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The decade of the 2000s may well be the decade we remember as the one where the United States firmly established themselves as the kings of the video game industry, surpassing Japan. A majority of the world's most successful games are produced in the US of A, such as the simply massive Call of Duty and Halo series of shooters and the global phenomenon that is World of Warcraft. It's difficult to know where to start when it comes to US games, as its such a stacked field, with the likes of Valve and the classic Half Life 2, Irrational and the mindblowing BioShock and for the thinking man's gamer theres Firaxis and the Civilisation series. Personally though, my favourite product of the USA and my favourite game of all-time is Bethesda's simply phenomenal 2006 RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the game which began my golden age of gaming and has defined so much of my taste and interest in games. No game has had as profound an effect on me, and for that I am indebted to the USA for giving the world this masterpiece.
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Game development is alive and well in the great white north of Canada, and two companies in particular have become synonymous with Canadian games; Ubisoft Montreal, makers of the highly successful Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed series, and revered RPG developer BioWare. The library of BioWare is full of revered games, such as the beloved Baldur's Gate games, the seminal Knights of the Old Republic and the more recent success story Mass Effect. However, personally, Dragon Age: Origins is everything that makes BioWare special. It was incredibly bold of them to release an old school CRPG in 2009, but boy oh boy did it pay off. The storytelling is second to none, the characters are some of the best in the business, and the tactical gameplay is hugely compelling. A true modern classic.
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Africa is the cradle of humanity; Japan is the cradle of video games. The industry as we know it is based on Japanese designers who made arcade games such as Pacman and Space Invaders cultural icons in both the Western and Eastern worlds. Of course, Nintendo is a company synonymous with games, especially Japanese games, mainly thanks to the success of Mario, but for my money the finest product of the stacked Japanese gaming market is the sequel to the game many consider to be the greatest of all-time. Majora's Mask has everything that made Ocarina of Time incredible, but also has so much more. It's a grittier weightier adventure for Link, which resulted in a game that was rather polarising and completely unforgettable.
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Ah yes, my own home country. Being a Brit, I always have a soft spot for games with that intangible British charm and sense of humour, and no game developer knows British comedy better than Peter Molynoux's Lionhead, of which 2008's Fable II is without question their magnum opus. Plenty of honourable mentions here; the UK has some of the best racing game developers in the whole world, with the likes of Criterion (Burnout), Bizarre Creations (PGR and Blur) and Codemasters (DiRT and GRiD), and it goes without saying that Rare is one of the most fondly regarded developers out there.
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A recent discovery of mine, The Settlers 7 proudly represents Germany on this list. The German games industry is a strange one - the success of the Farming Simulator series proves that - but they also provide some of the most unique PC strategy games on the market, and The Settlers 7 is as charming and engrossing as they come.
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This little indie dual joystick shooter makes it onto this list as the representative for The Netherlands. Although the Dutch aren't known for their prolific video game industry, this downloadable gem is well worth checking out if for its crazy art style alone.
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Swedish developers Paradox Interactive have been the standard bearers for the grand strategy game genre for a decade, and Crusader Kings II is arguably their most accessible, their most polished, and their most engaging release to date. It's one of my very favourite games of the past few years. Sweden has also given the world many enjoyable shooters, such as the Battlefield series by DICE and The Darkness series by Starbreeze.
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The Mount & Blade games are the only games I have ever played that were developed in Turkey. It is incredible just how good the combat is in these games, especially Warband, and the medieval simulation and RPG elements blend perfectly to create a game that happily chews up hours at a time. One of the most underrated game series of the past 10 years.
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The Australian video game industry has been much maligned in recent times, with harsh restrictions imposed by the conservative wings of the government and multiple studio closures. Team Bondi spent seven years on L.A. Noire, and closed its doors soon after in a whirlwind of controversy, but the game is a modern adventure game tour-de-force, and was one of the best games of 2011.
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Eastern Europe has been developing a reputation as an exciting new hotbed of deep and unique PC games, and Poland's CD Projekt is the most visible part of this movement. Aside from successfully launching its own DRM-free digital distribution platform, the company's adaptation of The Witcher novels into CRPGs has been extremely successful, and The Witcher is a top quality game.
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The first two Tropico games were developed by two different studios in the United States, but the third and fourth games were developed by Haemimont Games, a Bulgarian company. They've turned the series into one of the best city building/tycoon games of recent times, with plenty of charm to go with addictive gameplay.
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Ubisoft may be a French company, but the majority of their most high-profile games were developed in Canada. For proper French game development, the best example is probably 2012's Dishonored by Arkane Studios, an old-school stealth game with a number of modern twists, and one of the better games of that year.
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For a small nation, Finland has made a number of contributions to the world of video games, from Remedy Entertainment (May Payne 1+2, Alan Wake), Stardust, Trials, and even Angry Birds. But my personal favourite is this indie 2D puzzle platformer, an extremely well crafted and visually unique game.
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This heavily consolised flight sim was a decent game with some redeeming qualities. It's on this list because I'm pretty sure it's the only game I've ever played that was developed in Romania.
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