My favorites:
1. Metal Gear Solid 4; Kojima capitalized on what makes his games great, and replaced the mediocre combat of the previous installments with a new, more western and, as a result, enjoyable system.
2. Grand Theft Auto 4; This game's world and characters were so well realized that I felt I was reading a best selling crime drama during my first play through. The combat and driving are also very enjoyable, creating a open world experience that trumps its' competitors.
3. Super Mario Galaxy; I'm surprised I don't see more people include this one. While GTA4 and MGS4 play like virtual art pieces, Galaxy is simply unadulterated fun. Nintendo put so many great ideas into this game's level design that each planet throughout the game feels completely original from the last, and as a result the player never looses the excitement that they feel during the initial levels.
4. Call of Duty 4; Even though the single player campaign is disappointingly short, the gameplay in this game is so perfect that if a singly play through was as short as 2 hours, it would still be an amazing game. And when that perfect gameplay was combined with an addicting level up system and well designed maps, Infinity Ward created a game which truly sets a standard in its' genre.
5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; This last one was hard. Mass Effect, Fallout 3 or any other more recent RPGs all play and feel better than Bethesda's first person fantasy game which came out early this generation. But Oblivion showed gamers what the future of gaming would be; beautiful open worlds, player choice, fully voiced dialogue and a plethora of other features which have become staples of this generation. I remember the first time I exited the Imperial Sewers, and was told by my friend that I could travel to essentially anywhere I could see in the beautifully rendered hills far in front of me. That moment, along with others like it, make Oblivion a truly standout game of this generation that so many other titles owe a lot to.
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