I can't really think of a reason Skyrim could be so important to this generation. Fallout 3 seem to have had more innovations than skyrim really when you think about it. They modernized the hell out of a pretty old gameplay convention, Skyrim isn't doing that much beyond Oblivion or even Morrowind except being prettier and more refined. It's a good game but doesn't compare to others on this list in importance, to me at least.

@thabigred said:

@Nilazz said:

When it comes the most important games this generation I would put the first Modern Warfare in front of Oblivion, almost every game released since Call of Duty 4 has been inspired in some way by it.

Yep. Say what you will about Call of Duty, Skyrim innovation pales in comparison to CoD's progression system or even Gears of Wars cover system. I can't really think of a reason Skyrim could be so important to this generation. Fallout 3 seem to have had more innovations than skyrim really when you think about it. They modernized the hell out of a pretty old gameplay convention, Skyrim isn't doing that much beyond Oblivion or even Morrowind except being prettier and more refined. It's a good game but doesn't compare to others on this list in importance, to me at least.

In my opinion, Morrowind still has the best atmosphere and setting in the Elder Scrolls series. I love Oblivion and Skyrim too but they just can't compete with Morrowind's exploration.

7/10 needs more Dark Souls

Super Smash Bros Brawl is as important as Homefront. Which is to say, not at all. The rest of the list is somewhat debatable, though.

No Heavy Rain, Geometry Wars, or LittleBigPlanet? While these may not be as spectacular as some of those in your list, I'd argue that they are just as important.

I'd remove Red Dead Redemption, Brawl and Uncharted 2 in favour of the above. Better games, for sure, but they they could hardly be considered outright important innovations for the medium.

This seems more like a list of your favorite games this generation and less like a list of the most important ones. I'd argue that Call of Duty 4 is the most important (not the best)

Also, fuck Super Smash Bros, those games are terrible *runs fast*.

@believer258 said:

Also, fuck Super Smash Bros, those games are terrible *runs fast*.

I agree with this man.

*runs faster*

So Brawl is more important to this generation than Wii Sports was? I think you're talking out of your ass.

@Canteu said:

@believer258 said:

Also, fuck Super Smash Bros, those games are terrible *runs fast*.

I agree with this man.

*runs faster*

I hope you leave enough room for my fist because I'm going to ram it into your stomach and break your goddamn spine!

Although I'm only speaking for Melee since that's the one I've invested hundreds of hours in across the years.

Gears also should be mentioned for the Unreal Engine as well.

@Yummylee said:

@Canteu said:

@believer258 said:

Also, fuck Super Smash Bros, those games are terrible *runs fast*.

I agree with this man.

*runs faster*

I hope you leave enough room for my fist because I'm going to ram it into your stomach and break your goddamn spine!

Although I'm only speaking for Melee since that's the one I've invested hundreds of hours in across the years.

Leave room? There will be plenty of room. I won't be there.

Sticking with consoles:

-Call of Duty 4

-Geometry Wars Retro Evolved

-Braid

-Wii Sports

-The Orange Box (Portal)

List over.

@Ryanmgraef said:

This generation was awesome! There is so much diversity. I pray that we don't loose that to the bottom line...:(

The previous generation was awesomer, though. I think the next will be worse as the shift towards multiplayer continues to grow.

@believer258 said:

@Yummylee said:

@Canteu said:

@believer258 said:

Also, fuck Super Smash Bros, those games are terrible *runs fast*.

I agree with this man.

*runs faster*

I hope you leave enough room for my fist because I'm going to ram it into your stomach and break your goddamn spine!

Although I'm only speaking for Melee since that's the one I've invested hundreds of hours in across the years.

Leave room? There will be plenty of room. I won't be there.

When running from an angry nintendo nerd one simply has to run faster than your friend...

As the title is most important not best i would arguefor Wii sport to be on the list. Almost purely because it sums up what drowned out all non Nintendo wii games and ultimately the new audience all 3 console makers wound up having to cater for. I feel this is an important story of this generation and possibly going forward even if i would argue its been more negative than positive so far.

Also CoD:MW - Hell Modern Military Shooter is almost an off-shoot of the FPS genre these days.

Smash Bros is popular but had nothing to do with the Wii's overall success. You can credit Wii Sports for that.

@Klei said:

God of War reinvented the beat-em-up / action-adventure along with the QTE's.

Assassin's Creed created a whole new genre.

While I agree with GoW making QTE's popular, it was released for the ps2 in 2005 so it's not this gen.

Call of Duty 4 in my opinion is the most important game of this gen. I don't like it at all really but it changed the FPS game genre completely. Whether it's a good game or not it is the most influential game of this gen and brought thousands of new people to gaming and competitive multiplayer.

1. Wii Sports

I agree but No Mass Effect change it to GEoW

Sure. I can get behind that list. I'm not so sure I can get behind the order, though...and I agree that the inclusion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl rather than Street Fighter IV seems a little off. SF4 did more for fighting games in general by creating a massive resurgence of interest worldwide than Brawl ever did.

I think I would put the Mass Effect trilogy as a whole much higher on that list, solely because it is influential in more ways than just the game. It's also an example of shitting the bed by the time the third one came out, as well as being one of the prime examples of "reactionary game design based solely on what the fans think." That is something that is seemingly becoming more common on a regular basis, and it kind of pisses me off. Don't game developers care more about the integrity of their games, universes, and personal investment into the franchise more than the sales numbers they can garner and a Metacritic score?

I would definitely bump Red Dead Redemption down a bit, if not just completely off of the list and make it a solid rounded list of ten. I don't know. I just don't understand HOW influential it is in comparison to the rest of that list.\

Beyond that, I would switch the order of Call of Duty and Elder Scrolls. Let's be real here: Call of Duty 4 blew the doors wide-open for a genre on consoles that literally had been chewed out, spit on, and treated like nothing more than poppycock bullshit until the moment CoD4 hit. Sure, Halo and its sequel were capable of showing that shooters were possible in big ways on console, but CoD4 turned it into the primary genre seen on consoles. Meanwhile, Elder Scrolls helped bring back the resurgence of Western RPGs while also turning them into big blockbuster titles. However, Elder Scrolls was a known quantity by the PC crowd already at that point, and Morrowind was still getting regular play on the original Xbox with its decent port. It seems just slightly less influential and important. Yes, it was "that next gen game which made us say holy shit look at that game," but it didn't age gracefully and showed how DLC could be abused on consoles.

@mracoon said:

I would argue that the original Geometry Wars deserves to be on that list. It was the first big XBLA game and was instrumental in showing that download-only games on consoles were a viable business.

While I agree that Geometry Wars was the first big download-only game through XBLA Arcade, it feels like Braid should be in its place in terms of influence. While Geometry Wars proved that people would buy XBLA download-only-styled games, Braid was the one that proved you could make a truly unique experience within that small confined space in the download-only market, as well as led to many many MANY others out there creating independent games from basically nothing.

I don't know how you could make a list like this and not include Portal.

League of Legends is a bizarre exclusion also, it came out of nowhere and completely dominated e-sports and legitimized the free to play genre.

We are defining 'important' as essentially synonymous with 'influential' right? In that case I see Skyrim, Geometry Wars, Farmville, Angry Birds, ME, and CoD4: MW fighting it out for the top spot with CoD probably taking it all down.

I still find the more interesting conversation, as I have mentioned elsewhere, to concern the games that best define this generation. In which case it's a battle between Fez and ME2.

id probably switch out smash bros and red dead, for braid and sf4 really, as one revived a genre, while the other started a gaming movement.

@Kidavenger: I would put Braid on before portal.

In random order, with no explanation what so ever.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Assassin's Creed
• Dark Souls
• Braid
• Mass Effect 2
• Bioshock
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Red Dead Redemption
• Street Fighter IV
• Fallout 3
• Skyrim